Chapter 664: A Storm Brews Over the Demon Serpent Holy City

Everything taking place outside the floating-land is a mystery to the Torch Captains inside.

Right now, every ounce of Song Chi’s attention is locked onto the Neutron-Star Core Armor.

No joke—now that it’s evolved into a colored mythic component, this piece is way more powerful than he expected.

Before, trying to take down two Serpent Demon Dominators head-on—especially ones amped up by ninth-tier Floating-land Origin and nearly as strong as peak seventh-tier Dominators—would’ve cost at least an Advanced Lightning Law Crystal, maybe even the power of a Market Projection Token.

It’s clear now: black ultimate and colored mythic components are fundamentally on a different level.

With that in mind, Song Chi, still within the Omniverse Market, felt a new idea stirring in his heart.

Just now, he’d actually wanted to use the Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar from the true Heavenly Ruin—if he went for it, his flagship would soon have a second colored mythic component.

But the thought disappeared as quickly as it came, instantly shot down.

It’s not that he doesn’t want another colored mythic piece on the Heavenly Ruin, but he needs to figure out the best way to use the Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar.

Even though it can only grant a colored mythic quality to a black component on the Mirror Warship for a year, just like now—even if the effect is temporary, it can be a game-changer when it matters most. It can even save lives.

So, should he use the Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar for a one-time permanent upgrade, turning a component into a forever-colored mythic piece? Or stick to the current setup, save it for the Mirror Warship, and have a colored copy for a year every time he summons the mirror? He really needed to think this over.

……

“Hmm?”

Controlling the Mirror Warship, he swiftly cleaned up the battlefield and pulled in the two half-melted Dominator corpses, then immediately made his escape.

Just as the Mirror Warship put some distance from the chaos, a sudden inspiration flashed through Song Chi’s mind. He might’ve just figured out the perfect way to leverage the Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar.

Naturally, the key isn’t the altar itself—it’s that Miracle Clone Pod he’d loaned out temporarily.

Back when he first got the Miracle Clone Pod, he ran loads of tests on it. He knows intimately how it works.

Especially cloning the Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar—the resulting clone also keeps track of the original’s soul-devouring progress.

Even better, after being mirrored, the clone keeps its altered form. It doesn’t turn back into a Miracle Clone Pod. He could definitely use this to his advantage.

Moving forward, he can have a mirror clone of a Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar cloned by the Miracle Clone Pod replace the original, using it to enhance components aboard the Mirror Warship.

Meanwhile, the real Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar can be used directly, giving the true Heavenly Ruin another colored lesser grade component.

This way, he preserves the Mirror Warship’s ability to upgrade a colored component with each summon, while also making the flagship even stronger. Both the original and the mirror get a huge combat boost.

“And if things go well, I might score another high-grade component. His Majesty Ying Huang said the Divine Dynasty’s treasury will open again after this Demon Serpent Continent hunt. If I rack up enough points, I could redeem a high-tier Golden Apple or another top component…”

With that thought, Song Chi just wanted to earn as many merit points as possible.

Set on his goal, he sprang into action.

Over the next few months, the Mirror Warship prowled every corner of Demon Serpent Continent, again and again ambushing medium and small Eight-Armed Serpent Demon teams hunting Torch Captains.

By the end of those months, his achievements were nothing short of spectacular.

By his own rough tally, since landing on Demon Serpent Continent, he’d killed eleven Serpent Demon Dominators, over a hundred sixth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demons, and so many fifth-tier and below that he lost count.

And that was without ever using the Market Projection Token—otherwise, his record would be even flashier.

He wanted as many points as possible, but deep down he knew: when it came to the Omniverse Market, it was best not to let anyone catch wind of it.

After all, there’s a superdimensional mothership—one of the only ones the Torch Human Civilization has—watching everything overhead. Summoning the family and his Battleship Replication out in the open is one thing—he’s betting that as Xian Qin Divine Dynasty’s Emperor, Ying Huang might notice he’d been active behind the enemy lines but wouldn’t care.

But the Market Projection Token is another story. Summoning a market projection now is basically calling out a half-step ninth-tier powerhouse. That’s enough to draw His Majesty Ying Huang’s attention—exactly what Song Chi wants to avoid.

……

On the sixty-sixth day since entering Demon Serpent Floating-Land, Song Chi had planned to keep hunting Eight-Armed Serpent Demon teams. But suddenly, he was interrupted by a message alert from the Mirror Warship.

[Xiaochi, I’ve found traces of the Demon Serpent Nine-Shed Fruit—get here, fast!]

The message, sent by Clan Elder Song Wujian using a silver Comms Module, included coordinates.

Song Chi’s response was simple—the Mirror Warship instantly banked toward the elder’s marked location.

It’s worth mentioning: While Demon Serpent Floating-Land is ninth-tier, the pressure from its Origin Will isn’t as crushing as Immortal Continent or the Star Continent—but it’s not nonexistent.

For one thing, the Mirror Warship’s jump function was heavily constrained. Based on the past three months, its range had been reduced by nearly a factor of ten.

Normally, the Scarlet Vault Jump Drive could manage fourteen thousand light-years per jump—now it was cut to just over fourteen hundred. Even the special Scarlet Vault Jump fell from six million plus light-years to a bit above six hundred thousand.

No way the Mirror Warship could reach those coordinates in one go.

Even though Demon Serpent Floating-Land has only been ninth-tier for about a hundred thousand years, it’s still over two and a half million light-years across. The location Clan Elder gave was almost nine hundred thousand light-years away—which meant even after a full-power Scarlet Vault Jump, there was still more than two hundred thousand light-years left.

Obviously, Song Chi wouldn’t just wait around.

The special ‘Scarlet Vault Jump’ has a year-long cooldown. Even with the Pusa Zen Seal speeding things up, it’d take nearly two and a half months at best. By then, it’d probably be too late.

Buzz—buzz—buzz!

Inside the Mirror Warship’s control room, Song Chi’s real body appeared out of thin air, exiting the Omniverse Market.

A split second later, he turned his gaze—and a beam of divine will shot from the Mirror Warship’s Tome of Divine Will, instantly binding to him.

After that, he left the Mirror Warship behind. Once he summoned the true Heavenly Ruin, he activated its own Scarlet Vault Jump.

Thanks to that second jump, the true Heavenly Ruin reached the elder’s coordinates, then Song Chi used the Tome of Divine Will’s mark to summon the Mirror Warship from afar.

It took a lot of steps—troublesome for sure—but at least he got the Mirror Warship there in time.

……

[Clan Elder, I’ve arrived!]

Once communications linked up, the Mirror Warship swiftly joined the other four family Battleship Replications.

With the power of the Group Phantom River, five ships slipped silently through the void, heading toward the horizon where a colossal city blocked out the sky.

“That’s the Serpent Demon Holy City in the western part of Demon Serpent Floating-Land. Among holy cities in the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon Civilization, this one is ninth-tier, second only to the ancestor holy city in the galaxy cluster core.”

“According to our recent intel, the last batch of matured Demon Serpent Nine-Shed Fruits was delivered to this holy city.”

Rumble—rumble—rumble!

While they talked, an enormous blast shook the heavens above the gigantic city. A terrible explosion burst right above the ninth-tier Serpent Demon Holy City, followed by a spreading storm of energy.

Clearly, another Torch Battleship team had set their sights on this city.

Song Chi wasn’t surprised; if he hadn’t considered that possibility, he wouldn’t have dragged his real body here.

“Dual Pupils, activate!”

He unleashed a surge of dark energy. Deep within his eyes, the shadow of Dual Pupils took solid form.

In that instant, Song Chi’s vision became sharper than ever—it felt like nothing in the world could escape his gaze.

At the same time, he caught the split-second flash of a Star-Annihilator-class Ship slipping through the void, far beyond the city’s exploded energy shield.

“Shangdang Spirit Lord…”

If it were any other Star-Annihilator-class Ship, Song Chi might not have recognized it. But he knew this ship from the Shang Clan—the Shangdang Spirit Lord—like the back of his hand. Even a fleeting glimpse was enough to confirm its identity.

With the attacker’s identity set, Song Chi quickly made up his mind.

“Hold on. Let’s have the Shang Clan test the waters for us first…”

“Right!”

Song Wujian and the other three didn’t ask questions. The five ships just hovered high above, silently watching as the Shang Clan made repeated probes against the ninth-tier Holy City.

No doubt about it—the centuries-old foundation of a super noble house like the Shang Clan really shows. The city’s energy shield isn’t just for decoration: it’s a solid ninth-tier defense. Maybe not as ridiculous as the whole floating-land’s shield, but not something you can crack easily.

The five thought a stalemate was coming, but out of nowhere, the Shang Clan unleashed some mysterious trump card. Even though the city’s protector shield still had most of its charge, it shattered in an instant.

Everyone—even Song Chi’s crew—was floored. If they were shocked, the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons inside must have been completely blindsided.

As the ninth-tier shield collapsed, close to twenty Torch Battleships appeared in the distant sky—and sure enough, they were all with the Shang Clan.

“If I remember right, the Shang Clan sent over seventy people at the start. Now only a quarter are left?”

“Or did they split into multiple teams?”

Song Chi pondered, not entirely sure. Still, his gut said the split-team theory was unlikely. The Shang Clan only sent two Star-Annihilator-class Captains, and both were right here.

In other words, the Shang Clan probably lost more than three-quarters of their people in just three months.

Realizing this, Song Chi felt it was brutal, but he couldn’t help a sense of satisfaction. He’d never liked the Shang Clan much anyway.

Before he could dwell on it, the ninth-tier Holy City poured out a horde of over a thousand Serpent Demons.

More than ninety percent were fifth or fourth-tier, with nearly twenty sixth-tier, two at seventh-tier, and—most critically—an eighth-tier Serpent Demon looming a hundred thousand kilometers tall.

The moment they spotted that eighth-tier demon, Song Wujian and the others all breathed a visible sigh of relief, as if thinking, ‘At least someone else triggered the trap; the Shang Clan really took one for the team.’

At this, they were ready to withdraw. Facing an eighth-tier Dominator empowered by ninth-tier Origin Will, they didn’t stand a chance—unless they used the Market Projection Token, which they weren’t willing to do.

“Wait, something’s off with the Shang Clan!”

It was Shiyuan’s voice echoing in the comms channel.

All eyes turned, and Song Chi’s crew immediately understood what he was saying.

Instead of retreating from the eighth-tier demon, the Shang Clan didn’t budge—nearly twenty Torch Battleships held position, just watching as over a thousand Eight-Armed Serpent Demons closed in.

Just as Song Chi and the others wondered where that confidence came from, the Shangdang Spirit Lord’s hatch cracked open, and a single-horned black shadow shot out.

Once he saw its outline clearly, Song Chi recognized it right away.

“Unicorn Whale!”

Sure enough, what flew from the Shangdang Spirit Lord was a stellar beast: a Unicorn Whale.

That wasn’t the main thing—the real kicker was its power. As its body swelled, the Unicorn Whale’s presence became more and more fearsome.

At last, its aura matched that of the eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon.

“An eighth-tier Unicorn Whale…”

Song Chi narrowed his eyes, unable to calm the waves in his mind.

Bias or not, he had to admit—the Shang Clan’s background was monstrous, far beyond what the Song Family has right now.

First they easily shattered a ninth-tier shield, then fielded an eighth-tier enslaved star-beast. Terrifying, really.

PS: One chapter.