Chapter 485: A Harvest of Timeworld Fruits

Time slipped by. Ten days passed in a blink.

During that time, members of both families gradually returned, all bringing the same news.

The secret realm had been fully explored. They discovered a total of ten Timeworld Trees: two at the sixth tier, two at the fifth, and six at the fourth.

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They also gave a detailed account of the Buddha’s head and the blood-and-flesh remains they’d found.

The higher-ups from both clans speculated in all sorts of ways. The Song Family did the same. This whole time, Song Chi hadn’t said a word—after all, the enemy had a Star-Annihilator-class Ship and any face-to-face communication could be intercepted, no matter the encryption. It was best to wait until they were safely back on Dragon-Spine Continent before discussing anything sensitive.

After a brief moment of shock and suspicion, both families calmed down. No matter how that Dominion-rank Shizhu from the distant past had perished, as the reports described, the energy in its blood and flesh was likely long since depleted. There wasn’t much left of value.

All things considered, what really caught their interest was how to divide up the ten Timeworld Trees.

In the end, both families each received one sixth-tier Timeworld Tree, one fifth-tier, and three fourth-tier, along with Timeworld Fruits of matching numbers and grades.

But just because the division was settled didn’t mean the Timeworld Trees would be transplanted to each family’s own secret realm. Each realm had a unique environment, and resources couldn’t just be moved anywhere expecting them to thrive.

Without extraordinary aids like Song Chi’s Supreme Celestial Domain Soil or Azure Spring Essence, there was a high chance of failed transplant.

So, the two sides finally agreed to leave all ten Timeworld Trees in this secret realm. Guarding the place and collecting its resources would henceforth be a joint effort.

Both sides would also supply sixth-tier Void Crystals, doing their best to accelerate the secret realm so all ‘ten’ Timeworld Trees could bear Timeworld Fruits more quickly.

Inside the Heavenly Ruin’s command room, Song Chi sat quietly, but inside, his mind was anything but calm.

The seventh-tier Timeworld Tree he’d hidden away still hadn’t been discovered by the Morningstar Family. That meant, when the Market’s Dominion ranking rose another level someday, he’d likely be able to collect it without anyone noticing.

Over in the Cultivation Sanctuary, one sixth-tier, two fifth-tier, and one fourth-tier Timeworld Trees stood quietly around the Azure Spirit Spring, growing rapidly under the effects of the Sanctuary Accelerator.

He wondered how long it would take for the next round of Timeworld Fruits to ripen.

That extra fourth-tier Timeworld Tree was something Song Hao and Song Baiyi had stumbled onto earlier and handed over to the Market together.

Lost in thought, Song Chi glanced at the storage capsule nearby.

Inside, a seventh-tier Timeworld Fruit, two fifth-tier ones, and a single fourth-tier Fruit lay quietly.

Counting in the ones with the Old Ancestor—a sixth-tier, a fifth-tier, and three fourth-tiers—in the end, even after using two Market Projection Tokens, he’d still profited enormously.

After all, every Timeworld Tree could keep producing for years to come, providing an endless source of Timeworld Fruits.

A few days later, each family dispatched a fifth-tier Battleship Commander to personally guard the secret realm’s entrance, concealing the surrounding area with combined Illusion Space and taking secrecy to the next level.

This was about Timeworld Trees—the families absolutely couldn’t risk any sort of accident.

Afterwards, all second and third-tier family members were made to sign gold confidentially agreements over with Rosetta Morningstar.

Once all that was done, the families finally departed.

……

Dragon-Spine Continent, Family Ancestral Hall.

To keep everything hush-hush, Song Wujian had activated both the Dragon Whale Hall’s ‘Chaotic Mist’ and ‘Starry Sky Projection’ before he and Song Chi started their talk with Song Shiyuan, whose projection came in from Storm Calamity Floating-Land.

“Xiaochi, give us the details of all you gained—and are there any secrets left in the secret realm?”

Song Chi didn’t hold back. With a wave of his hand, he revealed all the Timeworld Fruits he had.

Song Wujian and Song Shiyuan’s eyes were immediately drawn to the clearly unusual seventh-tier Timeworld Fruit.

“That Fruit looks above sixth tier… could it be…”

Both looked to Song Chi, waiting for his answer.

“That’s right. This is a seventh-tier Timeworld Fruit!”

Before either could express their excitement, Song Chi added quickly:

“There’s a seventh-tier Timeworld Tree down there, but the secret realm’s will has it fused together with the Shizhu’s blood and flesh, locked deep in the planet’s core. There’s no way to transplant it yet.”

“But I’ve hidden it away with a legendary Silver Oddity. Once I’m sure of success, I’ll go for it. Besides, I’ve already managed to move out four other Timeworld Trees early.”

Hearing this, Song Wujian and Song Shiyuan smiled and nodded.

Once their excitement faded, the three began discussing how to best make use of the Timeworld Fruits they’d collected.

One seventh-tier, one sixth-tier, three fifth-tiers, and four fourth-tiers.

With nine Timeworld Fruits, nine Torch Battleships could be granted a second life. Used well, the family’s overall strength could leap by bounds.

First off, the sixth-tier Fruit was straightforward: it had to go to the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang. With it as a backup, Song Wujian might be able to attempt transforming it into a Star-Annihilator-class Ship within a few centuries.

As for the four fourth-tier Fruits—those were easy too. Lately, plenty of clan members had shown promise at the fourth tier, like Song Yan, Song Ze, and Song Bei.

The three fifth-tier Fruits, though, were trickier. Song Wujian and Song Shiyuan both looked hesitant, leaving Song Chi a bit puzzled.

Just then, Song Wujian asked:

“Xiaochi, do you need a fifth-tier Timeworld Fruit any time soon?”

Hearing that, Song Chi’s confusion only grew.

For himself, there was no rush. The Heavenly Ruin had just become a Battleship, and it’d be at least a century—maybe longer—before it could be upgraded to a Dreadnought.

Should he take one just to grasp the Law of Time?

He could already sense both the Law of Space and the Law of Light because of his Dual Pupils, but those only kept two laws balanced at once. Taking on a third would make enlightenment much harder. It really wasn’t worth it.

Truthfully, the Fruit shouldn’t go to him. From what he remembered, the family didn’t have many Battleship Commanders. Ru Zu’s flagship had already advanced. Ancestor Tianhao had just become a Battleship Commander. As far as he knew, only Ancestor Dingbang would really need a fifth-tier Fruit.

By that logic, there should be more than enough fifth-tier Fruits to go around.

Still, Song Chi shook his head honestly.

“I don’t need a fifth-tier Timeworld Fruit for now!”

At that, both Song Wujian and Song Shiyuan clearly looked relieved.

Noticing Song Chi’s puzzled gaze, Song Wujian explained after a brief pause:

“Xiaochi, there’s actually another hidden branch in the clan, stronger than the main lines from before the great war. They’ll be key to raising Dragon-Spine Continent to a Seventh‑Tier Floating-land, but none of them have become Dreadnought Commanders yet, which holds them back in the Outer Domain.”

“Of these three fifth-tier Fruits, one will still go to Dingbang—but since you’re not in urgent need, the other two will be given to the hidden branch. Does that work for you?”

Song Chi: ???

A hidden branch?

He was pushing two hundred years old, but this was the first he’d ever heard of it.

His mind drifted back to when he became a Battleship Commander. Back then, the Old Ancestor had simply said he was among the family’s top three in the past three thousand years.

Now, thinking it over, maybe that had something to do with this hidden branch.

Even with all those thoughts swirling, Song Chi nodded quickly, expressing that he had no objections.

There were still two fifth-tier Timeworld Trees in the Cultivation Sanctuary, anyway. By the time the Heavenly Ruin was ready for a Dreadnought upgrade, there would probably be several more rounds of fifth-tier Fruits.

As for the seventh-tier Fruit, both Song Wujian and Song Shiyuan agreed—Song Chi could decide for himself.

They both knew that using Dominion Projection was costly for Song Chi, so it only made sense he keep what was most valuable.

Besides, only an eighth-tier Torch Battleship—or better—would ever make use of a seventh-tier Timeworld Fruit. At their current power, who knew when, or if, they’d ever get there.

Song Chi, though, had plenty of options. He could easily trade in the Omniverse Market with other races, whether for himself or by selling the seventh-tier Fruit.

Song Chi didn’t refuse. That seventh-tier Timeworld Fruit was too tempting—not that he could eat it or use it on his battleship just yet, but its value was unmatched.

Even just displaying it in the Market shop would raise the entire place’s reputation.

All the seventh-tier creatures in the Sea of Stars would be dying for a taste.

For comparison, swallowing a sixth-tier Fruit meant instantly reaching a major threshold in the Law of Time. As for the seventh-tier Fruit, he couldn’t say, but maybe it could push understanding to 20%, 30%, or even full mastery. Its value was staggering.

Song Chi guessed this seventh-tier Fruit was worth as much as a golden strategic module of Sanctuary quality—or even a golden Upgraded Fire Source.

In other words, it was equal to an ordinary black module.

……

Once they settled the division of the Timeworld Fruits, the conversation turned to how word of the secret realm had leaked out.

The problem had started when some second-tier clan members first reported back, but the root cause was the family’s comms setup. Somehow, encrypted transmissions had been cracked, leading to a chain of problems.

“We absolutely have to increase the budget for communications and encryption going forward. The family’s Quantum Comms Wristbands need more features for remote interstellar messaging, and acquiring more warship comm modules should be a top priority. No matter how many layers of encryption we add, as long as we use the Torch Network, there’s always a risk of leaks!”

“Definitely!”

Once everything was squared away, Song Shiyuan ended his projection.

Neither Song Wujian nor Song Shiyuan asked about the four Timeworld Trees in Song Chi’s hands.

Song Chi kept quiet too, simply stating that he’d probably be able to produce several kinds of Timeworld Fruits on a regular basis from here on out.

……

Dragon Spine Sacred Mountain, White Jade Plaza.

Before the Heavenly Ruin even landed, the Voyager and White Day were already waiting.

As soon as the fleet’s comms were linked, Song Hao and Song Baiyi both respectfully greeted him.

“Uncle Chi!”

“Yes.”

Song Chi nodded, glancing over at their projections. “How’s your progress in law comprehension?”

Song Hao spoke up first. He was grasping the Law of Light and had already reached 0.75%.

Following his lead, Song Baiyi answered without reservation.

“Uncle Chi, I’m focusing on the Law of Space and I’m at 0.24%.”

Song Chi nodded and continued, “You two performed admirably this time. The family will reward you as they see fit, but here’s something from me personally. You each choose one.”

“Hao, you can pick either a Silver Energy Shield or a Red Advancement Fire Source.”

“Baiyi, you get either Silver Hull Plating or five Law of Space Fruits. Those five could push your Law of Space comprehension up by 0.3% in no time.”

The offer left both of them a bit torn.

In the end, Song Hao picked the Silver Energy Shield, while Song Baiyi chose the five Law of Space Fruits.

Of course, beyond those, Song Chi didn’t take back the two Red Main Cannons he’d previously lent them.

After collecting the Taoyi Soul-Suppressing Stele, Neural Remote Control System, and Supreme Celestial Domain Soil from Song Hao, Song Chi piloted Heavenly Ruin heavenward, disappearing over the horizon.

Inside the Voyager and White Day, Song Hao and Song Baiyi exchanged a glance, both smiling.

“Come on! We’ve been on Dragon-Spine Continent long enough. Time to venture out! Every part of the family’s desperate for help right now, so we can’t slack off.”

With that, the two cruisers shot skyward, heading for the family’s exclusive mid-range teleportation stargate not far from Dragon-Spine Continent.

……

Dragon-Spine Continent, Azure Moon Estate.

With all affairs wrapped up, Song Chi was about to set off in search of the next legendary artifact—the suspected Timepiece Chess. But first, before leaving, he wanted to spend a bit of time with his family.

Unexpectedly, Song Ting had been busy lately. According to his parents, she hadn’t been seen for days.

Song Chi just chuckled and shook his head, unconcerned. She was a seasoned Cruiser Captain by now, likely about to become a Zhulu-class Cruiser soon. She wasn’t a hothouse flower anymore—she had plenty of her own affairs to handle.

Besides, with the Shadow Medallion and starlit conversion locked and ready, if she ever got in real trouble she could always call Heavenly Ruin for backup.