"My lord, I have gathered the information. Under normal circumstances, the Heavenly Patrol Guards are recruited every thirty years."
"There are two exceptions."
"One, when the Heavenly Guards suffer death or severe injury and can no longer perform their duties, the high-ranking Divine Officials will ask the existing Heavenly Guards to recommend candidates to be selected."
Zhao Xing glanced at the report. According to the information, Yu Shen Mo Yuan established the Heavenly Patrol Guards, which were divided into four ranks.
Heavenly Patrol Guards: Typically composed of Demigods who have survived nine True Spirit Tribulations, with a very small number of Eight Tribulation Emperors.
Earth Gods: Demigods from the tenth to thirteenth level, with no known Emperor-level individuals.
Heavenly Gods: Demigods above the thirteenth level.
Great Divine Officials: True gods.
There are four known Great Divine Officials, all of whom have displayed their strength and are at the Free Path to Divinity level.
As for the Unperturbed True Gods who have attained the Dao of Heaven and Earth, it was speculated from Wei Tianchen's notes that they were unlikely to serve under someone else, as they could rival the Free Gods at the beginning of their godhood and often looked down on those still undergoing Divine Tribulations.
"Yu Shen Mo Yuan has four Great Divine Officials, so he must at least be a Unperturbed God General, perhaps even a God King," Zhao Xing mused.
He waved his hand, signaling Bai Lanjun to continue.
"Second, for some rare professions, there are no restrictions. In Mo Yuan City, if someone suitable is found, they will be specially promoted. For example, twelve years ago, there was a blacksmith named 'Huo Zun' who could participate in the forging of certain divine items, and he was specially selected to join the Heavenly Patrol Guards."
"Can participate in forging divine items?" Zhao Xing was a bit surprised. That blacksmith must be very powerful. Even just being involved in such a process would be impressive.
Divine items are classified into two types. One is Strength Artifacts, which are items imbued with divine power.
For example, the wooden door and stone lock he saw on Wu Yun Island, which were inscribed with divine symbols, could not be broken by Demigod strength, and thus could be considered divine items.
However, such items would degrade over time as the divine power wanes, eventually returning to their original grade. Once they lose their divine power, they cease to exist as divine items.
The second type are rare and powerful materials that are forged into divine items capable of enduring for a long time, containing the source of the Dao.
These items' power is so great that they could surpass some Free Gods. Therefore, they are called Dao Artifacts.
The first type requires little technique—any object left in the hands of a divine being long enough could become a Strength Artifact.
The second type requires profound craftsmanship, as only a true god could handle divine-grade materials.
It's no wonder that Huo Zun was specially invited to join the Heavenly Patrol Guards after participating in the forging of Dao Artifacts.
"Is Shennong included?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Yes. Shennong, Mechanists, Physicians, and Fate Officers—these four paths can all join the Heavenly Patrol Guards with their unique abilities."
Some professions, such as warriors, musicians, dancers, spellcasters, mental illusionists, and historians, can only participate in the open recruitment assessments, no exceptions.
Of course, if a true god is willing to pledge allegiance, then they can directly become a Great Divine Official.
"My lord, I've copied the requirements," Bai Lanjun said, pulling out a slate.
"Read it."
"The path of Shennong: those who achieve the following feats may join the Heavenly Patrol Guards and gain Yu Shen's favor."
"1. Shake the celestial phenomena of 'Xian Meng Ze,' causing the moonlight to shine, and if this phenomenon doesn't revert within three days, they can be granted the Heavenly Patrol Guards title. If it doesn't revert within a month, they will be granted the Earth God title. If it doesn't revert within a year, they will be granted the Heavenly God title. If they permanently alter the celestial phenomena of Xian Meng Ze, they will be gifted a Dao Artifact and allowed to enter Yu Shen's cave and discuss the Dao."
Xian Meng Ze—what kind of place is this that changing its celestial phenomena for just three days could earn one a spot as a Heavenly Patrol Guard?
To permanently alter Xian Meng Ze's celestial phenomena, receive a Dao Artifact, and even sit and discuss the Dao with Yu Shen?
Zhao Xing was confused and flipped through his map, discovering that Xian Meng Ze was located in the southwest of Yu Shen Zhou, a small area about one thousand miles in radius, next to the city of Siyang, which had a city area ten times larger than Xian Meng Ze.
The celestial phenomena in Xian Meng Ze were notoriously stubborn and hard to change. No one had managed to alter them for more than a year.
"2. Cross the extreme of Xuan Tu."
"Travel a hundred miles underground to gain the Heavenly Patrol Guards title; travel a thousand miles to gain the Earth God title; travel ten thousand miles to gain the Heavenly God title. If one can measure the extremity of Xuan Tu, they will be gifted a Dao Artifact and allowed to enter Yu Shen's cave to discuss the Dao."
Xuan Tu is a challenge located near Mo Yuan City in the Xuan Yin Great Rift, and anyone who can burrow underground for a hundred miles will become a Heavenly Patrol Guard.
The extremity of Xuan Tu has never been determined, as even Yu Shen could not find its limit. If someone can measure it, Yu Shen will gift them a Dao Artifact and discuss the Dao with them.
However, if they don't complete it, venturing ten thousand miles deep is considered the domain of the gods. If one reaches this level, they don't need to go through such trials, and they can immediately become a Great Divine Official.
"3. Revive a dead seed."
"Yu Shen obtained a batch of dead seeds in the Gu Yin Realm, which had lost all vitality. Even under suitable conditions, they couldn't be revived."
"But if anyone manages to revive even one of these seeds, they will become a Heavenly Patrol Guard. The exact position they will hold depends on the state of the seed after revival. This rule has no specific guidelines, as the revived seed must be judged by Yu Shen personally."
"No one has managed to achieve this in the Shennong path."
There are still two more paths to become a Heavenly Patrol Guard, but they are not as convenient as the above three.
One path is exclusive to the "Holy Shennong" and requires worshipping Yu Shen at the Yu Shen Temple in Mo Yuan City for a hundred years.
During this hundred years, the person will experience various illusion tests for their inner heart. If they still have unwavering faith in Yu Shen after this period, they will be eligible to join the Heavenly Patrol Guards.
"This path values loyalty over ability," Zhao Xing thought.
Devout believers may not be as capable, but they can always make up for it with resources.
"For example, right now, the three people with me from the Divine Fire Sect—Hu Qing and Yan Jun—have better talent than Bai Lanjun. But I trust Bai Lanjun more. Originally, his cultivation level was lower than both of theirs, but after being together for these years, he has surpassed them."
"There are many ways to approach this, but each one is difficult," Zhao Xing said, dismissing Bai Lanjun. He then took out the Eight Directions Divine Mirror.
"Senior Divine Mirror, which path did Ai Yisuo choose for his assessment?"
The mirror spirit of the divine mirror reflected Ai Yisuo's figure. He was sitting cross-legged on the back of a triangular black tortoise, surrounded by a flowing black river.
The triangular cabinet gradually grew larger, and with each increase, a drawer popped out, forming a swirling passageway. Something resembling threads was being drawn into it.
Zhao Xing immediately recognized this as the Nine Yin River. The river's endpoint was unknown, but its known sections passed through Yue Shen Zhou and Yu Shen Zhou.
"He is a martial artist and physician, and he chose the 'Nine Yin Herb Collection' assessment."
"Physicians collect the great herbs of Heaven and Earth, refining the source from nothing, with the tradition of gathering spiritual essence in the clouds and collecting the five elements from the earth's veins," the divine mirror explained.
Zhao Xing nodded. However, this was the Bone Yin Realm, a unique world formed by the merging of the Bone God Realm and the Southern Continent's Yin and Yang realms.
The Nine Yin River was particularly special. The current of the river was extremely fast, and while it was filled with the source of the Dao, it was also immensely chaotic.
Even though Ai Yisuo was a Thirteenth Rank Medical Sovereign, attempting to collect the great herbs from the Nine Yin River was like trying to pick rice grains from quicksand using chopsticks.
His actions were exactly as predicted by the Eight Directions Divine Mirror, but if he planned to spend sixty years on it, then he wasn't just aiming to become a Heavenly Patrol Guard.
Collecting such rare herbs for so long surely meant he wanted to become a higher-ranked Earth God Official or Heavenly God Official.
"Ai Yisuo is not worried that I might leave halfway, abandoning this place?" Zhao Xing asked, confused.
"You leaving is actually better," the mirror spirit pointed at Ai Yisuo's figure. "That way, his goal will be achieved."
Upon hearing the spirit, Zhao Xing immediately understood.
Once Ai Yisuo forces himself to leave Yu Shen Zhou, the area outside would be full of wild and obstructed paths.
If Dan Ye, a Free God, possessed a Destiny Artifact, he could easily negate the shielding of the Eight Directions Divine Mirror. Catching Zhao Xing would then be much easier.
While this Free God couldn't cause trouble in Yu Shen Zhou, he could do so freely outside.
"Senior Divine Mirror, could you calculate which path would have a higher success rate for me?"
The Eight Directions Divine Mirror flickered with energy. Zhao Xing's bone power, spiritual energy, and True Spirit Fire Seed were all drained by a significant amount.
In the end, it provided two answers: "The success rate for 'Reviving Dead Seeds' and 'Extreme Earth' is nearly the same. The former has a slightly higher success rate, but not by much."
"For the Xian Meng Ze task, your success rate is very low, almost negligible."
"There's another one, the Spirit of Wildfire. Killing the Wildfire Yin Spirits and collecting Soul Crystals has the highest success rate, but this requires you to leave Yu Shen Zhou to fight."
"Considering the threat from True Gods, this path has the lowest success rate."
Zhao Xing understood now—it was best for him to choose an assessment within Yu Shen Zhou.
"Let's try the Extreme Earth challenge first."
He put away the mirror and decided to try the Extreme Earth assessment.
It was the closest location, just beside Mo Yuan City, while the Xian Meng Ze challenge would require a month of travel.
As for the Reviving Dead Seeds challenge, the Great Divine Officials would only appear every three years, taking the applicants to a specific location for the unified assessment. Zhao Xing would have to wait for that.
"Swish, swish, swish~~~"
Zhao Xing flew through the air, exiting the Eighteen Catalpa Courtyards and heading east to the city outskirts.
Beyond the eastern suburbs was the Great Rift, visible directly from the city walls.
The pitch-black rift stretched about three thousand miles long and one hundred miles wide. The depth wasn't much, as it reached the bottom after just thirty miles, but a layer of Yin energy blocked the path. A soul scan revealed it was as if entering a mire, making it seem bottomless.
"The Extreme Earth challenge starts from the rift's bottom."
"This challenge is for Shennong only. It is a profession-specific challenge, and divine weapons are not allowed. However, the use of medicinal pills is unrestricted."
"Younger brother, if you feel you're unable to go any further, don't push yourself, as it can easily lead to injury."
A young man in platinum bone armor spoke. His name was Shan Qi, one of the Heavenly Patrol Guards.
Shan Qi was a Twelfth Rank Martial Sovereign and served as the guide for the Extreme Earth challenge. He made a good living from this job, which was easy for him to carry out.
He had been doing this for a long time mainly due to his good attitude toward customers.
Although Zhao Xing was only an Eight Tribulation Emperor, Shan Qi still treated him like an equal.
"If you don't succeed the first time, just regroup and try again next time," Shan Qi said with a laugh. "Don't hurt your foundation just for a little competition."
"Of course, from what I can see, your demeanor is exceptional. If you try a few more times, you'll have a good chance of success."
"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Shan," Zhao Xing replied with a salute, though he chose to ignore the latter comment.
Shan Qi said this to everyone, not because of his kindness, but because each challenge required a fee.
He, of course, hoped Zhao Xing would fail multiple times, but not so much that it would cause him to lose hope.
"Whoosh~"
The two quickly arrived at the bottom of the rift. The surrounding area was damp, with thick Yin energy in the soil.
The moment Zhao Xing descended, he felt his spiritual energy becoming sluggish, and even the True Spirit Fire Seed inside him seemed a little dormant.
"Whoosh!"
Shan Qi waved his hand, and a flag appeared, planting itself beneath Zhao Xing's feet.
"Yū~"
The flag emitted a pure white light, dispelling the surrounding Yin energy and forming a hemispherical barrier, much like a bowl being placed over the ground.
"Once you descend from the Heavenly Patrol Flag, if you meet the standard, I'll know."
"If any danger arises, I'll know as well."
Shan Qi explained.
"However, I will charge an additional fee if I have to intervene. It will take some effort to rescue you."
"Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Lord Shan."
"I'll go now."
"Go ahead." Shan Qi smiled and, after Zhao Xing jumped down, left a marker at the spot. He then headed toward another area.
Not many people were participating in the Extreme Earth challenge this time, but it wasn't a small number either. A total of thirteen participants were there. Zhao Xing was a new participant, and the rest were familiar faces, mostly those who weren't ready to give up.
Shan Qi looked at the Heavenly Patrol Mirror, which showed the progress of the thirteen participants.
"Yu Ying was able to traverse ninety-five miles last time, only five miles short of success."
"She's already a Sovereign, so she has a good chance of succeeding in one of the upcoming attempts. The other regulars can only manage around eighty miles, but there's still money to be made."
"Chen'an Emperor? Ha, an Eight Tribulation Emperor thinks he can challenge this? He's practically handing me money." Shan Qi chuckled.
"When he comes up, I'll have to console him, and when I rescue him later, I might even charge him a little less, leaving room for more long-term earnings. The real way is to make money over time."
Zhao Xing looked like a wealthy person, so Shan Qi couldn't let him slip away.
Shan Qi was also planning to have Chen'an Emperor witness Yu Ying's record. After all, with an example from a predecessor, it could inspire the others to push themselves even further.
As soon as Zhao Xing crouched down, he felt a repelling force from below, as if there was an anti-gravity underground palace.
Descending five miles, scattered pulses from the veins around him squeezed in from all directions.
When he reached a depth of ten miles, an Yin Gold Earth Vein blocked his path, as if a hard mountain rock from below was blocking his way.
"Split apart!"
Zhao Xing first used his White Bone Power to cast a spell. This was the method for opening the Folded Boundary Mountain, a technique he had created himself.
In about three breaths, the Yin Gold Earth Vein softened, allowing him to continue his descent.
"Here we go..."
He continued downward. The pressure increased the deeper he went, and when he reached twenty miles, he slowed down.
"Another Earth Vein blocking the path, still a Yin-attribute Earth Gold vein."
"Interesting, I'll need to take this a bit more seriously."
"Mystic Fire Refining Gold!"
He used the Yin Fire from above to break through the Earth Gold vein, using leverage against leverage.
Zhao Xing's understanding of Earth Veins was profound, and with the strength of an Eight Tribulation Emperor, he was able to move nearly half the power of a Demigod within the veins, effortlessly passing the twenty-mile depth.
"Utilizing the terrain appropriately..."
"When I was at the Origin Realm, I leveraged the power of a volcanic eruption to cripple a Lord-level being. This is the benefit of mastering the principles of the law."
"Break apart, open the wall."
He easily passed through two more obstacles.
However, after crossing fifty miles, things started to change.
"Crack, crack, crack~"
As soon as Zhao Xing passed the fifty-mile boundary, he felt a powerful repelling force from below. His escape method's protective barrier generated strong friction, like monstrous claws scraping against glass.
The immense pressure around him felt as though it could crush him. His safety was suddenly at great risk.
"Earth Vein Dissolution, Yin Earth Thorn, what is this strange terrain?" Zhao Xing watched as golden mountain-like thorns pierced from all directions.
"Nature is truly a marvel—this chaotic Earth Vein energy seems to have formed a natural Earth Vein formation, continuously attacking the intruder."
However, Old Master Zhao, while exploring the Desolate Domain, had frequently used Earth-based techniques.
This scene, though peculiar, didn't surpass one of the Mystic Spirit's top ten wonders—the Folded Boundary Mountain Terrain.
When he went to rescue the Hong Mountain Emperor trapped within the Folded Boundary Mountain, that was when it was truly dangerous.
"Climb!"
Zhao Xing first cast a strong driving technique on himself, strengthening his protective escape formation. Then he carefully sensed the terrain below.
At the fifty-mile mark, the obstacle was no longer the Earth Gold Vein, but a fusion of Earth Fire, Earth Water, and Earth Gold veins.
Zhao Xing now had two options: one was to use the Seven-Colored Power of Blue Flower to forcefully break through.
But there was still half the distance to go, and who knew what other difficulties he would encounter?
Furthermore, using brute force now would waste energy, making him no different from those mindless warriors.
Zhao Xing sensed the terrain below and approached it like a problem to be solved.
After about a quarter of an hour of thought, he started to move again.
"Qi Pulse!"
"Passage to the Void!"
The two spells were cast—Qi Pulse drew on the Earth Vein's energy, and Passage to the Void created a new illusory Earth Vein.
Like a pipeline, it guided the water vein's essence to the place Zhao Xing wanted.
At this moment, the Gold, Fire, and Water veins began to separate—the water vein was drawn away, creating a height difference in the Earth Veins, and the fire vein naturally began to melt the gold vein.
"Boil Pearl!"
Zhao Xing began to forge the Earth Gold Vein, like a blacksmith hammering raw iron.
The shaping of the Earth Gold Vein formed a main vein fifty miles below the ground. Thanks to the siphoning effect between the Earth Veins, the ground below was no longer chaotic, and the scattered vein power and energy began to converge into the Earth Gold Vein through the illusory passage.
"Transform Water!"
A large amount of flowing energy was generated, and the water vein neutralized the fire vein while also making the already hardened Earth Gold Vein more brittle.
"Mystic Earth Split Gold!"
"Boom!"
The continuous gold vein stretched across thirty miles in width, but right beneath Zhao Xing, it became very fragile.
Now, using Mystic Earth Split Gold and the Break Apart the Wall technique, even a Six Tribulation Emperor could accomplish this.
"Successfully passed the challenge!" Zhao Xing smiled slightly and continued his descent.
Zhao Xing successfully passed below fifty miles, but the other two participants who were taking the challenge with him were unlucky.
The Earth Gold Vein that spanned across fifty miles deeply impacted their paths—Di Jun Emperor and Cheng Fei Emperor.
Like Zhao Xing, they were Eight Tribulation Emperors participating as Shennong, and they were already close to success, having failed several times at the seventy-mile mark. But they didn't come here just to become Heavenly Patrol Guards; they were only using this challenge for training.
Now, they couldn't even reach seventy miles deep. Instead, they were blocked at fifty miles.
Zhao Xing was using the Earth Vein's energy to refine the veins, and the power he was shifting had already reached the threshold of a Demigod's strength.
Di Jun Emperor and Cheng Fei Emperor were dumbfounded.
"What's going on? Why did the obstacle at fifty miles become like this?"
"No way! I paid to experience the pressure at seventy miles, but now I can't even get past fifty miles?"
"What is happening? How did the Xuan Yin Earth suddenly change like this?"
Di Jun Emperor and Cheng Fei Emperor were both feeling quite frustrated.
It was like everyone was descending the stairs, and when they reached the fifth floor, a steel plate suddenly appeared, blocking the way, whereas it used to be just a wooden board.
"Break! Break! Break!!!"
Both Di Jun Emperor and Cheng Fei Emperor immediately chose to forcefully break through the Earth Gold Vein.
However, after half an hour, they were still stuck in place, and their energy was almost entirely drained.
"Damn, give us our money back!"
Both of them flew back up in frustration.
Meanwhile, Shan Qi, who had been leisurely strolling at the valley's bottom, noticed that Di Jun Emperor and Cheng Fei Emperor had emerged back on the surface.
"Hmm? Why are you two up so early?"
Di Jun Emperor and Cheng Fei Emperor would have scowled if they weren't skeletal, but they could only mutter quietly, not daring to actually complain to Lord Shan Qi.
"Lord Shan, we've always been able to descend to seventy miles to meditate, but now, at fifty miles, the Earth Veins have changed. This can't be right, can it?"
"Yes! We didn't expect to pass the Heavenly Patrol Guard examination, we just wanted to use this place for training. Now we've barely gone down, and we've had to come back up. It's going to waste a lot of time to recover our strength."
Shan Qi shook his head. "Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
"The Xuan Yin Earth layer has returned to its original state after the last exam, so I brought you back here. It's not the cause of the problem."
Di Jun Emperor and Cheng Fei Emperor exchanged a glance. "Lord Shan, are we trying to deceive you? Why don't you go and check for yourself?"
Shan Qi looked at them suspiciously. They didn't seem like they were lying, so he took out a Ground-Drifting Shuttle from his bone ring. "Wait here for a moment. I'll go check and see what's causing this."
"Yes."
"Well, well! At seventy miles, the five veins actually fused into one?" Zhao Xing stood at the seventy-mile mark, his face filled with excitement.
"One of the Thousand Earth Wonders—this is truly rare."
The Zhi Qi refers to harmful energy produced by the Earth Veins. In the mortal realm, it's usually referred to as the white mist rising during the night. This energy arises before sunrise, when the Yang energy rises and evaporates the gases in the Earth Veins.
In higher geological layers, this formation leads to significant transformations.
The best example is the Li Xinghe Change, which, of course, was far more disastrous than the current Xuan Yin Earth Change, with its intensity many times greater.
The Li Xinghe Change was a catastrophic event that lasted several epochs in the ancient country of Tianyou, and no matter how they prayed, the gods couldn't solve it.
The fusion of the five veins and one breath was one of the Thousand Earth Wonders recorded in the book, which is similar to the Hou Bian Bai Jian in the Heavenly Timing Sect.
Zhao Xing's theory on Earth Veins was also included in the Thousand Earth Wonders, placed as the very first entry.
"This is getting interesting. A small Xuan Huang Realm can actually display a Thousand Earth Wonder."
He had only reached seventy miles deep! According to the tests left by Yu Shen, a depth of ten thousand miles would be the level for the Heavenly God Officers.
Could it be that this underground area has many Earthly Wonders?
"I need to go down and check it out." Zhao Xing's fire seed flickered in his eyes, and his excitement grew.
The examination didn't matter much to him now; seeing the underground wonder was worth dying for!
Zhao Xing rubbed his hands together like a scholar seeing a challenging problem and immediately dove into solving it.
"Fusion of five veins, don't panic. Use the Wood Opening Heaven Window technique."
"Gold leaks, fire flows, water covers fire, one breath transforms Yin and Yang!"
"To break the fusion of five veins, first, support the Earth Wood vein. Start with the Earth Palace method. The Earth Gold Vein leaks into the Earth Fire Vein, attack strongly. The Earth Water Vein covers the Earth Fire Vein, which requires a gradual approach. With this, the Earth Soil Vein becomes the foundation, and the Wood Vein can support it, thus forming the Earth Palace."
"Then, the Zhi Qi can be released through the Heaven Window of the Earth Palace!"
"Wonderful, wonderful! I'm truly a genius!"
Zhao Xing's eyes sparkled as he cast spells. Golden light flickered in his hands as he began to tackle the problem from every angle.
Just as Zhao Xing's Earth Palace technique was forming, a Heavenly Patrol Guard happened to pass by.
Shan Qi used the Ground-Drifting Shuttle to create a hole in the underground space and immediately jumped down to check the situation.
He had already confirmed that the complaints from his two regulars were connected to Chen'an Emperor.
The more he pursued, the more certain he became. As a Heavenly Patrol Guard responsible for this area, he could easily detect abnormalities. After all, Chen'an Emperor had already gone deep, past sixty miles.
The other two participants hadn't passed, but Zhao Xing had. It seemed like he was the one influencing things.
"What exactly is this kid doing? Who taught him how to break through like this? Huh? Why did the ground suddenly emit gas?"
Relying on his identity as a martial artist and knowing that the depth was only around sixty or seventy miles, Shan Qi curiously took a deep breath.
But soon, he regretted it.
His face quickly turned green, and he struck his own stomach hard, releasing a toxic gas.
"Damn! I can't refine it out!"
Shan Qi shouted inwardly that something was wrong and immediately sealed his mouth. But when he reached up, he only felt his jawbone.
Plop~
Looking down, his flesh was already starting to fall off in chunks.
Damn it! This is bad! Shan Qi immediately crushed a talisman in his hand. Before he fainted, he crawled into the Ground-Drifting Shuttle.
The talisman shimmered, displaying the name of an Earth God Officer: Shennong.