Chapter 578 - 357: Earth Core Embers and Migration Tinder

Chapter 578: Chapter 357: Earth Core Embers and Migration Tinder

Although his cousin, Shen Wenqian, hadn’t returned home, she could video call her parents, grandparents, and younger brother back in China’s City No. 03 anytime through the network.

Thanks to Jiang Cai’Er’s efforts, the network had become so advanced it far surpassed that of the previous era of peace. With holographic projections and glasses-free 3D effects, these long-distance calls felt just like meeting in person. Even so, Shen Wenqian’s parents and grandparents missed her terribly. However, they knew the world was no longer safe, and it was better for her to stay hidden in the underground base. A trip back would be too dangerous.

Besides, Shen Wenqian had important work to do there.

Li Xiang helped Erin gather more metal materials. Although the Exotic Beast Army stood guard, they could only secure the outer perimeter; they couldn’t enter the underground base to maintain order. Besides, Erin was accustomed to her Alchemy Puppets, which she controlled as if they were her own limbs. She still preferred using these Alchemy Creatures.

It would just take some time to replenish the large number of Alchemy Puppets she had lost. Li Xiang told her not to rush and to take it slow.

After the two shared another tender moment, Li Xiang left Erin, activated his Earth Superpower, and headed deep underground. Several Divine King Realm "Female Beasts" were still dormant in the depths. He moved cautiously to investigate the situation.

Just like last time, upon reaching a depth of four to five thousand kilometers, the view from his Nine Nether Falsehood-Breaking Gaze abruptly changed. A chaotic world appeared before him—he couldn’t tell if it was a Spiritual World or the Dark Universe, but it was incredibly profound.

Unbeknownst to most, an ordinary Saint Tier couldn’t even access this level; only those at the Divine Tier or above could enter. But Li Xiang was an exception. His true strength far surpassed the Saint Tier, allowing him to challenge those in higher realms.

He was confident he could challenge an ordinary Divine Tier being, but challenging those at the Divine King Realm—especially so many of them—was out of the question.

Li Xiang didn’t enter. He only watched secretly from afar. The Female Beasts inside were still fighting, but several had already died. He remembered there being more than ten of them before. A quick count revealed only seven remained—nearly half were gone.

After he exited that space, he could see that there were still more than ten Female Beasts in the depths of the Earth Core. It was clear that about half of the figures inside were now lifeless corpses.

’These corpses are also excellent materials. Maybe they could be retrofitted into spaceships.’ He had personally witnessed these "Female Beasts" arriving from space, their bellies opening to deploy a countless Exotic Beast Army, just like massive cosmic warships.

Li Xiang’s eyes burned with desire. He felt a strong impulse to go and collect them, but his reason screamed at him not to get any closer. Boldly trying to steal the corpses would be a genuine death wish.

’The corpses of Divine King Realm beings shouldn’t rot so easily. Even if the flesh decomposes, their bones and carapaces should remain intact. I’ll come back for them when I get the chance.’ As long as the skeleton and carapace were there, the framework could be retrofitted, which would save immense manpower and resources. Moreover, a spaceship shaped like an Exotic Beast would have natural camouflage when traversing the Black Mist Star Realm, making it far less conspicuous.

Jiang Cai’Er’s research team currently had fifty to sixty projects underway. The first of the two most important was an artificial miniature Sun. It could be placed in underground farms, or, after the surface was reclaimed, larger versions could be built and launched into low-earth orbit to circle the planet like a Space Station. If one wasn’t enough, they could launch several more to restore light to Earth.

The other major project was a spaceship. If humanity was to find and migrate to a new home, they would absolutely need massive warships capable of interstellar travel. This project didn’t conflict with the artificial miniature Sun; they were parallel initiatives. They were preparing for both possibilities, advancing on two fronts simultaneously.

But research for such a massive spaceship was incredibly complex; they hadn’t even made a third of the necessary progress.

Beyond the ship itself, it needed to be equipped with various carrier-based aircraft, reconnaissance systems, control systems, Defense systems, a holographic Star Map, life support systems, nano-repair swarms (for maintenance), communication systems (for long-range transmission with other warships in deep space), simulated gravity rings (using centrifugal force to create an artificial Force Field so people wouldn’t float), escape systems, and, most importantly, the propulsion engines.

In the past, such things only existed in science fiction films. Now, Jiang Cai’Er had to bring them to life, one by one.

Li Xiang departed quietly, not alerting any Exotic Beasts this time. Perhaps they had noticed him, but with their battle raging so fiercely, they had no attention to spare.

...

「South Asian Subcontinent.」

A bitter wind, thick with black mist, howled across the wasteland. Expelled Lower Caste untouchables huddled together in a drafty stone cave.

"Wait for me here. I’ll take some people out to find food." Seventeen-year-old Kanna used her Earth Spike Technique to shatter the cave wall, piling the rubble into a barrier to block the entrance before whispering to the people inside.

She was the only Transcendent among them, which had made her their leader. She had no choice; most of them were her people. Ever since Amir’s rebellion, other Underground Cities had begun expelling the Lower Caste untouchables, especially any Transcendent among them. She had been cast out along with her tribe.

There were many other refugees who had also been driven out, but the outside world was harsh. Sticking together in large groups made them an easy target for Exotic Beasts, so they had been forced to scatter and fend for themselves.

Kanna’s tribe had once numbered over a hundred, but now, only a little over thirty survived.

And there was no telling how long even these thirty-odd survivors would last.

Her mother had tragically died in the last Exotic Beast attack.

"There are lingering embers from the Black Fire Profound Crows at the Oasis to the southeast. We should be able to dig up some unfrozen tubers there." Kanna had no time for grief. Wiping the ice from her face, she took five able-bodied youths from her village and activated her Earth Escape.

She was a Tier Five Transcendent with an Earth Superpower, capable of using abilities like Earth Escape, Earth Spike Technique, and the Quicksand Technique.

But her Earth Escape had its limits. She could only bring five people with her at a time, and they couldn’t stay underground for long—thirty minutes at most before they had to surface for air or create a small ventilation shaft.

Back in the cave, Kanna’s departure plunged the others into deeper fear. They huddled together, trembling under moldy blankets, daring not even to breathe too loudly, terrified of attracting Exotic Beasts.

An infant, unable to bear the dead silence, began to cry. Its mother immediately pressed her withered breast against its mouth to muffle the sound. There was no milk left, but it was enough to quiet the baby for a moment.

Kanna led her group a kilometer away, nearing the Oasis. Her Spiritual Power was limited, and the strain grew with every meter. The Superpower markings on her forehead began to flicker. She had no choice but to bring her group to the surface to catch their breath and rest. Using the Quicksand Technique, she pushed aside the frozen earth to create a temporary shelter.

Suddenly, three Exotic Beasts with scales that glinted an eerie blue leaped from the black mist. Their serrated mouthparts instantly shredded the throats of the two youths behind Kanna.

Kanna launched an Earth Spike, piercing the nearest beast’s compound eye, while a whirlpool of Quicksand slowed the pack’s advance.

"Into the fissure!" Kanna shrieked, unleashing her Superpower. The ground split open, forming a three-meter-deep trench. As the survivors scrambled and tumbled in, the tail-hammer of a Tier Eight Earth Drilling Beast shattered the rock strata above. Flying chunks of frozen earth splattered the last person to fall, turning them into a pulp of flesh and gore.

They escaped, but just barely.

Only three people made it back to the cave, including Kanna. The tubers they’d managed to retrieve were stained with their companions’ blood.

The tubers weren’t nearly enough to feed everyone. Each person only received a tiny mouthful.

Kanna gave the mother with the child an extra bite, knowing the infant needed its mother’s milk.

The seventeen-year-old girl slumped against the icy cave wall, her nose bleeding from the exertion of her Earth Energy.

In the distance, illuminated by the fiery glow of a Black Fire Profound Crow Group streaking across the sky, the frozen corpses of refugees stood like twisted sculptures. Yet even among them, some survivors scrambled beneath the beasts’ claws, desperately trying to light torches—a faint glimmer of fire, an ember of life more stubborn than the Profound Crows’ inferno.

"Kanna, let’s go to China and find the Lord Divine Envoy," one of her tribesmen said. "The Lord Divine Envoy saved you once. You should lead us to him. I hear the Underground Cities in China are extremely safe, with plenty of supplies, food, and water."

As soon as he spoke, the others chimed in with hushed agreement.

Hope began to blossom in everyone’s hearts.

"Only the Lord Divine Envoy would take us in."

"We won’t be freeloaders. We can work. We’ll do the most menial, dirty, difficult, and exhausting jobs. We’ll do anything, as long as it gives us a chance to survive."

"But it’s so far away."

"What does ’far’ matter? Is staying here a guarantee of survival? Sooner or later, we’ll die—from starvation, the cold, or sickness, if an Exotic Beast doesn’t eat us first. We might as well take the chance."

Kanna wiped the blood from her nose, her mind flashing back to the scene from nine years ago when Li Xiang had saved her from a Leopard’s claws.

The Mysterious Armored Man had descended from the sky and sent the ferocious Leopard flying with a single kick. He had held her in his arms, and though her head was spinning, she felt a surge of endless adoration and reverence for him.

Only later did she learn that he was Li Sheng.

She knew that Li Xiang wasn’t really India’s Divine Envoy, but everyone believed him to be. They saw him as their protector, their guardian god. Every year, they prepared vast offerings in the hope that the Divine Envoy would come to collect them. And given everything Li Xiang had done, he truly was a protector of all Earth Humans.

’Will the Lord Divine Envoy even remember me?’ Kanna touched her cheek, her confidence wavering. ’He probably doesn’t remember me at all.’

Before she died, her mother often used to say how cute Kanna had been as a child, with big, sparkling eyes and smooth, delicate skin. The Lord Divine Envoy had even patted her on the head and called her pretty, but that was so many years ago.

’How could the Lord Divine Envoy possibly remember me after a single meeting?’

But for her people’s sake, she had to lead them to Li Xiang. It seemed to be their only path to survival.

’The place where Li Sheng lives is a Holy Land in my mind. This will be a pilgrimage of sorts. If I must die, I’ll die on the path to him.’

’I’m a Tier Five Transcendent. I must have some value. If we can just reach the Holy Land... as long as the Lord Divine Envoy is willing to take us in, I’ll do anything he asks.’