Swallowed Star
chapter-1216

The towering, massive black vessel continued its ascent, causing the entire black swamp to tremble and vibrate.

Compared to the black vessel, Luo Feng and company seemed incredibly small—with respect to body size as well as aura! For every universe master present, if not for their true treasures, the moment they fell into the black swamp, they would be doomed for sure… Full-force attacks were unable to shake the black swamp, but this black vessel shook off a large part of the black swamp effortlessly.

“How do we seize this treasure? I have never heard of any method.”

Many thoughts coursed through Luo Feng’s mind. There were many legends of the Boat of Mausoleum, but no one in humanity had never possessed it before, and among the near-hundred groups of powers throughout the entire Universe Ocean, the two holy lands might be the only ones who had ever managed to seize it before, so it was understandable that no one knew how to seize this treasure.

Branding it with life imprints? Unlikely. If branding was possible, then Deer Bug Master, Shadow Dust Master of the Divine Eye Clan, and Sorcerer Sprite Master would not be so peaceful.

“Deer Bug Master.” Luo Feng suddenly did a voice transmission, this time it was directed only to Deer Bug Master, so Sorcerer Sprite Master and Shadow Dust Master were oblivious.

“Milky Way Horde Leader,” Deer Bug Master replied.

“I have little experience and knowledge, so I do not have any information about the Boat of Mausoleum. Although I have heard about its legends, I have practically zero knowledge when it comes to true facts about it. Would you, Deer Bug Master, be able to share some of your knowledge about it with me?”

“Hahaha… why should I tell you?” Deer Bug Master asked back.

Luo Feng merely smiled and replied, as if he did not mind, “It’s fine if you are unable to tell me anything. I will just follow you, Shadow Dust Master, and Sorcerer Sprite Master when you three get into action!”

“You really want to know?” Deer Bug Master suddenly asked.

“Of course,” Luo Feng replied.

“I’m fine with telling you, but I have one condition,” Deer Bug Master said. “I think there should be no other fellow great being from Purple Moon Holy Land here in Flame Ice region. When the Boat of Mausoleum has completely emerged, which I guess should be soon, summoning other fellow great beings is completely out of the question. They will not be able to make it here in time… I may be powerful, but I am afraid I will become a target of attack. Would you be willing to be at my beck and call for the time being? If you agree, then I will tell you detailed information about the Boat of Mausoleum. If not, forget it.”

“Agreed.” Luo Feng did not hesitate at all. “However, I will only follow your orders before the crowd; before the treasure, don’t blame me if I behave otherwise.”

“Before the treasure, of course we will depend on our own capabilities,” Deer Bug Master replied.

“Deal,” Luo Feng answered.

He knew why Deer Bug Master was fearful of the other groups of powers. Although Deer Bug Master possessed a supreme true treasure, that was only a supreme armor! Though strong in defense, when in face-to-face combat, it did not offer much of an advantage. Fighting with other great beings—for instance, a fifth-tier universe master against a fourth-tier universe master battling one another—the most the armor could do was to bring the fourth-tier universe master to a disadvantageous position. Killing was not very feasible unless it was with absolute restraint.

Like Clear Eye Master, his soul attack could bring his opponent into an instant daze, where all ability to resist was lost. Perhaps this kind of absolute restraint would work wonders.

Some fifth-tier existences were still able to survive when exchanging blows with universe supreme beings, so if they were pitted against mere sixth-tier universe masters, the results were obvious. Deer Bug Master was able to unleash his power, but the amount that he could unleash was probably only the amount a universe supreme master could release in the primal universe… Even though this would gain him an absolute upper hand, it would be extremely difficult to kill any one of his opponents or even to kill someone like Luo Feng.

“Since you have agreed,” Deer Bug Master said without further delay, “I shall provide you with information regarding the Boat of Mausoleum. Countless eras ago, the Boat of Mausoleum was a working tool for a group of ancient existences within the Universe Boat. Of course, that ancient civilization was very powerful… For instance, they created the black-striped stone pillars and the entire Universe Boat—both of which, none of us great beings in the Universe Ocean of today could cause to budge an inch.”

Luo Feng agreed on that. That civilization was indeed very powerful. Judging from clues left behind on various sources, many true treasures, even utmost supreme true treasures, were the legacy of that civilization. A certain degree of deduction was possible, just by looking at the informative writing found on a supreme true treasure, that they were exactly the same as the writings used by that civilization.

“There is a large number of unique objects within the Universe Boat—the black-striped stone pillars, bloody sea plate, Boat of Mausoleum, and others, for which the method of branding with life imprints to get them to recognize their masters will not work out. I am not so sure about types of objects like the black-striped stone pillars and bloody sea plate, but objects like the Boat of Mausoleum were more like tools, not true treasures.”

“For instance,” Deer Bug Master continued, “when you are hiding inside the Boat of Mausoleum and great beings attack from the outside world, the Boat of Mausoleum could counteract to a certain extent, but still, a strong impact would be transmitted all the way in. Meaning to say, the Boat of Mausoleum does not function like a palace true treasure, which can block off impacts to near-perfection. However, it is a valuable that is naturally able to block soul attacks. Because of the unique material it is composed of, virtual godly powers would not be able to penetrate it at all. Its defense is merely because of its unique material. Want to make it recognize its master? One must enter the Boat of Mausoleum and find its core control.”

“Core control?” Luo Feng repeated.

“Within the entire Universe Boat,” Deer Bug Master said, “there were several Boats of Mausoleum, but it takes ages for one to be born. Every Boat of Mausoleum has a different core control. So you better not think of finding out anything about core controls from me, because I myself am clueless.”

Luo Feng knew that Deer Bug Master definitely had certain information regarding the core control, but this was confidential and also involved seizing a true treasure. Why would he tell Luo Feng so readily?

“If you want to enter this Boat of Mausoleum, there is no other way,” Deer Bug Master said. “You must wait for it to open its doors. If it does not want to open on its own, then no one would be able to forcibly pry it open.”

Luo Feng persisted in his questions. “How long is the wait?”

“Very soon. The moment it is completely born, the doors will normally open automatically. Of course, there is a possibility of sudden delays…” Deer Bug Master sighed. “From the records of my holy hand, there was also a Boat of Mausoleum that had doors that refused to open upon complete birth. After more than 300 eras, a supreme being who was extremely skilled in refining true treasures made use of a secret technique to drive this Boat of Mausoleum, to finally stimulate it to open its doors automatically.”

“Refining true treasures?” Luo Feng felt a jolt.

“To refine a true treasure, one must first have a deep understanding of the civilization it originated from,” Deer Bug Master said. “Random great beings would not be able to fathom the treasures left behind by a particular civilization, but for those great beings skilled in refining true treasures, upon thorough and meticulous studying of the true treasures, they will be able to reveal the mysteries of these treasures. As for this Boat of Mausoleum, there is another piece of information. You should have heard this before; a single Boat of Mausoleum can take in 36 great beings to enter that tomb!”

“36 great beings?” Luo Feng only knew that the Boat of Mausoleum could bring great beings into the tomb.

“Only one chance to control and drive the Boat of Mausoleum…” Deer Bug Master said. “Once inside the tomb, the Boat of Mausoleum will leave and no longer be controlled. So, even if you manage to get hold of the Boat of Mausoleum, you must consider carefully whether you truly want to enter the tomb… Once you enter the tomb, you will lose the Boat of Mausoleum.”

******

The Boat of Mausoleum was slowly emerging from the black swamp; its speed might have been slow, but there was sustained, constant movement. Very quickly, it drew in a palace type true treasure, which was an Ancestral God School’s group of power from the first reincarnation era.

Generation after generation of reincarnation era… Regardless of which reincarnation era, there would always be the presence of the Ancestral God School. When in the primal universe, the Ancestral God School was generally very powerful. However, the moment the primal universe was destroyed to enter a new reincarnation era, these great beings of the Ancestral God School who were forced to live in their miniature universes no longer had the protection of the universe origin. Their powers would be weakened, and their degree of unity would be greatly reduced, thus appearing to be detached from one another.

A wild voice sounded. “Haha! Shadow Dust Master from the Divine Eye clan, Sorcerer Sprite Master? Deer Bug Master from Purple Moon Holy Land? Liu Jiu Master of the first Ancestral God School? The human race’s Milky Way Horde Leader?”

“This is… the Boat of Mausoleum?”

Hong!

A pale white light that just arrived immediately swept past the stream of light and charged toward the Boat of Mausoleum.

Luo Feng, Deer Bug Master, Shadow Dust Master, and the others were mocked amidst laughter as they looked on. They could see the pale white light landing on the Boat of Mausoleum, searching for a spot that was not tainted by the black swamp, then trying its best to brand the boat with its life imprints. Apparently, nothing was successful.

“Skeleton clan, you are just foolish!” Cold laughter sounded throughout the domain and resonated in that part of space. “We are all watching from afar, no one trying to make the boat recognize a master. Isn’t it obvious that a master cannot be recognized? You’re still trying to court your death by trying to make it recognize a master. What a joke.”

“Divine Eye clan, you are just idiotic!” said a shrill voice that suggested an untamed character sounded. “The others are not saying anything, so what nonsense are you speaking? Of course, I am aware that the Boat of Mausoleum cannot recognize a master, but still, I have to try. Who knows? This Boat of Mausoleum might be different from the others! And who knows? You Divine Eye clan might already have some who tried to make the Boat recognize a master before me.”

He was right. The Divine Eye clan had been the first to arrive. They had, indeed, studied the emerging Boat of Mausoleum carefully and attempted to get it to recognize a master. However, the Divine Eye clan was from the first reincarnation era; regarding information on the Boat of Mausoleum, they were lacking in quantity as compared to the Two Holy Land Universes.

“Foolish Skeleton clan, stop finding excuses,” the cold voice continued.

“Stop being so full of yourself, Divine Eye clan,” the shrill voice snorted.

The other groups of powers present did not make a single utterance. Skeleton clan and Divine Eye clan were both pinnacle clans from the first reincarnation era. Although the Skeleton clan might have been slightly weaker than the Divine Eye clan, it was still the latter’s archenemy. The talents of both clans cursed one another. For close to three reincarnation eras, ceaseless fights had been going on between the two clans. Being able to maintain such strong powers while under the suppression of the Divine Eye clan, one could imagine the power of Skeleton clan.

Time passed…

Another half a month passed, and no other groups of powers came. Now, there were five groups. Namely, Divine Eye clan, Skeleton clan, the First Ancestral God School, Purple Moon Holy Ground, and the humans.

Luo Feng knew he was alone, so what about the other groups? Everyone was within their own palace true treasures. How many great beings were in those palace true treasures? No one else knew. Perhaps the Skeleton clan had a few of those palace true treasures with only one person inside. Perhaps there were two great beings of the Divine Eye clan inside, or maybe there were more than two.

Before a battle took place, it was hard to say.

Hong!

The Boat of Mausoleum had finally completed emerging; the base of the entire vessel had left the black swamp and was vaguely seen suspended in the air. At the same time, the cabin doors were starting to vibrate.

“The cabin doors are about to open.”

“Milky Way, let’s go,” Deer Bug Master transmitted his command to Luo Feng right away.

Sou! Sou!

Luo Feng’s crimson tower followed close behind Deer Bug Master’s pyramid as they immediately flew toward the towering Boat of Mausoleum, which was quite a distance away.

“Hurry.”

“Keep a close eye on Deer Bug Master! He has the most information.”

“Keep up.”

The other groups of powers saw Deer Bug Master and Luo Feng dashing over; without a second thought, they immediately went ablaze with their godly power to propel their palace true treasures to the ultimate forms. Then, with speeds accelerated to 100 times light speed, they transformed into streaks of light and took off in the direction of the Boat of Mausoleum.