Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 226 Planning
Far beyond the river of time, the Yanji Continent once suffered a sudden and devastating catastrophe.

At that time, the native inhabitants of the Yanji Continent were merely an ordinary race in the universe, with fewer than ten Universe Venerables within their race. When the four peak races carved out a battlefield in this land, the native inhabitants trembled like ants before those powerful beings who could change the world at will.

Several cosmic venerables in the clan knew that they would inevitably become the enemy's primary target, with little hope of escape. In order to perpetuate the clan's lineage, they did not hesitate and quickly distributed the treasures they carried, as well as the precious resources accumulated by the clan over countless years, to their people.

At that time, the tribe formed a total of 10,000 squads. Among them, 100 were inheritance squads, shouldering the important task of continuing the tribe's civilization; the remaining 9,900 were a smokescreen, intended to disrupt the pursuit of the four top tribes.

The ten thousand sacrificial towers vary in size. The sacrificial towers used by the nine thousand nine hundred deceptive squads, although possessing the ability to conceal their aura, resist detection, and block teleportation due to their special sacrificial runes, are vastly different from the true heritage sacrificial towers due to their inferior manufacturing materials.

The legacy squad differs significantly from the regular squad in many ways.

The legacy team and the regular team also differ significantly in several aspects.

Taking the team leaders as an example, each inheritance team is led by six King-level powerhouses, while the leaders of the nine thousand nine hundred ordinary teams are six Marquis-level immortals.

In terms of treasure configuration, ordinary teams can only obtain pitifully few resources.

At this moment, Jiang Ye probed into the sacrificial tower. All six team leaders were King-level experts. Without a doubt, this was one of the hundred inheritance sacrificial towers from back then.

At the mountain peak, a raging wind howled fiercely. This lineage, having survived an ancient calamity and multiplied over countless years, now consists of thirty-two powerful kings who gaze at each other, their eyes burning with a fiery passion and madness.

"We're heading to the sacrificial tower," the golden-robed expert said in a deep voice.

The remaining thirty-one kings nodded without hesitation. Thirty-two figures moved like lightning, swiftly passing through the mysterious water curtain.

Inside the core control room of the sacrificial tower, thirty-two king-level experts, led by a golden-robed powerhouse, gathered together.

Almost at the same instant, the mechanical figure of the intelligent robot also appeared.

“Master, look.” The intelligent robot pointed to the 3D virtual projection, “The altar has detected that they are moving along the circular corridor.”

"Six."

The golden-robed expert stared intently, and the six figures projected in the virtual projection were very clear. Whether it was Jiang Ye in his golden armor and silver robe, the tall Dark Thunder King, or the four soul servants, they were all clearly displayed on the virtual projection.

"Humans, and some weak alien races." The man in the golden robe spoke in a low voice, revealing a hint of contempt.

"Conduct a holographic virtual simulation of these six targets, ensuring their auras are synchronized," the hunched, weathered old man, who had been granted the title of King, ordered in a hoarse voice.

Instantly, six figures, each the same height as the real person and possessing the same aura, floated in the control room.

The aura simulation of the sacrificial tower was at least 1% accurate in capturing the auras of Jiang Ye and the other six powerful individuals. Chi Yuan, the oldest among the surviving powerful natives of the Yanji Continent, was observing with narrowed eyes when he murmured, "Hmm... Of these six targets, only three have reached the King-level, and only two of them are at the peak of the King-level. However, they may possess special treasures, and their combat power may far exceed what appears to be their true strength."

"What."

"Elder of the clan!"

Upon hearing this, the other powerful figures all turned to look at the golden-robed man who was leading the group. Although the old man who had spoken earlier was the oldest member of the clan and was respectfully addressed as the clan elder by everyone.

But the golden-robed man before him was the very one who, years ago, had led a group of immortals from his divine kingdom to his own, despite his own wariness. Combined with some of his own people already within his divine kingdom… this was how the original inhabitants of the Yanji Continent were able to preserve this lineage. This "God Lord" was currently the strongest among them…

"Elder, are you sure?" The man in the golden robe, Yan Xiao, frowned slightly and looked at the elder beside him with a solemn expression.

“If the simulator of the sacrificial tower is running normally, my judgment will not be wrong.” Elder Chi Yuan’s expression was solemn, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes. “Of these six targets, four should be soul servants. However, it is not yet certain whether the strongest human and the other peak King-level expert belong to the same camp.”

"Regardless of the circumstances, Yanxiao, this is our chance," Elder Chiyuan said in a low voice. "However, in this battle, those with weaker strength will be useless."

"Elder of the clan".

"God Lord."

This immediately caused some of the clansmen who had just been granted the title of king to shout.

Yan Xiao's fingers tapped rhythmically on the control panel, the metallic clanging echoing in the quiet control room.

After a moment of contemplation, his gaze swept across the crowd like a falcon's, and he gave the order.

“Lomon, Hershta, and Messiah are at the peak of their kingship. The three of them, along with the elders and myself, make a total of five to stay here. As for Akas and the other twenty-seven, all of you return to the Divine Kingdom.” The golden-robed man, Yan Xiao, made the decision directly. “Your role in this battle is limited, and this battle is extremely dangerous. Unlike these alien races, we do not possess many powerful secret techniques. The lack of our inheritance has deprived us of many winning methods. The eight of you bear the heavy responsibility of continuing to lead the race forward.”

"For the sake of the clan, go back." Elder Chi Yuan's gaze swept over the crowd.

The twenty-seven high-ranking and low-ranking experts were filled with resentment.

"Yes."

"Yes, clan elder."

"By the way, Arkas, move all the people of my divine kingdom to your divine kingdom!" The golden-robed man, Yan Xiao, looked at a Yanji expert who was a high-ranking king.

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze immediately focused on Yan Xiao, the man in the golden robe who was leading the group.

It should be understood that the divine kingdom is located in a spatial rift, not in the original universe. The amount of cosmic essence it can absorb is pitifully less than that of the life forms that survive in the "cosmic secret realm"!
This also means that the development of the talents and potential of the descendants living there will be greatly limited.

However, since they dared not return to their original universe, their entire race could only eke out a living in this way.

As for Yan Xiao, with his top-tier strength among the King-level experts, although his divine kingdom was also limited, fortunately, as the strongest, he was also the safest.

Now, Yanxiao is demanding that Arkas transfer all its people from its divine kingdom to Arkas's divine kingdom. This decision signifies that their god-king Yanxiao is determined to succeed or die trying.

"Akas, obey!" A high-level expert in black armor bowed respectfully to the man in the golden robe.

"Elders, God, you must all come back."

"We must come back alive."

The other twenty-seven people who were granted the title of king were very worried.

"Don't worry, we still need to send back the clan's true secret techniques." Elder Chi Yuan waved his hand and said, "Go."

The twenty-seven kings departed one by one along the water curtain.

Only the five strongest members of this lineage and the intelligent robot remained in the control room. The original inhabitants of the Yanji Continent lived in tribes, with the "God Lord" typically as the chief administrator and the "Elder" as the strongest member. The Elder led the tribe, while the God Lord managed it. However, due to special circumstances, everyone in their lineage had fled to Yanxiao's divine realm.

In the years that followed, with his great strength, he led everyone to survive in this difficult situation. Everyone respected him and honored him as both the God Lord and the Elder. However, Yan Xiao declined, only asking for the title of God Lord.

Helpless, the crowd could only elect Chi Yuan, whose strength was second only to Yan Xiao, as the clan elder.

As the only remaining elder in the clan, Chi Yuan not only shoulders the heavy responsibility of protecting the clan's heritage, but also guides the confused clan forward with his profound understanding of many laws. Therefore, he is respectfully called the clan elder by everyone.

The five strongest.

The Divine Lord "Yanxiao", the Clan Elder "Chiyuan", Luomeng, Hershta, and Messiah, two at the limit of the King-level and three at the peak of the King-level.

"The enemy will soon arrive at the entrance to the core area." Akagaki pointed to the virtual projection. "As everyone knows, the treasures inside the core area are divided into two treasure rooms and one inheritance room."

"Two treasure rooms, containing all sorts of expensive materials, weapons, and mysterious treasures."

"The Inheritance Chamber contains countless secret techniques accumulated over many years, all best suited to the life structure of our clan. A vast number of these techniques reside within. With these techniques, we can bestow different techniques upon our descendants according to their individual talents, cultivating powerful individuals generation after generation," Chi Yuan said in a low voice. "All twelve of our lineage's Kings came from the era of calamity. None of them were born or cultivated later. The main reason for this is the lack of many secret techniques, making it impossible to properly nurture our descendants. After all, the secret techniques we know are only one ten-thousandth of the clan's secret techniques."

"Our primary objective!"

“Seize the Inheritance Chamber and send its secrets to the Divine Kingdom.” Chi Yuan pointed to the other two chambers on the virtual projection. “These two are treasure chambers. One can be opened by any member of our clan, and we have already obtained the treasures inside. The other treasure chamber, however, requires a member of our clan with a token to open.”

"There are two treasure rooms, one with fewer treasures and the other with more treasures."

"As far as I know, the second treasure room contains dozens of times more treasures than the first!" Akagaki said in a low voice. "The second target is this unopened treasure room."

"There are two treasure rooms, one with fewer treasures and the other with more treasures."

“As far as I know, the number of treasures in the second treasure room is dozens of times that of the first treasure room!” Akagaki said in a low voice. “So our second target is this unopened treasure room.”

"Ah."

The other three clansmen nodded in agreement.

The three treasure chambers have varying levels of difficulty to open, and the easiest one, containing the least amount of treasure, was already obtained by them. Only the last two treasure chambers remain. One contains treasure items, and the other contains secret techniques.

"The treasures are precious, but the secret techniques are more important to our clan."

"Therefore, we must first do everything in our power to seize the Inheritance Chamber," Akagaki shouted. "Don't let the treasures cloud your judgment. Those treasures may be useful to you, but they are of little use in nurturing the next generation of our clan. Everything... is for the sake of our clan!"

“Understood, elder.” Lomon, Hershta, and Messiah all nodded.

The golden-robed expert, Yan Xiao, also nodded.

"Good!" A glint flashed in Chi Yuan's eyes. "With our strength, it won't be difficult to take over the treasure room and the inheritance room. After all, only those of our clan's bloodline can open these two important places."

Lomon, Hershta, and Messiah all nodded, their expressions solemn.

"Of course, we don't need to fight them head-on. Once we show ourselves first, regardless of whether these intruders are allies or not, they will join forces against us." Akagaki pointed to the projection in the first treasure room, where the image was clearly visible. "This first treasure room... is the first step of our plan. If the two leaders are not from the same faction, we can use this place to make them fight each other."

"Elder, but the first treasure room has already been completely looted by us!" Luo Meng frowned, his eyes full of doubt.

"So what if they've emptied it? We can just put some 'bait' in there." A sly smirk appeared on Chi Yuan's face. "The treasure chest I got from the treasure room back then is still in my hands. This treasure chest is just a box; although the materials are rare, it's nothing special. Put those three treasure chests back where they were, and they're empty. Even if they find the treasure chests, they can't detect their true nature with their divine power. Plus, there's the hidden message left by our ancestors..."

"Yep."

"With the lure of that treasure chest, they will surely turn on each other."

“They must have thought we were extinct long ago, and they never imagined that there were other life forms in the sacrificial tower. They must have been completely unprepared.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiao, the golden-robed man seated at the head of the table, nodded slightly: "The elder is absolutely right. It's not that we are too shrewd, but rather that they simply cannot imagine that our Yanji clan is still alive..."

"They know nothing of our existence, which is our greatest advantage. We must not reveal ourselves unless absolutely necessary. I'll go set up the first treasure room now." After saying this, Akagaki flashed away and quickly left the control room.

We started planning the layout.

They returned shortly afterward.

Inside the control room, these five powerful figures silently observed everything.

"Look! Six tokens."

"They all have signal talismans, and the core area passage is open."

"We must find a way to obtain a token; only then can we open the Inheritance Chamber and the Second Treasure Chamber."

……

Kick Kick Kick~~~
Kick Kick Kick~~~
The six passageways trembled violently, like the low roar of an ancient behemoth awakening. The passageways slowly rotated, the sound of gears meshing echoing through the space.

Gradually, the passageway and the main passageway fit together perfectly, the dust settled, and a spacious passageway appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Core area." Jiang Ye walked through the passage, then leaped out and landed on the ground.

This is a spacious hall.

Dark Thunder King and his four soul servants were already standing there.

"Master, we have now entered the core area of ​​this sacrificial tower, but we have not found the Yanji natives you mentioned," Dark Thunder King transmitted his voice.

Jiang Ye nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two passages ahead. He then gave the order via telepathy: "Search separately, and be sure to remain vigilant. Do not let your guard down."

"Yes!"

call out!
Dark Thunder King and Jiang Ye instantly transformed into two streaks of light, splitting into two groups. Dark Thunder King flew swiftly along a corridor, while Jiang Ye also flew swiftly along a corridor. As for the four soul servants, they were stored in Dark Thunder King's world ring.

(End of this chapter)