My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Moreover, even when not on full alert, the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship] is filled with numerous Restrictions, and many areas are undetectable. Furthermore, its internal space is as vast as a small world; even a Harmonization Realm expert can’t directly explore the entire area.

If you wish to go inside and rescue them, I believe you first need to find the ship’s schematics..."

After these words, Jiang Qiu’s expression hardened, and his brow furrowed slightly. Clearly, there was more to the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship] than met the eye. He couldn’t just barge in recklessly and expect an easy escape; he might even end up trapped himself.

As one of the most technologically advanced warships in the Nine Venerable Great Realm, the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship] was the culmination of the Emperor Blue Lizard People’s greatest technological achievements. It contained space-time compression technology, creating an artificial space-time of immense scope. Even if he ventured deep inside, he wouldn’t be able to directly locate Liu Zili and the others.

Furthermore, with the ship divided into one region after another, there were surely countless Cultivators stationed as guards, with a significant number at the Fusion Realm. It would be impossible to slip inside and rescue Liu Zili and the others without a sound.

According to [Celestial Star], the most important thing right now was to obtain the schematics. And obviously, the schematics wouldn’t be easy to find. He would have to either infiltrate the core area or hack into their central network hub...

HISS—

Jiang Qiu sucked in a cold breath, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed. ’Infiltrate the core area? I don’t even know where the core area is. How am I supposed to find the schematics?’

’Without the schematics, I won’t know where the core area is. But to find the schematics, I have to go to the core area first. It’s a complete catch-22.’

’And as for hacking the central network hub... The technical difficulty was off the charts. It was the pinnacle of technology from one of the three major races, from one of the top Great Realms in the Primordial world cluster.’

’How could someone like me, from a remote place like Blue Star, possibly master such advanced technology? Even if the Three-Life Race tried, it would probably take them a considerable amount of time to crack it, right?’

As he mulled over these difficulties, Yang Lei, who had been listening nearby and understood the general situation, spoke up, "Sir Jiang Qiu, you wish to enter the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship] to rescue people?"

"Yes. My kinsmen were captured by him during a great catastrophe years ago. Now, I must go inside to rescue them."

Jiang Qiu was frank and didn’t hide anything. After all, such things were all too common. The Primordial world cluster had no single, binding Law; everyone was engaged in looting, pillaging, and burning. Zuo Xuan was considered an expert in this regard, and there was no telling how many hidden enemies hated his guts. He was simply so powerful that he could ignore the hatred of ants.

But now, it seemed he had also captured the kinsmen of this mysterious prodigy, Jiang Qiu. That made things interesting. Yang Lei immediately proposed his idea. "If your kinsmen haven’t been sold off or died, I can buy a portion of them back for you, Sir Jiang Qiu. As long as no one trapped is at the Harmonization Realm, I think I can afford it."

This was no exaggeration. The Three-Life Race had always prioritized profit, and every famous expert from their race was fabulously wealthy. Although he wasn’t the one in charge of the Thunder Great Realm, his personal reserves were still immense, second only to the Thunder Clan itself.

With his resources, buying out all the slaves on the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship] wouldn’t be a major issue. After all, Celestial Star had once bought a huge batch of slaves from that very ship without batting an eye, as if it were a common occurrence. How could Yang Lei be any less capable? That was why he had spoken with such confidence.

Of course, his caveat—"as long as no one trapped is at the Harmonization Realm"—stemmed from a slight worry that Zuo Xuan might have captured one of Jiang Qiu’s kinsmen who was at that level. From what he had heard Celestial Star describe, this young man’s background was terrifying. The power backing him might have already accumulated to an unimaginable degree. If a Harmonization Realm expert had truly been captured, he really wouldn’t be able to afford the ransom.

A Harmonization Realm expert was practically priceless. Their terrifying deterrent power, if properly utilized, could suppress an entire Great Realm. How could he possibly afford to buy someone like that?

Besides, Harmonization Realm experts were almost never captured. In defeat, they would either self-destruct or wipe out their enemies completely. How could a situation where one was captured and enslaved even exist?

Even if such a thing happened, you couldn’t call them a slave. All are ants beneath the Harmonization Realm—could a Harmonization Realm expert truly be called a slave?

Hearing this suggestion, Jiang Qiu’s mind instantly cleared. ’That’s right,’ he thought. ’Zuo Xuan captures people to sell them for money, doesn’t he? So why not just buy them back?’

’The group of people captured from Blue Star, despite their large numbers, aren’t actually as valuable as one might imagine. Back when I wiped out the Soul Race, I probably could have used those resources to buy everyone back.’

’After all, Blue Star doesn’t even have a single person at the Fusion Realm. There were barely a hundred at the Dao Entry Realm, just under a thousand at the Peeping Dao Realm, and the rest were only at the Dharma Realm. They can’t be that expensive.’

’Besides, ten years have passed. Individuals like Zhu Weiyi, who were of a certain age with decent cultivation, have likely already been sold. Most of them have probably perished over the years. The number of Blue Star People remaining on the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship] must be extremely small, which means the cost would be even lower.’

’In other words, the expense I’d have to cover now isn’t that great. I could probably afford to buy them back myself, even without Yang Lei’s help.’

’The only problem is, there’s no guarantee that Liu Zili and the others are still alive...’

With this idea in mind, he began to discuss it with Yang Lei. Meanwhile, Celestial Star proactively disconnected, as the long-distance communication was consuming too many resources. Besides, as a Harmonization Realm expert living within the Nine Venerable Great Realm’s sphere of influence, Yang Lei knew Zuo Xuan far better than he did.

And so, the two of them immediately formulated a plan. Jiang Qiu would temporarily act under the name of the Three-Life Race—specifically, Yang Lei’s name—to purchase a batch of slaves from the temporary market run by the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship]. The request would specify members of the Human Race from a distant region, such as the area around the Yin Yang Great Realm.

The operation began swiftly. The Thunder Clan had not yet fully declared war on the Thunder Restricted Area and was still recruiting experts. Zuo Xuan was also still biding his time, so the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship] was maintaining its normal business operations, and its market was still open.

Yang Lei dispatched a representative to find the Emperor Blue Lizard Person managing the market for the [Eight-direction Reversing Ship] and stated his request: "We need to purchase a batch of the Human Race, preferably from the Yin Yang Great Realm. I’ve heard the humans from that region are quite tender. There are no requirements for their cultivation Realm..."

After hearing the whole request, the Emperor Blue Lizard Person wasn’t suspicious in the least. He had heard far too many requests, some of them bizarre, even perverse. A request like this from the Three-Life Race was as normal as could be. Besides, when the Three-Life Race was buying something, what was there to be suspicious about?

And so, the Fusion Realm representative of the Three-Life Race was given a long list. It contained human natives from numerous worlds within the sphere of the Yin Yang Great Realm, complete with corresponding virtual holographic images of each individual.

A cursory glance showed that while their general forms were similar, there were indeed differences in skin tone, height, and the like. Following the information provided by Lord Yang Lei and Sir Jiang Qiu, he quickly filtered the results and finally found a group of humans labeled "Blue Star." However, their number was pitifully small—a mere one hundred individuals, all of whom were very young females.

"These humans from Blue Star are quite good-looking. Why are there so few? The other groups of human natives number in the thousands or tens of thousands."

After hearing this, the Emperor Blue Lizard Person looked up Blue Star’s origins and replied with some resignation, "Blue Star is too far from here. Most of the humans with potential were already sold off en route. The ones remaining are those with the highest potential—meaning, they are exceptionally beautiful, young, and have strong cultivation Talent. We were planning to take them back to the Nine Venerable Great Realm to fetch a higher price..."