Chapter 1314: Information Exchange

"Can you see geniuses?" Xu Zhi found it somewhat hard to comprehend.

"Haha."

Rong Cheng let out a hearty laugh, then began to chat, patiently explaining, "To be frank, I am highly proficient in 'soul studies,' particularly in researching the potential and special talents of biological souls. I have an extremely deep understanding in this area! My lifelong research project is 'The Commonalities of Geniuses': to study how the essential souls of those who reach the pinnacle differ. You must know that the universe is unfair; most who climb to the top are astonishingly talented individuals, though it's not impossible for some ordinary people to succeed, but they are ultimately a minority..."

Xu Zhi listened and nodded, feeling this person resonated with him. "That makes sense. Aptitude and talent are indeed the most fundamental factors influencing one's path to becoming a strong individual."

However, it's not absolute. While aptitude is crucial for reaching the pinnacle, factors like a resilient character, not being weak, mastering strategy, or simply working hard are all influential combined elements.

Many spoiled geniuses, despite their extraordinary abilities, might collapse after a few setbacks, their Dao heart shattering, never to recover.

On the other hand, Medusa's talent might not seem extraordinary, but her character is resilient. She endured desolation, cultivating a single path 129,600 times – truly an "effort-based" talent.

"So, you mean you can perceive the innate talents of living beings?" Xu Zhi smiled, momentarily stunned. It was a profound and abstruse concept.

"Yes."

Rong Cheng chuckled and said, "While powerful talent isn't a guaranteed path to strength, it is the most significant influencing factor..."

"Most geniuses require discovery, testing, and nurturing... But I'm different. Often, I can discern a person's potential at a glance. Different genius souls appear as different colors in my eyes."

"And these genius souls possess various specializations, with different lengths of color indicating proficiency in deduction, cultivation, formation arrays, and more..."

He spoke eloquently, appearing affable and amicable.

There was no hint that this was a terrifying, ultimate monster who had snuck in over billions of years, having just been in a brutal cosmic slaughterhouse, standing atop endless blood-soaked corpses, having personally slain countless Saints.

The more he spoke, the more enthusiastic he became. He took out several transparent test tubes, balancing them between his fingers and swirling them gently, as one might swirl red wine. The tubes were multi-colored. "Look," he said, "these are the geniuses I've collected; each has their unique strengths."

Xu Zhi glanced at him.

Was this man a sorcerer who manipulated souls?

Xu Zhi instantly grasped the horrifying and terrifying nature of this man's talent!

A mad scientist?

He could travel everywhere searching for "geniuses," immediately recognizing their unique qualities, then taking them as disciples and nurturing them. Imagine how terrifying it would be to have talented individuals from all fields serving him!

One must realize that Xu Zhi, even with his current deductions, only had a few talents under him: Di Qi, Caroline, Phoenix... This person, however, likely had countless individuals, perhaps even several geniuses on par with himself and Di Qi.

In a sense, the terrifying nature of his talent was no less strategically significant than that of the Zerg! Xu Zhi understood better than anyone that possessing talent meant infinite possibilities.

This fellow was a walking "talent market."

"You should also be aware that with the new era's advent... talent will inevitably emerge in droves. At such a time, talent is paramount," Rong Cheng laughed. "One only needs to find them when they are still obscure..."

"And then they become reagents in your hands?"

Moon God Ji smiled gently, looking at the test tubes in his hand.

"Of course not! I only try to preserve geniuses once they've died. Every one of them is a treasure; how could I treat them so carelessly?" He revealed an intoxicated expression. "When I discover these geniuses, I generally don't reveal myself... I know better than anyone that even the finest jade cannot grow without undergoing grinding and weathering. I won't interfere with their growth; I'll simply imprint them secretly with my clan's sixth bloodline mark. Only in a life-or-death situation will I subtly intervene once or twice."

Xu Zhi: "..."

Xu Zhi paused for a moment, then suddenly spoke, "So, you wait for them to grow, one by one, into countless epochal prodigies and overlords, cosmic giants born in response to calamities... and you, having laid out your plans in advance, secretly rule the era through them?"

Rong Cheng's eyes immediately lit up with delight. "Hahahaha, my friend, you truly are a kindred spirit! You guessed my intentions in an instant! Most beings wouldn't be able to think to this extent!"

"I am quite skilled at strategizing and calculation, so naturally, I can infer some things," Xu Zhi chuckled.

He silently weighed the situation in his mind.

The other party was taking the elite route, pinpointing specific planets to sense and seek out geniuses... This was quite unique and, in a sense, even more terrifying than the Zerg.

Because of this model, the number of geniuses he possessed was immense.

The Zerg were actually focused on evolving lifeforms, evolving the endless bloodlines of life. They merely dabbled in evolving others' bloodlines, acting as the 'neighboring old King'... But now, he had met the real deal!

This was the true professional in bloodline specialization!

As expected of an ancient being from the Longevity Dao Palace, this talent... was truly chilling.

"It's just a pity," Rong Cheng, without suspicion, sighed softly, "Before, imprinting the sixth bloodline and enforcing a Heavenly Dao contract meant they were my people... But now, the Heavenly Dao contract is ineffective. The talents I discover cannot be fully controlled... You nurture them, yet they might not honor you, and could even betray you. Such is the way of the world now."

"Indeed, such is the way of the world now," Xu Zhi said, not surprised.

After all, Pheasant Ji had mentioned before that once one left the Nine Yuan Universe, the Heavenly Dao rules and contracts within that universe could no longer bind the beings in the Chaos Sea.

This was now an era of chaos.

He, however, was an exception. While they couldn't bind Saints within the "Life Universe," he could.

After all, those cosmic lives and the myriad worlds were essentially his own creations, part of his grand cosmic cultivation method. In a sense, they were parts of Xu Zhi's own body.

"Sigh, to be honest," Rong Cheng said, shaking his head, "Ever since I emerged, I've traveled through the nine universes, searching for geniuses everywhere, planning to subtly lay out my grand scheme. But I still can't compare to them... They've all begun to attain Dao-validation of rules, but I cannot. I rely on geniuses... but nurturing geniuses still takes time."

Xu Zhi didn't believe his plea of misery.

Such an old monster was dirtier than anyone; not a single punctuation mark he uttered could be trusted.

"So you have no way to attain Dao-validation?" Moon God Ji chuckled.

"Indeed, I have no way to attain Dao-validation. They are all successively validating the Dao, but I cannot," Rong Cheng replied honestly. "However, I have found a glimmer of a method: finding a group of geniuses to study the evolutionary systems of cosmic beings. For example, this flying universe... is an excellent method!"

Flight.

Xu Zhi looked up at the Chaos Heaven's sky. "Flight, is it truly possible?"

"It's not possible to achieve true flight yet. Currently, only gliding has been discovered."

Rong Cheng shook his head, looking down at the universe beneath his feet, and suddenly chuckled. "I've also done some research on the Chaos Heaven's sky, even spending a very long time studying what lies above and gaining some insights... To be frank, the sky of Chaos Heaven is extremely mysterious and unpredictable; it holds a great secret!"

Xu Zhi's interest was immediately piqued, and he looked towards him.

This was a true secret. Only these ancient beings, he surmised, would have delved into such profound mysteries.

"Heh heh," Rong Cheng chuckled, looking earnest. "Your Excellency, you probably also know about the cosmic meteor showers in the Chaos Heaven, and the secret of the sky. How about we exchange information?"

This cunning old fox, he aroused my interest just to wait for me here?

Xu Zhi was speechless. None of these guys were easy to deal with; they were strategizing from beginning to end.

"Since we've met and instantly bonded, I can naturally tell you some truths and the secrets of this place," Moon God Ji said, his voice stern. He paused for a moment in thought, then slowly uttered a sentence, looking out at the Chaos Sea:

"Here, something significant might be about to happen. Everything that occurs here might concern the future destiny of the entire Chaos Sea... There will be mysterious entities that do not belong to this cosmic explosion era, as well as... certain methods for the myriad worlds in the Chaos Sea to achieve Dao-validation."

Do not belong to this cosmic era?

Rong Cheng's heart pounded with alarm.

Could it be, the prehistory of the Big Bang?

The prehistoric cosmic era?

The Big Bang is the beginning, and the Big Crunch is the end. But what existed before the Big Bang? Perhaps a cosmic cycle from the prehistoric era, and beings of that level...

Rong Cheng's heart trembled slightly as he thought, "Does not belong to this universe? Able to evade cosmic return... Could it be an ancient Eleventh-tier being? Hiding from the previous cosmic age until today?"

And, a method to achieve Dao-validation for the myriad worlds?

One must know that there are too many myriad worlds now to collectively achieve Dao-validation. Therefore, almost all Saints currently achieve it indirectly, by validating through the Nine Yuan Universe.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt a chill; it was truly terrifying.

"We can exchange information and form some kind of alliance," Rong Cheng said, his expression completely grave. His original intention was merely to probe, but now his mood had changed. "You must have some enemies as well. Our interests could align."

Moon God Ji smiled back. "You can tell me your information then, what secret is hidden in the sky of Chaos Heaven?"