Xyrin Empire-Chapter 729 Divine Realm

That was a true treasure of heaven and earth: a scale from the Star Domain Dragon God. It was the epitome of an epic-level material. I would bet that attaching a handle to this thing would result in a Dark Gold Shield, slicing off a sliver could produce an Orange Wand, and sharpening both edges could turn it into an egg slicer. Grind it to powder, mix with water, and you get Nine Revival Soup—this legendary material with various NB features was ultimately turned into a set of mahjong by Bingdisi...

Looking at the Divine Clan group of five... no, four, propping up the mahjong table and continuing their smoky battle, my feelings were complicated. The set in front of me was, very likely, the highest-grade mahjong set in history. I dared not think whether they could easily pierce through the impenetrable skin and Eternal Level frontal armor of that Sicaro bastard when whizzing out at thirty-five Mach speeds, but at least in terms of value, just flinging out an East Wind could exchange for half a city—no problem at all, and I couldn’t help but start to wonder:

If one day, this set of mahjong accidentally ends up in some magic-ridden otherworld, would it be treated as some sort of supreme treasure? Then, the continental annals would record: "On such and such a year, month, and day, a two-dot tile from the South Continent was stolen by evil demons. Seizing the opportunity, the Dark Empire of the North Continent invaded, commanding the Black Knight carrying the Three Sacred Treasures—the East Wind, Yaoji, and White Plate—shattering the ’Pure Color Ultimate Array’ of the South Continent. A youth chosen by fate, carrying the ’two-stripes and North Wind’ that would decide the life and death of humanity, left his hometown and embarked on a lifetime journey of warfare without return, stirring up the entire continent..."

However, my cluttered thoughts and wild imagination did not last too long. As the round of mahjong was about to end, Lin’s growl suddenly resonated in everyone’s Spirit Sea. I turned my head to find that the direction in which the Giant Dragon was advancing was no longer just the boundless black Chaos. Faint white lines emerged from the thick darkness, creating a three-dimensional tunnel-like structure in our direction, converging into a point several kilometers ahead. Bingdisi tossed aside the mahjong in her hand, patted her paws, and stood up: "We’re almost at our stop, Void Node 118114. We’ll make a brief stop here before entering the Divine Realm. Little Baobao, come here, you can play with this set of mahjong."

The little girl immediately cheered and pounced on the mahjong table, scooping all those shiny little blocks into her embrace. Watching this from the side, I felt extremely conflicted. What was Bingdisi, that female hooligan, thinking, giving Little Baobao a set of mahjong—was this really a toy for children?

But thoughts aside, I still hastily helped Little Baobao gather up the mahjong tiles without missing a single one: This thing was too precious. If a suitable opportunity arose one day, I planned to use them to craft a box of Sky Flipping Seals.

Everyone began to busily pack up items, such as the coffee table, sofa, tableware, kitchen, campfire, and even the ping-pong table. In less than a few hours of our Void journey, we had turned the Dragon God Girl’s back into such a mess, which even made Big Sister feel a bit uncomfortable, despite the efficiency she had shown in helping Sandora set up the kitchen earlier.

"Ah, I somehow feel like we’ve gone a bit too far," Big Sister said with a slightly troubled smile, looking ahead at the blissfully unaware Dragon God—only her big head visible—"putting so many things on Lin, isn’t that a bit disrespectful?"

"Relax, relax," Monina waved her hands nonchalantly, "Once she lands, she’ll make back everything with interest. For now, we might as well consider this some sort of advance recuperation fee."

Only then did I remember Lin’s terrifying mouth-first landing deceleration method, and beads of sweat formed on my forehead as my complexion turned pale: "Oh my God! I forgot about that. Is it time for us to brace for an emergency jump?"

"Nonsense, I’ve been smacked down twice now!" Bingdisi put her hands on her hips, "This time, I have to jump successfully no matter what!"

"There’s still a chance of failure with that?"

Bingdisi nodded, "It depends on Lin’s speed, as you know, she usually doesn’t slow down. However, Yelsen is a great cannon fodder, and with the Guardian Halo activated, eighty percent of the impact will be transferred to him. At most, we feel a bit dizzy for a while; we won’t die."

I was deeply shocked by Bingdisi’s heartless optimism and braced myself for the impending first impact. We knew Lin’s method of landing, and by now, I was starting to regret listening to Bingdisi earlier. To save some highway fees, we had chosen this most dangerous mode of transportation. I suddenly remembered: As foreign envoys, do we even need to pay highway fees?

Let me tell you, I’ve got the urge to fight that female hooligan to the death now, just afraid I wouldn’t be able to beat her.

Just then, we finally arrived at the so-called Void Node. A majestic white spire suddenly appeared before us, its emergence so abrupt, without any gradual approach, evidently confirming Bingdisi’s theory about ’movement’ in the Void.

The towering spire standing in the Void was thousands of meters tall, consisting of a Gothic main tower and two subsidiary towers about a third of the height. The base of the structure rested upon a vast square of gigantic floating stone slabs, reminiscent of sights I’d seen in the Half-plane in the world of Artemis: buildings conjured from nothingness, a specialty technology of the Divine Race. The tower was spotless white, its material unknown, adorned with pale golden lines that floated on its surface like living veins. Rings of golden light, rhythmic like breath, radiated from the top of the spire, seeming to serve the same purpose as the halos emitted by Lin’s wings during her flying state in the Void. Beyond that, I noticed no other activity around the Void Node.

Surrounding the Void Node was a pale golden shield, formed by the diffusing golden halo from the top of the spire. According to Bingdisi, it was only after entering this shield that we could be considered to have left the Void. Detaching prematurely from the protection of Lin’s shield, especially for Mercury Lamp who was totally defenseless, was extremely dangerous, so we had to wait for Lin to enter the shield before disembarking: I just hoped this girl would aim properly as she entered. If she rammed into the tower, not even an Immortal could help her.

"Everyone’s inside," Bingdisi clapped my shoulder, pointing at the base of the tower, "Once we land, they’ll come out. A typical Void Node usually harbors two to three combat teams along with several hundred Divine Servants, which for the Divine Race is akin to a small-sized barracks. This is also a supply point where Divine Race on missions can find a Void Node nearby for resupply, without needing to return to the Divine Realm. Some nodes have even been transformed into independent small worlds for nurturing experimental New Species. They have various functions, but I was into MODs back in the day, not so familiar with the hardware."

I nodded in understanding, preparing to disembark while curiously asking, "What’s Lin doing circling around?"

We had arrived above the Void Node, but Lin kept circling around outside the shield, not descending, which struck me as odd. Monina glanced down and shrugged, "She’s looking for a parking spot."

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead, "With all that empty space down there, and she’s still looking for a spot?"

Monina sighed, "The spot isn’t the problem, it’s the ’car’."

Suddenly, I understood—turns out, the clumsy Dragon God Girl also possessed a persistent heart, tirelessly endeavoring for a successful landing.

But you keep at it; I have no intention of joining in!

Just as I thought this, Lin seemed to finally pick her landing spot, tilting her head down and beginning to dive. Bingdisi immediately shouted, "Everyone get ready! Jump!"

Without a word, Mercury Lamp hopped onto my shoulder, and Little Baobao curled into a ball clinging to my arm, while Bubbles climbed onto my chest, mumbling, "Mercury Lamp, you form the head; sweetheart, you form the hand; I’ll form the chest... Hey! We need someone to form the legs!"

"I’m on it! I’m on it!" Lilina cried out, clinging to my legs, "Boss, don’t kick, I’m scared of falling!"

In an instant, I became an unprecedented combination, clad with Lolitas like a scaffold, leaving Pandora and Visca no room to squeeze in. Meanwhile, Lin had already charged into the shield, and Bingdisi yelled at the same moment, "Now! Jump!"

A dozen or so people leapt from the giant dragon’s back, scattering and descending slowly in the semi-air of the Void Node. The golden giant dragon, after minutes of effort to slow down and aim, then plummeted towards the ground, its efforts culminating in a brief monosyllabic sound, "Bang—"

Watching the giant dragon land once more, I shuddered alongside my own shoulders "Hiss—her teeth are really something."

Lin’s landing was quieter than the first time she came to Avalon. She merely rolled on the ground three times—because on the fourth roll, she crashed straight into the tower. The solid stone platform didn’t show any signs of damage from the impact, proving that products from the Divine Realm really guarantee quality. When we safely landed on the platform, Lin was shaking her head as she slowly got up. Luckily, both of her heads remained clear, so we didn’t have to worry about taking care of a mentally challenged child under the age of five. The grand doors at the bottom of the high tower were also opened at this moment. A large group of warriors clad in standard heavy armor ran out in a flurry, led by two Star Domain Guards wearing armor similar but a bit simpler than Yelsen’s. As they ran toward us, they were fussing, "What’s going on, what’s going on, an enemy attack? This godforsaken place gets enemy attacks?"

"Enemy attack your granny!" Bingdisi went up and shouted honestly and unkindly, finally drawing the attention of the anxious Divine Servants and the two Guards to our small group, after which the Rogue Goddess briefly introduced our identities.

Clearly, the news of "Xyrin Royal Family visiting the Divine Realm" had reached these guardians. After confirming our identities, the two Guards immediately dropped their guarded expressions. One of them led the Divine Servants to quickly prepare things, without a word, first going up to scrub and wax Lin’s scales, while the other Guard approached us with familiarity and began pulling stuff out of Other Space, "Travelers from afar, want a newspaper?"

My jaw "clank" dropped to the ground, and Bingdisi started a friendly exchange, "Free of charge?"

"Of course, old rules, you know. This Dragon God looks a bit down in spirits, do you want to prepare some food?"

"Don’t trouble yourself, she’s just shaken from the fall—hey, you guys, go scrub her back! There are still some hopscotch squares that need washing off."

Lin, usually the one taking crap in our group, now laid on the great square like a Miss, comfortably letting a dozen Divine Servants with all sorts of bizarre tools clean and maintain her body. Several Divine Servants carried huge axes and knives to file her nails. The Guard that ran over earlier was holding a big sign and gesturing in front of Lin’s left head. I automatically dubbed it with a "Fill up with 94# gasoline."

While Lin was "fueling up" in fog, our local Guard uncle here started chatting with everyone, he hawked maps, newspapers, and tour guides to each of us, and enthusiastically recommended a supposedly node-specialty revitalizing drink. When the teleportation to the Divine Realm was ready, I felt like I had just returned to K city, and I took the Western Outer Ring route at that...

Seeing my complexion wasn’t right, Bingdisi explained in a low voice, "Can’t help it, being stationed at a Void Node is always considered the most thankless post, isolated from any world with strict travel controls. It makes a Void Node more boring than the remotest desert island. Although you aren’t required to stay on this post for too long, it’s still pretty tough to endure. So most Void Node Guards find ways to pass the time, like opening a small world within the node to play some Divine-Demon Continent game, or like these guys treating whatever random stuff they learned from the Mortal World as part of their daily routine. But besides that, they’re all diligent and good soldiers. Without these basic-level sentries..."

Hearing this, I became quite respectful.

"When did I ever bully anyone."

Can’t this person speak without such abrupt transitions?

After completing the registration at the Void Node, the local Guards immediately ordered the Divine Servants to begin teleportation, preparing to send us directly to the Divine Realm. Considering this Void journey had already been a pain, and even to describe the mishaps just during teleportation could take up the next Chapter or two—and that would bring great public opinion pressure on the writer—therefore, we’ll simplify the process as follows:

With a "piu," a flash of white light, we had arrived.

The dark Chaos of the Void instantly transformed into a bright, splendid world, a drastic change in the scene that left me slightly stunned. Once my eyes finally adapted to the surrounding light, everyone was captivated by the scenery before us.

From the Void Node to the Divine Realm, our destination was a suspended platform high in the sky, which essentially served as Shadow City’s nearby Starport. From this altitude, we could see the landscape below in its entirety, and the first thing that caught our eye was a continent lush with vegetation.

"So this is the Divine Realm, not what you expected, huh?" Bingdisi took a deep breath and began to describe, "The Divine Realm is comprised of numerous floating continents hanging in mid-air, the largest of which is the one beneath us. In the language of the Divine Race, it’s called ’Jade,’ which as you can guess, contains the most green, symbolizing a world with vigorous Life Force and a thriving biology. And look over there—those big and small Floating Islands are actually continents. If you get close, you’ll find out how vast they really are. Each continent has its own unique landscape; some are covered with volcanoes and Magma, symbolizing a world amidst turmoil and disaster, some are blanketed with cold ice, signifying a civilization that is slow and stagnant, and some are perpetually shrouded in Shadows, symbolizing fear and gloom..."

Following Bingdisi’s pointing finger, my gaze slowly trailed over those remote Floating Continents, their distances unknowable. The sight of these lands floating in the air gave me the absurd notion that the Divine Realm was a shattered planet—of course, I knew that was quite far-fetched. But seeing those lands covered in lava, ice, and Shadow, they should have looked out of place amidst the Divine Realm’s majestic scenery, yet when I focused on them, I realized their existence felt so natural.

"Here, everything is the ultimate truth; therefore, you will feel no sense of dissonance with anything," Bingdisi said, perhaps sensing my confusion, "I know what thoughts first-timers have when they lay eyes on this world."

Apart from Sandora, who had been to the Divine Realm before, we all looked around curiously. The world had magical scenery, and while we had yet to witness the various wonders Bingdisi had mentioned, just the sight of countless, uniquely-featured Floating Continents forming this fragmented world was already incredibly novel. Qianqian exclaimed in amazement for quite a while and suddenly remembered to ask, "Ah, Bingdisi, how big is this world, exactly?"

"How big?" Bingdisi seemed to have anticipated the question and immediately showed a curious smile, "Infinitely large, as big as your imagination; this world cannot be measured by size."

We all expressed our disbelief: weren’t the continents clearly finite in number? They looked limited in size too; how could they not be measured?

"This cannot be explained in words," Monina replied, "Many concepts in the Divine Realm exist in an indeterminate state, like those continents: in reality, there are an infinite number of them, and as you explore them one by one, an endless array will appear before you. Also, the size of these continents—you can walk to their ends, but you will never be able to measure them. The space here is in a state of superposition; what you see is always just a small part of the Divine Realm, and even we of the Divine Race are the same. A single flower in the Divine Realm is a world unto itself, a drop of water embodies the universe, and only Father God can see the true form of the Divine Realm. He has never explained these concepts to us."

"Didn’t you ask?" I was completely baffled by Monina’s explanation and quickly changed the subject.

"It’s useless, it’s something that cannot be communicated through information. In fact, it’s not even information and can’t be described by any kind of information. Father God and us are different, he is unique, the sole creator of all, hence everything he sees is entirely different from our perspective."

"I get it," Qianqian nodded solemnly, "Father God is a bit colorblind."

"And maybe a little glaucoma?" Lin Xue hesitantly added. freēwēbnovel.com

Me: "...Could you please be serious!"

"Haha, no need to be serious, we least like to be serious," Bingdisi laughed heartily, leading us toward the downward slope at the front of the platform, "An infinite life wasted on infinite bureaucracy would be a disaster, and the Divine Race least likes strict rules. Come on, let’s go to my place first; that damn old man should have everything ready. Don’t mind it, we don’t make a fuss with welcoming ceremonies or honor guards, not even for Father God returning home—it’s just a couple of people to guide the way. We like to treat our guests in a familial manner, especially important ones."

(Gentle readers, I forgot to ask for monthly votes at the end of last month... Similarly, I didn’t remember at the start of this one!! If you haven’t voted yet, please do while it’s fresh in your mind!)(To be continued. If you like this story, please visit Qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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