Chapter 306: Ascension to the Ethereal Realm!
After detonating the massive Black Lotus that had descended upon her, Bai Fu immediately started the main quest.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the fourth branch of the 【Tubu Campaign】 main quest, 【Black Hole Annihilation】, was already completed.
It wasn't for nothing that she spent so much time rambling on to Senlan.
Despite some setbacks, the mission was ultimately completed successfully.
In this way, she no longer needed to worry about the 13-day time limit.
She was curious about what would happen after the 13 days were up, but more than finding out the answer, she was more interested in the hidden rewards of the main quest.
Despite the significant contributions made by Doomsday Winter and others in restraining the fourth candidate of the Martial God during the operation to destroy the black hole, the game still gave her a very high rating in the statistics.
81.2% contribution!
This number filled Bai Fu with anticipation for the mission reward.
She clicked on the task details.
The basic rewards for Branch 4 【Black Hole Annihilation】 were the special title 【Beyond Black Hole】, 16.24 billion XP, 【Apostolic Holy City Type-3 Dark Energy Extraction Device Blueprint (Red)】, and 【Fourth Cathedral Light Energy Gun Skill Card】×1.
The title 【Beyond Black Hole】 was very special. It did not bring any attribute or resistance bonuses. Instead, it granted Bai Fu Void Adaptability and a very special Void ability 【Astral Passage】.
Using this ability, Bai Fu could consume “dark energy” to connect two points in space to hyperspace, creating a fast travel channel.
The distance a passage spanned and the number of passages depended on Void Adaptability.
Because Bai Fu was a semi-void lifeform, her basic Void aptitude was already very high. So after obtaining this title, she was able to create seven channels at once, with the longest distance reaching hundreds of thousands of light-years.
“Goodness, the ability that comes with this title is used in conjunction with the blueprint for the dark energy extraction device.”
Bai Fu was overjoyed.
She could now travel through the void, but her innate void-traveling ability had significant limitations. For example, she could not carry people with her unless they merged with her like Yulia.
With the title 【Beyond Black Hole】, she no longer had these concerns.
In essence, an astral passage was a small stargate. Hundreds of thousands of light-years was not far in the vast universe, but it was enough for her to move freely on a galaxy cluster scale with her fleet.
The drawback of this small stargate was that it was too small to accommodate giant planetary-class warships.
But it didn’t matter, since she didn’t have the resources to build such ships anyway.
“Title, XP, blueprint, and a powerful skill card—no wonder it’s a main quest reward!”
Bai Fu sighed and clicked on the hidden reward triggered after completing Branch 4.
The hidden rewards were 10 billion XP, advanced knowledge 【Advanced Reactions of Dark Energy and Psionic Energy】, and basic knowledge 【Introduction to Dark Energy Prayer Card Creation】.
This was truly a pleasant surprise.
Although she didn’t obtain cutting-edge knowledge about dark energy, without foundational and advanced knowledge, she wouldn’t be able to understand it anyway.
Without hesitation, Bai Fu began learning and quickly digested the two new knowledge modules.
These didn’t directly benefit her immediately, but they deepened her understanding of dark energy.
For example, dark energy could be used to seal ordinary Psionic Priests, and it could block psionic perception.
“No wonder the enemy reached our doorstep and I still knew nothing. If it weren’t for my cheat, the fleet I led would’ve been wiped out.”
Bai Fu felt extremely fortunate.
After calming down, she began reviewing her experiences in the Tubu Galaxy over the past few days.
There wasn’t much else worth reviewing; the most notable was Senlan.
She had only intended to distract him with nonsense while preparing the Black Lotus for self-destruction near the black hole.
But judging from the system notification that appeared when Big Black Fu self-destructed, she had unexpectedly gained something.
【Senlan (Apostolic Holy City)’s Favorability toward you +23】
Yes.
She had tricked Senlan and destroyed both the base and the black hole in front of him, yet his favorability had increased from negative to +12.
This alone spoke volumes.
“Hahaha, he actually believed it!”
Bai Fu originally wanted to mock Senlan, but after thinking carefully, she realized she might have been fooled too in his position.
The reason was simple.
Her lies were built on truths—her abilities were indeed as outrageous as she claimed, even surpassing a Universal Treasure in practical value.
When viewed from that perspective, it was difficult not to believe her.
Of course, being deceived didn’t necessarily increase favorability—normally, it would increase killing intent.
So the fact that Senlan’s favorability rose meant something was off.
“He’s a bit disloyal.”
Bai Fu stroked her chin.
It was unclear whether only Senlan was like this or if the entire Apostolic Holy City had similar issues.
If it was the latter, she could exploit this.
If it was only Senlan, he could still become a key pawn.
“Looks like I need to develop this new persona.”
A secret organization leader—much cooler than the Excavation-Princess’s “redeemed avenger” setting.
Bai Fu clapped lightly.
Time to get stronger.
Including previous rewards, she had accumulated 38.87 billion XP.
This was enough to raise her Main Class level to 215 in one go and trigger her first Divinity Evolution.
With her current strength, she could already rival Transcendent beings who had completed one evolution.
After completing her own, she might even rival the Oathmaster.
She opened her Attribute Panel and began upgrading.
Ding ding ding—
After multiple notifications:
【Your Divinity Evolution progress has reached 19.9%, triggering a new evolution quest】
Requirements:
HP: -2326305 / 2500000
Constitution: 6330 / 5000
Spirit: 4373 / 5000
Ethereal Realm Compatibility: 89.2% / 90%
“The gap isn’t big at all!”
Especially Constitution—far exceeding the requirement.
If it were a normal Psionic Priest, they might be stuck for years.
Divinity Evolution required true improvement of both body and soul.
Thinking of this, Bai Fu became puzzled.
How did the Apostolic Holy City produce so many individuals with multiple evolutions?
Was it because of the Universal Treasure?
Unlikely.
“If not that… then what?”
Unable to find an answer, she stopped overthinking.
Meanwhile, after destroying the black hole, she chose to retreat instead of fighting to the death.
Using Astral Passage, she evacuated with the remaining fleet.
The three Transcendent beings of the Apostolic Holy City could only rage helplessly.
Graywind Star was destroyed.
The fourth candidate of the Martial God barely escaped after battling six opponents.
“What a pity…”
Bai Fu sighed.
In the following days, she focused on collecting dark energy resources.
On the 10th day—
A new notification arrived.
【You have completed the main storyline of the Rebirth Empire: 【Path to the Ethereal Realm (Part 1)】】
【You have triggered: 【Path to the Ethereal Realm (Part 2)】】
Mission Objective:
Complete the energy counteraction experiment and explore the Ethereal Realm through the Ascension Gate.
Bai Fu immediately headed to the research center.
After half a day—
A fluctuating gate formed from the collision of psionic energy and dark energy.
On it, the system marked:
【Gate of Ascension to the Ethereal Realm】