The Great Zhou's migration plan hadn't even begun, but another power in the Xuanling Star Domain had already started theirs. In the 17th Star Era Year of the Third Era of the Barren Domain, the Great Elder Feng Chen of Scholar City announced they would move Scholar City to Primordial Hill.
Originally, Feng Chen's first choice was the Red Star Empire. Whether it was the environment, economy, or the sheer number of cultivators, it was far more convenient for scholars to carry out their research there. But with the Great Emperor absent, safety became an issue. The Primordial Realm had already suffered an artifact spirit attack—how could Scholar City be kept completely safe?
Origin Heaven Palace was his second choice, but its territory was too small and its control too strict. Scholars need room for research and experiments, and a cramped space just wouldn't do. So Feng Chen decided to move Scholar City to Primordial Hill.
"Primordial Hill has the Three Realms and Twelve Mountains, a vast area with guaranteed safety," he said. "Origin Heaven Palace already has enough on its plate dealing with the evil gods' attacks, so moving Scholar City to Primordial Hill for now is the best choice."
On Crystal Island, Venerable Hongshan conjured a clay figure to talk with Zhao Xing about important matters.
"Because the Era Worm problem isn't fully resolved yet, nobody dares use mechanist communications," Hongshan explained. "Different Dao soldier systems create different artifact spirit systems, and each ancient kingdom, demon clan, and major faction has inherited different mechanist traditions. Moving Scholar City to Primordial Hill is perfect for studying this problem."
"What's the situation like in Primordial Hill?" Zhao Xing asked.
"The impact is minimal," Hongshan said. "We don't usually rely on artifact spirits to control formations or barriers. The artifact spirits that rebelled were mainly tunneling shuttles, earth-boring ships, and similar Dao soldiers."
Zhao Xing nodded. In fact, the Shennong faction had little demand for mechanist Dao soldiers. In the Primordial Realm, when Zhao Xing attended the Origin Assembly, he used Instant Flowers and Void Vines for travel, and studied secret arts like the Three Thousand Dao Seeds and the Origin Dao Canon engraved at the base of the Origin God Tree.
If it hadn't been for the Great Emperor's mechanist experiments with Red Star Heavenly Soldiers and Daluo Divine Soldiers, the Primordial Realm's systems wouldn't have had these widespread artifact spirit issues. Even if artifact spirits did rebel, it would only affect individual Dao soldiers, not the entire system—certainly not enough to destroy Haizao City. Haizao City was destroyed specifically because of the Great Emperor's powerful mechanist Dao soldiers.
In Primordial Hill, without a mechanist god-king on the level of the Great Emperor, something like what happened in the Primordial Realm just couldn't happen.
"The Three Realms and Twelve Mountains have plenty of artifacts, but the stronger artifact spirits there mostly belong to the ancient sages of Primordial Hill," Hongshan added. "They aren't like the Great Emperor's mass-produced, systematized artifact spirits."
Zhao Xing nodded in understanding. The Empire's mechanist artifact spirits were organized in a hierarchical system. For example, the Daryan Divine Weapon artifact spirits at the Empire's core could directly command frontline defenses like the Desperate Great Wall, the Four Seasons Heaven Pass, and the Demon-Suppressing Pass. The name Daryan Divine Weapon itself highlighted the Great Emperor's mechanist god-path.
The Era Worm hadn't invaded the Daryan Divine Weapon directly from the start. It first affected the sub-spirits, not the main one. By contrast, Primordial Hill's artifacts were more like the old man of the Sackcloth Divination, who seemed to have no rigid rules to follow, doing as he pleased and changing his attitude depending on his master.
"Senior, why did you come here?" Zhao Xing asked.
"The Great Emperor is gone, and the Empire's safety has dropped significantly," Hongshan said. "Primordial Hill wants you to return and not stay in the Empire for now."
"Senior Gu has already advanced to God General level, and the Primordial Realm still has the Origin God Tree—" Zhao Xing began.
Hongshan shook his head. "Now that he's a God General, he has even more responsibilities and probably won't have time to look after you. Besides, staying with him is more dangerous. Sending you to Primordial Hill was also his decision."
After all, the Era Worm-controlled Daluo Heavenly Soldiers attacked Gu Luohe first, proving he was a priority target. Zhao Xing felt a wave of gratitude—those loyal to the local faction always remembered their 'roving holy son.'
"When should I leave?" Zhao Xing asked.
"The sooner, the better."
In the last solar year of the Luohuang Era, the 1,043rd Star Era Year, a unique time-space territory—Frost Island—was active.
Eight green rivers surged, rising in waves from eight blue voids on the island, twisting upward into the empty space. Around the voids stood mountain ranges made of piled-up books.
In the green rivers shone 48,000 bright dots like tiny suns. These looked like fixed anchors—though the rivers flowed, the suns remained steady at the center.
Eight insect beasts roared through the rivers, leaping between glowing points. Each time they crossed a point, more figures joined them, gathering around the insects. Each insect beast and its surrounding figures had a different destination, but most pointed to a clear time-space location: the first solar year of the Third Era of the Barren Domain.
The rivers flowed, yet everything on the island stayed perfectly still: flowers, grass, trees, and even people. Until one moment when the only two remaining figures on the island moved.
One figure lifted his gaze, and as his eyes fell, the green rivers shrank sharply.
"Why did only five divine worms reach the Third Era of the Barren Domain?" one of them asked. "And why did the one sent to Red Star die so early?"
A woman shrouded in pale blue light, with a ruby crown atop her silver hair and snow-white skin like an ice queen, spoke coldly.
"Xueqing, don't waste time. Send another divine worm," said the other figure, an obese man sitting cross-legged, who extended his hand to reveal a squirming worm like an earthworm.
"Ziyin, don't rush," Xueqing replied calmly, not reaching for it. "I haven't decided who to send to Primordial Hill yet."
"Send the Earth Divine Officer Kuangchuan. He's from Primordial Hill anyway."
"Kuangchuan?" Xueqing muttered, pulling a book from the air filled with names. Her eyes settled on one in particular.
"Kuangchuan, sixteenth-order half-god. Formerly the Guardian of the Dizang Division at Dream River Mountain of Primordial Hill. Recruited during the seventh era of the Barren Domain at the Ancient Underworld Mountain."
"Why send him?" Xueqing asked curiously.
"By the will of the God King of Books," God General Ziyin replied. "The battle for Mountain Head in Primordial Hill is about to begin, and he's the only one likely to defeat the other contenders."
"I see." Xueqing nodded and sat down. An ancient zither appeared on her knees, its music flowing. God General Ziyin flicked the insect beast in his hand into the air, and it fell into the green river. A figure appeared in the river, cupping his hands respectfully toward Ziyin and Xueqing before lying down on the insect beast's back.
In the 25th Star Era Year of the Third Era of the Barren Domain, after Zhao Xing finished arranging the Great Zhou's migration, he personally headed to Primordial Hill. He left just three avatars in the Empire as teleportation waypoints. The rest of his avatars were recalled and went with him to Primordial Hill.
In the 34th year, Zhao Xing and Venerable Hongshan took on the mission of escorting one of the Scholar City relocation convoys. As two powerful half-gods, they were tasked with ensuring the safety of one of these moving teams.
Since Scholar City was relocating entirely—not just people but entire cities, lands, palaces, and artifacts—the operation was enormous. Most of these things couldn't withstand spatial distortion and couldn't be stored in inner worlds or storage rings. For instance, the Divine World-Transmitting Tower was a powerful space-time and causality artifact that couldn't fit inside another artifact.
There was also the enormous "Enlightenment Realm" built by generations of Scholar City sages, which had to be moved physically at the manifest layer. Otherwise, it would suffer irreparable damage.
Plus, reading scriptures on the way was a good chance to boost favor with the scholars and earn contribution points—why not? Zhao Xing's contribution reward from the Old Qing's warning event hadn't arrived yet, so any extra points were welcome.
So Zhao Xing accepted the escort mission.
In the 52nd year, Scholar City suffered an attack. Primordial Hill had dispatched a God General and two divine-soldier-level experts to escort the World-Transmitting Tower. While passing through the Purple Xuan Ancient Kingdom—bordering the Black Sky Barren Domain—they were ambushed by seven evil gods leading large numbers of cultists.
Though Primordial Hill's God General repelled the evil gods and foiled the ambush, around 3,000 scholars were injured or killed. That same year, in May, July, and September, attacks became frequent. With the Era Worm crisis ongoing, nations still in chaos, and repeated time-space shocks, Primordial Hill had to bolster security to keep the relocation going.
Maybe it was luck, or maybe Zhao Xing's assigned targets weren't valuable enough—he completed eight escort runs in a row without any incidents or attacks.
In the 53rd year, a massive time-space shock triggered the most severe assault yet. This time, it happened to the convoy Zhao Xing and Venerable Hongshan were protecting.
In mid-July, Zhao Xing and Hongshan were escorting the 46th partial relocation of Scholar City. This convoy included one of Scholar City's Nine Scripture Pavilions, a segment of the Enlightenment Realm, and the colossal Seventh Dharma Realm. The massive fleet of realm ships was dragging a pavilion, a glowing transparent barrier with countless flying books, and an invisible structure hidden in the ninth manifest layer, bound by nine chains.
That day, Zhao Xing was in the Medical Scripture Pavilion of the Nine Scripture Pavilion reading when his brow started twitching—something bad was coming. He immediately set his book down, walked outside, and scanned the fleet ahead, behind, and to the sides.
At the same time, Venerable Hongshan flew out from another realm ship. "You felt it too?" he asked. Hongshan was already in his eight-armed demon god form—a sign of his Extreme Land Giant God style, also called the Martial Shennong lineage. Since he'd already activated the Demon God Earth Transformation Technique, he clearly sensed danger as well. Zhao Xing remembered the last time he'd seen Hongshan transform was when they were trapped in Overlapping Realm Mountain.
"Yeah, something's off," Zhao Xing said, donning his Temporal Grain Rain Robe and pulling out the Heavenly Transformation Divine Needle.
"You take the bow, I'll take the stern. Let's split up and check," Hongshan ordered, flying past the Nine Scripture Pavilion toward the back of the convoy.
Zhao Xing summoned numerous Primordial avatars to guard the Seventh Dharma Realm, the Enlightenment Realm, and the Nine Scripture Pavilion. Then his main body began a careful search ship by ship.
Not long after they set off, a group led by Seven-Realm Scholar Yan Chuan—eight elders from Scholar City—suddenly arrived in the Nine Scripture Pavilion's area. One of Zhao Xing's avatars immediately sensed something wrong. "Elder Yan, what's the matter?"
Yan Chuan didn't answer. His and the other seven elders' eyes burned with grief and rage. In the next instant, their auras changed drastically—murderous intent exploded.
Zhao Xing's pupils contracted. When scholars break their innate constraints, their aura shifts dramatically. After the Bowe incident, the upper limit of scholars' power had increased sharply. A Seven-Realm Scholar was already half-god level; Yan Chuan himself was at the eleventh order, and the other seven were all at eighth-order emperor level. Once they actively released their restraints, their power surged on Zhao Xing's status panel, but their lifespans plummeted.
In the end, Yan Chuan's true spirit strength soared to the fourteenth order, and the seven behind him reached the thirteenth order. "Elder Yan! Stop! What are you doing? Have you forgotten me, forgotten the purpose of this mission?"
"Zhao Xing, you helped Primordial Hill and Origin Heaven Palace split up Scholar City's assets, and you dare ask why?" Yan Chuan's eyes were cold as ice. "For generations, Scholar City has bled to nurture talent for the human race, yet you killed Elder Bowe and tampered with the Following Dao Plan."
"And now, you even plan to divide up Scholar City itself!"
"You—"
Zhao Xing instantly understood that Yan Chuan and the seven Scholar City elders had chaotic time-space memories. In Yan Chuan's eyes, Zhao Xing had become the lackey of superpowers, and Primordial Hill's help in relocating Scholar City was twisted into these superpowers trying to carve up the city.
"Shua—" Venerable Hongshan appeared. Seeing Yan Chuan's group radiating terrifying auras, his face changed. Scholars were usually gentle, but once they decided to burn their lives in a last stand, they became the most fearsome of all.
These eight had survived three calamities and grown unimaginably strong. Zhao Xing stared at their stats as numbers changed nonstop: Ten-Thousand-Eight-Thousand Extremes Golden Body; Seven Life Palaces; Nine-Revolutions Zither Heart; Infinite Sword Courage; Eight-Revolutions Spirit Veins; Boundless Wandering God Palace; Mother Core Nurturing; Chronicle River; Medical Classics of the Green Satchel.
Northern Wind Hundred Rivers Array, Fate Tribulation Art, Eight-String Divine Technique, Heaven-Earth Sword Art, Reincarnation Altar (Void Version), Beast Spirit Transformation, Taiyi Heavenly Poison Pill Art—
Every one of them had a top-tier, versatile build.
When Yan Chuan drew his longsword, Zhao Xing couldn't help but take a step back. He wasn't afraid of scholars cursing—he was afraid of scholars pulling out weapons. When a scholar picked up something other than a book, it meant they intended to kill, and their combat power peaked.
"Hongshan Seal, go!" Venerable Hongshan knew these people couldn't be saved or reasoned with. Unless the Xuanling Chronicles could be brought here immediately to fix their memories, there was nothing to be done.
Yan Chuan's group would rather shatter themselves than hand the Nine Scripture Pavilion to Primordial Hill. Yan Chuan's longsword swept out, aiming straight for Hongshan's life-bound Dao soldier.
"Clang!" The mountain seal collided with the sword tip, thunderously loud. The pale blue sword glinted with chilling light, forming an icy plane in midair. Frost began to spread from the sword across the base of Hongshan's mountain seal, jamming the heavy earth veins. The sword was tiny compared to the massive mountain, but the seal couldn't press down—Yan Chuan alone was stopping Hongshan.
"Freaking insane!" Zhao Xing cursed under his breath. He knew he had to go all-out.
"Pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu—" The Heavenly Transformation Divine Needles plunged into his body, instantly completing his transformation. Over a hundred Primordial Straw Puppets blocked the Medical Scripture Pavilion entrance, intercepting the seven other elders. But Zhao Xing kept his main focus on Yan Chuan—the real threat.
"World-Scorching Divine Eyes!" His eyes reflected Yan Chuan's image as two fiery beams shot toward him. The dark void split under the burning lines, twisting space and cutting off escape routes. Yan Chuan raised his hands, and black torrents swirled at his feet as streams of void wind appeared.
"Northern Wind Hundred Rivers Array? No, this is the Northern Wind River God Array!" Zhao Xing realized Yan Chuan had an inner world containing experimental heavy water—a Shennong trick. Forming rivers of heavy water into an array was a mechanist's formation art, and the void winds weren't his own but borrowed, another priestly technique.
Above the hundred black rivers appeared a godly phantom—likely the evil god Yan Chuan now believed in due to his corrupted memories. Yan Chuan ignored the twin fiery lines headed his way, even though they carried fourteenth-order peak power.
"Shu-shu—" The two lines of world-scorching fire pierced the void, but entering the Northern Wind River God Array, their might was rapidly weakened and the essence of fire twisted. After shattering a hundred river god phantoms, their power dropped below tenth order.
"Buzz—" Yan Chuan's simple scholar robe burned away, but golden light burst forth: the Reincarnation Golden Body of the Ancient Ancestor, directly nullifying the attack.
'He's basically invincible right now… wait, what's he doing?' Zhao Xing's eyes widened. Yan Chuan rose into the air, robe fluttering, while the seven elders stopped attacking Zhao Xing's puppets and formed heavy defensive barriers around him, protecting his casting.
Yan Chuan's fingers plucked the air. Nothing seemed to happen, but Zhao Xing's Grand Sun Sea sensed something wrong—nearby stars were moving fast. The sun stars, along with yin stars and surrounding realm stars, rotated, beams of light linking them into huge shimmering veils.
"Heavenly stars as strings, life palaces as musical scales… it's the Fate Tribulation Art!" Yan Chuan was using the yin-yang stars as a foundation to play the five tones and twelve divine notes—a perfect blend of priest, fate master, and musician daos. This piece was called "Fate Tribulation."
Its ultimate purpose was to harness vast stretches of the cosmos and create a tribulation field—once the song ended, everyone within range would be forced into their next True Spirit Tribulation!
Zhao Xing recognized the piece immediately—it was a divine musician's ultimate art, the "Funeral Requiem." 'Damn it, Yan Chuan wants to send both me and Hongshan to our deaths,' he thought. 'I knew the priestly dao needed to be cut down!'
He felt himself and Hongshan being placed on a cosmic sacrificial altar. Once the piece finished, both would involuntarily trigger their next tribulation. Though the music was soundless, Hongshan's nerves were taut, fully aware of the looming threat.
"Haah!" Hongshan roared, his eight demon god arms swinging in blurring shadows, each arm brimming with unique demonic powers. The storm of afterimages battered the formation barriers relentlessly.
"Pu-pu-pu-pu-pu—" Blood sprayed from the seven elders. Old Hong was still a veteran mountain master—he had real strength. But it wasn't quite enough to break through the defensive array.
Yan Chuan was multitasking, using a mental will technique to disrupt Hongshan's spellcasting and weaken his power, while simultaneously controlling his flying sword in a clash with Hongshan's mountain seal. Even though the seven scholars coughed up blood under the pressure, it didn't stop Yan Chuan's playing.
Zhao Xing pulled back all his avatars into his main body and stood motionless on the steps before the Medical Scripture Pavilion. But he wasn't giving up—he was waiting. He waited for Yan Chuan to pour every bit of remaining life and energy into finishing this piece, leaving him no time to launch another attack.
When the song reached halfway, Zhao Xing closed his eyes. The blazing ocean within his Grand Sun Body churned, reflecting every star of the Sacred Wing Ancient Kingdom. Yan Chuan had many techniques, but he didn't have a heavenly timing secret art.
Zhao Xing's Grand Sun Body began trembling, his endless sea boiling as countless stars started to quake. A new rhythm of vibration wove itself into the song—Zhao Xing began to seize control of the yin-yang twin stars using the heavenly timing art.
"Clink!" Yan Chuan's fingers danced faster, his body trembling, his notes falling into chaos. By the time the piece was two-thirds done, the melody was a total mess.
"Boom!" In the distance, countless barren planets exploded and collided, their lights going out like fireworks in space. Yan Chuan's fingers shattered piece by piece as he looked up at Zhao Xing in disbelief.
"You… how did you do it?" In his last moments, Yan Chuan's nature as a scholar showed—he couldn't help asking, eyes full of curiosity.
"Heavenly timing art," Zhao Xing answered, fulfilling Yan Chuan's final wish.
"Zhao Xing, your talent in magic is extraordinary, your two treatises astonishing—but why would you help them destroy Scholar City?" Yan Chuan stood shakily, tears in his eyes, asking the question that pierced the soul.
As soon as he spoke, he and the seven Scholar City elders turned to dust, their essence carried away by void winds, scattering across the universe.
"Sigh…" Zhao Xing let out a deep breath. Back during the Star-Obliterating Assembly, Yan Chuan had been there as a witness. He remembered Zhao Xing, and he remembered those events—but somewhere along the way, some crucial memories had warped, twisting his understanding.
Recognition is built from countless life experiences; when memories twist, so does understanding. Yan Chuan remembered him, but not that it was Elder Feng Chen who ordered Scholar City's move. He couldn't tell right from wrong.
"I wonder how many more will have their memories warped, their understanding confused during these time-space shocks," Zhao Xing sighed again. It was clear that scholars like Yan Chuan were targeted by the evil gods, proven by the River God he had just summoned.
There was no time for grief. Zhao Xing immediately started scanning every person in the fleet for cognitive distortions. He soon found 14 lord-level scholars with severe memory confusion. To prevent another tragedy, Zhao Xing sealed them with his power and used the Dream Enchantment Art to put them into deep sleep.
After several careful checks, Zhao Xing and Venerable Hongshan finally sat down together again. They stayed silent for a long time until Hongshan spoke: "Zhao Xing, check me with your cognitive recognition."
"Dream River God General won't make it here soon—he's busy; the convoy escorting the Myriad Dao Tree was attacked."
The Myriad Dao Tree, like the Nine Scripture Pavilion, was one of Scholar City's greatest treasures. Both had protective functions similar to the Xuanling Chronicles, though on a much smaller scale, only shielding classic texts inside the pavilions and the originators of Dao writings.
This attack on the Myriad Dao Tree and Nine Scripture Pavilion was far more targeted than the prior broad assaults, aiming directly at the elites of humanity in the current era.
Zhao Xing raised his hand, summoning a water screen filled with flowing images to begin a cognitive check on Venerable Hongshan, asking about the Dream River God General's situation at the same time.
"The Myriad Dao Tree wasn't taken, was it?"
"No," Hongshan shook his head. "Dream River God General is a Free God of the path of the mind, on par with the empire's Mind God General Qiluo. My grand-uncle excels at defense, while Qiluo is an expert in offense."
"An evil god trying to muddle memories internally would find it nearly impossible against someone like him."
Zhao Xing relaxed. If the Myriad Dao Tree had been lost, it would've been a disaster—wiping the imprints on it could set the human cultivation system of the Xuanling Star Domain back by ages.
It wasn't about whether there were backups. Erasing imprints through the Myriad Dao Tree would be like when the Moon Palace Lord used the Xuanling Chronicles to block the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom incident and sever the Sacrificial Dao, causing countless techniques and theories to be forgotten.
Battles between gods weren't about killing as many as possible. Kill too many, and as long as there wasn't total annihilation, the divine realms of the Wasteland Epoch would soon raise new strong cultivators.
At its core, the fight between righteous gods and evil gods was always about faith—about transforming ideas and beliefs. Some evil gods used violent means, like the River God just now; others were more subtle, like the Immeasurable True God, who had shown no signs of action or instructions in over fifty years.
"All done, you're clear," Zhao Xing quickly finished checking Venerable Hongshan.
"Your turn to check me now."
"No need," Hongshan waved him off. "Your two treatises are carved into the Dao Tree, and since the tree hasn't been lost, if even you suffer memory chaos and cognitive distortion, then this era has no hope—better to let it all end right there."
Zhao Xing nodded. Having his writings etched on the Dao Tree offered powerful protection. The Xuanling Chronicles safeguarded the entire domain, while the Myriad Dao Tree protected the elite—clearly, their power levels were in different leagues.
The fleet of realm ships kept moving, leaving the Sacred Wing Ancient Kingdom. As they entered the territory of the Primordial Hill, Zhao Xing's Star Mirror flashed with a new update. It showed the escort mission had succeeded, confirming the safe arrival of the Medical Scripture Pavilion, the Enlightenment Realm, and the Seventh Law Realm.
He earned about 30 contribution points.
[Name: Zhao Xing]
[Cultivation: Twelfth Tribulation Half-God]
[Occupation: Shennong]
[Identity: Primordial Envoy/Primordial Hill Envoy]
[Total Contribution: 2,652,300]
[Remaining Contribution: 651,350]
[Contribution Rank: 78,546]
At this point, the Star Mirror had recovered some functions, and a half-god of Zhao Xing's level could use it safely again. But places like the City of Minds were still inaccessible. Exchanges in the Xuanling Treasury worked, but delivery was slow.
As for the reward for the early warning on the Chrono Bugs, it hadn't been issued yet. From his experience, Zhao Xing knew the higher-ups would wait until the crisis was over to evaluate everything before handing out rewards.
"Hahaha! What wonderful news!" Venerable Hongshan burst into Zhao Xing's room, looking thrilled.
"What news?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Hahaha! Venerable Kuangchuan has returned!" Hongshan laughed heartily.
"Venerable Kuangchuan?" Zhao Xing was puzzled.
"Venerable Kuangchuan is the eldest disciple of the Dream River Mountain line, the top disciple of Dream River God General himself," Hongshan explained. "In our generation, he was the brightest star. If he hadn't vanished, Venerable Meishan would never have become Mountain Head."
"But after the seventh epoch of the previous Wasteland Era, he went missing during a mission exploring the Black Heaven Barren Domain. Everyone thought he'd died."
"So he's been missing for nine epochs?" Zhao Xing's expression darkened. Instead of sharing Hongshan's joy, he felt wary. "Senior Hongshan, don't you think something's off about this?"
Hongshan shook his head. "I just found out Kuangchuan returned fifteen years ago. Since then, he went through investigations by three God Generals, and passed every one—there's nothing wrong."
"In that case, it really is good news." Zhao Xing forced a smile. He dropped the matter—since even the gods approved, there was no point worrying.
"Kuangchuan discovered the existence of Minggu Mountain. His mission had been to search for that legendary First Great Mountain," Hongshan continued excitedly. "Venerable Lushan said Kuangchuan even brought back soil from Minggu Mountain, and a complete Minggu Earth Vein."
Zhao Xing's brows lifted. Minggu Mountain was said to be the greatest mountain in the known universe, but it was always a myth. To think someone really found it—and even brought back an earth vein! Kuangchuan's merit was immense.
"Right now, Kuangchuan is in seclusion, writing the Minggu Mountain Treatise," Hongshan said, almost glowing with excitement. "Our Primordial Hill is truly blessed by the Land's Favor—first your theory on the Stratified Boundary Mountain's earth changes, and now Kuangchuan's discovery of Minggu Mountain—"
Zhao Xing shared Hongshan's joy for a bit but soon found an excuse to leave.
"Swish, swish—"
With a few rapid space jumps, Zhao Xing slipped into the Ancient Dao Layer. A white jade Five Tombs Ship floated amidst stormy origin forces there, and Zhao Xing entered a chamber where a statue of the Immeasurable True God stood.
Compared to the small figurine he first got from Fairy Nifeng, this statue had grown much larger. Its surface glowed red—Immeasurable True God was sending a divine message.
"So it comes just like that. Seems even Immeasurable True God can't sit still," Zhao Xing muttered. "But I haven't completed my second-ring mission yet. What's going on now?"
He put on the Enlightenment Golden Circlet and stepped inside. He lit incense, prayed, and bowed deeply, chanting, "Your servant respectfully invites the True God to manifest."
"Whoosh—"
A red light ignited in the incense burner before the statue, and from the flame emerged a face.
"Zhao Xing, what era are you in now?" the Immeasurable True God asked.
Zhao Xing hesitated. Could it be that the statue's power was weaker than a true incarnation, unable to sense time accurately?
"Replying to True God: I am in the fifty-third Star Year of the Third Epoch of the Wasteland Era."
"Oh, still on time," the True God replied. "I thought you'd already claimed your Chrono Bug extermination reward and left for another time-space trial."
"True God knows about my situation?" Zhao Xing's eyes widened.
"Haha!" the Immeasurable True God laughed heartily. "Qing Yunzi's audacious scheme of deceiving heaven, posing as a divine general under the Unwritten God King to steal classified information—it's already reached the eighth solar year of the Luohuang Era."
"His name now resounds across endless time-spaces. What god wouldn't know?"
Zhao Xing's heart shook. So that's how Old Qing's intel came—he was crazy enough to pull this off? He'd once stolen the Divine Spirit Tablet from the shrine, and now he'd nabbed top secrets again.
"His name shakes endless time-spaces…" Zhao Xing felt a mix of admiration and jealousy. "Old Qing's sneaky nature hasn't changed—Qing Yuzi? More like 'God Thief Qing'."
"But fame comes with a price," the True God said seriously. "Qing Yunzi may rival a God General in some ways, but he's still just a God Soldier. His strength is limited…"
Immeasurable True God sighed, "He's famous now, but the hunts on him are fierce. He's like a stray dog, running for his life. Whether he survives is uncertain."
"Zhao Xing, don't contact him again, or you might get dragged in."
Hearing this, Zhao Xing remembered when Old Qing's statue shattered with tears. So he really was beaten until he cried!
"Thank you for the warning, True God. I'll remember it!" Zhao Xing said respectfully.
He'd remember it, but whether he'd actually follow it was another matter. Still, he was surprised Immeasurable True God cared enough to risk delivering this reminder personally.
But Zhao Xing was wrong. The True God had only mentioned Qing Yunzi in passing—he actually had a mission to give.
"Zhao Xing, the Mountain Head Contest of the Primordial Hill will happen much sooner than expected," said Immeasurable True God. "I want you to seize the position of Mountain Head. Don't let that authority fall into others' hands."
Zhao Xing was stunned. The Mountain Head Contest wasn't supposed to happen for another 3,000–4,000 years—how could it be moved up?
Originally, he planned to rely on rewards from the early-warning incident, which would net him over 100 million contribution points. He wasn't that interested in the Mountain Head position. But with the True God's words, his curiosity was piqued.
Yet he couldn't understand why Immeasurable True God cared about him winning Mountain Head.
"True God, my strength is limited. I might not be able to win," Zhao Xing said tactfully, fishing for more benefits.
"Your strength is indeed lacking," the True God admitted. "So do this: find time to go to the Black Heaven Barren Domain. Summon my divine incarnation there, and I will grant you a fortuitous opportunity."
"Your servant obeys," Zhao Xing replied immediately. Since he was undercover anyway, taking the gift was no problem—he had nothing to hide.
"What level of success do you expect of me?" Zhao Xing asked, pressing for details.
"If you can win Mountain Head, that's best," said Immeasurable True God. "Each Mountain Head gains entry to the Primordial Realm, the Primordial Realm, and the Manifestation Realm. They also wield the three great artifacts of the Primordial Hill."
"I want you to win so I can glimpse the power of those artifacts. I am a Formation God General who proves my Dao through arrays, and these artifacts would benefit my path."
"If you let me see them, I will reward you generously."
Zhao Xing was surprised the True God revealed his true motive so openly. 'For an "evil god," he's unbelievably forthright,' Zhao Xing thought.
"True God, if I can't win, what should I do?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Then make sure Kuangchuan doesn't become Mountain Head either," the True God replied.
"Kuangchuan?" Zhao Xing's heart skipped a beat. "True God, do you mean there's something wrong with Venerable Kuangchuan?"
That confused him. If Kuangchuan had issues, wasn't he still part of the old faction? Why would the True God want him stopped?
"Hmph. Not every being from the past is like me—a righteous god," Immeasurable True God said coldly. "Some pretend to be righteous but actually follow twisted anti-righteous doctrines. They are worse than ignorant evil gods."
Hearing this, Zhao Xing started to understand. Even in past time periods, different factions existed and opposed each other.
No wonder the Wasteland Era's faction survived despite being weaker—they benefited from divisions among their enemies.
In the present, forces like the Xuanling Star Domain, Red Star Emperor, Moon Palace Lord, and Reincarnation Temple all shared aligned ideals and coordinated. The Xuanling Treasury was proof—without like minds, how could they build such a vault?
But in the past, though stronger, the factions were fractured and fought each other, giving the Wasteland Era's alliance breathing room.
"If you can win Mountain Head, eliminate Kuangchuan," the True God ordered. "If you can't win, you must still eliminate Kuangchuan."
"In short: Kuangchuan must die."
With that, the flames went out.
As Zhao Xing walked out of the temple, he couldn't help but click his tongue. "What did Kuangchuan and his backer do to anger the True God this much?"
"Whether I win or lose, he has no way out."
Zhao Xing couldn't figure it out but was deeply shocked. At last, the True God's demand felt like something an evil god would say.
"No matter what Kuangchuan really is, since he's aligned with a god even Immeasurable True God despises, he probably doesn't belong in this era either," Zhao Xing thought. "But I'd better first check if I can even beat him."
For now, he decided not to collect the True God's promised gift until he could confirm Kuangchuan's strength using his panel.
When Zhao Xing returned to the region near Grain God Star and finished the escort mission, a figure emerged from the soil—it was Lord Lushan.
"Zhao Xing, your avatar in Meishan just left seclusion. You can go retrieve it now."
"Oh? Out already?" Zhao Xing was overjoyed. His Primordial Avatar had studied in Meishan for 3,000 years—"I wonder what absolute arts of the Primordial Hill it's mastered."
"Once I merge the split soul, everything it learned will become mine."
Without delay, Zhao Xing activated Earth Escape and followed Lord Lushan through the layers of space.