Humans are devouring, drawing cards from all realms, starting with Yang Jian.

Chapter 180, Undercurrents

Over thousands of years of searching, Jiang Ming has visited thousands of secret realms, ruins, ancient battlefields, and lairs related to the Golden Sky Beast God.

He explored countless relics and remains related to the Beast God and analyzed them one by one with his Heavenly Eye.

Each analysis brought his life's genetic level a step closer to perfection. Each enlightenment brought his beast god body ever closer to the true Golden Void Beast God.

Years are like a shuttle.

Thousands of years of searching have passed in the blink of an eye.

During the thousands of years that Jiang Ming was searching for traces of the Golden Void Beast God, although he never lost contact with people he knew, he never appeared in public, which made it very difficult for people to know anything about him.

It's as if they've vanished without a trace.

For immortal beings with eternal lifespans, thousands of years is but a fleeting moment. But for ordinary beings at the bottom of the universe, whose lives are only a few hundred years, it is the passing of dozens of generations.

Qianwu Universe Kingdom, Black Dragon Mountain Star Region, Milky Way Galaxy.

Earth.

Thousands of years ago, this was a small, weak planet ravaged by monsters, where humans could only cower in base cities.

Today, the entire planet has completely changed, but the original ocean and land layout has been preserved.

On the continental plate, cities that blend classical Chinese style with futuristic technology are scattered across the landscape. Countless streamlined aircraft shuttle through the sky, and occasionally a few streaks of light flash across the horizon, which are powerful martial artists.

In Earth's outer orbit, twelve ring-shaped fortresses with a diameter of over 300 kilometers float silently, each equipped with a star-destroying main cannon powerful enough to threaten even immortality.

Further out at the edge of the solar system, a patrol fleet of three hundred E-class warships is conducting its routine patrol.

This is Earth, and also the headquarters of the Ming Cult, one of the most renowned holy sites in the entire Qianwu Universe Kingdom.

The Ming Cult was founded in the name of Jiang Ming and worships Jiang Ming as its sole leader.

Over thousands of years of development, the Ming Cult's influence has spread throughout the entire territory of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom.

The Ming Cult has branches on over three trillion inhabited planets. The number of registered followers has reached an astronomical figure.

On every planet infiltrated by the Ming Cult, there is a temple dedicated to the statue of Jiang Ming.

The power of the Ming Cult far exceeded that of an ordinary religious sect. It possessed its own fleet, its own intelligence network, and its own commercial system.

Within the territory of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, the Ming Cult's influence even subtly overshadowed the kingdom's political system.

On Earth, a magnificent temple, entirely constructed of white jade, stands majestically. Above the main entrance of the temple hangs a huge plaque bearing two ancient characters—Ming Dian (明殿).

Inside the temple, in a secluded side hall.

Vesa sat cross-legged on a soft couch carved from star crystals, with dozens of light screens floating in front of her.

Each screen scrolled with dense data and information—the latest reports from the Ming Cult's branches across various star systems.

As the Ming Cult grew stronger, Vesa decided to leave the core of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom and settle on Earth for an extended period.

She was still dressed in black veil and barefoot, but there was an undeniable weariness between her brows.

As an immortal who had been granted the title of Marquis, she shouldn't have felt weary. Although the Ming Cult was vast, managing these affairs would not have been a burden for an immortal being with such powerful mental capacity.

What exhausted her was not the tasks themselves, but the pressure from the outside world.

"Purple Fire Palace, Sky Eagle Hall, Silver Moon Merchant Alliance..."

Vesa murmured the name on the light screen, her slender fingers gently tapping the armrest of the soft couch.

"Three more forces have explicitly stated their intention to join forces to curb our expansion, making this the twenty-first force in the last hundred years."

Vesa pushed the light screen aside, picked up the teacup next to her and took a sip, her brow furrowing with even more weariness.

Thousands of years ago, the Ming Cult's expansion was smooth sailing.

Firstly, the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom was secretly supporting him, and secondly, Jiang Ming was at the height of his power at the time, and no one wanted to risk offending him.

But as Jiang Ming disappeared for longer and longer, some forces that had been observing began to stir.

Within the Qianwu Universe, things are fine, as no other force dares to oppose the Ming Cult. However, expanding its influence to other universes would encounter tremendous resistance.

Originally, Vesa thought that since one universe nation was facing serious resistance, it would be acceptable to switch to another universe nation.

However, no matter where the Ming Cult expands its influence or how much it spends, it will ultimately face resistance from other forces.

This resistance has intensified in recent centuries.

From probing to provocation, and from provocation to blatant suppression.

Now, dozens of major powers, each with significant influence in their respective universes, are either openly or covertly setting obstacles to the Ming Cult's expansion.

Individually, none of these forces are worth considering by Vesa.

With the backing of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, the Ming Cult possesses vast wealth and resources. Wei Sa herself is a top-tier immortal among those who have been granted titles, and with the support of Jiang Ming, they are more than capable of dealing with any single force.

But when they unite, the situation is completely different.

"Now these forces are not only limited to harming the people I sent out, but are even going so far as to invade the Qianwu Universe Kingdom."

Visa frowned.

Boycotts are one thing, but if one force wants to enter another's territory, the other will certainly not give them a friendly welcome.

But now that it has turned into an attack on the Ming Cult, Vesa felt something was wrong.

Recently, Vesa has even been threatened by some powerful forces with strong backing, which has made her feel immense pressure.

Deep within a dilapidated secret realm known as the Eternal Night Realm.

This is a long-forgotten secret realm, located on the edge of human territory, where cosmic energy is scarce and resources are limited.

Deep within the secret realm lies a hidden palace concealed by numerous arrays.

In the center of the main hall, several figures sat around a huge stone table.

These figures varied in form, including a rock giant hundreds of meters tall, a powerful demon race member with a snake's head and a human body, and a mechanical race messenger whose entire body was made of silver-white metal.

But upon closer inspection, these figures are not real bodies, but some kind of high-level puppets, or simply the divine power incarnations of some powerful being.

Sitting around the stone table, terrifying figures were hidden in the dark mist, with only pairs of deep eyes flashing in the darkness.

They are representatives of the demon race, the insect race, and the mechanical race.

"Jiang Ming has never appeared in thousands of years."

"Virtual Universe Company has hidden him too well. Over the years, we have used all the spies we have planted within the human race, and even risked exposing a few high-value spies, but we have not found any trace of Jiang Ming. It's as if he has vanished from this universe."

"A living person cannot simply disappear into thin air. He is either in Chaos City or deep within some secret realm of the universe."

"Chaos City is the safest place for humanity; we can't get in. The cosmic secret realms within humanity are all guarded by cosmic lords, so we can't enter them either."