Swallowed Star

Duan Dong River Wu’s voice seemed to vaguely resonate within the main hall of the control room, which made the silence within the hall even more apparent.

Deer Bug Master, Liu Jiu Master, Shadow Dust Master, Sorcerer Sprite Master, Jittery Sea Master, and Luo Feng were all going crazy, and their eyes were filled with agony as they struggled on.

Deer Bug Master was in a dilemma amidst his struggles. “To go or not to go! I am from the holy land universe, an eternal being, eternally free from annihilation… If I go, I will be at risk of being annihilated! But if I choose not to go… I will forgo this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“How powerful is that ancient civilization?” Shadow Dust Master squinted his eyes, and the single-eyed shadow behind him was flashing and flickering. Apparently, the ripples of uncertainty he was feeling were extremely strong. “To be able to create the Universe Boat! Such a large quantity of items like the black-striped stone pillars, were only one out of the many items within the Universe Boat. This inheritance that Duan Dong River Wu is referring to—even when placed within the context of that ancient civilization—must be one-of-a-kind! What a valuable inheritance this must be… but for such an inheritance, the difficulty of obtaining it would be as expected…”

“A chance. The one and only chance—one and only chance!” Jittery Sea Master’s eyes were filled with insanity. “Bestow upon me the chance.”

“This time…” Liu Jiu Master’s perfect face registered traces of hesitation.

All who were present were in turmoil.

The same was true for Luo Feng, whose entire body seemed to be going out of control as his godly power raged and surged, producing waves in his surroundings. He had thought the fight to be for the Boat of Mausoleum; who would have expected that… the Boat of Mausoleum was only a supplementary item? The more prominent part of it was that it contained the extremely powerful inheritance of the ancient civilization!

The inheritance was certainly an object of great desire! Yet going after it also entailed the risk of annihilation!

Luo Feng was aware that he might have another body. But given the means of this ancient civilization—who dared to make a remark like “those who covet after our line of inheritance must die”—its punishment surely would not deal solely with one body.

Luo Feng was silently considering his options. “Should I go or not? I, Luo Feng, have gone through merely a dozen or more eras of cultivation! Even without this opportunity, I believe, with my power, I will be able to become a universe master easily. I can still become a universe master later… there is still hope! But the moment I accept this inheritance, I will be volunteering for a perilous adventure! Should I take the risk or not?”

Luo Feng was caught in a dilemma.

“I only have the confidence that I can become a universe master. But I am clueless about how I can become a universe master! Even if I do become one in the future, so what? At most, I can live for as long as three reincarnation eras.” Luo Feng quietly mumbled, “If I want true immortality, then I must achieve a successful breakthrough of a reincarnation era. What a pity. Throughout Universe Ocean, for countless eras, who has actually succeeded? Only the two holy land universes.”

Luo Feng recalled the individual space within the chamber of the black token, where he saw that smooth and shiny stone wall filled with information left behind by generations of masters of that space.

First master… Second master… Third master…

Starting from Nine Mortal Master, to Five Chaos Master, then to Luo Feng! There was a total of 20,295 space masters! As for the actual number of space masters before Nine Mortal Master, no one knew. Based on the current total, it was clear that an overwhelming number of reincarnation eras had passed.

“Endless reincarnation eras. And how many gifted talents were there? Merely two holy land universes. There will be universe supreme masters from every reincarnation era—a few dozen of them. For thousands of reincarnation eras or more, there must be so many universe supreme masters who have emerged. Who could achieve eternity?”

Luo Feng raised his head to look up at the throne in that hall. His gaze was ablaze. “This is the chance of a lifetime. That highly arrogant ancient civilization must have an extremely powerful inheritance! By my judgment, Duan Dong River Wu must be ranked at the top within the Universe Boat, so within that ancient civilization, this chance must also be very valuable. With this inheritance, I will be able to see a path that is much further ahead. A path that is higher than that of universe supreme masters; with the guidance of that inheritance, I will be able to achieve greater things and tread on higher paths!”

******

In that great hall, every one of them struggled with their own trains of thought.

Suddenly, a foreign aura made an abrupt appearance.

“Golden Square Master, since you have chosen to come out, I will let you out,” Sorcerer Sprite Master said coldly. “But what choice you make is your own business.”

A man in golden armor from the Divine Eye Clan appeared beside Sorcerer Sprite Master. This was Golden Square Master, who had been hiding within the palace true treasure all this time. Although he had not come out, he had been able to see and hear everything that had happened in the outside world very clearly. Naturally, he too, would not be able to resist the temptation.

Hong!

Another figure appeared beside him; it was a strange, lofty figure covered in dark red, which seemed to be fully composed of blood-red bones—a great being from the Skeleton Clan.

“Red Lark, this is a choice that concerns life and death, but I will not stop or influence you.” Jittery Sea Master said.

“Mm.” Red Lark Master nodded.

“All of you appear to have your own helper,” Liu Jiu Master said with a gentle wave.

Then beside her, a burly giant with eight arms and a body that seemed to be made entirely of stones appeared. In a low and rumbling voice, he said, “Liu Jiu, if you say you are going, I will go. If you are not going, then I shall not go.”

“Rock Giant Master? So, it is true that wherever Liu Jiu Master is, we will find you Rock Giant there, too.” Sorcerer Sprite Master snorted.

“Deer Bug, do you have a helper?”

“Milky Way, do you have a helper?”

The Divine Eye Clan, the Skeleton Clan, and the First Ancestral God School all had helpers of their own. It was just that the number of helpers was usually limited to one. In fact, it was common practice that, within the deep region of the internal domain… unless one was extremely confident, like Deer Bug Master, the great beings would normally choose to act in pairs. Like Red Hawk Master and Jittery Sea Master acting together, Shadow Dust Master and Sorcerer Sprite Master taking action together, and Liu Jiu Master and Rock Giant Master taking action together.

And for Golden Square Master, he simply just happened to be around when this fight was happening.

“Since I started roaming Universe Ocean, I have always acted alone,” Deer Bug Master said right away.

Luo Feng shook his head. “I’m without a helper, too.”

“Haha… Three from the Divine Eye Clan, two from the Skeleton Clan, two from the First Ancestral God School, Milky Way, and me. Altogether, nine of us!” Deer Bug Master laughed out loud. “I’m afraid this is not going to be an easy choice, but it is an opportunity that comes by once in a lifetime. Even within my Purple Moon Holy Land, I have never heard of such a mysterious kind of inheritance. There are some ordinary inheritances, but I suppose those are left inside by normal great beings and obviously not on the same scale as Duan Dong River Wu’s inheritance! And when those normal great beings are annihilated, the little dangers that they leave behind are not major enough to threaten me.”

“But this Duan Dong River Wu. He dares to utter such words, I think. Even if he has been annihilated, the methods that he leaves behind will be powerful enough to deal with universe supreme masters.” Deer Bug Master’s eyes swept through the crowd, then said, “Everyone, please be thorough when you consider your options.”

******

Just as everyone was going through an internal struggle, on the throne where all energy seemed to converge, the cyan-haired figure took form again. That was Duan Dong River.

“Have you all made up your minds after careful considerations?” Duan Dong River stood up and slowly walked down while keeping his eyes on the nine figures below.

Luo Feng, Deer Bug Master, and the group of great beings were aware that this was merely a figure left behind by Duan Dong River and was controlled by something like an “intelligence.” The actual Duan Dong River had already been annihilated.

“Rise!” Duan Dong River pointed to the ground and gave his orders gently.

Hong! Long!

The hall was lifted and started to rise in an instant. A large, circular stone tile immediately rose up to reveal a deep hole. One glance into the deep hole and, vaguely, one could see a sea of dark red with occasional, contorted red airwaves…

“If you are willing to receive that inheritance, you may go down,” Duan Dong River said. “I shall choose the heir to my pulse of Duan Dong River according to our own methods; what lays in store for you all would be various tests that you have to pass, and you shall gradually get in contact with the inheritance. The moment you start getting in contact with the inheritance, your path will be fraught with life-and-death dangers. If you succeed in accepting all the inheritance, you survive! If you are unable to receive the full inheritance but merely receive traces of it… then you must die!

“If you are having cold feet now, you can leave right away. The gate will not shut after it has opened. You can even invite your fellow clans’ people and friends to try their luck. The more potential intruders, the better. This way, there is a higher possibility of finding the next Duan Dong River!” Duan Dong River’s gaze swept across the nine concerned figures. “Choose.”

After finishing his instructions, his form seemed to become nothing but dust. Then, with a slight tremor, he disintegrated to nothingness.

******

The circular stone tiles floated up.

Revealing an endless, dark red passageway… To go in or not?

“Doomsday is near, yet I am given such an opportunity,” Red Hawk Master said in a low voice. “Based on the methods of that ancient civilization, I may be from the first reincarnation era, but it is also possible for me to become a universe supreme and break through a reincarnation era! Even the ancient civilization… is unable to break through the restrictions. Once I get hold of that inheritance, it will guide the universe masters of my Skeleton Clan. When one of them is successful, we will all witness the birth of a third holy land universe. Haha…”

Hua!

A stream of dark red light flashed and disappeared upon creating a winding line in the air. Then it flew right into the deep, dark passageway and disappeared.

“This is the only change before the impending doomsday. How can I miss it?” Liu Jiu Master smiled, transformed into a stream of light, and made her way in.

“Liu Jiu!” said a low and thick voice. “If you are going, then I will go, too.”

Rock Giant Master followed without hesitation. He, too, transformed into light and flew in.

“Shadow Dust.”

“Sorcerer Sprite.”

Husband and wife looked into one another’s eyes and smiled.

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!”

Then they, too, went in together.

“Haha!” Golden Square Master let out a hearty laugh. “I would have to die anyway. This is just a moment earlier.” With that, he too went in.

In a moment, all the great beings from the first reincarnation era had entered. Only Deer Bug Master and Luo Feng remained on the outside.

“Are you going or not?” Deer Bug Master looked toward Luo Feng.

“What about you?” Luo Feng threw the question back.

Deer Bug Master’s gaze was airy as he commented, “Eternity? So what? The passions of my life lie in all those risky adventures… My clan will not be affected at all if I am gone. The holy land universe itself is an eternal existence. Throughout this endless era, this is an inheritance that is hard to come by. If I miss it, I will regret it. This risk may be the biggest one I take in my entire lifetime. Even if I were to embark on it and die in the process, I will still find it a worthy death. Haha… I will make a move first.”

Deer Bug Master transformed into light and flew right in.

In the entire great hall, only Luo Feng remained.

“If I were to be annihilated, being a universe knight, I still have a chance of resurrection. The price of resurrecting me may be big, but I can afford to shoulder it.” Luo Feng looked toward the dark red abyss. “Initially, I wanted to get my golden horned beast body to take Star Tower and leave this place, but the moment I am annihilated, Star Tower will become an item without a master and will drift about the Universe Boat, where it might end up in some dangerous lands. Or even be snatched away by other groups of powers.”

“If that is the case, I shall take Star Tower with me and try my luck in breaking through. With Star Tower, I have more confidence in dealing with the various dangers. I shall put in my everything and take a gamble! If I succeed, my human race can live on for eternity!”

Sou!

Luo Feng transformed into a streak of light and charged into that dark red abyss without further hesitation.