"The Empire currently has seven large-scale ancient paths. If the First Divination of the Ten Directions is accurate, then these existing ancient paths alone are far from sufficient to meet the needs of the entire Xuanling Star Domain."
"In the future, we may need to add even more large-scale ancient paths. I believe that constructing a new star route from the Annihilation Star Corridor would be far more convenient and could save a tremendous amount of cost."
"If we can successfully open it up and turn it into a large-scale ancient path, it's entirely possible that several new Emperor-level families could emerge."
"Once it's built, everyone here—wanting to stay poor will be difficult!"
On Crystal Island, within a private space, dozens of Star Mirrors floated around Zhao Xing. Reflected within the mirrors were the figures of many individuals.
There was Du Yun, Tuosen, Fairy Youling… all his partners, listening closely to Zhao Xing's plan for the future.
"Zhao Xing, what you're saying is all based on the assumption that the Annihilation Star Corridor can be successfully developed—and that it has enough value to be transformed into a large-scale ancient path."
"I'm not doubting you… but the current development of the Annihilation Star Corridor does face a lot of challenges." The speaker was Qi Tian from the Four Seasons Palace.
Zhao Xing turned to face the Star Mirror showing Qi Tian. "Brother Qi, well said. I was just about to outline for everyone a few of the key objective issues we've encountered in developing this ancient path."
Snap!
Zhao Xing snapped his fingers, and a three-dimensional map materialized in front of everyone.
It displayed a long belt of shattered stars, some sections still rotating irregularly, like a twisted tunnel. Star debris collided with one another constantly, explosions seemed to happen all the time, and matter would randomly appear or disappear.
"First problem: the Star Relocation Dilemma."
"The Annihilation Star Corridor is a ruin formed from the collapse of top-tier Realm Stars and Yin-Yang Stars."
"Within its domain, Solar Stars and Lunar Stars are rarely seen."
"As we all know, establishing a permanent survival base in the Barren Domain is impossible without both Solar and Lunar Stars."
"Otherwise, not only would we be unable to grow food, but even cultivators would suffer in terms of strength."
"A Reincarnation Realm expert would only be able to exert Dao Domain Realm power. A Dao Domain Realm expert would be weakened to Origin Realm strength."
Yin and Yang give birth to the Five Elements. The harmony of Yin and Yang brings forth all life… This is an eternal truth of the universe. From the standpoint of life's evolution, any region without Solar and Lunar Stars cannot be called a habitable domain. The difficulty of life forming there is extremely high.
Food production and supply costs would skyrocket.
From the cultivation perspective, the existence of the Five Elements Dao Domain and Yin-Yang Dao Domain already makes clear that the Dao of Yin and Yang is an irreplaceable cornerstone.
If these two Daos are absent or diminished in a territory, it's like tearing down two load-bearing walls from the cultivation system—or yanking out a support beam.
Imagine a Reincarnation Realm cultivator suddenly losing all experiences related to the Five Elements Dao Domain and Life-and-Death Dao Domain—their comprehension of Yin and Yang Daos would drop drastically, and of course, their strength would plummet.
So, top-tier Solar and Lunar Stars aren't just the foundation of survival—they're essential for cultivation.
This is also why the theories of the Heavenly Timing Sect often emphasize the concept of the "Extreme Star," treating the search for one as the ultimate goal—because Extreme Stars offer the strongest Dao Domain insights.
"The most cost-effective method for building a survival base in the Barren Domain is star relocation and stabilization."
"In a Spiritual Qi Domain, moving stars is simple. Even a Dao Domain Realm cultivator can easily relocate a Solar or Lunar Star."
"But in the Barren Domain, the difficulty skyrockets."
"Of course, the real issue lies in the nature of the Annihilation Star Corridor itself."
"Any new Solar or Lunar Star relocated here will collapse within just a few centuries."
"That makes star relocation a huge challenge."
Zhao Xing paused and zoomed in the map, fixing the view on a small Realm Star.
"Everyone, take a look. This is a small survival base built by the four major families. There are no Solar or Lunar Stars nearby. Their solution was to use high-grade Dao Soldiers, along with Solar Star Lamps and Lunar Star Lamps, to replace Yin and Yang."
"Using the Yin-Yang Dao within the base's formation and the Dao Soldiers, they stabilized the surrounding space-time, allowing chaotic Dao forces to become perceptible and usable—turning chaotic void into usable void."
"But just establishing such a small base, merely accounting for the two star lamps and the Yin-Yang Alternating Formation, costs 885,000 Five Emperor Coins—not even including maintenance."
"And its service life is only 10,000 years. After that, everything must be replaced."
Qi Tian resumed his supporting role, asking more questions, "Zhao brother, if we follow the four families' approach, wouldn't the funds we've gathered so far run dry before the Third Era of the Barren Domain even begins?"
Zhao Xing chuckled, "Of course. If we go about it like those four dumb pigs, no amount of money would ever be enough. In fact, they backed out because they realized it was a bottomless money pit."
"Hahaha~" The crowd burst into laughter.
Only Zhao Xing dared to call the four major families "dumb pigs" like that.
Even if they didn't know the full reasoning behind Zhao Xing's confidence, just hearing him say it lifted everyone's spirits.
Qi Tian teased again, "Zhao brother, but from their perspective, they probably think we're the fools, hahaha."
Zhao Xing shot Qi Tian a look.
This guy was really enjoying his role as comic relief.
That line definitely wasn't in the script he'd given him.
Then the second comic relief, Xu Youling, chimed in, "So that means Zhao brother has a better plan?"
"Indeed. We absolutely can't do it their way," Zhao Xing answered. "The Annihilation Star Corridor is, in essence, an environmental issue."
"How can you tackle it using Dao Soldiers and formations alone?"
"What the four families did is like trying to tame a raging river by building higher and higher levees."
"In my view, their formations were clever, and their Dao Soldiers were top-notch, but they were applying force in the wrong direction entirely."
Lou Lanxiao nodded in deep agreement. Although he was a Grand Physician, he could still spot flaws in the development of the Annihilation Star Corridor.
He too felt the four families' approach was like cutting off a foot for a stubbed toe, or amputating an arm for a hand injury. And now, with no other options, they were cutting off the head—making a tearful fire sale and escaping this pit altogether.
Qi Tian, being a Reincarnation Realm Shennong of the Four Seasons Palace, also had deep insights into regional governance.
The construction of a base in the Barren Domain isn't just a simple environmental issue—like solving everything with one technique. A place like the Annihilation Star Corridor is even more complicated.
Today you change the seasonal qi to Rain Water because of drought, but tomorrow it reverses and becomes Major Heat again... It's never that straightforward.
To be fair, the four major families had no other option. They weren't lacking in Shennong talent either. Putting aside management issues, just considering the objective difficulties—the Annihilation Star Corridor is indeed a structurally complex environmental zone.
It involves remodeling, reconstruction, resistance against natural disasters, regional mutations, changes in space-time, and so on.
Looking back at the four families' development path over the last seven thousand years, they were pushed into that stupid solution step by step, eventually abandoning it in despair.
"I did some math—if we dismantled their base and rebuilt it using my method, we could produce ten times the number of bases."
"As for the exact construction method, I won't go into the details now—it would waste everyone's time. Once the Dao Conference begins and the project restarts, those interested can come see for themselves."
"Next, let's talk about the second objective problem."
Zhao Xing waved his hand, and the scene changed again. In the void of space, seven Realm Stars were aligned in a straight line.
These were seven Realm Stars—all artificial bases.
They orbited around a Solar Star and a Lunar Star, with Boundary-Fixing Towers around them.
"This is an example of successful star relocation in the Annihilation Star Corridor."
"There aren't many, but the four major families had money and hired powerful Shennongs. They managed to relocate about forty-nine sets of binary star systems here."
"However, only about one-third of those remain. The rest were all lost naturally."
Martial Officer Zhou Gang, who followed Zhao Xing during his time on Taoyang Star Continent, couldn't help but ask, "Lord Zhao, were they hit by disasters? Why were so many lost?"
"Sort of," Zhao Xing pointed. "Look here—one year, this entire relocated binary star system was suddenly swallowed by the void layer."
Everyone looked over and saw the void suddenly twisting. The Solar Star quickly dimmed.
Then the space collapsed like a curtain being pulled down, and the seven Realm Stars, following the disappearance of the Yin-Yang pair, spun out of control and were sucked into the deep void.
No warning signs.
Not even a single alert from the base.
"According to disaster reports, this Blue Ice No. 42 Binary Star system was devoured due to space-time distortion in the Annihilation Star Corridor."
"Situations like this happen often in the Annihilation Star Corridor."
"This is the second major objective challenge we must solve."
Qi Tian couldn't help jumping out of the script again—he was genuinely confused. "Zhao brother, what's going on? Why would it suddenly happen like that?"
Zhao Xing decided to reveal some of the truth. After all, most of his partners were Shennongs. He couldn't just present PowerPoints all day—he had to give them some real substance to reassure them.
"In my opinion, it's still a matter of location selection."
"The four families built their survival bases in an unstable spatial projection zone."
"It's like building a house in an earthquake-prone area."
"Because of the corridor's nature, these space-time instabilities are chaotic and disorderly. They happen without any sign, and since they involve the Dao of Space-Time, even Fate Officers can't predict them accurately when interference occurs."
"As for the principle behind it, it's likely caused by void dark rivers leading to massive space-time shifts."
"I saw a similar case in the Transmission Realm Tower. If any of you are curious, look into the Lixing River Mutation from the history of the Tianyou Kingdom."
"Tianyou Kingdom?" Du Yun perked up—after all, he was from the Tianyou Kingdom. (At least Du Yun believed so; his memories of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom hadn't been fully unlocked.)
"Zhao brother, is there any way to solve it?" asked Yu Qing, a Shennong from the Origin Realm. He was also a Shennong of the Heavenly Timing Sect and had ranked first in his region during the previous selection.
For any Shennong, encountering thorny environmental problems always stoked their deepest curiosity.
"Before the first major problem is solved, there's no perfect solution to the second. For now, the only thing we can do is avoid it as much as possible," Zhao Xing said thoughtfully. "Because the Lixing River Mutation was historically a deadlock. It lasted for two full eras, and not even Shennongs at the Demigod Realm could solve it."
"I haven't personally surveyed the Annihilation Star Corridor yet. Maybe it's not that bad—but it's definitely not easy to deal with either."
In truth, it really wasn't that bad—but Zhao Xing didn't want to raise his partners' expectations too high just yet.
Zhao Xing clearly remembered: after Primordial Hill took over the corridor project, it only took them less than five hundred years to fully clear the route.
Not only did they not lose money—they actually made a huge profit even before it was completed.
That's because, 4.5 billion astronomical units northwest of the Annihilation Star Corridor, several small-scale Origin Realms were discovered.
Inside those Origin Realms, there were large quantities of non-renewable resources, ideal for crafting Origin Divine Weapons and Reincarnation Divine Weapons!
Of course, that success was built on the fact that it was already the early part of the Third Era of the Barren Domain, and the other two ancient paths—Haitong Ancient Path and Mingguang Ancient Path—had already been eighty to ninety percent completed.
Primordial Hill had gained extensive experience from those projects and had also discovered overlapping segments between those routes and the Annihilation Star Corridor, greatly speeding things up.
Zhao Xing didn't have such high expectations now. His goal was simple—if he could excavate the Origin Realms along the Annihilation Star Corridor before the Third Era of the Barren Domain, that would be enough.
As for fully clearing the route—he didn't plan to do that.
Because once it extended into the Spiritual Qi Domain, they'd surely encounter resistance from local powers—an inevitable interdomain war.
The transport efficiency of the Annihilation Star Corridor was simply too high. With its space-time tunnels, it was known among the Nine Great Ancient Paths as the "War Path." It was the main channel used by Emperors for mobilizing forces.
Zhao Xing had no intention of monopolizing the corridor rights. That would be suicidal. The smart move was to dig just enough, then sell the rights to the Empire and let them take over.
He would walk away with the money, leaving the battlefield of profit and power struggles behind—that was the wise move.
"What's the third objective problem?" a voice interrupted Zhao Xing's thoughts.
He looked up. At some point, Lord Lushan had joined the group chat.
Lord Lushan was a seasoned expert. Answering his questions, Zhao Xing became a lot more serious.
"Shishu, actually the third objective issue is based on my own speculative conclusion. We likely won't encounter it for a while."
"Let's hear it," Lord Lushan said with a smile.
Zhao Xing nodded, flipped his palm, and the map of the Annihilation Star Corridor expanded, shifting its orientation.
Now, the corridor looked like a wild stripe across a slab of jadeite. Toward the northwest, about three hundred million astronomical units away, there appeared a massive black rift.
There was nothing there. Zhao Xing wrote three annotations across the cross-section:
Suspected Spiritual Qi Index: Zero.
Preservation-grade Reproduction Generations: Zero.
Suspected Nirvana Layer.
Lord Lushan's eyes narrowed in thought. "You mean the end of the Annihilation Star Corridor leads into a void region where the Projection Layer transitions into a Nirvana Layer? How did you arrive at that?"
Zhao Xing waved his hand again. In various regions of the corridor, column-shaped data graphs rose into view.
"Please look, Shishu. Starting from the corridor's origin, the index of concentrated Spiritual Qi is 7. For every one hundred million astronomical units, it drops by 2 points."
"According to this pattern, at around five hundred million astronomical units, the Spiritual Qi Index will drop to zero."
"The second dataset shows the reproductive behavior of plant life cultivated by the four major families over the past seven thousand years."
"For every thirty-five thousand astronomical units deeper into the Siyue Barren Domain, the preservation-grade reproduction generation count drops by 0.03. The probability of mutation and degradation rises by 0.07."
"The changes are subtle—but incredibly consistent."
"When we reach this area…" Zhao Xing pointed to the black void zone. "I suspect no native plant species will be able to maintain preservation-grade reproduction."
After he finished, every Shennong in the room, including Lord Lushan, went silent.
Everyone else, seeing the sudden quiet, didn't dare make a sound either. They privately scrambled to dig through their knowledge archives, trying to understand the conversation between Zhao Xing and Lord Lushan.
But to the Shennongs from the Origin Realm, this was easy to grasp.
"Preservation-grade reproduction" refers to a plant lifeform's ability to maintain the same quality as the original seed across multiple generations of breeding.
Take Zhao Xing's own Seven Regions True Spirit Bamboo, for instance—it's of Emperor-grade quality. Since it's a native species without a life-source lock, as long as it's bred in a suitable environment, its next generation will also yield a large number of Emperor-grade offspring.
Naturally, every plant has a finite number of generations it can reproduce while maintaining that quality. The stronger the lifeform, the harder it is to preserve grade across generations—and the fewer those generations are.
However, the Self School's Four Supporting Methods—Shenhua, Jiedao, Yuanming, and Yuanji—can greatly extend those generation counts.
Yet even under such artificial intervention, the data showed a decline in quality and rank.
That meant a large, unavoidable environmental factor was at play.
Based on the four families' development timeframe of seven thousand years, it wasn't super obvious yet. But if Zhao Xing's data model held true, this problem would absolutely appear down the line.
"Qiusheng, I don't get it—what's it mean?" Yang Baihe whispered a private message to Yuan Qiusheng beside him.
"Take the True Spirit Tree for example. When we reach the area Zhao Xing pointed out, some extreme conditions will occur—like an Emperor-grade True Spirit Tree no longer being able to flower or bear fruit. It won't be able to provide any support or sustenance," Yuan Qiusheng explained.
"Without the ability to produce True Spirit Fruit, it's just firewood. No different from common-grade trees—maybe even worse, since its branches burn less efficiently."
"Because it still requires far more nutrients than normal plants just to stay alive."
Yang Baihe finally understood. "So it's like a prized breeding bull that becomes sterile. It still eats a ton, but it's useless now. That's what you mean, right?"
"Exactly. And for support-type plants, not being able to flower or fruit means they're totally wasted. If you raise them, they're a burden. If you chop them for firewood, they're inferior to low-grade branches."
Yang Baihe muttered internally, "If trees are like that, maybe humans are too… I'm definitely not going anywhere near that place."
...
Collapse of Yin-Yang Stars has made star relocation costs skyrocket.
Space-time fissures have made building survival bases more difficult.
The Nirvana Layer region has blocked further exploration.
Three problems—each harder than the last.
And these are just the objective problems. The subjective ones still include human factors, resources, policy issues, and more.
But compared to the Big Three, Zhao Xing felt the subjective issues were negligible.
He had gathered plenty of funds. The construction was being managed by the Great Zhou Dynasty. Both money and people were under his control. As long as the Dao Conference was held successfully, everything else would fall into place.
After wrapping up the partner meeting, Zhao Xing began preparations for the Dao Conference.
"To host a Dao Conference, all you need are time, place, guests, and content."
"The location's set—on the Annihilation Star Corridor's large base: Rainbow Moon Star Continent."
"Time is tentatively scheduled for one hundred years from now."
One hundred years wasn't long. Zhao Xing needed the event to ferment and spread. Otherwise, strong cultivators wouldn't be able to arrive in time.
"A Dao Conference needs heavyweight guests. Just Lord Lushan showing up would feel a little weak."
"Even adding the Five Venom Emperor and Emperor Hongshan still seems like not enough."
"If I could get someone from the Scholarly City to show up—that'd be ideal."
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and began writing a letter to Bowe.
"Junior Zhao Xing bows in respect and greets Grand Elder Bowe."
"The Scholarly City is a sacred place where all theories under heaven converge."
"Grand Elder, you are first among the city's sages."
"You've ascended the Eighth Law Realm, cured the Sky Poison Terminal Illness, and awakened divine artifacts within the Transmission Realm Tower—achievements worthy of eternal praise!"
"…"
"…"
The moment Bowe saw the letter, his heart instinctively skipped a beat.
Zhao Xing's flattery was over the top—not only did it fail to please him, it immediately raised red flags.
"Teacher, what is this kid trying to pull?"
Bowe interrupted Zhixin, telling him to skip the fluff and get to the point.
Zhixin flipped a few pages and chuckled. "He wants to hold a Dao Conference—and he's hoping you'll make an appearance."
"He even said his admiration for you was 'clear as the sun and moon, obvious to all,' and 'as unstoppable as the waters of the Lixing River'… pfft."
Reading that part, Zhixin couldn't help but burst into laughter.
That was just too damn cheesy!
"Teacher! The point!"
"Ahem, fine." Zhixin flipped further ahead. Only at the very end did the truth come out—Zhao Xing's real intent.
"He said that if you refuse, he'll follow the ancient rites and visit the Scholarly City three times in person… hahahaha!"
Zhixin laughed again, this time completely unable to hold it in.
Because he noticed the elder's expression looked like he had just eaten crap.
Especially remembering that not long ago, Bowe had already suffered a 2.4 billion Realm Spirit Value loss because of Zhao Xing. Zhixin simply couldn't contain himself.
Bowe was also breaking down. At this point, he had temporarily shelved the idea of making Zhao Xing a core part of the deification plan.
But it seemed this guy couldn't be shaken off no matter what!
Admire him? Personally come visit?
Please, I'm begging you—stop admiring me already.
If he shows up again, even if the Transmission Realm Tower doesn't get shut down by the Five Great Powers, it'll go bankrupt!
Just imagining the consequences of another visit from Zhao Xing made Bowe take a deep breath.
"Huuuh—"
Letting out the breath, he finally managed to suppress his emotions.
"How are you planning to reply?" Zhixin asked.
"Accept his request," Bowe said. "As long as he doesn't come to the Scholarly City and enter the Transmission Realm Tower again, anything's negotiable."
So what if he had to send a few people to the Barren Domain to give the Dao Conference some prestige and help Zhao Xing promote it?
Though it was infuriating, it was a small matter—and Bowe could tolerate it.
"Maybe you should send a Dharma Body yourself," Zhixin suggested. "The Scholarly City's opening of the Transmission Realm Tower has already drawn a wave of powerful cultivators. It's begun to delay the Red Star Empire's development progress in the Barren Domain."
"If the Emperor gets upset and puts pressure on us, shutting down the tower wouldn't be far off. You can't let personal feelings affect the plan."
A trace of displeasure flashed in Bowe's eyes, but in the end, he nodded in agreement.
"Teacher's advice is correct. It should be that way."
...
Xuanling Star Domain, near the border of the Wanhe Demon Kingdom, on a small, unremarkable Realm Star.
Wei Tianchen stood before a standing mirror, watching as the shadow of a figure cloaked in black gradually took shape.
"Wei brother, I have news about Zhao Xing. Would you like to purchase it from the Dark Hall?"
Wei Tianchen nodded without emotion. "Speak."
"The development rights of the Annihilation Ancient Path have already been transferred. Lord Lushan and the Great Zhou Dynasty are just a front—the real controllers are Zhao Xing and his close allies."
"Also, he's about to host the Annihilation Dao Conference. It's scheduled for one hundred thirty-five years from now, and will take place on the Rainbow Moon Star Continent, within the Annihilation Star Corridor."
"Rainbow Moon Star Continent originally belonged to the local Rainbow Moon Dynasty, which was under the control of the Carlos family. But it also has ties to the Scholarly City. One of their key people, Beins, is a subordinate secretly trained by Bowe."
"Zhao Xing has invited Bowe, the Grand Elder of Scholarly City, as an honored guest. With the Scholarly City's promotion and Bowe's participation, this private Dao Conference is already at a very high level."
Wei Tianchen frowned. "What's the theme of the conference that could actually get Bowe to show up in person? Zhao Xing's Eight Zhao Methods and his 'Theory on Earth-Based Mutations' were published less than two thousand years ago. Could he already have something new?"
As the saying goes: practicing techniques is easy, developing theories is hard. Zhao Xing's speed of publishing new Dao theories was frankly a bit too fast.
Bowe wouldn't lend his name to just anything. Zhao Xing must have real content to offer.
Otherwise, it would only tarnish the Scholarly City's reputation.
"The specific content hasn't been finalized yet, but the theme has been set. It's aimed at solving the extreme environmental conditions of the Annihilation Star Corridor. Reportedly, there will be thirty-four sessions."
"Thirty-four?!" Wei Tianchen was stunned.
That many sessions? How much content would you need to support all of that?
Of course, he knew how problematic the Annihilation Star Corridor was. Many of its difficulties could rival those of the Intersecting Realm Mountains.
"What's the background of this so-called Emperor Tianning?" Wei Tianchen's curiosity burned even stronger. "Could he be someone who survived from the era of the Five Emperors?"
The black-cloaked figure said calmly, "Wei brother, the Dark Hall can offer you a way to send a Dharma Body in disguise, so that even causal detection won't notice."
Wei Tianchen shook his head. "I have my own methods. I don't need the Hall's help to block the Empire's causal tracking."
The Heavenly Master Hall founded by the Red Star Emperor had inherited relics from the era of Emperor Li. Three Fate Officer artifacts from that lineage were in Wei Tianchen's possession—that was his confidence.
The black-cloaked voice continued, "You can indeed ignore the Empire's Heavenly Master Hall—but not the Reincarnation Divine Palace."
Wei Tianchen was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
The black cloak nodded. "A god from the Reincarnation Divine Palace is tracking you. Based on your client privilege level, this information is free. We'll ask you first—do you wish to purchase tailored causal protection?"
"Can I know who it is?" Wei Tianchen asked.
"We cannot disclose that. Just as the Hall won't reveal your identity, the same applies in reverse," the figure shook his head.
"I'll buy it," Wei Tianchen nodded.
After the black cloak vanished, he looked down at the Seven-Star Cabinet in front of him. Two drawers were already unlocked, but there was still a deeply hidden compartment he hadn't cracked yet.
"If that's the case, then I'll make the trip myself."
...
Empire, Northern Territory, Ruyin Star System.
"You're saying Zhao Xing is going to host a Dao Conference in the Annihilation Star Corridor?" Ruyin Carlos lay crouched in front of a stone gate. Hearing the report, his eyes snapped open. He was currently in the form of a mechanical beast shaped like a massive tiger.
"Yes. We suspect Zhao Xing is coming in fully prepared. The Annihilation Star Corridor might contain unknown value," the reporter said. "It's said Bowe himself will be attending the conference."
"Hmph, the problems with the Annihilation Ancient Path aren't so easily solved," Ruyin Carlos snorted. "He's just using flashy tricks to draw a crowd. If he can't solve the issues, it'll all come to nothing."
"Inform the other three families—don't bother me with this again."
"Just sit back and watch the joke unfold."
"Yes."
Empire border, Crystal Island.
Within a private cloud-space, scrolls of blank sacred pages gradually filled themselves with text, eventually transforming into a thick tome.
Whoosh—
As Zhao Xing wrote the final word, sweat poured from his body, and he collapsed flat onto the cloud.
Scattered across the clouds were several hundred more books. Each of them shimmered with golden light—not just ordinary scriptures or treatises, but imbued with Dao Rhythms. That meant both techniques and theories were fully formed.
Buzz—
A golden book slowly descended, landing beside his hand.
Around it flowed six streams of qi, radiant as stars and moons upon closer look.
On the cover were a few large characters:
On the Six Qi of the Annihilation Star: Yin-Yang Volume
Yet the golden light trembled faintly—the fragile pages clearly couldn't bear the weight of such immense Dao Rhythms.
Huff~ Zhao Xing exhaled, channeling his mana to stabilize the glow.
"So exhausting."
"Maybe I should just take the money and run," he groaned weakly.
The Annihilation Star Corridor's problems were even more complex than those of the Intersecting Realm Mountains. To analyze and solve them required incorporating the principles of the Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and Self Schools.
The first issue was star relocation.
Why is it that Yin-Yang Twin Stars, which thrive in Spiritual Qi Domains, collapse within such a short time after entering the Annihilation Star Corridor?
Zhao Xing turned his head and blew out another puff of mana.
Rustle—
The book's pages flipped open, and the handwriting appeared.
"An orange grown south of the Huai River is an orange; grown north, it becomes a trifoliate. Though the leaves look the same, their taste differs. Why? Because of the difference in water and soil, in Yin and Yang!"
"The Twin Stars are manifestations of the Yin-Yang Dao. In the Spiritual Qi Domain, the Six Qi radiate boundlessly, and their lifespan often exceeds a million years—because the Heavenly Timing Qi is fixed. In the Barren Domain, the Six Qi bring chaos to the stars, and their lifespan becomes uncertain—because the Heavenly Timing Qi is disordered!"
Relocating Solar and Lunar Stars leads to shortened lifespans. This is common, and especially obvious when moving stars from Spiritual Qi Domains into the Barren Domain.
In the past, those studying this phenomenon often blamed superficial factors, rarely explaining it from the level of Dao.
But Zhao Xing approached it using the Self School's theories to indirectly prove the principles of the Yin-Yang Dao, then used the Heavenly Timing School's Qi theory to explain the phenomenon.
However, the Annihilation Star Corridor was clearly an extreme case. This alone wasn't enough to fully explain it.
Huff—
Zhao Xing turned again and exhaled another breath.
This time, it was a different book.
On Earthly Mutation in the Annihilation Stars: Yin-Yang Volume
"Pure Yang Qi rises to become the heavens, and turbid Yin Qi descends to become the earth. The interweaving of Yin-Yang Twin Stars gives birth to all things. Internally, turbid Yin Qi becomes Earth Veins; externally, pure Yang Qi illuminates the void. The void acts as the dish, and balance in Yin and Yang brings eternal rotation. Imbalance in Yin and Yang causes heaven to collapse and earth to sink—the Twin Stars will shatter," Zhao Xing muttered.
"The physical manifestation of the Yin-Yang Dao in the Projection Layer is precisely the Solar and Lunar Stars. Clear Yang Qi is expelled outward, forming the light that illuminates the realm. A portion of turbid Yang Qi becomes the Earth Veins, stabilizing the star's interior. If there's even the slightest numerical deviation in this cosmic law, it's impossible to condense the usual Solar and Lunar Stars. They instead revert to chaotic Dao, like what we see in the Dao Ancient Layer."
"The reason why the Twin Stars collapse in the Annihilation Star Corridor is twofold—first, external Six Qi disorder; second, internal Earth Vein shifts that can no longer support the stars' material form."
"When the Twin Stars collapse, they simultaneously crush the Projection Layer's void, causing the second phenomenon to appear—spacetime depressions or bulges."
"This violent upheaval is intense! Realm Star mutations usually involve four layers of Gold, Wood, Water, and Earth, before exposing the Fire Veins (the magma layer)."
"It's like casting the Earth-Splitting Technique—you first have to destabilize the Four Elements before the Fire Veins erupt."
"But Solar Stars aren't built that way. Fire Veins occupy the entire structure, and only a thin layer of fire-type Qi acts as insulation. Once a mutation occurs, it directly affects the Projection Layer."
Zhao Xing likened the Projection Layer to a flexible box. When the Twin Stars collapse in one location, the Projection Layer elsewhere gets compressed as the Yin-Yang Dao returns to the void—causing spacetime to tear or twist.
The Yin-Yang Dao echoes one another. Such distortion or tearing typically happens near the presence of another Solar or Lunar Star, triggering a chain reaction.
The formation of stable spacetime tunnels results from this kind of shift. In that sense, the Annihilation Star Corridor's phenomena offer both risk and opportunity—it all depends on whether someone can harness them.
His exhaustion stemmed from the books lying beside him—these weren't ordinary texts. They held both theory and method. They outlined real solutions. They could truly be called Dao Books!
Even if Bowe didn't come, even if the Scholarly City didn't certify them—anyone who laid eyes on the originals would immediately recognize their significance.
"Some of these theories actually belong to the Heavenly Timing School," Zhao Xing said, gazing at the books like they were his children.
Clearly, one child should've been named "Heavenly Timing School," but ended up cloaked in Self School or Earthly Advantage School garments.
"Guess the Heavenly Timing School will just have to suffer a little injustice this time." Zhao Xing's palm swept across each book's cover.
Staying in the cultivation space, immersed in deep study, he had no real sense of time—but Zhao Xing relished the experience. He could feel his soul growing stronger, already transforming toward the True Spirit level.
Once the soul ascended to the True Spirit tier and began to command the inner world, it would provide immense benefits to cultivating the internal world.
Buzz~~
He had barely rested when the tremor in the sky startled him.
"Great Shennong~ Great Shennong~ it's time to come out…"
It was Ji Si's voice.
Whoosh!
A streak of golden light pierced the sky, tearing open a gap. Ji Si's figure entered the cultivation space.
"Ji Si, why are you calling me out?"
"Great Shennong, the first Dao Conference is less than a month away. Guests like Bowe have already arrived. Everyone's waiting—you should come out too," Ji Si said with a hint of admiration. Zhao Xing had only been in closed-door cultivation for just over one hundred thirty years, yet his gains were clearly substantial.
"So soon? Feels like I just went in…" Zhao Xing looked dazed. "Well then, let's go meet the guests together."