Chapter 224 - 187: A New Future for the Celestial Essence Realm

Chapter 224: Chapter 187: A New Future for the Celestial Essence Realm

The vast Floating City, having lost the support of the Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations, began to collapse.

Its buildings succumbed to gravity, plummeting downwards one after another.

Across the Thirty-Three Heavens, countless colossal structures crashed to the earth, kicking up immense clouds of dust as they were reduced to rubble.

Among the falling debris were many cultivators who had yet to evacuate.

They could only watch helplessly as they, along with the city, plunged to the ground, destined to be buried by history.

Nangong Zhiqing and the others hovered in the air, their faces etched with complex emotions.

Their life’s work, destroyed in an instant.

Even Ling Xuzi’s expression flickered with change.

A hint of melancholy he could not conceal.

The Seventeenth Heaven, Enlightenment Heaven.

Inside and outside Bodhi Temple, the sound of chanting grew ever louder.

Huifan unleashed the pure power of faith he had accumulated over thousands of years. A golden light enveloped the many followers and disciples of Bodhi Temple, carrying them slowly toward the ground.

Farther below, many cultivators from the Ascetic Order who had seized supplies were hastily flying away to avoid the splash damage.

Zhang Ji stood on high, witnessing the collapse of this great edifice with his own eyes.

From this day forward, the Floating City would be no more.

Its once-sprawling domain had ceased to exist.

Dugu Yunfeng, who was being supported by another, had a flicker of turmoil in his eyes.

"It’s gone... It’s all gone..."

Even with his resilient Dao Heart, he could not suppress a surge of grief.

...

...

In the end, the Floating City had collapsed. It had fallen.

But the Celestial Dao Alliance hadn’t lost, and the Ascetic Order hadn’t won.

This struggle had no victor.

There were only costs and sacrifices.

It was merely a moment of catharsis after long suppression, a chance to finally exhale and catch their breath.

But once they realized that the Spiritual Qi would not return, even without the Celestial Dao Alliance, they would discover this was all meaningless.

At this moment, however, the lower-level cultivators of the Abyss of Eternity were still immersed in joy.

Even some of the newer members of the Ascetic Order were celebrating.

They envisioned a world where the Celestial Dao Alliance no longer monopolized Spiritual Qi and a future where everyone could cultivate in an environment rich with it.

They would no longer stagnate at their cultivation levels, unable to advance, just because the Spiritual Qi was too thin.

They would no longer be unable to grow Spirit Grass or craft Spiritual Artifacts due to a lack of Spiritual Qi...

Zhang Ji did not shatter their joy.

Right now, that morale was useful.

Inside the Yuyi Grotto-Heaven.

In the grand conference hall.

Zhang Ji sat at the head of the hall. Below him were Qu Wuyin, Ferguson, Aunt Liu, and several mid-to-high-ranking members of the Ascetic Order who had recently defected from the Floating City.

Beyond them, there were five rather incongruous figures.

Ling Xuzi, Dugu Yunfeng, Zhuge Mingyuan, Mo Ye, and Nangong Zhiqing.

The five elders of the Celestial Dao Alliance were reunited.

But today, they no longer held their former status; they were merely five cultivators at the peak of the Divinity Transformation realm.

The Celestial Dao Alliance was disbanded, the Floating City was gone, and Zhang Ji had even taken the Celestial Intent Seal. Their original identities were now meaningless.

"Everyone here is a top cultivator of the Celestial Essence Realm," Zhang Ji began. "Let us set aside the right and wrong of what has happened. What we must focus on now is the future of the Celestial Essence Realm. We were victorious. Therefore, we will be the ones to choose its future path and build it in our own way."

’After fighting for so long, wasn’t this control exactly what we wanted?’

’If we couldn’t take charge, what would have been the point of defeating the Celestial Dao Alliance and toppling the Floating City?’

No one refuted Zhang Ji’s statement.

It was an established fact, and no one could object.

"Next, we must address the distribution of Spiritual Qi. The previous system was clearly flawed. Spiritual Qi belongs to everyone and should not be monopolized by the leaders of the Celestial Dao Alliance and the Floating City..." Zhang Ji said.

"Save it," Mo Ye snapped. "There aren’t many Spirit Stones left in the Celestial Essence Realm. Even when we were using them sparingly, we could only last another thirty to fifty years at most. If you open the floodgates, they’ll be completely gone in less than ten."

"What? They’re gone?"

"But didn’t they say they increased the mining depth and found more Spirit Stones?"

"Were the Spiritual Qi detection readings from Celestial Secret City fake?"

Many cultivators in the hall were unaware that the Dharma-Ending Age was upon them. They had naively believed that with the Celestial Dao Alliance gone, resources would be redistributed, and they would get a larger share.

’But if that’s the case, what was the point of toppling the Celestial Dao Alliance?’

"Extradimensional Celestial Demon, are you disappointed?"

Dugu Yunfeng’s mocking tone dropped another bombshell, sending ripples of shock through the crowd. "This place has no value for you anymore!"

"Master Zhang is an Extradimensional Celestial Demon?"

"Huh?"

"An Extradimensional Celestial Demon? The kind I’m thinking of?"

Waves of Divine Thought surged through the conference hall. The assembled top cultivators were all a bit dumbfounded.

’What in the world is going on?’ they wondered.

’First, it’s the Dharma-Ending Age, and now our leader is an Extradimensional Celestial Demon...’

"An overly narrow perspective will only limit a civilization’s development," Zhang Ji said. "I am indeed from beyond this world; there’s no point in denying it. However, you need not worry. From a broader perspective, our two realms are close neighbors. We even share a common origin. In the distant past, my people received teachings from the ancient cultivators of the Celestial Essence Realm."

This was partially true. Ancient cultivators from the Celestial Essence Realm had indeed visited Origin Star and passed down certain legacies. But to claim they shared a common origin was an exaggeration.

Origin Star had legacies from countless worlds, including multiple extraterrestrial civilizations.

The Celestial Essence Realm was merely an insignificant part of it all.

Still, putting it this way instantly made the relationship between the two sides feel much closer.

Those who had been resistant were now a little more able to accept the situation.

’So, we’re just another branch of the family tree, a legacy left by our Elder Ancestors who ventured out. I guess that’s fine, then.’

More importantly, they couldn’t defeat Zhang Ji anyway.

"Even if we do share a common origin, what can be done now that there’s no Spiritual Qi?" Mo Ye pressed on. "Does your world have Spiritual Qi? Are you planning on sharing some with us?"

He was by far the most hostile person toward Zhang Ji in the room.

The theft of his Illusion Realm, the death of his most prized Direct Disciple, the collapse of the Floating City—he laid the blame for all these grievances at Zhang Ji’s feet.

Thus, his words were particularly pointed.

Zhang Ji, however, didn’t mind. Having someone raise these exact questions made it easier for him to present his solution and rally their hearts.

’I was going to have someone from the Ascetic Order play this part,’ Zhang Ji thought, ’but if Mo Ye is so eager, I’ll let him.’

’I’m not one to hold a grudge. I’ll just arrange for him to go work in the mines later, that’s all.’

"The Origin Civilization does not have Spiritual Qi, of course. But as I said, your perspective is far too narrow," Zhang Ji said. "It seems you haven’t thoroughly researched the origin of Spiritual Qi, have you?"

"The essence of Spiritual Qi can be understood as the world’s breath. Through specific tidal forces, it converts the chaotic energy of the void into Spiritual Qi. The cycle is roughly 1.2 billion years long..." Zhuge Mingyuan explained.

"If you understand that it works like a tide, then the solution becomes obvious. If we can successfully build an array that simulates these tidal forces, we can control the Spiritual Qi tide ourselves, correct?" Zhang Ji said.

"Theoretically, yes. But the required calculations are far too complex. The materials, manpower, and resources needed to construct such a massive array would be astronomical. It’s impossible," Zhuge Mingyuan said, shaking his head.

Zhuge Mingyuan had considered this problem before.

The most difficult part was the sheer volume of data that needed to be calculated for the array.

If even one minor factor was overlooked, the entire endeavor could fail.

He estimated it would take tens of thousands of years just to successfully calculate the array’s model, which would then need to be calibrated and constructed. It was not a short-term project.

The plan was, in a way, like a smaller version of a Dyson sphere.

It was a tempting idea, but one that existed only on paper, impossible to bring to fruition.

"But what if the array model has already been calculated? Wouldn’t that make things much easier?" Zhang Ji countered. "You all managed to build a Floating City. I imagine a project like this wouldn’t be too difficult for you. If we divide the work into several phases, it might not even take a century. In fact, as soon as the initial phase is complete, we’ll be able to control a portion of the Spiritual Qi tide. At that point, we’ll have a relatively abundant supply of Spiritual Qi to use."

At these words, Zhuge Mingyuan froze.

The expressions of Ling Xuzi and the others also changed as they turned to look at Zhang Ji.

Even Mo Ye’s eyes widened in surprise.

If Zhang Ji could truly accomplish such a magnificent feat, it wouldn’t matter if he was an Extradimensional Celestial Demon.

From now on, they would have to call him a "Saint."

"Where is the array model?" Zhuge Mingyuan asked.

"You’re the expert. I can show you a portion of it," Zhang Ji said with a faint smile.

With that, he manipulated a projection device, casting a complex array model into the empty air.

After Zhang Ji had installed the Hedao Jade Tablet for it, Shen Xi’s processing power had increased immensely, and its surplus capacity had been working nonstop.

It had been constantly calculating the Qiankun Nine Heavens Void Tide-Inducing Array.

The data was provided by the world model within the Hedao Jade Tablet, and with the guidance of Taiyi-Zero, Shen Xi had already completed a portion of it.

Unlike in the game, where Shen Xi had only done minor work and its contributions were mostly hype, this time it was truly shouldering the main burden. Taiyi-Zero was the one handling the minor tasks.

The completed portion of the array model already possessed a tide-inducing function.

While incomplete, it proved the feasibility of the path forward.

Even if only this portion of the array were constructed, it would be enough to generate a continuous supply of Spiritual Qi.

Zhuge Mingyuan studied the projection in detail, occasionally manipulating it to zoom in on certain areas, his Profound Origin Quantum Array Body operating at its absolute limit.

After a long while, he slowly closed his eyes.

"Well?" Ling Xuzi asked.

He also understood arrays, but this model was so complex that he couldn’t make sense of it.

"If construction on this portion is completed, it should be able to trigger a level-four Spiritual Qi eruption in a localized area. The required materials aren’t too difficult to acquire, and the foundation of the original Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations can be repurposed directly without needing to be reforged. If we mobilize most of the major powers in the Celestial Essence Realm to work together, it could be finished in as little as a year..." Zhuge Mingyuan said.

Zhang Ji clapped his hands. "As expected of the current Celestial Seer of the Celestial Secret Pavilion. You understood the function of the Qiankun Nine Heavens Void Tide-Inducing Array so quickly."

The hall fell silent for a moment. Then, a cultivator suddenly stepped forward, bowed formally to Zhang Ji, and declared, "I am He Hongxuan, and I am willing to serve Mr. Zhang and help build a new Celestial Essence Realm."

"We are willing to serve Mr. Zhang and build a new Celestial Essence Realm..."

"We are willing to serve Mr. Zhang and build a new Celestial Essence Realm..."

Amidst the rising tide of affirmations, driven by the dual incentives of self-interest and military might, even the five elders of the Celestial Dao Alliance had to bow their heads.

At this moment, the new future of the Celestial Essence Realm lay in Zhang Ji’s hands.