Chapter 561: The Finale
"And furthermore, aren't you afraid of being held accountable for carelessly using his name?!" Duan Shi Ping, the clan head of the Duan family, pressed his advantage relentlessly.
Having followed that "Old Ancestor" for so many years, he had still witnessed some of the special abilities possessed by those above the Divine stage.
"We have indeed reached a cooperation," the Ark's spokesperson ground out, a hint of resentment in his words.
"Then what is the content of this cooperation?" Duan Shi Ping continued to press.
"That is an internal secret of the organization. Unless you are willing to join the Ark, I cannot reveal any information.
Moreover, the so-called subordinate relationship is merely a nominal one. Members of your esteemed family within the organization will still remain under your management, and those of you at the six-stage will also be able to enter the Ark's decision-making body."
To win over the natives of the Manghuang Realm and completely transform this world into their great rear base, the Ark spared no effort, even ceding a portion of their leadership.
"..." "Give us a moment."
...
"This is a Seven-Colored Luminous Holy Covenant. As long as you affix your soul imprint to the contract, anyone who violates the agreement will suffer a qi deviation during their next breakthrough." Seeing that there was an opportunity, the spokesperson handed Duan Shi Ping a scroll from his pocket.
"Rong Ruo, take a look." He casually tossed the scroll backward, and a hand appeared in the void, perfectly catching it.
"They are not lying. Those who breach the contract will indeed have inner demons take hold, though surviving it doesn't necessarily mean death." Another hand stretched out from the void, passing the scroll back to Duan Shi Ping.
He picked up the scroll and turned to look at the three clan heads behind him.
All three nodded lightly.
"Let's discuss the specific terms." Broadly speaking, they had agreed to this cooperation.
...
"What kind of deal did that person really make with you?" After formally signing the cooperation agreement, the two factions, now temporarily in the same boat, began discussing various issues, and the atmosphere relaxed considerably.
"He told us to bring these 'Dao Markers' to every new world we discover from now on." Ha Si Ta pulled out a crystal inscribed with strange runes.
If Lu Yuesheng were here, she would surely recognize that this rune was precisely the 'Soul Guidance Rune' that Bai Mo had previously had her engrave on the firearms he distributed.
"Then what do *we* get?" Duan Shi Ping instantly switched roles, changing from "you" to "we."
"Being spared, no longer being pursued, and the qualification to conduct future transactions with the Land of White."
"Aren't those just empty words?!"
"Yes, but there's nothing we can do. The enemy is strong, and we are weak. What we lack most is time to recover and recuperate."
"Why does he want to do this?" Nan Xuan Li pointed at the rune, which wasn't overly complex.
"'The living belong to the Ark, the dead return to the Nine Netherworlds,' that's what he said."
"He wants to become the Lord of Reincarnation," Ha Si Ta said softly, a profound air about him.
"The Lord of Reincarnation?!"
"Behind that person lies a vast world named Nine Netherworlds. I believe he intends to construct it into a hell that connects countless spatial layers."
The Manghuang Realm had no such myths or legends, and Ha Si Ta's words left them momentarily stunned.
"A world belonging to the dead."
"I understand, but what's the point of the dead?"
"Heaven knows."
...
After the upper echelons reached an agreement, the Great Wei immediately embraced an era of open development, like a spring breeze blowing forth.
The feudal imperial system, which had been maintained for thousands of years, transformed overnight into a multi-person council. Corresponding institutions were reorganized accordingly, though it would still require many years of effort to popularize education and bring the overall technological level up to par with Earth's.
However, the Ark's Transmigrators, who were determined to develop this world into a rear-base for talent, firmly believed they could change everything.
...
"Ten years have passed so quickly." The Holy Progenitors, waking from the virtual world, gazed joyfully at the familiar yet unfamiliar Earth.
The place where they had lived in the virtual world was nearly identical to the real Earth.
"My new body..."
"I can stand up!"
"My left hand actually made it to reality!"
"My 36D!" The petite beauty beside her shrieked, instantly drawing the gaze of everyone around. A blush immediately suffused her cheeks.
In the virtual world, everyone had redesigned their appearance to achieve their most satisfactory effect.
They had originally thought these effects were nothing more than an illusory carnival, never expecting them to truly carry over into reality.
"Is this really reality?" someone asked, pouring cold water on the idea.
"Look at the system notification!"
"To all Holy Progenitors:
You have returned to the real world. Please be mindful of the differences between the virtual and real, to avoid causing trouble."
"Looks like I'm not dreaming." The petite beauty who had just shrieked about her 36D pinched her own face hard, instantly grimacing in pain.
Then she pinched her chest again, grimacing in pain once more.
"That's odd, it was clearly augmented by the system, so why does it still hurt?" Having been called "Princess Changping" for over ten years, she was intimately familiar with her own body.
"System Notification: Your skin is your own." A line of text immediately popped up.
"..." She was utterly defeated by her own foolishness.
"Let's go check out the new home first." The girl gave herself a reason to stop thinking about this embarrassing incident.
...
"Dad, Mom, you're here too."
"Your mom is as young and beautiful as you now."
"The system is truly divine; it made us decades younger in one go."
Two women and one man stood together, looking like three siblings of the same generation. No one could tell they were actually a family of three.
"If those relatives who fled to the Moon saw us again, they'd surely slap their thighs in regret."
"...Task Notification: Please proceed to your respective posts as soon as possible to restore normal societal operations." Just as the three had chatted for a few moments, a system notification interrupted them.
...
"Why are we being left here?!"
Not everyone had the right to return to the real world; some unfortunate individuals remained trapped in the virtual world.
Unlike other places, this was a boundless wasteland. No matter if one walked east, south, west, or north, they would never reach its end.
The main system would continuously generate maps around the exiles, ensuring they would never find the desert's boundaries. This was the Land of White's special prison.
The prisoners' bodies fell into a state of slumber, while their consciousnesses were led to an independent virtual reality world. In this world, they wouldn't get injured or die, but they would still experience pain and touch.
Aside from the exiles, the desert world contained no other life; there was only endless yellow earth and the system, which would occasionally speak a few words. Thus, they called it the "Wasteland of Despair."
PS: Finally finished this arc. *Phew*.
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