https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-168-The-Rules-of-the-Floating-Land-and-the-Rejection-of-the-Origin/12833709/
Chapter 169: Soul Marks, Spirit Souls, Blackwater Mystic Snakes, and Chimeras
Chapter 169: Soul Marks, Spirit Souls, Blackwater Mystic Snakes, and Chimeras
After the attack from the strange creature failed, Song Chi and the over a hundred others did not encounter any further attacks. They split into three teams according to the pre-established plan and began their descent to the surface.
The Soul Spirit Floating Land is roughly divided into five regions, which the Song family refers to as the East, South, West, North, and Central domains.
The Eastern domain is a vast primeval forest, spanning over a million kilometers. It remains under the absolute control of the Soul Spirit clan and serves as their main base.
The Western domain, after nearly three decades of development by the Song family's main lineage and the recent large-scale deployment of Song family members, was fully controlled by the family a month ago.
Therefore, the current battlefields are primarily in the Southern, Northern, and Central domains.
The Central domain is the largest, almost occupying half of the entire Soul Spirit Floating Land, and is the site of the most intense battles.
The Southern domain is mountainous and rich in soul essence minerals.
The Northern domain is a watery marsh, home to one of the two major battle beasts of the Soul Spirit Floating Land, the Blackwater Mystic Snake.
Speaking of battle beasts, this is the Soul Spirit clan's term for their enslaved creatures. The Soul Spirit clan is powerful in soul essence and possesses various soul abilities, including the ability to enslave other beings using soul marks.
The Blackwater Mystic Snake, while not unique to the Soul Spirit Floating Land, can be found in many watery regions of the Shattered Star Sea. As a mid-tier snake species, it is rated fairly well in the Song family's genealogy, falling into the third tier, similar to the Komoyin Giant Snake.
In addition to the Blackwater Mystic Snake, the Soul Spirit clan has another highly sought-after enslaved beast, the Chimera, a creature with two heads, wings, and a snake tail.
Like the Blackwater Mystic Snake, the Chimera is not unique to the Soul Spirit Floating Land and can be found on other floating lands in the star sea, though they are rarer and have a stronger bloodline.
In the Song family's genealogy, the Chimera's bloodline rating is 72, placing it in the fourth tier, alongside the Thorned Dragon.
However, the Thorned Dragon has a bloodline rating of 80, making it the peak of the fourth tier and significantly stronger than the Chimera.
...
Song Chi's group was heading to the Southern domain.
The Central domain's battlefield was too intense, and while Song Ming Song was not afraid, he had to consider Song Chi and Song You.
Song Chi's ship, though now a frigate, had only recently been promoted, and Song Ming Song was unsure of its exact combat capabilities. Thus, he opted for a safer route.
As for the Northern domain, most of it was submerged in water, and without the necessary ship components, it was not advisable to go there.
...
On the Soul Spirit Floating Land's Ember Network, in the Southern domain communication group:
"Since that's the case, you will be responsible for the area south of the Soul Fusion Mountains. The third lineage's team pushed the frontline outward by several hundred miles, and now many Soul Spirit clan members are appearing there, trying to push our lines back!"
After communicating with the Southern domain combat command through the Ember Network, Song Ming Song quickly received their next assignment.
They were to stabilize the extended frontline south of the Soul Fusion Mountains and hunt as many Soul Spirit clan members as possible.
The Southern domain, though not as large as the Central domain, is still vast, measuring over a million kilometers in length and width. With the rapidly changing battle situation, the old methods of tribal, city-state, or feudal council meetings were no longer practical. Instead, the Ember Network was used for real-time communication and coordination.
Although the Soul Spirit Floating Land is far from the Ember Human civilization's territory, making it difficult to establish a stable Ember Network, the thousands of Ember Ship Captains present on the floating land could easily link their Ember Seeds to form a temporary local network.
The Soul Fusion Mountains are one of the larger mountain ranges in the Southern domain, stretching over ten thousand kilometers and hiding many Soul Spirit clan members.
Upon arrival, the five Ember Warships began to patrol the area. Song Ming Song patrolled alone, while Grandma Bai Xiuqin and Song You formed one group, and Song Chi and his uncle Song Hai formed another.
The patrol routes of the three groups were carefully planned to cover the entire area of several hundred kilometers.
In the sky a few hundred meters above the surface, two Ember Warships flew at low altitude.
Inside the Azure Sky, Song Chi felt a mix of vigilance and frustration. They were on their way back, and so far, they had not encountered any Soul Spirit clan members, let alone any significant native creatures.
As expected, the two Ember Warships found no signs of enemies and soon returned to the temporary rendezvous point.
Over the next few days, this routine continued without any incidents.
On the third day, Song Chi and Song Hai set out on their usual patrol.
The two Ember Warships flew slowly at a low altitude, with ten second-tier Fire Helianthus War Puppets and ten third-tier Blazing Flame War Puppets lined up in a row, advancing methodically through the dense forest below.
The reason for such meticulous patrols was simple: the air surveillance radars on the Ember Warships were not very effective.
Firstly, the Soul Spirit race was small in size, much tinier than humans of the same tier.
Secondly, the Soul Spirits had a special ability called Soul Wave Field, which allowed them to mask their presence with soul waves.
Due to these factors, ordinary air surveillance radars found it difficult to detect the Soul Spirits from a distance.
Since long-range detection was challenging, the only option was to deploy war puppets for these inefficient, carpet-style searches.
About two hundred miles south of the Soul Fusion Mountains, two mountains hundreds of meters tall formed a small valley in the area. Less than ten thousand meters away from these mountains, two frigates were slowly approaching.
They were the Sky Vault and the Black Sea.
Looking at the two mountains ahead, Song Chi steadied himself. Once they passed through the valley between these mountains, their patrol for the day would be over.
Compared to the uneventful patrols over the past few days, Song Chi had already decided to activate the Fixed-point Deployment Platform and Brainwave Remote Control System on the Sky Vault upon their return. He would deploy third-tier Void Shadow Assassin War Puppets to the rear of the Soul Spirit-controlled area to see if they could achieve any additional results.
Even if the Void Shadow Assassin War Puppets were discovered and killed by the Soul Spirits, they could be re-summoned after 24 hours, incurring no significant loss.
As he pondered, the two warships drew closer to the mountains. Just as the Sky Vault was about a kilometer away, the Silver III Generation Hyperwave Magic Energy Detection Radar suddenly emitted several alert sounds.
Glancing over, Song Chi's eyes narrowed sharply as he saw the detailed information on the radar.
"There are Soul Spirits! Retreat!"
While quickly maneuvering the Sky Vault backward, Song Chi also shouted a warning to his uncle.
Song Hai's reaction was swift, and the Black Sea followed the Sky Vault's retreat under his control.
In that instant, several double-headed Chimeras with a wingspan of 150 meters emerged from the waist of the two mountains ahead.
All four Chimeras emitted peak second-tier energy fluctuations. Instead of launching long-range fireballs, they rapidly flapped their wings and pursued the Sky Vault and the Black Sea at top speed.
Through prolonged battles, not only had the Song family gained a deeper understanding of the Soul Spirits, but the Soul Spirits had also studied the Song family members and their unique Ember Warships.
They were well aware that long-range attacks were not a significant threat to the energy-shielded Ember Warships.
Only by getting close to the Ember Warships and physically striking them could they quickly resolve a battle with a warship of the same tier.
However, their plan was clearly not going to succeed this time.
Although the deliberate concealment over the past few days had made Song Chi and his team somewhat more relaxed, this slight easing did not mean they were complacent. They remained vigilant, and the Silver III Generation Hyperwave Magic Energy Detection Radar on the Sky Vault had a special advantage in detecting biological energy fluctuations.
Within a kilometer, even with the Soul Wave Field of the second-tier Soul Spirits, a second-tier Chimera with a 150-meter wingspan was difficult to completely conceal.
Thus, despite the four Chimeras' peak second-tier strength enhanced by the fundamental rules, they could not catch up to the two frigates that had already begun their retreat.
Seeing this, the few second-tier Soul Spirits hiding in the background immediately used their mental imprints to order the four Chimeras to stop pursuing.
In the Sky Vault's main control room, seeing that the four Chimeras had ceased their pursuit, Song Chi quickly turned the warship around.
Encountering a few second-tier Chimeras and Soul Spirits was a rare opportunity for the family's glory. He would not let them escape so easily.
Of course, this is based on the assumption that the Caelum already possesses peak Tier 3 combat power. If he were to encounter four peak Tier 3 Chimeras, he certainly wouldn't be so reckless as to pursue them.
At the bow of the Caelum, the Pure Yang Sword Light Cannon, fully charged, erupted, firing a hundred-meter-long sword light phantom that struck the body of the trailing dual-headed Chimera with pinpoint accuracy.
Although the "Mixed Void Supreme Yang Sword Intent Light" characteristic wasn't utilized, even with the support of fundamental rules, the Tier 2 Chimera still suffered significant damage, its speed noticeably reduced.
With this Tier 2 Chimera falling behind, its fate was sealed. It quickly fell to the Tier 3 purple main cannon of the Black Sea that followed closely behind.
Song Chi's eyes remained fixed on the three remaining Chimeras. He didn't celebrate the successful kill but instead focused on how to take them all down.
With the Pure Yang Sword Light Cannon in cooldown, he quickly switched to the Frost Light Sky Frost Cannon on the side.
The Tier 3 "Sky Frost" characteristic effect was quite effective. After a few shots, the speed of the three rapidly returning dual-headed Chimeras was reduced by half.
Originally, they were only ten thousand meters away from the two mountain peaks, a distance they could cover in the blink of an eye. However, under the effect of the five layers of Sky Frost, the journey became much longer.
Seizing this opportunity, the Caelum and Black Sea behind them opened fire with all their might, leaving massive wounds on the bodies of the three Chimeras.
Although they were all Tier 2 combat units, as long as they didn't get close, these Chimeras, the pinnacle of hit-and-run tactics, were nothing more than live targets against Tier 2 Flame Spark Warships.
Roar!
The pain from their bodies made the three Chimeras instinctively howl. Although enslaved by the Soul Spirit Clan, they weren't like puppet soldiers, devoid of pain and sensation. The throbbing pain caused them to howl in anger.
Soon, seemingly thoroughly enraged by the Caelum and Black Sea, the three Chimeras stopped their forward flight. They turned around, their wings flapping rapidly, and wisps of green energy began to swirl around them.
Under the enhancement of these green energy streams, the three Chimeras seemed lighter, and with a sudden flap of their black bat wings, they charged towards the Caelum and Black Sea once again.
Seeing this, Song Chi and Uncle Song Hai repeated their previous tactic, maneuvering the warships to retreat.
However, at this moment, the lion heads of the three Chimeras suddenly gathered several pale white, needle-like energy spikes.
"It's Soul Spirit Stingers, be careful!"
Uncle Song Hai's warning echoed in Song Chi's ear, but he had already recognized the technique and didn't need the reminder.
These needle-like spikes, called Soul Spirit Stingers, were another soul-based ability of the Soul Spirit Clan, capable of causing special damage to the soul.
Ordinary colorless and white Flame Spark Seeds could not protect the captain's mind from Soul Spirit Stingers of the same tier.
Even with a blue Flame Spark Seed, if a Soul Spirit Stinger penetrated the body, it would cause the captain significant discomfort, with occasional sharp pains in the mind, taking about half a month to recover.
Zzzt!
In the Black Sea's control room, Uncle Song Hai's face turned pale as the communication with the Caelum was suddenly cut off. He thought Song Chi had encountered some danger.
But that wasn't the case. Song Chi had proactively severed the communication and, in the instant after, his figure vanished from the Caelum.
The next second, the intangible Soul Spirit Stingers pierced through the dark matter energy shield and obsidian armor, entering the Caelum.
A second later, a subtle spatial fluctuation rippled through the Caelum, and Song Chi returned from the marketplace.
Roar!
Ahead, the three Chimeras roared to the sky, their bat wings flapping wildly as they charged forward.
On the side, the Black Sea remained motionless, momentarily stalled, clearly affected by the Soul Spirit Stingers.
Without hesitation, Song Chi chose to open fire. The next second, the Pure Yang Sword Light Cannon, which had already completed its charge, erupted with a thunderous blast.
It wasn't the usual hundred-meter-long ordinary sword light phantom but a nearly kilometer-long Sword Intent Light.
He had clearly activated the Mixed Void Supreme Yang Sword Intent Light characteristic.
(End of Chapter)
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