Xin Huo Secret Realm, the Base.
Fang You sat cross-legged on the cold floor, a divine aura like the roar of a surging tide emanating from him.
His demigod body and divine soul were undergoing sublimation.
The Ninth Realm had many names. The most common was 'High Rank.' Among humans, beings of the Ninth Realm were called 'Sages.' In the cult of the evil gods, the Ninth Realm was known as 'Servants,' signifying those who could stand beside the unspeakable evil gods.
But in ancient times, the Ninth Realm was divinity itself.
Many ancient gods were born in the Ninth Realm and remained so until their demise.
In modern times, the system of mysteries had destroyed and assimilated all other power systems, becoming the sole dominant force. Even the ancient gods of the strange realms had to adhere to the standards of the mystery system. Yet, beings of the Ninth Realm could still be considered 'demigods.'
The divine body, the divine soul, far surpassed the demigod stage.
His personal hardware had been upgraded!
The most significant aspect of his sublimation was his divine soul.
In a mere instant, his divine soul's realm broke through a certain threshold, and his vision began to ascend.
"This is true High Rank thinking!"
Compared to his previous 'pseudo-High Rank state' achieved temporarily by relying on world power, this current High Rank thinking allowed him to analyze the entire world with far greater clarity.
In his eyes, mountains were no longer mountains, and water was no longer water.
He saw through the superficial appearance to the intricate threads of the laws weaving within.
And also, a deep, heart-stopping gray.
The strange realms were riddled with holes and blemishes. In the depths of the gray mist, terrors lurked that he dared not yet probe.
Perhaps, the source of the contamination.
The source of contamination, deeply rooted in the very depths of the strange realms.
"It is precisely with High Rank thinking and High Rank vision that beings of the Ninth Realm can so easily comprehend the laws."
However, merely glancing at the threads of law weaving through heaven and earth was far from enough to master them.
As Fang You gazed with his High Rank vision, the world's gift descended.
His already elevated vision continued to climb, breaking through one boundary after another. His divine soul felt significant pressure, as if carrying the weight of a world. The speed of his vision's ascent slowed down more and more.
At a certain critical point...
*Whoosh—*
As if a fish leaping out of water, the surrounding pressure vanished.
He entered a space of bizarre wonders and profound mystery.
Colorful waves surged.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that each of these waves, even a single droplet, was an aggregation of countless threads of law.
It contained the deepest and purest power of the laws!
If comprehending laws by observing the heavens and earth with High Rank vision was like learning at a speed of "1," then observing the monument of laws would be about "10."
But in this sea of laws, observing the law-waves allowed High Rank beings to achieve a learning speed of "100"!
"Not only is the speed of comprehension faster, but it also allows one to easily break through various law bottlenecks."
It was akin to fumbling through a incomplete secret manual oneself versus being taught hand-in-hand by a master.
Alas, in this sea of laws, a High Rank being could only enter once in a lifetime.
The information from the Candela Empire contained no method to enter again. Fang You dared not even hope for it. He composed himself and looked around.
The next moment, his mind was completely immersed, the profound brilliance of the laws reflected in his pupils.
...
The comprehension of laws was beyond words.
It felt mysterious and profound, the gateway to all wonders.
After a long, long time,
An invisible repulsive force surged from all directions, forcing Fang You to snap back from his immersive observation. He sighed with regret.
"Time's up?"
"That was too short."
His divine soul was about to be expelled from the sea of laws. In the last moment, Fang You stopped observing his surroundings and gazed far into the depths of the sea of laws.
At the colorful end, he saw a darkness so profound and abysmal that it seemed to swallow his gaze.
*Hum—*
Fang You returned to reality, his heart pounding violently.
"There is a great terror at the depths of the sea of laws?"
He did not know what it was, only seeing a terrifying contamination rush towards him.
It felt as if countless vile beings were gnawing at his body, as if he were about to fall into an endless abyss, and sickening whispers echoed in his ears.
This was contamination.
Yet, it had been a very, very long time since he had experienced the impact of contamination.
Now, only by liberating his divine body and revealing his divine form could he contaminate others, even if he himself was contaminated.
But he had been contaminated!
The divine blood within him was boiling, and his divine consciousness felt scattered.
Fang You stayed in the Apostle dormitories for half a month, relying on the powerful contamination-cleansing ability of the Level 8 dormitory, before he could finally purge this filth.
"The great terror in the depths of the gray mist."
"The darkness at the edge of the sea of laws."
"I have clearly ascended to High Rank, yet I feel like this world is even more hopeless."
The waters were too deep!
But whether he could grasp them or not, he had to venture in.
...
After ascending to High Rank, Fang You's days became regular – comprehending laws, comprehending laws, and comprehending laws.
Comprehension was a wonderful and joyous undertaking, difficult for those who had not yet reached High Rank to understand.
Of course, comprehending laws did not mean solely staring at the monument of laws. He also occasionally utilized his skills, borrowing their power to comprehend laws.
Abilities and laws were mutually reinforcing.
The power of laws could greatly enhance one's abilities, but conversely, one's existing abilities aided in understanding laws.
The stronger one's abilities and the higher their talent, the easier it was to comprehend certain laws.
While Instructor Fang played the role of a hands-off manager, Xin Huo's development did not halt.
More than two years ago, Xin Huo Secret Realm was upgraded to Level 8. The number of oasis slots increased from 6 to 12.
Naturally, Xin Huo had secretly established outposts in multiple locations, incorporating and managing these oases.
As of today,
Xin Huo still possessed only one Level 9 oasis. However, it now had a total of eight Level 7 and 8 oases. This number was comparable to the dominant human factions and even stronger than those like the Red Sand Kingdom.
"To avert disaster, one must possess the power to confront... at least resist the evil gods, and second, be able to save the life force of the strange realms."
The key lay in the oases.
Oases were the strange realms' means of self-salvation. Clearly, cultivating more super oases would benefit the strange realms.
For the newly incorporated oases, Fang You considered carefully and did not choose to spread them thinly across the strange realms. Instead, he selected oases within the Eastern Strange Realm.
More precisely, oases located near the Falling Star Domain, excluding those in the Shattered Sea.
"However, while upgrading oases is easy, managing and developing them is considerably more difficult."
Oases required a certain number of permanent residents.
Since there were residents, he had to ensure their safety and build the oases into impregnable fortresses.
This was not easy.
The dominant factions' super oases were located within the same domain, making mutual reinforcement effortless. However, Xin Huo's oases were separated by vast domains, and travel between them took considerable time.
Oh, they also had secret realm passages? Never mind then.
But oases required permanent garrisons and accompanying legendary defense arrays. These were all essential.
Due to the dispersion of resources and effort across multiple locations, the development of Oasis No. 2, 'Burning Fire,' had been slower. More than two years later, the Burning Fire Oasis was still a hair's breadth away from 'Level 8 Perfection.'
"However, Burning Fire City has become the most prosperous large city in the entire Falling Star Domain, and even in the surrounding dozens of domains."
Hundreds of large merchant guilds had established branches in the Burning Fire Market. They came from dozens of surrounding domains and focused their operations on the Burning Fire Oasis.
There was no other reason than that for merchant guilds to grow, they had to closely align themselves with the giant ship that was Burning Fire.
While the Burning Fire Merchant Guild might lag far behind the four overlords of the Shattered Sea, in the eyes of various domains and kingdoms, it was already a colossal entity.
If the Burning Fire Merchant Guild's power was comparable to theirs, or even slightly stronger, they might covet the profits of the Burning Fire Market. But with Burning Fire's power far surpassing theirs, they had only one thought left...
Hold on tight!
With the continuous investment from large merchant guilds across various domains, the construction of the Burning Fire Market progressed rapidly. Xin Huo did not need to invest much manpower or material resources; they only needed to sell land.
First, they earned money from land sales. Second, they had various parties contribute to the market's construction. It was a win-win situation.
Consequently, the magnificence of the Burning Fire Market rivaled that of Starfire City before its advancement, but the total investment was less than one-fifth, and it continued to bring in a steady income for Xin Huo.
Mimicking the Burning Fire Market model, Xin Huo also established two other markets in the Eastern Strange Realm.
The purpose was to leverage external help for construction.
Otherwise, in just over two years, it would have been too difficult for Xin Huo to build several super cities. The construction of many large cities still did not meet the Level 7 standard.
The Burning Fire Market, of course, met and far exceeded the Level 8 standard.
Land within the oasis was scarce, and even plots in the outermost, less frequented areas of the market were fiercely contested by many merchants.
There had even been joint petitions from major merchants, urging the market to expand.
After all, outside the market walls, within the oasis, there was still a vast amount of usable land! If the Burning Fire Market were deserted, it would be one thing, but the market was bustling with shops. Yet, the Burning Fire Merchant Guild did not continue to expand and earn more money... This baffled many.
The Burning Fire Merchant Guild was clearly fond of money!
"Of course, a large amount of oasis land must be reserved to maximize the harvesting of destiny points during an attack by strange creatures."
"Burning Fire Oasis can also begin preparations for the promotion war."
War materials and ritual arrangements had long been prepared.
Xin Huo had experience and power far exceeding that of three years ago, making the promotion war a trivial matter.
However, the Burning Fire Market was an oasis with a high volume of trade. Before the promotion war began, they needed to notify the various merchant guilds within the city to give them time to prepare.
"Let's set the date for 45 days from now... Wait."
He suddenly felt a tremor.
The threads of fate rippled irregularly.
Fang You opened his eyes and looked towards the Central Strange Realm, shrouded in vast darkness.
"It's an omen."
"The second omen, the second impact, is about to arrive."
...
Central Strange Realm, on the outskirts.
The gray mist was dark and heavy, exuding an ominous aura. Terrifying colossal figures flickered in and out of existence within the mist.
"Seven-star strange creature, eight-star strange creature, eight-star strange creature..."
"The number of high-level strange creatures seems to have increased. Is this just my imagination?"
A spirited old man stroked his long white beard and joked.
However, beside him, a younger-looking Sage, who seemed to not grasp the humor, looked towards the vast grayness in the distance with an increasingly grim expression.
"I'm afraid it's not your imagination."
"!!!" The old man's hand, which was stroking his beard, suddenly froze. His eyes widened. "Cang Tu, you mean..."
"An omen?"
He asked tentatively.
Sage Cang Tu pondered for a moment and nodded.
"It is likely an omen, the sign of the second awakening of the evil gods. We will face a more ferocious tide of disaster."
"It's so soon."
The old man... Sage Bai Yao also looked grave.
The first tide of disaster had inflicted significant damage on the Seven Stars Alliance, and the losses for human forces were even more catastrophic, with entire domains having their human oases completely overturned.
For the second, humanity would undoubtedly be better prepared, yet...
This tide of disaster would undoubtedly be even more ferocious.
What weighed most heavily on Sage Bai Yao's mind was the short interval between them.
Under the world's favor, humanity had indeed made significant progress in just a few years, but compared to the approaching disaster, this progress seemed... too insignificant!
"But we have no choice."
"Indeed, but there is no need for despair. I see a glimmer of hope."
Sage Cang Tu said, "Perhaps the evil gods are in a weakened state, perhaps there is an opportunity we have not yet discovered, or perhaps it is related to the legendary Level 10 oases..."
Fate always leaves a sliver of life.
He believed so.
Humanity had often faced great calamities, yet they had still proliferated from insignificance to become overlords. He believed that no matter how great the disaster, humanity would not perish.
"We must prepare for this tide of disaster as soon as possible... Brother Bai Yao, prepare to convene an alliance meeting."
Sage Cang Tu paused. "There is one more thing. Level 9 oases are lands of hope, but they are also thorns in the eyes of disaster. Perhaps, under the tide of disaster, Level 9 oases will suffer particularly fierce impacts."
"Do not let your guard down simply because you wield the power of a Level 9 oasis."
"...I hope Brother Bai Yao will convey these words to the oases in all regions."
The two looked at the unspeakable terror in the depths of the strange realms, then turned and left, their figures disappearing into the dense gray mist.
...
Around the same time.
In a certain vast domain comparable to the Shattered Sea, where the horizon was entirely ocean.
The Nine Seas Domain.
This was the core domain of the Sea Monster Empire.
Sea monsters, like humans, were present in many domains, but more than half of the Sea Monster Empire's strength was concentrated within the Nine Seas Domain.
In the recent past, the Sea Monster Empire had also produced multiple Level 9 oases.
On this day, a voice echoed from the imperial court.
"Prepare for war. Let the servants of the evil gods and the servants of the evil gods alike return with naught!"
...
The Myriad Beast Frontier.
The territory they occupied was vaster than the Sea Monster Empire, and consequently, their power was more dispersed.
Their strength was concentrated within three major domains.
The three strongest tribes held sway.
"Great Priest, are you saying that the tide of disaster is imminent?"
"Great Priest, there is no need to worry. My Black Blood Tribe has millions of valiant sons who will tear all disasters to shreds!"
"War! War!"
...
The Elemental Spirit Court.
Among the four overlords – Human, Sea Monster, Myriad Beast, and Elemental – this was the race with the fewest members.
Some imperial clans within the Spirit Court had only dozens or hundreds of members.
However,
"My Elemental Spirit Court is the most united, and its power is the most concentrated."
"In contrast, humans, while the strongest intelligent race, have dispersed power. With this approach, human forces will suffer heavy losses under the impact of the tide."
The path for humans was difficult, but their own future was also bleak.
A hidden existence let out a faint sigh.