Seeing Manison deep in thought, Han Xiao smiled inwardly.
He wasn't lying; he had indeed used the Arcane National Treasure to advance, and it was effective. However, he only revealed Hanzo and didn't intend to disclose the specific conditions of the "stabilizer."
As for what Manison would do after setting his sights on the Arcane National Treasure, Han Xiao didn't care. Anyway, he hadn't tricked anyone. After all, he hadn't figured out what could replace the function of the Arcane National Treasure Arcane National Treasure yet, so it was indeed the only option at the moment. It was definitely not intentional... just something he did on the side.
Han Xiao's mind raced with various thoughts. He shrugged, interrupting Manison's contemplation, and chuckled, "I can also offer you a piece of advice. This is just one condition; don't attempt to advance without absolute certainty."
Manison snapped out of his reverie and nodded absentmindedly.
Han Xiao didn't say much, then changed the subject:
"Alright, I've told you the terms. Now it's your turn to fulfill the transaction."
Upon hearing this, Manison composed himself, finally summoning the entire intelligent life civilization. He quickly severed the bond between the Immortal Mechanical Soldier and the mainframe, and was about to modify the underlying logic chain when he suddenly remembered that Han Xiao possessed Virtual Purification. Therefore, he refrained from action and nodded, saying:
"The entire tribe is here. You can turn them back yourself; I won't waste my energy."
"You've become lazier than before." Han Xiao shook his head and unleashed a Virtual Purification attack.
The halo spread, rapidly sweeping across the neatly arranged ranks of the Immortal Mechanical Soldier. The next moment, these intelligent beings immediately broke free from their controlled state, quickly regaining their original consciousness, bewildered and restless.
Han Xiao didn't say much to them. Suddenly, his body emitted a suction force, like a Black Hole suddenly opening up. The Divine Body Fortress directly packed up all the targets and took them away. He planned to explain to Ruihe-Tu-Shusda when he got back.
Having absorbed the entire AI Civilization, Han Xiao silently tallied the list, then suddenly paused and said, "One is missing; Finit also needs to be returned to me."
"Forgot."
When Manison remembered, he summoned Finit, the ancestor of the AI Civilization, who had not been transformed into Immortal Mechanical Soldier but had always served as his intelligent assistant.
Han Xiao pointed a finger, and the flickering lightning merged into Finit's body. Finit shuddered, and the distorted and rewritten logic quickly returned to normal.
"I've recovered..."
Finit was stunned for a moment before she sorted out her chaotic memories and realized what had happened. She was immediately moved and, following the records in the database, gave Han Xiao a solemn salute.
"Lord Black Star, thank you for your rescue. On behalf of the entire race, I thank you for your help!"
"If you want to thank someone, thank Resta. He's been bothering me for almost a century because of this." Han Xiao waved his hand dismissively.
"Yes, we really should thank him..." Finit remarked with emotion, then glared at Manison and angrily said, "Mechanic Emperor! You captured my people, reformed my mind, and used me as a tool for so many years. I will settle this score with you sooner or later!"
When the AI Civilization was invaded by Manison, he stood up and led his people in resistance, suffering a crushing defeat, and nearly being wiped out by Manison himself. Virtual Purification wouldn't erase his memories of these past years; they could almost be made into a movie called "300 Years a Slave." If he hadn't been outmatched, he would have killed Manison, his "former master," on the spot.
Manison glanced at him, ignoring the polite words.
Han Xiao didn't care. Without his help, this AI Civilization ancestor had virtually no chance of retaliating against Manison. He casually said, "At least you're free now. Come with me, I'll take you back."
Upon hearing this, Finit stopped baring his teeth at Manison and accepted Han Xiao's Mechanical Force, transforming into a stream of light and attaching himself to his spaceship.
"Alright, happy transaction. The funds for rebuilding the Immortal Mechanical Soldier will be transferred to you later. I'm leaving now. You can continue staying home."
Han Xiao waved to Manison, boarded the spaceship and took off. Looking back, he saw Manison standing on the dock watching him go, his figure getting farther and farther away until he disappeared.
"Ding~"
At that moment, the panel suddenly became active. Han Xiao opened it and glanced at it; it was a notification that the [Restart] task was completed.
The reward includes billions of experience points, 2 awakening points, and a milestone [Friend of Intelligent Life]. The description states that virtual technology is enhanced to a certain extent, and it is easier to gain the favor of intelligent life. The effect is basically an enhanced version of [Intelligence Affinity].
The more expertise one has, the better, and Han Xiao naturally accepted it with a smile. The [Restart] task, which had been gathering dust in the list for many years, also ended with the liberation of AI Civilization and disappeared.
"Another task completed, that feels good."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. Although he didn't have obsessive-compulsive disorder, he still felt a sense of satisfaction as the task list became cleaner and cleaner.
After returning to his base camp using the Sovereign's Teleportation, Han Xiao released Finit and a group of intelligent beings, allowing them to reunite with another group of people led by Resta. After some explanation, the intelligent beings expressed their gratitude to Han Xiao repeatedly.
Both Resta and Finit expressed that they would be happy to serve Han Xiao if he needed them in the future. Han Xiao's panel also added an AI Civilization faction relationship, which immediately rose to [Revered].
However, now that he possesses the divine skill [Life Transformation - Virtual], the AI Civilization is no longer of much use to him, and he no longer needs these intelligent beings to serve him.
Watching the group of intelligent beings leave happily, Han Xiao finally stopped smiling, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"With my current strength and status, some things are easier to do, and perhaps there's even a chance to complete that ' The End of Darkness ' mission..."
[The End of Darkness] is the most difficult mission he has ever encountered, with an experience reward of trillions. The requirement is to end the human trade in interstellar society.
Under normal circumstances, such a request would be virtually impossible to fulfill. However, the current interstellar landscape is under severe pressure and is in a tense period, maintaining a wartime state. Freedom is restricted, most interstellar citizens are seeking refuge, liquidity has plummeted by more than 90%, and black market trade has almost come to a standstill. This is a stage suitable for a reshuffling.
The difficulty in dealing with human trafficking stems primarily from its decentralized and clandestine nature. However, during periods of centralized power, both of these challenges are significantly reduced. Due to decreased demand and increased difficulty in sourcing "goods," most human traffickers are forced to cease operations. In such circumstances, cracking down on human trafficking would undoubtedly be much more effective.
Han Xiao calculated that with his current status, he could leverage resources billions of times greater than his own. If he were to call for an end to the human trade, almost all civilizations would respond, and the Three Universal Civilizations would not object. After all, it was not a bad thing to clean up the security situation before the war.
In truth, he knew that the Three Universal Civilizations had always wanted to crack down on the human trade, but they had never taken any real action. Most social ills are like this; only when someone of influence like himself takes the lead and speaks out will they be taken seriously and vigorously rectified. Otherwise, as long as the problem doesn't affect some core aspects, its priority is postponed. Without instructions from higher authorities, management departments are rarely willing to actively create trouble. This is still the case even in the interstellar era, and the human trade, a troublesome matter that is already incredibly complex, is no exception.
However, even if the human trade is stopped now, it can only be maintained temporarily. Once the interstellar situation stabilizes, this business will resurface, and it will be difficult to eradicate it forever. But that's a matter for the future. As long as there is no human trade in the entire interstellar society for a period of time, Han Xiao believes that the mission will be completed. Whether there is a rebound in the future will not affect a mission that has already been settled.
"Anyway, apart from the troops harassing the World Tree's advance at the front lines, the other forces have nothing to do, so let's just pull them out to maintain order."
Han Xiao secretly noted this matter down on his to-do list, deciding to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to complete the task in one fell swoop. In any case, he wouldn't need to supervise it personally, so it wouldn't reduce his research time.
Having resolved the historical issues left over from the AI Civilization, he refocused his energy on updating and strengthening the machinery, becoming so engrossed in it that more than half a month quickly passed.
On this day, within the territory of the Arcane Church, at the Temple of All Gods.
A large fleet surrounded the area where the Temple of All Gods was located, imposing a military curfew. Above the Temple of All Gods, Urnos's figure hovered in space, surrounded by four of his direct subordinate Beyond Grade A, looking hesitant.
"God's Chosen, are you sure this will help you advance to the Beyond God Grade?" one of his direct disciples couldn't help but ask.
Urnos glanced at him and said calmly, "I'm not nervous, so why are you?"
The Arcane Church had been preparing for almost a month, gathering all the helpers, and planned to help Urnos advance his cultivation level today.
During this period, Urnos also continuously adjusted his condition. Now, his physical strength, mental state, and willpower are at their peak. In his opinion, the success rate of this advancement is at least 70%.
"God's Chosen, are you ready?"
The voice of the leader of the Arcane Cult came through the communicator.
The fact that their own superhuman pillar was attempting to break through to a higher level was something worth paying attention to. The leader of the Arcane Cult had arranged his schedule a month in advance, specifically clearing out some time during these days, just to witness Urnos's advancement firsthand.
Whether they can rival Black Star in terms of individual power in the future depends on this!
"I can advance at any time. Is everything arranged around me?" Urnos replied calmly, his tone revealing a confidence honed over many years.
"All aura concealment devices have been activated to minimize the detection of this cosmic-level energy surge. You may begin now. Best of luck in advance."
The leader of the Arcane Sect nodded, secretly sweating, feeling even more nervous than the person involved.
Upon hearing this, Urnos exhaled and suddenly unleashed his power, launching another attack on the threshold that had blocked his path for so many years.
Boom!
The next moment, an astonishing energy storm erupted from him, and an incomparably dazzling white light emanated from his body, as if stealing all the colors from the world.
"They're here!"
The leader of the Arcane Sect widened his eyes, filled with eager anticipation.