From the Abyss Invasion to the Blasting Star.

Do you know where the source of reincarnation is?

"I do not know now."

Lu Heng gave a very rigorous answer to one question, and then said, "It's my turn to ask. What is the reason why the Zero Civilization has fallen into a state of stagnation? If it is because of some kind of cycle, please explain what kind of cycle it is."

Upon hearing this question, the astral merchant, whose body emitted a fluorescent glow, flickered a few times, as if laughing:

"Your answers and questions are very rigorous, and you always try to maximize the efficiency of asking questions."

Lu Heng nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, your question was very casual, which made me feel strange. Actually, you could have directly asked where the Reincarnation Source Essence is, although my answer wouldn't have changed."

The astral merchant paused for a moment before replying, "The Zero Civilization, just like its name suggests, will reset to zero and start anew once its civilization reaches a certain stage of development."

"The reason their civilization has stagnated is that it has reached the end of the cycle, civilization is about to restart, and everything will be reset to zero."

"And their method of restarting civilization is what they lost... the essence of reincarnation."

Upon hearing this answer, Lu Heng's head buzzed.

Because this answer contains a lot of information.

The so-called cycle that the Zero Civilization enters is actually a process of resetting everything to zero, returning civilization to its origin, and starting anew.

In other words, the so-called "zeroing out" of the Zero Civilization actually means that the entire civilization is reborn together.

Others might find this answer unbelievable.

Lu Heng, however, personally experienced rebirth. After coming into contact with the Reincarnation Source Essence, time rewound to before the abyss descended.

The only problem is that Lu Heng's rebirth was only for himself, while the restart of the entire civilization is not the same concept.

If we want to achieve the goal of restarting civilization, the total amount of reincarnation source matter required must be enormous.

Upon receiving this information, many things that I couldn't understand before suddenly connected together.

For example, why would a civilization that has reached zero be extremely isolationist and so closed off?
The reason is that they are about to restart civilization.

This involves a key theory: mass cannot be created or destroyed out of thin air.

If this theory also applies to a zero-scale world, it means that a zero-scale civilization would need to restore the world's quality to the value at the starting point of its civilization if it wanted to restart its civilization.

In an alternate world, there aren't many ways to change mass; it's mostly through spatial teleportation.

This explains why the Zero Civilization forbids recruits from entering their world and also refrains from killing the Abyss Demons that intrude into the Zero World.

These creatures recruited into the Zero World are all foreign matter to the Zero Civilization, and must all be discarded before the civilization restarts.

Similarly, the Zero Civilization must also ensure that their world does not lose any quality.

In other words, if any of the summoners take anything from the Zero World, they must retrieve it. This applies not only to Reincarnation Essence, but to anything with mass, even if it's just a broken rock.

Lu Heng's mind exploded with information, and he immediately asked, "Is the Zero Civilization restarting its civilization because of the Abyss invasion?"

This time, the Astral Merchant did not answer, but said, "Now it's my turn to ask questions. You just said that you don't know the whereabouts of the Reincarnation Source Essence, meaning you once knew it, and where you once saw the Reincarnation Source Essence?"

Lu Heng pondered for a moment, considering the pros and cons of answering the question, and finally replied, "The Abyss Demon Nest."

Upon hearing this answer, the astral merchant fell silent.

He possessed a special ability to confirm that Lu Heng was not lying, but the Abyss Demon Nest was not a place that low-level civilizations could approach.

He had more questions to ask, but respecting the rules, he urged, "It's your turn to ask. Are you going to ask the question you just followed up on?"

"No."

Lu Heng thought for a moment, then didn't ask the same question again, instead asking, "Why does the Zero Civilization need to restart its civilization?"

These questions are all about the Zero Civilization, and the Astral Merchants don't need to keep secrets about it, so their answers are very straightforward:
"There are two reasons. First, the Zero World was also invaded by the Abyss. They had no way to solve the Abyss invasion, so when the Abyss was polluted to the limit, they used the method of reincarnation to restore the entire world to the state before the Abyss descended."

"The second reason is that the Zero Civilization hopes to find a way to break through the limits of civilization through repeated cycles."

hum!
Information exploded once again.

One thing can be confirmed from the information provided by the astral merchant.

The Zero Civilization was indeed invaded by the Abyss.

Actually, I had already guessed this when I was conscripted to the Zero World.

This now seems to confirm this speculation.

The fact that the Zero Civilization is now in a hurry to recover the lost essence of reincarnation indicates that they are eager to restart their civilization and enter the next cycle.

In other words, the current Zero World has been severely polluted by the Abyss. If this continues, the Zero Civilization may not even have the chance to enter the next cycle.

The abyss was far more terrifying than expected. Even demigod civilizations could only choose to temporarily escape its corruption by rebooting.

After answering, the astral merchant continued to ask questions: "How did you get to the Abyss Nest? At the human level, there shouldn't be a summons to the Abyss Nest."

Lu Heng smiled politely and said, "I've finished asking my questions. The transaction is over."

The astral merchant was speechless, his fluorescent body flickering a few times, clearly indicating his anger.

Lu Heng remained on guard, and the [Divine Source Armor] on his body maintained a pale blue aura.

The astral merchant was indeed angry, but took no further action.

In a sense, he was essentially tricked, but the whole process complied with the rules of the transaction, and Lu Heng did not lie from beginning to end.

The information transaction ended before he had received satisfactory information.

This approach is also in accordance with the rules.

The astral merchant was indeed angry, but still adhered to the rules of fair trade, asking, "Do you have any other questions? I can be more flexible with the length of your answer."

Lu Heng shook his head: "No more for now."

The astral merchant did not press the matter further, but said, "Alright, I will come back to you."

As he spoke, his body emitted light, shooting a beam of light into the sky.

His figure rose along the pillar of light, and after leaving the ground, the entire Black Raven Cultivation Chamber burst into flames under the light.

The black crow's eggs burst when exposed to light, and all of them died.

Lu Heng didn't even have to make a move; the Star Realm Merchant personally destroyed the Black Raven's breeding chamber.

The flames burned fiercely, yet not a single black crow fled.

Lu Heng left the building and looked up as the Star Merchant disappeared into the pillar of light.

The astral merchant's appearance and departure were completely uneventful, without any significant energy fluctuations. Lu Heng had clearly sensed the merchant's anger, yet he hadn't made any offensive move.

Is this the elegance of a higher civilization? Or a lack of capability?
Zero Civilization is a demigod civilization, and the civilization level of the Astral Merchants is similar to that of Zero Civilization, probably below demigod.

Lu Heng suddenly realized something: even if it is a demigod civilization, it does not mean that all the main life forms in this civilization are demigods.

If that's the case, then the astral merchant's reaction makes sense.

Lu Heng has personally killed more than one or two demigods. It is certainly impossible for him to fight a high-level civilization one-on-one, but fighting a single individual of a high-level civilization is not particularly difficult.

Even if we can't win, we'll definitely be able to protect ourselves.

……

Leave the no-man's-land where the Black Crow breeding room is located.

Lu Heng took out the crystal core of the Zero Civilization and summoned a white light.

A white light appeared, enveloping the surrounding space, and everything around it froze.

Lu Heng spoke directly, "I learned your secret from the Star Realm Merchants. Can we now have a dialogue as equals?"

Bai Guang: "The difference in civilization level is like heaven and earth, how can we have an equal dialogue?"

Lu Heng said firmly, "The gap between civilizations is indeed large, but in the face of the abyss, the outcome is the same. Arrogance will only lead you to destruction."

Bai Guang fell silent.

After a long pause, Bai Guang finally spoke: "What do you want?"

Lu Heng smiled and said, "If I asked you for a way to purify the abyss, you wouldn't be able to give me one. So I'll have to ask for something else: a path to becoming a demigod."

Bai Guang: "Do you think it's possible?"

Lu Heng: "How do you know it's impossible if you don't try?"

Bai Guang: "I can guide you toward becoming a demigod, but there is no shortcut."

Lu Heng: "Just tell me the solution."

Bai Guang: "First, your energy level must reach level 60, which is the minimum standard for advancing to demigod. Second, advancing to demigod requires the use of suitable materials."

Lu Heng: "What materials?"

Bai Guang: "There's no need to ask. When you see a demigod material, you'll know what it is. It's no use for me to say the name of a certain demigod material now. The chance of finding a specific demigod material is close to zero."

"What you can do is, when you come across a demigod material, get it and adapt to that material, instead of looking for a specific material."

After listening attentively, Lu Heng pondered for a moment and then suddenly said, "Let me tell you something: the Star Realm Merchants are also paying attention to the Reincarnation Source Essence."

This is true. Just now, when I was communicating with the astral merchant, he kept asking about the Reincarnation Essence.

In other words, the astral merchants are indeed interested in the Reincarnation Essence.

However, this also reveals another piece of information: the essence of reincarnation is not in the hands of the astral merchants.

If the Reincarnation Source Material is in their hands, they wouldn't need to ask about its location.

Upon hearing this information, Bai Guang fell silent once again.

Lu Heng didn't delve deeper into the topic, but instead asked, "I have a question. The Astral Merchant Civilization wanders through the Astral Rifts. Do they have any settlements? It's impossible for them to drift as individuals, right?"

Bai Guang: "The astral merchants have built ecospheres in the astral rift."

Upon hearing this answer, Lu Heng roughly understood the true state of the Star Realm Merchant Civilization.

This civilization built an ecosphere that can drift through interstellar rifts.

Since it's an ecosphere, its volume is definitely smaller than a planet, but to serve as a habitat for a civilization, its volume wouldn't be too small.

Even when facing advanced civilizations, some communication strategies remain effective.

In the beginning, the Zero Civilization was difficult to communicate with and refused to answer many questions.

Now that a competitor, also a highly advanced civilization, has emerged, competition is what drives progress.

Lu Heng remembered something and asked curiously, "When I was conscripted to the Zero World, my main mission was to help you solve the problem that caused your civilization to stagnate."

"If we consider the goal of recruiting your will, it is actually to help you break the cycle."

"Have you ever considered that breaking out of this cycle might be a new way out?"

Bai Guang: "Do you really think you understand my civilization better than I do?"

Lu Heng shrugged: "This seems to be the purpose of conscripting wills."

Bai Guang: "How do you know that the purpose of summoning wills is necessarily right?"

This is indeed a question without an answer.

So far, the missions issued by the summoned will can only prove that they are fighting against the abyss, but it cannot prove that the purpose of each mission is correct.

Right and wrong are dynamic, especially when viewed from the perspective of civilization. What might have been right a hundred years ago could have had a bad outcome a hundred years later.

When the time scale is extended to tens of thousands of years, right and wrong are no longer eternal.

Lu Heng didn't argue with him about this pointless topic, and instead said, "I will level up to 60 as soon as possible, and then go find demigod materials."

Bai Guang emphasized, "As long as you find the Source of Reincarnation, I will guide you to advance to become a demigod."

Lu Heng smirked: "Helping you retrieve the Reincarnation Source Essence can save your entire civilization. Do you think the price you're offering is commensurate? I even have to find the demigod materials myself."

Bai Guang replied directly, "In that case, I can provide you with some additional information: demigod materials exist in the world of the Shadow Demon."

Lu Heng scoffed, "But the world of the Shadow Demon is far more dangerous than other abyssal worlds."

Bai Guang: "I'll give you another piece of help. As long as you find the Reincarnation Source Essence and come to me, I can help you kill all the abyssal demons below the level of demigod within your sight. I can also imprison demigod-level demons for one minute."

Lu Heng shook his head and said, "This condition won't work. If the Shadow Demon World doesn't have the Reincarnation Source Essence, your promise is worthless. You must promise that, regardless of whether the Reincarnation Source Essence is found or not, once you are summoned, you must kill all the demons within your sight."

Bai Guang didn't hesitate for long: "Okay, but you only get one chance. I'll only help you this once."

Lu Heng was already quite satisfied with the discussion reaching this level.

However, just to be on the safe side, Lu Heng still asked about his true abilities: "What level of power do you mean by killing all demons below the level of demigod? If the actual effect is not as expected, that won't be fun."

Bai Guang sneered, "Since I made a promise, I can definitely keep it. I will eliminate anyone below the level of a demigod and imprison any demigod-level demon for one minute."

Lu Heng received an affirmative answer and nodded, saying, "Alright, as long as the summons from the Shadow Demon World appears, I will continue to help you find the Reincarnation Essence." (End of Chapter)