Chapter 665: Storming the Serpent Demon Holy City

As soon as the eighth-tier Unihorned Giant Whale was summoned, it charged straight for the opposing eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon.

The two massive beasts collided almost instantly. Even with the ninth-tier spatial strength of the Demon Serpent Floating-Land, cracks still began to form in the air. Thankfully, there was no catastrophic space collapse like you’d see out in the endless starry sky.

After all, this was a Floating-land with a diameter over 2.5 million light-years. Its interior was far more stable than the space outside. But even then, the terrifying power of an eighth-tier Dominator was clear. Back when Song Chi unleashed all his strongest attacks—Neutron-Star Fission, High-Energy Particle Storm, Blood Judgment—not even a scratch appeared in space.

……

“The Unihorned Giant Whale the Shang Clan summoned… Among eighth-tiers, it’s nothing special. Looks like it only just advanced,” observed Song Wujian in the comms channel after a brief glance. He was confident the eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon would soon have the clear upper hand.

His words, however, weren’t finished. Before anyone else could speak, he added:

“If the Shang Clan wants to hold the upper hand, their two Star-Annihilator-class ships have to join the fight. That’s when our chance comes!”

Hearing this, Song Chi and the others immediately caught on. Their Clan Elder was clearly planning to let the others fight, then swoop in at the perfect moment for the spoils.

Song Shixing frowned, hesitation in his voice:

“Elder, is this really going to work? According to Xiaochi, the top brass from all the major forces in the Divine Dynasty are watching from above.”

It seemed Song Wujian had anticipated this, as he replied quickly.

“Don’t worry. We’re not the only ones trying to steal the prize here. As long as we don’t start killing each other, we won’t draw everyone’s ire!”

While the Song Family debated, things shifted on the distant battlefield.

Under the watching eyes of Song Chi and his group, the Shang Clan proceeded to summon several more enslaved beasts.

Three Dominator-class enslaved beasts, all at the seventh-tier, materialized.

Of the three, two immediately charged at two of the seventh-tier serpent demons among the opposition. The last one, flanked by the Shang Clan’s two formidable Dreadnoughts from their Torch Battleship, stormed straight for the Serpent Demon Holy City.

In the depths of the void, Song Chi’s group of five waited, biding their time. Only after all four seventh-tier Dominator-class powers clashed—and the Shang Clan’s remaining Torch Battleships were also locked in combat with middle-rank serpent demons—did Song Wujian issue his command through the magnetic wave group channel.

“Now! Move!”

At once, all five battleships activated their Flash-displacement Components. With the double shrouds of Group Phantom River and Void Shroud—and their position on the opposite side of the Holy City from the Shang Clan—they slipped by unnoticed, at least for the moment.

It wasn’t until the five ships slipped into the Holy City, hot on the heels of the Shang Clan’s seventh-tier enslaved beast and two Dreadnoughts, that someone from the Shang Clan realized something was wrong.

The first to notice the Song Family’s five battleship replications was one of the Shang Clan’s Dreadnoughts.

Both Dreadnought captains were renowned talents of the Shang Clan from millennia past. Their flagships had long since become peak Dreadnoughts, far beyond standard ships of their class. While they couldn’t compare to the true Heavenly Ruin, their ships were still over 140,000 meters in length and packed with rare Gold Sanctum Domain Components. Each even possessed no less than three Supreme Black Components.

One of these Dreadnoughts was equipped with the Black Patrol Radar—a component with exceptional scanning priority. When separated by billions of kilometers it wasn’t an issue, but now, inside the city, the radar immediately detected an anomaly.

“Elder, someone entered the city behind us…”

Upon spotting the Song Family’s ships, Shang Duyun notified the two Star-Annihilator-class Clan Elders outside right away.

“Who dares try and snatch my Shang Clan’s hard-won prize? Stall them as much as you can…”

Back in the command center of the Shangdang Spirit Lord, outside the Holy City, Shang Yuan Shan’s face darkened. Even the ship itself began to emit waves of dark energy and Law Power.

It was clear that Shang Yuan Shan wanted nothing more than to shake off the eighth-tier Eight-Armed Serpent Demon blocking him and rush to support the defense inside the city. But it wasn’t that simple: with the Law Field of a peak eighth-tier pressing down, breaking free was no easy feat.

And if he did manage to break through, what about the other Star-Annihilator-class ship and the Unihorned Giant Whale?

The very will of the Demon Serpent Floating-Land favored its native serpent demons, amplifying them and suppressing invaders. The Unihorned Giant Whale was already average compared to its peers; only with the two Star-Annihilator-class ships assisting could it barely hold back the eighth-tier serpent demon. Once the Shangdang Spirit Lord left, the balance would collapse instantly.

Given these circumstances, their only option was to suppress the serpent demon before them first.

Shang Yuan Shan exchanged a glance with his fellow Clan Star-Annihilator-class captain. Both nodded in unison.

Not long after, tremors rippled through the skies above the two ships—space itself seemed to shudder for several dozen seconds—

—then two special illusory images materialized high above them.

These twin phantoms hovered above each ship, both taking the shape of dazzling, rainbow-hued jade plaques etched with the images of dragons and phoenixes.

With these plaques summoned, the Law Field unleashed by the eighth-tier serpent demon was greatly weakened.

Outside the Demon Serpent Floating-Land, many other officers took notice.

“Look—it’s the legendary Dragon Phoenix Heaven-Support Plaque! That’s one of the Shang Clan’s trump cards. They must be getting desperate.”

“Ha! Wouldn’t you panic, about to have your treasure stolen? Those five ships sure picked the perfect moment. I wouldn’t be surprised if they manage to scoop up all the best loot before the Shang Clan even blinks.”

“Anyone know where those five ships are from?”

“Word is, they’re from Beidou Sevenstar Hall.”

“Serves the Shang Clan right. They’ve been bullies for years—about time they got a taste of their own medicine.”

……

Inside the Holy City, Song Chi’s group was oblivious to all this drama. Now that their cover was blown, they didn’t waste a moment.

“Move!”

The five ships dropped all remaining cloaking, bursting out from the void. With engines roaring well past safe limits, they dove for the tallest clusters of buildings within the Holy City.

“Stop right there! Don’t let them get away!”

The Shang Clan’s Dreadnoughts weren’t about to let that happen. Multiple ship components activated at once, flooding the area with fields of binding force, chains of restraint, and spatial lockdowns—all aimed at pinning down the Song Family’s battleships.

“They’re trying to stall us—ignore them!”

Before Song Chi could reply, the four elders all spoke at once.

Song Chi trusted his family without hesitation, ordering the Mirror Warship to cancel all unnecessary maneuvers and dive at full speed toward their target.

Behind them, the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang and three other battleship replications lit up with golden Law threads, weaving the ships together. Above each, the spectral forms of legendary Four Symbols beasts flickered into view, unleashing a vast Four Symbols Domain that spread outward.

Buzz—buzz—buzz!

Chains of force, binding domains, and spatial lockdowns slammed into the Four Symbols Domain, sending ripples through space. Violent blasts of energy ripped out in all directions.

The replications bore the brunt of this assault, with the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang purposely falling behind. Yet thanks to the unique Four Symbols Cycle trait, any damage one ship took was instantly shared among the four, reducing the impact.

With their upgraded energy shields and hull armor—which could self-repair rapidly so long as the damage wasn’t catastrophic—they were able to recover from most hits in short order.

In the end, none of the Shang Clan’s control measures worked. All they could do was watch helplessly as the Song Family’s five ships sped toward one of the core buildings below.

“According to Little Gold, this is definitely the right temple…”

Guided by Song Shiyuan, the battleships zeroed in on a relatively plain temple, not the city’s grandest but no doubt the most important.

As for “Little Gold,” it was a Golden-Treasure-Sniffing Mouse, a spirit beast Song Shiyuan had enslaved by chance a millennium ago on a Fifth-Tier Floating-Land. Even back then it had already reached half-step sixth-tier, advancing beyond the limits of its environment thanks to its extraordinary bloodline and talent.

Now, the mouse had already surpassed the sixth-tier and wasn’t far off the peak—its treasure-nosing abilities sharper than ever.

Relying on this mouse, Song Shiyuan had acquired countless valuables over the last thousand years. Even the Song Family’s recent windfall of finds was thanks to the mouse’s keen instincts.

Oddly enough, no one knew exactly how its talent worked. Not only could it sniff out unclaimed treasures, it could even sense valuables hidden or sealed away by others—something few beings could accomplish.

That’s why Song Chi’s group ignored all the splendid halls in the city, heading straight for their chosen target.

This highly unusual maneuver didn’t go unnoticed. The two Shang Clan members and their enslaved beast chasing them realized something was up and immediately followed into the same temple.

“Serpent Prison!”

Inside the temple, a good number of Eight-Armed Serpent Demons stood guard, including a seventh-tier Dominator. Several of them activated Serpent Prison right away.

It wasn’t that more serpent demons didn’t want to use Serpent Prison, but this technique was a high-level bloodline power—only a select few among the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon Civilization could awaken it.

Still, with several Serpent Prisons layered on top of each other—including one from a Dominator-class serpent demon—the combined force was nothing to scoff at. Any ordinary seventh-tier being would’ve been overwhelmed the moment they entered.

But the serpent demons underestimated the Song Family’s strength. Led by the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang, the four Four Symbols-class ships had combat levels brushing the edge of the eighth-tier. The instant their energy fields clashed, a violent explosion erupted.

The blast centered on the temple, forming a raging energy storm that repelled everything nearby.

The Shang Clan’s two Dreadnoughts and Dominator-class enslaved beast were swept up as they reached the doorway, the shockwave hurling them more than a hundred thousand kilometers away before they could stabilize.

Meanwhile, the Mirror Warship, shielded tightly by the Four Symbols Domain, was left unscathed. It didn’t even need to activate the Angel King’s Authority Wings—all incoming damage was blocked by the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang and its fellows.

With the four ships protecting it, the Mirror Warship pressed on, pushing through multiple layers of Serpent Prison and diving into a massive underground chamber deep within the temple.

This underground space was vast—bigger than your average secret realm. Everywhere you looked, treasures blazed with brilliant blue, violet, orange, red, silver, gold and black glows—a dazzling sight.

“The Serpent Demon Sacred Vault! The very treasury of a first-tier Holy City…”

Song Yan let out a gasp over the ship’s internal comms.

Truthfully, there was no need for words—everyone in Song Chi’s group already knew.

With so many treasures piled together, what else could this be but the first-tier Serpent Demon Holy City’s vault?

Even after centuries of secret treasure-hunting, their hearts pounded with excitement.

In all their years, the highest they’d ever hit was a third-tier vault, and even then only a shallow one. Nothing compared to this.

Excitement faded fast, and the group refocused.

“Quick! Grab the best treasures we can—our time is short!”

Acting fast, the Calm-Sea Dragon-Xiang fired off a silver beam to form a barrier over the vault.

Remotely controlling the ship, Song Wujian had activated a silver-colored blockade. Though not strong enough to withstand powerful attacks, it would buy them a few more precious minutes.

Seeing this, Song Chi and the rest followed suit, each raising additional blockade barriers.

Unfortunately, all their Spatial Lockdown Components were only silver-grade—not gold or black like true top-tier models. It was a longstanding weakness of their family.

With that done, the five ships split up, each racing for a different zone.

Waves of tractor beams shot out from within, targeting the rarest gleams of gold and black energy among the treasures.

But before they could celebrate, they realized all these treasures were shielded by special forbidden light barriers—it would take a key or brute force to break through and claim them.