After several months of traveling in one direction with the enormous 'net' and following the system's guidance, Li Xingkong finally saw traces of the Primordial Universe.
Having spent some time in this Cosmic Sea, Li Xingkong had developed a certain ability to distinguish between these seemingly identical cosmic bubbles.
Each cosmic bubble may appear identical, but due to differences in their internal world structure and the rules governing their formation, the external forms of the cosmic bubbles also exhibit slight variations.
Having witnessed countless universes, Li Xingkong could now glean from these subtle differences a general understanding of the logic behind the universe's rules within the bubble.
Just like physiognomy, you can tell a person's true nature just by looking at their appearance.
Therefore, Li Xingkong recognized it immediately upon seeing the Primordial Universe for the first time.
It is perfectly consistent with the rules that manifest within itself; this alone is enough to identify it.
With the net trailing behind him, Li Xingkong slowly moved towards the Primordial Universe.
When Li Xingkong was still some distance away from the cosmic bubble, he noticed that the cosmic bubble was moving, and a virtual human figure appeared outside the cosmic bubble.
It was Huan.
Li Xingkong recognized it at a glance.
"Haven't seen you for a long time."
Li Xingkong approached with a net full of supplies, just like he'd run into his neighbor's auntie while out grocery shopping.
"Hmph, I thought you'd run away and never come back."
Huan's cheeks were puffed up with anger, just like a goldfish, which made him look somewhat cute.
"How can you blame me? What kind of decent family would send their scroll directly to the Primordial World?"
Li Xingkong slapped his forehead. Was that what he wanted to go?
Okay, although it was indeed tempting, Li Xingkong genuinely had no intention of going to the Jade Void Palace, and it wasn't all the scroll's fault.
"Well, I haven't used it before either. But you're the first cultivator I've ever encountered here."
Speaking of scrolls, Huan felt a little embarrassed. It was really inconsiderate of someone to just take one away like that.
They didn't even give him a chance to speak.
"Alright, alright, forget about that scroll. Here, let's keep these as a token of our respect."
With a gentle push, Li Xingkong propelled the enormous net behind him toward the Primordial Universe.
"Ah! Wait, wait, I need to calculate this first."
Seeing Li Xingkong's movements, Huan hurriedly began to estimate the supplies in the net.
"This is a bit too much! According to our contract, this is way over the limit!"
After calculating for a while, Huan realized that the amount of materials Li Xingkong brought was not just three times that stated in the contract, but nearly ten times.
"A contract is a contract, and goodwill is goodwill; how can they be compared? Besides, this thing is useless to me. If you don't want it, I'll just have to find somewhere to throw it away."
"Uh, then I'll accept it?"
Since Li Xingkong has already said that, what else can we do? We can't just let him throw it away.
The small net was placed against the cosmic bubble, and the two did not collide at all, but instead merged directly into one.
Before the cosmic bubble, the tiny net was not even a microorganism.
Logically speaking, the efficiency with which cultivators collect resources should be far slower than the expansion rate of the universe itself, but the actual situation cannot be calculated in this way.
The universe expands on its own, just like an individual earns money by working; how much they earn depends entirely on their own efforts.
But if a cultivator feeds you, it's like having passive income. Even if the income is only a tiny bit, it's still unearned. You only put in one investment, but you get several times the return.
Those are definitely different.
After the matter in the net merged into the Primordial Universe, Li Xingkong felt a lightness in his body, as if some shackles had been broken.
The scroll, which Jiang Ziya had long ago thrown away to who-knows-where, reappeared before the two of them.
Then, the scroll slowly melted away on its own, and the remaining golden light split into two, falling into the hands of Li Xingkong and Huan respectively.
Li Xingkong used his Divine Sense to examine it briefly, and the golden light landed on his hand, transforming into a small pattern.
Extradition?
When Li Xingkong focused his Divine Sense on the pattern, he understood its meaning.
"The extradition passenger! Great!"
While Li Xingkong was still confused, Huan was already overjoyed.
"What, you know what this thing is?"
Li Xingkong truly had no idea what the mark represented, and no one from the Jade Void Palace had explained it to him.
"Of course, this scroll is not just a simple contract between the cultivator and the world's will; it also evaluates the actions of both the cultivator and the world."
"The higher the rating, the better the final evaluation it receives, and different evaluations have different functions."
"Positive evaluations include proxy, extradition, and alliance. Proxy usually occurs when the world's consciousness is still hazy and lacks a central theme. In this case, the cultivator who obtains the proxy evaluation can act as the ruler of the Heavenly Dao."
"Extradition, on the other hand, signifies that cultivators are fully capable of serving as a ferry between the Primordial Universe and the Primordial World world, guiding subsequent cultivators to travel between the Primordial World and the Primordial Universe, thus becoming a bridge between worlds."
"The final alliance means that if one side is in trouble, the other side can provide sufficient assistance, which is mutually beneficial."
"But if the conflict between the two parties is unpleasant, the assessment is often 'severing all ties, cutting off all connections,' or even 'hatred.'"
"After severing all ties, the cultivator has no further connection with the Primordial Universe. The evaluation will then transmit the two messages separately, and whether they will meet again in the future depends entirely on fate."
"Severing the bond will block the two from each other, resulting in a situation where neither of them can see the other. Even if they stand right in front of each other, they cannot touch each other or meet."
"When feuds break out, the two sides enter a state of mortal enmity. All beings in the Primordial Universe will have a natural sense of hostility when facing cultivators, and cultivators will also feel this when encountering other cultivators from the same realm."
"So, our extradition is actually considered a very high honor?"
Li Xingkong looked at the extradition badge in his hand. It looked like a pattern and didn't seem to have anything special about it.
"Of course, the highest praise! I never expected my first cultivator to be so precious!"
"Oh, right, I heard there's an extradition marker now. We can exchange things now, so when you go to the Primordial World, you absolutely have to bring me some souvenirs!"
Huan looked at Li Xingkong as if he were a gamer who had suddenly discovered that his pet frog could finally go out.
"Alright, when we get to this new place, I'll bring you some local specialties as a gift."
"Pah! What filial piety? Am I that old? That's called giving gifts, it's about reciprocity, don't you understand?"