Zhao Xing had fully entered a state of flow, focusing entirely on constructing the Reversed Dipper Earth Palace.
The Reversed Dipper Earth Palace was something his clone had learned on Primordial Hill. Although it was an earth palace technique, it often appeared in Earth Repository texts.
That was because it wasn't a specific spell, but a construction concept. It wasn't really used for attacking. It was meant to handle complex underground environments.
"Yu~~~"
At that moment, the Reversed Dipper Earth Palace was vibrating at a tiny but rapid frequency. Zhao Xing stood in one corner of the palace, watching it.
The earth miasma flowed from the palace's five halls, channeled through corridors, gathering at the skylight, and surged upward, forming a column of smoke that discharged above. The upper air was murky, but the area where Zhao Xing stood was clean.
"The five halls of the Earth Palace reverse the five elements. Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, begin to invert!"
Zhao Xing built the Reversed Dipper Earth Palace starting from the Wood Hall, followed by Fire, Earth, Metal, and ending with Water.
It also combined features of the Life Earth Palace, making the five halls function like a body's five internal organs circulating fortune. That's why it generated vibrations.
To those on the surface, unaware of its structure, it felt less like a palace underground and more like someone was cultivating down there.
The five flows returned to the origin, gathering at the top.
But miasma belonged to the earth. For it to escape upward was difficult.
Because yang energy naturally rose with clarity, while yin energy sank with turbidity. The Dao of Yin and Yang gave birth to two forces—this was the natural law's manifestation.
That's why the Reversed Dipper Earth Palace had to serve as the foundation. Within it, the traits of Yin and Yang were flipped.
Yang energy descended. Turbid Yin energy rose. Only then could the miasma be expelled.
As the Reversed Dipper Earth Palace completed, the checkpoint at the seventy-li mark shattered.
"Boom~"
Miasma blasted skyward like a giant earth dragon turning over.
Zhao Xing stood with his hands behind his back, watching the scene with deep satisfaction.
"Magnificent."
"The surge from the Nine Nether has already reached demi-god power. I really am a genius."
The power Zhao Xing had drawn out through his palace construction absolutely reached demi-god level.
To stir up such a controllable earth-shifting event with the strength of an Eight Tribulations Emperor was unmatched in satisfaction.
"Keep going down."
Zhao Xing didn't even notice that the poisonous gas released by the palace had knocked out the Sky Patrol God Guardian Shan Qi who had been on guard.
Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. What battle was more important than experiencing the Thousand Earth Marvels firsthand?
As the guardian of the Xuanyin Rift Valley, Shan Qi was getting paid—he had to bear the risks.
No skill? Then what were you here to watch for?
While Zhao Xing continued heading deeper, Shan Qi's unconscious body lay inside the tunneling shuttle. Once the artifact spirit detected the abnormality, it began returning automatically, soon making it back to the valley floor.
"Yu~"
The command flag trembled, and the tunneling shuttle burst from the soil. But only a portion emerged. The rest stayed below to block any further release of gas.
Di Jun Emperor and Cheng Fei Emperor were waiting for Shan Qi's inspection report.
As soon as they heard the noise, they looked over.
"Why is Shan Qi sleeping?" Di Jun Emperor looked confused.
"You ever seen someone fall asleep and start losing flesh?" Cheng Fei Emperor's voice trembled. "He's been poisoned!"
They saw Shan Qi lying silently in the shuttle's cabin. Through the transparent window, they could see his flesh rotting away.
Though his body was trying to repair itself quickly, the toxic damage was outpacing the golden body's regeneration.
"Something happened? Could he be faking it—" Di Jun Emperor still didn't believe it. Shan Qi was a powerful Sky Patrol God Guardian, the official on duty—how could something have gone wrong?
"Unlikely—" Cheng Fei Emperor said with doubt. But they didn't know what to do. They didn't know any other God Guardians to notify.
As the abnormal situation worsened, other challengers soon returned to the surface. After seeing Shan Qi's condition, they were all spooked.
"What happened? Should we run?"
"The underground's gotten dangerous. We shouldn't stay here."
"Sigh, what a waste of money this time—"
Nobody cared if Shan Qi lived or died, but none dared to flee first.
But the chaos didn't last long.
"Whoosh~"
A burst of cloud mist exploded from the ground. Then out stepped a middle-aged man wearing gray hemp robes, four arms, and a "Master" mark on his forehead.
"A Ground Divine Officer's here!"
"A thirteenth-tier demi-god!"
"Greetings, Venerable Lanchuan."
Venerable Lanchuan was Shan Qi's superior. Several other Sky Patrol God Guardians also answered to him.
After receiving Shan Qi's warning, Venerable Lanchuan had immediately rushed over.
He ignored the crowd and silently looked at the ground below, as if he could see through infinite depths.
At that moment, only Yu Ying and Zhao Xing were still underground.
Yu Ying had already reached the ninety-seven-li mark. Her descent left almost no disturbance. The topmost thirty li had even already self-repaired.
"Not her."
Venerable Lanchuan shifted his gaze toward Zhao Xing, then showed a hint of surprise.
"Hm? His way of tackling the challenge... impressive."
If one viewed Yu Ying and Zhao Xing's challenges as solving a problem, both had arrived at the same answer. But Yu Ying's method was straightforward—anyone could tell her level at a glance.
Zhao Xing, on the other hand, used a refined, almost profound process. Even Venerable Lanchuan found it intricate and advanced.
After watching for a while, he received a report from the tunneling shuttle's artifact spirit, explaining how Shan Qi had been poisoned.
"Guiding miasma through an Earth Palace… Shan Qi descended and happened to run into it—hm? Using an Earth Palace method to break through five interwoven meridians, releasing one stream of Qi?"
"Wait—this Earth Palace isn't just that. He's combined other things too."
Yu Ying's method only addressed surface issues. Zhao Xing's attempt didn't feel like a trial at all. It felt like he was truly managing and healing the land, aiming for a complete solution.
Venerable Lanchuan immediately dispersed the remaining challengers. "All of you, return. Your entrance fees will be refunded."
"Yes." The others had no idea why but still left as instructed.
Then Lanchuan just stood there, quietly observing the ground below.
"Yu Ying has a shot at reaching one hundred li."
"Didn't expect another one like Chen'an Emperor to show up. Looks like I'll be gaining two subordinates this time." A slight smile appeared on his face.
As a Shennong, he naturally preferred other Shennong as subordinates.
Having someone like Shan Qi, a martial type, assigned to him was just a matter of necessity.
If a Shennong had been guarding the Xuanyin Rift Valley instead, would something like this have happened?
"Tunneling shuttle, send him to the Soul Pool for treatment. Once he wakes, tell him to report to me."
Lanchuan waved his hand. The shuttle quickly burrowed into the earth and left.
He glanced briefly in Yu Ying's direction but soon turned his attention fully to Zhao Xing.
About a month later, Yu Ying succeeded first, breaking through the one hundred li mark.
"Finally made it."
Once she stabilized at the one hundred li depth, she let out a long breath.
Reaching one hundred li underground meant she was qualified to become a Sky Patrol God Guardian.
That depth was a threshold. Even among demi-god Shennong who'd survived nine tribulations, few could succeed.
Yu Ying had already crossed the nine tribulations and spent thirty years attempting the challenge. After many tries, she finally managed to scrape by.
She didn't go any deeper—she knew this was her limit.
"Whoosh~"
After some effort, she returned to the surface. But instead of seeing Venerable Shan Qi, she found the Ground Divine Officer, Lanchuan.
"Greetings, Venerable Lanchuan." Yu Ying was startled and hurried over to bow.
Every tier after demi-god was a massive gulf. Even a higher official rank was enough to crush someone—let alone a true realm difference.
She was only a ninth-tier demi-god, but Lanchuan was thirteenth-tier. That kind of gap… one look from him could kill her.
"Yu Ying, congratulations on passing the test." Lanchuan nodded slightly. "But wait here for now. Once the other candidate comes up, you'll both receive the divine power baptism together."
"Yes." Yu Ying bowed obediently.
Becoming a Sky Patrol God Guardian came with many benefits. Protection was secondary. The real reward was the divine power baptism.
Regardless of whether one had a physical body before, receiving divine power would grant flesh. If one had already cultivated body regeneration, the baptism would enhance it further, even nourishing the true spirit. It was a huge advantage.
Yu Ying was curious though. Who was the other person? Could someone else really pass as well?
Enough to make Venerable Lanchuan wait here personally?
Down at the one hundred li depth, there was a hollowed-out space.
At the center of the space stood a huge mountain. Ground fire flowed above the mountain's peak, each flame close to demi-god level.
The base of the mountain was covered by a thin layer of water. Beneath the water, flames could be faintly seen burning.
The entire mountain was indestructible, with jagged, bony peaks like the spines of a hedgehog.
Zhao Xing tried to burrow into the mountain from above, but the pressure was immense. Without using special power, he couldn't force his way in.
He threw a stone into the water layer at the mountain's base. It was instantly corroded to dust.
"Yang fire surrounds the golden mountain. Metal water hides yin fire… another one of the Thousand Earth Marvels."
"But something's missing here. Normally, there should be wood veins dividing the metal, but I don't see that happening?"
Zhao Xing flew around the mountain, searching. There was only one way down. The flag barrier prevented him from circling around it.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, a falling stone struck him. A bloody scratch appeared on his skin, and even his Sunbone Dao Bone showed a slight fracture.
He looked up. A stalactite had fallen from the ceiling.
"I get it now!" Zhao Xing healed his wound with blue-flower spiritual power, then had a sudden realization.
"The hollow space was caused by geological shifts. Yang fire burned the wood veins clean around the golden mountain. Yin fire trapped in the water collapsed the earth veins below. That created this empty space."
"Metal, water, fire, and the veins have all reached the threshold that even an emperor can barely pass. My Mysterious Earth technique, Star Burrow, struggles to work here."
Earth Core Fissure, Demon God Earth Palace, Star Burrow of Mysterious Earth, Primal Earth Repository, Communing Earthfriend Passage, and Layered Realm Mountain—these were the six Earth Affinity great divine arts Zhao Xing learned under Master Lushan Heng. Once mastered in the mustard-seed domain, they were all reincarnation-grade secret techniques.
The Mysterious Earth technique Star Burrow could let him tunnel from one star continent to another. It was an incredibly powerful secret art. Only rare environments like those in the Thousand Earth Marvels could block it.
Having figured out the root of the problem, Zhao Xing began looking for a solution.
"Can I use the Earth Core Fissure technique to reshape the terrain?"
The Fissure Technique was known as the gambler's tactic. It worked well for managing environmental issues.
Especially in extreme conditions. Using the fissure method to reshuffle the land—no matter how bad things got, they couldn't be worse than now.
That's why among the Earth Affinity Shennong, the Fissure Technique was the go-to solution for harsh terrains.
"Yes, this method should work. Metal, water, and fire veins are pressing down on the earth and wood, which connects to the law of three extremes forming emptiness. This terrain is designed to counter the gambler's fissure tactic."
It was one of the Thousand Earth Marvels. If it were that easy to break, it wouldn't have made it into the Dao Records.
The so-called "three extremes forming emptiness" meant that when the extreme veins formed underground hollow zones, most spells couldn't affect them.
The earth vein was pressed under the mountain. The wood vein had been burned to ash. This place eliminated the hope of using both the Earth Fissure Technique and the Earth Palace Technique.
The fissure technique worked by stirring the earth vein, and the Earth Palace Technique was built from the wood vein.
Of course, brute force still worked. If Zhao Xing were an eleventh-tier demi-god, he could split the golden mountain with magic or rebuild an Earth Palace. A powerful martial demi-god could just lift the mountain.
"To counter a mountain, I'd need to use mountain techniques. Too bad my avatar had only just begun learning the Open Mountain and Seal Mountain techniques before entering."
"My original body didn't share that knowledge. I can't sense it now."
"The mountain techniques I created, like Layered Realm Mountain, are highly targeted. The eight secret arts within it all revolve around that structure."
"Communing Earthfriend Passage is a messaging technique, so it's no help here. I'll try using Primal Earth Repository first," Zhao Xing thought. "Or maybe I'll just invent a new spell."
"Otherwise, I'll have to brute-force it with Seven-Colored power."
Creating a new technique to break a Thousand Earth Marvel? Not that simple. Realistically, there were only two options.
"Primal Earth Repository is a support technique. It triggers 'Earth Change' to activate dead earth veins or even promote them, bringing life back to dead stars and star continents."
"The wood vein was burned. The earth vein was crushed. But they're not completely gone. If I use Primal Earth Repository and combine it with the Mustard Seed Domain of Ultimate Land, I might be able to restore a portion of both the earth and wood veins. That could give me a way forward."
The benefit of dual cultivating in dreams and rebuilding a flesh body became clear now.
If he were still in skeletal form, he wouldn't be able to use the miniature Ultimate Land, or his Mustard Seed energy and domain. Even casting Primal Earth Repository would require an Ultimate Land foundation.
"Level one of Ultimate Land is: gather spirit to form veins, draw veins into the body, form initial extreme veins."
"Level two is forming mountains from extreme veins. That splits into two paths: Mustard Seed Mountain and Titan Peak."
"The first path's third level is Mustard Seed Domain. The other is Body of Five Eras."
"The Body of Five Eras trains five geological-era earth veins, focusing on Dao body and five internal veins."
"Mustard Seed Domain emphasizes magic power. It forms the Mustard Seed Mountain from eight hundred forty million micro-spirit particles, amplifying all magic and allowing full resonance with the land."
The Body of Five Eras was a martial Shennong secret art. It made the body incredibly tough. But Mustard Seed Domain didn't change the body much—it massively boosted spell effectiveness instead.
"Primal Earth Repository!"
"Shuuu~"
A phantom vein appeared in Zhao Xing's dantian. It wasn't a physical form. A solid vein would only appear with the Body of Five Eras. Right now, he was casting the spell by mobilizing eight hundred forty million mustard seed particles.
"Earth-path cultivators divide spacetime into three eras: Primordial Era, Yuangu Era, and Dao Manifestation Era."
"Primal Earth Repository was created from an ancient earth vein preserved from the Yuangu Era."
"Primordial veins gave rise to Yuangu veins, and Yuangu veins led to the Dao Manifestation era veins."
"Primal Earth Repository ranks just below Primordial Earth Repository."
Zhao Xing looked around.
"Shuu, shuu, shuu~~~"
Tons of particles started rushing toward him.
After seven days, the particles became visible to the naked eye.
The long-dead earth and wood veins began to re-form.
After one month, fist-sized fragments floated around Zhao Xing.
After two months...
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Clumps of large fragments collided midair, shattered, reformed, and smashed again.
Amid the chaotic collisions, a vibrant energy started to emerge.
"What a technique!"
Venerable Lanchuan's eyes lit up on the surface, blurting out in awe.
Yu Ying didn't know what he was reacting to.
But soon she realized it must be about the challenger below—Chen'an Emperor.
"Chen'an Emperor's spell must be incredibly refined to impress Venerable Lanchuan like this."
Yu Ying had been in Youyuan City long enough to know nearly all the Shennong challengers. But she had no memory of someone named Chen'an Emperor.
He was just an Emperor—yet drew praise from Lanchuan himself? Yu Ying couldn't help but feel curious.
"Earth and wood reborn, extremes broken."
Zhao Xing looked at the two tiny veins circling him—one yellow, one green, like twin dragons.
Below, the great mountain and the layer of water and fire were the main trial's dragon-shaped defenses.
Now that Zhao Xing had revived two "little dragons," he had the key to unlock the trial.
He used minimal energy to manipulate the golden mountain, yang fire, yin water, and the various earth veins into physical form.
No matter how solid the golden mountain was, once the earth and wood veins appeared, they began shifting the five elements' cycle.
Mountain, water, fire—all of them entered periods of rise and fall.
When the cycle hit a weak phase...
"Plop!"
Zhao Xing seized the moment, passed through the water and fire layer, and successfully broke through the hundred-li depth.
"Earth and wood reborn. Spell shatters extremes. He used the weak cycle of the five-element veins to pass—and did it so effortlessly. For an Eight Tribulation Emperor to pull that off… this person's talent isn't beneath mine."
Venerable Lanchuan's gaze was full of admiration.
Zhao Xing's use of spells and understanding of the earth path went far beyond expectations.
"Venerable Lanchuan, are you talking about Chen'an Emperor? What spell did he use exactly?" Yu Ying couldn't hold back anymore.
"Spells are just tools," Lanchuan replied, glancing at her. "The same spell in different hands produces different results."
"Some people spend several times the effort to solve a problem. Others—Shennong like him—solve it easily and elegantly."
Yu Ying's expression turned stiff. She felt like Venerable Lanchuan was hinting at something—was he implying that even as a demi-god, she had struggled more than Chen'an Emperor, who made it look easy?
"If he's being praised like this by Lanchuan, Chen'an Emperor is sure to become a Sky Patrol Guardian. I'll have to find a chance to learn from him. I want to see for myself what kind of skills he really has."
After breaking through one hundred li, Zhao Xing didn't stop. He was completely absorbed in the joy of the challenge.
Yu Ying wasn't able to observe everything like Lanchuan could, but she used an earth-communication spell to vaguely sense Zhao Xing's position.
"He's still going deeper."
"Is he really going to keep going? He's just an Eight Tribulation Emperor—doesn't he fear death?"
Past one hundred li, the horizontal space underground got wider. The original semicircle barrier formed by the inserted command flags had limited movement, which was a form of protection.
Sure, Shennong cultivators could borrow the power of nature, but they could also get themselves killed in the process.
Back in the Lingxu Origin Realm, Zhao Xing used a volcanic eruption to kill a turtle tribe lord. The eruption was caused by fifty cultivators working together, and he almost couldn't control the aftermath. If not for engineer Gu Ming controlling the realm boat, Zhao Xing would've died too.
Those best at swimming drown first.
"Above one hundred li, the command flags limited movement, which in turn limited the scale of earth-changes a Shennong could cause. It prevented people from killing themselves by accident."
"But now below one hundred li, the flags leave a much bigger space. That means any change in the earth could reach demi-god levels in power."
"If he borrows too much force, he'll crush himself first," Yu Ying thought silently.
But Zhao Xing didn't slow down after reaching that depth. In fact, he got faster.
That was because he had started using Blue Flower, Red Lotus, Azure Abyss, and Mystic Soul magic to boost himself.
Mystic Soul boosted his spirit flame. Azure Abyss strengthened his will. Red Lotus contained the Dao of destruction. Red Lotus embraced everything. With all these powers reinforcing him, Zhao Xing's progress below one hundred li became even quicker.
"After one hundred li, every additional hundred li is a new trial."
"He's probably nearing two hundred li already?" Yu Ying was stunned.
In just over half a year, he'd gone down two hundred li? Was that something an Eight Tribulation Emperor could really do?
"He's hit the Extreme Cold Vein now. This should stop him."
"You wait here. I'll go check on him." Venerable Lanchuan gave a quick order and turned into a streak of green smoke, diving into the ground.
Clearly, he was starting to worry about Zhao Xing's safety.
If someone this talented died underground, it would be a huge loss.
He had to go down himself—just in case Zhao Xing needed rescuing.
"Rumble~"
At two hundred li below, there was a lava lake.
Bubbles churned through the lava. Every pop felt like a star exploding, giving off powerful shockwaves.
Zhao Xing frowned as he stared.
This lava wasn't red. It was blue.
He didn't feel heat either. What he felt was a soul-chilling cold.
"Extreme Cold Vein," Zhao Xing took a deep breath. "Another one of the Thousand Earth Marvels."
"No wonder they say 'Reaching the limit of Profound Earth' lets you debate with Yu Shen and even earn a Dao Artifact. If all the later trials are on this level or worse, it'll take a god-king level Shennong to reach the end."
After observing for a while, Zhao Xing began thinking about how to solve it.
"Normally, if an earth vein is frozen, it doesn't flow like a river anymore. It becomes static and immovable."
"But here, the blue lava is boiling. That completely goes against natural law."
"I can barely sense any trace of metal, wood, earth, or fire essence. This marvel… even the Dao Records of Primordial Hill don't explain it clearly."
"I remember that the teacher of Meishan Venerable—Lan Shen—who founded the Life Earth Palace, once said that outside of brute force, the only way to shake the 'Frozen Flame Lake' was to use the 'Lazy Embryo Method' from Profound Earth techniques."
Lazy Embryo Method? That was connected to the Life Earth Palace and the technique Mustard Seed Mountain of Ultimate Land.
That technique could form a "Life Earth Palace," but training its second path, Titan Peak of Ultimate Land, was far more difficult.
The reason? Because forming a Life Earth Palace meant growing a new life inside it—it became a "lazy embryo."
The Lazy Embryo Method had been shuffled between the Profound Earth and Spirit Mountain systems. That was because the Earth-path had no solid theoretical foundation for it. Ironically, the Heavenly Timing's Mutation Techniques offered better support.
In nature, mutation causes lazy embryos to form. Everything about this method made it seem like it belonged to the Heavenly Timing.
But how could Primordial Hill admit that? The Life Earth Palace was their signature art. If they admitted Lazy Embryo Method was a Seasonal technique, it would undermine their entire foundation.
Was the tiny Heavenly Timing going to rise above the Earth-path? That would be rebellion!
So they absolutely refused to admit it. First, they shoved it into Spirit Mountain methods and forcefully added a poetic line: "The divine mountain may hold spirit; the lazy embryo gains creation."
Later they moved it into Profound Earth techniques—and just stopped explaining it altogether.
"When in doubt, throw it in Profound Earth." That was always the rule. It didn't need logic—just Earth-path flavor. Even with bugs, it still passed down through generations.
Zhao Xing also thought the technique should belong to the Mutation path. But Primordial Hill was dominant in the Xuanling Star Domain, while the Heavenly Timing was weak.
And in this star domain, the Heavenly Timing's Mutation branch could no longer transform objects—only living beings. If they couldn't use Lazy Embryo Method anymore, how could they claim it?
Pulling his thoughts back to the present, Zhao Xing quickly found a strategy.
"Lan Shen, Meishan's teacher, said the Lazy Embryo Method could break through. Was he suggesting I form an extreme-cold lazy embryo from this cold vein and use it to sneak through?"
Becoming a frozen flame lake himself was impossible. Mutation techniques split into Object Mutation and Spirit Mutation. And Object Mutation had been forgotten long ago.
"Turning into a cloud or sea? That stuff's all legends from the Heavenly Timing, divine-level tricks."
"I've cultivated the Life Earth Palace, but forming an ice embryo? That's hard."
The lazy embryo method from the Life Earth Palace used rare materials to form a spiritual embryo. It was very different from the lazy embryo methods in Mountain or Profound Earth arts.
"Hmm? Wait, I almost forgot—I know Rock God Transformation. I can try fusing the two methods."
The Heavenly Mutation Needle left behind by Bai Han Venerable included a series of Heavenly Timing spells. It was forged by a great cultivator using the laws of the Nine Marsh God, Rock Star God, Puluo God, and other innate spirits.
The Rock Star God was said to be a special lifeform from the cosmos, supposedly born from a divine embryo during the origin of the Source Realm.
Zhao Xing had already mastered the Nine Marsh God's Seasonal Mutation method. He also had first-level knowledge of the Rock Star God and Puluo God's techniques. Back on the fifth floating island of Polaris, both he and Chixiao Emperor had studied many Life-path diagrams.
"Let's give it a shot." Zhao Xing sat cross-legged.
He kept observing the Extreme Cold Flame Lake while trying to combine the spiritual embryo method from the Life Earth Palace with the first-level mutation method of the Rock Star God.
Venerable Lanchuan, seeing that Zhao Xing wasn't recklessly charging into danger, finally relaxed and held back from revealing himself.
Maybe he just didn't want to see a genius risk their life. Or maybe he already saw Zhao Xing as one of his own. The moment he first saw him, he felt a strange closeness. He really didn't want him getting hurt.
"Talented in both Dao and spells… If someone like him dies once, even if his spirit flame survives, it's a huge loss. I hope he knows when to stop." Lanchuan quietly watched from a layer of earth.
Time passed, and in a flash, eight years went by.
For those eight years, Zhao Xing never once attempted to cross the lake. He just focused on merging the two methods.
By the ninth year, Zhao Xing finally ended his calculations and flew upward.
"Did he give up?" Lanchuan saw Zhao Xing rising and thought he had backed down. But then—
"Whoosh!"
Just as Zhao Xing reached the top, he suddenly fell straight down. His protective barrier vanished, and his whole body dropped toward the lake.
"What?!"
Lanchuan's heart jumped, and he moved to save him.
But then he saw something surprising.
As soon as Zhao Xing's barrier vanished, a crystal-blue film formed around him.
It quickly solidified. Blue particles rose from below, surrounding Zhao Xing completely.
It seemed the Extreme Cold Vein had given up a sliver of its power, merging with Zhao Xing's spell to form a cocoon-like shield.
"This is a mutation method? Could he be a Heavenly Timing Shennong? But Seasonal Mutation cultivators in the mortal world usually follow the Xuantian Divine Sect. Is he one of their disciples?" Lanchuan paused mid-action.
"Rumble~"
Zhao Xing, encased in his embryo, sank into the blue magma lake.
Lanchuan stared hard. Zhao Xing's life force was nearly gone—but his spirit flame still burned.
The magma lake was only about fifty meters deep. Zhao Xing quickly passed through it and reached beyond the two hundred li depth mark.
"He really made it through!" Lanchuan was shocked. Through the lake, he watched the embryo descend deeper.
It ignored all pressure, headed straight for the three hundred li checkpoint.
Curious and impressed, Lanchuan followed at a distance.
At the three hundred li mark, Zhao Xing burst out of the embryo. He was completely intact, just looking a bit weathered.
"My Blue Flower magic is drained." He exhaled frosty breath. A spark of flame flashed on his body, warming him up.
"Another Thousand Earth Marvel already? It's the Earth Fiend Wind Cavern."
Just one look made his soul feel like it was getting blown away by ghost wind.
"I'm too weak to go further."
Zhao Xing wanted to try, but he knew it would be reckless—pushing further would be asking for death.
"Time to go back."
He reentered the embryo and began his ascent.
"Rumble~"
When he finally surfaced from the blue magma lake, Lanchuan was already waiting.
"I'm Earth Divine Officer Lanchuan. Shen Qi was my subordinate. I came here when I heard someone passed the Sky Patrol Guardian trial."
"Chen'an greets the Divine Officer," Zhao Xing said respectfully. He hadn't expected to meet a Divine Officer.
Any demi-god could potentially become a true god. Whether ninth rank or eighteenth, if they found the right opportunity, they could break through.
"I must ask, did you use the spiritual embryo method or an object mutation technique? Are you a disciple of the Xuantian Divine Sect?" Lanchuan looked intrigued.
Zhao Xing instantly grew wary.
He couldn't help it.
It meant Lanchuan had been watching him for a long time. And the first thing he asked was about his cultivation method.
It reminded him of the Free God Danye.
Danye had also seemed friendly and curious about Wei Tianchen, asking about his spells before trying to exploit him.
Still, Zhao Xing could only grit his teeth and answer. He trusted that Yushenzhou still had some order.
"It was the lazy embryo method."
"I'm not from the Xuantian Divine Sect. I just happened to inherit an ancient legacy and figured it out myself."
"You crossed the Cold Flame Lake using lazy embryo method?" Lanchuan nodded slightly, committing the detail to memory.
Seeing that Zhao Xing was on guard, he guessed the young man had likely suffered in some bad experience before, so he didn't press further.
"You've descended two hundred li. That meets the requirement for becoming a Sky Patrol Guardian."
"You passed the trial in my region, so for now you're under my authority. Come, I'll take you and Yu Ying to receive your divine power baptism."