"…a super oasis called 'Xu Ye Zhi Xiang'?"
"Yes."
Fang You had heard of this before. Yi Yuelu briefly mentioned it once, but only in passing. From Meidisha, he received a more detailed version.
A story.
A story that actually happened.
The specific time was quite distant from major oases like the Black Stone Alliance and Sword Flower City, but the instantaneous annihilation of such a powerful force as 'Xu Ye Zhi Xiang' still shocked and terrified countless oases, causing this story to be passed down to this day.
"Xu Ye Zhi Xiang is rumored to be a regional overlord force located deeper within the Mystic Realm."
Meidisha introduced a new term.
Presumably realizing that Blue Star knew little about oasis forces, she continued, "Overlord forces refer to the strongest oases in a particular region. Such oases are not only powerful but also possess extraordinary foundations, influencing other major oases in their region in all aspects."
"Just like our Sword Flower City, many supplies, weapons, high-level items, and so on are purchased from Falling Star City… Falling Star City is the overlord force of our 'Falling Star Dungeon Region' and the only super oasis force in our region, with a long heritage and immense power."
"And the region where 'Xu Ye Zhi Xiang' was located is even deeper into the Mystic Realm than Falling Star Dungeon."
The common saying was that the deeper one went into the Mystic Realm, the more dangerous it became.
The oases that existed simultaneously were also more powerful – this was partly because only those with sufficient strength could survive in such areas, and partly due to time.
Falling Star Dungeon, Sighing Mountains, and Burial Ground were all peripheral regions of the Mystic Realm.
They bordered the shallow Mystic Realm of Blue Star.
As time passed and the Mystic Realm continued to devour and expand, new great domains emerged in the periphery. At this point, Falling Star Dungeon was no longer the outermost region. Its existence predated the newly formed great domains, thus, the oasis forces in the Falling Star Dungeon region were generally stronger than those in the outer great domains.
This was, of course, assuming they hadn't been annihilated or suffered devastating losses.
"So, does that mean 'Xu Ye Zhi Xiang' was stronger than 'Falling Star City'?"
"Roughly so."
Meidisha nodded, "Regardless of who was stronger, they were still super oasis forces! They had legendary mythical existences!"
"But such super oases, regional overlords, were instantly turned to ashes once the evil god faction decided to kill them."
"And the root cause of the annihilation of the super oasis 'Xu Ye Zhi Xiang' back then was its attempt to resist the erosion and devouring of the Mystic Realm."
"Mentor…"
She opened her mouth, hesitating.
Seeing that the Hearthfire Mentor seemed to understand and his expression was grave, but,
"Perhaps it was like a moth to a flame, a mantis trying to stop a chariot, but some things always need to be done, and someone must try… Moreover, since we are preparing to do so, we have some assurance and will not be engaging in a pointless act of suicide."
Meidisha: "???"
Did you even know what a mythical existence was!!
Although Blue Star had created miracles, even devastating six-star cataclysmic evils could be annihilated, yet in the face of mythical existences, those cataclysmic evils were nothing more than large toys.
Meidisha slumped.
Dean Rose had anticipated this.
…
…
Fang You's expression was indeed grave.
After hearing this story, he felt his preparations were still insufficient, and his Hearthfire was not strong enough.
"There are currently two paths: one is to continuously improve our strength and cultivate more mythical-level combat power."
"The second is to accelerate the establishment of base cities. Once the Blue Star defense circle is fully formed and the world barrier is greatly enhanced, it will be much more difficult for the evil god faction to descend. Perhaps they won't be able to descend at all."
He, of course, would pursue both paths and at full speed.
The 6th, 7th, and 8th bases were under construction and nearing completion.
At the same time,
On Blue Star, in the White Eagle Federation.
The leader in black leather, with a grave expression, said, "Dong Huang has already established five giant base cities, and the influence of Hearthfire has spread worldwide. This cannot continue."
Even though the envoy from the City of Waves had said that the Dawn Base City was not feasible.
But he hadn't seen the infeasible aspects; instead, he continuously heard about the vigorous development of the base cities. Base cities in the White Bear Nation, Setting Sun Nation, and Ripple Nation were already under construction, while their own White Eagle Federation was becoming increasingly chaotic within its borders.
Some people within Area 51 seemed to have considerable criticisms of him.
"We must accelerate the pace of increasing our strength!"
The leader looked at the person beside him, wearing a white lab coat and with only a few wisps of hair left on his sparse scalp.
"Doctor, how is the arrangement for the awakening ritual?"
"It has been arranged according to your instructions, leader. However…" the chief doctor, Mi Qi, couldn't help but say, "With our current technology, the ritual we can arrange is still very crude. Unless you can obtain key information and materials from the Wave City-state, leader… with the current preparations, the risk is still very high."
The envoy from the City of Waves?
That guy was probably so captivated by Dong Huang that he didn't want to leave, humph!
Thinking of this, the leader in black leather became angry.
He put his hands behind his back, his expression unchanged.
"The Wave City-state will not reveal the hidden information about the Four Awakenings ritual."
"We'll proceed with the current ritual."
Within Blue Star, there were already those who had advanced to the Four Awakenings non-human state.
If others could do it, he certainly could, and even better!
The leader in black leather had never been inferior to anyone in his life!
…
…
Time passed,
Base cities of various countries were under construction, and people from great oases of the Mystic Realm came and went.
Water Marsh Base City, Hearthfire Training Camp.
Fang You looked at the gentle-looking White Tower envoy in front of him, or rather, at a figure projected in front of the White Tower envoy.
The White Tower, the Lord of the Tower of Wealth.
This was a middle-aged man with narrowed eyes and a smiling face, wearing a loose white robe and holding an object resembling a scale.
"Blue Star's president, my White Tower obtained these three 'Eternal Radiance Stones' at a great cost. They are imbued with the blood and tears of my White Tower people, so…"
"We need more money!"
Fang You also narrowed his eyes, noticing that the Lord of the White Tower had emphasized the words 'Eternal Radiance Stones'.
He suspected they had been discovered.
Items that Blue Star urgently needed.
After all, the changes on Blue Star could not be hidden from those who were paying attention. The Dawn Sector, the Pure White High Tower, and past transactions, if one connected the dots and investigated further, it was possible to guess.
The squinting Lord of the Tower continued, "The Longevity Fruit alone is not enough. However, if you are willing to share the mysteries of the Pure White High Tower, our White Tower is also willing to provide strong assistance."
Assistance was, of course, just a polite phrase.
No matter how much more money they were offered, they wouldn't get involved in Blue Star's mess.
It was just that the Pure White High Tower was worth obtaining and researching. Perhaps some mysteries could be uncovered, and their White Tower was adept at such matters.
The negotiation reached no conclusion after some discussion.
The Lord of the Tower of Wealth was not surprised and bid farewell with a smile.
"Leader of Blue Star, I look forward to our next meeting."
The projection of light converged.
The White Tower envoy took his leave.
Pei Hongjing, who was seated to the side, frowned, "Mentor, it appears that the people of the White Tower oasis are not just guessing; they are very certain…"
Once their hand was seen through, the negotiation was completely at a disadvantage.
In such a situation, no matter how skilled he was, it would be useless, unless they could stall. But Pei Hongjing knew very well Blue Star's need for Eternal Radiance Stones; they couldn't afford to stall.
Time and intelligence were entirely on the unfavorable side.
"The worst-case scenario is that the White Tower will collaborate with forces like the Blazing Flame Great Oasis and the Wave City-state to jointly inflate the price of Eternal Radiance Stones."
"And their goal might not only be the Dawn Lighthouse, but also our Crystal Cannon and Bud Tower."
Pei Hongjing's analysis was very reasonable.
They were indeed at a complete disadvantage and might have to pay two or three times the previous price to acquire the Eternal Radiance Stones, unless…
They broke away from this line!
The passive aspect of Hearthfire was that they could only wait for envoys from the oases to visit and could not actively seek them out.
Venturing deep into the Mystic Realm was too dangerous, and they might even be ambushed.
But…
Hearthfire still had a member who was currently in the depths of the Mystic Realm, and was heading towards the 'Eternal Radiance Stone marker'. They were not far!
"Let's keep the White Tower waiting for now."
After speaking, Fang You closed his eyes as if to rest.
His vision switched to Xitina, following her steps into the place where gray mist drifted.
The terrain here was rugged, with occasional crystals protruding from rock crevices, sparsely distributed within the vast cave space, emitting a faint glow.
Xitina walked with her greatsword, her pace neither fast nor slow.
After such a long time, her expression had not changed.
As if she were a poker-faced individual.
Mentor Fang was somewhat worried that she might actually be poker-faced. While her body could support her traveling alone, her spirit might not, especially after a great ordeal. Therefore, Mentor Fang would occasionally switch his vision to check on his apostle's mental health.
Commonly known as strengthening their bond.
Naturally, he also observed the changes in the surrounding environment.
"This is probably… entering the Falling Star Dungeon region."
"It's less than an hour's journey to the location of the Eternal Radiance Stone marked by the guidance function."
He decided to keep watching.
The mist seemed to have thickened, but surprisingly, not many fiendish creatures appeared. The path, however, gradually narrowed.
Suddenly, Xitina squatted down and brushed away the dust on the ground, revealing a clear wheel track.
"Traces of human activity, and not long ago."
She murmured.
Fang You's expression became serious.
Could it be that this place was already occupied, or had someone gotten there first?
While he was pondering, Xitina had already stood up with her sword and moved forward, her speed gradually increasing. Before long, noisy sounds could be heard from ahead.
There were shouts, sounds of fighting, and screams of terror.
The situation seemed… not very good.
As Xitina looked into the distance, her eyes glowed with brilliant golden flames. Fang You followed her gaze through layers of mist-like gray fog and saw…
More than ten figures fighting against fiendish creatures around a chariot.
And on that chariot was engraved a crest, a six-pointed star-like emblem.
That was…
The crest of Falling Star City!