“OH. MY. HEAVENS!”
As an Earthly Saint, having lived through eras of chaos, death, destruction, and unexpected events, having bore witness to the rise and fall of entire generations, the eruption of once-in-a-ten-thousand-year celestial phenomena, been to all sorts of different starfields, and so much more, Tian Shangyang believed that his ability to be shaken to his very core had long since become impossible.
Yet today, this presumption, this belief of an unshakeable mind and experience, crumbled in his mouth like coarse sand. It tasted both bitter and sweet, like a child witnessing the grandest stars beyond the sky for the first time and learning that they may never reach or touch such astonishing places.
The entire world before his very eyes had changed miraculously; the first thing he and many others noticed was that, beyond the vast number of bodies and shapes, at the outskirts of this new world were gargantuan scaled winged creatures of majestic bearing, gorgeous form, and vivid colors. Their claws reached out, and they moved around, some swimming, some flying, some subtly shifting, and others stalking about like apex predators.
Dragons!
They numbered a total of seven, all with distinctive colors that any and every Alchemist would notice-the seven colors of the Alchemic Dao, and they roamed about freely, seemingly stabilizing the world with unprecedented ease. They quietly observed, and wherever their eyes roamed, the Sea of Consciousness of those affected began to sublimate and experience drastic mental improvements. They would only experience a heavy, resounding roar in their hearts.
However, while they seized away everyone’s attention, these dragons only served as a backdrop to the quintillions of living bodies scattered about, strangely enveloped by the dragons’ movements. It was clear that this world had a spherical shape and that the people were huddled together as its borders, yet whenever they looked about, regardless of up, down, left, or right, they felt as if those they saw were on an equal field.
The sense of perception alteration was indescribably seamless and natural. Moreover, they didn’t feel that any of those who were likely billions of miles away from them or their immediate neighbors had any lack of clarity loss.
A female tailor who was only at the Third Stage of the Astral Core Realm looked a little to her left and down, finding a family of four gathered togethera??a mother, father, and two daughters-and they were observing the majestic dragons with mouths agape and words of astonishment.
“Look! Mommy! Is that…is that a dragon?!”
The female tailor found herself in utter disbelief. This family, in this crowd of myriad people, seemed abnormally present. It was as if she was right there, right next to them, hearing that little girl’s childish and curious voice asking her mother to confirm if what she was witnessing was reality. When she turned away, she discovered that there were others, and they all had such high-quality vividness. The feeling was surreal.
The control of one’s perception of reality and distance, even one’s senses, was miraculous to the point of flawlessness. Eventually, she wanted to find the family again, and immediately, she found herself next to them. Her heart shook as the more quiet daughter turned to her, shaken slightly.
“Hi!” The young girl innocently waved with a smile, causing the family of four to be taken aback by the woman’s proximity. If the others appeared to be close, this woman seemed even closer.
pαndα`noν?1–сoМ “Uh…hi,” and they could hear her voice without needing to focus. While the beings they weren’t focused on were seemingly muted, not able to hear the ambient raucousness, there was still a low-volume wave of background exclamations filled with awe and the occasional comment of disbelief.
It was hard to truly describe this feeling, but if the female tailor had to do so, she would say it was as if she had invaded their world from afar. This type of isolated yet not isolated feeling was miraculous and intriguing.
She didn’t hesitate to turn back to her Dao Companion, who was still lost from observing the awe-striking, heart-pounding dragons that seemed to guard this world. When she thought of him, her body felt as if it ‘moved, and she felt herself right next to him.
“Bye!” The little girl waved again, stunning the woman as she turned to the sound to see the little girl smiling and waving at her. It was as if she was near, right in front of her, in fact, yet so extremely, extremely, extremely far away.
“Who was that?” The mother asked the head of their household. Unfortunately, he was as clueless as her, but he didn’t show it. He gave some odd explanation that was brimming with ignorance yet sounded correct.
“Bye,” the female tailor faintly smiled as she waved back. The entire family of four heard this, and the mother and father felt somewhat strange.
“Thi-this! What are these things?! What is this?!” Tian Shangyang’s inner curiosity and amazement leaked as he pointed at the world before him, losing the signature composure of an aged expert. Of course, he wasn’t the only one who was ensnared by his awe and disbelief.
Beside him, the Imperial Clan’s group was present. They were all either engrossed in the dragons or discovering the strangeness of this world.
“It feels as if I’m everywhere at once, yet present in only one space!” Tian Muyang accurately described his sensation, which perfectly resonated with everyone around. A few had entered other groups curiously, so they quickly discovered the world’s peculiar functions.
“Did I just leave?” Sky Monarch Bai asked the others. He had just left to meet a group in the distance, visiting one of his wife’s distant family from another starfield, a family he hadn’t seen in almost four hundred years, and after talking with them for a bit, he returned to his original group. He was wondering if he had teleported just now.
“Leave?” Tian Shangyang was one of the few still engrossed in the dragons’ majestic presence, and he had eyed each of the members of his group to see their reactions, but he didn’t notice any of them leaving. “You didn’t…..”
Sky Monarch Bai was astonished. The others were dumbfounded as well.
“We didn’t move?” A few of the princes and princesses asked.
But those who were directly beside them shook their heads, not noticing them vanishing in the slightest. What was this? What the heck was this?!
Eventually, they discovered they could enter other ‘groups’ without vanishing from their own, and hold conversations, even hear the discussions of the groups they left. Moreover, if they wanted, they could project their voices to all groups or only their own. This discovery left them utterly amazed.
“What is this place? I thought we were being whisked away by a Spiritual Projection Obelisk, but we’re present here!” Tian Lingyu turned to Yang Chaoyue and inquired. Despite her efforts with Wei Wuyin, the time was too short for her to gather reliable intel, and only this shameless Sky Monarch- well, Tian Lingyu felt that she could now only really consider her extremely foresighted and daring-had anv information.
Tian Muyang, Tian Shangyang, and the others all realized this as well. Typically, a Spiritual Projection Obelisk forcefully generated a Spiritual Avatar for a cultivator, different from a Spiritual Incarnation, as it was purely spiritual without the slightest combat abilities, only connected to one’s Spiritual Sense and Strength. These Avatars were often shown as being of uniform colors, such as cyan or a shade of blue, the general color of spiritual energy.
But they found each other in vivid, lively color; their flesh and skin were realistic looking as if they were truly here in mind, body, and spirit. They felt as if they had access to their entire cultivation base, which was profoundly unordinary!
“Are we avatars, or are we here?! ” A prince asked in a panic, his heart suffering from a dissonance of reality as he could no longer determine what was real and what was false. This served to elevate the substantial feeling of the dragons moving about around them in his heart. These dragons that appeared to be able to crush planets and blow out stars with a single breath induced a great sense of soul-crumbling fear!
WOOSH!
A gentle gust of coolness flowed across his body, and his mind felt extremely relaxed. Shortly after, his breadth of thought felt as if it was enlightened, and the dissonance began to dissipate. When he regained himself, he saw the dragons, and there was an innate feeling of closeness between him and them.
The prince instinctively knew that these dragons had protected him, and they no longer appeared terrifying but protective and reliable. Subconsciously, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply in silent thanks.
From afar, he saw the dragon glance his way, and then his body seemed as if it was directly before the dragon’s snot. With a faint nod of its head, it repliedcomfortingly. The prince smiled and returned where he was as it continued to roam about.
“Amazing,” the prince cried out from the innermost depths of his heart.
He was far from the only one who experienced the timely saving from a dissonance of reality. Subtly, the cool gust made its rounds and rectified the issue in countless cultivators’ hearts and minds. Even those who hadn’t experienced the dissonance felt their minds relax for a brief moment, and they realized the roles and purpose of the dragons, no longer feeling any fear, only awe and curiosity.
“Seven protectors,” Tian Shangyang softly murmured.
Fortunately, Wei Wuyin had established this safeguard lest countless suffered from entering this kind of immersive environment which distorted the senses and their perception of reality! If not, who knew how many would have been driven crazy and unable to determine reality from falsity? Of course, this line of thinking was already incredibly wrong, as everything here was as real as cultivation itself!
It was simply too far beyond their understanding.
As they explored the newfound characteristics of this strange, amazing world, a glass-like sphere formed at its center. When it emerged, everyone’s attention was magically drawn to it, and the crowd quieted down in an unspoken and unified manner. It wasn’t that they were being controlled, but they received an announcement that only they could hear, requesting silence and bringing their focus to the center of the world.
Tian Shangyang instantly realized that he only saw the glass-like sphere for a second before it began to level out like the other groups. It was as if he was in the front row of a concert, just slightly below the stage, and directly atop this stage was none other than…
“Empress Xiaocheng!”
The Empress was the Number ONE Beauty of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, so when she took the stage, everyone’s attention, be it man or woman, was drawn in without exception.
“Is that really the Empress?!”
“Wow! Mommy! That lady’s so pretty.”
“Gulp.”
Tian Xiaocheng was not occupying or representing her position as royalty of the Imperial Clan or the wife of the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor, lacking any form of Imperial standard dressing or hairstyle constraints. She wore fitting azure-colored inner clothes beneath her silver robes, modest yet attention-grabbing, displaying the scenery of exquisite curves, providing sufficient eye candy yet maintaining her sense of self-respect by a tiny thread. It was the slit at the edge of her left leg and the push-up brassiere that truly exposed a heap of alluring temptation.
Her hairstyle was free-flowing, long, and straight, with light bangs covering her forehead. This was completely unlike the typical updos of the Imperial Clan that exerted a sense of modesty and pride. But this type of look only added to her beauty, giving her a sensual, inviting feeling, unlike her imperialistic haughtiness of before.
“Empress!” Sky Monarch Bai was startled as he saw the Empress appear. She was standing on a large platform with a faint, at-ease smile on her exceptional face. Her attire was far from what she was allowed to wear as the wife of the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor! Seeing how well-shaped and plump her chest was, even Tian Muyang was deeply stunned!
She was at least a size larger than she generally showed to the world! The word ‘busty’ might have to admit defeat before her! Those twin peaks…the shape, size, and to be on that incredible body, were a triple threat that caused Tian Muyang to feel envious of his half-brother!
“I once again offer my greetings to you all! I, Tian Xiaocheng, welcome you to the World of Eden, a Spiritual Network World of the grandest design! Brought to you by the Neo-Dawn Ascendant Emperor himself!”
World of Eden!
Eden!
The hearts and minds of everyone felt a sharp burst hearing that name. The dragons roaming in the background all roared, stimulating their minds and imprinting this name in every last one of them!
“Spiritual Network World?” Many were clueless as to what a Spiritual Network World was or what a Spiritual Network even meant, but it caused them to experience newfound excitement! This was a new experience, and their horizons had certainly expanded!
Quintillions were happy they braved the void-blank space to arrive here if only to experience this world for themselves! Because unless you were here to see it, it simply felt unreal!
“I’d first like to apologize if you experienced Temporal, Spatial, and Mental Dissonance. If you feel any discomfort or doubts, please do look at the Guardian Dragons of the Alchemic Dao around you. They will immediately assist you and grant you a boost to your mental state as compensation.” As she apologized and explained, the Empress felt foreign to the Imperial Clan.
She was more of a gracious host of outstanding beauty than a highborn Empress that decided countless lives alongside her husband. How could they not be shocked?
“Eventually, all these feelings will dissipate as the network settles, so please bear with me for a little while.” She brightly smiled, and the urge to forgive any and every discomfort they felt emerged in their hearts, be it man, woman, or beast. She was simply too beautiful!
This expo was starting off right! No wonder everyone considered it unprecedented!
“Allow me to explain the functions of the World of Eden…” As she began to explain, Tian Xiaocheng’s inner voice differed entirely from her outer voice.
“YOU BASTARD!!” The urge to maim roared as she stood out on the stage, forced to pander to an audience of quintillions, forever ruining her royal image as an unattainable Empress and lowering her status. If she could, she would strangle Wei Wuyin or, at the very least, strangle that damned Wu Yu who picked out this sensual, eye-popping outfit!
