Chapter 731: Seizing the Starfield: Rise and Fallout in the Void

The Starsea Giant Apes are a species known for their focus on physical might. Blessed with innate, powerful bodies, they reach Starsea Tier One upon reaching adulthood. While their genetic potential lags somewhat behind the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons, their sheer physical strength lets them cross the vast sea of stars with ease.

Because of this, even without advanced civilization-exclusive technology or starships, they’ve managed to conquer the Starsea through brute force alone.

Of course, after more than a hundred thousand years locked in a standoff with the Truth Mechanicus Civilization, the Starsea Giant Ape Civilization hasn’t remained unchanged.

Nowadays, their main forces include a huge number of mechanical transporters.

Some of these ships came from mid-tier tech civilizations they absorbed, but most were captured during past battles with the Truth Mechanicus Civilization—transporters and massive battleships alike.

Although the apes can cross the stars by themselves, moving large numbers of lower- and mid-tier apes drastically slows advancement. Using captured mechanical ships to ferry their forces is the only way to keep their campaign from grinding to a halt.

If not for this, the Starsea Giant Apes would have started expanding their territory a full three hundred thousand years ago. They wouldn’t have only just claimed a hundred galaxies today.

At the heart of the advancing force, the massive Goldenpore’s twin pupils gleamed with strange lights, thoughts wandering.

Despite countless mishaps over the past two hundred thousand years, Goldenpore was confident that after today, those troubles were behind them. With the sudden fall of the Lord of Truth, the Truth Mechanicus Civilization was no longer a threat. Plus, he’d captured a high-grade AI oddity, letting him command fleets of mechanical warships to march in perfect synergy. From now on, the Starsea Giant Ape Civilization would expand at a breakneck pace.

He could already imagine a future where his people became a giant among star civilizations, one no one dared look down upon.

…

ROAR—ROAR—ROOOAR!

“What’s all the commotion?”

A piercing roar from the flank snapped Goldenpore out of his daydreams. The anger on his rugged face deepened, giving the Ninth-Tier Giant Ape an even more ferocious look.

Before any explanations could come from the other high-tier apes, Goldenpore’s ears caught the sounds of chaos—screams and explosions breaking loose.

An instant later, sensing something, his eyes—far larger than any Tier Seven creature—snapped wide, and the terrifying pressure of a Ninth-Tier lifeform surged outward.

His gaze locked on a patch of pitch-black starry sky up ahead. There, all seemed utterly calm—silent, eternally dark, nothing out of the ordinary.

While the other apes sensed nothing, Goldenpore, equipped with a special multicolored detection oddity, perceived things differently.

His peak Ninth-Tier aura exploded out, blood energy condensing into a massive scarlet ape that barreled straight for the shadowed void.

[Ape King’s Fist of Heaven-Shaking Might!]

The activation of this top-tier bloodline technique finally triggered the surrounding high-tier apes’ instincts. They realized Goldenpore had discovered something significant.

But just as they prepared to join in, the formerly empty darkness suddenly filled with countless figures.

Eight-armed serpent-tailed giants and sleek mechanical war machines—despite their differences, they all had one thing in common at that moment: each was preparing a deadly attack.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A storm of terrifying energy beams tore through space, striking the giant apes before they could defend themselves.

The Torch Humans and the Eight-Armed Serpent Demons wouldn’t expose themselves recklessly. With the help of a lower-rank group Stealth Component, even Goldenpore at Ninth-Tier wouldn’t spot them unless his attack hit the mark. Their appearance meant only one thing—all their firepower was ready.

They had revealed themselves only because every attack was fully charged and primed to fire.

[Successfully killed a Tier Seven Starsea Giant Ape. Clone of Blood Chalice has collected a wisp of Tier Seven Sacred Blood. Eternal Dominion Soul Nest has absorbed a Tier Seven Dominion Soul. You have gained 1 wisp of Sixth-Tier Floating-Land Origin!]

Song Chi fired up the [Infinite Fallen Immortal Quantum Star-Annihilator Cannon], unleashing it along with ‘God of the Hunt’s Weakpoint Mark’, ‘Black Hole Singular Burst’, and others. With one blast, he obliterated a fresh Tier Seven Giant Ape.

He wasn’t alone—many others in the coalition unleashed similar devastation.

With two peak civilizations joining forces, even a misfired attack spelled disaster for their foes.

Hearing the system prompt in his ear, Song Chi glanced at the [Eternal Dominion Soul Nest] module on his flagship.

Eternal Dominion Soul Nest Lv 90

Rank: Black

…

{Dominion Soul Nest: This component carries a nest-space for storing captured souls. Any soul defeated directly by the attached battleship is absorbed, and nurtured within until fully restored (Note: Can currently house up to Ninth-Tier souls; currently holds: 1 Ninth-Tier soul, 7 Eighth-Tier, 42 Seventh-Tier).}

He hadn’t actually planned to upgrade it to Nine so soon. Killing the Lord of Truth was a fluke, only possible through the rare ‘Nine Lives Game of Life and Death’ trait. You don’t just slay Ninth-Tier Overlords every day.

Plus, the Lord of Truth was silicon-based—no actual soul to collect. So until he finished off the severely wounded Ninth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominator, he saw little reason to upgrade. But that kill paid off more than expected.

In fact, it was probably his most valuable achievement from the Demon God Floating-Land battle.

He didn’t just earn three million merit points and a second priority redemption right—he also gained Ninth-Tier Luck Blood, a Dominion Soul, and unrefined Dominion Origin Blood. That Ninth-Tier Serpent Demon was squeezed for every last drop of value.

Song Chi collected himself, mind snapping back to the present. Another great battle had begun, and this wasn’t the time for distractions.

Three Superdimensional Motherships, five Ninth-Tier Serpent Demons, and two Ninth-Tier enslaved creatures (Longji Overlord Whale, Blackflame Dragon)—ten Ninth-Tier powerhouses in all—drove straight for the five opposing Giant Apes.

Honestly, just the three motherships could have tipped the scale, since the enemy lacked any Floating-Land Origin willpower. Ten to five was pure overkill.

On the Ninth-Tier battlefield, the fight was utterly one-sided.

It wasn’t just the Ninth-Tiers. Even among Eighth and Seventh-Tiers, the Giant Apes had always been outmatched in numbers and strength. That last savage assault killed or crippled a fifth of their elite, making their situation even worse.

In less than a month, after hundreds of thousands of years as kings, the Giant Apes’ main force was almost entirely wiped out.

Across the starfield, broken war machines and severed limbs drifted everywhere. In only a month’s time, the battlefield became a graveyard of cosmic wreckage.

At the war’s blazing center, waves of violent energy still raged. With the motherships and Serpent Demon Dominators working together, the last Ninth-Tier Giant Ape finally broke.

That final ape was brought before the Shensia Jiuli.

“Jiang Yuan, do you want to finish this one off yourself?”

Before Cangli finished speaking, a response came from inside the Shensia Jiuli.

“No need. We’ve got other plans for this last Ninth-Tier Giant Ape.”

At that, inside the ship’s superdimensional encrypted channel, Jiang Yuan looked across at his two companions.

“The luck I’ve acquired from four Giant Apes—I plan to visit the Bottomless Abyss front, the Starsea Insect Front, and Emperor City later. It’ll be the final deterrent before my breakthrough, and a chance to gather more civilization luck. As for this Ninth-Tier peak Giant Ape, you guys should enslave it instead.”

“You’re about to attempt a Mythic breakthrough. A bit more civilization luck will help boost the Shensia Jiuli’s odds. Leave the rest to me. Don’t worry about anything else.”

The other two nodded, but Jiang Yuan still shook his head.

“No, even if we’re all set, you know how hard reaching the Mythic rank is. We can’t take an ‘all or nothing’ attitude. Even if the Shensia Jiuli fails, the Torch Civilization’s safety comes first. Losing a Ninth-Tier ape hurts, but it’ll still relieve a lot of pressure on you.”

“Plus, mythic advancement for the Jiuli isn’t the same as a Star River-class becoming a mothership. Ninth-Tier civilization luck helps, but it’s not as critical as you think. Let’s not argue about this.”

That was enough—the others let the topic drop, and two motherships started weaving dazzling enslavement marks.

High-end Slavery Components were rare, but not so scarce that none were on hand.

Remember, not long ago, all four allied parties had enslaved Ninth-Tier creatures in play.

Even with rare components, enslaving a Ninth-Tier peak overlord was no easy feat.

Between the two ships, it took over twenty attempts in total before the Xian Qin Ancestral Dragon finally succeeded in binding it.

With that done, the cooperative contract between the parties was virtually complete. If the Serpent Demons wanted, the Torch side would gladly help them sweep both the Truth Mechanicus and Giant Ape realms.

But their answer was clear—the Serpent Demons politely declined.

No one on the Torch side was surprised. Both groups knew the score.

With the top strengths of the Truth Mechanicus and Giant Ape Civilizations all but wiped out, one hundred and fifty galaxies now lay between them. The Torch side could help, but the price would be steep.

Let’s face it—wherever the Torch fleet passed, precious minerals and floating-land treasures would be stripped clean.

Maybe in the past, the Serpent Demons wouldn’t have cared. But now, after being forced to flee and suffering massive losses, rebuilding their foundations is the top priority. Only by regathering resources can they keep pace with the Torch Civilization and maintain equal footing for future cooperation.

“In that case, we’ll get going. But let’s keep up trade between us—it’s to both our benefit.”

“Of course!”

…

So, after nearly a month of brutal fighting, the battle ended with the Torch Civilization taking every high- and mid-tier Giant Ape corpse from the field.

That same day, atop the Truth Floating-Land—

In a newly built megacity, the last six Ninth-Tier Serpent Demon Dominators gathered.

“Cangli, the tally’s in. Resources on the Truth Floating-Land are down by forty percent. The Ore Star Continent has lost half its Origin Cores. Overall resources throughout the Truth Mechanicus territory are running low too.”

“That’s not unusual for a mechanical civilization, but our intel says the Song Family of the Torch Civilization had a lot to do with it. Plus, we know there was some bad blood with Cangeng earlier. Should we…”

Before the reporting serpent demon could finish, Cangli cut him off with a wave.

“No need to bring that up. The Song Family might seem like a minor clan now, but after this war, they’ve caught the eye of every major power in the Torch Civilization. They’re also directly under Beidou Sevenstar Hall. Now’s not the time to mess with them.”

“But… Beidou Sevenstar Hall is only an Eighth-Tier faction…”

“Foolish!”

“After all that’s happened, can’t you see? We can’t treat Beidou Sevenstar Hall as an ordinary Tier Eight power. The Torch Civilization’s territory just doubled. Within ten thousand years, they’ll have several—or even a dozen—supermotherships. Beidou Sevenstar Hall will be right there among them. Get it?”

“From the day we moved out of the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon galaxy cluster, we lost our right to compare ourselves to them. Our focus now is to catch up before they skyrocket ahead. Only then can we hope to cling to their coattails when they become overlords!”

Cangli nearly shouted the last part, ignoring the shifting expressions around the table.

“Forget the Truth Mechanicus territory for now. What about the Giant Ape realm?”

“The Giant Ape realm actually looks promising—resources in its galaxies are largely intact. Once we secure them and combine them with what we brought from home, it should be enough to quickly conquer this new cluster.”

Cangli nodded.

“Good. We’ve got more than ten billion people safely relocated, so let’s kick off the next campaign. You four each take a team and spread out. Cangeng, you hold here on the Truth Floating-Land. I need to process the Demon God’s arm—can’t spare the time!”

“Leave it to us, Cangli. You be careful too.”

With the Torch forces gone, the Serpent Demons wasted no time pushing forward in their own plans.

But with trillions of lower-tier Serpent Demons still back in their original galaxy cluster, one Floating-Land couldn’t possibly hold them all, not even the entire Mechanicus territory.

The Truth Mechanicus territory has dozens of galaxies, but too few Living Floating-Lands. Absorbing the whole population of a major civilization is a pipe dream.

Only by seizing the Giant Ape territory as well might they barely manage that feat.

Yet, what the Serpent Demons couldn’t imagine was that another party had already beaten them to the punch.

…

In the dark vastness, four Star-Annihilator-class Ships tore through the stars at top speed.

Fleet Group Chat:

Song Yan: “I say, we head straight for the Demon Ape Floating-Land. With the Ninth-Tier apes gone, sneaking in shouldn’t be impossible. One Ninth-Tier Floating-Land—if we get in, there’s a ton to gain!”

Song Shiyuan: “I disagree. Even with the big apes gone, they’re bound to lock things down. Piercing the Floating-Land Shield on a Ninth-Tier base isn’t so simple. With the Serpent Demons sending in their main force, we won’t have time—it isn’t worth gambling!”

While the two debated, Song Wujian stayed quiet, unsure what to decide.

Suddenly Song Chi broke in:

“Stop arguing. I’ve found an area that’s completely out of the ordinary!”

He sent the radar scan from the Eye of Truth to the group chat.

“That’s some crazy energy…”

“Xiaochi, did your patrol radar give you a power level reading?”

Song Chi spoke quickly—then all three of his companions fell silent as they saw the data.

“It’s above Ninth-Tier!”

With the [Eye of Truth]—now upgraded to Lv 90—he could usually scan thousands of lightyears, and tens of thousands when fully activated. For anything Ninth-Tier or below, he received detailed breakdowns.

So if an energy beacon on the scan showed only a question mark, there was only one explanation.

The energy reading had surpassed the Ninth-Tier threshold.

The four exchanged quick glances. Song Chi continued:

“Based on the star maps we’ve gathered, this energy source sits in a region marked by the Giant Apes as a Dead Zone—a forbidden part of the Starsea!”

“Well? Should we check it out or not?”

“Don’t forget—the Shedding of the Heaven-Devouring Python will absorb any energy. No matter what lies at the source, if it can be devoured, we might charge the artifact enough for its next evolution!”

Song Wujian and the others hesitated, but ultimately nodded in agreement.

With consensus reached, the four ships no longer hesitated. Each initiated a jump straight for the energy beacon’s coordinates.

Of course, the real reason for their boldness was that these were all warship replicas—even if disaster struck, their real bodies were safe.

If that weren’t the case, even the Giant Apes with five Ninth-Tiers had avoided this zone. Why would these four captains dare to be so reckless otherwise?

The four ships picked arrival points at a safe distance from the energy source, not right on top of it.

When the jump ended, they activated their Flash-displacement Components and crept closer little by little.

…

After several hours of full-speed flight, the four ship replicas finally began slowing down.

Meanwhile, at the Omniverse Market:

“Well? Anyone else notice it?”

“Time—the flow of time is different!”

“Exactly! And the deeper we go, the faster time moves!”

“Hold up, we’re not even at the main energy core yet—barely at the fringes. How can the time energy already be this intense?”

“Let’s keep going. No risk to our real bodies anyway!”

Another half hour passed. The ships had yet to formally enter the area marked as the true energy core, but already, apart from the Heavenly Ruin’s Mirror Warship, the other three ships struggled to advance.

It wasn’t for lack of will—it was the overwhelming time energy. The very components inside their warship replicas were rotting away. Moments ago, every secondary cannon on the three ships had exploded, and even the main cannons showed signs of critical damage.

If this kept up, the ship hulls themselves would be corroded by time.

“Clan Elder, you three collect as much time energy as you can here. I’ll keep pushing forward!”

“Be careful, Song Chi!”

…

Unlike the others, thanks to a replica Timepiece Chessboard—a multicolored, upper-rank time module—the Mirror Warship was shielded from over ninety percent of the outside time energy. Add the Pusa Zen Seal to the mix, and Song Chi’s ship remained untouched.

Splitting off from the others, Song Chi moved unburdened. He didn’t waste a beat, activating his Flash-displacement Component again.

This time, he plunged the Mirror Warship right to the edge of the energy source.

Bursting from the spatial vortex, an ocean of time energy crashed over him. Even shielded by the Timepiece Chessboard, Song Chi could feel the changes inside his ship.

Crossing the threshold, the level of time energy outside was beyond anything he’d imagined. By rough calculations, Song Chi landed on a staggering conclusion.

In this instant, time outside was running a million times faster than normal!