Chapter 731: A Millionfold Time Dilation

Chapter 731: A Millionfold Time Dilation

The Starsea Titans are creatures that specialize in physical prowess. Born with robust bodies, they become first-tier beings of the Star Sea upon reaching adulthood. While their genetic potential may not match that of the Octobrachs, their formidable physical strength allows them to easily traverse the Star Sea.

Thanks to this, even without developing unique advanced technologies or constructing starships, they can still conquer the Star Sea through sheer force.

Of course, over the more than ten thousand years of confrontation with Veritas Mechanica, the Starsea Titan civilization has not remained entirely unchanged.

At the very least, the main force of the Starsea Titan civilization now includes a large number of mechanical transport ships. These ships are partly the products of intermediate technological civilizations the Starsea Titans have annexed, but mostly they are various types of mechanical transport ships and large truth warships captured from Veritas Mechanica.

While the Starsea Titans can cross the Star Sea with their physical bodies, their speed is greatly reduced when accompanied by a large number of lower-tier Starsea Titans. Using the captured mechanical warships as troop transports is the only way to mitigate this issue.

If not for this, the Starsea Titan civilization would have expanded beyond its current reach of a hundred galaxies nearly three hundred thousand years ago.

At the center of the Starsea Titan advancement force, the towering figure of Jinpo's eyes occasionally flashed with a glint of unusual color.

Despite the various mishaps over the past two hundred thousand years, He believed that everything would change from now on. The sudden downfall of the Lord of Truth has left Veritas Mechanica without a threat. Additionally, the high-level AI artifact He captured can control a large number of mechanical warships, greatly accelerating the Starsea Titan civilization's expansion and conquest.

He could already envision the Starsea Titan civilization becoming a dominant force in the Star Sea, a civilization that no other would dare to underestimate.

...

Roar! Roar! Roar!

"What's the commotion?"

A sharp roar from the side pulled Jinpo out of His thoughts about the future, adding a touch of anger to His already rugged face, making the Ninth-Rank Titan appear even more brutal.

Before the other high-ranking Starsea Titans could explain, Jinpo's ears were filled with the sounds of escalating screams and explosions.

In the next moment, He seemed to sense something. His eyes, larger than those of ordinary seventh-tier beings, widened in rage, and the life force pressure of a Ninth-Rank being spread out.

Following the direction of His gaze, there was only a pitch-black void, silent and eternal.

The other Starsea Titans around Him noticed nothing, but Jinpo, who controlled a colorful reconnaissance artifact, was different.

His peak Ninth-Rank aura erupted, and a blood-colored giant ape phantom formed from tangible blood energy rushed toward the black void.

Primate Shattering Strike

Only now did the surrounding high-ranking Starsea Titans realize something was amiss, understanding that Jinpo had discovered something.

Just as they were about to react, numerous figures suddenly appeared in the previously pitch-black void.

Eight-armed serpent-tailed giants, streamlined mechanical warriors... though these newly arrived beings were of different kinds, they shared a common trait: they were all charging up their attacks.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless terrifying energy beams pierced through the void, raining down on the Starsea Titans before they could mount any defense.

The Ember Humans and the Octobrachs would not reveal themselves without cause. With the enhancement of a lower-tier group concealment component, even the peak Ninth-Rank Jinpo's detection would not reveal their location until His attack was launched.

They chose to reveal themselves only after all their attack preparations were complete.

Successfully killed a Seventh-Rank Starsea Titan. Cloned [Blood Chalice] successfully collected a strand of Seventh-Rank Holy Blood. [Eternal True Spirit Nest] successfully absorbed a Seventh-Rank True Spirit Soul. You have obtained 1 strand of Sixth-Rank Leviathan Essence!

Song Chi activated the Quantum Annihilation Star Cannon, combining the "Mark of the Hunted" and "Black Hole Singularity Burst" traits. In one strike, He obliterated a Seventh-Rank Starsea Titan.

There were many others in the combined team who acted similarly.

After all, it was the combined efforts of the top-tier forces of two advanced civilizations. Even if it was a lucky strike, the damage they could inflict was terrifying.

Hearing the notification, Song Chi turned to glance at the [Eternal True Spirit Nest] component on His flagship.

Eternal True Spirit Nest Level 90

Quality: Black

...

Eternal True Spirit Nest: This component includes a storage space for nurturing true spirit bodies. All enemy units killed by the equipped warship will have their spirit bodies automatically absorbed into the Eternal True Spirit Nest. Once absorbed, these spirit bodies will be nurtured by the special energy within the nest until they are restored to their peak pre-death condition (Note: The current maximum level for absorption is ninth-rank). (Currently, one ninth-rank spirit body, seven eighth-rank spirit bodies, and forty-two seventh-rank spirit bodies are stored.)

Song Chi didn’t originally plan to upgrade this component to ninth-rank so soon. The Lord of Truth was an unexpected situation, and he had to use the precious "Nine Lives Chess" ability to barely defeat it. Ninth-Rank Sovereigns are not easily slain.

Moreover, as a silicon-based life form, the Lord of Truth didn’t have a spirit body, so Song Chi hadn’t been in a hurry to strengthen the Eternal True Spirit Nest. This upgrade was only because of the severely wounded Ninth-Rank Serpent Demon Sovereign he had recently killed. He hadn’t had much hope, but it ended up not disappointing him.

This could be considered the most valuable action he took during the battle with the Demon God Floating Continent.

Not only did he earn three million merit points, securing his second priority redemption right, but he also obtained ninth-rank divine blood, a ninth-rank true spirit soul, and the yet-to-be-refined source blood of a Ninth-Rank Sovereign. The value of that Ninth-Rank Serpent Demon Sovereign was fully realized.

Song Chi quickly refocused his thoughts. A new battle had already begun, and it was a critical time to avoid distractions.

Three hyperdimensional flagships, five Ninth-Rank Serpent Demons, and two ninth-rank enslaved creatures (a Dragon Spine Tyrant Whale and a Black Flame Dragon) led the charge, totaling ten ninth-rank combatants. They surged toward the five ninth-rank Starsea Titans in the distance.

Even with just the three hyperdimensional flagships, they would have had a clear advantage since the enemy lacked the Floating Continent’s core will. With ten against five, the advantage was even more pronounced.

The ninth-rank battlefield was clearly one-sided.

The same was true for the eighth-rank and seventh-rank battles. The Starsea Titan civilization had never been at an advantage in terms of numbers or individual combat strength. After the recent ruthless and devastating attacks, more than twenty percent of the high-rank Starsea Titans were either directly or indirectly killed, exacerbating the trend.

In less than a month, the Starsea Titan civilization, which had ruled this unknown galactic cluster for hundreds of thousands of years, was nearly annihilated at the top level.

In the starry battlefield, countless mechanical debris and severed limbs floated through the void. In just a month, the main battlefield had turned into a vast starry wasteland.

At the heart of the battle, powerful energy waves continued to sweep through the area. Under the combined efforts of the hyperdimensional flagships and the Ninth-Rank Serpent Demon Sovereigns, the last ninth-rank Starsea Titan lost all resistance.

This ninth-rank Starsea Titan was finally brought to the Shenxia Jiuli.

"Jiang Yuan, shall you handle the final blow?"

In response to Cangli’s question, a quick reply came from the Shenxia Jiuli.

"No need. We have other plans for this last ninth-rank Starsea Titan."

As he spoke, Jiang Yuan looked at the two others in the hyperdimensional encrypted group chat.

"I will go to the Abyssal Front, the Starsea Insect Front, and Emperor City to gather more civilizational fortune. This is both for the final intimidation before my seclusion for breakthrough and to further obtain some civilizational fortune. As for this peak ninth-rank Starsea Titan, enslave it!"

"After this, you will soon be attempting the Mythic Ascension. More civilizational fortune will increase the Shenxia Jiuli’s chances of success. You don’t need to worry about the rest."

Despite their agreement, Jiang Yuan shook his head.

"No, although everything is in place, you know the difficulty of the Mythic Ascension. We cannot adopt an all-or-nothing attitude. Even if the Shenxia Jiuli’s final attempt fails, it must not endanger the safety of the Ember Flame Civilization. A peak ninth-rank Starsea Titan, though it may not completely offset the temporary combat power loss of the Shenxia Jiuli, will significantly reduce your pressure."

"Moreover, the Mythic Ascension of the Shenxia Jiuli is not that of a hyperdimensional flagship. While a ninth-rank civilizational fortune can increase the Ascension success rate, it’s not as crucial as you think. Let’s not argue about this anymore."

With that, the other two did not press the matter further. The two hyperdimensional flagships then began to emit colorful enslavement marks.

High-rank enslavement components are rare, but not so rare that they lacked them.

Before this, all four factions had ninth-rank enslaved creatures.

Even with colorful enslavement components, the task was far from easy when facing a peak ninth-rank sovereign.

The two hyperdimensional flagships attempted over twenty times before the Xianqin Zulong successfully completed the enslavement.

With this step completed, the initial cooperation agreement between the parties was essentially finalized. If the Octobrach side was willing, they would naturally assist in pushing back the entire Veritas Mechanica and Starsea Titan territories.

However, the result was clear: the Octobrach side declined.

The Ember Captains were not surprised by this response, as both sides understood the situation.

Now that the top forces of Veritas Mechanica and the Stellar Giant Ape Civilization have been nearly wiped out, the two civilizations controlled around 150 galaxies. If the Ember Flame Civilization were to assist, it would certainly save a lot of time, but the cost would be significant.

Without a doubt, wherever the Flame-Ember Starship passed, all kinds of mineral resources and Floating Continent spirits would be stripped away.

In the past, the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon civilization might not have been too concerned, but now, after their hasty retreat to a distant land and the severe damage to their clan's foundation, the most urgent need was to gather resources to rebuild. Only by doing so could they avoid falling too far behind the Ember Human Civilization and maintain the possibility of continuing their comprehensive cooperation on equal terms.

"Since that's the case, we won't linger any longer. However, we can continue our trade and exchanges; it benefits both of us."

"Of course!"

...

The month-long battle ended with the Ember Human Civilization taking all the high-ranking Stellar Giant Ape corpses from the battlefield.

On this day, on a truth floating land.

In a newly established giant city, the remaining six Ninth-Rank Serpent Demon Sovereigns of the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon civilization gathered.

"Cangli, the statistics are in. The resources on this true truth floating land have decreased by forty percent. The nearby mining continent has had half of its core essence extracted. Additionally, the overall resources in Veritas Mechanica's territory are clearly below normal levels."

"Although this is a common characteristic of mechanical civilizations, which require various mechanical creations, according to the information we've gathered, it seems to be closely related to the Song Family of the Ember Flame Civilization. Moreover, Cangeng clearly had a falling out with them. Should we..."

Before the Ninth-Rank Serpent Demon responsible for the report could finish, Cangli waved him off.

"There's no need to mention this again. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Song Family is just a small seventh-rank family. After this battle, they have already caught the attention of the major powers within the Ember Flame Civilization. They are also a direct subordinate of the Beidou Seven Star Hall. This is not the time to cause them trouble."

"But the Beidou Seven Star Hall is only an eighth-rank force..."

"Stupid!"

"Have you still not understood after all this? Can the Beidou Seven Star Hall still be viewed as an ordinary eighth-rank force? The territory of the Ember Human Civilization has doubled this time. With this momentum, in the next ten thousand years, they will have several, perhaps even more than ten, hyper-dimensional flagships, and among them will certainly be the Beidou Seven Star Hall. Don't you see?"

"From the moment we decided to ally and officially moved away from the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon Galactic Cluster, we lost the right to be compared with them. Our next step must be to do everything in our power to improve ourselves and try to keep up with their rapid rise. Only by doing so can we hope to lean on their strength when they ascend to Sovereign Civilization."

Almost shouting this series of words, Cangli continued, ignoring the uncertain expressions on the faces of the five others.

"What about the Veritas Mechanica territory? And the Stellar Giant Ape Civilization territory?"

"The Stellar Giant Ape Civilization territory is in good condition. The resources in each galaxy are well-preserved. Once we complete the occupation, combined with the foundation we brought from the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon Galactic Cluster, it will be enough to support our rapid occupation of this new Galactic Cluster!"

Cangli nodded.

"Good. Now that over ten billion of our people have migrated, we can officially start the counter-offensive. Each of you will lead a team and advance in different directions. Cangeng, you will remain to guard the truth floating land. I need to refine the Demon God Arm and can't afford to be distracted."

"Leave it to us. Be careful, Cangli."

Thus, after the Ember Flame Civilization left, the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon civilization quickly initiated their subsequent offensive plan.

The mid- and low-ranking Eight-Armed Serpent Demons remaining in the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon Galactic Cluster still numbered in the trillions. A single truth floating land could not accommodate them, nor could the entire Veritas Mechanica territory.

Although Veritas Mechanica controlled dozens of galaxies, the life-bearing Floating Continents were limited. To completely absorb the population of a top-tier advanced civilization was a pipe dream.

Only by also taking the Stellar Giant Ape Civilization territory could they possibly manage it.

However, what the Octobrach had not anticipated was that a team had already arrived in the territory of the Starsea Titans before them.

...

In the pitch-black expanse of space, four Annihilator Ships were racing at full speed.

Annihilator Ship Group Chat:

Song Yan: "In my opinion, we should head to the Primate Floating Continent. Without the Level 9 Starsea Titan guarding it, we can surely find a way to get in. A Level 9 Floating Continent—once we're inside, the rewards will be immense!"

Song Shiyuan: "I disagree. While that's true, if the Starsea Primate civilization is on high alert, crossing the shield of a Level 9 Floating Continent won't be as easy as we imagine. The main force of the Octobrach will not give us the time to take such a risk."

Faced with the differing opinions of the two, Song Wujian remained silent, finding it difficult to make a decision.

At that moment, Song Chi suddenly spoke up:

"Stop arguing. I've discovered a very peculiar area!"

As he spoke, he sent the radar image detected by the Eye of Truth to the group chat.

"Such a powerful energy fluctuation..."

"Xiao Chi, has your aerial radar given a specific energy level?"

Song Chi's words were swift, but as soon as he spoke, the breathing of Song Wujian and the others in the group chat paused in unison.

"Beyond Level 9!"

The Eye of Truth, now upgraded to Level 90, had a regular detection range of thousands of light-years and, when its special ability was activated, could reach tens of thousands of light-years. It could provide detailed analysis of anything Level 9 and below.

Therefore, the ultra-high-intensity energy source displayed on the radar, marked with a question mark, could only mean one thing.

The energy intensity of the source had surpassed Level 9.

The four of them looked at each other, and the next second, Song Chi continued:

"According to the rough star map we collected earlier, this energy source is located in a region marked by the Starsea Titans as a life-dead zone, a forbidden area of the cosmos!"

"What do you think? Should we go and check it out?"

"Don't forget that our clan's Sky Devouring Python Shed can absorb any form of energy. Regardless of the origin of this energy, if it can be absorbed, we might be able to use it to accumulate the energy needed for the next evolution of the Sky Devouring Python Shed!"

Song Wujian and the others hesitated, but in the end, they all nodded in agreement.

With a consensus reached, the four Annihilator Ships wasted no time, activating their warp drives and heading straight for the coordinates of the energy source shown on the radar.

Of course, the primary reason was that they were currently in Ship Clone form, so even if they encountered danger, they wouldn't be afraid.

Had they not been, the Starsea Titans, with their five Level 9 combatants, would have avoided this area, and what would give them, the four Annihilator Ship captains, the audacity to be so reckless?

The chosen warp points for the four Annihilator Ship Clones were not directly on top of the unknown energy source but at a distance from it.

Once the warp ended, they reactivated their flash evasion components and slowly approached the energy source.

...

Several hours later, the four Annihilator Ship Clones, which had been racing at full speed, finally slowed down.

At the same time, in the Pantheon Market.

"Any changes? Can you feel anything?"

"Time, the flow of time has changed!"

"That's right, and as we get closer, the time flow speeds up even more!"

"Wait, this isn't even the official marked area of the energy source, not even the outer region, and it already has such a strong time energy effect?"

"Let's continue. It won't affect our main bodies anyway!"

After another few dozen minutes, the four Annihilator Ships had not yet officially entered the outer region marked by the energy source, but even so, except for the Heavenly Ruin Vast Sky mirror ship, the other three Annihilator Ship Clones were already struggling to continue.

It wasn't that they didn't want to, but the increasingly terrifying time energy was rapidly corroding their internal configurations. Just moments ago, all the secondary cannons on the three Ship Clones had shattered, and even the main cannons showed signs of deterioration.

At this rate, if they continued, the ship hulls themselves would likely be corroded by the terrifying time energy.

"Ancestors, you stay here and collect the time energy. I can still manage, and I want to explore further!"

"Alright, be careful!"

...

Unlike Song Wujian and the others, Song Chi had the replicated Temporal Chessboard, a high-level time-special component that could negate over 90% of the external time energy affecting the mirror ship. Additionally, with the Bodhimanda Seal, the Heavenly Ruin Vast Sky mirror ship was completely unaffected.

With no further concerns, Song Chi naturally didn't waste any more time and reactivated the ship's flash evasion component.

This time, he directly piloted the mirror ship to the edge of the energy source.

As he emerged from the spatial vortex, an overwhelming time energy surged in. Even with the protection of the replicated Temporal Chessboard, Song Chi could sense the changes within the mirror ship.

Upon formally entering the direct influence of the temporal energy source, the time acceleration outside was far beyond imagination. A rough estimate left Song Chi with a shocking realization.

At this moment, the time outside was accelerating at more than a million times the normal rate!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end