Returning to hometown to farm: The apocalypse system arrived ten years earlier?

Chapter 366 Ascending to Godhood
Having subdued the population, Li Xiang didn't just keep them around for nothing. He expanded Los Santos' underground farm, putting these people to work there and turning it into a granary.

The farms here rely primarily on manpower because there is a large surplus of people, especially nomads from the South Asian subcontinent. They used to be from lower castes and were engaged in agricultural labor and related manual work, and they are skilled at farming.

Together, Li Xiang and Yao Yao reorganized the population into production teams of about 200 people each. Family members naturally belonged to the same production team. Los Santos was in dire need of reconstruction, and Yao Yao, as the city lord, was extremely busy.

Fortunately, she has hundreds of clones, which is really useful. Although she can't handle hundreds of thousands or even billions of tasks at the same time as Jiang Cai'er, she can still handle eight hundred to a thousand tasks at the same time.

Over the years, Yao Yao has grown up and is fully capable of standing on her own.

Yao Yao thought to herself, "It's not that I want to get involved, it's just that Brother Xiang doesn't keep idle people around him. Just being a pretty face won't get you a place."

In addition, they rebuilt the contribution points system. In addition to working (various jobs), there is a birth contribution. For each child born, 1000 points are awarded. These points can be exchanged for various items and living supplies, and sometimes they are more useful than heat coins.

For example, the houses previously allocated were resettlement houses, which were relatively simple and mostly collective dormitories. If the points reach a certain level, one can be eligible to exchange them for larger, better-decorated, and more centrally located improved housing.

There are also private lessons from some top-tier teachers.

The reason for encouraging childbirth is self-evident: the population loss in the apocalypse is too great. In peacetime, the total population of the earth had reached 10 billion, but in just one or two years, the population was estimated to be only 6 to 7 billion.

Even so, it's much better than the near-extinction of a hundred in his previous life. Li Xiang can rightfully say that he played an indelible and important role in it.

Now, there is a wide variety of synthetic starch available, along with seeds of various high-yield crops. As long as there is sufficient electricity, cities like City 03 can produce crops all year round. High-yield rice can be harvested three to four times a year. Although the territory we have is smaller, we can still feed a larger population than in peacetime.

Agriculture is of paramount importance, so Yao Yao has as many as 150 "pioneer avatars," all dressed in armor and carrying farming tools with extraordinary attributes, leading people to reclaim wasteland.

Not all of her clones have Saint-level cultivation. Under Li Xiang's guidance, her main body has reached level 24. Naturally, her clones are not as powerful as her main body, but three of them have reached level 19, which is the threshold of Saint-level. The rest are not bad either, with the weakest having level 3 strength.

With the massive amount of equipment Li Xiang gave her, each clone was armed to the teeth, so safety was not a problem.

Furthermore, her clones rarely act alone; they usually stand guard nearby in groups of three to five, with at least one of them being at the eighth rank or higher. Even if someone harbors malicious intentions, they would not be able to subdue her in a short time. Once the nearby army or other clones arrive, the villains will have no chance of escape.

Yao Yao's "pioneer clones" are distributed throughout the underground farm, directing people to prepare the land, lay base fertilizer, dig irrigation canals, and install electric lights for lighting...

As for temperature control and heating, Los Santos's electricity supply is not particularly abundant, and a controlled nuclear fusion reactor cannot be built in a short time, so Li Xiang used a simpler method.

He lurked outside and launched a surprise attack on a nest of Blazing Sky Vultures, killing not only the Saint-level leader but also thousands of other exotic birds below the Saint level.

This is a strange space bird, its body engulfed in flames, larger than the Blackfire Crow, and providing even more heat. Each one flying in the air is like a small sun.

This strange beast is extremely ferocious; it can easily injure people when alive, but its corpse remains perfectly still.

Li Xiang buried its flesh and blood throughout the underground farm to serve as nutrients. He removed its bones, especially the skull, which was entirely crimson and exuded intense heat. Based on the different heat radiation ranges of the different grades of the Blazing Sky Vultures, Li Xiang dispersed them throughout the underground farm, allowing a continuous stream of heat to emanate, thus solving the temperature control problem.

Once the heat is depleted, we can hunt down another batch. Besides, by then, the controlled nuclear fusion reactor will probably be successfully built, and Los Santos won't lack electricity.

The underground farm has many reservoirs built to serve as irrigation water for the farmland. Li Xiang chose one of them, which was about ten acres in size, and put a sixteenth-tier Blazing Sky Vulture skull into it. Before long, the ten-acre pond was filled with steam and became a natural hot spring.

He had an idea and built several more houses next to the reservoir to serve as a large public bathhouse, separating men and women so that people could bathe there after finishing their work.

One hot spring bathhouse was not enough, and it was inconvenient for residents from afar to walk over, so he did the same thing and built seventy or eighty more bathhouses.

The residents were thrilled with this "benefit." After all, energy is precious in the apocalypse, and before, wandering the cold surface, there was never a chance to take a bath.

Even if I had the chance, I wouldn't take a bath. Bathing takes up energy. When I'm so hungry I'm dizzy, I'd rather curl up in my safe haven and sleep than take a shower.

Even before they were expelled, as members of the lower castes, they rarely had the privilege of enjoying hot baths in the underground cities of the South Asian subcontinent.

Now that I'm in Los Santos, I have plenty to eat and drink every day. After a day of farm work, taking a hot bath is pure bliss.

At the same time, Kanna and her team transported a large number of high-yield crop seeds over.

After the mission was assigned, Kanna volunteered and insisted that she and her team carry it out because she was deeply moved by what she had heard about Los Santos taking in eight or nine million homeless people from her former homeland and wanted to come and see for herself.

Li Xiang naturally granted her small request and reminded her to be careful on the road.

After Kanna arrived with a large quantity of synthetic starch and high-yield crop seeds, she saw that it was indeed the case, and her gratitude and admiration for Li Xiang grew even stronger.

From now on, these lower-caste people from their hometowns will be able to live a stable life. Moreover, Los Santos's administration is on par with City 03, and there is no discrimination. At least in terms of human dignity, everyone is equal.

With the increase in population and the resumption of production, Los Santos is thriving.

Of course, it's not entirely peaceful; conflicts sometimes occur, given the diverse ethnic backgrounds. However, thanks to Li Xiang and Yao Yao's various measures, the situation hasn't caused any major negative impact.

Li Xiang comforted Yao Yao, "This requires a process of integration; just take it slowly."

At this time, Li Xiang had already reached the peak of the 28th level. Just as he was helping Yao Yao get Los Santos back on track and stabilized, and was preparing to return to City 03 with Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui and others, a premonition suddenly surged in his heart, forcing him to immediately go into seclusion.

He hid deep underground, with Zhao Xueqing and Lei Xiaohui helping to protect him.

About three days later, one of the ten springs in Li Xiang's spiritual pool suddenly emitted spiritual light and gave birth to a small fish.

The Great Dao Spirit Fish is a symbol of divine status.

It is also known as the "Meteor God Tribulation Realm," which has ten minor realms, ranging from level 29 to 38. Each time a spirit fish is born, it constitutes a minor realm.

Li Xiang and his group used the "Mind Image Judgment Instrument" to interrogate the holy sons and daughters, and learned more about the cultivation realms and the names of each realm. They even knew some secrets of the Azure Spirit Star Region.

However, little is known about them, since Saint-level (Holy Spirit Revelation Realm) cultivators are not particularly powerful in the Azure Spirit Starfield.

The lifespan of the "Meteor God Tribulation Realm" is extremely long, reaching thousands of years. In contrast, the previous Saint Rank (Holy Spirit Revelation Realm) has a lifespan of only a few hundred years, with the longest not exceeding a thousand years.

Crossing a major threshold can be described as a tenfold increase.

As for the higher-level "Moon Wheel God King Realm" (levels 39-48), their lifespan is tens of thousands of years.

To reach the God-King realm, one cannot simply cultivate. This realm requires merging with satellites or asteroids such as the moon. Although the universe is vast, it is still predetermined. Satellites or asteroids in prosperous star regions already have owners. There are only two ways to obtain them: by force or by "exploring deep space".

"God King, with my current strength, it seems I can also try to compete for it." Li Xiang raised his head, his Nine Netherworld Eyes seemingly piercing through the void, seeing the scene on the moon.

However, with the year-end approaching and Li Xiang having just broken through to the God Rank, his realm was still unstable and his preparations were insufficient. Therefore, he planned to return to City 03 for a period of seclusion before making further preparations.

Furthermore, the process of merging with the planet's will and becoming its master requires an immense amount of time, and the larger the planet, the longer it takes. For a satellite or asteroid, it might take several years; for a large planet like Earth, it might take decades; and for a star like the Sun, it might take hundreds of years. Li Xiang had not personally experienced this, and the other holy sons and daughters, such as Su Xuanji, had only heard about it secondhand, so Li Xiang didn't know the exact timeframe.

Moreover, such an opportunity will inevitably attract many like-minded individuals who covet it and engage in fierce competition; it is not something that can be easily achieved.

Li Xiang carefully comprehended the fact that, in addition to the birth of the Great Dao Spirit Fish, a natal special ability inscription had also been born in the Spirit Pool Spring. This inscription was of the spiritual attribute and was called "Spirit Abyss Sacred Seal".

At this moment, his spiritual power was extremely strong, as boundless and vast as the ocean, reaching the realm of "divine intervention".

This special ability inscription, like the "Earth Pivot Evolution Record," is a major inscription containing numerous innate skills.

For example, there are spiritual protection types such as "Spiritual Abyss Barrier", "Heart and Soul Sacred Armor", and "Purifying Brahma Sound", while attack types include "Divine Thought Piercing", "Soul Domain Suppression", and "Illusory Sea Tide" and there are also auxiliary and special types such as "Universal Clarity", "Chain of All Beings' Hearts", "Rebirth and Soul Crossing", "Heavenly Mandate Prediction", and "Divine Might Imprint".

After reaching the God rank, his abilities gradually became more comprehensive, and many of his previous shortcomings were also overcome.

"Brother, congratulations on reaching the God Rank!" Zhao Xueqing and Lei Xiaohui stepped forward together, embracing Li Xiang on either side.

They were naturally envious. Godhood meant a lifespan of thousands of years. If they couldn't reach godhood, they might have to leave after a few hundred years. In that case, they wouldn't be able to accompany Li Xiang to the end.

Thinking of this, the two were happy for Li Xiang, but also slightly frustrated. They knew their own abilities; they weren't sure if they could reach the God Rank on their own.

Li Xiang comforted him, "It's alright, with your brother here, I will never abandon you!"

"Brother, we knew you were loyal and righteous." Zhao Xueqing and Lei Xiaohui were overjoyed and gave him a sweet kiss.

After returning to City 03, Jiang Cai'er learned that Li Xiang had reached the Divine Rank and was happy for him. Despite her busy schedule, she took some time out of her busy schedule, put on an apron, and personally cooked a family feast for Li Xiang.

The whole family—Grandma Li Xiang, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang Jianguo, Li Xiang, Jiang Cai'er, and their three children—were enjoying a happy time together.

This year's Spring Festival will still be filled with various celebrations, but Li Xiang is eager to consolidate his cultivation level, so he went into seclusion early. Jiang Cai'er reassured him that with her there, she would definitely make this Spring Festival lively and festive.

It is worth mentioning that the tradition of setting off firecrackers has been preserved.

Originally, in ancient times, setting off firecrackers was to drive away the mythical beast Nian. However, with the development of the times and in order to protect the environment, it was banned. This is because there was no such beast as Nian in the first place.

As the apocalypse arrived, the "Nian Beast" reappeared. The legend became reality.

In City 03, in a secret room, Li Xiang had been in seclusion for more than three months. He not only stabilized his God-level realm, but also advanced by a small realm. Two spirit fish were born in his body, reaching the 30th level.

The side length of the interdimensional warehouse has expanded to 1073741.824 kilometers, forming a cube, and its spatial volume has expanded to 12369505812 billion cubic kilometers.

During this period, he killed countless alien space beasts and accumulated a massive amount of achievement points. Now, his realm has reached level 30, and his physical body can withstand faster speed and power. He spent more than one billion achievement points to increase his speed to 300 kilometers per second and his strength to a force of 3000 million jin.

His endurance has also greatly increased. At a top speed of 300 km/s, he can fly for seven days and seven nights. If he cruises at a speed of 200 km/s, he can fly for more than a month.

At this speed, it would only take about twenty minutes to reach the moon.

The third cosmic velocity, which is the minimum initial velocity required to escape the gravitational pull of the Sun and fly out of the solar system, is 16.7 km/s.

Although he now has the ability to fly out of the solar system, his speed is still too slow!

If we take Pluto's orbit as the boundary of the solar system (approximately 40 AU), it would take about 7.5 months to fly out of the solar system from Earth. However, according to the International Astronomical Union's standard (the heliopause), it would take about 1 year and 10 months to leave the solar system.

If we take the Oort cloud as the boundary at its maximum extent, it would take approximately 1581 years.

"It's still too slow; long-distance interstellar travel remains unfeasible," Li Xiang sighed.

After all, 300 kilometers per second seems fast, but when converted to the speed of light, it is only one-thousandth of the speed of light.

Jiang Cai'er's first-generation space carrier was even slower than Li Xiang's, and it was estimated that it would take more than ten hours to reach the moon.

However, the carrier-based aircraft "Gencho-3" can reach the moon in just one or two hours. This is because the Gencho-3 fighter jet is smaller, while the carrier-based aircraft is too large.

In fact, the Xuan Niao fighter jet existed even in peacetime, but when it reached the second generation, the project had to be suspended in order to cope with the apocalypse.

Later, after City 03 was established, Jiang Cai'er restarted the project and developed Xuan Niao-3, while Xuan Niao-4 also began testing, and Xuan Niao-5 is still under development.

All of this is thanks to the progress in helium-3 controlled nuclear fusion technology.

As for the underground cities of other countries, let alone space carriers and space fighters, many are even running out of resources. As time goes by, it is not impossible for them to regress to the level of World War II.

It is no exaggeration to say that civilization has advanced by a generation.

After Li Xiang emerged from seclusion, he bid farewell to Jiang Cai'er, then his figure flashed and he arrived in space. Not long after, he appeared near the moon.

On the moon, countless alien space creatures roam, their nests scattered everywhere. The original human bases have long since become their dens.

After observing for a while, Li Xiang's Nine Netherworld Eyes were able to see clearly. He saw that inside the moon, in the dark universe dimension, several divine-level space beasts were still fighting for control of the moon. One of them was particularly powerful, and he estimated that the outcome would be decided soon.

Li Xiang did not act rashly. He flashed away from the moon and found a large number of meteorites in the universe, numbering over a thousand, with a total estimated mass of at least one million tons.

He reached out and grabbed, and a yellowish-brown light burst forth. The supernatural power of "Starfall Sand" enveloped one of the meteorites, which weighed over a thousand tons, and began to compress and condense it. After about ten hours, the meteorite was compressed into a grain of sand the size of a soybean!

A thousand tons of stardust!

Following the same method, Li Xiang spent about fifty days condensing a full one hundred grains of star sand, each weighing about a thousand tons.

As his strength increased, he could no longer find a suitable weapon; only this stardust was particularly suitable for him.

"Defensive Stance - Star Ring Protection": Li Xiang unleashed his supernatural power, with one hundred grains of star sand swirling around his body at hypersonic speeds of seventy to eighty Mach, forming a defensive layer that radiated starlight.

This defensive layer is so strong that even a nuclear explosion, let alone the high-energy particle cannons of a space carrier, probably wouldn't be able to shake it. Ordinary god-level beings simply couldn't break through its defenses.

With a thought, Li Xiang switched to "Offensive - Galactic Pour": a hundred grains of stardust shot out rapidly, swish swish swish, even the space itself rippled. There was no weapon of such power on Earth.

Even top-tier Saint-level beings would die instantly from such an attack, whether they were touched or grazed.

Li Xiang honed these two skills relentlessly, mastering them to the point where he could switch between them at will, act as he pleased, and combine strength and gentleness. Only then did he flash off and head towards the moon.

(End of this chapter)