The time it took for humans to transform from a short-lived species to a long-lived species is still too short.
Although the third group of cultivators at this outpost had only spent a few decades here, their lifestyle and even the core of their culture had already diverged somewhat from those on Earth Star.
Despite being from the same lineage, the two cultures, though geographically distant, have branched out into distinct forms on the mother tree of Divine Land culture due to their different geographical environments.
If it weren't for the interoperability of communication equipment, the development of the two might have diverged significantly.
Just like Divine Land and the Americas, there is a saying that the Native Americans and the Shang Dynasty originated from the same lineage, but due to geographical separation, they developed two completely different civilizations.
This third batch of cultivators has only been gone from Earth Star for a few years, and there are already such signs. Li Xingkong doesn't know what the first batch of expeditionary cultivators have become now.
It's best to catch up as soon as possible and find out what's going on.
Starting from this exoplanet that served as a sentinel, Li Xingkong once again began warping according to the expedition map.
Since the expedition team had already reached the Weitian Galaxy when they were on Earth Star, he might as well head directly to that star system and then use it as a starting point to search for the expedition team's whereabouts.
Let's go see what's so special about this so-called Ten Thousand Gods Star that made the Radiance Theocracy designate it as a holy site.
In order to reach the Weitian Galaxy as quickly as possible, Li Xingkong abandoned the expedition route and instead took a shortcut, directly targeting the star system and then traveling in a straight line.
Spending a long time in space is actually quite boring, like hiking in the desert. Looking around, all you see is deathly silence, and no matter how far you go, nothing seems to change.
Each time Li Xingkong completed a jump, he would only briefly explore the surrounding area before stepping back into the spatial passage.
Soon, Li Xingkong arrived at his target point, near the Weitian Galaxy.
This galaxy certainly has some interesting aspects.
It is so perfect that it seems like a creation of nature.
Small star systems, such as our Solar System, may have many planets orbiting them, but their orbital periods and sizes vary, making them appear quite ordinary.
The Weitian Galaxy is different; it has twelve planets, but these twelve planets only have two orbits.
In their closest orbits, four planets occupy a corner, their trajectories and speeds perfectly aligned; the same applies to the eight planets in their farthest orbits.
The entire interior of the galaxy is incredibly clean, without a single meteorite or speck of dust.
It's so perfect it doesn't seem to have been formed naturally; it's as if it was sculpted by some civilization.
The planets were all identical in size and color, as if they had been copied.
No wonder the Radiance Theocracy regards it as a holy site; such a cosmic spectacle is quite rare.
Upon arriving in the star system, Li Xingkong spotted the expeditionary force's base from afar.
It was a spherical spaceship, slightly smaller than the moon, parked on the outer edge of the star system. Cultivators could be seen going in and out of the spaceship.
This group of cultivators is very strong, far stronger than the cultivators Li Xingkong encountered on Earth Star.
They were definitely among the first batch of cultivators.
Li Xingkong approached the enormous spaceship and enveloped it with his Divine Sense.
Sure enough, there were many familiar faces inside the spaceship; Li Xingkong had seen many of these cultivators several times before.
In the spaceship's command center, Li Xingkong met the first person he wanted to see, Tang Cheng.
He was alone in the command center, slumped on the sofa, rows of information flashing in front of him, seemingly engrossed in something.
Although cultivation can preserve one's appearance, Tang Cheng looked noticeably more weathered, and had even started growing a beard.
Without disturbing anyone else, Li Xingkong took a step forward and appeared directly in the command room.
A person suddenly appeared before him, and Tang Cheng immediately prepared to unleash his magic, his Divine Sense also spreading out.
His cultivation level has improved quite well; his Divine Sense has already reached the level of the Late Foundation Establishment.
If one were to extend their Divine Sense, completely covering this enormous spaceship would be virtually no problem.
With the interaction of Divine Sense, and the fact that Li Xingkong did not deliberately conceal his identity, Tang Cheng recognized him in just a brief contact.
The wariness in his eyes turned into surprise, and he withdrew the spell from his hands.
" Brother Li, you're out of seclusion!"
"I've been out of the pass for a while now. I heard you've all come on an expedition, so I came to see you all."
Li Xingkong didn't mention what happened on Earth Star. Why bring up those things when they were reunited and happy?
"So, you've been promoted to captain!"
Li Xingkong looked at Tang Cheng's military uniform, where the star insignia on his shoulders was exceptionally prominent.
"Sigh, it's like forcing a duck onto a shelf."
Tang Cheng laughed. It had been hundreds of years since they last met, but when they met again, that sense of familiarity returned after they exchanged a few words.
That's how friendships between men are; they save their game when they part ways, and when they meet again, the game automatically loads the save file.
No matter how far apart South China Sea, it seems nothing can diminish this affection.
They chatted briefly about their experiences over the years, with Tang Cheng doing most of the talking and Li Xingkong listening.
The expedition was not without its challenges; technological limitations, cosmic crises, and the exploration of various star systems all presented unexpected difficulties and obstacles.
Fortunately, the cultivators had diverse methods and strong survival skills, which allowed them to patiently resolve all these problems.
Tang Cheng was involved in many things, so he naturally has a lot of stories to tell.
The two sat for a long time before Li Xingkong finally asked about their recent situation.
"I see many familiar faces on this spaceship, but Uncle Tang and my parents are nowhere to be seen. Where did they go?"
"The expedition is more than halfway complete. A group of cultivators who drew the star map in advance have joined us. The territorial boundaries we have agreed upon in the Convention have been basically determined, and the expedition team has also largely determined the location of the capital star system. Most of the people are now engaged in the development of the star system."
"As for me, isn't it because the Weitian Galaxy is more important and needs someone to guard it?"
So, it turns out he was actually there as a security guard.
Li Xingkong.
"So, you also know about the Radiance Theocracy. That's good. The development of this star system still needs careful consideration."
Upon hearing Li Xingkong's words, Tang Cheng smiled. It turned out that Li Xingkong had rushed over so urgently because of this matter.
"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Brother Li, but the development of this star system has been finalized. We've made contact with the Radiance Theocracy."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
Li Xingkong was greatly surprised. The expeditionary force was only exploring within their own star system, so how did they end up having contact with the Radiance Theocracy?
Tang Cheng was overjoyed to discover something that even Li Xingkong didn't know.
"Come on, Brother Li, look at my boat, doesn't it feel different?"
He didn't say anything else directly, but first asked Li Xingkong to come and see his spaceship.
Li Xingkong unleashed his Divine Sense and probed around, discovering many clues as expected.
Many of the devices inside this spaceship are vastly different from those in Divine Land, looking as if they were copied from somewhere else, creating a strange sense of disjointedness.
"Many of the technologies on this spaceship don't seem to be part of the Divine Land system?"
Seeing that Li Xingkong had noticed the difference, Tang Cheng stopped keeping him in suspense.
"Haha, yes, Brother Li, after three hundred years, we Divine Land People have finally found our talent."
"It all started when we rescued an alien adventure team during our expedition. Their spaceship had malfunctioned and was adrift in space when they happened to run into us."
"Then, while we were repairing their spaceship, using our cultivators' abilities, a few of us secretly copied one after it was fixed, only to be caught red-handed by the alien that hadn't left yet."
"I initially thought this would escalate into a diplomatic conflict, but after we returned their replica spaceships—a gesture that was both an apology and a gift—those aliens completely changed their tune."
"They made direct contact with us and started acting as middlemen. They brought back new gadgets, we analyzed and copied them, and then they ended up on the black market."
"It has to be said that we Divine Land People really have some inexplicable talent when it comes to replication."
"After a while, we accidentally unearthed the standard equipment of the Land of Radiance, which led to them contacting us."
"The people of this Land of Radiance are quite interesting. They don't care about technology leaks at all. On the contrary, because our cost price is lower, they directly transferred a large number of orders to us."
"Whether it's our spaceship or the capital system we're currently developing, a lot of the technology was borrowed from them."
"I don't know what their gods are thinking, daring to let these things leak out so easily."
Tang Cheng explained the whole story, and finally turned to the Weitian Galaxy.
"We've already discussed the development of the galaxy with them. We'll treat it as a natural scenic area, preserving its current state, and jointly develop it with them, building protective measures around its perimeter."