If an individual wishes to enter the Great Cosmos, those who have reached the fourth stage of the Great Path can freely come and go. Seeing this, Lan Xiaobu understood why the Great Blue Starship was waiting outside and helping to guard the Great Cosmos.
Clearly, someone from the planet where the Great Blue Starship originated had reached the fourth stage of the Great Path, which wasn’t particularly difficult.
Even in the vast universe Lan Xiaobu came from, there were several fourth-stage cultivators, such as the Heavenly Poison Sage and the Great Derivation Sage.
The cultivators of the Great Blue Universe were all aboard the Great Blue Starship. As long as someone reached the fourth stage, they could enter the Great Cosmos first to seek opportunities for cultivation. After proving the fifth stage, they could return to bring the entire planet’s population into the Great Cosmos.
Additionally, those who made significant contributions could enter the Great Cosmos. What constituted a significant contribution? Those who contributed to guarding the Great Cosmos or offered top-tier techniques or divine abilities were considered to have made significant contributions.
Thirdly, those with exceptional aptitude—cultivators capable of reaching the Creation Sage realm within a million years—could enter the Great Cosmos and join its top-tier Dao sects.
Lan Xiaobu thought he met the third criterion, but he had no intention of entering the Great Cosmos through it. Instead, he planned to offer a technique. He possessed many primordial Dao techniques, such as the Great Destruction Technique, Great Severing Technique, and Great Curse Technique.
These, Lan Xiaobu wouldn’t offer. Besides those, he had the Second Dao Canon, the Immortal Great Path, and others.
The Second Dao Canon was once a top-tier technique, considered a primordial Dao scroll. Using it as a key to enter the Great Cosmos should suffice. As for the Time Dao Scroll or Space Dao Scroll, Lan Xiaobu was unwilling to offer those.
After much hesitation, he decided on the Second Dao Canon. Before offering it, he chose to modify it.
With his current strength and constant companionship with the Cosmic Dimensional Model, he was barely qualified to modify the Second Dao Canon.
Finding a secluded spot in the void, Lan Xiaobu spent a full year modifying the latter half of the Second Dao Canon, though he didn’t perfect it. He only needed it as a key to enter the Great Cosmos, not to make it flawless.
With his entry key prepared, unsure if it would work, Lan Xiaobu still chose to enter seclusion for a time. Despite the mottled principles in the void, they were far superior to those of the Hundred Zero Universe. He knew he had to alter his Dao rhythm before entering the Great Cosmos. He couldn’t afford to be instantly recognised as coming from a lesser place.
Ten years passed in a flash. Though Lan Xiaobu didn’t advance his cultivation, the decade of seclusion had blended his Dao rhythm seamlessly with the surrounding void, leaving no trace of incongruity.
Now he was ready to head to the Great Cosmos, but he didn’t know its location. His next task was to find where it was.
The cultivator from before had only given him information about the Great Cosmos, not its directional principles.
Fortunately, Lan Xiaobu knew the Great Blue Starship’s location. Since it was guarding the Great Cosmos, the entrance must be nearby. Centring on the Great Blue Starship, he searched in all directions.
In the third year, he finally located an entrance to the Great Cosmos.
Lan Xiaobu had never seen such an enormous void platform—or rather, it wasn’t a platform but a void continent.
Just the entrance to the Great Cosmos was so vast his divine sense couldn’t reach its edges, larger than several planets combined.
To his surprise, aside from a constantly active defensive array, there were no protective or restrictive barriers, and the defensive array had clearly never been deactivated. Countless cultivators came and went, with no one stopping them.
Lan Xiaobu landed his ship on this entrance continent. No one blocked or questioned him. Evidently, entry and exit were unrestricted.
Without prior knowledge that this was a universe’s entrance, Lan Xiaobu might have thought this was the Great Cosmos itself. Star towers stood tall, caves were abundant, and there were even many marked Dao fields. Between the fields, rivers, lakes, and seas existed.
Countless cultivators lived here, and Lan Xiaobu knew most were likely seeking opportunities to enter the Great Cosmos, many, like him, from obscure corners of lesser universes.
Despite the crowd, no one paid attention to others, yet Lan Xiaobu felt an uneasy sensation the moment he stepped onto the continent. He didn’t dare extend his divine sense, but his experience told him someone was watching him.
This was odd. He was just an unremarkable cultivator from the void. Why would someone target him the moment he arrived?
His gaze swept toward the passage into the Great Cosmos, which was glaringly obvious, spanning ten thousand metres wide. Above it hung a row of large characters: *Great Cosmos Entry and Exit Rule Identification Passage*, clearly indicating its purpose.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t approach. Though he knew presenting his modified Second Dao Canon might grant him entry, that uneasy feeling made him cautious. In this place, any random figure could crush him. Besides, he had just arrived and hadn’t grasped the rules. Rushing in would be tantamount to seeking death.
He began wandering the near-boundless void platform, too vast to traverse recklessly, so he stuck to a small corner.
Even a small corner was enough for him. After days of exploration, he realised the jade slip’s description of the Great Cosmos was barely the tip of the iceberg.
Despite its size, this wasn’t the only entry and exit void platform for the Great Cosmos. There were many others, each with different rules. The Great Cosmos was so vast that few knew of multiple such entrances.
Moreover, the Great Cosmos wasn’t as idyllic as the jade slip suggested, where anyone could prove their Great Path.
Lan Xiaobu was patient. He lingered on the void platform for over a year, even renting a small cave. After more than a year, that uneasy feeling finally faded, suggesting whoever had been watching him had shifted their focus.
In that time, he didn’t visit the Great Cosmos passage or inquire about entry. Still, his year of wandering gave him some insights.
The passage was open to anyone. At its end was a rule space where cultivators could stand and present their contributed techniques. The space would automatically judge them, and if they passed, they’d be teleported to the Great Cosmos. However, first-time entrants couldn’t use disguises or shapeshifting.
The passage was only for those entering via contributed techniques. Those with significant contributions, sufficient cultivation, or exceptional aptitude could enter through the largest hall on the platform continent, the Great Cosmos Hall.
This applied only to first-time entrants. Once someone entered the Great Cosmos, they gained entry and exit privileges, using a different passage for future travels.
Lan Xiaobu had no intention of entering through other means and didn’t bother with the Great Cosmos Hall.
Even after clarifying these details and confirming no one was watching him, he still didn’t enter the passage.
He continued wandering the platform, gathering information about the Great Cosmos.
Unfortunately, over ninety-nine percent of those on the platform were like him, never having entered the Great Cosmos. The few who knew it had no time for someone like Lan Xiaobu, aimlessly wandering.
Initially, he was puzzled why, after over a year, he hadn’t seen a single cultivator enter the passage. He refused to believe no one had a primordial Dao scroll or similar treasure. But he gradually understood that entering the passage was somewhat dangerous. Most seeking entry chose to join a planetary force rather than risking it alone with a primordial Dao scroll.
For example, the Great Blue Starship represented the Great Blue Universe’s force. To enter the Great Cosmos, one could join them. Once the Great Blue Universe gained entry permission, everyone on the starship could enter.
However, joining a force meant sharing their fate. A planet needed to guard the Great Cosmos’s periphery for years, and joining meant guarding alongside them. If you fell, it was just bad luck. Knowing these rules, Lan Xiaobu grew calm and patient. He refused to believe he wouldn’t see someone attempt the passage.
Months later, while wandering, he saw a grey figure rush toward the passage. Overjoyed, Lan Xiaobu followed, eager to see how others entered the Great Cosmos through it.
But just as the grey-clad figure entered, dozens followed at breakneck speed.
*Splatter!* A burst of blood erupted. Lan Xiaobu froze, watching as the grey-clad figure was blasted apart by a powerhouse, who then grabbed the remains, activated a Dao talisman, and vanished.
The other cultivators, seeing the grey-clad figure killed, scattered, and the scene returned to normal.
