"Nine Heavens Supremes!!"
The Death Maze was a brutal contest between races, its ultimate goal being the survival of a single race. Now, only the human race remained. The game was, therefore, over. The Nine Heavens Supremes began to reveal themselves one after another.
From their eyes, it was impossible to tell whether they were satisfied or disappointed with the outcome of this trial.
Whoosh!!
Nine eyes locked onto Yi Tianxing and the other two. After observing them for a moment, nine divine lights flashed through the void. No more, no less—exactly nine beams of light. Within each one floated a treasure, radiating a dazzling brilliance.
"The Death Maze has concluded. The human race is victorious. These shall be your rewards. Each of you may choose one treasure. You will then be transported out of this place."
A cold voice echoed through the void.
"So this is the reward for entertaining them, huh?"
Yi Tianxing sneered inwardly. Still, he didn't refuse these treasures. They had earned them with their lives—no one could dispute that.
Take them? Of course.
And naturally, he had to pick the most important, the most precious one among them.
The eyes in the void vanished. Clearly, with the maze destroyed and the game ended, there was no longer anything to look forward to. The treasures offered were likely meaningless to the Nine Heavens Supremes, perhaps not even worth their attention.
Nine treasures floated before them.
Arthur's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He was visibly excited, staring greedily at the offerings.
"Good stuff, amazing treasures, truly divine items..."
He couldn't stop muttering in awe.
"Fellow Daoist Ye, you choose first," Yi Tianxing said calmly.
He had seen too many rare and strange treasures to feel desperate for any particular one. He felt no urge to grab the first pick.
Examining the divine lights closely, the treasures within were clearly visible:
A jade ruler
A long blade
A pair of gloves
A golden pyramid
An ancient tome
A pouch
A divine iron ingot
A suit of armor
And a seed
One could only see their appearance—not their effects. It was a gamble. Whether they were good or bad could only be known once chosen.
Ye Guxin didn't refuse. After glancing at the treasures, he reached out and chose the seed. A flicker of delight passed through his eyes—he was clearly satisfied and stored it away with care.
"What a shame."
Yi Tianxing shook his head. Truth be told, he had also been very interested in that seed. Had no one else taken it, it would've been his first pick.
Compared to the others, a seed with unknown origins might be something that could grow into an innate spiritual root—something far more valuable than even a divine treasure. One only needed to look at the Immortal Evolution Tree to understand the possibilities: a source of endless wealth and benefits, far superior to a single-use artifact.
Although he didn't know what kind of seed it was, he didn't want to know either. Knowing without having—it would only make the loss more painful.
"Emperor Yi, you choose next."
Arthur swallowed hard and spoke.
"Very well, I won't refuse."
Yi Tianxing nodded. Since the seed was already taken, he had to secure the next-best item before it too was gone.
He had his own ideas about these treasures. Ideally, he'd take them all—but that was impossible. The ancient tome, presumably a cultivation technique, was likely inferior to the Heavenly Emperor Dragon Scripture already in his possession, so it was not a priority.
As for the armor, he had no need for it. His fleshly body had reached a realm of indestructibility, stronger than any armor.
After some thought, he chose the jade ruler.
As soon as he grasped it, information flowed into his mind:
"Xuanhuang Ruler: Forged from the Primordial Yellow Essence and Innate Divine Jade, this treasure carries immense weight, is indestructible, can measure heaven and earth, compress distances, and contains infinite power. It can suppress the cosmos and erase karma from killings."
Learning its properties, Yi Tianxing nodded with approval. The ruler's origin and potential were truly extraordinary and well worth cultivating. The Primordial Yellow Essence was a fundamental material of the universe. Fully cultivated, a single strike could collapse the heavens. It could shatter divine arts and magic alike.
With a single thought, the Xuanhuang Ruler entered his divine sea and was devoured by the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Pagoda.
In an instant, the pagoda began yet another round of world-creation, pushing its evolution forward—it had now reached thirty-two levels.
"I can't keep increasing the levels of this pagoda so casually. Each level is a minor world—it takes too much to cultivate. A bottomless pit. And the more levels there are, the harder it gets..."
Yi Tianxing sighed inwardly.
Even he was beginning to feel intimidated by his own treasure. Without the Dream Butterfly World as a support, the resources needed were simply overwhelming. Even now, further advancement seemed almost hopeless. Whether this pagoda would one day become a Heaven-rank treasure or a true Innate Spiritual Treasure was a matter of endless investment.
The pagoda could theoretically fuse with infinite treasures, but fusion alone meant nothing—cultivation was the true bottleneck.
These changes happened silently and invisibly.
Arthur, eyes gleaming, swept his gaze across the remaining treasures.
"I'll take this one. This armor suits me perfectly."
He chose the suit of armor, clearly fond of it.
Indeed, for defense, such a treasure could be life-saving. In many cases, defensive artifacts were rarer and more sought-after than offensive ones. It was a wise and pragmatic choice.
Once all three had chosen, the remaining treasures vanished.
A surge of invisible power engulfed them. In the blink of an eye, the scene before them shifted—and they reappeared in the imperial palace of the Great Yi Dynasty. Huang Chengyan and the others had already departed.
"You've finally returned, my true self."
Yi Tianxie emerged from his shadow.
"Hmm... I didn't expect that only three days had passed here."
Upon returning, he instantly became aware of the time. Though the Death Maze seemed to last only moments, three full days had passed in the real world.
A subtle but powerful time-distortion technique.
"Looks like you experienced something remarkable," Yi Tianxie said with interest.
He could sense a great change in Yi Tianxing, especially in his physical strength—which had undergone a massive leap. Clearly, he had received extraordinary fortune.
Yi Tianxing said nothing and directly transferred the memory of his Death Maze experience.
After receiving it, a cold glint flashed in Yi Tianxie's eyes.
"The Nine Heavens Supremes are definitely not good people. They treat all life as a game, a way to amuse themselves. This time it was a small game, but I'm sure it will get worse. Once evil thoughts begin to grow, they're not easily restrained."
As a being born from all sentient beings' evil thoughts, Yi Tianxie understood the nature of desire and corruption better than anyone.
The Nine Heavens Supremes were formed by the collective will of the multiverse. Once they opened the gate to their desires, it would be like a flood breaking through a dam—unstoppable.
And with their strength and status, they were like saints—or worse, far beyond saints. If they chose to make games of all living things, the resulting calamities would dwarf even natural disasters.
"I hope they learn restraint. Otherwise, one day, all living beings will rise to slay the heavens."
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath.
For now, he had no power to interfere in such affairs. His only option was to continue to grow stronger.
Fortunately, for the time being, the Nine Heavens Supremes still abided by certain rules and hadn't taken direct action to cause chaos.
"The sky falls, someone higher will bear it first."
Shaking his head, Yi Tianxing gazed into the void.
"The Great Yi Dynasty is a Dynasty of the Great Dao. Even the Heavenly Dao cannot interfere. This destiny—even the Nine Heavens Supremes cannot affect. We have already qualified to break free from our shackles. Now, the only thing left is to make Great Yi stronger."
"One day, even the Nine Heavens Supremes will be forced to look up to us."
With his thoughts settled, he no longer wasted energy worrying about them.
"The Imperial Examination has concluded."
Yi Tianxing turned his attention to the second Great Yi imperial examination—a matter of great importance. While they had been away, the examination had come to an end.