Chapter 413: Void Prairie and the Mother Tree of All Mysteries, Qing Yunzi Reappears

As the teleportation array lit up, the final assessment for the Primal Realm began.

Zhao Xing was participating in the Id Sect's combat division. Out of 150,000 participants, only 2,000 would advance. Even after rigorous elimination rounds, these 150,000 were already geniuses among geniuses, yet the elimination rate at this stage remained astonishing.

There were 2,000 arenas, with 75 participants on each. Only the ultimate victor from each arena would gain entry to the Primal Realm. On each arena, one had to eliminate the other 74 opponents to succeed.

Whoosh! The white light before his eyes rapidly diminished. Zhao Xing quickly scanned his surroundings, finding himself on a small satellite. A total of seventy-five satellites orbited a medium-sized realm star. Each satellite held one contestant, and it was falling at a constant speed towards the medium-sized realm star.

"The medium-sized realm star is the battle arena for the Farmers. The seventy-five satellites possess a full range of plant soldiers, available for anyone to choose from. At this speed, the satellites will fall in just one month. This month is the time to select plant soldiers. And spiritual energy is extremely scarce!"

Zhao Xing immediately activated his Origin Projection and Soul Insight, swiftly choosing his soldier types.

Boom, boom, boom! The satellites began to descend, and Zhao Xing felt a slight sense of weightlessness.

If the medium-sized realm star were a traditional square arena, then the satellites were the weapon racks beside it. However, for the Id Sect Farmers, their weapons were the plants on the satellites. The plant soldiers were comprehensive, ranging from the first to the third Origin Realm, available for selection. With only a month, taming these soldiers during selection posed a challenge. Moreover, spiritual energy was extremely scarce; almost no spiritual energy could be absorbed from the satellites.

"The fourth round combined elements from previous stages: cultivating combat strength by taming competitive soldier types in an extremely short time, and also defeating the other competitors." This fourth round was a comprehensive test, evaluating mind, will, spells, domains, world projection, precise spiritual energy calculation, rapid adaptation to extreme environments, and soldier selection—all to be completed within a mere month!

"Soul Tree!"

As a 'mass-production' type of player, Zhao Xing immediately locked onto his first combat soldier. Due to limited time, he violently destroyed the life consciousness of a third-realm plant.

Clang! Clang! His Slaughter Intent Blade and Mind Bell activated simultaneously, with his Grand Yin Ninth-tier domain integrating with his Origin Projection. The Soul Tree itself had little attacking power, so Zhao Xing conquered a Grand Divine Ability realm Soul Tree almost instantly.

Whoosh! After taming it, he immediately entered the Soul Tree. By first taming the Soul Tree, he amplified his soul and will divine abilities, making it much easier to capture other soldier types.

"Go!" With the Soul Tree's amplification, Zhao Xing immediately began to tame soldier types according to his plan. Groups of plants were uprooted and absorbed into his Origin Projection. Leaves flew, bark peeled, and grass vines tumbled. Zhao Xing quickly began to create straw-man clones. Chopping down flora and fauna to create straw men was his second move. The commotion was considerable, and almost instantly, all seventy-five satellites became dusty. Clearly, many knew the straw-man spell.

"Faster, faster, faster!" Geniuses on each satellite were racing against time. Spiritual energy was being consumed in large quantities. The seventy-five participants soon made different choices based on their varying schools of thought.

Seven days passed, and Zhao Xing was still taming and expanding the number of his soldier types. However, many others had stopped collecting soldiers and began to focus on training their desired ones.

"Life Plunder!""Ultimate Divine Splendor!""Grow! Grow! Grow!"

As the satellites continued their descent, Zhao Xing noticed someone roaring on a neighboring satellite. Subsequently, a massive tree of the Dao Domain Realm erupted from the ground.

"How powerful!" Zhao Xing's brows furrowed. The competitive soldier types were all of the Origin Realm, yet on the seventh day, someone had cultivated a Dao Domain Realm tree! The opponent's movements were significant, making it hard not to notice.

"'Life Plunder,' 'Ultimate Divine Splendor'—this is the Extreme Path style. There are truly many strong cultivators..." The Id Sect's combat Farmers had many styles, and opposite to the 'mass-production' style was the Extreme Path style! Id Farmers who followed this style had all mastered the embryonic forms of Grand Dao such as 'Life Devour' and 'Life Plunder' within the Grand Dao of Life. Their most proficient spells were Spirit Base Node Dao-type spells. The 'mass-production' style involved taming multiple soldier types, focusing on quantity. The Extreme Path style involved cultivating only a single digit number of soldier types, or even just one tree!

"It's Ruan Xingluo. He's in the same arena as Zhao Xing," Qiao Song remarked, watching the competition from the Beinei Galaxy. "He and Zhao Xing follow completely opposite styles. Zhao Xing is expanding the limit of soldier type quantity, while he is expanding the upper limit of soldier type combat power. Ruan Xingluo chose a 'Nine-Infant Tree' as his 'Myriad Laws Mother Tree.' He continuously devoured the vitality of other competitive soldier types, and simultaneously grafted them onto the mother tree using the Divine Splendor Extreme Path method. In just seven days, his Grand Divine Ability realm mother tree broke through to the Five Elements Dao Domain Realm, and acquired twelve temporary talents."

Qiao Song, Yang Zhuo, and even the Beinei Lord were somewhat tense at this moment. This was because Ruan Xingluo had a very high ranking in the previous round, at 590th place. After a century of arduous cultivation, he seemed to have grown even stronger.

By the fifteenth day, Ruan Xingluo's mother tree had even grown to the Yin-Yang Dao Domain Realm, possessing a full twenty-four talents!

"A Nine-Infant Tree isn't the most suitable as a Myriad Laws Mother Tree, yet Ruan Xingluo's somehow managed to bear the talents of twenty-four plant soldier types. This Primal Conference is truly outrageous," Yang Zhuo couldn't help but exclaim. He was also an Id Sect combat Farmer, and currently in the Yin-Yang Dao Domain Realm, yet he felt uncertain about defeating Ruan Xingluo. Ruan Xingluo's mother tree even covered more than half of the satellite, with a total of twenty-five distinctly different plant species grafted together to form a colossal entity! In Zhao Xing's arena, Ruan Xingluo stood out uniquely!

"Only one person advances from each arena. Ruan Xingluo was 590th last round, and Zhao Xing was over 5,000th—" Qiao Song sighed inwardly. He mentally simulated the match and felt that Zhao Xing's chances of winning were extremely low. "Such bad luck, to be assigned to this group and encounter a prodigy like Ruan Xingluo." With 150,000 people randomly assigned, Ruan Xingluo's performance was almost certainly among the top tier.

Primal Realm, Five Poisons Emperor's Residence.

"Ruan Xingluo? He does have some skills." The Five Poisons Emperor, however, was not worried, for he had personally witnessed Zhao Xing's century of cultivation. Only he knew how much Zhao Xing had progressed. "The Extreme Path style using a Nine-Infant Tree as the Myriad Laws Mother Tree, instead of a 'Star Ripple' tree or a 'Primordial Chaos' tree, makes Ruan Xingluo's weakness very apparent." The Five Poisons Emperor, with his keen insight, immediately saw that Ruan Xingluo would not be the ultimate victor of this match. "The Nine-Infant is good at offense but poor at defense. Using it temporarily, unless he can sweep through and eliminate all 74 others in a very short time, without a decisive first strike, he will only get weaker as the battle progresses."

A month passed, and all seventy-five satellites crashed into the interior of the medium-sized realm star.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The incredibly hard realm star was struck by seventy-five satellites, and its realm barrier was directly breached! The spiritual energy of the entire realm star instantly dissipated in large quantities, and all contestants were unable to absorb sufficient spiritual energy. The chaos index sharply rose, and the spiritual energy index sharply dropped. Zhao Xing estimated that at this moment, on the realm star, the spiritual energy index was less than 10. With 75 Farmers scrambling for spiritual energy here, it was impossible to sustain themselves for long!

Rumble! The earth veins surged. Zhao Xing was about to land and take root to gather as much spiritual energy as possible for reserves. However, just before landing, his soul suddenly felt a strong premonition of danger!

"Grow! Grow! Grow! Grow!" Just before landing, Zhao Xing abruptly activated his Precious Mountain Divine Ability, expanding his body. For a third-realm martial artist, if they haven't achieved the Grand Divine Ability Realm, their maximum body size is "one extreme." A Farmer reaching half the size of a martial artist was already rare, as Farmers followed the path of spells. However, Zhao Xing's Precious Mountain Divine Ability, after learning the Five-Finger Mountain, could reach the ultimate "five extremes"! At this moment, he unleashed it to its absolute limit!

Rumble! Zhao Xing's feet transformed into Pillars of Heaven, intending to step into the void river. But he didn't land; instead, he ascended significantly!

"How treacherous!" Zhao Xing exerted force, stomping through a patch of tender green sprouts in the void beneath his feet. Then, through the spiritual energy dust, he looked towards a certain peak. There, a green-skinned youth was casting a spell, and a large net had spread through the void, enveloping the entire realm star.

"No!!!" Not far away, a Farmer watched helplessly as he was flung away. He suddenly appeared billions of miles outside the medium-sized realm star. Leaving the original realm barrier's height meant elimination!

"What? This—" At the Beinei Lord's mansion, Qiao Song and Yang Zhuo's eyes suddenly widened. "It's the Life Array style! Star Displacement Array! My heavens, 69 people eliminated in an instant, even Ruan Xingluo! Who is this person? It's him, Lu Nansong from the Yagu Galaxy! He was only ranked 90,000th last round. He truly concealed himself deeply!"

Qiao Song and Yang Zhuo were instantly dumbfounded. Just before the satellites fell, they still thought Ruan Xingluo would be the winner of this arena. But upon landing, he was eliminated! Ruan Xingluo himself was directly displaced outside; crossing the boundary naturally counted as elimination. His peak Yin-Yang Dao Domain realm 'Myriad Laws Mother Tree' hadn't even been put to use!

"Mr. Qiao, what kind of plant soldier can form a Star Displacement Array?" Yang Zhuo asked with difficulty.

"I am ashamed..." Qiao Song gave a bitter smile, "I don't know what secret art this is." A scholar who was always well-informed didn't even know what spell this was! He only knew that the opponent belonged to the Life Array style, and his spell was extremely potent. It had, upon landing, instantly formed patches of void grassland that appeared beneath the feet of the other 74 contestants. In an instant, they were forcibly displaced! 69 people were caught!

Now, on that realm star arena, only six people remained. Lu Nansong's single move directly stunned the spectators. It also made the remaining survivors incredibly grateful.

"Fortunately, I unleashed my Dharma Body to its extreme in an instant." Zhao Xing also shivered. "My Pillars of Heaven stood unmoving like mountains, rooted in the void; otherwise, with just that move, I would have been blindsided." The Precious Mountain Divine Ability, Five-Finger Mountain, created by Wu Tian, was a path taken by martial Farmers among the terrain-advantageous Farmers. The Star Displacement Array could move others but couldn't move Zhao Xing. He was still halfway from being pushed out of bounds. Of course, if he hadn't reacted in time, he might also have been caught off guard.

"Only six people left." Zhao Xing instantly landed firmly, spreading his domain and activating his Origin Projection.

"Kill!" The remaining five, in unison, charged towards Lu Nansong's position. The Life Array style was too abnormal, displacing opponents without them noticing. This proved Lu Nansong's high proficiency in both domain and world-altering spells. Zhao Xing had also learned the world-altering spell "Three Realms Void," an Id spell combining domain and Origin Projection. The "Three Realms Void" projection rooted itself in the void, spreading out more covertly. It could even surface from deep void and deep earth veins, enveloping the enemy's Origin Projection. The void was multi-layered; after learning "Three Realms Void," projections could even be expanded within 'void turbulence.' It was precisely because Zhao Xing had suffered losses in previous rounds that he was extremely sensitive to world-altering spells. Lu Nansong had used an even more profound world-altering spell to silently arrange plant soldiers beneath everyone's feet, and activated the Star Displacement Array. Not eliminating him first? Then no one would dare to fight freely! This was a completely subconscious action!

"Five left." Lu Nansong stood calmly on the mountain peak, his expression serene. As attacks from five directions surged towards him, a green grassland appeared beneath his feet. Then, his figure instantly vanished. Life Arrays could teleport enemies, and also themselves. The attacks from five directions immediately missed!

"He's at the other end of the realm star." One of Zhao Xing's clones appeared where Lu Nansong had been, crouching down to touch the ground. He felt the traces of burnt grass and a faint void fluctuation. Had Zhao Xing not made a breakthrough in the Hundred-Ren Void, he would likely have struggled to detect it.

"Change of strategy!" Zhao Xing immediately abandoned pursuing Lu Nansong. Geniuses of the Life Array style who had learned the Star Displacement Array were the hardest to kill. This spell was too ethereal; it was better to stabilize his own foundation than to expend effort chasing Lu Nansong.

"The spiritual energy in the realm star arena is constantly dissipating, and the spiritual energy index is continuously dropping, which means the active area will keep shrinking. I don't need to chase him. Once the active space shrinks, he won't be able to escape indefinitely." Zhao Xing's main body immediately took root and began to expand his territory. The medium-sized realm star as an arena wasn't very large; 75 people together would be quite crowded. As the chaos index continued to rise and the spiritual energy index continued to drop, everyone's active area would become smaller and smaller. Eventually, Lu Nansong would have no choice but to confront the others.

Boom! Plant soldiers one by one erupted from the ground, and Zhao Xing quickly secured a region the size of a province as his territory. As a 'mass-production' type of player, he possessed an unparalleled advantage: the sheer number of his soldier types. The soldier types themselves contained a certain amount of spiritual energy, and a large quantity meant that Zhao Xing was naturally the 'wealthiest' party! Zhao Xing's territory continuously expanded, starting from the eastern hemisphere, a swath of green began its steady invasion.

"On the entire realm star arena, only Zhao Xing and two others were 'mass-production' players, and those two contestants were not as good as Zhao Xing," the Five Poisons Emperor said with a smile. Looking down at the realm star arena, one could see that Zhao Xing's territory in the eastern hemisphere was the largest! The combined territories of the other two contestants were still smaller than Zhao Xing's. Aside from Lu Nansong, the other two exhausted their resources in just three days! Their soldier types continued to fight but couldn't break through the mass-production player's territory. Unable to absorb spiritual energy, only their lone main bodies remained, becoming sustenance for the dominant 'mass-production' player.

As for Lu Nansong, he still remained unseen.

"Still not showing up?" Zhao Xing snorted coldly. He paid no attention to the other two 'mass-production' players. Because in terms of both quantity and quality of soldier types, he surpassed the other two. On the realm star arena, he occupied more than half the area. With his waxing and their waning, the other two could not resist this advantage.

"It seems you're waiting for me to eliminate the other two before showing yourself. Firefly Fire Tree, release!" Zhao Xing began to deploy his forces through the Soul Tree, further invading the territories of the other two 'mass-production' players. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Simultaneously, tens of thousands of Giant Sun Straw Men and Exploding Mushrooms appeared at the edge of his territory, covering his advance.

"I can't hold on." Hongye, another 'mass-production' Farmer, watched as the opponent's life defense line continuously advanced into his territory and couldn't help but sigh. "Reaching this round, I've finally reached my limit." He was very unwilling. Only four people remained; to enter the Primal Realm, only three more needed to be eliminated. However, Zhao Xing's 'mass-production' style was far stronger than his. Whether in world-altering spells, straw-man spells, or variant spells, Zhao Xing completely overpowered Hongye. His variant spells couldn't produce 'void species,' only switching between talents like Five Elements, Wind, and Thunder. Zhao Xing, however, could produce plant soldier types with void talents through variation.

"Stabilize, then attack. Sweeping through is that simple. No fancy moves at all." 'Mass-production' style duels were this simple and direct. If a spellcaster was slightly stronger in one aspect, amplifying that to countless soldier types resulted in a terrifying disparity!

Bang! Bang! The two 'mass-production' players were flung out of bounds and eliminated!

On the realm star arena, only Zhao Xing and the unseen Lu Nansong remained.

"Come out, it's just you and me now!" Zhao Xing activated Soul Insight and called out in all directions. He could vaguely grasp his opponent's trajectory, yet he also felt as if the opponent was omnipresent. "If you don't make a move now, you'll still lose once the spiritual energy completely dissipates!" Zhao Xing's voice boomed like thunder, echoing throughout the entire realm star.

Buzz! Lu Nansong's figure appeared in the sky, at the same height as the realm barrier's boundary. This meant the person had been constantly moving along the edge of the realm star arena.

Whoosh! Zhao Xing's gaze fixed on the figure in the sky. Lu Nansong also quietly watched Zhao Xing.

"You actually possess a mountain-type divine ability. No wonder I couldn't displace you. This next move is my last trump card. If you can withstand it, this match is yours." Lu Nansong stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm. He also knew he couldn't wait any longer; the more time passed, the harder it would be to defeat Zhao Xing. The moment Zhao Xing defeated the other two 'mass-production' players, Zhao Xing also suffered some attrition. This was the final opportune moment to strike!

Whoosh! A grassland appeared beneath Lu Nansong's feet, much larger than before, almost the size of a prefecture. The grassland rotated in the void for only a second before appearing at the location of Zhao Xing's main body's Soul Tree. Lu Nansong had an advantage in world-altering spells; the Life Array style's invasion of territory was irresistible, and he appeared directly in the center of Zhao Xing's domain.

"Life Array: Void Exchange!" The moment Lu Nansong descended, the grassland vanished. The grassland in the sky still existed, and half of Zhao Xing's plants within a ten-thousand-mile radius suddenly broke free from his control, appearing in the sky. Once the array formed by combining the Grand Dao of Void and the Grand Dao of Life took shape, positions would be exchanged! Lu Nansong would appear in Zhao Xing's place, and Zhao Xing would appear outside the arena!

"Die!" Zhao Xing looked at his opponent with a cold expression. Subsequently, eighteen vine tentacles emerged from the void, completely enveloping both himself and Lu Nansong, forming a hemispherical void barrier. Cloud-Grinding Vines! The eighteen demonic Cloud-Grinding Vines were purplish-black with a hint of blood-red, due to a temporary conversion from the four-system variant spell. This made them significantly different from true demonic Cloud-Grinding Vines. Combined with Zhao Xing's own Precious Mountain Divine Ability, Lu Nansong's transfer action became extremely slow. By the third breath, they were already in a stalemate!

Boom! The moment they entered a stalemate, the Five-Finger Mountain descended from the sky.

Lu Nansong, defeated! Zhao Xing, victorious!

Zhao Xing slightly nodded, watching Lu Nansong being moved away by a protective golden light. Lu Nansong could have easily advanced to the semifinals, as his Life Array was already at the Grand Divine Ability level. But Zhao Xing also mastered the Grand Dao of Void! Moreover, he had the Five-Finger Mountain. He didn't need to use any other moves; that alone was enough to defeat his opponent.

"He lacked offensive power. If he couldn't displace me, he could only lose. However, such an opponent on a battlefield with a large scope of activity could be said to possess a life-saving divine skill." "The quality of this Primal Conference is truly astonishing." Lu Nansong would have safely advanced in any other session, but now he was eliminated.

The first round of chaotic combat ended, and Zhao Xing advanced, joining the ranks of the 2,000. Out of the 150,000 Id Sect combat Farmers remaining from the third round, only 2,000 were selected, meaning 148,000 geniuses were eliminated in this wave. Zhao Xing's group was among the first to decide its victor. After he emerged, over eight hundred other arenas were still engaged in chaotic combat.

"I've secured a spot to enter the Primal Realm." Having achieved his initial goal, Zhao Xing now had the leisure to observe the progress of other arenas, especially the top-ranked geniuses like Tuo Sen, Ji Xingchen, and Han Qianye, to understand the gap between them.

"Tuo Sen, victorious!""Han Qianye, victorious!""Pang Lan, victorious!""Hmm? Ji Xingchen eliminated? The second-ranked contestant from the previous round, actually eliminated?"

Zhao Xing watched the competition and noticed that on several arenas, geniuses were incredibly concentrated!

"So many geniuses put together, just eliminated like that? Many are suspected reincarnations from the Samsara Realm. Including Lu Nansong from my arena." Zhao Xing vaguely felt there was some hidden manipulation involved.

"Hidden manipulation?" Inside Erliang Slope, Wu Tian said with a benevolent expression, "Fellow Daoists, you committed many sins in your previous lives. Not killing you already counts as the Empire's benevolence. Do you still want fairness? Why didn't you think of fairness when you were acting recklessly? When you killed innocent people, who thought of their fairness? Now the Empire gives you a chance to cast aside your past, cleanse your sins. Please, do not stray again. Listen to me recite a scripture to purify your hearts and quell your sinful desires—"

Wu Tian sat on a high platform, chanting scriptures, radiating bursts of light, while below, a crowd knelt, their faces contorted. However, the expressions on their faces quickly turned serene.

Meng Wu glanced around and left, satisfied. "Wu Tian truly has a way about him. I'm somewhat reluctant to let him go," Meng Wu said. Wu Tian was too useful; Meng Wu was unwilling to let him leave. However, this was his teacher's wish, and Meng Wu could not go against it.

"The elimination results for the Samsara Group should be almost out as well." Meng Wu then looked at the final test of the Primal Conference. Large numbers of Samsara Realm experts were concentrated in a certain arena for chaotic combat! Now, Meng Wu somewhat understood the intentions of the higher-ups.

"Many of those who don't conform are arrogant, with aspirations higher than the heavens. In their past lives, they were Samsara Realm cultivators, perhaps a monarch or a galactic overlord, so they didn't hold others in high regard. But now, with so many reincarnated Samsara Realm geniuses, after experiencing a devastating defeat, they will be more honest." How can one become honest without enduring a few harsh beatings? Knocking down some arrogance would make them usable by the Empire in the future.

"I wonder about the arena where Zhao Xing is," Meng Wu mused as he scrolled, then showed some surprise. "He actually eliminated Ruan Xingluo and Lu Nansong? Both of them are elite Samsara Realm reincarnations."

"Eliminated. I, a dignified Samsara Realm cultivator who experienced dozens of reincarnations, actually failed to pass the Primal Realm assessment." Ruan Xingluo sat silently in his room. He had originally thought it was a sure thing, but unexpectedly, he was eliminated. And he was eliminated as soon as he entered! "The Crimson Star Empire actually has so many geniuses!" Ruan Xingluo was aiming for the Holy Son position, but he didn't even get in; the disparity was too huge.

"Zhao Xing, I lost to this Farmer Zhao Xing from the Beinei Galaxy." Lu Nansong also reflected after being eliminated. "So many geniuses in the Empire? No, wait. Many arenas seem to have shadows of reincarnated cultivators... but isn't the number too high? What exactly is going on?" Lu Nansong vaguely felt something was amiss, but couldn't pinpoint what, as his memories had been altered. He could never have imagined that tens of thousands of Samsara Realm cultivators had all reincarnated into the Empire.

Zhao Xing merely reviewed the situation before entering a meditative state, awaiting the start of the rematch. The chaotic arena battles concluded, and the rest period was very brief. The 2,000 contestants would soon enter the next round of competition. From this point on, their treatment and resources would be determined. Currently, they only received the lowest resource allocation.

"For the rematch, 400 arenas have been set up, with the 2,000 contestants who advanced from the preliminary round randomly assigned, 5 contestants per arena. A round-robin system will be used, where each contestant competes against the other 4 contestants in their arena. Based on wins, losses, and point rankings, the top 2 contestants from each arena will advance to the semifinals."

Zhao Xing calmly composed himself, neither arrogant nor impatient, and waited quietly. The rematch was held immediately on the third day after the chaotic arena battles concluded. Zhao Xing had a total of four matches and needed to win against at least three opponents to securely advance to the next round. As for the competition venue, it was still the realm star arena, just like in the first round, only this time, it was 1v1 duels. In all four solo duels of the rematch, Zhao Xing still emerged victorious, successfully entering the top eight hundred.

"Semifinal Stage: 80 arenas. The 800 contestants who advanced from the rematch will be randomly assigned, 10 contestants per arena. They will first participate in a group points system, with contestants competing in pairs." After nine matches, Zhao Xing once again advanced with an undefeated record, successfully reaching the finals. Only 160 people remained for the finals. Finally, it was a series of one-on-one duels, with the winner immediately proceeding to the next match.

"I've entered the final round," Zhao Xing took a deep breath. "The Primal Realm's hidden manipulations should be over now." Zhao Xing won easily in both the rematch and the semifinals. It was the preliminary chaotic combat that had been a bit tricky. He was almost eliminated by Lu Nansong. Zhao Xing even felt he had a bit of luck involved. With so many reincarnated Samsara Realm cultivators, he made it to the very end? "Did I overestimate my opponents, or is there another reason?"

Primal Realm, on a tall tower. A wisp of Qingyuzi's avatar, passing through endless void obstructions, descended upon Zhao Xing. Beside Qingyuzi were a middle-aged man in white robes and a body filled with mechanical aesthetic beauty. They were the Crimson Star Emperor and the Demigod Guluohe!

"Fellow Daoist Qingyu, congratulations on refining your divine power." The mechanical body, entirely fire-silver, gestured towards Qingyuzi's avatar. The latter slightly nodded, "Thank you, Emperor."

"The Empire's agreement with you has been fulfilled. Are you satisfied?" the Crimson Star Emperor asked.

"Do not misunderstand, Emperor. I am merely about to depart and came to take a final look; it's not that I distrust the Empire," Qingyuzi said. A part of the transaction between the Empire and Qingyuzi primarily involved Zhao Xing. Zhao Xing wanted to go to the Empire and enter the Primal Realm, so how could Qingyuzi simply stand by? Of course, he would see it through to the end, doing a good deed completely.

The final assessments of the Primal Conference – preliminary, rematch, and semifinals – were all part of the deal. This meant that as long as Zhao Xing passed the third round, he was guaranteed entry into the Primal Realm and would receive the highest level of resources. The Primal Realm cooperated well. In all three rounds of manipulation, it was as if they shot the arrow first and then placed the target, guaranteeing Zhao Xing's advancement to the Primal Realm finals. Otherwise, if he had encountered even a slightly more powerful reincarnated Samsara Realm cultivator, Zhao Xing would have been eliminated.

Of course, Qingyuzi considered that Zhao Xing possessed very strong self-esteem and disliked being manipulated, so he did not explicitly state this. Now, having seen it himself, Qingyuzi felt relieved.

"Actually, even without the cause of the Yuanhai, Zhao Xing could have reached this stage," Guluohe suddenly said.

Qingyuzi nodded, not delving further into the topic, but instead produced a crystalline primal stone. The primal stone seemed to contain a chaotic world. "I entrust this item to you, Brother Gu. If Zhao Xing reaches the Life-Death Dao Domain Realm, please transfer it to him."

Guluohe reached out, accepted the treasure, and then said, "I will not fail your trust, Fellow Daoist."

Qingyuzi's divine power avatar gradually dimmed: "Emperor, the Divine Temple instructed me to relay: The desolation is accelerating. The realm passage is already extremely unstable. If Your Majesty wishes to act, it is best to do so before the Ice Age."

The Crimson Star Emperor pondered, "I understand."

In the competition waiting room, within the teleportation array.

"The 160-person one-on-one duels have been announced. My first opponent is 'Wu Chuanlan' from the Heya Galaxy?" Zhao Xing's expression grew serious. "Wu Chuanlan's combat record is not simple at all."