Ding Zhongchen was momentarily stunned by Lan Xiaobu’s words, then shook his head and said, “Friend Lan, if I’m not mistaken, you’re likely at the eighth step of the Great Dao. Your strength might even slightly surpass our Xingfan World’s Dao Ancestor Qin Chun, but forgive my bluntness, this strength isn’t enough to traverse the Great Cosmos.”
Lan Xiaobu calmly replied, “If we choose to traverse the Great Cosmos, there’s still a chance of success. If you continue like this, you probably have no chance at all, right?”
Ding Zhongchen fell silent. Lan Xiaobu was right. He had been searching for so many years, yet finding the chaos on the other side of the Great Cosmos remained an elusive dream. Countless crises had arisen during this time, and if not for their caution and a treasure, they might have all perished long ago.
Even so, how many of the 7,931 people who left the Xingfan World with him were still alive? Were there even a thousand left now? This was after many rogue cultivators had joined them along the way. Otherwise, there might not even be a hundred survivors.
Why did he try to intercept the Seven Realms Stone? Wasn’t it because the Seven Realms Stone could cross planes, offering a chance to survive in the vast worlds within the chaos?
“If Emperor Ding is unwilling, then we’ll take our leave,” Lan Xiaobu said, standing up.
“I’m willing,” Ding Zhongchen finally resolved. Years of wandering in the void had made it clear that, despite having a clear goal, he lacked a clear direction. Continuing like this was almost certainly a death sentence.
Moreover, even if he found the other end of the Great Cosmos, what then? That was the vast, boundless Primordial Chaos region. He would have to venture into endless chaos to find a place to survive, to seek a great world that might not even exist. The odds were still slim.
Lan Xiaobu, at least, was a powerhouse at the eighth step of the Great Dao. Theoretically, traversing the Great Cosmos offered a sliver of hope. And even if they fell, it would be within the Great Cosmos, not in the rootless void.
As they stepped out of the warship, the deck was already crowded with cultivators. Each one stood there, faces etched with worry.
Clearly, they had received the latest news: the few people Emperor Ding had captured were powerful, perhaps capable of easily wiping them out. Or rather, they hadn’t been captured at all but had come aboard willingly and might even turn the tables. For now, with the Emperor in the forbidden hall, they could do nothing but wait.
All eyes turned to Lan Xiaobu and his group as they emerged.
“Cheng Xinpeng pays respects to Senior,” said a lanky man with grey hair and blue-green eyes, the one who had brought Lan Xiaobu aboard. He hurried forward to bow, now aware that Lan Xiaobu’s boldness in coming aboard wasn’t folly but backed by real strength.
Lan Xiaobu smiled, “Friend Cheng, why did you leave the Great Blue Starship? Was there no hope there? You’ve reached the fourth step of the Great Dao yourself, and with time, advancing to the fifth step isn’t out of reach.”
Cheng Xinpeng quickly replied, “The Great Blue Starship is gone, annihilated. I only escaped by using a top-grade escape talisman and was saved by the Emperor.”
“Annihilated?” Lan Xiaobu was stunned. He knew the Great Blue Starship housed billions of lives, essentially a planet in itself.
Ding Zhongchen hastily explained, “It was Huan. He annihilated the Great Blue Starship. To Huan, the countless planets around the Great Cosmos are merely cultivation resources. Many planets are unaware of this, still waiting their turn to enter the Great Cosmos, the only higher cosmos. It’s truly the sorrow of human cultivators.”
Lan Xiaobu frowned. Since entering the Great Cosmos, he had never left it. If not for a problem during teleportation this time, he wouldn’t have left either. He hadn’t expected that planets outside the Great Cosmos were unsafe, liable to be annihilated by scum like Huan at any moment.
It was even possible that the Great Cosmos allowed planets from mid-tier cosmoses to enter to provide Huan with vital planets for cultivation. Not just Emperor Lan, but the other Dao Ancestors likely couldn’t escape blame. It was unclear if the Seven Cosmos Heaven was involved.
“Let’s return to the Great Cosmos first,” Lan Xiaobu said, knowing that to avoid the Tianmeng Clan’s Great Cosmos, they would need to forge a Great Cosmos for humanity.
Standing at the warship’s edge, Lan Xiaobu summoned the Seven Realms Stone and said to Ding Zhongchen, “Friend Ding…”
Ding Zhongchen quickly interrupted, “Friend Lan, when I led part of the Xingfan World away from the Great Cosmos, I did intend to restore it. But now, since I’ve decided to follow you back to the Great Cosmos, there’s no talk of being an Emperor. Please call me by my name.”
Originally, Ding Zhongchen had hoped that if he could bypass the Great Cosmos and find true chaos, he might one day establish a Great Cosmos for human cultivators and rebuild the Xingfan Heavenly Court. But now, returning with Lan Xiaobu to traverse the Great Cosmos, he was no longer the decision-maker and had no right to call himself Emperor before Lan Xiaobu.
“Alright, Friend Ding. We’ll use the Seven Realms Stone to return, as it’s faster. Have everyone stow these warships and join me on the Seven Realms Stone,” Lan Xiaobu nodded.
If a human Great Cosmos were truly established, Ding Zhongchen indeed couldn’t call himself Emperor. If there were an Emperor, there could only be one, and who that would be wasn’t for now to decide.
“Friend Lan, these warships were mostly produced by the Weiju Dao Sect. Their Rule-Breaking Cannons are powerful, especially in the Great Cosmos. If we stow them all, we might not have time to deploy them in danger,” Ding Zhongchen said.
Lan Xiaobu waved a hand, “No need to worry. The Weiju World’s Rule-Breaking Cannons have limitations. You know they’re strong in the Great Cosmos but much weaker in the void, right? Many cosmic rules in the void can’t be broken by these cannons.”
Ding Zhongchen paused, then said, “That’s true.”
With that, he addressed the gathered cultivators loudly, “Our path forward is bleak, but we’ve been fortunate to meet Friend Lan Xiaobu, Friend Mo Wuji, and Friend Gou Mang, three powerhouses at the eighth step of the Great Dao. With their help, we’ve decided to return to the Great Cosmos and traverse it, saving time…”
“Emperor, you made this decision without considering our opinions,” a sharp voice interrupted. A man in red robes stepped forward, his head unusually large, exuding a murderous aura. Clearly, he was decisive and had killed many.
Ding Zhongchen was stunned. He hadn’t expected anyone to oppose him. In this fleet, his word had always been law. Today’s announcement was meant as a notification, not a discussion. Yet someone had objected, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Lan Xiaobu’s gaze fell on the big-headed man. He turned to Mo Wuji, “Wuji, do you think this man is at the eighth step of the Great Dao?”
Mo Wuji smiled, “Not only is he at the eighth step, but he cultivates a familiar Great Dao, likely the Great Cosmos Technique.”
“Could it be Huan?” Lan Xiaobu’s heart stirred.
Mo Wuji shook his head, “This man’s strength is formidable, probably not weaker than Emperor Lan. But if Huan were only this capable, he wouldn’t qualify to swagger through the Great Cosmos, nor would he need to follow Ding Zhongchen here.”
“What’s your meaning, Cong Ang?” Ding Zhongchen took a breath, his tone calm but laced with strong displeasure. That one of his cultivators would challenge his authority was unthinkable.
“Heh, three ants at the seventh step of the Great Dao, daring to pose as eighth-step powerhouses,” Cong Ang ignored Ding Zhongchen, his disdainful gaze fixed on Lan Xiaobu’s trio.
“Seventh step?” Ding Zhongchen glanced at Lan Xiaobu’s group, surprised.
If they were only at the seventh step, following them back to the Great Cosmos would be worse than staying.
Cong Ang swept a glance at Ding Zhongchen, “Emperor, we’ve followed you through life and death to find a great world for humanity’s survival. We believed you could do it. Despite losing so many, we didn’t give up, but you’re the first to abandon the cause, heh.”
