Chapter 657: Shock Change (Bonus Chapter—Requesting Monthly Votes)

The Great Xia Universe.

New Blue Star.

Since his consciousness had descended and was controlling the Black Dragon’s body, his true form naturally remained behind.

Unlike before, when he had vanished, this time he was truly in seclusion.

Moreover, due to the existence of the Gates of All Realms, things he had once regretfully been unable to retrieve from the Qingyuan Great Realm could now be fetched like express deliveries through the gates.

Shhh!

He extended his right hand, as if opening an invisible door.

Then, a strange ring appeared—indeed, the Emperor Weapon: the Void Ring!

This item held little use for him now; he brought it only to fulfill a lingering attachment.

He held the Void Ring and gently tossed it.

Whoosh!

Mountains of strange artifacts and Chaos Crystals materialized before him.

The most striking among them was naturally the true body of the Green Emperor—the main trunk of the Tree of Longevity.

According to Fang Xing’s observations, he could still extract at least a dozen more heartwood fragments.

“Sigh… in the end, it’s all down to my own labor.”

He stroked the Tree of Longevity and let out a long sigh.

The “Green Emperor’s Eternal Life Scripture” was merely a hypothesis, with only its broad framework established.

What followed would require him to painstakingly fill in the details, even incorporating parts of the Druidic legacy.

After all, forming a pact with a primal spiritual plant bore some resemblance to the Druid’s [Treekeeper] talent—both allowed co-growth with spiritual flora.

But the [Treekeeper] was a player, a womanizer—one Druid could possess many forests.

The “Green Emperor’s Eternal Life Scripture” permitted only one primal spiritual plant to be bound.

Of course, binding one plant meant undivided devotion, so it required an exceptionally rare tree species, and gaining spells, divine abilities, and talents from the plant became far simpler.

“The primary research subject is the Green Emperor’s true body; the Druidic plant domain and the [Treekeeper] talent can serve as references.”

Fang Xing reached out and touched the emerald trunk, feeling its intricate growth rings.

On his attribute panel, the symbol of “Great Divinity” began to glow, awakening the Druid’s natural perception.

Divine Power—alter reality!

—Natural Revival!

In an instant, a green light bathed the Tree of Longevity.

Through perception, Fang Xing sensed the tree’s vitality contracting and concentrating—as if striving to give birth to an entirely new species.

“Not bad… if placed in a world of gods, this Green Emperor’s true body has the potential to grow into a World Tree…”

“And the Druidic legacy is truly extraordinary—it can extract seeds and vitality from this wood.”

The Green Emperor was dead; his true spiritual plant was now merely a corpse.

Fang Xing’s action was not to revive the Green Emperor, nor even to turn the corpse into a zombie—it was to make the corpse directly give birth to new life…

If successful, it would grant profound insights into the Dao of Life.

“Observing myriad Dao paths to forge one’s own? This is another viable path…”

Fang Xing pondered.

He possessed the Gates of All Realms; he was not bound to any single world’s path.

What he sought now was to consolidate the advantages of countless worlds to accelerate his advancement as a Dao Lord.

“From the Qingyuan Great Realm, I obtained the lower volume of the Panwu Scripture, and established a faction—now comes the phase of steady accumulation…”

“With Chaos Crystals, my strength can slowly progress…”

“And within the Great Xia Universe, the cultivation methods for the Fourteenth-Dan Dao Lord clearly hold unique insights…”

“Combined with the secret techniques of the True Immortal Realm… together, they may help me break through Dao Lord’s Third and Fourth Realms swiftly…”

Fang Xing logged onto the network and began scanning the entire Star Civilization’s news.

When he last departed, the Star, Beast, and Insect civilizations were locked in a fierce, deadlocked war over the Transcendent Legacy…

Now, the stalemate still persisted.

“Huh?”

Within the Star Rankings space, Fang Xing spotted a message and his eyes brightened slightly: “Transcendent Sanctuary encountered unexpected risk—Kuishi and other Dharma Lords failed to revive!”

According to prior mission rewards, if one died within the Transcendent Sanctuary, the Eternal Being of the Star Civilization—Lord Han Sen—would prioritize resurrection.

With this news circulating, it was clear: the Fifteenth-Dan Eternal Being, Lord Han Sen, had attempted to revive Kuishi and the other three—and failed!

“Good riddance…”

Fang Xing silently gave a thumbs-up: “The method of annihilating the True Spirit—indeed, even an Eternal Being cannot save from it…”

Through his exchange with Pan Gu Wu, Fang Xing had come to understand many things.

For instance… a Fifteenth-Dan Eternal Being could move in harmony with the cosmos and sink their consciousness deep into the world’s primordial source to resurrect beings who had perished within that world.

The principle was similar to how a Dharma Lord could resurrect life within their internal world.

But whether the Great Xia Universe, the Qingyuan Great Realm, or the True Immortal Realm—all were vastly superior in scale and status to the small worlds within a Dharma Lord’s body.

“If we classify worlds… we can roughly divide them into Four Tiers: All Realms, Great Thousand, Middle Thousand, Small Thousand…”

“Most internal worlds of ordinary Thirteenth-Dan Dharma Lords and Celestial Immortals are lesser planes, inferior even to Small Thousand Worlds; occasionally they reach Small Thousand World level… a Dao Lord’s internal world may reach Middle Thousand World level.”

“The standard for a Great Thousand World is the ability to give birth to a Dao Lord!”

By this standard, a Dao Lord’s internal world could not meet the “Great Thousand World” criterion, because it could not produce a second Dao Lord.

The world Fang Xing had previously inhabited—the World of Gods—could nurture Ancient Gods; thus, it qualified as a Great Thousand World!

As for “All Realms”?

The standard was simple: if it could give birth to an Eternal Being, it counted.

All Realm worlds were not only vast in scope but also held unimaginable mysteries, and might even bear traces of Transcendents!

“The Great Xia Universe, the Qingyuan Great Realm, the True Immortal Realm… these are All Realm-level worlds…”

“Only an Eternal Being, or a primordial Space-Time Dao Lord, can enter the primordial source of an All Realm world to perform resurrection…”

“Even so, there are many restrictions—for example, each resurrection demands a certain cost.”

“And… if one perishes in certain Transcendent Dead Zones, is slain by a True Spirit attack, or dies outside an All Realm world, resurrection is impossible…”

Fang Xing now dismissed the deaths of his three Dharma Lord enemies entirely—glanced at the news and moved on.

Even the “Hunt King Bow” he had once seized was merely a unique Imperial Weapon—no longer of any concern to him.

He currently even uses the Emperor Weapon—Wu Kong Ring—as a temporary storage tool.

Even his storage tool was now temporarily the Emperor Weapon—the Void Ring.

As Fang Xing pondered, a Dharma Lord figure approached: “Brother Fang Xing…”

Fang Xing looked at the man and smiled—he recognized him: Kun Wu, a Dharma Lord of the Star Civilization.

Though his strength was mediocre, he was well-connected and well-informed.

“Brother Kun Wu… how is the ‘Ash’ Sanctuary faring now?”

As a Law Master who has been in seclusion for many years, it would be unnatural for him not to care about the transcendent heritage that the three peak civilizations have been fiercely competing for.

As a Dharma Lord who had been in seclusion for years, it would be unnatural for him not to inquire about the ongoing, heated competition among the three peak civilizations for the Transcendent Legacy.

“Sigh… don’t mention it. We’ve gained nothing.”

Kun Wu looked disgruntled: “The three peak civilizations poured immense effort into securing the Transcendent Legacy—but not a single one has been comprehended… lately, even more…”

He lowered his voice: “Rumors say the several fragmented legacies suddenly turned to ash. We suspected sabotage by the Beast and Insect civilizations—but they suffered the same bizarre fate.”

“The legacies… vanished?”

Fang Xing was startled—he calculated the timing… it coincided precisely with his return!

“Yes. We have a few theories. First: the Transcendent was a malicious prankster, deliberately feeding us fake legacies. Second: the Insect and Beast civilizations conspired—they’ve already deciphered part of the legacy but are pretending it vanished. Third?”

Kun Wu listed them one by one.

“All plausible. Any others?” Fang Xing asked.

“The third: all other fragmented legacies are fakes. The only true one was taken by the ‘Lord of the Sword.’”

Kun Wu looked sour: “If that’s true, then after all our fierce competition, we were tricked by a sixth-rank Dharma Lord of unknown origin—doesn’t that sound ridiculous?”

“It’s quite dramatic.”

Fang Xing nodded lightly.

The “Lord of the Sword” was his own cultivation split-body from when he had gone to seize the legacy.

“Looks like I can never appear in the Great Xia Universe under this identity—otherwise, many will come after me with murderous intent!”

“Fortunately, my cultivation split-body’s dissolution left only a trace of soul that reincarnated… later became a Druid, and was ultimately absorbed by my true body.”

Only by reapplying the secret technique “Heavenly Mother’s Virtuous Golden Lotus Twin Guardian” could he cultivate the cultivation split-body again.

“Sigh… this legacy scramble was a complete mess. All sides have begun withdrawing from the Sanctuary.”

Kun Wu drained his cup, looking gloomy.

…

While Fang Xing received information on the virtual network and explored the hidden cultivation secrets beyond the Dao Lord realm…

Outside the “Ash” Sanctuary…

A six-armed giant’s Dharma Form sat atop boundless star clouds, countless stars forming swirling galaxies that circled the giant, countless planets rotating around it, each housing innumerable beings.

A kind of faith-like prayer constantly lingered among these planets, bestowing blessings upon the giant.

The supreme champion of the Star Civilization, the Eternal Being of the Fifteenth Realm—Han Sen!

“The Transcendence Legacy… was it all a lie?”

Han Sen gazed toward the direction of the Insect Clan and the Alien Beast Civilization: “But neither of them obtained the Legacy—so it’s neither good nor bad…”

After the Transcendence Legacy vanished, the three supreme civilizations gradually withdrew their armies.

Now, these are the last remaining forces.

“Board the starship. Let’s leave.”

The Master of Ten Thousand Swords, with a sword scar on his brow, cast one final glance at the Ashes Secret Realm, then his body dissolved into ten thousand blades of light and vanished without a trace.

“That old beast has left, but the Insect Queen remains…”

Just as Han Sen’s Dharma Body prepared to depart—suddenly!

A blood-red structure resembling a wasp’s nest materialized out of thin air, bathing the entire universe in crimson light.

“Insect Queen? Are you preparing to fight me?”

Han Sen was startled and enraged. The three Eternal Realm beings had always restrained one another—none could overcome the others. That was the foundation of stability among the three supreme civilizations.

But the Insect Queen’s sudden attack… had the balance been shattered somewhere he didn’t know?

(End of Chapter)