Chapter 656 — Baihe's Identity (Monthly Ticket Bonus +17)

"A single Time Sprite—that at least counts as proper business." Chao Nengzhao's voice was utterly cold.

"Waaah!"

Inside Shi Ying's beast-taming space, Qi let out another pig-slaughtering shriek. Ahhh! Chao Nengzhao, the one who eats Time Sprites, had found her. It was over, all over.

This Jia Qi was terrifying. A single Xuanxiao Peak, annihilated in a flash.

Shi Cen's face was grave. He had known Chao Nengzhao was strong, but not this strong.

By the rules of the Cosmos Overlord Legion, anyone possessing one percent of the Cosmos Overlord's power could temporarily command the Legion. An ordinary Xuanxiao Peak, without question, did not even have one percent of the Cosmos Overlord's strength—but this Chao Nengzhao, though she had not yet stepped into the cosmic level, was absolutely at several tenths of cosmic-level strength.

Probably stronger even than a Nuwa God of the same rank.

"I told you, stop fixating on Time Sprites. See? Look who's come knocking—the Cosmos Overlord Legion itself," Secretary Baihe said. "The Cosmos Overlord is trying to figure out how to extend the universe's lifespan, to make this cosmic epoch eternal—and you're thinking about how to destroy the universe. At this rate, the Cosmos Overlord's true self will come in person sooner or later."

"So what?" Chao Nengzhao said. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Of course not. And besides—you can't touch this Jia Qi," Baihe said.

"My Empress, have you not sensed anything from them?"

"They too are transmigrators from the last epoch. Who knows, in that last epoch you two might have been acquaintances. Kill them outright, and once their memories return—if it turns out you knew each other—where would you go to cry then?" Secretary Baihe said with a smile.

Chao Nengzhao said nothing, gazing at Shi Jin. Shi Cen watched her.

Would it be so?

To transmigrate from the last epoch into this one, one must surely have been a prodigy of surpassing brilliance in that epoch. Shi Jin had done it. Chao Nengzhao had done it. In the last epoch, the two of them truly might have crossed paths.

Of course, not necessarily as friends—they might have been enemies.

But no matter what, Baihe's words had gotten through to Chao Nengzhao. Perhaps this was also why the Realm King believed Shi Jin could stop Chao Nengzhao.

Before Shi Jin's identity could be determined, the Empress indeed could not easily move against him.

"My Empress, this Duan Heng has been a great help to me. We successfully brought you a cosmic-level memory-type resource. Otherwise—why not give it a try?"

"I have said it before: such things are useless," Chao Nengzhao said indifferently.

"No harm in trying." Baihe left the warship directly, walked step by step to stand before Chao Nengzhao, and handed her the Reincarnation Fruit.

Chao Nengzhao glanced at the Reincarnation Fruit, her gaze flickering. She did not refuse; with a thought she drew the fruit into her hand. The next moment, the Reincarnation Fruit in her palm began to shrink, turning into a cluster of green light motes that slowly drifted into her mouth.

An instant later, Chao Nengzhao closed her eyes slightly. Aboard the warship, Shi Jin and the others could not help swallowing hard.

Two silent minutes passed. Chao Nengzhao reopened her eyes and looked at Baihe. "Are you satisfied now?"

"Boohoo." Secretary Baihe wore a mournful face. "Still no good?"

"Just give me one more chance, please!"

"I have already given you many chances."

"One last time!"

Baihe looked toward Cen Yu. "Him—perhaps we can pin our hopes on him."

Shi Jin was named by Baihe. Though his heart bled at the waste of the Reincarnation Fruit, he had no choice but to step forward now.

Shi Jin took a deep breath and appeared in the starry void, not far from Chao Nengzhao. He looked at her and said, "My Empress, perhaps we can seek another method—one that does not do too much damage to this cosmic epoch, yet can still return us to the last epoch, or recover our memories."

"I too have lost crucial memories. I too want to find the truth. But that should not mean offering up other innocent lives as sacrifice."

"Yes!" Secretary Baihe nodded.

"Then have you found another way?" Chao Nengzhao fixed her gaze on Shi Jin.

"Naturally." Shi Li.

"Lord Baihe told me that transmigrating through time within a single epoch, giving rise to parallel timelines, shortens this cosmic epoch's lifespan and accelerates the universe's destruction. And to transmigrate into another epoch would cause this universe to be destroyed outright."

"Time travel consumes the universe's power. For the Empress to cross an entire epoch, the cost is undoubtedly more than this universe can bear."

"And the reason it cannot bear it is that every cosmic epoch has a lifespan of only ten billion years. For a universe, that is undoubtedly far too short."

"Why every cosmic epoch lasts only ten billion years is undoubtedly an unsolved mystery. Even the Cosmos Overlord is searching for a way to explore it, a way to solve the universe's lifespan problem—for this would not only make the universe eternal, but indirectly make oneself eternal as well."

"So I was thinking: if we solve the universe's lifespan problem, make its lifespan and power endless, then could this universe sustain a crossing between epochs?"

Since the universe cannot sustain epoch-crossing—then strengthen the universe until it can!

"That is impossible," Chao Nengzhao said. "Is that all the cleverness you have?"

"Ah!"

Shi Jin smiled bitterly.

"Why do you say it is impossible?"

"Do you know what conditions must be met to make the lifespan of the universe infinite?"

Shi Shuo was struck dumb by the question.

"It has to do with humans, doesn't it?" Shi Li said.

Baihe looked at Cen Yu and said, "Are you willing to give it a try?"

"Me???"

"Actually, making the universe immortal is quite simple." Secretary Baihe said, "Mm, very simple."

"The old Maintainer is dead, and the new Maintainer has yet to arrive. The reason each cosmic epoch is so brief is that the universe lacks an eternal source of energy—a Maintainer to assist its growth."

"What do you mean?" Shi Li asked.

Secretary Baihe said, "The meaning is simple. You were right—if the universe is to become immortal, it indeed has to do with humans."

"To describe it in terms you can understand: a Beastmaster must take the universe as a pet beast and form a contract with it. Then this Beastmaster will become the universe's energy source, endlessly providing the universe with the nourishment it needs to grow, and the universe will be able to exist forever."

Shi Jin, Lin: ???

"Contract the universe???" Shi Li said.

"Surprising, isn't it?" Miss Baihe said. "This is the astonishing archaeological discovery made by Her Majesty the Empress and me."

"Something ordinary people don't know."

"Above the cosmic level, there exists another tier called the Cosmic Maintainer. The Cosmic Maintainer is the true sovereign of a universe. Without a Maintainer, the fate of a universe is exactly what we see before us."

"Humans should be the only race capable of becoming Maintainers."

"Contract the universe." Shi Jin was stunned. Contracting planets had been shocking enough; the universe could be contracted too???

"I know this is hard to comprehend, but that is precisely what our discovery shows. As for the difficulty of contracting a universe—though it cannot be determined, it should be several times, even ten or a hundred times, that of contracting cosmic-level life."

"Even now, a cosmic-level Beastmaster is difficult to produce, let alone one capable of contracting the universe."

"If you only offer vague suggestions, Her Majesty the Empress will never listen," Baihe said. "So, are you willing to give it a try? Strive with all your might to become the universe's Maintainer and sustain Her Majesty through the crossing."

"I..." Shi Shuo was speechless once again.