When Deng He asked, Fan Cheng thought for a moment and replied, "The price you'll have to pay will be decided by our Emperor. If you wish to ransom them, then have your respective countries send envoys to our Great Qian imperial capital to meet His Majesty and negotiate."
He had no idea what price the Emperor would demand from these Earthlings, as it wasn't mentioned in the letter.
Deng He was surprised by this answer and paused, but ultimately could only nod.
It seemed they wouldn't be able to bring back the missing passengers today, and he felt a sense of regret.
Without further words, everyone hastily boarded their landing craft and fled this new continent as if escaping.
For them, the experiences on this new continent called the Great Wilderness were far more eventful than the first half of their lives, and they had left an indelible scar.
The sight of cultivators battling advanced technological weaponry was truly shocking!
Of the countries slaughtered by Bai Zhan, such as the United States, only one person remained alive from each. This was so they could return and report, thus sparing their lives.
Compared to Deng He and his group, these soldiers and officers who had narrowly survived were already consumed by fear, with only the word "escape" echoing in their minds.
Upon seeing the landing craft dock, they fled in a panic, abandoning the bodies of their fallen comrades.
Thus, the United Earth Navy's first expedition to the new continent ended in failure.
Countries like the United States, Japan, and England suffered heavy losses, not only losing their fleet commanders but also a large number of elite special forces.
A few countries, led by China and Russia, suffered no losses, only expending a considerable amount of missiles and artillery shells.
The primary objective of the United Earth Navy, the rescue of the passengers from the cruise ship Nix, was not achieved. However, the good news was that there was confirmation that the missing passengers were still alive.
On the beaches of the Great Wilderness, Fan Cheng, Bai Zhan, and the southern and eastern garrisons watched the Earth fleets retreat, withdrawing from the Endless Sea.
Bai Zhan's expression was one of dissatisfaction. "We're just letting them go? Isn't that too lenient for these Earthlings?"
He had wanted to continue the slaughter, not necessarily to annihilate them all, but at least to sink the warships that had fired upon them.
Fan Cheng understood Bai Zhan's thoughts and explained,
"With our combined strength, destroying these Earth fleets would be more than enough. But I fear the Earthlings might have more than just these warships."
"Oh?" Bai Zhan was surprised. "More warships? Do they have some hidden means? Are they those big black fish lurking beneath the sea?"
With his cultivation at the Half-step Divine Rope realm, his spiritual sense could reach several kilometers. Thus, he had noticed several strangely shaped iron ships beneath the fleets at the beginning, which resembled big black fish.
From the memory fragments, Bai Zhan had learned that these big black fish were called submarines and were a type of ultimate weapon!
Fan Cheng nodded. His spiritual perception told him that the submarines lurking beneath the sea were extremely dangerous and likely carried nuclear weapons.
When he conveyed this thought to Bai Zhan, Bai Zhan's expression immediately turned grave.
He could tear apart ordinary missiles with his bare hands, but if it came to nuclear weapons, even ten of him wouldn't dare to try. That could kill them!
"Judging by the power of nuclear weapons, even if both of us reached the Divine Rope realm, we wouldn't be able to withstand the blast," Fan Cheng said with great solemnity.
Bai Zhan agreed, nodding. Having absorbed the memory fragments from the Earthlings, he had some understanding of nuclear weapons and knew how terrifying their power was.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "In this Great Wilderness, who could withstand a nuclear bombardment and survive? Perhaps only our Emperor, the Empress of Great Jin, and that old Beast Emperor in the Monster Beast Mountain?"
"The Southern Domain has no great powers. The strongest in the Great Wilderness today are only these three."
Fan Cheng nodded, feeling a sense ofæ„Ÿæ…¨.
The Great Wilderness was divided into four regions: East, South, West, and North. Great Qian occupied the Eastern Domain, Great Jin occupied the Northern Domain, and the Myriad Monster Kingdom of Monster Beast Mountain occupied the Western Domain.
The Southern Domain, on the other hand, was a chaotic land, divided among various factions, with a harsh environment.
It was impossible for even a Divine Rope realm cultivator to appear there, let alone a great power.
However, there were numerous ancient ruins, and even legendary Sage ruins were discovered in the Southern Domain.
...
The United Earth Navy's setback in the Great Wilderness and their ignominious retreat to the Pacific Ocean caused a sensation worldwide!
More importantly, the scenes of the cultivator army flying through the air, tearing missiles with their bare hands, shattering fighter jets, and finally executing the soldiers and officers of countries like the United States were all broadcast live by the Earth Times!
This was like pouring lava into already boiling water, setting the entire internet ablaze!
"Can someone tell me if this is a movie? Cultivators tearing fighter jets with their bare hands, impervious to blades and spears, a clash between cultivation civilization and technological civilization? This is too fantastical! It's simply not realistic!"
"Shocking news! Not only were humans discovered on the new continent, but they are cultivators, flying through the air with unparalleled combat power. Is Earth about to experience a spiritual energy resurgence?"
"Hiss... This is too shocking! Dozens of fighter jets, worth hundreds of billions, destroyed just like that? And those missiles couldn't even harm the cultivators, this is too heaven-defying!"
"Hundreds of people died from the United States and other countries. Does this mean Earth is going to war with cultivators? Will we be defeated?"
"This new continent is a continent of cultivators. How did it appear on Earth? Are the legends of Penglai Immortal Island from ancient Chinese history true?"
"........"
Everyone in the world paying attention to the Great Wilderness stopped their work, utterly stunned by the scenes in the live broadcast.
The appearance of the new continent alone was enough to shock everyone, and then the colossal Godzilla opened their eyes.
Now, a group of cultivators capable of flying through the air, like Superman, tearing missiles with their bare hands, had emerged, overwhelming people globally.
Do cultivators truly exist? Were the ancient Chinese myths and legends not lies? Is Earth on the verge of a spiritual energy resurgence? Is the era about to change? In what direction will the existing international situation develop?
Everyone realized that the sky over Earth was about to change!
Concurrently, as soon as Deng He and the representatives of various countries left the no-signal zone, they immediately reported everything that had happened on the new continent to their respective high commands.
The high-level officials of each country were shocked upon receiving the confirmed news!
Some even doubted in their hearts whether the United Earth Navy was lying and trying to swindle military funding.
However, the high-level officials also saw the live broadcast scenes and understood that everything was real and not fake.
It was only now that they received the affirmative replies from Deng He and the others.