266: The fleet sets out, and the real purpose is revealed

In the vast, boundless dark Universe, a massive fleet was quietly hovering.

At the lead was a massive starship, shaped like a mountain, pitch-black all over. The bow of the ship featured a hideous, giant skull, and in its hollow eye sockets, a ghostly blue spiritual flame was burning.

It was the flagship of the Black Sail interstellar pirate group, the "Black Skull".

Surrounding it were dozens of deputy ships with varying designs, all brimming with Evil Qi.

At this moment, on the widest deck of the Black Skull, tens of thousands of pirates gathered together.

Each of them had a fierce Aura, and their eyes flashed with bloodlust and greed.

On a high platform at the end of the deck, Black Skull's burly figure stood like a mountain. The terrifying pressure of the Soul Transformation Great Perfection enveloped the entire scene, causing all clamor to fall into silence.

His gaze slowly swept over the fanatical faces below.

"Brothers!"

Black Skull's voice, carried through the amplification formation, spread to every corner of the fleet, like dull thunder.

"Ahead lies Qingmu Star!"

"There, there is endless wine to drink, women you'll never tire of, and... mountains of wealth!"

"The Divine Beast guarding that planet is already old and feeble! Their Sect is nothing more than a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered!"

"After this battle, the ten-thousand-year Heart of Qingmu will become my possession! And you, will enjoy the feast of plunder to your heart's content!"

"Now, raise your weapons!"

"For Black Sail!"

"For wealth!"

"Kill—!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Tens of thousands of pirates raised their weapons simultaneously, letting out a sky-shaking roar. The fanatical killing intent almost tore this starry sky apart!

Black Skull looked at all this with satisfaction, a cruel smile appearing on his face.

He enjoyed this feeling of controlling everything, the Dominator of life and death.

Just as this fanatical atmosphere reached its peak.

A slightly lazy voice sounded out of place.

"Well said."

The crowd automatically parted to form a path.

Lin Fan, wearing ordinary cloth clothes with his hands tucked into his sleeves, walked slowly out of the crowd and stepped onto the high platform step by step.

He walked leisurely to Black Skull's side, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and likewise looked down at the group of stunned pirates below.

"Your speech is quite good, impassioned and very inflammatory."

Lin Fan clapped his hands, as if genuinely praising him.

Then, he changed the subject, a hint of appropriate regret on his face.

"Unfortunately, this is the last time."

The entire scene was dead silent.

All the pirates' roars were abruptly cut off, as if their throats had been gripped by an invisible giant hand.

The fanaticism on their faces froze into dullness.

"What... what is this guy saying?"

"That unkillable monster, the Chief Technical Consultant, is he crazy?"

The smile on Black Skull's face also froze.

He slowly turned his head. In those abyssal eyes, a flash of astonishment appeared, immediately replaced by endless mockery and rage.

He had been provoked by a toy.

"Haha... Hahahaha!"

Black Skull laughed out of extreme anger, his laughter filled with cold killing intent.

"It seems that a month of comfortable living has made you forget your identity."

"Do you think this Dominator truly dares not to completely erase you?"

He waved his hand casually at the two personal guard leaders beside him, his tone as if ordering a servant to crush an ant.

"Take him down and throw him into the Annihilation Furnace. I want to watch his Divine Soul being refined into nothingness with my own eyes."

"Yes... Leader."

The two personal guard leaders at the Transformation Initial Stage responded with difficulty.

Then, they stood in place, unmoving.

The air seemed to have frozen.

Black Skull's laughter stopped.

The muscles on his face began to twitch slightly.

"Did you not hear this Dominator's words?" His voice was already laced with suppressed fury.

The two guard leaders' bodies trembled, their faces pale, yet they still stood as if their feet had taken root, not daring to take a single step forward.

Their bodies were shaking uncontrollably.

It was not because of resisting the order, but rather from a primal, instinctive... fear!

"A bunch of trash!"

Black Skull completely lost his patience. He decided to take action himself and crush this toy that didn't know life from death!

However, just as he raised his hand.

Boom—!

A terrifying Aura that could not be described in words erupted from within Lin Fan, who was beside him!

That was not the Soul Transformation Stage.

And it was certainly not the Nascent Soul Stage.

It was a higher level of existence, a vast Divine Might like the power of Heaven, transcending the understanding of the Laws of this starry sky!

Void Refining Early Stage!

Under this Aura, the tens of thousands of pirates on the entire deck knelt down simultaneously with a "thud"!

Those with weaker cultivation even bled from their seven orifices on the spot and passed out.

On the high platform, several major pirate leaders, including Mad Blade, felt their Divine Souls tremble violently, feeling as if their Nascent Souls were about to be crushed by this pressure, making even standing a luxury!

And Black Skull, who bore the brunt of it, was struck as if by lightning!

His majestic Aura of Soul Transformation Great Perfection was as fragile as a bubble under the sun in the face of this Divine Might, collapsing at a single touch!

His body was bent down, his bones making unbearable "clacking" sounds.

He widened those abyssal eyes, staring fixedly at Lin Fan beside him, his eyes filled with endless horror and disbelief.

"Void Refining..."

"How is this possible?!"

"A month ago, this guy was just an "experimental subject" at his mercy, not even at the Nascent Soul Stage!"

"One month, from not even at the Nascent Soul Stage, crossing the Soul Transformation Stage, straight into Void Refining?!"

"This had overturned his hundreds of years of understanding of cultivation!"

"Now, who do you think is the trash?"

Lin Fan's voice was very calm, yet it struck Black Skull's heart like a heavy hammer.

Extreme fear finally overwhelmed rage and greed.

In Black Skull's mind, only one thought remained.

Escape!

He bit the tip of his tongue, burning his essence blood to forcibly break free from the shackles of that Aura, transforming into a streak of black light and rushing crazily toward the flagship's Main Control Room!

There, he had the highest authority of this ship!

He could initiate the self-destruct sequence of the entire flagship!

Even if he died, he would drag this monster down with him!

His speed reached the extreme, and in an instant, he rushed into the Main Control Room.

He pushed aside the stunned crew members inside, his hands tapping lightning-fast on the core console, inputting complex commands.

"Highest authority, activate!"

"Target locked... Lin Fan!"

"Soul-Suppressing Star Core Cannon, overload startup!"

"Let's die together!"

He roared crazily and pressed the final launch button.

However.

There was no reaction on the console.

All the rune lights dimmed.

The entire Main Control Room fell into a dead silence.

Black Skull's movements froze there.

He looked at the motionless light screen in disbelief, the madness on his face gradually replaced by ashen gray.

"Don't waste your effort."

A calm voice sounded from behind him.

Lin Fan had appeared at the door of the Main Control Room at some point, watching his final struggle with great interest.

"The control core of this ship was already replaced by me a month ago."

"Those so-called highest authorities of yours are now just a pile of useless decorations."

Lin Fan said with a smile.

"This ship now listens to me."

He snapped his fingers.

Hum—

The hull of the Black Skull shook violently.

The hideous skull at the flagship's bow slowly opened its giant mouth, revealing the deep main cannon within, capable of destroying stars.

The next moment, under the horrified gaze of Black Skull and all the surviving pirates.

The massive main cannon began to slowly rotate.

It was not aimed at any enemy.

Instead, it was aimed at the side, at the second-largest deputy flagship of the Black Sail fleet, commanded by the vice-leader Blood Crow.