"Coordinates"
Hanging Jade Domain.
Dim clouds shrouded the sky above the massive domain. Under the hurricane surging from the Gray World, they drifted silently in one direction, like a sea of clouds rolling in a storm, magnificent and majestic.
And at this time, above the city and clouds, a white building whose outline resembled a diamond stood motionless, as if embedded in the sky.
That was the center of the Hanging Jade Domain, and also the only existence occupying the sky among the Nine Great Bases—
Xuanyu Base.
Forty seconds after the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path emerged, alarm sounds echoed in every corner of the Xuanyu Base. Figures of White Coat Wearers shuttled rapidly through it, their faces rarely solemn.
"... So, the news of the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path's emergence has been confirmed?"
In the general dispatch room, a figure stood in front of a huge one-way Glass, looking back.
"The South Sea Domain confirmed it first?" The Professor raised an eyebrow, then as if thinking of something, nodded slightly. "Right, the one from the Path of the Scholar God is in the South Sea Domain... He should be able to sense the emergence of the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path at the first moment."
After pondering for a long time, the Professor asked again, "What about the other domains, what's their reaction?"
"The first batch of emergency meetings has been convened. The views of all domains are currently unanimous, believing that the Emperor's revival will cause a shock to the current human society... The situation we are facing is already severe enough. We must twist into a rope to fight foreign enemies, and cannot let a resurgent Emperor stir up trouble internally again."
The Professor nodded repeatedly. "Humanity has gone through so many hardships and barely managed to survive until now... How could it be possible to kneel and kowtow to a feudal Emperor again?"
"But, since the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path has emerged, it means it is about to select the [Emperor] of this era soon..."
"Then before the new [Emperor] appears, destroy him together with that Ancient Vault." The Professor spoke calmly.
"Professor, that is the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path... Even if it has been abandoned and defeated, it's not something that can be destroyed just by saying so. Without any accidents, there should still be residual wills of the past Emperors there." The young man spoke helplessly. "In the current Five Great Realms, who can destroy it?"
"What about that one in the South Sea Domain? Is he not taking action?"
"The Path of the Scholar God is also one of the Fourteen Divine Paths, suppressed by the Path of the Sovereign... Even if he leaves the South Sea Domain regardless of the cost and forcibly attacks, he doesn't have the assurance of being able to destroy that place."
"... If Divine Pathways won't work, what about the Nine Monarchs? The Lord of the Red Dust should..."
Before he finished speaking, the Professor shook his head to himself. "Also won't work... The Lord of the Red Dust's injuries haven't healed, and she still has to maintain the Red Dust Domain, so she cannot easily leave either..."
The Professor pondered for a moment. His gaze ultimately passed through the huge one-way Glass in front of him, landing on that Hibernation Chamber at the very core of the Hanging Jade Domain...
His eyes slightly narrowed.
"It seems, the Lord of Hanging Jade's judgment back then was correct..."
Seeing this, the young man was startled in his heart. "Professor, could it be you want to awaken the Lord of Hanging Jade?! But the Lord of Hanging Jade has hibernated for so many years. If he awakens, his life will immediately enter a countdown... We don't need to plunge the entire Hanging Jade Domain into a situation of certain death just for an Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path!"
"I am not going to awaken this Lord of Hanging Jade." The Professor paused for a moment.
"I want to... request aid from the future Lord of Hanging Jade."
"... What did you say?" The young man stood frozen in place.
"The Lord of Hanging Jade controls the God Particle, able to endow particles with mass, creating Wormholes to travel through time... But before falling into a deep sleep, the Lord of Hanging Jade said that he cannot distinguish the direction of time inside a Wormhole. Only if we transmit 'Coordinates' to him can he lock onto the corresponding timeline."
It was the first time the young man heard of the Lord of Hanging Jade's power, his eyes full of shock. He immediately asked:
"How do we transmit Coordinates?"
"Inject a string of particle sequences into the Lord of Hanging Jade's body." The Professor pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"It's like using the Particle Collider to leave a string of 'tattoos' on the current Lord of Hanging Jade. The corresponding marks will naturally appear on the future Lord of Hanging Jade's body. It's just that this kind of 'tattoo' must be composed of specific particles to be able to adapt to the Wormhole and ensure it won't be interfered with...
But even so, he cannot guarantee that he will respond to the Coordinates every time. According to what he said, the number of times he can open Wormholes is limited."
"But... but the Particle Collider shouldn't have been usable since three hundred years ago, right?"
The Professor looked through the one-way Glass, gazing at that tall and large figure whose entire body was soaked in the Hibernation Chamber...
An unknown amount of time passed before he spoke slowly:
"Send an urgent telegram, invite the Master of the Babel Tower to come over for a trip."
...
Gray World.
"Damn... what exactly is that thing?"
As the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path ascended into the sky, the earth finally stopped its endless shaking and cracking. Jian Changsheng stood on the broken earth with a dirt-covered face, looking at the dazzling behemoth in the sky, his eyes full of shock.
Sun Bumian pushed the small Round Sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, speaking with some surprise:
"Oh my, this thing actually came out... I thought it would disappear from this world forever."
"Stop keeping us in suspense, Brother Awakened Lion. What exactly is that?"
Before Sun Bumian could open his mouth to explain, Chen Ling slowly spat out a sentence: "That is, the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path."
"Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path?" Jian Changsheng was stunned.
Sun Bumian was also somewhat surprised. He turned to look at Chen Ling. "You actually know it too? You shouldn't... This is not something from your era."
"I don't know it, but..."
Chen Ling's eyes stared at the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path hanging high in the firmament. His right hand unconsciously raised, placing it on his hollow chest... He slowly spoke, "I can feel, it is calling me."
Sun Bumian frowned slightly. He carefully sized up Chen Ling a few times from top to bottom, not knowing what he was thinking.
Chen Ling was telling the truth. One second before the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path ascended into the sky, he had already felt something in his heart, abruptly looking towards a certain direction in the Gray World.
An unprecedented, strong sense of attraction made it difficult for Chen Ling to move his gaze away from the ascending Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path. It was like two magnets not far apart, and Chen Ling was the relatively smaller one. There seemed to be a force in the unseen world constantly urging him to get closer.
Chen Ling didn't know what this situation was at first, until he found the source of this sense of attraction...
[Imperial Fate].
"The Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path has emerged..." In Chen Ling's eyes, the young man he saw in the Timeline Save File, who had left a deep impression on him, instantly surfaced...
A hint of killing intent condensed between his brows.
"Are you there too... Ying Fu."