A city was floating in the dark expanse of stars. Roughly ten thousand kilometers in both length and width, the area it covered was larger than that of a planet.
It was like a huge plate in space, and in this floating city were soil, mountains, and rivers. There were also flora and fauna. A gigantic semi-circle energy shield was enclosing everything, protecting all from cosmic ray interference.
A planet ought to have everything, and the difference was that this was no planet but a flat plane, instead. A planet could only revolve around a set orbit, but this city could slowly navigate its way across space with its powerful propulsion engine.
Actually, a closer inspection would reveal that this city or, to be precise, this piece of land, was built upon a gigantic spaceship. It was an oblate spaceship, of which the bulk could rival even the Titan superwarship that Xia Fei had seen before, except that Titan was a superwarship that focused solely on firepower to unleash destruction. Meanwhile, this was a mobile fortress.
There was a simple pier made of wooden planks next to a clear stream. A silver-haired elder was currently sitting by this pier fishing, his two legs dipped into the water, letting the little fishes tickle his feet. With the beautiful galactic sky hanging above head, and the cool water hugging his feet, flowers and grass overgrown on both banks, this was a comfort which was hard for the average person to imagine.
His cheeks were rosy like a child, his silver goatee swayed like hundreds of pigtails in front of his chest, and he possessed a high nose bridge matched by a piercing gaze; everything perfectly gave off the aura of a knowledgeable immortal.
The elderly man was fishing and drinking wine, all bored. That was when a light door appeared beside him, and the merchant Yuhua carefully stepped out with a bow, acting extremely respectful.
“Patriarch,” Yuhua respectfully greeted.
The elder did not even lift his head from what he was doing, smiling. “Yuhua, where have you been? Your heart is a little unsettled; you must’ve completed a big business, huh?”
Yuhua beamed widely. “There’s nothing I could hide from you, respected ancestor. I just finished delivering ten-leaf narcissus to the Dark Shura, White Killing Sea, earning myself a tidy sum.”
The elder man nodded. “It should be about twenty years since White Killing Sea secluded himself to cultivate the Law of Time. Now that he’s acquired a ten-leaf narcissus, I believe that he’s close to achieving complete comprehension. I’m afraid that our Yu Family will have another powerful rival when that time comes.”
“Am I to be blamed for that, Patriarch?” Yuhua anxiously asked.
The elder laughed uproariously. “Even if you didn’t sell it to him, someone else would. This old man here understands this logic, at the very least. Since you chose to be in the mercantile business, you’re fine as long as you do your duty as a merchant. You don’t have to be concerned about family affairs. It’s a pity, though; you clearly grasped the Law of Space, yet you chose to walk the path of a merchant. You’re just like Xiaoxuan, both completely obstinate individuals.”
Yuhua made his way to the elder and held out a small box to him. He then gave the old man a back massage as a demonstration of filial piety.
“Patriarch, it’s not like you don’t know, but I am someone who detests fighting with others, fainting at the sight of blood. It’s precisely because I had no choice that I ended up choosing to become a carefree merchant, but I haven’t forgotten about the affairs of the family. This here is an egg of a Three-headed Flaming Finch, which I’m giving to you now after having gotten my hands on it.”
The elder was slightly surprised. “Oh? The egg of a Three-headed Flaming Finch? That’s a rare find, indeed. If it hatches successfully, it will become a top-grade exotic beast, and the descendants of our family will surely like it. How much is it? Name your price.”
Yuhua hurriedly replied, “Respected ancestor, please don’t joke around with this young one. How could I dare accept money from you? The reason I’ve been able to do so much business all these years is all due to the family’s protection. If not for the elder’s help, my business would’ve long been gobbled up by others. Gifting this item as a show of respect is what I ought to do.”
Xia Fei would be extremely depressed if he heard what Yuhua had just said. It seemed that gifting items to curry favor was not a unique ultimate move of his, since the flattery that Yuhua had just displayed was no less capable than his.
The elder nodded with great satisfaction. “Fine. I’ll accept this gift. You’ve helped the family plenty, constantly thinking for its benefits all these years. As long as our Yu family remains standing, I guarantee your safety for the rest of your life.”
Yuhua nodded. “Respected ancestor, no matter how precious this egg is, it is still just an exotic beast. It will still need someone to take control of it, which is why I’ve prepared another big gift for you today.”
The elder was puzzled. “Another gift, you say?”
Yuhua mysteriously answered, “A person.”
“A person?”
“Someone whose seventh brain region is completely open! Barely twenty years of age!”
The elder’s eyes glowed as he excitedly said, “Already having his seventh brain region completely open at twenty? That’s some extremely good luck he has. How did he do it? He couldn’t have been born with it, could he?”
The elderly man had stopped Yuhua from continuing in his massage, grabbing him to sit right beside him. His fishing rod had also been tossed aside while he appeared to be very excited.
“Of course not. If he was born with it, I doubt he would still be alive till today,” Yuhua said.
The elder said, “Then that means he’s someone who cleared the Heritage Planet? No one has managed to clear the Heritage Planet in the last twenty years; quickly tell me. How did he open his seventh brain region completely?”
Yuhua answered, “There’s indeed a record of him clearing the Heritage Planet in his mental domain, but he’s only done so once, so he’s still far from a full clearance. After I closely scrutinized it, I noticed that, though his seventh brain region is completely open, it got severely damaged in the process, already to the point that he’s incapable of advancing his cultivation alone, requiring medicines to promote himself successfully, so I reckon that he had coincidentally tapped into his seventh brain region by force while cultivating, which is why it’s fully open.”
The elder heaved a deep sigh when he heard this. “What a pity. We’ve talked about him for some time, only for him to turn out to be a cripple. Depending on medication to advance has its limits. At best, our Yuhua family will only be able to help him get to the Advanced Eternal rank, impossible to break past into Immortal. Anyone who can’t even get to the Immortal rank will be no better than a cripple in the end; what use do we have to accept him?”
Yuhua let out a mysterious chuckle. “Respected ancestor, you haven’t let me finish yet. Though this man is a cripple, his body is a bit strange.”
The elder knitted his eyebrows together. “Strange?”
“You want to know how I found him?”
“How did you find him?”
“While I was on my way to deliver the ten-leaf narcissus to White Killing Sea, I felt someone looking around the Law of Space, which is why I hurriedly poked my head out to look and discovered this person whom you claimed to be a cripple, inadvertently opening a spatial door. Unfortunately, his cultivation is too low, so he ended up getting pushed out before he got to the door.”
Shock!
Extreme shock!
The elder could not believe his ears. “Someone whose seventh brain region is badly damaged managed to open a spatial door? Doesn’t that mean that he’s already at Eternal rank or higher, maybe even nearing Immortal?”
Yuhua shook his head. “Not that high. His initial ability is speed, which has just reached Legendary. Plus, equipment-wise, aside from his outstanding combat boots, everything else can hardly even be considered of Legendary grade.”
The elder was even more shocked hearing that. “Barely reached Legendary, and he can already open a spatial door? That matter is indeed strange. Quickly tell me more; don’t beat around the bush.”
Yuhua nodded. “I was also very sad after finishing my examination, which was why I tried interacting with him. That’s when I discovered that, while there’s no doubt that his seventh brain region is impaired severely, a very rare aura surrounds him, though I can’t really put my finger on it. This lad is fairly easy-going and has quite an eye, too. He saw that I meant him no harm, so he invited me aboard his ship as a guest, even giving me some stuff, flattering me quite a bit, too. I really like his rather crafty side.”
The elder slowly shook his head. “Get to the point already.”
Yuhua stuck out his tongue cheekily before saying, “I later discovered a holy beast on his ship!”
“A holy beast!” The elder paled. “Say that again: Is it truly a holy beast?”
Yuhua patted his chest as he confirmed it. “Do you not trust this pair of eyes I have, ancestor? It is most definitely a holy beast. Plus, it’s a high-grade holy beast, also known as the White Devil Holy Beast, Shatterstar!”
The elder could not help sucking in cold air when he heard the name Shatterstar. The holy beast Shatterstar was also called White Devil Shatterstar. It was an apex killer exotic beast in the universe, able to bring devastation and ruin once it matured! Furthermore, it had a cruel and ruthless character, changing the color of the skies wherever it went, tearing the stars apart in its wake!
Xia Fei was merely a Primary Legendary rank warrior, a completely insignificant existence to the elder, yet he was afraid of such a brutal holy beast. For it to stay with Xia Fei, the elder’s heart was palpitating wildly just thinking about it, unable to rest at ease for a long time.
“How could you still be alive after crossing paths with the holy beast Shatterstar?” The elder was puzzled. What he meant was that even Yuhua, someone who had mastered the Law of Space, was no match for Furball. Xia Fei would have most definitely been so surprised his eyeballs would fall out from their sockets had he heard this. How could he have imagined that his pet Furball, which had spent all its time fawning and ingratiating itself to him, was actually some holy beast? Furthermore, it was actually a murderous holy beast which could easily kill someone who had grasped the Law of Space!
Yuhua shrugged. “I had a huge fright when I saw the Shatterstar as well, and my back even sweated profusely, but I carefully watched it for a while and noted that the beast is actually still very young, hardly even grownup, so I didn’t rush to open a spatial door and leave.”
“Heavens! A Shatterstar beast that hasn’t yet matured! You ought to have brought it back! I can’t believe you missed such an opportunity! How frustrating!”
Before Yuhua could say another word, the elder already launched into a tirade, his face all red. Being able to acquire a Shatterstar beast would have greatly promoted the entire family’s power. Perhaps the Yu family could even go up a step and enter the core power structure, but Yuhua had not made a move despite setting eyes on that Shatterstar beast, and the old man became extremely irate over it.
Yuhua smilingly helped massage the elder’s shoulders, only for the old man to slap his two hands away. “Enough with that; tell me what happens next.”
Yuhua bitterly continued. “Respected ancestor, of course I know just how powerful a Shatterstar beast is, but it’s unfortunate that the Shatterstar has already signed a contract with the young man, so it won’t be of any use even if I take it by force.”
The elder’s eyes glinted with gold intent. “Stupid. We’ve got people who can sever such contracts in our family. Xia Fei’s merely some insignificant person who has just reached the Legendary rank; I doubt the contract is anything top-class.”
Yuhua hurriedly interjected. “That’s actually the opposite. The Shatterstar beast signed a blood contract with Xia Fei, which is an ancient heart imprint! The lives of the two are intertwined, so I’m afraid even you, my esteemed elder, would have been unable to sever that sort of bond.”
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