Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Capital Nest, the biggest city on Spider Den, was where the mother lodes had been densest on Spider Den ten thousand years ago, and it was the mining city that the Star Ocean Imperium developed in the earliest stage.

Looking down through the window of the crystal warship, Li Yao noticed that there was nothing except jam-packed mining pits over the hundreds of square kilometers of desolate land, which made it look like an enormous honeycomb.

In the complicated underground tunnels, countless magical equipment centers, starship maintenance centers, and purification plants for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were hidden. Together with the underground city that could accommodate millions of workers and Cultivators and the underground fortress that was concealed below the underground city, even the locals who had lived in the city for generations did not have the slightest clue how enormous the city made of interconnecting mazes was!

Capital Nest was the center of Spider Den. It was home to Bai Xinghe, the Pirate Potentate, and also where Black Spider Tower was headquartered.

Right now, both parties were preparing their soldiers and supplies, ready for the last battle that could break out at any moment.

The city was divided into two zones, one in the east and the other in the west, with a clear boundary. The air was so intense that a single spark could detonate hundreds of mining pits at the same time.

The crystal warship that Li Yao was on flew into the zone that was under the Temple of Immortals’ control slowly through a giant hole slanted downward.

Capital Nest was entirely different from Silver Wing City in style.

Although the Wild Tide Pirate Gang and the Split Sun Pirate Gang had been fighting hard in Silver Wing City, most people’s daily lives had not been affected. The black market, the hotels, and the magical equipment stores opened as usual, and the underground arenas and the strip clubs were packed with space pirates, too.

Capital Nest, on the other hand, had turned into a grave military fortress. Most of the stores were closed, and few lone space pirates could be seen on the street. Most of the space pirates were in neat groups and wearing standard crystal suits, leaving the impression that they were actually an army.

The space pirates were mostly wearing red crystal suits and white ones.

Those in red crystal suits had the mark of an angry black spider on their chests. The mark of their leader had a few gold stripes painted on the outside.

According to the introduction of Yin She, the advisor, they were all soldiers commanded by Black Spider Tower.

Those Exos in white crystal suits seemed to be in a higher position than the soldiers. Their crystal suits were more elegant and streamlined, giving a feeling of a perfect ‘waterdrop’ from head to toe. Certain half-stealth rune arrays seemed to have been utilized, because the crystal suits were entangled by invisible waves and appeared to be partially melded with the air. They looked extraordinary and seemed to belong to a different world.

On the left side of their breastplates, ‘Immortality’ was painted in an ancient style.

Those people were not space pirates but the armed forces directly under the command of the Temple of Immortals. It was sort of the regular army of the Immortal Cultivators.

More than one year ago, when the Temple of Immortals revealed itself on Spider Den, it had recruited a lot of talents for its regular army.

However, the requirements of the ‘Immortal Army’ was quite rigorous. Most of the candidates were screened because they could not complete the tests.

Those who passed the tests were all one-in-a-thousand experts.

It was said that they had been further trained and cleansed by the Temple of Immortals after they were recruited with many secret arts from the era of the Flying Star coalition government that had been lost for thousands of years. After only a few months, they would be transformed completely!

Fengyu Zhong had summoned Li Yao to a training camp of Black Spider Tower.

There were already dozens of space pirates in the hall when Li Yao went into the training camp.

When they saw him, they did not hide the wariness and hostility in their eyes at all.

The most notorious bandits on Spider Den are all here!

Li Yao glanced around and found his heart beating faster.

After a quick look, he noticed several brutal persons who were not only on the top of the wanted lists of Cultivators but also intimidating enough even in the circle of space pirates.

A kind-looking old man whose hair and beard were white was standing on his left side. His name was Master Phantom Sea, and he had originally been an elder of the Silver Moon Clan, one of the six sects of Heavenly Saints City.

However, when his campaign to become the leader of the sect failed, he dealt with the new leader with poison in secret out of hatred. However, his scheme failed. The Silver Moon Clan sent quite a few experts to capture him. He slew one Core Formation Stage Cultivators and almost twenty Building Foundation Stage Cultivators, before he ran away from Heavenly Saints City to Spider Den.

From then on, he had become a great bandit roaming through space. He was absolutely merciless during his jobs, especially when he ran into the carriers under the name of the Silver Moon Clan. No living creatures would be left!

Standing next to Master Phantom Sea was a muscular man more than 2.3 meters tall. His muscles bulged out to an unbelievable degree, and his eyes looked like burning bronze bells. White air currents were spurting out of his nostrils nonstop. He looked like an infuriated ox that had been stuffed into the shell of a human being!

The man was carrying two crossed giant axes that were even broader than doors on his back. The edges of the axes were covered in dents and blood stains, a signal that they had devoured countless innocent souls. Just one glance at them was enough to make people feel creepy.

The muscular man was named ‘Bloody Axe’. He was the champion of the underground arenas of Spider Den.

Space pirates were all brutal, but the underground arenas thousands of meters below the surface were lawless, cruel places, even for them. Even the strongest fighter might not be able to survive ten competitions when they were sent to the arenas.

‘Bloody Axe’, on the other hand, was the only expert who had fought a hundred battles in the underground arenas and retired alive over the past several decades.

Although he was merely in the beginning level of the Core Formation Stage, he would slash ruthlessly at those in the middle level of the Core Formation Stage or even at the peak when he went mad!

A short, lovely girl was hiding in the shadow behind Bloody Axe. Her clear eyes and her slender body made her absolutely unfit for the dirty environment. She was almost like a hostage that the space pirates had brought here.

But Li Yao knew for a fact that the woman who looked like a teenager in high school was at least seventy years old. She was known as ‘Fairy Coral’, and she was even more dangerous than the awe-inspiring ‘Bloody Axe’.

The coral snake was the most beautiful and the most fatal!

When she first showed up, she was merely a mistress of the leader of a pirate gang. Everybody considered her to be a simple toy and did not think too much of her.

But soon, the pirate gang she stayed in had a clash with a bigger pirate gang. After the pirate gang was swallowed, she was naturally a trophy to serve the new leader.

Then, all the leaders of the pirate gangs who accepted her would suffer a uncanny disaster within the next year, as if she had been cursed. They were either swallowed by other pirate gangs, or assassinated, or executed by Cultivators when their hunting jobs were leaked out and they were captured.

In short, whichever pirate gang she stayed in, it would be destroyed soon after, and she was always able to take the most valuable treasures of the pirate gang.

Rumor had it that she was adept at the skills of enchantment and had been practicing a certain evil technique that could absorb other people’s vitality to maintain her youth.

Many space pirates who were bewildered and fooled by her once united and went looking for vengeance, only to never be found again.

Therefore, the space pirates all honored her as ‘Fairy Coral’ when she was present and called her ‘Witch Coral’ behind her back.

Li Yao’s most attention was focused on four space pirates. Other than the three of them, the fourth space pirate was a dwarf no higher than 1.3 meters with extremely short limbs.

The dwarf named ‘Wang Haha’ had a rarely-seen profession on Spider Den.

He was a thief.

Spider Den was a congregation of bandits. Yet, a thief had appeared in the home of the bandits, and he was not a random thief but a famous one. Everybody knew how he made his living, but he had still lived his life happily for decades.

Two things were obvious.

Firstly, his skills were good, to the point that other people could not catch him even though they knew that he was a thief.

Secondly, he was very strong. Even if a space pirate knew that their items had been stolen by him, they did not dare ask for them back.

Everybody on Spider Den knew that Wang Haha stole everything, including heads, especially those on necks that could still talk and laugh.

Li Yao looked around and was somewhat relieved.

Those who had been invited there were all lone wolves that did not belong to any organization and mercenaries who did their jobs for rewards.

For the pure combat-type Cultivators there, they were no lower than the peak of the Building Foundation Stage. Many of the experts there were in the high level of the Core Formation Stage, too.

For those lower than the peak of the Building Foundation Stage, they all had a certain specialty other than combat.

For example, he was an explosion expert, Fairy Coral was good at enchanting skills, and Wang Haha was an all-stealing thief.

While he was pondering, Wang Haha moved his stout body toward him in a very troublesome way.

As he was observing other people, other people were observing him, too.

Over the past month, ‘Bloody Vulture’ had been quite a resounding name in the circle of space pirates. Seeing that the newly-risen brutal guy had been summoned by Fengyu Zhong, too, those seasoned bandits were quite surprised.

“You are Bloody Vulture from Silver Wing City. Then you must know who I am. Hahahaha!”

Wang Haha extended his short hands and blinked, while he said, “I’m told that your hands are very fast, and you can plant crystal bombs on other people without them knowing. As it happens, my hands are fast, too, and I can take out anything from other people without them knowing!

“You put things inside, and I take them out. The two of us should hang out together more!”

Wang Haha’s voice was high and sharp. He immediately attracted all the space pirates’ attention.

The seasoned bandits all looked at them with great interest, looking forward to the competition between the two ‘quick-hands’.

Fairy Coral observed Li Yao from top to bottom carefully. Weird brilliance beamed out of her eyes, as she tried to lean close to Bloody Axe.

But Bloody Axe quickly retreated as if she were a ghost. It was obvious that he did not want to have physical contact with the woman who could absorb other people’s vitality.

Li Yao narrowed his eyes. His lips curled up into a smile while he extended his right hand to Wang Haha.