Chapter 7: "I am here. Are you ready?"

Chapter 7, Volume 7

Lan Sheng stepped close to the Xuanhuang Mirror and saw an unimaginably colossal nebula spinning rapidly within it. Like a beast starved for ages, it was frantically devouring the helpless void surrounding it.

"Why is it like this?" Lan Sheng turned his head to ask Zhuo Hua.

A faint smile graced Zhuo Hua’s face as he sat down by the tea table. He picked up a cup of freshly brewed tea and took a leisurely sip. The lingering fragrance made him exclaim in appreciation, "The Jia Meng tea from the Southern Flame Continent is truly refreshing to both body and mind!"

Suddenly realizing that Lan Sheng was still staring at him intently, Zhuo Hua smiled sheepishly and said, "This matter is rather troublesome to explain. I originally thought you were just asking in passing. Actually, all you need to know is that when the image in the mirror appears, it means that nebula does not have much time left. It is approaching the end of its life and will soon give birth to a Nine Heavens Nova."

"But didn't Yuan Shang say that my arm requires the essence of the golden sun gathered during the eruption of a Nine Heavens Nova to activate the Thousand-Mechanism Urn and perfectly restore my arm? What does this nebula have to do with that?"

Zhuo Hua gave a light cough. "I told you, this isn't something that can be explained in just a few words. Since you wish to understand, I will give you a brief explanation."

"When the Primordial Master first created the world, he used his supreme divine power and boundless wisdom to create countless brilliant golden suns for this endless void. These golden suns vary in size, but their internal composition is largely similar. The reason a golden sun can continuously radiate boundless light is because it contains countless golden sun essences within its body. These essences cannot be seen with our eyes, yet they truly exist."

"Countless essences within the golden sun collide and press against one another, causing the interior of the golden sun to grow hotter and hotter. Such high temperatures would cause any metal in this realm to instantly melt into wispy vapors and flee in all directions the moment it touched them."

"Such extreme temperatures force the essence of the golden sun to continually escape outward. After countless ages, as the internal essence dwindles, the golden sun's outer shell can no longer support itself and rapidly collapses inward. Under immense pressure, a massive explosion erupts."

Hearing this, Lan Sheng couldn't help interrupting, "Is that what you call a Nine Heavens Nova explosion?"

Zhuo Hua shook his head. "No. Although this is also a great explosion, the escaping golden sun essence is extremely, extremely scarce. Even if we collected every last bit of it, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy the activation of the Thousand-Mechanism Urn."

Lan Sheng asked with some disappointment, "Then what counts as a Nine Heavens Nova explosion?"

Zhuo Hua shot him a sideways glance and said, "Listen carefully until I finish! After the great explosion, a very large nebula will form in the exact spot of the dead golden sun. Although this nebula looks quite loose, it spins ceaselessly across a space stretching for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of *ren*."

"One day, when the rotational speed of the nebula reaches an extreme limit, it will pull in all the void surrounding it, thereby achieving the purpose of condensing the essence."

"When the condensed essence becomes sufficient, it will trigger the so-called Nine Heavens Nova explosion. The light generated by this explosion will blanket every visible space. If we can collect all of this gigantic escape of golden sun essence, we can push the firepower of the Thousand-Mechanism Urn to its maximum, and thus complete your heaven-defying destiny-altering ritual."

With that, Zhuo Hua took another sip of tea from his cup, but Lan Sheng still looked at him in utter bewilderment.

"I told you it's very complex, and even if I explained it, you might not understand. The reason I told you so much is to show you how great the ancestors of Xuanhuang were. He completed the cycle of life from existence to nothingness, and then from nothingness back to existence. From then on, life flows endlessly in an infinite cycle. The end of a bug's lifetime is perhaps the beginning of a person's new birth—how wondrous!"

Suddenly, Lan Sheng looked up at the blue sky outside the window and said with a face full of yearning, "Yuan Shang, what kind of person do you think the Primordial Master was? How wonderful it would be if one could meet him!"

Zhuo Hua slowly set down his cup, raised his head as well, and looked at the sky together with Lan Sheng.

"Indeed! What kind of person was he? So carefree and untethered, unbound by any restrictions, capable of creating time, determining the birth and destruction of a void, and dictating the rise and fall of countless voids. When we think of what we are doing today, how trivial and utterly worthless it is!"

Lan Sheng nodded. "Just like the ants beneath the tall tree in the distance—they probably cannot comprehend the state of mind of Yuanjun, who saves all living beings and holds the entire world in her heart. *Summer insects cannot speak of ice*—that is precisely the principle."

Just as the two of them were indulging in sentimental melancholy, Zhuo Ying walked in carrying a food box. As she took the dishes out one by one and arranged them on the table, she called out to them, "Come and eat! You can chat after you've finished eating."

Lan Sheng glanced back, gave a bitter smile, and said, "Just like us cultivators who have not yet ascended to the divine ranks, we still have to bustle about for three meals a day, toiling away just to fill our stomachs. Unlike Yuan Shang here, who only needs to gather the essence of the golden sun and inhale the primordial breath of heaven and earth to live as long as heaven and earth itself. Ah, time to eat."

With that, he walked over to the dining table. Just as he reached out his hand to pinch a piece of braised pork belly in the bowl, Zhuo Ying struck his hand away with a chopstick, forcing him to pull it back.

Zhuo Ying scolded with a smile, "You're a grown man, and you don't even know to wash your hands before eating? And you call yourself a prince of Changshan State! I really don't know what kind of rules your royal family has."

Seeing that Lan Sheng was still standing rooted to the spot, refusing to go wash his hands, Zhuo Ying had no choice but to put down her chopsticks and push Lan Sheng step by step toward the washbasin. Lan Sheng feigned extreme reluctance as he shuffled his feet, but in his heart, he was thoroughly enjoying this very moment.

Zhuo Hua watched them with eyes full of fatherly affection, looking very much like an elder. Suddenly feeling somewhat intrusive, he remarked, "People like us who have crossed the divine rank are unworthy of eating the delicacies made by little Yu'er; eating them would just be a waste! I think I'd better go fish by the stream in Cuiwei Mountain."

With that, he made to leave. Seeing this, Zhuo Ying hurriedly called out, "Yuan Shang, don't leave! I specially made your favorite sweet and sour fish. Let's eat together."

Lan Sheng finished washing his hands reluctantly, curled his lips, and said, "You are a fish yourself, yet you actually dare to use fish as a dish—*how can you be so impatient to cook your own kind!* Having said that, he shook his head in feigned disappointment.

In exasperation, Zhuo Ying grabbed Lan Sheng by the ear, twisting it so hard he grimaced in pain and begged for mercy repeatedly.

The three of them took their seats and began to eat. Zhuo Hua happily savored the delicious sweet and sour fish, beaming with smiles.

"Little Yu'er’s culinary skills have improved!" Zhuo Hua praised between bites.

Zhuo Ying busily picked out food for the two of them. Hearing Zhuo Hua praise her, her little face immediately flushed red. "I'm just cooking blindly. As long as big brother likes it, Zhuo Ying is very happy."

"Then during these days when I was away, has your cultivation progressed? After the meal, I'm going to test you!"

Upon hearing that Zhuo Hua was going to test her cultivation, the radiance on Zhuo Ying's face vanished instantly. She hurriedly argued, "Big brother, look at me—during this period, I've had to deal with rebellions and then get locked in the Celestial Prison of the Cloud Palace; how could I possibly have any time to cultivate? Besides, I have to go help Sister Qin and Sister Su with something later—a very important matter that cannot be delayed..."

Her voice grew softer and softer, losing all confidence until she finally put down her chopsticks and bolted away like a puff of smoke.

The two men, chopsticks still in hand, stared blankly at the empty space where Zhuo Ying had been.

"What is she doing?" Zhuo Hua asked.

"It looks like she's running away from your test." Lan Sheng lowered his head and continued eating.

Zhuo Hua shook his head and said, "Just blindly running away from cultivation isn't a solution! I heard that Su Xin has already stepped into the immortal rank, whereas she doesn't seem to have made any progress after all this time. You, a divine-rank expert, really ought to urge her more!"

Lan Sheng also shook his head and said, "Forget it! Yuan Shang, don't you know your sworn younger sister? She is willing to do anything else in this world, but she simply refuses to cultivate. I've always been urging her, and she's quarreled with me many times over this. According to her logic, with so many experts around, her absence won't make a difference."

"What about ingenious mechanical arts? Does she have any interest in that?" Zhuo Hua paused his chopsticks and looked up at Lan Sheng.

"Forget it! With that brain of hers, she can even mix up the preceding and succeeding lines of the most rudimentary mental cultivation formulas. Asking her to look at those blueprints of mechanical arts would be no different from taking her life!" Lan Sheng flatly rejected the suggestion.

Zhuo Hua held his rice bowl, thought for a moment, and said, "Never mind. Wanting to live a more relaxed life is also a way of living. Not everyone wants to become an peerless expert and lead the masses."

The two remained silent for a moment. Suddenly remembering something, Lan Sheng looked up and said to Zhuo Hua, "Right, Yuan Shang, you should go check on Palace Master Qin and the newly arrived Su Mengling later. I heard from Little Yu'er that the two of them haven't been getting along very well lately."

"Did something happen?" Zhuo Hua put down his chopsticks and asked with concern.

"I don't know. Zhuo Ying just said they often bicker over trivial things—not big arguments, but the things they say are all full of sarcasm and hidden barbs. Ah, I can't explain it clearly. Yuan Shang, you'd better go ask them yourself!" With that, Lan Sheng reached out to scoop a third bowl of rice.

"How could I possibly go inquire about this? If I go, I'll be driven half to death by annoyance by the two of them!" Zhuo Hua muttered under his breath.

***

In a desolate region of the void a million *ren* away from the Lanling Void, a majestic fleet of bull-like warships was advancing in absolute silence. These void battleships were immensely grand and colossal, and the black golden sun patterns emblazoned on their hulls looked particularly striking under the sunlight.

The fleet was slowly marching in formation. The gigantic flagship at the very head advanced with an air of majestic dominance, like an elephant leading a pack of rats, striding proudly into the endless darkness.

On the bridge, a masked woman with hair reaching down to her waist and an alluring figure was gazing into the distance at the slowly receding golden sun.

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Upon seeing the woman's back, the subordinate hurriedly cupped his fists, dropped to one knee, and reported, "Reporting to the Polestar Grand Historian, we have just received a secret report from the Sun-Worshipping Cult: Song Xiang has been executed, and Zhuo Hua has retaken control of Cloud-Top Celestial Palace."

The woman addressed as the Polestar Grand Historian did not turn her head; she merely said indifferently, "Understood."

Just as the messenger was about to withdraw, the woman suddenly asked again, "How much further until our destination?"

The subordinate pondered for a moment and replied, "Reporting to the Grand Historian, we estimate ninety-five thousand years remain."

The woman waved her hand, signaling the messenger to exit the bridge, and murmured softly to herself, "I am coming. Are you ready?"