Chapter 603: The Gathering Storm of Civilizations

“Jingzhe” (Order #32): @Everyone, does anyone here know much about the Ancient Immortal Domain civilization?

After returning to Dragon-Spine Continent via the Spatial Anchor, Song Chi wasted no time sending a question to the [Yaoguang Star Order Group Chat].

Although the [Yaoguang Star Tower]—a branch of the Beidou Sevenstar Hall—has a high rank, there’s one big drawback: you can only activate and communicate with it within the borders of Torch Human Civilization. So even as he sent out his message, Song Chi wasn’t holding out much hope.

Right now, the two greatest civilizations were at the height of their war. Most members of the Yaoguang Star Tower would have rushed off to the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster to fight, leaving only a handful behind in Torch Human Civilization territory.

And it turned out he was right. In the past, a message like his would have sparked a lively discussion, but this time, no one replied for a long while.

Thankfully, it wasn’t all bad news. After a few dozen seconds, the first reply popped up in the Star Order group chat.

“Yulong” (Order #17): The Immortal Domain civilization? Why the sudden interest? Hang on, I’ll check the family archives for you.”

Song Chi perked up a bit when someone finally replied.

“Jingzhe” (Order #32): Yulong, you’re still at home?

“Yulong” (Order #17): I’m not like you guys, stuck on a top-tier battleship. My family role is logistics, so I’m staying out of the main action.”

As the two chatted, an unexpected member jumped into the conversation.

“Scorching Sun” (Order #19): Jingzhe, you’re not fighting either? Suddenly interested in the Immortal Domain civilization—did you find some new ruins?”

“Scorching Sun” (Order #19): As for info about the Immortal Domain, I don’t know much. Just that it was destroyed nearly four hundred thousand years ago, before Torch Human Civilization was even born.”

“Jingzhe” (Order #32): No, it’s just that I’ve got two damaged components related to the Immortal Domain civilization. If I could find the missing pieces, they’d grow even more powerful.”

“Jingzhe” (Order #32): By the way, Scorching Sun, with your personality, I’m surprised you didn’t rush straight into the big war. That’s not like you.”

With Scorching Sun appearing out of the blue, Song Chi wasn’t about to reveal anything about that suspected Immortal Continent floating-land. The broken components excuse was much safer.

Over the last three hundred thousand years, Torch Human Civilization had picked up plenty of legacies from the Immortal Domain—components like the Taiyi Quantum Swordlight Battery and the Destiny Compass. Using this as a cover made perfect sense.

While waiting for news from Cui Yulong, Song Chi and Scorching Sun chatted about all sorts of things, and Song Chi finally learned why Scorching Sun hadn’t gone to the frontlines yet.

Turned out Scorching Sun had just broken through to become a Dreadnought Captain and was taking time to consolidate his strength and study new secret techniques.

As they talked, a reply soon came back from Yulong.

“Yulong” (Order #17): This is all the info I’ve got about the Immortal Domain civilization, Jingzhe. See if any of it helps!

With that, she uploaded a file to the group chat. There wasn’t much at first glance, but it was denser than it seemed.

Of course, ‘not much’ was only relative. The file actually held a lot of details.

The Changsun Family of the Tang Dynasty had lasted over a hundred thousand years as a mighty noble house. The data in their archives was staggering—especially when it came to a once-dominant civilization like the Immortal Domain.

…

Half an hour later, after reading through the entire file, Song Chi’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Eternal Exile… So that floating-land really might be what’s left of the Immortal Continent.”

Muttering to himself, Song Chi thanked everyone in the group chat, then quickly made his way to the Omniverse Market. His demeanor was no longer nearly as relaxed as before.

That shift was no illusion.

Based on the Changsun Family’s records, something incredibly powerful and mysterious struck the Ancient Immortal Domain civilization over four hundred thousand years ago. In a short time, they suffered devastating losses, with more than eighty percent of their peak forces wiped out.

With no other option, the Dao Ancestor of the Immortal Domain sacrificed their own life to exile what remained of the shattered Immortal Continent into the dark Void Sea. That was the end of the once-dominant civilization. Everything left behind was eventually divided up by other civilizations in the Sea of Stars.

To this day, no one knows what those mysterious forces were. They simply vanished after reducing the Immortal Domain to ruins. But Song Chi wasn’t interested in that; his mind was on the Immortal Continent itself.

According to the records, the final fate of the Immortal Continent matched exactly with the floating-land discovered on the Primeval Continent’s side. After all, the boundless Void Sea in the dark side of the Sea of Stars is absolute darkness incarnate.

Even without more evidence, this was enough to make Song Chi determined to investigate that floating-land—no matter the cost.

His goal was clear: find a way to establish a Spatial Anchor on that eternally dark floating-land.

…

Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster. Eight-Armed Galaxy. Demon Serpent Floating-Land.

As the center of the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster, the Eight-Armed Galaxy itself was nearly ten million light-years wide. Naturally, it became the home galaxy of the Serpent Demons.

Demon Serpent Floating-Land was the largest floating-land in the Eight-Armed Galaxy, spanning four million light-years across. Officially classified as a Ninth-Tier Extreme Floating-Land, it was already on the verge of evolving into a Tenth-Tier Star Continent.

A Tenth-Tier Sea of Stars floating-land was something else entirely—a fractured super-floating-land capable of nurturing mythic beings. Across the Shattered Sea of Stars, civilizations had a special name for them: Star Continents.

Because the Demon Serpent Floating-Land was approaching Star Continent status, Torch Human Civilization’s four great empires had been forced to launch a war they were scarcely prepared for.

For top civilizations, a tenth-tier Star Continent represented an unpredictable game changer.

Demon Serpent Continent. Eight-Armed God Palace.

This was the ancestral court of the Serpent Demons, a gathering place for all the ancient beings of their civilization.

Deep within the palace, inside a main hall shrouded in prismatic radiance, several towering figures stood, their faces obscured.

Gravelly, hoarse voices echoed through the chamber.

“Torch Human Civilization isn’t playing around this time. How dare they go this far?”

“Even though Cangyuan left to explore the Sea of Stars eons ago, we still have ten peak Ninth-Tier forces left. Besides, they’ve got to split their attention between this and guarding the Human Emperor City. Who gave them this kind of confidence?”

“None of that matters now. The war has already begun, that’s the fact. Cangjie, what’s going on with the Corpse Sovereign Clan? Any news?”

“Mm. They’ve replied. I expect Torch Human Civilization will soon be under pressure from another front.”

“Good. Pass down the order: high-ranking clansmen are to attack with full force—no holding back. We must make Torch feel our pressure, and besides, it’s time for us to show ourselves!”

…

Compared with the Heavenly Ruin mirror warship slipping through various sixth-tier floating-lands, sometimes joining the front and other times secretly picking up the spoils, things were getting much more dangerous deep in Torch Human Civilization’s rear territory.

A massive threat was approaching the back lines of Torch Human Civilization.

At the southernmost end of the Torch Human Galaxy Cluster—far from the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster—lay a region that should have been the safest in all the galaxy cluster. But the reality was very different.

Divine Xia Empire. Tiannan Galaxy.

Due to strategic planning, all four Torch Human empires were arranged north-to-south, which meant every empire pressed up against the northern edge—the border with the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster. Yet each also held territory all the way in the far south; and for Divine Xia, that land was the Tiannan Galaxy.

Tiannan Galaxy. Tiannan Star Fortress.

Command center of the fortress.

Doo-doo-doo!

Sharp alarms blared through the command center as Tiannan Star Fortress instantly shifted into highest-level alert.

[Alert: A massive number of Corpse Sovereign Clan Fortress V-class warships detected three thousand light-years away and closing fast on the fortress line!]

[Alert: Ninth-Tier Corpse Sovereign energy signature detected. Prepare for contact!]

[Alert: A second Ninth-Tier Corpse Sovereign energy detected…]

The urgent alarms grew steadily more intense, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

Luckily, the fortress was manned by the Divine Xia’s Third Imperial Dragon Fleet, renowned for its elite quality. Though they panicked at first, they quickly implemented effective countermeasures.

On top of that, the fortress itself was a Titan I-class Mechanical Stronghold—supplemented by a lower-grade prismatic defensive Oddity—making it as solid as a standard Ninth-Tier defense.

With this, the garrison soon steadied themselves.

Time passed. The Corpse Sovereign forces, just thousands of light-years away, halted a billion miles out from the Tiannan Star Fortress.

Don’t let the “billion miles” fool you; in the endless starry sky, that was practically point-blank range.

Everyone tensed. A battle could blow up at any moment.

As the tension grew, two figures suddenly shot out from the distant Corpse Sovereign army. Even at that vast distance, the oppressive aura rolling off them was so immense, it made the Eighth-Tier dark energy shields of Tiannan Fortress tremble nonstop.

They were massive beyond belief, stretching over hundreds of millions of kilometers—larger than most mid or low-tier floating-lands. Just looking their way made the Imperial Dragon Fleet captains’ nerves spark with fear.

Thankfully, two Star River-class battleships launched from the fortress. Though their presence couldn’t compare to those two Ninth-Tier Corpse Sovereign rulers, they still absorbed most of the pressure, snapping their comrades out of dread.

Only then did an experienced, high-ranking captain speak up:

“Corpse Sovereign Clan. They’re actually stationing their army here, at the southern border of Torch Human Civilization.”

“Corpse Sovereign Clan? Never heard of them. Who are they?”

For a while, the fleet’s comm channels were full of chatter explaining just who the Corpse Sovereign Clan were.

The Corpse Sovereign Clan was a powerful cosmic race, their domain in the southern part of the Torch Human Galaxy Cluster. But they hadn’t taken over the entire cluster yet, and with just three Ninth-Tier Corpse Sovereigns, they were still some distance from being a top civilization.

What baffled the defenders was this: by all rights, the Corpse Sovereign domain should be nearly a hundred galaxy clusters away. How did they get here?

“Behind me is the territory of Torch Human Civilization! Corpse Sovereign Clan, I warn you—stop where you are, or I’ll see this as an act of war!”

Outside the fortress, the commander of the Divine Xia’s Third Imperial Dragon Fleet—Jiang Qingyu, captain of a Star River-class battleship and imperial family member—spoke loudly.

Wielding the power of Eighth-Tier dark energy, his voice echoed across the void, so even the Corpse Sovereign forces a billion miles away heard him clearly.

Despite the threat, the distant Corpse Sovereign rulers didn’t deign to answer. Instead, they advanced a step further.

That was all the answer Tiannan Fortress needed—grim faces all around.

With their forces occupying over three hundred galaxy clusters, the Corpse Sovereign Clan normally wouldn’t dare provoke Torch Civilization. The only possible explanation was an alliance with the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons, hoping to stir up chaos in the rear and force Torch to recall its top powers—drawing pressure off the Serpent Demon frontlines.

This was a major miscalculation on their part. Torch Human Civilization had ruled the local galaxies for ten thousand years and everyone else had learned to respect the balance. Did they really think the leadership hadn’t anticipated this tactic when they declared war?

Still, as the two Ninth-Tier Corpse Sovereigns pressed closer and millions in the fortress held their breath—

A colossal battleship emerged from the void.

[Shenyi Qiongyu]

The very moment the name Shenyi Qiongyu appeared, an ecstatic roar broke out within Tiannan Fortress.

Everyone recognized this ship immediately.

Even the Corpse Sovereign army in the distance stirred, especially the two rulers at the front.

“Jiang Yi—you’ve broken through!”

One of the Corpse Sovereigns boomed, filled with shock—their immense aura even wavered.

The other Corpse Sovereign spoke up as well:

“So, that’s the secret behind Torch Human Civilization daring to start this war against the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons?”

With that, the two Corpse Sovereigns exchanged glances. Their corpse-qi-filled eyes flashed red, and a moment later, they both attacked. Across the starry sky, two massive vortexes of energy appeared, drawing surrounding energies into their depths.