Under One Person: The Sea Emperor Who Shattered Heaven and Earth

He then looked at Jiang Zhen, his narrowed eyes filled with a mixture of inquiry and teasing, and continued with a smile: "What? I see you're frowning slightly. Is there something in this world that could bother you, the Emperor of the World?"

Jiang Zhen shook his head with a wry smile, and also took a big gulp of wine: "How could there not be? There are plenty. Those lads down there are a handful, with all sorts of family squabbles, which one doesn't give you a headache?"

Zhang Zhiwei smacked his lips and teased, "Then you're just asking for trouble. As the saying goes, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. In my opinion, you should find something more refined to do instead of spending all your time drinking and getting angry with the younger generation."

"For example?" Jiang Zhen asked, raising an eyebrow with a hint of interest in his voice.

After sizing up Jiang Zhen, Zhang Zhiwei said, "Given your current status and strength, shouldn't your next step be to consider how to become an immortal, achieving eternal life and ascending to heaven in broad daylight? Throughout history, didn't all the emperors who held the power of the world crave that in their later years? Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizu of Song—which of them didn't want to live forever in their old age? You are now in a higher position than them, shouldn't you think about that too?"

"You old bastard!" Jiang Zhen laughed and scolded, "If those Taoist disciples who revere you outside heard this, wouldn't they call you a heretic on the spot? A dignified Celestial Master, instigating the world's emperor to seek immortality and ask questions, do you still want to be a Celestial Master?"

Zhang Zhiwei laughed it off, not taking it to heart.

“However, speaking of immortality and the like… to be honest, I haven’t really thought about it much.” Jiang Zhen’s laughter gradually subsided, and his eyes became deep. He stood up, walked to the edge of the pavilion, put his hands behind his back, and looked down at the rolling sea of ​​clouds below and the boundless blue sea in the distance, which had been marked with the imperial flag.

"I am already content to have reached this position and seen this view in my life."

“However, on the other hand,” Jiang Zhen turned around, looked at Zhang Zhiwei, and touched his chin helplessly, “I’m not sure how long this body of mine can live. And even if the body dies, my spirit will still be there.”

"If I'm ever forced to study those unorthodox methods of achieving immortality in the future, there's only one possibility—that is, when Lin Zhu's time is up and she has to leave me, I won't be able to accept her leaving, and at that time..."

"I might go crazy. I might capture that strange girl named Feng Baobao and study how to refine her into an elixir."

After saying that, Jiang Zhen stared at Zhang Zhiwei with a half-smile.

Zhang Zhiwei calmly met his gaze. His eyes, which were usually squinted, were now wide open, revealing a pair of clear eyes that didn't look like those of a centenarian.

Then, Zhang Zhiwei shook his head, his tone firm and calm:

"He seemed clear-headed and light-hearted, as if his life force was in harmony with his body; he didn't seem like someone who would go crazy."

Jiang Zhen smiled with relief and sat back down on the stone bench: "Who knows what will happen next? Anyway, I don't have the time or the inclination right now. I haven't even finished reading all the books the cave heaven left me yet. However, I recently finished reading 'A Commentary on the Twenty-Four Elixir Formulas'."

Zhang Zhiwei, holding his wine bowl, remained silent for a moment, his expression slightly serious, and suddenly murmured:

"Breaking through the void and extinguishing countless eons, having reached the other shore, one abandons the boat and oars."

"Having read countless alchemical texts, no one ever speaks the last sentence."

After reading it, Zhang Zhiwei looked at Jiang Zhen.

Jiang Zhen picked up where Zhang Zhiwei left off, his voice neither hurried nor slow:

"Having reached the other shore, we abandon our boats. What is the 'last sentence' in this story? Is it that the Way of Heaven is too vast to be spoken of? Or is it that those enlightened ancients kept it to themselves and refused to speak of it?"

Zhang Zhiwei put down his wine bowl and said calmly, "The ancients simply didn't want to say it."

Jiang Zhen asked again, "Why won't you tell me?"

Zhang Zhiwei sighed softly, “I fear that those with shallow roots and unstable minds in the world will be shocked upon hearing this, and thus accuse the Dao of immortality of being illusory, causing them to lose their faith in seeking the Dao and cultivating themselves.”

Jiang Zhen stared at Zhang Zhiwei: "Sir, your scholarship has always been renowned in the world of extraordinary people for its thoroughness and clarity. Today, in this pavilion on the clouds, with only the two of us here, why not tell me about it?"

Zhang Zhiwei met Jiang Zhen's gaze, a slow smile appearing on his lips as he leaned forward slightly: "Aren't you alarmed?"

Jiang Zhen slammed his hand on the stone table: "I'm not alarmed at all!"

Zhang Zhiwei asked again, "Then how much faith does Your Majesty have in this ethereal and elusive Dao?"

Jiang Zhen picked up the wine jar, took a big gulp, and said cheerfully, "I have complete faith!"

The two exchanged a glance in the pavilion. A gentle breeze stirred, ruffling the Celestial Master's white hair and the World Emperor's dragon robe. Then, they spoke in unison:

"Having reached the other shore, I abandon the boat and return to the cycle of reincarnation as a sentient being."

As the sound faded, the swirling sea of ​​clouds surrounding the pavilion eerily froze for a second.

"Hahaha! What a wonderful idea to be reborn as a sentient being! Good! Excellent!"

Zhang Zhiwei suddenly stood up laughing, then took a deep breath, his expression becoming extremely solemn. He straightened the collar and cuffs of his Taoist robe, took a step back, and bowed deeply to Jiang Zhen with utmost precision and sincerity, performing the highest form of Taoist salute.

"Congratulations, Uncle-Master, you have attained enlightenment!"

......

(End of the book)

……

Wait, I suddenly had an idea and I'm rushing to write a crossover side story.

Chapter 179 Extra - Beast VIII - The Pioneer Beast

Time flies, and the wheels of history are speeding forward on the tracks of a new era.

Since the unification of the world and the adoption of the Imperial Era, Earth has ushered in an unprecedented golden age. The internal strife between the great powers of the old era, caused by ideology and geopolitics, has completely vanished, and global resources, population, and technological power have been integrated and allocated most efficiently by the world's governments.

With the combined efforts of billions of people and top-tier superhumans across Earth, humanity is no longer content with the blue sky above its head, but is preparing to embark on its most magnificent journey towards the vast and boundless sea of ​​stars.

The empire mobilized global resources and spent several years building nine super warships in an orbital shipyard, capable of long-term deep space travel and ecological self-sustaining operation.

The world's government named it—the Immortal Boat.

Luofu, Fanghu, Yaoqing, Zhuming, Yuque, Xuling, Yuanqiao, Daiyu, Cangcheng.

Nine celestial ships, carrying humanity's ambition to venture into the galaxy, float silently in Earth's orbit, resembling nine brand-new metallic moons.

……

Just as the entire planet Earth was making final preparations for the launch of the nine immortal ships, in a remote corner of the world, the void suddenly and violently distorted without warning.

hum.

Accompanied by a dull thud, a dazzling yet extremely violent pale blue spiritual energy storm appeared out of thin air.

Immediately afterwards, a girl with short orange hair let out a scream and fell out of the storm in a disheveled state, landing directly on the muddy grass.

"It hurts..."

The orange-haired girl rubbed her bottom and got up from the ground. She dusted herself off and looked around warily. Before her eyes was a lush forest and a clear sky, with the fresh scent of earth in the air.

"Is this...another new singularity? But the environment seems normal; there aren't any monsters around."

The orange-haired girl muttered to herself, instinctively reaching behind her back, only to find nothing. Her expression changed abruptly, and she frantically looked around: "Wait! Mashu? Mashu, where are you?! Someone's missing!"

In a panic, the orange-haired girl hurriedly raised her right hand and frantically tapped a few times on the special communicator on her wrist.

With a whoosh.

A pale blue holographic screen instantly appeared, displaying an image of the Chaldea command center—the organization responsible for ensuring the survival of humanity. The faces of Leonardo da Vinci and Sherlock Holmes, bearing extremely serious and solemn expressions, immediately appeared on the screen.

"Da Vinci! Holmes! Oh no! Mashu and I got separated during teleportation..."

Before the orange-haired girl could finish her anxious words, Da Vinci on the other side of the screen raised his hand and interrupted her.

"Master! Calm down and listen to us! What follows is very important. The spacetime interference in this singularity is extremely strange. If the communication network suddenly drops like before, it will be a problem!" Da Vinci's voice was no longer relaxed as usual, but instead carried an unprecedented sense of urgency.

Holmes, standing nearby, took a puff of his pipe and continued in a deep voice, "Based on the Sheba System and the feedback on human reasoning we just collected, the place you are in now is not an ordinary singularity at all. This is an absolutely independent world that is transforming into a 'Lossbelt'!"

"Another Lostbelt?" Ritsuka was taken aback.

“Yes, and we entered the Lostbelt, a place of extreme prosperity that even surpassed the entire pan-human history.” Leonardo da Vinci took a deep breath.

“Master, do you still remember the concept of ‘Beast’—that is, ‘human evil’? It is the ultimate calamity that will inevitably arise with the development of human civilization.”

Leonardo da Vinci looked at the screen and read in a low voice:

"Beast I — Goetia, the Beast of Compassion. An aggregate of the seventy-two demonic pillars, born from the corpse of King Solomon. Out of pity for humanity's inevitable death and their tendency to kill one another, it resolved to burn away the moral order of humanity accumulated over three thousand years and create a new planet without death."

"Beast II – Tiamat, the Beast of 'Return'. The creator goddess of Mesopotamia. Banished by her sons, she sank into the Sea of ​​Imaginary Numbers, awakening with the obsession to 'return to the beginning of life,' seeking to re-emerge all living beings into her womb."

"Beast III — the beast of 'love and desire'. The same principle seat splits into two sides of opposite polarities."

R/Joyful Sesshouin Kiara, fills the universe with her own love, turning the salvation of all mankind into nourishment for her own pleasure;

L/The Fallen Kama, with his indiscriminate and excessive love, has depleted the universe and led all life into the abyss of desire.

"Beast IV – Cathy Palug/Koyanskaya, the Beast of Comparison. Its origins lie in the feelings of superiority, competition, and resentment that arise from human comparison."

"Beast V — Name unknown. It has only been mentioned in fragments of legends so far and has not actually appeared in any timeline."

"Beast VI — The Beast of Sodom, the Beast of Fallen Gods / Draco. Guided by the principle of 'fallen god,' he witnesses the rise and fall of human civilization, leading prosperous cities to their demise."

"Beast VII — U-Olgamari, the Beast of the Alien World. An alien god who descended from the void. Her cause points to an uncertain great calamity brought upon humanity from an unknowable abyss after turning its gaze to the universe."

Da Vinci paused, raised his head, and his beautiful eyes were now filled with unprecedented shock:

"These are the seven beasts recorded by Chaldea so far. But in this Lostbelt, an eighth 'beast'... is being born! It is both the evil of humanity in this world and the absolute ruler and king of this Lostbelt!"

"Its name is: Beast VIII – the Beast of 'Pioneering'. As for its true name, the Sheba system is currently unable to decipher it, only able to determine an extremely vague Eastern name."

The orange-haired girl felt a chill run down her spine and stammered, "Pioneering? That word... it doesn't sound like a bad word. Why is it categorized as human evil?"

Holmes exhaled a puff of smoke and slowly said, "Because the humans in this Lostbelt have not perished, nor regressed, and are even more 'successful' than any we know of. The people of this Lostbelt will leave Earth, their footprints will soon cover the galaxy, and they are advancing towards even more distant stars."

"The beast of pioneering represents humanity's oldest, most legitimate, and also most dangerous instincts."

"That is the impulse to 'go to the unknown' itself. From caves to plains, from continents to oceans, from the sky to the universe—that is the force that keeps humanity moving forward. Why is it evil? Not because it is hostile to humanity, but quite the opposite, because it pushes humanity's 'love' for itself and its 'exploratory instinct' for its own civilization to an endless extreme!"

Leonardo da Vinci, his face pale, said, “His reasoning stems from humanity’s yearning for the unknown and its instinct for aggression. When this desire reaches its extreme, it transforms into a conquest that devours the entire universe. This is the enemy we are about to face—He is not the most brutal of all the ‘beasts,’ but he is definitely the most difficult to eradicate.”

"Because...as long as there are still humans gazing at the stars, as long as there is still the desire to move forward, He will never truly die."

……

Meanwhile, on the other side...

The New World Imperial Palace is located in the Imperial Garden, nestled against the mountains and overlooking the sea.

The nine great immortal ships in Earth's orbit have completed all preparations. Countless imperial alien legions, operators, and logistical supplies are all in place, waiting only for Emperor Jiang Zhen to issue the final order to set sail.

The supreme ruler of this vast empire, however, was dressed in a loose-fitting short shirt and sat casually by a clear pond. He was holding a handful of fish food and leisurely scattering it into the pond, watching the group of large koi carp scramble for it in the water.

call--

Just then, a piercing sound suddenly broke through the calm sky.

With a girl's scream, a purple figure suddenly descended from the sky, crashing heavily into the clear pond in front of Jiang Zhen. Instantly, huge splashes of water erupted everywhere, and the koi carp that had been vying for food were terrified and scattered in all directions.

Swish swish!

Almost simultaneously, several black shadows emanating terrifying true qi fluctuations shot out from the shadows of the Imperial Garden like ghosts.

Those were the Imperial Guards responsible for protecting the emperor's safety, and they were about to kill the unknown intruder in the pond on the spot.

"All of you, step back."