Earth Core Fissure, Demon God Earth Palace, Mysterious Earth Star Escape, Primordial Earth Repository, Yaoguang Earth Communication, Triassic Boundary Mountains.
These were the six Earth Advantage great divine abilities Zhao Xing mastered in three hundred fifty-two years!
Among them, Triassic Boundary Mountains was a self-created mountain method. Based on Wall Opening, he developed Triassic Wall Opening and Mustard Seed Mountain Sealing, two great divine abilities.
One was for opening mountains, the other for sealing them. This further perfected the mountain methods in the Zhao Clan's Eight Methods.
Triassic Boundary Mountains could break mountains and walls, as well as seal them and define realms.
Mysterious Earth Star Escape was an escape method from the Mysterious Earth techniques. It allowed him to travel from one star continent or planet to another—a long-distance escape method.
It was similar to the Self School's Straw Puppet Leap Zhao Xing had learned before, but now, the anchor point of the technique was the countless planets and star continents across the universe.
Earth Core Fissure belonged to the Fissure Earth method, but what it shattered was the earth vein core, destroying planets or star continents from within.
When escaping to another planet using Star Escape, he could use Earth Core Fissure immediately to prevent being tracked.
Yaoguang Earth Communication was an Earth Communication method, used for long-distance messaging. It used the light emitted by realm stars and star continents to broadcast different information.
Demon God Earth Palace was a trapping and killing method. It could refine golden bodies or even realm ships, mainly targeting strong, tough defensive methods.
Primordial Earth Repository was a support method, artificially triggering "earth changes," reactivating dead earth veins, even promoting them, making dead realm stars and star continents burst with new life!
"Whuuu~ Whuuu~"
As Zhao Xing emerged from the ground, golden light spread around him in a unique rhythm.
Behind him appeared illusions of earth veins, some as fierce as fire, some as cold as ten thousand-year-old ice, some as heavy as mountains—
But soon, the golden light and phenomena faded, revealing Zhao Xing's figure.
"Zhao Xing, out of those two hundred Origin Golden Pills, how many did you take?" Emperor Lushan asked curiously.
Origin Golden Pills from Origin Heaven Palace, made for those at the great divine ability stage, weren't something you could just consume freely.
Taking them required matching one's methods and Dao, and the pill's power had to be absorbed through your own knowledge.
This barrier meant that the mediocre wouldn't gain much, but geniuses would soar like dragons with wings.
"One hundred eighty-seven," Zhao Xing replied.
"One hundred eighty-seven?" A flash of shock passed through Emperor Lushan's eyes. Back then, he had taken eighty-nine, which was already a record in his era.
He never thought Zhao Xing could absorb one hundred eighty-seven Origin Golden Pills!
"If you break through to Dao Domain Realm, your mana will be unimaginable." Emperor Lushan was full of anticipation.
From Origin Realm to Dao Domain Realm, a Shennong's methods would merge with Spirit Qi, evolving into higher-tier mana.
The strength of one's mana directly determined the effect of their spells. With enough mana, even a simple paper crane spell could shatter heaven and earth.
"My achievements today are all thanks to Master-Uncle's guidance," Zhao Xing bowed deeply to Emperor Lushan.
Primordial Hill had shown great sincerity, and Emperor Lushan had truly given his all in teaching him.
"Hahaha." Whether flattery sounded nice or not depended on who said it.
Emperor Lushan knew Zhao Xing was just being polite, but he still felt quite pleased.
While Zhao Xing's true body was talking with Emperor Lushan at Jiachen Fourteen Pass, on Taoyang Star Continent of Haitong Ancient Path—
An official emerged from the ground, appearing outside Zhao Xing's avatar's residence, Huailiu Courtyard.
"Reporting to the Haitong Envoy, the Emperor has summoned all department officials and special envoys to discuss important matters at Hongshan Hall."
"Understood."
Inside Huailiu Courtyard, Zhao Xing's avatar came online, opening his eyes.
Outside, someone held up a sealed letter.
He waved his hand, and the letter flew into his grasp.
After skimming the contents, Zhao Xing's avatar flew toward the star ring continent, ready to teleport to the First Base.
At the same time, Zhao Xing's true body ended his cultivation at Jiachen Fourteen Pass and set out for the Haitong Ancient Path.
"After three hundred fifty-two years, Haitong Ancient Path has finally dug through the first stage obstacle of the Boundary Mountains."
"Now that the boundary wall has been broken, the cosmic void is no longer solid earth layers."
"A rain of Spirit Qi filled the skies."
"The Spirit Qi index shot up, reaching over one hundred. At this level, it can already be called a Spirit Domain, a fertile land where survival is possible without building bases."
"Emperor Hongshan said this is likely the 'New Spirit Domain' predicted by the Imperial Grandmaster." Zhao Xing recalled the contents of the sealed letter.
But he knew well that Haitong Ancient Path was far from fully open—it had just passed the Boundary Mountains.
"The Barren Domain isn't just a lifeless wasteland. Even deserts have oases. The Frontier Army probably just found a small-scale Spirit Qi star region."
"I just don't know exactly where they've reached." Zhao Xing reached into the star realm, starting to expand and mark the star map based on his memory.
Because it was classified, transmitting through the star mirror might cause leaks, so to be safe, Emperor Hongshan hadn't provided a detailed map or descriptions.
When Zhao Xing's avatar arrived via teleportation at Hongshan Hall in the First Base, he found the meeting was mostly filled with people from Primordial Hill, with only a few members from the Empire.
For example, Yuan Qiusheng, Emperor Bishui, and himself as a first-level Haitong Envoy.
Zhao Xing glanced at the list and immediately understood what this meant.
"Exploring unknown territories through cooperation can be tight-knit when facing hardships together, but when it comes time to share benefits, differences in ideas are bound to arise."
"Emperor Hongshan believed he had found the Spirit Qi domain foretold in prophecy, so he immediately blocked off the Boundary Mountain passage, planning to send his own people in first to check things out."
Officials like Gu Ming, head of the Xuanji Division on Taoyang Star Continent, and Wu Division's Zhou Ze and Bi Gang, hadn't received any notice.
Because they were sent by Origin Heaven Palace and the Ancient Kingdom Alliance.
"Everyone, just two days ago, the Earth Dao Division broke through the last Boundary Mountain."
"A Spirit Qi domain has appeared ahead, with Spirit Qi rain flooding the void. The area is vast, and the further forward you go, the higher the Spirit Qi index rises."
As the meeting began, Emperor Hongshan got straight to the point.
"The unknown territory is full of dangers, so the passage through the First Boundary Mountain will remain closed for now, and the news must be strictly controlled."
"I plan to form a vanguard team to conduct a small-scale exploration of this star region. After we fully understand it, we'll open it up."
What Emperor Hongshan said made sense, but everyone knew this arrangement was about letting his people reap the first benefits.
"Zhao Xing, what are your thoughts?" Emperor Hongshan saw Zhao Xing still looking down at the star map and asked him directly.
He asked this question hoping to assign Zhao Xing an exploration task as well.
Everyone knew that in the Imperial Grandmaster's prophecy, once the ancient path was opened, countless benefits would follow.
In undeveloped star regions, many treasures of heaven and earth would emerge, some even one-of-a-kind.
"Emperor, I have no opinion, I'll follow whatever is arranged." Zhao Xing looked up.
This answer surprised Emperor Hongshan a bit. He didn't believe Zhao Xing couldn't understand his hint.
Such a response suggested he wasn't that interested in exploring.
And that was the truth.
After getting the full intel at Hongshan Hall, Zhao Xing confirmed that the Haitong Ancient Path had pushed close to the Lingxu Realm!
Sure, there were benefits, because Lingxu Realm was an Origin Realm!
But the risks weren't small either.
For example, the Spirit Qi rain falling now was anything but simple.
To enter Lingxu Realm safely, many obstacles still needed to be dealt with. He was only at the Origin Realm now, and it'd be risky to go.
Even if he sent a Taixu Avatar, and it got destroyed, his true body wouldn't be harmed. But this Ultimate Form Taixu Avatar was the only one he had. Losing it would make it hard to find materials for another.
Zhao Xing wasn't willing, so he'd rather wait for the first wave to clear the path.
The "loot-sharing meeting" ended quickly. Taoyangzi, Emperor Bishui, and Lord Ji Shan, eight total at the Reincarnation Realm, were all given exploration missions.
Zhao Xing wanted to leave, but Emperor Hongshan didn't let him go so easily.
After the meeting, he called Zhao Xing into a private space.
"Emperor Tianning, we are now inside the core of a high-level barren star."
"Our conversation won't be known by anyone else."
"Now that the New Spirit Domain has appeared, are you sure you don't want to explore the 'Grain Rain Star Region'?"
Grain Rain Star Region was what Emperor Hongshan named part of the New Spirit Domain. It wasn't far from the First Boundary Mountain.
"I do want to, just not now." Zhao Xing replied directly. "I'm still too weak."
"Even if I went with those at the Reincarnation Realm, exploring under Spirit Qi rain is too dangerous."
"Oh?" Emperor Hongshan didn't feel anything wrong with the rain, but Zhao Xing's words made him take it seriously. "Please, enlighten me, Emperor Tianning."
Zhao Xing thought for a moment, then tossed out a star mirror.
Light projected from the mirror, and the scenery around them changed, showing the First Boundary Mountain and Grain Rain Star Region.
"Shhh~~"
Rain fell heavily in the void ahead, mist rising from it, while the two stood atop the Boundary Mountain, watching this live broadcast of Spirit Qi rain.
"The universe has great seasonal changes; this is the foundation of Heavenly Timing Cosmology," Zhao Xing began. "This star region is currently having a Spirit Qi rain. If there were a Shennong of the Heavenly Timing School here, using Seasonal Qi Command to sense different star regions, they would judge from the rainwater—"
"It comes from spring, summer, autumn, and winter—not Grain Rain."
"Emperor Hongshan, do you know what it means when a star region doesn't follow the natural cycle of the four seasons?"
Emperor Hongshan blurted out, "Heavenly Timing Hou Transformation?"
Zhao Xing nodded. "Yes, this is a sign of Hou Transformation. It's very likely happening."
Emperor Hongshan frowned. "During the meeting, to your left was Lord Wenping, a Shennong of the Heavenly Timing School who has mastered Seasonal Qi Command."
"Lord Wenping judged that this star region is in the 'Great Grain Rain' phase and that it will last a long time."
Zhao Xing pointed to a specific area and zoomed in. "The area he went to is indeed Grain Rain. You can't say his judgment was wrong, but it wasn't complete."
"I think he didn't observe the sun star of this region, only relied on the Seasonal Qi Command inside him to draw his conclusion."
Emperor Hongshan countered, "But you haven't even been there, how do you know?"
Zhao Xing said calmly, "It's simple. My method is stronger than his."
"When the First Boundary Mountain was broken, and the wall no longer blocked it, I sensed it right away. And you sealed the passage a bit late, some Heavenly Qi already drifted through the passage."
A flash of shock crossed Emperor Hongshan's mind. "The First Base is so far from the passage, and he could sense it so clearly?"
But shock aside, Emperor Hongshan didn't doubt him.
In his mind, Emperor Tianning had always been tied to the Heavenly Timing School.
Otherwise, how could he have gotten so close to Qing Yuzi? Everyone knew that on the altar back then, Qing Yuzi had condensed the Storm Divine Mark, clearly showing his school.
But, opening a path through the Barren Domain was just too hard!
The Boundary Mountain had just been broken through, and now they were facing a massive Hou Transformation.
Luckily, this wasn't something the Earthly Advantage School had to worry about. Emperor Hongshan was already thinking about which Shennong from the Heavenly Timing School he should call to deal with the issue.
Zhao Xing didn't disturb Emperor Hongshan's thoughts and quietly left.
This Hou Transformation triggered by the chaotic Grain Rain wasn't his problem, it was Emperor Hongshan's headache.
Pointing it out was already a kind of favor, to prevent the Primordial Hill from suffering more losses during this exploration.
Zhao Xing had heard about the Originality Council's meeting too—Lord Lushan from Primordial Hill had just finished dealing with multiple rounds of accountability. If it happened again, Primordial Hill would be in a tough spot, something Zhao Xing didn't want to see.
[Accessing permissions, verifying access...]
[Verified: Coral Ninth Rank Member!]
[The Sparks Intelligence Vault has opened. You may browse encrypted files invisibly.]
The star mirror displayed a blooming firework reflected in Zhao Xing's eyes. After his identity was confirmed, the firework burst into flames, forming a world of fire.
Zhao Xing's consciousness entered this world of fire.
Burning books kept floating toward him from within the flames—this was the Sparks Department's encrypted file vault.
It constantly updated with unpublished intel.
"Check the development progress of the Yanxing Corridor Star Path, and the involved forces and their key members." Zhao Xing's intent sent out waves of energy.
"Poof~" The flames suddenly rose two people high, and a pile of documents appeared in front of Zhao Xing.
"The Yanxing Corridor Star Path is only a small-scale project. Its development progress is basically zero, only 7 astronomical units extended into the Barren Domain."
"Foreign affiliated dynasty 'Rainbow Moon' is involved, with key personnel being the scholar Xi Hebo, Lord Fuwei, and the star historian Beins."
"Domestic forces mainly have control through a branch of the Carlos Family."
Zhao Xing also held an official position related to the Yanxing Ancient Path, so keeping an eye on it was normal. If the Yanxing Ancient Path was completed, it'd bring even more benefits than the Haitong Ancient Path.
First, it was a much shorter route with heavy traffic and would later become the busiest ancient star path, with massive commercial value.
Second, during the breakthrough process, more treasured lands were found than along the Haitong Ancient Path.
"The other seven top-tier ancient paths, I'd just get some personal profit, and after that, they'd have nothing to do with me."
"But the Yanxing Ancient Path, I could still get involved." Zhao Xing thought to himself.
When the top powers made their deals, they already divided up the potential benefits from the seven top-tier ancient paths, leaving no room for individuals to participate.
But there were nine top-tier ancient paths in total. On the other two, Zhao Xing had a real chance of getting precious management rights or territorial control.
"I wonder how Great Zhou's development is going. I can't manage a territory all on my own; I just don't have the energy."
Zhao Xing used the star mirror to contact Ji Che.
"Big brother." Ji Che's face was flushed. The background in the mirror looked like he was at some kind of banquet.
"Fifth brother, where are you?"
"Big brother, I'm visiting Lord Black Dragon at Jiǎchén Pass Eleven." Ji Che replied.
"Why are you over there?"
Ji Che apologized to the people beside him, then flew to a quiet garden and went underground.
"Big brother, don't you remember? You gave me a list and told me to make connections with these people." Ji Che explained. "I'm not just enjoying myself."
Zhao Xing suddenly remembered and almost forgot about it.
For Ji Che to develop the Fortune Dynasty system, he needed people, money (Fortune Ancient Coins), and territory—the more, the better.
Great Zhou had gotten hold of a Fortune treasure from the Five Emperors Era, following the path of a unified dynasty like in those times.
Zhao Xing had given Ji Che a list of future rising talents he knew, telling him to build relationships with them.
"Liú Tianning and Luó are still developing in Wángliáng Star Region along the Lángpíng Ancient Path, while I'm handling social connections inside the passes."
"Thanks to your reputation, big brother, over the past few hundred years, I've even convinced two Reincarnation Realm experts to become officials in the court."
"But their strength isn't great, their True Spirits haven't passed the danger stage, and they're nearing their lifespan's end." Ji Che continued, "Big brother, the Fate Officer Yuán Xīn and historian Li Qīng Hóu you recommended—I visited them a few times, but they didn't care about me. I only met them once, and after they heard I was inviting them to join, they refused to meet again."
Ji Che was a bit disappointed. If he could've tied down strong Reincarnation Realm experts like Yuán Xīn or Li Qīng Hóu to Great Zhou's Fortune chariot, it would've been a huge leap forward.
Unfortunately, they didn't care about Ji Che.
Even though Great Zhou had Zhao Xing, the country was still too weak. Ji Che, as the ruler, was only at the Life and Death Dao Domain Realm. How could he get such people to serve him?
Even a light connection was something they wouldn't agree to, because it'd involve karmic ties. They might not get any benefits and could end up dragged down by Great Zhou's Fortune fluctuations.
"Fifth brother, don't worry, take your time." Zhao Xing reassured him. "Great Zhou has already developed rapidly over the past few hundred years."
It really was fast. Following the Northern River Army to develop Wángliáng Star Region along the Lángpíng Path, the Northern River Army feasted on meat, while Great Zhou at least had some soup.
The overall strength was growing quickly, and Zhao Xing could clearly sense Great Zhou's rising national Fortune through karmic links.
"Hahaha, it's really fast. Big brother, I can now condense another Fortune Golden Core. I saved it just for you—come get it when you're free."
"Oh? Less than 400 years and you've got another one?" Zhao Xing was genuinely interested.
The Fortune Golden Cores condensed with the help of Fortune treasures in Great Zhou could boost Fortune by three levels or help reach the next realm.
These were even more precious than a single Five Emperors Coin.
The last one had been given to Liú Tianning, and with it, Liú Tianning broke through to the Life and Death Dao Domain Realm.
And now there was another one?
"Alright, my true self just set off from Jiǎchén Pass Fourteen. I'll stop by to see you." Zhao Xing said.
[Name: Zhao Xing]
[Realm: Grand Divine Ability Realm]
[Occupation: Shennong]
[Dao Field: Solar Ninth Rank]
[Soul: Yin-Yang Dao Domain Realm]
[Fortune: Derivation Thirteen (boosted by two levels with Five Emperors Coin)]
[Age: 6814]
[Remaining Lifespan: 2.9 epochs]
Three months later, Zhao Xing's true body, carrying a Supreme Straw Puppet, took the Fortune Golden Core and arrived at the Haitong Ancient Land.
He didn't take the Fortune Golden Core right away because there was a rule with the Fortune Dao: when Fortune ascended a level, there would be an obvious "auspicious sign" in a short period.
Since he wasn't planning to leave the base to explore, there was no need to use it now.
The setting wasn't right, and that might weaken the effect of the "auspicious sign." Staying at Base One, it wasn't like good fortune would just fall from the sky.
"My current focus should be, first, on studying the Heavenly Timing School's Source Dao and techniques, and second, on soul refinement." Zhao Xing thought to himself.
"The Heavenly Timing School doesn't have Source Golden Cores like those treasures, and throughout the Xuanling Star Domain, there are no superpowers tied to the Heavenly Timing School, just five top-tier forces, one level weaker."
In the cosmic era, both the Earthly Advantage and Self Schools had superpowers, but the Heavenly Timing School was lagging behind.
Qing Yuzi counted as a Shennong of the Heavenly Timing School, but he belonged to the Reincarnation Divine Palace, which couldn't be called a pure Heavenly Timing School force, and they didn't have any special sacred lands.
Old Qing had already become a god. Learning the Heavenly Timing School's secret techniques from him was possible, but that wasn't a big deal. He had already given Zhao Xing a Divine Palace secret art, "Reincarnation." Asking more from him wasn't appropriate.
"I need to find a chance to connect with the five top-tier Heavenly Timing forces later. For now, I'll secretly master 'Reincarnation' first." Zhao Xing thought.
He had to practice it secretly because this soul secret art had been given privately by Qing Yuzi.
It wasn't an official transmission from the Reincarnation Divine Palace. By their rules, only senior members of the palace could learn the "Reincarnation" secret art.
"Great God Qing Yuzi above, your disciple is about to start practicing soul arts. Please bless me." Zhao Xing found a secret room.
He set up a formation and took out a statue of Qing Yuzi, lighting incense.
Though the path of sacrifice had declined, Zhao Xing was directly connected to a godly realm, so this kind of prayer could get a direct response.
Soon, green mist filled the room, wrapping around him, forming a unique green space.
Seeing his prayer answered, Zhao Xing smiled. "Guess I really am a Saint Shennong, and the kind that always gets results."
Saint Shennong was a special branch of the Shennong occupation, like how Mechanists had their own sub-classes such as Weapon Mechanists or Soul Mechanists.
Saint Shennong were usually Heavenly Timing School Shennongs who also studied the path of sacrifice.
The main idea was borrowing divine power to enforce the will of heaven.
The Earthly Advantage School didn't bother with this, and the Self School didn't even have gods to borrow from.
"Borrowing the east wind on the southern bank of the Underworld River, turning wind into rain and ending all evil"—this spoke of a Saint Shennong during the Feather Emperor period of the Five Emperors Era, who used heavenly timing divine power to wipe out a million demon kings in one move.
But after the Five Emperors Era ended, the path of sacrifice faded, divine signs no longer appeared, and this path naturally declined.
In the later Five Emperors Era, although people still prayed to certain gods, the power came from postnatal divine objects.
By the time of the Barren Domain era, treasures used by gods had mostly lost their power. Even without the Yuǎnhǎi Ancient Kingdom incident, the priest occupation was doomed to fade away.
Seeing his prayer work, Zhao Xing finally started practicing the soul secret art "Reincarnation."
"The advancement method of the Three Divinities Destiny Palace requires uniting the Heaven, Earth, and Human Souls into one."
"The Life Soul and Earth Soul are easy to merge; the hard part is the Heaven Soul."
The Life Soul was also called the Karma Soul, while the Heaven Soul was called the Soul of Rebirth.
Cultivating the Heaven Soul involved the mysteries of true spirit reincarnation.
Trying to master "Reincarnation" without being at the Reincarnation Realm was insanely difficult.
"As long as the Human and Earth Souls merge, I'll reach the Grand Divine Ability level, and my soul will naturally enter the Life and Death Dao Domain Realm."
"I'll aim to finish the first half for now." Zhao Xing set a small goal.
In his sea of consciousness, the Life Soul and Karma Soul started to separate, then suddenly collided.
The first attempt at fusion began.
As time passed, the news that the first Boundary Mountain of Haitong Ancient Path had been broken through was made public 50 years later.
The discovery of Gǔyǔ Star Region greatly excited all members exploring the Barren Domain.
Especially that large-scale spiritual energy rain, which people believed was nurturing some kind of heavenly treasure.
During these fifty years of exploration, the first few advance teams that set out had indeed made quite a few discoveries.
Rumors kept spreading:
"Someone found a life world star, and the native lifeforms there have unique bloodlines with great medicinal value. I heard they sold them for twenty-five Five Emperors Coins! And earned three hundred million merits!"
"Gǔyǔ Stones, precious Gǔyǔ Stones! The Empire's purchase price is actually set at one million per stone? My god, what's this thing even for? Why can't I see its use?"
"Bro, you're just an ordinary member, only at the Five Elements Dao Domain Realm. How could you see the treasury's secrets? Gǔyǔ Stones can enhance a Shennong's inner world, and the effect is a hundred times better than Five Elements Stones or Yin-Yang Stones!"
"They say it's a type of World Stone, and a newly recorded one at that. Rare things are precious, so of course the price is high! But private trading is banned."
"I've got a friend, he's with the Wilderness Army on the Haitong Ancient Path, joined an exploration mission. I heard he didn't do anything and still got a main material for crafting a lower-grade Source Divine Weapon!"
"What? Stuff like that happens? No way, he's lying!"
"It's true!"
The constant rumors ignited the passion of all the exploring forces.
The progress of opening up the other ancient paths sped up a lot.
And after Primordial Hill broke through the Boundary Mountain, they discovered their first profits, getting ahead in development compared to the other paths. They finally turned things around and had more weight when speaking among the superpowers.
"Hongshan Emperor, why did you wait fifty years to report this—"
"In Barren Domain exploration, removing dangers comes first, benefits come later. Tiānyōu Ruler, Haitong Ancient Path is under my command, and I thought this was the right way. Got a problem with that?"
"No, no, you're right." Tiānyōu Ruler didn't dare question further. Old Hongshan had now made his mark, strutting around like a boss, and besides, all personnel decisions on the Haitong Ancient Path were his to make.
If Hongshan Emperor decided to push the Ancient Kingdom Alliance's exploration team to the back, Tiānyōu Ruler's people would be left picking over scraps.
"Hongshan Emperor, what exactly did you discover in these fifty years of exploration?" Tiānwǔ Emperor asked.
"A Source World." Hongshan Emperor said, "I'm calling it the Lingxu Source World."
At the Primordial Assembly, everyone fell silent.
A new Source World!
Its value was immeasurable. After digging for so long and pouring in so many resources, they finally saw a glimmer of hope for recovering their costs!
According to their earlier agreement, if any Source World appeared along any of the ancient paths, all parties could send people to explore it—the only difference was in how many.
"Hongshan Lord, how old is this Lingxu Source World?" Yuǎndǐng Emperor asked with concern.
"Based on conclusions from starry sky historians, and Primordial Hill's judgment of earth vein eras, the Lingxu Source World is only one point one to one point five billion years old."
That young?!
Everyone's eyes flashed with surprise.
The younger a Source World, the better!
According to the Self School's theory, the universe had four stages—Primordial, Source, Myriad Phenomena, and Extinction—each with unique traits.
The Primordial was just a rumored period, Myriad Phenomena was the most common now and lasted the longest, while the Extinction stage lasted longer than the Primordial but shorter than Myriad Phenomena and Source stages.
A younger Source World meant more spiritual energy, more treasures, and it was closest to the heaven-and-earth-beginning Primordial stage, producing stronger treasures.
Usually, once a Source World was over five billion years old, it would transition to the Myriad Phenomena stage. At that time, though life became incredibly diverse, the overall quality declined, and no more extremely powerful beings could be born.
Lingxu Source World being only one point one to one point five billion years old definitely counted as young!
"Too bad, it's not within one billion years." Zuo Qiyu said with some regret.
A Source World under one billion years old had a small chance of producing divine-level materials.
Past that age, the chance of divine items appearing was slim, as their source power would gradually disperse with time, feeding back into the world and driving its evolution into the Myriad Phenomena stage.
"One point one billion years is close enough." Five Venom Emperor said. "Maybe Old Hongshan got it wrong again. It's not like it's his first mistake, remember last time he got stuck in the mountains."
Hongshan Emperor:
"..."
Only Five Venom dared to poke fun at Hongshan Emperor like that. Anyone else and Hongshan would've demanded a duel on the spot.
"Wǔxíng brother, let's not bring up old stuff." Yuǎndǐng Emperor stepped in to smooth things over. "Let's settle the number of explorers quickly."
Five Venom Emperor nodded. "Based on the intel from Old Hongshan, the Empire has decided the total number of people to explore the Lingxu Source World will be one million, and no one above Dao Domain Realm is allowed."
"Agreed." Tiānwǔ Emperor nodded.
No one else objected. A Source World around one point one billion years old was quite fragile, with all its energy going into nurturing life and matter.
Such a small world had weak resistance. If too many powerful beings entered, they'd disrupt its very source, possibly causing collapse.
The Primordial Realm and Source Heavenly Palace had authority in world-stage studies, and the computational power of the Great Derivation Divine Weapon was unmatched.
So when Five Venom set the cap at one million people, all below Dao Domain Realm, it was definitely the right choice.
"According to the previously agreed distribution ratios, the Empire will send five hundred thousand people, Primordial Hill will send two hundred fifty thousand, Source Heavenly Palace will send one hundred twenty thousand, the Ancient Kingdom Alliance will send eighty thousand, and the Academy will send thirty thousand. The remaining slots will be divided among the other allies."
Aside from the superpowers, some weaker top-tier forces also participated. These forces were the most numerous, but they only had ten thousand slots to share.
After the allocation meeting ended, all sides quickly gathered Dao Domain Realm personnel.
Even with few slots, as long as someone could get in, their harvest might be worth that of tens of thousands.
Take Source Heavenly Palace, for example—their top pick was Du Yun.
In the Lingxu Source World, his strength alone was worth ten thousand people!
Two and a half years later.
All factions had finalized their personnel lists.
Zhao Xing also received his notice—he was summoned by the Primordial Realm to head to the Lingxu Source World.
"The Gǔyǔ Disaster's been dealt with?"
"That was fast."
Zhao Xing opened the Star Mirror again to observe the starry sky beyond the First Boundary Mountain.
The constant rain had already stopped, leaving only scattered "Water Stars" and lingering clouds of spiritual mist in the sky, proof that the spiritual rain had once fallen.
"Zhao Xing, can I ask you to look after Qiusheng?" Before departure, someone came to see him—it was Emperor Bìsuì and Yuan Qiusheng.
"Even if you didn't ask, I'd take care of Brother Qiusheng." Zhao Xing smiled.
Not all the Empire's personnel were fighters; the proportion of support staff was quite high.
In Emperor Bìsuì's words: "If we only send in martial artists, all they'll bring back are piles of trash. The real treasures would get smashed by those idiots."
So people like Yuan Qiusheng, an auxiliary-type Shennong from the Self School, were a must.
When it came to identifying native species, Yuan Qiusheng was unmatched.
Besides him, Zhao Xing also noticed Ai Miaomiao, Wei Lan, Xu Youling, and Tuosen among the selected.
Among the Mechanists, Yu Tianqing and Jing Yan were also on the list.
"Huh? Jing Yan's here too? These slots are really precious, how'd he manage to get one?"
"Oh, Jing Yan got in through the royal channel, not by Primordial Realm assignment—a total connections guy."
Zhao Xing sent Jing Yan a message. He wanted to team up, but didn't get a reply.
"There are dozens of routes into the Lingxu Source World. Looks like I'm not on the same path as Jing Yan and Yu Tianqing."
"Forget it."
Three days later, Zhao Xing assembled his team and boarded the "Former Rain Vessel" dispatched by the Primordial Realm.
There were fifty people aboard the world ship, most at the Life and Death Dao Domain Realm.
It covered almost every occupation—even a down-and-out Priest was included.
The Priest, Jì Yuán, almost shed tears when he got pulled in, because he was just on the army's reserve list, only going if needed.
Zhao Xing knew the Lingxu World had already developed its own racial civilization, so the Priest occupation might actually come in handy, and brought Jì Yuán along.
"Everyone here is an elite of the Empire. I won't say much, just that I hope you hold reverence in your hearts and take responsibility for your lives and others'."
"I won't ask too much as your leader, just that you follow the Empire's exploration rules."
"Gu Ming, tell the brothers from the military what we know about the Lingxu Source World." Zhao Xing looked at Gu Ming. He wasn't with Source Heavenly Palace, but stayed in Zhao Xing's team.
"Yes." Gu Ming stepped up. "According to the Fate Officers, the Lingxu Source World has nine layers of internal barriers, clearly divided into nine inner territories."
"Though there are twenty-six entrances, once we descend, we'll all appear in the lowest layer, the Qinghe World."
"The name Qinghe World isn't random—eighty percent of it is water."
"Because the Gǔyǔ Disaster just ended, and Qinghe was flooded with Gǔyǔ, it's likely still affected by the disaster..."
Forty-eight days later, a pale blue world barrier appeared ahead. It looked like a jellyfish twisting in the void.
It glowed faintly, forming a narrow outer passage.
Zhao Xing waved his hand, ordering the world ship to enter the passage.
Gu Ming received the command and immediately started piloting the ship for descent.
"Rumble~~~"
A violent crashing sound echoed outside the world ship, lasting for seven days before fading.
"Boom!"
With the final thunderous bang as they landed, Zhao Xing and the others felt the outside Dao laws shift. A sense of discomfort filled their minds.
"Gu Ming, receive external audio, open the world ship's view."
"Yes."
Gu Ming activated the formation, and the ship's outer walls turned transparent. As soon as it opened, black seawater rushed past.
The sky was gray and murky, like thick ink pressing down.
"Boom~" Low thunder rumbled above, and in the distance, a small mountain seemed to be moving.
The next moment, a desolate sound echoed from that black mountain.
"Hwaaaooo~~"
At the same time, thunder crashed down.
"Hmm?" Zhao Xing squinted. "What a coincidence, someone's undergoing a tribulation?"