Chapter 152: News Leaked

The newly discovered ancient ruins were separated from the frontline of the war zone by only a single galaxy. The ambient energy was extremely chaotic yet not violent, though its stability was exceptionally poor, with energy streams occasionally colliding with one another.

The ruins consisted of a belt of shattered stars, where the floating meteorites and celestial bodies were all fragments of shattered planets. Breaking through the disorderly asteroid belt and entering the center, the floating planetary fragments grew progressively larger, resembling countless drifting continents. These landmasses were barren and completely devoid of life, showing no signs of vitality. Only the wind, frost, rain, snow, thunder, and lightning, generated by the constant collision of energies, shifted incessantly.

Yet it was within this forgotten wasteland—where the energy was difficult to naturally absorb and no living beings existed—that the military had discovered fossils dating back hundreds of thousands of years from the meteorite debris, ultimately unearthing an underground architectural complex.

The ruins were still under development, and soldiers clad in mechas could frequently be seen shuttling back and forth through the meteorite cluster, using tools to mark and number the rocks while capturing stones with suspicious energy responses.

The group boarded a massive meteorite designated as Island Number One. The meteorite was immense; Sangsang estimated it to be several times larger than the Danxia Continent. The energy in the upper atmosphere was particularly complex, with various energies intertwining and colliding to form countless vortices. Flying and teleporting above it were extremely perilous tasks. With the abilities of Sangsang and the Heavenly Emperor, walking into it would be tantamount to seeking death unless a spacetime barrier was erected.

The Universe-grade bodyguard captain produced a natal artifact polished from a stellar core—a weapon resembling an umbrella, which could be retracted into a sword or expanded for defense.

"It is best for everyone to operate only within the range of the Heavenly Canopy. The energy vortices on Island One have already destroyed five engineering vehicles and injured seven Yuan-grade soldiers, ranging from the early to late stages of the Yuan-grade." As the bodyguard captain spoke, his gaze lingered for a second on both Sangsang and the Heavenly Emperor, confirming that everyone had stepped under the Heavenly Canopy before enveloping the group and abandoning their vehicles to advance onto the island.

"Wait, those ahead, wait!"

At that moment, a shout came from behind.

Everyone turned back to see a pillar of energy on the horizon surging into the sky like wolf-smoke, rolling outward. As it drew near, the smoke and clouds gradually dissipated, revealing seven or eight people and three or four vehicles.

"Are you all heading into Island One in search of the World Tree as well? We are—" A tall, slender elf with pointed ears, short hair, and dark green eyes spoke to the bodyguard captain with a beaming smile. However, when his gaze shifted to Sangsang's face, his voice abruptly cut off, his expression shifted slightly, and the next moment his smile widened even further. Had it not been for the barrier of the Heavenly Canopy blocking his path, he would have nearly rushed right up to Sangsang.

"Could this be the Miracle Saintess, little Miss Sang Hongye? I heard your chief knight found an ancient World Tree branch from inside, suspected to have originated from a different plane. I wonder..."

This statement was so detailed and accurate that even Sangsang was startled.

Shan Feng stepped forward to block Sangsang's path, shouting in a deep voice, "Hold on, where did you get this information?"

The tall, slender elf was unfazed by the interruption and replied readily, "It has already spread all over the Life Research Institute. It's just that no one could find the Miracle Saintess to confirm it, so it seems it is true. By the way, quite a few teams have already entered the ancient ruins. I suppose I'm a bit late; I originally thought you were heading the same way as me, but I didn't expect to run into the principals. If you don't mind, let's team up. We have several experts with us, though none of our spacetime specialists can compare to Her Ladyship the Saintess."

Just hearing the first half was enough for even a fool to understand the subtext.

The Heavenly Emperor shook his head slightly at Sangsang. There had been no one else around when he obtained the World Tree branch.

It hadn't leaked from the Heavenly Emperor's side, which meant it must have come from within the Central Research Institute. Only a handful of people had been present at the time, and none of them were currently in the institute—aside from Shan Feng, Muxu, and the members of the bodyguard team.

Either someone had broken through the barrier of the Universe-grade bodyguard captain to eavesdrop and spread the news, or someone had acted as an informant and sold the information to the outside.

While Shan Feng and the tall, slender elf were talking, Sangsang narrowed her eyes, and the power of spacetime began to stir within her body. But before the Eyes of Spacetime could open, the Heavenly Emperor's hand rested gently on her shoulder.

"Let me," the Heavenly Emperor said, his voice low and hoarse.

Sangsang did not reply; she simply halted the Eyes of Spacetime before they could fully open. The spacetime power within her went dormant, while her Spacetime Myriad Laws Pen began to move, intercepting the stellar energy that should have nourished all laws and slowly converting it into the power of spacetime.

This conversion was naturally much slower than directly devouring spacetime energy, but with no ready-made feast available, robbing Peter to pay Paul was the only way to generate new resources.

If they were the only group searching for the true body of the World Tree on this trip, having slightly less spacetime energy would naturally not matter. However, if they had to compete with others and conserve time to seize the lead, they definitely could not afford a shortage of spacetime energy.

Sangsang attempted to absorb some of the chaotic energy on the island and found that although it was harder to digest than the external energy, it was still absorbable, which made her heave a slight sigh of relief.

Having an affinity for all types of energy was a tremendous advantage here; even the hard-to-decompose chaotic energy could be absorbed directly. Others lacked this advantage, forcing them to either expend vast amounts of energy to break it down before absorption and conversion, or rely on potions and energy crystals.

The tall, slender elf was a life expert hired by the Life Research Institute, and he had hoped to catch a glimpse of the World Tree branch in Sangsang's possession. If he were fortunate enough to slice off a tiny piece for research, that would be even better. Unfortunately, before he could strike up a conversation with Sangsang, he was rebuffed by Shan Feng. The bodyguard captain activated the Heavenly Canopy, sheltered the group, and strode onto Island One, leaving the outsiders stamping their feet in place.

"I will definitely find out where the information was leaked from," Shan Feng solemnly promised Sangsang.

The Heavenly Emperor overstepped his bounds and waved a hand, saying, "Don't bother investigating. It's just a thief crying thief; the information leaked directly from your military."

Shan Feng's expression shifted slightly. Before he could speak, Muxu blurted out excitedly, "Impossible! Shan Feng is not that kind of person."

"Even if he isn't, does that mean everyone around him isn't either?" Xiaojin suddenly chimed in. "Take the military's correspondence as proof—they simply thought my Sangsang was too young, lacked experience, and wasn't as capable as the experts in the Life Research Institute. Afraid she would waste your precious time, they deliberately leaked the information so they could find the answer sooner."

Muxu opened his mouth, wanting to refute the claim, but couldn't find the words. He turned to Shan Feng, hoping he would deny the accusation.

After a long silence, Shan Feng finally said, "I apologize. External communications are blocked on the island, so I cannot verify whether what you are saying is true, but this possibility cannot be ruled out. To us, fostering competition among major research institutes is a good way to maintain technological vitality; precedents for this have happened before." Shan Feng bowed to Sangsang and added, "If the information truly was leaked by us, we will definitely provide you with compensation."

Sangsang accepted his bow, closed her eyes, and said, "What's done is done. Dwelling on blame is the lowest form of action; what we need to consider is what to do next."

"My connection to the Star Network has been cut off," Xiaojin grumbled. Without the network, he was like a dragon trapped in shallow water—his strength was severely diminished, and he couldn't offer much help. Fortunately, his computational tasks could be completed independently without a network, so his work wouldn't be delayed. Otherwise, staying on Island One for too long and falling too far behind on his tasks would result in the Main Brain locking him in a dark room to calculate endlessly.

Even so, the calculations that needed to be done had already been completed.