Chapter 130: The Senior Brother

Qin Ming stopped abruptly.

Before him lay a partially obstructed hatch, mottled and weathered, bearing the marks of untold ages.

A flicker of energy manifested beside him, revealing Luo Feng. Upon seeing Qin Ming, he was briefly startled and asked in surprise, "Qin Ming, what are you doing here?"

"I found myself walking here without realizing it, and then I discovered this hatch," Qin Ming replied, turning around with a frown. "What about you?"

"I, too, arrived here without knowing how," Luo Feng said, sensing that something was amiss.

The two exchanged a grave look.

"This hatch..." Qin Ming mused, "it must be a prehistoric ruin. Perhaps we were drawn here by something inside, leading us here subconsciously."

"That is highly likely!" As Luo Feng spoke, his Soaring Shuttle darted out, splitting into a dozen streaks of light that blasted away the surrounding rock wall, revealing the silver metal beneath.

"A spaceship!" Qin Ming’s eyes lit up. "This is a true opportunity—a grand one at that. Let’s see what’s inside."

He waved his hand, sweeping the debris blocking the hatch aside to reveal what lay within.

"This... this... how is this possible?" Luo Feng trembled instantly, his eyes reddening.

"So many Life Seeds!" Qin Ming’s eyes widened, his heart pounding in rhythm with his excitement. "Could it be that the Life Seeds found on the surface came from here?"

Scattered across the corridor inside the hatch were numerous Life Seeds.

"That must be it!" Luo Feng breathed heavily. "Shall we go in?"

"Let's go in, but stay cautious," Qin Ming warned. "We shall split these Life Seeds equally between us!"

"I won't stand on ceremony, then!"

"There's no need for such formalities between us."

They proceeded forward. Luo Feng used the Soaring Shuttle to scout ahead, and they collected the Life Seeds beneath their feet, splitting them evenly as they ventured deeper. They remained extremely vigilant, both keeping their Black God Sets active to guard against any unforeseen dangers.

"Qin Ming, back in the day, Hong excavated countless ruins to become the world’s strongest and wealthiest individual, while you created the Sky-Stepping Stride and became the universally recognized richest man," Luo Feng said, having regained some composure. "Now that we’ve obtained a massive haul of Life Seeds—enough to drive even the council members into a frenzy—and with no telling what other treasures lie within, have we finally made our fortune?"

"Haven't we already?"

"True, we have struck it rich!"

At that moment, Luo Feng was visibly restless, his blood racing. It was no wonder; on the surface, council members had even died fighting over a single Life Seed. One, two, ten, twenty, a hundred...

Even Qin Ming was enthralled. They split the spoils, filled with excitement as they pushed deeper. Luo Feng, in particular, was eager to rush to the heart of the ship.

"I have a feeling there’s a great treasure inside!" Luo Feng said. "If spiritual items like Life Seeds are scattered everywhere, there must be something even better deeper in."

"Let's hope so."

At the end of the passage, the path split into two wide corridors. On the left metal wall, there were nine massive fist imprints, and a corpse lay on the ground. After scanning it, they found no signs of life.

"This is clearly an extraterrestrial life form," Luo Feng whispered, holding his breath.

The body was massive, standing eight meters tall with dark skin and clad in battle armor covered in complex, dense patterns. It possessed a pair of blood-red eyes.

"It has been countless ages, yet the corpse has not decayed; even the black hair on its body retains its luster. It’s incredible!" Qin Ming marveled. Looking into those red eyes caused him to shudder—it was a pressure stemming from the soul, a suppression of the very essence of life.

"What level of powerhouse was this?" Luo Feng asked, trembling.

"Definitely beyond the Planetary level," Qin Ming replied. "Star level? Universe level? Who knows?"

They continued forward. At the end of the path, they discovered a gate, over ten meters high and wide. It left them both in awe, yet considering the size of the corpse they had just seen, it made sense that only such a gate would suffice. The gate was left ajar, and they stepped inside cautiously.

It was an incredibly spacious hall, comparable in size to a football field, but here, six corpses lay, most of them lifelike and seemingly immortal through the ages. The bodies varied; one was composed entirely of metal.

*Beep, beep, beep!*

A sound echoed as beams of light projected from the dome above, converging to form a virtual figure about 1.4 or 1.5 meters tall. The figure looked so solid that it was difficult to distinguish from reality. The small being wore black robes, had two horns atop its head, and glared with a pair of blood-red eyes.

"Qin Ming, Luo Feng, welcome to the home of the omniscient and omnipotent demon, Babata!"

The little figure spread its arms, floating in the air.

"How do you know us?" Qin Ming asked, eyes narrowing in caution.

"I know everything that has happened on Earth for the past fifty thousand years, and everything that will happen in the next fifty thousand!" Babata declared. "I am the all-knowing prophet. I have been waiting here for you for fifty thousand years."

"Waiting for us? Fifty thousand years?" Luo Feng was stunned and filled with confusion. He pointed at the corpses and asked, "They... have they been dead for fifty thousand years too?"

"Yes!"

"Impossible. How could they not have decayed after fifty thousand years?"

"Do not view great cosmic life forms through the eyes of a mortal!" Babata said with disdain. "In the vast universe, they were all legendary figures; even in death, their bodies remain immortal, existing through the ages. It is hard to grasp given the brief history of Earth's humans. But it is simple to understand: a Planetary level being has a lifespan of a thousand years. Reaching the Star level allows one to live for an entire epoch—and an epoch is ten thousand and eight hundred years. Above that lie the Universe level, Domain Lord level, Sector Lord level, and Undying level. Why would fifty thousand years matter?"

"You said you were waiting for us—what does that mean?" Qin Ming interjected. Luo Feng also looked on with curiosity.

"Follow me, and join me in paying respects to my master!" Babata said, drifting forward.

Qin Ming and Luo Feng exchanged a glance and followed. They arrived in a hall that was completely empty. Babata pointed to the floor, and the alloy ground split open, causing a crystal coffin to rise slowly from below.

He introduced himself: "I am Babata, the demon Babata, an Artificial Intelligence life form!"

"Artificial Intelligence life form?" Luo Feng was puzzled.

"Yes," Babata nodded. "What you call AI on Earth is merely a simple logical program. A true AI life form can think like a human. Take the Ruin No. 9 you visited, for instance—that was an advanced AI. But I have gone a step further; I was born with life, making me an AI life form! I have wisdom, I can think, I have emotions, desires, I can get angry, even go mad, and I can cultivate and evolve. I am a complete life form!"

"Artificial Intelligence life forms actually exist?" Luo Feng was shocked.

"Don't be so surprised!" Babata said. "In the vast universe, AI life forms are a significant race. Once you leave Earth and embark on your journey through the cosmos, you will witness the vastness and wonders of the universe. Sadly, in the battle fifty thousand years ago, my body was shattered, and I returned to a virtual existence. Regardless, I still exist, but my master..."

He looked toward the rising crystal coffin, tears streaming down his face. The hall grew suddenly cold—even with Qin Ming’s constitution, he felt the chill. The corpse in the crystal coffin was about three meters tall and, aside from two antennae on its head, looked no different from a human.

"Master!"

Babata floated to the side of the crystal coffin, his tears flowing even more profusely. The scene was deeply bizarre to Qin Ming and Luo Feng—a virtual being, actually shedding tears.

"Kneel!" Babata suddenly commanded. "Qin Ming shall be the senior apprentice, and Luo Feng the junior apprentice. Quickly, pay respects to your old master!"

Both men stood frozen in surprise.