"The Godslayer Team consists of powerful beings brought back from the Second Universe by the mentor. Some of them were rescued by chance, while others voluntarily joined due to admiration for the mentor’s strength. In any case, their power is unfathomable, with the weakest being of Upper Control Level and the strongest possessing the strength of a Fake Transcendent Level. It’s normal for them to be somewhat arrogant. If it weren’t for me being the mentor’s disciple, they probably wouldn’t even bother to pay me any heed. You don’t need to feel irritated with them. Once the mentor returns from the Immortal Realm, I will explain the situation truthfully to the mentor."

In the control room, a voice suddenly rang out in Li Xiang’s mind, it was a sound transmission from the Star Alliance Inspector, Lord of Light—Su Changqing.

"Changqing, did you come too?"

Upon hearing his voice, Li Xiang felt a slight joy, as he had known Su Changqing for decades as old friends, and naturally was aware of the latter’s strength.

Although Su Changqing’s realm might not be comparable to those in the Godslayer Team, sometimes realm does not represent strength. Su Changqing, as the Star Alliance’s Inspector, possesses a large number of treasures and Immortal Artifacts. If he came, things would certainly become much easier.

However, the voice in his mind sounded again, causing Li Xiang a sense of disappointment.

"I am not currently on Water Blue Star. Recently, I have stationed myself in the Small Immortal Palace of Diancang Kingdom, helping the mentor to maintain the expenses of the Heavenly Immortal Road. All Star Alliance matters have been handed over to Uncle Ye."

"I just heard about the Prism System’s situation, don’t worry too much, take this, it may help you at a crucial moment."

As Su Changqing’s words faded, a phantom slowly formed before Li Xiang, eventually coalescing into an entity—a small light blue water sphere.

"This is..."

Curiously, Li Xiang took it into his hand. The small water sphere appeared only the size of a baby’s fist, emitting a gentle Spiritual Power.

He leaned closer to scrutinize it carefully but was startled by a scene that flashed through the water sphere, hastily retreating.

It was a painful twisted visage, frantically bumping around like a wailing soul, the water sphere being an unbreakable cage that imprisoned it.

"Be careful, do not attempt to activate it, only use it when you encounter real danger, remember that."

Su Changqing’s voice ceased, while Li Xiang’s gaze was fixated on the small water ball, deeply shaken.

Initially, he didn’t feel much, but judging from its appearance, the small water sphere didn’t seem unusual, as if he could easily crush it with one hand.

Yet, the moment that terrifying face appeared, an overwhelming pressure enveloped him so profoundly that he was paralyzed, unable to move.

It was at this moment that Li Xiang understood the terror of this object; after all, something Su Changqing entrusted to him with such seriousness could hardly be ordinary.

"Damn, what’s actually enclosed in here that it’s only usable in emergencies, does it mean this thing is fundamentally uncontrollable? That bastard Old Su is trying to get me killed!"

Li Xiang cursed inwardly, his actions quickened, hastily securing the small bead within a precious Spirit Lock Box.

...

Elsewhere, as the Third Fleet’s defensive deployment expanded, the Mad Bee Team commenced their mission.

"Our target is the Ninth Asteroid Belt, located at the outer edge of the Prism System. Its safety coefficient is the highest, with negligible impact from the Crimson Light."

Inside the spacecraft, Li Zixuan sent out a star map to the team, highlighting their task execution area in conspicuous colors.

"The goal this time is simple, requiring us to collect ten Spiritual Artifact Fragments numbered 2687, 2679, 2693, 2699, and so on."

"Each of these fragments carries an Advanced Purification Array to resist the influence of the Crimson Light. They are scattered across various positions in the asteroid belt to facilitate the Diggers working here to efficiently harvest the discovered Dark Spirit Ore."

"Currently, Prism Star West is about to be abandoned, and these Diggers and Dark Spiritual Artifact Fragments also need to be retrieved. Specialized rescue ships will handle the Diggers, while we are only responsible for the ten fragments. If time permits, don’t wander off and mine for Spirit Ore locally in our designated area, as the more Spiritual Ore we extract, the greater our merit will be when we return. Everybody clear?"

Li Zixuan gazed at the team, eyes filled with excitement.

"Understood! Retrieving fragments is the basic task, mining Spiritual Ore is an extra reward, I like that! We must do our best this time, striving to surpass Justin and Isa’s teams! If possible, I want them calling me ’Commander’ in the future, hehehe..."

The white male team member also showed a hint of yearning, as the possibility of extracting Spiritual Ore for additional contribution ignited the entire team’s spirit.

"Boss, let’s head out! I just rechecked, our position is great! Even if something unusual happens on Emperor’s side, we’re far enough to not be affected easily, what is there to fear!"

The Mad Bee Team launched spiritedly, accompanying the "Molmos Level" battleship to the Ninth Asteroid Belt. The Molmos Level acted as the center, exploring toward the target location, with over a thousand small reconnaissance vessels partaking in the operation. They would use a particle beam transmission to transfer the retrieved fragments and mined Spiritual Ore directly into the battleship.

Gazing at the crimson space outside, although aware of the protective effects of the purification field nearby and matching functions set on his spacecraft, Li Zixuan couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Compared to terrifying monsters, he believed these intangible enemies were more challenging to deal with, a minor misstep possibly leading to disaster.

"Scan detector activated, first fragment found, number 2693, target locked, commencing retrieval..."

At the control console, introverted Yin Rao deftly operated the ship’s retrieval device, successfully reclaiming the first fragment, which was promptly transmitted into the battleship. Soon, they received an increase in mission goal completion notification.

"Looks quite simple, right? As long as we find all ten, we can start mining Spirit Stones soon!"

Everyone’s faces were filled with smiles, the smooth execution relieving some of the tension from the first mission.

"I just scanned another fragment, its number should be 2899, let’s head over and grab it too!"

The Mad Bee moved once more, with less than an hour elapsed since the mission commenced, their efficiency was relatively high.

As the team neared the target location, the ship’s signal station suddenly received a transmission.

"It’s a distress signal!"

Meng Meimei turned around to inform the team.

"What’s going on?"

Li Zixuan switched to autopilot, then moved beside her to inspect the projection there.

The projection depicted a blood-soaked narrow passage, with harrowing screams and swift figures darting through. The view offered no useful insights, but analysis suggested it’s likely inside a spacecraft.

"It’s from Digger SK-9300, the distress signal came from that direction, right there!"

Meng Meimei stated, opening the nearby star map and circling an area with a conspicuous red marker indicating it. It was quite close, only a few hundred kilometers away.