"What happened?" Li Xue rushed to the forward cabin. One look at the Void Mirror left her stunned.
It was a spaceship adorned with golden wings, ostentatious and luxurious, moving at an incredible speed. The spatial fluctuations caused by its flight path directly buffeted the Nebula Boat, sending it into a violent tremor.
"This is bad. That’s the Golden-Winged Spaceship belonging to Divine Lord Fengchi!" Bai Xingyu’s face was deathly pale. He hurriedly steered the Nebula Boat to the side, desperate to yield the path and avoid a collision.
"Yu’er, stop the boat. It’s already too late," Ji Rufeng said.
"Who is this Divine Lord Fengchi?" the others asked in confusion.
"He is considered a wicked cultivator, and he has an elder at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage backing him. In the Hongmeng Star Domain, almost no one dares to provoke him," Bai Xingyu explained, silently praying that they wouldn't be noticed.
Aboard the Golden-Winged Spaceship, a handsome young man wearing a jade crown sat upon a jade throne. Spotting the Nebula Boat in the void thousands of feet away, he let out a soft sound of surprise. "That flying vessel is quite peculiar. I have never seen its like before."
Beside him stood a beautiful female cultivator at the Core Formation Stage. She looked out, her eyes dancing with a flirtatious smile as she spoke coaxingly, "My Lord, that boat is so lovely, shimmering like a nebula. Why don't you fetch it for Ru'er to play with?"
"Be good. Let me first see what kind of vessel it is," Divine Lord Fengchi replied. He was not reckless; when traveling through the void, one could encounter anything. Caution was never a bad thing.
The Golden-Winged Spaceship soon drew close to the Nebula Boat. A voice, gentle yet masculine, rang out: "Which friends are aboard that vessel?"
Ji Rufeng activated the boat’s Void Mirror and bowed respectfully. "Ji Rufeng of the Bai family from Planet Jinming greets the Divine Lord!"
Within the Golden-Winged Spaceship’s Void Mirror, Divine Lord Fengchi and his favored concubine, Ru'er, stood together. Fengchi nodded slightly and asked, "Your vessel does not look like a product of the Tie family."
Ji Rufeng answered honestly and respectfully, "Senior, this is a Nebula Boat crafted by the Wanderer of No Return for his disciple."
Fengchi nodded. If it was crafted by the Wanderer of No Return, an Outer Domain cultivator, then it was no wonder. A vessel made by a Grandmaster Smith would certainly be unique, though it still could not compare to his own Golden-Winged Spaceship. His interest immediately waned.
Beside him, Ru'er pouted and wheedled again, "My Lord, they are merely Core Formation cultivators. Just get the Nebula Boat for Ru'er to play with, please?"
The Void Mirror connection had not been severed, and everyone on the Nebula Boat turned pale upon hearing this. If Divine Lord Fengchi intended to seize it by force, their only option would be to flee for their lives.
Fengchi frowned and shot a cold look at his concubine. "That is the Wanderer of No Return’s Nebula Boat."
In the Hongmeng Star Domain, the thing high-level cultivators currently feared most was a junior’s personal greed or resentment bringing calamity upon their family or sect. The incident with the Tie family on Planet Jinming had a far-reaching influence precisely because they had provoked an Outer Domain cultivator.
When it came to Outer Domain cultivators, even a lawless wicked cultivator like Divine Lord Fengchi had to be wary. Ten thousand years ago, there had been a star domain called Tianqian, whose strength was comparable to the Hongmeng Star Domain. Several of its great sects had coveted the top-tier treasures of a Soul Formation cultivator from the Outer Domain. They conspired to kill him, even going so far as to scatter his soul.
However, at the moment of his death, the cultivator’s master—a Fourth Tribulation Loose Immortal—tracked them down. In just two years, every single one of those sects was annihilated by the furious Loose Immortal. Within a single year, that immortal destroyed all the cultivators and the entire cultivation civilization of the Tianqian Star Domain. From then on, that region became a true mortal star domain.
Since then, every star domain—except for those like Planet Mangyun that had been sealed for tens of thousands of years—had been shaken to the core. The attitude toward Outer Domain cultivators shifted drastically; as long as they didn't cause major trouble, they were treated with the utmost courtesy.
The Wanderer of No Return came from a star domain guarded by an Eighth Tribulation Loose Immortal. While no one knew if he was a descendant of such a being, who would dare to test it? To do so was to invite total annihilation.
"He's just an Outer Domain rogue cultivator. Is he really that scary?" Ru'er blinked her large, beautiful eyes in confusion, her tone somewhat reproachful.
Fengchi turned to stare at his concubine, finding her behavior incomprehensible. He had previously thought her clever, beautiful, and observant, which was why he had favored her for so long and brought her along on this excursion. He hadn't expected that after only a few months of pampering, she would become so ignorant of the heights of the heavens and the depths of the earth. He instantly lost interest in her and looked away.
Inside the Nebula Boat, everyone was tense and prepared. If Fengchi made a move to seize them, they would flee immediately.
Fengchi smiled slightly through the Void Mirror and said to Ji Rufeng, "Might I meet the Wanderer of No Return’s beloved disciple?" He figured that since they had crossed paths, he should make an acquaintance to avoid any accidental offense in the future. Offending the Wanderer of No Return was simply not worth it.
Ji Rufeng looked troubled. Li Xue had no choice but to step forward and bow. "Senior, Senior Wanderer’s disciple is my son, but he is currently in secluded meditation to recover from his injuries. I shall accept your kind intentions on his behalf. You have my thanks."
Fengchi looked at the woman in the Void Mirror. She was neither humble nor arrogant, with a clean face and bright eyes. Though her beauty was not extraordinary, she possessed a graceful, approachable temperament. He had many wives and concubines of all types, but he truly lacked a woman with such an aura.
Fengchi gave a slight nod and deactivated the Void Mirror. The Golden-Winged Spaceship resumed its original course at high speed.
The people on the Nebula Boat finally breathed a sigh of relief. They hurriedly accelerated, desperate to leave this sector of space as quickly as possible.
Inside the Golden-Winged Spaceship, Fengchi returned to his jade throne. Ru'er, however, sat with her lips pouted, deeply unhappy. Ever since she gained favor, Fengchi had granted her every wish; even if something was difficult to obtain, he would seize it for her. She had grown accustomed to being spoiled. This time, her wish had been denied, even though she saw that the people on the Nebula Boat were merely Core Formation cultivators.
Seeing that Fengchi didn't even offer a word of comfort, Ru'er felt a surge of anger. She wheedled, "My Lord, Ru'er really, really likes that Nebula Boat!"
Fengchi frowned. How could this woman be so annoying? Why had he brought someone like her along? It was a total dampener on his mood. He cast a look of disgust at Ru'er.
Ru'er was startled by his gaze and immediately became submissive, but she remained resentful. She thought to herself that if she ever encountered that Nebula Boat again, she would find a way to get her hands on it. Her hands tightened, and a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.
Ru'er’s subtle movements did not escape Fengchi’s divine sense. Seeing her expression, he could easily guess her thoughts. It was exactly this kind of blind greed from ungrateful people that led to the ruin of their houses. His disgust deepened. He didn't stop to consider that he was the one who had spoiled her to this point.
"Soul Slave!" Fengchi called out.
"Master!" A masked cultivator dressed in black appeared silently by his side.
***
