Chapter 131: A Bright Turn of Events

Actually, if calculated carefully, Lan Tian still had one final trump card, and indeed his strongest one.

That was the phantom image of Flame Marsh, formed entirely from Azure Blood Astral Fire, back when his Azure Blood Divine Body was first formed.

This move was truly formidable. If he could manage to drain all of his energy just as he had during the initial test, the resulting effect might surpass the Soul Spike by a wide margin. It was undoubtedly his ultimate trump card.

Lan Tian had thought of this move as well, but after pondering over it, he felt the chances of success were slim...

After all, if it were merely a matter of his energy being drained, he wouldn't be too worried now that he had Qipeng providing protection. However, the Flame Marsh phantom was not a mental attack. Facing the terrifying defensive power of the Gold-Eroding Clan, he truly lacked confidence...

Moreover, unlike mental attacks which could ignore the obstruction of the surrounding swarm and strike from an ultra-long distance, Lan Tian was currently right in the middle of the swarm. If he unleashed this technique now, even if it could pierce through the swarm, its power would be drastically diminished...

"It's over..."

Lan Tian's heart sank to the bottom. Looking around, he saw only a boundless ocean of insectoids. He had never felt so desperate, nor had he ever felt so utterly powerless...

The universe was simply too dangerous. Just taking a regular passenger starship could lead to such unprovoked disaster...

"Don't give up, try the Soul-Suppressing Seed!" Bai suddenly spoke up. "The Gold-Eroding Clan matriarch paused for quite a while just now, which means your mental attack is still effective. Kill Qipeng outright, free up the Soul-Suppressing Seed, and use it on the Gold-Eroding Clan matriarch instead. It might just work wonders!"

"Huh? That actually sounds feasible! Even the magnetic field disappeared just now, which means my Soul Spike is still effective against it! It's just that the previous strike consumed too much spiritual power; to unleash an attack of that magnitude again will take a little time. Let me recover my mental strength first." Lan Tian quickly weighed his options and decided to adopt Bai's suggestion, hastily beginning to recover his spiritual energy.

As for Qipeng, if he had to be abandoned, so be it...

Anyway, the guy was no saint, and abandoning him wouldn't cause any feelings of guilt.

Next, Lan Tian ordered Qipeng to cease attacking and focus entirely on defending him, after which he calmed his mind and devoted himself fully to recovering his spiritual energy.

This truly was his last chance. If this didn't work either, he would simply have to wait for death...

While recovering his mental strength, Lan Tian thought to himself, the figures of his parents and Wang Ling occasionally flashing through his mind. He wondered if he would ever have the chance to see them again in the future...

***

Who would have thought that just as Lan Tian was wholeheartedly recovering his spiritual energy in preparation for a final desperate struggle, a chorus of shrill shrieks suddenly erupted from the distance? Whether it was his imagination or not, he could actually sense an extreme agony conveyed through those cries.

He opened his eyes and looked in bewilderment toward the distant Gold-Eroding Clan matriarch. He saw the creature trembling incessantly, as if enduring excruciating pain. At the same time, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that the magnetic field surrounding him was gradually weakening!

"What is going on?!" Lan Tian was somewhat baffled. He immediately extended his newly recovered portion of spiritual energy to scan the Gold-Eroding Clan matriarch, which seemed to be in some kind of trouble.

Could that be...

Azure Blood Astral Fire?!

Upon probing with his spiritual energy, Lan Tian unexpectedly discovered that inside the grotesque and disgusting skull of the Gold-Eroding Clan creature, wisps of Azure Blood Astral Fire were continuously burning, and moreover, as time passed, the fire was growing fiercer!

So... the Azure Blood Astral Fire had never gone out!

The Azure Blood Astral Fire had truly performed a monumental service this time. What good was your tough carapace or your powerful mental defense?!

It was going to burn you to ashes!

The joy of escaping from the jaws of death instantly flooded Lan Tian's mind. He was overcome with excitement and shouted, "Bai, we won after all! It turns out the most effective way to deal with this Gold-Eroding Clan isn't cosmic stellar power, nor is it mental energy, but the Azure Blood Astral Fire!"

"The Azure Blood Astral Fire is indeed equivalent to a top-tier secret technique! The Soul Spike couldn't kill this Gold-Eroding Clan member, yet the Azure Blood Astral Fire clung to it like bone-deep venom, burning persistently inside its skull!"

"Haha, what a pleasant surprise. Who would have thought that the Azure Blood Astral Fire, which we kept neglecting, could produce such miraculous effects? Instead of going out inside its skull, it has kept burning and even grown stronger!" Bai chimed in excitedly. "As expected of a product originating from a starry sky behemoth, it is truly extraordinary!"

"Indeed, I didn't expect it either... It seems I must pay more attention to the Azure Blood Astral Fire in the future. I shouldn't just shelve it simply because I've learned other secret techniques. When used properly, it is definitely no worse than any other secret technique!" Lan Tian smiled and nodded. Watching the massive body of the Gold-Eroding Clan matriarch thrash about and emit wails of agony while the surrounding magnetic field continuously weakened, he finally laid down the heavy burden in his heart, feeling completely relaxed.

It seemed this hurdle had finally been cleared...

"Consider yourself lucky to have escaped with your life," Lan Tian bantered with Qipeng, who was still fighting desperately nearby, his tone filled with the joy of surviving a catastrophe.

"What are you saying, Master? For you, I, Qipeng, am willing to die ten thousand deaths!" Although they were separated by a vacuum, Qipeng, as a Star-Domain-level expert, heard Lan Tian's words clearly and immediately transmitted his respectful reply.

***

"Alright, for those words alone—even if they aren't truly from the bottom of your heart—when I grow stronger in the future, I will definitely grant you your freedom!" Lan Tian was in high spirits and said with a smile.

"No, serving you, Master, is the greatest honor for me, Qipeng. I hope Master will allow me to continue following and serving you!" A look of fanaticism filled Qipeng's face as he transmitted his message once more.

This time, Lan Tian did not reply, only smiling and nodding, though inwardly he felt a secret sense of awe.

To reduce such a cunning fellow as Qipeng to this state—the power of the Soul-Suppressing Seed was simply too terrifying!

Shortly after, just as Lan Tian was considering whether to gather his spiritual energy once more to deliver a final blow to the Gold-Eroding Clan matriarch, the creature stopped moving altogether.

The Azure Blood Astral Fire proved to be overwhelmingly tyrannical. It still burned fiercely in the vacuum of space, gradually engulfing the entire body of the Gold-Eroding Clan matriarch. The fire grew more and more intense, and even across the vacuum, Lan Tian could faintly hear violent popping explosions.

At the same time, the magnetic field that had blanketed the surroundings finally vanished completely. The Chi-Xin Divine Armor's two-tier amplification effect returned, and countless parasitic creatures, as if suddenly losing their backbone, stopped their attacks and drifted blankly in the starry expanse of the universe.

Having gone through such twists and turns, the Gold-Eroding Clan matriarch had finally perished!

Since the main body was dead, these parasitic creatures naturally could not stir up any trouble. Seeing that they had all gone still, Lan Tian had no intention of wiping them out completely. Instead, taking Qipeng with him, he hurriedly returned to the coordinates where the passenger starship had previously been located.

He was desperately eager to know if there were any surviving lucky souls.

However, when the two of them arrived at the original location of the passenger starship, both fell into a silent hush.

The once-massive passenger starship had practically vanished, leaving behind only a tiny fraction of debris. There were no signs of life anywhere in the vicinity. In the cold cosmic space, floating everywhere were weightless fragments of flesh and various garments eroded beyond recognition...