novelsite Chapter 402: The Answer Has Arrived
Chapter 402: The Answer Has Arrived
With eleven days remaining until the three-month deadline, the reply from the Divine Court of Myriad Phenomena arrived.
It's not a communication signal; it's a person.
That afternoon, Lu Sheng was practicing his magic in space.
He is experimenting with a new combination of laws—enveiling fire laws with spatial laws to create a "spatial fireball" that can traverse spatial distances. Simply put, it's a fireball that, once thrown, doesn't travel in a straight line but instead appears directly in front of its target through spatial folding.
Theoretically, this thing is extremely difficult for opponents at the Spirit Saint Realm to defend against.
However, it is extremely difficult to control. The precision required for the fusion of spatial laws and fire laws is abnormally high; even the slightest deviation will cause it to explode during the folding process.
Lu Sheng has failed sixteen times.
Just as she was about to try for the seventeenth time, Luo Tianfei's communication device rang.
"A spacecraft is approaching the solar system. It's moving at extremely high speed. Energy signal—early stage of the Spirit Saint Realm."
Early stage of the Spirit Saint Realm?
It's not Qingming.
How many people?
"One person. A single small aircraft."
Lu Sheng withdrew his law practice and turned to fly towards the outer reaches of the solar system.
Fifteen minutes later.
A small, silver-gray spaceship appeared in space.
It was smaller than Li Xuan's previous reconnaissance ship, only about the size of an ordinary house.
The spaceship stopped 5,000 miles away from Earth's defense perimeter.
The hatch opened.
A person walked out.
She was a woman who looked very young. She appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing a dark green, narrow-sleeved long dress, with her hair tied up with a gold hairband. Her face wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had a very clean and tidy demeanor.
Early stage of the Spirit Saint Realm.
Lu Sheng scanned it with his dragon eyes.
Information emerges:
Elder Xuanyin. The fourth Spirit Saint Realm expert in the Myriad Manifestations Divine Court. Early stage of Spirit Saint Realm. Primarily cultivates the Sound Law, with secondary cultivation of the Metal Law.
It turned out to be Elder Xuanyin, who had recently risen to the Spirit Saint Realm in the last decade.
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow.
The Myriad Manifestations Divine Court didn't send Qingming, but instead sent a Spirit Saint in the early stages to deliver the message. What does this mean?
He thought about it for a while.
There are probably two possibilities.
First, the Myriad Manifestations Divine Court is showing weakness. Sending an early-stage Spirit Saint indicates they don't want Lu Sheng to feel threatened. This is a negotiating gesture—"My representative is weaker than yours, which shows I'm not here to fight."
Secondly, the Myriad Manifestations Divine Court was testing him. They wanted to see how Lu Sheng would react to an early-stage Spirit Saint. If Lu Sheng displayed overwhelming strength, it would mean he was indeed a mid-stage Spirit Saint or even stronger. If Lu Sheng seemed nervous, it would mean he might not be as powerful as he appeared.
Regardless of the reason, Lu Sheng had no intention of giving her a friendly look.
He carried the Dragon Devouring Spear, hovering casually in space, looking at Elder Xuan Yin.
"Did the Divine Court of All Things send you to deliver a message?"
Elder Xuanyin's first reaction upon seeing Lu Sheng was to freeze.
With her initial-stage Spirit Saint perception, she was able to determine Lu Sheng's strength the moment she came into contact with his aura.
Mid-stage of the Spirit Saint realm.
Moreover, this was no ordinary mid-stage Spirit Saint. The heavy pressure of the laws emanating from the opponent was even more profound than that of the Azure Nether Protector she had ever seen.
She instinctively took half a step back, then regained her balance.
"Mysterious Sound of the Myriad Manifestations Divine Court greets Lord Lu Sheng." Her voice was beautiful, like spring water flowing over stones. "The Heavenly Venerable has commanded me to deliver this reply."
"explain."
Regarding the three conditions you have proposed—
Xuan Yin paused for a moment.
"The first condition is three remains of Spirit Immortals as a deposit. The Celestial Venerable agrees. The remains are ready; they are on my spaceship."
Lu Sheng's heart skipped a beat.
Three sets of remains from the Immortal Realm.
Did they really give it to me?
He didn't say anything and continued listening.
"The second condition is a century-long non-aggression pact, prohibiting the Pantheon from entering any of the Scavenger Alliance's original star sectors in any form. Your Excellency—"
Xuan Yin paused again.
"agree."
Lu Sheng's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Both conditions have been agreed to?
This shows that the Celestial Venerable of All Things' desire for the Seed of Origin was even stronger than he imagined.
"What's the third condition?"
This is the most crucial part: a complete star map of the known universe.
Xuan Yin's expression became somewhat complicated.
"The Celestial Venerable could not agree to all of the third conditions. However, he proposed a compromise."
What compromise?
"The Celestial Venerable is willing to provide a complete star map of the star sector controlled by the Myriad Manifestations Divine Court. However, information on military deployments and defense nodes in the core area is not included."
In other words, a map is provided, but the location of the barracks is not marked.
Lu Sheng thought for a moment.
This compromise actually exceeded his expectations. His original third condition was an outrageous demand, intended to test the limits of the Divine Court of All Things. The fact that they could provide a complete star map of the controlled star sector already showed considerable sincerity.
But he couldn't show any satisfaction.
The fundamental principle of negotiation is to never let the other party feel that you are satisfied.
"I can consider a compromise. But I have one additional condition."
"Please speak, Your Excellency."
"The star map must mark the coordinates of all ancient ruins and anomalous spatial regions known to the Myriad Manifestations Divine Court..." Lu Sheng changed his mind before he could finish speaking.
Xuan Yin's pupils contracted slightly.
This requirement carries more weight than the complete star chart.
Ancient ruins and anomalous spatial regions are core intelligence that any high-dimensional civilization would keep hidden. They represent resources, opportunities, and dangers.
"This... I need to consult the Celestial Venerable."
"It's alright. Go back and ask your superiors. But I'm giving you a deadline—ten days. I need a final answer within ten days. After ten days, this deal is void."
Xuan Yin pursed her lips.
"I understand."
"Leave the three remains of Spirit Immortals for now," Lu Sheng said, pointing to her spaceship. "Since it's a deposit, we'll follow the rules for deposits. Regardless of whether we can reach an agreement later, I won't refund this."
Xuan Yin hesitated for two seconds.
"good."
She turned and went back into the spaceship. After a while, three huge sealed containers floated out of the spaceship.
Each container is over two meters tall, entirely silver-white, and covered with sealing runes. Through the translucent walls of the containers, one can vaguely see the humanoid remains curled up inside.
Lu Sheng approached one of the containers and scanned it with his dragon eyes.
Remains from the Immortal Realm. Time of death approximately four thousand years ago. Extremely high content of primordial essence.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
nice one.
The combined essence of the three remains of the Spirit Immortal Realm is enough to push his cultivation level from the mid-stage of the Spirit Saint Realm by at least a significant margin.
If you're lucky, you might even reach the threshold of the peak of the Spirit Saint realm.
Lu Sheng put the three containers into his storage space without showing any emotion.
"I've taken the things. I'll go back and tell your Heavenly Venerable, in ten days."
Xuan Yin bowed to him, then turned and boarded the spaceship.
The spaceship started up and accelerated away from the outer solar system.
Lu Sheng hovered in space, watching the spaceship disappear from sight.
He looked down at his storage space.
Three sets of remains from the Immortal Realm.
This meal—
It's time to eat.