Swallowing the Stars: Only in my later years did I come to the life-spending panel.

The silver-gray spaceship hovered in the dark starry sky. Thousands of kilometers away, Zhou Mu could see every detail of the spaceship opposite him. A light blue energy shield flowed across its surface, and there were many repair marks on the hull, as if it had just escaped from some fierce battle.

"Master, a message has been received and is being played for you..."

The voice of Babata No. 7 rang out.

"Unknown spaceship, this is the first space adventure team of the Noranshan family of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. I am the captain, Bro Noranshan."

A man's voice came from the control panel, his tone polite but tinged with barely concealed excitement, "We just exited the wormhole and nearly collided with your forces; we sincerely apologize for that. Would you be willing to provide some intelligence on this star system? We are willing to pay the appropriate fee."

Zhou Mu remained silent, staring at the screen. The opponent's spaceship data was displayed in detail under the analysis of Babata 7: a C2-class spaceship with a moderately strong energy shield and damaged hull...

"The Nolan Mountain family?"

Zhou Mu stood up and stretched his wrists.

"Number Seven, open the spaceship hatch."

"Master, the detection system has detected that the enemy has nine crew members, at least two of whom are at the Eternal Star level..."

"Open."

Zhou Mu interrupted Babata VII's words, the hatch slid open silently, and Zhou Mu stepped out into the vacuum.

The Moyun Armor instantly covered his entire body, its dark red surface gleaming with a cold, eerie light under the starlight.

With the aid of the Cloud Vine Battle Armor, his physical body, at the third level of the Hengxing realm, was capable of surviving in a vacuum. Deep purple lightning surged from his body, enveloping his entire being.

With Zhou Mu accelerating at full speed, covering a distance of thousands of kilometers, the lightning pierced the darkness, and in just a few breaths, they arrived near the silver-gray spaceship.

The moment the lightning struck the shield, a burst of deep purple electricity erupted, causing violent ripples to spread across the shield's surface. Zhou Mu did not stop; he unleashed his full power in his lightning domain, enveloping the entire spaceship.

The powerful suppressive force of the Ninefold Domain disrupted the energy supply to the shield of the Norlan Mountain exploration ship, causing its light to flicker.

"Enemy attack!"

Bro reacted the instant the shield was attacked.

Zhou Mu reached out, and the power of the fundamental law of lightning condensed in his palm, transforming into a deep purple spear, which he thrust out.

The pale blue shield shattered instantly. The shield, which could withstand the attacks of a cosmic-level powerhouse for a short time, exploded like glass, and the fragments turned into light spots and dissipated.

Zhou Mu passed through the shield and landed on the hull of the spaceship.

The alloy deck beneath his feet creaked and groaned under the scorching lightning. Zhou Mu transformed into lightning, piercing through the ship's hull like a knife through butter, and entered directly inside.

The alloy deck was like paper in front of him, a human-shaped hole melted by the lightning. The edge alloy melted into liquid metal and dripped slowly. A piercing alarm sounded and red lights flashed wildly.

Zhou Mu used his mental energy to probe inside the spaceship, and the positions of the nine people were clearly visible.

He landed in a corridor and came face to face with the giant chimpanzee who rushed out of the control room. The giant was nearly three meters tall, his body was as black as ink, his muscles were bulging, and his eyes were full of ferocity.

Upon seeing Zhou Mu, the giant chimpanzee roared and unleashed the power of a second-tier Hengxing level expert, slamming his large, fan-like hand down with a whooshing sound.

Zhou Mu did not dodge. He reached out, spread his five fingers, and directly grabbed the giant hand.

The chimpanzee's pupils contracted sharply. He felt as if his hand was being clamped by an iron clamp, his bones cracking, and he couldn't pull it out no matter what he did.

Zhou Mu twisted his wrist, and with a cracking sound,

The big man's arm was severed in two, and before he could even let out a scream, Zhou Mu's other hand was already pressed against his chest.

A burst of lightning erupted, and the giant chimpanzee's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the corridor wall and creating a large crater. His chest was charred black, and he was no longer breathing.

At this moment, the green-skinned woman rushed out of the control room, thrusting two short knives at Zhou Mu's throat and heart from the left and right.

She moved with incredible speed; the venom on her blade gleamed with a ghostly blue light under the lamplight, and a sweet, fishy smell filled the air.

Zhou Mu dodged the first slash by sidestepping, but the second slash grazed his ribs, leaving a shallow white mark on his Moyun armor.

He raised his hand, and the Thunder Spear instantly materialized in his grasp. With a casual flick of his wrist, he pierced the green-skinned woman's abdomen. She let out a violent groan, her body went limp, and the dagger slipped from her hand, falling to the ground with two clattering sounds.

By this time, the road to the control room was clear and unobstructed.

Inside the control room, Bro Noranshan's fists glowed with a dark red energy light, the full power of a sixth-level star was poured into them, while the other six crew members behind him held energy weapons and faced the door of the control room.

"Who exactly are you?"

Bro asked in a deep voice, the red light in his eyes intensifying, "The Noranshan family will not let this go—"

Zhou Mu didn't let him finish his threat. Countless invisible soul swords surged from between his brows, pouring down like a torrential rain. The eyes of the other crew members in the control room instantly lost their light, their bodies froze on the spot, and the energy guns in their hands slipped from their grasp.

As a sixth-level gene warrior of the Hengxing realm, Bro's powerful soul allowed him to withstand the first wave of attacks, though he only let out a muffled groan and two streams of blood seeped from his nostrils.

"Soul attack?!"

Bro's expression changed. He gritted his teeth and threw out two dark red energy waves that shot straight toward Zhou Mu's face.

Zhou Mu raised his hand, and countless bolts of lightning condensed and compressed in his palm before being thrown out. The lightning shattered Bro's attack with unstoppable force, and the aftershocks of the explosion raged in the control room, shattering the surrounding equipment.

Bro took the opportunity to retreat and attempted to evacuate through the emergency exit.

Zhou Mu didn't give him a chance. His figure transformed into lightning, instantly appearing in front of Bro. He reached out and grabbed Bro's throat. With a sharp crack, Bro's neck snapped.

Only the alarm continued to sound in the control room. Zhou Mu released his grip, and Bro's body slid to the ground. He scanned the spaceship with his mental energy and confirmed that the other crew members had all lost vital signs.

"Number Seven, take over the intelligent systems of this spaceship."

"receive."

The voice of Babata VII came from the intelligent computer, "Invading..."

Zhou Mu walked around the spaceship. The equipment in the control room had been completely destroyed by the energy of the battle's aftershocks, but the data storage module was still intact.

"Master, the spaceship's intelligent Atuka has been breached."

The Babata 7's voice rang out, "Voyage log, mission record, and star map data have all been acquired."

"Analyzing..."

"A noteworthy task record has been discovered."

"explain."

"Two months ago, this adventurer team explored a hidden planet on the edge of the Black Dragon Mountain star system. The planet's surface is covered with a thick layer of rock and soil, and deep underground lies a huge underground palace. There, they discovered some unusual items and recorded their coordinates."

Zhou Mu pulled up that mission log.

In the video, the walls of the underground palace are covered with ancient murals depicting the image of a huge creature—its eyes glow with amber light, its body is majestic and heavy, its limbs are thick, its body is bronze with dark gold patterns, and it is a humanoid creature with a long tail dragging behind it!