In the vast starry space, a portal to the Sanctuary suddenly appeared, spitting out Han Xiao, and then the portal vanished without a trace.
Han Xiao was stunned for more than ten seconds before his blurred consciousness seemed to be pulled by gravity, and he suddenly came back to his senses.
"Huh? I'm already out?"
Han Xiao instinctively jolted, but the feeling of leaving was the opposite of the lightheaded feeling when he entered the Sanctuary. It was as if he had passed through a thin membrane, turning from the ethereal to the real, and his body sank slightly, like entering water from air.
Recalling my experience in the Sanctuary, the memory has become blurry and hazy, as if viewed through a veil, but it was much better than the dreamlike feeling of the Oathkeeper, probably due to my higher level of authority.
The techniques and knowledge that were written down were quite clear.
Han Xiao glanced down at his palm; the Sanctuary Authority Mark had disappeared, leaving only the Sanctuary Revival Mark.
"I wonder how the control panel is doing, whether it can be opened now..."
Han Xiao tried to access the control panel, and the next moment, a barrage of notifications popped up:
[You have successfully entered the Third Sanctum]
[You have obtained 1 [Third Sanctum] Fragment]
[The third link in the Relay Across Iterations has been completed]
[You have gained 2000e experience, 2 random rewards, and 3 [Third Sanctum] fragments]
[You have entered the Sanctuary. The [Third Sanctum] fragments are beginning to be synthesized...]
[Synthesis complete. You have gained the skill [Third Sanctum Access Lv6]!]
"As expected, the fragments are permissions. Although the panel cannot be opened in the Sanctuary, it is still actually functioning."
Han Xiao's eyes lit up.
He glanced at the skill description for [Third Sanctum Access Lv6], which was basically the same as the description on the Sanctuary's message board. However, the panel was slightly more detailed, also explaining that the flow of time within the Sanctuary was related to permission.
Han Xiao took out his communicator, glanced at the date, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, less than four months have passed, which is much shorter than I expected. That unlucky Oathkeeper spent several years on it, so the higher the authority, the closer the time ratio should be to one-to-one."
He felt much more relaxed. He had originally planned to prepare for this in a year, but now it had only been less than four months, which was a pleasant surprise.
I checked the communicator. Since I had given prior notice before entering the Sanctuary, the Legion and the Association were operating normally. The past few months had been peaceful, with nothing major happening. It seemed that Pangon and his Revenge Takers hadn't shown up yet.
"This is the best-case scenario; the initiative is still in my hands."
Han Xiao nodded secretly, put down the communicator, and continued to look at the panel. The fourth stage of the [Relay Across Eras] mission popped up.
[The fourth ring has been activated!]
[Fourth Ring Mission Requirements (Optional): 1. Reveal information related to the Sanctuary, the Great Restart, and the Universe Iteration to current advanced civilizations (at least supercluster level)]
[2. Prove the existence of the Sanctuary to an advanced civilization (https://www. hetushu. com. com) and help them open the Sanctuary.]
[3. Leverage your authority to become a guide for advanced civilizations entering the Sanctuary]
[Note: You may choose to complete one or more of the above tasks. The more tasks you complete, the higher your evaluation for this round.]
[Basic Rewards: 2500e EXP, 1 of each Sanctuary Fragment]
[Additional rewards depend on mission evaluation]
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
"So the fourth ring takes this form? It requires those who enter the Sanctuary to share this invaluable intelligence with advanced civilizations... That makes sense, it's the meaning of a relay race. This mission views the issue from a higher perspective; civilizations are the protagonists in the development of the universe. The sooner they know the Sanctuary's information, the more preparation time they have. The ultimate goal indicated by the mission's name is to help civilization survive the Great Restart as much as possible..."
However, although he understood this principle, Han Xiao had no intention of doing so at this moment.
From the perspective of the mission itself, helping civilization take control of the Sanctuary as soon as possible is the top priority, but this will have unpredictable effects on his plans.
This is no longer a personal matter; Han Xiao has to consider the perspective of the entire Beyond Grade A group.
In the future, to cope with the Great Restart, we may have to cooperate with the Three Universal Civilizations to develop the Sanctuary together. But for now, as someone with inside information, it is impossible for me to rush to reveal valuable information about the Sanctuary to a higher civilization; that would be a betrayal of the Super A Tier.
Only after the association has a stable grasp on the Sanctuary Revival will it be possible to cooperate with the Three Universal Civilizations; otherwise, the Beyond Grade A system under the rule of the Federation of All Stars will serve as a cautionary tale.
"When you're in the martial world, you're not always in control of your own destiny..." Han Xiao sighed softly, temporarily abandoning his thoughts of completing the mission.
Just then, several ships suddenly removed their camouflage and appeared, issuing cautious inquiries over the wide-area channel.
"Is this Lord Black Star?"
"Yes, it's me."
Han Xiao looked up and glanced at it, not surprised.
He had already spotted the cloaked Sanctum Organization ships and knew they were the Oathkeeper's sentries waiting for him here.
After a pause, Han Xiao took out his communicator and dialed the number of the Oathkeeper. The call was quickly connected.
The figure of the Oathkeeper appeared on the screen, looking surprised.
"Black Star? Weren't you supposed to take several years? How come you're back so soon?"
"Maybe I'm just lucky?" Han Xiao shrugged.
"Really? I don't believe it."
The Oathkeeper expressed strong doubt and immediately felt sour.
Why does it take me several years to go, while you only go for a few months? Is this some kind of differential treatment? It's not fair!
"By the way, let me ask you, why didn't you tell me about the message board beforehand? You little rascal, were you deliberately hiding it from me?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
If he hadn't sensed something was wrong, he might have left without seeing the message board. Moreover, the Oathkeeper hadn't explained the Sanctuary access beforehand, which made him suspicious of the Oathkeeper's intentions.
"What message board? What is that?" the Oathkeeper, sounding confused.
"You do not know?"
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, observing the Oathkeeper's expression, but couldn't discern anything.
It's possible that the other party and the book were unable to remember due to access restrictions, or it could be a deliberate concealment. Regardless of the Oathkeeper's intentions, this small matter is over, and Han Xiao is too lazy to pursue it.
"... Alright, let's get down to business. I've obtained the Sanctuary Revival Mark; bring the fleet over immediately."
"Okay, I'll be right there." The Oathkeeper perked up and immediately agreed.
Han Xiao nodded, thought for a moment, and added, "By the way, it would be best to bring those the First Ones. This time, the target of the revival isn't someone we know well, and who knows what kind of trouble might arise. We need to keep them in check."
"Understood, I get it." The Oathkeeper nodded.
The first group to be revived were long-time members of the Sanctum Organization, all acquaintances of the Oathkeeper, who were familiar with the Sanctuary Revival and thus easily appeased. However, this new group of revival targets outsiders who are largely unaware of the Sanctum's existence. Once revived, they will undoubtedly find it difficult to accept reality.
Just put yourself in their shoes... They were perfectly fine after death, and suddenly someone lifted their coffin and woke them up. No wonder they were completely bewildered.
The individuals resurrected this time were selected through a certain process; they were mostly Beyond Grade A individuals who died violent deaths. None of them were direct descendants of advanced civilizations; at most, they were allies. Among them, quite a few died in the Tragedy of the Pinnacle " incident.
Because the Tragedy of the Pinnacle was the largest mass mass loss of Beyond Grade A beings in the history of exploration, accounting for a significant portion of the total, it was difficult to find suitable resurrection targets without avoiding the victims of the Tragedy of the Pinnacle. Han Xiao also could not guarantee that there wouldn't be any troublemakers among this group.
In its previous Sanctum revived several batches of Beyond Grade A, and the organization had many outsiders mixed in, yet it still managed to survive until the World Tree War version before voluntarily emerging. It did not leak any information beforehand, which proves that the Sanctum must have countermeasures.
The Sanctum Organization isn't a charity organization. They might tolerate the First Ones adopters like Pangon, but if outsiders who resurrect later try to cause trouble, the Sanctum probably wouldn't mind putting them back in their coffins and adding another layer of steel nails.
'So, the Oathkeeper actually did a good thing by deceiving the organization members, saying that the Sanctuary Revival could only happen once, ensuring that future generations would cherish this unique resurrection and not act recklessly.'
Han Xiao nodded secretly.
After hanging up the communication, Han Xiao opened the Secondary Dimension Army Box, took out a small mobile base, and rested inside, checking the news from the past four months while waiting for the Oathkeeper.
Two days later, the Sanctum Organization fleet finally arrived, along with a large number of the First Ones.
The fleet sailed into the dock of Han Xiao's mobile base, where the group had a cordial meeting on the pier.
"I didn't expect you to be out in just four months. It seems we won't have to wait another year or two." Baigel and the others were overjoyed.
Han Xiao glanced around but didn't see Pangon and the others, so he asked, "Where are Pangon and the others?"
"They left the Sanctum three months ago, and there's been no news of them since." The Oathkeeper shook his head.
Han Xiao nodded without saying anything. This was something he had already expected. The good news was that he had returned before Pangon caused any major trouble.
"Alright, enough said. Let's revive these people first. You all stay here and keep things under control. Only overwhelming force can calm them down and make them talk to us peacefully." Han Xiao showed the Sanctuary Revival Mark on the back of his hand.
Everyone nodded in agreement, with no objections.
The group arrived at the prepared area, stood in a dispersed manner, and Han Xiao took the activation device from the Oathkeeper, took a deep breath, and pressed the start button.
Buzz--
The Sanctuary Revival Mark suddenly burst forth with countless rays of light, detaching from the back of his hand and transforming into an expanding, dazzling sphere of light.
The next moment, the sphere of light split, transforming into a series of luminous bodies of various shapes. These bodies slowly solidified, becoming bewildered resurrected Beyond Grade A beings.
At the very front, a long-eared elf man in a magnificent robe, with elegant posture, looked around before finally fixing his gaze on Han Xiao, muttering to himself:
"Is this the underworld after death...? You're dressed like a ghost, you must be the legendary King of the Underworld."
Han Xiao: "?"
... If you can speak, then speak more, otherwise I'm afraid you won't have another chance later.