Chapter 281: Obtaining the Cosmic Treasure · Ark of Paradise
“Since when did you become this strong?”
Cypriss’ pupils trembled.
It wasn’t as if she had never seen Bai Fu fight before.
Bai Fu was indeed powerful.
But even when she summoned Kabaye and the Prayer Angel before, she couldn’t possibly one-shot a Domination-level, right?
Although the world was constantly changing, and the strength of psionics could improve over time, how could she grow so much in just three to four months…
Cypriss only wanted to ask Bai Fu one thing—what on earth had she been eating to grow up like this?
Bai Fu replied calmly: “There’s nothing to be surprised about. Didn’t you notice? Even though it’s a Domination-level, its rank was forcefully elevated. That made its rank look higher than it really was, but its actual ability is much weaker than a normal Domination of the same tier. Of course, if it were facing a Calamity-class, it could still easily deal with them.”
Cypriss pouted.
Like hell I could see that.
If I had that kind of insight, would I be this unlucky?!
That being said, she still trusted Bai Fu’s words.
Among the Dark Zone Brainworms, Glen’s talent wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t top-tier.
Normally, reaching Upper Calamity would have already been his limit.
Bai Fu explained: “It was probably because of that Beast God.”
Since it could bear the title of “God,” even if it wasn’t great at combat, it must have some shining points in other aspects, like using some method to forcibly push someone into Domination.
Of course, a Domination promoted like this was pathetically weak, with a pile of side effects.
But even a weakling dog was still a dog.
Bai Fu wasn’t about to fight head-on with a Transcendent at this time, so she urged Cypriss to quickly take her to see the Dark Zone Divine Seat.
Cypriss also knew time was tight, so she immediately flew down toward the ground.
Bai Fu, Hei Fu, and the Mobile Palace followed close behind.
Several streaks of light streaked across the sky, stirring up terrifying shockwaves like a doomsday storm.
At this moment, not a single Dark Zone insect dared to come out and block them.
The sight of Glen jumping out full of confidence only to be killed in two blows was still vivid in their minds.
Even the most loyal lackeys of the Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen didn’t dare to stand up now.
Instead, they hurried to contact the Mother Queen through telepathy.
“Mother Queen, something terrible happened! Glen was killed by Bai Fu and Cypriss, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere!”
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen was utterly stunned by this news.
What the hell?
She asked again and again, only then confirming she hadn’t misheard.
Not only had Glen been killed, but he had been killed instantly!
But how could this be?
How could Bai Fu’s strength have grown so fast?
The sharp horn atop the Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen’s head trembled violently with her rapid breathing.
She was furious, panicked, unwilling, and hateful…
Countless emotions mixed together into a knot.
Ever since her crushing defeat in the Edge Worlds, she had completely pulled back her forces, retreating entirely into the Dark Zone.
She had felt threatened.
She felt she had to do something.
Otherwise, after a few decades, she might be overthrown by Cypriss when she returned, or even directly killed.
Unlike Cypriss, she didn’t have the ability to resurrect.
But… what could she do?
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen didn’t believe she had the ability to reach Transcendent in just decades.
Psionics had a natural talent limit.
It wasn’t just about having enough resources.
Her talent had already been pushed to its limit reaching Domination.
To break that bottleneck, she could only pursue greater power, such as the Mental Sanctuary.
After much deliberation, the Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen decided to rely on another’s strength to seek out the Mental Sanctuary.
She had already tried by herself and failed.
So, she had turned to the Beast God, revealing to it the existence of the Mental Sanctuary.
The Beast God was a Transcendent-level Stellar Beast that had risen in the Dark Zone in the last hundred years.
Unlike ordinary Stellar Beasts that excelled in raw power and physique, it specialized in life-stimulation abilities.
Simply put, it was a top-tier support!
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen had originally been very wary of the Beast God, fearing it would steal away all her Dark Zone insect followers.
But now, no matter how much she feared, she had no choice but to rely on it.
The Beast God had tens of trillions of followers and had built a vast Stellar Beast “Empire.”
If it was the one searching, surely it could locate the Mental Sanctuary.
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen was filled with anticipation.
But she had never dreamed that only a few years later, Bai Fu and Cypriss would storm all the way to the Mother Nest, and their strength had grown so much stronger—so strong that even she, enhanced by the Beast God, couldn’t help but feel fear after hearing of their battle record.
One-shotting Glen—such a Bai Fu was someone she could never defeat.
Fortunately, she hadn’t been in the Mother Nest at the time.
Otherwise, she too would have ended up like Glen, not even leaving a corpse.
“I’ll summon the Beast God to assist immediately.
For now, just keep an eye on Bai Fu and Cypriss.
See what they’re trying to do.
Do not provoke them.”
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen quickly sought out the Beast God.
While she was seeking help, new reports came from her subordinates at the Mother Nest.
They said Bai Fu and Cypriss had found the Dark Zone Divine Seat and were fiddling with it.
The Divine Seat?
Wasn’t that just a strangely shaped seat made from unusual materials…
Wait!
She suddenly realized a problem.
Why would Cypriss travel across tens of millions of light years, only to do nothing but investigate the Divine Seat right away?
It couldn’t possibly be because she liked the Divine Seat itself.
It must be because the Divine Seat hid a secret.
Could it be… that the Divine Seat was the key to reaching the Mental Sanctuary?!
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen’s ashen-gray face flushed red.
If that were true, then she… she had sat on the Divine Seat for more than five hundred years!
She had sat atop a treasure mountain for half a millennium without knowing it, only to end up offering up the treasure mountain and relying on others to search for it.
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen nearly fainted from rage.
“What’s wrong?”
The Beast God noticed her abnormality and immediately asked.
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen thought for a moment, then chose to report the truth.
At this point, hiding it was meaningless.
Only by telling the Beast God could they hope to snatch the Mental Sanctuary back from Bai Fu and Cypriss, who had already taken the lead.
After hearing her words, the Beast God also grew anxious.
Ever since it learned of the existence of the Mental Sanctuary, it had neglected even the empire it had painstakingly built, focusing all its effort on finding it.
If the Mental Sanctuary were to be taken away just like that, where would it put its face?
Whoosh——
The white, sheer-silk-like body flew out of the melted cavern.
As the breeze swept past, when she came back to her senses, the Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen realized she was already on the back of a Stellar Beast adept at space-shuttling.
“Take me to the Dark Zone Insect Mother Nest at the fastest speed!”
The giant beast, resembling a winged serpent, gave a sharp cry and twisted its body, drilling into the space torn open by the sharp horn above its head.
From the moment it received the message to setting off on the journey, the Beast God didn’t waste a single second.
But in the end, it was still one step too late.
By the time it reached the Mother Nest, Bai Fu and Cypriss were already gone.
Upon asking, it learned Bai Fu and Cypriss had left more than ten minutes ago.
The Beast God and the Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen stormed to the Dark Zone Divine Seat.
At this moment, the Divine Seat looked as usual, showing no abnormalities.
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen tried fiddling with it, but after a long while, she couldn’t produce any change.
“What do we do?”
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen’s face turned pale.
The Beast God snorted coldly: “This should be a special teleportation rune. As long as it’s teleportation, during the process, there will definitely be traces left behind.
As long as I capture these traces, even if I can’t use the teleportation rune, I can still find them!”
The Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen let out a breath of relief.
She had almost forgotten about this.
So…
“Lord Beast God, did you capture the traces they left when they teleported away?”
The Beast God smiled confidently: “What’s the rush, in just a moment I’ll…”
And then it couldn’t continue.
Traces?
There were none at all.
The surrounding space was completely flat, showing no signs of disturbance.
Beast God: “……”
Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen asked in confusion: “Lord Beast God?”
Beast God: “……”
Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen: “？”
Beast God: “Out! Out! Out, all of you, get out of my sight!”
The furious roar echoed between the Divine Seats, deafeningly loud.
The Beast God was on the verge of losing control.
But it quickly adjusted its emotions.
Even though it had lost Bai Fu and Cypriss’ trail, it still had a chance to seize the treasure within the Mental Sanctuary.
All it needed was to ambush Bai Fu and Cypriss halfway.
Long ago, the Dark Zone Insects’ ancestors had accidentally entered the Mental Sanctuary.
After leaving it, even without a star map, they had wandered around only to return here eventually.
This meant the Mental Sanctuary wasn’t especially far.
Otherwise, the ancestors would have been lost forever in the starry sky—how could they possibly have returned?
The Beast God swiftly gave orders, commanding all its followers to search the starry sky.
The moment they discovered unusual spatial fluctuations, they were to report immediately.
“Just a Domination-level.
I don’t believe that even if you obtained the treasure within the Mental Sanctuary, you’d be able to defeat me!”
……
At the same time.
In the underground depths of a planet whose coordinates were temporarily absent from any map, Jinlu’s voice rang out.
“The space has already been smoothed.”
Bai Fu nodded and signaled Anya to throw away the corpse of the Dark Zone insect they had just captured.
When Cypriss activated the Divine Seat, she had casually caught what looked like one of the Dark Zone Insect Mother Queen’s trusted aides and killed it, then had Anya use the Needle of Sin and Punishment to read its mind.
From this reading, she gained a clearer understanding of the Beast God.
If her only opponent were the Beast God alone, then she believed that even if she was blocked, she could rely on continuous Void Shuttles to escape.
However, the troublesome part about the Beast God was that it had countless followers.
These followers might not all be powerful, but among them were plenty with special abilities.
If she were caught and entangled by the Beast God and its underlings, then she would be in real trouble.
“For safety’s sake, I’d better call someone over.”
Bai Fu used the Apostle’s Body, letting her spiritual will descend into a Tiny Bai Fu on Origin Star.
Dong dong dong.
Tiny Bai Fu knocked on the door of the Oathmaster.
“Little Bai Fu?” The Oathmaster looked puzzled.
Tiny Bai Fu smiled and asked: “Lord Oathmaster, I need your help.”
The Oathmaster suddenly understood: “So it’s Bai Fu. What trouble have you run into?”
Bai Fu explained the situation.
She didn’t say she was going to find the Mental Sanctuary, only that she was helping Cypriss take revenge.
The Oathmaster didn’t think too much about it.
The first thought in her mind was—
I can fight!
Ever since she had completed her second divine metamorphosis under Bai Fu’s guidance, she hadn’t yet tested her strength in true combat.
That clash with the Ten Saints Council didn’t count.
Back then, Yuan Yi was the main force, while she had only been fighting Corona’s Mechanical Legion, unable to gauge her true level.
“I’ll be right there!”
The Oathmaster didn’t even bother changing clothes, hurriedly leaping into her flagship.
Not only could she test her strength in battle, but she could also earn Bai Fu’s favor.
Such a good deal—why hesitate?
Shoo——
The spaceship shot up into the sky, quickly leaving the spaceport.
“This time there shouldn’t be any problems.” Bai Fu smiled at Cypriss.
“Let’s go.
Let’s see the true secret of the Mental Sanctuary!”
After the teleportation ended, she received a notification that 【Lost Sanctuary】 had been completed, and a new quest 【Civilization Museum】 was triggered.
【Lost Sanctuary】 gave her 1 billion XP, while the new quest 【Civilization Museum】 promised even richer rewards.
【Quest Description: Through the Dark Zone Divine Seat, you arrived at the Mental Sanctuary hidden deep within a planet.
Standing before you is an unimaginably grand underground tower.
The civilization that once built it has long been buried by the passage of time, but not even time can erase the traces it left in the universe.
As you enter the Mental Sanctuary, you will witness the transcendence of a civilization!】
【Quest Objective: Enter the Mental Sanctuary and find the [Ark of Paradise] sleeping in its depths.】
【Reward: 500 million XP, Plot Exploration, Special Title [Treasure Collector]】
Although the experience reward of this quest was only half of 【Lost Sanctuary】, the value of Plot Exploration and the Special Title could not be measured by just a few hundred million XP.
What’s more, after completing this quest, there was also a very high chance of obtaining a Cosmic Treasure called the Ark of Paradise.
Bai Fu could hardly wait to witness the effect of the Ark of Paradise.
So far, every Cosmic Treasure she had seen was extraordinary.
Cypriss said: “To enter the depths of the Mental Sanctuary, the Needle of Sin and Punishment is required.
Fortunately, we had found it early on.
Otherwise, even after reaching this place, we could only have left empty-handed.”
As she spoke, Anya stepped forward.
A black iron spike, over ten centimeters long, flew out.
It shot precisely into the gate of the towering structure before them.
Buzz buzz buzz——
The earth began to tremble.
On the gate, black patterns emerged.
These patterns twisted and turned, eventually connecting into a single line.
Amidst the vibrations, the gate slowly opened, revealing a spiraling staircase leading upward.
Bai Fu glanced at the new map’s recommended level: 1–275.
It was a very interesting range.
Level 1 could enter, level 275 could also enter.
This meant the tower itself was not dangerous, but to gain anything within it, one must possess certain conditions.
Still, for safety, Bai Fu did not get careless.
Instead, she sent a small detachment of the Psionic Legion inside to scout the path.
After circling through the spiral tower again and again, Bai Fu suddenly found the surroundings had changed.
The brick walls transformed into murals, and then from murals into a boundless black space.
She traveled through this space, her eyes reflecting the rise and fall of a civilization.
It felt like watching a VR movie, yet far more real.
Bai Fu could tell that everything was actually being projected onto her spirit.
After all, this was the Mental Sanctuary.
It was normal for the spirit to be affected upon nearing the Ark of Paradise.
Cypriss explained from the side: “I came here once before.
At that time, the scenes I saw were just like this.
This civilization was a very unique spiritual civilization.
They had extremely high achievements in both machinery and spirit.
From the strength shown in these images, their civilization likely wasn’t weaker than today’s Three Major Interstellar Civilizations.
But in the end, it still inevitably perished.”
Bai Fu nodded.
She saw this too, but her impression was deeper than Cypriss’.
Because while watching these past events, she found that the background of this civilization’s destruction shared many similarities with the Void Dimension.
This civilization had once flourished, but at some point, it suddenly faced an external invasion.
The invaders were monstrously strong.
Even with all their strength, they couldn’t win.
So, this civilization devised a special method to preserve themselves.
Their geniuses gathered together, jointly creating a Cosmic Treasure called the Ark of Paradise.
They planned to migrate the entire civilization—all of their people—into this “Heavenly Kingdom” built solely for souls, hoping to escape disaster.
But unfortunately, before the migration plan could even begin, the civilization had already collapsed.
The last surviving members of the civilization carried the Ark of Paradise into this tower.
They stayed here, guarding it until their final breaths.
Since then, who knew how many years had passed.
One day, the ancestors of the Dark Zone Insects had stumbled upon this region.
Although they failed to activate the Ark of Paradise, they left their own mark on it.
They also took away the Needle of Sin and Punishment, as well as the set of runes from the Divine Seat.
“Another external invasion… Could this be the main storyline of a later game version?”
Bai Fu felt it was highly possible.
If this wasn’t related to the Main Storyline, then when she discovered these two story arcs, the game wouldn’t have rewarded her with Plot Exploration of “Above the Stars.”
Area Exploration would have been enough.
An external invasion that even Interstellar Civilizations could not resist—monstrous indeed!
But for now, there was no point in thinking about it.
She hadn’t even advanced to Transcendent yet.
First, she had to secure the Ark of Paradise.
After walking another dozen steps forward, Bai Fu finally led the others out of the spiritual illusion.
At this moment, what appeared before her was a small black boat, about the length of her palm.
The black boat floated in midair, ripples spreading out from beneath its hull in steady rings.
Bai Fu reached out her hand.
The instant she touched the boat, she received two notifications.
One notification said the quest was complete.
The other was——
【Life Intensity Scanning… Scan Passed.
Your linkage with the [Ark of Paradise] +1, +1, +1……】
In that instant, Bai Fu felt a strange connection form between herself and the Ark of Paradise, as if it had become her third hand.
At the same time, the knowledge flowing into her mind made her understand the Ark of Paradise’s function.
The Ark of Paradise was an “Ark” for preserving souls.
After forming a contract with it, unless the soul copy preserved within the Ark was also destroyed, no outsider could kill her.
Even if her body was destroyed, she could still revive through other means.
But that was not the full extent of the Ark’s power.
Its bonuses to Spirit Stats, Spiritual Resistance, and spiritual-type professions were extremely high.
And when actively used, it had a special effect:
It could expand a Spiritual Domain and draw all souls within that domain into the Ark’s interior.
The civilization that created the Ark of Paradise added this function primarily to make migration easier.
But to Bai Fu, this function was simply marvelous.
Catching people—she could use the Ark of Paradise to capture people!
One grab, throw them into the Ark, and without her permission… Hmph, they’d dream of escaping.
Bai Fu was delighted.
“Looks like the Ark of Paradise isn’t just a lifesaving artifact, it’s also a soul prison.
For those near-unkillable cockroach kings, I can completely use the Ark of Paradise to imprison their souls inside.
That way, no matter how strong their regenerative ability is, even if they can revive from a single drop of blood, or even from a single cell, it won’t matter.
Once their soul is locked away, their empty body is mine to control.”
Bai Fu’s big hand—so strong!
Bai Fu’s fingers itched.
She already wanted to test her new “blade” on the Beast God outside.