"... You've misunderstood. This is my child, just with some mutations."
The King of the Boundless feigned composure.
Keep pretending!
Han Xiao scoffed inwardly, ignoring it, and turned to look at the item descriptions on the panel:
[[The Pivot Snake Egg]]
[The Pivot Snake, also known as the World-Devouring Snake, is a rare species living in spatial turbulence. Extremely uncommon, it is a solitary creature that feeds on Secondary Dimension and unique Information State phenomena. Each World-Devouring Snake lays eggs only seven times in its lifetime, abandoning them in spatial storms after birth. The eggs drift freely, automatically parasitizing Secondary Dimension they encounter, transforming into embryos and absorbing nutrients from multiple Secondary Dimension until fully mature. Furthermore, the Pivot Snake Egg possess an extremely strong attraction to certain Secondary Dimension life forms; consuming them is highly beneficial to the young, with a certain probability of enhancing their innate abilities and elevating their life level.]
[Note: This species has a close relationship with the World Tree and can gnaw on the World Tree itself, thus exhibiting a certain degree of restraint.]
The item description was short, but the information it revealed greatly surprised Han Xiao.
Like the Void Louse of the past, the Pivot Snake was not in the databases of the Three Universal Civilizations and had never been discovered in his previous life, making it an unfamiliar species to him as well.
What surprised Han Xiao the most was that this creature was actually related to the World Tree, and the item description even specifically noted that it was to some extent the World Tree's nemesis, which greatly astonished him.
The World Tree is a unique Cosmic Wonder, yet there happens to be a creature that can subdue it. Is this a case of one thing being the perfect counter?
Perhaps the Pivot Snake is, in a sense, a symbiotic species of the World Tree, born specifically to restrain it? If we delve deeper, what could be the origin of the World Tree...?
For a moment, all sorts of guesses flashed through Han Xiao's mind, but none of them led to anything.
However, one thing he was certain of was that without the item description on the panel, he definitely wouldn't have been able to discover the uniqueness of this embryo. King of the Boundless claimed it was his child, he couldn't study it in depth and find it difficult to discover anything amiss. As a result, he would most likely be deceived by the King of the Boundless. That was probably the King of the Boundless's plan.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind. Han Xiao raised his hand and placed it on the shoulder of the King of the Boundless, and slowly said:
"Do you really think I don't know what's good for me? This can't possibly be your child. You're making up this lie to fool me because you're worried I'll be tempted by it? Our deal requires honesty. My impression of you is alright so far, so I'm giving you one chance to be honest. If you lie to me again, don't blame me for holding a grudge. No matter how my civilization and the World Tree end up fighting in the future, I guarantee you'll be utterly dead."
The King of the Boundless's face twitched.
Although he held leverage over Han Xiao, it couldn't protect him forever. He was still quite vulnerable in the face of Han Xiao's threats.
His intention in lying was to prevent Black Star from investigating further and avoid complications. After all, once you come to this Secondary Dimension, you can sense some kind of life being conceived, which can easily arouse curiosity. Moreover, embryos have a special attraction to dimensional gods. If he didn't claim to have a special relationship with them, he was worried that Black Star would be tempted.
He had initially thought that Black Star, being a visitor from the main universe, might not be able to sense the embryo's attraction, and that as long as he didn't investigate, he wouldn't discover anything amiss, allowing him to deceive everyone. However, he hadn't expected Black Star to see through him at a glance, thwarting his plans... Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the other party was bluffing him, but since they had made a threat, the King of the Boundless was unsure of himself.
After hesitating for a moment, the King of the Boundless said helplessly:
"If you know what this is, why are you asking me?"
I want to hear it from you.
Han Xiao stood with his arms crossed, mainly curious about how much the King of Boundless knew about the Egg of the Pivot Serpent.
If the King of the Boundless was merely lured by the "special attraction" described in the item's description, then his goal would likely be to devour the embryo once it matures. However, if he knew the origins of the Pivot Snake, then the King of the Boundless's actions would become somewhat subtle.
However, in his view, the King of the Boundless was most likely unaware of the connection between the Pivot Snake and the World Tree, and might not even recognize the Pivot Snake. If it weren't for the notes in the item description, he wouldn't have known this secret either. In the Secondary Dimension World where information is harder to spread, it was unlikely that the King of the Boundless would know such a deeply hidden secret.
As expected, the King of the Boundless's answer was roughly the same as Han Xiao's guess. He said that he discovered the embryo while expanding his territory, felt attracted to it, and brought it back to wait for it to mature, but it was stolen.
After explaining, the King of the Boundless asked Han Xiao if he knew the origin of the embryo.
"Of course I know, but the information is incomplete. I only saw it once when I traveled through Secondary Dimension, but unfortunately it disappeared afterward."
Han Xiao waved his hand, making up an excuse.
He naturally wouldn't reveal information about the Pivot Snake to the King of the Boundless. As for whether the King was pretending not to know him, that remained to be seen.
"Alright... so what do you plan to do with this embryo? Our deal..." the King of the Boundless asked tentatively.
"Tsk, you've been hiding something from me. Logically, the deal should be canceled, but since your attitude has been alright, the deal can continue, and the embryo is still yours."
Before the King of the Boundless could breathe a sigh of relief, Han Xiao paused and then said:
"However, the deal only involves helping you retrieve the embryo. Although you have the embryo, you cannot consume it. I will station a mechanical army here. I am very interested in this embryo and want to see what it looks like when it matures."
Upon hearing this, the King of the Boundless felt helpless and could only agree... On the bright side, at least Black Star had dealt with three troublesome neighbors, so it wasn't a complete loss.
After reaching a consensus, Han Xiao ordered the mechanical troops to build a temporary base around the embryo, leaving the King of the Boundless with no choice but to let them do as they pleased.
At the same time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao's panel indicating that the task was completed, and he gained a large amount of experience. However, the favorability reward from the King of the Boundless was reduced, increasing by only 5 points, which was obviously affected by his actions. Only by completely returning the embryo could he obtain the most favorability, but this amount of favorability was not important to him.
The reward card is the ability of the King of the Boundless, which allows for a dimensional descent into the main universe, projecting the power of the King of the Boundless and summoning a black liquid substance that can shield energy perception. Han Xiao has temporarily put it away.
Meanwhile, in the dimension of the King of the Boundless.
Han Xiao, who was monitoring the King of the Boundless, broke the silence and spoke:
"The matter is settled. I will take these three dimensional entities with me and will not bother you again. When it's your turn to fulfill your promise, I will want all the World Tree information you know."
"... good."
The King of the Boundless had no choice but to comply, sharing this part of the memory through mental communication.
Han Xiao immediately converted these mental memories into virtual data and input them into the device.
With this information, the Three Universal Civilizations' expeditions no longer needed to wander aimlessly, saving a great deal of energy to head directly towards the World Tree's sphere of influence in the Secondary Dimension. Although the closer they got to the World Tree Familia's territory, the more dangerous it became, but the chances of finding the World Tree itself would also increase.
The King of the Boundless also conveniently included the coordinates of several surrounding stable zones, as well as a partial map. The Three Universal Civilizations were no longer completely ignorant of this deep region; the intelligence was quite valuable.
Han Xiao was browsing the intelligence reports when his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said:
"I would like to propose a cooperation with you on behalf of the Three Universal Civilizations. You control a large Secondary Dimension, and I hope you can lend us a portion of your territory as a temporary outpost for our Three Universal Civilizations to explore Secondary Dimension World. This would allow our expeditions to gather and rest here, which would be of great help to us. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, the King of the Boundless was secretly annoyed, feeling that the other party was taking advantage of his kindness, and couldn't help but warn:
"I don't want to get involved in your war. Don't forget I still hold leverage over you."
"It's alright. Our temporary encampment here will only give you more leverage. Besides, we're already here. Even if you don't welcome us, our large-scale follow-up troops will definitely pass through here. You might as well cooperate with us and get extra benefits."
Han Xiao didn't take it seriously.
If one gains the support of the King of the Boundless, one can obtain the coordinates of the edge of the King of the Boundless' territory and travel there instantly, saving the time of slowly traversing this area.
Establishing a transit station in this deep region is equivalent to gaining a new entrance, much like a save point. The expedition team can set off directly from here as soon as they enter, saving a lot of travel time and greatly helping the expedition.
The King of the Boundless was conflicted, weighing his options for a long time before finally nodding, looking rather helpless.
Even though he held leverage over him, he dared not use it lightly for fear of the consequences, and Black Star took the initiative instead. Although Black Star helped him drive away the evil neighbor, this was undoubtedly a case of seeking help from a tiger, and the King of the Boundless was already somewhat regretting letting the wolf into his house.
It's all that bastard Babu Aenica's fault! She got me into trouble with this difficult guy. And she dares to boast that she's my confidante? More like a major threat!
Buzz--
Just as the King of the Boundless was getting angry, Harrison returned to his original body in a vehicle. He had exited the "Please Possess Me" state and regained control of his body.
Han Xiao used his magnetic force to pull Harrison close, handed him the device containing the intelligence, and instructed him:
"The matter is basically resolved. I've reached a deal with the King of the Boundless; he's willing to lend us some Secondary Dimension to serve as outposts. He'll release the expedition team shortly. Report the situation to the commander, give him this intelligence, and have them halt their advance and remain here until I return to inform the Three Universal Civilizations..."
"Understood, I guarantee I'll complete the task."
Harrison nodded repeatedly, taking everything to heart.
Seeing how well-behaved he was, Han Xiao felt conflicted.
Although Harrison and his group suffered this time, they also benefited from it, making substantial progress in their plan to search for the World Tree itself and finding a "temporary ally" in the depths of the Secondary Dimension.
What surprised Han Xiao the most was that Harrison, having set out to find the World Tree's true form, had already found a strange object that could counteract it, even before they had a clue as to its location...
What else could he say?
Lucky Halo, forever divine!
'Letting Harrison join the expedition was definitely the right decision...'
Han Xiao was overjoyed.
If the King of the Boundless hadn't discovered his backer in Harrison's memories, this expedition would have been lost forever. Perhaps due to a difference in timelines in his previous life, the King of the Boundless had already consumed the Pivot Snake Embryo, or perhaps for some other reason, Han Xiao had never heard of the Three Universal Civilizations obtaining the Pivot Snake Egg.
If one had such a trump card in their past life, the difficulty of ambushing the main body would be greatly reduced.
However, while obtaining an ace is cause for celebration, it can only be used to its full potential if the World Tree itself is found. Furthermore, Han Xiao remains very curious about the connection between the Pivot Snake and the World Tree.
In addition, he was also curious whether the World Tree Civilization itself was aware of the characteristics of the Pivot Snake... He always felt that there were many strange things going on here.