Chapter 421: Chapter 413: Target! Hunting the Starry Sky
Night fell.
Shi Ming gazed at the vast Star Sea above.
From ancient times to the present, humanity’s journey has always been toward the stars and the seas. The situation on the oceans had now temporarily stabilized. Although one major threat remained unresolved, there was no need to worry excessively. Shi Ming already had a failsafe plan to deal with it.
He could take his time searching for better solutions.
Now, it was time to charge into unknown regions, to sail toward another endless ocean.
The Star Sea.
From the Nirvana’s logbook, Shi Ming had learned a great deal of intel about the Star Sea from the Dark Star Race, giving him a general understanding of this region he had never set foot in.
Ordinary wandering starships drifted through the Star Sea with extremely low efficiency.
It could take them decades just to fly out of a single galaxy.
However, the Dark Cosmos traversal ability of a Star-class drifter ship could solve the problem of speed, preventing too much time from being wasted on the lonely, desolate journey through the Star Sea.
As for the even faster wormholes...
Even using the Dayun to travel to the deep cosmos, known as the "Wormhole Space," finding a naturally occurring wormhole was incredibly difficult. They were a million times rarer than airports in the Land Era; countless galaxies might only contain a single natural wormhole.
Shi Ming’s plan was to use a "Miniature Wormhole" once.
He would leave the Milky Way directly and delve deep into the cosmos.
The Miniature Wormhole, a new addition ranked 4th in the current "Catalog of Endless Ocean Wonders," could create a temporary, miniature wormhole that would randomly transport any target that came into contact with it to an unknown Star Domain.
Its instability brought the joy of unknown exploration.
Even if he was randomly sent to a terrifying region, Shi Ming could use the "Star Lamp" to quickly return to Earth.
Miniature Wormhole, Star Lamp, Wanderer’s Atlas.
These three Wonders complemented each other:
1. Use the Miniature Wormhole to enter a target region.
2. Use the Star Lamp as a hearthstone to return home at any time.
3. Use the Wanderer’s Atlas to mark different destinations, making it convenient to explore them again later.
He could advance or retreat at will!
And with Shi Ming’s current strength—possessing the coded Nirvana skill [Bore], eight different Holy Hall Skills (including the Fallen Sanctuary skill he fused himself), and the abilities derived from the Eye of the Divine—he was more than capable of dominating the Star Sea!
He had already become half-invincible before even setting out!
’No, I must remain humble.’
’The cosmos holds infinite wonders. Perhaps with the Eye of the Divine, I can find other Divine Remains, and even opportunities for the Infinite Brain to evolve again...’
For now, he planned to explore the Star Sea alone.
He would bring two sea beasts with him: Ah Jian and the Three-Eyed Golden Crow.
The cosmos was unknowable. It was truly unnecessary for the Legendary-grade (S-rank) and Awakened-grade crew members to follow. The Dayun, having evolved to the Star-class drifter ship, was more than capable of handling most navigational tasks, freeing up Shi Ming’s hands and mind to focus on exploration itself.
The crew would remain in the Endless Ocean.
As a Star-class vessel, the Dayun could produce subsidiary ships with a similar appearance and a grade comparable to Gold-class, so long as it had Energy Stones and materials. There would be more than enough to assign one to every crew member.
He stood up.
The Sun-Shooter appeared beneath his feet, carrying him high into the sky, letting him fly like a flying sword from a fantasy novel.
The sea regions blurred past below him.
As he sped over the Endless Ocean, Shi Ming’s state of mind grew increasingly peaceful.
This canoe had set out from Firelight Camp and sailed through the Yinping Sea Region, the Sea of Soaring Dragons, the European Sea Region, and the Sea of Yellow Sand... The situation on the seas now was far better than when he had first arrived—
In Firelight Camp, everything was developing in an orderly fashion.
With the help of Shi Ming’s Calm Sea Pearl, the Awakened had salvaged vast amounts of supplies. Though the road ahead was difficult, there was an end in sight. The fog was rising once more, and the eight-year-old Beiming Kun and countless warriors stood guard over their new home.
The Sea of Soaring Dragons was even more stable.
Mount Everest and Da Yu stood here, serving as the mainstays of human civilization. The artificial landmass, "Wall Point," was a new bastion for human survival and would undoubtedly replace the drifter ships over time. Rong Bing continued to pilot the Kunwu on patrol, while Li Jiuyuan and Dr. Chongwen had returned to Xirang Headquarters to research the topic of Artificial Earth.
The European Sea Region was as desolate as ever.
The Twelve-Star Calming remained in place, with four Admiral-class Ships scattered to the north, south, west, and east. Further north, near the Greenland Sea Region, whaling ships roamed, their rust and mottled bloodstains silently recording the history of humanity’s struggle against the sea beasts.
The Sea of Boiling had become a new habitable zone.
Heijin had integrated the four Admiral-class drifter ships. The S-rank sea beast from the Sea of Yellow Sand that had escaped Shi Ming’s attack was eventually turned into a skill source, becoming a part of humanity. The old captain of the [Shark] handed his business over to the younger generation and, still hale and hearty, began to travel the Endless Ocean. Nia of the [Obelisk], from beginning to end, stayed true to her own light.
In the Great Western Sea Region, beneath the Statue of Liberty, the people who had escaped Skynet were contemplating the meaning of true freedom.
The density of sea beasts here had also been greatly reduced. With the Immortal Evil Eye dead, the "Angels," in their righteous "Demon-Dispelling Advent" form, were enough to single-handedly clear out all the sea beasts in the area. Meanwhile, the Lighthouse continued to create Pure Dome Crystals, repaying its debt to Shi Ming.
The Zero-Degree Ice Sea had entered its coldest season.
Beneath the pure white hues, the spirit of the war bear never faded. Occasionally, the melodious songs of a bygone era would drift across the sea, telling the legendary stories of every Katyusha and every warrior from each generation.
Near the great maelstrom, the [Shiva] brought the modified [Great Treasure Brahma Heaven] back to its ancestral home.
On the [Golden Bodhi], Mel wiped the almost non-existent dust from a certain photograph before putting it away.
"Captain, why did you take it down?"
"It needs to be treasured, of course."
Mel replied with a smile.
As for the Vortex,
that race had completely vanished from the Endless Ocean, just as Mei Jia of the [Spring Tide] had wished. She was a true princess now, cherished in the palm of her young Prince’s hand...
...
...
...
BEEP.
On the Jiuzhou Platform, Elder Zhou seemed to have sensed something.
Behind him, the dozen or so icons drawn on the stone slate—the Collapsing Sky Pillar, the Twisted Thing, the Kun-Peng, the Ding, the Moonlight Ripple...—had all been erased. Only a single, blurry human figure remained, the only one left.
He picked up the Destiny Golden Toad from the platform and began to sense with it.
"A new opportunity has arrived?"
"Above... the endless Star Sea?"
The Destiny Golden Toad’s cooldown period was surprisingly short this time, and the direction it indicated was not over the ocean.
Elder Zhou smiled and shook his head.
’These things...’
’It’s better to leave them to the younger generation. The distant starry sky... he was too old for that kind of trouble.’
...
The Dayun had already left the Endless Ocean.
Behind the ship, a beautiful, pure blue planet grew smaller and smaller.
Shi Ming stood on the deck of the great ship, a vessel darker than the night sky, and gazed back at the planet, his eyes filled with a profound light. Ah Jian rested on his shoulder as always, while the Three-Eyed Golden Crow perched on the ship’s curved eaves. Behind them, the Milky Way shone brilliantly.
Shi Ming tossed something with his right hand.
The Miniature Wormhole activated.
WHOOSH—
The Dayun vanished from the azure planet’s "view."
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