Chapter 266: Hua Yan
"In essence, controlling Xuanhua shares many similarities with my psychokinesis. Perhaps I can develop something significant here later."
After a period of contemplation, Bai Mo ceased supplying energy to the plasma sphere, allowing it to revert to its original state in the frigid high-altitude air as heat rapidly dissipated.
From the ground, the luminous sphere, which had once rivaled the sun in brilliance, gradually began to dim until it completely vanished from everyone's sight.
Many priests of the primitive tribes had, by this point, already concocted a hundred versions of intertwined, complex, and deeply moving myths about the Sun God and the Son of the Sun, leaving their truths for future generations to unearth.
He had originally intended to venture deep into Ji Si Ti Si and explore, but while adjusting the red mist structure for them, he had already thoroughly scouted the internal situation, thus negating the need to waste any more time.
"You're back?" Just as Bai Mo returned to the testing grounds, he encountered Chen Xi, who was about to report on the situation.
"Mm, have Hua Qing come over. I have something to give her."
"Here's the report from the apple orchard for this period." She handed the documents in her hand to Bai Mo, then called over Hua Qing, who was staying at her place.
"It seems it's close to success..." He scanned through the entire report in a few seconds, then calculated the timing, intending to go there himself to perform the final and most crucial step of the finishing work.
Yet, after experiencing a series of profound changes, her mind was far more mature than that of her peers, her gaze devoid of any lingering childish innocence.
Through years of training and expansion, Hua Qing's ability had now reached a point where she could even perceive the emotions of others. This was why she had left the Hua family without a second thought, for within its walls, she sensed that no one held any fondness for her.
"How is it that such a beautiful girl found no acceptance within the Hua family back then?" Chen Xi quipped, teasing Hua Qing after bringing her over.
The three people present all knew that given the influence of Hua Taishan's family back then, any kind of beauty could be found. Keeping Hua Qing within the family held no particular significance. Moreover, she was an adopted child, bearing no blood relation whatsoever.
"I hadn't noticed before. So, you two have this kind of relationship." Bai Mo replied with a peculiar remark.
"What kind of relationship?" Chen Xi began to panic, sensing that Bai Mo might have uncovered something.
"I still remember, the first time we met, you asked me if I was homosexual. I never expected that you'd be the one to 'bend' in the end." He watched the two of them with amusement, his gaze sending a shiver down their spines.
"Boss, you're not discriminating against us, are you? Or are you holding a grudge because I stole your thunder and snatched away the loli you've been nurturing for years?" Chen Xi decided to throw caution to the wind and voiced her true thoughts.
Having worked together for so many years, she could vaguely guess that he likely possessed mind-reading abilities, and telling lies would probably lead to an even worse outcome.
She tightly embraced Hua Qing, pretending to shield her from the great devil king before them, while Hua Qing shyly lowered her head.
"This is for you." Bai Mo paid no heed to Chen Xi's antics, simply producing a dark-golden longsword from behind him and tossing it into Hua Qing's hand.
"This is...?" As she took the longsword, her gaze was instantly captivated by its crystal-clear, translucent blade.
"It's his final relic, a sword I reforged from it, which I've named Hua Yan."
"Thank you!" Hua Qing's eyes reddened slightly, and the hand holding the sword trembled almost imperceptibly.
Behind her, Chen Xi gently stroked her head, softly comforting Hua Qing.
"Don't you need it? This is an excellent sword." Despite her deep reluctance, Hua Qing clasped her hands and offered it back to Bai Mo. She understood the principle of "no reward without merit," and even though the sword was her grandfather's relic, since he had decided to entrust it to the person before her, its ownership was no longer hers.
"I don't use swords; it would only add to my troubles." With that, he transformed into a wisp of smoke and returned to the heart of the testing grounds he had left so long ago.
After he had inadvertently cultivated his Primordial Spirit, leading to the complete collapse of his genes, Bai Mo discovered that a portion of his desires was rapidly fading, and his sense of identity as a human being had significantly diminished.
Initially, he had assumed these were merely psychological changes caused by his rapid increase in power. However, after prolonged contemplation, Bai Mo concluded that they were, to a greater extent, side effects stemming from the disappearance of his genes.
He believed that the desire for reproduction was, to a large extent, the genes' yearning for self-replication. Coupled with the idea he had years ago—that genes were a type of organism living symbiotically within the human body—he began to feel that this might not merely be a wild fantasy.
Especially for someone like Bai Mo, who tended to connect everything to conspiracy theories.
However, his current focus of thought was not on this matter. Regardless of the truth, all the genes within his body had already completely collapsed; what now sustained this body was the more mysterious existence of his Primordial Spirit.
"What exactly does Bai Mo intend to do to the One-Wheel Cult with all those apples?"
After assuming the position of council member, Yun Jie also learned of the astonishing deal between Bai Mo and several others: Bai Mo would exchange certain insights on breaking through to the next realm for Huaxia's full cooperation as a nation in half a year's time.
"I'm not sure," Chen Bo said from beside him, "but according to reports from our subordinates, the thousand-plus hectares of apple orchards he purchased aren't cultivating ordinary apple trees. What specific mutation they possess, however, our people haven't been able to ascertain."
"The One-Wheel Cult boasts hundreds of millions of followers, their Faith Power vast as an ocean. It's rumored they even possess a subspace divine kingdom above their capital, a concept entirely different from the pseudo-gods we've painstakingly created with money. Even someone as powerful as him, I don't believe, can bring about the One-Wheel Cult's downfall."
In the secret agreement at the time, Bai Mo had guaranteed Chen Bo that Huaxia would be able to seize half of Maysuo, and this was the point Chen Bo found most incomprehensible.
Among the six major powers spanning the entire Eurasian continent, Huaxia boasted the largest population and the strongest overall might. However, its internal social conflicts were also the most acute, with a stark disparity between rich and poor.
The entire nation of Maysuo functioned as a single sect of the One-Wheel Cult. Under the guidance of faith, even the impoverished masses at the bottom found most social issues resolved through their ascension into the divine kingdom.
The Luminous Holy Church, on the other hand, relied on a far more expansive general populace of believers, existing transcendentally above worldly affairs. Internally, apart from the escalating conflict between the Saintess and the Pope, they faced no demographic burdens.
Mao-Russia lacked sufficient power and was essentially in a spectator role.
Yamato was preoccupied with its own affairs, equally disinclined towards diplomacy.
Lastly, the European Union possessed formidable technological prowess and was also a prosperous nation with fewer social conflicts. However, the alliance itself was not unified in its objectives.
The overall situation was that the Huaxia Federation was vast but plagued by internal issues, rendering it incapable of external expansion. The Luminous Holy Church and the European Union united externally to confront the One-Wheel Cult, yet engaged in internal machinations, while everyone else pursued their own agendas.
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