As the small defensive perimeter was erected and a subtle yet undeniable change occurred on Blue Star, the nascent divine realm, integrated into Blue Star's reality, underwent even greater transformations.
Hummm—
The divine realm trembled violently, its heavens shifting. It was akin to the slow expansion of the stones that merged with the realm, but this time it was more ferocious. The sky, earth, and oceans expanded continuously, and the realm's power visibly grew.
Moreover,
Fang You raised an eyebrow. He lifted his left foot and stepped forward slightly. As his foot landed, the surrounding scenery changed, and he had already arrived on Blue Star.
He looked up briefly, then took another step. The figure in white robes moved rapidly across various locations within Donghuang, like a ghost, like an immortal god.
Fang You merely observed.
"As expected, with the establishment of the small defensive perimeter, the extent of the gray mist and dark clouds within Donghuang has significantly decreased. It is no longer as dim, and one can occasionally catch glimpses of strands of sunlight."
Of course, it was still far from comparable to the Dawn District, only that the dark clouds drifted and occasionally thinned.
Despite the slight reduction in danger level in the wilderness, it remained perilous for the vast majority of awakened individuals, with malevolent entities of Disaster Grade or higher still spawning.
"However, with the current environment, as long as suitable areas are chosen to establish some 'Mist-Dispelling Bonfires,' large swathes of farmland and pastures could be enclosed?"
"Hmm, a bit of an attempt to verify."
He hadn't tried before because it was impossible unless a great many Mist-Dispelling Bonfires were built and arranged in rows.
That would be a pure waste of money.
Now… he would wait until the Blue Star Grand Defensive Perimeter was established before attempting it.
There were matters of priority.
He looked up. Through the power of the divine realm, he could perceive deeper and more subtle changes on Blue Star.
"The invasion from the Ghoul Realm has indeed been greatly slowed. Moreover… Blue Star's world barrier, which was already quite fragile, seems to have repaired itself somewhat?"
The Ghoul Realm's invasion had four stages.
The initial appearance of malevolent entities was not yet considered an invasion. At this point, the Ghoul Realm and Blue Star were not in direct contact, at most being in "close proximity."
The true invasion began with the appearance of the first "Ghoul Realm Gate."
Fang You estimated that this was precisely the day he awakened his system.
From this point onward, the Ghoul Realm's invasion truly began, with mysteries descending and disasters escalating, spreading and expanding at an unstoppable pace.
The first stage could last from one to two months, or even half a year to a year.
Following this, the arrival of the evil gods' minions signaled the cracking of the world barrier, creating rifts – this was the second stage.
The third stage was the arrival of the tide of gray mist, leaving the world barrier riddled with holes.
The fourth stage saw the world beginning to shatter.
Specifically, in certain areas within the native world, an entire city might fall into the Ghoul Realm, merging with the Ghoul Realm that was deeply submerged beneath Blue Star's reality.
These areas would collapse en masse, like landslides or avalanches, until the entire world fell, completely swallowed. The "shallow layer" born from the convergence of the Ghoul Realm and the native world would completely integrate into the Ghoul Realm, becoming a part of a large domain within it.
Perhaps the Fallen Star Cave, perhaps the Burying Bone Land, perhaps the Sighing Mountain Range.
This was also the reason for the continuous expansion of the Ghoul Realm.
"From the arrival of the gray mist tide to entering the fourth stage, it usually takes from half a year to a year, or even up to two years. However, in reality, the invasion speed of our Blue Star in this stage is still very fast, at most half a year, or even only two or three months, before entering the fourth stage of 'devouring.' At that point, the Ghoul Realm's invasion can no longer be stopped."
"And now, the Ghoul Realm's invasion has been significantly delayed, and has even 'reversed' to some extent."
It was as if the third stage, which had already progressed to 25%, was suddenly pushed back to 20% with the establishment of the small defensive perimeter.
Blue Star's world barrier also seemed to have repaired itself somewhat as a result, becoming more robust?
He didn't even need to observe; he had such an intuition from the depths of his being.
It was truly strange.
There was another, even stranger intuition… that at this moment, Blue Star had become subtly familiar, even… close?
He couldn't quite explain it. If he had to describe it, it was somewhat similar to a divine realm, but not entirely the same, not as clear.
Standing in the sky of Blue Star, feeling the wind caress his cheek, gazing at the faint light filtering through the dark clouds in the distance, his mood was exceptionally light.
The wind, the trees, the grass, the wandering malevolent entities – all were incredibly clear in his heart, as if the surrounding world was within his grasp.
This did not stem from his vast mental power,
nor from the domain of the Scepter of Brilliance,
but from…
Blue Star!
Just as he could control every inch of land within the divine realm, his control over Blue Star was naturally not as strong, but even a sliver of it felt quite similar.
"Perhaps, because I took the lead in establishing the small defensive perimeter and helped Blue Star resist the invasion from the Ghoul Realm, I have gained the favor of the Blue Star world? Gained partial administrative authority?"
All of these were conjectures without evidence, but Fang You felt they were largely accurate.
The world had consciousness.
This consciousness lacked intelligence, was close to instinct, but it would also actively reject outsiders and favor the top powerhouses native to the world. This was why, during times of great catastrophe, geniuses and heroes often emerged, awakening and breaking through with divine assistance despite having incredibly rudimentary awakening rituals.
This was the world's favor.
Of course, favor had its limits. Those destined to die would still die. For a nascent world with rudimentary rituals and scarce information, any awakening was still a near-death experience.
And now, he seemed to have obtained a sliver of "world power."
This was undoubtedly good news.
"Ordinary worlds outside the Ghoul Realm are as numerous as the sands of the sea and incredibly minuscule, but their smallness is only in scale. In terms of their status, even mythical-tier beings are far inferior."
Otherwise, why would those unspeakable evil gods continuously devour worlds?
"And this minuscule scale is only relative to the boundless Ghoul Realm. Compared to the nascent divine realm, the vastness of Blue Star is immense. Even if I can only borrow a sliver of world power at this moment, it can increase my divine realm power by several times."
The consciousness of Blue Star only possessed instinct, but he did not.
He knew how to control and maximize the use of power.
In the future, when the complete defensive perimeter was constructed, perhaps he could obtain higher-level "permissions" from Blue Star. If they were to say Blue Star's scale was small then, would it be possible to gradually nurture and strengthen Blue Star's scale?
The nascent divine realm, existing based on Blue Star, expanded significantly today, riding this favorable wind.
Similarly "upgraded" was the "Idola Tree of Life" rooted within the divine realm.
"The Tree of Life and the divine realm complement each other, and the divine realm is also integrated with Blue Star. Then, in the future, as the divine realm and the Tree of Life grow and strengthen, could they possibly feed back into Blue Star?"
He believed it was possible.
Liu Shang was already frantically pinging him in his mind. As soon as he arrived on the divine realm's land, he saw Liu Shang and many others gathered, observing the growth of the Idola Tree of Life from afar.
It was visible to the naked eye.
From its previous height of over two meters, it grew to over three meters, then over four meters, before slowly stopping.
The power of the Tree of Life had grown stronger, and young fruits had begun to grow on it – it seemed there were more longevity fruits in stock.
Excellent!
After a period of change in the Tree of Life and the divine realm, they finally returned to a state of calm.
Blue Star also experienced changes, primarily concentrated in Donghuang, but areas outside Donghuang also received some influence. Some people discovered that the dark clouds were not as dense.
These changes lasted for a full half-day before ending.
Suddenly,
*Ding!*
"Notification: Blue Star's small defensive perimeter has been erected, and the process of Ghoul Realm invasion has undergone significant changes. Reward: 200,000 Fate Points."
"Notification: World recognition obtained. Module 'Mission Dispatch' has paid a partial price."
Fang You: "??? "
…
…
The slight changes that occurred within Blue Star and Donghuang might have been difficult for ordinary people to notice, but they were certainly not hidden from the Investigation Bureau.
This was exceptionally good news.
Major countries outside of Donghuang also successively discovered the changes, their reactions ranging from surprise and joy to excitement.
However, the envoys from the various oases had somewhat subtle expressions.
"It can be confirmed that Blue Star is not supported by any super-oases, otherwise it wouldn't be…"
Dean Rose shook her head slightly.
Dean Zhange echoed, "The changes on Blue Star are significant. It appears that lighthouse is the key to resisting the invasion ritual. Although it cannot completely resist it, at most it can only delay it. Yet, even a slight delay will draw the attention of the evil god faction."
"The dangers facing the world are far more than just malevolent entities and invasions, nor are they limited to ordinary minions."
"Blue Star may have eliminated many cultists or even priests of evil gods, but the evil god faction is far more complex than that…"
Ordinary worlds like Blue Star, which had just come into contact with the Ghoul Realm, might not understand.
How could they not be clear?
Cultists and minions of evil gods were merely the lowest tier of the evil god faction, repelled by the native world, and could not enter in large numbers.
However, large numbers were not necessary.
As long as a servant of an evil god, a being of terrifying power, descended, they could crush all resistance on Blue Star like a raging inferno. The so-called top-tier superhuman powerhouses of Blue Star would be no stronger than ants before such beings.
"It's a pity for such a world."
He truly felt some regret.
Dean Rose looked at Meidisha, whose face was etched with worry. "You want to remind that nascent divine realm mentor? Then go ahead. It's just… I don't believe Blue Star's native forces are unaware. More likely, they refuse to accept fate. Limited by their vision, they are overly confident in their own not-so-powerful strength."
"Worlds like this, and 'native powerhouses' like these, are not uncommon. The more excellent people are, the more stubborn they become, the more they believe in themselves. Only when they crash headfirst into a wall will they awaken, but often… it will be too late."
Once, a super-oasis force had attempted to prevent an invasion and cultivate their own proxy forces.
Not only did they fail, but it also led to the destruction of the entire oasis.
"However, the people of Blue Star probably haven't heard this story. You can tell it to them, although…"
"It's useless, and it's already too late."