Chapter 1066 - 563: Golden Upgrading Fire Source
Not long after, the three warships returned together to the wormhole’s entrance.
Having witnessed the horrors of the flame world, the trio began a detailed discussion.
The first decision made was to recall the two Fearless Ships and let the recently upgraded Star-Annihilating Starship, the Dinghai Dragon Steed, take the lead for the next attempt.
Compared to the Fearless Ships, the Star-Annihilating Starship not only possessed higher base components but also allowed silver and higher-tier parts to operate at greater efficiency.
Of course, even this alone wasn’t enough.
“The Black Hole Armor on my warship is of supreme-quality black tier, capable of generating dual-layer armor. Additionally, the Fiery Flame Boiling Sea carries a golden-quality Flame God Dominator Skull.”
The first to speak was Song Yan, who promptly displayed the attribute panels of the two components one after the other.
Black Hole Armor lv70
Quality: Black
Feature: Dual-Layer Armor
Feature 2: True Defense
Feature 3: Defense Value +380%
Feature 4: Black Hole Furnace
Feature 5: Black Hole Storm
Feature 6: Black Hole Fission
…
Flame God Dominator Skull lv70
Quality: Gold
Feature: Increases ship-mounted firepower by 350%
Feature 2: Enhances Fire Law comprehension speed by 450% within the ship
Feature 3: Fire Resistance +8200
Feature 4: Flame Shield
Feature 5: Flame God Dominator True Spirit Guardian
Consumption: 1800/s
Effect: Reduces external flame energy attack might by 65%.
…
Clearly, these two components were immensely helpful for resisting flame energy threats in the upcoming exploration.
Song Chi pondered for a moment, then took out three components.
They were the golden-quality Angel Sovereign Wings, the silver-tier Final Blessing, and the black-quality Black Hole Evolution Layer.
The effects of these three components were self-explanatory, as they also significantly enhanced the ship’s defenses.
As for the Heavenly Frost Crown, a single Torch Warship could only equip two similar special components. Since the Flame God Dominator Skull and Angel Sovereign Wings belonged to the same category, the Heavenly Frost Crown could not be utilized even if it were brought out.
Looking at the components his two juniors had laid out, even though Song Wujiang’s ship had upgraded to a Star-Annihilating Starship, he couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of defeat.
After all, he had explored the starry seas for over three thousand years, yet he had only ever acquired one black-tier oddity—and it wasn’t even a usable ship component, unlike the priceless finds of Song Chi and Song Yan.
Of course, he purposefully ignored the fact that the Dragon Whale Hall, though damaged, was likely a colorful mythic oddity in its complete form.
After calming himself, Song Wujiang quickly thought of something.
“Little Yan, can your Black Hole Armor be uninstalled intact? What about you, Little Chi? If not, don’t force it. Let’s first try and see if the triple-layered golden energy shield can hold!”
However, his doubts were quickly alleviated as both Song Chi and Song Yan swiftly replied.
“Don’t worry, Ancestor, no problem on my side!”
“Same here!”
Hearing this, a trace of resignation appeared in Song Wujiang’s deep eyes.
After finalizing their next course of action, the trio quietly waited.
The previous test had caused several components to enter cooldown. Only after they completed their buffering process could they proceed officially.
Three months later, fully prepared, the Dinghai Dragon Steed activated its engines.
With a deafening roar, the Dinghai Dragon Steed gradually disappeared into the wormhole’s entrance on the right.
Inside the warship’s main control room, Song Wujiang stood at the center, while Song Chi and Song Yan stood on either side of him.
The eyes of all three carried a hint of heaviness, for the outcome of this venture directly determined the ultimate combat power of the Song Family in the Civilization Battlefield.
Silver-tier Torch-Ship Star-Annihilating Starship
Golden-tier Torch-Ship Star-Annihilating Starship
The difference between these two levels was fundamental.
As the Dinghai Dragon Steed slowly advanced, the distortions in the surrounding space intensified, signaling a gradual increase in the flames’ energy density nearby.
However, as a Star-Annihilating Starship equipped with both the Angel Sovereign Wings and Flame God Dominator Skull, the ship’s second and third layers of energy shields degraded far slower under the intense conditions.
Combined with the resistance provided by the Flame God Dominator Skull and its flame-energy attenuation effects, by the time the warship reached the limit previously traversed by the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong, only one of the ship’s energy shield layers had fully dissipated.
It was here that the trio finally spotted the three golden fire seed oddities Song Chi had previously detected.
Filled with joy, the Dinghai Dragon Steed continued forward.
Dozens of minutes later, the ship was inches away from the first golden fire seed oddity.
“Move slightly to the left.”
“Stop! Stop!”
Following their sequential commands, the Dinghai Dragon Steed suddenly projected a powerful traction beam.
In an instant, the golden fire seed oddity was precisely locked in, and under the traction beam’s pull, it was slowly reeled toward the battleship.
Before long, the first golden fire seed oddity was successfully retrieved.
“Star Lotus Fire! It can be converted into a Torch Tier Fire Source!!”
Upon seeing the attributes of the fire seed oddity, Song Chi and Song Yan quickly shared the good news with the Ancestor.
Oddity: Star Lotus Fire
Quality: Gold
Convertible: {Torch Tier Fire Source}
Note: A unique fire seed formed from the fall of a peak eighth-rank Flame God Dominator of the Flame God Clan. Over immense spans of time, this has evolved into a unique Starry Sea Oddity.
Elated by this find, the trio was in high spirits.
This first golden upgrading fire source meant that even if they failed to secure the remaining two, they could return to the outside world, allow the Ancestor to upgrade his Torch Seed, enhance the warship components, and then attempt another exploration.
With a golden Torch Seed in hand, components on the Dinghai Dragon Steed could be raised to the eighth rank, significantly reducing the difficulty of future journeys.
After celebrating, the ship pressed onward toward the second golden fire seed oddity.
Nearly ten minutes later, using the same method, they successfully reeled in the second golden fire seed oddity.
At the same time, the high-energy particle energy shield repaired by the Final Blessing component began to overload, and the external flame energy began to corrode the outer layers of the Black Hole Evolution Layer on the Black Hole Armor.
But bad news often comes in pairs.
Song Chi and Song Yan soon discovered that the second fire seed oddity was just an ordinary golden fire seed oddity and could not be converted into an upgrading fire source.
Upon hearing the news, Song Wujiang was unfazed and continued piloting the Dinghai Dragon Steed toward the third golden fire seed.
However, this third fire seed was significantly further away. Currently, the ship had neared the center of the flame world, where the flame energy had grown increasingly vicious. The farther they advanced, the harsher the fire erosion the ship endured.
At this moment, Song Wujiang activated the “Angel King True Spirit Guard” feature of Song Chi’s Angel Sovereign Wings.
With the descent of the eighth-rank Angel King True Spirit Illusion, the erosion on the Dinghai Dragon Steed diminished drastically.
Just then, Song Yan, who stood behind Song Wujiang, suddenly exclaimed.
“Look over there!”
Following his gaze, Song Chi quickly spotted a peculiar object.
“Is that… a bracelet?”
The object resembled a bracelet, faintly emitting golden light. However, its luminescence was slightly dim and, coupled with the surrounding flames, it had escaped their notice until now.
The golden bracelet wasn’t far from the Dinghai Dragon Steed’s current position. Song Wujiang quickly decided to steer the ship toward it.
With the Angel King True Spirit Illusion providing protection, this maneuver was swift. Soon, they reached the golden bracelet’s location.
The traction beam fired again, striking at its target.
Perhaps the Angel King True Spirit Illusion was too massive, creating a larger area of exposure to the surrounding flame energy. In any case, what should have been a longer-lasting illusion rapidly dimmed; before the golden bracelet could be retrieved, the illusion faded entirely.
Amid the scorching sounds of the ship’s outer layers being eroded by flame energy, Song Wujiang brought forth a second Dominator illusion.
This time, it was the True Spirit Illusion of an eighth-rank Flame God Dominator, engulfed in searing flames and far more robust than the Angel King illusion. Its resistance to the flame energy was likely due to the amplification effects of the surrounding environment.
Finally, the slightly golden bracelet was successfully retrieved onto the ship.
Song Chi and Song Yan immediately focused their attention on the bracelet. To their surprise, they discovered the bracelet was not a Starry Sea Oddity and lacked an attribute panel.
Upon closer inspection, they speculated that the bracelet might be a unique storage device. The faint spatial fluctuations emanating from its surface further supported their theory.
Hearing their conjecture, a contemplative expression flickered across Song Wujiang’s face. If true, the value of this bracelet might be immense.
The flame world below was most likely the aftermath of a peak eighth-rank Flame God Dominator’s death. This raised the possibility that the bracelet was connected to this ancient being.
If correct, a storage device belonging to a peak eighth-rank Flame God Dominator held unimaginable worth.
With such thoughts in mind, the Dinghai Dragon Steed abruptly halted its advance.
After a moment’s deliberation, Song Wujiang decisively turned the ship back toward the wormhole’s exit, wasting no time.
The third golden fire seed oddity was located too far away. Judging by his calculations, even with the protection of the Flame God Dominator True Spirit Illusion, recovering it was far from guaranteed.
Moreover, the flame space wasn’t limited to just these three golden fire seed oddities. There were also several silver- and red-tier fire seeds nearby, not to mention that the current location was merely at the center of the flame space, still far from its deepest reaches.
Song Wujiang’s plan was to return first, fuse the golden upgrading fire source, and examine the golden bracelet, which was suspected to be an eighth-rank Flame God Dominator’s storage device. Once components like the High-Energy Particle Energy Shield, Flame God Dominator Skull, and Angel Sovereign Wings were upgraded to the eighth rank, they could return and continue their exploration.
Soon, the Dinghai Dragon Steed reached the wormhole’s entrance on its return journey.
Inside the warship’s main control room, now free from the flame energy’s interference, Song Wujiang finally examined the faintly glowing golden bracelet in detail.
After a thorough inspection lasting several minutes, he confirmed:
“Indeed, this bracelet is a unique spatial storage device!”
As he spoke, spectral energy surged from within him, and seventh-rank spectral energy channeled steadily from his fingertips into the bracelet.