Pope Hall, the two sides sat on either side of a long table.
On the Spirit Hall side, Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong sat at the front, with several elders and deities seated in turn. Lin Yuan, Qian Renxue, and Qingque sat near the center. On the other side, Himeko, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Xing had also disembarked from the Astral Express. Thanks to Lin Yuan's explanation, the tense situation above Spirit City did not escalate further.
Himeko briefly introduced the origins of the Astral Express and the identity of the Nameless in the galaxy.
The Astral Express will travel along the path once left by the Trailblaze Aeon Akivili, traversing different worlds and leaving its mark on one civilization after another. The Nameless have no fixed territory, nor are they affiliated with any interstellar power. They spend most of their time traveling, exploring, exchanging ideas with the civilizations they encounter along the way, and dealing with problems that arise during their journey when necessary.
Qian Daoliu did not speak immediately after hearing this.
Bibi Dong remained silent for a moment, her gaze sweeping over Himeko and the others. Unlike Borisin, these people showed no hostility, and they had not launched any attacks since their initial contact. If the Spirit Hall hadn't just received information that Borisin might send reinforcements, the elders wouldn't have surrounded the Astral Express so immediately.
Finally, Qian Daoliu spoke first, " The Douluo Continent has never truly come into contact with the Star Sea Civilization before, so the Spirit Hall must maintain necessary vigilance. However, since you all have no hostility, the Spirit Hall will naturally not refuse guests who have come with goodwill. As long as you abide by the rules here, the Spirit Hall welcomes the Astral Express to stop and visit the Douluo Continent."
Bibi Dong did not object, but added, " The Douluo Continent is currently in a special period, with foreign forces appearing one after another. The defenses of Spirit City will not be lifted in the short term. If you need to go to other places, it is best to inform us in advance to avoid a misunderstanding like the one we just had."
Himeko smiled slightly, "That's only right. The Astral Express has no intention of interfering with the Order here, nor will it engage in any dangerous behavior without permission. Peaceful communication is the best outcome for both sides."
Sitting down next to her, March 7th finally breathed a sigh of relief. When Qian Daoliu led a group of Titled Douluo to surround the train earlier, she thought this Trailblaze journey was about to turn into a major conflict. Fortunately, it didn't actually escalate into a fight.
But just as she relaxed again, her gaze suddenly fell on Qingque next to Lin Yuan.
March 7th paused for a few seconds, as if only now realizing something, then suddenly pointed at Qingque: "Wait, why are you here too?"
Qingque was fiddling with the Celestial Jade in her hand when she heard this. She looked up, her expression somewhat helpless. "I wish I knew why I was here. I was just leaving the Divination Commission as usual, but after crossing a gate, I ended up in Spirit City. By the time I realized what was happening, I couldn't even see Luofu anymore."
March 7th looked surprised. "You also came suddenly? We thought only the train had a problem."
"Your situation is unlikely to be a coincidence."
Lin Yuan's voice came from the side, drawing everyone's attention to him.
He looked at Himeko and the others and said directly, "A spatial rift has now appeared between the Douluo Continent and your universe, and these rifts are not stable. Qingque must have passed through a temporarily formed spatial channel without realizing it, while your train may have crashed into another rift during the jump, which is why you arrived directly above Spirit City."
Himeko's smile slowly faded.
Dan Heng frowned slightly. It's not entirely impossible for the Astral Express to deviate during its jump, but the fact that it could veer directly from its predetermined route into a world with no record of it in the think tank is unusual enough.
Lin Yuan didn't stop, and continued, "Moreover, you are not the first group of visitors from the Star Sea to arrive here. Apart from Qingque and the Astral Express, the only other confirmed foreign force to have entered the Douluo Continent is Borisin."
" Borisin?"
Himeko's expression clearly changed.
March 7th was originally watching Qingque, but upon hearing the name, he immediately turned his head. Dan Heng's gaze also became more serious, clearly indicating that they were not unfamiliar with this race.
Himeko looked at Lin Yuan: "Did those guys come here too?"
Lin Yuan nodded. "We've discovered two teams, and we've captured both of them. Their captain Ural, is currently imprisoned in Spirit City. According to the information he revealed, they may have already transmitted some data about the Douluo Continent back to their clan."
Himeko and Dan Heng exchanged a glance.
This time, even Xing, who had been somewhat absent-minded, put down his baseball bat and listened attentively.
Himeko said, "If the Borisin have already grasped the location here, then we certainly cannot let our guard down. They have deep ties with the Abundance, and they often show a strong interest in civilizations with unique life forms. Since there are life forms here that can survive for tens of thousands of years or even longer, it's not surprising that they would be eyeing the Douluo Continent."
Qian Daoliu frowned slightly. "How much do you know about the Borisin?"
"There are more than here, but that might not solve the problem directly," Dan Heng continued. " The Borisin aren't a small group with only one stronghold; they're distributed across multiple regions of the star sea, and there are differences between different tribes. Even if you capture two teams, you can't predict how many people will arrive next."
Lin Yuan was not surprised after hearing this.
What truly matters is not those few dozen Borisin, but that the spatial rift has exposed the Douluo Continent to a much wider sea of stars.
Himeko pondered for a moment, then looked at Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong: " The Astral Express won't make any promises on behalf of any major power, but the Nameless will establish contact with different civilizations as he travels through the galaxy. If Douluo Continent is willing, we can provide some basic interstellar intelligence we have during our stay, and it can also help you determine which power the subsequent outsiders come from."
Qian Daoliu looked at Bibi Dong.
Although the two had long disagreements, they both understood what the Douluo Continent lacked most at the moment. Faced with the completely unfamiliar starry sea, they needed a channel that could provide basic knowledge, and the Astral Express was undoubtedly more suitable as this channel than the captured Borisin.
Bibi Dong spoke first, " The Spirit Hall can grant the Astral Express access to some data about the Douluo Continent and allow you free movement within the Spirit City area. In exchange, we need data on the Star Sea, Borisin, and other forces that may have arrived here through the rift."
Himeko nodded. "A fair exchange."
The two sides did not sign any complicated contracts, nor did they make excessive promises at their first meeting. But at least from this moment on, the Astral Express and the Spirit Hall had established an initial friendly relationship.
For the Douluo Continent, this was the first time it had truly engaged in equal exchanges with a force from the Star Sea.
Little did they know that what was happening above Spirit City was only the beginning.
On the other side of the starry sea, extremely far from the Douluo Continent, in an area where the Astral Express had recently completed a leap, a tiny crack suddenly appeared in the previously empty universe. The crack was initially only a few meters in size, but it quickly began to extend to both sides, and the surrounding space seemed to be constantly torn apart by an invisible force, gradually forming a bottomless darkness.
Meanwhile, similar changes are taking place in much more distant star systems.
The boundary between the Douluo Continent and the Star Sea, which should never have existed in the first place, is being torn apart little by little by some kind of force.
This time, it's clear that it's not just Borisin, Qingque, and the Astral Express that's involved.