Chapter 577: The Black Soul Devouring Altar
Chapter 577: The Black Soul Devouring Altar
Song Chi's gaze lingered on the information panel projected by Heaven's Mind, his eyes gradually shifting from initial surprise to delight.
It was evident from this information that the Celestial Intestine, despite its peculiar appearance, represented a significant opportunity.
The key lay in the fact that it posed no significant threat; its only physiological behavior was to continuously absorb external energy, and it would not actively attack external lifeforms.
Strictly speaking, it was like a secret realm that endlessly produced starry sea artifacts, but it couldn't adjust the production speed of these artifacts through the Void Crystal.
However, compared to ordinary secret realms that produced starry sea artifacts, the Celestial Intestine had a higher growth potential. For instance, the current Celestial Intestine, based on its current length of several hundred thousand kilometers, had likely existed for over several hundred thousand years.
Within these several hundred thousand years, if a particular artifact had never been taken by outsiders, its quality might have already reached an astonishing level, and the possibility of Black Ultimate Quality artifacts couldn't be ruled out.
However, Song Chi's current focus wasn't on these artifacts. His thoughts shifted, and he controlled the Heaven Ruin Skydome to initiate another spatial teleportation.
This teleportation destination was precisely the location of the Celestial Intestine.
Compared to the remote sensing through the projection screen, the close proximity made Song Chi feel more emotionally stirred.
However, Heaven's Mind informed him that the Celestial Intestine posed no threat, and as long as it wasn't attacked by outsiders, it wouldn't harm those who approached it.
Based on this information, Song Chi, after calming his mind, continued to pilot the Heaven Ruin Skydome forward.
"I wonder if this Celestial Intestine has nurtured any starry sea artifacts inside, and if so, what quality are they?"
The reason for this thought was the Celestial Intestine's unique characteristic. As a special celestial lifeform, if an external entity took one of the starry sea artifacts within, it would directly trigger its specific stress response, causing it to flee to an unknown starry sea.
In other words, there was a possibility that it had just fled here, and the starry sea aliens might have already taken all the nurtured starry sea artifacts.
As the warship continued to approach the pitch-black entrance at the bottom of the Celestial Intestine, the force of attraction and devouring from the outside world became increasingly intense.
This pitch-black entrance was where it continuously absorbed starry sea energy, and as such, it resembled a miniature black hole; the closer external objects got, the stronger the pulling and pressure they had to endure.
Fortunately, the Heaven Ruin Skydome's hull and engine thrust were powerful enough to withstand the devouring force of the Celestial Intestine, which couldn't compare to the real black hole in the Chaotic Star Domain. The ship maintained stability even as its hull completely entered the pitch-black entrance.
As soon as Song Chi entered the Celestial Intestine, he witnessed a scene vastly different from the outside world.
Although the space on both sides was spacious, through his enhanced vision, he could see sharp tufts of fur growing on the intestinal walls. These sharp tufts were not long and seemed insignificant compared to the entire intestine.
However, as the endless starry energy flowed in from the outside, these tufts of fur not only remained intact but also absorbed tiny strands of refined energy to nourish themselves.
This was the primary method by which the Celestial Intestine nurtured starry sea artifacts.
As Song Chi observed, among the dense tufts of fur within his field of vision, there were dozens of colorful light orbs hanging on them, and inside these orbs were various nurtured starry sea artifacts.
However, most of them were blue and purple, and the few orange orbs didn't attract much of Song Chi's interest.
The engines roared as the Heaven Ruin Skydome continued its ascent.
The ship's armor rippled with layers of energy shields as it advanced, and the intensity of the surrounding energy flow increased as the warship moved forward.
Song Chi paid no heed to Heaven's Mind's detailed analysis report, and the Heaven Ruin Skydome's speed didn't falter.
As the ship ascended, it became evident that the number of starry sea artifacts nurtured on the intestinal walls was decreasing. After the warship had covered half the distance, it took a considerable stretch to find another nurtured artifact.
Silver Light Orb
Silver Orb
At one point, when the Heaven Ruin Skydome ascended to a sufficient height, the first golden orb finally came into view.
"Brain, move the battleship closer..."
Having reached the level of a Golden Holy Domain Artifact, Song Chi's interest was piqued to an extreme degree. He had to examine each item's details individually, allowing him to make informed decisions later.
After all, the Celestial Intestine had its own stress response program. Each Star Sea creature that entered could only take one item, and once a single artifact was removed, all Star Sea creatures inside would be immediately expelled.
[Mythical Artifact: Stellar Spirit Jewel]
[Quality: Golden]
[Conversion: None]
[Note: A special artifact nurtured by the Celestial Intestine.]
After reviewing its attributes and finding that it couldn't be converted into a shipborne component, Song Chi quickly skipped it, and the battleship continued its ascent.
Shua shua shua! The outermost Holy Light Shield had long been completely eroded, and what was now directly exposed to the external energy torrent was the "Yin-Yang Counterbalance Annihilation Shield." However, because both the Yin-Yang Counterbalance Annihilation Shield and the Neutron Star Core Armor had been enhanced to the eighth rank, with their astonishing self-repair capabilities, the Yin-Yang Counterbalance Annihilation Shield was much sturdier than the previous Holy Light Shield.
[Mythical Artifact: Spirit Serpent Ring]
[Quality: Golden]
[Conversion: {Spirit Serpent Spatial Ring}]
[Note: A special artifact nurtured by the Celestial Intestine.]
...
[Mythical Artifact: Rotting Ring]
[Quality: Golden]
[Conversion: {Extreme Wasteland Corruption Cannon}]
...
[Mythical Artifact: Void Nurturing Stone]
...
Along the way, Song Chi saw several Golden Holy Domain Artifacts, two of which could be converted into shipborne components. One was a special battleship space expansion module, and the other was a golden Star Annihilation Cannon.
Neither of them was particularly satisfying, so the Heaven Ruin Skypiercer's upward speed didn't slow down.
Kacha kacha kacha! At one moment, fine cracks appeared on the Yin-Yang Counterbalance Annihilation Shield, and the shield's glow dimmed to the extreme. Clearly, under the astonishingly intense external energy torrent, the Yin-Yang Counterbalance Annihilation Shield was about to overload.
However, at this moment, Song Chi actively activated the "Angel King True Spirit Guardian" trait.
As the eighth-rank Angel King True Spirit Phantom condensed, the energy torrent's erosion on the battleship was weakened by over 80%. Taking this opportunity, the energy shield component and the Neutron Star Core Armor's dual repair capabilities allowed the Yin-Yang Counterbalance Annihilation Shield to fully recover in just tens of seconds.
But at this moment, the Heaven Ruin Skypiercer had clearly penetrated deep into the Celestial Intestine's innermost area. As the battleship continued its ascent, Song Chi quickly captured the two black light clusters at the top of the intestine with his enhanced eyes.
"Two black ultimate-quality artifacts... It seems that since its birth, no creature has ever reached the deepest part of this Celestial Intestine, or at least very rarely."
Confirming this, Song Chi fully activated another silver engine on the battleship, and the Heaven Ruin Skypiercer's speed increased significantly, swiftly approaching the upper end.
The closer they got to the upper end of the intestine, the more terrifying the external energy torrent became, directly causing the Angel King True Spirit Phantom to fade faster.
By the time the Heaven Ruin Skypiercer officially reached the upper end, the Angel King True Spirit Phantom was also completely eroded.
However, Song Chi didn't take the next step but allowed the external energy torrent to erode the battleship.
With the protection of the Angel King True Spirit Phantom, the Yin-Yang Counterbalance Annihilation Shield had already recovered to its full state, enough to withstand for a while.
His gaze quickly focused on the interiors of the two black light clusters ahead of the battleship.
[Mythical Artifact: Shadow Light Tomb]
[Quality: Black]
[Conversion: None]
[Note: A special artifact nurtured by the Celestial Intestine.]
...
[Mythical Artifact: Soul Devouring Platform]
[Quality: Black]
[Conversion: {Soul Devouring Altar}]
[Note: A special artifact nurtured by the Celestial Intestine.]
Song Chi's gaze completely focused on the interior of the right black light cluster, and soon, an attribute panel appeared before his eyes.
Soul Devouring Altar Level 0
Quality: Black
Unique Trait: Soul Devouring Ascension
Consumption: 300/s (Shadow Energy Points)
Effect: After installation, the souls of spiritual beings directly killed by the battleship will be absorbed by this component.
...
{Soul Devouring Ascension: Consumes ten million Shadow Energy Points. As the price for breaking this component, it consumes all the souls devoured by the component, allowing a designated component to undergo Ascension. Quality can be increased by one rank. Current Soul Devouring Progress: First Stage 0% (Note: When the first stage progress bar is full, it can be used to enhance red components, turning them into silver components. When the second stage progress bar is full, it can be used to enhance silver components, turning them into golden components, and so on. Soul Devouring Progress can accumulate up to four stages, allowing black components to ascend to colored/lower-tier components.)}
After reviewing the attributes of the two artifacts, Song Chi's eyes sparkled, but he didn't immediately take action to acquire this Soul Devouring Platform.
Artifact.
The battleship descended rapidly, and not long after the Yin-Yang Counterbalance Annihilation Shield was completely overloaded, the vessel exited the Celestial Intestine.
According to the nature of the Celestial Intestine, one could only obtain one artifact at most each time, but Song Chi wanted to test if he could exploit a loophole.
After leaving a spatial anchor point in place, he returned to the Golden Disc Floating Continent.
Several dozen minutes later, a spatial fluctuation flashed, and Song Chi reappeared in the starry sky.
Soon, the Heaven Ruin Skydome and Song Wujiang, Song Yan appeared one after another.
"It is indeed the Celestial Intestine!"
Exiting the Dimensional Space Stone, Song Wujiang and Song Yan stared intently at the peculiar crimson intestine ahead.
Although both had experienced adventures, this was indeed the first time they had laid eyes on the Celestial Intestine.
After observing for a while, Song Chi voiced his thoughts.
"Old Ancestor, let's try to absorb it together later and see if we can each obtain an artifact."
After speaking and seeing the two nod, Song Chi continued, "Should we bring the Original Ancestors over as well?"
In response to this suggestion, Song Yan was the first to express his opinion.
"I don't think it's necessary. This method is unlikely to work. Otherwise, the Flame Human Civilization's official records would surely mention it."
His words made sense. No matter how rare the Celestial Intestine was, the number of Flame Keeper Captains in the Flame Human Civilization was substantial. Many captains had likely encountered it, and given the intelligence of the Flame Humans, this method had probably been attempted before. Since there were no records of it working, it was highly improbable that it would succeed now.
However, Song Wujiang finally said,
"Little Chi, why don't you go and try? The chances are slim, but with your teleportation ability, it won't be too troublesome. Let's bring Shiyuan and the others over to give it a shot."
Half a day later, six captains, including five Ultimate Fearless Captains and one Star Annihilator Captain from the Song Clan, all piloted their battleships into the Celestial Intestine.
After a period of rapid approach, the six battleships docked near six different Shattered Star Sea artifacts.
At the top of the intestine, the Heaven Ruin Skydome and the Sea Tamer Dragon Soaring hovered silently, with Song Chi targeting the Soul Devouring Platform, while the Old Ancestor Song Wujiang focused on the Shadow Light Tomb.
A black Ultimate Quality artifact, even if it couldn't be transformed into a shipborne component, would still be worth far more than an ordinary golden component. Naturally, Song Wujiang wouldn't settle for less.
In the special communication component group chat of the six battleships, as Song Chi's voice sounded, the hearts of the Song Clan members were filled with tension.
"Get ready, 3, 2, 1, go!"
As the words fell, the law hands extended from the six battleships acted in unison.
The next second, everyone felt a powerful repulsive force acting on their bodies, followed by a dizzying sensation as if the heavens were spinning. When they regained their senses, the six individuals found themselves outside the Celestial Intestine in the starry sky.
Looking at the massive Celestial Intestine ahead, as a lifeform disturbed the artifacts it nurtured within, a vast amount of crimson blood light surged around it.
The blood light illuminated the entire dark starry sky, and in the next second, the Celestial Intestine vanished from the six people's sight, fleeing into the distant starry sky.
Seeing this, the Song Clan members in the battleship communication group chat couldn't help but sigh.
Except for Song Chi, who successfully obtained the Soul Devouring Platform artifact, the other five had nothing in their hands, clearly indicating that this loophole-exploiting method was indeed ineffective.
"Never mind, it was just a try. Don't be disappointed. At least Little Chi managed to get a black Ultimate Quality component."
Song Wujiang spoke first, but in truth, there was no need for him to offer consolation; everyone understood the situation.
In fact, when Song Chi was counting down, the others had tacitly delayed their actions for a split second to ensure Song Chi's success and prevent an awkward situation where someone else obtained a golden artifact.
However, at this moment, Song Chi suddenly said,
"Wait, let me try again."
The simultaneous action was merely a trial without much hope. The loophole Song Chi truly wanted to exploit was something else.
(End of Chapter)
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