Zaiji suddenly understood and sat down to drink tea.
No wonder her husband was usually so calm and carefree; it turned out his civilizations were so independent and diligent.
"We can just watch a good show: Plants vs. Zombies."
Xu Zhi sat by the coastline. "The future era will definitely consist of nine cosmic continents... because this core path has already been proven, meaning marine life is no longer restricted and can rapidly evolve to climb onto the land."
Zaiji nodded, still intently watching the bustling activity, finding the "Plants vs. Zombies" tower defense intriguing.
Another thirty years flew by.
The Four Great Powers—Clan Heavenly Court, Mother River Heavenly Court, Cosmic Evil Gods, and Underworld Reincarnation—had completely ascended, dominating with their first-mover advantage. Each was a cosmic power with numerous subordinate cosmic races, utilizing unified methods across their myriad universes to concentrate power and produce "Saints of the Heavens." In the future, their structure could rival the diversified Saints of the Nine-Yuan Universe.
Even so, some exceptionally talented individuals emerged later, and various smaller forces, such as the Giant Whale, the Nun, and the Dark Abyss, began to develop and reproduce. With their newfound ability to reproduce, they were now entering the "population" era, a sign that they were catching up to the four major powers.
After all, they had now categorized the universe into several stages.
Infancy: The initial period immediately after acquiring a universe.
Growth Stage: When Saints begin to emerge and achieve dao enlightenment in large numbers, completing the rules.
Bloodline Stage: As the universe becomes more complete, its unique bloodline racial characteristics appear.
However, most Saints would remain stuck in the preceding Growth Stage, never entering the Bloodline Stage. To condense a bloodline, Saints must achieve dao enlightenment with specific objectives and possess an extremely deep understanding of the Grand Dao diagram to evolve the unique bloodline characteristics of a living universe. Most Saints would fail in this evolution, completely rendering their universe useless. They might indeed possess exceptionally powerful bloodlines, but they wouldn't be able to integrate them into the universe to make that cosmic blueprint their "dojo."
Maturity Stage: This stage is characterized by reproduction. The evolved universe not only possesses bloodline characteristics but can also further evolve its blueprint to gain the ability to reproduce. The smaller forces were precisely at this stage, beginning to acquire reproductive capabilities.
Clan Stage: Through reproduction, large clusters of universes begin to form. Universes at this stage start to expand into the myriad heavens, gaining the qualification to extend their influence. However, the Clan Stage's defining characteristic is bloodline control. Merely being able to reproduce offspring is not enough; one must also have control over the descendants to form a true clan.
"Currently, in the eyes of other Saints, those four major powers are in the Clan Stage," Xu Zhi said, looking at the coastline. "The universe truly has too many monsters. They're biting too hard at our heels; the fastest ones have already started from scratch, and how many years has it been? They already possess reproductive capabilities, and the next step is forming clans."
Judging by this, it was only a matter of time before they caught up.
"However, the four major systems are already the main direction..." Xu Zhi shook his head. "Even if they catch up, they will likely follow one of these paths, most probably the Clan System pioneered by Emperor Qi and others." This was undoubtedly the most widespread and simplest path for the masses. It wasn't to say that no other structural systems would emerge later, but only exceptionally monstrous talents would be able to discern more unique paths.
*Splash!*
As Xu Zhi spoke, a shocking scene unfolded. Massive, wet marine creatures, immense in size, slowly climbed onto the land. From a distance, they looked like slimy, tentacled seaweed octopuses, with countless roots slowly wriggling. But as they emerged from the sea, it became clear they were strange plants with legs, crawling out of the water and moving towards the shore.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Their sheer size was immense, like elven War Trees, obscuring the sky and sun. With every step, the ground seemed to shake. Gradually, they settled along certain coastlines, like irregular nodes forming the Big Dipper, one by one, creating the first line of defense along the shore. They were clearly well-prepared. Even the masters of those dojos had communicated in advance, sacrificing their dojos in exchange for the right to join this plant universe.
*Splat!*
The existing dojos shattered, serving as the plants' initial nourishment. The next moment, the plants began to root themselves on the cosmic membrane, drawing power from the universe. They started to grow, gradually becoming verdant, tall, robust, and even towering into the clouds.
"Following the previously derived path, begin the next stage of ultimate evolution!"
"Adjusting the blueprint now."
"Quickly become a true plant universe, absorb the power of the land, and flourish... We are too large a target on land; they will discover us soon."
Countless individuals whispered within the plant universe. This plant universe, a member of the myriad heavens, was a cosmic world. Though insignificant compared to the greater universe, its power would be no less than that of the original dojos! In fact, once developed, the combat power of one such universe could rival an overwhelmingly powerful diversified Saint. One should not assume that a universe only comparable to a single Saint is weak... After all, these universes are not large, yet their numbers are incredibly vast—over 129,000? Even the combat power of an ordinary Saint is already astonishing; moreover, they possess strength comparable to diversified Saints, and in the future, they could evolve even further, venturing into the unknown.
*Rumble!*
Soon, the dramatic changes on land caused a tremor throughout the entire Nine-Yuan Universe, alerting countless Saints.
"The cosmic force of Underworld Reincarnation actually came ashore?"
"Plants? Are those plants?"
"Aren't plants unable to survive on the chaotic land?"
"What is that? A towering wall of yellowish-brown creatures?"
"They're plants, emerald green and translucent, with enormous mouths, and a horn attached to a vine?"
They were astonished, somewhat dumbfounded. What kind of Dao technique was this? Was it another evolutionary theory researched by the inheritors of that mysterious Buddhist-Dao civilization? These creatures might possess unique qualities. But soon, some Saints connected this to the recent variable in the universe's dao enlightenment, surmising that the rules of the cosmic dojo had been proven, allowing these plants to root themselves in the Great Universe and absorb power, just like dojos.
"Plants can actually start rooting and surviving on land now; this is incredible. Their methods are astounding; they even thought of giving plants legs so they could walk directly to dojo sites and root themselves, saving a lot of effort." A Long-Lived Saint, Wumeng, whispered, "Plants, how do they root so quickly? I originally thought they'd have to use waterways and ask us for help transporting plants via canals to occupy territory..."
Wumeng's heart grew heavy. Securing geographical advantage first wasn't something she hadn't considered the opponent doing. But she had expected the opponent would need to beg for her cooperation to achieve this, ensuring she'd get a share. Yet, they had managed to bypass her! To have such a strategy up their sleeve, the opponent was indeed formidable. The more Wumeng watched, the more alarmed she became, feeling she had miscalculated. "Their evolutionary level is formidable, and the method of evolving plants with legs is particularly unique. It seems they have deeply researched this, likely having knowledge of history to possess such profound reserves of knowledge, all for this very day." Without deep accumulation in this area, it would be impossible to achieve in a short time. Clearly, the opponent had indeed predicted the future, foreseeing the dao enlightenment of "Dojo Rules," and had preemptively accumulated the evolutionary knowledge to give plants legs.
At this moment, Liu Qi, standing nearby, was also secretly surprised, feeling there was a deeper meaning. "However, what do these strangely shaped plants mean? That sunflower? Smiling brilliantly, with a nose and eyes—it must have special biological characteristics that need careful observation." After all, he knew Zaiji; she was cunning and never made useless moves.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Not only were ordinary Saints and Long-Lived Saints secretly observing, but other players also grew anxious, piloting their universes through the myriad heavens in the chaotic sea, looking towards the land from afar.
"Those beasts!"
"Those animals!"
"What the hell are they doing? Plants vs. Zombies?"
"Damn it, they're treating us like zombies!"
Their faces darkened, cursing their shamelessness inwardly. The players on the Asura side, probably with the help of Emperor Zun and Zaiji, were gloating, knowing the inside story in advance, and going ashore to seize the initiative, not even allowing them to land? We're all players; how can you do this to us? If you're brothers, come fight me? They were thoroughly displeased. The "brothers" from the Asura Dao side had previously been chatting and researching happily in the forums. It turned out they had been secretly plotting this scheme for who knows how long? They were truly despicable.
"Any real estate developer is malicious, brothers, don't be like this..." Some players, disbelieving, started to try and approach.
"Bang!"
A burst of Daoist energy cannon fire erupted directly from a cute little sprout, sending their piloted universe tumbling head over heels.
[1 minute ago] Chapter 463: Rain Umbrella
[1 minute ago] Chapter 231: 法会不寻常
[4 minutes ago] Chapter 374: That Was Not Me
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