Chapter 184: Reversing the Tide Against a Near-Fourth-Stage Chimera · The Terrifying Miniature Neutr

Chapter 184: Reversing the Tide Against a Near-Fourth-Stage Chimera · The Terrifying Miniature Neutron Star

Song Yan's flagship, the Xuanjia, had ascended to the third stage over 15 years ago. No one knew just how powerful the Xuanjia had become in that time.

However, the Xuanjia’s fearless teleportation to the side of the three-headed Chimera was a clear indication that this so-called near-fourth-stage creature posed little threat to it.

Indeed, as a thick layer of yellow earth-like rock suddenly covered the Xuanjia’s hull, the Chimera’s snake tail, which seemed like a death-dealing fiend to other third-stage Ember Fleet captains, could only produce sparks when it struck the Xuanjia’s surface.

Witnessing this, the surrounding third-stage Ember Fleet captains understood that this sixth-ranked family member’s flagship must have at least an orange-quality hull armor, with its reinforcement level likely surpassing the fourth stage, and possibly even reaching the peak of the fourth stage.

As they marveled, the Xuanjia’s next move was even more astonishing.

Clang clang!

A loud metallic grinding sound followed, and in the next second, the cannon at the Xuanjia’s bow transformed into a gleaming silver ram.

Inside the Xuanjia, the towering man focused his thoughts, activating the "Crushing Impact" characteristic of the orange-quality Xuan Yin Ram component.

Immediately, a surge of silver light gathered at the Xuanjia’s bow, quickly enveloping the entire Xuan Yin Ram in an extremely sharp, silver glow.

In the next second, the Xuanjia, brimming with terrifying power, charged forward with an unstoppable force, colliding directly with the three-headed Chimera.

In front of it, the near-fourth-stage Chimera, sensing the threat to its life, flapped its wings, summoning a tornado storm behind them. A mysterious green energy flowed around its entire body.

With these enhancements, the three-headed Chimera attempted to take flight and flee. However, the towering man inside the Xuanjia sneered.

“Too late to run now!”

With that, he activated another orange-quality component, the Earth Rock Domain Stele.

Swish swish swish!

Earthen yellow stones rapidly condensed around the three-headed Chimera, the same mysterious energy flowing through them. This earthen yellow energy clashed with the green aura surrounding the Chimera, creating a continuous tug of war.

As the struggle continued, the three-headed Chimera found its movements becoming increasingly sluggish, its body stiffening as more and more stones formed around it.

Boom!

Losing its agility, the three-headed Chimera was unable to evade the Xuanjia’s charge. The Xuan Yin Ram, brimming with sharp and overwhelming silver energy, struck its chest directly.

Roar roar roar!

The Chimera’s three heads screamed in unison. Under the Xuanjia’s terrifying impact, a massive crater several hundred meters deep formed in its chest, and the sharp, dominant silver energy continued to erode its flesh from within.

But it didn’t end there. After the initial crushing impact, the Xuan Yin Ram triggered a secondary collision characteristic.

This additional impact further injured the already wounded three-headed Chimera, tearing a massive wound several hundred meters long in its chest, causing a torrent of blood to spray out and rain down on the forest below.

Roar!

In a final, desperate attempt, the three-headed Chimera’s three heads opened simultaneously, releasing three energy spheres of different colors, each a kilometer in diameter, which converged and shot toward the Xuanjia.

The surrounding Song family Ember Fleet captains were startled, wanting to warn Song Yan to dodge.

After all, the three-headed Chimera was already half a step into the fourth stage, and with the additional power from the soul land, which carried a trace of fourth-stage essence, these energy spheres were no less powerful than its over three-kilometer-long snake tail.

However, it was too late. The energy spheres in the Chimera’s mouth condensed almost instantly and were fired at an incredible speed, leaving no time for any reaction, let alone a warning.

But what happened next put the Song family members at ease.

Compared to the Xuanjia’s hull, which was at least orange-quality and reinforced to the fourth stage, the energy shield on its surface was equally formidable. Facing the Chimera’s life-draining counterattack, the energy shield only dimmed slightly.

After this attack, the near-fourth-stage Chimera lost its ability to retaliate. It could only passively endure the Xuanjia’s subsequent attacks, quickly falling to the ship’s cannons.

Without the need for the two first-line elders to intervene, the crisis that had seemed so urgent was resolved effortlessly by this sixth-ranked Song family member.

...

Song Chi was unaware of what had transpired in the sky above the Soul Spear Mountains, but he had a good guess about the general development of events, having heard the same ancient voice that echoed across the entire soul land.

At that moment, he was controlling the Cangqiong as it rapidly traversed the central water marsh in the Northern Domain.

Indeed, the Cangqiong was no longer as cautious as it had been a month and a half ago. Instead, it was now speeding through the marsh’s depths.

Ever since he received the news of the impending family battle, Song Chi, knowing his time was running out, ignored all previous concerns and used the semi-automatic ship’s AI to its maximum capacity, like a dragon weaving through the central water marsh, conducting a full-scale exploration.

As a result, the Cangqiong’s exploration speed increased significantly. In just a month and a half, he had mapped out more than three-quarters of the water marsh, leaving only a small fraction of the area unexplored.

Additionally, during this time, he had collected a substantial number of qualified deep-water pearl clams. He now had 30 three-hundred-year-old pearl clams, 10 five-hundred-year-old pearl clams, 4 seven-hundred-year-old pearl clams, and 2 nine-hundred-year-old pearl clams.

The only disappointment was that he still hadn’t found any thousand-year-old deep-water pearl clams.

Song Chi had a theory that another Song family member had likely beaten him to it, using special ship components to sweep through the Northern Domain’s waters and collect those thousand-year-old pearl clams beforehand.

Otherwise, with the vastness of the Northern Domain’s water marsh, it would be unreasonable to find not a single thousand-year-old pearl clam.

Gurgle gurgle gurgle!

Ahead, the water was suddenly split apart, and a large number of bubbles emerged. Then, a massive, black snake tail lashed out horizontally.

Indeed, the Cangqiong was currently engaged in battle. The price of its rampant rampage through the Central Great Marsh had been multiple encounters with third-stage Black Water Mystic Snakes, leading to inevitable conflicts.

Fortunately, the number of third-stage Black Water Mystic Snakes in the Northern Marsh had significantly decreased after the recruitment by the Soul Spirit Clan. Otherwise, such a commotion would have likely stirred the entire Central Great Marsh into a frenzy.

Song Chi didn't bother maneuvering the Cangqiong to avoid the attacks. Having participated in numerous battles over the past half-month, he knew all too well that a regular third-stage peak Black Water Mystic Snake couldn't inflict much damage on the Cangqiong's red-quality Neutron Star Core Armor. At most, the armor would be damaged by 5% to 6%, and it would take no more than half a minute to fully recover.

At the ship's prow, the Pure Yang Sword Light Cannon roared once more.

In the next moment, the Black Water Mystic Snake, which had already been hit twice, was utterly destroyed. Its kilometer-long body sank into the depths of the water, over ten thousand meters below, and fell silent.

Watching the snake's body slowly sink, Song Chi felt a pang of regret. Over the past half-month, the Cangqiong had killed at least eight or ten third-stage Black Water Mystic Snakes, but apart from providing a few strands of second-stage Floating Land Essence, these snake corpses had no other value.

Their bodies rarely contained energy crystals, and they lacked the kind of nutritious flesh found in insectoid species. They were only useful for feeding carnivorous creatures, and that was it.

Given the Cangqiong's current situation, it wasn't practical to tow these corpses to the Western Domain Merit Hall for merit points.

Thus, Song Chi could only watch helplessly as the snake corpses sank into the water, feeling a sense of loss.

Third-stage, in the fragmented star sea, was no longer considered a low-level creature. It typically took several decades to centuries to grow to this stage.

Compared to this growth period, the gain of just one strand of second-stage Floating Land Essence seemed rather disproportionate, leaving Song Chi with a nagging sense of unease.

However, he was also aware that this was the reality of the vast star sea, where countless races existed. Apart from those with special talents, most alien species had very limited value. They were either used as cannon fodder or to feed more promising creatures, which wasn't unusual.

After dispatching the Black Water Mystic Snake, the Cangqiong continued its journey forward.

About an hour later, at the bottom of the marsh, over ten thousand meters deep, Song Chi's face in the Cangqiong's main control room suddenly lit up with joy. The semi-automatic ship AI had just issued a notification.

One thousand meters ahead, a life energy signature similar to a Deep Water Clam has been detected, estimated to be over 3000 years old.

No wonder Song Chi was elated. A 3000-year-old Deep Water Clam had a good chance of containing a Deep Water Pearl that was over a thousand years old.

However, his joy was tempered by a hint of confusion. According to the Silver III Ultra-Wave Mana Detection Radar, the Deep Water Clam's activity area was only a few dozen meters within the mud layer.

In theory, this depth should have been easily discovered by the unknown early mover.

"Why didn't they take this Deep Water Clam as well?"

Song Chi's mind raced with thoughts, but before he could ponder further, a tremor from the Flame Ancestral Aperture in his forehead interrupted him.

This mission is now complete. All clan members, please leave the Soul Spirit Floating Land within the next three days!

...

Three consecutive top-priority messages, all from the First Direct Line Unity Department, urging everyone to leave.

This message solidified Song Chi's resolve. He no longer hesitated, and the Cangqiong's engines reignited, propelling the warship forward with powerful thrust.

The scorching exhaust was concealed by the void membrane, but the boiling bubbles created by the intense heat in the water behind the Cangqiong were clearly visible, leaving a long trail of bubbles in its wake.

After a dozen seconds, the Cangqiong arrived at the location marked by the mana detection radar, where the 3000-year-old Deep Water Clam was hidden.

The clam was nestled in sand and mud, backed by a large coral reef. As the Cangqiong slowly approached, a tractor beam extended from the ship, illuminating the mud layer above the clam.

As time passed, the mud layer was gradually cleared away, and Song Chi's eyes gleamed with deep anticipation as he neared the 3000-year-old Deep Water Clam.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a powerful current struck the side of the ship, and an attacker appeared—a kilometer-long giant snake tail, unlike any ordinary third-stage Black Water Mystic Snake. Its scales were an eerie pale red, and they were covered with sharp, serrated spines, giving an unsettling feeling.

Just one glance was enough to imagine its terrifying destructive power.

However, this sudden change didn't cause Song Chi much alarm. He remained calm, as if he had anticipated this attack.

Indeed, he had been wary since detecting the 3000-year-old Deep Water Clam. Given the thorough approach of the clan member who had acted first, if there was no specific reason, the 3000-year-old Deep Water Clam would not have been left behind.

"A half-step fourth-stage Black Water Mystic Snake?"

Feeling the aura emanating from the pale red snake tail, Song Chi recognized the opponent's strength.

This time, however, he adopted a different approach. His gaze was resolute, and a look of eagerness appeared on his face.

In the past, he had been extremely averse to close-quarters combat, primarily because the Cangqiong's armor had been a weak point. Now, with the red-quality Neutron Star Core Armor, that weakness had transformed into its greatest strength.

Song Chi wanted to witness the Cangqiong's true combat capabilities firsthand.

Moreover, being deep within the Central Great Marsh, even if he caused a significant disturbance, it would be difficult for the noise to reach the surface in a short time. He could fight the suspected half-step fourth-stage Black Water Mystic Snake without worry.

With his decision made, Song Chi wasted no time.

His mind focused, and he maneuvered the Cangqiong to dodge the red snake tail.

Boom!

Amidst the violent shaking and explosions, the ship's AI issued a mechanical warning.

Warning: Hull armor 7% damaged. Please repair as soon as possible.

Ding! Hull damaged. Neutron Star Core Pulse activated, initiating hull armor repair!

Despite Song Chi's best efforts, the immense water pressure at this depth of tens of thousands of meters was no joke. The speed of the snake's tail whip was also astonishing, and the Celestial Sphere ultimately couldn't evade the attack.

However, the Neutron Star Core Armor's defensive capabilities were truly remarkable. Even against a near-Fourth-Stage entity's direct attack, it could hold up without issue.

And this was just at Level 30. If further enhanced, its defensive capabilities would only become even more terrifying.

At the ship's prow, the fully charged Pure Yang Sword Light Cannon erupted, leaving a long gash on the thousand-meter-long, pale red snake tail. However, while the gash was long, it didn't penetrate deeply, causing little substantial damage to the near-Fourth-Stage Black Water Serpent.

Frowning, Song Chi knew that the Pure Yang Sword Light Cannon was already at Level 39.

This indicated the sheer defensive power of the Black Water Serpent's pale red scales, especially considering the Soul Spirit Floating Land's rule enhancement. Without it, even a near-Fourth-Stage entity wouldn't be this formidable, as the Black Water Serpent wasn't known for its defense.

Despite understanding the reason, Song Chi still felt annoyed.

This led to another drawback of the Pure Yang Sword Light Cannon: it lacked armor-piercing attributes. Against highly defensive creatures, its damage was drastically reduced, a significant weakness.

He had carefully considered this. By enhancing the secondary cannons, he could mitigate this issue, which was why he had been focusing on acquiring armor-piercing secondary cannons. However, such cannons were rare, and the demand among his clan members was high, making it difficult to obtain them within the clan. He could only search through the Multiverse Marketplace.

As he thought, a silver glow emanated from his third eye, and a token shimmering with a silvery light flew out, landing in his palm. It was the Marketplace Travel Token. With the Marketplace now at Level 25, Song Chi had acquired four more tokens, one of which he carried with him.

Activating the Marketplace Travel Token's rule enhancement, a subtle, profound force of law infused the Celestial Sphere, enhancing it in every aspect.

The Pure Yang Sword Light Cannon now inflicted more substantial damage on the pale red snake body, each shot cutting through the scales to create wounds several dozen meters long and nearly three meters deep.

While these wounds were minor compared to the massive Black Water Serpent, the cumulative effect was significant.

Several minutes later, the wounds crisscrossed, turning the pale red scales a deep crimson, and the surrounding water turned red with blood.

Hiss!

Seemingly annoyed by the Celestial Sphere's relentless attacks, a sharp hiss echoed from the depths of the water. An unknown sound wave spread through the water in a bizarre manner.

Inside the Celestial Sphere, Song Chi, who hadn't relaxed, was caught off guard by this sudden development. He didn't even have time to enter the Multiverse Marketplace before the sharp hiss stunned him.

The blue Flame Seed in his third eye flickered violently, a sign of mental intrusion.

At that moment, the Abnormal State Purifier on the Celestial Sphere finally activated.

As a peak Third-Stage purifying light swept over him, Song Chi snapped out of his daze, his gaze instinctively drawn forward. His pupils dilated in shock.

On the projection screen, a terrifyingly large, gaping snake mouth covered the entire screen, with sharp fangs over several dozen meters long gleaming with a cold, menacing light.

It was the near-Fourth-Stage Black Water Serpent, taking advantage of Song Chi's stunned state to dart close to the Celestial Sphere. It seemed ready to tear the ship in half with one bite.

After the initial shock, Song Chi quickly regained his composure, even a hint of a cold smile appearing on his face.

The screen dimmed rapidly as the Black Water Serpent's jaws closed.

"Neutron Star Fission!"

At the last moment, Song Chi activated the Neutron Star Core Armor's "Neutron Star Fission" feature.

Zzzt!

The 120-meter-long Celestial Sphere was enveloped in a scorching black light, transforming instantly into a miniature neutron star several dozen meters in diameter.

Hiss!

The moment the transformation was complete, a temperature exceeding several million degrees Celsius erupted from the Black Water Serpent's mouth. Though it lasted only a split second, the intense heat instantly melted the serpent's head.

Outside, the surrounding water boiled violently.

Joking, even a true Fourth-Stage entity would be obliterated if a neutron star exploded inside it, let alone a near-Fourth-Stage entity?

As the Celestial Sphere received a notification of acquiring a strand of Second-Stage Floating Land Essence, Song Chi was momentarily stunned.

Honestly, even as the ship's captain, Song Chi had misjudged the state of the Celestial Sphere when it transformed into a "miniature neutron star."

This was the first time he had activated this feature, and he had assumed it was purely defensive. However, the actual test revealed that the intense heat emitted by the miniature neutron star's surface during the transformation was a highly effective offensive capability, almost a special ace in the hole.

Canceling the Neutron Star Fission, the Celestial Sphere returned to its original form and emerged from the mangled remains of the Black Water Serpent's head. Only then did Song Chi see the full extent of the terrifying serpent.

Its body was over 2,500 meters long, covered in pale red scales, and armed with terrifying fangs. Honestly, it was a true deep-sea behemoth.

However, it had the misfortune of encountering the Celestial Sphere, equipped with the Neutron Star Core Armor. Its decision to attack with its sharp fangs, coupled with another miscalculation, led to its ultimate demise.

Song Chi felt a moment of reflection. The "Chaotic Void Supreme Yang Sword Intent Light" he had placed such high hopes on had not been used at all. The battle, which he had expected to be a grueling struggle, had ended in such a dramatic and unexpected way.

Of course, after a brief moment of reflection, he was filled with intense surprise.

He had already been impressed by the terrifying defense of the [Neutron Star Core Armor] components and its ability to autonomously restore the ship's armor and energy shields. Now, the discovery of a hidden and powerful offensive capability was a pleasant and significant surprise.

Suppressing his excitement, Song Chi quickly refocused his thoughts. The commotion from the battle with the near-4th-rank Blackwater Mystic Snake was likely to have caught the attention of the two family elders above. He needed to leave as quickly as possible.

He approached the 3000-year-old deep-sea clam, and the Canopy's tractor beam swiftly lifted the nearly one-meter-long clam out of the water. The clam did not disappoint; it contained a fist-sized deep-sea pearl, aged 1500 years, which was a delightful bonus.

After securing the pearl, Song Chi turned his attention to the 2500-meter-long corpse of the Blackwater Mystic Snake. He had intended to quickly process it to cover up the battle's traces, but a glance at the radar showed that he was out of time.

In the sky above, with the deaths of the three-headed Chimera and the near-4th-rank Blackwater Mystic Snake, the Soul Land's core had been significantly weakened. The floating land's protective shield could no longer withstand the two family elders.

Considering this, Song Chi didn't hesitate. He ignored the corpse of the pale red Blackwater Mystic Snake and directed the Canopy to ascend.

Outside the Soul Land's floating sky, two mech giants continued to bombard the nearly shattered protective shield with their rule-based powers. At a critical moment, the shield finally shattered with a loud boom.

Without hesitation, the two first-line elders descended.

However, to the confusion of the Song family members, the elders did not immediately land in the eastern domain but instead headed towards the central water marsh in the northern domain. They had recently sensed the presence of another near-4th-rank creature there.

At the deepest part of the central water marsh, the two mech giants stood on the seabed, with the 2500-meter-long corpse of the Blackwater Mystic Snake before them.

One of the elders, Song Xuanfeng, spoke up, "Judging by the wounds, it seems to have been hit by a 3rd-rank main cannon. To injure a near-4th-rank creature with the Soul Land's core rule enhancement, it must have been an orange-quality main cannon component. And the wound on its head—what kind of temperature could cause such damage? Strange indeed!"

The other elder nodded and added, "I wonder which youngling caused such a commotion and is trying to hide it. Quite amusing!"

Song Xuanfeng seemed to recall something and laughed, "Didn't you do the same back in the day? Pretending to be timid while secretly being a tiger, it still makes me angry to think about it!"

The two elders, who had lived for over eight hundred years, chuckled together.

"Let them be. They'll all come out sooner or later. There's no hiding."

...

The final battle came and went quickly. With the involvement of the family's 6th Sequence and the two elders, the remaining Soul Land inhabitants were quickly suppressed, marking the end of the mission.

In the Soul Spear Mountain Range, at the 14th South Defense Line, the mountain fortress.

It had been a day since Song Chi returned. During this time, Song You had been enthusiastically recounting the details of the previous day's battle, praising the might of 6th Sequence Song Yan.

What Song You didn't know was that his fourth brother had also killed a near-4th-rank creature head-on the previous day.

Song Chi was well aware that he still had some distance to go to match the 6th Sequence. His easy kill of the Blackwater Mystic Snake was largely due to the snake swallowing the Canopy, otherwise, a tough battle would have been inevitable.

In contrast, Song Yan had handled the situation with ease and grace.

While half-heartedly responding to Song You, Song Chi stood up as his grandfather, grandmother, and second uncle approached. He greeted his grandfather and second uncle softly, then quickly walked to his grandmother's side.

"Congratulations, Grandma, on your ship's successful 3rd-rank promotion..."

Indeed, Grandma Bai Xiuchen's flagship, the Lyre, had officially reached 3rd-rank a few months ago, transforming into a cruiser.

Song Chi had been away from the family for some time, and this was his first time seeing his grandmother after her promotion. It was said that with her grandfather's assistance, she had personally killed over a hundred 3rd-rank Soul Land creatures, Blackwater Mystic Snakes, and Chimera in the past year.

Additionally, she had killed many alien species during her exploration of other star domains.

With the necessary resources already gathered, including the 6000-year-old Moonlight Tree sap, the Lyre's promotion was not surprising.

Bai Xiuchen smiled warmly and patted Song Chi gently. Even with her usually calm demeanor, she was particularly happy after the promotion. With the subsequent improvement of her guiding technique, her lifespan would reach 600 years.

On the side, Grandfather Song Mingsong also smiled and cleared his throat.

"Alright, if everyone is ready, let's set off. It's been over a year, and we don't know how things are back home!"

The five of them nodded in agreement, and soon, five Ember Fleet ships soared into the sky from the 14th South Peak, heading towards the Soul Land's horizon.

Many others were doing the same, with numerous Ember Fleet ships emerging from the Soul Land and heading towards the temporary space station in the starry sky.

There, a significant number of family relay ships were waiting, ready to return home as soon as they were fully loaded.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end