Otherworldly Desert Dust

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Homeland, Lun Mountain City.

Guan Quming walked towards a bunker and directly entered a cave-like research lab.

Inside the lab, Li Feng was standing in front of a viewing window overlooking an underground magma pool, holding a black magic cube in his right hand. The cube quietly floated above his palm, as if sensing someone's entrance, its outer layer of dark and mysterious metal slowly writhing.

"Chief, Wu Hen is already on his journey following the Star Marker," Guan Quming said.

"That means he has the confidence to venture into the Cang Chu Divine Realm alone," nodded Li Feng.

"Your Dark Energy Cube seems to have stabilized. Does that mean we can step into the era of Dark Energy Engines like the Da Xuan Empire?" Guan Quming excitedly looked at the Dark Energy Cube in Li Feng's hand.

"Although we've reached the control stage, we also need to address the problem of Evil Spirits. It's similar to our nuclear energy from the past era—an unparalleled technology on top of electrical energy. But the radiation from nuclear energy, along with some uncontrollable radioactive materials, is destroying our fragile habitats. Dark Energy grants Da Xuan a dominant position in the Cang Chu Divine Realm; however, it also results in their entire populace being affected by Dark Radiation. Alive persons turn into Evil Spirits, more terrifying than the Lost Ones. In their pursuit of technological Ascension, they have also planted a curse that goes against the grain of science... Dark Energy can be used in moderation, but it still does not suit us. Look at the residents here; if there's no greenery in the community, they yearn to return to their villages and live. Once the entire city is overly cyberized, it means we're actually living in exquisite metal spaceship boxes. People will feel oppressed, primal instincts will erupt, and eventually lead to collective Lost. While power is important, we cannot afford to lose our humanity," Li Feng expounded.

"Yes, the Divine Realm is essentially a tree of life. Our technology also needs to find a balance with nature. Otherwise, the next generation of youth will turn into technology zealots, devoid of any attachment to their habitat and susceptible to deceptions like those of the Longevity Sect, causing our population to plummet." Guan Quming nodded.

The Longevity Sect was a blood lesson; at the time, the internal strength of the Divine Realm was too weak to cultivate everyone's body, mind, and will.

Although their lineage is not particularly strong within the Cang Chu Divine Realm, they have managed to settle down peacefully. While absorbing evolutionary methods from the entire otherworldly realm, they also need to ensure that they do not become puppets of those Desert Dust Gods, Lost in power and carnage, losing their original heart.

The greatest hidden danger is the Dark Radiation caused by Dark Energy.

Li Feng has deciphered the transformation Law of Dark Energy, but even the Da Xuan Dynasty's advanced technology cannot eliminate Dark Radiation. Li Feng is also aware that he cannot resolve it.

Once Evil Spirits appear within Nuwa God End, they are like invasive species – without natural predators to keep them in check, they grow out of control, consuming all cities and destroying all energy sources.

"Dark Energy is, after all, a Pandora's Box. Even if we must open it, we must do so with great caution," Li Feng said.

"Regarding the Holy Cultivation methods of the Holy Sect, can they become a means to suppress the Dark Radiation Evil Spirits? After all, our technology has encountered a bottleneck. At present, without learning from Da Xuan Technology, it's impossible for us to travel out of the Cang Chu Divine Realm. Moreover, among our billions of people, many have not found their evolutionary path, and their only way to evolve is to rely on our technology..." said Guan Quming.

"This is a method of adaptation. We need to establish a behind-the-scenes benchmark. The amount of Dark Energy we unlock and the amount of Dark Radiation we release will depend on the prosperity and extent of our Holy Cultivator evolutionary chain," Li Feng responded.

"Haha, we used to care about carbon emissions; now we care about Dark Balances. From managing the environment and sustainable development, we've come to managing Evil Spirits and Cthulhus..." Guan Quming couldn't help but laugh.

"That's the principle," Li Feng nodded and then looked at Guan Quming. Seeing that the usually concise and to-the-point Guan Quming was still standing by his side, Li Feng quickly understood that he had something else to say. Thus, he put down the Dark Magic Cube in his hand and asked, "Is there anything else troubling you?"

"That... Wu Hen seems to have seen my Death Omen. I don't quite understand such an ethereal ability, so I would like to ask for your personal opinion. The Death Omen belongs to the Time Law; it is something that will happen in the future. As you know, I consider myself part of the Technology Party, and I find the idea of someone being able to see my Death Omen a bit incomprehensible. For instance, what should I do now? Should I avoid this Death Omen, or should I confront it head-on? If I avoid it, could it be that my evasive actions might just lead me to death? The paradoxes of time give me a headache," Guan Quming said.

"I am also exploring this matter. Although it may not be the ultimate truth, I have some preliminary understanding. The vast majority of low-dimensional lives follow some basic Laws and move forward along the timeline, like numerous raindrops falling into a lake, creating countless interfering ripples. Can you say that the ripples from the raindrops by the lake's edge are unrelated to those at the center? You can't really say that. But from a broader perspective, they don't cause any impact, and after a sunny day, the lake water remains the lake water... However, high-dimensional lives are like a boulder thrown into the lake, causing a big splash, with their ripples sweeping across the entire lake surface, severely affecting all lives that were performing their own life dramas like those raindrop ripples, being engulfed, being erased..."

"Our concept of time is like the ripple of a raindrop; from the moment it is born, it spreads outwards, and then gradually fades away."

"At his realm, he can see when a massive ripple will roll towards your raindrop at the shore. Hence, he can determine that you will not survive this wave. Afterwards, his strong Perception gathers all known information and weaves it into a picture of how you will die."

Saying this, Li Feng also picked up his insulated cup and blew lightly over the goji berries floating on the water.

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"Chief, there's no need to demonstrate for me anymore; I get it. Time is a concept for us, but in their laws, all coincidences and inevitabilities are like a visible thread. They know exactly where the thread breaks," Guan Quming said.

"What sort of demonstration are you talking about? Rat just added boiling water to my drink; how do you expect me to drink something this hot?" Li Feng retorted irritably.

"So I won't fuss over it. In other words, he saw a wave coming towards me from the distant center of the lake, and how a light raindrop like me should ripple... he has already slapped that wave back," Guan Quming said.

"Yeah, taking advice is always good, don't court death by diving into the big waves... We were able to escape from the human circle of the high-dimensional insects because I'm someone who listens," Li Feng said.

Without Wu Hen's Death Omen Law, victory would have been impossible in a game of absolute certain death with complete information asymmetry.

"Then, can he find Cangling? If we're only relying on those clues, where is he supposed to start looking?" Guan Quming asked.

"Cangling's presence isn't completely untraceable within the Cang Chu Divine Realm. My guess is that he would begin with microscopic life and low-dimensional environments to gather information. Cangling's godly laws must have a radiation range. By walking among those environments and creatures affected by its divine radiation, discoveries are bound to be made. Of course, he also needs to hide himself well, avoiding using high-dimensional powers to disrupt the rules Cangling has set for the lower-dimensional lives as much as possible," Li Feng said.

"True, Wu Hen once said that Cangling has detected his presence. If Wu Hen uses high-dimensional powers during the chase, Cangling will definitely notice. It will either set up more complex traps or hide in a deeper place. We are in the light, while Wu Hen is in the dark," Guan Quming nodded, agreeing with Li Feng's assumptions.

"After collecting enough information, he can pose as a proud and boasting mantis, waiting for the cunning Huang Que to show up," Li Feng said.

"That means starting from the very bottom, even from Firefly Light life forms, unraveling the rules laid down by those gods in the otherworldly realm layer by layer. This process also requires concealing oneself well, being an extremely patient hunter..." Guan Quming said.

"He can't just stick to the old ways; in any case, he will figure it out. Let's leave it in his hands," Chief Li said.

"By the way, he had one more thing to say before he left. He asked me to remind you to stop dragging your heels and quickly set up our Divine Realm's firewall and also to establish a green channel to allow our cosmic friends to visit and become Cosmic Ministers guarding our homeland," Guan Quming said.

"Hehe, why didn't he just set up the Avengers straight away? An overly powerful existence can easily obliterate our habitat, but killing a highly evolved being like Wu Hen is impossible. When the time comes, let Wu Hen and his Avengers destroy the civilization that threatens our homeland and achieve a deterrence over the entire Otherworldly Dust," Li Feng couldn't help but sarcastically comment.

"So, that's what the Avengers are about, sounds quite domineering..." Guan Quming said.

"Yeah, it's about maintaining peace in the universe, but not peace within a nation."

...

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Under the gloomy sky lies a wasteland full of scars.

Throughout the wasteland, one can see ruins of dilapidated buildings that resemble sparsely scattered deadwood, slumping listlessly.

As the sandstorm passes, exposed concrete walls of buildings stagger and sway, and from time to time a cracked board falls from a height, landing with a loud noise on the ground. Then, the alien species in the nearby ruins flee in fright, only returning to their nests after ensuring no powerful Predator is present.

Wandering the ruins and broken buildings is a man with a scarf around his face, walking alone through the desolate land, like a ronin abandoned by his homeland, aimlessly drifting through this barren and chaotic world.

Following him is a filthy-looking lioness, whose radiant and holy image has completely vanished, blending perfectly with the alien species of the wasteland, indistinguishable from a stray dog following its master.

"I, Bai Ze, have never suffered such humiliation!" the little lioness spoke with human words.

Wu Hen directly took out a gourd, not allowing Bai Ze to get in the way.

"Woof woof~" The dull-looking Bai Ze, seeing this, immediately barked a few times.