Chapter 1 Earth

Earth.

Since the second half of 2017, a rumor about the Zheng Nation's official development of a super-large space-time boundary has been circulating in various fields.

Whether it was a few small columns in professional newspapers, headlines in tabloids, or a piece of internet news and mobile phone push information of questionable authenticity—various professionals, "uncle parties" (people claiming inside knowledge), relevant practitioners, and well-informed people from all walks of life competed to analyze and interpret these messages.

"Invited by Xie, currently in Nanling, just got off the plane, related to the industry, know too many people, so I'll remain anonymous."

It must be said that although the government has never expressed it directly, judging from the consensus of everyone from all sides, everyone can guess that the Zheng Nation is indeed developing a large otherworld.

Even, a large part of it was secretly pushed by the Zheng Nation's officials themselves, carrying out subtle hints.

This is not surprising, because wanting to explore the Qingqiu Realm and transport reinforcements is impossible to hide from everyone—whether it's the transport spacecraft or the construction of a small city-level fortress base in Nanling, even if it can be hidden from others, the locals responsible for providing supplies to the base can never be fooled.

Moreover, in addition to that, Su Zhou's disappearance can further prove this point.

A globally renowned extraordinary person, the Minister of the New World Exploration Department of Zheng Nation, and also the number one explorer of multiple large secret realms and space-time boundaries, he has been to the moon, been to other worlds, and fought with aliens. He is the vanguard of Zheng Nation in related fields—the fact that he has had no news for the past few months is news in itself, proving that he has indeed gone to perform some confidential missions.

And what kind of mission could require Su Zhou to go?

Therefore, regardless of whether they are fans of Su Zhou or pay attention to otherworld exploration information, they are all looking forward to what surprises the Zheng Nation's officials and Su Zhou will bring to the world this time.

But who knew that from the second half of 2017 to March 2018, neither Su Zhou nor the Zheng Nation had any news at all.

"Where on earth did he go?!"

"Su Haiwang (Su, the King of the Sea - a play on his last name and his popularity with women) has disappeared? I mean, it's been half a year, what task needs to be performed for so long?"

"The last time in the Beast God Realm didn't take this long... could something have happened?"

Su Zhou's fans were worried, and Su Zhou's haters would initially laugh at him, saying that Su Zhou had finally encountered trouble this time, and that villains need to be tested—but when half a year passed without any news, not to mention the haters, even the real trolls began to get a little nervous.

After all, no matter what, Su Zhou's strength is the best in the world—if he has encountered trouble, wouldn't others have even more trouble?

What kind of difficulty could make Su Zhou spend half a year without being able to solve it?

Internet fans were worried and helpless, and friends and relatives were also anxious.

Among all the people, only Shao Qiming, Jin Qiong and their group knew a little inside information.

"Did he actually encounter a big trouble?"

Shao Qiming, who was using the Divine Wood Technique to condense the spiritual power organs in his body, interrupted his cultivation. He straightened his slightly woody hair and slightly turquoise eyes in front of the mirror, and then seriously found Crosell, the leader of the Litany Society in the American Federation.

He was not particularly worried about Su Zhou's safety, because Shao Qiming 100% believed in Su Zhou's strength. After all, if it really didn't work, Su Zhou could still use the Heavenly God Scale to go to other worlds for refuge.

Now, what is more important is to contact Su Zhou and determine the current situation—so he planned to find Crosell and let him try to use the secret method of the Holy Serpent Spirit to contact Su Zhou.

On the other side of the earth, the golden-haired youth was also very anxious at this time.

As the leader of the Litany Society, Crosell's authority comes from the fact that he is the only person who can interpret the Holy Book and perform rituals—but since Su Zhou left the earth, he has found that the void rituals that should have become clearer have become far more chaotic than before, as if the void has been stirred by something huge, making it impossible to communicate at all.

Su Zhou's existence was originally thought to be interference, but now it seems that it is more like a transmitter with too much power. If used improperly, it is naturally interference, but if used correctly, it can allow them to contact the Holy Serpent Spirit faster.

Now that Su Zhou has disappeared and Shao Qiming has come to him, Crosell thought of the ritual method he had envisioned before to pray and call for Su Zhou… but when he thought of the consequences of the last ritual, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.

That mysterious voice seemed to come from Su Zhou, but it didn't seem to be Su Zhou…

But in the end, he had to try.

However, before Shao Qiming and Crosell were about to join forces to urge the ritual for Su Zhou, good news continued to come from the other end of time and space in the Qingqiu Realm.

[Shocking! Major Discovery in the Qingqiu Realm, Confidential Information Leaked! Delete anytime! Watch quickly!]

[Unexpectedly, 10 Ancient Common Sense You Never Knew!]

[The Zheng Nation's New World Exploration Department Officially Announces: Exploration Report and Future Prospects for the Qingqiu Realm]

[Multinational Joint Fleet Dispatched—Battle in Silence, We Return Victorious!]

In short, under the bombardment of various formal and informal messages, information about Qingqiu Star successfully reached the entire internet and triggered a carnival.

And among them, the most eye-catching thing is the Qingqiu people themselves.

Unlike the divine beasts of the Beast God Realm, and unlike the giant fish in the Tianchi Realm, as residents of a large realm located within the Zheng Nation, the Qingqiu people are humans with complete inheritance and wisdom. They are compatriots under the governance of the former Central Divine Court, and they are also a typical Mimic-Dao (Ni Dao) race.

But most importantly, they are too good-looking.

"Ah, spicy ears! Ah, spicy tails! Ah, spicy looks!"

"Ah, I'm dead!"

The above online comments are excerpts from a video clip of a Qingqiu couple and their children being interviewed.

It can be seen that the Qingqiu people are indeed humans. Their language only has a slight accent, but it is essentially the authentic Immortal God pronunciation passed down from the Immortal God era, so there are no problems in communication.

Among them, not only was the appearance of the couple amazing to the public, but the somewhat malnourished and very innocent and lovely appearance of the Qingqiu children also attracted a lot of sympathy from people all over the world.

It must be said that although nearly three years have passed since the public disclosure of the Tianchi Dragon King's remains and the complete disclosure of the Mimic-Dao (Ni Dao), most Mimic-Dao (Ni Dao) cultivators or Mimic-Dao (Ni Dao) bloodline families are still unable to be accepted by the public.

However, this situation also depends on the type... Putting aside the dragon, phoenix, and divine beasts, among the ordinary Mimic-Dao (Ni Dao) bloodlines, cats, dogs, wolves, and tigers are more acceptable, while bears, cows, elephants, and snakes are a little less.

Not to mention crocodiles, wild boars, and turtles—in ancient times, these bloodlines were also considered powerful, and wild boar gods were not uncommon in mythology and were powerful, but it is still a little difficult to be accepted now.

As for the Qingqiu Celestial Fox... although theoretically they have been classified as ordinary Mimic-Dao (Ni Dao) bloodlines and should not be treated differently from other bloodlines.

But their appearance, whether in human form or Mimic-Dao (Ni Dao) true form, is simply too high.

"Want to pet."

"Want to hug."

"That big tail looks very warm—"

"Do you like them? You just want their bodies, you're so cheap!"

"I want, I'm honest, I deserve praise!"

This is the view of most people on the Qingqiu people.

Of course, in addition to these ordinary silly online comments, some netizens are more concerned about some actual situations. Compared with most media marketing Qingqiu people's appearance for traffic, this group of people is more concerned about the current situation of the Qingqiu people.

"I heard from official reports that there seems to be a disaster in the Qingqiu Realm? And it's a big one!"

"Su Zhou and the first exploration team are helping to eliminate the disaster there, right? I heard that they just completed the task recently and it was very hard."

"Well, according to my uncle who works in the relevant department, the Qingqiu Realm is very similar to the monster realm in Europa. There are many brutal beasts, monsters, and demons, and the Qingqiu people were almost wiped out."

"Yes, I heard that since the immortals and gods left, the Qingqiu people, who also lost their spiritual energy and lost their extraordinary powers, had a social collapse. They are much worse than us, and the rampant demons have destroyed many of their infrastructures, which is very terrible!"

The discussions on the internet gradually promoted the fact that the Qingqiu people were very dangerous in the past and that there were many rampant demons.

And then, the interview talk shows conducted by various channels further deepened this news phenomenon.

In a very formal and modernly decorated program team, a formally dressed female host is interviewing an older researcher.

"Hello, Academician Liu. You are a researcher at the 13th Division of the Dao Records Bureau. I am very glad that you are willing to participate in our program."

"I am also very happy to be interviewed."

"Yes, Academician Liu, recently we are all very concerned about the news about the Qingqiu Realm. As far as we know, the 13th Division of the Dao Records Bureau was the first research department to go to the Qingqiu Realm with Minister Su Zhou. How much do you know about the dangerous monsters on Qingqiu Star? What is the current situation of Qingqiu Star and the Qingqiu people? Are they still safe?"

Regarding this question, Academician Liu hesitated appropriately according to the rehearsal, and then slowly said: "The monsters on Qingqiu Star are very powerful and strange. Their essence has no form, like evil spirits in paranormal phenomena. They will possess the dead Qingqiu people to move around. It is very terrible. In the early stage of exploration, Minister Su and those evil spirits had a very difficult battle."

The host also showed appropriate surprise: "Is that so! Even that Professor Su was caught in a bitter battle... Then what happened in the end? Such a dangerous planet?"

Regarding this question, Academician Liu was silent for a long time, and the camera gave three still photos.

Until the end, he said with a solemn face: "But, you must understand, that is Su Zhou!"

The implication is self-evident—the current Qingqiu Star and the Qingqiu people are safe.

Of course, in addition to the netizens on the Zheng Nation's side having intense discussions about this, such as what level Su Zhou's strength has reached now, there are also many foreign netizens who have issued extremely jealous comments about the Qingqiu Realm, complaining about the injustice.

"I don't understand!"

An anonymous netizen from the American Federation said angrily: "It's fine that they have Iron-Eating Beasts (Pandas), but why do they have these foxes too?! This is not fair!"

"What about our Mimic-Dao (Ni Dao)?"

Netizens from the Europa Alliance also complained: "Why are there only these things? Oh, don't talk about Ross Country, there are too many bears over there, I'm tired of it."

Regarding these comments, an anonymous account replied: "Don't you still have fairies? Vampires and elves are also good."

And this comment undoubtedly detonated the hot topics on foreign forums.

"Are there actually people who like fairies?!" Someone was so surprised.

"Are there actually people who don't like fairies?!" Someone was even more surprised.

"Are you into loli?!"

"Their age is older than your and my grandparents combined, you are the loli!"

April 5, 2018.

Su Zhou smiled and stood at the edge of the two-world portal on Qingqiu Five, holding his mobile phone and browsing these internet messages happily.

It must be said that watching major online platforms around the world tout his achievements from the side and guide attention and assistance to Qingqiu is indeed a pleasant thing.

In this way, even the jealous resentment of some people can be easily endured.

It can be seen that there are still comments scrolling across Su Zhou's mobile phone screen.

"Su Zhou! That guy, he is on a planet with beast-eared girls! An entire planet full of beast-eared girls! For a whole half a year!" A comment said indignantly.

"Yes, he is treated as a hero there. I really can't imagine what kind of paradise that is... Damn it, I really want to know!"

In response, Su Zhou was naturally very generous in telling them the truth.

New World Exploration Department - Su Zhou (svip officially certified account): "The ears and tail feel very good, very good. The Qingqiu people are very kind and friendly, and the children like me very much. I take them everywhere to play every day. They are very clingy, even a little annoying. You're welcome, you can't touch them, because all the local demons and evil spirits have been killed by me, you can't increase your favorability anymore, hahaha!"

"Why am I so strong? Maybe it's because I insist on exercising every day and pay special attention to health."

After showing off, he happily closed the mobile phone screen, put it back in his pocket, and then turned to look at the city behind him.

Qingqiu Five, the logistics city of the immortals and gods in the past, has now restarted a small part. By analyzing the local spells and the life-sustaining technology that the Earth side has long studied, an area of nine square kilometers has been restored to life, which can supply staff to walk and work normally.

At the edge of the city, the ruins of the teleportation array connected to Qingqiu Star have not been completely repaired until now, but at least a part of it has been activated, transporting key supplies to Qingqiu Star.

Looking at this gradually busy area, Su Zhou couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Although the current Earth people don't have any concept of this, for him, who often travels through worlds and adventures everywhere, he knows very well that the current Earth is gradually restoring the key position of the former 'Central Divine Court' 'Divine Realm Immortal Heaven'.

At a time when everyone doesn't know, every time the Earth's forces take the initiative to connect with other realms, explore the worlds within them, and communicate with the survivors within them, it represents that Earth civilization is one step closer to the ancient immortal civilization.

Why?

Because of location.

The Earth is located in the center. Other realms are connected to the Earth, and the Earth is connected to anywhere, but other realms are not connected to other realms. They must all pass through the Earth to transfer.

This strategic location, the center of all realms, brings absolute geographical advantages.

It is no wonder that the immortals and gods who lived here in the past were so arrogant and prosperous.

"Oh, why think so much? After half a year, I can finally return to a place with the internet! I'm going to die without the internet for so long!"

Stretching his waist, Su Zhou ignored Yala's complaints that 'don't you often go to other worlds without the internet?', he turned his head again, his pupils looking at the distant end of the universe, the direction where Qingqiu Star is located.

After the demise of the Heavenly Demon, Qingqiu Star has returned to peace.

The new islands, and even the prototype of a new continent, are slowly spreading in the Lianyi Sea. The exploration of the Military Lord's seal is underway, but for now, the ancient seal is considered stable within three thousand years, and there will not be any major problems in the short term.

Under the leadership of Zheng Nation's Agricultural Saint and other professionals, the Qingqiu people on Qingqiu Star have also begun to work on the land under the sunshine after a long absence—although farming is hard, it is easier and more pleasant than growing mushroom moss in shelters.

The group of Zheng Nation's medical team, who are inspecting many Qingqiu people to avoid large-scale epidemics due to inter-world exchanges, are also analyzing and evaluating the bloodline of the Qingqiu Celestial Fox, trying to find relevant inheritance data in the Kunlun Secret Realm, but that is another matter.

"Son, your mother wants to raise a fox recently..."

Some time ago, when Su Zhou was preparing to return to Earth to rest, Su's mother, Ning Shiyu, who was still working on a physical examination on Qingqiu Star, quietly found her son. Ms. Ning issued a clear statement: "Not a celestial fox, just an ordinary fox—we'll raise one ourselves, do you think it's possible?"

Because of the examination work, she could openly rub ears and tails, which was a lot of fun, but when she thought that she would never be able to touch the furry again after the work was over, Ning Shiyu suddenly felt a little reluctant, even panicked.

"Look at what you're saying—"

How could Su Zhou refuse? It was rare for his mother to have a request, so he naturally nodded in agreement: "Of course it's possible! Wait, I'll find you the best one next time!"

"So, you suddenly became a filial good child?"

At this time, Gu Zechuan and other representatives of the Qingqiu people were emerging from the teleportation array. The white fox youth noticed Su Zhou, who was waiting for them and waving at them with a smile, so he hurried over.

At this moment, Yala teased in the spiritual space: "A terrifying killer who single-handedly killed hundreds of millions of heavenly demons, the identity transformation is really fast."

"What do you know? I have always been a good child. No one understands good children better than me!"

Su Zhou dismissed this. He turned his head and said to his Qingqiu admirers: "Okay, Gu Zechuan, don't apologize. I just arrived early. You arrived on time."

"Let's start now. The Zheng Nation Central Channel's interview is waiting for you—do you remember the lines? Remember, your image represents the image of the Qingqiu people. Be careful."

"Yes, Your Honor!"

Immediately, Gu Zechuan raised his ears and answered seriously, while Su Zhou shook his head helplessly: "I told you not to call me Your Honor, just call me Su Zhou. If you have to use an honorific, you can call me Minister or Professor."

"Yes, Your Honor!"

"...Whatever you want."

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Su Zhou was too lazy to care about this point of verbal address. He turned his head and led Gu Zechuan and his party toward the two-world portal.

The feeling of passing through the space-time channel is like passing through a wind wall. The spiritual energy of the two worlds is intertwined and conflicting here, forming an almost solidified void spiritual pulse. If it can be used, it can be completely made into a 'Two-World Tidal Spiritual Energy Generator' or something, a creation that combines Taoism and technology. Although the name is tacky, it is indeed a near-perpetual motion machine-like energy source. As long as spiritual energy exists for a day, there is no need to worry about depletion.

Soon, Su Zhou and others left the Qingqiu Realm and arrived at the Qingqiu Realm Fortress in Nanling, Zheng Nation, Earth.

At this moment, it was late at night on April 5th. The weather in Nanling was very good, with no clouds for thousands of miles, and there was no light pollution from the surrounding cities. The stars in the sky were extremely clear, and countless stars twinkled, turning into a bright cloud of the Milky Way.

"Welcome back!"

In front of the teleportation portal, a group of welcoming personnel were waiting and cheering as they passed through the portal—although it was just a ritualized celebration of the 'Zheng Nation New World Exploration Department's' first exploration mission successfully completed, it must be said that this is indeed a very memorable event.

In this instant, countless photographic flashes lit up. Although the technology today no longer needs flashes, this is a kind of atmosphere and cannot be unusual.

Su Zhou could see several acquaintances such as Shao Qiming, Tang Yuan, and Jin Qiong in the crowd of onlookers on both sides of the welcoming personnel. Su Zhou smiled and exchanged glances with several friends one by one, nodding to indicate that his situation was indeed very good, and the other party's concerned eyes, or a look of 'Look, the Minister is indeed fine', made everything unspoken.

"Minister Su, the reporter from the Central Channel is waiting next to the venue. After their exclusive interview, there will be several press conferences... what do you think?"

After the photography was over, a Zheng Nation's official news director came forward to discuss the subsequent news release sequence with Su Zhou. Su Zhou already knew these procedures.

But just as he was about to say 'I have no problem, but you can arrange Gu Zechuan and their situation', suddenly, an unexpected event occurred.

Boom—Boom—

In an instant, a shocking tremor that resonated above the high sky and spread throughout the universe suddenly appeared throughout the entire Earth, the entire universe, and even the endless space-time!

This sound was like a surging tide, or like continuous thunder, with completely different and vastly different tones in everyone's hearts, but the only thing that was the same was the shocking shock and warning!

Crack—

And in Su Zhou's ears, what he heard was the crisp sound of something shattering, something being penetrated—like glass being shattered, glaciers breaking one after another, making him feel that in the distant space-time, something was being broken and opened!

"Su Zhou, look up!"

At this moment, the youth heard Yala's extremely serious voice. He frowned, looked up, and looked at the dark and endless sky above, where countless stars were shining.

Then, a trace of astonishment appeared in his eyes.

Because, he saw it.

Cracks, were lighting up with light.

In spirit vision, the entire Earth was as bright as the sun. Hundreds of worlds and multiple realms converged and collided here. These other worlds, which might be comparable to the universe or at least to planets, each possessed unimaginable spiritual energy, and all of this spiritual energy condensed on the Earth, catalyzing this place into a Divine Realm Immortal Heaven.

The spiritual light of the Earth was so dazzling that it could even exceed the atmosphere and illuminate the lunar orbit, like a true small sun.

And on this extremely bright world, countless dark, crisscrossing cracks were spreading.

Those wounds and cracks, as huge as tree roots, spanned the entire universe. They were centered on the Earth and traversed countless realms. Even in the Qingqiu Realm, the traces of those boundless cracks could be clearly seen.

These cracks were the wounds left by the Great Seal, cracks that spanned endless time and space.

Su Zhou already knew this. He was shocked by it in the past, and therefore swore to solve this problem with Yala, restore the Great Seal, and bring peace and stability to all the worlds.

But now, he stared at these cracks that he was extremely familiar with, but couldn't help but reveal an incredible look.

Because... in that sky full of wounds, there was a dark crack, lighting up with light.

Like filling, like a deep rift gradually filling with water, becoming a long river... In the endless scars, one was lit up, it slowly vibrated, releasing a bright silver eye-catching spiritual light.

Like a true Milky Way suddenly lighting up in the dark universe.

Not only Su Zhou, everyone, all Earth cultivators.

No.

The entire galaxy, the entire universe, and even other time and space, other universe worlds, all cultivators who could look up at the sky and see these cracks, all saw it, saw this scene of the Milky Way suddenly lighting up and appearing in the sky.

"What, what is that?!"

"Why did such a light suddenly light up in the sky?!"

"What is it, what is it that caused the anomaly?!"

Suddenly, a continuous noisy discussion sounded, making the originally joyous scene that welcomed the Qingqiu people and the New World Exploration Department become noisy.

But Su Zhou didn't care.

Already suppressing the shock and confusion in his heart, the youth solemnly asked the Snake Spirit.

"Yala, what's going on?"

The Snake Spirit crawled out of Su Zhou's personal space. It didn't care that its sudden appearance would attract the attention of others. It just crawled to the top of Su Zhou's head and stared at the crack with the same solemn gaze, with an extremely rare dignified and puzzled expression.

"It's the Pioneer."

He murmured: "The Pioneer gave up his chance to break through the Great Seal—He re-sealed himself back into his original world, completely giving up the opportunity to gain freedom in this era."

"What?! But why?!"

This news instantly shocked Su Zhou—Yala was the one who confronted the Pioneer before, which is why he fell into a deep sleep. He originally thought that was one of the biggest opponents in his journey, at least at the same level as Destiny.

Moreover, Destiny

But now, Yala said that the Pioneer self-sealed?

In response, the Snake Spirit was silent for a long time, until ten breaths later, he sighed: "Yes, he gave up, but he didn't give up."

"The Pioneer re-sealed himself back into his original world, filling a part of the gap in the Great Seal—but this also means that he has returned to the system of the Great Seal."

"In this way, something he built, some system, some selected dependents, can be recognized by the Great Seal, travel through the realms, and gain the freedom to explore the 'Farther Horizon'."

Saying this, Yala actually laughed.

'Chaos' smiled, changing his previous seriousness, laughing joyfully—as if seeing a torrent branching out into tributaries, surging in a direction that no one had ever expected, so, a smile appeared.

In the Snake Pupils, the light was burning brightly.

"Yes, that's the Pioneer—that's the Lord of the 'Horizon' I know."

"So what if he is sealed? As long as someone is still exploring the distance, still exploring the end, pursuing higher, faster, and stronger—as long as 'Correct' is still being practiced, what does it matter whether he is sealed or not?"

"Explore, as long as the explorers and adventurers are still moving forward, then one day, even if he is still in chains and fetters, he will gain a greater world."

At this time, above the sky, the bright silver light gradually dissipated. Su Zhou, who was still staring at the sky, vaguely sensed a trace of will from it.

[Do you want to go higher, set foot further, and become stronger?]

[If you are dissatisfied with the present, tired of stagnation, want to explore the distant edge, and don't want to be confined to the current world... then prepare to set off.]

Endless worlds, infinite void, billions upon billions, and even more worlds than this imaginary number, and those who desire change and desire exploration within them.

All those who were favored by the 'Pioneer' sensed that as a certain substantive will fell into a near-eternal sleep, the shackles on their bodies also went away with it.

Because there is 'Correct', paving the way to the root for them.

And at this moment, Yala also lowered his head, and he calmly said to his covenantor: "It's not just me, or you, who will act..."

"Su Zhou, you have become an immortal, gained near-infinite life, and the power to destroy civilizations and races. You have surpassed your original race."

"Even in the eyes of those ancient and powerful beings, you are considered to be gradually walking out of the greenhouse and gradually out of childhood."

Saying this, the Snake Spirit's voice sounded softly in his ear: "The truly difficult journey has just begun to raise its curtain—are you ready?"

"...Is there any need to say that?"

Sensing this trace of will, listening to Yala's words.

The youth, who originally had a solemn face, gradually showed a trace of a smile after being silent for a long time.

Although he is still temporarily unable to understand what that great being, known as the Pioneer, has done, and what sacrifices he has made, and what impact it has had on this strange multiverse.

However, since there is a challenge, there is no reason for the brave, who are not cowards, to retreat.

"Of course I'm ready."

Replying in this way, Su Zhou reached out and patted the news director who was still in shock on the shoulder.

In the other party's still somewhat dazed gaze, the youth said calmly, with a reassuring tone: "Okay, don't be dazed—lead the way."

Then, he looked forward, smiling confidently.

"The press conference, and a new era, are waiting for us."