Chapter 576: The Secret of the Starrealm Gut

Song Chi’s gaze lingered over the information panel intercepted by the Sky-Domain AI, his initial suspicion soon giving way to delight.

It was clear from the introduction—though the ‘Starrealm Gut’ looked a bit strange, it was a massive opportunity in disguise.

The key? It posed almost no threat; aside from continuously absorbing external energy, it wouldn’t proactively attack living beings.

Strictly speaking, it was like a secret realm that steadily produced Starsea Oddities. The only difference: you couldn’t adjust the output speed using a Void Crystal.

But compared to ordinary secret realms that spawned oddities, the ‘Starrealm Gut’ boasted far greater potential. For instance, this one was tens of thousands of kilometers long, so it might have existed for hundreds of thousands of years.

And in all that time, as long as an oddity inside hadn’t been removed, its quality could have reached ridiculous heights—maybe even Supreme Black grade.

Still, Song Chi wasn’t fixated on those details. His thoughts shifted as he commanded the Heavenly Ruin to initiate another spatial jump.

This time, the jump targeted the Starrealm Gut itself.

Getting close in person was far more impactful than watching from the projection screen. Song Chi felt a stronger sense of awe.

But according to the Sky-Domain AI, the Starrealm Gut posed no active threat. Unless attacked, it wouldn’t harm anything that approached.

With that reassurance, Song Chi quickly composed himself and piloted the Heavenly Ruin forward.

“I wonder if there are any Starsea Oddities forming inside this Starrealm Gut, and if so, what kind of quality they’re at.”

That thought arose because of the Starrealm Gut’s peculiar traits. As a unique stellar creature, if an outsider removed any oddity inside it, a powerful stress response would kick in and send it fleeing to an unknown corner of the stars.

It was possible this one had only just arrived after bolting from somewhere else, maybe because all its oddities had already been plundered by starborn outsiders.

As the battleship drew near the pitch-black opening at the base of the Starrealm Gut, a palpable pull and devouring force from outside grew even stronger.

That black entrance was where it sucked in star energy. It acted almost like a miniature black hole—everything nearby faced increasing force and pressure.

Thank goodness the Heavenly Ruin’s hull and engines were up to the task. The devouring force here couldn’t compare to a true black hole like those in the Mixed Heaven Star Domain. Even as the ship was drawn completely in, it stayed steady.

The moment they entered the Starrealm Gut, Song Chi witnessed a world completely unlike the outside.

Space stretched wide on both sides, but with his Dual Pupils, he noticed sharp bristles growing along the gut wall—tiny and seemingly insignificant compared to the whole passage.

As the river of star energy surged in from outside, these bristles remained undamaged, soaking up pure energy to nourish themselves.

That’s the secret to how the Starrealm Gut produces Starsea Oddities.

From what Song Chi could see, dozens of glowing orbs clung to the dense bristles, their varied lights revealing all kinds of oddities developing within.

Most were blue or purple, though a few glowed orange. Still, none of those held much interest for Song Chi.

Vrrrmmm!

The engines roared as the Heavenly Ruin pressed deeper into the upper reaches of the gut.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Ripples shimmered along the ship’s energy shields as they advanced. The star energy raging outside grew stronger with every meter they climbed.

Song Chi kept his gaze locked on the Sky-Domain AI’s detailed analysis, unmoved, driving the battleship ever onward.

As they ascended, there were noticeably fewer oddities nestled in the gut walls. Past the halfway point, it took a long stretch just to spot a new one.

A silver orb.

A ball radiating silver light.

Finally, as the Heavenly Ruin climbed high enough, Song Chi caught sight of the first golden orb.

“AI, take us closer to that orb…”

When the oddities reached the Golden Sanctum grade, Song Chi’s interest spiked. He had to check the stats on every one—these decisions needed careful thought.

After all, the Starrealm Gut had its own stress protocol. Any creature inside could only retrieve one oddity—and if any oddity was claimed, all others would be immediately expelled.

[Oddity: Starlight Jade]

[Quality: Gold]

[Convertible: None]

[Note: A special oddity nurtured within the Starrealm Gut.]

After checking the properties and confirming it couldn’t be converted into a battleship component, Song Chi passed it by. The ship sailed on.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The outermost Shield of Holy Light had already burned away. Now, the ship’s hull faced the rolling energy head-on, protected only by the Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield. But since both it and the Neutron-Star Core Armor had been upgraded to tier eight, their self-repair was incredible. The counter-phase shield was holding up far better than the previous ones.

[Oddity: Spirit Serpent Ring]

[Quality: Gold]

[Convertible: Spirit Serpent Spatial Ring]

[Note: A special oddity nurtured within the Starrealm Gut.]

……

[Oddity: Ring of Decay]

[Quality: Gold]

[Convertible: Extreme Desolation Corruption Cannon]

……

[Oddity: Space Birthing Stone]

……

All along the way, Song Chi saw several Golden Sanctum oddities. Two could be converted: one was a special spatial expansion module for battleships, the other a golden Star-Annihilator Cannon.

Neither really impressed him, so the Heavenly Ruin kept charging higher.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Suddenly, fine fractures webbed across the Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield, its light dimming to almost nothing. The relentless storm of energy was pushing the shield toward overload.

Just then, Song Chi triggered the ‘True Spirit Guard of the Angel King.’

With the apparition of the tier-eight Angel King’s spirit enveloping them, the energy assault dullened by more than eighty percent. That gave the shield time to recover: under the twin repairs of the energy shield and Neutron-Star Core Armor, the counter-phase shield would be fully restored in seconds.

By now the Heavenly Ruin had reached the very heart of the Starrealm Gut. Using his Dual Pupils, Song Chi quickly spotted two black orbs at the top of the passage.

“Two Supreme Black oddities… Looks like nothing has ever reached the gut’s core since it formed—or if so, almost never.”

With that confirmed, Song Chi pushed the ship’s silver auxiliary engine to maximum, sending the Heavenly Ruin streaking even faster toward the end.

The closer they got to the endpoint, the more intense the energy surge outside became. The Angel King’s apparition began to fade rapidly.

By the time the ship reached the very top, the apparition flickered and vanished.

But Song Chi didn’t make a move. He simply let the outside energy batter the ship.

With the Angel King’s earlier protection, the Yin-Yang Counter-Phase Annihilation Shield had fully regenerated. It could last for a while longer.

His eyes were locked onto the two black orbs ahead.

[Oddity: Tomb of Light and Shadow]

[Quality: Black]

[Convertible: None]

[Note: A special oddity nurtured within the Starrealm Gut.]

……

[Oddity: Soul-Devouring Altar]

[Quality: Black]

[Convertible: Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar]

[Note: A special oddity nurtured within the Starrealm Gut.]

Song Chi’s focus settled entirely on the second black orb. In an instant, a detailed attribute panel appeared before his eyes.

Soul-Devourer Sacrificial Altar lv0

Quality: Black

Unique Trait: Soul Devour—Ascendancy

Cost: 300 per second (Eon Energy Points)

Effect: When equipped, the ship absorbs the souls of any intelligent lifeforms it kills directly.

……

{Soul Devour—Ascendancy: Consumes 10 million Eon Energy Points and destroys this component to spend all absorbed souls, granting one target component an ascension—increasing its quality by one grade. Current progress: Stage 1, 0%. (Note: When Stage 1’s progress bar is full, this can ascend a Red component to Silver. Stage 2 ascends Silver to Gold and so on, up to Stage 4, where a Black component becomes a Colorful/Lower component.)}

After reviewing both oddities, Song Chi’s eyes sparkled, but he refrained from immediately seizing the Soul-Devouring Altar.

The battleship dropped at full speed—the counter-phase shield overloaded soon after, and the ship exited the Starrealm Gut.

According to the Gut’s rules, only one oddity can be taken at a time. But Song Chi wanted to see if there was a loophole.

Leaving a spatial anchor at the site, he returned to the Goldenplate Floating-land.

A few minutes later, a spatial ripple flickered—and Song Chi was back in the same starry void.

Heavenly Ruin, Song Wujian, and Song Yan soon followed.

“It really is the Starrealm Gut!”

Stepping out from the Dimensional Spatial Stone, Song Wujian and Song Yan stared at the strange blood-red gut ahead.

They’d both had their share of adventures before, but this was their first time seeing a Starrealm Gut in person.

After a moment sizing things up, Song Chi shared his thoughts.

“Elder, let’s try claiming an oddity together—see if we can all grab one at once.”

Seeing them nod, Song Chi added:

“Should we bring the Prime Ancestor and the others, too?”

Song Yan was first to object.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. This kind of trick probably won’t work, or the Torch Human Civilization would’ve already documented it.”

It made sense—as rare as the Starrealm Gut was, there were plenty of Torch Captains who’d encountered it before. Given their collective smarts, someone would’ve tried tricks like this, and if it worked, it would be common knowledge.

But in the end, Song Wujian said,

“Go ahead, Xiaochi. The odds are low, but with your teleportation, it’s not much trouble—bring Shiyuan and the others and let’s give it a shot.”

Half a day later, the Song Family’s five Dreadnought captains and one Star-Annihilator-class captain all piloted their ships into the Starrealm Gut.

After a while, the six battleships stopped next to six different Starsea Oddities.

At the passage’s top, the Heavenly Ruin and Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang floated side by side. Song Chi aimed for the Soul-Devouring Altar, while Elder Song Wujian focused on the Tomb of Light and Shadow.

A Supreme Black oddity—even if it couldn’t become a battleship part—outmatched any normal gold component. Song Wujian wouldn’t settle for anything less.

In the Song Family’s communications channel, Song Chi’s words had everyone on edge.

“Get ready—three, two, one, grab!”

As his words fell, all six ships reached out, manifesting hands of law to claim their prizes.

The next instant, an enormous repulsive force slammed into them. The world spun—and when they regained their senses, all six were floating outside in the starry sky.

Looking ahead at the massive Starrealm Gut, they saw a surge of crimson bloodlight burst from its body as soon as its treasures were triggered.

That bloody glow lit up the entire void. An instant later, the Starrealm Gut vanished, darting off into the distance.

Seeing this, the Song Family’s team could only let out a helpless chuckle over the comms.

Except for Song Chi, who succeeded in claiming the Soul-Devouring Altar, the other five were left empty-handed. Clearly this loophole had already been closed.

“Oh well, it was worth a shot. At least Xiaochi got a Supreme Black component.”

Song Wujian was first to comfort everyone, but honestly, no one was that disappointed.

In fact, when Song Chi counted down, the others had intentionally delayed their actions, wanting to make sure Song Chi succeeded instead of accidentally grabbing a gold oddity by mistake.

But that’s when Song Chi suddenly said:

“Wait. Let me try something else.”

That group attempt was just an experiment, but Song Chi still had another loophole in mind.