Chapter 144: Refraction, Space

"I know nothing!"

Sensing Jiang Jian's aura had changed again.

Ji Xue shuddered all over and whispered, "I really saw nothing!"

Jiang Jian glanced at it and said, "Guangling City has arrived. Go take the interzone shuttle and head straight to the Zhao family."

It looked at the white-robed boy and asked cautiously, "I just saw the test data— you won't kill me to silence me, will you?"

It was intelligent and could browse identity device information.

Naturally aware that exceeding the Divine Bestowal Realm by 110% was an utterly shocking thing.

"Go to the Zhao family immediately. I won't repeat myself a second time."

Jiang Jian said softly.

Ji Xue nodded hastily: "Yes!"

The gray fox swished its tail and leapt straight to the front of the cabin, working with great effort.

Jiang Jian's expression remained calm as he watched its back; a wisp of karmic fire emerged and settled into the gray fox's tail.

If Ji Xue had no other intentions.

Then this wisp of karmic fire could help it purge impure qi and accelerate its cultivation.

For Ji Xue itself, it was all benefit, with zero downside.

Jiang Jian left this wisp of karmic fire on it merely as a precaution.

After all, his spiritual reserve limit was too astonishing.

If it became known, the disadvantages would far outweigh the advantages.

"The aircraft was buried underground by the Zhao family; my sister never discovered it."

Jiang Jian's expression was calm as he gazed out the window at Guangling City.

This was the Shenzhao District.

The interzone shuttle hovered high in the extreme heavens, hidden deep within heavy clouds; residents of the Shenzhao District, even if they looked up, could not see the shuttle at all.

"Do not deploy the gangway."

Jiang Jian gave the order, opened the cabin door, and leapt straight down!

His figure vanished the instant he pierced through the cloud layer!

Then.

Jiang Jian transformed into black light, appearing and disappearing repeatedly as he descended, shifting his position.

Within an extremely short time, he landed directly inside the Zhao family's forbidden zone!

Proximity is Infinity!

The Zhao family's people detected not the slightest trace of Jiang Jian's presence!

"Hidden so deeply."

Jiang Jian lowered his gaze, staring at the ruins before him.

This was the deepest part of the Zhao family's forbidden zone.

But strangely,

The original warehouse had vanished as if erased, leaving not a single trace.

"It seems that when the old Zhao patriarch died, he used special means to hide it."

Jiang Jian's gaze turned slightly cold; he stepped forward, his body dissolving into scattered black light!

"Proximity is Infinity."

In an instant,

Jiang Jian's form twisted and reappeared—he had entered the Zhao family's underground secret vault!

Dust covered everything; clearly no one had come here in a long time.

"The old Zhao patriarch had a mistress who was extremely loyal to him."

"Now it seems she was killed by my sister."

"And,"

"She never had the chance to tell the current Zhao patriarch the secrets of the underground vault or the aircraft."

Jiang Jian walked forward, his eyes thoughtful, "That means,"

"Apart from me,"

"No one else in the world knows this aircraft exists."

He stopped walking.

At the end of the vault lay a colossal object.

It stood as tall as a three-story building; most of its structure was destroyed, its broken edges revealing sharp fractures covered in thick dust.

Mysterious runes were engraved along the edges of the aircraft.

The old Zhao patriarch had devoted himself day and night to studying the aircraft beneath it, eventually grasping only the barest fraction of its secrets.

Only then did he rise to prominence, founding his fortune through array-related businesses.

"The space core should be undamaged."

Jiang Jian observed for a moment, then lightly swept his sleeve.

Frost-white karmic fire appeared silently and burned toward the massive aircraft.

He had not come here to repair the aircraft.

He had come for the aircraft's one-of-a-kind space core.

Space core.

A product of a higher civilization inaccessible to the Earth-Moon Four Realms.

Possessing a space core allows one to construct a subspace.

Jiang Jian had always retained childhood memories.

He knew far more than Jiang Zhao did.

But,

These memories held no use for Jiang Jian.

He knew perfectly well.

Ever since the aircraft's steward entered the Earth-Moon Four Realms and used bloodline to construct an embryo,

The moment he was born, he was a true Earth human.

As he grew up,

Through the methods of divine medical practitioners, his bloodline was completely stripped away, utterly cleansed.

He was, in every sense, a mere Earth mortal.

"Space core."

Jiang Jian's emotions, unusually, stirred with excitement.

Frost-white karmic fire burned quietly.

The vast aircraft gradually collapsed.

But its material was too peculiar.

Even as it warped and deformed under the flames, its melting speed was excruciatingly slow.

Karmic fire burned everything.

Relying on karmic fire's sole trait,

Jiang Jian sat cross-legged on the ground, burning the aircraft while cultivating.

Occasionally, he took out a water spirit pill and swallowed it to replenish his qi.

Dozens of hours passed.

The three-story-tall aircraft was finally fully refined by karmic fire, yielding two items.

The first item was a metal sphere the size of a palm.

It was the core material used to construct the aircraft.

At this stage of refinement, even karmic fire could no longer harm it.

Its rarity and value were evident.

"Whether used to manufacture technological equipment or as alchemical material,"

"It is a top-tier substance unknown in the Earth-Moon Four Realms."

Jiang Jian's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he stowed the metal sphere, temporarily tucking it into his sleeve.

Though small in volume, it was extremely heavy in his hand!

Jiang Jian had to constantly channel qi to support it.

Otherwise, the sphere would instantly slip from his grasp, plunge into the ground, and sink deep.

Having secured the metal sphere,

Jiang Jian gazed ahead, his eyes gleaming.

It was a refractive crystal.

It looked utterly ordinary, like a common glass object found anywhere.

But Jiang Jian knew,

This refractive crystal was extraordinarily rare.

Its true value cannot be measured in currency.

From where the aircraft came.

This object is called the "Space Core."

Whether manufacturing fold-flight vessels or constructing subspace.

The Space Core is the sole core!

"The materials needed to construct subspace do not exist in the Earth-Moon Four Realms."

Jiang Jian put away the Space Core, and a heavy stone lifted from his heart.

Although he had obtained the Space Core here.

But to build subspace, he still needed to plan carefully.

"Still, now that I have it, it's at least another way to ensure my survival."

Jiang Jian smiled faintly, his form dissolving into black light.

In a flash, he left the underground secret vault.

There was nothing left here.

Even if one day the current Zhao family patriarch discovered the vault, he would gain not a single useful clue.

Interdimensional Shuttle.

Black light streams interwove, and Jiang Jian, clad in a white robe with gold thread, appeared in the cabin.

Though he had consumed much Qi.

Yet the self-recovery speed of his Shenque acupoint was already terrifying.

The Qi just expended was swiftly replenished to full.

"You're back!"

Ji Xue turned her head, raising her gray claw, her identity device glowing, "Zhou Zhou Lingling from the Zhou family sent you a message!"

Jiang Jian asked: "Zhou Zhou Lingling?"

"Yes, Zhou Zhou Lingling."

Ji Xue opened the communication, saying, "She's from the Zhou family of Taiping Prefecture. The Zhou family is organizing young disciples of the Divine Gift realm to explore the Shang Emperor's Tomb and wants to invite you to join."

Jiang Jian sat back on the sofa and took the water cup: "Send it to me."

Ji Xue replied: "Alright!"

The details of Zhou Zhou Lingling's message were sent over by Ji Xue.

Jiang Jian read the message and understood.

Zhou Zhou Lingling knew everything clearly—how he had left the Tongtian Tower and returned to the surface realm.

The Zhou family was the top clan of Taiping Prefecture, with immense influence.

In 2875, the Solar System underwent drastic change.

Earth's ring was initially extremely powerful.

It caused not only the birth of spirits, demons, and monsters on Earth.

But also transformed many objects into spiritual artifacts with incredible properties.

In just a few centuries, Earth's spiritual veins had barely been fully exploited.

Even Tianzhu Mountain in Linjiang Prefecture had been mined only partially.

The Shang Emperor's Tomb in Taiping Prefecture was the same.

The excavation status and progress of the Shang Emperor's Tomb were even less than those of Tianzhu Mountain in Linjiang Prefecture!

Because Tianzhu Mountain was, after all, a prefectural resource.

Even when organized for mining, it was primarily managed by the Linjiang Prefectural Office.

Under these circumstances, for hundreds of years, Tianzhu Mountain had merely been scraped at the surface.

But the Shang Emperor's Tomb was not a resource of the Taiping Prefectural Office.

It was the Zhou family's ancestral land!

Thousands of years ago, the Zhou family had produced an Emperor.

Although after 2875, the Solar System entered the Age of Divine Beings,

Earth's old order was completely shattered,

Eventually giving rise to the Earth-Moon Four Realms and the Earth Alliance,

The Zhou family still could not bring themselves to disturb their ancestors' tomb.

Watching other clans unearth ever more spiritual resources from their ancestors' ancient tombs,

The Zhou family could no longer sit idle and finally began exploring the Shang Emperor's Tomb several decades ago.

This exploration was limited entirely within the Zhou family.

Its progress was extremely slow!

Divine radiance stained the stars and spilled across the Solar System.

In the ancient tomb, the most precious burial items were not all transformed into spiritual resources.

Some had instead become terrifying spirits, demons, and monsters!

This was another obstacle.

Deep within the Shang Emperor's Tomb, ancient palace arrays, originally of unclear purpose,

Now had transformed into natural killing arrays, posing a grave threat!

This was also an obstacle.

Yet the Zhou family could never hand over the Shang Emperor's Tomb as a resource to the Taiping Prefectural Office.

But exploring the Shang Emperor's Tomb came with many strict requirements.

Some special areas, after centuries of Qi erosion, had become extremely unstable.

The Yongquan realm possessed two cultivated acupoints with too much spiritual essence.

Once entering these areas, they could easily trigger Qi chaos and summon a spiritual tide!

If a spiritual tide occurred, the Shang Emperor's Tomb would collapse instantly, destroying countless spiritual resources.

Thus, these rare special areas,

Could only be entered by those of the Divine Gift realm without triggering collapse.

In the Star Ring Realm, atop the Tongtian Tower in Taiping Prefecture,

Zhou Zhou Lingling had exchanged identity device information with Jiang Jian

Because she had seen his formidable combat power and wanted to court him early.

Once he broke into the Yongquan realm, she intended to have him join the Zhou family—or as a guest—to explore the deeper layers of the Shang Emperor's Tomb.

The other day,

The Zhou family's upper echelons decided to organize their young disciples to continue exploring the outer layers of the Shang Emperor's Tomb.

These were the unstable areas.

Only the Divine Gift realm could enter.

Zhou Zhou Lingling had gathered intelligence and learned that when Jiang Jian left the Tongtian Tower, he was still in the Divine Gift realm.

That was why she sent the message to invite him.

"The Zhou family's direct and branch descendants are divided into thirty squads."

"Each squad has four members."

Zhou Zhou Lingling's wording was direct and concise: "I'm the squad leader. I want you to join my squad as a temporary guest of the Zhou family."

"You take seventy percent of the resources we obtain; the other three of us take thirty percent."

She valued Jiang Jian's terrifying combat power.

After all,

In the Star Ring junkyard,

Zhou Zhou Lingling had personally witnessed Jiang Jian's true strength—capable of rivaling ordinary Yongquan realm cultivators!

"Seventy percent."

Jiang Jian sneered and immediately dialed Zhou Zhou Lingling's real-time communication.

Beep.

Beep.

The call connected.

"Student Jiang Jian."

Zhou Zhou Lingling spoke first: "I found out you hadn't broken through to Yongquan when you left—perfect timing to join me in exploring the Shang Emperor's Tomb."

"So, what's your decision?"

After listening to her finish,

Jiang Jian said softly: "I want seventy percent of the resources your squad obtains."

"What? Seventy percent?!"

Zhou Zhou Lingling's tone shifted, "That's far too much! You must know how precious a spot in the Shang Emperor's Tomb is!"

"How many Divine Gift prodigies, how many of my classmates, have begged to join my squad just for a spot—and I refused them all!"

Her voice grew sharper: "I admit your combat power is exceptional, but seventy percent is absurd!"

Silence followed.

Jiang Jian said: "I take sixty percent. Less than that, I'm out."

Zhou Zhou Lingling gritted her teeth: "Can you guarantee my team will come out first in the exploration of the Shang Emperor's tomb?"

The Zhou family's exploration activity isn't just about gathering resources.

It's also to select talented youths for cultivation.

Among the Zhou family's younger generation, whoever performs best gains the family's attention and receives greater resource allocation!

The reason they allow Zhou family youths to bring their own guests into teams

is because the Zhou family doesn't just value raw strength.

Whether it's networking, attracting prodigies, or social connections—

every aspect is part of the test!

"I can't guarantee anything."

Jiang Jian said softly, "I take sixty percent of the spiritual resources."

"The rest doesn't concern me."

"If you can't accept it, drop out."

Hearing this,

Zhou Zhou Lingling recalled Jiang Jian's unstoppable dominance in the Star Ring Realm and finally decided: "Fine, sixty percent!"

The next moment, she seemed to remember something: "By the way, my cousin is also joining, and so is her boyfriend."

"I already promised them we'd make it into the top three!"

On the other end of the communication,

Jiang Jian's tone grew slightly colder: "I'll say it one last time—I want sixty percent of the resources. The rest is your business."

"Even if you bring two pigs, it's none of my concern."

With that, Jiang Jian ended the communication.

Ji Xue jumped to his side and asked: "Where are we going?"

Jiang Jian said: "Change course. Head to Taiping Prefecture."

"Unexplored resources like this are extremely dangerous."

As it spoke, its movements never slowed, "Especially unexplored tombs—once a spiritual tide strikes, you could die inside."

Its tone carried concern.

"I know."

Jiang Jian replied, lowering his gaze to the wooden sword in his hand.

The cracks in Han Guang's wooden casing had grown wider.

From these fissures, cold energy constantly seeped out.

The true Han Guang Sword was about to complete its transformation and break free.

"Not yet. I can't use it."

He set Han Guang down.

Jiang Jian sensed his Shen Que.

The translucent, crystal-like acupoint, thin as a cicada's wing, yet unbreakably resilient.

Shen Ci Realm at 113%—the absolute limit.

No matter how hard he pushed here,

he could not improve by even a fraction.

Yet Jiang Jian still had no intention of breaking through to Yongquan.

Because Shen Que must be completely filled before it can flow into Yongquan.

Only when spiritual energy surges and bursts it open, carving out the second cultivation acupoint,

does one truly enter the Yongquan Realm.

Yongquan is a qualitative transformation.

But Jiang Jian always felt

there remained a faint, almost imperceptible space for further improvement.

(End of Chapter)