In a certain military restricted area of Central Galaxy, the location of the summoning Sanctuary passage has been tightly sealed off. It is surrounded by densely packed space armed fortresses and a massive fleet, making it heavily fortified.
Suddenly, a ray of light shone in the darkness, slowly rotating and expanding, transforming into three Sanctuary leading to the white, misty world. They floated silently in space, like three miniature white holes.
Through the dazzling portal, three dark figures gradually grew larger and slowly emerged; they were the spaceships of the Three Universal Civilizations that had gone to explore the Sanctuary.
A squadron of soldiers immediately flew out of the military base, leading the three spaceships back to the fortress. The crew members emerged from the ships with the help of their comrades. Most of them looked dazed, as if they were in a trance, with dull eyes and slow reactions.
Only Clottey, Oulu, and the Beyond Grade A members of the Arcane Church seemed to be in better shape, though their faces still showed shock and their feet felt unsteady.
Just then, Glimmer flashed, and the remote projections of the Three Universal Civilizations leaders descended, immediately surrounding them with tense expressions.
"How's the situation? Have you obtained any information about the Sanctuary?"
Clottey's eyes focused, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, she seemed to react, her expression serious, and she nodded heavily.
"The scene inside the Sanctuary is exactly as Black Star described. We've already seen the records on the Sanctuary's message board, and they do indeed contain the truth about the Universe Iteration. In addition, we've also obtained some information about past civilizations from the Sanctuary. Although it's not much, it's still a piece of evidence."
Upon hearing this, the Three Universal Civilizations took a deep breath. Although they felt that Han Xiao was not lying, the fact that it had been confirmed still shocked them.
At this moment, Louis suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "Was the experiment to Sanctuary Revival successful?"
"It is true." Clottey held up his palm, showing the Sanctuary Revival Mark on the back of his hand, exactly as recorded.
The three of them finally relaxed completely and nodded silently.
To verify the authenticity of the Sanctuary and prevent being tricked by Black Star again, the Three Universal Civilizations took precautions and specially provided several deceased direct descendants as mediums to Clottey and the others to test whether the Sanctuary Revival was feasible. If it failed, it would mean that the Sanctuary they entered was shady, perhaps an alternate dimension deliberately constructed by Black Star to deceive them. Only if it succeeded could it be confirmed as the true Sanctuary.
When the Three Universal Civilizations civilizations initially asked Black Star to help revive their direct descendants' Beyond Grade A beings, they claimed to have provided the mediums for all their deceased direct descendants. However, they actually held back, hiding a small number of deceased direct descendants, claiming they didn't have mediums for them. This was to guard against Black Star and prevent any unforeseen circumstances. Even after Black Star proved the Sanctuary Revival was reliable, the Three Universal Civilizations didn't reveal this, intending to use it as test material when they researched the Sanctuary later. Now, it has come in handy.
Tap tap tap...
Just then, footsteps suddenly came from afar. Han Xiao, who had been teleported there, strode over and, before anyone could speak, grabbed Clottey's hand and held it up to his eyes.
"What are you doing?" Clottey was startled and instinctively tried to break free, but found that she couldn't budge Han Xiao's five fingers at all.
The Three Universal Civilizations thought that Han Xiao was concerned about the Sanctuary Revival Mark, and their hearts tightened, worried that Black Star would harbor resentment because of their rash attempt to Sanctuary Revival in private.
However, they misunderstood. At this point, Han Xiao wouldn't pay attention to such trivial details. He revealed his own Sanctuary Authority Mark, and Clottey's palm immediately responded, displaying his Sanctuary Authority Mark as well.
The two markings, one intricate and elaborate, the other simple and plain, represent the difference between full-level and level-one privileges.
Seeing this, Han Xiao released Clottey, his eyes darting around, and said:
"So, how was it going in and out of the Sanctuary? Wasn't it quite mesmerizing?"
Clottey rubbed her aching wrist, hesitated, then nodded, saying, "Indeed, I feel like I'm sleepwalking. Although I can still control my body, my senses seem to be separated by a layer. It's not like I can act freely under normal circumstances; it's more like I'm being manipulated from a third-person perspective, my brain and body are no longer one..."
"It's normal to feel this way since it's your first time going in... although I haven't experienced what it's like to have low-level access." Han Xiao patted him on the shoulder. "Your access level is too low, and it took you a lot of time. We've been waiting for you in the main universe for a long time."
Upon hearing this, Clottey and the others glanced at the time and were immediately startled. A year or two had passed since they set off, even though they had only spent a few hours in the Sanctuary.
"You'll get used to it. Once you have higher authority, the time flow in the Sanctuary will gradually converge with that of the main universe."
Han Xiao casually offered an explanation before turning to look at the leaders of the Three Universal Civilizations, raising an eyebrow as he said:
"So, you got the information you wanted, right? Do you believe what I said now?"
Mabrus nodded steadily. "We have confirmed the truth about the Universe Iteration; it's exactly as you said."
At this moment, the leader of the Arcane Cult pondered and said, "It's just that our access level is too low to see all the information on the Sanctuary's message board, so we still cannot verify the secrets you mentioned, such as the Ultimate Three Universal Civilizations and the Dark Side Universe..."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao's eyes widened, and he found it all quite amusing.
"What, you don't actually want me to help you unlock Sanctuary access until all Sanctuary message board information is unlocked, do you?"
"If you don't mind, we would certainly be honored..."
"Roll."
"Ahem, we understand if you're unwilling..."
The three looked embarrassed.
"It's true I can help you accomplish the great feats of several iterations, but don't push your luck." Han Xiao stood with his arms crossed, frowning. "I've done more than enough for interstellar society, I've done everything I could, I've shown enough sincerity, yet you still doubt me. It was like that when we dealt with the World Tree, and it's still like that now. Honestly, if you still have doubts, then let's just part ways."
"No, no, no, we just need to consider this matter because it's serious. We don't suspect you... Let's go to the office and talk about it in detail."
The three quickly surrounded him to explain and led the way, taking Han Xiao to a private meeting room.
After closing the door and confirming that no one else was present, Mabrus coughed and said:
"Black Star, we believe in the intelligence from the Dark Side Universe, and now we've verified that the information about the Sanctuary is accurate. Let's talk about the topic we didn't finish discussing last time. What method do you plan to use to break the Dark Side Universe's closure and allow us to return to the Real Universe?"
"Two options." Han Xiao held up two fingers.
"What are they?" The three of them perked up, their ears instantly perking up as they listened intently.
Han Xiao paused for a moment before slowly and methodically explaining.
"The first one is to follow the path of the Three Universal Civilizations that Dark Side Iteration, and use the Information Materialization Device normally. Although the World Tree has undergone Information Mutation, changed its nature of existence, and gained a lot of fancy functions, its essence has not changed. It still possesses the core function of the Information Materialization Device, which I have already unearthed."
"And the second one?"
"Secondly, we'll still use Information Materialization Device, but in conjunction with my Virtual Genesis abilities."
Upon hearing this, the three looked at each other, somewhat puzzled.
Mabrus asked doubtfully, "Aren't both of these using Information Materialization Device? What's the difference?"
"The difference lies in my positioning. The success rate of the first plan depends entirely on whether the information intervention bridge meets the prerequisites for conversion, meaning that this predetermined route may still fail. The second plan, however, allows me to leverage my own abilities. The principle is... well, I won't go into the details, you wouldn't understand anyway. In short, I believe it can improve the conversion success rate... The only concern is that the previous two Dark Side Iteration didn't try this new method, so there might be some uncertainties."
Han Xiao shook his head.
The first plan merely uses him as a tool, a "medium" to activate the Information Materialization Device. In the second plan, however, he is the executor of the plan... The difference lies in who is in control.
After merging with the World Tree, Han Xiao meticulously studied the process and finally transformed his [Virtual Genesis] skill, removing the "pseudo" suffix. The skill's effect underwent a tremendous change, resonating with the core function of the Information Materialization Device.
The three hesitated and talked in hushed tones, and Han Xiao did not urge them.
After a few minutes, Mabrus finally looked up and asked, "What are the projected success rates for these two plans?"
Han Xiao shrugged. "The first plan has a 50% success rate, and the second plan, I estimate, has a 70% success rate, but the risks are unknown."
Louis pondered for a moment and said, "How about we try the first option first? If it doesn't work, we can try the second one."
"Well, that's possible, but the stable interference bridge might be damaged in the failure. By then, it would be too late for this Dark Side Iteration. So, my personal suggestion is to go for it the first time." Han Xiao shrugged.
"We need to think about it again."
"Alright, you have plenty of time. However, the two plans require roughly the same amount of preparation. In the meantime, you should mobilize the interstellar community and get things ready."
"Good."
The three nodded, disconnected the remote projection link, and couldn't wait to go back and discuss it.
Han Xiao was left alone in the conference room. He looked at the spot where the three people had disappeared and curled his lip.
In fact, he also had a third plan: to use the World Tree to devour the entire universe, "compress and package" it within his body, and directly form a complete and independent "information set." This would reduce the difficulty of materializing information, and in his view, the success rate of this plan could exceed 80%.
Even if he thought with his chest muscles, he knew that the Three Universal Civilizations would never agree to this plan, and would even begin to doubt his motives for helping.
In addition, this process is far too long. It would take an unknown number of years for the World Tree Devour the entire Dark Side Universe. The journey alone would take countless years. Since delays could lead to unforeseen changes, he himself was not keen on taking this approach.
So Han Xiao simply kept it to himself, keeping it to himself and not revealing it to anyone.
"I hope the Three Universal Civilizations choose the second option... well, even if they don't, I'll do the same."
Han Xiao smacked his lips.
Letting the Three Universal Civilizations choose is mainly to give them a sense of "participation is key"... When the interstellar society is ready to officially begin the transformation, it will ultimately be up to them to decide.