Arrival at Nanyun Star

Seventeen months of travel through Dark Universe had passed in the blink of an eye. Beibei's voice sounded in Zhou Yuan's mind right on schedule. "Master, we are about to arrive at Nanyun Star. In ten minutes, we will exit Dark Universe and reach Nanyun Star."

Zhou Yuan, who had been cultivating in seclusion within the core chamber and comprehending the Earth Origin Law, slowly opened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed through them. Seventeen months of cultivation had deepened his understanding of the Earth Origin Law and considerably improved his combat strength.

He stretched, flexing his body with a series of crisp popping bones, then rose and headed for the spaceship's control room.

"Finally, we're here." Zhou Yuan looked into the darkness outside the window and murmured to himself. He could hardly wait to return to the normal universe and see the legendary Nanyun Star.

As the ships decelerated to a stop, the two spacecraft under Beibei's control began exiting Dark Universe. After an intense spatial disturbance, the two ships appeared in space near Nanyun Star. Through the porthole, Zhou Yuan saw a massive planet enter his field of vision.

"Beibei, exterior virtual view, 100%," Zhou Yuan said.

Whoosh!

Zhou Yuan immediately felt as though he were standing amidst the vast starry sky, with everything around him incomparably clear. In the distance, Nanyun Star resembled a gigantic sapphire, radiating captivating light.

Four satellites orbited the planet as well. Each possessed unique terrain and colors, creating a breathtaking sight.

As the spaceship drew closer and closer to Nanyun Star, he could clearly see the drifting white clouds and azure seas covering the entire planet with the naked eye.

"Ding!"

"Master, we have received a guidance signal. The spaceship will follow it to the planetary docking port," Beibei informed Zhou Yuan after receiving the signal.

He knew that every planet had strict navigation regulations. Spacecraft would never be allowed to fly about freely. They had to enter designated docking ports for inspection and registration. Of course, if one was powerful enough, one could fly directly into the planet and no one would dare say anything.

Nanyun Star belonged to the Purple Chen Universe Nation and was a core commercial planet. Even World Lord-level experts would not dare barge directly in; only powerful Immortals could enter without restriction. If it were the imperial capital planet of the Zichen Empire instead, only major figures at the universe nation lord level could fly directly in.

The spaceship passed through the atmosphere. Through the virtual exterior view, Zhou Yuan immediately spotted a gigantic spaceship docking port below. The port was enormous enough to accommodate tens of millions of spaceships at once. A great number of vessels were parked inside, some merely a dozen meters long, while others exceeded ten thousand meters.

These ships came from every corner of the universe. Some were interstellar merchant vessels, some were exploration ships, and others were private yachts. Every spaceship represented a story.

"Signal received. We're heading to Zone C." Having received the docking signal, Beibei controlled the spaceships toward Zone C of the docking port.

The docking port was divided by spaceship grade, from A to E. A-grade was the lowest, while E-grade was the highest. E-grade spaceships were generally the vehicles of powerful World Lords or Immortals. Zhou Yuan's two spaceships were both C-grade, so they were naturally assigned to Zone C. There were many ships in Zone C, but each maintained a certain distance from the others, all arranged in perfect order.

The spaceships slowly descended and finally landed steadily on the docking port's landing pad. Zhou Yuan stood up, stretched his body, and pressed the button to open the hatch.

The hatch slowly opened, and a gust of fresh air rushed toward him, carrying the faint fragrance of flowers and the scent of sea breeze.

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and felt much more refreshed.

Zhou Yuan flew out through the hatch and landed on the platform. At that moment, a burly blue-skinned man in a blue uniform, standing two and a half meters tall, flew over and landed before him.

A badge identifying him as docking port staff was pinned to his shoulder, and he looked highly professional.

With a humble, courteous smile, he said to Zhou Yuan, "Honored sir, welcome to Nanyun Star. Your spaceship docking fees are 500 Purple Zenith Currency per year and 800 Purple Zenith Currency per year, respectively. Any period shorter than a year will be charged as a full year. Here are your docking cards."

As he spoke, he respectfully handed Zhou Yuan a silver card with both hands. It bore a C-grade mark and a unique serial number.

Zhou Yuan casually tossed out a Universe Coin. "Keep the change." One Universe Coin was equivalent to 2,000 Purple Zenith Currency, enough to cover a year's docking fees for both spaceships.

The burly blue-skinned man accepted the Universe Coin, his smile becoming even brighter. "Thank you for your generosity, sir. If you need anything, please feel free to contact our staff at any time."

After saying that, he gave a respectful bow and turned to leave.

"Beibei, notify Universe Galaxy Bank to collect the Universe Crystals I want to deposit," Zhou Yuan said to Beibei. He planned to deposit the Universe Crystals he had mined directly into Universe Galaxy Bank. It would not only be safe, but also convenient to access.

Universe Galaxy Bank and First Universe Bank were both among the Human Race's five great powers. They possessed formidable strength and an excellent reputation, making them among the most popular banks in the universe.

Zhou Yuan had opened an account with Universe Galaxy Bank before, so naturally he chose it again for this deposit.

"Understood, Master. An email has already been sent to the Universe Galaxy Bank business department on Nanyun Star." Upon receiving Zhou Yuan's instructions, Beibei immediately sent an email through the Virtual Universe to Universe Galaxy Bank on Nanyun Star. The message detailed Zhou Yuan's identity, account information, and the quantity of Universe Crystals to be deposited.

Before long, three men in Universe Galaxy Bank uniforms flew over. All three were Level Nine Universe Level experts, each with a recording device pinned to his chest, and they appeared extremely serious. The leader wore a black uniform embroidered with golden star insignia, suggesting that his status was not low.

The three flew before Zhou Yuan. The leader gave a slight bow and asked, "May I ask if you are Mr. Zhou Yuan?"

Zhou Yuan nodded. "Yes."

"Mr. Zhou, sorry for the trouble, but please provide the Universe Crystals you wish to deposit with our bank. We need to inventory them, and the entire process must be recorded," the leader said with a trace of respect in his voice.

"All right. The Universe Crystals are mainly on my two spaceships. Sorry for the trouble, but please come inspect them." After speaking, Zhou Yuan led the three Universe Galaxy Bank staff members to the cargo hold of the captured CW191 spaceship. At the same time, he mentally instructed Beibei to open it. "Beibei, open the cargo hold of the CW191."

Upon receiving the order, Beibei opened the cargo hold, revealing the mountain-like piles of Universe Crystals within. The eyes of the three Universe Galaxy Bank employees instantly lit up at the sight, but they quickly regained their composure. They had seen plenty of grand scenes before. Though this amount of Universe Crystals was considerable, it was not enough to make them lose their composure.

The three employees immediately began inventorying the Universe Crystals. They worked skillfully with clearly divided tasks and soon finished counting the crystals aboard the CW191.

Zhou Yuan also handed over the Universe Crystals from his storage equipment to the three Universe Galaxy Bank staff members. They carefully inspected every single Universe Crystal to ensure the quantity was completely accurate.

Before long, the Universe Crystals from both spaceships and the storage equipment had all been counted. Zhou Yuan kept fewer than a thousand cubic meters as reserves. These Universe Crystals were the purest crystallizations of origin energy, emitting a faint glow that looked exceptionally alluring.

After the inventory was complete, the Universe Galaxy Bank staff member said to Zhou Yuan, "Mr. Zhou, the total comes to 1,025,621 cubic meters of Universe Crystals, valued at 1.025621 billion Universe Coins. Shall we deposit it directly into your account?"

"Yes, deposit it directly into my account. The account number is: 9527--0086---WDZH--0011--WHZZ-911," Zhou Yuan said.

"Understood, Mr. Zhou. Sorry for the trouble, but please check your account information and verify your identity. Once your identity is confirmed, the deposit will arrive immediately," the leader said.

Zhou Yuan operated within the Virtual Universe and completed the identity verification. Shortly afterward, his account received a deposit notification. The 1.025621 billion Universe Coins had been successfully credited. Zhou Yuan looked at the figure in his account, his heart filled with joy.

At the same time, Zhou Yuan received an email from Universe Galaxy Bank informing him that his account had been upgraded to a one-star account.

Universe Galaxy Bank had deposit requirements for star-rated accounts. One needed more than 100 million Universe Coins to qualify as a one-star user, and Zhou Yuan had never possessed that much money before.

"Mr. Zhou, are the Liquid Silver and Star-Melting Ore in your spaceships for sale? Our bank can purchase them on your behalf." While inventorying the Universe Crystals, the employees discovered the minerals in Zhou Yuan's ships. Even for Universe Level experts, these minerals represented a significant transaction, so they asked.

Their bank not only provided deposit and loan services, but also handled purchases of various mineral resources, charging a certain handling fee in the process.

"If the price is right, I'll sell. What prices are you offering for Liquid Silver and Star-Melting Ore?" Zhou Yuan replied. He did not know much about the prices of these minerals and needed to ask clearly.

"We can purchase Liquid Silver at 50 Universe Coins per ton and Star-Melting Ore at 25 Universe Coins per ton," the employee quoted. The prices were close to what Zhou Yuan had found in the Virtual Universe, and payment would be made in Universe Coins, making the deal quite worthwhile.

After all, Universe Coins could be exchanged for Purple Zenith Currency at the bank according to the official rate, but Purple Zenith Currency could not be exchanged back into Universe Coins. On the black market, one even had to pay a premium in Purple Zenith Currency to obtain Universe Coins.

With that in mind, Zhou Yuan agreed immediately. He decided to sell the Liquid Silver Essence as well. "All right, we'll go with your price. Do you purchase Liquid Silver Essence?"

"We do, we do, we do! Mr. Zhou, how much Liquid Silver Essence do you have? We can purchase it at 850,000 per ton." Upon hearing it was Liquid Silver Essence, a D-grade rare metal more expensive than ordinary E-grade metals, the employee hurriedly replied. Liquid Silver Essence was an extremely rare metal with broad applications and immense value. Their bank was more than willing to buy it.

Hearing that price, Zhou Yuan decided to sell the Liquid Silver Essence. Though it was rare, he had no use for it at the moment, and exchanging it for Universe Coins was more practical. He replied directly, "I can sell at that price."

After speaking, Zhou Yuan handed the Liquid Silver Essence from his storage equipment to the Universe Galaxy Bank staff. The employees carefully received it and inspected it closely. Once they confirmed it was genuine, satisfied smiles appeared on their faces.

After the goods for sale had been inventoried, Zhou Yuan received payment under the staff members' guidance. The Liquid Silver and Star-Melting Ore sold for a total of 400 billion Purple Zenith Currency, equivalent to 200 million Universe Coins. The Liquid Silver Essence sold for 320 billion Purple Zenith Currency, equivalent to 1.6 billion Universe Coins.

Adding the previous 1.025621 billion Universe Coins, Zhou Yuan now had 2.825621 billion Universe Coins in his account. For a Universe Level expert, that was an enormous fortune.

After completing all the procedures, the three staff members respectfully bowed to Zhou Yuan. "Mr. Zhou, thank you for your trust and support. If you have any other business to handle in the future, please feel free to contact us." With that, they took the Liquid Silver, Star-Melting Ore, and Liquid Silver Essence and flew away.

Zhou Yuan watched their departing figures, his heart full of emotion. He had never expected to become a billionaire so quickly. In the past, it had been something he would not even have dared imagine. Next, he needed to purchase nutrient solution and cultivate the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique.