Chapter 642 Year-End Auction (7200)

The brilliance of the twin moons waxed and waned. The Demon Moon, when not in its frenzied state, possessed a serene light, while the Sealed Moon remained perpetually dim, like an old street lamp, casting an alternating silver and yellow glow across the land.

Inside the flagship of the Port, the First Radiance, in the bridge.

Looking up at the moonlight that hadn't changed in eighty thousand years, the memories of the Silver Sylph flowed backward, as if returning to the past.

From birth until now, eighty thousand years of history, four hundred years of life, there was so much to remember.

But the one question that Xiaoxiao couldn't let go of was this:

"Why is it always me, always me who survives?"

Lying on her back in the captain's seat, in the undisturbed silence of the night, the Silver Sylph gazed at the shape of the moon, and couldn't help but mutter to herself: "Four eras, seventeen civilizations, hundreds of kingdoms, thousands of monarchs, billions of people... why is it only I, this tiny sprite, who has survived to this day?"

Although it was a question, Xiaoxiao knew the answer.

Because she was weak.

Because she was weak, she could be manipulated by machines, easily frozen in time, and live to see the era of renewed civilization.

This was not something to be ashamed of—Xiaoxiao's essence was that of a warship Silver Sylph, and the complete form of this artificial sprite race was meant to merge with the things they controlled.

Just as Xiaoxiao, if united with the First Radiance, might see her strength soar to Xin Guang (Heart Light) or even Shen Yi (Divine Intent).

But that was all.

Nothing could be changed.

She couldn't choose.

Xiaoxiao knew that all the children of the Hope Society were learning a new type of guidance technique from Professor Svetret, which could not only strengthen their souls, but also curb the worsening of demonization.

They were pursuing power.

Or rather, the right to choose.

Because of their past experiences as orphans, everyone knew that on this Aean Continent, only with power could they pursue and determine the direction of their own destinies.

Powerful, what a beautiful word.

Xiaoxiao envied that word.

"But, if you are not weak, you cannot survive."

Slowly closing her eyes, the sprite retracted her wings, curled up in the captain's seat, and sighed softly: "If I can't survive, I can't remember those who should be remembered."

——But, with power, one can choose one's own destiny.

For some reason, the voice of a person suddenly echoed in Xiaoxiao's mind.

It was no longer clear whether the voice was male or female, old or young. The only thing she could remember was its gentle tone.

"Xiaoxiao, your life has only just begun to dawn, you have not yet experienced many things in this world."

"We chose to let you live... because we hope you can be happy, that you can have a life of your own, and not just be a 'warship companion sprite'."

"You should grasp your own destiny, Xiaoxiao."

Choice, and survival.

At this moment, Xiaoxiao thought she would be distraught.

But at this time, she was surprisingly calm for some reason.

A faint halo lit up from inside the warship, then passed through the bridge, turning into an expanding sphere of light, spreading in all directions, throughout the port and the city.

In this light, all confusion became tranquil—not because the confusion was resolved, but because it no longer affected people's thoughts. People were no longer overwhelmed by anxiety, but could think calmly and rationally.

Xiaoxiao opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the light with a puzzled expression.

It was the direction where Professor Svetret's room was located.

At this moment, inside the room, Su Zhou, who had roughly completed the elementary chapter of 'Mingxin Zhengfa' (Mind-Clearing Righteous Method), opened his eyes.

The Mind-Clearing Cultivation Method incorporates many cultivation methods, including sacred geometry. Its fundamental key lies in the Divine Tree Method.

Even in the multiverse, the foundation of the Divine Tree is terrifyingly exaggerated. Even Su Zhou back then, with his own talent and the Undying Blood, could not surpass the Divine Tree lineage in terms of pure spiritual power reserves.

Although Su Zhou rarely relied on his body's spiritual power reserves to suppress enemies, now that he had a chance to start over, why not do so?

Centered on Su Zhou, silvery-green energy veins were spreading in all directions, like blood vessels and roots taking root in the atmosphere, absorbing and purifying source energy that was difficult for ordinary people to utilize. A slight air current was spinning in the room, stirring up a small storm.

A faint light of wisdom emanated from him, which was the same as that of the Tree of Wisdom, but with subtle differences.

As the holder and fertilizer of the spirit of the Tree of Wisdom, Su Zhou's understanding of the Tree of Wisdom far surpassed that of other Divine Trees—this time, relying on the Reincarnation Immortal Method, he had completely integrated some of the characteristics of the Tree of Wisdom into his own cultivation method, and the 'Light of Mingxin' (Mind-Clearing Light) derived from the light of wisdom was one of them.

The light of wisdom from the Tree of Wisdom would give people inspiration and make them more intelligent. But likewise, the light of wisdom would also allow people to comprehend some strange knowledge that was useless, such as 'Stewed pork with beer tastes better!' 'I see, I should have gone up, up, down, down, left, right, A, B to clear that game!'

The Light of Mingxin was the same: for friendly units, it could stabilize doubts and confusion, make people's minds clear, and allow them to think calmly about their actions before proceeding.

And for enemy units... it would fast forward to a state of 'I understand the principles, but why are the pigeons so big?'

In other words, the mind would be so clear that it would completely forget to think, leaving only a bright gaze.

As for what was a friend and what was an enemy, it was purely a matter of subjective judgment.

At this moment, Su Zhou also noticed that Xiaoxiao was outside his door, seemingly hesitant and uncertain.

So he simply opened his mouth and said, "Is there anything I can do for you? Ms. Xiaoxiao?"

"If there is anything, please come in, I'm not asleep yet."

After he spoke, some time passed.

*Click.*

The Silver Sylph flapped her steel wings and floated hesitantly into Su Zhou's room.

"...A very familiar aura, Professor Svetret."

She said softly, her tone full of doubt: "This is not the aura of a demon, nor is it the aura of a human... it is more like that of a treant, the aura of the treants' initial great tree."

"It makes one feel peaceful, the body light, as if in a pleasant dream..."

Speaking to this point, the sprite paused slightly, and then, Xiaoxiao said seriously: "What race are you exactly?"

"Could it be that you really are the initial..."

"I am not."

Su Zhou interrupted her calmly.

He didn't say much: "But I can be. Anyone can be."

Then, there was silence again.

"Can I learn?"

Seemingly with great courage, confusion, and some probing, the silver sylph in the appearance of a girl took a deep breath: "Learn... your cultivation method?"

Xiaoxiao's tone at this time was as if she was expecting someone to refuse her.

It would be better to say that she regretted it as soon as she said it, but she was also expectant, wanting someone to choose for her. This complex and incomparable mood was difficult to describe in words.

Both fearful and expectant; both hesitant and unwilling.

She waited for the reply of the professor in front of her.

"Good."

To this, Su Zhou just nodded and agreed with a smile.

"Anyone can learn."

Time passed quickly.

Starting in mid-November, the seaside city ushered in a rather strange period.

Every morning, large teams of city guards or patrol guards could be seen hurrying through the streets.

They were in a hurry, with solemn expressions, as if something terrible had happened—but soon, these people would return empty-handed and leave in disappointment.

According to the descriptions of the surrounding residents, every time the city guards were dispatched, it was because of a mysterious disappearance.

At some point in the middle of the night, a flash of light would suddenly pass through the darkness, followed by the rattling of windows and the crying of children. Then, the windows of a house would be broken, and the owner would disappear without a trace, as terrifying as if they had been spirited away.

However, according to the testimony of some half-grown children who liked to sneak out at night, they saw a tall shadow flying in the sky with a figure hanging upside down. Unfortunately, the speed was too fast, and they did not see the specific appearance of the shadow and the figure.

Disappearance cases were a big deal for the long-peaceful seaside city, even more rare than dead people.

After all, on the Aean continent, even a temporary quarrel would provoke the anger of others, intending to use violence to solve the problem, so dead people were quite common, and many were accidental.

Kidnapping, on the other hand, was too deliberate and unexpectedly contained elements of conspiracy.

Without a doubt, in order to find clues, the city guards quickly dispatched and searched the homes of those who had been kidnapped...

Now it was much more embarrassing, as they discovered many espionage intelligence there, including, but not limited to, the seaside city's population statistics, the distribution of important facilities, the location of the mobile city's source energy core, and the general situation of the military.

When these things were discovered, the atmosphere of anger and embarrassment affected the entire force—it was easy to imagine what profession the people holding these things had.

They were spies from the Empire.

And the fact that the missing persons in the special disappearance cases that appeared every morning were all spies from the Empire highlighted the incompetence of the city guards and the seaside city's special intelligence units... and confused them.

"Let's not talk about how these guys were found—I'll just assume there are special intelligence channels."

The head of the seaside city's intelligence team, a member of the Falses family, pointed to the chart behind him in his office and said solemnly to the team members: "So many Imperial spies are collecting information on all of our seaside city's key facilities. What does this mean? I think it goes without saying."

"The Empire has ulterior motives towards us, and the days ahead must be ten times more cautious than before!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Damn it!"

At the same time, in an inconspicuous small building in the seaside city, a young man dressed in the gorgeous clothing of the Asmodei Empire angrily punched the table. He frowned, glaring fiercely at the sweating subordinates in front of him: "Our intelligence network in the seaside city has been pulled out by more than half in the past ten days or so... that's a network that we spent decades slowly arranging!"

"Now, they have disappeared, just like sweeping away spider webs in a house. Even if they are found again, they will be full of broken threads—not to mention that His Majesty the Emperor will be furious because of this, even the anger of the Major General of the Third Army is unbearable for us!"

"But we can't even give them an explanation now. We can't even find out the true nature of the enemy, and we don't even know if our people are dead or alive?"

"S, sir..."

Faced with the young officer's anger, the intelligence officer could only answer tremblingly: "I can be sure that our people are indeed fine, but their current condition is very bad. Perhaps they are in some kind of coma, or in a special mental state, unable to communicate with source energy..."

"Then find a way to wake up these trash!"

The young officer raised his head and glared, his tone harsh and full of mockery: "Don't forget your duties. The year-end auction is about to start, and we need intelligence. As a result, this group of trash is being discovered one after another... Ha, they have even become vigilant. If I don't have a good reason, I, as the Empire's envoy, can't even leave this small building!"

"Gernas, I even suspect that there is a traitor at a high level in the Empire's intelligence system in the seaside city..."

The officer's tone was obviously threatening and questioning.

And what he said was undoubtedly what the intelligence chief was worried about.

Indeed, judging by the speed at which the intelligence network was being pulled out, a spy was the only reasonable explanation.

However, he couldn't find this spy, and according to logic, only he could be the spy, so that he could uproot the complex Imperial intelligence network in just ten days.

In order to clear his own suspicion and prevent his family in the Empire from being burned as fuel, the intelligence chief knew that he must do his best.

However, the lack of clues was a lack of clues, just like no amount of rage could solve a math problem.

When the young officer, wearing a black face, almost forced the local intelligence chief to jump off the building, but still did not get any intelligence or detect that the other party had betrayed him in the slightest, he simply asked the intelligence chief to leave, calmed himself down, and sat frowning in his office chair.

"Strange... Gernas has not betrayed me, I can still confirm this."

He muttered to himself: "Could it be just a coincidence that they are acting, and they don't know the real purpose of our Second and Third Armies?"

"Then who is so bold as to dare to provoke the majesty of the Empire?"

His mind quickly ran through the list of several people who were also in the seaside city, powerful, and hostile to the Empire. The young officer said to himself: "No, they don't have that strength... Even if that Professor Svetret is a Shen Yi (Divine Intent) expert, why doesn't he just kill those people?"

"Hard to understand..."

Of the Empire's twenty-eight armies, the top four were the Emperor's Guards, the true core force of the Asmodei royal family.

Among them, the First Army guarded the Tower of Babel, the Second and Third Armies were stationed around the capital, and the Fourth Army patrolled the central region, clearing bandits and mobile demonized settlements.

And this time, as an officer directly under Major General Corentia of the Third Army, his purpose in coming to the seaside city was precisely for the 'Chang Sheng Huo Mu' (Eternal Life Firewood) in the year-end auction, which was already well known among the Empire's upper echelons.

The Emperor was very interested in source energy plants from ancient times. This was well known in the imperial capital circle. The last person who provided His Majesty with a fossilized root of an ancient plant had now become a new frontier earl. No one could ignore a reward of this level.

More importantly, the source energy core of the seaside city's core city... was derived from an ancient creation of the previous era.

If not, if the energy was not extremely abundant, they would not have been able to continue to implement preferential policies and gradually build the seaside city into such a behemoth.

"Only His Majesty the Emperor is qualified to possess such treasures—whether it is the Eternal Life Firewood or the Holy Sun Engine, it is the same."

Standing up somewhat gloomily, the young officer raised his head and looked at the inner city outside the window: "And this seaside city, although said to be extremely prosperous, actually associates with the foul-smelling demonized people... I will leave this damn place immediately after the mission is completed."

"I really don't want to stay in this dirty place with filthy air for even half a moment!"

At the same time.

Just as the attacked Imperial forces were suspicious and intimidating each other.

Su Zhou, however, had analyzed the purpose of the Imperial delegation from the mouths of many Imperial secret agents who had been washed into a daze by the Light of Mingxin.

The man who had already advanced was completely crushing those secret agents who were only hidden and whose highest hard strength was only Ling Hui (Aura Radiance). He could grab them all back like lifting kittens by the scruff of their necks with one hand in each.

"As expected, it's for the tree core of the Divine Tree... Although the people of this world don't know the true value of the Divine Tree, rare things are always treasures. Even if it is just the most insignificant power of longevity, it will be extremely desired."

"Moreover, one of the source energy cores in the seaside city is actually forged from a fragment of the Holy Sun... No wonder they don't seem to be demanding of the souls of the demonized people and have the spare power to implement various preferential policies."

Saying this with emotion, Su Zhou put down the teacup in his hand.

And in front of him were a dozen figures who were working hard, transporting all kinds of supplies into the First Radiance.

He did not kill these Imperial secret agents who had been captured by him, but after slightly disguising their appearance, he used them as laborers for the Hope Society—after all, it was impossible for Su Zhou to always transport supplies by himself. He had many things to do, such as teaching the children junior high school mathematics, which could not be wasted on these things.

After the work was completed, Su Zhou planned to delete their memories related to him after a while and put them back.

Why do this?

The most important thing was that it was not necessary.

Even if they were enemies, Su Zhou had no intention of killing people indiscriminately. These Imperial secret agents were indeed spies, but they were not stained with blood and had not done anything truly evil.

After all, as a secret agent, the most important thing was not to attract attention.

Being evil would inevitably be discovered. If you want to be someone who is not suspected, you must be a good person.

Regardless of whether it was their true nature, at least the secret agents had not committed evil—the few who did had already died.

The remaining ones had no reason to be harmed.

In fact, Su Zhou not only did not harm these people, but also passed on the cultivation method of Burning Ember Fire to them—even if they were not demonized people, they could also practice this cultivation method to slowly improve the purity of their souls.

To be honest, Su Zhou didn't mind this at all. He believed that this would instead allow this cultivation method to spread rapidly in the Imperial side and expand his influence in the mobile city circle.

At that time, coupled with Cicero's propaganda in fixed villages, it would not take a few months before a considerable number of people would begin to actively spread this cultivation method, and the demonized people would undoubtedly benefit from it.

"Well, Cicero is doing a great job—in just a few weeks, he has spread the guidance technique to more than seventy villages, thousands of people?"

Calming down and feeling it slightly, Su Zhou was suddenly shocked: "Good fellow, how did he do it?!"

The answer was viral advertising and free distribution!

On the Aean continent, which Su Zhou did not know, an off-road vehicle with a large red banner hanging on it, which read 'Free source energy guidance technique distribution, no deception, special effects for demonization!' was traversing the wilderness in a series of explosions.

The loud explosion was like thunder, attracting attention just by appearing. If you add the red-haired woman in the driver's seat, who was shouting excitedly from time to time and raising the loudspeaker to say a classic promotional line, even a hermit would not be able to help but look sideways.

"Come and take a look, a free high-level cultivation method that can curb demonization and condense the soul!"

"The original price was 19,998 Imperial coins, but now it's free, all free, and given away for free!"

"Don't think it's a fake. You poor ghosts, think carefully about what is worth us cheating you out of!"

"You don't need to buy it, we will force it to your door!"

She laughed loudly, shouting and bewitching with her manipulative promotional words.

If you didn't look at Cicero's lifeless face in the passenger seat and Cecilia, who was imitating Fonia's every move in the back seat, clenching her little fists and waving them, everything would be perfect, with a wild sense of beauty.

Seeming to think that this kind of propaganda was not strong enough, Fonia snapped her fingers.

Immediately, a box in the back of the car was ejected in a slight explosion and thrown towards an ignorant town not far away—and all that was contained in the box were the simplest versions of the Burning Ember Fire cultivation method, with simple diagrams.

The constant brainwashing sound would linger in any village for three days under the effect of magic, and if the cheap printed books inside the box wanted to spread, it would be enough for all the residents in the entire wilderness to have one in their hands.

"Interesting, too interesting!"

At this moment, Fonia was simply in a state of frenzy. She laughed and attacked, and then pulled out a huge banner, ready to hang it on the fence of a village that would pass by later.

Having practiced the Burning Ember Fire for some time, as a pioneer space adventurer with a far better talent than Cicero, Fonia could clearly feel that the impurities in her soul had been purified a lot, and her thinking had become more transparent.

Because of this, she was amazed and impressed by the various knowledge contained in this cultivation method.

Then, she became more and more proud of her choice!

"Hahaha, as expected of me, this cultivation method must have at least an A-level branch, or even a higher-level top-level task behind it!"

Madly hitting the steering wheel and throwing a box of leaflets and cultivation classics into a village, Fonia drifted the off-road vehicle in the wilderness. She wanted to sing a song at this moment: "Sure enough, as an explorer, you must dare to make decisions! I have decided on the reward for this hidden task related to the Candle Sun!"

The Candle Sun, in the mouths of explorers in the multiverse, was certainly a typical intrusion boss.

But likewise, He was also considered a large task publisher who came uninvited!

No matter what world, as long as the Candle Sun appeared, it meant turmoil, change, recreation, restoration, conflict, and opposition.

The tasks He released were either to save the world or to shatter the old world and recast the new world.

As long as you follow behind the Candle Sun and are not killed by the Candle Sun, you will definitely be able to eat tasks to the fullest and explore more unknown possibilities!

Fonia was confident that apart from liking to do explosions, being a little unscrupulous, and having a not-so-good personality, she was also a bit crazy and habitually maliciously spoiled the endings of novels, movies, and games to her friends, but overall, she was still a good girl.

The Candle Sun would not kill her, so there was nothing to be afraid of—the most important thing next was to get involved!

"Holy Sun is above, how can this crazy woman have so much energy... Let her rest for a while, I want to say 'No gifts this holiday season' as soon as I open my mouth..."

Cicero's idea was very simple—he hadn't slept well for ten consecutive days and had basically been listening to loud advertisements and brainwashing all day long. The man felt that he was not only about to go deaf but was also about to suffer a mental breakdown.

You need to know that in the case where propaganda does not work, Cicero often has to personally demonstrate in the identity of a demonized patient in order to convince the suspicious villagers of the authenticity of the cultivation method.

He was physically and mentally exhausted. Cicero's strength was not that high, so it was normal that he couldn't hold on now.

"No, even if I can bear it, Cecilia can't bear it!"

Taking a deep breath, the man decided to have a good chat with Fonia, a woman with a mysterious origin: "Madam, I think..."

But he closed his mouth after only saying half a sentence.

Because Fonia also closed her mouth.

The two looked out of the car window, at the place where the horizon was located.

At this moment.

In the distance beyond the horizon, a cloud of dust suddenly rose.

Then, accompanied by violent source energy fluctuations, a golden and brilliant mobile battleship flew towards the east of the continent at a flying speed.

The solemn ship, the castle-like ship body, the indestructible armor, and the huge Holy Sun totem engraved on the outer shell...

"That is the battleship of the Holy Sun Church..."

Even Fonia, who was informal, could not help but look serious after seeing the golden battleship paint: "So mighty, those strange and stubborn people, idiots who worship the sun, where are they going?"

After analyzing it, the explorer keenly noticed the connection between things: "East... Are they going to the seaside city, or are they going to the direction where the meteorite fell?"

She guessed right.

But it was not just that.

At this moment, similar mobile fleets were advancing everywhere on the Aean continent, moving from all directions towards the seaside holy land located in the southeast corner.

The Empire, the Yan Frost Army, the Holy Sun Church, the Light-Chasing Order, the Sommos Merchant Guild, the East Sea Nobles Alliance...

Some were huge, some were small, some were advanced, and some were damaged.

Different from each other, but together they could form a small mobile city. The fleet was surging towards the direction where the seaside city was located.

Soon, it would be December, the end of the year.

The seaside city, the year-end auction.

It was about to begin.

Although it's not big, let's see if I can write a second update tonight.