Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 190 The Arrogant Cao Benqi
"Hahaha, according to intelligence within my human race, this Tomb Ship seems to be a spaceship leading to the Tomb, and is at least a palace-type treasure second only to the Supreme Treasure Palace." Ling Xuan watched the Tomb Ship fly deeper into the spaceship and couldn't help but imagine.

"It looks like this road leads to the tomb."

The tomb is a legendary place within the inner domain of the spaceship.

According to some ancient records, the tomb should be the burial place of powerful people who fell before the endless era of the 'Cosmic Ship'. Of course, although some powerful people have entered it, no one has ever seen the 'corpses'.

There are also treasures left behind by those ancient beings after their fall, as well as ancient ruins, making it a place that powerful people are eager to enter.

But how could a tomb be allowed to be disturbed by descendants at will? Even the strongest beings in the universe cannot force their way in.

Then one can enter the tomb by boat.

Even if Ling Xuan doesn't obtain a legacy like Duan Donghe's, acquiring just a few treasures left behind by powerful figures in the tombs will still make him incredibly wealthy.

It should be noted that the Spaceship was prepared by the remaining elite warriors of the Wu Kingdom after its destruction, who planned to storm the Space Sea, seize the Beast of the Realm, and rebuild the Wu Kingdom.

The powerful individuals inside are undoubtedly the elite of the elite; at the very least, only Void Gods are qualified to join.

The treasures left behind by such powerful individuals must be of high quality, probably at least Void-level standard equipment.

There are even powerful eternal true gods like Duan Donghe Zhenkan.

Moreover, the cosmic vessel is such a treasure that it is likely controlled and led by a powerful being at the Saint level, which is the level of a Chaos Ruler. If Ling Xuan can obtain the other party's inheritance, coupled with his own talent, he will probably be able to reach the level of passing through reincarnation very soon.

Then all I need to do is wait until I have 100,000 times the genetic power to deal with the World Beast before I can enter the cycle of reincarnation.

……

When Cao Benqi stepped into the palace of the Lord of Lanzang, the glass lamps inside were emitting a soft glow, making the star map floating in the air even clearer.

He stood tall and straight, surrounded by a faint aura of a cosmic master. Although he did not deliberately flaunt it, he could not hide the arrogance of a super genius.

Seeing the Lord of Lanzang seated on the jade throne at the head of the hall, he stopped and asked in a flat tone, lacking the respect of an ordinary disciple, "Master Lanzang, what brings you here?"

Lord Lanzang looked up at him, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. Cao Benqi had even skipped the gesture of bowing.

He sighed inwardly, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the armrest of the jade throne.

He had accidentally obtained a clue to a top-tier domain treasure, and if he could get his hands on it, it would greatly benefit his strength.

The secret realm that contains the most precious treasure is extremely dangerous, and he alone has no chance of breaking in.

These days, he has been looking for companions, and the first person who comes to mind is his exceptionally talented apprentice.

He knew Cao Benqi's combat strength best; it was no weaker than his own. With Cao Benqi around, the chances of successfully entering the secret realm would increase by at least 30%.

But Cao Benqi's attitude when he entered made him uneasy again—this disciple is becoming more and more distant from him, and even the master-disciple etiquette is so perfunctory. If they were to go to the secret realm, would they really be able to work together?
If he only focuses on seizing the treasure and ignores the safety of his companions, it could lead to disaster.

"Benqi, you're getting more and more presumptuous." The Lord of Lancang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a hint of authority as his gaze fell on Cao Benqi.

The moment the words left his mouth, a pang of regret swept through his mind—perhaps he shouldn't have sought out Cao Benqi; it would have been safer to have found another calm and composed universe master.

Upon hearing this, Cao Benqi nodded slightly, making up for the lack of formality, but his tone remained flat: "Teacher is right. I was preoccupied with other matters when I came in and was negligent."

He didn't defend himself, nor did he show any remorse, as if he were just responding to a trivial reminder.

Looking at him like this, Lord Lanzang's hesitation deepened.

He remained silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the star map in the hall. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, Cao Benqi may be a bit arrogant, but he's not a bad person at heart, and his strength is indeed the best choice."

He raised his hand and summoned a virtual screen with a map on it, which landed in front of Cao Benqi: "I called you here not to teach you a lesson. I have obtained a clue about a secret realm that may contain a top-tier domain-level treasure. However, the secret realm is dangerous and requires a strong companion. After thinking it over, you were the first person I thought of."

Cao Benqi looked at the map in front of him, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

He is currently lacking a treasure of this level, a top-tier treasure in the field.

Master Zuoshanke is really something. As the most mysterious and powerful treasure-making master in the universe, he only prepared two supreme treasures for himself.

The other supreme treasures require one to kill ten top cosmic overlords or one cosmic lord at the cosmic venerable stage.

But how easy are top-tier cosmic overlords and cosmic masters to kill?
Over the long years, he successfully killed seven top cosmic overlords, three of whom had clones, but the Mountain Master did not count it as a performance achievement.

To truly kill a top overlord, one must not only kill all of their clones, but also do so before the reinforcements they call for arrive.

Killing the Lord of the Universe is out of the question; he couldn't even handle the notoriously weak "Lord of the Spirit Rhinoceros."

Since then, he has focused all his efforts on killing top cosmic overlords.

Unfortunately, he ultimately failed to complete it until he broke through and became the true master of the universe.

His mission objective has now become to kill ten universe masters or one of the strongest beings in the universe.

Over countless eons, he has accomplished this twice. The first time, he successfully killed the "Lord of the Spirit Rhinoceros," who should have died long ago.

Unfortunately, after he made his move more often, the other universe lords also became more wary of him, and it became harder for them to succeed for a while.

The powerful individuals he killed were all those whose strength and treasures were relatively weak, which is why, even though he has reached the fourth rank, he doesn't have many suitable treasures.

Although the human race bestows a top-tier treasure upon a powerful individual who becomes the master of the universe, that treasure is an offensive weapon. Since he already possesses the Flame God Halberd prepared by the Mountain-Sitting Guest, that top-tier treasure is completely useless.

He has always lacked a powerful and suitable treasure, especially in the realm of treasures.

This realm-specific treasure is quite good.

He looked up at the Lord of Lancang, his tone finally becoming more serious: "Teacher, do you want me to explore the secret realm with you?"

"Yes." Lord Lan Cang nodded, a hint of expectation in his voice. "The guardian beasts in the secret realm are extremely powerful, and the environment is extremely dangerous. The more powerful beings there are, the greater our chances of success. However..."

He paused for a moment, then voiced his concerns, "I know you're strong now and have your own ideas, but once you're in the secret realm, you must prioritize the overall situation and not act rashly." Cao Benqi's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile upon hearing this, his tone still calm but now tinged with seriousness: "Teacher, rest assured. While the treasure is important, I can still distinguish between what's important and what's not. Since it was your invitation, I certainly won't hold you back."

When Lord Lanzang saw that he had agreed, the weight that had been hanging over his heart finally lifted, and his initial disappointment lessened somewhat.

He waved his hand: "That's good then. We'll meet at the headquarters of the Giant Axe Arena in three years. It'll be easier to use the Divine Kingdom Teleportation there. Make sure you're well prepared before you set off, as the dangers in the secret realm far exceed our imagination."

Cao Benqi nodded: "Okay, I will arrive on time three years from now."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the hall, his steps still unhurried, but this time, as he left, his gaze lingered on Lord Lanzang for a moment longer.

Lord Lan Cang watched his retreating figure and sighed softly—thankfully, he ultimately chose to believe in this disciple, and hoped that this journey together would bring the master-disciple relationship closer once again.

……

On the other side, Zhou Heng's clone controlled the Tomb Ship, steadily traversing the deep passageway.

After navigating numerous dangers, we finally entered the legendary tomb.

Without this Tomb Ship, even the strongest beings in the universe, piloting palace-type supreme treasures, probably wouldn't have been able to get here. It's not that supreme treasures like palaces couldn't withstand the dangers along the way, but rather that palace-type supreme treasures couldn't overcome some of the dangerous constraints along the route.

Unlike the Tomb Ship, which has its own powerful propulsion.

Ling Xuan did not disembark immediately, but instead carefully observed this mysterious area through the tomb ship.

Just as rumored, there were no traces of any powerful figures' remains. All that could be seen was an endless expanse of emptiness, with a pale gray mist shrouding the distance. In the mist, one could vaguely make out the outlines of buildings, but there was not a sound to be heard. Even the air seemed to have frozen, exuding a chilling stillness.

The ground beneath their feet was paved with unidentified black rocks. The surface of the rocks was as smooth as a mirror, yet it could not reflect any images, as if some force had erased the reflection, giving it an eerie sense of incongruity.

"Too much quiet is actually more dangerous." Ling Xuan frowned slightly and did not open the hatch rashly.

As an extreme emperor who has lived for ten million epochs, a near-immortal figure, his divine sense could easily cover hundreds of millions of light-years.

But when he slowly released his divine sense, spreading it outwards like a fine spider web, he clearly felt an invisible suppression.

The moment the divine sense left the body a thousand meters away, it seemed to sink into a viscous quagmire, its speed of circulation plummeting. When it extended to a hundred thousand miles, it was firmly blocked by a tough energy barrier, making it difficult to advance any further.

The suppression was far stronger than he had anticipated, clearly due to the ancient restrictions of the tomb. Even with his strength, he could only barely extend his divine sense to cover a range of 100,000 miles.

His divine sense swept across a hundred thousand miles: when it touched the black rock, it could feel the ancient energy contained within the rock, but it did not detect any abnormal fluctuations; when it probed into the distant mist, it could vaguely perceive the outline of the building hidden in the mist, but it could not penetrate the mist to see the details.

After repeatedly probing for nearly half an hour, it was confirmed that there were no traps, no unusual energy movements, and no aura of guardian creatures within the range of divine sense.

Ling Xuan raised his hand and summoned the "Azure Lake," a supreme treasure of the highest domain type obtained over tens of millions of epochs.

As soon as the treasure appeared, it transformed into a pale blue light membrane that enveloped his body. Within the light membrane, the illusory image of lake water flowed, and the power of spacetime spread out—centered on him, subtle ripples appeared in the space tens of thousands of kilometers around him, and any hidden traps or energy fluctuations would have nowhere to hide in the folds of spacetime.

With this supreme treasure that controls space and time as a safety net, the presence of danger beneath one's feet can be determined instantly.

At the same time, Ling Xuan held the three-pointed double-edged sword in his hand, and a faint chaotic aura condensed on the blade. The restrained sharpness made the air seem to tremble slightly.

After making thorough preparations, he slowly pressed the hatch opening button.

The moment the hatch opened, a cold wind carrying an old smell rushed in, but it was quietly neutralized by the power of time and space when it touched the "Azure Lake" light membrane.

He walked with great steadiness, his eyes scanning his surroundings while his hand holding the knife remained naturally yet taut, ready to respond to any unexpected situation, his vigilance never wavering.

As they ventured deeper, Ling Xuan gradually saw the architectural ruins all around them.

The architectural style here is extremely unique. The remaining walls are mostly made of huge black rocks pieced together, each rock thousands of kilometers high. There is no trace of any adhesive, yet they fit together perfectly, as if they were formed naturally. The surface of the walls has no complicated decorations, only some grooves of varying depths. These grooves are arranged in regular geometric patterns. When viewed from above, they can be connected to form a huge pattern covering the entire area. The purpose of this is unknown.

On some relatively intact sections of the wall, large murals are carved.

The murals are rough yet powerful, each stroke hundreds of kilometers long. In the first painting, slender ancient beings stand on a floating platform, holding a sphere that emits a soft glow. Below them are countless kneeling figures, seemingly performing some kind of inheritance ceremony. In the second painting, these beings pilot meteorite-like flying machines, fighting against some blurry black shadow in the void. The light shields around the flying machines flicker constantly, but still cannot stop the shadow's encroachment. The last painting is only a fragmented corner, showing only broken buildings and flowing golden liquid, with no other details.

Ling Xuan approached the murals, his fingertips gently brushing across the rock surface. He found no residual energy. These murals had remained in the cosmic sea with the spaceship for countless cycles of time.

He continued to explore forward, stopping every thousand kilometers to release his divine sense again to ensure that there was no danger approaching from behind or to the sides.

When Ling Xuan reached the center of a relatively intact circular building ruin, his divine sense suddenly touched a powerful yet unusually restrained energy. He was startled and immediately stopped, concentrating his divine sense on the source of the energy and gradually narrowing down the detection range.

A moment later, he could see clearly that in the depression in the center of the ruins, a suit of armor lay quietly.

The armor is simple in design yet extremely intimidating: the shoulder armor is curved and sharp, seemingly capable of cleaving through the stellar currents; the chest armor has strong lines, and the central vertical groove still retains dried golden traces. Even after hundreds of millions of years, the golden blood still carries an extremely terrifying pressure of consciousness, causing the "Azure Lake" light membrane to tremble slightly.

When Ling Xuan approached, he could sense an aura far exceeding that of the strongest being in the universe, the Giant Axe Founder, an aura that even the domain of "Azure Lake" could not completely isolate.

He didn't step forward immediately, but instead walked around the armor three times. The "Azure Lake" light membrane completely enveloped the armor, and after repeatedly scanning to confirm that there were no traps, he slowly extended his finger to lightly touch the shoulder armor.

The moment his fingertips touched the armor, a cool sensation came through, and the golden halo on the surface of the armor suddenly surged, forming a pillar of light that shot straight into the sky and pierced through the mist. The "Azure Lake" light membrane fluctuated violently, but it always protected Ling Xuan.

"This is definitely armor of the Void True God level or above, and the golden blood is also extraordinary. It should be the divine blood left behind by its owner before his fall." Ling Xuan stared at the marks on the armor, his eyes filled with undisguised excitement.

Even if this was the only gain from the exploration of the tomb, it would be enough to elevate his strength to a new level, making it a huge profit.

In particular, this blood helps the main body to comprehend the Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Technique and increase the gene multiplier.

This is blood at least at the Void level or higher; it might be hiding some secret.

But then he thought that this site had only been explored to the tip of the iceberg. Since it contained such a treasure, there must be more secrets hidden there. So he suppressed his excitement and began to try to recognize it as his own.

He took a deep breath and carefully extended his divine sense toward the armor—he thought the remaining divine blood would hinder the recognition of the armor, but to his surprise, as soon as his divine sense touched the armor, the dried golden blood shimmered slightly and did not produce any rejection.

The moment the soul imprint merged, the dark crystals on the surface of the armor shimmered with a soft luster, and the golden halo flowed once more, as if a certain contract had been completed, clearly conveying the signal of "recognition".

The moment he successfully recognized the armor, Ling Xuan felt a close connection with it, as if the armor had become a part of his body.

(End of this chapter)