Xu Mo was astonished.
To discover drifting objects in the Endless Sea was rather bizarre.
While the mist persisted, the Endless Sea had always been a silent, dead expanse, where nothing would drift in.
It seemed that with the mist's retreat, the mysterious veil of the Endless Sea was slowly being lifted.
Taking the jade slip, Xu Mo read it carefully and quickly understood the situation faced by the eastern garrison.
Essentially, the vanguard dispatched by the garrison had encountered some peculiarly shaped bottles and jars on the sea, which they then brought back.
Fan Cheng and the others in the military camp did not recognize the items salvaged from the Endless Sea and, not daring to act rashly, had temporarily sealed them.
"Your Majesty, the Endless Sea is extremely strange, and I dare not send anything it brings to the imperial capital. However, I have drawn the patterns on those peculiar items onto this jade slip for Your Majesty's perusal."
At the end of the jade slip, Fan Cheng stated this.
Xu Mo nodded slightly, quite satisfied with Fan Cheng's actions.
The Endless Sea was too mysterious, blocked by mist for tens of thousands of years, and no one knew what lay beyond.
It was fortunate if it were a paradise, but terrifying if it were a demonic abyss, sealing hundreds of thousands of monsters.
Therefore, any items drifting from the Endless Sea had to be treated with utmost caution and not taken lightly.
Gongsun Rou, kneeling by the bedside, also knew the contents of the jade slip. Her expression was somewhat worried. "Your Majesty, the sudden appearance of peculiar items in the Endless Sea, is this a good or bad omen?"
Anything concerning the Endless Sea naturally filled her with unease.
Xu Mo shook his head. "It remains to be seen. However, we shall face whatever comes. There's no need to be overly anxious; we just need to be vigilant."
He was slightly arrogant, or rather, he was extremely confident. As long as nothing too overwhelmingly powerful appeared from the Endless Sea, he could handle it with ease.
This confidence stemmed from his cultivation realm, which was approaching that of the legendary Sages.
"All below the Sage realm are but ants," had been a saying circulating in the Great Desolation for hundreds of thousands of years.
In the history of the Great Desolation, only three Sages had ever appeared, each astonishing an era and reigning supreme under the heavens!
And now, Xu Mo was only a single step away from becoming a Sage, not far at all.
Gongsun Rou trusted Xu Mo implicitly. Hearing his words, she felt reassured.
"Your Majesty, what pattern is depicted on the items that drifted from the Endless Sea?"
She leaned in curiously, her gaze fixed on the jade slip.
On the jade slip, a very peculiar pattern was drawn with spiritual energy: a circle.
This circle was divided into three sections, each a different color: red, white, and blue. It looked somewhat like waves.
Gongsun Rou had never seen such a pattern before and found it quite novel.
Xu Mo, however, was completely stunned.
He looked at the pattern on the jade slip in his hand, his eyes widening slightly, wondering if he was hallucinating.
Wasn't this... the logo of Pepsi Cola!?
The two-yuan can of Pepsi Cola had this very pattern printed on it.
Any young person would surely recognize the Pepsi Cola logo, and Xu Mo was certain he wasn't mistaken!
But this was the Great Desolation, not Earth! How could the Pepsi Cola logo appear here? And it had drifted from the mysterious and strange Endless Sea!
Xu Mo was utterly bewildered, beginning to suspect that he wasn't the only transmigrator.
This Pepsi Cola pattern might very well have been brought by another transmigrator.
"No, this pattern only resembles the Pepsi Cola logo; it might not actually be Pepsi Cola."
Xu Mo calmed himself and began to examine the pattern on the jade slip closely.
It was very similar to the Pepsi Cola pattern, but there were still differences. The two were not identical.
For instance, the color shades, the circle itself was not perfectly round, and the wavy lines within also differed from the genuine Pepsi Cola pattern.
After careful observation, Xu Mo concluded that this was not the Pepsi Cola pattern, merely a resemblance.
This brought him a slight sense of regret; he had thought he might encounter a fellow countryman in this foreign land, but his hopes were dashed.
Gongsun Rou had been watching from the side, observing the fluctuating expressions on His Majesty's face, and felt a bit nervous. "Your Majesty, is there something wrong with this pattern?"
"I'm not sure; I've never seen it before."
Xu Mo shook his head, his heart growing serious.
From these items, it could be inferred that there were certainly beings in the depths of the Endless Sea, otherwise, nothing would have drifted from that direction.
Xu Mo looked at Gongsun Rou and asked, "When will the southern garrison reach the east coast?"
"They are traveling by airship and are already en route. They are expected to arrive tomorrow morning," Gongsun Rou replied after some thought.
Xu Mo nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.
Airships were the primary mode of transportation in the Great Desolation. They were giant vessels that could fly in the sky, carrying thousands of people at once, and were very fast!
With the southern garrison joining the eastern garrison, a total of six thousand cultivator soldiers, along with several generals at the Half-step Divine Rope realm, should be sufficient to handle any sudden developments from the Endless Sea.
Xu Mo retrieved a blank imperial edict and quickly wrote several orders on it. He then took out the exclusive imperial seal of the Great Qian Emperor and stamped it in the air. An imperial edict was thus completed.
"Have this delivered to Fan Cheng and instruct him to guard the east coast!"
"Yes! Your Majesty." Gongsun Rou respectfully took the imperial edict.
Xu Mo nodded and was about to lie down to rest when he noticed Gongsun Rou had not risen to leave but remained kneeling in place, her expression conflicted.
"Do you have something else?" Xu Mo inquired.
"Your Majesty," Gongsun Rou mustered her courage. "You should choose an Empress. The Great Qian has been established for a hundred years, and you have shown no intention of selecting consorts. The ministers are all very anxious. Now that the Great Qian has reached its centennial, you must also consider the selection of an Empress."
"Selecting consorts?" Xu Mo's lips twitched. He hadn't expected Gongsun Rou to bring this up.
Ever since he ascended the throne as Emperor of Great Qian, the civil and military officials had been preoccupied with his marital affairs, saying that a nation cannot be without an heir.
Xu Mo had been somewhat reluctant before, feeling that such matters depended on fate and that selecting consorts felt like a sign of decadence and tyranny.
However, he had come to see things differently now. This was the Great Desolation, and one could not apply modern thinking to its rules.
"Very well, I agree. I shall entrust this matter to you," Xu Mo nodded in agreement.
Gongsun Rou's head shot up, looking surprised.
His Majesty actually agreed? He had always been resistant to this!
She hadn't expected His Majesty to agree so readily, and for a moment, she was stunned.
"Your Majesty, you truly agree!?" Gongsun Rou exclaimed with surprise and delight after regaining her senses.
Xu Mo nodded and smiled. "A ruler's word is his bond."