Chapter 297: Divine Envoy

“Jiang Jian.”

Zhou Qingyue stepped forward, her crimson lips tightly pressed as she spoke softly.

Jiang Jian steadied his mind, withdrew his gaze, and looked at the ghost before him.

She was exceedingly beautiful; her hair ribbon undone, her jet-black tresses cascaded down, veiling her pale, moonlit face.

“I have a request.”

Zhou Qingyue’s voice grew even softer, “I wish to walk the Naiheqiao in Yinshan, cleanse my primordial resentment, and be reborn.”

Jiang Jian raised an eyebrow. “The current Yinshan holds only ghostly reincarnation.”

“If you choose the Naiheqiao for rebirth, you will lose all memories and become nothing but an ordinary ghost soldier.”

“To cultivate upward will be extremely difficult.”

Zhou Qingyue shook her head. “Though ghost soldiers of Yinshan are weak, they possess pure ghostly energy, and deep within their primordial core, not a trace of resentment remains.”

“I have confidence that one day I will break through to the Divine Palace realm and reclaim my memories.”

Her tone was resolute; she bowed low, kneeling before Jiang Jian in respectful reverence.

Zhou Qingyue was a registered pet, holding a subsidiary identity device.

Jiang Jian’s every communication could be viewed by her at any time.

Clearly,

she understood the Yinshan Wonderland well.

The rebirth offered by the “Naiheqiao” there was incomplete.

If one cultivated to the Divine Palace realm as a ghost soldier, one could restore the spiritual memories from before rebirth.

Yet her primordial resentment could be utterly cleansed, leaving not a single trace behind.

“Agreed.”

After a brief pause, Jiang Jian nodded in acceptance.

Then he softly warned, “If you fail to cultivate a realm, you will be swallowed by the million ghost soldiers and lose all sense of self forever.”

Zhou Qingyue did not rise; instead, she knelt prostrate, lifting her watery eyes to fix them on the white-robed boy: “I will never regret it.”

Jiang Jian rose from the sofa, flipped his palm, and drew forth the Earth Store Jade Seal, activating it instantly!

A portal of space twisted into existence from nothingness.

It appeared clearly beneath Zhou Qingyue.

In the blink of an eye, the ghost had no time to react—she fell straight through!

The next instant.

The space portal sealed shut instantly, leaving no trace, as if it had never existed.

“Take her to the Naiheqiao for rebirth.”

Jiang Jian held the jade seal, paused, then added, “Assign someone to watch over her. Give her slight resource advantages.”

“Yes, Realm Master.”

The Earth Store Jade Seal trembled, transmitting the respectful voice of the Night Patrol Inspector.

Meanwhile,

in the corner of the cabin,

Ji Xue suddenly opened her eyes, jolting awake from sleep, glancing around.

The next moment,

she stood upright on all four paws, her gaze suspicious as she muttered, “Huh? Where did the ghost go?”

Jiang Jian tucked away the jade seal. “To Yinshan.”

Ji Xue’s eyes widened in shock; she remained speechless for a long while.

After a long while,

she spoke slowly, her tone clearly downcast: “She actually kept her word—she really went to Yinshan.”

“This parting may be forever.”

The gray fox swished her tail, head drooping, muttering to herself.

Jiang Jian ignored her, walking to the cockpit and gazing up at the star map.

The Interdimensional Shuttle moved swiftly.

Not far ahead lay the border of Taiping Prefecture—the coordinates sent by Jiang Zhao.

“If she has ambition, she will return one day.”

Jiang Jian extended his sleeve, brushing his hand over Ji Xue’s head. “Set course. Increase speed.”

Ji Xue blinked, her mood lifting; she leapt onto the cockpit, waving her paws as she fully piloted the Interdimensional Shuttle.

Boom!

The shuttle blasted out blazing exhaust flames, slicing through the clouds, its speed surging!

Not long after,

the Interdimensional Shuttle entered Taiping Prefecture, arriving at the edge of an uninhabited mountain range.

Here lay the entrance to the Star Palace Projection.

Jiang Jian activated his identity device and transmitted the coordinates.

Then he remained inside the shuttle, waiting in silence.

Soon,

a magnificent, breathtaking star portal appeared in the night sky.

The portal flashed like a startled swan—gone in an instant.

Yet torrents of starlight poured forth, enveloping the entire Interdimensional Shuttle, causing it to vanish in an instant!

The towering mountains resumed their stillness.

Star Palace Projection.

This was a breathtakingly beautiful star-river micro-realm.

Looking around,

dazzling meteors with trailing flames streaked in every direction.

Even the ground beneath their feet resembled outer space, faint starlight shimmering, giving the illusion of floating, utterly mystic.

In the distance,

stood a majestic Star Palace.

This vast palace was entirely carved from ice-jade.

Starlight danced, moonlight reflected, transforming it into a celestial palace of heaven.

The Interdimensional Shuttle hovered in midair; its hatch burst open.

Jiang Jian descended the gangway, gazing at the scene before him, his spirit settling slightly.

He knew this was not the true Qishen Star Palace.

It was the “Star Palace Projection,” a space micro-realm formed by its power.

Across the seventy prefectures,

each prefecture housed a “Star Palace Projection,” governed by its Prefectural Divine Envoy.

And this “Star Palace Projection,”

was personally overseen by the Divine Envoy of Linjiang Prefecture.

Though the “Star Palace Projection” paled in comparison to a Wonderland,

it could still, by borrowing the power of the Qishen Star Palace, open space portals in short bursts.

Moreover,

its true location lay deep within the planetary barrier, nearly impossible for ordinary beings to find.

When Linjiang Prefecture once suffered a spatial current, it was perilous.

Yin Yin had taken Jiang Zhao and several close classmates into Linjiang Prefecture’s “Star Palace Projection,” and they had never left since.

Nearby,

starlight wove together,

forming the figure of a man clad in star-embroidered robes.

“The Lord of Yinshan has come. My apologies for the tardy welcome.”

The man smiled warmly, his tone gentle.

Seeing him,

Jiang Jian’s expression hardened—he immediately recognized this man as the Prefectural Divine Envoy of Linjiang.

In his perception,

the Divine Envoy’s aura was unfathomable, as if fused with the surrounding environment.

What surprised Jiang Jian even more,

was that this being was not originally human.

Yet every inch of his body radiated the aura of a living mortal.

“I cannot accept such praise.”

In an instant, Jiang Jian suppressed his thoughts, his expression solemn as he bowed to the Prefectural Divine Envoy: “Greetings, Divine Envoy.”

The Prefectural Divine Envoy’s cultivation was unfathomable.

Far beyond what any ordinary Divine Palace cultivator could match.

Jiang Jian remembered clearly.

When the Deputy Prefect of Linjiang Prefecture, Jiang Wenjian, clashed with officials from Hanjiang Prefecture.

As soon as the Hanjiang Prefect appeared, he immediately suppressed the entire scene; no one dared to defy him.

But if one observed his words and conduct, one could sense that this Prefect still held deep apprehension toward the Prefecture Divine Envoy!

Jiang Jian speculated.

The true cultivation of the Prefecture Divine Envoys, even if not as high as Shen Xi, Shang Wuyi, or Xu Qingxian, could not be much lower.

Seventy prefectures on the surface.

A full seventy Prefecture Divine Envoys.

This was the true means by which the Earth Alliance and the Tianjing Central Authority controlled Earth’s surface.

Likewise.

These Prefecture Divine Envoys were also among the most reliable core combat forces on Earth’s surface!

“The Lord of Yinshan is too courteous.”

The Linjiang Divine Envoy smiled unchanged, “Those who hold the title of Wonder Realm are officially equal in status to top Divine Palace cultivators; no need for excessive formality.”

Jiang Jian said solemnly, “Your Divine Envoy’s benevolent heart has taken in so many ordinary people, including my sister—I haven’t even had the chance to thank you.”

As he spoke, his gaze turned toward the depths of the palace.

Within the majestic Star Palace stood countless newly built houses, woven from starlight and paved with snow-white jade.

Each house housed one family.

A rough count revealed tens of thousands of houses.

During this time, they had all remained here, still without proper resettlement.

The Linjiang Divine Envoy sighed and said, “Linjiang Prefecture once held one billion souls; now all have been uprooted and forced to relocate to neighboring prefectures.”

“Even so, the pressure on the Linjiang Prefectural Office remains unimaginably immense.”

“Resettlement matters remain far from complete.”

“As the Divine Envoy here, if I do not share the burden of the office, I deserve no title of shepherd and guardian.”

Hearing this,

Jiang Jian keenly sensed that around the Star Palace’s projection, space portals continued to flicker incessantly.

Each time a portal flickered and vanished,

another family of ordinary people was delivered here.

They looked around, their faces filled with confusion.

They had lost their homes, their jobs, and now dragged their families to unfamiliar lands.

For ordinary people, this was an unimaginable catastrophe.

Although the Linjiang Prefectural Office and nearby prefectural administrations were doing their utmost to resolve these issues,

the population of Linjiang was simply too vast.

As a result, over a month had passed,

and resettlement efforts had not even reached half completion.

Outside,

many lived in temporary shelters, surviving day by day on food and water issued by the prefectural office.

Abandoned hovercars, public housing units, reserve combat vehicles of the prefectural office, large transport containers—all had become scarce resources for temporary housing.

These items, serving as temporary residences for relocated populations, had all become scarce.

not a single person dared return to Linjiang Prefecture.

No one knew when Saturn’s colony would launch another attack on Mercury.

The Tianjing Central Authority had issued explicit orders:

As a key node of Earth’s stellar ring, Linjiang Prefecture constantly faced spatial compression and must be fully evacuated to ensure the safety of Earth’s citizens.

As Earth’s orbital node, Linjiang Prefecture constantly faced spatial compression and had to be fully evacuated to ensure the safety of Earth’s citizens.

(End of chapter)