The Ark's elders weren't as young as they appeared. For millennia, they had reversed their aging using the "Gu" [Ancient/古] character, maintaining their youthful appearance. However, rejuvenation wasn't immortality. Age still accumulated silently within them.
Now, struck by Immortal Master Yin's deathly energy, this accumulated age erupted violently, amplifying the effects of the deathly energy far beyond their expectations. The three Ark elders' hair turned white in an instant, and deep wrinkles appeared on their faces. An aura of decay permeated their bodies.
"Gu!" Lu Yuzhi, regaining his composure, wrote the "Gu" character in the void with a trembling hand, targeting not their unseen attacker but themselves!
Under the influence of "Gu," the rapid aging of their bodies slowed, but it was a temporary reprieve. The power they wielded wasn't the original True Immortal Script character but a mere imitation. Its reverting power couldn't keep pace with their accelerating decline. Moreover, the surrounding deathly energy storm intensified. At this rate, they would soon be reduced to skeletons!
Under the combined assault of the deathly energy and the "Gu" character, Li Fan and Xu Gongding also snapped back to their senses, their faces filled with terror and confusion.
"Run!" Lu Yuzhi shouted at Li Fan, struggling to maintain the "Gu" character.
Li Fan's black and white hair turned completely white. He looked at the direction where the sealed orb had vanished, his face a mask of conflict. "But the grey chess pieces…"
"Without your life, you'll have nothing!" Lu Yuzhi roared, despite his own reluctance to abandon the chess pieces.
"Aaah!"
With a desperate cry, Li Fan summoned the wooden sword's image, temporarily mitigating the deathly energy's assault. The sword flashed, carrying them away from the terrifying storm.
Only after the four vanished did Immortal Master Yin and Daoist Hundred Flowers reveal themselves. Unleashing such a large-scale deathly energy storm wasn't easy for Immortal Master Yin, who had only recently absorbed the Yin-Yang Pearl. The swirling vortexes in his mismatched black and white eyes spun uncontrollably. He closed his eyes, trying to regain control.
Meanwhile, Daoist Hundred Flowers, following Li Fan's instructions, sealed the stolen orb with beams of golden light. "I wonder who those three with the Sacred Teacher were? The characters they used seemed identical to the residual True Immortal power in the Star Sea… The Sacred Teacher's acting is truly impressive. If he hadn't contacted us beforehand, even I would have been fooled." Daoist Hundred Flowers's expression was complex as he continued to reinforce the sealing formation. While the formation was intricate, with Li Fan's guidance, he managed to deploy it.
…
Outside the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds.
The Ark's survivors were still shaken. Even after escaping the deathly energy storm, a trace of it lingered within them, slowly draining their life force.
"Return… to the Ark…" Lu Yuzhi, now looking like a frail old man, nearing his end, struggled to speak.
The others were in a similar state, especially Li Fan, who could only shake his head weakly, indicating he was too exhausted to use his escape technique.
Only Nangong Lie was relatively unharmed. He supported the others, sending out a distress signal as they flew towards the Ark.
After a while, Zhong Daogong arrived with seven other elders. Wary of a potential ambush, they hadn't sent everyone, despite the four elders' life-threatening condition.
Seeing the four, barely clinging to life, enveloped in an aura of decay, the elders' expressions turned grim. However, knowing that time was of the essence, they didn't ask questions, immediately bringing them back to the Ark for treatment.
Using the original "Gu" character and various life-extending treasures, they managed to stabilize the four.
Three days later.
Li Fan stood in his courtyard, his expression dazed.
"Only about ten years left. One trip outside, and I've lost half my lifespan!"
Lu Yuzhi smiled wryly. "I'm in a similar situation. Less than fifty years…"
Nangong Lie and Xu Gongding's faces were equally grim.
After such a major incident, the elders' council would naturally conduct a thorough investigation. They recounted their experience truthfully. Zhong Daogong tried to comfort them and find ways to extend their lifespans, but to little avail.
"Hmph!" After a moment of silence, Nangong Lie slammed his hand on the stone table in the courtyard. "Not only did we nearly die, but we also lost four grey chess pieces… What a disgrace! Zhong Daogong should have immediately led a search party, not necessarily for revenge, but at least to gather information about the attackers. But look at him! After all this time, he hasn't done anything. All he says is 'we need to plan carefully'… Nonsense! He's just scared after seeing what happened to us!" Nangong Lie vented his frustration.
Lu Yuzhi frowned. "But Elder Zhong is right. That deathly energy storm was truly terrifying. Even after days of reflection, I haven't found a way to counter it. With the four of us severely injured, the Ark can't afford another such attack."
Li Fan nodded in agreement. "While frustrating, it's true. The deathly energy appeared too suddenly, clearly targeting the grey chess pieces we carried. Don't forget, we still have one on the Ark. That unknown enemy might attack us at any time…"
Li Fan's words silenced everyone. The Ark always prioritized the greater good. They understood the difference between personal grudges and the Ark's overall interests.
"This enemy is formidable," Lu Yuzhi sighed, his eyes filled with worry.
To address this unknown threat, the Ark convened a meeting of all elders. Li Fan, as a witness to the incident, also attended.
Zhong Daogong began with a summary. "The enemy is clearly after the grey chess pieces. The one we possess has lost some of its resonance with the others. Those must be the four that were stolen. However, there are two questions. Firstly, how did they pinpoint Elder Lu and his team's location? Secondly, how did they block the resonance between the chess pieces? As for the deathly energy storm… after reviewing the Ark's records, we've found some potential clues."
His words immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
Jian Daosheng coughed and explained, "Deathly energy and life force are opposing yet interdependent forces. In the Dark Star Sea, where most areas are desolate and lifeless, such a massive amount of deathly energy shouldn't exist. Therefore, we suspect it originated from a cultivation world. And to use deathly energy as a weapon, its consumption… the amount they possess must be unimaginable." Jian Daosheng's voice was grave.
The elders immediately raised their doubts.
"The Great Calamity of the Star Sea destroyed countless worlds long ago. Where could they have gathered so much deathly energy? It's illogical!"
Zhong Daogong sighed. "That's the crux of the matter. I'm afraid they've been accumulating this deathly energy since ancient times, before the Star Sea's destruction. They're likely a civilization that survived from the ancient era, just like us. Able to anticipate and evade the True Immortal Script's attack, familiar with the grey chess pieces, catching us completely off guard. And they never revealed themselves… Judging by their actions, this unknown civilization is at least as strong as our Ark, if not stronger."
Zhong Daogong's words plunged the meeting into silence. The elders frowned, lost in thought.
Li Fan broke the silence, sighing. "I never imagined that besides the Ark and Great Qi, another powerful civilization exists in this seemingly desolate Star Sea."
The elders' gazes focused on him. Jian Daosheng narrowed his eyes. "Fellow Daoist Li, could this unknown enemy be… your Great Qi?"
This question lingered in the minds of all the elders. They stared at Li Fan, waiting for his answer.
"Great Qi?" Li Fan seemed surprised by the question. "How could…" He instinctively denied it. However, he quickly paused, frowning in thought.
After a long silence, he spoke again. "Firstly, I can confirm there are no monitoring methods from Great Qi on me. And I'm definitely not their spy… I have no proof. But you've spent enough time with me to know my character."
Li Fan paused, then said proudly, "Forgive my bluntness, but if I were truly a spy from Great Qi, targeting the grey chess pieces, I could have easily stolen them and escaped while helping you rebuild your protective formations, with my unparalleled escape technique. There would have been no need for such elaborate schemes."
The meeting room became even quieter. No one refuted his claim. Most accepted his explanation, though a few still regarded him with suspicion.
Li Fan continued his defense. "Moreover, when we were attacked, we were planning to venture deeper into the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds to collect more chess pieces. If I were a spy, why wouldn't I wait until we found more before alerting them to attack and capture everything? And why would I return to the Ark afterwards? The other three elders were severely weakened. Without my escape technique, they would have perished. Wouldn't it have been easier to simply let them vanish without a trace? Why go through all this trouble?"
As he spoke, Li Fan's anger seemed to rise. He snorted. "If it weren't for the fact that, nearing my end, I've come to see the Ark as my home, I wouldn't waste my breath on these explanations. If I wanted to leave, could any of you stop me?"
No one could answer. His wooden sword escape technique, capable of bypassing almost all restrictions, was truly extraordinary.
Zhong Daogong quickly intervened, chuckling. "Fellow Daoist Li, there's no need to be so agitated. We trust you completely. But we know very little about Great Qi, so it's natural for us to be suspicious."
Li Fan's anger subsided slightly. He pondered for a moment, then replied cautiously, "There are many factions within Great Qi. I'm only familiar with my master's lineage… However, I've never heard of anyone in Great Qi possessing such a massive amount of deathly energy. Besides, I'm somewhat well-known in Great Qi. If they were truly from Great Qi, they wouldn't dare attack me! Even if I died, my master wouldn't let them get away with it!"
Zhong Daogong nodded slightly, stopping his inquiries for now.
"I have a theory about this attack. Let's discuss it. The grey chess pieces have remained undisturbed in the Ark's treasury for so long without incident. Now, they're suddenly being targeted… Assuming no one intentionally leaked information, perhaps it was the accumulation of too many chess pieces that drew attention."
Zhong Daogong said, "This unknown civilization might have been searching for the grey chess pieces all these years but lacked a chess piece of their own to use for tracking. As we gathered more, they finally detected them, leading to the attack…"
The elders fell silent, considering this theory. While seemingly far-fetched, it was the only plausible explanation.
"If my theory is correct, then our main concern now is a potential attack on the Ark by this unknown civilization." Zhong Daogong's tone suddenly changed. "The grey chess pieces resonate with each other. The one transformed into the Ark's outer armor can be used to track our location… This is unacceptable."
The elders' expressions turned grim.
"Our top priority is to address this. Either we remove the chitinous armor and abandon the grey chess piece, or we find a way to block the resonance between them," Zhong Daogong summarized.
The elders looked at each other, falling into a heated debate.
(End of Chapter)