Chapter 690: Storm Over Red Star Continent

Heaven and earth trembled as the void was ripped apart again and again, small zones of collapsed space swirling into constant, chaotic evolution.

Unlike before, the two descending palm imprints now belonged to true Ninth-Tier Overlords. Each one’s power far exceeded even the near-ninth-tier might carried by the previous Omniverse Market projection. Red Star Continent—the eighth-level Floating-land—might have had unusually stable spatial fabric, but even so, it could barely withstand such full-force blows from beings of this caliber.

Facing those two sky-covering palms, Song Chi’s heart quaked violently, even though he was just viewing things through the Market projection from across the distant, shadowy side of the Void Sea.

Worse yet, he could sense his grasp over the Omniverse Market projection turning sluggish, as if he’d suddenly sunk into a swamp. The entire projection’s response became muddy, smothered by the oppressive presence of those two immense ninth-tier auras hanging overhead.

He hadn’t even crossed blows yet, but Song Chi instinctively understood: relying solely on the Market projection, he couldn’t possibly withstand these two palm imprints—not even with the starlight from the Shaking Light Star projection supporting him.

At that, his mind raced. The computational power endowed by his spiritual state allowed him to split his thoughts into hundreds of strands, each working overtime to devise a countermeasure.

If the Market projection couldn’t hold, that meant even the cross-space recall of the Heavenly Ruin might be at risk. At this crucial moment right before the warship’s final ascension, Song Chi would permit not even the slightest uncontrolled variable.

After all, if anything really went wrong, they’d have to start everything from scratch. Song Chi absolutely refused to let that happen.

Hundreds of ideas flickered past in a heartbeat, but in the end he settled on the two backup survival plans he’d already prepared long before this action began.

After over two years stirring up storms on the Red Star Continent, how could he not have considered this exact outcome?

Especially now, when all sorts of powerful civilizations had set up shop on this eighth-tier Transdimensional Continent.

The Angels, the Astrologers, the Rune Sigil Clan… each one was a top-tier civilization or higher. Any one could wipe out or completely dominate Red Star Continent alone. Yet for hundreds of thousands of years, they somehow maintained a weird balance here. If you asked Song Chi to believe there weren’t secret deals behind the scenes, he’d never buy it.

“Looks like my suspicions were on point. Red Star Continent is practically a trading hub sanctioned by the superpowers. My bold moves today clearly broke the unspoken rules they hammered out in the dark…”

These were Song Chi’s musings as he stood inside the Omniverse Market.

But suddenly his eyes flashed. Through the Market projection’s viewpoint, he spotted yet another imposing figure hovering in the depths above Blood Shura City.

A third Ninth-Tier Overlord had shown up!

Thankfully, he’d already triggered the two secret cards he’d set aside for this very moment.

First, a surge of unusual energy gushed out from the Heavenly Ruin, which had transformed into a streak of shadowy black light. Though the energy was limited, it instantly formed a special domain around the ship’s dark radiance.

It was none other than the Black Hole Domain, a unique feature from the Black Hole Evolution Layer component.

Still, the trump-card effect of the Black Hole Domain was only one of his life-saving measures—there was also another at the Market projection’s side.

Up above, purple mist energy churned again. Suddenly, the sea of purple mist tore open, revealing an illusory divine temple, fully formed from purple energy but shimmering all over with tricolor light.

If that wasn’t the projection of the Song Family’s greatest legacy, the Dragon Whale Hall, then what else could it be?

Summoned by Song Chi through the near-ninth-tier might of the Market projection, this Dragon Whale Shrine radiated a dense ninth-tier suppression, hanging high above the Market projection and granting it a formidable boost.

First came the Shaking Light Star projection, then the tricolored lower-tier Oddity—the Dragon Whale Hall—projection. With this double reinforcement, the Market’s projection grew several times more substantial, and even its aura seemed to break past the half-step ninth-tier, reaching the very threshold of true ninth-tier.

True, the Song Family had only merged the Dragon Whale Hall into Seventh-Tier Dagon‑Spine Continent so far. If they could do the same with an eighth-level Floating-land, the Market projection’s battle prowess would definitely break through to true ninth-tier—maybe even rival a long-established Overlord.

All this might sound like a lot, but it took just the blink of an eye. The moment Song Chi unleashed both trump cards, the two sky-covering palms above had already collided head-on with the charging Market projection.

A violent energy storm blasted in all directions. Even Blood Shura City below felt ready to collapse in the aftermath. Its peak eighth-tier City Shield held out for only a few dozen seconds before shattering, and the undissipated ninth-tier energy storm soon raged straight through the city, slaughtering tens of millions of alien races in its path.

Yet the three Ninth-Tier Overlords overhead didn’t spare it a glance, making no move to let up.

Just as Song Chi guessed earlier, Red Star Continent was already a secret trading ground for certain dominant races. As for the lesser species, their lives meant nothing to these Overlords—they were just another kind of resource.

With the Dragon Whale Hall’s blessing, the Market projection managed to withstand the two Ninth-Tier palm strikes. Seeing this, the third Overlord who’d just arrived was about to intervene—but thanks to the Market projection’s stalling, the Heavenly Ruin, now a streak of black light, managed to dart through the rift above the Shaking Light Star projection.

Or more precisely, slipped right into the shadowy side of the Void Sea beyond that rift.

By now, the outcome was set in stone.

Even a Sea of Stars Overlord at the Ninth-Tier would hesitate to enter the dangerous, unpredictable shadow side of the Void Sea.

By contrast, the Omniverse Market was based deep within the shadowy side already. With its guidance, the Heavenly Ruin, once inside, was like a fish returned to ocean—completely safe from pursuit.

Seeing they were powerless to stop it, the three imposing Overlords up above ceased their attacks. As ninth-tier beings, their eyes were razor-sharp; they easily saw that the Market projection remaining here was just a cross-space phantom without anchor. Even if they destroyed it, it wouldn’t expose the true culprit behind the scenes.

In that case, a direct negotiation would be more productive.

“This Floating-land is a designated trading ground divided among our Angel, Astrologer and Rune Sigil civilizations. By recklessly hunting lesser alien Overlords here, you’ve broken the rules we set.”

“If you agree not to intervene further, we can arrange for your faction to join this trading league. But if you insist on defiance, you’ll become enemy to every major civilization here!”

At this, their voices were cold and heavily laced with menace.

But what truly irked them was that, as soon as they finished speaking, the Market projection simply vanished from the skies without any response.

While the top powers around Red Star Continent seethed with fury, Song Chi himself—at the heart of it all—wore a cold, mocking smile inside the Omniverse Market.

He wouldn’t believe a word from those three Ninth-Tier Overlords.

Angels, Astrologers, Rune Sigils…?

Could just three Overlords really represent entire colossal civilizations, all of them at least top-tier?

Never mind the Angel civilization, which alone rivaled the might of the Witcher civilization. Both the Astrologer and Rune Sigil clans had at least a handful of ninth-tier battle strengths each.

Unlike the Torch Human Civilization, whose history was less than 300,000 years, the Astrologers and Rune Sigils were ancient powers nearing a million years old. Their ninth-tier units were anything but rare.

If Song Chi was right, the powers that actually signed the ‘trading alliance’ on Red Star Continent were more like the Immortal Qin of the Torch Civilization, or the Bloodline Sorcerers’ Alliance of the Witchers: top leaders, yes, but hardly the whole civilization’s might.

As for declining their offer to join the so-called trading league, Song Chi’s reasons couldn’t be simpler.

First, the Market projection only had half-step ninth-tier combat power right now. Compared to true Overlords, it was still a bit lacking. If the Song Family joined the alliance as they were, they’d be looked down on from the start.

Second, given the Song Family’s current size, jumping into the pool with ninth-tier Starsea giants was a stretch. Their rivals would see through their weaknesses in no time, maybe even plot against them. Better not to get involved just yet.

Red Star Continent would keep where it was. No need to rush. It’d be smarter to wait for the Family’s power to grow, then approach them on their own terms later.

With their current momentum, and the endless resources of the Chipan Galaxy’s finest star fields, not to mention the upcoming upgrade of the Heavenly Ruin, Song Chi was confident. Soon, they’d be strong enough to seize far greater benefits in the ongoing civilization war. He doubted it would take long.

Shaking off those short-term daydreams, he pushed all such thoughts from his mind.

Once he’d calmed down, Song Chi stored the just-recalled Heavenly Ruin inside his Torch Ancestral Orifice, then exited the Omniverse Market directly.

…

Dragon‑Spine Continent, deep within Dragon Spine Sacred Mountain, inside Dragon Whale Hall.

As Song Chi logged out of the Market, Dragon Whale Hall had already filled with thick, swirling Chaotic Mist. Before he even had time to wonder about it, Song Shiyuan’s voice rang in his ear.

“Xiaochi, you summoned the Ancestral Hall projection so suddenly—did something unexpected happen over on Red Star Continent?”

Only now did Song Chi realize the mist in the Hall was because of this.

He didn’t hide anything, quickly summarizing what had occurred.

After hearing it all, Shiyuan pondered briefly, then nodded.

“Xiaochi, your decision was right. With our current strength, we’re simply not ready to get entangled with ninth-tier Overlords—let alone several at once.”

…

They chatted about it a bit longer before Song Chi shifted to the main topic.

“Prime Ancestor, are things ready on your end?”

Shiyuan’s eyes lit up at that.

“Xiaochi, does this mean the Heavenly Ruin has met the upgrade requirements?”

When Song Chi nodded, Shiyuan’s excitement only grew. He nodded repeatedly and replied,

“Everything’s ready—we can begin the fusion anytime!”

With that, the two strode quickly out of the hall.

But before leaving, Song Chi left the Flamewrath Giant behind in the Ancestral Hall. After all, there was still a Yixing Trade Guild fleet stationed out beyond the Floating-land. Someone needed to guard the house.

…

Dragon‑Spine Continent, Burningfall Plains.

Two stealth Dreadnought warships barreled one after the other into a massive chained illusion, then surged toward a particular wormhole passage high above in the illusion space.

A few dozen minutes later, the two ships emerged in Chipan Galaxy, still some distance from the fast-moving Dragon‑Spine Continent out in the starry sky.

More precisely, in the Song Family domain of the Chipan Galaxy—within the Red Serpent Starfield.

“Clan Elder, is this the Floating-land you meant?”

The instant they burst from the spatial wormhole, Song Chi’s query came through the comms.

Song Shiyuan answered with a smile and a nod.

“That’s right. This is Red Serpent Floating-Land—the only Floating-land in the Red Serpent Starfield. Back when we conquered Chipan Galaxy, it was already at the peak of sixth-tier. With further help from our people in charge of ‘floating-land origin core extraction’, it’s long since reached the sixth-tier limit.”

As he spoke, Shiyuan drew a storage capsule from the Unmoving Vajra.

Song Chi, knowing what needed to be done, wasted no time and guided the Heavenly Ruin to pull the capsule aboard.

Opening it, they found a lump of incredibly high-grade floating-land origin core inside.

A genuine Seventh‑Tier Floating-land origin core.

This core hadn’t come from any Floating-land in the Chipan Galaxy. It was taken during those centuries of covert extraction operations elsewhere.

Carrying the lump of origin core, the Heavenly Ruin dove straight down, eventually slipping through a great pit into the depths of Red Serpent Floating-Land’s core.

There, as Song Chi melded the seventh-tier origin core into the existing floating-land core, both swiftly began to fuse at astonishing speed.

Meanwhile, the surface above started to rumble as the energy concentration across the Floating-land soared.

Clearly, with the infusion of a Seventh‑Tier Floating-land origin core at fifty percent potency, Red Serpent Floating-Land was now entering true seventh-tier ascendancy.

Before the energy tide crested, Shiyuan quickly pinged the family’s quantum chat group for the Floating-land.

“Everyone be ready! The energy tide is coming soon. Remember to start the ship’s ascension process when the surge peaks. Tianhao, Tiancong, Xiaobei, Xiaoze, Yiming—especially you lot!”

“Don’t worry, Clan Elder!”

“My flagship will definitely be upgraded this time!”