264: Chapter 264 Inner Rotation Arm, Thunder Scepter, Empty Willow

"What a miserable monkey."

"In his previous life, he was suppressed by Tathagata under the Five Fingers Mountain; in this life, he's suppressed on Titan."

Old Fungus Lao saw the Deep Space Giant Monkey suppressed on Titan and couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile.

"They said not to oppose the Southern Heavenly Gate, but you silly monkey just wouldn't listen."

"Now look at you."

"Another five hundred years?"

"Such practiced movements. This kid... why does he feel like a reincarnation of Tathagata?"

He Shiqi, standing to the side, murmured.

Suppressing the Deep Space Giant Monkey... this really seems like the behavior of that old schemer, Tathagata.

Why is Jiang Chen doing this too?

"Impossible. A lifeform at Tathagata's level has absolutely no need to reincarnate."

"This kid might be the reincarnation of some other immortal or god."

Old Fungus Lao frowned. He had considered that Jiang Chen's rapid evolution might be due to him being a reincarnation of some immortal or god. But after thinking it over, only the Thunder God seemed similar, yet the Thunder God of the past life wasn't this strong.

So he suspected it might be the God of Leize.

However, the God of Leize was the father of Fuxi and Nüwa, an ancient god who hadn't been part of the Southern Heavenly Gate for a long time, so it was impossible to tell.

For a moment, even Old Fungus Lao was somewhat unable to determine Jiang Chen's background.

Just then.

Jiang Chen steered the small fishing boat and landed on the deck of the Starship.

He thought Saturn would have something good like the Flat Peach spiritual root, but he didn't expect it to be just a divine weapon like the Golden Hoop.

Although not very useful, it was quite good for suppressing the monkey.

But Jiang Chen was not discouraged.

According to the system's prompts, there was another hidden black technology point on the seventh planet, Uranus.

Uranus was even further from Saturn, about 1.4 billion kilometers away.

Even with a magnetic field jump, it would take nearly half a day.

Therefore, Jiang Chen planned to continue jumping and harvest the black technology on Uranus and Neptune as well.

And then return to Earth.

Jiang Chen landed on the deck, and by this time, He Shiqi had already proactively put on the Carbon-9 Molecule ring and said, "I'm prepared to go back and guard the Southern Heavenly Gate; just don't hit me."

"..." Old Fungus Lao rolled his eyes. "Could you have some backbone? Just because the Deep Space Giant Monkey was suppressed on Titan, does it mean they'll suppress you on Titan too?"

After showing his contempt, Old Fungus Lao looked at Jiang Chen with a smile and said, "Comrade Jiang, my research on medicinal herbs is quite good. I can help the Southern Heavenly Gate refine spiritual pills and miraculous medicines."

As he spoke.

He took out some medicinal herbs he had cultivated on Jupiter and handed them to Jiang Chen for inspection.

These herbs grew by absorbing Qi; they had various effects, and ordinary people really couldn't cultivate them.

And these herbs could also be refined into pills for high-level lifeforms to consume, accelerating their evolution.

Jiang Chen nodded after hearing Old Fungus Lao's introduction.

He handed the sacrificial vessel he had salvaged earlier to Old Fungus Lao: "I'll give you a furnace for refining spiritual pills and miraculous medicines in the future."

As he spoke, a small tripod appeared in his hand.

Old Fungus Lao took the small tripod, somewhat surprised; this was a medicinal tripod forged during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Although it couldn't compare to the divine weapon tripod he had forged in his previous life, it was still a sharp tool for him now.

At least some low-level pills for accelerating lifeform evolution could be refined.

He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Comrade Jiang."

"I'm going to the next planet. Are you two going back to Earth first, or coming with me?"

Jiang Chen asked.

He could continue steering the Starship to Uranus.

Or he could have the Starship follow along.

Old Fungus Lao was curious about Jiang Chen moving back and forth between multiple planets and wanted to see what he was up to, so he said, "We'll go with you. After all, the Starship is now considered one of the members of the Earth Fleet."

"Alright then, initiate the magnetic field jump and follow the Starship to Uranus."

Jiang Chen returned to the Starship's deck and had Cuihua prepare to initiate the magnetic field jump.

Meanwhile, Commander Jiang Qiuzhi had already digested a small portion of the Flat Peach. Touching her slightly flat belly, she asked in surprise, "Dad, you subdued those three so quickly?"

"A monkey, a werewolf, and a glob of slime mold..."

Jiang Chen explained to her.

Commander Jiang Qiuzhi's eyes lit up after hearing this.

"Deep Space Giant Monkey? Old Fungus Lao? Sky-Howling Dog?"

She immediately recognized the past lives of these three.

However, she was somewhat surprised that an immortal of Old Fungus Lao's level had also reincarnated in the Solar System.

She herself was the Queen Mother, plus a Golden-Winged Great Peng. As their power recovered, the mass of the entire Solar System was growing larger and larger.

Now there was an additional Old Fungus Lao.

She feared that in less than a hundred years, the entire Solar System would accelerate its collision with the black hole.

Thinking of this.

Commander Jiang Qiuzhi suddenly realized that the remaining time for the Solar System was actually getting shorter and shorter.

"Dad, where are we going now?"

Commander Jiang Qiuzhi asked with a frown, looking somewhat worried.

If humanity didn't obtain the power to collectively escape the black hole within about a hundred years, they would have to abandon 99% of the people and only a small portion would escape.

This outcome would naturally not be good news for her father, who had always wanted to lead all of humanity to ascend together.

Although Jiang Chen didn't know that the mass of the Solar System was growing frantically, he was doing his best to find opportunities to help people evolve into high-level lifeforms.

He replied, "Let's go to Uranus and see if there are any good things like this Flat Peach."

"Dad, how did you know Saturn had this kind of Flat Peach?"

As the magnetic field jump initiated, Commander Jiang Qiuzhi curiously asked Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen smiled slightly and pointed to his head: "It's called a telepathic connection—it's a talent."

"Uh."

Looking at her father's mysterious expression, Commander Jiang Qiuzhi scratched her head, puzzled.

Boom!

The Starship's magnetic field jump initiated, flying toward Uranus first.

The Starship followed closely behind.

The two interstellar warships turned into a streak of light, heading toward Uranus, 1.4 billion kilometers away.

Uranus, as the seventh planet of the Solar System, ranks fourth in mass. A day there is seventeen hours long. It is over a billion kilometers away from Saturn alone, which is quite a distance.

So the magnetic field jump took nearly half a day before the Starship finally arrived above Uranus.

"I wonder what this kid is doing here at Uranus."

On the Starship, Old Fungus Lao and He Shiqi both watched in confusion as the Starship stopped above one of Uranus's moons.

At this moment on the Starship, before Jiang Chen had even cast his fishing net, the system in his mind began to prompt him that he had arrived at the location of the black technology.

"This is the Water-Thunder Hexagram, the third of the sixty-four hexagrams in the I Ching, and it is also a spatial teleportation point."

"As long as Qi is infused and the corresponding positions are lit up, the teleportation point can be activated."

Upon learning that this hidden black technology point was, like the Earth Hexagram in the Qin Mountains, a spatial teleportation point, Jiang Chen immediately looked delighted.

Judging by the Qi concentration on Shanhaijing Planet, even if it could provide for multiple people to evolve into Level 4 Lifeforms...

...it definitely wouldn't be enough to cultivate nine Level 4 Lifeforms.

But now.

Uranus actually had another spatial teleportation point.

Although he didn't know if the other side of this teleportation point was a planet rich in Qi, at least there was hope.

Thinking of this.

Jiang Chen sent a radio message to Old Fungus Lao and He Shiqi on the Starship.

"I've discovered a spatial teleportation point that can lead to other planets. Are you interested in evolving to the next level?"

Originally, Jiang Chen had planned to take the top three on the lifeform rankings to Shanhaijing Planet to evolve together.

However, now...

...since Uranus also had this kind of teleportation point, he would let Old Fungus Lao and He Shiqi go in first to see if they could evolve.

On the Starship, the two of them, after receiving Jiang Chen's message, quickly came to Jiang Chen's small fishing boat.

And Jiang Chen also carried them to the space above the Water-Thunder Hexagram.

This Water-Thunder Hexagram was spread across the surface of Uranus; looking down from outside, it had mysterious patterns like alien crop circles.

It was just that these patterns were too far from Earth for astronomical telescopes to observe clearly.

Only with such close observation could they be seen clearly.

"What strange patterns."

He Shiqi naturally noticed the strange patterns covering the surface of Uranus below.

He looked puzzled.

Old Fungus Lao, being well-informed, immediately recognized it after a brief gaze and said, "This is the third of the sixty-four hexagrams in the I Ching, the Water-Thunder Hexagram."

"The first two hexagrams are the Qian hexagram and the Earth Hexagram."

"These hexagrams are mainly used to predict the movements of celestial bodies."

As a master of divination, Old Fungus Lao naturally recognized these patterns.

However, what puzzled him was why there was such a massive Water-Thunder Hexagram pattern on this planet.

"There are no people on this planet, so who created it?"

While the two of them were in shock, Jiang Chen had already steered the small fishing boat to light up the pattern.

A huge vortex storm appeared above Uranus, seemingly wanting to swallow everything.

Before taking the two into the storm, Jiang Chen sent a radio message to Commander Jiang Qiuzhi.

"You guys wait outside; I'll be back soon."

With that...

...the small fishing boat charged into the Water-Thunder Hexagram.

A corridor appeared before them, with countless stars flashing past on all sides.

An unknown amount of time passed.

The small fishing boat flew out and appeared at a greyish planet.

Yes.

Greyish.

Different from Shanhaijing Planet.

In the distance from this planet, there was a dying star.

Because that star was dying, its light was getting weaker and weaker.

Combined with the long-distance propagation and refraction of light, it finally fell on this planet appearing greyish, as if it were perpetually overcast.

"Where is this?"

Old Fungus Lao looked around, his face full of shock and suspicion.

This Water-Thunder Hexagram could actually teleport people to another planet.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

Jiang Chen sensed the concentration of Qi in the surrounding area and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Qi concentration on this planet was not weaker than that of the classic of mountains and seas; in fact, it was even stronger.

He said to Old Fungus Lao, "Aren't you curious about how I evolved from a Level 4 Lifeform to a Level 5 Lifeform in such a short time? Well, the answer is here: I can locate spatial teleportation points within the Solar System. Although I don't know who left these teleportation points behind, I just know."

Upon hearing this, Old Fungus Lao was suddenly enlightened.

So, he wasn't using the Qi of the Solar System to evolve; he had come to an alien planet.

"Brother Monkey, for all your calculations, you never counted on this kid shuttling to other planets, did you?"

He Shiqi felt secretly relieved and glad in his heart. It was fortunate that he hadn't gone against Jiang Chen; otherwise, the one suppressed on Titan might have included him, the Sky-Howling Dog.

"This teleportation point can only be activated once every six months. You can evolve here slowly. You can absorb all the Qi to your heart's content without any worries," Jiang Chen said.

This was not the Solar System; here, he could embrace all rivers and swallow the lakes and seas like a whale.

"Are you not staying to evolve with us?" Old Fungus Lao asked with some concern.

This kid wouldn't be planning to abandon them here, would he?

Jiang Chen replied, "I am already a Level 5 Lifeform. You go ahead and evolve. Once you become Level 5 Lifeforms, I will still be counting on you to help push the Solar System."

"I'll go check the surroundings for you to see if there are any Level 5 Lifeforms. If there are, I'll drive them away for you." Saying this, Jiang Chen drove his small fishing boat around, sensing the area to look for Level 5 Lifeforms.

To his surprise, there were Level 5 Lifeforms here, but they were not animal-based; they were plant-based.

Some of the plants were even rare medicinal herbs.

This was truly perfect for Old Fungus Lao.

He returned to Old Fungus Lao's side and said, "Rest assured, I've checked. There are no carnivorous Level 5 Lifeforms here, only plant-based Level 5 Lifeforms. Old Fungus, hurry up and evolve, so you can use the sacrificial vessel to concoct miraculous elixirs."

"Farewell! I'll come back for you in about six months." After saying this, Jiang Chen drove the small fishing boat away from the planet.

As He Shiqi watched Jiang Chen vanish into a black dot, he couldn't help but look at Old Fungus Lao. "The Monkey has been suppressed on Titan. Do you think this kid will imprison me on this unknown planet?"

"An unknown planet? Let me divine it; once I do, I'll know where this place is."

Old Fungus Lao began to divine the celestial movements. After a series of complex calculations, he said with great certainty,

"This place is not located in the right spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, but in the Inner Spiral Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy."

The right spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy belongs to the outer right periphery. The Inner Spiral Arm is equivalent to the inner ring of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is generally closer to the territory of the Qi God Tribe.

"The Qi God Tribe? Holy crap, this wouldn't be the backyard where the Qi God Tribe farms medicinal herbs, would it?" He Shiqi was shocked.

He had heard Old Fungus Lao tell the story of the original Southern Heavenly Gate fighting the Qi God Tribe, so he was a bit anxious. If that were true, wouldn't it be escaping the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's mouth?

Old Fungus Lao looked around at the lush medicinal herbs and said, "It really does look like a backyard, but the herbs aren't extremely high-grade. The Qi God Tribe might only send people to harvest them every ten or a hundred years. As long as we don't happen to get caught at that exact moment, we shouldn't run into them."

"We might even be able to eat all their medicinal herbs," Old Fungus Lao chuckled sinisterly.

"Is that so? That actually sounds not bad." He Shiqi nodded.

The two of them each found a good spot and began their evolution.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chen drove the small fishing boat back to Uranus.

Commander Jiang Qiuzhi had been waiting outside for a few hours. When she finally saw her father return but didn't see Old Fungus Lao, she asked, "Dad, did you lock them all in the dark room?"

"No, there is a planet with very high Qi concentration inside, so I let them evolve there," Jiang Chen explained.

Commander Jiang Qiuzhi's eyes lit up after hearing this. "Dad, I want to go in too."

"No rush. I'll take you to the classic of mountains and seas; there are still many exotic beasts there. The planet opposite this Uranus is full of plants; they aren't tasty," Jiang Chen shook his head.

Although the classic of mountains and seas had no light, it had delicious food. Next time he went, he would definitely bring all the green onions, ginger, and garlic.

"So, are we going back now, or continuing to the next planet?" Commander Jiang Qiuzhi asked.

This was Uranus. The next one would be Neptune, the last planet of the Solar System, located on the outermost periphery and entirely pale blue.

The distance between Uranus and Neptune was even, even, even further, spanning 1.5 billion kilometers. It would take about a day to get there.

However, among the seven hidden black technologies Jiang Chen had signed in for, there was one on Neptune. It would only take a day anyway. So, Jiang Chen gave the order to continue the magnetic field jump again.

A day later, the Starship and the Starship arrived at Neptune together.

Jiang Chen successfully obtained the black technology at this location. However, this black technology was not a teleportation point, but a Lightning Scepter. It was a divine weapon once used by the God of Leize.

It was a divine weapon tempered by billions of lightning bolts in the cosmic void. It could amplify the Lightning Qi energy within one's body.

"Dad, can we go home now?" Seeing Jiang Chen return fully loaded, Commander Jiang Qiuzhi asked.

This was already the last planet in the Solar System; they couldn't jump any further forward. If they continued to jump, they would leave the Solar System and wouldn't be able to find other planets to perform jumps.

Once there was no magnetic field to perform jumps, the Starship would become a turtle in the void, only able to move at a snail's pace. In the long run, it was equivalent to a slow death.

Jiang Chen naturally had no intention of leaving the Solar System. However, according to the system's prompt, there was a non-luminous celestial body in a certain area outside the Solar System, and there was also a hidden black technology point there.

Jiang Chen checked the distance. At the speed of his small fishing boat, it would take about ten hours to fly over and check. As long as he returned to the Solar System in time, it would be fine. Thinking of this, he instructed Commander Jiang Qiuzhi to wait in the airspace near Neptune for a while, saying he was going out of the Solar System and would be back immediately.

"Dad, be careful! Come back quickly." Commander Jiang Qiuzhi watched Jiang Chen nervously.

Leaving the Solar System was not like stepping out of one's front door. If he didn't return in time, the Solar System would have revolved away, and if his small fishing boat stayed there, it would be equivalent to being trapped to death in the void.

"Rest assured, I will be back in time," Jiang Chen nodded and said.

The orbital speed of the Solar System was about 220 kilometers per second. As a Level 5 Lifeform, his maximum shuttle speed using spatial tension was about 100 li per second. As long as he didn't stay outside the Solar System for too long, he wouldn't be left too far behind.

"Whoosh." The small fishing boat flew away from the Starship. It accelerated toward the location shown on the map in his mind.

"Chua!" At the very moment the small fishing boat left the gravity of the Solar System, Jiang Chen felt that all sounds had gone silent.

It was as if, when he was originally in the Solar System, the surroundings were noisy, but after leaving, he was instantly plunged into the void.

He looked back and discovered that the Solar System was moving away from him at a speed of 220 kilometers per second.

He hurriedly cast his fishing net toward a certain non-luminous area and scooped.

[Ding, the host has caught the Ten-Grade Spiritual Root, the hollow willow.]

[This is an innate spiritual root comparable to a God-level civilization. Under its protection, evolution can be accelerated 100 times.]

A hollow willow? Although he didn't know what it was, its function seemed very powerful.

"Boom." A large tree, nearly several thousand meters long, crashed onto the small fishing boat.

Jiang Chen hurriedly tied the hollow willow to the deck, then tore through space and began to rush back to the Solar System.

However, at this moment, ten seconds had already passed. In just ten seconds, the Solar System was more than two thousand kilometers away from Jiang Chen.

With his shuttle speed of 100 li per second, he naturally couldn't catch up to the receding Neptune ahead.

Therefore, he could only go against the trend and crash toward another direction of the Solar System. After all, the gravitational range of the Solar System was very large; even after its head moved away from Jiang Chen, there was still a part of the gravitational region on the left side that was relatively close to Jiang Chen.

Thus, Jiang Chen used the momentum to rush back into the gravitational range of the Solar System. However, after he rushed in, his trajectory was spinning chaotically; it took a while before he could stabilize his flight path.

At this moment, he was also very far away from Neptune's original position, nearly 300,000 kilometers away. He could only drive the small fishing boat, dragging the hollow willow, and slowly fly toward Neptune.

Meanwhile, on the Starship, Commander Jiang Qiuzhi had been observing the small fishing boat with binoculars. At first, she could still see it. But as the small fishing boat left the gravitational range of the Solar System, the entire Solar System seemed to accelerate instantly, directly throwing the small fishing boat to a place where it couldn't be seen.

She was greatly alarmed and hurriedly sent a radio message to Jiang Chen, but there was no reply.

Just as she was anxious, Jiang Chen, who was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away in the airspace of another direction, replied to her: [It's okay, I'll be back immediately.]

Commander Jiang Qiuzhi checked the flight path of the small fishing boat and realized that it had turned back into the Solar System from another direction. She couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

A fishing boat leaving the gravitational range of the Solar System was truly too terrifying. Even for a Starship, if it directly left and didn't have enough speed to catch up, it would be permanently left behind. Let alone a small fishing boat.

Fortunately, her father didn't chase straight ahead but instead crashed toward the other side of the Solar System, which barely allowed him to catch up with the Solar System. It was just like the citizens of the Clean & Sanitary Country climbing onto a train; although the locomotive had already started and moved away, one could hang onto the back, top, outside, or other positions. In the end, he could still be considered to have boarded the train.