Chapter 556: Plan Successful

In the living room, Xu Zhi returned to the orchard, casually opened the refrigerator, took out a can of drink he had stored from the gourmet world, and sat back down on the black sofa, watching the small ants bustling around on the floor.

They were making excited sounds as they fought wildly, rolling around on the ground, clearly very happy. At this moment, they were still savage beasts, living primitively without any civilization, much like humanity's ape ancestors. They were uncultivated, so Xu Zhi wasn't worried that their descendants would remember him in the future.

"I went out for a trip, and inexplicably, a bunch of troublemakers appeared at home," he murmured, pressing his temples. "Mercury isn't just a power station anymore; it's practically a Buddhist land now. It was a rare chance to go out and fool those guys on Mercury into developing the Chinese mythological system. Life was pretty good... But what about these Radiants? Keeping them on Mercury isn't practical, and keeping them on Earth is even less so."

There's no water on Mercury, so they can't live there. And Earth, with its abundant air and lack of radiation, is too comfortable and peaceful an environment, which would be a waste of their powerful abilities. The best solution would be to send them into the vast universe—that's their true world. But where? The Solar System? If they were to wander among the planets in the Solar System, the satellites would surely start screaming "Aliens!" And then everything would be completely exposed. Like the orchard's sandbox, should he find a hundred acres on an asteroid, enclose them, and then shield them? That would also waste their ability to soar through the universe. Confining a vacuum-cosmic cellular race in a small sandbox would be highly unsuitable.

Suddenly, he felt a bit lost. Xu Zhi had always been a realistic and pragmatic person, and nearly three months of reclusive life hadn't changed his original intention. He clearly knew that this promising race was surprisingly powerful. But precisely because they were so powerful, he, merely a minor Heavenly Emperor who couldn't even traverse the universe, simply couldn't afford to keep them! To put it metaphorically, he was like a fish in a tank, unable to venture far, while they were cosmic eagles capable of soaring anywhere. How could they compare? This was like being level 30, still rising, and suddenly drawing a level 50 SSR epic unique purple-tier equipment. Its dazzlingly powerful red attributes would make one gasp, but being under-leveled, you couldn't equip it, and it would just gather dust in the warehouse.

However, Xu Zhi had never liked sticking to conventions; he wanted to take on this SSR race head-on. Otherwise, despite being only at the Heavenly Emperor realm, he wouldn't have single-handedly launched the Mercury power generation project. If it weren't for limiting conditions, he would have enthusiastically started terraforming the Solar System. He, a mere minor Heavenly Emperor, wanted to tackle the Solar System? He always had an enormous appetite and never worried about biting off more than he could chew. This was human nature; most people are like this, always wanting more than they have. After all, he understood even better that with his ambition and the many systems he cultivated, if he were to follow the normal, steady pace of advancing to the Heavenly Emperor realm, it would take an eternity. And now, he was considering over-leveling, to forcibly swallow this great surprise.

"Simply put, I need to find a distant asteroid system in the universe where they can live freely." Naturally, Xu Zhi immediately thought of the Ancient Wood Elven Planet. That place was certainly far enough. Passing by a small star system similar to the Solar System, as long as there was water, it would be an excellent environment for them. So, the problem returned to the initial solution: establishing a teleportation array to the Ancient Wood Planet.

"Connecting the two realms is imperative!" Thinking this, Xu Zhi took a deep breath, glanced at them, and then reached out his hand, "My little darlings, finding a future for you is truly a headache."

Chirping excitedly, a group of small ants climbed onto the back of Xu Zhi's palm, as if ascending a mountaintop, cheering loudly and waving their wooden spears at the sky. Xu Zhi's palm developed a dense array of goosebumps, feeling a chilling sensation, but it was harmless.

"The radiation levels are indeed terrifying—their natural advantage. Even I'm reacting a bit; an ordinary Heavenly Emperor would struggle to endure it for long." Xu Zhi became even more optimistic about their potential.

"To connect two realms, at least a Mid-God is required, and it comes with an enormous cost. Ermin, Di Qi, Caroline, Phoenix—not everyone is willing to pay such a hefty price." Xu Zhi picked up a pen and organized his thoughts on the desk. "Previously, I tricked Ermin, a Mid-God, into creating two portable, interconnected teleportation stone arrays. That was harmless enough, a simple task for a Mid-God. But this kind of ultra-long-distance remote sensing is far more difficult. According to Di Qi's flight range, accurately pinpointing the location now would severely damage a Mid-God, costing at least two millennia of cultivation, and possibly even causing them to fall back to the Low-God realm!"

Xu Zhi frowned and continued writing, "Ermin's gentle and kind nature makes her the easiest to fool, but even she isn't stupid. Dropping realms? She wouldn't help me; the cost is too great. However, if I don't do this now, the cost of pinpointing the location will be even higher once they fly further. In the long run, this cannot be delayed!"

Xu Zhi pressed his forehead, took a sip of his drink and set it down. Feeling annoyed with the pen in his hand, he wrote again: "Currently, for Mid-Gods, the cost is irreversible and severe. Only High-Gods can construct such a teleportation array. Although the cost is significant, it's bearable for them; they can recover within two or three centuries. Currently, only Phoenix and Caroline have reached this realm. While Phoenix, appearing as the God of Creation, would naturally offer unconditional help, I find it highly unlikely I would approach her..."

"Caroline." Finally, Xu Zhi wrote these three characters prominently on the paper: Caroline. She was the only candidate.

But Caroline, was she foolish? Asking her to take the entire Ishdal race, endure two to three centuries of weakness, just to build this thing for you at such an immense cost? Even between close siblings, accounts must be settled clearly. Caroline respected the Ultra-Ancient God, but she was a decisive and resolute queen, not some naive simpleton. Furthermore, the Ultra-Ancient God's identity might be questioned if he asked for such a favor. As for her "liking" him? Back then, she was merely coveting his body. She was a ruler who prioritized the path of science over sentimentality; she wouldn't linger on so-called romance. If Xu Zhi could solve this by selling himself, he wouldn't be so distressed.

"This is too difficult for me." Xu Zhi took a deep breath, feeling like he had reached a dead end. No one could help him set up a teleportation array; after all, it was a huge cost even for a High-God. Perhaps only a Ninth-Tier world could accomplish such a feat with ease.

"I appear to control everything, but ultimately, I am pitifully weak. My true realm is merely that of a Heavenly Emperor." Xu Zhi fell silent for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck him. "Wait, looking at it from another angle: my realm isn't high enough to take on this new large cake myself. But I can involve some deities! I can make them partners, promising to jointly develop a new world. After all, those gods will think they've hit the jackpot, but in reality, they themselves are merely my pawns. Yes, I'll trick her, make her believe she's getting an incredible deal!" After much thought, he completely settled on Caroline. After all, the Ultra-Ancient God could contact Caroline and have her open a teleportation array as a show of sincerity.

"Caroline is also tricky. We agreed to visit each other's universes next time..." He mused internally, "My internal universe?" He didn't have any spiritual parallel world, nor had he begun learning about the tomb-keepers of ancient civilizations. He felt that being a Heavenly Emperor was just too hard. Turning every which way, through twists and turns, he still faced a dead end. He looked at the Six Paths of Reincarnation, "Could I use the inner world of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art?"

At this moment, having just returned from the Infernal Hell, a group of players were still enthusiastically studying the brand new ancient system, with one man having over two hundred wives—practically a second Great Joyful Emperor. If Caroline saw that, it would be quite scandalous...

Xu Zhi pondered, "Moreover, this isn't a spiritual universe, nor a magic core system; it's a material world. If she saw it, she would definitely notice something was off immediately. Therefore, I cannot take her on a tour of my spiritual world universe, or the Tomb-Keeper world. However, I could bring her here for a visit, telling her it's a mysterious land of a shattered Ninth-Tier transcendent civilization. This would block her request to inspect my mind. And I could use this as leverage to discuss a plan for joint discovery and development of a similar world with her."