Venerable Lanchuan told Zhao Xing to rest for three years, but Zhao Xing showed up at Lanchuan's eagle-headed mountain peak cave mansion just three months later.
"Didn't I tell you to rest for three years to stabilize your law body?" Lanchuan asked.
"I've already finished," Zhao Xing replied.
"In that case, choose a position." Lanchuan tossed him a book listing various positions.
Yushenzhou had only been established for a few decades and was still expanding. It had a large population, but high-level talent was scarce.
Zhao Xing glanced through the book. While the positions looked numerous, there were only two real ways to make money.
First, the Jiuyin River.
The border of Yushenzhou was still some distance from the Jiuyin River. Yushen wanted to divert its waters into the state. But the Jiuyin River was unusual—its water was extremely heavy and laced with poison. Diverting it into Yushenzhou was very difficult. Most sections were nearly impossible to channel. The parts that could be diverted faced competition from Yue Shenzhou.
Still, if Yushenzhou wanted to expand, it couldn't avoid the Jiuyin River. Soul Wells required water of the yin attribute to nourish them, and the higher the quality, the better. Plus, the river produced high-end resources like Bone Spirit Stones.
Second, the Myriad Soul Wells.
The Myriad Soul Wells were outside Yushenzhou, deep within a fog barrier even larger than Yushenzhou and Yue Shenzhou combined.
Elsewhere, Soul Wells were scattered and low in quality. But within the Myriad Soul Well region, they were densely concentrated—and equally dangerous. It produced plenty of Soul Crystals, but any Sky Patrol Guardian needed a Ground Divine Officer to lead them into the area.
"Divine Officer Lanchuan, I want to either work on diverting the Jiuyin River or go to the Myriad Soul Wells," Zhao Xing said.
Lanchuan wasn't surprised. He could tell Zhao Xing had reached a bottleneck in his spell path. At his current level, improving his spell mastery further was difficult.
What he needed now was a breakthrough in true spirit and law body to become a demigod.
"I'm not planning to head to the Myriad Soul Wells just yet. Besides, you haven't made any contributions. It wouldn't be right to take you there."
"Go to Wangyue City and work on diverting the Jiuyin River first," said Divine Officer Lanchuan.
"This is the Earth Refinement Method."
"As long as you complete one water diversion task, you can come back and report to me."
"Yu Ying has also been assigned there. You can head over with him."
"Yes, sir."
"Chen'an, you even have disciples from the Divine Fire Sect working for you?" Yu Ying said as they teleported to Wangyue City together. He noticed Zhao Xing's attendants weren't ordinary—they all had Lihuo Dao Bones and bore the unique mark of the Divine Fire Sect.
"You're not simple either, Yu Ying. You've got dragons working for you?" Zhao Xing looked at him curiously. Yu Ying was sitting in a chariot pulled by four bone dragons, all of which were high-level.
"These four dragons were all Eight-Tribulation Emperors in the living world. They followed me to the Bone Yin Realm willingly," Yu Ying said with pride.
Dragons were rare nowadays. He had spent years in the living world raising them.
"Which sect did you belong to in the living world?" Zhao Xing asked. He was eager to learn more about the Xuanhuang Realm's living world.
"Divine Sea Sect," Yu Ying replied with a hint of pride. But when he noticed Zhao Xing wasn't impressed, he grew curious about Zhao Xing's own background.
"What about you, Chen'an?"
"I'm a rogue cultivator," Zhao Xing answered casually.
After years in the White Bone Divine Domain, he was sure he'd entered a different space-time. Maybe it was still the Xuanhuang Realm, just before Shenluo became the Barren Domain. It might have been one of the Five Emperor eras.
But that raised questions. Why hadn't he heard about the Five Emperors in the Xuanhuang Realm's living world?
If his theory was right, how could the Xuanhuang Realm have zero contact with the outside world?
Who did Shenluo Barren Domain belong to in history? Bone God Yuan?
'With so many powerful figures, there's no way the Xuanhuang Realm's history would leave them nameless. Were they erased?' Zhao Xing wondered.
After arriving in Wangyue City, Zhao Xing and Yu Ying went straight to visit another Ground Divine Officer, Jin Yue.
From above, Wangyue City looked rough and simple. Tons of skeletons moved like ants, transporting various materials.
Inside and outside the city, everything was barren. Only the east side had life—plants brimming with spiritual energy. The rest was heavy with yin aura.
Jin Yue was a Thirteenth Stage demigod and a direct subordinate of High Divine Officer Dongjun.
He didn't handle daily matters. He stayed in seclusion most of the time and only appeared if a strong enemy attacked the city.
After meeting Zhao Xing and Yu Ying, he just said a few words:
"In Wangyue City, aside from other Sky Patrol Guardians, all bone creatures can be used as labor. If they die, it doesn't matter."
"I don't care how you divert the river, but seventy percent of any gains must be handed over."
"If you can create a treasure pool, you'll get more rewards. But no one's ever done that."
"If there's nothing else, don't bother me."
After that, Jin Yue told them to leave.
"All bone creatures can be used as labor? Even if they die?" Zhao Xing flew above the city, looking down at the rows of dumb-looking skeletons.
Their true spirit fire was pure but sluggish.
"Of course. They're not really dead," Yu Ying replied like it was normal. "The city has about one hundred thousand skeleton soldiers and one hundred Soul Wells."
"When they die, they just crawl out of the Soul Wells again. We can use them as we like."
"With a Sky Patrol Token, you can make these skeleton soldiers obey."
Seeing Zhao Xing deep in thought, Yu Ying didn't bother continuing the conversation.
"Emperor Chen'an, I'll head out first."
With a wave of her hand, beams of light swept across the sky, pulling away about fifty thousand skeleton soldiers as she flew eastward.
Zhao Xing shook his head and then waved to take the remaining fifty thousand skeleton soldiers with him.
These fifty thousand skeletons could receive intent through divine talismans. Whatever he told them to do, they did.
They had died too many times. Their memories were nearly gone, and their intelligence had dropped drastically. Now, they were just white bone creatures with brute strength.
Controlling them was easy for Zhao Xing, but they couldn't do delicate work. They were only good for manual labor.
Zhao Xing thought of Wei Tianchen. If this domain of Yuan's truly had no real death, could Wei Tianchen have also crawled out from some soul well?
'They're all around the level of a Three Tribulation Emperor, yet they've ended up like puppets, no free will left. Isn't that the same as being dead?' Zhao Xing shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
Yu Ying had headed east. Zhao Xing flew north of Wangyue City.
Diverting the water of the Nine Yin River into Yushen Continent was a process of turning waste into treasure.
Zhao Xing chose a barren plain and used the Earth-Fissuring Technique to create five hundred underground holes.
Each tunnel mouth had a radius of ten li. Then, he ordered the fifty thousand skeletons to jump down and expand the tunnels further.
When they reached a depth of three hundred li, he began digging horizontally to connect with a section of the Nine Yin River.
After one year, the basic infrastructure was complete.
Zhao Xing pulled back all the skeletons and began inspecting the underground passages.
By now, a large underground labyrinth had formed beneath the plain, and multiple channels had been dug into the earth veins.
He started the second phase—transplanting abandoned soul wells.
Abandoned soul wells were everywhere in Wangyue City.
Zhao Xing moved five of them first and planted them beneath the plain.
Then, within the underground maze, he performed the Earth Repository Technique, Vein-Guiding Technique, and Earth-Fissuring Technique to reinforce and adjust the entire structure.
If one had a perspective that could see through the ground, they would see the maze looked like a giant alchemy furnace!
Yes—this was the Earth Refining Method that Venerable Lanchuan had taught him!
"Earth Refining uses the power of earth veins to create an underground furnace, refining underground treasures."
"The material is the Nine Yin River water. The medium is the soul well."
"The first layer of Earth Refining produces only one thing: bone spirit stones."
"The second layer revives the soul wells, producing soul crystals."
"The third layer upgrades the soul wells, giving rise to white bone servants that can obey orders."
"Venerable Lanchuan is seriously incredible," Zhao Xing couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the Earth Refining setup.
Lanchuan had created the method himself and had only developed it up to the third layer. But even just these three layers impressed Zhao Xing. After all, it could produce bone lifeforms at the level of a Six Tribulation Emperor.
If perfected, Lanchuan might just invent a true divine technique!
'This Earth Refining Method… it's really similar to the Life Earth Palace technique.' Zhao Xing comprehended the first layer within the first year. He truly felt Lanchuan was remarkable.
Another year passed. All five soul wells began to show signs of water vapor, and gurgling water quickly bubbled up from the three-hundred-li-deep abandoned wells.
"The Nine Yin River water was filtered layer by layer by the earth veins. By the time it reached me, its poison was gone, and it was no longer heavy."
Zhao Xing looked at the dense spiritual aura rising from the soul wells. The water was crystal clear, and faint glowing particles floated within.
"Swish—"
He reached out and grabbed a handful. A dozen shimmering particles landed in his palm.
"Bone spirit stones. These are used to upgrade bone bodies. But right now, they're low grade and not useful to me."
'I wonder how the other Celestial Inspectors and Earth Officials are turning waste into treasure.'
"Senior Divine Mirror, can I spy on them a bit?"
Zhao Xing knew that along the river, many Celestial Inspectors and Earth Officials were doing the same work.
Not just Shennong, but also array masters and smiths among the Mechanists were mining along various sections of the Nine Yin River.
This might even be a kind of test. Take Ai Yisuo, for example—he was harvesting rare herbs directly from the river, though that was clearly a tougher route.
"I can, but I won't guarantee you won't get caught," said the spirit of the Eight Directions Divine Mirror. "I'm not the strongest Fate Master artifact. If you spy on others, there's a chance you'll be discovered."
"Of course, you can still take a look at those in the Celestial Inspector and Earth Official tiers. The Heavenly Officials definitely have divine artifacts."
"Alright, then let's observe just those two ranks. Learn what we can from their methods."
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, Zhao Xing had been living in the northern wastelands of Wangyue City for ten years.
To the east of Wangyue City, three hundred thousand li away, Yu Ying looked at the soul well where spring water was bubbling up and smiled faintly.
"Finally finished the first layer. This Earth Refining Method is really hard."
'I wonder what level Emperor Chen'an has reached? He looked completely unfamiliar with it when he got the technique, so he should be behind me, right?'
"Another ten years, and everyone has to return to Wangyue City to hand over their tributes."
"At my pace, I should be able to refine one hundred units of high-grade bone soul crystals. I'll submit seventy units."
"I don't expect to be rewarded at the tribute banquet. I just hope I'm not at the bottom."
"Wonder if Emperor Chen'an can finish the first layer in time."
Yu Ying wanted to go to Zhao Xing's area to give him some pointers. But after all, she was a Venerable. If anyone should be asking for advice, it should be Zhao Xing. How could she take the initiative?
'Forget it. After the tribute banquet, he'll probably come to me for guidance.'
Back on the soul well plain, Zhao Xing frowned at the five soul wells.
"I've already mastered the second layer. All five wells have come back to life, but the downside is that bone spirit stone production has slowed. Instead, I'm getting a bunch of useless skeleton generals."
"Even if I suppress them, the gemstone yield rate still drops."
"Right now, I've only accumulated thirty thousand units of bone spirit stones. After handing over the tribute, I'll only keep nine thousand for myself. That's nowhere near enough for a breakthrough."
Zhao Xing thought for a moment, then called over Bai Lanjun and the others.
"Sir, what are your orders?"
"Xiao Bai, use the fire pit to teleport back to Wangyue City and bring back a few more soul wells for me. Don't bother transferring skeleton troops—I'm scaling up the operation."
"Understood, sir."
Bai Lanjun left immediately with Hu Qing and Yan Yun to carry out the task.
As soon as the three were gone, Fu Mengzhen walked in gracefully, wearing a teasing smile. "Your Majesty, it's time for our dual cultivation."
Zhao Xing gave her a once-over. Her flesh had mostly recovered. With her curvy figure and her talent in dance and music, she exuded an ethereal charm with a hint of seduction.
"Today, I'm going into seclusion. Beloved consort, go rest."
"But Your Majesty, it's been months since we last dual cultivated."
Fu Mengzhen clung to him for quite a while. But seeing that her "Dao partner" remained unmoved, she finally walked away, full of grievance.
"Her strength is nearly fully restored too," Zhao Xing thought, watching her leave. "Old Wei's leftover Dao Heart Enchantment Pills should last another hundred years. After that, I'll have to figure out what to do with her."
Putting that aside, Zhao Xing went back to reading the cultivation notes Wei Tianchen had left behind.
He had already grasped the second layer of the Earth Refinement Method, which revived soul wells, by the third year.
Wei Tianchen's medical texts were key—his path of medicine was about healing heaven and earth itself.
With those texts as inspiration, Zhao Xing gained many insights during his cultivation.
"Heal the world, prove the Dao, slay gods to restore the path—"
With one hand holding a medical book and the other glowing with golden light, Zhao Xing walked up to a soul well.
Inside, a white bone lifeform was forming. He suddenly raised a finger.
"Boom!"
The forming spirit was shattered instantly, breaking into specks of light, which then reformed into bone spirit crystals.
Zhao Xing's eyes flashed. Instead of collecting the crystals, he acted before they fully took shape.
Using the "Sky-Mending Method" recorded in Wei Tianchen's medical notes, he guided the glowing orbs back into the soul well.
"Rumble~"
The soul well, shaped like a hollow bone, began to glow white and expand on its own.
Swirls of chaotic mist wrapped around it, as if some heavenly Dao pattern was being drawn into the world.
"Huh? The soul well feels stronger than before. Did the third layer of the Earth Refinement Method somehow fuse with medical theory? Is this the real direction for the third layer?"
"Old Wei really was a genius," Zhao Xing murmured in admiration.
He hadn't expected to gain something new from re-reading Wei Tianchen's medical notes. But it actually led him to discover the path for the third layer of Earth Refinement.
Following that lead, Zhao Xing began meditating.
By the fifth year, he had mastered the third layer of the Earth Refinement Method!
At this point, he had only been on the barren plains outside Wangyue City for fifteen years, and he'd already fully learned the secret art created by Venerable Lanchuan.
However, Zhao Xing sensed that his understanding had started to diverge from Lanchuan's original path. Their Dao insights were beginning to differ.
Another five years passed, and all ten of Zhao Xing's abandoned soul wells had been fully revived, pulling in even more Nine Yin River water.
But now, Zhao Xing had to return to Wangyue City.
The tribute banquet held every twenty years was about to begin.
It was both an offering to Yu God and a small test for the Sky Patrol Divine Guardians. Of course, those who contributed most would be rewarded.
If he had a choice, Zhao Xing wouldn't want to hand over anything. But the Sky Patrol token was imbued with divine power by a High Divine Officer—this had been issued at the end of the baptism. Trying to cheat or underreport would be seen as blasphemy. No one would survive long in the Sky Patrol Guard after that.
"The Nine Yin River is a massive development zone. With ten million li of riverbanks, there must be thousands of Sky Patrol Guardians attending."
"I've only spent five years mastering the third layer. Altogether, I've gathered one hundred eighty thousand units of bone spirit crystals. No idea where that'll place me."
The tribute banquet had tiers, just like the Dao: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. There were four ranked halls. High Divine Officers would appear to hand out rewards.
"Xiao Bai, is the fire pit ready?"
Zhao Xing packed up all the bone spirit crystals and called for Bai Lanjun, Hu Qing, and Yan Yun.
As for Fu Mengzhen, he left her behind to watch the place—better not to risk anything.
"Sir, the fire pit's ready. It links straight to Wangyue City."
"Alright, let's go. Time to attend the banquet."
Inside Wangyue City, Zhao Xing emerged from a fire pit in a humble building.
He followed a wide road leading toward the city center.
"Clack, clack, clack~"
Before long, Yu Ying's war chariot appeared on the same road. He glanced around and quickly spotted Zhao Xing.
"Daoist Chen'an, wait up!"
Yu Ying urged his chariot forward and caught up with Zhao Xing, who was walking on foot.
"Daoist Yu Ying, long time no see," Zhao Xing greeted him with a smile and a polite bow.
"Daoist Chen'an, it's been twenty years—and you still don't have a mount?" Yu Ying looked puzzled.
"I'm used to it," Zhao Xing replied.
"If you don't mind, come ride with me," Yu Ying offered warmly.
"Sure." Zhao Xing hopped onto the chariot.
"So, Daoist, what've you gained over the past twenty years?" Yu Ying asked, cutting straight to the point.
"Not much. Just gathered around one hundred eighty thousand units of bone spirit crystals," Zhao Xing replied.
"One hundred eighty thousand? Yeah, that's not much…" Yu Ying nodded slightly. "Among Venerable Lanchuan's subordinates, that'll probably put you—wait, did you say one hundred eighty thousand?"
Yu Ying had spoken the number aloud, but his mind automatically interpreted it as eighteen. Only after saying it did he realize what he'd heard.
"Daoist Chen'an, are you serious? You refined one hundred eighty thousand in just twenty years?"
"Yeah. One hundred eighty thousand," Zhao Xing replied calmly.
Seeing Yu Ying's shocked face, he couldn't help but ask, "Is that a lot?"