Chapter 215 - 180: Information about Lan’er World, Preparations for the Battle of the Floating Fall

Chapter 215: Chapter 180: Information about Lan’er World, Preparations for the Battle of the Floating Fall

Zhang Ji still remembered that the spatial rift leading to the Lan’er World was supposed to be in a subterranean city that had fully descended.

There was even a World Tree sapling inside it.

That’s right, the very thing he’d been after all this time.

But now, it seemed the butterfly effect had struck again.

A fairy, fleeing for its life, had been blessed by the heavens, which opened a rift for it ahead of schedule, allowing it to reach Origin Star.

And along with it, a Master Level Alchemist on the verge of becoming a Legendary.

The first phase of Balder’s interrogation was over.

It hadn’t been difficult. He was no professional spy.

They forced an Alchemy Potion down his throat, applied a few other methods, and he told them everything he knew.

From the world’s power structures to the many experts he knew of, historical information, his knowledge of Magic, and so on—he basically told them everything, whether he was supposed to or not.

He even clearly confessed to poisoning his senior apprentice-brother at thirteen and killing his master at seventeen.

But even though he was rather unscrupulous, he wasn’t what you’d call a truly vile person.

The world of the Extraordinary over there is rather unique; the competition is warped.

A master’s apprentices are generally treated as test subjects for potions—tools to be discarded once they die.

There’s no sense of camaraderie between senior and junior apprentices; undermining one another is the norm.

By gathering information from Balder and supplementing it with confirmations from the fairy, Zhang Ji and the others came to understand the general situation of that world.

In terms of production capacity, it seemed quite primitive.

Demon Energy Technology seemed to exist, but its development was still crude, with no concept of computer chips.

Long-distance communication methods were also scarce. Remote conversation was only possible through corresponding Demon Crystals, and these Demon Communication Crystals were expensive. Only nobility and those with a certain social standing could afford them, so it was safe to assume that the flow of information was heavily restricted.

Their vehicles were also somewhat outdated.

They had airships and steamships, powered by a mix of steam engines and Demon Energy.

Supersonic speeds were definitely out of the question... In fact, even reaching a normal one hundred kilometers per hour would likely be difficult.

However, they did have teleportation arrays. The price was also exorbitant; the Mage Association’s arrays were open to the public, but a single teleport cost one thousand gold.

A literal one thousand Gold Coins.

"So they have large reserves of Gold?"

Giles’s focus was on this point.

Their Gold reserves were indeed abundant, much larger than the amount of normally mineable Gold on Origin Star.

On Origin Star, besides being a precious metal used in various mechanical devices, Gold was also an Alchemy resource.

Alchemy Technology burned through Gold at a ferocious rate, using it to manufacture all sorts of alchemical machinery and even Alchemy Drugs.

Once production ramped up in earnest, it could easily burn through a hundred tons or more.

If they had enough Gold, the development of Alchemy Technology on Origin Star could accelerate, leading to a significant boost in productivity.

"I’m curious, is the Gold from both worlds materially the same?" Ferguson asked.

"There are subtle distinctions, but no fundamental differences," Zhang Ji said.

This was evident from the Celestial Essence Realm.

The Gold from the Celestial Essence Realm wasn’t actually that different from the Gold on Origin Star; its properties were just slightly altered due to the influence of Spiritual Qi.

After all, from a broader perspective, all worlds were formed in the great void and composed of void particles. Their fundamental source was the same.

"Then if we go over there, won’t we be instantly rich?" Giles said.

"But they should have Extraordinary individuals who are even more powerful than us," Cyril said. "It’s not a world we can just walk all over."

Apprentice, Journeyman, Elite, Professional, Master, and Legendary.

These were the rank assessments conferred upon individual Extraordinaries by the Adventurers’ Guild, complete with certificates and mission-based evaluations.

The three top powers of the Lan’er World—the Arcane Federation, the Saint Silver Church Country, and the Mechanical Heart Empire—all essentially adopted this system, with only slight modifications to fit their own standards.

A Legendary was equivalent to an S-rank.

There were quite a few Legendaries over there. The three top powers alone had more than a dozen combined.

Other factions had a few as well, and there were also some unaffiliated Legendaries.

In comparison, Origin Star’s Saint King Council didn’t quite measure up.

With Zhang Ji included, they could barely secure a foothold, comparable to a major second-tier power.

"It’s not like we have to invade and wage war. If we want resources, we can just trade," Tran said.

"That makes sense. As long as the cost of war is higher than the cost of doing business, trade will be the better option," Ferguson said.

"I think it’s best not to get ahead of ourselves for now." Zhang Ji stopped the others, who were about to continue the discussion. "The technology we currently have for crossing spatial rifts cannot be replicated, and I’m the only one who can use it. Plus, we still have the Celestial Essence Realm to develop. Let’s not spread ourselves too thin."

"So we’re just going to ignore it?" Giles asked.

"Of course we’ll deal with it, just not right now," Zhang Ji said. "I already went to take a look. We can build a space station there for now, and then figure out how to approach development later."

Before the meeting began, Zhang Ji had taken a trip to outer space.

At his current realm, his level of life had changed. He could now survive, albeit with difficulty, in the vacuum of space and wouldn’t die.

He saw the spatial rift. It wasn’t very large, just an irregular fissure a little over three meters wide.

As Origin Star rotated, the rift was pulled along by its gravity, moving with it.

This was a characteristic of spatial rifts.

They aren’t fixed to a single spatial anchor, moving away as the planet rotates.

Instead, they are influenced by planetary gravity. In essence, spatial rifts are themselves caused by fluctuations in a world’s gravitational pull.

Otherwise, the spatial rift in Xia Yu Country would have changed its location long ago.

Therefore, it was possible to build a space station to enclose it.

After some discussion, the task of building the space station was assigned to Longzhou, formerly known as the Dragon Country.

Though Origin Star was large, few countries possessed such an industrial foundation.

Countries like the Xia Yu Country and the Roman Country already had their hands full, busy building up the foundations of Spiritual Technology while also vigorously developing Alchemy Technology.

So, this job was given to Longzhou. If things went smoothly, a portion of the subsequent development operations for the Lan’er World would also be handed over to them.

For the time being, Zhang Ji and the others considered the matter handled.

As for the matter of exploration, Zhang Ji had no plans to go himself.

He simply couldn’t be in two places at once.

The Ascetic Order’s plan in the Celestial Essence Realm was nearing its final stages, and he had to travel back and forth every other day.

He had no time to open up a new map.

He could only consider it once things in the Celestial Essence Realm had calmed down a bit.

"By the way, what should we do with that man?" Ferguson asked Zhang Ji.

"Keep him. Master Level Alchemists are quite rare," Zhang Ji said. "Let’s try to persuade him to surrender first. People like him don’t have any rigid sense of allegiance. Make some grand promises, offer enough benefits, and he’ll be useful."

The art of creating Magic Potions was very special.

It wasn’t merely a technology based on summarizing past experiences.

It also depended on talent and imagination.

To be more specific, take this as an example.

If you take a red Demon Berry, in the hands of two different Alchemists using the exact same refining method, it can become two completely different Magic Potions.

One, associating its red color with blood, might refine it into a [Healing Magic Potion] that restores a bit of health when consumed.

The other, associating its edibility with food, might end up with a [Berries Satiating Potion] that could stave off hunger for several days.

Even the same Alchemist, using the same materials and the same process, might not be able to replicate the exact same Magic Potion.

The plasticity of aetheric magical particles was simply too great; an Alchemist’s creation of a Magic Potion truly relied purely on their imagination.

The amount of knowledge one possessed was sometimes unimportant and could even hinder the refining process due to cognitive biases.

Therefore, in Demon Potion Science, talent related to imagination was paramount, with knowledge and skill being secondary.

A Master Level Alchemist was a true technical expert who could not be easily replaced or discarded.

If they could successfully persuade him to join their side, it would be much easier for Zhang Ji and the others to establish a foothold in that world later on.

Zhang Ji was rather confident about this.

Balder couldn’t easily return on his own, and now his freedom was restricted. Feigning cooperation was his best option.

To truly win him over, they would need to establish a community of shared interests.

The man was at the peak of A-rank. Whether he wanted to take the next step to become a Legendary, conduct research, or acquire other things, he would need a vast amount of resources.

These were difficult to obtain on one’s own; he would need the backing of a powerful faction.

And with Origin Star currently booming, once he saw the potential benefits, they wouldn’t even have to force him; he would voluntarily choose to work like a dog for them.

-----------------

「January 27th.」

Zhang Ji piloted the Ship of Hope, taking people with him on a trip to the Otherworld for the first time.

Ferguson was there, along with relevant martial artists.

None of them were below C-rank in strength.

For the time being, one had to be at least a Grandmaster to qualify for participation in the development of the Otherworld.

In addition to them, there were also some scholars and researchers.

In total, five hundred people would conduct the exploration together.

After arriving in the Celestial Essence Realm, they headed straight for the Yuyi Grotto-Heaven.

After Yan Jiulin and his cohort died, Zhang Ji became the most powerful person under Ling Xuzi.

He was in charge of practically everything.

Ling Xuzi didn’t interfere much. It was unclear what he was thinking these days; most of the time, he just sat alone, clutching his sword and staring into space.

Zhang Ji could feel that he was gathering his power.

Accumulating his Sword Momentum.

After building up his strength, the next time that sword was unsheathed, it would be terrifying.

After getting Ferguson and the others settled, Zhang Ji began to handle matters related to the Ascetic Order.

Currently, many people who had defected from the Floating City had sought refuge with the Ascetic Order.

There was no shortage of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators among them. Aunt Liu alone couldn’t keep them in line.

Zhang Ji had to make an appearance and display his strength to completely suppress them and make them cooperate.

The Celestial Dao Alliance had little reaction to the Ascetic Order’s recent moves.

Ling Xuzi now held the initiative. The Floating City couldn’t run, but the Yuyi Grotto-Heaven could leave whenever it pleased. He could decide when the final battle would take place, and the Celestial Dao Alliance could only wait.

In truth, the Celestial Dao Alliance now existed in name only.

Their information channels had been severed, the Nine-Turned Quantum Furnace had fallen, and their orders were difficult to transmit, causing operations to grind to a halt. Combined with the Ascetic Order’s propaganda and ultimatums, many cultivators were fleeing.

Anyone could see that something big was on the horizon.

Zhang Ji was like a fish in water within the Ascetic Order. Using it as a front, he frantically recruited people, turning almost no one away. He took resources if they had them, technology if they offered it, and he even accepted high-level cultivators as manual labor.

The large-scale construction projects to come couldn’t be handled by just one or two people.

He wanted to preserve as much of their effective strength as possible to facilitate future reconstruction.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ji didn’t neglect his own cultivation. He became relentless, refusing to waste a single moment he could use. Whenever he had free time, he would sit beneath the Bodhi Tree, determined to master the (Epic) Celestial Wind Body Surrounding Skill’s combat crystal before the final battle. This would complete his Four Elements and satisfy the prerequisite for using the [Cosmic Four Source Attraction].

If Ling Xuzi ended up failing and couldn’t handle it, Zhang Ji would have to step up and topple the Floating City himself.