Chapter 1035: Chapter 543: Corpse Dog Assaults the Star-Annihilating Starship

Inside the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong, Song Chi’s figure appeared.

It wasn’t until he confirmed that the [Time Chessboard] had been completely converted into a warship component, posing no further threat to him, that he returned to the warship.

Reaching out to pick up the [Time Chessboard], Song Chi hesitated for a moment before deciding to install it onto the warship.

Enhancing this component would require rare resources like time fragments, and currently, enhancement was not possible. However, even at lv0 attributes, the [Time Chessboard] still provided significant boosts to the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong and Song Chi himself.

For instance, its efficiency enhancement for comprehending the Time Laws.

Aside from this, there was another matter that needed to be dealt with immediately.

…

Alien Star Domain, unknown Starry Sea.

A vast continent with a diameter exceeding two hundred thousand light-years lay in the center, where the Primordial Divine Mountain, shrouded in ancient restrictions, stood like a divine pillar propping up the Vault of Heaven of the Eighth Level Floating Land.

At this moment, a faint silver glow suddenly burst out from deep within the mountain’s body, darting from the mountain outwards toward the distant starry sky.

“Leave it behind!”

This abrupt change provoked an ancient voice echoing from within the mountain’s core.

Soon after, a massive hand exceeding hundreds of thousands of kilometers in length, surrounded by endless intertwining laws, emerged from the mountain’s depths, rapidly chasing after the streaking silver light.

The superlative laws of light and power continuously woven together finally formed a Web of Laws that enveloped the silver light entirely.

The silver light itself wasn’t moving quickly, and it was soon caught by the Law Crystal. However, surprisingly, even though the web, imbued with Eighth Rank Dominator Power, had wrapped around the silver light, the silver streak inexplicably passed straight through it as though the astonishing might of the web had no effect.

Witnessing this scene, the owner of the giant, terrifying hand seemed to understand something. The outstretched hand slowly began to retreat without continuing the pursuit.

Similar occurrences were unfolding across multiple Star Domains of the Starry Sea. Some of these silver lights had not yet been discovered, shooting out from remote corners of the starry sea, converging toward the same destination.

But not all silver streaks successfully entered the starry sky.

On one continent within the starry sea—greater than the one holding the Primordial Divine Mountain—a particular streak of silver light was firmly confined within a Blood Palace, struggling futilely to escape.

In the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong Control Room, Song Chi fixed his gaze firmly on the [Time Chessboard] before him.

His brows furrowed slightly, as he spoke with a hint of surprise:

“There’s still one chess piece that hasn’t returned?”

He had just activated the recall function of the component. With the [Time Chessboard] being a Colorful Upper Quality component, he assumed recalling all the chess pieces was a guaranteed outcome. Yet, unexpectedly, one piece hadn’t been retrieved.

“Could it be that something capable of blocking the recall of the [Time Chessboard] is also a Colorful Upper Quality Starry Sea Oddity?”

Contemplating this, a slight unease surfaced in Song Chi’s heart.

He entertained the notion of reverse tracing the entity in possession of the missing piece. Unfortunately, the [Time Chessboard] didn’t display the precise location of the piece, only providing a vague directional cue.

Attempting to bind the [Time Chessboard] to the component [Heavenly Destiny Compass·Disk], Song Chi checked the Territory Star Map for any indicators, but no light points appeared.

“Should I keep it?”

Song Chi hesitated, considering whether he should retain the lone chess piece.

If, as he suspected, the vague directional hint could eventually lead him to another Colorful Mythical Artifact, then pursuing it in the future might prove worthwhile. After all, the current 359 chess pieces were sufficient, and lacking one wouldn’t have a significant impact.

However, after weighing it over for some time, he decided against keeping the chess piece.

The reason was simple.

First, he couldn’t ascertain whether the entity trapping the chess piece was truly of the same rank Colorful Oddity. Even if it were, what sort of existence controlled it?

A figure like himself, a Fifth Rank lucky one?

No, Song Chi didn’t think so. The odds were infinitesimal. Instead, he was more inclined to believe it was a figure of the Eighth Rank, Ninth Rank, or even a Peak existence beyond the Ninth Rank.

If this were the case, keeping the chess piece would be tantamount to holding onto a ticking time bomb. While he could use the [Heavenly Destiny Compass·Disk] to search for [Time Chessboard], what’s stopping these Peak entities from doing the same?

Should the entity locate him before he had sufficiently prepared, not even the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong could guarantee his safety—not now as a battleship, nor later upon successfully upgrading to a star-annihilating warship.

Moreover, even if he chose to retain the piece, what if the other entity anticipated his intentions and set an intricate trap, waiting for him to stumble right into it?

Considering all these factors, Song Chi controlled the [Time Chessboard], shattering the chess piece into pieces.

While this would result in the chess piece taking a year to recover, at the very least it ensured the safety of both the Heavenly Ruins Cang Qiong and himself.

…

Deep within the Blood Palace on the Red Continent.

Gurgle, gurgle!

Amid blood bubbles sizzling in the pool of blood, a colossal figure embodied with the Power of Chaos opened its blood-red giant eyes. But, soon, the figure shut them again and returned to slumber.

…

Dragon Spine Continent, Green Moon Manor.

Returning once more to the Torch Human Civilization Territory, Song Chi immediately retrieved the [Shaking Light Star Rank].

Shaking Light Star Rank Chat Group

“32nd member ‘Waking of Insects’: @all members, mission perfectly completed. I’m truly grateful.”

“32nd member ‘Waking of Insects’: @Bai Mei, @Corpse Dog, @Yu Long, @Blood Essence… Are you free right now?”

In the [Shaking Light Star Tower], within the Star Tower Great Hall.

“Uncle Corpse Dog, here’s your [Age Book]. Thank you so much.”

“Sister Yu Long…”

Song Chi had long borrowed the [Tri-Eye Solidifying Ring] from the family’s heritage warship room, enabling him to uninstall all borrowed components without any damage. At this moment, he returned all items, and Yu Long handed him the [Blood Spear] in exchange.

Except for the Black Ultimate Quality component [Time Platform].

It wasn’t that this component couldn’t be uninstalled without damage—the [Tri-Eye Solidifying Ring] had no effect on Black Quality components, but he hadn’t forgotten the [Heavenly Destiny Compass·Disk].

Primarily, “Bai Mei” hadn’t logged in, seemingly too busy at the moment.

“This time, you’ve truly helped me a lot. Thank you all. If there’s anything you need in the future, just say the word, and I’ll do everything in my power to assist!”

Inside the Great Hall, Song Chi once again expressed his sincere gratitude. Having access to borrowed components of such caliber—silver and gold quality time artifacts—was rare, and given the opportunity, he intended to repay them fully.

However, Corpse Dog and the others merely waved it off nonchalantly. In the Star Tower, members often lent their aid when within their capabilities.

Corpse Dog then spoke up:

“Oh, by the way, after years of preparation, I’ve decided to attempt another breakthrough to a star-annihilating warship. So, for the next while, I likely won’t be active in the group. Just letting you all know in advance.”

Hearing this, the group’s gaze collectively sharpened.

Corpse Dog had previously attempted a breakthrough to the star-annihilating warship. Back then, he sacrificed two golden sanctuary components to keep his flagship intact. This time, however, that special component wouldn’t be available to him again. If he failed, given his age, he likely wouldn’t have another chance to become a Zhulu Warship Captain.

Considering this, the members couldn’t help but feel a bit heavy-hearted. As Star Tower members, they all understood the difficulty of ascending to a star-annihilating warship.

Noticing the somber atmosphere, Corpse Dog was about to break the silence himself when Yu Long interjected:

“Uncle Corpse Dog, do you possess Seventh Rank Dominant Origin Blood for this breakthrough? If not, I can…”

“I have one drop of entry-level Seventh Rank Evil God Blood…”

“A fifty-thousand-year-old [Golden Blood Qilin Fruit]—it can increase the success rate of a Fearless Ship ascending to a star-annihilating warship by 1%.”

Before long, the likes of Heavenly Dragon Blood Essence and others began speaking up, each taking out resources from their collections to support Corpse Dog’s endeavor.

Not everyone was truly selfless. Though the Star Tower members shared deep bonds, resources that aided starship ascensions weren’t ordinary items. The reason why they offered such support was not only due to their camaraderie but also the calculated potential rewards of aiding a successful Zhulu Warship Captain in the future.

After a brief hesitation, Song Chi also retrieved a White Jade Fruit from his inventory.

“Uncle Corpse Dog, this is a Sixth Rank [Time Realm Fruit]. You might find it useful!”

Upon hearing the words [Time Realm Fruit], not only Corpse Dog but everyone in the Star Tower Great Hall changed their expressions.

This legendary resource that provided a second chance for advancing warships was well-known among them.

“Waking of Insects, you…”

Corpse Dog wanted to say the resource was too precious, but realizing his upcoming breakthrough attempt was nearly upon him, he refrained from speaking further.

Instead, he took the Sixth Rank [Time Realm Fruit] and solemnly said:

“Waking of Insects, is there anything you need—components, Upgrade Fire Sources, special resources—tell me, and I’ll provide!”

Song Chi considered briefly before answering:

“I need special resources like time fragments.”

“Time fragments? Wait a moment.”

Corpse Dog promptly logged off to begin searching for the requested resource.

Once his figure disappeared from the Great Hall, Yu Long and the others turned their gazes to Song Chi.

Naturally, Song Chi already had his explanation prepared.

“During a previous exploration of the Alien Star Domain, I accidentally discovered a Sixth Rank [Time Realm Tree]. Unfortunately, the production rate of such resources is exceedingly slow, and I currently don’t have more available!”

Regarding the value of a Sixth Rank [Time Realm Fruit], Song Chi fully understood. However, his choice to offer it wasn’t a purely altruistic act; he had calculated the benefits.

Most importantly, although Sixth Rank [Time Realm Fruits] were incredibly precious, once Song Wujiang’s flagship successfully ascended in the future and gained the protection of the Tri-Eyed Royal Dominator Flagship and Starry Sky Dragon Shark, preserving “one single” Sixth Rank [Time Realm Tree] would be achievable.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read