Chapter 722: The Opening

Chapter 722: Chapter 151: The Opening

The Disciples’ floating islands all gathered together, forming an array in one area. As for the leaders…

They were situated on a single, slightly larger island. The thirteen of them—six from Spirit Nurturing Peak and seven from the Dang Family of Celestial Spirit Peak—sat at the very front.

Dang Xiangjun was at the head, flanked by the various Peak Masters. The other Three Talents Cultivators were seated in rows behind them. Beside each person’s desk stood two Children of varying sizes.

Most wore faint smiles, seemingly pleased with the opening ceremony. Well, not everyone. Guk Liancai, for one, looked rather grim.

Countless islands floated across the sky. Flower Demon Elves danced amidst the drifting clouds and mist, creating a truly magnificent immortal vista. He had toiled for over a year as part of the preparations, all for the prestige of this very moment.

The crowd smiled as they watched Pei Xiaoxiao and the others conclude the opening ceremony. Sect Leader Dang Jun’an lightly tapped the private Array Screen on his desk, choosing to descend directly. His figure materialized in the plaza.

Dang Xiangjun bowed to the crowd. The Cultivators filling the sky nodded slightly in response.

Then, Dang Xiangjun announced, “This is a discourse for the exchange of Daoist Skills between our two realms, with the core purpose of sharing philosophies and concepts. As the old saying goes, a guest should do as the host bids. Since you have come to our Celestial Spirit realm, we shall be the ones to set the theme.

For this session, we of Celestial Spirit have decided that the main topics will be the two Daos of Arrays and Artifacts. Other paths may be discussed as extensions, but not as the main subject. With this decided, do any of you from the Celestial Universe, or any of our fellow sect members in the sky, have any objections?”

“We agree.”

“No objections!”

“…”

Dang Xiangjun surveyed the crowd with a faint smile. “In that case, this Dao discussion conference will now officially begin.

Since we of Celestial Spirit have set the themes, let’s have our fellow Daoists from the Celestial Universe propose the first topic. After all, this is an exchange between two realms. We can’t be accused of bullying our guests, can we?”

At Dang Xiangjun’s words, Shang Tingjie paused briefly. He reached out and tapped the Light Screen on his desk. Down in the plaza, a phantom image generated by his Illusion Array materialized.

The two projections met, and Dang Xiangjun and Shang Tingjie bowed slightly to one another. Dang Xiangjun said, “The stage is now yours, fellow Daoist!”

Shang Tingjie nodded. Dang Xiangjun’s projection vanished from the center of Baiyuu Plaza, returning to his floating island in the sky. Only Shang Tingjie’s illusory figure remained, standing alone.

He waited quietly for a moment, then looked up at the vast sea of floating islands hovering just above. Once he had everyone’s attention, he began to speak:

“Since this is an exchange between our two realms, I will begin with a difficult problem regarding a Technique that both Hongmeng and the Celestial Universe are currently trying to solve. This should allow for a true exchange of philosophies and the Dao!

For this first discourse, I, on behalf of the Celestial Universe Federation, propose the topic of communication technology—what you in Hongmeng call the Communication Dao!

As you all know, due to cultural differences, the Daos and Skills that my Celestial Universe Star primarily pursues are fundamentally different from those of Hongmeng.

Communication is one of the Heaven-Reaching Paths in the Celestial Universe. In Hongmeng, however, due to your different culture, it has historically been considered a minor path.

However, with the increased exchange and mutual influence between our realms in recent years, communication through Arrays has gradually become a key developmental challenge for Hongmeng’s Array Cultivators.

Meanwhile, in the Celestial Universe, our Communication Dao has developed over hundreds, even thousands, of years. Now, our Interstellar quantum communication has hit a developmental bottleneck.

Since both our realms study this Dao and have found ourselves stuck on the same path, I wish to use this opportunity to engage in a deep discussion about the Communication Dao.

We can progress from the simple to the profound, discussing the essence of the Communication Dao, the fundamentals of communication, its underlying philosophy, and its future development.”

Shang Tingjie paused. A brief silence fell over the sea of Cultivators in the sky.

On the hosts’ side, from Celestial Spirit, the three Supreme Elders exchanged knowing glances. Dang Xiangjun was considered the foremost expert in this Dao among them, so the other two elders naturally signaled him with their eyes to begin.

Dang Xiangjun nodded. Down in the plaza, an illusory figure of Dang Xiangjun materialized. He and Shang Tingjie exchanged bows, and then Dang Xiangjun began, “If we are to discuss the Communication Dao, let us first speak of its origins!

The Communication Dao originated with the Sword Cultivators of old. In the beginning, Sword Cultivators harnessed the incredible speed of their Lifebound Flying Swords and their ability to be controlled over vast distances. Sparked by a flame of ingenuity, they created the very first form of long-range messaging: Flying Sword Communication.

At first, a Lifebound Flying Sword would simply carry a physical letter between two Sword Cultivators. And so, the first ‘sword-pals’ came to be.

Over time, this practice slowly evolved. It developed into transmitting sound via Flying Sword, then projecting images. Eventually, it even progressed to sending a piece of one’s soul with their Lifebound Flying Sword to roam Hongmeng and converse with the world itself—how utterly free and unrestrained.”

Dang Xiangjun glanced toward the sky, paused for a moment, and continued, “In that ancient era, communication between sword-pals became all the rage.

The beginning of any Dao often arises from circumstances just like this. With the advent of sword-pals, Cultivators of other Daos began their own research and development, hoping to create technique-pals, book-pals, pen-pals, and the like.

And from this, the Communication Dao was born…”

As Dang Xiangjun spoke, moving from the origins to the implementation of Hongmeng’s various methods of communication, most of the Cultivators in the sky listened in silence. High above, within the image of the full moon, the illusory Spirit Nurturing Celestial Bead pulsed gently.

Gradually, following Dang Xiangjun’s lead, other Cultivators began to take the stage one after another, though they were mostly individuals of significant status. Shang Tingjie and his contingent also started to participate, appropriately revealing some of the Celestial Universe’s communication techniques.