Chapter 499: “Hong”
When Jiang Li drifted away, the old dragon king still felt embarrassed and didn’t dare to watch him leave.
“Was this kid so good at making people feel worthless when he was young?”
“It seems he was.”
…
[Congratulations, Host, for completing the task. Do you wish to settle the rewards?]
“Settle.”
[Dragon Scale Armor set]
The Dragon Scale Armor had a soft texture and excellent flexibility. Its irregular shape could deflect forty percent of attacks, making it top-tier equipment for Spirit Transformation stage cultivators.
“If I could have obtained this scale armor back then… actually, it wouldn’t have made much difference. I was already invincible among my peers at that time, with no one in the Spirit Transformation stage capable of defeating me.”
The system’s rewards had become so useless that even Jiang Li from five hundred years ago wouldn’t have needed them.
[Heavenly Witch Body set]
“So it’s not just a coincidental name match. This is the Witch Clan’s body refinement technique, their clan treasure that’s never passed to outsiders. Zhang Konghu practices this very technique.”
The Witch Clan’s unparalleled physical bodies were renowned throughout the Nine Provinces, largely due to this Heavenly Witch Body technique. When cultivated to Major Achievement, twelve ancestral witch phantoms would manifest behind the practitioner, creating an extremely terrifying sight.
Zhang Konghu was the representative figure who had cultivated the Heavenly Witch Body to Major Achievement.
“One hundred and fifty years ago, Zhang Konghu asked me to modify this technique. The technique’s founder was truly a genius, creating something nearly perfect from the start. Even after my modifications, I could only increase Zhang Konghu’s physical strength by twenty-five percent.”
[Soul-Severing Water portion]
“Finally, you’re here. An alchemy ingredient that doesn’t exist in the Nine Provinces.”
Jiang Li took the precious Soul-Severing Water to find Su Wei.
“This is the Soul-Severing Water recorded in ancient texts. Come on, Su Wei, take a taste and tell me if it’s genuine?” At the entrance to Alchemy Peak, Jiang Li was intercepted by the Crimson Sun Cauldron.
“Taste my ass!” Su Wei, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, kicked the Crimson Sun Cauldron over.
The former fanning assistant had grown into a young maiden in her early teens, her beauty renowned throughout the Dao Sect.
She had become Su Wei’s personal disciple, and also the Crimson Sun Cauldron’s personal disciple.
Both the person and the cauldron intended to cultivate her as their successor.
She shrank her head, thinking that Master Su Wei’s temper was getting increasingly irritable.
“The Human Sovereign wants me to refine the Heavenly Sun Calamity Poison Pill? Easy, leave it to me. I guarantee whoever takes this pill will die so thoroughly they can’t possibly come back!” Su Wei sneered, brimming with confidence in her alchemical skills.
If anyone who took her pill could manage even one more breath, it would be an insult to her alchemical artistry.
“…It doesn’t need to be quite that effective.” Jiang Li felt Su Wei’s enthusiasm was somewhat excessive.
“Half a day, just give me half a day!”
Just as Jiang Li was about to say something, his eyebrows lifted.
Someone was summoning him.
…
“Everyone, please hear me out. The current state of warfare stems entirely from the schemes of the Outer Realm Demons. Continuing to fight will only lead the Fanting World to destruction.”
In a certain space, dozens of phantoms stood quietly to the side, wanting to hear what this cultivator who claimed to be from the Nine Provinces World had to say.
The Fanting World was the world that Other Mountain Stone had visited. This world was filled with numerous planets, each with its unique civilization. The distances between planets were measured in light-years, and before this, they had known nothing about each other.
Later, one civilization achieved a major breakthrough in spaceflight technology, enabling faster-than-light travel.
The civilization of this planet was warm and hospitable, wanting to find voices in the universe – other civilizations.
They dispatched several fleets. One of these fleets, after decades of travel just as they were about to find another civilization, suddenly lost contact with their home civilization. This made them feel isolated and vulnerable, growing increasingly paranoid.
They worried about what to do if the civilizations they found harbored malicious intentions.
If this civilization was more advanced than theirs, they might eliminate them.
If this civilization’s technological level was similar to theirs, and they only had a few hundred warships, they wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight.
If this civilization’s technological level was far inferior to theirs, the other side might replicate and surpass them in a very short time.
The only option was to fight, to seize the initiative first.
This planetary civilization launched the first attack, only to find that the other side was no pushover either. Though they hadn’t developed faster-than-light travel technology, their weapons were terrifyingly powerful.
Due to the sudden attack, millions of the other civilization’s people died. The ruling class was furious, annihilating the several hundred warship fleet, then using reverse engineering technology, quickly learned faster-than-light travel and headed toward the planet behind the fleet, seeking revenge.
Coincidentally, the other dispatched fleets also lost contact with their home planet, grew paranoid, attacked unknown civilizations, and were all counter-attacked.
Other civilizations learned faster-than-light travel technology and went to seek revenge.
Suddenly, the civilization that first developed faster-than-light travel became the target of everyone’s attacks, assaulted by multiple civilizations.
This civilization felt wronged too, believing that the fleet’s loss of contact must have been these civilizations’ doing, and now they were being falsely accused of initiating the attacks.
How could such logic exist in the world?
Counterattack!
This civilization and its nearby star systems became battlefields, engulfed in war.
During the conflict, many planets still in their third technological revolution saw their technology advance by leaps and bounds. When they first made contact with the outside world and learned that the most advanced civilizations were fighting among themselves, they realized these advanced civilizations were extremely barbaric, harboring ambitions to devour other civilizations.
Relations between civilizations were not friendly.
To protect themselves, they vigorously developed weapons technology and actively joined the war.
Dozens of planetary civilizations became embroiled in the conflict.
By this point, the original reason for fighting had become unimportant.
When Other Mountain Stone first came to the Fanting World, he only felt that the relationships between the various planets were terribly chaotic. To understand the intricate connections would require the expertise of the Tianji Tower and Heaven’s Kill Pavilion, both most skilled in intelligence gathering.
Thus, the Tower Master of Tianji Tower, Tianji Tower disciples, and the former Pavilion Master of Heaven’s Kill Pavilion were invited to come.
They utilized their respective advantages, exploring planetary ancient histories and deducing the truth from reality. Gradually, they finally discovered the problem.
There was a person named “Hong” who had countless incarnations. As a scientist, he guided the initial civilization to learn faster-than-light travel technology.
He incarnated as a fleet commander, actively cutting off contact with the home civilization and ordering attacks on unknown civilizations.
He incarnated as intelligence agency personnel in various civilizations, providing false intelligence, step by step guiding these civilizations to view other civilizations with hostility.
…
His incarnations were too numerous, so many that even Tianming Daoist couldn’t count them all.
This person called “Hong” was definitely a powerful cultivator.
Tianming Daoist took the initiative to step forward, revealing his identity and showing the utmost goodwill, hoping to stop the fighting.
The various civilizations were already at their limits. Continuing to fight like this would only lead the world to destruction.
“There are worlds beyond this world? You come from the Nine Provinces World?” Seeing Tianming Daoist’s actions, the major civilizations relaxed their guard, feeling that negotiations might be possible.
Just as the major civilizations were reciprocating with goodwill, the rulers’ close advisors, after a series of analyses, concluded that the Nine Provinces World’s origins were suspicious and that they should maintain constant vigilance.
“Found you! Other Mountain Stone, attack!” Tianming Daoist sneered. For the past few decades, “Hong’s” incarnations had ceased activity, and Tianming Daoist couldn’t find his traces. So he deliberately revealed his identity to lure the snake out of its hole, making “Hong’s” incarnation act again.
With the immortal artifact Other Mountain Stone in hand, Tianming Daoist truly wasn’t afraid of whatever waves the other side could stir up.