684 Dugu Lins Decision! (1/2)

The Federation, Mercury.

Mercury was one of the planets in the Solar System with a very thin atmosphere. As a result, light shone directly on the planet with only a slight degree of deflection and dissipation. Therefore, Mercury's skies weren't as blue as the skies of Earth. It was completely pitch-black, aside from the light from the sun and other stars.

It was akin to a streetlamp in the middle of the night. The lamp itself was a bright, luminous entity, casting a bright light over whichever spot it shone on, but that didn't mean that the sky wasn't still dark.

There had been plenty of artificial lighting on the former Mercury. As the designated location for the construction of the array formation, the Federation had made a series of complex and complicated modifications to the planet. It had an artificial sun and the protection of the Solar System Array Formation. Mercury had gradually developed into a Federation base throughout the years!

Now, however… the former base was nothing but ruins. All artificial lighting, aside from the sun, had been completely destroyed. Remnants of war littered the lands. Deep ravines split the lands in several places, and no Federation cultivator was to be found.

The planet had become the base of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace's military, which was under Daoist You Ran's command!

Anti-Spirit Bombs had been dug out from the ground, and array formations had been set up. Mercury had been swiftly and simply rebuilt. Besides ruins and ravines, its most obvious new additions were gigantic, fleshy lumps.

Each fleshy lump spanned a thousand feet. They resembled tumors growing off Mercury, wriggling and spasming as if there was something inside them struggling to get out. They exuded waves of spirit energy and formed something that resembled a web that was cast over the surface of the planet.

Meanwhile… black hump-like entities surrounded Mercury in space. They were the Vast Expanse Dao Palace's galactic battleships, which were capable of space travel.

They had been stored away after the ancient sword had been sealed, but Daoist You Ran had ordered their activation after declaring war on the Federation.

The battleships clustered together. There were at least a hundred thousand of them. While some of them surrounded Mercury, others formed teams of battleships and sped through space.

Compared to the battleships, what truly shook the stars and struck fear into the hearts of Vast Expanse Dao Palace cultivators was… the great Never-Ending Clan battleship!

The fearsome battleship, which was formed from three gigantic disks, floated in Mercury's skies. In the center of the battleship, where the main sacrificial altar stood, a beam of light spanning tens of thousands of feet was joined to heaven and earth.

Thunderous booms continued to erupt. Mercury trembled as if its energy was being sucked out of it. The Never-Ending Clan battleship, on the other hand, glowed with a radiant light. It seemed to be healing!

The light within the beam shone on the ground, making it so that no one could clearly see what was going on inside. Waves of spirit energy continued to surge outward, flooding the land within a hundred thousand feet in all directions and preventing anyone from trespassing.

The sight of the Never-Ending Clan battleship, the beam of light, and the quaking earth was indeed an oppressive one.

The war had gone on for more than a month, and in that time, the Federation had suffered consecutive losses. For instance, Mercury's complete self-destruction being thwarted. Nevertheless, the preparation and retaliation the Federation had displayed—especially when a portion of their Anti-Spirit Bombs had blown up—had dealt a heavy blow to the Vast Expanse Dao Palace cultivators' confidence. Their attitude towards the Federation had changed significantly.

Of course, some of them had realized that something wasn't right. But… with the powerful Mie Liezi and the fearsome Never-Ending Clan battleship around, those who had such suspicions had either been killed or chosen to remain silent and follow their orders.

Dugu Lin was one of them!

Increasingly more Vast Expanse Dao Palace disciples appeared to accept the reality of war. They appeared to have found some measure of self-worth in fighting the war. They felt pleasure in their growing strength as they killed and pillaged. Besides the terrifying Anti-Spirit Bombs, the Federation cultivators that they had come across were weak and easily defeated!

Arson, rape, and pillaging—everything seemed allowed. The evil and lust that had been hidden deep inside everyone had been awakened. The war that had gone on for more than a month had stirred the flames of evil, which burned increasingly brightly and fiercely.

Daoist You Ran had contributed to the situation as well. His work had been in the details… These details were in the reward system for battle credits and its exchange for treasures. He had opened up the Vast Expanse Dao Palace's stores and put up numerous Never-Ending Clan treasures for exchange. This had created a compelling incentive for Vast Expanse Dao Palace cultivators.

It didn't matter if what they were doing was right or wrong. Someone was giving the orders, which meant that they could push all responsibility to that person as well. Besides, their enemy wasn't one of them. They didn't need to be bothered by their greed. There was no need to spare their enemies' lives.

That was why Daoist You Ran no longer needed to fan the flames of war or deceive his followers at this point. What he needed to focus on was restoring the Never-Ending Clan battleship to its full functionality by making use of all the resources that were spoils of war!

When Wang Baole self-destructed his Thearch Armor, he had created a series of chain reactions. The pool and the enormous passage had been destroyed, and their destruction had severely damaged the battleship. When overpowering the Anti-Spirit Bombs' explosions, a similar thing had happened. As a result, Daoist You Ran hadn't gone after the Federation when it had retreated from Mercury. Instead, he had seized the window of opportunity to repair the battleship.

He had instructed Mie Liezi to handle all other affairs until he could get the battleship restored to a certain extent. Mie Liezi was under his full control, with his own will completely suppressed. He carried out Daoist You Ran's orders unquestionably and perfectly.