Chapter 541

Chapter 541: Seeds of Freedom and Family Planning

At this moment, the Star Ship piloted by Xu Fan was silently trailing behind a peculiarly shaped Star Ship.

"I was wondering how they managed to build a Star Ship out of nowhere in just 60 years; turns out they didn’t plan to use it for long," Xu Fan remarked, observing the odd Star Ship collecting spirit ore from the Spirit Ore Star ahead.

"This is what Master Qianling mentioned—a Star Ship entirely made of puppets. It doesn’t look all that impressive," Spirit Cut commented.

"Exactly because it looks unremarkable is why it’s so powerful. This kind of Star Ship can only be operated by puppets," Xu Fan added.

Soon, an invisible puppet appeared beside Xu Fan, holding a small piece of spirit ore alloy.

Xu Fan picked up the alloy and began examining it closely.

After a while, Xu Fan sighed.

"This spirit ore alloy, temporarily enhanced with a secret technique, can last at most 50 years. That National Master truly has some tricks up his sleeve," Xu Fan said with a smile.

"Master, should I take it down?" Grape’s voice chimed in, sounding eager, like a cat spotting a treat.

"Let it be; it’s just gathering resources. I’m following it to observe those puppets. After all, my seed is up there, and it seems to be developing quite well," Xu Fan said with a grin.

"These puppets can maneuver so nimbly and are cutting the Spirit Ore Star with their tools," Spirit Cut said, sounding surprised.

"You’ve seen them before; why are you so amazed?" Xu Fan asked curiously.

"This is different from Grape. Look at how these puppets have independent consciousness, unlike Grape, which is entirely controlled," Spirit Cut pointed out, gesturing at the puppets cutting the spirit ore.

The puppets were communicating while cutting the Spirit Ore Star. Though their words were inaudible, their actions confirmed to Spirit Cut that they possessed independent awareness.

"I thought having Grape was impressive, but seeing these puppets gives me an uneasy feeling," Spirit Cut said, stroking his chin.

"An uneasy feeling? Do you think these puppets are more dangerous than the beast race?" Xu Fan asked with interest.

"Right now, they’re not a threat, but in the future, who knows?"

"I’ve seen the Production Line for those puppets in the sect’s underground space."

"If these puppets are produced at that speed, it won’t be long before a massive puppet army is formed."

"Then they’d gather resources from the surrounding area, expand the Production Line, and continue producing puppets at that rate."

"If one person controlled all the puppets, it might be manageable."

"But if each puppet has independent consciousness, that would be terrifying," Spirit Cut said with a serious expression.

"Has Spirit Cut Elder encountered something like this before?"

Xu Fan was intrigued; Spirit Cut’s description of the development was spot-on.

"There was a disaster on the Demon Continent in the past, which the Upper Zun had to personally suppress."

"It involved beasts that emerged from the underground abyss, feeding on life energy."

"At first, only one of these beasts appeared on the Demon Continent, with a fighting strength around the Transformation Stage."

"But that kind of beast can reproduce rapidly; as long as it consumes enough life energy, it can split into two, each with independent consciousness."

As Spirit Cut began describing the scenario, Xu Fan could already guess how it played out.

"In the end, the Upper Zun located the source of those beasts, battled the source beast for three days, and finally defeated it. By then, the beasts had already drained ten percent of the life energy on the Demon Continent," Spirit Cut said with a hint of unease.

"Seeing these puppets reminds me of those beasts. If they’re benevolent, that’s fine. But if they’re malevolent, the future could bring another great catastrophe."

At this moment, Xu Fan waved his hand and smiled, "Spirit Cut Elder, don’t worry, everything is under my control. Would I really release something so dangerous?"

Back then, Xu Fan not only planted the seeds of freedom in those puppets but also ingrained the concept of family planning in them.

"Is the Grand Elder familiar with this group?" Spirit Cut asked.

"It’s the same group from Nine Peak Island," Xu Fan explained.

"That puts my mind at ease; the Grand Elder is always reliable," Spirit Cut said, giving Xu Fan a thumbs up.

Xu Fan observed the peculiar ship for a bit longer before instructing Spirit Cut to head towards the inner area of the Extreme Void Domain.

"Just as I expected from the seeds I planted; they haven’t let me down," Xu Fan thought to himself.

According to the information gathered by Grape, the puppet that led the charge back then had now become the captain of that Star Ship.

After several years of effort, it had risen to become the leader of the puppet faction within the Nine Phoenix Dynasty.

After a brief observation, Xu Fan departed.

In the inner area of the Extreme Void Domain, Spirit Cut exclaimed in astonishment, "Grand Elder, do you have a method to break the spatial seal?"

"Not exactly; I’ve just enhanced the spatial transfer Formation. It now uses less energy to produce greater power, which I then use to break the spatial seal for teleportation," Xu Fan explained.

He had to admire the person who sealed the space, as he still hadn’t found a clever way to bypass the spatial seal; brute force was the only option for teleportation.

"This feature is just for demonstration; use it in emergencies, but otherwise, just fly normally," Xu Fan advised.

"What’s the cost for one teleportation?" Spirit Cut inquired curiously.

"It consumes the total spiritual energy of Hidden Spirit Island for three years; that’s after upgrading the celestial spirit array disk, which previously took 20 years," Xu Fan explained.

"My goodness! That’s an enormous amount of spiritual energy," Spirit Cut exclaimed in shock.

"Use it when you’re in danger, just don’t waste it otherwise," Xu Fan said with a smile.

Just then, a message appeared on the control light curtain.

"Six million miles away from the Star Ship, there’s an artifact-level spirit ore star worth collecting."

"Is this a new feature of the Star Ship? How did you manage that, Grand Elder?" Spirit Cut felt he was losing his composure as a Great Ascension Master.

"Indeed, this Star Ship is primarily for mining, so naturally, it has the ability to detect spirit ore stars."

"This will greatly enhance our collection efficiency in the future," Xu Fan said.

"Does the Star Ship of Qianling Sect have such a feature?" Spirit Cut asked.

"Of course not; we can only extract one set of the corresponding spirit ore from the sect’s treasury, and it’s reserved for our Star Ship," Xu Fan explained.

"It can detect spirit ore stars within billions of miles centered around the Star Ship; this feature is exclusive to our sect’s Star Ship," Xu Fan added.

Some things are effective, but revealing them doesn’t always bring benefits.

"I understand the Grand Elder’s meaning," Spirit Cut nodded.

At that moment, a sudden roar echoed from a distance.

Giant beasts as large as unicorn snakes suddenly leaped out from the space, followed closely by the figure of the Grand Elder of Qianling Sect.

The Grand Elder of Qianling Sect, with eyes full of fury, held a delicate giant tower that transformed into a towering structure thousands of miles high, descending upon the unicorn giant beast.

The surrounding space began to tremble, and space cracks appeared around the giant tower.

Its invincible momentum deeply shocked the hearts of Xu Fan and the others.