Chapter 362: An epic choice, the Great Ye Dynasty, Star-Hail Pass!

"Be good, go in and take a nap."

"Cold? They're called ice coffins, but they aren't actually cold; just a bit chilly."

Zhao Xing was inside a small slumber barrier, coaxing his three spirit beasts: the mountain cat Long Aotian, the Cangni dog Xiaotian, and the inverted sheep Huantian.

"Are you going in or not?! If not, I'll stew you all and eat you!" Zhao Xing put on a stern face, looking at the three beasts. "I went through all that trouble to get you to the Rule Realm, and you're just going to waste your lifespan on the road? Get in there, now!"

Woof woof!

The Cangni dog tucked its tail and obediently jumped into an ice coffin.

Baa baa~

The inverted sheep gave a light leap, then mimicked the Cangni dog, lying down like a corpse.

"Meow~" The mountain cat rubbed against Zhao Xing, acting spoiled.

"How long? Five hundred years if things go smoothly, a thousand if not." Zhao Xing said, "Your lifespans won't last that long. Sleep. When you wake up, we can play together again."

The mountain cat had no choice but to walk toward the ice coffin with lingering reluctance. It looked back every three steps, and seeing that Zhao Xing had no intention of changing his mind, it let out a soft meow, elegantly transformed into a bolt of lightning, and jumped into the ice coffin to curl up.

"Hiss hiss~"

Zhao Xing waved his hand, and nine strands of ice spiritual energy emerged within the ice coffin, instantly freezing the three beasts.

A countdown appeared on the surface: one thousand years.

"Done."

Feeling the aura of the three beasts become extremely faint, Zhao Xing began to walk out.

There were many ice coffins within the barrier; of the twenty-one Dao-Establishing Realm experts of the Great Zhou (excluding Yun Tiandao), thirteen were now in slumber.

Except for Zhao Xing, Liu Tianning, King Luohou, Lu Ying, Zigu, Wei Hong, and Ji Si, everyone else had already entered slumber.

Yun Tiandao was not sleeping either. Zhao Xing had originally tried to persuade him to slumber, as Yun Tiandao's techniques had been honed to a point where they could no longer advance; there was no room for improvement.

But how could Yun Tiandao sleep?

Yun Tiandao planned to spend this time studying magic arrays.

In his own words, having one more skill might mean one more hope of saving his loved ones.

Zhao Xing did not try to persuade him further, letting him tinker away.

Liu Tianning, King Luohou, Wei Hong, and Lu Ying were responsible for handling the affairs within the World-Boat Grotto-Heaven. A vast empire still needed strong figures to sit in command and maintain its operation.

The Emperor could sleep even less. Ji Che was also studying intently, and what he learned was even more eclectic.

As for Ji Si, the Fate Official, the reason she did not slumber was simple: Zhao Xing had once said that Fate Officials were very difficult to cultivate in the universe, lagging one realm behind other professions. Others could receive varying degrees of enhancement, but Fate Officials could not.

Therefore, Ji Si refused to slumber no matter what, keeping the 【Star Fate Strategy】 in her arms to study.

Zhao Xing walked out of the slumber barrier. Long Xiao, Mi Fu, Chen Shijie, Xia Jing, King Shenluo, Ye Yukong, Dong Ze, Li Hao, Ji Zixuan, Princess Youruo, Ling Tianchen... all lay peacefully in their ice coffins, slumbering.

Each ice coffin had a countdown, displaying the warning line and safety line for slumber.

"Boom~"

The gate closed, and the barrier sealed.

Only in special circumstances, or when the Xuanhuang World-Boat reached a region of spiritual energy, would they be awakened.

…………

Ever since the Great Zhou ascended and entered the cosmic void, Wu Di changed the era name to 【Taishi】, signifying that the Great Zhou was entering a brand-new beginning.

In the first year of Taishi, many things happened, including the explosion of the Xuanhuang World, Zhao Xing's preaching, the popularization of common knowledge about the universe, and the beginning of slumber for some of the Great Zhou's strong figures.

In the second year of Taishi, more officials began to slumber, because the Great Zhou's population was now concentrated in a few prefectures, and there was no need for so many people to manage things.

In the third year of Taishi, the Great Zhou began to implement a rationing system.

That same year, the "Spiritual Energy Law" was promulgated, and the vast majority of spiritual energy substances were collected and concentrated in planting areas.

The Spiritual Energy Law also placed constraints on officials and cultivators; non-Great Zhou officials could only cultivate with primordial energy and were forbidden from absorbing spiritual energy for cultivation, and the trading of spiritual energy substances was strictly prohibited.

In the original spiritual energy era, a large number of cultivators should have emerged, but during this period of wandering, the Great Zhou needed to make rational use of every bit of spiritual energy.

Even the speed at which high-grade items were produced had to be controlled. Those who dared to cultivate in secret faced very severe punishments.

The promulgation of this law caused quite a stir. Everyone had originally thought they were ushering in a spiritual energy era and were about to live a good life; they hadn't expected things to remain the same as before. Wasn't the ascension in vain?

In the fourth year of Taishi, there was considerable unrest in various places. Those who were dissatisfied believed that the "Spiritual Energy Law" had cut off their path of advancement, especially the sects that had recently joined the Great Zhou, which openly raised banners of rebellion.

Give me liberty, or give me death!

And then, they really died.

In the fifth year of Taishi, King Luohou led people to carry out a bloody suppression. In the prefectures within the World-Boat Grotto-Heaven, anyone who dared to raise a banner of rebellion was executed without exception.

The unrest was completely suppressed before it could even gain momentum.

In the sixth year of Taishi, normal life was restored across the Great Zhou.

For those with low cultivation bases, it was just a matter of living in a different place.

Whether there was a Spiritual Energy Law or not did not affect their original lives.

Those destined to enjoy the benefits of the cosmic version were only the descendants, as those who could cultivate to high levels were always the minority.

In the sixth year of Taishi, King Luohou returned from suppressing the unrest to report the situation, only to find that Ji Che was actually distracted.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?" King Luohou called out twice.

"Hmm, hmm?" Ji Che came back to his senses. "Where were we?"

"Your Majesty, we were just talking about how the rebellion of the Four Extremes Sect in Ji Commandery has been settled. The ringleaders have been executed, but how should the others be dealt with? Please decide, Your Majesty."

"Let those who were coerced go." Ji Che waved his hand and said, "To avoid causing panic, only execute the ringleaders."

"Yes."

After a pause, King Luohou asked, "Your Majesty seems troubled. Is there something bothering you?"

Ji Che shook his head: "No."

In fact, Ji Che was thinking about the Reincarnation Temple that Zhao Xing had once told him about.

"Even in the Reincarnation Realm, one does not have freedom and will be watched by the Reincarnation Temple... Today, I promulgated the Spiritual Energy Law, forbidding those strong figures in the sect world from advancing through spiritual energy. How similar it is."

"However, I followed my elder brother's suggestion to concentrate and distribute resources so that the Great Zhou could gain a foothold in the universe. What are those super forces like the Reincarnation Temple doing it for?"

Ji Che shook his head and stopped thinking about distant matters.

As far as the present was concerned, it was not even certain whether the Great Zhou could successfully reach the territory of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom.

In the seventh year of Taishi, Zhao Xing arranged for his family to slumber. Zhao Ruide, Madam Cai, Zhao Zheng, and Zhao Chuanzong entered slumber, while his two younger sisters had long since followed their husbands into slumber in the second year of Taishi.

In the eighth year of Taishi.

Zhao Xing summoned the high-grade experts from the three agricultural official factions to formulate the "Native Species Plan," while Ji Che, King Luohou, and other main officials listened from the side.

"Although our dynasty has some small savings, if we sit and eat away at our resources, we will quickly spend all our wealth once we enter the Xuanling Star Domain."

"The Spiritual Energy Law is for thrift; the 'Native Species Plan' is for opening up new sources of revenue."

Zhao Xing explained this plan.

"Our Xuanhuang World possesses specialties that other places do not have. Although their grade is not high, due to their scarcity, some things can be taken out and sold to make money."

"Although it doesn't earn much and the profit isn't large, it is at least a livelihood for our Great Zhou."

Junior Agricultural Official Chen Yu asked curiously: "My lord, what counts as a specialty of the Xuanhuang World?"

Others, including Ji Che, King Luohou, and the rest, also looked over.

Even for treasure-level items, the Xuanhuang World currently had over 500, 00 types. They really weren't sure which counted as "specialties" and which did not exist in the universe.

Zhao Xing said: "Specialties fall into two categories. 'The first is non-renewable resources,' such as various mineral deposits. There is a rare item called the Xuanhuang Primordial Spirit Stone, which comes from the Heavenly Realm."

"This crystal ore is half primordial energy and half spiritual energy, coexisting in a very unique structure."

"Its practical value is average, but it has high research value. If sold to a weapon-refining family or a specialized research institution, then the few mineral veins dug from the Heavenly Realm could each be sold for a high-grade Star Dao Weapon, or even a top-grade one."

"Secondly, there is the Xuanhuang World's unique Dragon Origin Ore, produced in the ancient land of the Dragon Court. It is a companion mineral of the dragon race. The crystal ore contains substances similar to the dragon race's essence. At most, it can take effect on the bloodline of the Rule Realm. However, it lacks scarcity. Selling it to certain medicine-refining forces or beast-taming forces can also fetch a value exceeding its own."

"I collectively refer to these things as 'Wild Domain Mineral Products'."

"Many forces are interested in Wild Domain mineral products because they might be able to synthesize high-value treasures from some inconspicuous low-end goods, or refine high-grade medicines, or forge powerful Dao Weapons."

Raw iron is tempered a hundred times to become steel. In terms of quality, the items Zhao Xing just cited as examples are not very high. The main point is their "research value." One of the most valuable things for a dynasty that has ascended from the Wild Domain is these "native mineral products."

"However, the quantity of such things is limited. Once sold, they are gone, so they cannot be considered our Great Zhou's livelihood."

"What can be considered a livelihood is the second type: 'renewable resources'."

"First is the Xuanhuang World's unique 'native plant species,' and second is native beast species."

Zhao Xing explained: "The principle is the same as the first type, so I won't go into too much detail."

"Promulgating the Spiritual Energy Law is also mainly to cultivate the growth of native species, so that our Great Zhou can accumulate some wealth during the time we are sailing in this void."

"Of course, if we reach the territory of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom and find that the actual situation is different from what we thought and things are hard to sell, then we can also directly sell spiritual liquid and spiritual crystals condensed from spiritual energy. However, this is the cheapest way and basically has no profit."

The spiritual energy star domain does not lack spiritual energy. Condensing spiritual energy into spiritual liquid and spiritual crystals is just for convenience in carrying. This technique cannot even be called a technique; it is pure manual labor, so of course, there is no profit to speak of.

The sailing time is estimated to be five hundred to one thousand years. Zhao Xing cannot let the Great Zhou foolishly slumber and do nothing, waiting to make a living only when they arrive at their destination; that would waste a lot of time.

Just for old Yun, he had to fight for more time. After all, it was he who used "prophetic foresight" to call him out.

"Grand Agricultural Official, this beast-raising and farming are both cheap primary industries. Can't we do some technical work?" Lu Ying asked. "Can Lord Zigu forge some divine weapons to sell?"

Swish swish swish~ Everyone's eyes immediately gathered on Zigu.

Zigu was now the Great Zhou's Junior Agricultural Official, though he didn't care about this position at all; he was just hitching a ride.

Zigu had no intention of contributing to the Great Zhou; he mainly looked at the attitude of his big brother, Zhao Xing.

"If the Grand Agricultural Official thinks I can do it, then I will." Seeing everyone looking over, Zigu stated his attitude.

Zhao Xing shook his head: "The techniques Zigu has mastered are inherited from Puta, and Puta came from the Purple God Prefecture. Before Zigu acknowledges his ancestors and returns to his clan, such behavior is very dangerous."

"Furthermore, during our time in the World-Boat, many materials are lacking. Even if Zigu were to refine things, he would lack certain key materials from the universe."

"During this time in the World-Boat, Zigu should just stay put. We'll see how things are after we leave the Wild Domain."

"Now we are only talking about the plan for this period of sailing in the void."

"Farming and beast-raising indeed don't have much profit. We are just a weak dynasty that has just ascended; we have no way to touch any profiteering industries."

"However, I will select some specialties for concentrated planting, which can also save up some wealth."

Everyone felt a bit helpless. If the Great Zhou were viewed as an individual, it would currently be an ordinary person with a little capital but no technology and no strength.

Wanting to touch profiteering industries would be courting death; they would be swallowed whole without even bones left.

It was fortunate to have Zhao Xing as a guide, who could still find ways to make some money; otherwise, the Great Zhou would be crossing the river by feeling for stones, and they wouldn't know how many pits they would step into.

Of course, it was also possible that they would step into one pit and disappear directly.

"Chen Yu, Meng Kun, Ji Youtang, Yun Ze, Kan Qing, Lu Xia, Chu Qianqiu, Zhuang Danian..."

"You are to plant these plant species on the list in Daoyuan, Shangluo, Kunyuan, and other commanderies."

"The Dragon Horse Bureau and the Beast-Taming Office are to raise the following beast species in Sihai, Gaoyuan, and other commanderies."

"From this moment on, the two major breeding areas are designated as forbidden zones, and procedures are required for entry and exit."

"Yes."

……

Starting from the eighth year of Taishi, the Great Zhou began to enter a peaceful period of farming according to Zhao Xing's plan.

Zhao Xing also began to have time to hone his techniques. With Yun Tiandao, a master of magic, as his teacher, he began a new round of learning.

Until the fiftieth year of Taishi, nothing major happened in the Great Zhou.

By the fiftieth year of Taishi, Zhao Xing finished his cultivation.

Because the World-Boat was about to enter the 【Void River】 to perform its first acceleration.

In the fiftieth year of Taishi, in the core power area of the World-Boat.

Zigu and Lu Ying were operating the World-Boat's power array inside a 500-meter-tall mechanical mountain.

Crystal-clear light spots appeared all over their bodies, and threads spread out from these spots, some connecting upward to the sky, and some downward, connecting to the ground.

Ji Che, Zhao Xing, Yun Tiandao, King Luohou, and others were quietly observing from not far away.

Although they didn't understand much, they knew that the Great Zhou had entered a critical moment.

"Your Majesty, fellow officials." Zhao Xing pointed to Zigu and Lu Ying in the core cabin. "The Xuanhuang World-Boat is about to enter the void turbulence in the Wild Domain."

"The void is not unchanging, but flows like a river. What is often referred to in the cultivation system as 'shuttling through the void' is entering the second layer of the cosmic void and using the flow of the void to accelerate flight."

"Just like the Yin flow in the Yin Realm, which allows Yin spirits to move quickly?" Wei Hong asked.

"You could say that." Zhao Xing nodded. "It's just that the Wild Domain and the Spiritual Energy Domain are different. Shuttling through the void in the Spiritual Energy Domain is easy, but the Wild Domain is very dangerous."

"The 'Void River' in the Spiritual Energy Domain is stable and has a clear direction. The 'Void River' in the Wild Domain is turbulent and has an unclear direction, so it is called void turbulence."

"Of course, we have a star map. What we are entering now is a Void River with a clear direction, just a bit more turbulent."

"Now Zigu and Lu Ying are adjusting the World-Boat's entry angle and direction."

Zhao Xing's words generally made people understand the principle of acceleration.

"Zhao Xing, can the second realm of the Origin Realm accelerate by shuttling through the void?" King Luohou asked. He was more concerned about the cultivation realm.

"It can in the Spiritual Energy Domain, but not in the Wild Domain." Zhao Xing said. "The tearing of the turbulence in the Wild Domain is such that even the third realm can easily have accidents."

"If it's not a stable Void River, void winds will be born, and one might even be swallowed directly or suddenly sent to a desperate situation. Even the great supernatural beings in the third realm dare not use such methods to travel; that is truly courting death."

King Luohou couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder the Wild Domain is so terrifying; people change color at the mention of it."

The official historian Sima Yu asked curiously: "Grand Agricultural Official, if we don't use the Void River, how long will it take to get out? Two thousand years, three thousand years?"

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said: "It depends on where we are going. If we don't use the Void River to accelerate, not counting accidents on the road, with our current World-Boat, it will take at least five thousand years to reach the territory of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom."

"If we didn't have the core power cabin left by Qing Yuzi, it would take more than ten thousand years."

"The longest distance is to fly along the Wild Domain star belt until we fly out of the Xuanling Star Domain."

"Our Xuanhuang World-Boat wouldn't be able to fly out even in 100 epochs."

The Xuanhuang World-Boat, while called a World-Boat, cannot actually be considered a World-Star Dao Weapon; it is only at the level of a top-grade Star Dao Weapon, with materials constantly added. Qing Yuzi's core power cabin barely reaches the level of a low-grade World-Star Dao Weapon.

It saved the Great Zhou half the time (without using the Void River).

With a star map and using the Void River, the time is shortened by 10 to 20 times. The sailing time is roughly five hundred to one thousand years.

How much time exactly depends on the timing of Zigu and Lu Ying cutting into the Void River.

"If Zigu and Lu Ying can accurately hit every branch point of the Void River, then we will get out in five hundred years."

"If there is even a slight deviation, this time will be extended."

Hearing Zhao Xing say this, King Luohou couldn't help but ask: "If there were no star map, wouldn't it be purely relying on luck to find a way out?"

The above conversation was based on the premise that the Great Zhou already possessed Qing Yuzi's star map.

Zhao Xing said: "Without Qing Yuzi's star map, there is still the Dragon Court's star map. Of course, the star map left by the Dragon Court is ancient and incomplete. With the passage of time and changes in reference points, its utilization value is not high."

"Even without a star map at all, it's not purely luck; there are other ways to judge."

"The Wild Domain is not a dead domain. Even if spiritual energy is weak, it still exists, but it's like a hole, here and there."

"The closer you go toward the Spiritual Energy Domain, the higher the spiritual energy index."

"Even for a dynasty that has ascended for the first time, as long as the people in it are good at summarizing and have found the laws of the sun, the moon, and the weakening of spiritual energy, relying on sensing and combining it with the strength of the light from the sun and moon, and with a bit of luck, it is still possible to fly out of the Wild Domain."

"Of course, such exploration is indeed a life-and-death gamble."

"If it's a subsequent ascending dynasty, the probability is slightly higher, because they might see some wreckage on the road, and predecessors might have left road signs or even supply stations on certain planets."

A trace of emotion appeared on Sima Yu's face: "I seem to see countless predecessors following one after another, hacking through thorns and thistles in the dark universe."

"The predecessors were truly not easy," King Luohou sighed.

"It wasn't easy." Zhao Xing recalled his experience in his previous life. As the first batch of players, they moved forward with the incomplete Dragon Court map and spent eight thousand years before getting out of the Wild Domain.

The Great Zhou had the star map left by Qing Yuzi, which could already be considered an easy mode.

"Boom~"

"Gu!"

Suddenly, the world shook, and with the shaking, a strange sound came from the sky.

It was as if some monster was using its claws to tear at the outer wall of the World-Boat.

The next moment, the sky dimmed.

The entire World-Boat Grotto-Heaven entered darkness.

"Success." Zhao Xing looked at the sky. "The World-Boat has entered the Void River."

"Meng Kun, Chen Yu, pass the order to the agricultural officials everywhere to immediately launch the 'Heavenly Light Plan'!"

"Yes!"

On this day, the super-grade agricultural officials who had long been prepared rose into the sky together and released their Solar Term Orders.

In less than an hour, every prefecture saw light again.

An hour later, Zhao Xing saw that there were no problems reported from various places, so he flew down to report to Ji Che.

At this time, Ji Che had already left the core power area with his ministers and arrived at the Lookout Altar.

"Your Majesty, the situation everywhere is good, and there is no unrest." Zhao Xing said.

Ji Che nodded, then couldn't help but sigh: "Elder brother, I have truly opened my eyes. Sailing in this Void River actually blocks even the power of the sun and moon."

At this moment, looking in any direction from the Lookout Altar, it was all twisted black!

"We entered the Void River from the shallows. The flow speed of the Void River will quickly exceed the speed of light from the sun star."

"If the light of the sun star can't catch up, we won't be able to see anything." Zhao Xing said. "And in the Void River of the Wild Domain, the most turbulent rivers have flow speeds more than a hundred times the speed of sunlight."

"When a cultivator reaches the first realm of the Origin, their control over spiritual energy is strengthened, and they comprehend the Dao of Yin and Yang, allowing the cultivator to reach the speed of light."

"Whether it is the magic path or the martial artist path, its speed is like the birth of dawn; this is the origin of the Origin Birth Realm."

"Throughout the Origin stage, a cultivator's speed is roughly 1-10 times the speed of light. Monstrous geniuses in the third realm can reach more than a hundred times, but this has no reference value, because such a third realm's comprehension of the Yin-Yang Dao and application of spiritual energy magic already rival the Dao Domain Realm."

Ji Che withdrew his gaze: "Elder brother, what level of genius do you, I, and Yun Tiandao count as?"

Seeing that Zhao Xing did not speak, Ji Che couldn't help but smile bitterly: "When I was young, you told me the story of Journey to the West. After we ascended, we shouldn't be the Heavenly Soldiers besieging the Great Sage Sun, right?"

To cultivate the concept of Wu Di's ascension, Zhao Xing often told stories related to ascension when Ji Che was young.

"That wouldn't be the case." Zhao Xing smiled. "We can at least be Heavenly Generals."

Time passed, and year after year went by.

In a cultivation field within the Xuanhuang World-Boat.

"Bang bang bang!"

Three figures were engaged in a melee.

They were Liu Tianning, Yun Tiandao, and Zhao Xing.

"Bang!" Yun Tiandao punched and collapsed Liu Tianning's clone, which suddenly disintegrated and turned into nine long spears.

Yun Tiandao picked up the nine spears and shot them toward Liu Tianning's true body.

"Swish~" Seeing that his true body had been discovered, Liu Tianning stopped pretending and moved rapidly among the clones.

Just as Yun Tiandao was about to take off, he found his whole body heavy. A small pile of earth appeared under his feet, and his body felt itchy. Strands of power came from the ground, like insects trying to drill into his body and pull at the spiritual energy within him.

"Combining the Mountain Law and the Earth Palace Law, it's the same old tactic." Yun Tiandao looked to the other side. "Zhao Xing, can't you play something fresh?"

"Brother Yun, I can't surpass you, the founder, in the Heavenly Time Law, so I can only use the Earthly Advantage Law to deal with you." Zhao Xing smiled.

Now his Heavenly Time Law had also reached ultimate perfection, but even with the same ultimate perfection, the power was greater in the hands of the founder.

He and Liu Tianning joined forces to besiege Yun Tiandao, but there was no need to think about the Heavenly Time Law; it was very difficult to be effective.

Zhao Xing and Liu Tianning would just stick out their butts, and Yun Tiandao would know what they were about to do.

"Hmph!" Yun Tiandao stepped on clouds, and cloud energy spread, blocking layer by layer, weakening the power of the Mountain Law and the Earth Palace Law, and continued to pursue Liu Tianning.

Zhao Xing used the Earthly Advantage Law to attack, while Liu Tianning merged with the floating, using the Self Law to fight the enemy.

Just as Yun Tiandao took off, he saw a divine tree descend, a golden-green bamboo like an inverted sky, suddenly poking over.

"Big, big, big!"

Yun Tiandao's right hand suddenly grew violently, instantly expanding to a hundred meters long and as thick as a water bucket.

The golden hand grabbed the Heavenly Horn Bamboo, and the golden-green bamboo instantly changed, actually growing scales!

At the same time, a vortex appeared in the sky, and the wind vortex split and swallowed the Pure Origin projection.

"Get down here!" Yun Tiandao pulled hard, and the Heavenly Horn Bamboo was actually pulled out halfway from the Pure Origin soil in the inverted heaven and earth.

But at this moment, Yun Tiandao's eyes blurred for an instant, and his palm couldn't help but loosen.

The Heavenly Horn Bamboo shrank back.

"Soul attack again." Yun Tiandao could only watch helplessly as Liu Tianning retracted the Heavenly Horn Bamboo.

"Senior Yun," Liu Tianning said, "if you don't deal with Zhao Xing, you will never be able to hurt me."

"No more fighting, today's sparring ends here." Yun Tiandao retracted his supernatural power.

Deal with Zhao Xing first? That was very difficult.

Although Yun Tiandao had an advantage in the Heavenly Time Law, Zhao Xing had an advantage in the soul, and he had created an ultimate law of Earthly Advantage called "Mysterious Earth Divine Concealment." This ultimate law surpassed any of Yun Tiandao's Earthly Advantage laws and was very effective in dodging.

This made it very difficult for Yun Tiandao to catch Zhao Xing's true body.

"Swish swish swish~" Liu Tianning and Zhao Xing put away their clones and began their daily comprehension and summary.

Since the Xuanhuang World-Boat entered the Void River, four hundred and one years had passed, and the three of them often sparred.

Please... collect_()

Occasionally, Mi Fu, Ling Tianchen, the Fog Walker, and Daoist Yueying would also wake up and join the battle, besieging Yun Tiandao together.

As a fierce man who had honed his skills for hundreds of thousands of years, Yun Tiandao was a big boss in the Xuanhuang World. Whether it was Dao techniques, grasp of combat opportunities, or comprehensiveness, he was a mountain that was difficult to climb over.

For four hundred years, in one-on-one fights, except for Zhao Xing who could touch him and give him some pressure, no one was Yun Tiandao's opponent.

Usually, it took one-on-two or one-on-three to make Yun Tiandao go all out.

"After four hundred years of honing, both of you, Liu Tianning and Zhao Xing, have made great progress." Yun Tiandao said, "Zhao Xing's Earthly Advantage Law 'Mysterious Earth Divine Concealment' is even stronger than my ultimate Mysterious Earth Law 'Four Pillars Mysterious Gate'."

For Zhao Xing, Yun Tiandao actually had nothing left to teach. Among all the agricultural officials, Zhao Xing was the closest to him.

"Still far inferior to Brother Yun." Zhao Xing shook his head. "In these four hundred years, I haven't created a single supernatural power, and the effect of this 'Mysterious Earth Divine Concealment' is limited even if it is strong."

Have to admit it!

Yun Tiandao originally had four small supernatural powers, and his strength was in a class of its own in the Ascension Realm.

Among them, Zhao Xing had already learned his "Star Eye Law," as it was easy to learn based on the Three God Fate Palace.

But no one had learned "Star Dou Cloud," the wind supernatural power "Sky Splitting," or the fate small supernatural power "Mountain and Sea Great Fortune."

It was hard enough to learn them, let alone create them? That was even more remote.

"I spent hundreds of thousands of years observing the endless starry sky to create them. You want to create them in a mere four hundred years? You look down on small supernatural powers too much." Yun Tiandao criticized: "Zhao Xing, your aptitude and comprehension are higher than mine, but you are a bit too ambitious."

"You haven't even learned my small supernatural powers, yet you want to create your own. What are you in such a hurry for? Even if you are in a hurry, can you be more in a hurry than me?"

"Brother Yun's teaching is correct." Zhao Xing humbly accepted the instruction.

After entering void sailing, except for the Self Law, Zhao Xing's various ultimate laws were quickly maxed out, and he even began to create his own.

But Yun Tiandao also found that Zhao Xing was becoming more and more impatient, often showing signs of eagerness for quick success.

"Senior Yun, don't blame him." Liu Tianning said, "The fate of the entire Great Zhou rests on his shoulders. He has to consider the future and cultivate three schools at the same time. This burden is too heavy for him."

"Is it? Teacher, don't make me sound so great." Zhao Xing smiled.

Seeing Liu Tianning looking at him, Zhao Xing's smile slowly faded.

"Alright, there is indeed some."

A firm Dao heart does not mean no worries or no anxiety.

In fact, Yun Tiandao, Liu Tianning, Ji Che... everyone had them.

The unknown represents fear. Being in the vast starry sky, confusion and hesitation are inevitable.

It's just that Zhao Xing's anxiety was more severe! Because he had no one to share it with. The more he knew, the more clearly he understood the cruelty of the cosmic version.

He could only alleviate his anxiety through cultivation, desperate cultivation.

Under such circumstances, he had made great progress in the past four hundred years and had hidden his anxiety well. If he were anxious, the people of the Great Zhou would only be more anxious.

But Yun Tiandao and Liu Tianning, as people who often sparred with him, could still see the real emotions that Zhao Xing occasionally revealed.

"No one knows what the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom is like." Zhao Xing was a bit melancholy. As the voyage neared its end, there was always a stone in his heart that he couldn't put down.

If he were in the Xuanling Star Domain, he would feel more at ease.

"Rest, rest. If it really doesn't work, why don't you take a wife?" Yun Tiandao advised, "Is there no other way for you to relieve yourself besides cultivation?"

"Hey, don't." Zhao Xing waved his hand: "Don't give me bad ideas. If one more person occupies my heart, I will be even more anxious."

"Alright, I'm going to rest for a while."

Yun Tiandao watched Zhao Xing leave and couldn't help but look at Liu Tianning: "Has he been hurt by love before?"

Liu Tianning pondered: "Probably not."

"Then does he like men?"

"..." Liu Tianning didn't know what to say. Thinking about Zhao Xing's journey, he really had a lot of good brothers: Long Xiao, Xia Jing, Chen Shijie, Ye Yukong... but he hadn't seen many women with whom he was close.

Princess Youruo's disciple, Princess Chenxi Ji Zixuan, might count as one, but this closeness was not obvious.

"This..." Liu Tianning was also a bit unsure.

Could it be that Zhao Xing really liked men?

Just as the two were staring at each other, gradually thinking in the wrong direction.

"Gu~"

"Boom~"

A world phenomenon appeared.

"Hmm?" Yun Tiandao and Liu Tianning suddenly stared at the sky.

"Swish~" Zhao Xing also returned.

The light in the sky became stronger. As agricultural officials, the three of them could clearly feel this change.

"The Xuanhuang World-Boat has left the Void River!" Zhao Xing judged.

"I feel the power of the sun getting stronger." Yun Tiandao took a deep breath, "There is vaguely some spiritual energy accumulating on the boundary of the World-Boat."

"Let's go to the core area and see." Liu Tianning suggested.

"Let's go."

……

"Reporting to Your Majesty and the Grand Agricultural Official. The Xuanhuang World-Boat has sailed in the Void River for a total of four hundred and one years."

"Under the guidance of Lord Zigu, we have cut into the branch nodes of the Void River a total of twenty times."

"Each time was accurate and error-free."

"According to the markings on the star map, we have now arrived at the edge of the Wild Domain. In another fifty years, we will completely leave the Chenluo Wild Domain." Lu Ying reported.

The Xuanhuang World-Boat sometimes moved fast and sometimes slower in the Void River.

With the existence of Zigu Tianzun, every node switch could be called perfect.

Although the power cabin was in the hands of Qing Yuzi, it actually belonged to Puta. As Puta's successor, Zigu operating it, plus Lu Ying helping out, of course, there was no problem at all.

Therefore, in the four hundred and fifty-first year of Taishi, the Xuanhuang World-Boat left the Void River for the first time and began to decelerate.

"It will only take fifty years to leave the Chenluo Wild Domain?" Ji Che felt happy in his heart, and the others also had complex expressions, with both anticipation and trepidation.

"Quick, let me see the star map."

"Yes." Lu Ying began to operate the star map, casting the image of a star system into the air.

"Elder brother, where are we?" Ji Che asked. For this kind of thing, of course, he asked Zhao Xing.

"At the junction of Star-Hail Pass and the Chenluo Wild Domain, it counts as being to the north of the Great Ye Dynasty." Zhao Xing compared the map. "Actually, we are already very close, but our Xuanhuang World-Boat is only at the level of a Star Dao Weapon, so it will still take about fifty years of flying before we can see Star-Hail Pass."

"Wait, shouldn't we appear in the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom?" A martial general asked. "How did we get to the north of the Great Ye Dynasty?"

"The Great Ye Dynasty also counts as a part of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom." Zhao Xing explained. "If a war breaks out, the enemy will definitely calculate it that way. Ancient kingdoms all have many vassals."

"The Great Ye Dynasty is used to guard Star-Hail Pass."

"How is its strength?" Ji Che asked.

"In Qing Yuzi's cognition, the Great Ye Dynasty is not very good; it is considered relatively weak in the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom."

"Weak?" A martial general was puzzled. "Guarding the frontier, shouldn't it be very strong?"

Zhao Xing pointed to the map: "To the north is the Chenluo Wild Domain. Where are the enemies?"

"How strong can an ascending force that walks out of the Wild Domain be? It's not worth mentioning at all."

"The ancient kingdom throws vassal forces to the edge of the Wild Domain for only one purpose: as a buffer zone for the expansion of the Wild Domain."

"You should have all seen the situation of deserts eroding land. At the edge of the desert, forests are usually planted to prevent the desert from further expanding."

"The Great Ye Dynasty is those trees."

"The Great Ye Dynasty is indeed not strong relative to the ancient kingdom. It is estimated that there are only one or two third-realm experts. Although they cannot be like the 'Dao Domain Realm' where one person can completely prevent Wild Domainization, a dynasty with a third-realm expert, using the strength of the whole country to block the expansion of the Wild Domain, can also play some role."

"In that case, guarding the Wild Domain frontier is completely a bitter job." King Luohou frowned. "Since there is no danger, there must not be many rewards bestowed."

"Hmm." Zhao Xing nodded: "For a third-realm individual, such a mission with no life danger has very few rewards."

"But for a dynasty, obtaining the immigration qualification of the ancient kingdom and becoming a part of the ancient kingdom is the first benefit."

"Although the spiritual energy index at the Wild Domain frontier is not high, it is still an opportunity for development. It's not bad to be able to obtain a place to settle down."

"Then what is the second benefit?" King Luohou asked.

"The second benefit is that the exploration teams going out of the frontier can collect some road tolls."

"The third benefit is us." Zhao Xing said expressionlessly. "Over a long period of time, swallowing up one ascending force after another that walks out of the Wild Domain, plundering resources, selecting the best to adopt, and turning them into their own people, over time, they can slowly strengthen the dynasty's strength."

"Although slow, it wins by being steady."

The ministers: "..."

"You mean, the Great Ye Dynasty will take action against the natives who come out of the Wild Domain?" King Luohou frowned tightly.

"Yes." Zhao Xing nodded: "The ancient kingdom usually does not accept wild people from the Wild Domain, because they already have enough subjects of their own."

"The Great Ye Dynasty annexes Wild Domain forces, the ancient kingdom orders them to pay tribute, keeping them at a controllable level... Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp."

"That's just how it is."

Prime Minister Tong Wenzhuo felt that his cosmic view was seriously contrary to his values. He frowned and asked: "Grand Agricultural Official, I have a few questions."

"Please speak."

"One, do all ancient kingdoms not want ascending forces that walk out of the Wild Domain? Being able to walk out of the Wild Domain, after going through all kinds of hardships, at least there are some geniuses. Isn't it better to cultivate them well and absorb and merge them?"

"I just said, the ancient kingdom itself is overcrowded." Zhao Xing said, "The geniuses the Prime Minister thinks of are nothing in the eyes of the ancient kingdom. Even if there is a need, they only need to absorb talent from the big dynasties."

"Besides, I didn't say they don't want them. For example, the Great Ye Dynasty won't kill us all. If there are geniuses they really can't bear to part with, they will brainwash them and absorb them. It's just that it's absolutely impossible for us to maintain the independence of 'Great Zhou'."

"In the universe, resources come first, people second. If you occupy a good place, with such a long lifespan, what geniuses can't you produce? Why consider you, a small ascending force?"

"This has nothing to do with morality. All dynasties and ancient kingdoms follow this process for survival."

Tong Wenzhuo was speechless, because they had done the same thing to the Southern Barbarians before, and the Slave Army was the best example. When the Great Zhou became the "Slave Army," he felt that the Great Ye Dynasty was very immoral.

In fact, it was just a different perspective. From the perspective of the Great Ye Dynasty, disintegrating ascending forces, killing the ringleaders, taking away resources, brainwashing, absorbing geniuses, and strengthening themselves... that was the best way to develop.

Calculating based on one world-star or small world producing one ascending force per epoch, there are plenty of ascending forces walking out of the Wild Domain. If the people of the Great Ye Dynasty live long enough, they can also wait for many such small shrimps to eat.

Actually, there are deeper reasons why the ancient kingdom doesn't want Wild Domain forces, but Zhao Xing doesn't need to say too much. If they can't even pass this first hurdle, what's the point of talking about anything else?

Does the wildness of the Xuanling Star Domain have anything to do with the tiny Great Zhou Black Wind Village?

"Second question, a long time ago, how did the Great Ye Dynasty get over?" Tong Wenzhuo originally wanted to ask something else, but the first question extinguished his thoughts, so he asked the key point directly.

Tong Wenzhuo was actually asking how the Great Zhou would get over now.

Zhao Xing also gave the answer directly: "Hide the World-Boat and have the Dao-Establishing Realm experts smuggle over. In the vast Star-Hail Pass, the dynasty guarding the pass won't monitor every part of the starry sky."

Small Dao-Establishing Realm experts flying in the void are like ants crawling, not eye-catching at all.

But a World-Boat is a small world moving in the air. How eye-catching would that be?

It would be caught immediately and refined in an instant.

"At the edge of the Wild Domain, the spiritual energy index rises, and Dao-Establishing Realm experts riding small warships are enough to cross the void, but this speed will be very slow."

"Strong figures smuggle across the border, slowly develop, make a name for themselves, and then return to the place where the World-Boat is hidden to bring it in. The difficulty will be greatly reduced."

"Of course, these are choices only available to dynasties and ascending forces with strong vigilance."

"Naive ascenders, upon first contact, don't know this at all and just foolishly send themselves over."

Tong Wenzhuo's old face flushed. Naive seemed to be talking about his kind of high-morality people.

"Even if the vigilance is high and they don't foolishly rush over, choosing the method I just mentioned, there is still great uncertainty."

"The Great Ye Dynasty will also arrange 'Star Patrolers' to search for hidden native World-Boats. If they find them, they eat them."

"Before the strong figures of this dynasty have cultivated successfully and come back to look for them, they might have already been wiped out."

"Even if they have cultivated successfully, if they are only in the first or second realm of the Origin, they have to spend money to find connections to possibly bring the World-Boat of their hometown in. Whether they let people in or not depends on whether the strong figure of the Great Ye Dynasty has a big appetite."

After hearing this, Tong Wenzhuo couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Dark, it's really fucking dark..."

Of course it's dark. How did the players in the previous life get over?

The first few batches of people were basically killed, and then they restarted and became cosmic people to get over.

As natives, there was no such option.

Ji Che did not let this depressing atmosphere last too long. He immediately said: "The Great Zhou is lucky to have Qing Yuzi, Puta, and Fairy Su as endorsements. The Purple God Prefecture has status in the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom. Compared to other ascending forces, we are already much better off."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Yes, we are much better off."

Since the World-Boat had left the Void River and there was only fifty years of journey left, the Great Zhou had to decide how to pass the first hurdle.

"Now, there are three paths in front of the Great Zhou."

"One, use the name of the Purple God Prefecture and drive the World-Boat directly through the pass."

"The risk of this plan is very high."

"Because Zigu and I are not on the list of those leaving the pass, and we only have tokens, we will definitely be checked."

"If the Great Ye Dynasty sees that we are just a group of Dao-Establishing Realm experts, they will probably be suspicious. How can there be no elders in the Origin Realm exploring the Wild Domain? Once they suspect that we are natives, even if we are lucky enough to have obtained some inheritance from the Purple God Prefecture, we will probably be stabbed in the back and swallowed."

"Once such a situation occurs, it will be total annihilation. In order not to be known by the Purple God Prefecture, the Great Ye Dynasty will probably not leave a single living soul."

"Of course, it is also possible that the Purple God Prefecture's reputation is great and we will be let through directly. In this way, we can enter the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom at the fastest speed, contact the Purple God Prefecture, and successfully settle in the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom."

"Two, still use the name of the Purple God Prefecture, but don't drive the World-Boat; have a few strong figures pass through the pass."

"This is the plan provided by Qing Yuzi. If we don't have the wealth of a world on us and there is no profit to be made, then even if we are not on the 'list of those leaving the pass', the probability of the Great Ye Dynasty's strong figures stabbing us in the back will be very small."

"A few strong figures enter the pass, contact the Purple God Prefecture, and then invite the strong figures of the Purple God Prefecture to come and pick up the rest of the people."

"The safety factor of this plan is high, and the time consumption is relatively short."

"Third, trust no one and smuggle over using the native method. Although the Purple God Prefecture is very strong in Qing Yuzi's description, after such a long time, no one knows if there will be any accidents."

"If the Purple God Prefecture is already gone, or has declined, or is hostile to the Great Ye Dynasty, then breaking through the pass in this way will be dangerous."

"In this plan, we have people with small supernatural powers to smuggle, which is equivalent to an ant that can turn invisible. The safety factor is the highest, but the time consumption is longer."

The reason Zhao Xing proposed the third plan was mainly because it had been verified by Yun Tiandao in his previous life.

His "Star Dou Cloud" took the first batch of a few players and successfully smuggled over. Those who were not taken by Yun Tiandao were discovered and killed.

That was the result verified in a frontier pass patrolled by a bunch of Origin Realm and Dao-Establishing Realm experts.

Presumably, since the Great Ye Dynasty is called a dynasty, it shouldn't be stronger than the eight big countries Zhao Xing encountered in his previous life.

"Three plans, how to choose?" Ji Che looked at the ministers.

The crowd immediately began to discuss rapidly.

In the four hundred and fifty-first year of Taishi, when there was still fifty years of journey to Star-Hail Pass, the high-level officials of the Great Zhou made a major choice to enter the cosmic territory.

The Great Zhou chose the second plan to pass through Star-Hail Pass. That is, Zhao Xing and Zigu would use the banner of the Purple God Prefecture and take a few strong figures to pass through Star-Hail Pass.

The only hidden danger of this plan was that there might be variables in the strength gap between the Purple God Prefecture and the Great Ye Dynasty.

However, explorers roaming the cosmic starry sky never lacked courage.

Yun Tiandao's method was too slow and also had variables. Rather than that, it was better to choose the second one.

If it was destined for the Great Zhou to be wiped out, then even with ten thousand plans, it would be difficult to escape.

……

After the Xuanhuang World-Boat flew at the edge of the Wild Domain for about twenty years, in the four hundred and seventy-first year of Taishi, it stopped moving forward and began to search horizontally for 【Star Lands】 and 【Wild Stars】 that could be used for hiding.

Heaven favored the Great Zhou; they had Zhao Xing.

In this major choice of a hiding spot, Zhao Xing overruled all objections and avoided a broken star belt deliberately left by the Great Ye Dynasty.

The broken star belt looked complex and difficult to search, but in reality, this was a common tactic of the Wild Domain frontier forces, with a large number of star detectors evenly distributed inside.

If a native force chose to hide here, it was equivalent to delivering themselves directly into a trap.

In the end, the Great Zhou stayed away from the "broken star belt" trap and chose a wild star to stop.

"Let's just stay here; it can't be too far."

"If it's too far, we will lose the mobility of the World-Boat, and it will take a long time to rush to Star-Hail Pass, adding variables." Zhao Xing said.

"Good." Ji Che also completely handed the fate of the Great Zhou to Zhao Xing at this time.

……

Winter, in the four hundred and seventy-first year of Taishi.

The Great Zhou named this barren planet 【Hope Star】.

It took a year to choose a hiding spot.

The second step was to dismantle the World-Boat's core power cabin, which was the spaceship that Puta, Qing Yuzi, and Fairy Su had ridden in.

Using it as the core, they built a warship to allow Zhao Xing and the others to fly the remaining distance.

After dismantling it, the Xuanhuang World-Boat completely lost its mobility. If it were to be restored, it would take another hundred years to rebuild, but the substitute would inevitably be very weak, which was equivalent to completely pinning their hopes on Zhao Xing, Zigu, and the others.

Ten years later, in the four hundred and eighty-second year of Taishi, 【Puta】 was repaired in the hands of Zigu Tianzun.

Zigu spent his energy on external repairs.

On the surface, Puta already looked like a real World-Boat, but the interior was very simple, equivalent to a rough house without decoration.

In the four hundred and eighty-third year of Taishi, the candidates for the adventure to pass through the pass were confirmed.

Zhao Xing and Zigu were the main ones responsible for negotiations.

Yun Tiandao, Lu Ying, Liu Tianning, Dong Ze, King Luohou, Qiu Yuanshan, Xia Jing, and Ye Yukong were the assistants, acting as native servants.

The plan was further refined: Qing Yuzi, Puta, Fairy Su, and others had discovered a small world in the Wild Domain, so they sent their disciples to drive the World-Boat back to report the news.

Of course, this plan was just a statement for when the Great Ye Dynasty conducted checks at the pass. If they didn't check and didn't suspect why two unregistered Dao-Establishing Realm experts from the Purple God Prefecture were driving a World-Boat back, then that would be best.

In the four hundred and eighty-fourth year of Taishi, 【Puta】 set off from Hope Star.

The ten-person group carried the hopes of hundreds of millions of people in the Great Zhou and began the first step of contact with cosmic forces.

"Boom~"

【Puta】 traveled light, and the journey that would have taken thirty years was shortened to ten.

In the four hundred and ninety-fourth year of Taishi, an endless galaxy appeared before everyone's eyes.

Star-Hail Pass was already in sight.

On April 5th, in the four hundred and ninety-fourth year of Taishi, inside Puta, in the core cockpit.

"Hum~"

On a smooth mirror, a straight line symbolizing the reception of communication signals suddenly fluctuated violently.

"Big brother, someone is greeting me." Zigu Tianzun was a bit nervous, and he hurriedly looked at Zhao Xing.

Seeing this signal line, the stone in Zhao Xing's heart finally relaxed. Zigu had an illusion that Zhao Xing's entire temperament had changed.

"Don't panic, let the signal cut in." Zhao Xing stood in front of the mirror.

"Yes." Zigu nodded.

The water rippled, and soon a silvery-white figure appeared on the mirror.