Qinghe Realm, on a star land shaped like an eagle's head.
"Boom—"
Countless sword lights swept through the void like feathers, and a star fortress spanning a million li, resembling a bird's nest, was instantly split in two.
"Shua shua shua~" A flood of rainbow lights, mixed with sharp cries, began to flee in all directions.
Inside the rainbow lights were humanoid figures, with wings on their backs and eagle heads—over a million of them.
And in front of the shattered fortress stood just one person, holding a source divine weapon—Zhou Ze.
"My lord, the Yuan Ying Clan's defensive fortress has been broken. The Qingyu Realm has completely surrounded this royal fortress. None of them can escape," Gu Ming reported.
"Truly a one-sided crush," Yuan Qiusheng sighed, "The Yuan Ying Clan had a million elite troops, with a tenth at Dao Domain Realm."
"And we sent only Zhou Ze, and he crushed them all."
Zhao Xing didn't need Gu Ming's report, he could see it clearly.
It was indeed effortless!
In terms of Dao completeness, the Primordial Realm's Great Dao wasn't as whole as those in the universe, making comprehension harder. It hadn't yet evolved into the 'Myriad Phenomena Stage.' The Dao remained in its source form, hidden and hard to grasp.
As for skills, all professions in the Xuanling Star Domain had highly refined systems.
And tools? Zhao Xing had yet to see any lifeform here wielding source divine weapon-level tools.
Complete domination—they weren't even in the same league.
So when their Realm Ship landed on the star land where the Yuan Ying Clan lived, sending just Zhou Ze at Life and Death Dao Domain Realm was enough to destroy all armed resistance.
"My lord, should we exterminate them all?" Zhou Ze's voice came from the front.
Zhao Xing didn't answer immediately but looked to the side.
Scholar Ruan Shuheng quickly offered his advice, "My lord, from what I've observed, the ruling class of the Yuan Ying Clan are those with golden wings."
"The royal clan has its own language and culture. If we capture them, I can learn their communication methods in no time, saving us a lot of exploration effort."
Zhao Xing nodded and gave the order, "Capture them."
"Yes."
The sword light in Zhou Ze's hand shifted, and dense runes formed sword energy that precisely pierced through the wings of all Yuan Ying Clan members, rendering them powerless.
Then Gu Ming's Qingyu Realm closed in, trapping all one million Yuan Ying Clan members.
The Qingyu Realm turned into a spherical barrier, dividing into a million separate spaces, categorizing and detaining them.
"Brother Ruan, it's yours now."
"Just need two hours." Ruan Shuheng gave a reply that pleased Zhao Xing.
"Good, thanks for the effort."
Zhao Xing waved his hand, and the Realm Ship landed—they were free to explore.
Gu Ming sent out countless mechanized puppets, while Qiu Zishan began excavating the ground.
Yuan Qiusheng's Straw Puppet clone went to collect native plants from the Yuan Ying Clan's territory, accompanied by Xu Youling, Tuosen, and other Self School Shennong.
As for the martial artists, they checked out the primitive weapons used by the Yuan Ying Clan, picking a few as souvenirs.
The whole exploration was monitored by the Realm Ship's artifact spirit, so Zhao Xing wasn't worried about anyone hiding things.
He sat on the Realm Ship and checked the Star Mirror.
"The Lingxu Realm database has been updated again."
"In just eight years, more than half of the Lower Three Realms have been explored," Zhao Xing thought.
"The Lower Three Realms have been named Qinghe Realm, Boiling Sea Realm, and Yangshan Realm. Same as in my previous life."
"Massive amounts of minerals, intelligent races, and native species have been discovered—over a hundred trillion kinds."
"But the types of items that count for merit have greatly decreased. Another million kinds were removed from the list today."
A million people had been sent into the Lingxu Primordial Realm—this level of exploration was massive.
The database was updating almost every moment, and the merit exchange list was changing like crazy.
At first, everything earned merit—even picking up a strange rock no one had seen before got you a reward.
But as the total volume discovered grew huge, items quickly lost value, and many were removed from the reward list entirely.
"Items from the Lingxu Primordial Realm had huge extra value at first, but now that's fading fast. Soon, rewards will return to the inherent value of the items themselves."
Things like Five Element Stones, Yin-Yang Stones, and World Stones—these had broad uses, and existed outside too—could still fetch a good price. No matter how many were found, all major forces still wanted them.
"The fast money-making phase is about to end." Zhao Xing glanced at his account.
[Remaining Merit: 652 million]
Back then, Zhao Xing earned 550 million merit, spent 220 million to exchange for the Source Golden Core from Emperor Chenjiu, leaving 330 million.
Now, after coming to the Lingxu Primordial Realm, he gained over 300 million more.
If Zhao Xing gained over 300 million, then the other forty-nine in the team wouldn't be far behind—almost all had earned over fifty million merit. Those who contributed more had already broken the hundred million mark.
It could be said Zhao Xing's exploration team was among the top earners.
"After this exploration ends, it's time to find a good place for Ji Si," Zhao Xing thought. "If we do it, let's do it big."
He'd been planning for Ji Si to have a good mentor to refine her cultivation system.
Ji Si, practicing both Fate and History, had already created her own impressive techniques. With the guidance of a great master, her potential was limitless.
She was arguably the most promising talent for cultivation in Great Zhou!
"In the whole Red Star Empire, only that Imperial Celestial Master is worthy of being Ji Si's teacher."
Zhao Xing pondered for a moment, then his clone piloted a small Realm Ship, flying out of the Lingxu Primordial Realm.
"Whew~"
An enhanced Star Mirror lit up, showing a figure from behind—it was the Five Venom Emperor.
"Master, I have something I'd like your guidance on."
"What is it?" The Five Venom Emperor seemed busy, still facing away.
"I wish to send my relative to become someone's disciple."
"You bother me over something so trivial? Just check the merit exchange list yourself."
"Master, I want him to train under the Imperial Heavenly Master, even if it's just for a short while," Zhao Xing said.
The Five Venom Emperor lifted his head and turned around. "Oh? Your relative practices the Dao of Fate?"
"Yes, his name is Ji Si, and he's very talented," Zhao Xing nodded. He knew the Five Venom Emperor could contact the Heavenly Master because after the Jie Boundary Mountain incident, that Heavenly Master had once read his fortune.
At that time, the Five Venom Emperor had conveyed the Heavenly Master's judgment: "Your future fate is uncertain, life and death undecided."
That mysterious Imperial Heavenly Master was also the Fate Master who had obtained the First Hexagram of the Ten Directions Mountain and was directly responsible for the Empire's development of the Yuehuang Domain.
"You think too highly of me," the Five Venom Emperor chuckled. "Though your teacher has some weight, the Heavenly Master is not someone I can summon."
"That time he divined for you was only because you resolved the Jie Boundary Mountain issue, with far-reaching effects, so the Heavenly Master spared a bit of effort for a hexagram. Normally, I don't even see him."
"Give up this idea."
"Besides, even if your relative is extremely gifted, having an Emperor-level teacher would be more than enough."
Hearing this, Zhao Xing had no choice but to give up.
From his guess, the Imperial Heavenly Master should also be at the demigod realm, just like Gu Luohe.
Gu Luohe didn't want to take disciples either; it was only because of Lao Qing that he agreed to teach temporarily, without wishing to form karmic ties.
"You're right, Master. I overreached."
The Five Venom Emperor waved his hand, ready to cut off the communication, but suddenly he paused. "Wait!"
"What is it, Master?" Zhao Xing looked over, puzzled.
The Five Venom Emperor's face looked odd. "The Heavenly Master agreed."
"Agreed?" Zhao Xing was stunned. "You mean—"
"The Heavenly Master just said he's willing to spare some energy to teach Ji Si. The price is thirty billion merit points."
Zhao Xing's heart jumped. He hadn't even said who it was, yet the Heavenly Master directly named Ji Si?
"The Heavenly Master also asked me to relay this," the Five Venom Emperor said solemnly. "Zhao Xing, now that you've asked, there's no turning back."
"From now on, I will immediately send someone to Jiachen Fourteen Pass to fetch Ji Si. When you've gathered the amount, Ji Si's training will begin."
Zhao Xing's heart tightened. "Yes, I will fulfill the agreement."
After the call ended, Zhao Xing found his palms sweating, his heart had unknowingly tensed up earlier.
"Once it's spoken, there's no room for negotiation. I have to do it, whether I want to or not— dealing with a Fate Master really is mysterious—"
Zhao Xing felt like both he and the Heavenly Master were forced onto this path.
No wonder back in Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom, he called for so many reinforcements but never a Fate Master. This profession was just too unpredictable.
"But I've achieved my goal," Zhao Xing thought. "Only someone like the Imperial Heavenly Master can ignore Ji Si's uniqueness."
Ji Si had retained his memory clearly during the Yuanhai Assembly incident.
Those who had the right to know the secrets of Yuanhai— Gu Luohe was one, but Zuo Qiyu and the Five Venom Emperor didn't know.
So Zhao Xing figured, the demigod realm was the threshold for knowing the truth.
That's why he had to find a demigod Fate Master to teach Ji Si, or else if an Emperor accidentally discovered Ji Si's peculiarity, it would just cause more trouble. The Imperial Heavenly Master was different, he already knew.
"Thirty billion merit points? So expensive, but totally worth it."
Thirty billion merit points could get a pretty good Reincarnation Dao weapon from the treasure vault, but now it was just for taking on a teacher.
But Zhao Xing believed, totally worth it!
Otherwise, Ji Si would have to hide and keep learning on his own.
"Great Zhou must have its own Fate Master for protection. If I want to go to the Ten Directions Mountain in the future, I can't do it without a Fate Master by my side."
荒域 second era only lasted five thousand realm star years. One of the biggest opportunities in the third era was the Ten Directions Mountain!
"Isn't it just thirty billion merit points?"
Zhao Xing was confident he could make that fortune quickly.
"Lord, we found what you wanted."
At this moment, Yu Qing, a Shennong from the Dao of Heavenly Timing, sent a message to Zhao Xing.
"Hmm?"
Zhao Xing's eyes lit up, and his true body quickly flew out of the boundary vessel, descending onto the star land of the Ape-Eagle Clan.
"Whoosh~"
In a few flashes, Zhao Xing found Yu Qing's location.
It was a small valley in the sacred land of the Ape-Eagle royal clan, surrounded by tall towers built from many gemstones.
Each of these seven-colored towers shone over the valley, forming seven-colored auspicious clouds. Above the clouds appeared a spirited Ape-Eagle clansman holding a halberd-like weapon.
Not far away, many wounded Ape-Eagle clansmen knelt and prayed. They were royal members who had escaped here.
"Zhe li li~"
A light rain started falling from the sky.
As the raindrops landed on them, the Ape-Eagle clansmen wounded by Zhou Ze's sword energy quickly recovered, even their aura slightly increased.
They glared angrily at Zhao Xing and Yu Qing, shouting and charging with weapons.
"Stop!" Yu Qing flicked his finger, and flashes of lightning shot into the bodies of all the Ape-Eagle clansmen.
They were instantly paralyzed by the lightning, unable to move.
Zhao Xing ignored them and walked toward the sacred ground filled with towers and clear pools.
Rain fell from the sky, and water also dripped on the ground.
The water was so clear it looked like a mirror, making it hard to tell sky from earth.
[You have entered the Ape-Eagle Clan's Sacred Ground · Mirror of the Sky! Coordinates ·]
Zhao Xing checked the coordinate prompt on his panel and smiled.
"After eight years, I finally found a complete Mirror of the Sky."
"Collect!"
Zhao Xing pointed with his finger, and from the tops of the eighty-eight gemstone towers around, golden gemstones as smooth as jade floated into his hand.
"Whoosh~"
It was as if some source of power was gone, the clouds in the sky vanished, and the Ape-Eagle phantom disappeared.
The clouds scattered, and the rain stopped.
Zhao Xing stared at the eighty-eight golden gemstones in his hand. They were shaped like grains, smooth to the touch, and didn't feel entirely solid. Inside, there was a flow of life force, forming seven distinct rivers. The space surrounded by these rivers seemed endlessly deep, as if hiding a whole world.
"These are eighty-eight Seven-Pattern Grain Rain Stones."
"This is the greatest treasure in the Lower Three Realms!"
Zhao Xing smiled.
Before the discovery of the Lingxu Primordial Realm, the outer star regions were already drenched in a rain of spiritual energy.
The Grand Heavenly Timing caused the changes of all four seasons at once, washing over the Lingxu Primordial Realm for over a hundred million years.
Such an immense downpour of spiritual rain deeply influenced the formation of the Lingxu Primordial Realm, shaping it according to the Dao of Heavenly Timing.
The Heavenly Timing faction always believed that their universe was a Heavenly Timing universe.
Similarly, there were theories of Earthly Advantage Universes and Self Universes.
According to this theory, small worlds and realm stars were also classified in detail. Any small world heavily influenced by the Grand Four Seasons of the universe could be categorized as a "Primordial Heavenly Timing Realm," "Origin Heavenly Timing Realm," "Myriad Phenomena Heavenly Timing Realm," or "Extinction Heavenly Timing Realm."
This way, theoretically, the Heavenly Timing faction could "grind the other two factions into the ground." Although the Xuanling Star Domain didn't have a super-powerful Heavenly Timing faction, this still counted as a kind of moral victory.
The Grain Rain Stones Zhao Xing collected were considered a type of "World Stone."
Besides these, the Middle Three Realms had "Storm Stones," "Plum Rain Stones," and "Cold Rain Stones," corresponding to the four seasons of the Grand Heavenly Timing. They also formed from that hundred-million-year spiritual rain, fused with the origin of the Lingxu Primordial Realm.
"All four kinds of stones have the properties of World Stones, but their greatest use isn't for absorption in origin spaces."
"Due to the unique environment, the Lingxu Realm gave birth to a faith in the Rain Immortal. They attributed this strange phenomenon to the blessings of an immortal."
"Gather enough of the Four Realm Stones, and you can perform a ritual at the border of the Rain Immortal Realm and the Cloud Immortal Realm."
"After the ritual, the recipient can receive a baptism of power, transforming into the Reincarnation Realm."
"Lifeforms in the Lingxu Realm mostly reach the Reincarnation Realm this way, and they aren't rejected by the Lingxu Realm because of this."
Zhao Xing put away the eighty-eight Seven-Pattern Grain Rain Stones and walked out of the valley.
"Yu Qing, have people move these eighty-eight gemstone towers."
"Yes," Yu Qing replied. He didn't yet know what these gemstones were for, only that the price quoted by the Primordial Realm wasn't low, so he assumed they were a kind of World Stone.
There were hundreds of thousands of Grain Rain Stones in the eighty-eight towers, but only eighty-eight were Seven-Pattern grade.
The Ape-Eagle Clan lived in the Lower Three Realms and had found this treasure land, the "Mirror of the Sky," to perform rituals, which gave them some feedback power. But it was far weaker than performing the ritual in the Rain Immortal Realm.
"Ji Yuan."
After boarding the ship, Zhao Xing immediately called for the priest.
"Lord, what are your orders?" Ji Yuan quickly flew over, standing straight.
"The Dao of Priesthood you practice, do you have any knowledge of the Hou Transformation Law from the Heavenly Timing Shennong techniques?"
"Yes, Lord," Ji Yuan replied immediately. "But my Hou Transformation Law is very basic, just an entry-level minor divine ability."
"At most, I can use it to transform and entertain everyone."
Zhao Xing nodded slightly. Ji Yuan, as a priest, was a versatile talent, able to perform techniques from almost every profession.
But he didn't have a true profession core. For example, when he used Shennong techniques, no "origin space," "earth veins," or "Seasonal Qi Command" would form inside him.
When he used mechanism arrays, he had no infinite matrices or micro array stars inside.
He could even use the golden body of a Martial Artist, and manifest "zither heart" and "sword courage."
But these were all temporary.
His core was [Spirit Invocation of Priesthood]. Once this simulated the core of any profession, he could practice it.
He could also use techniques from other professions.
How much he could learn depended on the level of his [Spirit Invocation of Priesthood], the number of divine realms and divine objects of each profession, and the amount of spiritual feedback.
The latter limited the development of the priest profession. If one day, all the gods or divine objects Ji Yuan worshipped collapsed and ceased to exist, he'd be crippled.
Also, if some regions, like the Barren Domain, were beyond the reach of divine power, Ji Yuan's strength would also be reduced because he couldn't borrow any divine force.
"Can you learn it? I have a Hou Transformation Law. If you learn it, I'll assign you a task—a very important one," Zhao Xing asked.
For Ji Yuan to rise from such an underdog profession and stand out among thousands, catching Zhao Xing's attention, meant he was a genius among priests.
"I can! I definitely can!" Ji Yuan's eyes lit up.
It had been eight years, and his situation had always been awkward.
He knew a bit of everything, but nothing better than others.
He wasn't needed for fights, and wasn't great at support either.
His presence in the team was very low, aside from occasionally cracking some mystical jokes, he served no other purpose.
But Ji Yuan had still earned fifty to sixty million merit points following Zhao Xing!
When others questioned his worth, Zhao Xing was the one who silenced them. Without him, Ji Yuan would've been gone long ago.
So, he really longed to be useful, to live up to Zhao Xing's trust.
Now that Zhao Xing suddenly said he had a major task for him, Ji Yuan was extremely excited, even feeling ready to die for Zhao Xing.
The words just spilled out, "No matter what the task, I'm willing to die for you, Lord!"
Zhao Xing smiled and waved it off, "It's not that serious. You'll be moving with me. If I don't die, you won't either."
"But now you must learn this Hou Transformation Law."
Then Zhao Xing lightly tapped his finger, and the modified version of the "Lingxu Turtle Transformation Law" was transmitted into Ji Yuan's mind.
"Lord, you created the Lingxu Turtle's Hou Transformation Law in just eight years?" Ji Yuan sensed it and was shocked. "Your talent is truly rare in this world."
Zhao Xing ignored Ji Yuan's flattery and asked directly, "How long will it take you to learn it?"
"Just to learn it, about three years is enough," Ji Yuan replied.
"What about to master it?"
"Only three hundred years!" Ji Yuan answered confidently.
"Still three hundred years?" Zhao Xing frowned.
Ji Yuan immediately deflated, suddenly remembering that the person in front of him was the strongest genius of the Primordial Realm, even recognized as a Holy Son by the Ancient Hill.
What was there to be proud of in mastering it in three hundred years?
"I'll assign a clone specifically to teach you," Zhao Xing said. "You only have fifteen years."
"If you can't learn it in fifteen years, I'll have to find another way."
Zhao Xing calculated the time. It wouldn't be long before the native forces of the Lingxu Realm organized a full resistance against the invasion from the Xuanling Star Domain.
He had to gather enough of the four Realm Stones within twenty years and sneak into the Rain Immortal Realm.
The Hou Transformation Technique was the best disguise.
If he missed this window, and war broke out, with upper-realm forces blocking the entrance, sneaking in would be too difficult.
But finding a suitable priest to follow him for the ritual wasn't easy—Ji Yuan was already the best choice.
"I will give it my all!" Ji Yuan said loudly. "Please teach me, Lord!"
"Alright."
"Zhao Xing, why don't we just sell all these Grain Rain Stones and split the profit?" Fairy Youling lay on the table, tossing a stone in her hand. "What's with handing out the stones directly?"
Usually, when they got spoils, no one kept them. They'd send an unmanned realm vessel out of the realm, with Gu Ming's mechanical puppets trading for merit. Then, they'd split the merit.
Now, seven bases surrounded the Lingxu Primordial Realm, making it easy to trade for merit.
But Zhao Xing was handing out stones directly instead of selling them first and dividing the merit.
"Is there something special about them?" Tuosen asked curiously.
"When Brother Yu and I found the Ape-Eagle Clan's sacred ground, we saw these Grain Rain Stones being used as ritual items," Zhao Xing said. "Maybe they have another use."
"You think they'll go up in value?" Daoist Miaosong played with a Three-Pattern Grain Rain Stone. "It's a special product, but its effect isn't much different from other World Stones produced elsewhere."
"My origin space absorbed a few, they feel about the same."
Right now, things from the Lingxu Realm rarely went up in value—most depreciated.
After all, with one million people plundering like locusts, anything in abundance would naturally lose value.
"Whether they go up or not, judge for yourselves. I'm just making a suggestion."
Success comes from secrecy. He couldn't reveal the Upper Three Realms' secrets now. Zhao Xing could only hint this much.
He was giving his friends a chance—it was up to them if they wanted to take it.
"I'll keep mine." Fairy Youling caught the tossed stone.
"I'll keep mine too. Anyway, I have the most merit after Zhao Xing," Tuosen agreed.
"I'll just sell mine," Daoist Miaosong shook his head. "In a few more years, the price might be halved."
"I'll sell too," Gu Ming added.
After that, Zhao Xing's group mainly focused on collecting World Stones.
The Lower Three Realms' Boiling Sea Realm, Clear River Realm, and Ocean Mountain Realm.
Soon, by the twenty-third year of exploration, they had been completely excavated.
With massive superpowers and a million Dao Domain cultivators, their efficiency was terrifying.
In just twenty-three years, the Lower Three Realms had no more secrets.
During these twenty-three years, some sold their World Stones for merit, others kept them.
Zhao Xing did the opposite, buying high-quality Four Realm Stones from non-Chi Star Empire forces.
His more than six hundred million merit rapidly dwindled, until the twenty-fifth year.
Zhao Xing had only a little over five hundred thousand merit left, in exchange for over one thousand eight hundred Realm Stones.
The gains were shrinking.
There wasn't much left to squeeze from the Lower Three Realms.
On the nineteenth day of the eighth month of the twenty-sixth year, Zhao Xing led the team to "accidentally" enter a vortex passage.
They were the first to discover a time-space passage to the Middle Three Realms!
Soon after, the Middle Three Realms were swiftly found.
They were named the "Volcano Realm," "Flying Star Realm," and "Four Suns Realm."
Zhao Xing's team, for discovering the passage to the Middle Three Realms and reporting the local advantages, heavenly timing, and racial information inside and out, earned 1.2 billion, 1.5 billion, and 2.4 billion merit respectively.
But the joy from these rewards didn't last long.
A green giant turtle at the Reincarnation Realm, leading a million turtle warriors, started hunting them.
Just the turtles weren't the worst.
According to Gu Ming's scans, there were four other overlord races involved in the hunt, totaling over ten million Dao Domain cultivators!
There were four Reincarnation Realm beings in total, three of which had strength equal to senior Reincarnation Realm human cultivators! That green-haired turtle was lord-level!
Just below a Reincarnation Emperor!
With such power, such a force, a fifty-person team had no thoughts of fighting back.
"Run, run, run! Hurry up!"
"Gu Ming, activate the realm wall traversal, get us back to the Lower Three Realms!"
"You think I don't want to? But the Tianyuan Realm Ship needs to switch to Floating Realm Ship mode to return, that takes at least three days to prepare! Where's the time for that now?"
"Can you hold off a Reincarnation Lord's attack for three days?"
The Martial Artist speaking instantly shut up.
Even body-hardened Martial Artists couldn't survive a hit from a Reincarnation Lord.
No matter how talented or confident, at best, he could take a few hits from an ordinary Reincarnation Realm attack.
Even with superior techniques and gear, these geniuses couldn't easily fight above their level.
Especially since the green-haired turtle chasing them was already Reincarnation Lord level.
The only reason they could still run was thanks to their equipment—the turtle clan didn't understand what mechanical realm ships were.
"Don't panic." Zhao Xing spoke.
Thanks to the authority he had built up over more than twenty years, the moment he spoke, everyone immediately calmed down.
"Before we were chased, the coordinates of the passage and the map of the Middle Three Realms had already been sent out."
"Now, many forces will definitely be rushing to the entrance."
"The Turtle Clan, Demon Ape Clan, Fire Elephant Clan, and Stone Dragon Clan can't possibly focus all their efforts on us alone."
"Gu Ming, how many more space traversals can the Tianyuan Ship manage?" Zhao Xing asked.
The Tianyuan Ship was a Source Divine Weapon-class, and a massive one at that. It was only because of its 'space traversal' ability that they hadn't been caught by the four Reincarnation Realm beings.
"Our preparations were thorough. We can still make twenty-eight continuous space traversals! Intermittent traversals can be done one hundred fifty-seven times," Gu Ming replied.
"So we can still run for a long time?" Yuan Qiusheng asked.
"It's not that simple." Gu Ming shook his head.
"For a Turtle Clan being to reach the Reincarnation Realm, its intelligence isn't any weaker than us humans. They've just never seen Heaven Palace techniques, but that doesn't mean they're weak."
"During the first eighteen chases, that green-haired turtle took less and less time to close the gap each time. This shows it's quickly adapting to the Tianyuan Ship's sudden disappearances, and it's tracking us through void fluctuations."
"In other words, it's learning?" Tuosen asked.
"Yes." Gu Ming tapped his wristband, bringing up a chart. "According to simulations by me and the artifact spirit, with that green-haired turtle's learning ability, it will catch up after the thirteenth traversal."
"No matter how advanced our techniques, we can't overcome the gap in realms." Daoist Miaosong sighed.
"So what do we do now?" someone asked.
The question circled back—how do they survive this?
"What if we split up? If even one of us escapes, it's worth it!"
"Without the Tianyuan Ship, your survival rate alone wouldn't exceed ten percent," Gu Ming said coldly.
"That's assuming you all have one to three Source Divine Weapons and can use them to the fullest."
Silence fell again. The Tianyuan artifact spirit forged in the Source Heaven Palace wasn't quite on par with a sub-body of the Great Derivation Divine Weapon, but its calculations were beyond doubt.
With all the data Gu Ming had collected over those eighteen chases, his prediction couldn't be far off.
At this point, no one was panicking anymore.
Seeing everyone's mindset stabilize, Zhao Xing said, "We've all been in this life long enough to be ready to face death."
"Now that we know the situation, all we can do is rely on the Tianyuan Ship to escape."
"Abandoning the ship won't work. Fighting alone won't work. Facing them head-on won't work. That leaves only using heaven and earth's advantages to fight one battle, to kill that turtle's will to chase."
"Gu Ming, how long until the full map of the Volcano Realm is complete?"
Gu Ming checked his wristband. "After three more traversals."
Zhao Xing closed his eyes, then said, "Alright, after three traversals, input these coordinates into the Tianyuan Ship."
"Please tell me, Lord."
Zhao Xing glanced out the window. "Sun 45, Moon 12, Military Gate 55, Departing Fire 4. Exclude void river interference. Traverse at Renyin hour."
Gu Ming frowned. "How can we not factor in void turbulence?"
Zhao Xing pointed to an unprocessed spot on the map. "Because here is the biggest realm volcano in the Middle Three Realms. No void turbulence can pass through."
Fate Officer Chu Lanxing instinctively formed a hand sign, then his face turned strange. "My intuition says there really is a realm volcano here. After Lord Zhao made this decision, our survival rate went up."
Gu Ming, who preferred hard data, didn't like the mystical guesses of Fate Officers. He thought Chu Lanxing was just boosting morale.
But after three more traversals, when the detailed map of the Volcano Realm appeared, and the fourth traversal ended, Gu Ming felt shocked.
They really had arrived at a volcanic star land!
"How... how did you know?" Gu Ming stared at Zhao Xing, even forgetting formalities.
From his perspective as a Mechanist, it was like Zhao Xing had scanned the void once, then precisely located a star realm from a pinhole-sized spot.
The Tianyuan Ship's initial scan had extreme scaling—one pinhole-sized area could cover dozens of realm units in space.
Zhao Xing was even more outrageous than Chu Lanxing, the fortune-teller!
Chu Lanxing spouted guesses. If he hit the coordinates, fine, pure luck!
But Zhao Xing was a Shennong. He had to have proof for giving coordinates! That's what shocked Gu Ming.
"Did you forget? My master Gu Luohe passed on to me a unique void positioning method."
Gu Ming suddenly remembered—on Taoyang Star Land, Zhao Xing had indeed said that.
"Is there really such a magical method?"
Gu Ming was dazed, feeling something was off, but couldn't pinpoint it.
If Gu Luohe had such a method, it should have been shared with the empire's Great Derivation Divine Weapon spirits. As a genius of the Source Heaven Palace, Gu Ming should've heard of it.
"Stop spacing out." Zhao Xing pulled out a Fortune Golden Pill and swallowed it. "Lock the Tianyuan Ship with the Green Jade Realm Lock on the forty-sixth volcanic crater."
"What are you doing?" Gu Ming was confused again.
And what did Zhao Xing just take?
Zhao Xing didn't answer and began assigning tasks. "Qiu Zishan, Gong Xiaoyuan, you two follow me to the First Volcanic Crater."
"Tuosen, Wu Lanchuan, Xu Youling, Yuan Qiusheng, you find a way to seal off the thirty-five tunnels around the First Volcanic Crater."
"Everyone, don't hold back now."
"Whether we live or die, it all depends on this!"