Chapter 563: Reaping the Gold in the World of Flames

Not long after, all three battleships returned together to just outside the wormhole entrance.

After witnessing the terrifying power of the world of flames, the three of them started to carefully strategize.

The first thing they settled was to recall the two Dreadnoughts, letting the recently promoted Star-Annihilator-class Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang make the attempt.

Compared to a Dreadnought, a Star-Annihilator-class ship doesn’t just benefit from a stronger set of base components. It also gets way more out of silver and higher‑tier modules.

Of course, that alone wouldn’t be enough.

“The Black Hole Armor on my ship is peak black‑grade. It can generate dual-layer armor. Also, the Scorching Sea Blazer has the golden-grade Flame God’s Dominion Skull,” Song Yan spoke up first, sending over the attribute panels of both pieces.

He was the first to speak, sharing one after another the panels for both components.

Black Hole Armor lv70

Grade: Black

Trait: Dual-layer Armor

Trait 2: True Defense

Trait 3: +380% Protection Value

Trait 4: Black Hole Furnace

Trait 5: Black Hole Storm

Trait 6: Black Hole Fission

……

Flame God’s Dominion Skull lv70

Grade: Gold

Trait: +350% to battleship firepower

Trait 2: 450% increased Fire Law comprehension rate for battleship

Trait 3: +8200 Fire Resistance

Trait 4: Flame Shield

Trait 5: Flame God’s Dominion Soul Guard

Consumption: 1800/s

Effect: When mounted, any fire energy attack from outside gets its power reduced by 65%.

……

Obviously, both of these modules would be a huge help with resisting fire energy ahead.

After thinking it over, Song Chi put forward three more pieces.

They were the golden-grade Angel King’s Authority Wings, the silver Last Aegis, and the Black-grade Black Hole Evolution Layer.

There was no need to say much—these three would also give a serious boost to battleship defense.

As for the Frost King’s Crown, a Torch Battleship can only equip two items of the same special type. Since Flame God’s Dominion Skull and Angel King’s Authority Wings count as the same type, Frost King’s Crown couldn’t be used even if they brought it out.

Seeing these modules from his two juniors—even as a Star-Annihilator captain—Song Wujian couldn’t help but feel a pang.

After all, he’d spent over three thousand years exploring the Sea of Stars and still only ever picked up a single black oddity—and it couldn’t even be fitted as a battleship module. He really couldn’t compare to Song Chi and Song Yan.

Of course, he was intentionally ignoring the fact that Dragon Whale Hall, though damaged, would likely rate as a mythic rainbow-grade oddity if restored.

Once he calmed down, Song Wujian quickly thought of something.

“Yan, can your Black Hole Armor be removed safely? Chi, what about yours? If not, then don’t take them off. It’s too costly. Let’s first see if Three-layer Gold-class Energy Shields are enough!”

But no sooner had he spoken than both Song Chi and Song Yan answered without hesitation.

“No worries, Elder! Should be fine!”

“Same for mine!”

Hearing this, Song Wujian could only show a trace of resignation in his deep eyes.

After finalizing their next moves, the three of them settled in to wait.

Their earlier probing had put many components on cooldown; they had to let everything finish buffering before the operation could begin.

Three months later, with all preparations complete, the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang fired up its engines.

With a thunderous roar, the battleship slowly slipped into the wormhole on the right.

In the ship’s control room, Song Wujian stood at the center. Song Chi and Song Yan took their places on either side behind him.

All three wore a heavy look, knowing that the outcome this time would directly affect their clan’s top-end combat power on the battlefield of civilizations going forward.

A Star-Annihilator with a silver Torch hull and one with gold are worlds apart.

That makes all the difference.

As the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang slowly advanced, the distortion in surrounding space grew more and more visible—a sure sign that the surrounding fire energy was ramping up.

But as a true Star-Annihilator-class, Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang’s second and third energy shields—granted by the Angel King’s Authority Wings and Flame God’s Dominion Skull—were wearing down at a much slower pace.

It helped further that the Flame God’s Dominion Skull not only boosted Fire Resistance but also weakened incoming fire attacks. By the time they reached the same limit the Heavenly Ruin did before, only one of Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang’s three shields had been fully depleted.

At this point, the three could finally spot the three gold-glowing Fireseed Artifacts Song Chi had detected earlier.

Elated, the battleship pressed on.

A few dozen minutes later, Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang was closing in on the first strand of golden Fireseed oddity.

“A bit more to the left,” someone guided.

“Stop, stop!”

At their words, a powerful tractor beam suddenly shot out from the battleship’s hull.

In a matter of moments, the golden Fireseed Artifact was precisely locked on. Under the tractor beam, it gradually drifted back toward the hull. Soon after, the first golden Fireseed oddity was drawn into the ship.

“Starlotus Flame! We can convert this into an Upgraded Torch Seed!”

Seeing the artifact’s properties, Song Chi and Song Yan quickly shared the great news with their elder.

[Oddity: Starlotus Flame]

[Grade: Gold]

[Convertible: {Upgraded Torch Seed}]

[Note: A special fireseed forged from the fall of a peak eighth-tier Flame God Dominion of the Flame God Clan, tempered by the long passage of time into a rare Starsea Oddity.]

Having secured the Starlotus Flame, the Song family trio were in high spirits.

No matter what, with at least this first upgraded golden Torch Seed, even if the other two couldn’t be retrieved, they could return to the surface, let Elder complete his Torch Seed ascension, strengthen the modules, and come back for another try.

The moment they had a gold Torch Seed, Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang’s components could be advanced all the way to tier eight, dropping the difficulty of future expeditions sharply.

The ship pressed on, and after another ten minutes or so, used the same method to haul in the second strand of golden Fireseed oddity.

At the same time, the High-Energy Particle Energy Shield, restored through Last Aegis, overloaded again. Now, the ever-hungry fire energy outside started to gnaw at the Black Hole Evolution Layer on the Black Hole Armor.

But trouble rarely comes alone.

Song Chi and Song Yan soon discovered that the second Fireseed Artifact couldn’t be converted into an upgraded Fire Source—just an ordinary golden Starsea Fireseed.

When they reported this, Song Wujian showed little reaction, simply piloting the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang towards the third golden Fireseed ahead.

But this third fireseed was clearly much farther away. Add to that, they were nearing the heart of this world of flames, and the fire energy grew wilder by the meter, each step bringing even more punishing heat on the ship.

Sensing their predicament, Song Wujian quickly activated the Angel King’s Authority Wings’ ‘True Spirit Guard of the Angel King’ trait on Song Chi’s module.

As the spirit apparition of an eighth-tier Angel King descended, the battered ship took far less damage from the surrounding fire.

Just then, Song Yan suddenly spoke up from behind Song Wujian.

“Look—over there!”

Following his finger, Song Chi soon picked out something unusual.

“Is that… a bracelet?”

It looked like a bracelet, faintly glowing gold, though the light was soft. Surrounded by waves of fire, it was no wonder the trio hadn’t noticed it before.

With the bracelet not far off, Song Wujian made a swift call, bringing the ship around that way.

Protected by the Angel King’s spirit apparition, they closed in fast. Before long, the ship reached the glowing bracelet.

Again, a tractor beam fired off.

Maybe it was the Angel King apparition’s bulk, but the more fire it absorbed, the faster its energy faded. Even before the bracelet was safely inside, the apparition had already vanished into thin air.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

On the ship’s hull, fire roasted the Black Hole Evolution Layer relentlessly, the crackling heat almost audible.

Not long after, a second dominion spirit apparition soared above the ship.

This time it was an eighth-tier dominion of the Flame God Clan, totally wreathed in flame.

Unlike the Angel King’s spirit, this fiery apparition seemed much tougher—likely strengthened by the surrounding fire, shedding energy nowhere near as fast as before.

Time ticked by. At last, the faintly gold bracelet was pulled into the ship.

Song Chi and Song Yan immediately focused on the bracelet, but it left them puzzled—it wasn’t a Starsea Oddity and had no attribute panel at all.

On closer look, the two realized it was more like a unique storage device, the surface occasionally rippled with spatial energy—a telling sign.

Hearing their guess, even Song Wujian’s eyes lit up. If true, this bracelet could be worth a fortune.

Given that this world of flames likely formed after the death of an eighth-tier peak Flame God Dominion, it was hard not to wonder if the bracelet had belonged to that very being.

And if that’s the case, a storage device from a master at that level… its worth was beyond imagining.

Thinking this, the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang abruptly stopped.

After a moment’s thought, Song Wujian spun the ship around, heading back for the wormhole exit without hesitation.

That third strand of golden fire was just too far. Even with the Flame God’s dominion spirit apparition, it was unlikely they’d make it.

Besides, this place had more than just three golden Fireseed Artifacts—plenty of silver and red ones dotted the outskirts. Where they were now was the center, but the space went far deeper.

Song Wujian’s plan was simple: return, fuse the upgraded golden Torch Seed, study the mysterious bracelet (likely the storage device of an eighth-tier Flame God Dominion), strengthen modules like the High-Energy Particle Energy Shield, Flame God’s Dominion Skull, and Angel King’s Authority Wings to eighth-tier, then come back and dive deeper.

Soon, Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang had returned to the wormhole’s entrance.

Now back in the control room, free from the burning energies, Song Wujian could finally take a closer look at the faintly glowing bracelet.

He studied it for several minutes before coming to a conclusion:

“No doubt about it—it really is a unique spatial storage device!”

As he spoke, dark energy surged through his body, and with the power of a tier-seven, he began injecting it straight into the golden bracelet!