Chapter 538: A Brush With the Ancient Demon Lord

Honestly, with all the high-end gear and secret weapons packed onto the Heavenly Ruin right now, even if a Seventh-Tier, seven-star Ancient Demon Lord showed up, Song Chi wouldn’t be too worried. He was pretty sure he could at least escape with his life.

What really kept him up at night were those Ancient Demon powerhouses at the peak of seven stars or, even worse, the terrifying eight-star giants. Against such overwhelming strength, the Heavenly Ruin actually faced a real risk of being destroyed.

Sure, the Floating-land beneath his feet connected to a Seventh-Tier Floating-land, but who could say for sure whether there wasn’t an eight-star Ancient Demon just lurking there, waiting for prey?

It’s just like this Fifth-Tier Floating-land—they had two six-star Ancient Demon guards stationed right here, after all.

That thought helped Song Chi calm down.

He quickly popped open the battleship bay doors. Two Fifth-Tier Doomstar warriors shot out, and he also pulled out two Storage Capsules and a pair of Market-Walking Tokens.

“You two stand guard here. The moment you hit a Titanium Crystal vein, use the Walking Token to send it straight to the Market!”

After leaving those orders with the two Doomstar guards, Song Chi didn’t wait around. He recalled the six-star Ancient Demon and sent the Heavenly Ruin soaring towards the Ancient Demon King City.

Once he’d gathered up all his puppet terracotta warriors, Song Chi didn’t hesitate. He piloted the Heavenly Ruin and activated the Scarlet Vault Jump Drive for a standard jump.

A moment later and some thirteen thousand light years away from that Ancient Demon Fifth-Tier Floating-land, the Heavenly Ruin reappeared in the starry void.

“Thirteen thousand light years…that should be safe, right?”

But he didn’t stop there. With a single thought, Song Chi triggered a second standard jump.

Mere moments later, the Heavenly Ruin was now over twenty-six thousand light years from that Floating-land. At last, he let himself relax just a little.

He hadn’t used the true Scarlet Vault Jump right away because charging it up took nearly triple the time of a standard jump. There was no way he’d risk waiting around for a chance that Ancient Demon reinforcements from the Seventh-Tier Floating-land would show up. So he went with the fastest escape.

Now that he’d jumped some twenty thousand light years out, he finally activated the full Scarlet Vault Jump.

As the drive began to charge, his mind linked up with the two Doomstar warriors left on the Floating-land, checking their progress mining the ore.

“Is it safe over there? The Titanium Crystal…”

But he didn’t even finish his telepathic question before one of the Doomstars cut him off in a panic.

“Master! An Ancient Demon Lord has arrived!!”

Song Chi’s pupils narrowed, a burst of urgency rising in his chest.

But not for his own life. He was much more worried about whether the Doomstars could manage to bring back those tens of thousands of Titanium Crystals.

Ancient Demon Lords had terrifying senses. This Fifth-Tier Floating-land was nearly a light year wide, but if that Demon Lord was serious—or had some sort of special detection gear—getting discovered was very likely.

Before he could think any further, the second Doomstar’s telepathic message startled him.

“Master, the Ancient Demon Lord didn’t linger inside the Floating-land. The moment it appeared, it shot out into space—probably to pursue someone…”

At that, Song Chi really couldn’t spare another thought. Spatial and energy turbulence was suddenly swirling like mad in the starry sky behind the Heavenly Ruin.

He spun around and glimpsed a gigantic palm—so massive it was hard to put into words—reaching out from a gaping spatial fissure behind them, carrying crushing force.

It was coming fast. The hand, easily more than ten thousand kilometers wide, sped their way. Space ripped wherever it passed, but that was almost nothing compared to the horror of watching the fabric of space collapse in its wake.

“An eight-star Ancient Demon, striking across the stars?”

Song Chi couldn’t tell what level the owner of that monstrous palm truly was. Maybe a seven-star, maybe eight. With these beings, size alone was no guide to their strength.

Records showed it was common for seven-star Ancient Demons to span more than a million kilometers—some were even larger.

But right now, none of that mattered. All Song Chi could think about was doing whatever it took to get the Heavenly Ruin out of here.

He didn’t even waste time wondering how the foe had locked onto them from nearly thirty thousand light years away.

That Demon Lord’s hand was closing in so fast, all Song Chi could do was pray the Scarlet Vault Jump’s charging rate would speed up.

Aside from that, his mind raced, his thoughts darting rapidly from one battleship system to the next.

The Heavenly Ruin was loaded with powerful modules, and he had to get the most out of everything if he wanted the best shot at keeping the ship safe.

First up—he activated the Pusa Zen Seal’s main feature: the Samsara Time Domain.

A golden seventh-tier time domain swept out and the nearby starfield slowed to a tenth its regular speed. When the Samsara Time Domain flared, even the Ancient Demon Lord’s hand actually paused for a moment…but the effect didn’t last. In seconds, the hand shook off the restraint and surged forward, unfazed.

“So they’ve got a high-tier time-resistance Starsea Oddity? Just great…”

Song Chi’s expression darkened. When even a power like the Samsara Time Domain couldn’t do a thing, a sense of dread crept in.

He shook that off quick and fired up two more modules.

Bind-God Chains—Void Bind-God mode.

Voidlock Skyseal Sigil—Heaven-Binding Shackles.

Two chains burst from the void, whipping in from opposite sides to wrap around the titan’s palm.

But it did almost nothing. The chains snapped one after another—unable to slow the Ancient Demon’s hand at all.

In the Heavenly Ruin’s command center, sweat beaded on Song Chi’s brow. He’d thrown out two sets of tricks already, and that ancient hand was now almost upon them. Time was running out.

Especially since the Sky-Domain AI had just calculated that the Scarlet Vault Jump would finish charging at nearly the exact moment the Demon Lord’s palm touched the ship.

In other words, without buying an extra instant, the Heavenly Ruin was doomed to take this hit head-on.

So, fixing his gaze, Song Chi activated several more systems in quick succession.

Void Sea Projection Emperor’s Tomb—Quadruple Projection.

Gold-Source Armor-Piercer + Black Hole Evolution Layer—Black Hole Singular Burst.

Neutron-Star Core Armor—Neutron-Star Fission.

And he wasn’t done yet. As soon as these modules went live, he handed control of the battleship over to the Sky-Domain AI and immediately jumped into the Omniverse Market himself.

At the very same moment, his Voidform Avatar aboard the battleship activated the Market Projection Token.

Space trembled as violet mist condensed—a projection of the Omniverse Market descended, blanketing the Heavenly Ruin.

Only when he saw the Dominion Power of the Market’s projection completely shield the ship did Song Chi finally breathe a deep sigh of relief.

With all these tricks—and the Market’s Dominion Power in play—the Heavenly Ruin’s safety was pretty much guaranteed.

As the market’s projection solidified, four ship projections, each matching the Heavenly Ruin’s full firepower, charged straight at the Ancient Demon Lord’s hand. Given the Heavenly Ruin’s current battle strength, these four projections could do a lot, if Song Chi had the time to command it.

But at this point, Song Chi had one job—to stall that monstrous hand, even for an instant. That was all that mattered.

Meanwhile, the micro singularity produced by the Gold-Source Armor-Piercer’s black hole energy detonated in the Demon Lord’s palm, spawning a micro black hole right at its center.

The Gold-Source Armor-Piercer may have just been a secondary cannon and only red-grade, so on a monster like this, the strike lacked punch. But its rapid fire meant he could bind a singularity to every shot, launching bursts instantly.

No way the main guns like Blood Spear, Divine Thunder Cannon or the Taiyi Quantum Swordlight Battery could work—they’d need too long to charge and the ancient hand would crush them before even firing.

Surprisingly, all these layers of defense actually managed to stall the Demon Lord’s giant palm for a split second.

But that was it. Four projections and even the micro black hole barely made a ripple against the palm of a true Demon Lord.

Finally, that monstrous palm collided with the violet mist of the Omniverse Market projection.

This was the first time the advancing hand was actually stopped—the two forces locking in a fierce balance.

But most of Song Chi’s attention wasn’t on this cosmic wrestling match. He was knitting his focus on the Scarlet Vault Jump’s charging progress, viewing it through his Voidform Avatar aboard the battleship.

“Warning: Scarlet Vault Jump charging at 96%…97%…99%.”

Just as it was about to hit 100%, a surge of special energy rippled out from the Ancient Demon’s hand, still gridlocked against the Market’s projection. That energy coalesced—forming an ancient, smaller but just as menacing hand seal in its palm.

“Ancient Demon Clan’s signature divine art—Eternal Demon Celestial Seal!”

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

The whole Heavenly Ruin shuddered. The handprint’s colossal force slammed the ship, hurling it forward.

In the Omniverse Market, Song Chi’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t expected such a sudden strike.

Worse yet, the handprint landed just as the Scarlet Vault Jump finished charging.

Now, the Heavenly Ruin was in a truly precarious spot.

The ship managed to enter the jump tunnel, but with the Demon Lord’s handprint smashing down, that passage collapsed around them.

So even though the ship escaped its pursuer, it was now trapped in the heart of a raging spatial storm.

In the Market Heavens, Song Chi’s gaze darkened.

This was exactly the outcome he’d tried so hard to avoid—yet fate seemed to have other plans.

But he couldn’t afford to wallow. He had to do everything possible to protect the Heavenly Ruin as it was lashed by chaotic space.

The good news? Because he’d triggered the Market Projection Token early, and with the Dominion Power still surrounding the Heavenly Ruin, plus the ship’s own strong spatial resistance, it hadn’t been torn apart immediately—even amid the worst of the turbulence.

Still, a projection was just that—a shadow, not the real thing. It couldn’t completely shield the ship from the endless tearing and collisions of the space storm.

One after another, spatial rifts and razor winds pierced through the violet mist, hammering the ship’s energy shield.

Already battered by that deadly handprint, the energy shield dimmed even further.

Thankfully, the Sky-Domain AI worked lightning fast, activating the Last Aegis module’s repair ability. The Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield swelled back to nearly full strength.

But it didn’t last. The spatial maelstrom was fiercer than anything Song Chi had imagined—and as the Market’s projection weakened, the shield’s light began to flicker again.

The Sky-Domain AI pushed the Last Aegis for a final repair cycle, and also used the ship’s orange-grade Atomic Repair Instrument.

That helped the Heavenly Ruin hold out just a bit longer.

But the outcome wasn’t going to change. Before long, the Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield finally overloaded and failed.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Brutal spatial winds started slamming into the ship’s hull, but its exterior armor actually held—the Black Hole Evolution Layer added an extra buffer.

After upgrading the Neutron-Star Core Armor to gold-grade, the Black Hole Evolution Layer’s defenses had also reached that level, letting it endure for a while.

Dozens of seconds later, the Black Hole Evolution Layer shattered completely, exposing the Neutron-Star Core Armor to the spatial gale.

A few seconds more and that armor fractured too, taking hull damage all the way up to 78%.

Song Chi didn’t wait. Through the Voidform Avatar, he had the Sky-Domain AI activate the Last Aegis module’s signature power.

In an instant, the Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield, Neutron-Star Core Armor, and the ship’s hull all snapped back to mint condition.

The Saintlight Shield and Black Hole Evolution Layer didn’t get the same treatment, though. Those had to recover on their own.

“The Market Projection’s power is almost spent…”

In the Market Heavens, as the projection’s owner, Song Chi was the first to sense the end coming.

That projection had clashed head-on with a Demon Lord’s palm and then braved this spatial tempest for ages. Its violet mist was all but exhausted.

Normally, this would be a disaster. Without the Market projection’s protection, the Heavenly Ruin would be swallowed up by the space storm in no time.

Sure, he could use a second Market Projection Token—but conjuring a new projection took precious time. With all his defensive features cooling down, Song Chi doubted the ship could survive long enough for a second projection to solidify.

Strangely, though, he felt no fear. In fact, he looked completely at ease.

Because he hadn’t yet used the Black Hole Evolution Layer’s most valuable function—activating the Black Hole Domain.