The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

He then took out a small box of Peiyuan Zhuguo and two bottles of Yujing Huiqi Dan from the closet in the cabin, then turned around, opened the heavy door, walked out along the narrow and dim corridor, climbed up the steps, and came to the bridge area above the deck.

This is also a cabin exclusively for practitioners at a higher level. It covers an area of ​​more than 100 square meters. The floor is covered with two layers of yellow rattan mats that exude a faint spiritual aura. Against one wall is a blood coral about a foot long, encapsulated in a glass cover with runes swimming on it.

This coral is blood red all over, its luster is brighter than most gems, and it emits a faint smell of blood. It is not a decorative exhibit, but the most powerful elixir for strengthening qi and blood known in the cultivation world, and a peerless secret treasure in the eyes of countless people.

When the Qin Dynasty was conquering the Han, Zhao and Wei dynasties, it obtained only a few blood corals, which had long been used by Qin's pharmacists to make elixirs and consumed on the battlefield.

It is hard to imagine that such precious items would be quietly displayed here, on a not-so-special ironclad merchant ship under Jiaodong County.

In another glass cover opposite the blood coral, a flower with red, green, blue and purple colors interwoven quietly bloomed, like a rainbow falling into the mortal world, gorgeous and dazzling. This is another kind of elixir called Medicine King Flower, which is produced from some coastal islands in the East China Sea.

In addition to containing a large amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, this elixir also has medicinal power that helps to expand the sea of ​​​​qi. It is also a top-grade elixir among elixir. Unfortunately, it can only grow normally on the elixir king soil naturally formed by the seabed mud and the eruption of underwater volcanoes.

There are probably only 20 to 30 of them in total, and they only exist in small quantities on a few islands. Their rarity is almost as low as that of blood coral.

The glazed cover outside is not simply to prevent the loss of medicinal power, but uses top-level spiritual medicine as the core of the array, arranging two special spirit gathering arrays with different tendencies, which can activate qi and blood and true essence. It is equivalent to a weakened and long-term version of the blood coral and medicine king flower.

In a further corner, a gold and jade box was half open, and inside one could see round beads. The surface looked soft, like rubber, but the inside seemed to be filled with liquid, like both fruit and large fish roe.

Once you look at it for a long time, you will feel that it exudes a psychedelic feeling that is intoxicating.

It is recorded in the classics of the world of practitioners that there is a kind of "mermaid" in the sea, which is half human and half fish. It absorbs the essence of the sun and the moon, and over time, it can transform into a human form.

These beads are the eggs of mermaids. They not only help to nourish the spirit, strengthen the consciousness, and improve perception, but also have a high degree of compatibility with several cultivation techniques in Jiaodong County.

Another middle-aged yellow-robed practitioner in the cabin was using an exquisite jade spoon to gently scoop up two mermaid eggs, then add medicinal powder made from pearls and other materials, slowly pour it into warm water, stirring it carefully until a crystal clear, jelly-like ointment was formed, and then swallowed it.

Although he already knew that Jiaodong County included overseas production and countless rare treasures were amazing cultivation resources for the Central Plains dynasty, Zheng Liren was slightly surprised to see so many priceless elixirs at once. He quickly walked to the window, sat cross-legged and began to practice.

If the cultivation environment of a high-level personal cabin is comparable to the retreat areas of many small sects, then this room, which is filled with spiritual medicines and abundant vitality, is already a level that many first-class sects cannot reach.

The reason why the Jiaodong County clans, which have serious internal competition, cruel promotions and a long history of bad deeds, have developed extremely rapidly and become increasingly powerful in recent years, with few people choosing to defect, is naturally inseparable from their unimaginable generous treatment, rather than from the cold-blooded and ruthless means of doing things.

While practicing, tiny electric lights naturally leaped on his body surface, making crackling sounds. He looked through the half-open window at the mighty flow of the Wei River outside. The sunlight sprinkled on the water, interweaving with the ripples on the water to create a dazzling golden glow.

The breeze blew by, bringing a hint of coolness, but also mixed with the unique moist scent of the river.

At the same time, after the middle-aged yellow-robed practitioner next to him took the spiritual ointment, his external aura suddenly increased, and then slowly released and merged into the depths of his mind, with a hint of intoxication on his face. It can be seen that the spiritual ointment made from mermaid eggs is extraordinary.

He turned his head and glanced at "Zheng Liren" who was also in the sixth realm, and recognized that these lightning lights should come from a Wei realm method of tempering true essence called "Riding the Wind and Lightning", which was obtained by Jiaodong County more than ten years ago. However, he did not take it seriously and continued to practice with concentration, immersing himself in his own world of practice.

This person had no idea that the reason why "Zheng Liren" deliberately used electrical skills was to cover up the noise of his high-powered Lingxi Jade Talisman communication, and that he came to the window of this training room from his closed personal cabin in order to reduce the electromagnetic shielding effect of the metal cabin wall.

Just as ordinary walls can block light, this ironclad merchant ship that was retired from a UFO ship has thick steel sidings that are enough to block radio waves of almost all frequency bands. In addition, the eddy currents generated by the electromagnetic waves contacting the hull are also likely to be detected by the running magic array.

Considering that wandering around on the deck for no reason is not in line with his current identity, a cabin with a large window to allow the flow of vital energy is the best choice for "Zheng Liren" to conduct secret communications. While observing the fleet's sailing conditions, he can pass on relevant information to Ye Celeng and others who have been prepared.

A moment later, he felt a faint response, which was a confirmation signal from afar, indicating that his message had been successfully received and the ambush would officially begin in a quarter of an hour.

……

At almost the same time, another more secretive and perhaps more shocking communication was taking place in the vast space billions of miles away.

When the huge demon planet emitting strange blood light sensed Zhao Qing's "gaze", the orange-red dust mist at the upper end of its rotation axis began to slowly condense into a double helix shape, with crystal starlight flowing inside.

When the tentacles of this spiral mist extending for thousands of miles naturally bent to a certain arc, it seemed difficult to maintain normal operation. Therefore, along with the collapse of the double helix structure, the light contained in it all gushed out in a certain direction.

At that moment, the brilliant sea of ​​stars burned with a dazzling glow. This was a color that went beyond the limits of the visible spectrum, a color that was incomprehensible to humans, magnificent and splendid, like a dream.

The target of this spectacular communication was actually a strange crystal stone suspended between the orbits of the Earth and Mars and wrapped in a large black mist. It was bluish-black in color, shaped like a fang, and a human face was faintly emerging on the surface, which was mysterious and intriguing.

As if sensing the approaching starlight ray from a very far distance, the surface of the crystal tooth began to vibrate, and a vast amount of true energy beyond anyone's imagination, enough to wipe out the ordinary seven realms in an instant, suddenly spread out in the form of silk threads, as if spitting out millions of dark silk threads.

Then, as the crystal fang rotated rapidly, these silk threads, which were dark black with a hint of deep starlight, began to wrap around it in circles, gradually forming a huge, lonely cocoon, with something seeming to be quietly growing inside.

……

At the same time, led by several attendants, Zhao Qing slowly walked into a side hall of the Chu Imperial Palace. The hall was 72 meters long and 24 meters wide. The interior was quiet, exquisite and gorgeous yet spacious. Every detail revealed unparalleled ingenuity.

The exquisiteness of Chu artifacts is unparalleled in the world, and the palace architecture brings this magnificence to the extreme.

The top of the lamp is decorated with the sun and moon outlined with gold powder, and the stars are dotted with silver powder, which complement each other. It shines brightly under the soft and bright light emitted by the pearl, as if the starry sky is confined in a room, replacing ordinary lights, not only illuminating the space, but also adding a bit of mystery and nobility.

Zhao Qing walked slowly through rows of tall bookshelves, which were densely packed with all kinds of classics:
There are simple and heavy bamboo slips, light and delicate silk books, precious jade symbols and ancient bone fragments, as well as bronze and pottery engraved with ancient seal characters scattered among them.

Among this vast collection of books, most of the scriptures are not about secret methods of cultivation, but rather a collection of the experiences and knowledge of practitioners from past generations. They are mainly some notes and travel notes, covering all aspects of astronomy and geography, history and philosophy, local customs and practices, etc.

They were like windows, allowing her to glimpse the landscape of those distant times and learn about the civilizations and wisdom that were once glorious, especially those concerning extraterrestrial objects.

Zhao Qing gently opened an ancient book called "Youwenlu". This was a record left by the earliest scholars who traveled out to sea on some fishing ships. It mainly recorded strange stories during the rule of the You Dynasty, but the author was unknown.

Among them, a description of "the evil star falling from the sky" aroused her great interest:
"An evil star fell from the sky, with a tail as long as a broom, and landed in Yongjia. There was Tai Sui in the ice. Those who were brave enough to eat it would live two lives. But after their lifespans were over, they would turn into zombies. They could not be killed even by being cut by knives or chopped by axes. Only fire, grinding their bones and scattering them into ashes could save them from the disaster." To be more specific, when the fragments of the comet fell, there were hundreds of ice crystals larger than ox carts, which broke into an area of ​​dozens of miles. Among them, there was an ice core that contained a foreign object that was similar to the so-called Tai Sui among the people. It looked like meat but was not meat, and could grow in water.

At that time, there were seven brave men in the Yongjia area who cut the lump into pieces and ate it.

As a result, the shortest lifespan among them was over 120 years old, and the longest lived to over 160 years old, while the longest-lived person in the local area was only over 80 years old, so at that time they were said to have lived two lives.

However, when their heartbeats and breathing stopped and their descendants buried them, they turned into zombies. They were unconscious, but their strength was many times greater than that of ordinary people. They forced open the coffins, grabbed the people outside, and ate them alive until they turned into skeletons.

The living dead fed on fresh flesh and blood, which naturally caused panic among the locals. The locals surrounded and attacked them, but among these seven people, some had their intestines ripped out, and some had their heads broken, but they were still able to walk. In the end, six of the seven were completely crushed to ashes.

"It's very similar to the effect of the flesh bodhi fruit in the Wushan formation. Perhaps Li Nian, the dead god general of the You Dynasty, took something similar when he was alive, and turned into a bodhi fruit after his death?"

“However, as a practitioner of the Eighth Realm Qitian, he died at the hands of another Eighth Realm practitioner before he reached the end of his life. His situation should be quite different from that of ordinary people, so we cannot generalize.”

Seeing this rare record of extraterrestrial life, Zhao Qing fell into deep thought and soon thought of the purple Bodhi tree. Although she could not confirm the authenticity of "Youwenlu", the form of the extraterrestrial life in the book was so consistent with what she had seen and heard, there must be a reason.

If the Flesh Bodhi is really related to the Ice Tai Sui, the evil star that fell from the sky, and if it is eaten by the Emperor of Chu, it may allow him to live a second life, but after he dies of old age again, he will probably turn into an immortal evil creature, and his body will be controlled by something parasitic, killing people, which is weird and terrifying.

It is worth mentioning that, just as Zhao Qing expected, in the records of past comets, the blood-red comet has only returned twice in the past hundred years. At the earlier corresponding time points, a light blue comet passed by at a farther distance.

Assuming they are the same comet, the comet has changed color over the centuries.

The time difference between the time of the evil star falling from the sky in "Youwenlu" and the time of the most recent return of the demon planet is at least ten years. Referring to the existing astronomical observation records, the revolution period is suspected to be more than 40 years. It is very likely that it did not come from the latter, but has other origins...

In addition to the elixir of immortality from Tianliang Zushan, which can clearly transform people into a strange life state of "immortality", more than three extraterrestrial life forms have emerged in the past thousand years.

"The fall of the evil star in Yongjia is by no means an isolated incident. In this world, there are probably countless extraordinary creatures living outside the earth, and most of them exist in strange forms, and their corresponding cultivation realms are all at the eighth realm or above..."

Zhao Qing pondered in her heart, she closed the "Youwenlu" and looked around the bookshelf again, looking for more clues related to extraterrestrial objects. At this time, a book with a mottled cover and seemingly older age attracted her attention.

The book had no name, only a strange symbol on the cover, like some simplified version of an ancient totem or cosmic rune. A faint smell of mold and the incense of time emanated from the pages, and the text was almost decayed and difficult to recognize, but it still could not escape Zhao Qing's eyes.

Invisible colorful lights flashed in her eyes, and through multi-spectral imaging scanning, she quickly succeeded in interpreting the general content.

The book records some contents about ancient sacrifices and mysterious rituals, claiming to be able to communicate between heaven and earth, and even touch the power of the stars. Although some words are missing and it looks like a copy of classics from a more distant era, the words seem to be inextricably linked to those extraterrestrial life forms.

Those rituals are complex and dangerous, requiring specific time, place and rare materials, and their purpose is to try to establish some form of connection or contract with the "great existence" deep in the starry sky, pray for the other party's blessing, and even guide it to descend to the human world.

No way? Do you like to summon foreign evil gods so much? Don't tell me that these guys are attracted by the ancients' star worship? It's fine to worship the orthodox sun, moon, five stars and twenty-eight constellations, but why believe in this kind of unlucky star? No wonder all dynasties have banned obscene worship.

She continued to read and found that the book also recorded several "successful" cases. It was said that the ancient tribes or countries that performed the rituals gained incredible power and prosperity after the rituals, but were followed by unpredictable disasters and decline.

Judging from the changes in language style, these case studies were probably added by the transcriber at the time to warn future generations not to try such rituals lightly, so as to avoid unspeakable disasters.

The knowledgeable transcriber made it clear in a later chapter:

Since there are things beyond the sky, what are those things beyond the sky? This world is not the end of the world. The biggest threat to all practitioners in the world does not lie in our own world, but in these unknown worlds beyond the sky.

Throughout the history of practitioners, there have always been many people who want to break through the shackles of this world, travel through the sea of ​​stars, and see the world outside of our world. They call this ideal "ascending to the sky."

According to the transcriber's inference, in theory, as long as one's cultivation reaches the peak of the eighth realm and touches the edge of the ninth realm of immortality, one can survive for a long time in the starry sky.

If the cultivation level is lower than this standard, and is just an ordinary eighth level of Qitian, or even just a seventh level of Banshan, then such practitioners certainly have a way to escape from the human world and step into the lonely and cold starry sky, but it is difficult for them to persist for too long in an environment with thin vitality and harmful and changeable conditions.

In the era when he lived, there was only one practitioner who had the hope of reaching this supreme realm and marching into the starry sky, and that was Lingxuzi, the master of the Great Punishment Sword, a top-level eighth-level cultivator and the founder of the Lingxu Sword Sect.

In addition, the transcriber also mentioned that, at least in our world, there should never have been a truly powerful person who could achieve immortality in the Nine Realms from ancient times to the present. The relevant records of this legendary realm may have originated from the mutual induction and communication between the powerful beings in the Eight Realms and the "ancient gods" of the starry sky.

In other words, the so-called "great existence" outside the sky may be the standard ninth level of cultivation, or even beyond the ninth level, reaching a more unfathomable realm. The peak of the eighth level is actually just the threshold to the true mysteries of the universe.

However, this nine realms should refer to the overall cultivation of the "ancient god". If it is just a meteorite crystal that was split off and descended to the world, it may not be able to reach the level of the initial eight realms, and it may not even have the ability to move freely.

"Could it be that the demon planet is looking at me as a potential believer?"

Zhao Qing pondered secretly in her heart. After all, in the ancient sacrificial ritual in the book, the meteorite fragments were the most important thing in the ritual. Moreover, she did succeed in establishing some form of contact with the other party through the induction of the Demon Sword.

"Also, the person who wants to see me will be here in about a quarter of an hour, so I should get ready." While thinking about the "evil god from outside the domain", she took out an exquisite small pocket watch, looked at it twice, then found a seat in the Sutra Hall and sat down.

This pocket watch is the work of Chu Qifeng from Tiangong Pavilion. It has a series of high-frequency rune oscillation circuits designed inside. The true essence passes through the crystal restriction area. After activation, in the absence of external interference, the time required for each oscillation is exactly the same, so it can be used for precise timing.

Unlike most workshops, Tiangong Pavilion and its affiliated small and medium-sized workshops, in addition to the mainstream talismans used for practitioners' combat and cultivation, also created a number of utensils for daily life and production, such as circular blade drills, rune crystal watches, etc.

In Zhao Qing's eyes, the seemingly inconspicuous clock is actually a revolutionary leap in time measurement. It is the core technology of the industrial age. It can make social production and operation orderly, efficient and unified. Its role is irreplaceable.

……

At the same time, thousands of miles away, it was still the same ironclad merchant ship, but deep in the cabin below the deck, in a slightly dirty kitchen, a fifth-level yellow-robed cultivator glanced around, then pushed open the door leading to the food storage room, muttering to himself:
"I wonder how compatible the medicine man brought out this time is with the 'Demon Tai Sui'. After accepting the 'parasite', how many kilograms of flesh and blood can he produce in a day? How many more Night Demon Apes can he feed?" (End of this chapter)