I want to do research

["It is meaningless. In the Void Realm War, one must defeat all other worlds.

Once you wage war, it means you have learned the connection between the 'Realm War' and 'Ascension to Immortality.'

Then all the worlds that know the secret of ascending to immortality will know that you will attack them sooner or later.

Because of this, it is impossible for allies to exist.

You do not know whether your ally knows this secret. Once your ally finds out, they will definitely attack you when you are unprepared, because you are also one of their targets.

Everyone becomes a hunter in the forest. Once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back. You either fight all the hunters to the death, or you become the target of other hunters."]

[What kind of Void Realm Dark Forest is this!]

[You gained a massive amount of insight from your conversation with Shen Yang.]

[The outline of the entire Void Realm, as well as the events hidden beneath the fog of millions of years of history, gradually became clear.]

[Your thoughts returned to reality, and you began to discuss some "practical issues" with Shen Yang.]

["Brother Shen, look, I found you a 'Twin Soul Holy Body,' which saved you from having to possess bodies multiple times, right?"]

["Exactly. You have been a great help."]

["Every time you possess a body, the Shen family has to organize a Mirror Holder selection for you, consuming a massive amount of financial, material, and human resources each time."]

["That is indeed true."]

["Now that I've saved you all that trouble, shouldn't you give all those saved resources to me?"]

[Your fierce negotiation tactics completely dumbfounded Shen Qingshan, who was standing to the side.]

[In just a few days, his young and fragile mind had been utterly shattered by your actions.]

[You were simply too street-smart, making Shen Qingshan look like a complete rookie.]

[Shen Yang smiled and pointed at you.]

["Alright, alright, so you were waiting for me here. But what you say makes sense."]

[Is 'Chinese Succubus' really this strong? He even agreed to such a request?]

["But your appetite is too big. I can't satisfy all of it. Let me make you an offer."]

[It seems it has nothing to do with 'Chinese Succubus'; Old Shen is just quite generous.]

[Shen Yang made a list for you and told you to go to the Shen family's storehouse to collect the items.]

[The list was so long that you couldn't see the end of it at a glance.]

[You suspected that Shen Yang was just dumping all of the Shen family's overproduced goods on you to clear their inventory.]

[Thus, you argued strongly for your rights, demanding the option for equivalent exchanges.]

[For example, if you didn't need a certain material, you could exchange it for another material of equal value.]

["Brother Shen! I don't want these resources for myself. This is part of the plan to resist the Dragonkin!"]

[Old Shen couldn't out-argue you and reluctantly agreed.]

["By the way, there's one more thing you need to handle, Brother Shen."]

["What is it?"]

["Shen Wanquan, the Grand Elder of the Shen Family's Council of Elders, has already contacted the Dragonkin and become their inside man."]

[Shen Yang's face instantly turned gloomy.]

["Such a thing actually happened?"]

["I believe you have a hundred ways to make him tell the truth. This is your family's internal affair, so I won't worry about it."]

["Naturally. Before I merge with Shen Qingshan, I will first clean house and conduct a thorough investigation from top to bottom to ensure the Shen family is united. After all, internal problems are far more terrifying than external enemies."]

[Year 20, 39 years old.]

[For the first time in many years, Patriarch Shen stepped out of the Star Power Profound Realm, drawing the attention of the entire family.]

[He subsequently announced that a massive search would be conducted inside and outside the Star Domain, across the entire Shen family.]

[They were to investigate whether anyone was colluding with alien races from other realms, attempting to sell out the Human Realm for personal gain.]

[Shen Wanquan was finished.]

[Although you didn't pay attention to the specific process, you knew he had been executed by Patriarch Shen as a warning to the others.]

[You stayed in the Star Domain and lived with Third Sister's family.]

[In your daily life, you were busy cultivating and delving into formations, artifact forging, alchemy, the Path of Incense, and other disciplines.]

[Teaching staff was also a resource. According to your agreement with Shen Yang, the Shen family had to arrange teachers for you.]

[The resources needed for practice during your studies also had to be provided.]

[You spoke to your real-world self outside the simulation.]

["Brother, equip some learning-related traits for me. I'll be settling down in the Shen family for a while, and I can also see if the Shen family takes action to help human martial artists improve their combat power to jointly resist the Dragonkin."]

Chen Yi outside the simulation.

"Received."

[Year 21, 40 years old.]

[You replaced 'Serious Punch' with 'Formation Master.']

[You replaced 'Treasure-Snatching Nose' with 'Alchemy Sage.']

[You replaced 'Veteran Tomato User' with 'Forging Sage.']

[You replaced 'Trait Slingshot' with 'Man and Sword as One.']

[The academic atmosphere in the Star Domain was intense.]

[Exchange meetings, competitions, and lectures on the eighteen disciplines were everywhere.]

[Your Dao of Alchemy, Forging, Formations, Swordsmanship, and even the Path of Incense, which had no trait assisting it, were constantly improving.]

["Oh God! Really, it seems I can attract the power of incense, but I can only turn it into a faint amount of cultivation. It's simply too little, practically nonexistent."]

["The Path of Incense is just like that. Those who obtain little call it useless, while those who obtain much realize its wonders."]

["Speak plainly."]

["You have received too little incense. It only becomes meaningful when it reaches a certain amount."]

[The person discussing the Path of Incense with you was an old gentleman in the Star Domain known as Elder Taiping.]

[He had spent his entire life traveling around the Human Realm, dedicating himself to enlightening ordinary commoners and teaching them basic culture and knowledge.]

[He didn't have any temples of merit, but the Path of Incense didn't require people to build temples and burn incense for you. As long as people were grateful for your virtues, it was just as effective.]

[As the person with the most profound mastery of the Path of Incense in the Star Domain, Elder Taiping was not weak. He was one of the over thirty Martial Sages in the Shen family.]

[It was just that he was very old, already over four hundred years old.]

[The theoretical lifespan of a Martial Sage was four hundred years. He truly didn't have much lifespan left now; he was a Martial Sage in his twilight years.]

["It is already not easy for you to grasp the basics. If you want to master the more profound applications of the Path of Incense, you need talent."]

[Elder Taiping said it quite tactfully.]

[With a teacher like him guiding you hand-in-hand, and Old Shen's high-level research results as teaching materials, it took you a long time just to get started. If you wanted to go deeper, it would probably be a waste of time.]

[You also knew your own limits.]

[It would be better to wait for a relevant trait before studying the Path of Incense again.]

[In your spare time, you 'talked on the phone' with Xie Guihong from the Xiaoyao Sacred Ground.]

[This 'phone' was the Xiaoyao Token.]

["Island Master, is there any news about the Holy Son finals?"]

["Don't worry, it's still early. Focus on handling your family affairs and come back when you're done. If you have any difficulties, just say the word. Even if you're far away in the Five Regions, the Sacred Ground can send people to help."]

["Sorry for the trouble. Are all the masters doing well?"]

["Good... they're doing very well."]

[After confirming that there was still a long time before the Holy Son finals began, you decided to do something big.]

[Forge the Immortal Artifact, the Myriad Soul Banner!]

[Not forging a Heaven-rank Spiritual Artifact and turning it into an Immortal Artifact through 'Enhancement!']

Instead, he would directly forge an Immortal Artifact, the true and original Myriad Soul Banner!

As for what "Enhance!" would upgrade it into, that remained unknown.