Arriving at Mengyu Planet

"Welcome aboard the North Star. I am Timas, the ship's artificial intelligence."

After everyone took their seats, Timas's voice echoed through the ship, and a female avatar appeared on the large screen.

Mikita issued the launch command, locked in the coordinates, and the ship officially set sail.

"Hum!"

A faint sound resonated, and everyone inside felt a slight vibration; the ship had clearly begun its journey.

However, because the hull was made of thick metal, they could not see outside with the naked eye, leaving them oblivious to the surroundings.

"Buddha Lord, shall I activate the external view simulation?" Mikita turned to ask. "At 100% simulation, you will have a better view of the cosmos."

Qi Tianshou had long known about this function, and now that he had the chance to experience it, he certainly wouldn't miss out.

"Activate it."

Qi Jingshi and the others did not know what an external view simulation was, but once Qi Tianshou gave the nod, Mikita commanded Timas to set the simulation to 100%.

"Whoosh!"

In the blink of an eye, the control console, seats, and floor of the bridge vanished entirely.

They were surrounded by a hazy layer of atmosphere.

The sudden change startled Qi Tianshou. Seeing the azure Gold Soul Planet beneath him, he stood up reflexively, instinctively manipulating his own magnetic field to hover.

But the next second, feeling the solid floor beneath his feet, he realized he was still standing on the deck and let out a soft sigh of relief.

Qi Jingshi and Qi Shangye were also taken aback, but their temperaments were more composed. The moment the environment shifted, they projected their consciousness and realized that all the objects in the room were still there, merely rendered invisible.

"Sit down, don't embarrass yourself," Qi Jingshi said, pulling the startled Qi Tianshou back down.

Qi Tianshou curled his lip and sat back down. He didn't feel embarrassed; he simply found the transformation novel, as it completely reshaped the understanding he had held for decades.

As the ship pulled away from Gold Soul Planet, they watched as it navigated past various obstacles in space.

There were massive, stationary stones floating in the void, and ice chunks streaking past at high speeds, trailing gas—sights they had never witnessed before.

It felt as if they were standing in the middle of the starry sky. If not for the tactile sensation of the seats beneath them, they might have eventually been tricked into believing their own bodies were flying through space.

After watching for a while, the novelty faded, and Qi Tianshou asked Mikita to lower the simulation intensity.

Following the order, Mikita instructed Timas to adjust the external view simulation to 10%.

As the command was executed, the starry sky around them instantly dimmed, appearing like a faint phantom projection.

The original floor, chairs, control console, and lights of the bridge reappeared.

Once Mikita finished the settings, he began to introduce their destination.

"According to the Buddha Lord's wishes, our destination is Mengyu Planet, a major commercial hub within the Beihua Empire."

"It is the territory of a Domain Lord powerhouse, rumored to be a member of the Beihua Empire's royal family. The planet's prosperity far exceeds that of Jirong Planet by a thousandfold."

"As one of the top ten most important commercial planets in the Beihua Empire, Mengyu Planet hosts service centers for the five major human factions. We can obtain any services we require there."

Qi Tianshou nodded. These details were meant for the ears of Qi Jingshi and the others.

He had already known these things, though some of the finer details remained unclear.

However, after cramming some basic cosmic knowledge over the past few days, he had gained a solid grasp of the underlying relationships and methods of contact.

After Mikita finished introducing their destination, the ship's AI spoke again.

"Report, Captain. The ship is about to reach light speed. Countdown: 10... 9... 8..."

Everyone listened to Timas's countdown. Outside the ship, the environment had become blurred, gradually fading into darkness, making it difficult to capture any images even with the simulation.

"3... 2... 1!"

As Timas's gentle countdown ended, the North Star, which had been traveling at a blurring speed through the stars, vanished in an instant, causing a slight ripple in space.

"Boom."

The people inside felt a slight vibration. The blurred starry scene outside had gone completely dark, with only the faint glow of the ship's screens and interior lights remaining.

"Deactivate external view simulation."

At Mikita's command, the surrounding darkness receded, the simulated cosmic view vanished, and the metal hull returned to sight.

"Buddha Lord, the ship has entered the Dark Universe. The estimated flight time is 15 days. There are cabins for rest; please choose one at your convenience."

Qi Tianshou nodded. The subsequent journey required no manual control, and sitting on the bridge served no purpose, so he found a rest cabin to continue contemplating the threshold of the Gold Origin Law he had just touched upon.

As for Qi Jingshi and the others, they had only just begun to grasp the Universal Common Tongue over the past three days and were not yet proficient. With much of the cosmic knowledge still to be digested, they continued to play the role of diligent students.

Mikita was the only one capable of logging into the Virtual Universe Network. He connected his consciousness sensor and entered the virtual world to check his bank assets.

He would have to foot the bill for everything ahead, but he had already exhausted a large portion of his wealth to activate the secret realm coordinate token. His current cash balance was low.

"I still have three life planets in my possession. One is my primary base, which cannot be touched. If necessary, I will sell the other two."

He immediately used his optical computer to contact several planet merchants to inquire about current market prices.

At the same time, he sent messages to his former mercenary friends to see if anyone was interested in purchasing a life planet, as private buyers often offered higher prices than the merchants.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. As they neared their destination, Mengyu Planet, Mikita notified the group that the ship was about to arrive.

Once everyone had gathered in the captain's quarters, Mikita looked at the real-time coordinates provided by Timas, the ship's artificial intelligence, and spoke to Qi Tian, "Buddha Lord, we will arrive at Mengyu Planet in ten minutes."

Qi Tian sat in the captain's chair, nodding slightly at Mikita's words before replying, "You handle the operations."

Mikita nodded and returned his gaze to the control console. Before long, the countdown voice of Timas echoed from the screen.

"The ship is about to initiate cosmic travel... Cosmic travel successful. The ship has returned to the original universe."

The group felt the ship vibrate slightly once more. After the sensation lasted for a dozen seconds, the shaking ceased, and Mikita issued a new command to Timas.

"External view simulation, 100%."

"Whoosh!"

The environment surrounding the group changed in an instant, making it feel as though they were standing in the middle of the vast starry sky.

Far ahead of them, a planet appeared—it was a deep blue like Gold Soul Planet, yet it was shrouded in massive, expansive white clouds.