Otherworldly Desert Dust

"This Guardian, I'll give it to you," Wu Hen said to the boy.

"I stole it with my skills, and I can also use my skills to turn it into a Guardian that protects the whole world!" the boy replied.

"Firstly, this tropical exhibition hall is owned by my family; all the rare pets here are mine. You were stealing from my home, but now I am giving it to you," Wu Hen walked up to the boy and said earnestly,

"Secondly, you need not worry about the affairs of Lun Mountain City. I will go there to defend it and will not let those disgusting insects harm your friends anymore."

A fortress had already been built outside the white wormhole of Lun Mountain City, forming a racial standoff with this white insect nest. Although currently, the fortress mainly faced Alien Insects and a few Red Zhe Insects, as soon as humans started fleeing, orders for their annihilation were sure to come from the high-dimensional insects.

When that time came, who knew how many Alien Insects and Red Zhe Insects would pour out of the white wormhole? Even under the suppression of the Nuwa Law, their terrifying numbers were something that human strength could hardly withstand.

Wu Hen had participated in the Red Palace battle, which, frankly, was also a grand feast game by the high-dimensional insects. It was designed to make the Human Clan Force of Red Port engage in combat with their soldiers while the high-dimensional insects watched from prestigious seats.

One thousand tyrant tiger armors!

Even if the number of Red Zhe Insects coming through the white wormhole was limited, the continual influx of such level of otherworldly life into the homeland still spelled a terrible disaster.

"The white wormhole has a narrowness; you can think of it as a carrying speed. Even if there are millions of high-dimensional insect armies on the other end of the white wormhole, the amount of Red Zhe that can invade our homeland is limited. But indeed, the strength of these mature insects is more formidable than we anticipated, if all that come through are mature insects...," Li Feng said.

"Don't worry; as long as I am there, I will not allow these Red Zhe Insects to wreak havoc, and I will make sure the high-dimensional insects understand that no matter how many Red Zhe Insects they send, they are just providing us with valuable Crystal Cores!" Wu Hen was still confident in his own strength.

Moreover, fighting within the Nuwa God End, under its laws, Wu Hen believed that even the visible deities of Otherworldly Dust could be slain by him!

"Alright then, I will leave the fortress in your hands," Li Feng said.

"There are two more issues; first, capturing the Yuan You on the Magic Cube Star to ensure that our Nuwa God End has Elemental Energy entering into Time Travel and Space Wander. The second problem is how to prevent our fleeing compatriots from being turned into experimental guinea pigs," Wu Hen said.

Both issues were difficult to solve.

Especially since he was under the special surveillance of the high-dimensional insects, it was even harder to get involved in the fight.

Li Feng clearly understood this as well.

"You don't need to worry about these issues; I already have strategies in place," Li Feng said with conviction.

Wu Hen looked at Li Feng and even subconsciously used his Perception to observe Li Feng's microexpressions.

The microexpressions revealed a reptile-like calmness, different from his usual demeanor.

This made Wu Hen have to believe that Chief Li definitely had some things he was keeping from himself.

Since he was unwilling to speak, Wu Hen did not ask further.

After all, each section leader only needed to do what they were supposed to in their own area.

Wu Hen did not really see himself as the leader of this world, nor did he have any interest in becoming that leader. The true leader should be this man before him, wearing black-framed glasses, whose vision currently held the united hope of the great majority of rational humans...

Wu Hen chose to trust him.

Unwilling to speak, there must be reasons of his own.

...

...

At the Red Port Harbor, a Silver Grey Rubik's Cube made of Star Silver floated above the churning Red Plane. From a distance, the entire Silver Grey Rubik's Cube appeared smooth and perfectly mysterious in its cubic form. But as one got closer, one would notice each facet of the cube pulsating, moving in a very precise and orderly manner, acting as a vibrant and energy-packed piece of art!

Not far from the Magic Cube Star, almost merging with the Red Plane, slight ripples of five colors appeared as if in a giant bubble that was normally hard to notice until it showed under the sunlight.

These occasional five-color ripples were the thin realm.

Inside the thin realm was where the Nuwa Divine Tree rooted itself in the Pure Land.

The Pure Land, composed of colorful soils with mysterious five-color streams flowing through, harbored an emerging city-state under the Nuwa Divine Tree. The city-state leaned towards the primitive, essentially constructed of hard soil and colorful stones, and lacked any modern technology, resembling more a fairy-tale-like Stone Age town built merely with basic infrastructure.

Outside this Pure Land city-state, there was an Eternal Life Bridge.

On the Eternal Life Bridge, a Taoist from the Longevity Sect still guided those who were unwilling to stay within the Nuwa Divine Realm.

In the past, the Eternal Life Bridge had been teeming with people, the small bridge seemingly a gateway to the Holy Realm of Heaven, where people tormented by suffering would climb to the other side, no matter what it took.

However, nearly a year into the guiding process, fewer and fewer people stepped onto the bridge.

The other side of the bridge was unknown, and even though they were a group constantly speaking of kindness, compassion, and morality, and making various beautiful promises, for some ethnic groups that had lived on the same soil for generations, it was very difficult to genuinely identify with them.

It was like a family, poor in life but rich in spirit, being asked to become the children of the wealthy and to sever ties with their birth family—something that was often impossible, especially given that the wealthy person's kindness seemed somewhat false.

Dao Master Meng Zhang stood there with an appearance of integrity, smiling gently at every person who crossed the Eternal Life Bridge.

Sometimes, Meng Zhang even felt like he was a guide messenger from Heaven, sending these poor people to the heaven they longed for…

Even as the Dao Master of the Longevity Sect, he himself did not know where these people would ultimately go; yet his intuition told him that the Eternal Life Bridge was a thousand times more terrifying than the Naihe Bridge, and that the other end of the bridge was even less than the Beast Path!

"Yu Yan, why won't you listen to your uncle's advice? The Longevity Sect has been rooted in our world for so many years, and you have seen how they have treated us over these years. Once on Longevity Island, everyone can practice the Longevity Technique, have a lifespan as long as the heavens, and why worry about not being able to evolve into a higher life form in the future?"

By the bridge, dressed in white, Gao Chang stood there, earnestly persuading his niece, Gao Yu Yan,

"You are still young and might not understand how helpless it feels to be older. Your energy will decline, your body will become a burden, your memory will blur, and the things you long for will drift further and further away…"

"Besides, which girl doesn't hope to stay young forever? It's true that not everyone can succeed in the Path to Longevity, but at least it's a deeply hopeful belief. You must understand how many emperors in our history spent their lives seeking longevity, and in this era of high civilization and advanced technology, as we explore the universe, as we delve into the virtual, aren't we still in search of the method for eternal life?"

"I can very responsibly tell you, the reason Li Feng and his team are digging into the virtual world is also to upload our human consciousness onto a server. Under blockchain technology, the foundation of the virtual universe has become unique, free from human copying, editing, or destruction. They originally wanted to create an unchangeable, unshakeable virtual world, where the thoughts of the upper classes are immortal, their souls eternally preserved. In their digging, they found out that we are actually already in this form—don't you think Li Feng is laughable?"

"Past emperors, now the top people in humanity, are all pursuing eternal life. Surely they are not stupider than you, or less enlightened than you, obviously not."

"Past emperors couldn't find the Longevity Technique because the Nuwa Divine Realm was locking us up, making us adhere to the lowly Law of birth, aging, sickness, and death."

"Today's top human explorers cannot achieve eternal life; compared to the vast expanse of the Otherworldly Dust, they are inherently like summer insects or transient blossoms, with lifespans too brief to see the true measure of life."

"But the Longevity Sect is different. They have resided in Red Port for over a hundred years; their appearance does not age, they keep their legacy through generations, and among us migrants, there are also people of supreme wisdom. Do you know Zhuang Yi? He is a leading pioneer not inferior to Li Feng. Hasn't he verified the truth of the Longevity Sect? Just like antiques, the real deal is the real deal. It can be identified through our existing science."

"The people of the Longevity Sect have genuinely broken through the limits of lifespan, having lived for hundreds of years."

Gao Chang changed his usually forceful attitude towards his niece Gao Yu Yan, patiently explaining to her why he still chose the Longevity Sect in the end.

"I don't doubt the Longevity Technique, I just don't want to leave home," Gao Yu Yan was conflicted internally.

"Alas, your parents, your brother, are already out of contact. I am the only relative you have left. If you don't come with me, do you intend to stay in this backwards world and let those from the Old Faction bully you?" Gao Chang said.

"Actually, they haven't bullied me. In fact, everyone just has different philosophies; there's no irreconcilable hatred," Gao Yu Yan said.

Not only had Gao Yu Yan not been bullied, but she had also gained quite a lot of resources and had already advanced to a higher realm.

Moreover, through these experiences, Gao Yu Yan had come to understand.

When a major crisis came, this uncle Gao Chang would indeed push her out.

And a certain great villain who repeatedly said he would brutally harm her was merely teasing her; his nature wasn't bad, and he always had his principles in the face of any situation.

The Old Faction's journey was indeed long and arduous.

But one thing Gao Yu Yan found comforting was that no matter how badly injured she was in the Otherworldly Dust, she could always return to her birthplace, back to the familiar house she knew…

"Alas, then I can't take care of you anymore!" Gao Chang, seeing his niece undeterred like she had drunk a bewitching potion, could only sternly say.

"Uncle, all of our fates are unknown, and maybe you really can become immortal. If you do, and you return to the homeland, you could even sweep my grave…" Gao Yu Yan squeezed out a smile.

At this remark, Gao Chang was stunned, as that scene flashed before his mind, and his normally rigid face visibly changed. He reached out and gently touched the hair on Gao Yu Yan's forehead.

"Yu Yan, don't blame your uncle for past matters; it was all for the sake of survival."

"I understand, Uncle. I wish you a smooth journey," Gao Yu Yan said.