278: New direction, aiming at Aoki

Cuiyun Sect.

Lin Fan looked at the familiar yet strange emblem on the wooden box, countless thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant.

He had imagined countless possibilities.

Inside this box, which Black Skull treated as a precious treasure and guarded with dozens of layers of top-tier Restrictions, there might have been the Legacy of ancient gods and demons, the ultimate weapon of some lost civilization, or even a map to the Immortal Realm.

But he never expected that this thing would actually be related to a mediocre second-rate Sect far away.

And it was one of the few "old acquaintances" he had met once.

What was this?

The Black Sail Pirate Crew moonlighting as interstellar couriers, providing home delivery?

Lin Fan's expression became incredibly strange.

He reached out his hand, not bothering to crack those complex Restrictions.

Today, his understanding of power had long since surpassed the level of simple technique.

His fingertips lightly touched the wooden box.

Buzz!

Within the Overlord Saint Body, the majestic blood and qi that had just absorbed the Power of the Ten Thousand Souls Returning to the Void trembled slightly, like a prehistoric beast awakening.

A purely extreme, unreasonable power of annihilation surged through his fingertips and forced its way in.

Crack! Crack crack!

The Restriction formations, which would have left even a Late Stage Soul Transformation Cultivator helpless and taken years to slowly wear down, were like fragile glass at this moment.

Unable to hold out for even a single breath, they all collapsed in a series of crisp shattering sounds, turning into the purest Spiritual Qi and dissipating into the air.

Simple, unadorned, and highly efficient.

Lin Fan picked up the black wooden box that had lost all its protection and opened it casually.

Inside the box, there was no burst of treasure light as imagined.

Only two items.

A palm-sized, emerald-green leaf-shaped jade pendant that seemed carved from the purest jade.

And a plain Jade Slip lying quietly next to the jade pendant.

The moment that jade pendant appeared, Lin Fan felt as if something inside him had been lightly touched.

He immediately thought of Liu Qingqing.

He remembered that kind girl, and the special fluctuations of a Wood-attribute spirit body, filled with life energy, that radiated from her when she cast healing Spells.

The aura of this jade pendant shared the same origin as hers, but it was thousands or even tens of thousands of times more concentrated and pure!

Lin Fan's gaze fell on the other Jade Slip.

His Divine Sense probed into it.

The next moment, an old consciousness filled with urgency, despair, and pleading surged into his mind.

It was a distress letter.

From the current Sect Master of the Cuiyun Sect.

The content of the letter solved all of Lin Fan's doubts but also brought out an even larger and more terrifying shadow.

This leaf-shaped jade pendant, named the "leaf of the ancestral tree," was the Sect-protecting sacred object of the Cuiyun Sect and the Foundation of their lineage's Legacy.

But thousands of years ago, the Cuiyun Sect suffered a great catastrophe, and the sacred object was split in two; one half was lost in the sea of stars and eventually fell into the hands of the first leader of the Black Sail Pirate Crew.

And now, a mysterious force called the "Shadow Hall" had set its sights on the Cuiyun Sect.

The goal of the Shadow Hall was precisely this "leaf of the ancestral tree."

They seemed to know that this jade pendant was the only key to finding the legendary "Ancient Ancestral Tree."

At the end of the letter, that Cuiyun Sect Master wrote in a nearly pleading tone that the power of the Shadow Hall was far beyond what the Cuiyun Sect could withstand, and the Sect's destruction was imminent.

No matter who it was, as long as they could find this half of the jade pendant and help the Cuiyun Sect survive this catastrophe, everyone in the Cuiyun Sect would be willing to serve them as master and be their slave forever!

Lin Fan slowly withdrew his Divine Sense; the bridge was deathly silent.

Shadow Hall... Heavenly Charm Sect... Ancient Ancestral Tree... Liu Qingqing's special Spirit Wood Bloodline... countless clues quickly linked together into a clear path in Lin Fan's mind.

The Heavenly Charm Sect's desire to act against Liu Qingqing was likely no coincidence, but rather a plot by the so-called "Shadow Hall" behind the scenes.

Their true purpose was to use Liu Qingqing's special Bloodline to locate or activate this "leaf of the ancestral tree."

"Troublesome..."

Lin Fan muttered to himself.

His original plan was to digest the gains from this trip and then find a place to continue "laying low," cultivating while looking for new "death-seeking" opportunities.

Being a savior for a second-rate Sect was not in his plan at all.

But... Lin Fan lowered his head, glanced at the Storage Ring in his hand, and then looked around at this steel graveyard floating in the sea of stars.

A massive fleet, an astronomical amount of wealth, and an intelligence network enough to make any power envious... it seemed he... was no longer that Outer Sect Disciple who needed to find places to survive everywhere.

The so-called "laying low" was for safety.

When one's own power and influence were strong enough to crush the vast majority of threats, then establishing an absolutely safe "territory" seemed to be a higher level of "laying low."

A "safe zone" that no one dared to provoke and no one could provoke.

This Cuiyun Sect crisis seemed... to be a good opportunity.

He could both repay the debt of Karma he owed back then and conveniently take over a Sect as the Foundation of his own power.

Most importantly... that "Shadow Hall" sounded very powerful.

An organization that could drive a Sect to such despair would surely bring him many surprises.

For example, some brand new, high-quality, unprecedented death experiences.

Thinking of this, the corners of Lin Fan's mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

The decision was made in an instant.

He no longer had the slightest hesitation.

With a flash of his body, Lin Fan returned to the Black Skull's central bridge, which was filled with ferocity and dominance.

He walked to the throne and pressed the token representing the highest authority of the Black Sail into the slot on the main console.

"Activate supreme command authority."

"A.I. 'Black Sail Eye', execute instructions."

A cold, emotionless electronic voice rang out in the empty bridge.

[Authority confirmed... Master of the Black Sail... receiving instructions...]

"First, activate the 'Hive' autonomous repair program for all combat units; materials will be drawn from Treasure Vault No. 1."

"Second, the entire fleet will enter 'Specter' stealth mode, using the Netherworld Meteorite Field as a barrier for the highest level of concealment and vigilance."

"Third, seal all intelligence databases and erase all navigation records of this civil war."

"Until I return, this place... shall be a true tomb."

[Instructions confirmed, executing...]

Along with the A.I.'s response, the entire massive steel graveyard began to operate slowly in a silent and efficient manner.

Countless nano-scale repair robots, like gray dust, poured out from the maintenance bays of various warships and began to mend those hideous wounds.

The surviving warships, like ghosts, quietly retreated into the depths of that intricate meteorite field, merging with the cold background of the Universe.

A massive ghost fleet was thus born.

After doing all this, Lin Fan did not stay for a moment.

He went to the flagship's hangar and, from the hundreds of various starships collected by the Black Sail, selected a top-tier attack ship shaped like a black sword, known for its speed and stealth.

Stepping into the cockpit, Lin Fan skillfully brought up the star map and entered a coordinate he had just memorized from the intelligence database.

Azurewood Star Region.

Buzz—

The sword-shaped starship's engine let out a low roar as it silently detached from the flagship.

It did not perform a conventional acceleration; instead, it condensed a point of distorted spatial fluctuation at the bow. The next moment, like a drop of ink sinking into the water's surface, it quietly merged into the Void Realm and entered a state of curvature navigation.

Inside the starship, there was silence.

Lin Fan stood in front of the huge porthole, looking at the bizarre, fast-receding colored bands of light outside, his expression calm.

In his hand, that distress Jade Slip from the Cuiyun Sect still held a faint trace of warmth.

A curtain call directed by his own hand represented the opening of another act where he was about to take the stage.

On the navigation screen, a line of cold text was quietly displayed.

[Target: Azurewood Star Region]

[Estimated time of arrival: Three days later]