Chapter 46: Undying Fire of Civilization, Civilization Tiers (Bonus Chapter)

Chapter 46: The Undying Hearthfire and Civilization Ranks (Bonus Chapter)

After seeing off Meng Yi, Yang Zimo returned to the practice chamber, summoned Wan Niang and the two children, and began imparting the cultivation chants and guiding them in their practice. Wan Niang was one thing, but young children needed to be nurtured from an early age. Ancient times lacked formal training academies, so he simply treated immortal cultivation as an interest class for them.

Leaving the few of them to circulate their spiritual energy on their own, Yang Zimo began to examine the exchange list of the ancestral artifact.

Ancestral Artifact: Undying Hearthfire (The first flame born after the birth of the human race, carrying the destiny of humanity. As long as the hearthfire does not extinguish, the human race will not perish.)
Civilization Points: 1750
Status: Sealed (Layer Nine)
Unlocked Features: Civilization data query and exchange.

Available for Exchange:
Technological Civilization: All knowledge from the Stone Age to the Steam Age.
Magical Civilization: All knowledge from Novice Mage to Intermediate Mage.
Immortal Cultivation Civilization: All knowledge of the Qi Condensation stage.
Mechanical Civilization: Data locked.
Zerg Civilization: Data locked.
Beast-Body Civilization: Data locked.
Cultivation Civilization: Data locked.
Consciousness Civilization: Data locked.
Nomadic Civilization: Data locked.

Civilization Ranks:
Level Zero Civilization (Mother Planet Civilization): The initial civilization rank. All civilization systems are unable to break through the gravitational pull of their home planet, cannot freely travel into space, and can only conduct production activities within the planet of the civilization's birth.

Level One Civilization (Planetary Civilization): The civilization has broken through the gravitational shackles of the mother planet and can freely travel into space, conduct production activities within its own stellar system, and colonize other planets to establish living and scientific research zones. Certain civilization individuals can survive for short periods in the space of their own stellar system.

Level Two Civilization (Stellar Civilization): The civilization can conduct preliminary exploration between star systems, fully utilize the energy of stars, allow certain individuals to survive in space relying on their own physique, and absorb energy from the universe to cultivate themselves. They can move freely between planets for extended periods.

Level Three Civilization (Galactic Civilization): The civilization has fully achieved interstellar travel within the star system, can establish colonies within the star system, and can explore across galaxies. Certain individuals can travel back and forth between planets on their own, and advanced individuals can move between star systems for short periods, beginning to comprehend the rules of heaven and earth.

Level Four Civilization (Intergalactic Civilization): The civilization can conduct large-scale cross-galactic travel and high-dimensional exploration. Certain individual civilizations can travel freely between star systems and have comprehended a portion of the rules of heaven and earth.

Level Five Civilization (Dimensional Civilization): The civilization can conduct cross-dimensional travel, and multidimensional space is no longer an obstacle for them. Certain individual civilizations have comprehended most of the rules of heaven and earth and are beginning to comprehend higher levels.

Level Six Civilization (Universal Civilization): The civilization has completely mastered all cosmic laws within this universe and can apply them flexibly. Causality weapons begin to emerge, and the civilization starts exploring other universes. Certain individual civilizations have comprehended all the rules of heaven and earth, becoming the masters of this realm, and are beginning to explore other worlds.

Level Seven Civilization (Genesis Civilization): The civilization holds the status of the Creator, having created all civilizations, and is itself the architect of space and time. Within their individual civilization system, they are the Creator God.

Note: The ancestral artifact—Undying Hearthfire currently only records data for Level Six civilizations and below; data for Level Seven civilizations is not recorded!

Every time he studied the Undying Hearthfire, Yang Zimo was filled with excitement, always hoping to see something good appear. Unfortunately, it remained unchanging, and the conditions for lifting the seal of the Undying Hearthfire remained unknown.

Since it was always like this, Yang Zimo no longer bothered thinking about unsealing it, letting nature take its course. Judging from the data, magic was out of the question; after searching for so long, he had found no trace of elemental presence in this world. Having killed quite a few animals, Yang Zimo had found neither magic cores nor magic crystals.

Fortunately, spiritual energy existed within jade and supreme natural treasures, making immortal cultivation possible. Sadly, these treasure materials and pieces of jade containing spiritual energy were far too scarce, making the idea of universal immortal cultivation impossible. Currently, the only ones capable of cultivation were Yang Zimo’s family of four and Ying Zheng. As for whether Ying Zheng had let others cultivate, that remained unknown, because entering the path still required a guide; otherwise, many people wouldn't even know where their dantian was located.

After practicing for so long, Ying Zheng had barely managed to enter the threshold of Qi Condensation. Nourished by spiritual energy, living a few more years would pose no problem. Yang Zimo was only slightly better off than Ying Zheng, though if he were to encounter tens of thousands of troops, he would still be done for.

"Daddy!" His daughter's cry interrupted Yang Zimo's deep thoughts. He stood up and walked outside.

In the courtyard, two little girls with braided buns, wearing pink and blue multicolored grass-patterned satin bodices over moon-white embroidered plum-blossom pleated skirts, and draped in cream-edged white fox-fur little cloaks, had slightly flushed cheeks that looked as if brushed with a faint rouge, bright as peach blossoms. Their little hands clutched a cloth doll in one and a gourd in the other as they hopped and skipped toward Yang Zimo.

Xuanji and Xuanyin, the two little lolis, each grabbed one of Yang Zimo's legs, competing to hand their gourds to their daddy to taste. Seeing their daddy take a bite from each of their gourds, their eyes curved into crescents of joy, and they didn't forget to secretly wipe their water-splashed little mouths and dirty little hands on Yang Zimo's clothes.

"Did you have fun playing today?" Yang Zimo asked gently, holding his daughters' small hands.

"Yes! There were so many fun things on the street today," Xuanji replied first.

"Mm-hmm! And there were lots of pretty cloth dolls, and the people... wait, the food was delicious too! But my tummy was too small, I couldn't eat it all," Xuanyin added.

The two children chattered around Yang Zimo, recounting the amusing events of their trip to the market today. Their small faces were filled with smiles, perhaps because it had been a long time since they had a chance to chat with their daddy.

"What do you want to eat tonight? Daddy will make it for you!" Yang Zimo said happily. He had been too busy lately and hadn't spent enough time properly accompanying his wife and children.

"Hot pot!" Xuanji and Xuanyin shouted in unison.

"Alright!" Hot pot was Yang Zimo's favorite; in the past, he frequently enjoyed hot pot paired with iced beer during the summer.

"Husband, I'll help you." Wan Niang appeared behind the father and daughters at some point.

The four of them walked hand in hand toward the kitchen, beginning to prepare tonight's lavish feast.

"Shang Ying!" Ying Zheng, who was strolling through the Royal Garden, suddenly called out to Shang Ying, who was attending him as a personal guard—since Zhao Gao had already been eliminated from humanity, Ying Zheng's close attendant had been replaced by Shang Ying.

"What has the State Preceptor been up to lately?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the State Preceptor has been at home for the past few days. I heard today that he went to the market to procure quite a few exotic and unusual ingredients," Shang Ying respectfully replied from the side.

"Oh! Accompany Us to take a look." Upon hearing about ingredients, Ying Zheng's eyes lit up. Throughout the entire Great Qin, everyone knew that the State Preceptor's culinary skills were nothing short of miraculous. The renowned Drunken Immortal Pavilion in Xianyang was opened by the State Preceptor's family, and the food and wine there were so unforgettable that people lingered and forgot to leave!