Chapter 877: Ancient Awakening, Separation and Fusion

With the guidance of the Longjia who had previously encountered the black orca, the trio flew for another half a day across the sea. After crossing several patrol lines, they finally approached the location of the Dragon Palace.

All three colossal beasts widened their eyes, stunned by the sight before them. On the raging sea, towering icebergs rose from the water, forming a frozen mountain range that stretched for dozens of kilometers and linked heaven and earth.

Surrounding the icebergs were countless razor-sharp ice formations thousands of meters tall, resembling a crystalline forest. A wide river, several hundred meters across, wound its way upward through the center of it all.

At the river’s end stood a towering silver gate, several thousand meters tall and over a thousand meters wide, supported by four massive ice pillars. Four runic characters—”Dragon Palace Empire”—were inscribed at the center. The entire structure looked majestic and imposing.

Behind the Dragon Gate loomed the phantom of a vast world. Within, both land and sea existed, with several massive colossal beasts resting atop mountain peaks, breathing clouds and mist. Countless Longjia and colossal beasts dwelled in the seas.

At the distant end of that ocean was the faint outline of a gigantic Ancient Clam. Its mountain-sized shell was slightly ajar as it flickered with transcendent energy across thousands of kilometers, stirring wind and clouds.

Faced with such a scene, Hu Yi and the other two colossal beasts were instantly overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of the aura that pressed in from all directions. This was the true Dragon Palace. Compared to this, the underwater palace on the Blue Planet was nothing more than a thatched village hut beside a grand estate.

At that moment, the Deep-Sea Dragon Turtle appeared beneath the Dragon Gate, resembling a brown hill and exuding a quasi-mythical aura. Instantly, all of the Longjia around it lowered their heads in reverence.

"Greetings, King of Earth and Destruction."

***

"Report: The surging super energy within No.1 has begun to stabilize. The data curve has returned to normal fluctuations. Major General Luo’s Soul Synchronization rate is steadily decreasing. It is now at 110%... 105%... 100%... No.1 has exited berserk mode."

"Begin loading the armor restraints."

"Yes, sir."

In the midsection of Orbital Battleship 1, spanning fourteen kilometers and resembling a floating island, the form of Mech No.1 had already shrunk to five hundred meters and reverted to a humanoid shape. The tail had vanished, and the exposed limbs were now covered in dark-golden scales rather than skin.

On its slender head, some raised armor plates had partially lifted, revealing bone-like dark-golden patterns beneath. Set against its flickering bluish-white gaze, the patterns appeared particularly fearsome. Still, compared to the terrifying appearance it had shown just days before during the great battle, No.1 now looked significantly more stable.

Soon, at a tower a thousand meters away, a heavy hatch slowly opened. One after another, engineering vehicles rolled out, dragging slabs of thick armor dozens of meters across.

The logistics team had long anticipated No.1 breaking free from its restraints during berserk mode, and had prepared multiple replacement armor sets in the vault. These armors were forged from special minerals compatible with No.1’s life fluctuations and engraved with powerful form-binding force field runes. They normally served as regulators to keep No.1’s lifeform stable.

Crack! Crack!

Amid the busy efforts of robotic arms and high-level cultivator engineers, massive black-and-red mech components once again covered No.1. Meanwhile, deep within its void-like core space, Luo Fei stood in mid-air. Her gaze was cold and devoid of emotion, like a divine statue sitting atop a temple, surveying all beneath her.

Her divine battle armor was almost entirely transparent, laced with dark-golden patterns that resembled blood vessels connecting her to No.1. Due to the corrosion of super energy, similar markings had spread across her cheeks and the back of her hands, emanating a mysterious aura.

Even her life force and soul’s aura had subtly changed, giving the illusion of being ancient.

As the Soul Synchronization slowly diminished, Luo Fei’s consciousness within that other "world" began to return. A flicker passed through her eyes, revealing a trace of humanity. Her awareness fully returned in short order, though her expression remained as cold as ever. She glanced indifferently at the engineers outside, then shifted her foot slightly.

Hum!

Luo Fei passed through the mech’s core space like a phantom and slowly emerged from the diamond-shaped crystal at No.1’s chest. Instantly, the distant engineers all wore expressions like they had just seen a ghost.

"Major General Luo has come out!"

"What’s going on? No.1’s soul is clearly still in an awakening state. The Soul Synchronization is still at fifty percent!"

Just as the logistics personnel began to panic, the black-haired girl hovering in the air slightly turned her head, casting a cold, indifferent gaze in their direction. At the same time, No.1’s head also moved slightly, turning in perfect synchrony to look at the staff below.

In that instant, everyone felt an indescribable terror. Fear surged from the depths of their souls, paralyzing their bodies, and their faces went deathly pale.

While they stood frozen in fear, Luo Fei spoke softly, her voice ethereal and detached. "No need to worry. It's just that my synchronization with No.1 has reached a higher level of compatibility."

As she spoke, a surge of immense power erupted from No.1. With a single invisible shockwave, all of the engineers who had just finished attaching its armor were blown away.

Boom!

No.1 moved. As its foot landed, the entire orbital battleship sank slightly under the impact, the deck groaning with a series of wrenching creaks, like a monstrous titan pressing down on the world.

Luo Fei, clad in resplendent golden-white armor, floated mid-air. As No.1 strode forward, she calmly drifted along with it, eventually coming to stand at the edge of the deck under the stunned gazes of all present.

Orbital Battleship 1 hovered at an altitude of ten thousand meters. Mist and clouds swirled around them, and below stretched a vast mountain range dotted with the Heavenly Feathered Race’s fortress bases. Gales roared past, sending Luo Fei’s black hair wildly whipping in the wind. She calmly extended a hand downward and gently clenched it.

Boom!

Dozens of kilometers away, the land below suddenly twisted and folded like a crumpled sheet of paper. Mountains thousands of meters tall collapsed and exploded in an instant.

Shock registered across the faces of every cultivator on the deck. The power of that single strike rivaled that of a king, perhaps even surpassed most kings, yet Luo Fei’s aura was clearly only at the late stage of the Ninth Heavenly Realm.

Something isn't right. Just a few days ago, Major General Luo had only just broken through to the beginning stage. And now... she’s reached the late stage already!?

Lowering her gaze to the dark-golden markings gradually fading from the back of her hand, Luo Fei murmured in a voice only she could hear, "So powerful. As expected of those ancient, undying creatures. Just merging with a trace of soul power revived from antiquity has granted me the ability to manipulate space itself."

As she spoke, she lifted her head and looked toward the azure dome above, her gaze piercing through the layers of this realm to behold another world, one that only she could see. In that other world, fragmented wills drifted above the sky, twisting the clouds into the shape of a vast, indistinct phantom.

These were the remnants of that ancient soul power, severed from the strand that had awakened. However, their terrifying wills still lingered, unextinguished.