Swallowing the Stars: Time Simulation

Chapter 329 Joining the Hongmeng

Just as the Yan God Clan clone and the Star Illusion King were hunting down powerful alien races, several guests arrived at Yang Wu's manor in the Rain Mountain Primitive Zone of the virtual universe.

"Your Highness, a delegation of envoys from the Hong Alliance has come to see you!" Felix, the manor's steward, said respectfully, standing next to Yang Wu.

After the guards left, everything in the manor was arranged by the butler, Felix.

Except in special circumstances, Yang Wu would always spare a sliver of his consciousness to connect to the virtual universe, which was no problem for a world lord.

"Hongmeng?" Yang Wu's heart skipped a beat, and he looked up at the entrance of the manor.

At the entrance of the manor stood a group of immortal gods with different appearances. There were only a few humans, and most of the others were powerful alien beings, a total of nine people.

"Yang Wu greets everyone!"

Yang Wu stepped forward and greeted him very politely.

The aura emanating from these people was very strong. Yang Wu had been roaming the outer battlefields for many years, so he could naturally sense the aura emanating from these powerful individuals. Almost all of them were peak-level King-level experts.

"Your Highness Yang Wu!" The leader of the nine powerful figures was a female human powerhouse wearing pink armor, with long pink hair, and all of them were somewhat translucent.

She looked at Yang Wu with great curiosity and said with a smile, "We are a special envoy team from the Hong Alliance. We have come here today to invite Your Highness to join our Hong Alliance!"

"An invitation to join the Hong Alliance?" Yang Wu raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "It seems the Hong Alliance has learned that I killed a King-level expert on the Yanji Continent!"

According to Yang Wu's knowledge, apart from servants and followers, only those peerless geniuses who could break through the Primordial Tongtian Mountain at the Realm Lord level could join the Hong Alliance at that time.

However, the fact that his strength had greatly improved since the last simulation was something only the Dragon Lord, who had been guiding him, knew about; as for the others, they knew nothing at all.

"Please come in, everyone. Let's eat and talk!" Yang Wu invited everyone into the manor while arranging for the butler to prepare a feast.

"Since it's His Highness Yang Wu's invitation, of course we won't refuse!" the leading female immortal deity said with a smile.

Immediately, the special envoy team from the Hong Alliance, led by Yang Wu, quickly crossed the vast garden and entered the living room.

Inside the living room, a group of servants were busy preparing a sumptuous feast.

"Please have a seat, everyone!" Yang Wu greeted everyone with a smile.

The nine Immortal Kings from within the Hong Alliance sat down one by one, all looking at Yang Wu, who was seated in the main seat, with great curiosity.

Since they were assigned to invite Yang Wu, they must already know quite a bit about him.

This is a peerless genius among the human race who has long been famous throughout the universe.

In just a few hundred years, he became the number one world lord among the human race, and now he is about to join the Hongmeng, which can only be entered by those who have been granted the title of King and Immortal.

The fact that Yang Wu was qualified to join the Hong Alliance in such a short period of cultivation further demonstrates his extraordinary nature.

"I still don't know how you all are addressed?" Yang Wu asked with a smile.

There are over 100,000 King-level experts among the human race, and the number of King-level Immortals within the Hong Alliance is as high as several million, so Yang Wu naturally couldn't recognize them all at once.

"Human, King of Desire!" The beautiful human woman in pink armor at the head of the group chuckled softly, her voice filled with boundless allure.

"The Fierce Warriors, the Lightning Chaser!"

"The Mist Warrior Clan, the King of Dripping Water!"

……

The nine immortal gods answered with their names in turn. Among them, only two were human, while the other seven were powerful beings from other races.

"It's a good thing to get to know seven immortal kings at once!"

Yang Wu raised his glass and said with a smile, "Come, let me toast you all!"

"To Your Highness!" King Yuxin and the others also raised their glasses.

Everyone drank the wine in their cups in one gulp.

"Your Highness!" King Yu Xin's smile was captivating. "You are surely aware of our purpose here. The Hong Alliance is a highly inclusive alliance, formed by the human race and countless other races from across the universe. Of course, once you join, you absolutely cannot betray it, or you will be hunted down by countless powerful figures within the alliance. I wonder if Your Highness Yang Wu wishes to join?"

The other immortal gods also looked at Yang Wu.

"Of course, I'm willing to join the Hongmeng!" Yang Wu nodded and said.

The Hongmeng is entirely composed of human races. Joining it will allow you to meet many powerful individuals; only a fool would refuse.

Moreover, joining Hongmeng has only benefits and no drawbacks.

Even those powerful individuals among the human race who were not among the five major powers who held the title of King have joined the Hong Alliance.

Of course, it's obvious that a peerless genius like Yang Wu, who has garnered attention from the higher-ups of the human race, would have no reason to refuse to join.

"Ding!"

As soon as Yang Wu finished speaking, a dazzling star suddenly condensed in the air above the living room.

The star shone brightly, then gradually shrank into a stream of light, which flew directly to Yang Wu's armor arm guards, where it appeared as a tiny star.

"boom!"

At the same time, a hazy human figure appeared in mid-air. Under that invisible pressure, even though Yang Wu and the nine peak-level immortal gods including the Desire King could vaguely see the figure, they were unable to look up directly at it due to the astonishing pressure.

It's like an ant facing a great god, completely powerless to resist.

The human radiance bowed slightly, looking down at Yang Wu.

"Human Yang Wu!" The light and shadow emitted a voice, indistinguishable in gender, that pierced straight to the soul.

"Welcome to the Hong Alliance! From this moment on, you are a full member of the Hong Alliance!"

"A cosmic crisis lurks, and our races need to survive. This requires the strongest among our races to fight. To fight for the Hong Alliance, to fight for humanity, is the mission of every strong member of the human race, and it is also your mission."

After he finished speaking, the light and shadow gradually faded away, but his voice seemed to continue to echo in Yang Wu's mind for a long time.

Fight for the Hong Alliance!

Fight for humanity!

Desire King and the others were also shocked by this figure, but when they came to their senses, they found that Yang Wu had already woken up.

"This..." King Yu Xin was slightly taken aback, then smiled and exclaimed, "Prince Yang Wu's willpower is indeed extraordinary; he has regained consciousness so quickly!"

It should be noted that they are all peak-level King-level experts, yet their speed of regaining consciousness is not as fast as that of a Realm Lord like Yang Wu, which is truly shameful.

"I just woke up too!" Yang Wu said with a smile.

His willpower was already comparable to that of an immortal god, and with the added boost from the second level of mind cultivation, his ability to withstand pressure and illusions was naturally stronger than that of the Desire King and others.

Upon hearing this, King Yuxin said no more, but instead smiled and explained, "Your Highness, that scene just now happens every time a new member joins the Hong Alliance."

"The identity of that figure of light and shadow is also a mystery within our Hong Alliance. Some say it is the avatar of a Palace Master, while others believe it is an intelligent system within the virtual universe. After all, the virtual universe system is so powerful that it can naturally simulate any kind of pressure it wants."

Yang Wu nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

The oppressive aura of that light and shadow was in no way weaker than that of a great being like the Lord of Dragons, so it was likely a Palace Master.

However, he had some guesses about the identity of that light and shadow, perhaps it was the intelligent core within the virtual universe.

This virtual universe spans the primordial and initial universes, running countless programs every day—how tedious and complex!

Even the great ruler of the universe probably couldn't complete so much work in time.

However, the 'Original Ancestor' who created this heaven-defying secret technique had obviously taken this problem into consideration, and appointed his mechanical race's universe master servant as the intelligent core of this virtual universe.

The Machine Race is inherently adept at processing information, and after breaking through to the level of Universe Master, this ability naturally becomes even stronger. With the assistance of a large number of low-level intelligences, they are able to maintain the operation of the virtual universe.

"I wonder how the Primordial Ancestor enslaved the Mechanical Race Universe Lord?" Yang Wu secretly wondered. "Mechanical Race powerhouses are born without souls, so they can't be enslaved at all. Maybe this Mechanical Race Universe Lord was evolved from the Primordial Ancestor's own intelligent life form."

"However, this makes the Primordial Ancestor far too terrifying!" Yang Wu thought to himself in surprise.

While becoming a Universe Venerable might be aided by external forces, reaching the level of Universe Lord requires personal effort.

But what about the original ancestor?

He himself is the strongest being in the universe, and he also has three disciples and an intelligent life form who have become masters of the universe. Even the strongest being of the giant axe has received his guidance.

Immediately, Yang Wu stopped thinking about it and began to warmly greet the Desire King and the others.

Faced with a peerless genius like Yang Wu, the Desire King and his companions naturally wanted to befriend him, and for a time, both host and guests enjoyed themselves.

The banquet concluded successfully before the king and his entourage took their leave.

……

After Yu Xinwang and the others left, Yang Wu went to the study and began to investigate the specific information about the Hongmeng.

Pictures, videos, text materials, and more... everything you could want.

Based on this information, the headquarters of the Hongmeng should be located in a specially created dimensional space within the virtual universe.

That dimensional space contained countless stars, and in the center of these stars stood a massive, floating ancient city.

This ancient city, suspended among countless stars, is the 'Hongmeng City', home to countless powerful individuals.

Hongmeng City is a place where humans and a large number of allied alien races gather, and powerful figures are everywhere.

It's peaceful here—after all, it's a virtual universe where there's no fighting or killing, so it's naturally peaceful.

The hierarchy here is strict—within Hongmeng City, the status of each strong person is determined by their strength and contributions; the higher the status, the greater the privileges they can enjoy.

Within Hongmeng City, the strength of official members is determined entirely by their battle records; the stronger the records, the higher the strength ranking.

The division within the Hong Alliance is very simple: one-star, two-star, three-star... all the way up to seven-star. All the strong members will have corresponding star marks displayed on their arm guards, which makes it easy to determine the opponent's specific strength.

Of course, even those with great strength were all at the one-star level when they first joined the Hongmeng.

Then, based on each strong individual's real-world achievements, the virtual universe system will automatically determine their achievements and strength, and then classify them into new levels.

One star generally represents the ordinary level among the King-level Immortals, roughly equivalent to the initial and advanced King-level Immortal Gods.

Two-star level is considered a strong person among those who have been granted the title of King. They are usually at the peak of the King title or a strong person at the higher level of the King title.

Samsung, the ultimate champion!

Four stars represents the initial level of a Universe Venerable. Even invincible powerhouses like True King can be classified at this level.

……

The Seven Stars are the true overlords of the universe, fully capable of leading a race to survive in the primordial universe.

"Hongmeng City is divided into the outer city, the inner city, and the Hongmeng Hall, which holds the highest status."

Yang Wu kept looking at the data: "All the powerhouses from one star to three stars live in the outer city. Among them, there are only about 100,000 people of the human race, but the number of powerhouses from other races exceeds three million!"

This demonstrates that tribal alliances do indeed possess significant advantages.

In the vast primordial universe, there are billions of races. Although these numerous races are far less powerful than the top races, once they unite, they are terrifyingly powerful.

In the original story, after Luo Feng obtained the inheritance of Duan Donghe, a great war broke out in the primordial universe, during which there were as many as a thousand universe masters!

However, the human race itself has fewer than twenty universe masters!

Only by forming an alliance with the most powerful races as the main force, along with a small number of strong races and a large number of ordinary and weak races, can one gain a greater advantage in the primordial universe.

Moreover, the human race possesses the most powerful military force, naturally enabling them to maintain a dominant position within the Hong Alliance.

After all, ordinary and weaker groups also receive some benefits after joining the Hong Alliance.

The most important point is that contributions can be used to revive fallen powerful members of the clan.

Ordinary clans like the Golden Horn Clan cannot be resurrected once a powerful member falls.

However, after joining the Hongmeng, one can pay certain resources to request the universe lord or even the strongest being in the universe within the alliance to reverse time and be resurrected.

certainly--

These resurrections are usually accumulated and then unified by a Palace Master within the Hong Alliance once the number reaches a certain level.

The timing is uncertain, and the cost of resurrection is high; many people have not accumulated enough contribution points for resurrection.

Even within the human race, those resurrected powerful beings still have to repay the resources they consumed. Only after they have truly paid off their debts can they be considered truly free.

As for the four-star to six-star powerhouses, they all reside in the inner city.

Apart from a few invincible kings, all the powerful figures in the inner city are cosmic venerables.

In the very heart of Hongmeng City stands a palace that resembles a giant sword piercing the starry sky.

That is the 'Hongmeng Hall'!

Those who can reside within the Hongmeng Palace possess at least the strength of a cosmic overlord.

As for the many hall masters within the Hongmeng Hall, they are already supreme beings who have transcended the Seven Stars, the Lords of the Universe!

Any movement by any one of these people could cause tremors among billions of races in the universe.

"I wonder how many alien universe lords are in the Hong Alliance?" Yang Wu thought to himself.

Yang Wu was quite clear about the number of universe masters within the human race itself.

18th place!

There is also the strongest being in the universe, the Giant Axe.

And this is also the greatest advantage that enabled humanity to become the pinnacle of society!

Of course, aside from these messages, Yang Wu was most concerned about information regarding 'resource' transactions.

He acquired a large amount of resources on the extraterritorial battlefield, which he had previously sold to the resource acquisition department of the Virtual Universe Company.

Given Yang Wu's current position, the resource acquisition department wouldn't dare to lower the price.

However, if sold within the Hongmeng Alliance, the profits would undoubtedly be greater.

After all, the majority of those in the Hong Alliance are the Universe Venerables and King-level Immortals from ordinary and weak races.

These ordinary and vulnerable groups usually lack access to large amounts of resources, so they are naturally more willing to spend money when they need something.

Even some extremely rare and special treasures can drive countless powerful alien races mad.

For example, Blood Crystals are something that core members of the five major human powers have the opportunity to obtain at the cosmic level, and human cosmic venerables should also be able to exchange for them within their own race.

However, for those powerful alien races, they would never normally be able to see such treasures.

Therefore, once the Blood Crystal appears within the Hong Alliance, it will surely drive countless powerful individuals into a frenzy.

Compared to the various transactions within the Hong Alliance, the so-called auctions held by the major cosmic nations are utterly insignificant!

Auctions, huge transactions, elite teams venturing into various cosmic secret realms, elite groups in extraterrestrial battlefields, and small groups formed due to shared interests and goals...

There's nothing that Hongmeng doesn't have, only things you can't imagine.

all in all……

The Hong Alliance is a mixed bag, with various factions operating across the board, constantly manipulating the wealth and fortunes of humans and many other races.

……

Seeing the prosperity of Hongmeng City, Yang Wu couldn't wait to go and take a look.

Just as he was about to teleport to Hongmeng City, Chi Yan's voice suddenly rang in his mind.

"Master, the coordinates of a Machine Race King-level Immortal God have been discovered!"

"Hmm?" Yang Wu's heart stirred slightly.

Although there is a bounty, discovering an alien king-level immortal still depends on luck; you might only encounter one every few days.

"Hongmeng City can be visited anytime, but the Mechanical Race's coronation as an Immortal King is not to be missed!"

The strongest members of the Machine Race are generally the wealthiest among those of the same level, and of course, they are also the strongest.

After all, the mechanical race mostly fights with various mechanical weapons. Even an ordinary immortal god can unleash extremely powerful combat strength if he possesses a powerful mechanical weapon.

But for Yang Wu, this was not a problem at all.

Thinking of this, Yang Wu quickly returned to reality and began to teleport with Star Illusion King to the coordinates.

(End of this chapter)