Chapter 414: Chapter 406: The Cyclical Trap
Shi Ming felt like he was caught in a vicious cycle.
’If my theory is correct...’
’Then...’
’To get the source of [Purification], I first have to resolve the potential "disharmony" within the Creation Star Core. This is to prevent its balance from being shattered and causing an even greater crisis. And regardless of the specific disharmony, the best and simplest method would be to upgrade it using the Infinite Brain. That would instantly eliminate any and all discordant factors.’
’But to infinitely upgrade the Creation Star Core, I need the Unceasing Water.’
’So it all comes full circle.’
’The key to the problem still lies with the Unceasing Water.’
’It seems that, logically and practically, no matter how I look at it, this problem with the Unceasing Water has to be solved.’
As he was lost in thought, Yellow Spear knocked on the door.
"Captain, I’ve finished communicating with the six great King-level Wandering Ships. The summit meeting has been confirmed for three days from now."
"They would also like you to decide on the meeting’s location."
’The location for the summit meeting...’
’I’ll set it near the Earth’s Lung.’
Firelight currently needed humanitarian aid. This way, when the captains of the other King-level Wandering Ships arrived for the meeting, they could also provide some support. At the same time, every disaster was a lesson worth remembering. All the wandering ships must understand that wandering only brought temporary peace, not true stability. The threat of the Unceasing Water still remained on the Endless Ocean; the crisis had never left.
As the strongest expert, Shi Ming could, of course, help his people solve their problems and offer them protection.
But that protection couldn’t be constant, nor could it arrive at a moment’s notice.
Pinning all of one’s hopes on a single person—a single lifeline—was undoubtedly extremely dangerous.
...
...
...
Now that he had mastered the language of the Dark Star Race, Shi Ming made a special trip back to the Olympus Sea Area. He emptied all the reserves and supplies from the Nirvana, created a complete inventory, and reviewed the star-voyage logs from the past ten years.
In the last decade, the Nirvana had passed through three civilized Star Domains.
Rui Liang had firmly believed that one’s true foundations couldn’t be seen during times of peace and prosperity.
He wouldn’t invade these Star Domains directly. Instead, he would first infiltrate their societies and then manufacture disasters, allowing opportunities and treasures to surface amid the crises. Finally, he would use brute force to slaughter everyone and plunder everything... After he advanced to the Nirvana-rank, he became even more brazen. He kept the treasures he could use on the Nirvana and sent the rest back to the Dark Star Race.
In a way, this could be considered giving back to his people.
After all, his entire race had lifted him up.
He was the hope of all his people.
It was just a shame. As the saying goes, if you play with fire, you’re going to get burned. Now, the hope of his people had fallen. A race that had lost its Guardian and provoked countless enemies... their fate wasn’t hard to guess.
’As expected, these strange, deep-colored stones are Cosmic Stones.’
’To infinitely upgrade the Nirvana, three materials are required. The Pseudo-God Remains are likely the most difficult to obtain, and there’s no information on the Morning Star Crystal. The Cosmic Stones, however, can be sourced locally.’
"A total of 3,012 of them."
’I won’t need to activate the Nirvana until I leave Earth, so I’ll just leave it here for now.’
The Nirvana was a Star Cluster-class vessel.
Its class was very high, and its core logic was coded with a rule: only a being with Dark Star Race genes could pilot it and be recognized as its master. Every time he wanted to use it, Shi Ming would have to use his Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary to transform into Rui Liang, which was far too troublesome. For now, on the Endless Ocean, piloting such a starship was completely unnecessary.
Once he set foot into the Star Sea, perhaps it would prove to be of greater value.
’When the time comes, I’ll have to spend some time figuring out how to bypass its system.’
The Dark Star Race was a technological civilization. Now that their only powerhouse was dead, if Shi Ming ever found their main base, he might be able to find other valuable things.
Too bad Rui Liang would never see that day.
...
His ship was highly maneuverable.
By the time he reached the Earth’s Lung, the captains of the other King-level Wandering Ships had not yet arrived.
The Firelight, which had been sliced into four pieces by [Sorrow], had already sunk into the deep sea. The colossal wandering ship that once stood guard here was gone, replaced by a simple floating island constructed from countless small boats and pontoons. A dense network of small patrol boats monitored the area, while A-rank and S-rank Awakened remained constantly vigilant against sea beast attacks.
From a distance, he could even see a young boy, fully armed, staring alertly into the distance.
「Firelight Camp.」
Though it had only been a little over a month since he last saw Martinelli, the leader of Firelight looked much older.
A single disaster had killed or wounded more than half their people.
And that was the result *with* prior warning.
Had they been completely unprepared, had Shi Ming not killed the invading Dark Star Race member immediately, the fate of the other five King-level Wandering Ships would have been no better. Their end would have been just as grim as that of the three other civilized Star Domains.
"Grand Patrol Envoy."
"Commander Martinelli."
Shi Ming thought for a moment, then retrieved an item from the Hive.
This was the Calm Sea Pearl from Fontainebleau. After being taken by Iwami of Vortex Country, it had become his spoil of war. The Dinglan Pearl allowed its user to ignore the crushing pressure of the deep sea, as if walking on land. It was not of much use to Shi Ming at his current stage, and he still had no clues regarding the Mermaid’s Tear needed for the infinite upgrade.
Now that the Firelight had sunk and salvage operations weren’t going smoothly, lending them this wondrous object might allow it to be put to its best use.
"Commander Martinelli, this is the Calm Sea Pearl, ranked 109th on the list of wondrous objects."
"I am lending it to you."
"I hope it can help Firelight through this crisis."
Martinelli hesitated for only a moment before bowing and accepting it with great solemnity. It was indeed the one wondrous object Firelight needed most at this moment. If they could salvage even twenty or thirty percent of the countless resources on the sunken ship, it would be a huge help.
"Thank you, Grand Patrol Envoy."
Shi Ming nodded. After staying at the camp for a while to discuss some matters with the leader, he left the Fire Camp, boarded the *Sun-Shooter* alone, and re-entered the deep sea.
Ten Thousand Forms, like a dream,
transforming into a Kun.
The Ten Thousand Forms Kun that Shi Ming had become swam through the fog-shrouded region. It arrived at the core of the Earth’s Lung, where the Sea Crystal Stone energy was far more potent than in any other sea area, and returned to the very source of the Unceasing Water.
Shi Ming spread his Spiritual Power, targeted the source of the Unceasing Water, and used [Bore].
He found a vulnerability in the Unceasing Water.
He probed it,
without actually invading. He was simply using this method to gauge the reaction of the Eye of Destiny.
When it came to prying for information, he had his own unique techniques.
[WARNING! WARNING!]
[After being targeted by [Bore], the Unceasing Water will suffer an internal collapse and rapidly crystallize!!! It will mutate into a crystalline state.]
[Then, BANG—]
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