To be honest, Su Chen never expected Teng Liang to bring him the power of an Aberrant God.
'It was probably Old Xia's idea. How reliable,' Su Chen marveled inwardly. This was certainly an unexpected harvest.
The sealing techniques for Aberrant artifacts on the Red Thunder Star likely couldn't compare to the ones Ming Lin purchased from the black market.
Therefore, he didn't dare let Teng Liang take it out right then and there. Instead, he brought him into the Nether Tower before making the exchange.
"Sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother."
After the exchange was complete, Su Chen escorted Teng Liang out of the Nether Tower before turning back. The scene of him absorbing the Aberrant God's power had to be concealed, even from Teng Liang. Now entirely alone, Su Chen couldn't help but rub his hands together in anticipation. He took out the stored Aberrant artifacts and lined them up one by one in front of him.
Next, he brought out the tal box containing the letters and picked them out individually.
The very first letter right on top was from Xia Hanshi: "To my disciple, Su Chen—"
Su Chen read the letters while absorbing the Aberrant God's power.
"...Everything is fine with in Yingfeng, and I hope everything is fine with you too, Big Brother Su Chen—"
The final letter in the stack was from Little Pigeon.
Su Chen let out a long sigh, placed the letters back into the box, and carefully tucked it away.
'Red Thunder Star is still too dangerous...' Su Chen couldn't help but think.
However, the Bronze Cult was currently facing a crisis brought about by Qin Yun, and the exact situation remained unclear.
Even though he had established a solid foothold now and possessed the capability to bring over the vast majority of the people from Red Thunder Star, after careful consideration, he still couldn't make up his mind.
The Nether Mist was indeed dangerous, but it also served as a natural barrier, isolating them from so of the perils lurking in the Dust Star Sea.
There wouldn't be any major issues on the Red Thunder Star in the short term, so it was best to wait a little longer.
Changing his train of thought, he shifted his gaze to his status panel.
The substantial amount of Aberrant God's power served as indirect proof that, without the obstruction of the Nether Mist, Chong Jingtian and the others were proceeding very smoothly with their extermination of the Aberrant God Cult.
It mostly consisted of low-tier Aberrant God's power. By a rough estimate, he could slt one portion of each type of essence from it.
Factoring in the ti, this was only half a year's worth of harvest, which was already quite impressive.
'With this, combined with my recent accumulations, I have about two portions of each essence.'
The requirents for the Armsmaster and Stigmata Doctor classes were finally gathered.
Under normal circumstances, a single class only required one portion each of the Faceless Ghost, Crimson, and Sly Fox essences to complete the preliminary preparations. Sotis, the Crimson essence could even be spared.
Of course, that was only for now. There would definitely be further requirents later on, so he absolutely couldn't stop distributing the Nether Domain Mother Stones and purchasing Aberrant God's power.
For the Armsmaster class, he only lacked one weapon and the requirent for spiritual extraction and fusion to complete it.
'I should be able to formally take up the class shortly after returning from Canglan Star.'
After packing up, he walked out of the Nether Tower. If his only goal was to welco Teng Liang, Bu Siqi, and the others, it wouldn't have cost him seven days.
The reason he told Zhou Yunyang and the rest not to visit for at least a week was that he had to make a trip to Canglan Star.
'Going by the tiline, the Faceless Ghost and the Divine Son of the Black Buddha should be arriving soon.'
He certainly couldn't cut it too close. It would be highly troubleso if he missed them.
Su Chen pondered for a mont before sending a ssage to Chu Ran, forwarding the profiles of Teng Liang and the others. He wanted them arranged into the patrol squad.
At the sa ti, he promoted Ming Lin to squad captain and placed Teng Liang's group entirely under his command. This would make things much more convenient to manage.
By the next day, Su Chen had finished his preparations and departed for Canglan Star alongside Ming Lin.
However, there was a minor hiccup. Given his status, abruptly leaving the Copper Core required filing an official report.
It was only because Canglan Star was relatively close to the Copper Core and had high-level professionals stationed there that it was easily permitted. If he had traveled further, he would have had to report the explicit reason for his departure, which involved a rather tedious process.
"This Star Seed identity can be quite a restriction sotis," Su Chen remarked helplessly. Submitting the various paperwork took up more than half the day before he finally secured permission to travel to Canglan Star.
"Is this the spaceship you ntioned before? The one that cost fifty million?"
In the starport, Su Chen stared at the narrow, grayish-black spacecraft docked in front of him. It didn't look particularly large, estimating less than twenty ters in length, and its surface bore mottled traces of patch jobs.
Ming Lin also looked quite resigned. "This was already the internal faction friendship price. I bought it at a fifty percent discount. At full price, it would have cost over a hundred million star coins."
The ship looked unassuming, but its price tag was exorbitant. After all, passing through a warp channel generated spatial pressure that ordinary materials simply couldn't withstand.
This was a necessary investnt to facilitate Ming Lin's distribution of goods.
"Alright." Su Chen shrugged and followed him aboard. Because the interior space was so cramped, the sleeping quarters consisted solely of sleeping pods.
Fortunately, the warp jump didn't take long. After barely half a day, they erged from Canglan Star's stargate.
Before their eyes appeared a vibrant green planet. Its most striking surface feature was a set of three colossal mountain ranges spanning the main continent.
Under specific angles of starlight, the ridgelines rippled with the distinct gleam of tallic ore veins, while an ultra-massive, constantly swirling cyclonic storm dominated the equator.
"So this is Canglan Star." Su Chen peered down from the spaceport. The landmass proportion was imnse, occupying nearly seventy percent of the surface, which resulted in the birth of vast quantities of rare minerals.
He glanced around. Densely packed, fortress-like starports were wedged into the planet's outer atmosphere like giant tal nails, their surfaces plated in light-refracting prismatic armor.
Honeycomb-like docking platforms extended from the flanks of the ports, with ships weaving orderly between them, their engine exhausts trailing glowing webs of flight paths.
"How many external connection ports are there?" Su Chen couldn't help but frown at the dense cluster. His sensory range was limited; it was impossible to cover the entire planet.
"There are many external starports, but the vast majority are resource-oriented, aning they only handle outgoing cargo shipnts. They only export, no entry."
Ming Lin explained, "There aren't many passenger ports, and they are all clustered in one specific area to facilitate inspections. After all, this isn't a tourist planet."
"That's good, then."
Su Chen followed Ming Lin to the passenger starport sector. The person in charge here was well-acquainted with Ming Lin. Upon seeing Su Chen, he erupted with an almost unimaginable level of enthusiasm, arranging the finest accommodations and providing every conceivable convenience.
"I wonder how many days it will take them to arrive." Su Chen closed the door, the smile fading from his face as he stroked his chin.
anwhile, Teng Liang, Bu Siqi, and the others rapidly dove into their work. True to being handpicked elites, they quickly adapted to the workflow and found their rhythm.
Several days later, a battered spaceship passed through the stargate, wobbling precariously as it arrived at the outer port of Canglan Star.
With a loud boom, it was hauled into a docking bay by chanical arms. Because the internal shock absorbers were incredibly rudintary, several passengers imdiately threw up on the spot.
"Finally here."
Hei Zhao suddenly opened his eyes. He and Wu Wang stood up, blending into the crowd as they grabbed their luggage and queued to disembark.
"How incredibly stupid. Five more Morning Star rankers died inside that Lost Firework. Its explosive power has surged far too much; trying to make it crash now is going to be significantly harder."
Wu Wang was still discussing the matter with Hei Zhao. Hei Zhao replied telepathically, "That Lost Firework has always been bizarre. Forcing it to crash was always going to be an extrely difficult task."
Wu Wang probed, "Has there been any news from the Bronze Cult? What did Qin Yun say?"
Hei Zhao shook his head. "No news whatsoever."
Wu Wang furrowed his brow slightly, unsure if Hei Zhao was telling the truth. Inwardly, he muttered about how the believer ntioned by the Father God still hadn't contacted him.
Fan Zhao was Qin Yun's student; he should know sothing...
The Lost Firework was quite famous even within the ranks of the Aberrant Gods. Everyone wanted to force it to crash into the Nether Domain, which might allow the Great Aberrant God to undergo another tamorphosis, yet success had continually eluded them.
The queue inched forward slowly, and people cut in line from ti to ti, sparking bursts of argunts.
After more than half an hour, the two finally stepped out of the spaceship. They glanced around; this passenger port wasn't particularly crowded.
They still had to line up for an inspection to check for contraband or any connections to the Aberrant Gods before they could leave and head down to Canglan Star.
They were already well aware of this, so they didn't do anything suspicious. They simply found an inspection checkpoint and dutifully queued up.
"When do you need to provide cover?" Wu Wang asked.
"Not right now. This is just a basic inspection," Hei Zhao shook his head. "I haven't t with that person yet. Let's wait until we et. I'll tell you when I need you."
Wu Wang nodded, restraining his aura as he casually surveyed his surroundings.
Suddenly, his face stiffened, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. His body trembled as if he had just discovered sothing utterly unbelievable.
Black Buddha's perception was sharp. Noticing Wu Wang's strange reaction, he asked telepathically, "What's wrong?"
"It's him!" Wu Wang's voice was low, his gaze locked intensely in a specific direction.
"Who?" Black Buddha's guard went up. He followed the gaze, only to see a thin, expressionless man wearing lightweight black armor.
There was nothing special about him; he was rely a Tier-5 professional. He sniffed the air—a flawed Tier-5 at that. "Who is he?"
"Teng Liang," Wu Wang spat out the two words, his eyes boring holes into the man.
"He's Teng Liang?" Hei Zhao narrowed his eyes. This guy looked completely unremarkable. How could he possibly have exposed the infiltration of the Faceless Ghost's Divine Son?
"Are you absolutely certain he was the one who discovered you?" he asked, harboring a fair bit of doubt.
"Nine tis out of ten," Wu Wang replied in a low voice. "However, that previous body was far too frail and couldn't unleash much power. I shouldn't be discovered this ti."
Hei Zhao guessed that Wu Wang had simply slipped up sowhere and gotten caught, but was refusing to admit his own mistake and shifting the bla onto this man instead.
"Still," Hei Zhao felt puzzled, "why is this person here of all places?"
"He's Su Chen's senior brother... Maybe Su Chen brought him over," Wu Wang explained.
"Su Chen's senior brother?" Hei Zhao actually didn't know this. He took a long, hard look at Wu Wang. This guy really had set his sights on Su Chen ages ago.
When the ti ca to take Su Chen away, they would have to guard against this person as well...
While on patrol, Teng Liang's heart suddenly twitched. He felt as though sothing was watching him. He scanned the area but found nothing out of place, causing a wave of uncertainty to ripple through his mind.
"He shouldn't have noticed," Wu Wang sighed in relief as he watched Teng Liang gradually walk away.
Suddenly, his heart gave a violent lurch. He jerked his head toward a certain direction. It was the aura of a Faceless Ghost believer.
To find his own people as quickly as possible, he hadn't suppressed the telepathic resonance shared between believers.
"What is it now?" Hei Zhao frowned. Wu Wang was constantly jumping at shadows, which was making him feel uneasy too.
"Nothing," Wu Wang shook his head. Now wasn't the ti to et with the other party. He would wait until Hei Zhao's business was sorted out before making a move.
Inside the port's monitoring room, Su Chen was staring at the two individuals on the screen. He had already entered the Faceless Ghost Priest state and had completely mimicked his own outer appearance. Unless a deep-level verification was conducted, it would be extrely difficult to spot any flaws.
"The profiles of these two guys..." Su Chen muttered softly. Beside him, Ming Lin quickly gestured to a colleague to pull up two files, reading aloud their forged identities.
"Peng Wei, Tier-4 professional, visiting relatives on Canglan Star..."
"Shen Qi, Tier-3 professional, coming to work on Canglan Star..."
"Should we report them?" Ming Lin asked. Su Chen nodded. "It should be them. Send soone to keep an eye on them, and go make the report."
"Keeping an eye on them," of course, didn't an sending soone to physically tail them—that would be far too easy to detect. They would use the ubiquitous surveillance caras.
Ming Lin hurried off. Su Chen kept his eyes glued to the two figures on the screen, silently dispelling his Faceless Ghost Priest state as he fell into deep thought.
He then sent a ssage to Qing Cang. It was better to play it safe; after all, these were two Divine Sons.
The two n passed through inspection without any anomalies being detected. They boarded a scheduled aircraft, headed down to Canglan Star, and checked into a hotel.
anwhile, Qing Cang's speed was even faster than Su Chen had anticipated.
After a re half a day, his senior brother appeared before him, his brow deeply furrowed. Without giving Su Chen a chance to speak, he demanded, "Why are you already here on Canglan Star?"
"I assigned the people sent over from Red Thunder Star to the patrol squad, so I ca to check on their progress," Su Chen explained, having prepared his excuse in advance.
"People from the Red Thunder Star?" Qing Cang's eyes flickered slightly. He swept his gaze over Teng Liang standing nearby and imdiately understood. He then sternly advised, "This current period is rather sensitive. Don't leave the Copper Core carelessly."
"Understood," Su Chen nodded, well aware that Qin Yun's situation had Qing Cang treating everything as a major threat.
Qing Cang's tone then softened as he finally asked, "You ntioned discovering Aberrant God believers. What's the situation?"
"It wasn't ," Su Chen emphasized. "It was Senior Brother Teng Liang. He seems to have a special sensory connection to Aberrant God believers. Back on Red Thunder Star, he managed to expose the disguise of the Faceless Ghost's Divine Son."
"The disguise of the Faceless Ghost's Divine Son?" A flash of astonishnt crossed Qing Cang's eyes as his gaze fell squarely on Teng Liang beside him.
Without any discernible movent, Qing Cang's two fingers tapped against Teng Liang's forehead. Startled, Teng Liang jolted back, but by the ti he reacted, Qing Cang had already retracted his hand.
Qing Cang grew even more astonished. The man's spiritual body was pure and flawless, entirely devoid of any Aberrant God aura.
Divine Sons were not like ordinary believers; they possessed a portion of an Aberrant God's traits. The Faceless Ghost's Divine Son, in particular, boasted incredibly high concealnt capabilities. Even Qing Cang himself might not necessarily be able to see through their disguise.
How could this Teng Liang, a re Tier-5 professional, possess such an ability?
Feeling helpless inwardly, Teng Liang had no choice but to nod respectfully in greeting, "Lord Qing Cang."
"You actually have such a skill?" Qing Cang asked.
"I can't say for sure. It's just a vague premonition," Teng Liang replied ambiguously.
anwhile, Ming Lin, standing to the side, pulled up the relevant data and reported, "There is indeed sothing strange about these two. We checked their files and discovered that these two individuals shouldn't have known each other prior to this."
"How do you want to handle this?" Qing Cang asked Su Chen.
"I don't have much experience dealing with matters like this. I'll leave it to your discretion..." Su Chen deflected.
"If they really are Aberrant God believers, and the Faceless Divine Son..." Qing Cang's eyes flashed as he stroked his chin, staring intently at the footage of the two n on the screen. He mused quietly, "There's no rush. Let's wait and see exactly what it is they are trying to do."
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