Chapter 686 Extra Story: The Worrisome Zhuzhou Body (6600)

"Crap."

In the ice-condensed void, silver streams of light dragged out long trails in the empty darkness.

Su Zhou, who was maneuvering the power of the Celestial God's Scale to return to Earth's universe, suddenly blurted out this sentence.

His tone was one of astonishment: "I seem to have forgotten something."

"If you can forget it, it probably wasn't important."

Yala, who had been deep in thought the whole time, casually replied.

Unlike a typical comic foil who would ask, 'What is it?', she directly added fuel to the fire: "If you've already forgotten, just let it go. Pretend it never happened."

Su Zhou didn't take it to heart, clearly used to Yala's behavior.

He said wistfully, "Yala, I think I forgot to ask about the World Tree – Twilight is clearly stronger than expected. Did the World Tree go for an all-out attack and get beaten back into its seal?"

"And how did they even start fighting in the first place? Looking at Twilight, while I can understand why you all think there's something wrong with his head and he couldn't possibly be right, when he's alone, he definitely wouldn't attack unprovoked, would he?"

"Ah, this."

Yala was also stunned for a moment, a slightly embarrassed expression on her face as her snake tail swayed. "I forgot too… Crap, it was clearly the Great Dao Tree's commission."

But she quickly reassured Su Zhou, not taking it too seriously: "But don't worry, Su Zhou. The Divine Tree is much stronger than you think. The Great Dao Worlds, united, can contend with Twilight. Although I think it's unlikely he'd win alone, the fact that you were able to plant a brand-new Burning Ember Divine Tree proves that his situation is at least improving."

"A great being representing existence, its vitality surpasses the imagination of all known minds. Think about it, someone in the Aeon World inheriting the Dao of Hope is enough for you to revive, let alone the World Tree, with a world where the Divine Tree exists?"

"That makes sense."

Su Zhou thought about it and decided that it was true – a Divine Tree could still be planted in the Twilight World Cluster, proving that the other side wasn't really in that bad of shape. He probably just had to go into self-imposed isolation with Twilight for a while.

So he decisively settled the matter: "It seems like that's enough to satisfy the Great Dao Tree."

"Indeed," the Serpent Spirit nodded. "Probably the moment you planted the Burning Ember Divine Tree, the Great Dao reconnected with the world."

"Wait until you get back to Earth and get news from the Great Dao Tree. It's definitely better informed than we are in this regard."

However, having said that, Su Zhou and Yala didn't figure out who initially blocked the connection between the world and the Great Dao.

Besides the great beings the youth had come into contact with before, almost all other great beings were potential suspects… Those who wanted to create monsters might have been doing it for a more noble purpose, or for some reason Su Zhou didn't yet understand, but they certainly did something evil.

"The Twilight Extermination War was the origin of the seal on the multiverse."

Thinking of this, Su Zhou couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "But Twilight isn't the enemy of this multiverse… Those who want to create monsters, no matter what their purpose, rashly triggering the great seal's vibrations, inciting the world and Twilight to oppose each other, are threatening our multiverse."

"And then there are those troublemaking Twilight Followers, the Nihilism Order – tsk, why can't they learn to 'wait' like Twilight?"

Su Zhou's complaints were heartfelt.

Yala, on the other hand, was very open-minded about it: "Think about it carefully. Would you even know about the existence of any clans or followers who wait like Twilight?"

"Huh?" Su Zhou was slightly taken aback: "Come to think of it, that's true…"

The Serpent Spirit flicked its tail: "Right? So all the Twilight Followers you can see are the ones who won't wait."

Although she had been shocked and astonished when facing Twilight at the beginning, seeming very useless, Yala visibly sighed in relief and perked up again after confirming that Twilight wasn't the mastermind behind everything.

Unlike Su Zhou, she was deeply aware of Twilight's strength and the meaning of the monsters' appearance, and she had been incredibly worried from the start, worried about the changes that 'Twilight' might make… worried that the other side wasn't just waiting, but planning to accelerate the process.

Every great being would be worried about what a Twilight who didn't want to wait anymore might do.

And the last time Twilight showed some signs of change was the moment the Twilight Extermination War initiated that change.

Although the result was that Twilight remained in self-imposed isolation, to the point where entering the sealed multiverse was like going home, that didn't negate the results of that war.

Having confirmed that everything was normal with Twilight, the seemingly useless Yala perked up: "Instead of that, let's hurry back to Earth and find the last remaining fragment of the Great Seal."

"The clues to the Terminus Suppression Seal are in the hands of the Twilight Followers. Su Zhou, send those guys to see Twilight!"

"Of course!"

Su Zhou nodded. Although he couldn't quite understand the various great beings' views on Twilight, there was definitely no need to talk about morality or martial virtue when it came to the Twilight Followers.

In any case, whether it was ganging up, laying traps, or poisoning, it was all meaningless. jpg

Thinking of this, the youth couldn't help but frown again.

"Sigh."

He raised his head, looked in the direction of the Earth universe, and sighed softly: "Speaking of which, I wonder how my body is doing right now."

"This time, I'm carrying a lot of important information related to Twilight. If my physical body is in perfect condition, then I could probably hold my own against those Nihilism Order Annihilation Envoys… but if it's been badly damaged, I'm afraid I'll still need to wander around for a while."

Although the future was full of crises, causing worry, that's just how life is. It's impossible for everything to go as you wish.

Calming his mind, the youth didn't continue to think about unnecessary things. He continued to urge the power of the Celestial God's Scale, heading back towards his hometown.

The silver star, tinged with blue-purple light, was flickering in the void.

And in the Sealed Universe, the Milky Way Galaxy.

Billions upon billions, an endless number of stars, were flying in from the distant horizon, like rain falling from the sky, towards a pitch-black star fortress located on the edge of the galaxy!

It was beams of light, torrents of particles, magic, curses, missiles, shells, and even every method of attack that humans could imagine and couldn't imagine!

Dazzling and blinding, overflowing with mysterious and complex auras, countless transcendent attacks shook the nebulae on the edge of the Milky Way, triggering flashes of light on the dark, outer rim that resembled dozens of supernova explosions!

But in the center of this convergence of billions of lights, the surface of the black star was flowing with iridescent black.

Whether it was any attack, a super-mass cannon or psychic lightning, when it hit this black 'Nowhere's End', it was all like throwing money into a dark, bottomless pool. There was no sound, no splash, just meaningless nothingness.

The combined attack of dozens of fleets, the use of divine powers and spells by more than a dozen powerful Immortal Gods, all dissipated like morning mist meeting sunlight, annihilated by the black Judgment Death Star's defensive layer.

In the dark universe, white energy mist dissipated, and only the black star remained standing still.

[What kind of monster is this… How can he get stronger and stronger?]

[Just now, just now the aura of this Death Star fortress rose, didn't it? He can actually devour our attacks to grow?!]

[No, he's not devouring our attacks, he's learning!]

The complex communication channels of the Twilight Fleet were filled with panic and doubt, but ultimately, Twilight believers never feared death, so the panic and doubt were quickly suppressed, replaced by keen and precise analysis: [He can't absorb our energy to grow, but he can imitate our attack methods, and then reproduce them with his flesh!]

[His real food is the ships we destroy, as well as scattered small celestial bodies and nebula matter floating on the edge of the Milky Way… Don't be afraid, everyone. He's just an enhanced Star Devourer!]

--Isn't that terrifying enough?!

Even the Twilight Followers, who weren't afraid of death, thought this statement was quite ridiculous… An enhanced Star Devourer? Everyone knew that one of the Nihilism Order's Four Annihilation Envoys was a Star Devourer!

Although that Star Devourer Lord was definitely stronger than the average Star Devouring beast, wasn't this Zhuzhou the same?

He was even the guy who killed that Star Devourer Annihilation Envoy!

Although that's what they thought, the Twilight Fleet was still attempting this hopeless pursuit.

Or rather, escape.

Yes, the Twilight Followers were actually escaping now.

Although on the surface, it seemed like they had been chasing Su Zhou all the way out of the Milky Way, and were now circling around with him on the edge of the Second Arm.

But in reality, they were actually avoiding the Milky Way's major force's allied forces, which were gradually encircling them from behind and catching up with the vanguard.

And the main force among them was the Xenostian's Golden Fleet!

The current situation was that the Earth Fleet and Su Zhou (physical body) were leading the way in the front, the Twilight Fleet was following closely behind, and the Milky Way Alliance Allied Forces were right behind them.

Although there were even more Twilight Fleets and Allied Forces from more Milky Way civilizations fighting each other throughout the Milky Way, making it the largest war in the entire Milky Way civilization circle since the Spirit Qi Revival and the return of Spirit Energy, almost worthy of being called the 'First Milky Way War of the New Era', the focus of this war was still on the Earth Fleet located at the edge of the root of the Second Arm.

The Judgment Death Star wasn't just defending; it would also attack. After devouring a large number of various fleet wrecks left behind from the battles along the way, the current Judgment Death Star was already as large as a small planet. It was more than 500 kilometers long, and its entire body was made of high-strength alloy.

It had a total of eight giant collapsing point gun emplacements all over its body. As the outer armor retreated and the Nowhere's End defensive layer was deactivated, crystal-like spirit energy focal points emerged in space.

Then, incredible energy surged within them, focused, and finally condensed into spirit energy singularities that were almost 'collapsed', firing towards the opposing fleet.

Every time it happened, it was like a solar helium flash. First, an extreme darkness covered the universe, and then a ray of light tore through the extremely dark abyss, spewing towards the unsuspecting and powerless-to-resist Twilight Fleet.

Undifferentiated destruction descended in a straight line.

Although the vast majority of the Twilight Fleet could predict this terrifying attack in advance, if there were planets behind them, or if they couldn't dodge in time, then they could see the exceptionally grand eruption of celestial matter, or they would be reduced to nothingness.

After nearly two years of continuous escape and combat, the Judgment Death Star's power, especially its destructive power, had been upgraded to the level of a Star Destroyer.

Although it could originally destroy stars, the current Judgment Death Star's power could be said to have reached a critical point – it could simultaneously cause irreversible threats to the ecology of multiple solar systems, and even destroy the balance of the sun, causing the collapse of an entire star field.

Beyond that, it probably couldn't be described by the realm of a Celestial Immortal.

Although over these two years, many powerhouses and civilizations throughout the Milky Way had been picking up past technologies and powers, quickly restoring their original abilities, all of this still seemed a bit slow compared to Su Zhou.

Moreover, the most terrifying thing wasn't even here.

The most terrifying thing was the Judgment Death Star's 'eating'.

"Report! Captain Tang Yuan, the Marshal's body is starting to stir again!"

On the Judgment Death Star, in the internal control room, nervous reports were transmitted through layers and quickly arrived in the hands of a pale-faced young man.

The officer who delivered the report had a nervous expression. He looked worriedly at the gray-silver metal walls around the control room, swallowed, and then whispered: "Captain! The Marshal's body is consuming too much energy and is about to enter a predatory state again!"

"The shock is about to occur, please order the teams that are out collecting materials to return from the surface of the Death Star!"

"Don't worry."

Sitting in the center seat of the control room, Tang Yuan sighed softly before slowly standing up: "The material recovery team has already returned. They know what they should do now."

"More than that… I'm even more worried that the Minister's body is entering a predatory state more and more frequently."

At this moment, Tang Yuan's eyes revealed obvious 'unease'.

Since the appearance of the Zhuzhou·Judgment Death Star state more than a year ago, all sorts of inexplicable changes and upgrades had always befallen the body that Su Zhou had left behind in the Earth universe.

Sometimes, it was just a simple sensor upgrade, while other times, it would come with a renewable living metal armor shell. And even more bizarrely, sometimes the upgrades were just filling the control room inside the Judgment Death Star with a few saplings, seemingly as ornamental plants.

There were no Divine Tree cultivators in the Earth Fleet, so naturally they couldn't tell that those potted plants were all variants of the Zhuzhou·Divine Tree form, and they couldn't even see that one of the trees looked like a seven-headed Crimson Dragon, but all in all, the Judgment Death Star was indeed constantly evolving and becoming stronger.

But that was also where the problem lay.

Getting stronger also required consumption.

"Sigh…"

Thinking of this, Tang Yuan couldn't help but reveal a mask of pain. He raised his head and looked at the scene in the center of the monitoring screen, the dark depths of space, his gaze deep and incomparably profound, and also a little empty: "How can he eat so much… You couldn't tell when he was in human form…"

"No, you could vaguely see it, couldn't you?"

In the place where Tang Yuan's gaze was focused, there used to be a small planet floating in the dark vacuum.

It had a dual shell of rock and ice, and inside was a high-purity metal structure. It was probably a planet's shattered core that had drifted here through the ages.

So, in just a few days, the Judgment Death Star, which had come to this area, devoured that meteorite, which was more than seventy kilometers wide and over one hundred and twenty-five kilometers long, completely.

Was that the end?

Dream on!

During the time it stayed here, the Judgment Death Star fought eight battles with the Twilight Fleet that came one after another. Each time, the Twilight Fleet would leave behind a large number of fleet wrecks, and this was also the Judgment Death Star's food – whether it was spirit-form ships, biological ships, metal ships, rock ships, or other random and messy ships, the Death Star didn't refuse anything.

It ate whatever it could find!

Asteroids, spaceships, enemy energy beams and shells, and even innocent space beasts that passed by, and gas-state native organisms that were eaten without understanding what was happening… everything was doomed to be devoured by the Judgment Death Star's 'raw material recycling port'!

It could even copy while eating, and on the spot it would use artillery beams that were almost, or even better than the original to bombard back!

In addition, when it was having a good time eating, the Death Star would randomly fire its guns, randomly aiming in the direction where there might be Twilight Fleets and unleashing a heavy firepower strike. It was like setting off fireworks, and every release would startle both sides, whether it was the Earth Fleet or the Twilight Fleet.

That was considered a good thing, because at least the Judgment Death Star had something to eat.

During the great leap of passing through the Third Arm void area and arriving at the edge of the root of the Second Arm, both to protect the almost-abandoned members of the Earth Fleet, and to fill its stomach, the Judgment Death Star swallowed the entire Earth Fleet without hesitation and digested it completely.

At this time, all the original Earth Fleet members were now inside the Judgment Death Star.

The Death Star had a material circulation area that could be used for planting and breeding. Although they didn't bring animals, eating some potatoes was always no problem.

Even though the idea of growing potatoes on the Death Star sounded very blackly humorous, it was the only safe food that the Earth Fleet could eat…

Unless the material recovery team located on the outer edge of the Death Star could bring back something interesting, safe food that had been proven edible.

The Judgment Death Star didn't eat everything it devoured from the spaceships in the universe. Apart from high-purity alloys and biomass, most of the miscellaneous things would be left on the surface of the Death Star, becoming a 'garbage dump' covered with countless scattered objects.

The material recovery team was the team that went to the surface of the Judgment Death Star to recover these scattered objects.

They hoped to find some useful alien parts, or crop seeds and information, from these scattered small objects.

All the original members of the Earth Fleet had seen what the Judgment Death Star did when it was overly hungry – it actually turned directly and charged directly towards the Twilight Fleet. In the face of the other side's unexpected astonishment, it used a strong gravitational pull all the way to pull all the smaller ships to its surface.

While eating, it used these ships as shields, causing a ruckus inside the Twilight Fleet before returning contentedly and swaggering away.

If a person walked that flight path, they would have their legs broken three times on the way!

And during this period, not only did the Twilight Fleet fall into great confusion, but the Earth Fleet's group also had their hearts in their throats – after all, watching themselves shuttle back and forth in a sky full of energy cannons was like dancing a waltz in acid rain.

The flagship attacks of the Twilight Fleet's main battleships could still penetrate the Death Star's defenses. They were able to survive entirely because of the Death Star's extremely precise instinctual micro-operations!

Several times, Tang Yuan had watched in horror as the gravitational wave cannons of those few main Star Destroyers in the Twilight Fleet brushed past the Judgment Death Star and slammed into a nearby planet, blasting the surface of that planet as easily as crushing egg yolk pastry.

Dangerous?

In this Milky Way, was there anything more dangerous than what they were doing now?!

Even those etheric dragons that had gotten on the pirate ship were coiling up under the armored area, and would only honestly pop their heads out when it was time for battle, acting as external energy cannons.

Speaking of which, thinking of those etheric dragons, Tang Yuan frowned again: "Those etheric dragons are also getting fatter and fatter, looking like balls. They're almost like the dewdrop slimes back home."

"And they actually eat a lot too! One eats hundreds of times more in a day than all the personnel on our thirty-odd ships combined eat in a month – are we really just going to let them eat and drink for free?"

"Don't worry about that, Captain."

The officer on the side comforted him: "After all, they've been helping us out all along, fighting against the Twilight Fleet."

"When they don't even want to fight anymore, it'll be good to fatten them up to eat!"

When this officer spoke, he clearly swallowed.

In fact, even Tang Yuan subconsciously swallowed when he thought of the etheric dragons' inner muscles, which looked very supple and smooth.

After eating potatoes for two years, it wasn't surprising that their minds were a little twisted.

If the etheric dragons heard such a conversation, it would definitely make these cosmic beasts, who had mistakenly boarded a pirate ship and originally thought they could learn some knowledge, but only learned how to eat, tremble in fear.

But Tang Yuan actually didn't have these mundane thoughts in his heart – he quickly returned to normal, and after coughing once, he brought the topic back to the main point.

"No matter what, we must control the Minister's body."

The pale-faced young man paced back and forth in the control room, thinking in his heart: "If this continues, not to mention the Minister's body's increasingly frequent predatory state, it will greatly increase the danger and reduce the chances of survival."

"When the Minister comes back and sees his body like this… uh."

He felt a chill and shivered, but Tang Yuan still forced himself to calm down: "In short, the Judgment Death Star must have an operator!"

"Although I have the authority, the degree of control is worlds apart, and the instructions aren't clear enough, so much so that I can't overcome the Minister's body's instincts… So there must be a professional enough pilot to drive this extremely powerful body!"

"This way, we can ensure our chances of survival to the highest degree, and we can also better fine-tune the Minister's body's form and better adapt to the upcoming battles!"

That was the logic, and without a doubt, Tang Yuan was thinking correctly.

But the problem was, where to find one?

The Judgment Death Star had been besieged by the Twilight Fleet all the way, running back and forth in the various edge regions of the Milky Way, and they had never had time to communicate with the local civilizations, or to contact Earth. They didn't have the technology or ability to train a pilot now, so wishful thinking was meaningless.

Even if they wanted to process the Judgment Death Star and add more control rooms… they couldn't process it!

So the problem still went back to the beginning.

"What should we do, Captain? Are we going to let the Marshal's body continue to prey?"

The officer asked worriedly: "It seems that the Twilight Fleet is about to launch another all-out attack. Our safety is at stake!"

A long silence.

Then, Tang Yuan's tired voice sounded.

"Forget it… whatever happens, happens. Let him eat as much as he wants!"

However, coincidentally.

Milky Way Galaxy, Solar System, Earth.

A highly confidential meeting was being held among the Thirty-Six Saints.

And two special figures were also exceptionally joining this meeting, which concerned the fate of the Righteous Nation and the future of Earth.

The content of the meeting wasn't long, and the final result was quickly issued.

[In summary!]

Dao Saint's solemn voice echoed in the meeting hall in cyberspace.

[The Xenostian Elders' Council Envoy and other envoys from the Milky Way Upper Kingdoms have all arrived on Earth. The situation is very serious, and we must know Su Zhou's current situation in order to make a judgment.]

[So, Shao Shuangyue, Jiu Ming, the nation has decided that the two of you, as pioneer space explorers, will use your ability to jump through pioneer space as messengers to go to the Earth United Fleet and exchange information!]

A new volume tomorrow, let's see if I can write a long chapter!