Chapter 225 - 188: This Is a Little Weak; I’ll Blow Up a Star for You to Play With Later

Chapter 225: Chapter 188: This Is a Little Weak; I’ll Blow Up a Star for You to Play With Later

The mission of the Ascetic Order was now accomplished, and the historical purpose of the Celestial Dao Alliance had also ended.

Zhang Ji decided to give the organization a new name.

They would head toward the future, toward new hope.

In this new era, every cultivator was a part of the whole.

From this point on, they would abandon no one. No one would be sacrificed.

At least, that was the official line. That was the slogan to be chanted.

"Therefore, we will officially be renamed the Celestial Essence Association," Zhang Ji announced.

He himself would be the first president.

Not that anyone could challenge him for the position.

With that, the forces of the Celestial Essence Realm were once again unified.

The next step was to consolidate resources, start this great machine, and begin the subsequent reconstruction.

Spirit Puppets were set into motion, and a great number of cultivators joined the work. Even those from the Abyss of Eternity with lower cultivation levels were put to use; at the very least, they were more than enough for manual labor.

This world might have its shortcomings, but one thing was for certain.

Almost everyone, to some degree, had a foundation in cultivation.

With the exception of some children, ninety-nine percent of the population had physiques comparable to professional martial artists.

All 1.8 billion people in the Abyss of Eternity would be considered professional martial artists on Origin Star.

It was that ridiculous.

When fully mobilized, this labor force was a power not to be underestimated.

Aboard an Immortal Ship transporting goods, Zhang Ji gazed down at the scene below. Spirit Puppets and cultivators worked ceaselessly, dismantling the collapsed Floating City and clearing away the debris. A look of satisfaction filled his eyes.

Ling Xuzi strode up behind him.

"If you can end this apocalyptic calamity, I will help you, even if you declare yourself emperor," Ling Xuzi said.

"You might not believe me, but I truly have no intention of declaring myself emperor and conquering this realm. We’re just partners. No need to make it sound so unpleasant," Zhang Ji replied.

He was telling the truth.

The Celestial Essence Realm wasn’t small, but it wasn’t that big either.

At most, it was the size of two or three Origin Stars.

And compared to the Origin Universe, calling the Celestial Essence Realm a drop in the ocean would be an overstatement.

After all, in the Origin Universe, a single galaxy was less than a drop in the ocean—a speck of dust, at most.

’The age of interstellar conquest—that is the real game-changer.’

’The scope of the world has finally opened up. So-called Star Cluster Level civilizations that command the resources of hundreds or thousands of stars are nothing but small fry. It’s like I’m finally opening my eyes to the true scale of the universe.’

Both the Celestial Essence Realm and the Lan’er World were just sights along the way, temporary springboards for Zhang Ji.

For once, his words and thoughts were in perfect alignment.

’I’m really just passing through to skim some profits, with no intention of long-term rule.’

Of course, he called it a partnership, but once he controlled the Qiankun Nine Heavens Void Tide-Inducing Array, he would have the same leverage as the old Celestial Dao Alliance—a monopoly on all resources, the ultimate capitalist.

In essence, he was no different from the Celestial Dao Alliance.

The only difference was that, for the teeming masses, the resources he would control were immense.

The pie Zhang Ji was baking was so enormous that even after he ate until he was stuffed, the leftovers would be more than enough for everyone else to eat their fill.

As a result, no one else would feel the slightest hint of exploitation.

This model would remain unbroken for a very long time, at least.

If managed well, it could even last for hundreds of thousands of years.

Of course, Zhang Ji wasn’t thinking that far ahead.

He figured a few hundred years would be enough.

He wasn’t one to worry about the distant future.

"Perhaps," Ling Xuzi said.

He didn’t believe Zhang Ji, nor did he care.

It didn’t matter who the ruler was. What mattered was who could ensure everyone’s survival.

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

「Origin Star.」

Zhang Ji returned once more, now carrying the weight of another world on his shoulders.

He was, without a doubt, the undisputed champion of heavy burdens.

After returning to Origin Star, he sorted through the resources he’d brought back, then went into seclusion to cultivate.

He had acquired many good things this time and needed to take stock of them.

Inside the *Hope*, three items lay before Zhang Ji.

The Primordial Sword Bone, the Shennong Cauldron, and the Celestial Intent Seal.

All three were Mythical Level treasures.

Zhang Ji had already crushed the Artifact Spirit of the Primordial Sword Bone. Fortunately, the item was more of a support tool. Had it been a truly offensive Mythical artifact, destroying its spirit wouldn’t have been so easy.

The Shennong Cauldron, on the other hand, still possessed its own consciousness, though it wasn’t particularly active.

In an environment lacking Spiritual Qi, the Mythical treasure had fallen into a semi-dormant state.

The Celestial Intent Seal was unique; it had no Artifact Spirit and was purely a tool.

"So it’s just plug-and-play?" Zhang Ji asked Taiyi-Zero, holding the Primordial Sword Bone.

"That was when it still had an Artifact Spirit. It was like having a built-in OS. You could just install it and use it. But now you’ve killed the spirit, so it has no operating system. You’ll have to write a new one," Taiyi-Zero explained.

"How do I do that?" Zhang Ji asked.

"It’s a bit tricky. This Spiritual Artifact is very high-level; an ordinary Artifact Spirit wouldn’t be able to handle it..." Taiyi-Zero mused, then continued, "If you want to use it, your best bet is to control it directly with your own Divine Thought. Inscribe a corresponding processing array onto yourself and act as the operating system. That should be easy enough."

"Like Zhuge Mingyuan’s Profound Origin Quantum Array Body?" Zhang Ji asked.

"You don’t need anything that advanced. A lower-spec version would be enough to control it. Its operating principle isn’t complex; its high power comes from its unique materials," said Taiyi-Zero.

Zhang Ji’s mind started working.

He had already been planning to create a new martial art and inscribe array patterns onto himself to form a Spiritual Ability Array Body. Now, if he integrated the Sword Bone, he might be able to turn it into his own crystallized technique.

After discussing it further with Taiyi-Zero, Zhang Ji had a rough idea.

Creating the array body wouldn’t be too difficult. As long as his stats were sufficient, his physique was strong, and he had the materials, it wouldn’t take long at all. A month should be more than enough.

Zhang Ji’s physique was more than capable of handling it, and the materials weren’t hard to find. All he needed to do was create a model for the array body and then install it.

However, Zhang Ji had to perform the process himself.

The "Boundary" space judged martial techniques based on a "participation" metric.

Zhang Ji had tested it before. Externally attached items couldn’t normally be turned into a crystallized technique.

Only by participating in its creation and personally performing the surgery to install it would the system recognize it as a crystallized technique.

The process of acquiring power had to involve an element of what it called "skill."

Simply drinking a potion to boost stats wasn’t recognized, but if he drank the potion and then practiced a set of forms to internalize the power, it was.

With the matter of the array body settled, Zhang Ji turned his attention to the Shennong Cauldron.

Leaving this thing in Nangong Zhiqing’s hands had been a bit of a waste.

Extracting the essence of myriad herbs and turning it into a sweet dew was merely its most basic function.

Its true core function was to facilitate the profound fusion of materials.

Its primary uses were for Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

A pile of garbage-tier materials thrown inside could be repeatedly purified and smelted into top-tier materials.

Just as common iron can be forged into steel, with enough refinement, it can become something transcendent.

This cauldron possessed just such a power.

The same was true for Alchemy.

Even with the lowest-grade Spirit Grass, as long as the quantity was sufficient, it could refine a top-tier pill.

Furthermore, during the pill-refining process, it could prevent almost any loss of medicinal efficacy, catalyzing the various fusion and chemical reactions of the ingredients to their absolute peak.

Using the same recipe and the same herbs, refining with this cauldron could raise the final pill’s grade by an entire level, as if from nothing. The medicinal efficacy utilization was nearly one hundred percent.

’Take up Alchemy as a side gig?’

Zhang Ji stroked his chin, deep in thought.

To be honest, he had no interest in picking up a side profession.

He wasn’t even interested in farming; asking him to take up Alchemy was just too much.

Most importantly, it would take up too much of his training time.

After some consideration, Zhang Ji decided to toss the cauldron to Robby.

Robby and his team were already making most of his supplements. Robby had also been studying Demon Potion Science with Balder recently, so adding Alchemy to his workload probably wouldn’t be an issue.

With the Shennong Cauldron’s fate decided, Zhang Ji’s gaze fell upon the Celestial Intent Seal.

Taiyi-Zero had already cracked this thing’s control permissions.

It wasn’t very complex. A Spiritual Artifact without its own spirit, facing a super-computing Artifact Spirit like Taiyi-Zero, was like a helpless maiden before a peerless warlord—utterly defenseless.

But Zhang Ji had only one plan for it: leave it be and don’t touch it.

If this thing were ever used on Origin Star, it would undoubtedly punch through the planet’s crust and shatter an entire continent. The whole planet would then face an extinction-level catastrophe.

It was a weapon of pure destruction.

For Zhang Ji, it was more of a deterrent, a trump card. It was best if he never had to use it. If the day came that he did, it would mean things had gone terribly wrong.

He would feel even worse if he had to use it on Origin Star or in the Celestial Essence Realm.

He moved the floating Dunjia Array Box away from the Celestial Intent Seal and said to Taiyi-Zero, "This thing’s too weak. It’s no fun. Later, when we’re fighting aliens, I’ll find you a star to blow up for fun."

Taiyi-Zero gathered information very quickly; it had learned everything about Origin Star long ago.

Hearing Zhang Ji’s words, it couldn’t help but retort, "That’s a pretty big promise you’re making."

With Origin Star’s current capabilities, destroying a continent was a struggle. For Zhang Ji to talk about blowing up a star for fun... he was the ultimate master of empty promises.

"Just tell me if you’re taking the bait or not," Zhang Ji said with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I am," Taiyi-Zero replied. "You have a deal."

It might never happen, but Taiyi-Zero wasn’t a picky eater. It would take whatever promises it could get.

"You might not get to cash in on that promise, but there’s another one you might get soon," Zhang Ji said. "There’s been progress in the research on the active Void Soil body. When I get you out of that box, you’ll be able to experience the ’joys’ of being human."

"I’ll say this now: until you can properly control that technique of yours, I’m staying in this box," Taiyi-Zero stated.

"Don’t worry. In a little while, my cultivation should see a major breakthrough. I’ll be able to control it with perfect stability then," Zhang Ji said.

In truth, Zhang Ji didn’t want to resort to brute force if he could avoid it. He had previously asked Zhuge Mingyuan, only to discover that even he didn’t know how to open the Dunjia Array Box. It had been created by Zhuge Mingyuan’s mentors, and they hadn’t even left behind a key, leaving Zhuge Mingyuan unable to open it himself.

So, for now, brute force was still the best option.

However, Zhang Ji planned to wait until he truly reached S-rank before attempting it.

Based on his current trajectory, he was certain he would have a massive power boost by then. He might even gain the raw strength to go toe-to-toe with a Super S-rank expert. Precisely manipulating the Cosmic Four Source Attraction would be well within his capabilities.