The various regulations of Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom made one thing abundantly clear:
If farming could make one rich, then ordinary dynasties wouldn't even qualify to farm in the first place.
"The spiritual energy laws of the Ancient Kingdom are far too strict, and their population control policies are incredibly rigid," Zhao Xing sighed.
"Right now, Yun Tiandao, Liu Tianning, and I are all insignificant in the grand scheme of things. We have no power to change this system."
"If a dynasty wants to settle in a star system with a spiritual energy index over 100, it's not something a mere Ascension Stage cultivator like us can decide."
"There are only two ways to make it happen," Zhao Xing continued.
"One, find a powerful teacher like Qing Yuzi. If your teacher is a Dao Domain Realm expert from a major faction, then securing a place in such a star system becomes easy."
"Two, become a Third Stage cultivator yourself."
Zhao Xing turned toward Ji Che and said,
"I understand," Ji Che took a deep breath, quickly regaining his composure.
"It's just like back in Xuanhuang Realm—if a scholar was admitted into a prestigious Dao Academy or Academy Palace, it would be a great achievement."
"Perhaps the academy could help arrange residency for their immediate family, but there was no way they could relocate their entire clan to the city."
Thinking about it carefully, the Lord of Purple Divine Mansion had already shown great benevolence.
After all, he had solved Great Zhou's housing problem by granting them a free residence on a Realm Star with a spiritual energy index of 20 for ten thousand years.
Compared to other dynasties, Great Zhou's starting point was already far superior!
Even in the Spirit Qi Revival Era, the spiritual energy index of Xuanhuang Realm was merely 5, and even a place like Starhail Pass had an index of barely 10.
As for the Great Ye Dynasty, except for the capital and a few major strategic locations, any place with a spiritual energy index over 20 was already considered "rich land".
Moreover, Great Zhou didn't have to worry about being annihilated.
Inside the Purple Divine Mansion's domain, no one would dare to attack them.
If it were any other emperor, they would be walking on thin ice, worrying every day about whether a powerful bandit would appear and overthrow their dynasty overnight.
At least Ji Che didn't have to worry about that.
The only problem left was:
How to make money and support his people.
"Your Majesty, the few paths to survival I mentioned earlier are currently the best options for Great Zhou," Zhao Xing explained.
"The most valuable asset we have is our original native crops. When trading with outsiders, we must first understand the 'Native Crop Protection Law'."
"Our exclusive original crops must never be sold off lightly, nor should we be tricked into selling planting rights just because someone sweet-talks us."
"Back in Xuanhuang Realm, the native crops weren't very high-grade. But now that we've settled in a place where the spiritual energy index exceeds 20, they will continue to evolve and improve, eventually becoming a stable source of income for Great Zhou."
"Moreover, Yun Tiandao and I each have 100 affiliate spots for free interstellar travel."
"These allow talented officials of Great Zhou to move freely between star systems."
"And mobility means opportunity."
"If we can't get into Purple Divine Mansion, we can always join another faction."
"As the number of First-Origin Stage cultivators in Great Zhou grows, we will gain financial independence."
"This will also help ease the upcoming financial crisis."
"Additionally," Zhao Xing continued, "I've been studying Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom's trade laws and analyzing interstellar commerce for the past few days."
"I've already thought of several ways to make money, but they still need further verification—"
Ji Che and his ministers listened in complete silence, recording every word Zhao Xing said.
What followed was an intense debate on the feasibility of each plan.
Meanwhile, Yun Tiandao sat quietly in the corner, his expression dark and somber.
Great Zhou's survival was already secured.
Their only challenge was that they were temporarily poor and couldn't immediately grant full citizenship rights to all their people.
Overall, the atmosphere here was hopeful, filled with determination and ambition.
But what about Xia Dynasty?
Without a leader, Yun Tiandao could already foresee the suffering and hardships that Xia Dynasty was going through.
After countless struggles, their fate was still one of captivity—a dynasty reduced to a caged existence.
Zhao Xing noticed Yun Tiandao, sitting alone and detached, as if he didn't belong.
He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
The Grand Shennong was supposed to be the helmsman of a newly ascended dynasty.
With a Grand Shennong in place, many pitfalls could have been avoided.
For example, in agriculture, even if someone didn't know the rules, a Grand Shennong would immediately notice if a crop's genetic structure was locked and would ask the right questions.
Furthermore, a Grand Shennong was also a financial expert responsible for managing the dynasty's wealth.
And among all Grand Shennongs, Yun Tiandao was one of the most talented.
But Xia Dynasty had left him behind.
If Xia Dynasty had brought Yun Tiandao along when they ascended, their fate could have been completely different.
At the very least, after another 100,000 years, Xia Dynasty could have firmly established itself.
Seeing Yun Tiandao's state, Zhao Xing walked over and pulled him into the conversation.
"Brother Yun," Zhao Xing said with a smile, "we're all your people here. Every Shennong in this room is one of your disciples."
"Look, you even have a descendant here."
"That's right, Ancestor!"
A young man named Yun Ze walked forward.
"The descendants of House Yun couldn't be prouder of you!"
"Everyone admires you, Ancestor," Yun Ze said excitedly.
"Even out in the vast universe, you were able to earn the recognition of powerful figures!"
"Your talent is unprecedented, something that will never be seen again!"
Yun Tiandao narrowed his eyes at Yun Ze.
"You little brat," he snorted.
"You were this close to capturing me back then, did you think I wouldn't see through your schemes?"
"Hmph! With a disrespectful descendant like you, I must say I'm truly blessed."
Yun Ze's smile froze for a moment before quickly shaking his head.
"No, no, absolutely not!" Yun Ze declared.
"Ancestor, my admiration for you is as vast as the galaxy itself!"
"It is like the endless floodwaters of the Milky Way, forever surging forward—"
"You little rascal, stop embarrassing me."
Yun Tiandao smacked him on the head.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The entire room burst into laughter.
But no matter what, thanks to Zhao Xing and Yun Ze's efforts, Yun Tiandao's mood finally improved.
"Being able to curse at someone is still a good thing!"
Despite both Yun Tiandao and Zhao Xing having 100 subordinate slots each, they were barely using any of them.
This was because Great Zhou didn't even have 200 cultivators at the Ascension Stage.
As for Rule Stage cultivators?
They couldn't even break free from a Realm Star's gravitational constraints, let alone travel freely between star systems.
So currently, the only people in Great Zhou who could move between star systems were:
King Luo, Ji Che, Ji Si, Dong Ze, Li Hao, and Qin Feng.
Lu Ying, Chen Ju, Liu Tianning, Ling Tianchen, and Qiu Yuanshan.
Mi Fu, Wei Hong, Hong Yuan (the Royal Chief Mechanist), Yin Xiu, Palace Lord of Qi Tian, Xia Jing, Long Xiao, Chen Shijie, Ye Yukong, Lord of Shenluo, and Mist Walker.
That was every single Ascension Stage cultivator in Great Zhou.
(Purple Bone had already been taken to the Tianyuan Star System by Tianyuan.)
Among them, Ji Che was unable to wander freely, as he was the Fortune Emperor and couldn't leave for too long.
The others, however, could go out and explore if they wanted.
But nobody was planning to leave right now.
The Qingyu Realm Star, being a high-grade Realm Star, already met all their needs in terms of cultivation, trade, and production.
As long as they had money, they could buy anything on Qingyu Realm Star.
There was even a "Realm Star Trade Market" here!
"Che, we've compiled a list of items that Great Zhou can sell," Zhao Xing said, holding a detailed inventory.
"The assets mainly come from the following sources:
The Dragon Court
The Southern Barbarians and sect reserves
Findings from relics in the Western Extreme Continent
Treasures appraised from the Ten Treasures Hall of Great Zhou"
"How much is the total worth?" Ji Che asked with anticipation.
"An initial estimate puts it at 300 million Yuanhai Coins," Zhao Xing responded.
"Only 300 million?"
Ji Che was a bit disappointed.
Comparisons could be painful.
After all, when Purple Divine Mansion casually paid Zhao Xing for a single job, the amount was 500 million Yuanhai Coins!
"For the sake of Great Zhou's stability, we can't sell everything," Zhao Xing explained.
"For instance, the Star Fate Codex, a rare fate-type Dao Weapon, should be kept to train our own Destiny Officers rather than sold off."
"The Grand Dream Academy is another item that cannot be sold. It is a national strategic asset."
"The 300 million valuation is only for items that won't impact Great Zhou's foundation if sold."
If everything in Great Zhou were to be sold as a package deal?
Zhao Xing estimated that it would fetch at least 2 billion Yuanhai Coins, based on confirmed treasures alone.
The Ten Great Treasure Vaults of Great Zhou still contained many unknown artifacts, which they couldn't easily appraise or expose.
After all, the most dangerous thieves weren't the ones who stole—they were the ones who constantly had their eyes on your treasures.
It was better to let Great Zhou's own artisans develop their skills first, learn the necessary techniques, and then unlock these treasures safely.
In reality, the entire Great Zhou was still not that valuable—a mere 2 billion Yuanhai Coins.
And that was after scouring the entirety of Xuanhuang Realm for resources!
On the other hand, 2 billion was an immense fortune for an individual.
Even for a Second-Origin Stage cultivator, this was a staggering amount of wealth.
And this was still at a discounted price.
If someone were to fully capture Great Zhou's floating survival ark and use it for controlled production, the future returns would far exceed 2 billion.
"300 million may be a significant amount for an individual, but for an entire nation, it's still far too little," Ji Che sighed.
"Brother Xing, how do you think we should allocate this money?"
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said,
"We don't need to worry about security expenses. Unlike other newly ascended dynasties, we don't have to invest in large-scale military forces and weapons for defense."
"So the best use of this entire sum is investing in talent development."
"Top-tier cultivators are the foundation of a nation's survival."
Ji Che nodded in agreement.
"I think so too."
"But we can't spend all of it—we need to keep some reserves."
"Of course." Zhao Xing nodded.
For the next few centuries, Great Zhou's finances would definitely be in a deficit.
Their main expenses were rent and taxes.
While Purple Divine Mansion had given them a Realm Star for 10,000 years, it wasn't a free gift.
If they had given it outright, it would have meant that Great Zhou was being incorporated into Purple Divine Mansion.
So instead, it was provided as a rental property, at the lowest possible rate.
The rental cost was 10 million Yuanhai Coins per century—essentially a token fee.
To put things into perspective:
In a prosperous high-grade star system, the going rate for renting a single Realm Star was usually 100,000 Yuanhai Coins per year.
This meant that Great Zhou's deal was practically a freebie.
Even so, Great Zhou might still struggle to afford it.
If they didn't work hard and develop rapidly, they would face bankruptcy within a thousand years.
They had no choice but to grow stronger.
"I'm planning to purchase a set of cultivation techniques for Great Zhou," Zhao Xing said.
"Specifically, methods that lead to the First-Origin Stage."
"The first batch of Ascension Stage cultivators in Great Zhou already have solid aptitude. They don't need additional resources for training. Just living on Qingyu Realm Star alone is enough to cultivate them."
"Purple Divine Mansion's formal members can grant up to 100 vassal slots, which was already a special favor from Lord of Purple Divine Mansion."
Normally, formal members only received 20 vassal slots.
Since the Lord of Purple Divine Mansion had given both Zhao Xing and Yun Tiandao five times that amount, it was a huge advantage for Great Zhou.
These vassal members could reside on Qingyu Realm Star alongside Zhao Xing.
And since the spiritual energy index there exceeded 100, anyone with sufficient talent could definitely break through to the First-Origin Stage!
"The cost of a single First-Origin Stage cultivation manual isn't too high," Zhao Xing continued.
"The main expense is that we need multiple copies."
"For every cultivator, we have to purchase a separate copy.
Practicing unauthorized secret techniques without a license is a crime."
"That said, since we only have twenty or so cultivators in the first batch, the initial expense for manuals will be around 1 to 2 million Yuanhai Coins."
Ji Che had no objections.
"Brother Xing, you're the Grand Shennong. I'll leave this entirely in your hands."
"Spend where necessary—as long as it accelerates cultivation, even if we spend a little extra, it's worth it."
"Brother Xing, I was only on Hope Star for a short time—just a little over half a month. But even in that short period, the entire nation lived in fear..."
"Not long after you left, Lu Ying observed that the Starhail Pass's Star Patrol Guards had captured two groups of people on a nearby planet!"
"Looking back now, that was just a small team of First-Origin Stage cultivators, and yet they easily wiped out two newly ascended factions."
"The most recent time, that patrol team was only 100,000 miles away from us—they almost brushed right past us!"
"When that flying ship approached, I was seriously thinking to myself—'Am I about to become the last emperor of a fallen nation?'"
"Fortunately, that time, the patrol guards from the Great Ye Dynasty didn't detect us."
"The second time… was when you sent people over. By that point, I was already in complete despair," Ji Che admitted, still feeling a lingering fear as he recalled the event. "At the time, no one expected you to arrive so quickly. Everyone had already prepared to fight to the death."
"I even ordered Grand Mechanist Lu Ying to prepare to detonate the Sun-Moon Palace and Juzi Palace, ready to take the enemy down with us!"
Looking at Ji Che's emotional expression, Zhao Xing finally understood what they had been through psychologically.
Before, he hadn't shown any of this, because there were always people watching!
It was only now, with no one else around, that Ji Che let his fear show.
Zhao Xing patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Che, it's all over now. Things will only get better for us."
That very day, after selling part of their assets on Qingyu Realm Star and converting them into cash, Zhao Xing led his team to the Yuanhai Hall in Tianming Capital to purchase cultivation techniques.
"Yuanhai Hall was established by the Imperial Family of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom. Within its domain, every high-grade Realm Star has an Imperial Yuanhai Hall."
"It functions like an imperial estate, selling everything from cultivation techniques, secret arts, and equipment—even Realm Stars themselves can be bought here."
"It also acts as a financial institution, allowing deposits and withdrawals throughout the entire ancient kingdom."
"For transactions involving property rights, Yuanhai Hall is unavoidable. Even if you buy or sell Realm Stars or Star Continents through other factions, you still have to register the transaction at Yuanhai Hall."
On Qingyu Realm Star, Yuanhai Hall occupied a large section of territory, roughly equivalent to an entire province in the Xuanhuang Realm.
As Zhao Xing's group approached Yuanhai Hall aboard their flying ship, they were immediately greeted by mechanized puppets that flew over to escort them inside.
"Zhao Xing, formal member of Purple Divine Mansion, welcome to Yuanhai Hall. I am Yuan-46, the artifact spirit of this hall."
"You may conduct any legal transactions, including deposits, loans, and purchases here."
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."
Yuan-46 had no visible difference from a real person. She appeared as a young woman, gentle and graceful.
The moment Lu Ying, Chen Ju, and the Lord of Shenluo saw her, their eyes widened in amazement.
Even Xia Jing was the same—he had always loved collecting mechanized puppets.
"I need to purchase cultivation techniques," Zhao Xing stated.
"Please take me to the Technique Hall."
"Of course. Please follow me."
Yuan-46 immediately led Zhao Xing's flying ship toward an enormous sword-shaped building.
"The Technique Hall contains every publicly available and restricted technique in the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom," Yuan-46 explained.
"Restricted techniques?" Zhao Xing asked. "What does that mean?"
"Some techniques cannot be purchased even if you have the money—you must meet specific qualifications," Yuan-46 explained.
"For example, some techniques require joining a specific faction to learn. Others have eligibility restrictions, such as only being available to those who have ascended within the past thousand years."
"However, since you are a formal member of Purple Divine Mansion, you have a chance to purchase even some restricted techniques."
"The restriction system is not meant to discriminate, but to protect cultivators," Yuan-46 clarified.
"For example, the classic martial arts technique 'Void Ancestor Golden Body'—extensive research has proven that if a martial artist does not reach the Ascension Stage within a thousand years, they will achieve nothing by training in Void Ancestor Golden Body."
"Even if they practice only the lower-tier Three Yang Golden Body, they will not see any results."
"Promoting this technique to people without the necessary talent would only harm them—the ancient kingdom refuses to profit from such transactions."
"This is the classification system for cultivation techniques."
Hearing this, the people of Great Zhou were almost moved to tears.
"So you actually know not to harvest every blade of grass to the root…"
"What kind of techniques are you looking to purchase?" Yuan-46 asked.
"Martial Artist, Priest, Fate Officer, Mechanist, and Shennong techniques."
Zhao Xing replied without hesitation.
He wanted all Shennong cultivation methods.
Although Purple Divine Mansion provided him with some cultivation techniques for free, the Lord of Purple Divine Mansion was part of the Heavenly Timing Sect, and Purple Divine Mansion was primarily Heavenly Timing-based.
Any other types of techniques had to be purchased separately.
"Understood. Please follow me."
Yuan-46 led Zhao Xing to a spacious private hall, specially prepared for him.
Inside, there were specialists to explain techniques, as well as demonstration recordings of cultivators practicing the techniques to completion.
"In martial arts, the classic path of Qi Sect cultivation involves the Void Ancestor Golden Body," Yuan-46 explained.
"For those at the First-Origin Stage, purchasing the Three Yang Golden Body training method alone costs 900,000 Yuanhai Coins."
"That's insanely expensive."
"900,000 for just one person?!"
Of course, if purchasing multiple copies, there was a discount.
For three or more people, there was a maximum 20% discount.
"Still… this is highway robbery." Zhao Xing sighed.
The Void Ancestor Golden Body technique included not just secret technique diagrams, but also physical training resources.
However, based on Zhao Xing's experience, the actual cost of these resources was probably less than 50,000 Yuanhai Coins.
And the secret diagrams could be copied infinitely, costing no more than 10,000 to produce.
In other words, they were selling something worth 60,000 for 900,000.
Even with the bulk discount, it still cost 720,000 per person!
"No wonder Nalan De couldn't afford it back then."
There was no choice—this was a necessary expense.
The four Ascension Stage martial artists of Great Zhou—Xia Jing, Li Hao, Dong Ze, and Qi Tian—all followed the Qi Sect path.
If they were going to buy techniques, they had to get the full set at once.
The total cost?
Over 3 million Yuanhai Coins, spent instantly.
Meanwhile, Long Xiao, Ye Yukong, and King Luohou were all Sword Sect cultivators.
Sword Sect techniques were even rarer than Qi Sect techniques.
After reviewing Yuan-46's recommendations, they were left with only two suitable options:
Extreme Star Sword Dao
Great Zhou Heavenly Sword Body
The difference between the two wasn't significant.
In the end, all three of them chose the Great Zhou Heavenly Sword Body.
The selection process was somewhat superstitious—just because the name contained the words "Great Zhou," the three of them got a 900,000 Yuanhai Coin discount.
For Mechanist cultivation methods, they selected three techniques.
The first was "Realm Star Armament Forging", a forging-based technique. Great Zhou's development couldn't rely solely on agriculture—it had to learn some technology as well.
Though the benefits might not be apparent now, if they could forge Realm Star Armaments in the future, it would still be profitable.
Training a single forging master capable of creating Realm Star Armaments would be enough to set Great Zhou on the right path.
This technique wasn't expensive because Realm Star Armaments were still below Solar, Lunar, and Origin Divine Armaments.
The second was "Myriad Form Dao Soldiers", a Dao Soldier technique focused on controlling small to medium-sized mechanized puppets.
The third was "Grand Luo Heavenly Soldiers", a Shenluo-style technique specializing in the control of large and super-large mechanized battle armors and fortresses.
Lu Ying, Chen Ju, and the Lord of Shenluo spent 6 million Yuanhai Coins on these techniques.
"When you start buying, you just can't stop," Zhao Xing muttered. His original budget was only 1 to 2 million, but now they had already overspent by double.
Next, they looked at Fate Officer techniques.
Since Ji Si was the only Ascension Stage Fate Officer, they only needed to purchase a single copy, but this was a top priority.
Ji Si possessed Star Fate Codex—buying a weak technique for him would be a waste.
Moreover, the Fate Officer profession itself was already underpowered. If they didn't invest heavily in proper techniques, they might as well abolish the position altogether.
Ji Si had natural talent!
Zhao Xing wouldn't waste that potential, so he gritted his teeth and prepared to spend more money.
"Grand Shennong, I think the technique 'Divination by Linen Robes' would be a good choice," Ji Si said thoughtfully, picking a very cheap option.
"Divination by Linen Robes only costs 100,000 Yuanhai Coins, making it the lowest-tier technique available here."
Zhao Xing glanced at it and laughed coldly.
"What kind of garbage technique is this? You think this is worthy of our Great Fate Officer?"
"Others can afford to buy weaker techniques, but you must buy the best one. Otherwise, you might as well buy nothing at all."
Yuan-46 nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. The Dao of Fate isn't just about hard work—it requires true investment."
Zhao Xing asked, "What's the best Fate Officer technique here?"
"The most powerful one is 'Wheel of Destiny'. It allows cultivation up to the Reincarnation Realm. However, the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom doesn't have techniques for the Reincarnation Realm, nor do they publicly sell them. The highest available is the Third Stage."
"That's good enough."
Zhao Xing skimmed through the description of 'Wheel of Destiny'.
This technique is an ancient forbidden art, rumored to originate from a mysterious revelation deep within the River of Fate.
Only those with extraordinary talent, unwavering determination, and the endurance to withstand countless trials can grasp its essence.
The cultivation path is treacherous and filled with unknowns—one mistake could lead to eternal doom. But if successfully mastered, it grants the power to command destiny itself, transcending the cycle of life and death to become a supreme ruler of fate.
The description sounded tempting, though the actual effectiveness was another matter.
But Zhao Xing had heard of this technique before—it was indeed powerful.
"First-Origin Stage: Inscription of Fate Marks, Initial Formation of the Fate Wheel."
"Void Realm: Expansion of the Fate Wheel, granting control over an entire domain."
"Divine Ability Realm: Eye of Destiny, Fate Judgment, Fate Reversal."
"It's said that at the Reincarnation Realm, it can even rewrite fate itself—allowing a person with low Fortune to steal the Fortune of someone superior."
"Ji Che has the talent for this. Maybe one day, he might even save my life with it," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
For now, they'd buy the First-Origin Stage technique to test it out.
"How much?"
"1.2 million Yuanhai Coins. No discounts." Yuan-46 responded.
"Buy it."
Zhao Xing waved his hand and immediately paid in full.
Ji Si froze in shock.
"Grand Shennong… I—"
"What are you afraid of? Once you rise to power, you'll earn this money back in no time." Zhao Xing grinned.
A Fate Officer was essential for the long-term development of a dynasty.
And on a personal level, who wouldn't want to befriend a highly skilled Fate Officer?
At critical moments, a strong Fate Officer could literally save your life.
With Ji Si's purchase done, their budget was completely blown.
And they still hadn't bought techniques for Shennong and Priests.
"Let's check out the Priest techniques first."
"The Shennong techniques aren't urgent right now," Zhao Xing said.
He and Yun Tiandao, Liu Tianning had techniques that couldn't be taught to others, but since Purple Divine Mansion provided free cultivation methods, there was no immediate rush to buy more.
"Huh? The Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom actually has this many Priest cultivation techniques?"
Zhao Xing glanced through the list and felt a little surprised.
"While there aren't many actual techniques, there are over 300,000 different secret arts?"
"I remember that in my previous life, the Dao of Priests wasn't this popular… This doesn't seem like a declining system at all."
Zhao Xing frowned.
"Has the Priest Dao fallen into decline over the past 2,000 years? The timing seems suspicious—right when the system underwent a major version update?"
Zhao Xing carefully examined the available techniques.
Although there were many Priest techniques, there were only a few core methods.
That was because the entire Xuanling Star Domain only recognized twelve deities in its historical records.
"Twelve Divine Sacrifices"—this technique included:
Four Martial Deities
Three Shennong Deities
Three Mechanist Deities
One Soul Deity
One Medical Deity
"Aside from Martial Deity Xu Zu, Shennong Deity Hou Ji, and Mechanist Deity Jie Luo, I've never heard of these other names before," Zhao Xing frowned.
"The Martial Deities include Di Yi and Bone God Yuan—who are they?"
"The Shennong Deities include Heavenly God Gu Xiao and Earth God Yao Jun—I don't recall them at all?"
Zhao Xing might not recognize the other deities, but there was no way he would forget the Shennong Deities.
His forehead twitched slightly.
It felt as though he had forgotten something critical.
His mind began sifting through his Memory Palace.
Deep within his recollections, he saw a massive door.
Before the door stood:
A single lamp
A dog
A rooster
A mountain of rice
A mountain of flour
"Wait… did I seal this memory away myself?"
The moment he saw the familiar setup, Zhao Xing instantly understood.
"Looks like some things are best left untouched—I must have sealed these memories for a reason."
"It's a warning to myself—don't investigate this further. Not until I reach a certain cultivation level."
If something involved such high-level mysteries, then it was best not to interfere at all.
When faced with something beyond his control, there was only one smart move—
Run.
"Since I chose to seal it away, there must have been a reason for it."
Zhao Xing did not attempt to break the seal. He knew himself well enough—if the price wasn't steep, he would definitely open it to take a look.
For him to have sealed this Memory Palace with such a heavy cost, it meant that breaking it would cause serious harm.
"There's no need. If I open it once, I'll just have to seal it back up again. I should stick to my original plan and stay far away from it."
He silently memorized those names, deciding to avoid anything related to them in the future.
Up ahead, Yuan-46 was still explaining.
According to Yuan-46,
The Twelve Deities were once Divine Realm experts who had appeared in the Xuanling Star Domain. However, in the present era, there were no longer any Divine Realm powerhouses in the Xuanling Star Domain—the highest cultivation stage was the Reincarnation Realm.
What people actually worshiped through sacrificial rites were the descendants of these Twelve Deities—those who had reached the Reincarnation Realm.
"The Twelve Ancient Gods lived too long ago. According to legend, they ventured into the unknown universe."
"They left behind a group of Ancient God descendants."
"These Ancient God descendants eventually reached the Reincarnation Realm, inheriting some of the power of the Divine Realm."
"Even after their deaths, the divine traces they left behind continue to influence the entire star domain. Priests can perform sacrifices to these descendants and receive divine guidance for advanced cultivation."
Wei Hong listened intently, feeling excited.
Originally, Zhao Xing had told him that the Priest Dao had declined across the cosmos. But from what he was hearing now, that didn't seem to be the case.
"Looks like Qing Yuzi didn't foresee everything. At the very least, he misled Grand Shennong, and he misled me too," Wei Hong thought.
Still, he could understand. Qing Yuzi had left human civilization 1.2 Eras ago—over a million years had passed since then. Anything could have changed.
"Grand Shennong." Wei Hong looked at Zhao Xing, clearly tempted.
Zhao Xing had a gut feeling that something about this was off, but it was hard to reject Wei Hong, especially since this was the first real opportunity he had seen in a long time.
Aside from the Twelve Divine Sacrifices, most other Priest cultivation methods could only be cultivated up to the Origin Second Stage—there were barely any techniques reaching the Third Stage, let alone those that could lead to the Reincarnation Realm.
"Maybe you should consider other options?" Zhao Xing instinctively tried to dissuade him, even though he knew it was pointless.
Wei Hong misinterpreted Zhao Xing's hesitation, assuming that he was worried about the cost since they had already overspent.
He carefully said, "Grand Shennong, although this technique is expensive, it has no restrictions."
"According to Yuan-46, the Twelve Ancient Gods left their footprints across the entire cosmos, influencing every Origin Path."
"Wherever I am in the Xuanling Star Domain, I can perform sacrificial rites to their descendants and comprehend the Origin Dao."
"If you're concerned, I can start with the 'Sacrificial Rite of Xu Zu' and test it out first. That only costs 200,000 Yuanhai Coins."
Zhao Xing couldn't bring himself to refuse when he saw the hopeful look in Wei Hong's eyes.
In the end, he nodded.
"Alright, let's purchase the first layer of 'Sacrificial Rite of Xu Zu' and see how it goes."
Xu Zu was a Divine Realm powerhouse that Zhao Xing had heard of before.
Since his memories hadn't sealed it away, that meant it was relatively safe—at least, not extremely dangerous.
"Thank you, Grand Shennong." Wei Hong clasped his hands in gratitude.
With that done, Zhao Xing turned his attention back to the other secret techniques.
That uneasy feeling he had earlier disappeared instantly.
"As expected… there was definitely a trap in there somewhere."
Zhao Xing pushed aside the thoughts in his mind and began reviewing techniques for his own profession.
He focused mainly on techniques from the Earth School and the Self School.
"The most expensive Earth School technique is 'Extreme Land'. Only the First Layer has ever been publicly released. Its creator was from Primordial Hill," Yuan-46 explained.
"'Extreme Land' has entry requirements. We don't sell it to cultivators with ordinary talent."
"The First Layer is divided into three stages."
"Spirit Vein Condensation."
"Vein Integration into the Body."
"Initial Extreme Vein Formation."
"The 'Vein' in this technique refers to Earth Veins, and specifically Realm Star-Level Earth Veins."
"Once someone fully cultivates the First Layer, they can apply to enter Primordial Hill for further studies."
"In addition, the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom will refund all training costs incurred from cultivating this technique."
"Not only that, but the kingdom will also cover the full cost of tuition for those who qualify to train in Primordial Hill—even offering generous scholarships."
The moment Yuan-46 finished speaking, even Yun Tiandao and Liu Tianning, who weren't from the Earth School, were visibly shaken.
There was no doubt that Primordial Hill was a superpower.
Just this one faction alone could rival the entire Ancient Kingdom Alliance of the Barren Domain.
Meanwhile, Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom was merely one out of 100,000 ancient kingdoms.
For an ancient kingdom, if someone successfully cultivated the First Layer of 'Extreme Land', it was equivalent to securing a ticket to enter Primordial Hill.
Such a super-genius would be fully supported by their homeland.
Not only would they refund all training costs, but they would even invest large amounts of money to send that person to Primordial Hill.
The First Layer of 'Extreme Land' existed across all the major ancient kingdoms—primarily as a talent filter.
"How much does it cost?" Zhao Xing asked.
"100 million Yuanhai Coins."
Yuan-46's answer was shocking.
"10 million goes toward cultivation resources."
"Since merging Earth Veins into the body is extremely dangerous, this money provides a basic survival guarantee. Without it, the mortality rate is 99.9%."
"The remaining 90 million includes three training sessions at special cultivation sites designed exclusively for Shennong cultivators practicing 'Extreme Land'. These locations were built at an astronomical cost."
"If, after three attempts, someone still hasn't mastered it, they'll need to pay 30 million Yuanhai Coins per additional session."
"Out of curiosity, how many people in Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom have successfully cultivated the First Layer of 'Extreme Land'?" Yun Tiandao asked.
"That information is classified." Yuan-46 smiled. "You don't have clearance to know."
Zhao Xing chuckled bitterly.
"Empire sure knows how to squeeze money out of the poor."
He was aware of one key fact—
Even across all ancient kingdoms, the number of people who had successfully cultivated the First Layer of 'Extreme Land' within an entire Era was less than 10.
Yet, every year, over a million people bought it.
The requirement was only Ascension Stage to Third Stage—with no age or realm restrictions.
Even cultivating just part of 'Extreme Land' granted massive benefits, making it highly sought after.
From the numbers alone, it was clear—
All major ancient kingdoms made huge profits just by selling this technique.
Still, 'Extreme Land' didn't scam the poor.
Its high price alone was enough to deter most lower-class cultivators.
"Alright, I'll buy it!" Zhao Xing declared.