Five hundred years later.
Following Zhang Shou, the others shattered the void one after another.
Niman, Nora, Jin Sheng, Cheng Pi, Gong Qian, and Huangquan all succeeded in shattering the void in turn. Next, Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao also completed their tasks and departed the Zhen Realm, leaving only Shui Yuetian still quietly working toward it.
Inside the God Vault Space, at the Salty Fish Studio.
Yu Xian lay suspended in the air, drifting back and forth across the lake's surface with his hands and feet lazily dipped in the water.
"Are we really leaving Jin Sheng to his own devices?"
Zhang Buyao sat in the water without a drop dampening her clothes. Eating a World's Best Bun brought over by Huangquan, she couldn't help asking Yu Xian.
Today, they had received word from Cheng Pi that Jin Sheng intended to unify Earth—linking together the Earths of sixty-six parallel worlds into a single realm named the Great Tang Celestial Dynasty.
"Doesn't that sound pretty fun?" Yu Xian chuckled.
A Mighty One was the very embodiment of cosmic rules. Jin Sheng merely wished to build the kingdom of his dreams, which was already showing immense restraint. The Mighty Ones who casually wiped out entire worlds at a whim were what the weak truly had reason to fear.
Speaking of which, Jin Sheng was a man of ambition. Even though he had already become a Mighty One and could live completely untethered, he was still running himself ragged for the sake of his past ideals.
At present, aside from Jin Sheng and Cheng Pi, who had chosen to stay behind on Earth, everyone else had resolved to embark on an unprecedented grand adventure.
They would depart from beyond the Fenglaixian Abyss, circle the entire Tree Universe, and eventually return to the Fenglaixian Abyss.
Because no one knew how long it would take or how many worlds they would traverse, the expedition was dubbed the "Endless Journey."
In truth, the idea had originated with Huangquan, who wanted to journey through the myriad worlds to encounter new culinary ingredients and cooking techniques.
Then Niman had worried about Huangquan traveling alone and decided to accompany her, and when Zhang Buyao heard that Huangquan was setting out to tour the heavens, her craving for Huangquan's cooking prompted her to immediately sign up as well.
Little by little, the numbers swelled, until finally they simply decided that everyone would go together.
***
A few days later.
The Aska had been given a complete makeover by Yu Xian and the others, transformed from a battleship into the style of a sailing vessel.
Although its capabilities hadn't diminished in the slightest—and had actually grown even more formidable thanks to the group's enhancements—nobody looking at its exterior now would ever guess that the Aska was fundamentally a dreadnought of terrifying destructive power.
Yu Xian and the others stood across the deck, some chatting, some snacking, some playing video games, and some drinking wine, each utterly relaxed.
After all, this entire vessel was manned by Mighty Ones. If some blind fool dared to cause trouble, they wouldn't mind in the least; in fact, they would welcome it warmly.
"Everyone is here. Let's set sail!"
When the time was right, Yu Xian issued the command directly to Muse.
A moment later, the sailing ship hoisted its sails and began to glide steadily into the Tree Universe.
"Salty Fish, where's our first stop?" Zhang Shou asked, holding a steamed bun and munching as he leaned over.
Yu Xian rolled his eyes at Zhang Shou and said tartly, "How should I know? This trip goes wherever the wind takes us. We don't have a destination!"
"That's right. It's an endless journey—why would there be a destination?" Niman smiled faintly.
Glass in hand, she walked over to Yu Xian and gazed out into the void beyond the ship, remarking wistfully, "You know, even though so much time has passed, it still feels unreal. The very thing I spent countless ages pursuing, obtained just like that."
"Are you asking me to pinch you?" Yu Xian asked curiously.
Dodging the hand Yu Xian reached out to pinch her cheek, Niman gave an annoyed huff. "Forget it, I know this isn't a dream."
With that, she turned and walked away, intending to help Huangquan cultivate some top-grade yeast cultures.
Her abilities could concoct deadly poisons, but they were equally capable of nurturing extraordinary ingredients.
Working together, Huangquan and Niman could create countless breathtaking delicacies. However, a large portion of those dishes were intensely toxic; an ordinary person eating them might dissolve into a puddle of liquid on the spot. Only Mighty Ones like Yu Xian and his companions could feast upon them without suffering any harm whatsoever.
Perhaps that was one of the perks of absolute power: the stronger you became, the more things you could eat. Substances that were lethal venom to the weak served as mere seasonings to the strong.
"Big Bro, can I start a livestream?" Little Nora trotted over just then, sucking on a lollipop as she asked.
Yu Xian nodded. "I'm fine with it. Go ask the others; as long as everyone agrees, go right ahead."
"Okay, I'll go ask!" Little Nora scampered off happily to weave through the crowd.
Gong Qian was currently badgering Nora, hoping Nora would use a weapon to test her physical resilience again. Little Nora stepped in to interrupt them, and only after securing their approval did she cheerfully move on to the next person.
"Wait, what about my opinion?" Zhang Shou, standing beside Yu Xian, suddenly remembered.
Yu Xian chuckled. "Your opinion doesn't matter."
"No way, I need to have a serious talk with Little Nora about why she skipped me!" Zhang Shou protested, indignantly stalking off.
Once Zhang Shou was gone, Yu Xian simply lay back against the ship's railing, watching the starry expanse overhead, and slowly closed his eyes to sleep.
Over the past centuries, they had stayed vigilant against Quan Juehua and actively searched for him, but gradually they had stopped paying attention to the man. After all, Quan Juehua had vanished without a trace, as if completely dead.
They couldn't put their lives on hold forever just because of Quan Juehua, spending every day on pins and needles guarding against him.
In the end, everyone simply carried on as usual. As for Quan Juehua, if he never showed his face again, so be it; if he ever dared to stick his head out, Yu Xian would summon the Zhen Realm and crush him on the spot.
A few hours later.
The Aska slowly came to a halt. Muse notified everyone that a new world lay ahead.
The passengers gathered on the deck one after another, all looking forward. Within the Tree Universe, unless a world was shattered, its world boundary was made of a material very similar to the surrounding space, making it impossible for ordinary eyes to see what the world actually looked like inside.
However, everyone present was a Mighty One. Sensing space was second nature to them, so to their eyes, this world was unmistakable.
It was a world actively rotating and expanding on its own, containing a massive array of bizarre ladders within, where spiral stairways formed countless sub-worlds.
After observing it for a moment, Yu Xian decided to name it the Ladder World.
"This world is a bit fragile," Niman said, pulling her gaze back from the Ladder World to address the group. "It can probably only withstand energy below the Hegemon Rank. If we entered, we'd likely burst the entire world apart."
"That's easy enough. Can't we just send in avatars?" Zhang Shou said with a grin.
Yu Xian looked around at everyone and asked, "Whoever wants to go play, raise your hand. Anyone who doesn't can stay behind to watch the ship."
A few hands shot up, while the rest chose to stay, clearly uninterested in such a fragile, low-level world.
Chapter 629