Chapter 513: The Master of Cold Food, Past Mysteries Unveiled

Zhao Xing narrowed his eyes at the questions Bovine threw at him.

Without a word, he immediately began inserting needles into himself.

Bovine was clearly surprised, unsure of what Zhao Xing was doing.

But he soon realized Zhao Xing was performing the Marquis Transformation Technique.

"You want to scan me?" Bovine guessed Zhao Xing's intention.

Zhao Xing remained silent and quickly transformed into a descendant of the Nine Swamps God.

A humanoid monster, covered in dense purple-black fur, stared at Bovine with fiery red eyes.

"It's useless," Bovine said. "Our realms are too far apart; you won't be able to see through me."

Indeed, as Bovine stated, the level gap was too wide; even with panel observation, Zhao Xing only managed to obtain Bovine's name.

So, without a word, Zhao Xing began to eat.

Bovine's eye muscles twitched slightly, a hint of confusion flashing across his face.

What was he doing?

Why was he eating now?

*Boom!*

The monster showed a hint of pain, as Zhao Xing had consumed a Divine Law Pill left behind by Wei Tianchen.

Zhao Xing hadn't even used his full strength against Ayiso, yet now, just to get a glimpse of Bovine, he first pricked himself with needles and then consumed a Divine Law Pill.

Zhao Xing's theoretical strength had now reached an astonishing fourteenth tier!

This time, when Zhao Xing looked at Bovine again, things were finally different.

Name: BovineRealm: Divine General Scholar (Sealed, Contaminated)Common Understanding Divine Art: Tier 3 (12/10000)

Although it was only two additional lines of information, Zhao Xing smiled with satisfaction.

"Where did Old Qing go? Who am I? What is that Divine King's avatar doing here?… I'm actually not that keen to know," a hoarse voice emerged from the monster's throat. Zhao Xing shrugged and turned to leave.

This was truly audacious; he was always the one using information asymmetry to deceive others. How could he be deceived by Bovine?

Now that he had checked Bovine's information and observed his every move, Zhao Xing indeed felt that something was off about Bovine.

If Bovine were a Divine King, Zhao Xing might have believed him.

But Bovine's Common Understanding Divine Art wasn't mastered, and he was only at the Divine General level!

Moreover, Bovine had not anticipated Zhao Xing's actions at all, showing clear surprise.

This proved that what Bovine knew might also be incorrect information.

As long as the aura of the 'first divine scholar in history' was demystified, Bovine's words held less significance for Zhao Xing.

Furthermore, the title of 'first divine scholar' itself required a huge question mark.

"I can understand 'sealed'; Bovine is suppressed and locked in the Samsara Graveyard."

"But what does 'contaminated' mean? Is Bovine's information tainted?" Zhao Xing pondered this on his way back.

"Scholars have methods of common understanding, but also anti-common understanding. Could it be that he was contaminated by the Divine King who descended in this era?"

However, Zhao Xing quickly lost interest. If Bovine wanted to talk, he would; if not, that was something for the powerful figures to consider.

He was merely a ninth-tier demigod; it wasn't his place to worry about such grand matters. When the sky falls, taller people will be there to hold it up.

Promise to parole Bovine? Zhao Xing didn't believe he had such influence. The Samsara Divine Hall and the Origin Heavenly Palace weren't just decorative and wouldn't agree to it.

Once he reached the Divine Realm, he would know everything eventually; why let himself be led by the nose?

*Boom!*

The bronze gate closed. When Zhao Xing emerged, Gu Luohe was waiting at the entrance.

"How was it?" Gu Luohe asked.

"Bovine desires freedom; he hopes the Samsara Divine Hall will release him," Zhao Xing said.

"After Senior Gu left, he actually only shared one conjecture."

"Bovine conjectured that the independent spacetime was crafted by a powerful being who surpassed the Five Divine Emperors, using the soil of the Utmost Land."

"He also said that the Utmost Star could be seen from the Five Emperors' Fengshan Sacrifice grounds."

Gu Luohe nodded upon hearing this: "Assuming all five emperors performed the Fengshan Sacrifice there, only a place where the legendary Utmost Land and Utmost Star appear simultaneously would fit the description."

In fact, Bovine didn't need to say it. Gu Luohe, as the Sigu Nong of the Ego School and someone who had personally visited the Bone God Domain, also held this conjecture.

Thus, Bovine's conjecture wasn't particularly astonishing.

"The reason he only told me is that he speculates I can still enter that spacetime." Zhao Xing almost verbatim repeated Bovine's words.

"Can you still go in?" Gu Luohe asked.

"No," Zhao Xing shook his head. "Not at least for now. The Fengshan Sacrifice grounds are greyed out, and I don't know what conditions need to be met to enter."

Gu Luohe nodded. This aligned with the Grand Emperor's conjecture: Zhao Xing, Wei Tianchen, and Zhujian were drawn in due to spacetime anomalies. Once the anomalies naturally resolved, they came out. None of them should have the ability to enter or exit at will.

Gu Luohe didn't actually trust Bovine; he only made this trip because the Grand Emperor said Bovine might know something, having absorbed information from endless spacetimes.

"Bovine might have said those things because he saw that you were born in the Xuanghuang World."

"Assuming the Xuanghuang World possesses a part of the Utmost Land, it's not strange for you, born there, to have some unique characteristics."

Zhao Xing asked, somewhat puzzled, "Senior, since you've been there before and have now recovered your spacetime memories, you should understand that place, shouldn't you?"

Gu Luohe, having personally visited, should, by rights, know more than Bovine.

Gu Luohe mused, "Even if I tell you, you might not remember it in the future."

"However, you are now a demigod, so you are qualified to hear it."

Zhao Xing listened quietly.

"Before this, the Empire already had some understanding of the Xuanghuang World," Gu Luohe said, leading Zhao Xing out of the Samsara Divine Hall's passage and slowly walking through the Ancient Dao layer.

"Back then, the sacrifices of the Dongyan Ancient Clan destroyed the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom and awakened an ancient god (a general term for innate deities)."

"At that time, the Dongyan Ancient Clan exploited the internal conflicts among the three factions of the Samsara Divine Hall and stole a Divine Derivation Stele."

"The eighth-generation ruler of the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom from before the Barren Domain Era, who later resigned as ruler and entered the Divine Hall to cultivate as a stele guardian, namely Qingyuzi, also quietly moved a piece away during the internal strife."

Hearing Gu Luohe say this, Zhao Xing suddenly understood. No wonder he could see Qingyuzi in the imperial palace of the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom within the World-Transmission Tower; no wonder Wei Tianchen said Qingyuzi was merely a "lamp-bearer watching over steles."

"The disaster caused by the Dongyan Ancient Clan was actually using the power of the Divine Stele to open spacetime seals between the past and present, resurrecting an ancient god into the current era."

"It's quite interesting," Gu Luohe smiled. "That Dongyan Ancient God wasn't willing to come to the Barren Domain Era. However, due to the natural operation of his spacetime laws, he was supposed to live this long, to live in the Barren Domain Era... Coupled with the scattered sacrifices, he was forcibly summoned to the contemporary age."

"Your Pages of Time displayed extraordinary power at that time partly because of the blessing of the universe's spacetime laws."

"Huh?" Zhao Xing was momentarily stunned.

Forcibly summoned to the present era?

Zhao Xing's expression became a little strange.

A group of descendants worked tirelessly, collecting materials and assembling divine artifacts, ultimately flowing against the river of time to pull that Dongyan Ancient God back to the present.

But it turned out, the deity didn't want to come back at all.

On second thought, was the ancient god's furious roar at that time actually saying, "I don't want to go back! You scoundrels, don't resurrect me!"?

It was quite comical indeed.

"Afterward, the Grand Emperor, the Moon God Palace Master of the Origin Heavenly Palace, a Hall Master of the Samsara Divine Hall, and a certain divine realm expert from the Primordial Hill arrived on the scene."

"They didn't expend much effort to send that ancient god away," Gu Luohe said, "because that Dongyan Ancient God also wasn't willing to live in the Barren Domain Era."

"But after that, the high-ranking members of the human race discovered a significant hidden danger in the Sacrifice Grand Dao when combined with divine artifacts: it could destroy established spacetime barriers and open a rift."

"Consequently, the Palace Master of the Origin Heavenly Palace temporarily gathered various families' Mysterious Spirit Historical Records at that time, repeatedly weakening the secret arts of the Sacrifice Grand Dao."

"They also erased the memories of lower-tier cultivators concerning the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom and the related memories of the Sacrifice Grand Dao."

"To prevent such an event from happening again, the names of many deities who received sacrifices were also hidden."

"Among them were my father and Lanchuan's father, one known as the Heavenly God 'Guxiao' and the other as the Earth God 'Yaojun'."

"Although they didn't cultivate the Sacrifice Grand Dao, their sacrifices to heaven and earth naturally granted them similar powers, so their honorific titles were also concealed for a period."

"So that's how it was." Zhao Xing finally understood the beginning and end of the great pit in the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom, as well as why he didn't remember Heavenly God Guxiao and Earth God 'Yaojun'.

As they spoke, Gu Luohe led Zhao Xing out of the Ancient Dao layer and back into the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom's embassy.

After exiting, they swiftly traversed the material world of the Manifested Dao layer, quickly covering most of the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom.

During this time, both Gu Luohe and Zhao Xing saw statues of Qingyuzi as the nation's ruler before he achieved godhood within the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom.

Gu Luohe slowed down, pointing below: "Qingyuzi's quiet ascension to godhood actually violated an agreement among the super-factions. Do you know why?"

After a moment of thought, Zhao Xing replied, "Because of the difference between True Gods of Freedom and True Gods without Tribulations."

"That's one reason," Gu Luohe nodded. "True Gods of Freedom and True Gods without Tribulations are almost inherently opposed due to their methods of ascension, historical background, and the broader environmental context."

"Cultivating the Origin to become a True God of Freedom essentially involves plundering the cosmic origin and assimilating it for oneself."

"Maintaining and repairing heaven and earth, achieving Dao through heaven and earth, is essentially following the laws of cosmic operation, borrowing the power of the law's origin, but without affecting the cosmic origin itself."

"You've also learned about the historical background and the broader environmental context just now."

"Because True Gods of Freedom often experience divine tribulations, and the worse the environment, the harder it is to plunder the origin and cultivate, they will inevitably end up 'fleeing to the past'."

"Therefore, becoming a True God of Freedom in this current era has very stringent conditions; crucial resources are strictly controlled by agreement among the human super-factions."

Hearing this, Zhao Xing was filled with emotion, realizing that Qingyuzi was truly audacious.

He didn't just achieve godhood through an unconventional path; he skirted the rules.

The Dongyan Ancient Clan broke the rules and damaged the spacetime in which everyone currently survived, but this wasn't Old Qing's doing. One could even say he tried to stop the Dongyan Ancient Clan, so he certainly couldn't be called the culprit.

However, he did achieve godhood through this method, so it was inevitable that others would try to emulate him in the future.

So, what was the ultimate fate of Qingyuzi?

"The Samsara Divine Hall was in the wrong regarding this matter."

"Originally, all the material and Dao Origin spent by the Dongyan Ancient Clan were supposed to return to heaven and earth, but Qingyuzi occupied a portion, and it was impossible to kill him at that point."

"Therefore, most of the reincarnated souls went to the Empire, a small portion to the Primordial Hill and the Origin Heavenly Palace, and some concessions were also made regarding the quotas in the Samsara Realm."

Gu Luohe said, "They had to resolve internal conflicts first, and such concessions were necessary."

"This also included sending Qingyuzi, who had already become a god, through various spacetimes back into the past to complete a mission."

"That's why he made the promise for me to teach you in his stead; he is indeed no longer in this era."

Zhao Xing finally understood why Old Qing had never appeared. It turned out that fellow had to go work after becoming a god.

As for what he was going to do, Zhao Xing could already guess.

Because Gu Luohe had just said that Qingyuzi had occupied a portion of the Grand Dao Origin, which the Dongyan Ancient Clan had originally stolen using the Divine Derivation Stele.

If one were to view this as money, it would be stolen funds, considered 'illegally obtained god-ascension resources.'

However, Qingyuzi wasn't some nameless nobody; he was also an internal member of the Samsara Divine Hall. They couldn't possibly kill Old Qing again to make a sacrifice to heaven.

What was the Samsara Divine Hall's philosophy?

Balance!

In that case, let Qingyuzi retrieve the lost portion of resources.

Zhao Xing speculated that the mission given to Qingyuzi by the Divine Hall was probably to seize resources from the past and restore the balance of "returning the Dao to heaven."

At this point, Zhao Xing seemed to realize something: "Senior, does this mean people from the Barren Domain Era will also proactively send people to the past?"

"Yes," Gu Luohe nodded. "Where there are escapees, there are also saviors."

"The divine realm experts who remain in the Barren Domain Era are all those who firmly believe the universe has a future and actively work to solve problems."

"This is the righteousness upheld by the divine realm experts who remain in the Barren Domain Era."

"Bovine said all divine realm experts should die, and Wei Tianchen viewed them as parasites. Theoretically, they aren't wrong, but they are too extreme. They only represent a portion of divine realm experts, not all."

"As long as one firmly believes this, even if they don't follow the Dao of Heaven and Earth Attestation, they still have a chance to become a divine realm expert in the Barren Domain Era."

"The Samsara Divine Hall, the Primordial Hill, the Origin Heavenly Palace, and the Empire will all grant the most brilliant genius within an epoch the opportunity to become a god."

"Of course, reaching this height also means shouldering responsibility. Having used resources to become a god, one must also consider the future of their people and reclaim resources from the past."

Zhao Xing nodded; he could vaguely picture such a scene.

Two groups of gods with differing philosophies, using the Barren Domain Era as a spacetime boundary, forged walls of spacetime.

Gods in the "downstream" would thus not be harmed by those in the "upstream." At the same time, this wall was not completely sealed; it had passages, allowing access to the past from the present, and allowing those from the past to descend into the present.

Perhaps the Five Divine Wars of the Five Emperors' era unfolded in this manner, though the scale is not as grand now.

And the question of "where Qingyuzi went," as Bovine had asked, was also answered by Gu Luohe.

Old Qing became a god, but his path to godhood wasn't entirely legitimate. He had to 'return the Dao,' which was akin to repaying a debt, striving to secure survival resources for this spacetime.

"Then why do the gods in the 'upstream' of the river of time still return?" Zhao Xing asked.

"The first reason is self-protection," Gu Luohe said. "You can imagine that different eras have forged many spacetime walls. Suppose your point of god-ascension is within one such spacetime wall. When you secretly take resources and flee to the past..."

"Once discovered, the factions maintaining balance will try every possible way to kill you—in the spacetime before you grew powerful."

"Spacetime and causality are intertwined; this is what can be threatened."

"Secondly, flowing against the river of time and the operation of the universe's spacetime laws comes with a personal cost."

"Many weaker True Gods of Freedom must rely on the protection of Divine Generals and Divine Kings to survive in the past."

"And to gain protection, they are forced to work for these Evil God Lords."

Zhao Xing was speechless. It seemed that "emigrating" to the past wasn't necessarily a good thing either. Weaker gods still had to be forced to work.

This was worse than living like a lord in the Barren Domain Era; why go back to the past to wash dishes? Were they perhaps deluded by some 'ancient dream'?

From Gu Luohe's words, Zhao Xing learned that such descents could be active or passive.

"The one released by Bovine is already a Divine King; what is he doing in the Barren Domain Era?"

Weaker gods needed to constantly move to protect themselves, but a powerful Divine King should have moved their foundations out of all spacetimes and shouldn't be pursued. Why would he send an avatar?

Gu Luohe pondered, "Plundering resources, misleading proselytization, hatred... there are too many reasons, I can't be sure."

"I only know that this Divine King's name is the Lord of Cold Food."

The Lord of Cold Food? Zhao Xing murmured, his eyes becoming clear.

The third epoch of the Barren Domain was supposed to have an Ice Age version. Was it perhaps caused by the Lord of Cold Food?

"Sounds like a Divine King of the Heavenly Timing Faction..." Zhao Xing speculated.

The name was very distinctive; Cold Food Festival, it easily led to associations.

"Let's not discuss this for now. The Palace Master is pursuing him, so he shouldn't be able to cause much trouble," Gu Luohe said. "Let's return to the original question."

"After the Yuanhai incident, Qingyuzi became a god, paying the necessary price. His path to godhood would naturally be explored by various factions."

Zhao Xing recalled Wei Tianchen, who had tried to retrace Qingyuzi's path to godhood, traveling all the way to the Sunken Luo Barren Domain, but he hadn't precisely located the Xuanghuang World.

Gu Luohe pondered, "There are many investigative parties: the overt ones like the Empire, Primordial Hill, Origin Heavenly Palace... and covert ones like the Shadow Sanctuary and the Demon Race."

"However, none of us found anything."

Zhao Xing was startled. So the Empire had been investigating the Xuanghuang World so early. No wonder Old Qing had warned him not to return too soon.

But... no findings?

Could the Xuanghuang World's hidden illusory barrier have deceived all the factions?

Zhao Xing decided to be frank: "Senior, my hometown was not shattered, because I can still contact old friends from there."

Gu Luohe seemed pleased with Zhao Xing's answer: "I didn't say the Xuanghuang World was shattered. Not being able to find it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

"If it truly is as Bovine said—founded on the Utmost Land, overlooking the Utmost Star, and serving as the Five Emperors' Fengshan Sacrifice grounds—then even after the Five Emperors' era ended and despite the influence of the Barren Domain, such a sacred place shouldn't completely vanish."

Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for his honesty. However, he hadn't planned on hiding it anyway, as Ji Si had contacted Wang Tianzhi multiple times, and it was unlikely that the Celestial Master's Mansion hadn't noticed.

He intended to stand with the righteous gods' faction, those who attested to the Dao through heaven and earth, and hiding things wouldn't be beneficial.

Previously, he had brought back the Void Ancestor's secret method and passed one test; this was now his second.

"Senior, then why can't my hometown be found?" Zhao Xing wondered.

"I'm not sure either; I can only guess it's been sealed by the Samsara Divine Hall," Gu Luohe said.

Zhao Xing recalled one of Wang Tianzhi's descriptions of Xuanghuang's past.

After Emperor Wu Ji Che ascended, he passed the Human Emperor position of the native Great Zhou to Ji Chen.

Before the Xuanghuang World expanded into the 'New Xuanghuang World,' the ascension impediment for those in the Dao Establishment Realm still limited the Human Emperor's lifespan to no more than a thousand years.

Ji Chen died, passing the throne to Ji Ze, who also died.

Wang Tianzhi said: After three generations, the current Central Land Great Zhou was under Human Emperor Ji Hong.

After Ji Hong ascended the throne, the Book of Celestial Mandate, the Human Emperor Sword, and the Kunyuan Hoe appeared successively.

It was at this time that the Xuanghuang World began to undergo anomalous changes.

At the same time, Ji Hong planned to ascend, but as soon as he flew out, he was shattered by black raindrops!

Based on a lifespan of no more than a thousand years, three generations of Human Emperors would span approximately three thousand years.

This timeframe was similar to the period after he entered the cosmic version and experienced the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom incident.

Thus, it seemed highly probable that, as Gu Luohe stated, the Samsara Divine Hall had sealed the Xuanghuang World's location.

Everything aligned... Old Qing's warning not to return seemed to be because he knew the inside story of the Divine Hall's sealing. But was the Divine Hall's sealing merely out of fear that someone else might imitate Qingyuzi? Zhao Xing fell into deep thought.

For the remainder of the journey, Gu Luohe remained silent, hurrying along.

With the powerful figure silent, Zhao Xing also refrained from asking aimless questions.

It wasn't until half a year later, upon returning to the Empire's territory, that Gu Luohe spoke again.

"Zhao Xing, there is one thing you must remember."

"Please instruct me, Senior," Zhao Xing said respectfully.

"You pioneered the Star Annihilation Ancient Path, contributed to the Haitong Ancient Path, solved the problem of the Boundary Overlap Mountains, discovered the mysteries of the Spirit Void Origin Realm, and now you have inadvertently helped me unlock a spacetime seal... You have rendered great meritorious service to the Empire."

"My telling you these secrets also means you have the opportunity to acquire god-ascension resources. With your current achievements, developing within the Empire gives you great hope of reaching the Divine Realm in the future."

Zhao Xing quietly awaited Gu Luohe's "but."

"But!" Gu Luohe's tone sharpened abruptly. "Whether you choose to cultivate the Origin or achieve Dao through Heaven and Earth, if you betray this era and flee to the past, you will be my enemy, Gu Luohe's, and the Grand Emperor's enemy."

"No matter which spacetime you flee to, you will be hunted down and left to suffer eternal damnation."

Zhao Xing didn't offer any high-minded words of loyalty, merely nodded and bowed to Gu Luohe, indicating his understanding.

This was a factional choice, and no one could guarantee that the divine realm experts they cultivated wouldn't betray them, especially since betrayal would become very easy once they performed missions in past spacetimes.

Zhao Xing's rise was now unstoppable; he had merits, theories, and talent. Even if the Crimson Star Empire didn't provide god-ascension resources, the Primordial Hill would likely be pleased to.

Furthermore, if Zhao Xing were to leave the Empire and join the Origin Heavenly Palace or the Samsara Divine Hall, he would receive the same treatment. This was Zhao Xing's personal destiny.

"Gu Luohe saw this about me, which is why he spoke so much and revealed so many secrets."

Empire, Primal Realm, Huailiu Courtyard in Coral City. On Zhao Xing's first day back, he was examining intelligence reports from the past two millennia and deeply integrating the memories of his separated soul, not missing a single detail.

"Yet, there are some blind fools who want to stop my rise."

Zhao Xing's gaze fell upon a confidential intelligence report.

Spark Confidential Files - Barren Domain Era 2 - 1198 - Eighty-Seven.

Great Zhou Confidential Files - Barren Domain Era 2 - 1198 - One Thousand Four Hundred Fifty-Three.

These were two files that, despite different recording methods, detailed the same event: a mysterious, sudden attack on the Star Annihilation Ancient Path project and the economic encirclement of the Great Zhou Chamber of Commerce, both occurring 1,453 years ago.

The investigation results from both files pointed in the same direction.

"The Carlos family." Zhao Xing's eyes turned cold.