Chapter 591: Zhou Tian
In these past ten years, the Moon God had been built into what it was today, and the strength of every individual among them was indispensable.
The collective efforts of the high-level superhumans, combined with specialized engineering machinery, allowed the Moon's transformation project to advance at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people.
If not for their personal involvement, with humanity's technology and organizational capabilities ten years ago, it might not have been completed and launched even after fifty years. After all, this was a miracle of completely transforming a planet.
And precisely because of this hands-on involvement, most of them harbored a creator-like special affection for the Moon God, this planetary fortress, willing to fight to protect it.
...
"Perhaps he... is on our side?"
As one mutated Reaper after another was slain, Drag, who was in charge of leading the vanguard legion, keenly noticed that the power obstructing the large monsters from fully escaping the Celestial River seemed to be constantly providing assists.
Every time the two sides were locked in fierce combat, the mutated Reapers, whose defenses were originally impenetrable, would momentarily falter at a crucial moment, granting them an opportune opening.
"There are quite a few Bai-ologists specializing in psychology who believe that person likely has an unknown degree of schizophrenia, with more than one personality existing within him. I think this incident might be an internal struggle between his different personalities.
"Wasn't it that Bai-ologist professor named Min Tianci who said that?"
"Yes."
"Professor Min? Wasn't he rumored to have some unclear relationship with the Ice Queen?"
"I've heard that too. Apparently, he was the lover of one of her sub-personalities."
"What a pity, his beloved turned out to be someone else's sub-personality."
"He specializes in the study of schizophrenia, apparently spurred by this very stimulus..."
"It's said he wants to separate the sub-personality into an independent individual."
"For love, he's truly throwing his life away, daring to plot such a thing."
A few five-tier cultivators, privy to many hidden secrets, quietly gossiped.
...
"The side effects of the Soul-Splitting Scripture are truly terrifying... it can drive one to madness."
"However, it's also the only publicly available breakthrough technique for Chemosynthesis Spirit Energy cultivators with a success rate among the top five."
Although the battle was quite intense, some of the five-tier projections appeared somewhat nonchalant, finding time to chat amidst the fighting.
Because losing a projection wasn't a big deal for them, with four or five projections per person; they could just recultivate for a few months, and the Federation's rewards were definitely worth it.
Instead, it was the terrifying consumption required for the bottleneck between the fifth and sixth tiers that worried these individuals more.
Almost every known breakthrough technique had an astonishingly high exchange price within the Federation.
To ensure a high literacy rate and widespread accessibility, the Federation provided all low-end cultivation knowledge for free. However, the higher one went, the more expensive other techniques became, with the exception of those whose authors had special purposes.
Before those who came after, there were only four choices.
First, sign a "bond of servitude," become a member of one of the organizations, and obtain the corresponding cultivation method.
Second, save money for thirty to fifty years, depending on the circumstances, and pay to resolve the matter. However, a significant portion of cultivation methods were not sold to outsiders, making the choices very limited.
Third, do it yourself and enjoy abundance, developing one's own methods. The only issue was bearing all the risks; one might ruin oneself, and the development period was unpredictable—it could take ten years, or it could take a hundred.
Fourth, give up and start living in retirement.
...
It was precisely due to this extreme thirst for cultivation resources that the "Star Net Project" received unprecedented support from the Federation's upper echelons.
According to their calculations, conquering a new planet would provide at least twenty more positions for six-tier individuals from the harvested spirit materials. Simultaneously, societal conflicts would be alleviated by the influx of immense wealth.
...
"There are 8 minutes left." Li Shunsheng, "protected" by a circle of projections at the center, gritted his teeth as he watched the countdown within his body.
Every second, his heart bled. A consumption rate of one hundred and three thousand times meant that each additional second of confinement would drain more than a day from his lifespan.
Compared to Li Shunsheng, who silently endured his torment, Wen Jian, as the battlefield commander, breathed a sigh of relief.
After a full twenty-four hours of fierce fighting, even with meticulous planning, most of the projections had grown dim and were unlikely to last much longer.
After all, these were not their true bodies, and the battlefield was the empty void of space, completely devoid of any supplies.
"The Moon God has already left a sufficient safe distance. For the remaining time, our mission is to bring Li Shunsheng back alive."
After more than half a day of acceleration, the "Wandering Moon" escaped behind the "safety line" designated by Federation researchers. Based on Li Shunsheng's calculation of ten thousand three hundred times, they roughly estimated the projection range of Bai Mo's power.
Beyond this range, they believed Bai Mo would no longer be able to project a force that the Federation could not resist.
...
"All units, attention! Five minutes before the countdown ends, those with temporary numbers one to seven hundred and twenty will form the Zhou Tian Star Array, and those from seven hundred and twenty-one onwards will gather at the center of the array!"
"Received!"
"Begin calculating the relative position of the Moon Fortress fifteen seconds after the countdown ends!"
"Yes!"
The final preparations were proceeding in an orderly fashion. Everyone awaited the moment the "Fool of Time" would be dispelled.
...
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
Although someone had said just a day ago that counting down was meaningless, when the critical moment arrived, most people still silently began to count down in their hearts.
One second before the effect of the Fool of Time vanished, twelve six-tier and seven hundred and eight five-tier projections simultaneously transformed into streaks of starlight, pouring into the pre-arranged Zhou Tian Star Array.
The remaining projections positioned within the array's core began to burn themselves, becoming the energy source for the grand array's operation.
...
From the Celestial River, a mental fluctuation that shook everyone's minds spread forth, slowing their movements by half a beat.
Following this fluctuation, the monsters that had been menacingly floating throughout space were, as if time were rewinding, pulled back along their original paths into the pink Celestial River.
And the mutated Reapers that had been struggling and roaring on the river's surface were once again submerged by the "river water," vanishing from sight.
Even the Celestial River itself seemed to be experiencing a phenomenon of time reversal.
The pink river water slowly disintegrated, and seven-colored radiance was drawn out from within it, gradually transforming back into the appearance of the Rainbow Bridge.
"Is it leaving?" the figure emerging from the Rainbow Bridge muttered to himself.
The Zhou Tian Star Array, composed of twelve main stars and seven hundred and eight auxiliary stars, remained silent.
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