Chapter 404: Baichuan Is an Alien? Mortals Coveting the Bloodline of an Alien Race

At the same time, as the fleet of the Daxuan Empire in the Xuanbei Xingxi finished cleaning up the battlefield and set course for home—

A piece of news raced ahead of the returning fleet and was the first to land on the desks of every faction's leaders—

Xuanbei Xingxi, the Third Xing Zheng Xing, Yun Du, Yun Family.

"What a lucky little thing…"

A woman of delicate, gentle bearing swept her gaze across the intelligence laid out on the desk; after a long pause, her voice rang out—elegant, tinged with a trace of regret.

"To escape a certain-death situation… worthy of a Royal Family blessed with a treasure-finding talent… even stumbling into the rarest of natural disasters in the entire cosmos…"

"Natural disaster?"

Whether hearing the woman's muttering or catching that unusual term, the young women waiting behind the luxurious chair—dressed as assistants and maids—spoke up in confusion.

"Mm." Slender phoenix eyes glanced back at the confidante she had raised since childhood. The woman, who looked every inch a lady from a great house, rubbed her forehead with a delicate hand and sighed softly. "A strange ice domain that spread across an entire stretch of Xingkong suddenly appeared on the battlefield between the Royal Family and the Zerg. It froze every last Zerg to death in that bitter cold… and the Royal Family's fleet, which should have been wiped out after this battle, survived…"

"Not only that, but by sheer coincidence they also made contact with a strange Banzhu… I imagine that lucky little brat is on her way back right now…"

"Tch, what an enviable talent… Could it be that the heavens truly won't let the Royal Family perish?"

"Hiss~~ A Banzhu? ~~"

An incredulous cry rang out. The maid behind her, hearing her mistress's words, covered her small mouth in shock, her eyes wide. Then, as if something had occurred to her, she said in a fluster: "Th-then, Miss, what about our cooperation with the other families?"

"The Grand Princess has won a war she should have had no chance of surviving. Once this news spreads across the Empire, won't her standing among the citizens soar to its zenith? And then, and then…"

"And a Banzhu—that's a legendary Banzhu, a living one, not half-dead like the old Sovereign…"

"Don't panic. Until the very last moment, anything can still change…" The woman, gentle as a lady from a great house, rose and patted the flustered maid, waving her off with a casual air of reassurance, as if the situation before her were nothing worth mentioning. "A Banzhu is not so easily won over…"

"Besides, we're not the ones in the greatest hurry. The one from the Mo Family must be panicking right about now. Have our people keep a low profile for now; we'll watch and wait…"

After all, no matter how you look at it, for the Empire to remain stable, the feudal lords like them who rule a Star System—even the Grand Princess, who now has a chance to reclaim power—cannot be touched so easily.

Touch them, and the Empire will surely be thrown into turmoil. The Star Sea Federation is full of other forces eyeing the rich resources beneath their feet.

Still, even as she said this, the gentle woman's slender phoenix eyes gazed into the distance, and deep within them, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of worry quietly flickered past.

Since ancient times, those who tried to rebel against their superiors—unless they succeeded—had never met a good end.

They had only managed, five years ago, when the old Sovereign was grievously wounded by a powerful enemy on the battlefield and the little Princess was still young, to steadily encroach and let real power slip away, until they controlled this Empire.

Now they were only one final push away from legitimately letting the fleet be destroyed on the Zerg battlefield, wiping out the Royal Family entirely and carving up this vast Empire.

Who could have known, a变故 occurred.

The fleet that should have been destroyed by the Zerg swarm had won thanks to a natural cosmic disaster. Not only that, but they had also made contact with a Banzhu. If they succeed in winning this Banzhu over, perhaps nothing can be done to them for now, but once the Royal Family recovers its footing, then…

"Bang bang bang~~~"

"Arghh!! ~~ Damn ice disaster! Damn Banzhu! You couldn't have shown up earlier, you couldn't have shown up later, but you show up now?! Are you messing with me?!!"

The Second Xing Zheng Xing, Zongdu.

Inside the brightly lit Mo Family residence at night, the sound of objects being smashed rang out continuously, and from time to time suppressed roars and howls could be heard.

Just as the Yun Family, who rule the Third Xing Zheng Xing, had guessed—as the largest and leading faction in this rebellion, if the Mo Family's uprising fails, what awaits them is certain extermination and the annihilation of their clan! Even though they are imperial relatives, it is no different; in fact, betrayal by those close to you is even harder to bear.

After venting for a while, the red-eyed man slumped powerlessly onto the soft sofa, his wolf-like fierce gaze fixed on the intelligence his subordinates had sent back, especially the Banzhu emphasized in the text, muttering continuously.

"Banzhu, Banzhu…"

If not for the appearance of the Banzhu, then even if the Royal Family survived the natural ice disaster, they still could not escape their pressure—at worst it would only cost them a little more Time. But making contact with a Banzhu was a different matter entirely.

A Banzhu invincible within a Star System—a terrifying powerhouse with no peers of the same level, no natural enemies. Once targeted by one, there is virtually no path to survival.

How strong is a Banzhu? Put it this way: this vast Empire spanning an entire Star System was personally conquered by the old Sovereign of the Empire, punch by punch, kick by kick. When he was in his prime, not a single one dared harbor ulterior motives.

Were it not for the old Sovereign's grievous injury ten years ago, where would their glory be today?

"Dada da…"

Just then, a crisp knocking sound suddenly came from outside the door, growing closer.

"How old are you, still so immature…"

A hoarse, aged voice rang out, tinged with reproach.

"Grandfather?" The red-eyed man jerked his head up, looking at the visitor in some surprise. "Y-you, sir, why have you come?"

"If I didn't come, would you wait until you'd smashed the whole house to pieces?" The old man, leaning on a cane, frowned at the devastated floor, his eyes filled with undisguised disappointment, and walked unhurriedly toward the man.

"B-but…" The man, who had been raging like a bear moments ago, now showed a hint of weakness under the old man's gaze, his ferocity gone. He faltered, then said in a small voice: "That is a Banzhu…"

"Slap!"

"So what if it's a Banzhu? Don't lose your composure at the mere mention of a word or two," the old man said as he slammed the photograph in his hand heavily onto the table in front of the man. "You are now the head of the Mo Family. Anyone may lose their composure, but you cannot!"

"Everything comes down to profit. As long as the price is right, whatever that little brat can offer, can our Mo Family not offer double?"

"However, now we have a better option!"

"This is?" Listening to the old man's scolding and instruction, the man, guided by the old man's movements, looked at the photograph slapped onto the table and picked it up.

"That Banzhu…" the old man replied calmly.

"N-not a Banzhu of our human race?" The man examined the figure in the photograph closely—a mysterious creature standing on two legs, covered in scales and armor, with a long-tailed beast head, utterly unlike a human.

"Mm. A blessing in disguise—it is not of our human race. Don't forget the history of how our Mo Family rose to power…" The old man, leaning on the sofa, closed his eyes to rest, replying with an air of composure.

"Grandfather, you mean…?" The man had been wondering why his grandfather was so calm and composed, but with that reminder, the Mo Family head's eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something, and said:

"Mm~~"

At this, the Mo Family head's gaze changed. His strange eyes, red as if about to emit light, gradually returned to normal, and he turned his gaze back to the photograph. But now there was no longer any fear in his eyes—only surprise, wild joy, and exhilaration!

As if he had spotted some prey, or a treasure beyond measure.

"Good! Good! What perfect timing! A Banzhu! What perfect timing for a Banzhu to appear!"

After a long moment, a voice he could no longer contain burst from between the man's clenched teeth. After his grandfather's reminder, the Mo Family head finally recalled exactly how the Mo Family had risen to power! It was information he had seen in the clan history he never paid much attention to—information only the head of the Mo Family was permitted to see.

Within the star domains ruled by the Star Sea Federation, there exists a mysterious and peculiar sect. They unearthed a mysterious technique from some ancient planet's cultivation civilization, and call themselves Alchemists!

They master a peculiar Alchemy that can plunder the bloodlines of other races and, through ingenious means, fuse them into their own bodies. Thus they not only possess incomparably powerful strength, but also the Characteristic of the plundered race!

Its exquisite degree can be entirely compared to that of true first-generation mixed-blood humans of other races!

Their Mo Family was a branch lineage countless generations removed from a high-ranking member of this cult who harbored demonic power, possessing a pair of crimson eyes capable of capturing hearts and minds. They had once intermarried with the royal house of the Daxuan Empire, having set their sights on the powerful bloodline ability possessed by the old Emperor of the Daxuan Empire — treasure-seeking!

This terrifying talent, like a passive effect, continuously drew the world's fine things and gifted individuals into its fold, and this was the very reason the old Emperor had been able to carve out an empire.

But now, a better choice had appeared before their eyes.

An alien! And one whose humanoid form was nearly impossible to discern — beyond anything else, the purity of its bloodline could be seen at a glance from its outward appearance to be extremely high.

And any alien capable of reaching Planet Overlord had racial abilities that were by no means weak — or rather, even at their weakest, they were still beyond comparison with ordinary humans like them!

Once they could plunder the bloodline from its body and integrate it into their own through Alchemy, they would obtain talents and power comparable to those of the first generation of alien-human hybrids.

At that time, they could easily rely on the terrifying talent of an Overlord to leap across the three realms of Postnatal, Innate, and Mortal Transcendence in one bound, entering the Transcendent realm and becoming lofty gods of Ren Jian!

If fortune were sufficient and luck abundant, there would even be a chance to step into that Overlord realm, and at that point establishing an empire in the Xingkong would not be impossible — there would be no need to bow and scrape as they did now, waiting for opportunities, and only daring to rebel after the Empire's Emperor was gravely wounded and fell into a coma.

Moreover, the most important thing was that throughout this entire scheme, dealing with that Overlord would be far easier for them than for ordinary people.

Because of their connection to a certain high-ranking member of the Blasphemy Cult, all they needed to do was use their relationship with that high-ranking member's descendant to pass along the news of discovering an alien Overlord to the Blasphemy Cult!

One must know that in the Star Sea Federation, due to certain special reasons, aliens — especially those who revealed their true form — were particularly hard to come across, and the Blasphemy Cult had long been searching for lone alien beings with powerful bloodlines!

A mere Overlord, even an invincible one among Overlords, was in the eyes of the Blasphemy Cult nothing more than a slightly troublesome top-grade prey!

In other words, their Mo Family had struck it rich! This information might even bring them closer to that ancestor of theirs who held a high position!

Thinking of this, the previously despairing Mo Family Head suddenly felt the path ahead open up before him. What he had thought was a hopeless turn of events had, under his grandfather's reminder, unexpectedly become the finest opportunity for the Mo Family to soar!

Indeed, he was still not mature enough — the mere mention of an Overlord's fearsome name had thrown him into panic.

But then again, one had to admit that the older the ginger, the sharper it was — even among the people around that little niece of his, there were his grandfather's spies.

One must know that the intelligence his department could obtain was limited to text, without images, yet his grandfather had been able to obtain the most detailed firsthand visual information.

Without a spy in a position of some importance, such classified information about an Overlord's specific appearance would not be obtainable by outsiders.

Grandfather, it seems you did not hand over all your authority to him after all…

"Now, do you understand…"

Glancing at his grandson who had calmed down and revealed a look of delight, the old man spoke lightly.

"Yes, Grandfather. Hehe, as expected, I still need to learn from you…" the man scratched his head and flattered the old man with praise, then suddenly thought of a certain girl, and his gaze turned cold.

Little niece, oh little niece, your family's treasure-seeking ability is indeed strong, but it seems the treasures you seek are not ones you can protect…

With this thought, the man calmed himself, paid his respects to the old man, then rose and walked outside.

Now, he had to consider how to contact the people of the Blasphemy Cult and lay out a massive net to await the arrival of that alien Overlord.

At that time, the Overlord's bloodline would be in the Mo Family's grasp!

And he would become the first Transcendent powerhouse in the Mo Family capable of crossing the void unprotected with his physical body, leaving a bold mark in the family records!

……

"Then, Lord Bai, Rang Na will take her leave first…"

"Mm, no need to see me out."

Elsewhere, Baichuan — unaware that he had been targeted and even treating certain forces as Earth Immortal Overlords — had also concluded today's conversation with the girl named Rang Na, the commander-in-chief of this fleet.

After several days of conversation and overhearing the whispered discussions of everyone in the fleet, Baichuan had gained a certain understanding of the Daxuan Empire he was in, as well as the Star Sea Federation above it.

Unfortunately, because of her young age, certain reasons she found hard to speak plainly about given their insufficient familiarity, and her limited knowledge of history, the information he had obtained was neither abundant nor entirely coherent.

Though she had not said so, from the fleet's force disposition and the strength of the Zerg forces he had sensed, Baichuan had still gained a certain understanding.

Without his appearance, this war would have been a certain death for her.

The only possibilities for such an outcome were: the Daxuan Empire he was in was weak in national strength, and facing a desperate situation fought to the death with the whole nation's might despite knowing they were no match; or she was out of favor in the Empire, sacrificed along with this fleet by those in high positions; or…

But based on her stated status as the Empire's eldest princess, combined with what those soldiers had said, Baichuan found there was only one possibility left…

Things seemed to be getting a little interesting, and he began to feel some anticipation for his upcoming trip to the Daxuan Empire.

In the darkness, Baichuan watched the blue-haired girl depart, a pair of dragon eyes gleaming brightly.

……

(End of chapter)