Chapter 511: A Dangerous Opportunity: Gathering Strength for the Next Breakthrough

Everyone in the Song Family was more than satisfied with this outcome.

A buffer of two or three centuries would be more than enough for the Calm-Sea Dragon‑Xiang to finish all preparations for upgrading to a Star-Annihilator-class Ship. Whether they used the Black Devourer King Beast as fuel for the breakthrough or simply let Song Chi subdue it, both options were excellent.

Compared to that, killing it outright was clearly not the smartest move right now.

The Pioneer War had ended less than a century ago. The Song Family gained plenty, but transforming that fortune into the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang’s true foundation would still take quite a while.

“Alright, the Black Devourer King Beast has been sealed. We’ll set the timer for two hundred years. Once the Calm‑Sea Dragon‑Xiang is ready for its final leap, we’ll figure out how to resolve things permanently. For now, let’s head back to the Dragon‑Spine Continent…”

With that settled, everyone waited while Song Chi recalled the three thousand Hellfire Mechs back onto the battleship. Only then did they use the Dimensional Spatial Stone and the Omniverse Market to return directly to Dragon‑Spine Continent.

They didn’t deactivate the space-blocking devices on the battleship until they were safely home.

Quietly, everything in the Misty Star Zone of the Mixed Heaven Star Domain returned to normal. Even if some captain happened to wander into that empty region, they’d never find a clue that anything was off.

Deep within Dragon Spine Sacred Mountain, inside the Family Ancestral Hall.

Surrounded by churning chaos-mist, the group began the post-operation debrief.

“The bottom line is, this all came down to power. If it weren’t for Chi, we wouldn’t even have gotten the chance to seal it in the end. We’d have had no choice but to retreat in disgrace!”

No one said a word to contradict this. It was simply the truth.

Song Wujian continued:

“Right now our treasury has plenty of silver components to work with and the original Unmoving Vajra is still holding up in battle. But Shixing, Xingru… as for you two…”

He trailed off mid-sentence, but everyone at the table understood his meaning.

“Our top priority now is to keep harvesting Origin Cores from Outer Domain Floating-lands and push Dragon-Spine Continent toward the peak of sixth-tier. After that, obtaining a Silver Upgraded Fire Source and a Stage Seven Silver Apple is next on the list!”

He glanced over at Song Chi as he spoke.

Although the family was already scouring the market for sixth-tier Star Plant Tree Hearts, after some careful discussion, it was clear that wouldn’t be enough for the Silver Apple Mother Tree to reach stage seven. At best, those would let it hit the peak of stage six.

As for why the last two upgrades felt so easy? That was only because the Silver Apple Mother Tree had originally devolved down from stage six.

Based on that logic, the two guessed the Silver Apple Mother Tree would need at least one, maybe several, stage seven Star Plant Tree Hearts to break through this time.

That meant getting it to stage seven wouldn’t be something that could happen overnight. Producing a stage seven Silver Apple was even more of a distant dream.

But right now, the family desperately needed a stage seven Silver Apple.

Even the Origin Core Siphon was only barely doing the job. Much like the Silver Apple Mother Tree, it would need stronger fuel for the next evolutionary leap.

If Dragon-Spine Continent wanted to reach seventh-tier, relying on its current sixth-tier Origin Core just wasn’t enough. While they didn’t need an entire seventh-tier Origin Core, they’d need at least ten or twenty percent of one. Only then could the continent make that leap to a true Seventh‑Tier Floating-land.

Otherwise, with just some fifth- and sixth-tier Origin Cores, Dragon-Spine Continent would have to settle for languishing a thousand, maybe even several thousand more years before a breakthrough was possible—something the Song Family refused to accept.

…

After their discussion, several high-level secret directives spread out from Dragon Spine Sacred Mountain. Using the Song Family’s dedicated Quantum Comms Wristbands, they were sent to every fourth-tier elder and more than a thousand of the family’s core second- and third-tier members.

With these orders, the colossal machine that was the Song Family roared to life, channeling all its resources toward acquiring both the Silver Upgraded Fire Source and the Stage Seven Silver Apple.

While all the family branches worked around the clock, Song Chi, for once, found some time to relax.

Song Shixing had to collect a trove of resources for the Hidden Vein. He also had other things to tend to and was expected to stay on Dragon‑Spine Continent for at least a decade or two.

There was no way around it. Each trip for the Hidden Vein came at a steep price, so this time he had to gather everything in one go.

To help with that, Song Shixing even borrowed the Dimensional Spatial Stone from Song Chi. He wanted to carry as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Song Chi managed to pick up a few stories about the Hidden Vein while chatting with the old clan elders.

Supposedly, there were now tens of millions of clansmen living under the Hidden Vein’s banner, all gathered on a single huge floating-land in the Outer Domain. But don’t underestimate that floating-land.

According to Song Shixing, that land—Red Star Continent—was not only a rare type of living Floating-land, it was actually an eighth-tier hyperdimensional continent.

So, what does ‘hyperdimensional continent’ mean?

It’s an extremely rare kind of land in the Shattered Sea of Stars. There’s no will or intent within the Floating-land itself—no Force of Rejection. Instead, it’s riddled with countless hyperdimensional space gates, each connecting to different Outer Domains.

Thanks to that, these lands are melting-pots, with massive numbers of civilizations concentrated on each one.

Wars between civilizations, cultists of the dark gods, resource trading, slave markets… Pretty much anything you can imagine exists there, especially on an eighth-tier hyperdimensional continent.

In short, Red Star Continent is a land of both opportunity and peril. When the Song Family first discovered the hyperdimensional gate to it, the clan elders debated for ages before finally sending the Hidden Vein to settle there.

Luckily, fortune favored them. The Hidden Vein didn’t wither away—instead, they’ve only grown stronger. Now, they’ve built a massive subterranean city on Red Star Continent and are funneling in resources, nonstop.

Just thinking about the chance to go with Ancestor Shixing and live on Red Star Continent for a long stretch filled Song Chi with anticipation. But before that, he wanted to spend quality time with his parents and loved ones.

While Shixing gathered resources, Chi took it easy. Aside from occasionally studying the Martial Heaven’s Eye secret art and training his Guiding Technique, as well as the monthly market deals, he just enjoyed time with his family.

These peaceful days passed in a blur, and before he knew it, five years had gone by.

After another market trading day, Song Chi finally checked the market attribute panel he’d been neglecting for ages.

Name: Omniverse Market

Market Owner: Song Chi

Level: 56

Specs: 650 km x 650 km

Basic Facilities: 2,550 shops, one 65 km x 65 km stall area, four-story inn, Level 56 Full-Attribute Cultivation Chamber (doubles efficiency for psionic cultivation), Level 56 psionic defense array, Level 56 Long-Range Random Space Gate Transfer Platform, Fifth-tier Synthesis Lab, Fifth-tier Oddity Essence Refinement Platform.

Bonus Facilities: Veil of Light (Orange) Lv50, Fifth-Tier Bloodline Baptism Platform (Red), Divine Realm Task Platform (Gold) Lv70 (7/22 completed).

Trait: Disaster Evasion (can freely move through the void to avoid natural calamities).

Trait 2: Spatial Anchor (can set four coordinate anchor-points in any domain within the Shattered Sea of Stars).

Trait 3: Dominion Authority (while inside the market, the owner has powers of dominion).

Upgrade Requirements: 350 wisps of fifth-tier Floating-land Origin, total market trade volume of 350,000 wisps of fifth-tier Floating-land Origin.

Now that he thought about it, nearly a century had passed since the market advanced to fifth-tier, and it still hadn’t hit the peak of the tier. Going from level 56 to 59 would take at least several more decades.

The thought left Song Chi a bit glum.

Progress really started dragging after the fifth tier. And this was just for five—once it reached six or even seven, the wait would stretch even longer.

But there was nothing he could do. The market’s turnover wasn’t something he alone controlled.

Pushing away those worries, Song Chi pulled his mind from the market interface. He sat cross-legged and let his consciousness sink deep into the Dual Pupils illusion domain.

“Almost there. Just one or two more insights, and the Martial Heaven’s Eye will be fully mastered…”

He focused his mind completely, watching the scene of the Chasing Fate Immortal studying the stone-carved inheritance of the Martial Heaven’s Eye.

…

Who knew how long passed. When Song Chi returned to himself, he had a huge grin on his face.

A rush of psionic energy stirred in his body, and a faint vertical mark flickered on his brow. Yet no matter how it pulsed, it wouldn’t fully open—the Martial Heaven’s Eye looked nothing like the one described in the manual.

He tried a few times, but nothing changed, so he gave up with a shake of his head. “I’m only just getting started. If I want to really unlock the Martial Heaven’s Eye, I’ll need to keep studying.”

Still, the uncertainty eating at him had quieted.

Before, he’d been agonizing over whether to use a sixth- or a seventh-tier Timeworld Fruit if the eye opened right away.

A sixth-tier fruit would let him control ten percent—the small attainment—of the Law of Time, while the seventh-tier one could probably get him to forty percent. The gap between them was immense.

Sixth-tier Timeworld Fruit was almost ripe—its tree in the Cultivation Sanctuary would yield soon. But the seventh-tier Timeworld Tree was still locked away in the secret realm. He’d need the market to reach sixth-tier just to move it out, and even then, it would take years before a new fruit would be ready.

Seeing that the Martial Heaven’s Eye was a long way from mastery, Song Chi decided not to worry about it for now.

…

Azure Moon Estate, high above the clouds.

Song Chi activated the Heavenly Ruin’s interstellar exploration function. He’d spent much of the past five years exploring various Outer Domains, but luck hadn’t been on his side—no big discoveries, and definitely no missing parts of Timepiece Chess.

A violent ripple swept through, and the Heavenly Ruin vanished into the depths of the sky.

Unknown Star Domain—

Under the cover of Mirage, the Heavenly Ruin emerged from its transfer without leaking the slightest bit of spatial disturbance.

Before Song Chi’s senses even recovered from the dizzy aftereffects, the Sky-Domain AI’s alert rang sharply in his ears.

“Warning: Battleship under heavy external energy assault. Initiate evasive maneuvers!”

Fully alert now, Song Chi shook off his disorientation. As his eyes took in the battlefield, his expression sharpened.

At the battleship’s drop point, hundreds of thousands of miles away, three terrifying figures clashed among the stars.

Two were massive insects with double wings and vicious, bladed maws.

The third, facing off against them, was a space dragon shark easily over ten thousand kilometers long. Not classified as a starbeast, but its sheer size and power meant it could crush those insect monsters one-on-one.

But facing two perfectly coordinated bug monsters at once? The space dragon shark was clearly struggling.

“Whoa, a dominion-level brawl! It’s been calm for five years and suddenly it’s this wild out here?”

He was still joking with himself when the Sky-Domain AI flashed an analysis screen before his eyes.

“Scanning energy fluctuations and mass. Comparing database… Target One, 96.8% match for dominion-class Space Dragon Shark. Targets Two and Three, 94.8% match for ancient Mother Empress-class royal guards—Sawtooth Kings!”

“Sawtooth King Bugs?”

Muttering the name, Song Chi carefully maneuvered the Heavenly Ruin to edge out of the danger zone, all the while recalling what he knew of the Sawtooth Kings.

These royal bugs could only be spawned by dominion-class queen-mothers. Normally, they never left their Empress’s side unless absolutely necessary.

Song Chi’s eyes narrowed.

“So does that mean there’s a queen-mother watching nearby?”

A flicker of excitement sparked in him.

He knew exactly what finding an ancient bug Empress meant. Thanks to her staggering reproductive ability, a queen-mother was a walking bug-army factory—and bugs, as everyone knew, were the ideal source for “energy crystals,” perfect for upgrades. Take down a hive like that, and he’d easily rake in high-level energy crystals.

One or two of those, and suddenly, upgrading the Heavenly Ruin to Dreadnought, or the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang to Star-Annihilator-class, would have a real shot of success.

With that in mind, Song Chi didn’t hurry to escape. The Heavenly Ruin’s current spot was already far from the heart of battle, so the shockwaves weren’t too dangerous. Plus, his Angel King’s Authority Wings provided a strong shield, letting him last a good while here.

While keeping an eye on the battlefield, his thoughts also drifted to the Deathstar Tracking Mark component.

If things really were as he guessed, maybe he could use it for some clever maneuvering.

Boom!

Before he could finish the thought, a fierce blast rocked the dominion-level battlefield. Using his Dual Pupils, he peered into the heart of the chaos to pinpoint what had changed.

Suddenly, both Sawtooth Kings seemed to go berserk. Their deadly jaws and scythe-like forelegs bristled with perfect Devouring Laws.

Wings beating at insane speeds, the pair split into countless afterimages, laying into the space dragon shark with a barrage of slashing attacks.

The dragon shark was tough, but against such spectral speed, its thick hide quickly shredded under the relentless assault.

Roar!

An unearthly dragon cry burst from the shark’s mouth. A surge of mystical, blood-tinged energy blasted from within, draping it in a misty, blood-red cloak.

“Dragon Shark Blood Armor!”

Song Chi instantly recognized the move.

This was the bloodline secret art the space dragon shark inherited—its famous blood armor.

Being a near-starbeast with formidable bloodlines, the space dragon shark was well known; plenty of powers and civilizations had info on them, and the Song Family was no exception.

According to clan records, the dragon shark boasted three signature arts: one attack, one defense, and one escape skill.

The blood armor, of course, was for defense.

Once it activated the armor, its protection soared. Both Sawtooth Kings found their attacks suddenly ineffective, and a brutal tug-of-war resumed.

But watching on the sidelines, Song Chi knew the situation wouldn’t last. The dragon shark’s blood armor would wear off, and the Sawtooth Kings could repeat their frenzied assault as often as they wished.

He’d underestimated how quickly the bugs would adapt. The next moment, from far off, another blast of dominion power swept through the void.

Song Chi’s pulse spiked, and he snapped his head toward the source.

A gigantic armored bug—easily matching the dragon shark for mass—burst onto the scene.

“Tiger Carapace King Bug!”

He muttered grimly, his eyes steely.

It wasn’t just that the Tiger Carapace was another dominion-class monster. Now, he was certain that a bug queen-mother was carefully orchestrating the entire fight, tweaking the lineup exactly as needed for victory.

With that confirmation, Song Chi eased the Heavenly Ruin even farther back. He wasn’t about to bail completely, but a little extra distance never hurt.

He glanced at the Mirage Dragon Metamorphosis Pearl—the Mirage effect still had two hours left. He could safely wait out the battle.

Unlike the other bugs, the Tiger Carapace King bug was made for frontline combat. As soon as it appeared, it barreled straight for the space dragon shark like a living battering ram.