Chapter 268: Meeting Lord Tianyan, Top Secret Techniques and Four Treasures

Zhao Xing never ignored any anomaly. At this moment, he felt his heart thump with a premonition, so he immediately closed his eyes and began to enter a dream.

"Convergence of Three Souls!"

In Zhao Xing's dream, a blurry figure immediately appeared, looking exactly like him, though its form was dim and flickered unsteadily.

The so-called Convergence of Three Souls refers to the gathering of the Life Soul, the Heavenly Soul (Reincarnation Soul), and the Earthly Soul (Karma Soul).

The Heavenly Soul had already taken residence in the Great Zhou's temple, so only the Karma Soul was gathered now. Of course, even if it hadn't resided in the temple, the Heavenly Soul couldn't have been seen before.

The Karma Soul was only dim for a fleeting moment, then it returned to normal and slowly faded away. However, Zhao Xing knew he was definitely being schemed against.

He opened his eyes and used the Five-Finger Heaven's Mandate to divine his fortune, finding that the next three months would be auspicious.

"The Karma Soul warned me, but the Five-Finger Heaven's Mandate divination shows good fortune. Either the opponent's cultivation level is higher than mine, obscuring heavenly secrets, or I made a mistake in my divination."

"Better safe than sorry," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "I should still be cautious and prepare more."

He had the Myriad Laws Clone, but it wasn't immortal.

A third-rank Primordial Soul Realm cultivator could distinguish between his main body and his clone.

If one cultivated soul-type secret arts, such as Curse Killing Arts, encountering a clone could allow them to influence the main body by following the clone's Life Soul power.

Of course, this added a layer of indirection, making it less effective than directly attacking the main body.

"I must guard against this," Zhao Xing thought. "After I meet this person, I'll go to the Great Dream Academy and ask that silly bird if it can get me a seventh-tier soul armor."

"I previously divined that the 30th year of Jingxin Era would be a tumultuous autumn. Now, even Liu Tianning has come to the East Sea on official business, so I've probably been targeted for a while."

"It's just that I either stay in one place with the princess, or my main body's location is unknown, so they probably haven't found a good opportunity until now."

Now that he had a premonition, it proved that the hidden enemy was already making preparations, having at least found a feasible method.

"I need to increase my strength quickly and have more trump cards," Zhao Xing mused.

He was currently resting at an inn in Chongming Prefecture. Logically, a prefecture-level area should offer enough security.

But Zhao Xing now had a feeling that enemies were everywhere.

"Buzz."

Suddenly, Zhao Xing's Earth Mirror received a message.

King Tianyan: Zhao Xing, come to Chongming Prefecture Temple. Remember, your main body must come.

Seeing this message, Zhao Xing was taken aback.

King Tianyan specifically told my main body to go?

"Could it be a fake message?"

However, Zhao Xing immediately dismissed this guess.

First, tampering with Earth Mirror messages was incredibly difficult.

Second, Chongming Prefecture Temple was a prefecture-level temple. Unless King Liang revolted now and the entire Chongming Prefecture betrayed the dynasty, it would be impossible to make a move in such a place.

"I must be too nervous," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

Still, why did King Tianyan specifically add that his main body must go?

Carrying his doubts, Zhao Xing still set off for Chongming Prefecture Temple.

After entering the temple, King Tianyan sent him several more messages.

Following King Tianyan's guidance, Zhao Xing arrived at the southeastern district of Chongming Prefecture Temple, specifically the 'Hall of True Monarch Wu Cheng.'

This hall enshrined Wu Cheng, the Founding Duke, and also the Great Zhou's first Grand Minister of Agriculture.

After entering the hall, Zhao Xing bowed. A priest appeared and led him to a side hall.

Then, they passed through the back hall of the side hall, arriving at an underground secret chamber.

"Please enter," the priest said, pointing to the entrance of the underground secret chamber.

"Excuse me, sir, what is this place?" Zhao Xing asked.

"I don't know. I was just ordered to bring you here."

"Whose orders?"

"You should know, but don't tell me. This is a high-level passage that leads to many places."

Zhao Xing nodded and descended the steps.

As soon as he descended the steps, the secret chamber door closed. Zhao Xing looked back; the surroundings were perfectly sealed and incredibly smooth.

Zhao Xing looked at the interior decor. It appeared simple, but every inch of brick and every wall concealed profound mysteries, containing top-tier formations.

"Escape techniques are disabled, Heaven's Eye spells are disabled, and even Pure Origin Projection cannot be used," Zhao Xing observed his surroundings.

In the center of the underground secret chamber was a shimmering gate, though it was only three meters high and two meters wide.

Zhao Xing took one look and immediately felt relieved.

Because the characters 'Tianyan' were inscribed on the gate.

"So it's a secret entrance to the military realm, a high-level passage belonging to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion."

"This should lead directly to the official institution under King Tianyan's control."

At this moment, the gate's frame suddenly lit up, and a voice sounded.

"Zhao Xing, come in."

Hearing King Tianyan's voice, Zhao Xing dispelled his doubts.

"Yes," Zhao Xing replied, stepping through the shimmering gate.

Stepping out of the shimmering gate, the world before him suddenly opened up.

Ahead was a long corridor of formations, with many doorframes standing on either side.

The reason they were called doorframes was that some only had frames and did not emit light.

Many passages were not active.

Zhao Xing looked back and saw that the door he had come through stood at the base of a divine statue, which was precisely Wu Cheng.

He cupped his hands again towards Wu Cheng. After turning around, he saw King Tianyan appear behind him.

Appearing and disappearing like a ghost, he walked without a sound.

"Greetings, King Tianyan," Zhao Xing saluted.

"You seem a little nervous." King Tianyan was slightly plump with a typically round face, and his smile made people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

This greatly alleviated Zhao Xing's nervousness.

"This is my first time in such a place," Zhao Xing chose to say honestly. "Additionally, I've had a premonition recently, a feeling that someone is scheming against me."

King Tianyan nodded. "This was also within my expectations. You are young and already proficient in three schools of spells, and you performed exceptionally well in the Dragon Court Ancient Land qualification competition. Although the Heavenly Secret Pavilion has concealed your abilities for you, given the current situation, it's inevitable that petty individuals will covet you."

Zhao Xing was already outstanding; this had been evident since the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven and the Pacifying Barbarian Battlefield.

No matter how much they concealed it, he would still be targeted.

"This is already the result of concealment; if there had been no concealment at all, it would likely be even more severe," King Tianyan said, waving his hand to signal Zhao Xing to follow.

Zhao Xing obediently followed King Tianyan, half a step behind, listening as he spoke.

"In this qualification competition, your true ranking was 78th," King Tianyan stated.

That high? Zhao Xing hadn't quite expected it.

"At the end of the third stage, you were first. At the end of the fourth stage, you were thirteenth."

"Before entering the fifth stage, your ranking was shockingly high, and you were only at the fifth rank. If we hadn't concealed it, you would face countless assassinations over the next decade," King Tianyan said.

"Of course, there are ways to protect you, but you wouldn't have any freedom for the next ten years, nor would you be able to accomplish anything."

"So the best method was to let your ranking continuously drop, eventually stabilizing it around the 400th mark."

King Tianyan explained his intentions to Zhao Xing.

"Thank you, King Tianyan."

"However, this is only a temporary solution, not a fundamental one. How can one guard against thieves for a thousand days?" King Tianyan said. "Ultimately, you still need to become stronger yourself."

"Do you know why I specifically asked your main body to come?"

Zhao Xing shook his head. "This subordinate does not know."

"Because I am going to transmit to you a top-tier soul-type secret art," King Tianyan said.

A top-tier soul-type secret art? Zhao Xing suddenly understood.

Since it was a top-tier soul-type secret art, it involved the Life Soul and also the seven physical souls.

The cultivation of soul and physical souls are complementary. Zhao Xing's previous consumption of Yin-Yang Fish and Primordial Spirit Fruits was not true cultivation; it was purely resource accumulation.

That's why he experienced side effects at the sixth and fifth ranks.

Fortunately, with the Myriad Laws Clone, these side effects were eliminated.

The process of cultivating the Myriad Laws Clone was true cultivation.

"How difficult it is to cultivate top-tier secret arts! Only top-tier prodigies are qualified to be taught such arts before reaching the high ranks."

"Among top-tier secret arts, soul-type secret arts are the most difficult."

"And what I'm going to transmit to you this time is a top-tier soul cultivation method—the Divine Derivation Art!"

Zhao Xing showed a surprised expression, half feigned, half genuine.

Because the Divine Derivation Art was the Great Zhou's most top-tier soul cultivation method.

Not just Life Soul cultivation, but *all* souls!

In other words, it included the fourth-rank soul refining methods.

A fourth-rank Primordial Physical Soul Realm cultivator needed to cultivate the seven physical souls.

There was a significant difference between cultivating the seven physical souls with a top-tier method and with a high-level secret art.

This was the most top-tier soul-type secret art that could be obtained in the Era of Origin Qi.

Were there other soul-type methods in the world? Yes, but they were merely comparable.

The Great Dream Spring and Autumn might be slightly superior, but it only cultivated the 'soul,' not the physical souls.

If there were differences in the final cultivated effects, it would only be due to individual encounters, such as consuming Primordial Spirit Fruits, which would naturally make one stronger.

From the secret art itself, the Divine Derivation Art was undoubtedly the best.

"It's not just you. Across the four seas, a total of thirty-eight prodigies will receive special treatment this time," King Tianyan said slowly. "From the entire Great Zhou, among those in the middle ranks, thirty-eight have been selected."

"The Dragon Court Ancient Land opens once every hundred years, and our Heavenly Secret Pavilion selects candidates once every hundred years as well. You can imagine its significance."

"Thank you for your guidance, King Tianyan," Zhao Xing said respectfully.

"No need to thank me," King Tianyan smiled. "I'm merely giving you an opportunity; whether you can master it or not is another matter entirely."

"If you can master it, there will be tasks assigned to you afterward."

"Rights and obligations are reciprocal. With this special treatment, you will also have additional tasks after entering the Dragon Court Ancient Land."

"Of course, the precondition is that you must master it within ten years. If you cannot, there's no need to discuss further."

Zhao Xing nodded. The Dragon Court Ancient Land, as a vast treasure trove, had only been explored to the tip of the iceberg by the Great Zhou so far.

After all, this was an important site from the Era of Spiritual Qi, and the Great Zhou must possess some unknown secrets.

Of course, this held less attraction for Zhao Xing, as he estimated that the Great Zhou didn't know as much as he did.

The most important thing was to master the Divine Derivation Art!

"We've arrived," King Tianyan said, looking up slightly.

Zhao Xing looked and realized that he and King Tianyan had unknowingly walked inside a palace.

The internal pillars of the palace were immensely tall, seemingly supporting heaven and earth.

Countless stars twinkled in the sky; it was entirely a Star Palace!

When Zhao Xing looked at the stars, he felt his Life Soul involuntarily drawn to them, beginning to spin, and he felt a slight sense of dizziness.

King Tianyan waved his hand, and a layer of golden mist appeared above their heads, obscuring the stars. "You have not yet begun cultivating; you cannot directly gaze at the Life Soul Star Map."

"Yes," Zhao Xing obediently replied.

King Tianyan said, "Cultivating the Divine Derivation Art is very difficult. Even I have only mastered the second layer, and I achieved that at the third rank."

"If you can master the first layer within ten years, that will be considered a success."

"It's best to cultivate the seven physical souls first, then the soul. For a fifth-rank Pure Origin Realm cultivator, mastering the first layer of the Divine Derivation Art is quite difficult."

Zhao Xing mused, "Is the chance of mastering it at the fifth rank very small?"

King Tianyan smiled slightly. "The last person to master the first layer at the fifth rank was Liu Tianning."

"Huh? My teacher also went to the Dragon Court Ancient Land?" Zhao Xing was stunned. Why had he never heard of it?

"Yes," King Tianyan nodded. "He went, but no one knows. This is a top-secret file, but you are now qualified to know a little."

"The Floating Vine your teacher gave you was brought out from the Dragon Court and given to you only after my approval."

"However, he cannot speak of these matters, and there are no public records of his entry into the Dragon Court Ancient Land."

So that's it... Zhao Xing had wondered why Liu Tianning possessed so many seventh-tier divine trees when he was only at the fifth rank.

It turned out he had also been to the Dragon Court.

Many areas within the Dragon Court contained 'spiritual qi.'

Even if Liu Tianning didn't know the 'Profound Yellow Spirit Refinement Art,' being in a spiritual qi area would still provide many benefits, such as rapid plant growth.

However, the Profound Yellow Spirit Refinement Art utilized spiritual qi more efficiently and could enhance Pure Origin soil.

"A total of thirty-eight people were selected this time. The Heavenly Secret Pavilion predicts that only five will be able to master the first layer within ten years."

"Of course, if they cannot master it, they will be arranged to cultivate other top-tier secret arts in the interim."

King Tianyan said, "Before the Dragon Court Ancient Land opens, you thirty-eight individuals will meet each other to avoid conflicts once inside, and also to prevent you from wasting your energy on the same target."

King Tianyan grabbed Zhao Xing's shoulder and took a single stride, the ground seeming to flow backward.

The next moment, Zhao Xing found himself in the sky.

Beneath his feet was a circular plaza, floating in the sky along a certain trajectory.

It was roughly the size of a football field, and four walls were placed around its perimeter.

Zhao Xing was no stranger to such walls, as he had seen similar ones at the Lihuo Dao Academy.

"One is a Secret Art Wall, used for testing. You can use it to correct your mistakes and monitor your cultivation progress."

"The other three are Dao-imparting murals, containing the first three layers of the Divine Derivation Art."

"The first mural is called the Seven Star Divine Soul Diagram: it includes both physical soul cultivation and spiritual soul cultivation. Fully comprehending the Seven Star Divine Soul Diagram counts as mastering the first layer."

"The second mural is called the Life Soul Nebula Diagram: it primarily cultivates the Life Soul and includes various Life Soul attack and defense methods."

"The third wall has no painting, only two characters," King Tianyan said. "No one has fully comprehended the third layer; they only know that the two characters translate to 'Divine Derivation.'"

"This wall is a replica, not the original. The original is a stone tablet kept in the imperial palace, but contemplating the artistic conception of those two characters after comprehending the second layer also has some benefits."

King Tianyan waved his hand, and the third wall retracted into the ground.

This was originally his cultivation ground. Since Zhao Xing hadn't even reached the second layer, it was naturally unsuitable for him to view it.

Zhao Xing asked, "The first two layers are top-tier methods. Does that mean the third layer is an ultimate method?"

King Tianyan chuckled, "As I just said, no one has fully comprehended it, so no one is certain if it's an ultimate method."

Zhao Xing nodded. He vaguely felt he should know the origin of the Divine Derivation Stele.

But he had sealed his past life's memories before entering the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

It was no joke; this was the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, and King Tianyan was a fate official. A moment of carelessness, and his thoughts could be seen through.

If he hadn't used the Dream Preservation Method to seal his memories into his memory palace, wouldn't he be handing himself over?

This vague sense of familiarity now triggered Zhao Xing's memory palace mechanism, reminding him to review it later.

King Tianyan then pointed to the sky. "This place of enlightenment has many advanced mechanisms built by the Heavenly Craftsmanship Hall to assist with comprehension."

"When you officially come to cultivate, I will teach you how to use them. For now, let's go to the next place."

"Yes."

With that, King Tianyan grabbed Zhao Xing's shoulder and flew up.

Again, it was so fast that the surroundings were a blur, only a vague sensation of movement.

When they landed again, Zhao Xing found himself in a bedchamber.

Inside the bedchamber were many Earth Mirrors, compasses, fate star instruments, turtle shells, black and white chessboards, divination robes, sundials, star boots... Even the room's layout concealed heavenly secrets.

The ceiling was in the shape of a Bagua.

A classic dwelling for destiny-type professionals.

At the head of the bed was a statue of Panhu, the treasure-seeking beast.

On the wall hung two almanacs, one physical and one illusory.

When Zhao Xing saw these two almanacs, he couldn't help but be amazed.

Because these were high-tier almanacs, not only did they ward off misfortune, but they also attracted good fortune.

Furthermore, the illusory almanac also had a significant origin.

"Is this the Yin version of the almanac?" Zhao Xing asked curiously.

"Precisely," King Tianyan nodded. It wasn't strange for Zhao Xing, as a Minister of Agriculture, to recognize it.

"A complete almanac has a Yin and Yang version. The Yin-Yang almanac is applicable to both the Yang Realm and the Yin Realm."

"The timing in the Yin Realm is completely different from the Yang Realm. As a Minister of Agriculture, you will also receive one in the future, but only when you become a third-rank official."

At the third-rank Primordial Soul Realm, one could project their soul and roam the Yin Realm.

Judging by King Tianyan's words, bringing him here was to give him something.

"The special treatment you've received includes the following types of resources."

"First, resources for cultivating the Divine Derivation Art, including those needed for the first layer's soul and physical soul refinement. However, you need to come to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion to cultivate, and resources will be provided in batches."

"The first layer has a total of seven stages. You will only receive resources for the next stage upon reaching a certain stage. If you fail, it means you cannot master it, and a different treatment plan will be provided."

Zhao Xing nodded. If he couldn't master it, the imperial court wouldn't waste resources by forcing it.

"Secondly, there's your safety."

"You have two options. One is to resign from all your duties now. I will make you an official awaiting reassignment for ten years. During this decade, you will stay in the Heavenly Secret Pavilion within the military realm, cultivating and awaiting the opening of the Dragon Court Ancient Land."

After hearing this, Zhao Xing shook his head.

The first option severely impacted his plans for the future.

Staying in the Heavenly Secret Pavilion for ten years of secluded cultivation would be a 'fully hidden' state, and he would miss many things.

For one, entering the Great Dream Academy would be out of the question for these ten years. Entering it under the nose of a fate official? He would definitely be exposed.

The silly bird would probably think he was dead.

Furthermore, the Millennium Marquis Transformation, King Liang's rebellion, Old Liu's tasks, and the two academies would all be delayed.

In short, he could not accept such a fully enclosed training.

He absolutely had to have the right to free entry and exit.

King Tianyan also understood that Zhao Xing was unlikely to accept this option.

So he continued, "The second option is that you can come to cultivate whenever you wish, but your safety won't be as perfectly guaranteed as with the first option."

"Given the strength you've displayed, if someone wanted to kill you, they would certainly dispatch a third-rank cultivator."

"If you encounter danger outside, I can guarantee that when you call for help, you will receive the best possible rescue."

"However, we cannot assign a third-rank or even a second-rank powerhouse to protect you twenty-four hours a day. You must understand the difference."

"This subordinate understands," Zhao Xing nodded.

For a fifth-rank official like him, to have a third-rank or even second-rank master provide personal protection?

This was neither in line with regulations nor cost-effective in terms of personnel resource allocation.

Essentially, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was giving Zhao Xing special treatment solely for the trip to the Dragon Court Ancient Land.

If it meant sacrificing ten years of a third-rank cultivator's time, wouldn't it be better to just give that qualification spot to a third-rank powerhouse to begin with?

King Tianyan was telling him that if he chose the second option, he would have to take some risks.

King Tianyan continued, "Of course, there's no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. If you choose the second option, I will orchestrate a bait operation. At that time, your clone will need to cooperate to find out who is scheming against you."

"Yes, this subordinate will certainly cooperate," Zhao Xing said.

Without King Tianyan, he had originally planned to continue his own scheme. Now, with King Tianyan involved, his plans gained an extra layer of security.

"Alright, we'll discuss these matters later. For now, let's familiarize you with the other items."

King Tianyan gestured, and immediately a box carved with purple dragon patterns appeared before Zhao Xing.

"Remember the current room layout. This is one of my Heavenly Secret Pavilion's emergency safe houses."

"You have a good understanding of divination, so I won't introduce everything one by one. I'll just explain a few key items."

King Tianyan knew Zhao Xing could use divination spells.

In the Pacifying Barbarian Battlefield and the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, Zhao Xing had cut down so many turtles; this was not a secret.

King Tianyan also knew that Zhao Xing at least possessed intermediate-level deduction methods.

This saved him the effort of re-teaching.

"Go ahead and open the box."

"Yes."

Zhao Xing opened the box and saw many items inside.

King Tianyan waved his hand, and a token and a map floated up, appearing before Zhao Xing.

The token had the characters 'Tianyan' on it, and the map was titled "Heavenly Secret Pavilion's Sanctuaries in Pinghai Province and the East Sea Islands."

"This is my token; its level is very high."

"With this token, you can freely enter and exit the Star Palace, and do so secretly."

"My Tianyan Token can also open most of the emergency shelters in Pinghai Province and the East Sea."

Zhao Xing was somewhat surprised by this. He hadn't expected to be granted a map of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's safe houses.

This was truly a good thing!

"If you encounter danger, hiding in any one of these will be enough to buy time for rescue to arrive."

"Memorize the map, and burn it after you've committed it to memory."

"Yes."

Zhao Xing spent a quarter of an hour memorizing the map and then carefully put the token away close to his body.

There were many entrances to this place, not just in Chongming Prefecture.

The map recorded over a thousand entrances in Pinghai Province.

Each entrance led to the Star Palace.

Next were the Heavenly Secret safe houses.

They were mainly concentrated east of Pinghai Province, including various islands in the East Sea, and south of Pinghai Province, in the prefecture cities near various war zones.

Especially in the East Sea, many inconspicuous islands had safe houses built with top-tier formations. As long as one could escape into them, safety would be greatly enhanced, and it would provide ample time for rescue.

"Reporting to King Tianyan, I have memorized it," Zhao Xing said.

King Tianyan nodded, then gestured again, taking out several items from the box.

"A seventh-tier high-grade Heavenly Secret Robe. It's an undergarment and won't hinder you from wearing other armor. Its main function is to shield your aura of luck."

"Once worn, others won't be able to discern your aura of luck or track you using it."

"However, this is temporarily lent to you. You must return it after ten years."

"Yes," Zhao Xing replied, taking the bright yellow undergarment, which was embroidered with a nine-banner insignia.

The Heavenly Secret Robe had four patterns: sun, moon, turtle, and snake.

The turtle supports heaven and earth, the snake swallows the sun and moon. Fate officials usually use these four patterns as their symbols.

Zhao Xing was not a fate official, so this robe was only on temporary loan.

The seventh-tier Heavenly Secret Robe was primarily for defending against external enemies.

Because in the Great Zhou, aside from fate officials, very few could use 'aura of luck' to track enemies.

King Tianyan didn't explain much about the seventh-tier high-grade Misfortune-Warding Almanac, as Zhao Xing was already familiar with it.

"A seventh-tier supreme-grade Ink Guardian Jade Pendant. After wearing it, you can actively activate it to form a mobile mini-barrier."

"It can block all attacks from a third-rank Primordial Soul Realm cultivator, except for 'soul-type' methods, and lasts for two *kekong*."

Zhao Xing carefully hung the Ink Guardian Jade Pendant around his neck.

This item was very precious. It was rumored that the materials for crafting the Ink Guardian Jade Pendant were no longer available, so each one was limited in number.

"A seventh-tier low-grade Soul Suppressing Bell." King Tianyan took out another item from the box; it was a bell.

"Its main purpose is to prevent you from being bewitched, interfered with by illusions, or suffering qi deviation. It cannot defend against Life Soul attack methods."

"However, Life Soul attack methods are inherently very rare in this world. Even for a third-rank Primordial Soul Realm cultivator, directly attacking with their Life Soul separated from the body is a dangerous endeavor."

"The Life Soul residing in the body naturally repels foreign souls; this is already the best layer of protection. The Soul Suppressing Bell primarily defends against you being tempted or controlled by mesmerizing souls."

"Your Life Soul is currently at the fourth rank. If a third-rank Primordial Soul were to project out and attempt to possess you, it's uncertain who would die."

"If you master the Divine Derivation Art and your Life Soul reaches the fourth-rank perfected stage, then if a third-rank Primordial Soul tries to possess you, they will be the one to die."

Zhao Xing cupped his hands and then wore the Soul Suppressing Bell. During this process, the bell made no sound.

The Life Soul of a Primordial Soul Realm cultivator was powerful, but only when it remained within the body.

If it were projected out, without the protection of the physical body, it would be relatively vulnerable.

Directly attacking another's Life Soul with one's own Life Soul was quite dangerous, unless there was an enormous difference in strength or one had cultivated top-tier methods.

Otherwise, methods typically involved mesmerizing the soul, attacking through a medium, or entering dreams to induce brainwashing, among other ways.

Zhao Xing was about to cultivate the Divine Derivation Art, and the Soul Suppressing Bell would complement it perfectly.

The box also contained items like compasses and astrolabes, which were standard equipment in the safe houses, but King Tianyan didn't introduce them in detail.

Those were for safe houses, meant to replenish fate officials. Evidently, if Zhao Xing were to enter a safe house, he wouldn't make much use of those items; only these few he received would be useful.

"Thank you, King Tianyan."

King Tianyan nodded, then brought Zhao Xing back to the Star Palace.

"If you begin cultivating the Divine Derivation Art, you can apply to me for the resources for the first stage."

"This subordinate plans to go out and handle his current affairs first," Zhao Xing said.

"Alright. Take the Tianyan Token; you can return the same way."

"This subordinate takes his leave."

Zhao Xing then exited the Hall of True Monarch Wu Cheng in Chongming Prefecture Temple.

After leaving the temple, he returned to the inn to rest.

In his dream.

Zhao Xing began to review his recent experience.

"The Divine Derivation Art? It's actually the Divine Derivation Art! This is an ultimate method of the soul path. How could it be categorized as merely a top-tier method?"

"The Divine Derivation Stele is an otherworldly object, not something from the Profound Yellow Realm at all. So Old Liu cultivated this secret art; no wonder he didn't go completely mad until old age."

"Cultivating the Myriad Laws Clone originally required a matching ultimate soul method to fully progress," Zhao Xing thought, looking at the day's events.

The Myriad Laws Strawman could be cultivated to the ultimate level, but controlling countless clones placed a considerable burden on the Life Soul.

It required an equally ultimate soul method to sustain it.

If Zhao Xing cultivated the Myriad Laws Clone to top-tier perfection, he would then pause and first seek an ultimate soul method. Otherwise, with the soul infinitely splitting, he would eventually go mad.

"In his previous life, Liu Tianning didn't comprehend the Divine Derivation Stele? If he didn't comprehend the third layer and only had the second layer of the Divine Derivation Art, no wonder he suffered qi deviation when cultivating the ultimate-level strawman..."

"Given his current state, I estimate that his progress in the Strawman Method has surpassed his progress in the Divine Derivation Art," Zhao Xing speculated.

"I'll remind Old Liu another day. Now that I'll also be cultivating the Divine Derivation Art, my reminder will be more persuasive."

Zhao Xing continued observing and soon saw the safe house and the scene where King Tianyan bestowed treasures.

"King Tianyan gave me four treasures: the Ink Guardian Jade Pendant, the Heavenly Secret Robe, the Soul Suppressing Bell, and the Misfortune-Warding Almanac."

"The other three are quite good, but this Soul Suppressing Bell is a bit lacking."

From King Tianyan's perspective, the protective measures he had now put in place for Zhao Xing were already very high.

With these precautions, anyone wanting to kill him, even a third-rank cultivator, would have to risk their life, as rescue would arrive quickly.

With this setup, he could hold out for a long time.

However, from Zhao Xing's perspective, once King Liang rebelled, high-rank cultivators would be everywhere, and mid-rank cultivators would be less than dogs.

Just these items probably wouldn't be enough for security.

"It's not yet to the point of being completely worry-free," Zhao Xing mused. "If I encounter a powerful expert skilled in soul attacks, the Soul Suppressing Bell won't hold out for long."

"Plans can't keep up with changes. It's already the autumn equinox of the 30th year of Jingxin Era. I need to find a way to transfer back to an inland county; I can't stay in the East Sea anymore."

"The best method is to huddle near the old witch. Yes, I should transfer back to Bixian County."

Staying in the East Sea, he might still encounter incidents like General Golden Throat's assassination attempt.

But for the past ten years, nothing like that had happened on land.

Zhao Xing began to readjust his future plans.

"According to the original plan, King Liang was to rebel in the 35th year of Jingxin Era. Now, I don't know if it will happen earlier; perhaps it will, perhaps it won't."

"I will stay in Bixian County, Chongming Prefecture, and my main body will enter the Heavenly Secret Pavilion to cultivate top-tier soul-type secret arts."

"My clones will go to Xuantianguan Academy and Kunyuan Academy to learn top-tier celestial timing and geographical advantage spells."

"As for the training tasks Old Liu gave me, I can put them aside for now," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

Expanding Pure Origin soil and cultivating plant-based soldiers took too long. He had little pressure to complete the first stage, but the second stage would be quite time-consuming.

Zhao Xing decided to postpone the cultivation of the Id School until after King Liang's rebellion, and first comprehend the top-tier methods of the Celestial Timing and Geographical Advantage Schools.

These two schools of spells were also the most effective in dealing with unrest.

"I just don't know if Xuantianguan Academy and Kunyuan Academy will agree. Sending clones to join feels like the Id School is crashing their party."

"I'll make contact first. If they don't agree, I'll just have to put in some effort, have my main body take the exam for a Doctor of Classics, learn the spells, and then slip away, leaving my clones to handle things."

"Next is..."

Having finalized his five- and ten-year plans in his dream, Zhao Xing opened his eyes.

He planned to seek out the Governor of Chongming Prefecture and Fan Hongyi, and then