Bang! The door closed, revealing an almost empty secret room with only a futon and two oil lamps, one of which was lit.
"Let's begin," Xiang Yu said in a deep voice.
"Hmm." Hao Jiu took out a array disk, placed it on the ground, and then pressed the connection button.
The sub-array panel was pre-connected and set up with the main array panel before the crossing, so after pressing the switch, a door, or rather a shuttle passage, was unexpectedly launched from the sub-array panel.
Amidst a series of prayers, including "May Amitabha Buddha and God protect me," Xiang Yu stepped into the passage.
Then, the next step was to step out from the other side of the portal.
"King Xiang, let's go back," Hao Jiu said hurriedly.
As Xiang Yu retreated, he asked, "God of Wine, what has happened?"
"It's nothing, we were just testing how well this door works. We need to test both directions to be sure. Let's go back."
"Alright." Xiang Yu stepped into the passage again.
Hao Jiu hadn't expected navigating this time portal to be so smooth, even easier than using a time-travel device. Before returning, he carefully noted his energy points, as he suspected the device might consume energy.
They had exactly 17,200 energy points before entering the passage, and they still had 17,200 points when they came out. This means that they didn't spend a single point of energy in the three times they went through the passage.
That doesn't make sense. How could traversing dimensions not consume energy?
Hao Jiu suddenly understood a lot. Using the time-space tunnel would inevitably consume energy, but it was possible that someone else would pay for it.
In Hao Jiu's view, this "other person" should be the Chu-Han Contention plane.
Super items are all heaven-defying things. The operation of the primary and secondary dimensional array plates naturally consumes energy, but the cost comes from the user. It directly consumes the energy of the dimension and does not require the user of the channel to consume it separately.
The advantage of this design is very obvious: simply put, it consumes the energy of the secondary plane without causing any damage to the primary plane.
However, the current situation in the Chu-Han Contention plane is special. The secondary plane is a time-diversion plane of the primary plane, so the energy consumed by this primary-secondary plane array plate is the energy of the primary plane.
The energy of the main plane was already largely divided among the six branch planes, so paying for the energy consumed by the array plates of the main and secondary planes would definitely cause some problems.
Therefore, it's best to use this spacetime tunnel sparingly, at least until the crisis of dimensional collapse is completely resolved, and it should not be used without limit.
Otherwise, it could even lead to the collapse of the entire plane.
Just then, An Qisheng walked in from outside. Upon seeing Xiang Yu, he was slightly taken aback, then exclaimed with great joy, "Oh my! Great God, King Xiang, you've finally returned!"
Xiang Yu frowned. "What exactly happened to Immortal An?"
Hao Jiu noticed that An Qisheng's expression was also a bit off. Could it really be such a coincidence that he was delayed for ten days over there and then something went wrong here?
An Qisheng swung his hammer, exclaiming, "Great God, King Xiang, this plane has begun to collapse!"
Chapter 132 A Long-Awaited Reunion
"This plane has begun to collapse!"
"Hiss... No way?" Hao Jiu's eyes widened. Logically speaking, after just resolving one of the branch planes, the situation in the main plane should have eased up a bit. How come it's gotten worse instead?
"Is this really true?" Xiang Yu was also somewhat skeptical and unwilling to believe it. If the plane really collapsed, it would definitely be related to the time he wasted in the split plane, and he would regret it to death.
"It's absolutely true!" An Qisheng was actually more afraid of the plane collapsing than anyone else, because he had a longer lifespan and even had the chance to become an immortal. But before he could even reach the day of ascension, the plane collapsed first.
Xiang Yu felt a chill run down his spine and strode towards the outside of the Taoist temple. However...
The sun is shining brightly outside, the weather is absolutely wonderful!
Damn it! Is An Qisheng tired of living? How dare he joke about the great gods and the overlord?
Hao Jiu was both annoyed and amused, it was just too much!
However, it's better for this to turn out to be a false alarm than for the plane to actually collapse.
Xiang Yu didn't know what to say. He looked around and, finding nothing unusual, fixed his gaze on An Qisheng, wanting a reasonable explanation from him.
After An Qisheng ran out with Xiang Yu, he realized that Xiang Yu had misunderstood. He quickly cupped his hands and said, "Great God, King Xiang, please don't misunderstand. Although the collapse of this plane has begun, it has not yet fallen to this ground."
"What exactly happened? How did the immortal master know about the collapse of the plane?" Xiang Yu felt that the other party should not joke about such a thing when he heard An Qisheng say this.
An Qisheng sighed, “I observed the celestial phenomena last night and found that the number of stars in the sky is gradually decreasing, and it is decreasing night by night. Such an amazing celestial phenomenon has never occurred in hundreds of years. If you, the great god and King Xiang, do not believe me, you can observe the stars with me tonight.”
Hao Jiu initially thought An Qisheng was making a mountain out of a molehill. In modern times, it's normal for the number of stars in the sky to decrease or even become completely invisible. Any air pollution or smog could cause the stars to disappear.
But this is ancient times! Where did the pollution come from? Where did the smog come from?
"God of Wine, what should we do?" Xiang Yu was also a little panicked. The collapse of the plane was something that he, the overlord, could no longer change.
"Xiang Yu, don't worry. It seems that the collapse of the planes is happening from far away to near. First the stars, then the moon, and then our land. There are only six branch planes in total. We have already dealt with one. If we hurry up with the remaining five, we will definitely be able to save the planes in time."
Hao Jiu felt strange. The collapse of this plane came too quickly, much faster than expected. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to let Xiang Yu roam freely in the split plane, and it would have taken so many extra days to stabilize the world there.
Xiang Yu nodded to himself. As long as Hao Jiu didn't panic, he had nothing to fear.
"Immortal Master An, there's no need to worry too much. The Great God will make his own decision. I will return to the palace first, and then tonight I will observe the stars with you to see what's going on," Xiang Yu reassured him.
Hearing this, An Qisheng breathed a sigh of relief. "Xiang Yu has been away from home for a long time. He should go home to visit soon. His mother has come three times already. As the saying goes, a mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles."
"Farewell." Xiang Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute, then strode down the mountain.
"I say, King Xiang, the old lady comes every three days. Didn't you tell her that she would be back in five to ten days?" Hao Jiu vaguely felt that something was wrong. The old lady couldn't possibly be that impatient, could she?
"The timing seems off." Xiang Yu quickened his pace. "Can the God of Wine see this garden in full bloom?"
"Hiss..." Hao Jiu suddenly realized after Xiang Yu's reminder that everything around him was green!
With his pace quickening, Xiang Yu soon returned to the palace, where he saw Xiang Long playing enthusiastically.
"Hmph! He's unambitious. I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget." Xiang Yu suddenly realized that his son in the main plane was no longer as good as the one in the branch plane.
"Don't rush to punish him. What if Long'er has been working hard for half a day and you just happened to catch him resting? Besides, this world is in danger of collapsing. It wouldn't hurt to let him play for a couple more days."
Xiang Yu frowned upon hearing Hao Jiu's words, "Then let's remember this beating for him."
Hao Jiu also understood Xiang Yu's thoughts. Xiang Long from the split plane wanted to avenge Yu Ji, so he had started to strive for self-improvement at a young age.
As for the original Xiang Long, he is still a flower in a greenhouse. Well, that's not entirely true. Compared to other children his age, he's already quite good.
The two Xiang Longs have different experiences, so their maturation speeds will definitely differ; the one from the split-plane has already taken the lead.
Great talents have always faced many hardships, while pampered sons rarely become great men.
However, judging from Xiang Yu's attitude, he probably intends to follow the educational philosophy that "spare the rod and spoil the child."
The young Xiang Long from the main plane probably doesn't know that Xiang Yu has already found him a benchmark. If he doesn't reach the level of the other Xiang Long, he won't escape the punishment.
"Xiang Yu, I have a small suggestion." Hao Jiu felt sorry for Xiang Long and was prepared to help him lighten his burden.
"God of Wine, please speak," Xiang Yu said as he walked, lost in thought.
"Xiang Long from the split plane is starting to train now, and he will surely become a good ruler of the world in the future. Why don't you let the one from the main plane focus on martial arts and military strategy? In this way, after they merge, they can achieve a result greater than the sum of their parts."
Hao Jiu is increasingly feeling that this split plane is a treasure trove. Not only are there many more resources, but all the people who have clones in the split plane are also treasures. If he has time to plan properly in the future, it's not impossible to create a powerful army.
Just then, Xiang Long finally saw Xiang Yu.
"Father! Father is back! Grandmother! Father is back!" Xiang Long shouted as he ran towards Xiang Yu, his face full of happiness.
Hao Jiu thought to himself, "If it weren't for my help stopping you, you'd be in a really bad mess by now. Let's see if you're still laughing then."
However, this brat really inherited Xiang Yu's loud voice; he has a bit of a little tyrant vibe.
"During the time I was away, has Long'er been studying diligently?" Xiang Yu asked, his hands behind his back.
"Reporting to Father, I study diligently every day. I aspire to be like you in the future, excelling in both literature and martial arts!" Xiang Long replied loudly.
Xiang Yu nodded slightly, "Perform a set of boxing moves and answer my questions as you do so."
"Yes." Xiang Long clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and then began to perform a set of his family's traditional boxing techniques in a rather impressive manner.
"How long has it been since I left the palace?" Xiang Yu asked.
Xiang Long threw a punch, "Reporting to Father, it has been a full forty days."
Forty days? No wonder this dimension is about to collapse! Hao Jiu suddenly realized.
At this moment, the old lady, supported by Yu Ji, also came out to greet them.
Xiang Yu hurried a few steps forward, "Mother, your son has returned!"
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back..." The old lady said, tears streaming down her face.
"King Xiang..." Yu Ji was overjoyed and wept upon seeing this scene.
Hao Jiu chuckled silently. Being Xiang Yu's son wasn't easy. After a long separation, they should have shed tears upon reunion, but he had just said goodbye to his mother and then met her again in a single day. How could he possibly be excited?
Hao Jiu stopped watching the scene of Xiang Yu reuniting with his family and continued to ponder the issue of the time difference between the two dimensions.
Long'er just said that forty days have passed here, but only ten days have passed in the split plane, which means they have missed thirty days... What a rip-off!
"Waaah..." Hao Jiu's sobs instantly drowned out the two women, sounding extremely pitiful.
"Why is the God of Wine weeping?" Xiang Yu sighed inwardly. It seems that the God of Wine is also a man of emotion, and he was moved to tears like this.
"It breaks my heart..."
Chapter 133 Emergency Response Methods
How could Hao Jiu not feel heartbroken?
I lost a month's worth of energy points for no reason, which is more than 1,000 points!
Normally, I wouldn't even spend a single pill worth 10 energy points, but losing 1000 points at once really hurts me terribly.
However, Hao Jiu is the type of person who makes a lot of noise but never actually drinks; there's no way he'll shed any tears.
In fact, Hao Jiu should have realized this the moment Xiang Yu transmigrated to the split plane. More than three months had passed since the Battle of Gaixia in the main plane, but less than a month had passed in the split plane.
This is clearly a plane where time flows much slower than in the main plane, and the ratio can be calculated to be approximately 4:1. Ten days in the split plane would naturally equate to forty days in the main plane.
No wonder Xiang Yu's mother went to the Taoist temple three times, and both she and Yu Ji cried their eyes out whenever they saw Xiang Yu.
Xiang Yu said he would return in ten days, but he didn't return until forty. No wonder they were worried.
After wailing for a while, Hao Jiu had vented her frustration. She had already lost everything, so what was the use of crying? The right thing to do was to find a way to make amends.