Chapter 16: The Three Silkworm Sovereign

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish—Ji Ning and the other four all shuttled through the void, drawing close to that enormous fiery red mine.

The pervasive scorching air currents posed far less of a threat to Ji Ning and the others than the spatial storm that had once swept them into the mortal world. In this environment, they could even perform spatial shuttling.

"I'm actually seeing a mine of Space Firemyst Stones?" Qinghuang the Crown Prince looked up at the towering mine before him, losing his usual composure, his face filled with shock. "Am I still dreaming..."

"A huge mine? Of Space Firemyst Stones?" Feng Yi was also dazed.

"Let me calculate. Looking at the ore in this mine, from roughly ten thousand catties of ore, you can refine one catty of Space Firemyst Stone," Ji Ning murmured to himself. "The entire mine spans a million miles. How many Space Firemyst Stones can be refined? What's the value? I can't calculate it, there's no way..."

"Crazy, crazy." Huo Jin and Tianhuo Mangya were also dumbfounded.

This was an inconceivably great treasure!

A great treasure enough to make Eternal Emperors red-eyed and fight each other!

Space Firemyst Stones were a very precious type of rare treasure, usable in many ways—refining puppets, treasures, even cultivating certain secret arts and divine abilities. They were usually discovered in special environments, mostly in patches only a few zhang in size, or even smaller.

A patch over a million miles in size? That was already a mine! Ji Ning and the others even suspected it was the largest mine of Space Firemyst Stones in the entire alternate universe.

Of course, the chaos nurtured many rare treasures.

For instance, the 'Nine-Headed Dragon Mountain' in the Endless Territories, monopolized by the Mangya Kingdom, was inferior in quality to the Firemyst Stone mine, but in quantity it was millions of times greater, making the Nine-Headed Dragon Mountain far more valuable.

Still, a million-mile-wide Space Firemyst Stone mine could only be monopolized by a being at the level of a Sovereign, who wouldn't fear robbery. Ordinary Eternal Emperors would have to mine it secretly, lacking the strength to monopolize it.

"No wonder, no wonder that Three Silkworm Sovereign sent his disciple to guard this place," Feng Yi murmured. "No wonder, even guessing our background was formidable, he still moved against us. The secret of this mine truly cannot be leaked."

"Bang, bang, bang." A low sound rang out. Tianhuo Mangya took out an axe treasure and swung it, chopping at the mine wall before him. The fiery red rock surface was left with faint white marks.

"Can't break it." Tianhuo Mangya blinked and muttered.

"Wake up, all of you, wake up." Hearing Tianhuo Mangya's muttering, Ji Ning shuddered and called out.

The other four all looked at Ji Ning.

"Stop daydreaming. This is a Space Firemyst Stone mine. We can't even break it, let alone mine it," Ji Ning shook his head. "It probably takes at least a three-step Daolord to barely mine it, and even then, it's very, very slow. This Space Firemyst Stone mine spans a million miles, and we can't move it. There's nothing we can do."

All five of them understood.

There was no way.

Not to mention them, even an Eternal Emperor, even a great Sovereign, would be helpless before such a vast precious mine. They could only send powerful Daolords or puppets to mine it over endless ages.

Because every piece of ore was a rare object.

A mine gathered over a million miles... naturally contained some mysterious power, even receiving the blessing of some of the alternate universe's origin power. Few great beings in the entire alternate universe could move it even a few li. Storing it in a cave world? Impossible.

Just like the Nine-Headed Dragon Mountain, even the great Sovereign, so accomplished in spacetime, could only send countless underlings to mine it.

"What do we do?" Tianhuo Mangya looked at Ji Ning and the other three.

"We can look but not touch." Ji Ning shook his head.

"There's really nothing we can do." Feng Yi shook his head.

"Just stare." Huo Jin licked his lips.

"At least we've seen such a huge mine before our eyes." Qinghuang the Crown Prince said.

The five of them stared at the mine, their gazes somewhat fervent.

Like five mortals encountering a colossal mountain of gold ten thousand zhang high—though they couldn't move it, just viewing it was awe-inspiring.

"Let's go." Qinghuang said. "If we delay too long, that Three Silkworm Sovereign will come, and we'll be in trouble."

"Let's go."

"This is ultimately not something we can possess."

Ji Ning and the others were all prodigies. Though briefly stunned, after a close look, they immediately decided to leave.

Whoosh—

Qinghuang the Crown Prince piloted the flying boat, and they quickly departed.

To possess such an inconceivable great treasure required corresponding strength. Without enough strength, like the Three Silkworm Sovereign, one could only mine in secret.

But as for the great Sovereign, even if the first discoverer of the Nine-Headed Dragon Mountain wasn't him but some adventurous World-level cultivators, after a great battle, the great Sovereign still forcibly monopolized the 'Nine-Headed Dragon Mountain'.

As for the Lord of the Netherworld Court... he became the supreme leader of the entire alternate universe!

Strength, after all, was the foundation!

...

Ji Ning and the other four fled at top speed. Qinghuang the Crown Prince's control over spacetime made their escape indeed fast.

But they guessed wrong. At this moment, the Three Silkworm Sovereign had no mind to seek them out.

Deep in the Ancient Domain.

"Boom—"

Space was chaotic, spacetime shook.

This was an extremely dangerous environment, where even great beings would not come. Yet in this chaotic spacetime floated an invisible transparent droplet.

Inside the droplet was a mansion.

"Damn it." A gloomy youth with nine tumors on his forehead sat cross-legged, gnashing his teeth. "That old bastard Fu Bo is really relentless. It's been nineteen chaos cycles, and he's still hunting me. Isn't he tired? Damn, damn, damn! I really regret it. Who knew that old guy, without a word, had become so strong? If I'd known, I wouldn't have provoked him. If it weren't for my Three Silkworm skills in escape, I'd have died by his hand long ago."

Regret.

The Three Silkworm Sovereign truly regretted. He was lawless, with countless sins, daring to do anything to increase his strength.

Fu Bo the Emperor was a low-key emperor, teaching disciples on his own turf, a good-natured man. Even when bullied over resource distribution in the Netherworld Court, Fu Bo the Emperor didn't mind much. The Three Silkworm Sovereign thought Fu Bo the Emperor was easy to push around. Learning that Fu Bo the Emperor had bestowed the extremely precious treasure 'Purple Thunder Cold Flame' on his second disciple, he schemed to seize it, eventually killing Fu Bo the Emperor's beloved second disciple and taking the Purple Thunder Cold Flame.

The 'Purple Thunder Cold Flame' was a treasure for enlightenment. Holding it, one's mind became serene, and the effect of enlightenment was much better.

Fu Bo the Emperor's success in merging with the Dao also owed something to this treasure. Seeing his second disciple on the verge of merging with the Dao, he bestowed the treasure, never imagining it would bring his disciple death.

He was enraged.

Fu Bo the Emperor was truly enraged!

This second disciple was his most beloved. His first disciple had died long ago while adventuring, and his second disciple had been with him the longest, like family. He spared no expense and finally found out the murderer was the Three Silkworm Sovereign. That Three Silkworm Sovereign was also arrogant, thinking Fu Bo the Emperor was no threat; otherwise, Fu Bo the Emperor wouldn't have found out so easily.

After finding out, Fu Bo the Emperor left his lair and began hunting the Three Silkworm Sovereign.

This hunt...

Shook the entire alternate universe! Because Fu Bo the Emperor's strength was terrifyingly great, approaching the Sixteen Star Lords! If he were a bit stronger, the Netherworld Court would have directly granted him the title of 'Star Lord'.

Hunted by such a great being, the Three Silkworm Sovereign used up two life-saving treasures. He had even thrown the 'Purple Thunder Cold Flame' back to Fu Bo the Emperor, and even asked other great beings to mediate, but no mediation worked. The good-natured Fu Bo the Emperor was truly red-eyed, hunting for nineteen chaos cycles, never giving up.

"Ten chaos cycles, a hundred chaos cycles, a thousand chaos cycles... as long as I, Fu Bo, live, I swear to kill Three Silkworm." Fu Bo the Emperor had long declared.

The Three Silkworm Sovereign could only try to hide.

The universe was vast and mysterious. If an emperor truly wanted to hide, tracking him down was very difficult.

But likewise, a great being like Fu Bo the Emperor, sparing no expense, hunting for ages—that was also a nightmare.

"What bad luck. The Space Firemyst Stone mine was also discovered?" The Three Silkworm Sovereign muttered to himself. He sensed his disciple's death but dared not go check. "My disciple was at the peak of three-step Daolord strength. With the formation I set up back then, even a Daolord on the verge of merging with the Dao might not be his match. I don't know who killed him. Maybe that old bastard Fu Bo also knows about this."

...

Ji Ning and the other four, worried about being discovered, quickly headed toward the core of the Ancient Domain.

"Will that Three Silkworm Sovereign reverse spacetime and find our traces?"

"Don't worry. The Ancient Domain is vast. It won't be easy for him to find us." Ji Ning and the others dared not relax. Little did they know, the Three Silkworm Sovereign was already too busy saving himself.

...