Just like any science exploration spaceship from the ancient times, this one was not overly armed, with two cluster laser cannons being its only weaponry while the thick hull only enough to protect it during long voyages.
Xia Fei entered from the stern of the exploration spaceship, following the light source as he swam toward the bow of the ship. There were plenty of robots in the cargo hold which drew his attention; these robots and the small exploration spaceship each had their functions, with the former being capable of venturing into planets with extreme environments and locations to begin their exploration research. They were far more adaptable than mankind and were, thus, a technology that the ancient humans heavily relied on when it came to scientific research,
Due to the heavy impact the ship had sustained when it crash-landed here, as well as the fact that it had been submerged underwater for a very long time, these robots and the ship they were on had all been badly damaged. Xia Fei scavenged some usable parts from what remained and stored them in his spatial ring before he resumed his exploration.
Past the cargo hold were the living quarters, and the corridor had become distorted as a result of the powerful crash, and it seemed like a light push would cause the entire walkway to collapse. There were plenty of photos and inscriptions on both sides of the walls which spoke at length of the ship’s glorious history. These images were all stored within a vacuum sealed glass frame, so while most were already blurry from the water damage, some remained perfectly intact, and the inscriptions and pictures were still legible.
Among these pictures was a group photo, which had a dozen or so crew members and over a hundred robots. The location seemed to be a huge hold during the ancient era, and the bespectacled captain with a big beard had a trophy raised in the sky, while the human and robot aides beside all excitedly cheered. This was most likely a photo which commemorated the time when this exploration spaceship had won some award.
“The robots that this spaceship carry appear to have had quite the standing in society, even able to stand side by side with humans when they won an award, seemingly part of a team and that there was no difference between robots and men,” Phantom remarked out of amusement.
Xia Fei said, “The ancient humans shared a very intimate relationship with robots, like that of fellow comrades. It’s not hard to tell from this photo that this ship ran into trouble before the robots betrayed mankind, during a time when humans and robots co-existed peacefully.”
Next to the photo was a large inscription, and reading it caused Xia Fei’s lips to curl up in a smile. “Winner of the Seventh Discovery, Fourth Nebula, Fifth Invention, and two Secret Realm awards… This ship and its crew must truly be outstanding then to have won so many awards and to have possessed such a brilliant portfolio.”
Phantom nodded. “Look, this White Crane science exploration spaceship is even an independent exploration party, belonging to no major organization. For an independent exploration party to have gotten such results, it just highlights how exceptional these people were.”
The photos and inscriptions along the way depicted an extraordinary exploration party. Xia Fei could not help but imagine the experiences that this exploration party had braved before. Space exploration was a career that hot-blooded men had always been passionate about, and if Xia Fei had not chosen to be a warrior, he might have very well gone into a profession very similar to what these men did.
All of a sudden, Xia Fei was reminded of Butcher and his exploration party, wondering whether they successfully found the rumored Eden or not. Speaking of Butcher’s exploration party, they still bore the name of Quantum Holdings and were considered a subsidiary of the company. It had been a long time since he last heard from them, and who was to say that those men had not already settled down in Eden?
After the living quarters was the workspace, and the white glowing light became much brighter.
“We’re already very close. The energy fluctuations here are practically indescribable; even a thousand Purple Hearts of Spirit all added together won’t be a match here,” Phantom reported all seriously.
Opening a metal door, which had the words ‘Workspace 3’ carved on it, Xia Fei was greeted by the sight of a spacious room, which had all the equipment shoved toward a corner, and a white, heart-shaped object floated in the middle of the water, exuding this flashing brilliance.
The cold pool water had turned warm here, the temperature indicator built into his suit stated that it was about twenty-two degrees Celsius.
Lightly tapping his finger on the mask, his night-vision goggles automatically adjusted to an appropriate color, removing glare from interfering with Xia Fei’s vision too much.
He could finally make out what this Source of Life was, and it turned out to be a white ore, which was the size of a chicken egg and the shape of a heart. It was as if energy constantly coursed through it, and the light he saw was a by-product of movement of energy, flickering infrequently.
Furball fidgeted a lot in his bosom. His pet had a surprising appetite for high-quality energy, which was why Xia Fei gave him a good whack, warning him to settle down. There was no way that Xia Fei would let Furball treat such a wonderful find as a meal.
He had just extended his hand toward this white ore when, all of a sudden, a burning sensation traveled up from his fingertips. It was as if a fine silver needle had been jabbed between his nail and flesh. He gritted his teeth, bearing the pain he felt, and began to sweat from the effort.
“No, it seems like there’s some energy stopping me from getting near it.” Xia Fei retracted his hand and spoke with gnashed teeth.
Phantom commented, “It’s full of energy, yet not in the least bit violent. Still, the purity of the energy is so much that your nervous system will get damaged just by you attempting to hold it. It must be the defense mechanism of this Source of Life. Why don’t we find a tool to retrieve it safely?”
Xia Fei nodded. Just as he moved to pull out an alloy folding shovel, which was used to survey mineral samples, from his spatial ring, Peacock Blue, the plant which was wrapped around his arm like a tattoo, suddenly stretched.
A stalk of green leaf floated in the water like a rootless duckweed. This leaf slowly expanded and lengthened, growing in the direction of that white ore.
It did not move too fast and was just steadily closing in on the ore. Peacock Blue also became severely damaged in the process, the foremost leaf fragmenting, though Peacock Blue somehow managed to repair itself constantly, overcoming the incurred damage.
It was not in the least bit hurried, surely and resolutely getting nearer the white ore without faltering once. Like a cockroach which could not be stomped, it continued its growth at its own pace.
Just like what the black and white birds had said before, Peacock Blue was the only weed among the Thirty Immemorial Mystical Armaments, possessing a shocking tenacity toward life. No matter how the white ore tried to stop it or harm it, Peacock Blue simply gave no signs of giving up. In fact, the stronger the enemy was, the more Peacock Blue strengthened itself! The strong would become stronger by never compromising; that was probably why it could be acknowledged as one of the Thirty Immemorial Mystic Armaments.
The stubborn grass finally had the upper hand in this fight, and that blue leaf slowly wrapped around the Source of Life, layer by layer, before it dragged it near Xia Fei.
*Whoosh!*
Xia Fei moved quickly, storing the white ore into his spatial ring.
Now that Peacock Blue had completed its task, it slowly shrank and withered, once more returning to Xia Fei’s arm, silent and stationary.
“Xia Fei, when did you learn how to control Peacock Blue?!” Phantom exclaimed in surprise.
Xia Fei was equally surprised himself, knitting his eyebrows together as he answered in a grave tone, “Actually, I didn’t learn anything; it suddenly grew on its own.”
……
*Splash!*
Xia Fei leaped from the water and landed squarely by the embankment of the black pool.
All he saw was Yuchi Dao sitting down under the tree, looking all dejected, his head buried low. “It’s all my fault that Sun Guang and his family all died. When will I ever change this tardiness habit of mine?!”
Yuchi Dao beat his head with his fist as he bemoaned this, and Xia Fei hurriedly dashed over to stop him. “Old man Yuchi, actually, Sun Guang and his family aren’t dead. I used a protective plane to seal them away safely. They’ll automatically reappear in an hour’s time.”
Yuchi Dao instantly froze, throwing a furious tantrum at Xia Fei, who could only shrug helplessly and say nothing.
After he was done venting, Yuchi Dao harrumphed. “You lied and told me that Sun Guang and his family are all dead, probably as a reminder regarding the danger of my tardiness, huh?”
Xia Fei nodded.
“Actually, I know just how harmful being late is; it’s just that it’s been so many years that I freely acted without any direction whatsoever, so this tardiness of mine has become a habit that I just can’t seem to change.”
Xia Fei did not continue to hear the old man complain. He simply said his goodbye and stepped into the forest. He proceeded to roll up his right sleeve and looked at it intently, only to be left confused.
Originally, Peacock Blue was like a tattoo which was etched onto his right arm, long enough to accommodate thirteen blades of grass, like a plant that had just sprouted in spring. After that change in the black pool, however, one of the thirteen blades of grass seemed to have grown, looking much longer than the rest.
“Hey! It changed! Peacock Blue now has a grown blade of grass! Does that mean that when you and Peacock Blue are completely fused, you can instantly use this Immemorial Mystical Armament?” Phantom exclaimed.
Xia Fei sternly commented, “I’ll have to start learning how to control it once that’s done, too. Too bad those two birds didn’t reveal anything, so I’ll have to depend on myself fumbling around on how to control Peacock Blue.”
Peacock Blue grew a blade of grass after acquiring the amazing white ore. As Xia Fei was feeling elated about this, he used his communicator to contact Sun Zhan. Xia Fei located him and brought him over to the black pool embankment using his speed.
The effect of the Golden Jasper Spirit began to fade, and Sun Guang, his wife, and his daughter suddenly appeared all tied up by the side of the black pool.
“Father, mother, elder sister!”
Sun Zhan rushed toward his family, using the dagger that he brought along everywhere with him to free them from their ropes, and the whole family hugged one another in tears.
Having escaped death, there was still plenty that the Sun family had to discuss. Xia Fei took back the Golden Jasper Spirit and walked off with Yuch Dao to give them space.
“That little thing you’ve got is really powerful, able to hide someone without their enemy even realizing it. It’s perfect for a weak commoner to protect themselves with. How about we trade? I have something good here, too.” Yuchi Dao offered while eyeing the Golden Jasper Spirit in Xia Fei’s hand.
Xia Fei quickly stored it back into his spatial ring. “This is something I got for my friend, so it’s not up for trade.”
There was nothing comparable to Avril, and Xia Fei was pleased after he had tested the capabilities of the Golden Jasper Spirit. This was why he had decided that he must give this to Avril for her to protect life in the case of emergencies, so there was no way he would exchange it for anything else no matter what Yuchi Dao put up for offer.
The old man pouted, calling Xia Fei a miser. The latter did not take it to heart, though, casually changing the subject and chatting leisurely with Yuchi Dao.
The Sun family’s crying had stopped, and they saw that Sun Guang had his arm around Sun Zhan’s shoulders as he said something in earnest. Most likely, the father and son had patched things up, for Sun Zhan’s mother and elder sister were showing a rare smile across their faces.
“Masters Yuchi and Xia Fei, I thank you two for saving our lives.”
Sun Guang led his family over, collapsing onto the ground and kowtowing before the two men without any hesitation. Xia Fei and Yuchi Dao hurriedly helped the man up to his feet and shared some words of comfort with him.
Yuchi Dao laughed uproariously. “It’s good that you’re safe. We can always talk about other things at another time.”
