Chapter 860: "Coordinates"

Jadefall Domain.

Dark clouds enveloped the vast domain, silently drifting in one direction under hurricanes surging from the Grey Realm, like an immense, turbulent sea of clouds in a storm.

Above the cities and clouds, a white, diamond-shaped building stood motionless, as if embedded in the sky.

That was the center of the Jadefall Domain, and the only one of the nine major bases to occupy the sky — the Jadefall Base.

Forty seconds after the Imperial Relic appeared, alarms echoed through every corner of the Jadefall Base. Figures in white coats moved swiftly, their expressions unusually solemn.

“...So, the news of the Imperial Relic’s appearance has been confirmed?” A figure stood before a large one-way glass panel in the Central Operations Room, looking back.

“Yes, Professor,” a young man replied, holding a thick stack of documents. “The Southern Sea Domain confirmed it first and immediately relayed the information to other domains. The Skyscraper Tower then used its Star-Gazing Mirror to verify it. The Imperial Relic has indeed appeared, near the Boundless Domain.”

“The Southern Sea Domain confirmed it first?” The professor raised an eyebrow, then seemed to recall something and nodded slightly. “Right, the Scholar Divine Path master is in the Southern Sea Domain... He would likely sense the Imperial Relic’s appearance immediately.”

After a long moment of contemplation, the professor asked again, “What is the reaction from the other domains?”

“The first emergency meetings have been held. All domains currently agree that the emperor’s resurgence would destabilize current human society... The situation we face is already severe enough. We must unite to fight external enemies, not allow a resurgent emperor to sow internal chaos.”

The professor nodded repeatedly. “Humanity has endured so many hardships to survive until now... How could we possibly kneel before a feudal emperor again?”

“But since the Imperial Relic has appeared, it means it is close to choosing this era’s emperor...”

“Then, before a new emperor emerges, we will destroy him and that ancient relic,” the professor stated calmly.

“Professor, that is the Imperial Relic... Even if it’s abandoned and dilapidated, it cannot be simply destroyed. Unless something unexpected happens, the lingering thoughts of past emperors should still be there,” the young man said helplessly. “Among the current five major domains, who can destroy it?”

“What about the one in the Southern Sea Domain? Will he not act?”

“The Scholar Divine Path is also one of the Fourteen Divine Paths, suppressed by the Imperial Divine Path... Even if he were to leave the Southern Sea Domain at all costs and forcefully intervene, he wouldn’t be certain he could destroy it.”

“...If the Divine Paths can’t do it, what about the Nine Lords? Lord Hong Chen should...” Mid-sentence, the professor shook his head to himself. “No, that won’t work either... Lord Hong Chen’s injuries haven’t healed, and he needs to maintain the Mortal World Domain. He can’t easily leave either...”

The professor pondered for a moment, his gaze finally falling through the massive one-way glass onto the dormant pod at the very core of the Jadefall Base... His eyes narrowed slightly.

“It seems Lord Jadefall’s judgment back then was correct...”

The young man’s heart jolted at this. “Professor, surely you don’t intend to awaken Lord Jadefall?! Lord Jadefall has been in dormancy for so many years; if he awakens, he’ll immediately enter a life countdown... We don’t need to put the entire Jadefall Domain in a deathly situation just for one Imperial Relic!”

“I am not going to awaken Lord Jadefall,” the professor paused. “I am going to... request aid from the future Lord Jadefall.”

“...What did you say?” The young man froze.

“Lord Jadefall controls God Particles, capable of imparting mass to particles and traveling through time by creating wormholes... But before he fell into slumber, Lord Jadefall said that he cannot discern the direction of time within a wormhole. Only if we send him ‘coordinates’ can he locate the corresponding timeline.”

It was the first time the young man had heard of Lord Jadefall’s power, and his eyes were wide with shock. He immediately asked, “How do we send the coordinates?”

“By injecting a sequence of particles into Lord Jadefall’s body,” the professor said, pushing up his glasses. “It’s like using a particle collider to leave a ‘tattoo’ on the current Lord Jadefall. The future Lord Jadefall will naturally have the corresponding mark on him. However, this kind of ‘tattoo’ must be made of specific particles to adapt to wormholes and ensure it isn’t interfered with... Even then, he cannot guarantee that he will respond to the coordinates every time. According to him, the number of times he can open a wormhole is limited.”

“But... but particle colliders shouldn’t have been usable for three hundred years already, right?”

The professor gazed through the one-way glass at the tall figure submerged in the dormant pod... After an unknown amount of time, he slowly spoke: “Send an urgent telegram and request the Skyscraper Tower Master to come here.”

The Grey Realm.

“Holy... what in the world is that thing?” As the Imperial Relic ascended into the sky, the endless shaking and cracking of the ground finally ceased. Jian Changsheng stood on the shattered earth, covered in dust, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the dazzling behemoth in the sky.

Sun Bumian pushed up the small round sunglasses on his nose and said, somewhat surprised, “Oh, so this thing actually came out... I thought it would disappear from this world forever.”

“Stop playing coy, Brother Xingshi, what exactly is it?”

Before Sun Bumian could explain, Chen Ling slowly uttered a single sentence: “That is the Imperial Relic.”

“The Imperial Relic?” Jian Changsheng was stunned.

Sun Bumian was also surprised. He turned to Chen Ling and asked, “You actually know about it? That shouldn’t be... This isn’t something from your era.”

“I don’t know it, but...” Chen Ling stared at the Imperial Relic suspended high in the sky, his right hand unconsciously rising to rest on his hollow chest... He slowly said, “I can feel it calling to me.”

Sun Bumian frowned slightly, scrutinizing Chen Ling from head to toe, lost in thought.

Chen Ling was telling the truth. The second before the Imperial Relic ascended, he had a strong premonition, suddenly looking in a certain direction within the Grey Realm. An unprecedented, powerful sense of pull made it difficult for Chen Ling to tear his gaze away from the rising Imperial Relic, as if they were two magnets not far apart, with Chen Ling being the smaller one. A mysterious force seemed to constantly urge him closer.

Chen Ling initially didn't understand what was happening until he found the source of this magnetic pull... It was the Imperial Fate.

“The Imperial Relic has appeared...” In Chen Ling’s eyes, the image of the impressive young man he had seen in the era archive suddenly surfaced... A hint of killing intent gathered between his brows. “Are you there too... Ying Fu.”