Chapter 658: Summoning

Inside the Starry Sky List space.

Fang Xing opened the exchange list, viewing one scroll after another:

“The Way of Ten Thousand Swords, by the Master of Ten Thousand Swords; exchange requires a High-Level Starry Sky Civilization identity credential, merit contribution…”

“The Theory of Three Phases, by Han Sen; exchange requires…”

“The Infinite Way and the Legacy of Wrath, Fragmented; exchange requires…”

…

He read the opening lines, then glanced at the astronomical exchange values at the end—some with additional identity and rank requirements—and fell utterly speechless.

“Oh… I forgot I’m just a Thirteenth-Level Law Lord here, with virtually no merit contribution, and my status is recent—I’m subtly discriminated against by the local Law Lords…”

Fang Xing pondered: if he revealed his Fourteenth-Level Dao Lord identity, he would clearly gain massive advantages.

But such rapid power growth would inevitably draw the attention of the Starry Sky Civilization.

The Eternal Ones within this civilization still demanded caution.

Moreover… the transmission of the Transcendence Realm—the “Ash” Realm—had vanished not long ago; if anyone drew connections, it would be hard to handle.

“The funniest part… is that the suspicion isn’t even unfounded… because it really was me who did it!”

“Given that, it might be better to release my cultivation avatar… assume a new identity, join the Starry Sky Civilization, and maybe even profit from it?”

Such freeloading tactics would certainly be impossible for most Law Lords in the Starry Sky Civilization.

After all, how could a Law Lord hide his aura from a peak civilization?

But Fang Xing thought he might give it a try.

And wouldn’t a new Dao Lord joining deserve some high-tier benefits?

As Fang Xing contemplated this,

Suddenly!

The entire virtual space flooded with crimson light signaling danger!

【ALERT! ALERT!】

【SSSSS-level danger detected!】

【Follow Protocol ADO-732 immediately!】

…

In the virtual network, the crimson alert flashed violently.

“SSSSS-level? A threat capable of destroying a civilization?”

Fang Xing’s expression changed, and he was instantly transported to a virtual grand conference chamber.

One by one, Law Lords appeared—numbers quickly surpassed ten thousand.

Almost all Law Lords currently connected to the civilization were present.

“My colleagues…”

A virtual projection appeared—it was the Master of Ten Thousand Swords, though his expression was grim: “One minute and twenty-seven seconds ago, the Hive Queen of the Insect Civilization attacked the avatar of Lord Han Sen. His avatar has been destroyed, and he himself is now suffering a synchronized curse, rendered critically wounded!”

“What?”

“How is this possible?”

The crowd of Law Lords erupted in shock, many visibly bewildered.

Fang Xing, witnessing this, felt a bad premonition: ‘No way… I just thought of freeloading, and now the sheep’s about to be shorn and the ship about to sink?’

“Wait—what exactly happened?”

The Catastrophe Yumir frowned and spoke.

His face was utterly dark: “As high-ranking citizens of the Starry Sky Civilization, we have the right to know the truth!”

“The Insect Civilization is suspected of having an Eternal-level entity ascend!”

The Master of Ten Thousand Swords sighed.

“Is that all?”

Yumir found it hard to believe: “The triangular structure is most stable. According to clan protocols, if either the Insect Civilization or the Beast Civilization gains a second Eternal, we immediately ally with the other side to maintain basic balance… How did we end up here?”

The three peak clans were no fools—they must have prepared for this.

“We’ve contacted the Beast Civilization, but their Ancestor is missing… suspected to have been attacked by the Insect Civilization as well.”

The Master of Ten Thousand Swords spoke bitterly: “We suspect that, besides the newly ascended Eternal, the Insect Civilization may have concealed another major force—perhaps a Dao Lord of a top-tier Dao, capable of delaying an Eternal for a time…”

He was referring, of course, to the supreme Primordial Dao Lords.

“The Insects… truly terrifying!”

The crowd of Law Lords seemed stunned into silence.

Fang Xing, listening, suddenly understood: “Of course… peak civilizations aren’t stupid… the Insects know that ascending a second Eternal is useless—it might provoke a joint strike from the Beasts and Starry Sky Civilization—so they’ve been holding back, waiting to unleash something massive…”

In other words, they knew two Eternals would trap them—better to hoard three at once!

As for when the hidden Eternal force ascended?

Law Lords are immortal; perhaps such a genius existed in Insect history long ago, buried beneath layers of time.

“What about our Starry Sky Civilization? Do we have no trump cards?”

The Law Lords turned to the Master of Ten Thousand Swords.

“… ”

After a long silence, the Master of Ten Thousand Swords spoke: “Now is the moment of life or death for our Starry Sky Civilization—no, for Human Civilization! You are all our race’s prodigies. The Starry Sky Civilization will mobilize fully: missions will be issued, and the most precious treasuries will be opened—resources may be exchanged freely…”

Fang Xing, seeing this, felt a strange sense of familiarity.

It reminded him of how the sect elders acted just before Qingmu Ridge in the World of Gods was about to collapse…

He opened the exchange list and found that all rare treasures had been drastically discounted—most slashed by half.

Cultivation techniques were hit hardest, now sold at a mere one-tenth price, clear-out sale.

‘It looks like the Starry Sky Civilization is truly doomed.’

‘I should immediately recall my Interstellar Travelers from New Blue Star and prepare to flee at any moment…’

Fang Xing thought to himself.

‘Of course, out of gratitude for their acceptance, I might as well complete a few missions along the way…’

…

On New Blue Star, shrill alarms blared.

“What’s going on?”

Gu Yun and others were startled, then checked their network emails—their expressions changed instantly: “The Insect Civilization… is another great disaster coming?”

Most of New Blue Star’s citizens came from the Blue Star era, having survived the demonic god calamity; all were high-level professionals, so their resilience was strong.

“In short—every Traveler returns immediately!”

“New Blue Star’s combat readiness raised to maximum!”

“And… under any circumstances, no one may leave New Blue Star.”

Fang Xing set a few rules for his close friends, then quietly checked the missions.

Several days later.

A droplet-shaped spacecraft landed on New Blue Star.

!

“Here we go again…”

Li Ying sighed, communicating with “Little Gray” in his soul sea.

He had always feared encountering high-level experts due to the Yuanzhong Divine Palace incident.

But after so many years, he was now numb to it—dead pig unafraid of hot water.

“Look—there are also experts from the Ophiuchus Civilization—Hei Yuan and Qing Lin are here too!”

Little Gray in his soul sea said: “Clearly, something huge has happened—perhaps the war will spread across the entire Ophiuchus Civilization, including this Law Lord territory… otherwise, it wouldn’t be this extreme.”

Li Ying said nothing, walking toward a castle.

In the square, Lei Ming, Lin Qianzhu, and others were already present.

He glanced and saw their qi still far surpassed his own.

“Sigh… since Lin Qianzhu entered the cosmos, the gap between us has widened even more.”

Li Ying sighed inwardly.

“Of course—because you’re pure garbage.”

Little Gray struck without mercy.

Boom!

The castle gates opened, and a metallic-skinned monster stepped out: “Lords—the Lord requests your presence inside.”

This man was Zhang Chu—the founding principal of Shengjia University, now at the twelfth level of the Mechanist profession, having achieved what he once dreamed of.

“So strong!”

In his soul sea, Little Gray’s expression turned grave: “This metallic man… seems stronger than the old master… possibly a Black Hole-level entity.”

“Black Hole-level?”

Li Ying sucked in a breath: “So… he’s comparable to a Law Lord?”

“Exactly. You should think about it—what kind of terrifying being could command such an expert to serve him?”

Little Gray’s tone dripped with malicious amusement.

The group entered the castle, like ants wandering into a giant’s palace.

Then they saw their own lord.

“My lord Fang Xing!”

The crowd hurriedly bowed.

“Hmm!”

Fang Xing glanced down, his gaze pausing for an instant on Li Ying.

‘The Gray Robe Marquis… also a thread of karmic connection!’

Yet he was neither an eternal being nor a primordial master of space-time Dao, unable to reach the source of all worlds and revive the Gray Robe Marquis.

The same was true of the ‘Green Flower Lady’ in the Qingyuan Great Realm.

“War is coming. I’ve received a mission from the Star Civilization to garrison the wormhole of the Ophiuchus Civilization for a time.”

As Fang Xing spoke, the serpent folk Hei Yuan and Qing Lin suddenly understood why he had summoned them.

“May we know the details of the Star Civilization’s mission? We will do our utmost to assist.”

Hei Yuan spoke up.

Fang Xing looked at the serpent folk, his expression softening with pity.

When the avalanche began, only the uppermost layers received word; the lower tiers remained clueless.

Even the people of New Blue Star would fare no better without me.

“For the time being, the Insect Race may launch invasions across major wormholes, so I must briefly garrison this post.”

Fang Xing smiled and revealed his mission.

“The Insect Race’s full-scale invasion has reached this level?”

Li Ying recalled the star map and frowned.

In the interstellar age, the battleground was no longer planets or treacherous lands… but wormholes!

After all, the universe was too vast; travel required wormholes.

Whoever controlled the wormholes controlled the transportation hubs!

Yet this wormhole within the Ophiuchus Civilization’s territory was extremely remote.

Could the Insect Race have reached here?

That would require having already conquered most of the Star Civilization’s territory and, incidentally, wiped out numerous human civilizations along the way.

“This is the worst-case scenario—but very likely to occur, as the Insect Race has elevated a third eternal being.”

Fang Xing spoke calmly, instantly sparking uproar below.

“What? A third eternal being?”

Xiao Hui widened his eyes: “We’re doomed…”

“An eternal being?”

Li Ying’s eyes were blank.

(End of Chapter)