Chapter 518: Tianheng Leimu, the Background of Guluo River

Back then, the Crimson Star Empire initiated a ceasefire agreement between the human race's high-ranking officials and the demon race. They even opened the Dimensional Gateway for shared use with the demon emperors.

At the time, the Empire's primary focus was on developing the Northwest Desolate Domain. I knew then that, in the short term, there would be no place for me to utilize my skills.

Zhao Xing couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yun, why didn't you come to me...?"

Yun Tiandao shook his head. "Developing the Desolate Domain isn't my strength. I'm merely a Diviner from the Heavenly Chronology Sect. In domain development, the most I can do is bring spiritual energy rain. Anyone could replace me for such a task, so why would they need me?"

"Emperor Wu wanted me to stay in the Great Zhou and offered me shares in the Great Zhou Chamber of Commerce. But since I wasn't a subject of the Great Zhou, how could I accept its benefits?"

Zhao Xing sighed helplessly. Yun Tiandao was too strong-willed. If he hadn't been from the Xuanhuang Realm and the Grand Diviner of the Xia Dynasty, perhaps he could have become his partner. Yet, precisely because of this, he was unwilling to accept the Great Zhou's advantages.

Of course, this also highlighted how the Heavenly Chronology Sect limited Yun Tiandao's development; Diviners from that sect indeed had little role in the development of desolate domains.

"My cultivation stagnated until you created the 'Six Realities of Star Annihilation Theory,' which inspired me," Yun Tiandao continued, recounting past events. "At that time, I began traveling the Xuanling Star Domain. While creating my own cultivation methods, I observed the Yin-Yang binary stars in various regions and studied the seasonal changes within spiritual domains, eventually reaching the Samsara Realm."

"About five hundred years later, I broke through to the Lord-level."

"I originally wanted to tell you this news, but at that time, you had emerged from the Baihan Realm, and your main body's whereabouts were unknown, so I dropped the idea."

Listening to Yun Tiandao's account, Zhao Xing couldn't help but feel admiration. To realize the difficulty of the Heavenly Chronology Dao path during the Dao Realm stage, and then to create his own cultivation method to reach the Lord-level—Old Yun was truly a genius, worthy of being a founding ancestor in the Xuanhuang Realm. Yun Tiandao's access to news and information channels were far inferior to his own, and he lacked Zhao Xing's financial resources and opportunities. Yet, relying solely on self-creation and cultivating the most difficult Heavenly Chronology Sect path, he surprisingly reached the Lord-level.

"By then, I was already a Lord-level cultivator and had some renown in the Empire's southern border. I thought I was a significant figure and could request the Samsara Temple to resurrect Emperor Xia."

"So I traveled to the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, inquiring and striving for years, only to eventually realize it was a futile effort."

"I stayed in the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom for over three hundred years, never even entering the Samsara Temple; I only met one of their external affairs members."

"It was after being rejected by the Samsara Temple that I became completely disheartened. At that time, the Xuanling historical records unsealed information about the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom's past. I thought of the Dongyan Ancient Clan's old affairs and began collecting sacrificial treasures."

Listening to Yun Tiandao's narration, Zhao Xing sighed inwardly. The right to resurrection from the Samsara Temple was extremely difficult to obtain, granted almost exclusively during super-wars when the Temple would proactively open this option to resurrect human prodigies and powerhouses who fell in battle. Although Yun Tiandao was formidable, he wasn't significant enough in the Samsara Temple's eyes. Making such a request during peacetime was virtually impossible to fulfill; besides secretly obtaining a Divine Evolution Stele or using a sacrificial altar for resurrection, there was little other chance of success.

This illustrates how the Dongyan Ancient Clan set a very bad precedent. After finding no other recourse, Yun Tiandao also began to consider this path. Since the Dongyan Ancient Clan could achieve it, he believed he could emulate them.

"I couldn't steal a Divine Evolution Stele, but I acquired a set of Samsara Altars."

"I then painstakingly cultivated the Way of Sacrifice myself. By the five-hundredth year after the Xuanling historical records were unsealed, I had prepared everything," Yun Tiandao recalled, his eyes distant.

"Wait, a set of Samsara Altars? Where did you get that?" Zhao Xing asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't those be forbidden? Old Yun, do you possess such immense capability?"

"Through legitimate channels, it's certainly difficult. Many contemporary priests don't even know how to arrange the altars, and the forging methods for the five sacrificial artifacts have also been blocked, making new ones impossible to create."

"However, those that have already been created can still be used."

"After the memories of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom were restored, the entire Tianyou Ancient Kingdom experienced some unrest. I realized this was an opportunity and immediately went to the Illusory God Star System."

"You unearthed the Samsara Altars of that tyrannical demon empress from Yue Luo Mausoleum?" Zhao Xing suddenly understood.

"Yes."

In his past life's memories, the development of the Illusory God Star System lasted over seven thousand years, so the timeline roughly matched. Back then, Zhao Xing connected with Du Yun by providing him with a void river map of Yue Luo Mausoleum, which Du Yun then shared with the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom. From this, he also obtained a time page from the Xuanling historical records and unearthed the Thousand Illusions Tree. Logically, his involvement in this life should have significantly accelerated the progress. However, after the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom incident, the Sacrificial Great Dao was severed, the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom vanished, and many powerhouses underwent samsara, slowing progress again. Crucially, the Samsara Altars had never been found, yet unexpectedly, Yun Tiandao had excavated them.

"The result was obvious: I failed," Yun Tiandao continued. "I hid in a remote, uninhabited star-continent at the former site of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom and performed the sacrificial ritual."

"I attempted to resurrect both Emperor Xia and the remnants of the Xia Dynasty."

"I tried a total of two times."

"The first time, I resurrected Emperor Xia, but he remained in a state of madness. As for his civil and military officials, they couldn't be resurrected at all. He soon committed suicide due to his insanity."

"I continued cultivating the Way of Sacrifice, summarizing the reasons. I discovered that I had only preserved Emperor Xia's relics and Heavenly Soul, but not those of his other civil and military officials."

"The reason for his madness was that I could only trace back time by one Desolate Domain Era. When I tried to sacrifice to souls from an even earlier past, I encountered a powerful obstacle."

Zhao Xing nodded slightly. The obstacle Yun Tiandao encountered should have been the space-time barrier. Unable to break through this barrier, he would always only be able to resurrect a mad Emperor Xia, never a sane one.

The Samsara Temple held absolute authority over the Way of Resurrection. Even if others could exploit loopholes, they couldn't achieve anything too outrageous; such resurrections were considered "low-threat." Of course, something like what the Dongyan Ancient Clan did posed a significant threat.

"About a thousand years later, I tried again to break through this obstacle."

"Originally, I wasn't confident, but for some reason, this time the obstacle became very small," Yun Tiandao said, a deep puzzlement in his eyes. "However, I still didn't succeed. Instead, I saw some very strange scenes."

"What did you see?"

"I saw a ship emerge from the long river of time, lifted by giant waves over high city walls. It looked something like this—" Yun Tiandao gestured, describing it.

Zhao Xing was instantly shocked after seeing the image. The ship Yun Tiandao saw was the Yin-Yang Warship, the very one Zhao Xing had returned on from Yuan's Bone God Domain! Old Yun actually witnessed the scene of me returning from the past?

"What else did you see about this ship? Did you notice anything special?" Zhao Xing pressed, as he still didn't know how to activate the Fengchan Land and hoped Yun Tiandao's observations might provide some answers.

"Anything special?" Yun Tiandao frowned in thought. "I saw the giant waves lifting the ancient ship, and it seemed as if a pair of large hands were supporting it. I don't know if my description is accurate; Grand Dao illusions that appear in the long river of time are difficult to describe. I vaguely recall only a point of light in the river, continuously rotating beneath a vortex."

A pair of large hands? Zhao Xing frowned. Yun Tiandao's description was abstract, and he still had no clue how to activate the Fengchan Land.

"Keep going. What else?"

Yun Tiandao shook his head. "After that, my sacrificial materials didn't bring Emperor Xia back, but they did bring back a statue and a Daoist scripture."

"A statue?" Zhao Xing was startled. "Shouldn't there be two?"

He had assumed the Boundless True God's statue had exploited a loophole in Yun Tiandao's sacrifice and descended onto the altar. But now, hearing this, it didn't seem to be the case.

"Two statues? No, only one," Yun Tiandao said, looking at Fairy Nifeng. "The one in Nifeng's hand is not the same as the one in mine."

"The one she holds was obtained later when we collected treasures."

Good heavens, evil gods really were everywhere. The Boundless True God statue in Fairy Nifeng's hand was not the same one as in Yun Tiandao's. Indeed, although the Boundless True God had mentioned sending his main body to the Black Sky Desolate Domain, he hadn't mentioned the ancient boat. He also didn't know that he had tracked Yun Tiandao and appeared near the ancient boat. Logically, the Boundless True God should have known, as Zhao Xing had revealed himself at the time. If they weren't the same statue, then it made sense. After all, the Black Sky Desolate Domain was vast, and it was normal for different entities to coincidentally choose such secluded places for concealment.

"May I see it?" Zhao Xing asked seriously.

Yun Tiandao remained silent.

Zhao Xing immediately realized something. "Is there a danger?" He thought for a moment, then felt it was incorrect, and rephrased: "Is it dangerous for me?"

Yun Tiandao nodded.

Zhao Xing immediately understood. He was there to handle evil god missions and had naturally received much information from the Empire. In the case of the Boundless True God, Zhao Xing hadn't gained many benefits, and the evil god's control was almost zero. An evil god's control over a preacher also depended on whether its main body was present in that space-time. Taking the Boundless True God as an example, that fellow had exploited a loophole in a space-time channel and sent a bunch of preaching statues over. Even if one constantly invoked his name or cursed him, it wouldn't matter.

However, Yun Tiandao's situation was undoubtedly different. Old Yun hadn't been in the ancient boat for long before he had already passed three True Spirit tribulations. Such a massive improvement surely came at a price; this evil god must have a surveillance method. At least from Yun Tiandao's demeanor, the entity's revered name couldn't even be mentioned, nor could more related information be revealed.

"All right, we can discuss this later. What was the cost of the sacrifice?" Zhao Xing asked. The demands of evil gods were largely similar, mainly aiming for the origin energy of this space-time. However, Zhao Xing still wanted to know the method of sacrifice, as the "origin of the Great Dao" was a broad term, and the specific origin represented by different items varied.

"Two types," Yun Tiandao's voice was somewhat cold. "First, killing. Over these years, I've killed over ten billion people in total, refining their souls and bodies."

Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow.

"Zhao Xing, don't misunderstand," Fairy Nifeng quickly explained. "Brother Tian only killed space pirates and those wicked, unbenevolent nobles."

So that was it? Then it's fine. Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief, realizing Yun Tiandao still had some moral boundaries. He feared most that Old Yun would completely transform into a great devil and lose himself in the quest to resurrect Emperor Xia. Of course, even so, Yun Tiandao's troubles were considerable. If he continued down this path, he would definitely be discovered. Even if wicked nobles were guilty, it was up to the ancient kingdom's ruler to pass judgment. Yun Tiandao's actions were an overreach of authority, and if it were discovered he was sacrificing to an evil god, it would be even more unforgivable. However, now that Zhao Xing knew, it was no longer a major issue. Honestly, the number of people Yun Tiandao killed was not that large; a slightly more advanced realm-star could probably meet the requirements. Scattered across the entire ancient kingdom, it wouldn't even be noticeable.

"What about the second type?"

"Stealing stars."

"Excuse me, 'stealing trysts'?" Zhao Xing paused, confused.

"No, not that," Fairy Nifeng clarified. "Brother Tian meant stealing sun stars and moon stars."

"How many did you steal?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Approximately fifty thousand mid-to-high-grade Yin-Yang binary stars," Fairy Nifeng's voice was faint.

"You—" Zhao Xing was speechless. Compared to killing billions of corrupt officials and space pirates, the crime of stealing stars was clearly far more serious. What were the precious public resources of the spiritual energy star domain? Sun stars and moon stars! A star system with only spiritual energy couldn't be called a spiritual energy galaxy. There must be Yin-Yang binary stars in operation for the spiritual energy to complete its cycle, and for the four seasons within the system to balance life, death, the Five Elements, and various Great Daos, allowing them to complete their celestial circulation. Currently, along all nine ancient paths, binary star systems existed. This was one of the few times the Heavenly Chronology Sect demonstrated its presence. Yin and Yang opened the six directions, and origin energy nurtured true spirits. Only in this way could a stable, long-lasting, and most cost-effective origin cycle be established. When Zhao Xing developed the Star Annihilation Ancient Path, he also frequently needed to relocate stars. However, the binary stars moved along the Star Annihilation Ancient Path numbered only over 150,000 high-grade binary stars. Yun Tiandao actually stole over fifty thousand mid-to-high-grade binary stars from various parts of the entire star domain to sacrifice to an evil god?

"That's right, only by doing so could Old Yun achieve such a significant breakthrough."

"The one he sacrificed to wouldn't happen to be some evil god from the Heavenly Chronology Sect, would it?"

"A Self-Sufficient God specifically devouring the origins of Yin-Yang binary stars?"

After the events in the Baihan Realm, Zhao Xing's favorable impression of the Diviners from the Heavenly Chronology Sect plummeted. The only demonic Diviner he had ever seen was Venerable Baihan.

"You're too audacious. With so many Yin-Yang binary stars missing, you'll likely be wanted soon."

Yin-Yang binary stars were almost non-renewable resources. Of course, some techniques within the Geomancy Sect were rumored to be able to activate Yang veins and Yin veins, regenerating vitality. However, this situation wouldn't spontaneously create more origin energy; it would merely temporarily alter the ecology of a localized area within the celestial circulation. The Yin-Yang binary stars stolen by the evil god were taken out of this space-time, which meant stealing the contemporary Yin-Yang Great Dao origin, thus reducing the total amount!

"Brother Yun is truly muddle-headed." Zhao Xing couldn't help but sigh.

"Brother Zhao, is Brother Tian's crime very serious?" Fairy Nifeng asked nervously.

"Sister-in-law, the first matter, I can easily handle," Zhao Xing said. "Given my current status, I can directly take responsibility and say I ordered it."

"Brother Yun killing some space pirates and powerful individuals isn't a major issue." For a dignified resolution, he could offer some compensation to the rulers of those ancient kingdoms. If he adopted a tougher stance, which ruler would dare trouble him? They might even have to thank him for helping them get rid of parasites.

"However, the latter matter is a bit troublesome. This is a sensitive time," Zhao Xing said.

"Zhao Xing, I'll bear the consequences of my own actions."

"Let's pretend we never met today. If I'm caught later, I won't mention you."

Yun Tiandao, who didn't want to trouble Zhao Xing, was about to leave with his Dao companion.

"Wait," Zhao Xing stopped him. "Brother Yun, I only said it's a bit troublesome, not that it can't be resolved."

"I don't want to implicate you."

"You can't handle this matter, but I can," Zhao Xing persuaded. "Even if Brother Yun isn't afraid, will sister-in-law always accompany you on the run?"

"How much suffering did she endure to be reunited with you?"

Yun Tiandao's expression softened. He had guarded the House of Eras for a million years, his Dao heart unshakeable, even inspiring admiration from Wang Tianzhi. But Fairy Nifeng was his weakness.

"If you trust me, leave this matter to me."

Zhao Xing took responsibility, firstly because he was grateful for everything Yun Tiandao had done, greatly helping him and the Great Zhou. Secondly, the matter was also related to his mission. He was, after all, looking for evil gods; wasn't this a ready-made accomplishment?

"Stealing stars is a grave crime. How will you bear it?" Yun Tiandao didn't disbelieve him, but he still feared implicating Zhao Xing.

"I am a Primal Emissary," Zhao Xing smiled. "Combined with my Demigod cultivation, this identity carries another layer of meaning. I am currently tasked with investigating the appearance of evil gods."

"I can apply for you to become my divine guard, though it might be an inconvenience for Brother Yun."

Yun Tiandao wouldn't care about such a thing and certainly wouldn't feel wronged. He was merely curious: "Do you really wield such great authority now?"

Stealing stars, killing people, and being linked to an evil god—Zhao Xing could resolve all of this?

"Hahaha, we're no longer the small fries we used to be," Zhao Xing said, a hint of pride in his eyes as he met Yun Tiandao's gaze. "Look, the Carlos family collapsed just by my word."

"As long as you come back with me and become my divine guard, I'll file a supplementary report. Even if you stole stars, it would be under my command, and I act under the highest authority of the human race."

"Stealing a few Yin-Yang binary stars, isn't it all for the mission?"

Zhao Xing was confident that as long as the matter wasn't related to political stance, it would be easy to resolve. He might even gain merit. After all, Yun Tiandao had already begun the evil god's mission and completed quite a few stages. If he were to start from scratch, it would be troublesome, as such missions also required time to verify loyalty. Taking over Yun Tiandao's evil god mission might even yield unexpected gains. As for Yun Tiandao's desire to resurrect Emperor Xia and restore the kingdom, by becoming his divine guard, Old Yun would also gain a channel for advancement. If he became stronger and made contributions in the future, it wouldn't be impossible.

Fairy Nifeng excitedly clasped Yun Tiandao's hand. "Brother Tian, we..."

Yun Tiandao patted his Dao companion's hand. "Alright, Zhao Xing, I'll go back with you."

Zhao Xing grasped Yun Tiandao, continuously initiating boundless teleportation using his Primordial Clone as a base. Within a few days, Yun Tiandao was settled in a base outside Jiachen Pass, within the Star Annihilation Corridor. This area still contained a considerable amount of Great Zhou's private territory, not yet relocated.

Zhao Xing first summoned Ji Si. Ji Si was now a Thirteenth-Tier Fate Venerable and also involved in evil god missions, thus having access to this type of information and channels. After learning about Yun Tiandao's past, Ji Si couldn't help but shake her head. "Yun Tiandao was somewhat confused regarding this matter. Such a level of achievement couldn't possibly be accomplished by him alone."

"However, his spirit is truly admirable. If I were in his position, I would probably do the same, sparing no effort to resurrect the Grand Diviner and His Majesty."

Ji Si imagined that if the Great Zhou were to fall, and both the Grand Diviner and His Majesty perished, if the Empire and the Samsara Temple refused to help, she too would grasp at the straw of evil god sacrifice.

"His matter is easy to handle," Ji Si said. "Grand Diviner, you just need to apply to Gu Luohe to make Yun Tiandao your divine guard, and that will resolve the issues of star theft and killings."

"How do we solve the technical issues?" Zhao Xing asked. For Yun Tiandao to 'officially join,' there had to be some merits reported. This meant understanding the identity of the evil god Yun Tiandao sacrificed to, any other objectives it had, and what methods it employed. If Old Yun truly was his subordinate and had been pre-instructed, Zhao Xing could simply bring Old Yun directly to the Mind Palace. However, there had to be a proper sequence of events, in other words, procedural justice. If the Mind General knew that Zhao Xing was 'getting on the bus first and paying later,' it would be considered shielding Yun Tiandao. Therefore, Zhao Xing and Ji Si had to solve this problem themselves.

"Yun Tiandao cannot describe the evil god's sacrificial process because the evil god's divine influence is in his mind."

Ji Si pondered, "Once Yun Tiandao even thinks of speaking it, it would be tantamount to betraying the evil god. At that moment, the divine realm would use karma and kill him from a distance before he could even utter a word."

Zhao Xing nodded. When he contended with the Boundless True God, all his clone souls were affected, clearly showing that divine realm methods should not be underestimated.

Ji Si thought for a moment. "Grand Diviner, we can first have Yun Tiandao wear the Snow-Auspice Fortune God Bone, and then let him enter the Eight Directions Divine Mirror."

"As long as that entity isn't a Fate God General, the senior artifact spirit is confident that it can bypass the evil god's supervision without alarming its divine thought, allowing Yun Tiandao to speak freely."

The Eight Directions Divine Mirror had this function? This artifact spirit looked down on him, holding back a trick! Zhao Xing couldn't help but complain inwardly. If a Grand Dao divine artifact had an experienced artifact spirit, its behavior when facing a new master was like a strategist choosing a lord. Clearly, when it came to Ji Si, the Eight Directions artifact spirit no longer held back. There was nothing to be done; after all, this was a diviner's divine artifact, not a farmer's. And the core of the Eight Directions artifact spirit's plan was four words: 'Blessed by Heaven, Evade Karma.'

Anyone wearing the God Bone of the Snow-Auspice Fortune God would reach the Thirtieth Tier! This ensured the plan would proceed smoothly, tipping Yun Tiandao's subsequent fortune towards a favorable outcome. With the Eight Directions Divine Mirror then evading karma, it wouldn't affect the evil god's surveillance of Yun Tiandao.

So Zhao Xing unhesitatingly removed the Fortune God Bone and put it on Yun Tiandao. Then he sent Old Yun into the mirror. He and Ji Si followed him inside.

"Whoosh~"

The space inside the mirror was a vast expanse of white, as if they were in the clouds. The Eight Directions artifact spirit appeared as a middle-aged Daoist priest. His robes were covered in hexagrams, seemingly encompassing all diviners' techniques: scorching tortoise shell divination, heavenly strategies, astrology, bird omens, dream interpretation, protective trigrams, oracle slips, heavenly mechanism arrays—all seemed to be included.

"Senior Eight Directions, I trouble you," Zhao Xing cupped his hands.

"Mm," the Eight Directions artifact spirit nodded, but didn't rush to act, instead looking at Ji Si. It seemed that Ji Si was still the one to cast the spell; the Eight Directions artifact spirit was merely assisting.

"Senior, this matter is grave. Shouldn't you personally—"

"Ji Si's cultivation is perfectly sufficient. Outsiders who don't understand should keep quiet."

Zhao Xing immediately behaved, quietly watching from the side.

"Innate Yin-Yang, Open Divine Eye." Ji Si opened her Eye of Destiny on her brow, and two trigram patterns appeared in her palm. One floated forward, the other backward, towards Yun Tiandao. The Yang trigram rose, the Yin trigram descended, and Yun Tiandao seemed to be in an independent space. Though clearly before him, Zhao Xing felt as if Yun Tiandao no longer existed. Closing his eyes, the name and impression of Yun Tiandao slowly faded further. This strong, really?

"Any shifting hexagrams?"

"None."

"Any causes formed?"

"None either."

"Splendid!"

Zhao Xing opened his eyes to see the Eight Directions artifact spirit looking at Ji Si with great satisfaction, a look that made Zhao Xing roll his eyes at its cheap antics.

"What, are you unconvinced?" the Eight Directions artifact spirit glanced warningly at Zhao Xing.

"No."

"Don't be unconvinced. You're an amateur. Following you is like a pearl covered in dust. Of course, I used to be too lazy to say much; it's already good that I didn't wish you dead for a new master."

"Senior... I thank you."

"You're welcome," the Eight Directions artifact spirit waved his hand.

Zhao Xing was exasperated. Was he serious?

Ji Si was performing her spell, and the Eight Directions artifact spirit began praising her again. "Ji Si is different. You could say he's one of the top three diviner geniuses since the end of the Five Emperors era."

"Once he makes a trip to the Ten Directions Mountain and obtains the First Hexagram, he can enter the divine realm."

Obtaining a hexagram from the Tenth Direction was one of the paths for a diviner to achieve godhood. Zhao Xing asked curiously, "Senior, what is your relationship with the Ten Directions Mountain? What is your identity?"

The Eight Directions artifact spirit seemed to be in a good mood and casually recited, "Fate stone on mountain peak grinds into mirror, entering the Dao to ferry mortals through dust. Fate has no coming, no going; Heavenly Dao is impermanent yet predictable. Heh heh, kid, ponder it yourself."

What am I supposed to ponder?! I swear, you diviners always love to be mysterious.

Zhao Xing said no more, quietly waiting for Ji Si's spell to finish. Once silence fell, time within the mirror seemed to cease flowing. After an unknown period, Ji Si and Yun Tiandao simultaneously opened their eyes.

"Grand Diviner, there's only a quarter of an hour."

Ji Si took out a sundial and began timing. Zhao Xing immediately began questioning Yun Tiandao.

"Who is it?"

Yun Tiandao: "His full revered name is: Thunder Divine Administrator, Five Abyss Thunder God General, Heavenly Lady Yuanjun."

The name was quite long. Yuanjun usually referred to a female, so Zhao Xing automatically shortened this evil god's name to Heavenly Lady Thunder Mother. Much information could be gleaned from the revered name: her power was at the God General level, she should be a deity of the Heavenly Chronology Sect, the Thunder Divine Administrator was likely a divine institution from a past faction, and Five Abyss might be a place name.

"Indeed, a god of Heavenly Chronology," Zhao Xing's expression changed. "Perhaps I could obtain a divine-level Heavenly Chronology technique from this evil god! To complete my own deficiencies!"

"Brother Yun, let me see the cultivation method he passed on to you."

Yun Tiandao nodded, his fingers steady as he plunged them into his earlobes, pulling out a bolt of lightning from his head. The lightning quickly transformed into a purple Daoist scripture, upon which numerous divine patterns appeared. As Yun Tiandao performed this action, Ji Si suddenly looked up at the sundial. "Grand Diviner, only half a quarter of an hour remains." This action seemed to trigger some taboo, preventing Ji Si's suppression from lasting too long.

Zhao Xing immediately began recording rapidly. He used his True Spirit to imprint and forcibly memorize, instantly feeling that seventy percent of his main body's soul consciousness was occupied.

"What a powerful divine art! Even with my many clone souls, it still requires seventy percent of my soul consciousness to withstand it?"

"It seems Yun Tiandao could only learn this because he was blessed. I'm secretly learning it, forcibly memorizing it, so it's different."

Zhao Xing didn't study it immediately but seized the time to continue questioning.

"What is the next phase of the mission he assigned you?"

Yun Tiandao recalled, "Continue collecting the star cores of Yin-Yang binary stars and refining origin energy through killings. However, the quantity has been increased fivefold. After achieving the goal and performing the sacrifice, the reward I receive can help me pass the eighth True Spirit Tribulation."

At this moment, the Bagua formation diagrams above Yun Tiandao's head and beneath his feet floated up and sank down respectively. Ji Si reminded again, "Only thirty breaths left."

Zhao Xing quickly asked, "Is there any other information you consider important?"

Yun Tiandao thought for a moment. "Yes. The location of that ancient boat will change after my sacrifice. I'll have to wait for his guidance."

Well, it's still a one-way contact, so the idea of heading straight to the lair has fallen through.

"Furthermore, she also gave me alternative missions."

"One is to search for the original version of 'World Law Luo' as a Grand Dao divine artifact or a Power divine artifact."

"The second is to gather information about a specific person."

"Who?"

At this point, Ji Si reminded again, "You can only say one more sentence."

Yun Tiandao's eyes showed struggle, and speaking seemed to become very difficult. "A scholar whose Daoist title is 'Poincaré'."

Zhao Xing wanted to ask more, but saw Ji Si immediately call a halt. The twin trigrams in her palm returned to their original positions, pushing Zhao Xing away. Zhao Xing felt a ripple of space-time energy sweep past, and Yun Tiandao's eyes fell into a daze.

"Why hasn't it started yet?" Yun Tiandao asked.

"It's already over," Ji Si said.

"But I don't remember speaking," Yun Tiandao frowned.

"Of course you won't remember," Ji Si said. "If you remembered, wouldn't the evil god remember too?"

"Once you leave the Eight Directions Divine Mirror, you won't remember this either."

Yun Tiandao gave a wry smile. "It seems I'll inevitably be asked again after I leave. I didn't realize his influence on me was so great."

"It doesn't matter," Ji Si said. "As long as you trust us, it doesn't matter whether you remember or not."

Yun Tiandao nodded, accepting the fact. Ji Si waved her hand, sending Yun Tiandao out. The clone outside led Yun Tiandao to the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion to stay, where some follow-up procedures for bone extraction would be performed.

Within the mirror's interior space, Zhao Xing casually took out the Boundless True God's statue. Since they were already here, he might as well ask the Eight Directions Divine Mirror's artifact spirit to help check the Boundless True God's background. The mission Heavenly Lady Thunder Mother gave Yun Tiandao was, after all, one step removed from him. The Boundless True God's mission was his own.

"Senior Eight Directions, I've also encountered an evil god. Please take a look."

After seeing the Boundless True God's statue, the Eight Directions Divine Mirror's artifact spirit's expression immediately became solemn. "Where did you get this?"

"Is there a problem?" Zhao Xing was startled. Logically, the weight of the Boundless True God's statue shouldn't be as significant as Heavenly Lady Thunder Mother's; he could suppress it himself.

"Heavenly Lady Thunder Mother might only be a Self-Sufficient God General, but the divine power on this statue is that of a Tribulation-Free True God, one who achieved Dao through heaven and earth," the Eight Directions artifact spirit said seriously. "Although the divine power is weak, its level is higher than Heavenly Lady Thunder Mother's."

No wonder he called himself a True God; Zhao Xing had thought it was a title the Boundless True God gave himself.

"Achieved Dao through heaven and earth?" Zhao Xing wasn't scared; instead, he grew more excited. "This is a big fish."

"Kid, you're quite bold," the Eight Directions artifact spirit squinted, seemingly seeing Zhao Xing's past interactions with the Boundless True God. "You're merely a Demigod, yet you dare to scheme against a True God?"

"Chasing one god is a chase, chasing a group of gods is also a chase," Zhao Xing said, unafraid. How could one become a god without some courage when venturing out? Look at Qingyuzi, his daring was outrageous.

"Senior, what is his origin?" Zhao Xing wanted to know the Boundless True God's profession.

"A God of Formations," the Eight Directions artifact spirit said. "Moreover, he should be a great god who controls certain space-time node channels, which is why he can cast such a wide net."

"Any True God of this type has a very significant background, either with a multitude of Self-Sufficient God friends or attendants."

Was the Boundless True God really that formidable? Zhao Xing no longer dared to underestimate him.

"If I must interact with him, what wisdom can you impart, Senior?"

The Eight Directions artifact spirit: "Since he is a True God who achieved Dao through heaven and earth, his bottom line for actions is higher than that of Self-Sufficient Gods. There are some rules he absolutely will not violate."

Zhao Xing was thoughtful. In the Eight Directions Divine Mirror's judgment, the Boundless True God was stronger than Heavenly Lady Thunder Mother. Did this mean interacting with the Boundless True God would be relatively safer than with Heavenly Lady Thunder Mother? From this perspective, the missions the Boundless True God assigned might not simply involve killing or star collection.

"Senior, I still have doubts—"

"Speak."

"If the past and present intertwine, can divine realms travel to the future? To see if the universe has truly fallen?"

Zhao Xing felt that these two factions of divine realms, each vying for supremacy and believing themselves righteous, might as well go to the future to see the outcome.

The Eight Directions Divine Mirror looked at Zhao Xing as if he were an idiot. "One doesn't go to the future because one simply cannot return. As for why, figure it out yourself. To ask this old man such a simple question is truly a waste of time."

With that, the Eight Directions Divine Mirror kicked Zhao Xing out.

Despite being scorned by the Divine Mirror, Zhao Xing wasn't annoyed. As he traveled towards the Primal Realm, he pondered seriously. By the time he reached Gu Luohe's palace, he understood.

"Regarding the four stages of the universe, what phenomena would occur if it reached the Extinction Period?"

"All origin energy would collapse, and the Great Dao would cease to exist."

"Assuming this period arrived, even a Divine Emperor would lose all their great power, unable to flow against the long river of time and return to their original era."

If the river itself dried up, how could anyone flow against it? So, this was destined to be unseen.

Collecting his thoughts, Zhao Xing found Gu Luohe. "Senior Gu, I have an urgent matter to discuss, concerning the Black Abyss Evil God."

"Oh?" Gu Luohe was a little surprised. "Have you already gained something so quickly?"

"Yes," Zhao Xing said. "I have an informant,