A Huge Misunderstanding
Old Xu's home is on the edge of the Xia Kingdom desert. His family has made a living by raising camels for generations, and herding camels every day has become a habit.
But today was different from usual. He had just driven the camel herd to the edge of the desert when he saw a short, thick stick fall from the sky and plunge into the desert.
Then, as if an earthquake had struck the edge of the desert, flames shot into the sky where the object had fallen, and the shockwave whipped up sand from the desert.
From a distance, it looked like a sandstorm sweeping across the desert.
Old Xu was so frightened by what he saw that he dared not move.
Old Xu's camels, however, were different. Startled, the camel herd abandoned Old Xu and ran off in the opposite direction in a frenzy.
A frightened camel herd is a terrifying sight in the desert. Experienced herders usually don't rush to control their camels when they are frightened; instead, they simply follow them from a distance until the herd calms down before taking them away.
As someone who has raised camels all his life, Old Xu naturally understands this principle.
So he could only ride on horseback, following the camels at a distance, while glancing back with lingering fear at the spot where the explosion had just occurred.
What happened next completely shocked Old Xu. He saw a huge bird he had never seen before swoop down over his head and then slowly land in the area where the explosion had just occurred.
Old Xu had never seen such a large bird before. Even an eagle wasn't that big, and its body reflected a black metallic sheen.
The word "Demon Beast" instantly popped into Old Xu's mind.
This was a word that the storyteller often used when he occasionally went to town to listen to stories; it was about as frequent as the word "immortal master."
Although Old Xu lived on the edge of the desert, was an ordinary person, he had met several immortal masters in his life, so immortal masters were not unusual to him.
But he had never seen the Demon Beast the storyteller spoke of. And based solely on the storyteller's descriptions, Old Xu could never imagine what those legendary Demon Beast actually looked like.
But just now, the moment he saw that big black bird, Old Xu knew that the legendary Demon Beast must look like that.
As the master had previously stated, those Demon Beasts could contend with immortal masters, so Old Xu dared not rush forward rashly.
After catching up with the camel herd, Old Xu noted down the location of the explosion and quickly left.
The large bird that Old Xu saw was the Firmament that Yi Xuan and Liang Shi were riding.
Liang Shi controlled the Firmament to hover above the site of the prototype explosion.
The flames had died down, but the sand on the ground was charred black, with a large crater in the center.
Many scattered fragments can be seen in the pit, which are the products of the dismantled prototype.
"Master! I just checked, the landing point is extremely accurate, within thirty meters!"
Yi Xuan nodded in agreement. Judging from the prototype's performance, Yi Xuan's Long March was practically a done deal; all that was left was the launch.
"Alright, it's too hot here. Fly a bit further and drop me off. You go directly to the capital of the Xia Kingdom to Qian Lei! His wanted status has been withdrawn by Master. Just like we discussed before, use your Firmament to help him gather the Gazing Immortal Sect disciples scattered throughout the Southern Frontier!"
Yi Xuan stood in the desert watching Liang Shi leave, then took his Firmament out of his Storage Bag, and the Firmament carried him towards No. 2 Base.
At that moment, Old Xu was herding his camels home when he looked up and saw two Firmament flying overhead, one after the other.
Looking at the exaggerated design of the Firmament, Old Xu was certain about the Demon Beast. There was just one thing he didn't understand: why was there one when they went, but two when they left?
That afternoon, Old Xu went to town.
When the storyteller spoke of the Demon Beast again, Old Xu immediately stood up and said that he had just seen Demon Beast that morning in the desert, and there were two of them.
Compared to Mr. [Name]'s ambiguous description of the Demon Beast, Old Xu's description was much more convincing. Even though Old Xu, as a herdsman, lacked vocabulary, he still did his best to describe the two Demon Beasts.
After that, Demon Beast appearing in the desert spread throughout the town.
However, the more these rumors spread, the more fantastical they became.
Five days later, the news of this matter actually reached the capital of the Xia Kingdom.
However, the story of Old Xu discovering the Demon Beast has evolved into the entire town seeing Demon Beast.
Half a month later, the news spread throughout the entire Southern Frontier, and the content became increasingly outrageous, even spreading to the point that everyone in the entire Xia Kingdom had seen a divine beast in the desert!
This led to a sudden surge in activity within the Xia Kingdom, with a sharp increase in the number of cultivators, and some even witnessing the arrival of Nascent Soul Ancestors.
This left Zhuo Ning in a state of utter chaos. Fortunately, the cultivators didn't take any drastic actions; they merely lingered near the desert, which reassured Zhuo Ning considerably.
By fortuitous opportunity coincidence, this misunderstanding not only brought cultivators but also business opportunities, making some cities around the desert bustling with activity for a time.
Meanwhile, neither Yi Xuan nor Liang Shi knew that their Firmament had caused such a huge misunderstanding in the Xia Kingdom.
After Liang Shi met Qian Lei in the capital of the Xia Kingdom, he began searching for disciples of the Gazing Immortal Sect throughout the entire Southern Frontier region.
Upon returning to No. 2 Base, Yi Xuan immediately instructed the base's artificial intelligence to prepare for the launch of the Long March rocket.
Three days later, when everything was ready, the Long March carrying the quantum communication satellite was secured to the launch tower.
Yi Xuan was sitting in the main control room of No. 2 Base, waiting for the final checks before the rocket launch to be completed.
In order to monitor the rocket launch status in real time, Yi Xuan used every reconnaissance and monitoring method at his disposal.
In addition to the various recording devices on the rocket, countless Nüwa and Pangu rockets equipped with remote monitoring equipment were also deployed around the launch site.
Meanwhile, Yi Xuan also built four 50-meter-high observation towers on the outskirts of the valley.
In addition, there are flapping-wing drones scattered throughout the valley, and the Firmament hovering high in the sky, ready to follow the entire journey.
It can be said that the launch of the Long March was flawless.
"Boss, all tests are complete, the rocket is ready to launch at any time!"
The artificial intelligence at No. 2 Base promptly reported the situation to Yi Xuan.
Upon hearing this, Yi Xuan nodded decisively and announced, "The rocket launch countdown begins!"
Then, a series of electronic sounds rang out in the main control room.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven... three, two, one! Ignition!"
Yi Xuan said "ignite," but what was actually being ejected from the rocket's tail was blue gas. The enormous thrust propelled the rocket slowly off the ground, and its speed increased rapidly!