Chapter 77: The Silent Wind Belt!
Szzzt!
Lightning crackled violently.
In the blink of an eye, only Jiang Zhe remained alive inside the cockpit.
When Luo Feng and the others entered, they were met with the sight of nine piles of black ash—and an AI assistant completely broken by Orianna's antics.
"What the heck, couldn't you have waited for us? We wanted to do our part for Earth too!" Thor grumbled.
"Haha, Thor, don't worry—your chance is coming soon. I just hope you won't chicken out." Jiang Zhe laughed, patting the handsome monk on the shoulder.
"There's a fleet following us, at least forty Star-level Nine warriors. Out of respect, I'll let you pick your opponents first."
Thor's face darkened. "If you want me dead, just say it."
Meanwhile, Hong and Luo Feng stayed calm. They knew their own strength—barely enough to watch the show. This was a good opportunity to witness the gap between Earth and the wider universe.
They retrieved the enemy fleet's course from the AI Atuka's systems and switched to another E9-class ship to continue their journey.
At Ice Lan Star, the Norlan Shan family's headquarters:
The Caro Empire's fleet had already surrounded the planet.
Norlan Shan had tried to negotiate, only to be told devastating news: they had offended a World Lord. The destruction of their entire clan was by that World Lord's decree.
War broke out instantly.
Saturation bombardments rained across Ice Lan Star, with smoke and flames engulfing the planet.
Over twenty Universe-level powerhouses clashed in space.
Organized teams of Star-level warriors were wiped out every passing moment.
Caro's sovereign showed no mercy, knowing this war was being recorded by the Virtual Universe. The footage would be sent to his employer.
Before the assault, he'd already cleared things with Baihu Tower. Norlan Shan, just a grassroots member, was abandoned as a pawn.
Offending a World Lord?
Without the protection of another World Lord, there was no hope.
What did Norlan Shan have to please such an existence?
Two days later:
The Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit received the war footage, settled the remaining payment, and forwarded the video to his true body.
Then he continued searching the barren reaches of the universe.
The last two wormholes for traversal had disappeared, forcing him to travel through dark space, arriving at the target region only three months ago.
This was a desolate star system, with no life-bearing planets within nearly ten thousand light-years. Living beings here were rare.
Following the star map's markers, he carefully searched for the precise location of the wormhole.
Half a month later, he found an asteroid belt matching the features, and guided the E9-class machine race ship into it.
After smashing through countless asteroids, he finally discovered a wormhole twisting space nearby.
"After 14.3 billion years, it still exists. Remarkable!"
Exiting the ship, he stored it inside his world ring without hesitation, and flew straight toward the wormhole.
When he was a thousand meters away—
Suddenly, space-time distorted.
An invisible force swept through. The Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit froze in midair, completely immobilized.
Time freeze!
A King Immortal?
Though his body was locked, Jiang Zhe's consciousness remained clear. He immediately deduced the cause and the strength of whoever had intervened.
"Break! Break! Break!"
His will roared. The life crystal within him trembled violently, trying to shatter the restraint.
This wasn't blind defiance—he had solid reasoning.
A move like "time freeze" would be repelled by powerful divine bodies or weapons.
And with a divine crystal of such high standing, once activated, who could contain its backlash?
"Break for me!"
Like ice cracking, the Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit broke free from the time freeze.
But before he could dart into the wormhole to escape—
A towering teal figure, over a thousand kilometers tall, moved even faster. Two fingers effortlessly pinched him.
"Don't resist, or I'll crush you."
A husky female voice warned.
The Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit stopped struggling—not out of fear of being crushed, but because he realized she was merely a World Lord, and surprisingly familiar.
"Same race—we're kin! Please don't kill me!"
"Which kin?" the husky voice asked.
"I'm from the Qiuhe Behemoth line. This is just one of my bodies. If you don't believe me, let me prove it."
"Qiuhe Behemoth? Very well, prove it."
The colossal figure blocked the wormhole behind her before setting down what, to her, was a sesame-sized Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit.
"Since we're kin, I won't trick you. Don't go into that wormhole. It's death." She offered a friendly warning.
The Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit had no intention of running.
His humanoid form burst apart into chaotic mist spanning nearly a hundred kilometers. From it emerged a four-hundred-kilometer-tall "pangolin."
This was his simulation of a Qiuhe Behemoth emerging from its primal core.
The two giants, vastly different in height, locked eyes.
A peak World Lord, a Hui Sha Behemoth vs. a fourth-tier World Lord, a Qiuhe Behemoth!
The teal "gorilla" examined the "pangolin," tapping its back as if inspecting an underachieving junior.
"How strange!"
"Didn't the inherited memories say the Qiuhe Behemoth was first among the twelve pinnacle bloodlines? Why are you so weak?"
"You're a fourth-tier World Lord… but could you beat a human elite World Lord of the same tier?"
Tactless oaf!
Why poke the sore spot?
The Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit grumbled internally but replied, "I've been chased all over by humans. Never got to grow properly. Truly an embarrassment to our kind."
"Haha, at least you're honest."
She patted the mountain ranges on his back again, dislodging countless boulders.
"Stick with me. I'll make sure you're well-fed. Once you break through to immortality, we'll return to the clan together."
"Truly?"
"Of course. I'll watch over you!" The hearty "gorilla" thumped her chest.
"Qiuhe, after half a life without meeting a worthy leader, if you won't scorn me, I wish to pledge—"
SMACK!
The "pangolin" was swatted thousands of kilometers away.
She frowned, muttering, "Why did that line give me chills? Don't play tricks."
"Follow me. Let's get out of here."
The Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit, still in pangolin form, zipped back up beside the Hui Sha Behemoth.
"Boss, do you know where that wormhole leads?"
She ignored the question and asked instead, "How did you find this place?"
"I snatched a treasure map from humans. Said this wormhole connects to a secret realm brimming with countless riches."
"Boss, want to see my map?"
He reached behind his back as if to pull it out.
"Don't bother. That's basically an invitation to your funeral."
"Huh? It's a death trap? Boss, at least tell me what's on the other side!"
He shuffled over to give her a leg massage—only to be kicked aside again.
Still, she wasn't stingy with the truth. "Ever heard of the Silent Wind Belt?"
"Nope." The dim-witted pangolin shook its head.
"It's enough for you to know this: beyond the wormhole is a special environment in a secret realm. Winds there can shred a Universe Venerable's divine body into powder and erase it. Go deeper, and even Universe Masters would fail to return."
"Humans harvest the winds on the outskirts to make Silent Wind weapons. Anyone below a Universe Venerable struck by them dies for sure."
"Whoa, that terrifying?!" The pangolin looked utterly harmless as he cursed, "Those damn humans—truly vile!"
BOOM!
Pangolin: ???
He wasn't sure what he'd said wrong, but the Hui Sha Behemoth booted him out of the asteroid belt like a soccer ball.
Floating away, he mused:
Something's off.
Way off.
Was that really a Hui Sha Behemoth?
Could this be a cosmic version of online scamming?
I'm wearing a Qiuhe Behemoth skin, and you're wearing a Hui Sha Behemoth skin?
Still… might as well see where this goes.
Getting caught meant either being possessed or enslaved. Without a soul, what did he have to lose?
"Why are you zoning out?"
The husky voice snapped him back. The "gorilla" was right before him again.
"Follow me. My place is pretty spacious. I'll feed you, help you cultivate, and push you to immortality."
"Then we'll return to the clan together."
"Oh, thank you, Boss!"
The goofy "pangolin" wiggled his backside as he followed along.
Meanwhile…
Jiang Zhe piloted his ship, still on the trail of the Norlan Shan family fleet.
What had happened to the Silver-Clad Primordial Spirit left him speechless.
"Silent Wind Belt? Silent Wind weapons?"
"I remember. Luo Feng saw them on the extraterritorial battlefield when he bought Feimo venom."
As for his clone being taken by the Hui Sha Behemoth, Jiang Zhe wasn't worried.
If things went truly south, he'd just self-destruct. Through the ancient tree connection, he could pull the divine crystal back from afar.
As long as the divine crystal remained intact, his clone's life was safe.
January 15, 2063.
Using a few tricks, Jiang Zhe acquired the fleet's coordinates and caught up to these fleeing survivors in dark space.
They'd already learned of Norlan Shan's destruction and dared not continue toward Earth.
Unfortunately, Jiang Zhe was one step ahead—and his ship was faster.
Three planet-destroying main cannons and nine E3-class laser turrets fired simultaneously, obliterating the last remnants of Norlan Shan's forces.
The four celebrated with champagne, thoroughly satisfied.
They then went to the wormhole area, set up defenses, and split up to return to Earth.
In a desolate region over a hundred light-years from Earth:
Jiang Zhe sat cross-legged in the void, a parasol and a beam of light before him.
He seemed to be in great pain—face pale, muscles twitching.
Once more, he was performing surgery on his soul.
But this pain was different.
Last time was like slicing cleanly. This time felt like having muscles peeled from the bone—prolonged, excruciating, pulling agony.
Finally, he opened his eyes, gaze pure and innocent like a newborn.
"Out!"
A black light orb shot from his brow into the illusory rainbow light, dyeing it ink-black.
Then, with a thought, he guided the dark beam into the parasol.
"Rise!"
"Open!"
The parasol soared and unfurled, greedily absorbing the universe's origin energy, quickly forming a dazzling nebula around it.
And it kept growing.
A hundred meters.
A kilometer.
Ten kilometers…
With its expansion came a powerful pull on Jiang Zhe.
"Anna, start the ship! Into dark space—we're fleeing five light-years first!"
When they emerged again, a magnificent nebula chased them, exerting a terrifying force.
"Keep going! Another five light-years—then we'll be safe!"
This time, about ten light-years from where he had severed his obsession, they exited dark space.
Looking back, they witnessed a breathtaking sight: a colossal figure wrapped in a glorious nebula, nearly blocking out half the cosmos.
"The umbrella's radius must be nine light-years. Even larger than the Star Tower."
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