The Chase
While the Machine Puppet Divine Court was engulfed in fierce battle, somewhere in the Void River, a huge energy barrier, resembling a soap bubble, suddenly rose slowly from the river.
After emerging from the Void River, the energy barrier slowly descended and dissipated, revealing a huge shadow behind it.
A Bronze-colored Emperor-level Machine Puppet with ten arms and a size comparable to a giant planet sat gracefully on the surface of the Void River, holding several enormous City in its palms.
The refuge world of Eden, hidden within the territory of the Machine God, also took this opportunity to quietly emerge from the surface.
"Thirty thousand years... a full thirty thousand years."
The Bronze-colored Machine Puppet opened its eyes, which emitted a ghostly blue light, yet revealed complex emotions that Machine Puppet should never display.
"We've finally returned to this Void."
Within the City in its palm, countless different races peered out, gazing at the void above the Void River, a Void filled with dazzling worlds, their expressions filled with excitement.
After observing for a while, the Emperor-level Machine Puppet slowly opened its palm, found a nearby Material World, and placed the City in its hand onto the surface of that world.
"Wait for me here."
It said, "According to our agreement with that foreigner, I must go and help him hunt down the Machine God."
This matter had been agreed upon from the beginning. Although the others in Eden felt it was inappropriate, they did not intend to stop the Collective Consciousness that was manipulating the Emperor-level Machine Puppet.
Although it sounds harsh, the truth is indeed as that foreigner said when he came to inquire about the location of the Machine God Core hub: neither the Machine God nor the Immortal Realm are beings that these refugees from the Eden World can resist.
Currently, the Immortal Realm and the Machine Puppet Divine Court are at war. If Eden chooses to remain neutral at this time, then after the Immortal Realm defeats the Machine God, the best outcome for Eden will be to be expelled from this Void by the Celestial Immortal Realm and become a wanderer in the outer Void, never to return to his homeland.
Bai Qiuran also frankly told them that he personally hoped to keep Eden in the nearby worlds, but this was ultimately a matter between civilizations. He was not the one in charge of the Immortal Realm at the moment, and his personal face could not be equated with the face of the entire Immortal Realm Immortal Realm.
There's no room for sentimentality between civilizations. If Eden doesn't choose a side at this point, Le Zhentian, as the ruler of the Immortal Realm, certainly won't treat Eden well after the war.
All the Wealth in the territory of the Machine Puppet Divine Court is concentrated in the hands of the Machine God. If you defeat it, the Immortal Realm can obtain everything. Eden only has this somewhat outdated Emperor-level Machine Puppet that it can offer. For the Immortal Realm, it is not even a bargaining chip.
As long as Le Zhentian's approach does not hinder the overall evolution and development of material beings, Bai Qiuran will not interfere. After all, he is a person from the Immortal Realm and must prioritize the interests of the Immortal Realm.
Therefore, Bai Qiuran and the Collective Consciousness of the Rainbow Sheath Clan reached an agreement: while Bai Qiuran and Tang Ruowei attacked the Machine God Core, Eden had to help them track down the escaped Machine God's True Body.
The price was that after the Immortal Realm won the war, in addition to taking away the possessions of the Machine Puppet Divine Court, it would give the entire Void to Eden to govern. The Immortal Realm would also leave behind corresponding infrastructure and some aid to Eden so that they could develop again.
In order to reach a deal between Le Zhentian and the Collective Consciousness of the Rainbow Sheath Clan, Bai Qiuran even delayed the launch of the attack, personally acting as a Messenger, shuttling back and forth along the Machine Puppet's defensive line.
"Chief."
Seeing that the Rainbow Sheath Clan's Collective Consciousness was manipulating the Emperor-level Machine Puppet to leave, the other high-ranking members of Eden hurriedly asked, "Should we send Fleet to accompany you?"
"No need. We don't have many Ships to begin with, and this Void isn't entirely safe except for the Machine God. You stay here and protect our City and people."
The Collective Consciousness of the Rainbow Sheath Clan commanded, "If the Machine God is fleeing, it certainly won't be carrying too many Machine Puppet to minimize its target. It knows that with that foreigner's combat strength, even if it brought its entire Battle Corps, it would be useless. The Emperor-level Machine Puppet I'm using, although somewhat old, should be able to handle it."
After speaking, the Collective Consciousness of the Rainbow Sheath Clan manipulated the Emperor-level Machine Puppet, which was originally named "Glory," and slowly left the Great City, heading towards the outside of the Machine Puppet Divine Court's territory along the Void River.
The territory of the Machine Puppet Divine Court, just like the style of the Machine God, is methodical and governed by absolute rules, forming a perfect circle.
The Void River flows in from outside the Consciousness Barrier, passing through the center of the Machine Puppet Divine Court. One side of the Machine God Territory borders the Consciousness Barrier, while the other side lies in the distant depths of the Void. The location of the Machine God Core is exactly at the Center of the Circle of this circle. The distance from the Machine God Core to the Consciousness Barrier is the same as the distance to the Outer Domain.
Due to the unique nature of the Void, the Machine God has few escape routes.
The Consciousness Barrier is the front line of the battle between the Machine Puppet Divine Court and the Immortal Realm army. It cannot escape to that side, and if it wants to go to the Outer Domain, it only has two choices.
One method is to travel along the Void River, which is a common approach used by Super-Civilization that have developed World-Exterior Traversal Technology. Although the Void River is a chaotic torrent of energy, if Spaceship capable of traversing the Void is suspended slightly above the river's surface, the Spaceship can act like a maglev train, turning this energy Great River into a track and easily traveling between worlds.
Another Book of Questions is to abandon the Void River, a natural waterway, and ignore it altogether, choosing any direction to head into the depths of the Void. However, this method carries significant risks and drawbacks.
Not all civilizations are capable of developing the power source to continuously travel through the boundless Void. Civilizations that have just stepped out of the world usually have their Aircraft only able to circle around the vicinity of their own World Barrier.
The Void is empty, and the further away from the Void River you are, the greater the distance between the Material World becomes. If you go too far, the Spaceship will not be able to get supplies, and the end result will be that it will run out of supplies in the depths of the Void. If you are lucky, you will turn into a piece of Kazi floating in the Void, and if you are unlucky, you will be swallowed up by the Energy Storm that appear from time to time in the Void.
Even in Super-Civilization like the Immortal Realm and the Machine Puppet Divine Court, only powerful individuals who have reached the Immortal Emperor-level or Emperor-level Machine Puppet dare to venture out alone to explore the unknown Void, and they also face great risks during their explorations.
During the great expansion of the Immortal Realm, several Immortal Emperor perished because they were unlucky enough to encounter storms or dangerous Void Native Creatures while exploring the outside world.
To traverse the Void without the Void River, one must possess the ability to continuously extract energy from the Void. At the Immortal Emperor level, the Six Paths of Reincarnation Purple Mansion within the Purple Mansion is fully developed, and the Heavenly Imperial Heaven covers and protects the fragile Inside the Purple Mansion. Therefore, one can Deadly Lands extract energy from the Void through the rotation of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
The Emperor-level Machine Puppet of the Machine Puppet Divine Court utilize special Energy Conversion Runes on their bodies, created by the Immortal Emperor Shuhua, to draw energy from the Void.
However, this does not mean that having this technology will allow one to navigate as easily and conveniently as the Void River in places where it does not exist.
Sailing on the Void River is much faster than crossing the Void, and there's no need to worry about energy shortages. The Void River itself is an inexhaustible source of energy; when you run out of energy, you can simply convert and extract it directly from the river. This technique is much simpler than converting energy from the Void.
Therefore, if the Machine God chooses to escape by crossing the Void directly, given Bai Qiuran's speed and the range of his Spiritual Sense, even if he lets it run away for a year, Bai Qiuran can easily catch up and find it.