Gu Ming hadn't expected Zhao Xing to actually agree—his impression of him immediately improved.
"You dare sign the legal contract then?"
Without hesitation, Zhao Xing accepted the task from the Star Mirror and immediately shook out a blank Four-Star legal contract.
"This rescue operation will be under my command. If anything goes wrong, it will all be on me, Zhao Chennan. It has nothing to do with Brother Gu, nor with anyone from the Division of Mysteries."
His words were firm and powerful, resonating clearly through the Central Hall. One by one, the words formed into three-dimensional script that jumped onto the Four-Star legal contract, turning into binding clauses that flew toward Gu Ming.
Gu Ming hadn't expected Zhao Xing to be this decisive either. "Good! As expected of a Shennong from the Self School. You've got guts—more guts than a certain someone."
Qiu Zishan's face turned pale with anger. He was capable when it came to executing tasks, but coordinating the bigger picture? Not so much. It wasn't that he feared death or responsibility—he just feared messing things up.
But now that Gu Ming had already formed a bad opinion of him, it was useless to explain.
There was no point arguing either—Mechanists were notoriously quick-witted. Anything he said would just make him look worse. So Qiu Zishan sat there fuming, practically steaming with frustration.
"Please, Brother Gu, take your seat," Zhao Xing straightened up and respectfully invited Gu Ming back to his chair.
"Much appreciated," Gu Ming accepted and sat down.
While he said that, the contract was still sitting there on the table.
Zhao Xing immediately understood—Gu Ming wasn't so easily swayed.
Which made sense.
Plenty of people dared take responsibility and act decisively.
But the situation was tricky, and Gu Ming didn't want to follow some impulsive hothead who only knew how to charge forward.
So just sitting down wasn't enough—Zhao Xing still had to convince him that things could be accomplished under his leadership.
Glancing at Qiu Zishan, who looked like he was about to snap, Zhao Xing also invited him to sit.
Only then did he step into the center of the hall to explain his plan.
"Everyone, my—"
Just as Zhao Xing was about to speak—BOOM!
A deafening rumble echoed from beyond the heavens, like a thunderclap.
The ground seemed to turn to liquid. Dust rippled out beneath the surface in tight, circular waves, spreading rapidly.
The lighting in the Central Hall suddenly dimmed—but the solar star lamps inside flicked on automatically.
Visibility was quickly restored.
"What just happened?" Gu Ming immediately looked around.
"My lord, the Earth Veins beneath Taoyang Base just experienced violent fluctuations—something struck the base's continental foundation!"
"What struck it? I want a clear answer!" Gu Ming barked.
The Mechanist beside him suddenly turned his face into liquid. His features blurred, revealing several miniature formation arrays inside his body.
"My lord, eighteen horn-like peaks pierced through the base formation of Taoyang Star Continent, damaging one-fourth of it."
Gu Ming's face remained impassive. "From which direction?"
"The collapse of the Seventh Boundary Mountain triggered a chain reaction in the Sixth Boundary Mountain!" another deputy said, his face grave. He waved his hand, and the Star Mirror emitted a beam of light, forming a projection.
"My lord, the base formation isn't the main concern. The four solar stars and eight lunar stars that were relocated during the early phase of Taoyang Star Path have been struck and are now veering off their intended orbital paths—"
"Damn it!" Qiu Zishan suddenly cried out.
Both Gu Ming and Zhao Xing turned to look at him.
Qiu Zishan seemed to be casting a spell—tiny mountain peaks and flowing Earth Veins floated above his palm.
But the image looked bleak. Several mountain peaks were broken, and the Earth Veins were blurred and fragmented.
"What happened? Say something already!" Gu Ming couldn't take it anymore and roared.
He was utterly fed up with Qiu Zishan's turtle-paced explanations.
"We're trapped," Zhao Xing answered in Qiu Zishan's stead. "The Star Relocation Formation has been damaged."
"What?" Gu Ming's expression changed dramatically.
Earlier, they had argued over whether to rescue people because the teleportation formation at Taoyang Base was still functional.
Whether it was a Boundary Mountain collapse or a strange phenomenon, Taoyang Base itself had been safe.
But now that the formation was broken, things were much more serious.
They were likely trapped here.
Gu Ming hadn't forgotten—Haitong Ancient Path was a Starry Sky Ancient Road built in the Barren Domain!
"Whoo—"
Taoyang Base's automatic defense system kicked in. Thanks to Qiu Zishan and Gu Ming's quick fixes, stability was soon restored.
There were no more sudden blackouts or violent tremors.
Zhao Xing glanced up. The solar star hovering above Taoyang Star Continent had clearly dimmed. A visible black spot had appeared on its eastern hemisphere.
That was one of the horned peaks from the collapsed Boundary Mountain—it had struck the sun.
Gu Ming tossed out the Star Mirror, projecting an updated environmental scan.
A continuous series of small peaks, collapsed boundary stars, debris belts, and shattered continents now surrounded Taoyang Base.
The available maneuvering space was dramatically reduced.
From a macro perspective, it was like they were stuck in a small, densely packed cosmos. Taoyang Base had been encased in a prison of mountains and stone.
Even worse, the original retreat path leading back to the Sixth Boundary Mountain had also collapsed. The once-clear starlight route was now a jumbled mess—nobody could even tell which way was the road.
When the live map finished loading, everyone gasped in horror.
"Mountain God above—how did it collapse like this?"
"We're surrounded on all sides! Even staying in the base is dangerous."
"Should we just retreat to Bishui Dojo for now?"
"How? The path to the Sixth Boundary Mountain is gone. And what about the people still trapped?"
"Forget those stuck in the Seventh Boundary Mountain—we're trapped ourselves!"
"Shut up, you meathead! Don't talk when you don't understand the situation. Can you punch through a mountain and make a path?"
"Screw you! Why didn't you make the road and formation more durable, huh?!"
In moments of crisis, true nature shows.
After the Tri-Boundary Mountain incident, Taoyang Base's staffing got messed up—some leadership roles were left empty, while others were duplicated.
And since this life involved cooperation between multiple factions—not just the Primordial Hill and Red Star Empire—personnel coordination had become even more complicated.
The Martial Artists from the Ancient Kingdom Alliance started cursing out the "useless," while the technical staff were working themselves to death and still getting blamed. The Intermediate Hall was in total chaos.
Qiu Zishan and the people from the Primordial Hill were doing their part, but they looked flustered. Gu Ming's Division of Mysteries had high standards, but they weren't used to collaborating with others. It looked like they were planning something independently.
Seeing the situation spiraling downward, Old Master Zhao couldn't take it anymore.
"Enough! All of you—shut up!"
A roar shook the hall. A deep, ancient dragon's roar, never heard before, erupted from beside Zhao Xing.
Everyone's voices were drowned out. All eyes instinctively turned toward Zhao Xing.
The Void Straw Puppet had made its move.
There weren't any Reincarnation Realm cultivators at Taoyang Base. There were plenty at the Dao Domain Realm level, sure, but now they were all forcefully suppressed by Zhao Xing's Void Straw Puppet.
Even Gu Ming, a Life-and-Death Dao Domain Realm expert, couldn't help but roll his shoulders—he could feel even his Infinite Matrix Seed wasn't circulating smoothly.
"I am a First-Rank Envoy of Haitong. A crisis has occurred, and by imperial regulation, I automatically assume command of Taoyang Star Continent. Anyone got a problem with that?"
The law existed—but whether it could be enforced depended on the situation. Technically, Gu Ming, Qiu Zishan, and the three main commanders from the Ancient Kingdom Alliance all had the authority to object.
"I object. You just got here. You don't know anything—" a Martial Artist from the Ancient Kingdom Alliance at the Life-and-Death Dao Domain Realm level began to speak.
"Rooaaar—"
The Void Straw Puppet opened its black mouth. A pitch-black rift appeared next to the man, swallowing him whole.
The dissent ended instantly.
A flicker of surprise passed through Gu Ming's eyes. Qiu Zishan froze for a moment.
The other two commanding officers hadn't even recovered from the shock yet.
But no one dared say a word now.
Seeing everyone quiet down, Zhao Xing spoke.
"It's not as bad as it looks. Lord Qiu, how about some good news?"
Qiu Zishan hadn't reacted yet, but Gu Ming answered instead, "The good news is—we can still reach Bishui Base, between the Sixth and Fifth Boundary Mountains."
"I already sent word earlier. The Bishui Emperor should receive it within three Boundary Star Days."
Now Qiu Zishan came back to his senses. "The teleportation formation can still be repaired—assuming it's not hit again."
"The Star Continent itself wasn't affected. What got damaged was the ring base that held the teleportation array."
"No casualties in the Expansion Army," said a Martial Artist carrying a golden snake sword. "Even among the patrol teams outside, only a few are injured."
Zhao Xing glanced at the man and recognized him as Zhou Ze—a member of the Ancient Kingdom Alliance who practiced the Grand Zhou Celestial Sword Technique. He and another led the Taoyang Expansion Army.
Judging by individual ability, the people of Taoyang Star Continent were actually pretty good. The problem was lack of unity.
If they were just a ragtag bunch, Zhao Xing wouldn't have stepped up. Escaping would've been the smarter move.
But now, he saw a chance to salvage things.
"Everyone."
"The situation isn't hopeless, right?" Zhao Xing said, "At least the Bishui Emperor will receive our message. At least we're trapped on Taoyang Star Continent, not inside a Boundary Mountain."
"And the teleportation formation might be fixable."
"Our retreat and survival are still secure."
"So what are we panicking for?"
Everyone mulled it over and nodded unconsciously. What he said made sense.
At the same time, Zhao Xing used his Divine Power of the Mind to reinforce their confidence through his words.
"We can't just sit around and do nothing. You came to open up the Barren Domain—you're not the cowardly type."
"If there's a problem, then we fix it."
"Lord Gu, why don't you tell us what problems need solving first?"
Gu Ming pointed at the Star Mirror projection.
"First—orientation."
Everyone looked toward the star map filled with rubble, star fragments, and small horn peaks.
In the void of the universe, there's no concept of up, down, left, or right. It's the Earthly Advantages and their Extreme Land Theory that established those directions.
The Heavenly Bureaucrats used Star-Fixing Methods. The Self School used Fortune Theory. Together, they defined the cardinal directions: east, south, west, and north.
Using these standard methods, people could navigate cosmic territories accurately.
But now, with part of the Boundary Mountain collapsed, the horn peaks that were ejected destroyed or knocked many Star-Fixing Points off course.
As a result, they couldn't confirm their position. Once they stepped outside Taoyang Star Continent, it would be like walking blindfolded—utterly helpless.
"Lord Qiu, can we use the Earth-Connection Method to confirm orientation?" Zhao Xing asked.
Qiu Zishan shook his head. "No."
"There are too many fragments of the Boundary Mountain. Originally, each Earth Vein fluctuation was unique and traceable. Now they're all the same."
"We can't use that method to locate ourselves anymore."
As for Fortune Theory, that wouldn't work either—because Haitong Ancient Path was in the Barren Domain, where spiritual energy distribution was chaotic.
In other words, the mountain collapse created a starry sky labyrinth.
Worse still, the Boundary Mountain itself continued to grow and shift—wandering around blindly would be dangerous.
Gu Ming had raised this issue first. Deep down, he still didn't agree with Zhao Xing's gung-ho approach.
He could tell Zhao Xing wanted to turn the tide—not just keep Taoyang Star Continent safe, but also rescue those trapped inside the Boundary Mountain.
After witnessing Zhao Xing's strength and leadership just now, Gu Ming already acknowledged him.
Still, he hoped Zhao Xing would recognize the difficulty, stay put, and wait for reinforcements—don't rush into danger.
They couldn't even tell direction anymore. Surely Zhao Xing wasn't thinking of launching an operation now?
Unexpectedly, Zhao Xing's face remained calm. "This isn't a hard problem. I can do coordinate localization. Let's move on to the next issue—"
Gu Ming paused, immediately interrupting, "Hold on! Envoy of Haitong, how exactly are you going to determine location?"
"My master, Gu Luohe, once taught me an unrevealed secret method—Void Coordinate Localization. If Brother Gu doesn't believe me, I can go out with your people right now and fly beyond the Star Continent."
That so-called unrevealed secret was really just the panel's coordinate function.
Zhao Xing had moved freely in places like the Moonfall Mausoleum of the Phantom God Star System, never losing his way. It was all thanks to the panel.
Of course Gu Ming didn't believe it!
"Perfect. Then I'll trouble the Envoy of Haitong to lead the way. Coincidentally, our Division of Mysteries needs to repair the Void Spirit Towers."
Zhao Xing didn't hesitate and immediately sent a clone to accompany Gu Ming's men out for verification.
His main body stayed put and asked, "Next issue?"
Qiu Zishan said, "Even if we can find our bearings, the abnormal changes in the Boundary Mountain caused by the Earth Era Terrain Shift still remain unresolved. Entering again may bring more harm than good."
The terrain disruption had a huge impact. For the Earthly Advantages of the Primordial Hill, most of their techniques within the Boundary Mountain were now ineffective. The precision and effectiveness of the remaining usable ones had also drastically dropped.
Not to mention, new strange phenomena could appear suddenly, injuring them.
This kind of Earth Era Terrain Shift was an absolute natural counter to the Earthly Advantages of the Primordial Hill.
They cultivated Extreme Land Techniques, starting by drawing Earth Veins into the body. Their entire cultivation and thousands of techniques were developed based on these veins. At the root of it all, their power came from the Extreme Land Earth Veins.
But once those Earth Veins were affected by higher-tier terrain forces, the Earthly Advantages of the Primordial Hill would face backlash. In contrast, Earthly Advantages of other factions were much less affected.
This was one of the main reasons why later on, many from the Primordial Hill turned to exploring the Vanishing Star Corridor.
Even those at the Reincarnation Realm would be affected. As for discussing Dao or seeking realm breakthroughs?
They had done the work but reaped no benefit—those from the Primordial Hill had suffered in silence during the early and mid-stages of development.
It wasn't until the Vanishing Star Corridor was opened up that they finally caught a break.
When Zhao Xing had stood before that segment of the Boundary Mountain in the original terrain zone, he saw Taoyangzi there. The man had been deep in thought, trying to solve a problem—he'd encountered a mild terrain shift during excavation.
But he hadn't solved it and didn't understand the principles behind it.
"I can fix it," Zhao Xing said again.
"Lord Qiu, you may send someone to accompany my main body to the Boundary Mountain."
Don't believe me? Then send someone. I'll prove it to you.
Zhao Xing's words were short but forceful. Even the warrior Zhou Ze was starting to believe Zhao Xing might really pull it off.
Who would boast at a time like this without real confidence?
Qiu Zishan, a seasoned veteran, remained half-skeptical. He knew how hard this really was.
"I'll go myself," Qiu Zishan said, glancing at Gu Ming—his expression said plainly: I'm no coward.
Gu Ming watched as Zhao Xing's main body left with Qiu Zishan. He nodded subtly and exchanged thoughts with his subordinates.
"This Envoy of Haitong, Zhao Xing, doesn't seem like some arrogant fool."
"Qiu Zishan's only merit is being honest and diligent. That's about it. But Zhao Xing is bold, decisive, insightful, and commands respect."
"If he really can verify coordinates, our Division of Mysteries should work with him."
"Agreed."
"Agreed here too."
…
After Zhao Xing's battle with Du Yun, his reputation had been widely promoted within the empire—and all in a positive light.
But in Origin Heaven Palace, opinions were split. Some were amazed and acknowledged the strength of his Void Straw Puppet. A good many others thought it was all staged.
Gu Ming belonged to the latter. Still, that was a separate issue. Right now, it didn't stop him from placing trust in Zhao Xing.
As long as Zhao Xing could truly prove his coordinate method.
The team that went out with the clone to verify orientation soon reported back.
Two days later, they located four damaged Void Spirit Towers.
These towers were strategic constructs of the Dao Mechanists.
Their purpose was to suppress the spread of wild Qi. During the excavation of the Haitong Ancient Path, stabilizing the spiritual energy environment was critical.
The Self School's Earthly Advantages from the original terrain zone had set up cultivation bases along the route—this was a long-term plan meant to fix things at the source.
The Void Spirit Towers, on the other hand, were quick-response temporary fixes. Their flaw was they couldn't last.
"Lord Gu, after the Envoy of Haitong pointed the way, we found four Void Spirit Towers. Two of them are beyond repair. We're currently working on fixing the other two."
"Understood." Gu Ming nodded calmly, but his gaze toward Zhao Xing had changed.
He really did find them!
"Envoy of Haitong, the Division of Mysteries is ready to follow your orders," Gu Ming said. "Please give the next command."
Two days had passed—everything that needed to be said was said. At this point, Zhao Xing was sitting with his eyes closed, resting.
Hearing Gu Ming speak so sincerely, he opened his eyes at once. "Lord Gu, does your Division of Mysteries know how to construct a Qingyu Realm?"
The Qingyu Realm was one of the signature mechanisms of the Dao Mechanists in Origin Heaven Palace. It was a massive formation-weapon hybrid.
It was part of the so-called "military-grade mechanism techniques."
In large-scale operations, its performance was outstanding.
Among military-grade Mechanist techniques, the Qingyu Realm was second only to the Red Star Empire's Deadlock Great Wall and the Four Seasons Heavenly Pass.
Gu Ming's Division of Mysteries had ten thousand members—not many, but all elite. Eighty percent of them were at the Dao Domain Realm.
Zhao Xing could see from his panel that Gu Ming possessed the Qingyu Realm technique, but it was greyed out. Whether it could be deployed depended on his Division's collective capabilities—no one could activate it alone.
"Yes, we can," Gu Ming answered without hesitation. "Our division can support a Qingyu Realm spanning fifteen astronomical units."
"However, the Realm can't withstand the full force of Boundary Mountain convergence. It can only slow it down at best."
Slowing it down? That's already amazing!
The Boundary Mountains tended to converge toward each other. If the Qingyu Realm could delay that convergence, it would directly buy the encircled more time to survive.
Such capability was already top-tier!
The way this unit of soldiers deployed the Qingyu Realm—they used it better than some Reincarnation Realm experts who weren't trained for this kind of mechanism deployment.
No wonder they'd been calm before. If you've got the skills, you don't need to bluff!
What defines an elite force? Gu Ming's Division of Mysteries was the very definition of elite!
Beyond the Taoyang Star Continent, three light-years away—
A jagged peak of the Boundary Mountain floated in the air, slowly rotating.
When Zhao Xing's main body and Qiu Zishan approached, they both felt something strange in the air.
Zhao Xing had only just reached the second layer, so his Extreme Land Seed Mountain technique wasn't heavily affected.
Qiu Zishan, on the other hand, cultivated the Extreme Land Giant God Peak, which leaned in a completely different direction.
The former focused on combat, while the latter specialized in mountain techniques and geological excavation.
The jagged peak of the Boundary Mountain impacted Qiu Zishan far more than it did Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing had him run some tests. Most of Qiu Zishan's Earthly Advantages techniques were suppressed by about seventy percent.
"This is outrageous. Just the presence of a Boundary Mountain peak alone is enough to suppress all Earthly Advantages," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
And this was just a jagged offshoot. If they actually entered the Boundary Mountain, the suppression would likely be even greater.
Zhao Xing was now half-convinced that Emperor Hongshan might really be trapped there. The stronger one was in Earth Vein cultivation, the greater the suppression from the Boundary Mountain.
"My own cultivated Earth Vein is subtle, so the convergence pressure from the Boundary Mountain has limited effect on me. But for someone like Emperor Hongshan, facing that pressure is like having several Reincarnation Realm experts simultaneously applying Earth Palace laws to restrain him."
"Shennong Zhao, how do we solve this?" Qiu Zishan asked. He clearly didn't have high hopes.
Zhao Xing didn't answer directly. Instead, he started outlining a few fundamental principles of Earth Vein law:
"All matter, including spiritual energy, tends to fall toward the Extreme Land."
"Earth Vein techniques shift in effect based on the surrounding Earth Vein environment."
"There exists a convergence matrix between Earth Veins, but on stable Life Realm Stars, this matrix is usually consistent and trackable."
"The Boundary Mountain, however, merges with void layers and regenerates in a cycle, making its convergence matrix change without pattern."
The most complex problems often had solutions buried in the simplest principles.
Looking back to those easy-to-overlook truths often led to breakthroughs.
As Qiu Zishan listened to Zhao Xing's explanation, he began to look thoughtful.
"So you mean the reason my techniques are weakened is because the Extreme Land method I cultivate is being affected by the Boundary Mountain's veins, much like when we first encounter an unfamiliar Life Realm Star?"
"Yes," Zhao Xing nodded. "We Earthly Advantages often need time to adjust when we arrive on a new star."
"What we're adapting to is the change in Earth Vein fluctuations."
"Of course, that's just theory. The actual application is a different matter."
"You've trained on Fire Cloud Realm, right? Over there, Earth Vein fluctuations shift with cloud Qi, sometimes even with the changing of the seasons."
"So you can't rely on standard adjustments."
Seeing how dejected Qiu Zishan looked, Zhao Xing added, "It's not that the Earthly Advantages of the Primordial Hill are weak or incapable—it's that they're out of their element here."
"On the contrary, it's precisely because we're capable that we're being suppressed."
"So… we're being suppressed because we're too good?" Qiu Zishan blinked blankly.
"Exactly. Outsiders wouldn't even notice half of what you're feeling. Makes sense, right?" As he spoke, Zhao Xing drew out his own cultivated Earth Vein.
"The mountain is the host, we are the guests. As guests, we follow the host's rules. When changes grow complex, we must adapt."
"To conquer a mountain, we don't always have to charge head-on. Brother Qiu, why not become a part of the mountain?"
"Become part of the mountain?" Qiu Zishan stared blankly at the jagged Boundary Mountain peak in front of him.
By then, Zhao Xing had already begun approaching the massive mountain.
Three days later, Taoyang Star Continent finally received news from Emperor Bishui.
"Gu Ming, what's going on? Why was the passage between the Seventh and Sixth Boundary Mountain closed?"
"What's happening in the encircled lands? Why can't we send even the slightest signal through? Where's Qiu Zishan? Where's Taoyang?"
When Gu Ming sent out that message, Zhao Xing hadn't yet assumed control. Emperor Bishui hadn't even noticed that Zhao Xing had arrived at Taoyang Star Continent.
So the Emperor instinctively asked whoever seemed to be in charge.
Gu Ming stepped aside tactfully, and Zhao Xing appeared in front of Emperor Bishui.
"Emperor, I've already taken over operations on Taoyang Star Continent."
"You?" Emperor Bishui frowned. "What exactly happened?"
Zhao Xing calmly explained everything in detail.
"Taoyangzi was reassigned by Emperor Hongshan to the First Exploration Base between the Fourth and Fifth Boundary Mountains."
"According to officials at the First Exploration Base, Emperor Hongshan and Taoyangzi proceeded to the Fourth Boundary Mountain and have yet to return."
Though Emperor Bishui wasn't a combat-type Reincarnation Realm expert, he was a seasoned veteran who'd weathered many storms.
The fact that Zhao Xing, the Envoy of Haitong, had taken over command made it clear that chaos had struck Taoyang Star Continent, forcing the Envoy to step in and restore order.
Normally, an Envoy would never interfere like this unless absolutely necessary.
Given that Emperor Hongshan and Taoyangzi were still missing, even though it hadn't been many years, and considering the collapses in the following two Boundary Mountains… their prolonged absence could only mean one of two things:
They were either trapped—or dead.
"Zhao Xing, you've done well." Emperor Bishui took a deep breath. "I'll send a Reincarnation Realm squad immediately to reopen the Sixth Boundary Mountain's passage and organize an evacuation."
It was obvious that Emperor Bishui believed the current personnel on Taoyang Star Continent could no longer handle the complexities at hand.
As for the people from Langqi Dao, they could return via alternate paths.
"Please wait, Emperor," Zhao Xing interrupted Emperor Bishui at that moment. "I request that you not withdraw the personnel from Taoyang Star Continent."
"If we abandon Taoyang Star Continent now, then the First Exploration Base will be left completely isolated and without aid."
"Even if the First Exploration Base has Reincarnation Realm experts, their survival rate will drop significantly—especially with people still trapped in the mountain."
"Zhao Xing, I know what you want to say," Emperor Bishui replied. "But we can't worry about the First Exploration Base or those trapped personnel right now. The Boundary Mountain collapse isn't just happening along the Haitong Ancient Path, do you understand?"
"All ancient star-paths that cross a Boundary Mountain are experiencing abnormal events. I can only prioritize the evacuation of personnel whose survival is confirmed."
"I understand," Zhao Xing nodded, "but I believe we can resolve this."
"Ridiculous!" Emperor Bishui barked. "You have no idea how many capable people came from the Primordial Hill! Are you saying they're not more skilled than you? Is Emperor Hongshan not more capable than you? Then what are you even doing here?"
"Zhao Xing, I understand your desire to make a name for yourself, but now is not the time!"
Normally, Emperor Bishui wouldn't have explained so much.
When an Emperor gives orders, you follow them. A little cultivator at the Origin Stage shouldn't be talking back.
But Zhao Xing was different. Ever since he'd defeated Du Yun in that duel, his status had skyrocketed.
Not to mention, he was technically a student of Gu Luohe, an official disciple of the Five Venom Emperor, and heir to the Primordial Straw Puppet Technique.
Even if Emperor Bishui didn't know about the Qingzi segment, that was still enough to make him take Zhao Xing seriously.
And yet Zhao Xing didn't listen—and even had the guts to say something bold.
"Please take a look, Emperor."
Zhao Xing operated the Star Mirror, projecting a scene of the Division of Mysteries deploying the Qingyu Realm to clean up the starry sky debris.
"The situation on Taoyang Star Continent is well under control. I don't think it's time to retreat just yet. Of course, I'm not questioning your decision to send reinforcements."
"On the contrary, I need something from the rear supply base. And I need it fast."
Emperor Bishui glanced at him, looking surprised. Zhao Xing and his people could still discern direction and respond swiftly under such conditions?
"What do you need?" Emperor Bishui's tone softened a little.
"Micro Star Continents from the Mesozoic Era—one from each sub-era. I need the complete set. The quantity doesn't have to be large."
"Huh?" Emperor Bishui hadn't expected anyone to make such a bizarre logistics request.
He'd heard of people asking for treasures—but asking for dirt?
Clearly, Emperor Bishui didn't understand Zhao Xing's real intention. On top of that, Zhao Xing had just mentioned that other ancient paths were facing similar issues.
Zhao Xing decided to share some of his research findings.
"Emperor, this is a report I compiled on the Boundary Mountain collapse. Please pass it on to the people at the Primordial Hill for in-depth validation. I hope it can help with the current crisis."
Emperor Bishui glanced at the report. The first line read: 'Origin Theory of Mesozoic Boundary Mountain Collapses.'
The second line: 'Eight Solutions to Earth Epoch Transformations: Boundary Mountain Edition.'
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
A giant question mark popped into Emperor Bishui's mind.
He understood the connection between principles and technique applications. He'd read a few treatises on Earth transformations and knew the Mesozoic was an Earth Vein-dominant era.
But the stuff Zhao Xing wrote? He couldn't understand a word of it.
Different trades might as well be separate worlds. Emperor Bishui was good at farming—but he didn't study mountains, much less Boundary Mountains.
To avoid looking clueless, Emperor Bishui just kept nodding on the surface.
"Mm, not bad. Quite insightful."
"I'll pass it on to the Earth Epoch Lord of the Primordial Hill."
"Oh right, what did you say you wanted again?"
Zhao Xing: "…"
Zhao Xing had truly grasped the meaning of "different trades, different worlds" on Taoyang Star Continent.
Qiu Zishan didn't understand what Gu Ming and his mechanists were doing.
Gu Ming didn't get why Qiu Zishan's Earth Vein Division turned into useless baggage the moment they got close to the Boundary Mountain.
And the Martial Officer in charge, Bi Gang, thought both sides were just flailing around. Aside from the healers, who were at least good for treating injuries, the officers sent this time were all pampered second-generation rich kids—total dead weight!
"Today we move the stars east. Tomorrow we move the ones we just moved south."
"Damn that Zhao Xing! He's out to get me. Brother Zhou, has he been targeting you and Brother Shangguan too?"
Bi Gang, the martial officer Zhao Xing devoured during their first encounter, led a Wilds Vanguard Unit made up mainly of Qi School Martial Artists.
Zhao Xing, of course, wasn't going to kill people indiscriminately. After locking Bi Gang up for a few days and seeing him soften his tone, he let him go back to work.
Qi School Martial Artists made for excellent manual labor. With Earthly Advantages from the Primordial Hill weakened, these human-shaped Boundary Ships were truly indispensable.
"Nope." Zhou Ze shook his head. "I think this Envoy Zhao Xing has some brains."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bi Gang looked at Zhou Ze suspiciously. "If he has brains, does that mean I don't?"
"I didn't say that," Zhou Ze shot Bi Gang a warning glance. "You said that yourself."
"Damn it, why are you siding with him too?"
Bi Gang cursed under his breath.
But no matter how much he grumbled, he still had to get the work done.
The Envoy had the legal right to kill without consequence. Even if Bi Gang was a noble from the Ancient Kingdom Alliance, that meant nothing here.
"When I get back, I'm definitely reporting this bastard officer for bullying his colleagues and suppressing the people from the Ancient Kingdom Alliance," Bi Gang fumed. "This mission's already a total bust anyway."
Yes, Bi Gang didn't believe Zhao Xing could handle everything.
The closure of the Haitong Ancient Path seemed inevitable now. At the very least, the current project was going to be shelved for a while.
Emperor Bishui held the same opinion. After sending the update back to Guanyi, his recommendation was to reroute—shut down the Haitong Ancient Path before too much had been invested and mark it as a restricted zone, while choosing another backup path to excavate.
"What? A Boundary Mountain collapse?" the Five Venom Emperor shot to his feet as soon as he heard the news. "Old Bi, where's Zhao Xing? Is he safe?"
"He's fine. Still on Taoyang Star Continent."
"Damn it, Old Bi, you useless sack! It's been half a year—why the hell is he still there?" The Five Venom Emperor glanced at the calendar and immediately noticed something was off. If even Bishui had advised a withdrawal, then why hadn't Zhao Xing been pulled back too?
"What's the rush?" Emperor Bishui said grumpily. "Your disciple insisted on staying behind. He even wrote me a report that reads like a scholarly canon and asked me to forward it to the Earth Epoch Lord."
"Damn that Emperor Hongshan bunch. I knew they were unreliable!" the Five Venom Emperor cursed. "It took Taoyangzi forever just to dig the first one, and now Hongshan's people go and this happens again."
"So the disciple's a mess—turns out his master's not any better!"
"Fuck them all—!"
His swearing was so harsh that even Emperor Bishui couldn't bear to listen anymore and muted him for a moment.
Only after the tirade ended did he unmute and speak again.
"Summon the Primordial Hill's Opening Originality Council. We don't even know how many more Boundary Mountains lie ahead on the Haitong Ancient Path. If this keeps up—"
Elsewhere, at Guanyi in the Jiachen sector, the Earth Epoch Lord was pacing back and forth.
The Boundary Mountain incidents happening across various ancient paths were escalating. They could no longer be swept under the rug.
One misstep, and not only would the Primordial Hill lose its reputation, but it would also forfeit any say in the development and its actual interests. All those so-called alliance cooperations were rooted in practical benefit.
If they couldn't prove their worth, who would still respect the Primordial Hill? Who would want to share top-tier resources with them?
"So Emperor Bishui from the Origin Domain sent me this treatise... What does that mean?" The Earth Epoch Lord muttered, flipping through the book. "Zhao Xing? Isn't he the Origin Domain's Saint Child?"
"You want me to verify whether this is authentic?"
He had already spent half a year studying the book in his hands.
With his expertise, he could preliminarily confirm that this treatise might actually resolve the Boundary Mountain issues!
But still, he found it hard to believe someone at the Origin Stage could produce something like this.
"Why hasn't Lord Lushan replied yet? I'm just a minor lord—how am I supposed to handle something this complex…"
The Earth Epoch Lord stared anxiously at the ground.
Suddenly—
"Yu~"
A face appeared in the ground, its mouth moving to speak.
"The Twelve Mountains of the Secondary World in the Primordial Hill have, based on your submitted treatise, preliminarily verified that the Boundary Mountain events are indeed related to the Earth Epoch Transformations."
"The eight proposed solutions in the treatise also seem feasible."
"Epoch Lord, you've done well. Without you, the Primordial Hill would've become the laughingstock of the entire Xuanling Star Domain."
The Earth Epoch Lord froze for a moment. "Lord Lushan, this treatise... Is it really workable? Can we use it to guide spellcasting?"
"Indeed. Although the eight solutions are still crude, they are at least effective."
"With a clear direction, we won't have to treat the Boundary Mountains like forbidden death zones anymore."
"Do you have any new findings? The Originality Council is about to begin, and I suspect the Primordial Hill will be a major target. You're the pioneer in this field—if you've got a better method—"
Before Lord Lushan could finish, the Earth Epoch Lord smiled bitterly. "You're giving me too much credit. This treatise... I didn't write it."
"I'm currently stationed at Guanyi in the Jiachen sector of the Empire. I haven't even set foot on any ancient path."
"Oh?" the face in the earth let out a puzzled sound. "If it's not you, then could it be Lord Hongshan?"
"No."
"Then who wrote this treatise?"
The Earth Epoch Lord replied, "It was delivered to me by Emperor Bishui of the Origin Domain. It came from someone called Zhao Xing, a Shennong."
Lord Lushan fell silent. Such a refined Earth Vein-style treatise had come from the Origin Domain. That was quite a blow to their pride.
Had the Empire's Origin Domain already progressed this far?
"Lord Lushan, Zhao Xing was brought in by Lord Hongshan. He's an Extreme Continent cultivator. Technically, he's one of us now."
"Nonsense!" Lord Lushan snapped. "What do you mean 'technically'? He cultivates on the Extreme Continent and was brought in by Hongshan—so he is one of us!"
"Go to the Haitong Ancient Path immediately. No—go now!"
"Make sure it really was Zhao Xing who wrote this."
"And check if he's made any new progress."
"Yes!" the Earth Epoch Lord accepted the order without hesitation. But just before leaving, he asked one more question:
"Lord Lushan, in your opinion—does this treatise qualify to be engraved on the Myriad Dao Tree in the Learning City?"
"Nonsense!" Lord Lushan barked. "Using Mesozoic theories to trace the origin of Boundary Mountain collapses, connecting them to Earth Epoch Transformations, and proposing guiding directions along with matching spell solutions—this can be considered an entirely new school of spellcraft!"
"I can already see the stage this new path will have in the future."
"If it spreads, all those forbidden zones across the Xuanling Star Domain—even the Tenfold Boundary Mountains—will become as easy to tread as flat ground!"
"Does it qualify for the Myriad Dao Tree? Ha! The real question is—does the Myriad Dao Tree even deserve to hold such a world-shaking treatise?"