From the Abyss Invasion to the Blasting Star.

Learning about the decline of the Star Realm Merchant Civilization filled Lu Heng with deep emotion.

This is the last struggle of a race before its annihilation. Even if a world that can support the growth of fluorescent plants could be found now, the race has declined to such an extent that it is impossible for it to be revived.

From their perspective, they can only place their hopes on the source of reincarnation.

If the Reincarnation Essence can truly reverse time and allow the Astral Merchants to return to the time before the Abyss invasion, it's uncertain whether it can change or resolve the situation, but at least it's worth an attempt.

In a sense, what Lu Heng is going through is the goal that the Star Realm Merchants want to achieve.

The problem now is that the Zero Civilization wants to retrieve the Source of Reincarnation in order to save the civilization.

This is a competition between two advanced civilizations for their shared destiny.

From a human perspective, Lu Heng has no obligation to help either side.

If we must choose to help one side, we should consider which side is more helpful to humanity.

In addition, there is another issue that needs to be clarified.

That is the true effect of the source of reincarnation.

Based on the information obtained from the Zero Civilization, the Reincarnation Essence can indeed reverse time, but not all worlds' time is reversed at the same time.

According to the Zero Civilization, their world cycles every sixty years.

This cycle cannot affect other worlds; it can only affect the world that has returned to zero.

In other words, the effect of the Reincarnation Source Essence in reversing time and space has a range.

This is very important data; we need to understand this range in order to comprehend the specific role of the source substance of reincarnation.

……

Before leaving the Galmawi ecosphere, Lu Heng picked a fluorescent plant, brought it back to Blue Star, and handed it over to the Institute of Biology of the Academy of Sciences for research.

That night.

The white light of the Zero Civilization reappeared. Lu Heng turned to look at the white light but did not speak first.

Since the destruction of the Shadow Demon world, the Zero Civilization has been appearing more and more frequently.

This also suggests that the Zero Civilization urgently needs to enter the next cycle.

However, according to the mission of the Abyss Battlefield, the goal is to break the cycle of the Zero Civilization and resolve the current stagnation in civilization development.

A voice came from within the white light: "You've been to the world of the Astral Merchant?"

Lu Heng: "To be precise, we went to the ecosphere of Galmawi."

Bai Guang: "And the result? Did you find the source of reincarnation?"

Lu Heng shook his head: "No, they were taken away by the Star Realm Merchants. There's no one in the Ecosphere."

Bai Guang: "You can trace the location of the Reincarnation Source Essence, right?"

Lu Heng did not answer the question, but instead asked, "I need more detailed information about the Reincarnation Source Essence."

This time, Bai Guang fell silent.

After all, the essence of reincarnation is their most important secret.

Lu Heng remained calm and said in a relaxed tone, "Actually, right now it's you and the Star Realm Merchants competing for the Reincarnation Essence. I'm just an observer; whether I help someone or not doesn't affect me much."

Bai Guang finally yielded: "Alright. You can ask me anything about the data on the Reincarnation Source Essence, and I can tell you everything."

Clearly, the Zero Civilization has reached its most critical moment. If it cannot find the Source of Reincarnation as soon as possible, its civilization will lose the opportunity to restart.

After a moment's thought, Lu Heng asked, "What is the scope of the Reincarnation Source Essence's effect?"

Bai Guang: "It is related to the total amount of reincarnation source matter and cannot cross worlds."

Lu Heng asked again, "What about the time scale that can be reversed?"

Bai Guang: "It is also related to the total amount of the source matter of reincarnation."

Lu Heng: "How much of the Reincarnation Essence did you lose? What percentage of the total did you lose?"

Bai Guang fell silent again, then answered after a moment: "Nearly one-third."

Lu Heng was slightly surprised by this answer. He originally thought that the Zero Civilization would not have lost too much Reincarnation Essence, but he did not expect that it would lose a third of it.

In other words, the total amount of reincarnation essence possessed by the Zero Civilization is not very large.

The piece of Reincarnation Essence that Erebus took out was about the size of a millstone.

In other words, the Zero World has two other roughly the same size Reincarnation Source Material.

……

Based on Bai Guang's answer, one thing is certain: the effects of the Reincarnation Essence cannot cross worlds; they only apply to the world in which it exists.

In other words, if the astral merchants want to save their original world, they must return to the world they were born from.

Because only that world is suitable for the growth of fluorescent organisms.

Having figured this out, Lu Heng asked one last question: "Where is the original world of the Star Realm Merchants? Do you know? This is the key if you still want to find the Source of Reincarnation."

Bai Guang fell silent for a few minutes before answering, "I know, but it's already a desolate world, corrupted by the abyss to the point of no return."

Lu Heng: "What if we use the Reincarnation Source Essence?"

This time, Bai Guang's answer was not very certain: "Even if they obtain the Reincarnation Source Essence, it will be difficult for them to achieve their goal."

Lu Heng: "Are there spatial beacons? You'll know once you go to that world and see for yourself."

Bai Guang: "Yes, I can guide you to the location of the Astral Merchant's original world."

Lu Heng embarked on an interplanetary journey, following the beacon directions provided by the Zero Civilization, and was transported to the original world of the interplanetary merchants, a planet called the Star of Glimmer.

This world is very peculiar; there are no bright stars, only a very dim red dwarf star.

In addition, the planet's sky is covered by thick star rings, which block the already dim light of the red dwarf star, resulting in the planet receiving almost no external light.

Amazingly, fluorescent plants have grown in this world.

Most of the light on the planet's surface comes from fluorescent plants.

Overall, it's like a planet that's always bathed in starlight, with a unique environment.

However, the so-called fluorescent plants were seen in holographic images.

The current Star of Twilight is a planet polluted by the abyss, devoid of any signs of life.

Moreover, according to the history of the astral merchants, this planet was abandoned thousands of years ago.

On the planet's surface, not even the remains of fluorescent plants can be found; there are only a few objects that resemble plant remains.

As Lu Heng floated on the planet, he sensed the abyssal aura emanating from below.

The astral merchants abandoned this planet, and it has become a desolate wasteland, devoid of any demonic races.

The white light emitted a holographic image and explained:
“Based on the planet’s geography, we simulated what the Astral Merchant civilization once looked like. This place was once covered with fluorescent plants. They were forced to leave when the Abyss swallowed the surface and began to wander in the Astral Rift.”

Lu Heng asked curiously, "If giving up the Reincarnation Essence could help the Star Realm Merchants save their civilization, would you be willing?"

This time, Bai Guang didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "If the extinction of humanity could save the Astral Merchants, would you be willing?" This question didn't actually need an answer.

Aside from a few individuals with antisocial personality disorder, it is impossible for a person to abandon their own civilization and be reborn in another civilization.

Lu Heng looked at the faint star beneath his feet and fell into deep thought.

According to previous speculation, if the astral merchants want to save their original world, they need to bring the Reincarnation Essence here.

However, so far, nothing has changed on this planet.

If Azik brings the Reincarnation Source Material here and activates its energy, this world will definitely change.

Since nothing has changed yet, it means Azik hasn't started.

Wasn't his goal to save the original world?

Karmavi has paid the ultimate price to obtain the essence of reincarnation.

Since it comes at the cost of lives, what needs to be saved must be something more important than life itself.

All Lu Heng could think of was their original world.

This is the only world suitable for the growth of fluorescent plants.

But why didn't Azik bring the Reincarnation Source Matter?
If he wasn't saving the original world, where else could he have taken the essence of reincarnation?

……

In Lu Heng's reborn memories, the essence of his previous life's reincarnation will appear in the Abyss Demon Nest at this time.

However, with so many changes occurring in the two timelines, the likelihood of them ending up with the same result again is very low.

Lu Heng pondered for a moment and asked, "Based on the total amount of Reincarnation Essence obtained by the Star Boundary Merchant, is it possible to save this world?"

Bai Guang: "What level of salvation do you mean?"

Lu Heng: "Restore this world to what it was before the Abyss invasion."

Bai Guang: "That's impossible. This world was swallowed by the abyss thousands of years ago. The energy of the Reincarnation Source Essence cannot reverse such a long period of time."

Upon hearing this answer, Lu Heng's expression froze.

If the Reincarnation Essence cannot reverse such a long period of time, it means that the Astral Merchants have no way to use the Reincarnation Essence to save their original world.

If they cannot save their original world, what is the point of them risking their lives to seize the essence of reincarnation?
The situation has once again reached a stalemate.

Karmavi was willing to sacrifice her life to obtain the essence of reincarnation; she must have had a purpose.

What exactly is his purpose?
What benefits could reversing time bring to astral merchants?
The information we have now is insufficient to answer these two questions.

Lu Heng carefully recalled the history of the astral merchants, hoping to find key information from it.

However, most of the history about astral merchants comes from Galmawi.

If an astral merchant wants to conceal information, it is difficult to obtain that information from other sources.

Lu Heng tried asking, "How much do you know about the history of the Star Merchants? I need detailed historical information."

Bai Guang: "We've given you all the information we have. You should know that we are a closed civilization, and we have very little information about other worlds."

Lu Heng then thought of the Abyss Demon Nest.

At this point in time in the previous life, the essence of reincarnation fell into the abyss demon's lair.

Is it possible in this lifetime...?

Although the possibility of the two timelines leading to the same ending is very small, since there are no clues at the moment, gathering more information might provide a breakthrough.

Lu Heng pondered for a moment and said, "I need information about the Abyss Demon Nest, the more detailed the better. You should find a way to investigate. This concerns the fate of your civilization, so I don't need to elaborate."

Bai Guang agreed to the request without asking why, saying he would do his best to investigate the information about the Abyss Demon Nest.

……

This trip to the Star of Glimmer did not yield the source of reincarnation, but it did resolve a question.

That is, the purpose of the astral merchants in vying for the Reincarnation Essence is not to save their original world.

After Lu Heng and the others recovered their source energy, they opened the stargate and returned to Blue Star.

As time goes by, the time of rebirth in the previous life is getting closer and closer.

Lu Heng drew a circle on the calendar with a red pen; there were three days left until the date circled in red.

After a series of events, human civilization has achieved a high degree of "unity".

The United Human Civilization Council established the Abyss Battlefield Coordination Department, responsible for collecting all information on the Abyss Battlefield.

All human nations, factions, and families are required to report the countdown to the conscript's recruitment.

Then, the Abyss Battlefield Coordination Department of the United Human Civilization Council will arrange for the recruits of the same battle to be gathered together to form temporary teams and conduct military-level training to deal with the dangers of the Abyss Battlefield.

These measures have greatly increased the survival rate of human recruits in the Abyss Battlefield.

After all, forming a team outside the Abyss Battlefield allows for a higher level of trust, making coordinated combat in the Abyss Battlefield naturally more efficient.

……

Two and a half days before his rebirth in his previous life, Lu Heng received a message from the Academy of Sciences.

The information indicates that the fluorescent plants of the Astral Merchant civilization can grow on Earth.

Hearing this news, Lu Heng was not too surprised.

Because the astral merchants have found many worlds where fluorescent plants can grow.

The real problem is that fluorescent plants gradually lose their fluorescent properties after being sown for several generations in these worlds.

Fluorescence is the key to the survival of astral merchants.

In other words, fluorescent plants can grow on Earth, but they are of little use unless their fluorescent properties do not fade, in which case they would be of use to astral merchants.

Lu Heng raised this question during a phone call with an academician from the Academy of Sciences specializing in biology.

The answer was uncertain.

Because the time frame is too short, it will take at least several generations of reproduction for fluorescent plants to lose their fluorescent properties.

Lu Heng handed the fluorescent plants over to the Daxia Academy of Sciences in just a few days, and the fact that they were successfully planted is already a fast pace. However, it will take longer to test whether the fluorescence characteristics will decrease.

To clarify this, Lu Heng made a request: that the Institute of Biology focus on studying the fluorescence characteristics of fluorescent plants, especially the fading of fluorescence.

On the second day.

The Institute of Biology provided a test result, which showed that the fluorescent properties of the cultivated fluorescent plants were tested, and the content of fluorescent substances was basically consistent with that of the original plants.

Upon hearing this result, Lu Heng began to have doubts.

Is the loss of fluorescence in fluorescent plants sudden, or does it gradually fade?
If the fluorescence fades gradually, then each generation of fluorescent plants should show a reduction in fluorescent substances.

A terrifying thought crossed Lu Heng's mind.

Could fluorescent plants grow on Earth without losing their fluorescent properties?
...(End of chapter)