Under Rex's persuasion, Xu Yuan refrained from taking action.
The Probe Abyss spaceship remained stationary outside the wormhole, as if frozen in the depths of this cosmic void, quietly waiting.
After a long while, three spaceships approached from three different directions, surrounding and trapping Xu Yuan's Probe Abyss.
Rex's divine consciousness emerged, swiftly releasing a strong fluctuation.
This was the fluctuation of magical power.
It was also the fluctuation of a forbidden spell.
However, unlike the conventional world-destroying forbidden spells, this one seemed to serve only as proof.
Despite casting the forbidden spell, it did not provoke the three spaceships.
Time passed, and soon three figures emerged from the spaceships.
One figure quickly flew toward the Probe Abyss.
Xu Yuan's gaze flickered.
Rex had told him that only magicians at the True God level could survive in space and possess the basic ability to fly through the universe.
Even so, generally speaking, a True God-level magician couldn't traverse the cosmos alone because the universe was vast and boundless.
At most, they could leave their spaceship and move freely for a short period nearby.
The fact that this figure could fly in space indicated that they were at least at the True God level.
Xu Yuan's spiritual power at the Divine Origin Realm spread out, and his perception reached its peak.
With the Forbidden Seven Techniques, he had an extremely high degree of control over the surrounding cosmic space.
"Hello, esteemed star master. May I ask which star master you are?"
The opposing magician released a wave of mental fluctuations. Even though Xu Yuan didn't understand the language of the Holy Heart Plane, he could still grasp the other party's meaning.
This was a form of magic that facilitated seamless communication.
The Holy Heart Plane encompassed an entire galaxy, where languages were mostly inconsistent. After reaching the god level, magicians typically communicated through mental fluctuations, saving time.
Of course, magicians below the god level could also use this magic, but they couldn't wield it with the same effortless proficiency akin to instinct.
"Star master?" Rex wore a nostalgic expression.
"It's been so many years since I last heard that title."
The opposing magician didn't rush him, allowing Rex to reflect.
For supergod-level magicians, the essence of their spiritual power was already quite stable. As long as their divine consciousness remained intact and they had sufficient opportunities to preserve their consciousness, they basically had a chance to survive.
How long they could live depended on how sophisticated their methods of preserving consciousness were.
Thus, the magician system, starting from the supergod level, no longer had the concept of lifespan because there truly were ancient magicians who lived for incredibly long periods.
Rumors claimed that the first magician to break through to the god level was still alive.
Of course, even if they survived, they were merely a consciousness body and couldn't continue advancing.
Without a physical body, spiritual power was like rootless duckweed. No matter how much they comprehended, they couldn't progress further.
Unless they rebuilt their bodies.
However, the aging of the body would also lead to the weakening of the spiritual essence.
As the body's life reached its end, the essence of spiritual power would also age, heading toward senility.
The impact of the body's condition on the state of the mind was very evident. Therefore, even powerful magicians who survived by means of their consciousness would discard their physical bodies before entering old age.
If they rebuilt their bodies, the essence of their spiritual power would still be depleted.
In other words, the duration of a physical body was limited, and what truly could endure was a consciousness body.
Moreover, rebuilding the body itself came with losses.
But the method of sustaining consciousness wasn't just for survival.
Over the long accumulation of years, there were always opportunities for further advancement. When the opportunity arose, rebuilding the body was a possibility.
The strength of the Holy Heart Plane also relied on this point. Over generations of magicians' long lives, countless forbidden spells were created, and the magical system was repeatedly refined, making the entire cultivation system flourish to this day.
Tian Ya did not rush.
He didn't know which star master's consciousness this person returning from Wormhole Three of the Blood Demon Realm belonged to, nor did he know which era the other person was from. While the other person reflected, Tian Ya simply listened respectfully.
"I am the star master of Tianming Star," Rex said.
The star master of Tianming Star?
Tian Ya frowned in thought.
"What? Has Tianming Star already declined?" Rex frowned, his expression turning grim.
"Tianming Star was renamed Tianlang Star five thousand years ago, and the star master is now Tianlang's Master."
Tianlang's Master?
"Who is Tianlang's Master?"
"Seven thousand years ago, Tianlang's Master emerged out of nowhere. In just a hundred years, he successfully broke through to become a god-level magician, and within five hundred years, he became a supergod-level magician. Five thousand years ago, Tianlang's Master was already at the peak of the supergod level."
Tian Ya's brief explanation left Rex silent.
Such a genius truly deserved his Tianming Star.
Having disappeared for five thousand years, it was understandable that the Magic Alliance had assigned his original planet to this Tianlang's Master.
But that was still his territory.
Now it had been under someone else's command for five thousand years.
Life was unpredictable; seas turned into mulberry fields.
Who knew what the current Tianming Star—no, it should now be called Tianlang Star—was like?
"Esteemed elder, you claim to be the star master of Tianming Star. Are you the merchant lord who went missing ten thousand years ago?"
Rex nodded.
"That's right. I am the merchant lord, Rex."
Xu Yuan listened to all of this, quickly sorting out the logic.
Merchant lord?
So, Rex was really a merchant.
"Merchant lord, Tianlang's Master also originated from the Ten Thousand Stars Chamber of Commerce. After your disappearance, although the chamber experienced a period of turmoil, it stabilized under the joint efforts of the three vice presidents and rapidly developed. Now, the Ten Thousand Stars Chamber of Commerce is the largest chamber in the alliance, presided over by Tianlang's Master and another master known as the Lord of Ten Thousand Stars."
The Lord of Ten Thousand Stars?
Rex frowned.
Bearing the name "Ten Thousand Stars," this Lord of Ten Thousand Stars...
"It is said that the Lord of Ten Thousand Stars is your descendant. After showing promise, he was found by the three vice presidents, nurtured with the resources of the Ten Thousand Stars Chamber of Commerce, and achieved the 1st Class God level."
"Wait!" Rex widened his eyes, staring at Tian Ya and enunciating each word: "You're saying the Lord of Ten Thousand Stars achieved the 1st Class God level?"
"Yes, the Lord of Ten Thousand Stars is indeed a genuine 1st Class God."
Rex and Tian Ya continued their communication, gathering the intelligence Rex wanted.
Xu Yuan witnessed the helplessness of an ancient relic returning to his homeland.
Ten thousand years!
In ten thousand years, all of Rex's past friends and family were gone, and the forces he established had changed drastically.
Though it sounded like good news, who knew what attitude the Lord of Ten Thousand Stars and this Tianlang's Master held toward him, the merchant lord?
Xu Yuan hoped it wouldn't turn into some clichéd drama.
"Merchant lord, we still need to verify your identity." Tian Ya clasped his hands and said, "Forgive me."
"I will cooperate, but I hope it won't take too long. I'll only give you three days."
As Rex spoke, he glanced back at Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan nodded, indicating that he could wait for three days.
Moreover, Rex used his divine consciousness to telepathically inform him that these three days were included in the time of cosmic travel.
In other words, during the journey as the Probe Abyss followed this fleet back to the nearest base of the Holy Heart Plane.
"Respected merchant lord, you originally set out for the alliance to conquer the Blood Demon Realm. Every magician in the alliance remembers your achievements."
After all exchanges were completed, Xu Yuan retracted the Probe Abyss.
He stopped controlling the Probe Abyss and entered the alliance's spaceship along with Rex.
Seeing Xu Yuan absorb the spaceship into his body, Tian Ya was quite astonished.
What a peculiar technique.
"And who is this?" He finally inquired about Xu Yuan's identity.
"This is Xu Yuan. He received some magic from me and, by luck, developed his own forbidden spell," Rex said.
He didn't exaggerate Xu Yuan's talent.
Xu Yuan was an outsider, and excessive praise might arouse the alliance's suspicion.
After all, they had returned from the Blood Demon Realm. Even though the alliance remembered his achievements from ten thousand years ago, it didn't mean they wouldn't suspect whether he had joined the Blood Demon God Realm during this time.
"I've mostly been in hibernation for ten thousand years, completely cut off from the alliance. What's the current situation of the alliance?"
Tian Ya's expression turned grave.
"Not optimistic. The Blood Demon God Realm hasn't continued to invade our Holy Heart Star Domain, but in the recent ten thousand years, the Deep Red Domain has developed rapidly, expanding aggressively and causing friction with multiple neighboring star domains. Although our Holy Heart Star Domain doesn't directly border them, we've still been dragged into conflicts."
In the universe, not sharing a direct border didn't mean there were no conflicts.
Due to the existence of wormholes, geographical adjacency had lost its significance.
As long as a wormhole connected two star domains, those domains could be considered 'neighbors.'
Clearly, there was a wormhole between the Holy Heart Star Domain and the Deep Red Domain.
"The Deep Red Domain?" Rex frowned, pondering the origin of this star domain.
"Merchant lord, the Deep Red Domain was just a newly ascended god-level plane in your era," Tian Ya explained.
Rex's frown didn't ease.
Had the ten thousand years brought not only significant changes to the alliance but also a major reshuffling of forces in the universe?
"Under the leadership of the Mother of Deep Red, the Deep Red Plane rapidly expanded, devouring multiple life-bearing planets around it. Shortly after breaking through to the god level, it continuously surged forward, gradually pushing the cultivation limit within the plane from the True God level upward."
"However, according to the alliance's knowledge, the Mother of Deep Red wasn't originally from the Deep Red Plane. She was a wandering powerhouse in the universe, possibly already at the 1st Class God level. Under her influence, the Deep Red Plane achieved this astonishing expansion rate and now controls such vast territories."
"The Mother of Deep Red..." Rex muttered the name.
Tian Ya continued, "The Mother of Deep Red rose irresistibly. She became the plane master of the entire Deep Red Star Domain, where she is invincible."
At this point, Tian Ya revealed a look of helplessness.
"Alliance records show that initially, she definitely did not surpass the 1st Class God level, but with the abilities of a plane master, she firmly established herself and rapidly grew stronger."
The universe was vast and boundless, and every place had generation after generation of prodigies writing their own legends.
Hearing all of this, Xu Yuan was filled with emotion.
A ten-thousand-year span of change sounded so grand and magnificent.
Supergod level magicians drove the expansion of planes, spending ten thousand years conquering an entire star domain and becoming a formidable force feared across the surrounding cosmos.
The momentum of the Mother of Deep Red clearly aimed at challenging that realm.
Whether she had the hope to achieve it remained unknown.
"Fortunately, the Deep Red Domain has made too many enemies. Though the alliance has been dragged into conflicts, such pressure is still manageable," Tian Ya said. "Currently, the alliance's biggest problem lies with another enemy."
"Another enemy?" Rex looked at Tian Ya.
"Yes, that is the Heavenly Demon Realm—a vast plane as powerful as our mother star. It hasn't expanded its star domain but is boundlessly vast, nurturing countless heavenly demons. Their goal is to devour the magical power of our magicians, posing a great threat to the alliance."
Rex's gaze immediately sharpened, his pupils contracting.
Heavenly demons?
What kind of species were these?
They actually aimed to devour magical power.
Keep in mind that a magician's magical power could essentially be considered spiritual power.
Moreover, everything for magicians revolved around magical power. Devouring magical power was naturally a counter to magicians.
---
Blood Source Planet
This was the nearest life-bearing planet to Wormhole Three of the Blood Demon Realm and one of the main stars under the Holy Heart Plane's Magic Alliance. It could support supergod-level magicians.
To break through to the 1st Class God level or higher, one had to return to the mother star.
No matter how vast the entire plane was, with the Holy Heart laws imprinted throughout the star domain, the true flourishing places remained on the mother star. The true essence and core were still gathered there, and only there could one support the breakthrough to the 1st Class God level.
As a major star, Blood Source Planet naturally had a branch of the Ten Thousand Stars Chamber of Commerce.
Rex and Xu Yuan were currently at this branch.
Upon receiving the message, the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Stars Chamber of Commerce exerted influence within the alliance, quickly completing Rex's identity verification procedures and notifying the Blood Source Planet branch to retrieve the two from the alliance's garrison.
"These are the forbidden spells you requested." Rex scattered more than ten crystals.
Each crystal emitted a different crystalline glow, and the fluctuations within each had their own unique characteristics. These were heritage crystals, containing forbidden spells.
"Thanks."
"No need to thank me. I'll need your help to rebuild my body next," Rex said.
Xu Yuan wore a puzzled expression.
"Are you sure you want to rebuild your body?"
"Of course. I see the opportunity to reach the 1st Class God level. Why wouldn't I rebuild my body?" Rex rolled his eyes.
If at the beginning of his deal with Xu Yuan, when he asked Xu Yuan to bring him back, his resolve to rebuild his body wasn't firm, now it was unshakable.
With the chance to break through to the 1st Class God level, how could he let it slip away?
"You mean the idea of inducing the formation of a plane?"
"That's right."
Xu Yuan wore an exasperated expression.
"Have you ever considered how enormous a system of forbidden spells required to nurture a plane would be? Since your Holy Heart Plane hasn't perfected this path, as the first person to attempt it, how much effort will it take to summarize and explore an entire set of forbidden spells capable of catalyzing the birth of a plane? What if you can't find the most crucial parts of the forbidden spells? Will you rely solely on your own comprehension?"
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