From the Abyss Invasion to the Blasting Star.

While staying in Quel'dorei for a few days, I happened to meet Azik, the Swordholder of the Astral Merchant Civilization.

At Lu Heng's request, Elder Serene of the Elven Forest is assisting astral merchants in researching fluorescent plants.

Although a complete method for preserving the fluorescent plant characteristics has not yet been developed, based on Serene's research progress, some progress has been made.

Even the smallest breakthrough is a huge help to the Star Realm Merchant.

Moreover, as long as there is progress, there is hope for success.

So every now and then, Azik would bring a botanist from the Astral Merchants to Serene to learn about plant research.

The Astral Merchant civilization is still wandering, so sometimes they lose contact for a long time after leaving.

Azik returned specifically on an astral merchant ship, and will later go back to reunite with his people.

“I’ve tried watering fluorescent plants with Moonwell water, and it does extend their fluorescent properties for several generations, but it doesn’t perfectly preserve them.” Serion led the botanist from the Astral Merchant civilization to visit his fluorescent plant nursery.

A dozen or so botanists from the astral merchants squatted in front of the nursery, using instruments to test and record the planting status of the fluorescent plants.

When Lu Heng arrived, he happened to overhear them discussing this topic.

Azik waved and greeted them: "It's perfect to run into you here. I was planning to go to Earth and meet you after I finished things here."

Lu Heng reached out and patted his shoulder, asking, "How have you been lately?"

Azik mimicked human movements very well, shrugged, and replied, "It's still the same, we keep searching for habitable worlds, but the result is always the same."

Lu Heng then looked at Serion and asked, "How are the elder's research results?"

Serene, on the other hand, was in high spirits: "There has been good progress recently. I have found that fluorescent plants are also quite effective in combating abyssal pollution. However, once they lose their fluorescent properties, this ability to resist pollution will be greatly weakened."

Lu Heng praised, "If that's the case, fluorescent plants are also a type of anti-magic plant worth studying."

Serene wholeheartedly agreed: "Yes, this is a very good research direction."

"I'm considering planting fluorescent plants and golden trees together to find a suitable ratio and see if it's effective in preventing the spread of abyssal pollution."

"Unfortunately, the fluorescent properties of fluorescent plants can only be maintained for three generations, after which they quickly lose their fluorescent properties."

"This means that fluorescent plants need to be planted repeatedly, which makes it impossible to promote their use for the time being."

Looking at the two plants in the nursery, Lu Heng suggested an idea: "Elder Serene, have you ever considered grafting these two plants?"

Plant grafting is a commonly used method in botany.

Grafted plants often exhibit characteristics of both plants, achieving the growth advantages that humans need.

"This one……"

As an elder of the Elven forest, Serene did indeed know about grafting techniques for planting plants, but this technique was not commonly used in the magical world.

Of course, he did try: "The grafting results were not ideal, and it was difficult for the plants to survive. At least, none of the existing fluorescent plants are suitable for grafting onto the golden tree."

Lu Heng thought for a moment, then turned to ask Azik, "By the way, how many families and genera of fluorescent plants are there in your ecosphere?"

The fluorescent plants that people are discussing now are actually more than one type.

The term "fluorescent plants" is simply a general term for plants in the native world of the Astral Merchants.

The plants in the Astral Merchant's native world have very peculiar characteristics; the vast majority of them possess fluorescent properties.

Different fluorescent plants exhibit different fluorescence intensities.

Some fluorescent plants are very bright in the dark and can be used as lighting.

Some fluorescent plants, however, exhibit relatively weak fluorescence.

Some plants exhibit partial fluorescence, such as the starfruit, where the fruit has a strong fluorescence, while the fluorescence of the other roots and stems is very weak.

Azik replied, "Originally there were more than 3,000 species of fluorescent plants, but we have been wandering for thousands of years and can only select plants with high fluorescent properties for cultivation."

"There are still a relatively large number of fluorescent plants, only about twenty kinds, all of which are relatively easy to grow."

After listening to his explanation, Lu Heng suggested an idea: "Elder Serene, how about this, send him some golden tree seeds so he can take them back and try grafting them?"

"Perhaps we can find suitable grafting plants among these fluorescent plants. If the grafting is successful, it might be helpful for plant research."

Upon hearing this idea, Serene immediately agreed: "This is a good idea. We don't need the golden tree seeds anymore. We can just dig up a few saplings from the nursery and take them back. If the grafting is successful, you must bring them back for me to see."

“Okay, as long as the grafting is successful, I will definitely bring it back for the elders to study.” Azik immediately agreed.

Although it's uncertain whether this experimental plan will succeed, it's at least a direction.

The Elven Golden Tree is indeed magical; perhaps it will work.

The Astral Merchants civilization has seen so many worlds and countless kinds of plants, but this is the first time they have ever seen such a magical plant as the Elf Golden Tree.

With the research plan finalized, Serene led the botanists from the Astral Merchant Civilization into the nursery, carefully dug out the golden saplings, and placed them in incubators.

A glimmer of hope rose in Azik's heart, and he couldn't wait to go back and give it a try: "I'm going back now, let's talk again next time we meet."

Lu Heng could see his eagerness and nodded in agreement: "Okay, go ahead. I hope you succeed."

Azik then remembered something else and said, "Oh right, I promised you before that if I could research a way to maintain the properties of fluorescent plants, I would give you an astral merchant ship."

"Although a solution has not yet been found, the astral merchant ship is already under construction and is currently more than halfway complete."

"If you have any special needs for the Starship, you can mention them now, or come back with me to see the design drawings and what parameters are required."

Astral merchant ships are priceless treasures for both elven and human civilizations.

Of all the civilizations I've seen, only Astral Merchants have been able to build ships capable of navigating the astral plane.

Lu Heng was surprised that the astral merchants were so straightforward. Before they had even figured out a way to maintain the properties of the fluorescent plants, they had already started building the astral merchant ship ahead of schedule.

"Is the progress so fast? I'd like to go and take a look."

“Let’s go. I’ll take you back to see the chief.” Azik beckoned.

Lu Heng was about to board the ship with him, but then he remembered something: "Wait a minute, there's a rather tricky problem now."

"What's wrong?" Azik asked, looking puzzled.

"You've heard about the battle between the Siren Clan and the Blackscale Demons, haven't you?"

"heard."

“I killed a demon god who descended upon the Dragon's Rest World and chopped off his arm. We’ve become mortal enemies. I’m worried that he might attack us in the outer space, which would implicate you all,” Lu Heng said, expressing his concerns.

“This…” Azik was also a little flustered; he had never encountered anything like this before.

The outer space belongs to the realm of chaotic laws, meaning that the power of demon gods is unrestricted there. This implies that if Lu Heng were to appear in the outer space and be discovered by the Winged Demon God Salion, he would most likely be attacked.

Serene chuckled upon hearing Lu Heng's concerns and said, "This problem is not difficult to solve. There is a magic in natural magic that can hide divine aura so that it cannot be detected by the demon god, unless that demon god knows your location in advance."

Su Muyu immediately stepped forward and asked, "Elder Serene, what kind of magic is it? Can I learn it?"

“Since I’ve said so, you can definitely learn it. This magic is called [Breath of Nature]. It’s not a high level, within your capabilities,” Serion nodded in reply.

"Then I'll try to learn." Su Muyu immediately became happy.

So Azikdo stayed for half a day.

Su Muyu used this half-day to learn the [Breath of Nature] magic.

After this spell is cast, it will cover the target with a layer of natural aura and purify the target's mind; it belongs to the purification type of magic.

When one is covered by the breath of nature, the divine aura also quiets down and remains within the body, thus preventing powerful divine beings from detecting it through their sense of smell.

After practicing magic a few times, Lu Heng and Su Muyu boarded Azik's astral merchant ship and headed to their ecosphere.

Three days later.

The astral merchant ship flew into the largest ecosphere of the astral merchant civilization.

This ecosphere is also cylindrical, with a diameter of thirty kilometers.

This means that this ecosphere can create a landmass nearly 100 kilometers long.

This is a very large living space.

The eco-tube simulates gravity by rotating, so people can walk normally while standing on the ground.

Azik took Lu Heng and the other to meet Lismavi, the leader of the Astral Merchants, and informed him of the research plan for the Golden Tree and the fluorescent plants.

Lismavi strongly agreed with the research and was pleased that Lu Heng had come to visit.

Lu Heng could tell that Lismavi was the oldest of the astral merchants.

The Astral Merchant Civilization is at a very high level of civilization. Even if it has not yet reached the level of a demigod civilization, it must have reached it in the past.

Perhaps Lismavi can provide some answers to these questions.

Therefore, after Azik took the plant samples to arrange the research plan, Lu Heng stayed behind to chat with Lismavi.

"Chief, I have some questions about God, and I wonder if I can get the answers from you."

After a moment's thought, Lismavi nodded and replied, "What do you want to ask? If I know, I will try my best to answer your questions."

Lu Heng was the first to ask the question that had been nagging at him: "Is it possible for gods to advance in rank by plundering divine power?"

Upon hearing this question, Lismavi laughed and said, "You've provoked a demon god, and now you're finally experiencing the cruel laws of the true god's world?"

Lu Heng nodded in agreement: "Yes, I only discovered it recently."

Lismavi sighed and replied, “Our civilization was once very close to the world of the true God. In the inherited records, our people’s prophet Gremavi once touched the boundary of the true God, and thus learned some of the God’s secrets.”

Hearing this, Lu Heng knew he had asked the right person and continued to listen quietly to his story.

Lismavie looked on with a look of reminiscence and said slowly, "Prophet Gremavie was the greatest leader of our people. If it weren't for the abyss, the prophet would have been the first member of our people to ascend to godhood."

"However, after the prophet saw the world of the gods, the abyss descended and changed everything."

"In the days that followed, the Prophet devoted all his energy to finding a way to purify the abyss."

"Unfortunately, the Prophet failed to purify the abyss, wasting his only chance to ascend to godhood."

"We fought against the abyss for seven centuries, but in the end our world was still ravaged by the abyss."

"In his final days, the Prophet knew he could not defeat the abyss. In order to preserve his people, he devised a plan of wandering and drew up the blueprints for the construction of the ecosphere."

"After that, our ancestors built the Ecosphere according to the Prophet's blueprints, left the original world, and began the era of wandering."

Lu Heng listened quietly to his story, feeling deeply moved.

The Astral Merchants were originally a very powerful civilization; had it not been for the invasion of the Abyss, they might have had a chance to rise to godhood.

The story told by Lismawi has nothing to do with the survival rules of the true God's world.

However, Lu Heng listened very attentively.

This is something the Astral Merchant Civilization has experienced, and perhaps one day it will become a choice for humanity as well.

Lismavi realized he had gone off-topic and chuckled as he returned to the point: "Right, what you wanted to hear was the survival rules of the true god."

"There are indeed records of this in the notes left by the prophet."

"It is true that gods can improve their rank by plundering divine power, but there are certain limitations."

"The greater the difference in divine power, the less improvement can be obtained through this method."

"Of course, as long as there are interests involved, there will be competition."

"Therefore, those who ascend to godhood will ultimately choose a world, construct laws, and defend against the plunder of other gods."

"To put it bluntly, after ascending to godhood, these gods will choose a world to hide in."

Lu Heng was taken aback when he heard this wording.

"Hide?"

"Yes, that's a very apt description..."

Lismavi chuckled and said, "This is what the Prophet wrote in his notes: For beings who have ascended to godhood, the best option to avoid having their divine power plundered by other gods is to hide in a world and construct laws to prevent other gods from entering."

Upon hearing this explanation, Lu Heng's eyes widened involuntarily, and he suddenly understood many things.

"To construct laws that prevent other gods from entering, does that mean that these laws will also prevent them from entering other worlds?"

Lismavi nodded and replied, "Yes, you guessed right, that's how it's recorded in the Prophet's notes."

"The laws established by the gods prevent other gods from plundering their divine power, and similarly, they also confine them to their world."

"Gods can come out of their world, but that would also mean losing the protection of the laws for them."

"This defensive strategy of law will also restrict their access to other worlds."

Lu Heng's breathing quickened as he gradually came to understand the laws governing the survival of the gods, which were far more bizarre than he had anticipated. (End of Chapter)