Jellyfish Lord

"Awoo—!" The Jellyfish Overlord let out a mournful shriek, its tentacles beneath its bell-shaped body snapping one after another. Faint black blood permeated the nebula, and a huge gap appeared in its energy shield, making it impossible to maintain its defense.

"Press the advantage!" White Night, holding his Origin Sword, leaped out of the shuttle. Faint three-colored origin energy condensed on the sword, forming a huge blade of light that slashed towards the Jellyfish Overlord's gap.

The blade of light split the Overlord's body, completely destroying its internal energy core. The Jellyfish Overlord's body disintegrated into countless black fragments within the nebula, scattered by the turbulent currents.

Without the Jellyfish Overlord's command, some ordinary Essence Devouring Creatures fell into chaos. The Psionic Fleet seized the opportunity to counterattack, reducing the swarm's size by half.

Seeing this, the Octopus Overlord and Leopard Overlord no longer clung to battle, retreating with the remaining Essence Devouring Creatures towards the Nebula Core. They clearly knew that the Nebula Core was their last line of defense, and also the location of the third star core key fragment.

"Chase them!" White Night gave them no time to breathe, leading his team in hot pursuit. "We can't let them return to the Nebula Core, or we'll face even more Essence Devouring Creatures!"

The Expeditionary Team pursued them in the nebula for two days, encountering several small-scale Essence Devouring Creature raids, all of which were easily resolved. As they drew closer to the Nebula Core, the surrounding energy vortices became increasingly intense. Even the nebula shuttle needed to fully activate its star core energy shield to navigate stably.

"Detecting energy signals from the Nebula Core!" The Detector's monitor suddenly shouted. "There's a huge energy vortex in the core region, and the third star core key fragment is at the center of the vortex! But surrounding the vortex are tens of thousands of Essence Devouring Creatures, and five even stronger Essence Devouring Overlords!"

In the holographic projection, the sight of the Nebula Core made everyone gasp.

A black energy vortex with a diameter of over a hundred kilometers spun at the center of the nebula. Dense essence-devouring energy flowed within the vortex, and countless black figures circled around it, forming an unbreakable defense.

The five new Essence Devouring Overlords were stronger than those encountered before. One of the largest Overlords even had three heads, each capable of releasing different types of essence-devouring attacks. Its strength far surpassed the Nascent Soul Stage, reaching the Soul Transformation Stage!

"That's the 'Essence Devouring King'!" The Star Source Federation scientists' faces were pale. "According to ancient records, the Essence Devouring King is the supreme ruler of the Essence Devouring Creatures. Its strength reaches the Soul Transformation Stage, allowing it to control the entire Essence Devouring Legion and even absorb the nebula's origin energy to strengthen itself!"

A hint of solemnity also rose in White Night's heart. The strength of the Soul Transformation Stage far exceeded his current Foundation Establishment Stage. Even with the blessings of the origin golden core and the star core key fragments, it would be difficult to contend with it. But he knew that retreating now would mean all previous efforts would be in vain, and the hope for peace in the universe would be completely lost.

"We can't fight head-on," White Night calmly analyzed. "The Essence Devouring King's power lies in its ability to absorb nebula energy. We can use the nebula energy collector to temporarily cut off its energy supply, then use the anti-essence devouring energy wave device to attack its weak points."

Mechanical Emperor immediately proposed a concrete plan: "We can dispatch small mechanical puppets carrying miniature nebula energy collector devices to infiltrate around the vortex and deploy the devices at the Essence Devouring King's energy absorption points. These puppets are small and not easily detected. As long as we can successfully cut off its energy supply, we'll have a chance to defeat it!"

Liu Ruyan also added, "I can refine 'Concealment Pills' to help the puppets and the team members on the mission hide their presence, preventing them from being discovered by the Essence Devouring Creatures. At the same time, I will prepare a large number of demon breaking pills and anti-essence devouring potions to ensure the team members can maintain optimal condition during combat."

Over the next day, the Expeditionary Team concealed themselves a hundred kilometers from the Nebula Core and began preparing for the infiltration mission. Mechanical Race engineers quickly modified twenty small mechanical puppets, installing miniature energy collection devices and self-destruct devices within them—if discovered, the puppets could self-destruct, using the energy shockwave to distract the Essence Devouring Creatures.

Wind Howling Silver Wolf volunteered to lead five Dual Realm Civilization elites and ten mechanical puppets on the infiltration mission. Its speed and stealth capabilities were the strongest in the team, and its Extreme Cold Spiritual Power could temporarily freeze the Essence Devouring Creatures' senses, making it the best candidate for the mission.

"Silver Wolf, be careful," White Night patted Silver Wolf's shoulder and handed it a "Star Core Pill" refined with star core key fragment energy. "This pill can provide you with powerful energy in critical moments and resonate with my origin golden core. I will support you at all times."

Wind Howling Silver Wolf took the Star Core Pill in its mouth, let out a low growl to indicate understanding, then, with its team members and puppets, transformed into a silver afterimage and stealthily headed towards the energy vortex of the Nebula Core.

The infiltration process was more difficult than imagined. The density of Essence Devouring Creatures around the vortex was extremely high, and their vigilance was exceptionally strong. Any subtle energy fluctuation would attract their attention.

Wind Howling Silver Wolf led the team, using the nebula's turbulent currents as cover, carefully avoiding patrolling Essence Devouring Creatures and approaching the Essence Devouring King's energy absorption point.

As they approached the edge of the vortex, an accident still occurred. An Essence Devouring Creature responsible for vigilance detected the metallic scent of a mechanical puppet and let out a sharp alarm. The surrounding Essence Devouring Creatures were instantly alerted and swarmed towards the team's direction.

"Activate puppet self-destruct! Cover the team's retreat!" Wind Howling Silver Wolf made a decisive decision, issuing the command through consciousness. Five mechanical puppets simultaneously erupted with faint blue energy shockwaves, temporarily repelling the swarming Essence Devouring Creatures.

The team members seized the opportunity to quickly rush to the energy absorption point and install the miniature energy collection devices in the designated locations. However, the number of Essence Devouring Creatures was growing, and five Essence Devouring Overlords were also rushing towards them, trapping the team in an encirclement.

"Captain Silver Wolf, the device is activated! We should retreat!" A team member shouted, simultaneously killing an approaching Essence Devouring Creature with origin spiritual power.

Wind Howling Silver Wolf nodded, preparing to lead the team to break through. But at that moment, the Essence Devouring King's voice suddenly resonated through the nebula, filled with icy killing intent: "Insignificant insects, how dare you disturb this King's territory! Today, you shall all become this King's sustenance!"

Three black rays shot out from the Essence Devouring King's three heads, precisely striking two Dual Realm Civilization elites. The elites' bodies were instantly corroded by the rays, turning into two black energies absorbed by the Essence Devouring King before they could even scream.

"Not good!" Wind Howling Silver Wolf roared, and silver Extreme Cold Spiritual Power erupted around its body, forming a huge ice wall to block subsequent attacks. At the same time, it swallowed the Star Core Pill, and its internal energy instantly surged, temporarily boosting its strength to the Golden Core Stage.

"You guys go first! I'll cover the rear!" Wind Howling Silver Wolf's consciousness sounded in the communicator, then it leaped towards the Essence Devouring King. The Extreme Cold Spiritual Power on its wolf claws transformed into a massive ice blade, slashing towards the Essence Devouring King's heads.

The team members knew this was no time to hesitate and immediately retreated with the remaining puppets towards the team's hidden location. The Essence Devouring King was enraged by Wind Howling Silver Wolf's attack, temporarily abandoning the pursuit of the team members and focusing its attention on Silver Wolf.

"You ignorant little beast!" The Essence Devouring King's middle head spewed a black flame, containing dense essence-devouring energy that could devour anything it touched.

Wind Howling Silver Wolf deftly avoided the flames, using its speed advantage to shuttle around the Essence Devouring King, constantly attacking its weak points with Extreme Cold Spiritual Power. But the Essence Devouring King's energy shield was too thick; even a Golden Core Stage attack could only cause minor damage, instead allowing it to absorb more nebula energy and become even stronger.

"Commander White Night, Captain Silver Wolf is in danger!" The monitor shouted anxiously. In the holographic projection, Wind Howling Silver Wolf's spiritual power was rapidly depleting, and its silver mane was covered in black essence-devouring energy, clearly indicating injury.

White Night's heart was in his throat. He immediately ordered: "All ships, activate star core energy shields and charge full speed towards the Nebula Core! Mechanical Emperor, prepare to activate the nebula energy collector to cut off the Essence Devouring King's energy supply! Liu Ruyan, prepare to release all demon breaking pills and anti-essence devouring potions to provide support for Silver Wolf and the team members!"

The Expeditionary Team's ships activated simultaneously. Faint golden star core energy shields lit up on their hulls, charging towards the energy vortex of the Nebula Core. The Psionic Fleet's main cannons continuously fired energy beams, clearing Essence Devouring Creatures along the way to open a path for the shuttles and research vessels.

As the ships approached the vortex, Mechanical Emperor immediately activated the remote control program for the nebula energy collector. The miniature devices hidden at the energy absorption points activated simultaneously, and faint golden energy streams surged out from the devices, forming an energy barrier that severed the Essence Devouring King's connection to the nebula energy.

The Essence Devouring King's energy shield instantly dimmed. It felt the energy within its body rapidly draining, letting out an enraged roar, and attacked Wind Howling Silver Wolf even more frantically.

"Silver Wolf, hold on! We're coming!" White Night's voice resonated through the origin golden core into Silver Wolf's consciousness. At the same time, he leaped out of the shuttle, and the Origin Sword in his hand condensed all its origin energy, forming a blade of light that pierced through the heavens and earth, slashing towards the Essence Devouring King's back.

The blade of light, carrying faint three-colored energy, penetrated the Essence Devouring King's weakened energy shield, leaving a massive wound on its back. Faint black blood gushed from the wound, and the Essence Devouring King let out a painful shriek, its attack strength significantly weakened.

Wind Howling Silver Wolf seized the opportunity, leaping to the Essence Devouring King's wound and injecting all its remaining Extreme Cold Spiritual Power into it. The silver spiritual power erupted within the wound, freezing the Essence Devouring King's energy flow, causing it to completely lose its ability to resist.

"Now! Activate the anti-essence devouring energy wave device!" Mechanical Emperor's voice rang out. The main cannons of five psionic ships simultaneously switched to anti-essence devouring energy wave mode. Faint blue energy waves surged like a tide towards the Essence Devouring King, completely enveloping its body.

The anti-essence devouring energy wave erupted within the Essence Devouring King's body, continuously interfering with its cellular structure and destroying its energy core. The Essence Devouring King's body gradually shrank under the impact of the energy wave, finally transforming into a black energy mass that was absorbed by the nebula energy collector and converted into pure origin energy.

Without the command of the Essence Devouring King, the surrounding Essence Devouring Creatures fell into chaos. The Expeditionary Team seized the opportunity to launch a full-scale assault. The main cannons of the Psionic Fleet, the origin spiritual power of the Dual Realm Civilization cultivators, and the technological weapons of the Star Source Federation coordinated to eliminate the remaining Essence Devouring Creatures one by one.

Wind Howling Silver Wolf landed weakly beside White Night, its silver body covered in wounds, and its breathing became rapid. White Night immediately injected origin energy into Silver Wolf's body, while feeding it a high-grade healing pill to help it recover its spiritual power and injuries.

"We... succeeded." Wind Howling Silver Wolf's consciousness was weary, but filled with joy.

White Night nodded, his gaze fixed on the energy vortex at the Nebula Core. At the center of the vortex, the third star core fragment emitted a faint purple light. It was the fragment containing the Nebula Core's energy, and also the final key to activating the Nebula Purification Plan.

"Let's go, we'll retrieve the last fragment." White Night led the team towards the center of the energy vortex. Although the energy in the vortex was still violent, it became purer without the interference of essence devouring energy. Guided by the star core fragments, the team successfully passed through the vortex and reached the location of the fragment.

The third star core fragment floated within a transparent energy shield, which was formed by Immortal Law Alliance runes, clearly to protect the fragment from being destroyed by Essence Devouring Creatures. White Night took out the first two fragments; the three fragments simultaneously emitted dazzling light, resonating with the runes of the energy shield. The energy shield slowly opened, revealing the faint purple fragment.

When White Night held the third fragment in his hand, the three fragments suddenly merged together, forming a complete star core key. The key was a faint tricolor throughout, containing the nebula's origin energy, spatial energy, and balance energy, perfectly matching his origin golden core.

"The star core key... finally gathered." White Night's heart was filled with excitement. He knew that the moment to activate the Nebula Purification Plan and completely destroy the Essence Devouring Mother Star had finally arrived.

The Expeditionary Team, carrying the complete star core key, slowly left the Nebula Core and returned towards the Star Source Federation space station. The faint purple light of the nebula once again enveloped this area, as if celebrating their victory.

White Night stood by the porthole of the nebula shuttle, holding the star core key, his gaze directed towards the distant Essence Devouring Mother Star. He knew that the ultimate battle was about to begin, but this time, they possessed the key to defeating the enemy. The unity of the Dual Realm Civilization and the Star Source Federation, the powerful strength of the star core key, and the support of his companions would all become their strongest weapons in protecting universal peace.

White Night's immortal path legend reached new heights at the moment the star core key was gathered.

And the triple alliance of Xuantian Immortal Domain, the Multiverse, and the Star Source Federation would also write the most glorious page in the history of cosmic civilization in the upcoming ultimate battle... After the Expeditionary Team returned to the Star Source Federation space station, the entire space station erupted in jubilation.

Members of the Dual Realm Civilization and the Star Source Federation took to the streets, celebrating the gathering of the star core key and the victory over the Essence Devouring King. But White Night and the core members showed no signs of relaxation; they knew that the true ultimate battle—destroying the Essence Devouring Mother Star and activating the Nebula Purification Plan—had only just begun.

In the space station's strategic command room, White Night, Wind Howling Silver Wolf, Liu Ruyan, Mechanical Emperor, Ayla, and the Supreme Commander of the Star Source Federation jointly formulated the ultimate battle plan.

According to the plan, the entire battle was divided into three phases:

Phase One: Deploy the Nebula Energy Collectors to cut off the Essence Devouring Mother Star's energy supply. The Mechanical Race and Star Source Federation scientists were responsible for deploying large collector devices on the nebula energy nodes around the Essence Devouring Mother Star. Through the energy of the star core key, they would forcibly sever the Essence Devouring Mother Star's connection to the nebula's origin energy, depriving it of its energy source.

Phase Two: Launch a full-scale assault to destroy the Essence Devouring Mother Star's outer defenses. The Psionic Fleet of the Inter-Universal Expeditionary Force and the Dual Realm Civilization cultivators would form the main force. Simultaneously with the activation of the Nebula Energy Collectors, they would launch a fierce attack on the Essence Devouring Mother Star's outer fortifications, tearing open a breach.

Phase Three: Break through the breach and activate the Nebula Purification Plan!

...Mechanical Emperor personally led the deployment mission for Phase One.

He selected twenty of the most elite Mechanical Race engineers, who piloted ten small stealth ships, each carrying a large Nebula Energy Collector device.

These stealth ships utilized the Star Source Federation's latest “Quantum Stealth” technology, capable of completely masking their energy fluctuations, allowing them to move silently within the Essence Devouring Mother Star's defensive range.

Before departure, White Night re-checked the energy parameters of the collector devices: “Ensure the core of the device is synchronized with the star core key. Once deployed, immediately activate the energy barrier to cut off the Essence Devouring Mother Star's energy supply. Remember, you only have half an hour for deployment; after that, the Essence Devouring Mother Star's defense system will automatically detect anomalies.”

Mechanical Emperor nodded forcefully, blue technological light flickering in his eyes: “Don't worry, the word ‘failure’ is not in the Mechanical Race's dictionary.”

The ten stealth ships flew like ghosts towards the Essence Devouring Mother Star. The outer space of the Essence Devouring Mother Star was covered with an “energy net” composed of essence devouring energy. These energy nets could detect any approaching creatures or ships, and once triggered, would attract a large number of Essence Devouring Creatures.

The stealth ships carefully threaded through the gaps in the energy net. Mechanical Emperor, through remote control, constantly adjusted the ships' flight paths, avoiding the energy net's detection nodes. As they approached the first energy node, the stealth ship slowly stopped, and engineers operated mechanical arms to precisely install the collector device on the node.

The moment the device activated, a faint golden energy flow surged from its core, resonating with the star core key, forming an energy barrier around the node. This barrier, like an invisiblecover, completely isolated the Essence Devouring Mother Star from the nebula's energy, and the energy net at the node instantly dimmed, losing its former luster.

"The first device has been successfully deployed!" Mechanical Emperor's voice came through the communicator, with a hint of excitement. "The energy barrier is operating stably and has successfully cut off the energy supply to this node!"

Over the next twenty minutes, the stealth ships successively deployed collector devices at the remaining nine energy nodes.

With each node successfully deployed, the Essence Devouring Mother Star's outer energy net dimmed a little more. When the device at the last node activated, the entire energy net completely disappeared. The Essence Devouring Mother Star lost its outermost defense and, at the same time, its supply of nebula energy.

"Mission accomplished! Requesting withdrawal!" Mechanical Emperor ordered, and the ten stealth ships began to return towards the space station.

But at that moment, a black energy pillar suddenly erupted from the surface of the Essence Devouring Mother Star, shooting straight into the sky and forming a giant vortex in space. Countless black figures surged out of the vortex—the Essence Devouring Mother Star's reserve defense force: tens of thousands of Essence Devouring Creatures at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and ten newly promoted Essence Devouring Lords!

"This is bad! The Essence Devouring Mother Star has activated its reserve defenses!" Mechanical Emperor's expression changed drastically. "The stealth ships are locked on!"

The Essence Devouring Lords unleashed black energy rays, firing them at the stealth ships. Although the stealth ships' defensive systems could withstand some attacks, facing the simultaneous assault of ten lords, the ship hulls sustained varying degrees of damage. One stealth ship's engine was hit by a ray, losing power and becoming suspended in space, a target for the Essence Devouring Creatures.

"Commander White Night, request assistance! We are surrounded!" Mechanical Emperor's voice was anxious.

White Night had already seen this scene through the monitoring system. He immediately ordered: “Psionic Fleet, full deployment! Target: outer space of the Essence Devouring Mother Star, support Mechanical Emperor's stealth ships! Wind Howling Silver Wolf, you lead the vanguard, clear the intercepting Essence Devouring Creatures, and open a retreat path for the stealth ships!”

"Received!" Wind Howling Silver Wolf let out a low growl, leaping out of the space station. Its silver figure transformed into a bolt of lightning in space, charging towards the cluster of Essence Devouring Creatures. The ten starships of the Psionic Fleet also activated simultaneously, their bow main cannons fully charged. Pale blue and cyan-green energy beams rained down on the Essence Devouring Creatures, providing fire support for Silver Wolf.

Wind Howling Silver Wolf's Extreme Cold Spiritual Power formed a massive ice wall in space, blocking the first wave of attacks from the Essence Devouring Creatures. Then, its figure weaved through the cluster, the ice blades on its wolf claws continuously harvesting the lives of the Essence Devouring Creatures. With each swing of its paw, dozens of Essence Devouring Creatures were frozen into ice sculptures, then shattered in the nebula's turbulent currents.

The Psionic Fleet, meanwhile, focused its attack on the ten Essence Devouring Lords. The energy beams from the main cannons precisely struck the lords' weak points. Although unable to completely destroy them, they successfully contained their movements, buying time for the stealth ships to retreat.

Mechanical Emperor seized the opportunity, directing the damaged stealth ships to repair their engines, while leading the other stealth ships to converge towards the Psionic Fleet. Under the cover of the vanguard and the Psionic Fleet, the ten stealth ships finally broke through the encirclement of Essence Devouring Creatures and safely returned to the Psionic Fleet's defensive range.

"Phase One mission complete!" Mechanical Emperor breathed a sigh of relief. Although the stealth ships sustained varying degrees of damage, all collector devices were operating normally, and the Essence Devouring Mother Star's energy supply had been completely cut off. "Next, it's time for Phase Two's full assault!"

White Night stood on the bridge of the Psionic Fleet's flagship, looking at the distant Essence Devouring Mother Star. After losing its energy supply, the black energy layer on the Essence Devouring Mother Star's surface began to gradually dim, and the previously violent Essence Devouring Creatures also became somewhat weak. It was the best time to launch a full-scale assault.

"All units, attention! Enter Phase Two—destroy outer defenses!" White Night's voice echoed through the entire fleet via communicator. "Psionic Fleet, use your main cannons to attack the Essence Devouring Mother Star's fortifications; Dual Realm Civilization cultivators, form 'Breach Teams' to clear Essence Devouring Creatures around the fortifications; Star Source Federation research ships, use spatial folding technology to teleport the Breach Teams near the fortifications!"

...