Reconnaissance

Ego smiled. He knew Grandmaster was tempted. "Not much. Even Galactus can’t swallow a large number of planets in a short time, much less me. I only want to reproduce."

In truth, the number of planets Ego intended to consume was countless. All his preparations over the years had not been for nothing.

The problem was that Grandmaster did not know that. He gritted his teeth and said, "We’ll proceed according to your plan. I have to win this gamble. Blood God must die."

"Very good, Grandmaster. You will win, and Blood God will definitely die, because I stand on your side."

Ego nodded in satisfaction. He did not take this so-called Blood God seriously at all. That was only natural. He had lived for millions of years, while Blood God was barely over twenty. They were not remotely comparable.

Grandmaster asked, "Good. I’ll bring the things to your planet right away. Uh, which star region is your planet in now?"

"It’s heading toward the Milky Way Galaxy."

Ego gave him some coordinates. Grandmaster nodded and vanished.

"It’s finally beginning. Quill, my son, you will accomplish a great undertaking with me."

Ego burst into wild laughter. "Before long, I will be the universe, and the universe will be me."

The next morning, the exhausted Star-Lord led Gamora and the others to the spaceport where Ego was waiting. Gamora glanced at him and asked, "What’s wrong? Why are you so listless?"

"When I woke up this morning, I was somehow sleeping underground. That’s nothing, though. The important thing is, I had a very strange dream last night." Star-Lord said with a conflicted expression, "I dreamed that Yondu and I were in a talking car, and I even called him Dad. How could I call Yondu Dad? It makes no sense. He’s always wanted to eat me. Could it be that I have some kind of strange fetish?"

Drax looked confused. "Isn’t Yondu your father?"

"Our skin colors aren’t even the same, okay? Uh, I think we talked about this yesterday. Forget it."

Star-Lord said irritably, "Gamora, do you think someone cursed me? There’s no reason I should have dreams like that."

"Maybe, deep down, you’ve always seen Yondu as your father."

Gamora smiled. Yondu and Star-Lord, this father-son pair, truly were freaks among freaks.

"Give me a break. How could I possibly see Yondu as my father? If it weren’t for him, I would have reunited with Ego long ago."

Star-Lord snorted. "When I get the chance, I’m definitely going to get revenge on that bastard."

Ego stood outside the ship and shouted, "You absolutely must take revenge. He kept us father and son apart for decades."

Star-Lord awkwardly called out, "Ego."

"Son, let’s go inside and have a proper talk. I have so much to tell you."

Ego walked over, put an arm around Star-Lord’s shoulder, and led him inside. Gamora and the others followed. Mantis had prepared tea and snacks inside to welcome them.

When Drax saw Mantis, he jumped in shock. "Wow, you’re really ugly. No wonder you never go outside. You’d scare people if you did."

"Drax."

Gamora said unhappily, "Sorry. There’s something wrong with his head."

Drax said, "There’s something wrong with your head. Otherwise, why would you fall in love with an idiot like Quill?"

Gamora was speechless with rage and wanted nothing more than to stab Drax a few times with her daggers. Star-Lord also glared at Drax in dissatisfaction. How am I an idiot? Mantis did not mind Drax calling her ugly at all. Instead, she timidly apologized, "Sorry, I scared you. I’ve never left the planet before, so I didn’t know I was this frightening."

Mantis had grown up alone on Ego Planet and had barely interacted with any outsiders.

"You’re not ugly. Don’t listen to that bastard’s nonsense."

Gamora said. Ego smiled and said, "Quill, your friends are quite lively. Come, sit down. Let’s have a good chat."

"Okay."

Everyone sat down. After a few pleasantries, Rocket could not help asking, "What exactly are you?"

"Rocket!"

Star-Lord snapped.

"It’s fine. My true identity may come as quite a shock to you."

Ego activated a holographic projection, revealing a brain. He said, "This was me in the beginning. Later, I learned to control the molecules around me. Then, layer by layer, I built until I finally created a planet."

Looking at the red planet with a human face on the screen, everyone was dumbfounded. Star-Lord said incredulously, "Wait, you’re a planet?"

Rocket exclaimed, "Wow, Quill, your father really is a ball. A super huge ball, too."

Drax asked curiously, "Wait a minute. How can a planet reproduce with an Earth woman? What exactly is the process? I’m very curious. Can you demonstrate it?"

"Drax!"

Star-Lord shouted.

"Of course a planet and an Earth woman cannot produce descendants. However, I created a new body for myself, which is who I am now."

Ego said, "Quill, you are my Descendant. You also possess Celestial Light. I will teach you how to use its power."

Star-Lord could not create energy himself, but he could draw energy from Ego.

"Can I become as powerful as you?"

Star-Lord asked excitedly. He had wanted to shed his weakling status for a long time.

Ego laughed loudly. "Of course you can. You are the son of a Celestial."

"Great! Let’s see if those Nose-Hole People dare call me a lower life-form again."

Star-Lord said excitedly.

"They dared look down on you? Quill, do you want me to teach them a lesson?"

Ego said angrily, "How dare mortals insult a Celestial?"

Gamora frowned and glanced at Ego. This guy really did have a problem.

Star-Lord did not notice anything wrong. He waved his hand and said, "No need for that. Once I become as powerful as you, they’ll naturally kneel before me obediently, just like they submitted to Blood God."

At this point, Star-Lord asked curiously, "Ego, who’s stronger, you or Blood God?"

"A Celestial is invincible."

Ego said confidently. Rocket scoffed. "Buddy, don’t brag too much. You can’t even beat Blood God’s disciple. Carol is terrifying, but Blood God is even more terrifying."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They knew exactly how powerful Blood God was.

"I’m only an avatar right now. My true body is stronger than my avatar by an unknown number of times."

Ego said proudly, "Quill, stay here on the ship. I’ll properly teach you how to use the power of a Celestial."

Star-Lord was greatly tempted. After only a brief hesitation, he agreed. Gamora did not stop him. Ego clearly had other motives and would not kill Star-Lord easily.

"A planet?"

After hearing Gamora’s report, Wang Bert, Carol, and Yondu were all greatly shocked. Of course, Wang Bert was only pretending.

Yondu said in surprise, "So that planet is Ego’s true body. God, it’s as big as your Earth’s moon."

Wang Bert said, "Big doesn’t mean strong. What comes next is easy. Find that planet, then destroy it."

Yondu asked, "The strategy is right, but Blood God, can you destroy a planet?"

"We’ll find out then."

Wang Bert did not say more. "Carol, have everyone raise their guard. Ego is definitely connected to the Elders of the Universe. Their attack may come very soon."

"Understood."

Carol nodded. "Master, when we deal with Ego, you have to bring me along. A scumbag who kills even his own Descendants does not deserve to live."

Wang Bert smiled. "Don’t worry. I’ll definitely bring you."

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed. Inside the egg-shaped spaceship, Star-Lord controlled Celestial Light as it danced through the air, then took Gamora’s hand and said, "Isn’t it beautiful? I’ve been training so hard just so you could see this."

Gamora felt like covering her face. Even after becoming the son of a Celestial, Star-Lord had not changed at all. All he thought about every day was picking up women.

And besides, Celestial Light was clearly a powerful combat ability. Why had it become a tool for picking up women in his hands?

Gamora said fiercely, "Do you know something? I really want to beat you up right now."

"That won’t do."

Star-Lord jumped in fright and quickly changed the subject. "Ego Planet has reached the Milky Way Galaxy. He wants to invite us there as guests."

"His planet has reached the Milky Way Galaxy?"

Gamora’s eyes flickered. She pretended to hesitate and said, "We still have to guard Sovereign. There are only half a month left until the three-month deadline."

"With Ego’s true body there, Sovereign will be fine."

Star-Lord said proudly, "Ego is incredibly powerful. I bet even Blood God can’t compare to him."

Gamora was speechless. This guy seemed to be getting a little carried away. She nodded and said, "In that case, let’s go have a look."

Star-Lord said happily, "Great! Ego said he definitely won’t disappoint us."

"I hope so."

Gamora’s eyes flickered as she thought to herself, What exactly is Ego plotting against Star-Lord?

Without further ado, three days later, Ego, Mantis, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Thor all set off for Ego’s Star.

"Why did Thor come along?"

Ego looked at the spaceship behind them, his brows slightly furrowed. It was only natural for Blood God to send someone to watch them, and he was not surprised by that. But why Thor?

Everyone knew Thor had no brains. There was no reason for him to be assigned to something like an investigation.

"Could there be one in the open and one in the shadows?"

Ego thought it over, told Grandmaster about the situation, then asked, "How well are you hidden? If Blood God discovers you in advance, it will affect our plan."

"Don’t worry. We’re underground. They definitely won’t find us."

Grandmaster said, "In three more days, everything will be arranged. Then it will be the end of Blood God and Sovereign."

Ego smiled. "I hope Blood God’s true body is there as well. Otherwise, we’ll have to make another trip to Hell. What a nuisance."

"Blood God’s true body is still trapped in Hell, but my intuition tells me he has a way to return."

Grandmaster said, "Of course, that doesn’t matter. Even if he really can return, he’s dead for sure this time."

"Of course. Ego’s Star is our home ground."

Ego said with a smile. Once his plan was complete, let alone a mere Blood God, he would dare fight even those ancient gods.

Half a day later, everyone arrived at Ego’s Star, a paradise-like planet with picturesque scenery and springtime weather all year round. Star-Lord and the others gazed at the beautiful sights around them in amazement. It was even prettier than those scenic planets.

Ego smiled. "This planet is my body. I can control and reshape it whenever I want. Quill, I’ll teach you. When the time comes, you can change it however you like."

"I like that ability."

Star-Lord said with a smile. Then, everyone followed Ego toward his palace. Thor looked around and nodded. "It’s not as good as our Asgard, but it’s not bad."

Everyone looked at Thor speechlessly. How had he survived this long without being beaten to death? "I’ve been to Asgard too. It truly is magnificent and resplendent, but it lacks greenery. Living there too long would make people uncomfortable."

Ego said with a smile, while becoming even more certain that Thor was not the spy Blood God had sent. No one would use such a stupid spy.

Blood God’s real spy had probably already quietly infiltrated Ego Planet.

Ego was right. Blood God’s real spy had already arrived on Ego Planet, and that spy was none other than Blood God himself.

"The scenery here is truly beautiful, but the artificial traces are too heavy. It’s actually not as good as the scenery on those primitive scenic planets."

Wang Bert muttered as he flew forward. Ego’s spies on the planet—some plants and small animals—did not detect him at all, because he was inside the Mirror Dimension.

Before long, Wang Bert found Grandmaster’s projection in an underground cavern several hundred meters deep. This was not surprising. During the battle in Hell, Wang Bert had tampered with Grandmaster.

That tampering was called a spatial marker. The leader of the Dark Elves and Mephisto had both carried one before, and then they had both died.

At that moment, Grandmaster was communicating with Ego. He said smugly, "Don’t worry. The spy Blood God sent will never find me. Not only did I set up a concealment array around me, I also borrowed a treasure from Annihilator that can hide one’s aura. Ego, no one can find me."

Ego said, "Good. Finish the remaining parts as soon as possible. We launch in three days."

"No problem. I won’t disturb your father-son time."

Grandmaster put down the communicator and strode toward the front. There stood nine enormous Altars, each covered in countless runes.

It was worth mentioning that the nine Altars were different. Five of them radiated thick demonic energy and were covered in demon runes. One look was enough to tell they were nothing good.

The Altar at the very center shone with holy light. At the same time, countless runes formed two elegant angels around it. It was likely connected to Heaven.

One Altar slightly farther back was densely covered in dragon images: Eastern Divine Dragons, Western Lizard Dragons, fire dragons, ice dragons, thunder dragons, and more. If he was not mistaken, it should be connected to the Dragon Dimension.

The final two Altars were shrouded in pitch-black mist, making their exact forms impossible to see. Yet they gave off an extremely terrifying feeling, as if the end of the world was about to descend.

"Altars? Angels, dragons, Demon Altars?"

Wang Bert frowned. Altars usually required sacrifices to activate—blood and souls.

"Elders of the Universe, you wouldn’t be this insane, would you?"

Wang Bert vaguely guessed the Elders of the Universe’s plan, and killing intent immediately surged in his eyes. If they truly did this, he would never let them go.

The smug Grandmaster had no idea Wang Bert was already watching him. He picked up his tools and carefully constructed runes on the Altars. This was delicate work. Even the slightest mistake could cause an abnormal change in an Altar.

A tiny difference could lead to a thousand miles of error.