Chapter 519: Mystical Treasure Pavilion, Reporting to Become a God?

"Is it done?"

"It's done. Yun Tiandao is now my divine guard." After leaving the Primordial Realm, Zhao Xing met up with Ji Si.

"That's good," Ji Si breathed a sigh of relief. Yun Tiandao had helped Great Zhou immensely; he had contributed significantly to the crucial initial funding. If Old Yun hadn't been unwilling to serve as an official in Great Zhou, he would surely be a demigod by now, considering he had already cultivated to the Lord level himself.

"Are there any leads on the person-finding mission Yun Tiandao mentioned?" Zhao Xing inquired.

Ji Si waved her hand, and a water screen shimmered before them, displaying a dense list of names. "I asked Feng Chen, the current Grand Elder of the Academy City, for a list of scholars."

"Among the scholars registered in the Academy City, there are 1,385 individuals named Poincaré or with the daoist name Poincaré."

"Fewer than I expected," Zhao Xing remarked as he scanned the list.

"This refers to the list of pure scholars," Ji Si explained. "It doesn't include the historical scholars integrated by Bo Wei."

Zhao Xing nodded. Scholars are inherently talented professionals; their innate essence automatically condenses into a blank Daoist book upon birth, and their Fate Palace forms naturally. The scholar profession cannot be cultivated later in life. Of course, since Bo Wei unified the groups of astronomical historians and historical scholars, it opened up another path to becoming a scholar. However, pure scholars remain rare. The birth of scholars is also irregular; even if both parents are scholars, their offspring may not necessarily be scholars, though the probability is slightly higher.

"If we extend the search to the group of historical scholars, the number becomes very large," Ji Si introduced. "We've already found over a million individuals named Poincaré, and that's excluding those below the Origin Realm and not counting unregistered ones." The Profound Spirit Starfield is vast, so the base number of historical scholars who can be cultivated later in life is naturally also very large.

"Like finding a needle in a haystack," Zhao Xing thought, recalling his past experience of searching for Midi. "No features, just a name. This person-finding mission from Celestial Lady Lei Mu is truly inexplicable."

Ji Si also smiled. "I even suspect this is a karmic trap thrown out by an evil god, intentionally occupying our computational power." Celestial Lady Lei Mu gave no clues, just a name, meaning that to complete this mission, they would have to bring a group of individuals named Poincaré to her for verification.

"It's worth a try regardless. I'll have one of my clones slowly filter through it," Zhao Xing said, setting the matter aside. Anyway, he had many clones and could handle it at his leisure. Many evil god-related missions are inexplicable, with unknown rewards and content, and are extremely tedious. Zhao Xing had seen many potential demigods encounter similar person-finding missions in the Star Mirror. Some people enjoyed challenging these missions, but even after the evil gods were vanquished, the individuals were still not found. Ji Si's conjecture was not without reason; it was highly probable that these missions were mere pretexts.

"The item-finding mission is easier. The initial version of the World Law Loom is collected by Palace Lord Lu Ya of the Origin Heavenly Palace," Ji Si stated.

"Obtaining this divine artifact is a pipe dream," Zhao Xing shook his head. He was no stranger to the World Law Loom, as he had once used its World Star Dao Soldier version. The World Law Loom and the Twelve Wandering Gods were both relatively famous magical weapons. "Legend has it that the World Law Loom was a magical artifact crafted by the Machine God 'Jie Luo' for the Minister of Agriculture, as he wished to emulate the Emperor's path to enlightenment. While the Emperor created the 'Primordial Dao Pagoda' for the Minister of Agriculture of the Egoist Faction, Jie Luo crafted the World Law Loom for the Minister of Agriculture of the Celestial Time Faction. However, he clearly failed."

Now that Zhao Xing had reached a higher level, he knew that Jie Luo was a god of the Barren Realm Era faction, known as General Jie Luo.

Ji Si said, "Secret archives from the Celestial Master's Mansion show that the initial divine artifact of General Jie Luo is collected by Palace Lord Lu Ya. And since the ninth epoch before the Barren Realm, there has been no news of General Jie Luo; no one knows where he went."

"I probably know where he went," Zhao Xing said, recalling Gu Luohe's words. For General Jie Luo to achieve Heaven-Earth Dao Validation and forge a true divine artifact of the Celestial Time Faction, he would likely have to travel to that special solar year sealed by Divine King Gu Xiao.

"But what does Celestial Lady Lei Mu want with the initial divine artifact of the World Law Loom? It's baffling," Ji Si pondered, an endless karmic storm flashing in her eyes as if in calculation.

At this moment, the Eight Directions Artifact Spirit proactively jumped out of the mirror. Observing Ji Si's slowly falling hair, he interrupted, "Stop calculating, Ji Si, you're almost bald. Missions like this can't be figured out in a few thousand solar years; you're just wasting computational power. Many unsolved mysteries were deliberately left behind by past space-time factions. Fate Masters must learn to prioritize. Celestial Lady Lei Mu is merely a divine general of the Thunder God Department. It's questionable whether she can even deliver on rewards for such missions to her followers. As Zhao Xing said, it's a shot in the dark. Perhaps she thinks so too."

"You're right. Thank you for the reminder, senior." Ji Si stopped her calculations. She ran a hand over her bald head, and her hair instantly grew back. The Eight Directions Artifact Spirit pulled Ji Si into the mirror.

Seeing that the Eight Directions Artifact Spirit was about to have a private conversation with Ji Si, Zhao Xing discreetly left.

"Brother Yun, your matter is resolved."

"Thank you," Yun Tiandao and Fairy Nifeng beside him were about to bow together, but Zhao Xing quickly steadied them.

"Brother Yun, now that your problem is solved, there are still things you must do yourself," Zhao Xing said. "You can only use this identity to save your life when absolutely necessary."

"I understand," Yun Tiandao nodded. "If everyone knew I was your divine guard and I openly completed missions for an evil god, that evil god would also become suspicious of me."

"However, you can carry one of my straw effigy bodies with you. Normally, this body will be inanimate, but if any problem arises, just take it out, and I will immediately arrive," Zhao Xing instructed. Yun Tiandao was an unknown figure in the entire Profound Spirit Starfield, but Zhao Xing was different; every major national lord and superpower recognized him. This was the benefit of having high prestige.

"I suppose I'm now stealing stars on command," Yun Tiandao chuckled.

Yun Tiandao set off again, and Zhao Xing continued with his original mission. Thanks to the intelligence on Celestial Lady Lei Mu provided by Old Yun, Zhao Xing gained 3,500 contribution points this time.

Zhao Xing immediately opened the Star Mirror. Combining it with the Primordial Token, he saw a unique exchange list within.

"This is it! Created by all the divine-level human experts in the Profound Spirit Starfield, it contains countless secret and precious treasures, resources for becoming a god," Zhao Xing said, a little excited. Normally, without gaining the proper qualifications, even a demigod could not know of its existence. The divine realms of the human race constantly replenish it with items. Only divine realm candidates, such as Primordial Emissaries, Samsara Emissaries, and Taiqiu Emissaries, can see and exchange items from it.

At this moment, a line of small text flashed across the Star Mirror:Name: Zhao XingCultivation: Nine-Calamity DemigodProfession: Minister of AgricultureIdentity: Primordial Emissary (Tier 1)Total Contribution: 3,500Remaining Contribution: 3,500Contribution Rank: 108,546

"Ranked 100,000?" Zhao Xing was stunned. "Are there really so many candidate demigods like me in the Profound Spirit Starfield?" "I feel like there aren't that many demigods in the Profound Spirit Starfield." However, upon closer thought, there might not be that many Venerables in the Barren Realm Era alone, but if they were sent to the periods before the Barren Realm Era, then this number would actually be considered small. After all, resources were more abundant in the past; if they were to be cultivated in the Barren Realm Era, there wouldn't be enough to sustain them.

Zhao Xing explored the functions within the Star Mirror and indeed found an option in the exchange list:Time-Space Travel: Contribution points required for exchange vary based on time and location.1st Epoch before Barren Realm: 100,000 contribution points minimum2nd Epoch before Barren Realm: 200,000 contribution points minimumLast Solar Year of Emperor Luo's Era (81 World Star Years): 100 billion contribution points

"The last entry for time-space travel exchange ends at Emperor Luo's Era, specifically only up to its last solar year. It's impossible to travel to earlier periods." "If different time-spaces are considered territories, and the two major factions are constantly at war, then of the last solar year of Emperor Luo's Era, we only managed to secure 81 World Star Years." One solar year equals 1,000 World Star Years, and the limit for travel is only to the last 81 World Star Years of Emperor Luo's final solar year. It is conceivable that the remaining 919 years of time-space territory all fell into the hands of the evil god faction.

"What can 3,500 contribution points get me?" Zhao Xing continued browsing the treasury. It contained many valuable exchange categories: Great Dao divine artifacts, secret techniques, spirit beasts, divine pills, formation maps, Dao diagrams, and special resources. Zhao Xing quickly spotted a few familiar treasures.

World-Splitting Divine Stone: 5 million contribution points/each, Stock: 47 stones.

"The World-Splitting Divine Stone Old Qing gave me back then must have been exchanged from here," Zhao Xing mused. "But he had only recently become a god then; it must have been difficult for him to gather five million contribution points." "He might even have gone into debt." Gods have a certain amount of credit available, but in Zhao Xing's display, this function was grayed out, meaning he couldn't use it. "Old Qing, that gambling addict, I wonder how many contribution points he borrowed." "The World-Splitting Divine Stones can be digested by my divine-grade indigenous species; I'll need to acquire more of them in the future." Forty-seven stones in stock—it's both a lot and not a lot, considering that the treasury is where a group of gods deposits treasures. After numerous adventures and battles across various time-spaces, only 47 remained.

Zhao Xing then looked at a second familiar item.Time Page (Barren Realm 2nd Epoch): 800 million contribution points.Description: In the Barren Realm 2nd Epoch, one can infinitely rewind life and death. It can also serve as an anchor point; if danger is encountered in other time-spaces, one can immediately return to the Barren Realm 2nd Epoch.

"What the hell? This thing is worth 800 million!" Zhao Xing had been quite grateful to Old Qing, but now that he thought about it, that was a huge loss. In order to help him become a god, the Time Page he had secretly acquired back then was also handed over. But on second thought, handing over 800 million, while only gaining 5 million in benefits himself, and safely arriving in the Scarlet Star Empire and entering the Primordial Realm—Old Qing had been generous enough. "I wonder if I'll ever encounter him again."

Zhao Xing then looked at the other treasures. "Resources for a Minister of Agriculture to become a Free God require at least 100 million contribution points?" "And it's not a guaranteed success, just a chance to queue up for an opportunity to travel to a certain time-space and consume certain divine-grade origin treasures in conjunction." "Only the Egoist Faction and the Geocentric Faction are selectable, with the Egoist Free God being even more expensive, as it involves drastic changes to the inner world."

"Heaven-Earth Dao Validation - Great Expansion Divine Weapon Deduction, 300 million per instance. So, the Great Expansion Divine Weapon is for this purpose: it can deduce and complete secret methods for Heaven-Earth Dao Validation, screen suitable Dao Validation artifacts, and even assist in the validation process. For example, a Fate Master can be fully assisted in ascending the Ten Directions Mountain. If it's a musician or dancer, even a divine being can be invited to attend the performance. The Minister of Agriculture's Great Dao divine weapon, the Diamond Casket, crafted from a portion of the Primordial Vein, can absorb anything. Is there really a divine-grade version of this?"

"The Calamity Devouring Method, is this the Void Ancestor secret technique I brought back from the World-Transmitting Tower? It actually sells for 500 million? Hmm, for that price, the Emperor rewarded me with a Primordial Dao Pagoda; the Emperor's generosity is truly immense."

Much later, Zhao Xing reluctantly closed the Star Mirror. The items within were good, but far too expensive. 3,500 contribution points could essentially only be exchanged for a small amount of resources for a demigod to overcome their tribulation. "Even at the very top, it's not guaranteed that one will become a Free God." "As for Heaven-Earth Dao Validation? The auxiliary methods have relatively minor effects." "3,500 contribution points are far too few. To earn more, I can only find ways through evil gods."

Gu Luohe had said that Bo Wei releasing the avatar of the Lord of Cold Food caused the space-time passages to vibrate, leading to more ways to acquire contribution points; there weren't so many missions before. Now, most of the mission lists are related to evil gods. Therefore, Zhao Xing immediately headed for the Black Abyss Barren Realm. This time, he brought his main body along. "According to the guidance of the Infinite True God's statue, he is not in the already explored area of the Black Sky Barren Realm."

A month later, Zhao Xing's main body stood on a small boat, with a Black Sky Moon Tree behind him, emitting soft moonlight. Although the Black Sky Moon Tree was only at the Emperor-Lord level, its moonlight illuminated hundreds of millions of kilometers around, greatly enhancing Zhao Xing's observable range. It could also provide real-time feedback of blurred outlines and unusual movements from distant areas directly to Zhao Xing's mind, essentially serving as his second pair of eyes, which was far more effective than any detection mechanism. Mechanical detection always had a layer of separation, but the Black Sky Moon Tree, a plant-type soldier, was connected to Zhao Xing's will.

"I wonder what mission this Infinite True God will assign me. If it's like Celestial Lady Lei Mu's, but I'm a demigod now, how many suns and moons would I have to steal, how many space pirates and criminals would I have to kill?" Among the missions issued by the human leadership, destroying evil god strongholds was the simplest and most direct way to gain contribution points. The amount of contribution points depended on the quantity of divine power, the evil god's level, and the number of deluded followers. More complex methods involved undertaking evil god missions, gaining the evil god's trust, and probing their intentions for descent. "The higher the mission tier for an evil god, the better, of course. Destroying strongholds yields the smallest return." "I hope the Infinite True God is valuable enough," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

In the direction where the Black Sky Barren Realm bordered the Violet Profound Ancient Kingdom, a realm ship was currently sailing deeper into the Black Sky Barren Realm. The realm ship was lavishly decorated, supported by a purple aura, appearing as if two purple clouds were carrying it. This was a realm ship exclusively for the royalty of the Violet Profound Ancient Kingdom. Aboard it was the previous national lord of the Violet Profound Ancient Kingdom, Venerable Fuping. At this moment, Venerable Fuping, clad in black robes with a moon mark on his brow, was meditating cross-legged outside the realm ship. Behind him was a temple of worship, within which stood the statue of the Infinite True God. Unlike Zhao Xing, who was new to the Infinite True God's missions, Venerable Fuping was already on his third mission for the Infinite True God. The statue he worshipped was larger and held more abundant divine power. Venerable Fuping had, of course, not betrayed the Barren Realm Era faction. In fact, he was also a candidate for the divine realm, but he carried the Profound Spirit Token of the Ancient Kingdom Alliance, while Zhao Xing held the Primordial Token.

Venerable Fuping appeared to be cultivating with closed eyes, but in reality, he had entered his mental sanctuary and was communicating with his friend, 'Venerable Saintwing'.

"Saintwing, how is your mission progressing?"

"Me? I'm still a bit short for the third pilgrimage," replied the incredibly handsome man with a pair of luminous wings behind him in the mental sanctuary. "Brother Zixuan, have you gathered enough?"

"Yes, I just managed to gather it and am now on my way to the third pilgrimage."

"So fast," Venerable Saintwing said with a hint of envy. "I was a national lord for longer than you, and it's been a long time since I stepped down, so it's normal for me to have accumulated more," Venerable Fuping smiled. "Saintwing, you shouldn't have resigned so early."

Venerable Saintwing shook his head. "What's the use of being a national lord for longer? The resources gained from managing an ancient kingdom are, at most, enough to become a demigod. Unless one possesses monstrous talent, exceptional brilliance unmatched through the ages, and can create one's own principles to achieve Heaven-Earth Dao Validation, otherwise, one can only cultivate their origin to become a Free God. As for divine-grade resources, not only do you have to wait in line, but I only even gained the qualification to queue up in the Second Epoch of the Barren Realm."

Venerable Fuping sighed, "I'm only slightly better off than you. The Third Epoch of the Barren Realm is approaching, and the higher-ups are spreading rumors of a great catastrophe in the Third Epoch, Saintwing. I wonder if we will still recognize each other when we meet again."

Venerable Saintwing, however, was carefree. He chuckled, "Fuping, don't worry. We're birds of a feather; even if we encounter spatial-temporal turbulence, I believe that as long as we meet, we'll still become friends."

"Haha, you're certainly confident. There won't be a second Deep Sea Queen," Venerable Fuping said. Venerable Fuping and Venerable Saintwing had formed a bond by hunting the royal family of the Deep Sea Banshees together, though that was a long time ago, and the Deep Sea Banshees are now extinct.

"There will always be opportunities—I won't say more. I have some matters to attend to."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Over the years, the Yin-Yang Twin Stars have consistently been stolen within our kingdom. My subordinates reported that it was done by an Emperor-Lord skilled in escape and stealth. This fellow left some clues, seemingly related to the Scarlet Star Empire side—truly desperate, to steal even this."

"Alright, then you go."

Black Sky Barren Realm, Four Absolutes Mountain Range.

The moonlight from the moon tree, like fireflies, bypassed the dark mountain range. Zhao Xing leaped onto a peak and rooted the moon tree in the rocks. "Once we reach the Four Absolutes Mountain, the map will be useless." "This place is truly secluded." Zhao Xing surveyed his surroundings, unable to perceive even the slightest sound. Absolute lightlessness, absolute spiritlessness, absolute waterlessness, and absolute soundlessness—these were the characteristics of the Four Absolutes Mountain Range. Coming here from the Spirit Energy Starfield, Zhao Xing felt like a fish out of water, struggling even to breathe. "This is absurd. Do evil gods all live in such harsh environments? What kind of rural evil god is this—" Zhao Xing grumbled inwardly.

He sat cross-legged, using the Enlightenment Golden Circlet to clear his mind of distractions, and only then took out the statue of the Infinite True God. "Whoosh~" The divine statue opened its eyes, casting a beam of light from the mountaintop, indicating a direction. Zhao Xing, following this direction, advanced for about seven more months within the Four Absolutes Mountain. Finally, he arrived before an nameless black peak, where the outline of a temple emerged at its summit. Around the temple, there seemed to be some plants and flowers, and faint spiritual energy fluctuations.

"This must be the place," Zhao Xing thought to himself. He equipped the divine bone of the Fortune Free God and then swallowed a heart-mind medicinal pill, but did not absorb it, simply keeping it for emergencies. Immediately after, Zhao Xing landed at the foot of the mountain. To show sincerity, he naturally intended to ascend step by step via the stone stairs from the base.

"Whoosh!" A faint tremor suddenly appeared to the southeast. "Hmm? Someone's coming." The moonlight of the Black Sky Moon Tree flashed in Zhao Xing's eyes, and his vision instantly brightened as he looked to the southeast. The person arrived quickly, accompanied by two clusters of moving purple light and shadow. Zhao Xing hid in the shadows, observing carefully. The newcomer also landed at the foot of the mountain, intending to walk up step by step, and thus dispersed their light and shadow, resuming a human appearance. Although the person had undergone disguise and aura concealment, before Zhao Xing's system panel, there was nowhere to hide. He saw the person's true identity at a glance.

"Venerable Fuping? The previous national lord of the Violet Profound Ancient Kingdom?" Venerable Fuping was a 14th-rank Mechanist, primarily following the Mechanical Warrior path. However, looking at his panel, Zhao Xing saw that this person was also skilled in formations and forging, making him a multi-disciplinary cultivator. "I wonder if Venerable Fuping was genuinely deluded, or if he's doing a contribution point mission just like me."

After Venerable Fuping ascended, Zhao Xing was about to reveal himself when, unexpectedly, another light and shadow flew in from the northwest mountain range. As the light and shadow descended to the foot of the mountain, revealing a figure, Zhao Xing discovered that the newcomer had a tiger-like head, a human body, and a crocodile's tail. "A demigod of the demon race? Venerable Hujue." "Another one who has passed fourteen True Spirit tribulations. The Infinite True God has some powerful followers, all with strong combat abilities."

Zhao Xing waited for a few hours. Seeing no one else appear, he transformed, changing his appearance and aura, and began to ascend the mountain as well.

The temple at the summit was exceptionally tall, its walls covered with flowing runes, as if the primordial essence of the universe had been imprinted upon them. Layers of enchantments extended from the walls to the ground. As Zhao Xing entered the temple, he found it to be a hidden paradise, a blessed land overflowing with spiritual energy. Beyond the temple gate lay a white jade staircase, flanked by mechanical Dao soldier pillars resembling myriad-law divine needles, crushing time and space. Zhao Xing seemed to perceive flickers of the past. However, this anomaly quickly vanished as the pillars ceased their operation, and a magnificent grand hall emerged from the chaotic time-space.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Xing, holding the statue, stepped across the threshold of the grand hall. The smooth floor was like a mirror, and above, instead of a ceiling, was a misty gray fog. The hall's interior was vast, and four pillars seemed to support the sky within. The facilities within the hall were quite simple; apart from the four pillars, there was only a silvery-white mechanical throne directly ahead. The backrest of the throne was peculiar, resembling a grandfather clock. Zhao Xing examined it closely and discovered it was actually double-layered, with a total of eight pointers. Two of them rotated counter-clockwise, three rotated clockwise, and the other three remained completely still. Zhao Xing could not clearly see the markings and characters on the dial, so he did not understand their meaning.

Beneath the throne stood two figures: none other than Venerable Fuping and Venerable Hujue, who had entered earlier. Upon seeing these two, Zhao Xing felt a slight surprise. He had thought that since the Infinite True God had traversed time and space, its presence should be discreet. Therefore, it would be best if followers did not meet each other to protect themselves. But now, even with disguises, wasn't this too careless? He wondered if the Infinite True God simply didn't care or was confident. The two humans and one demon noticed each other, but there was no communication throughout, not even eye contact; they simply waited silently.

While his main body was free of thoughts and desires, his separated soul in the Primordial Realm slapped his thigh and excitedly stood up. "Good, meeting is good. This way, I can tell who the traitors are at a glance." "Report! I'm going to report them to the Ancient Kingdom Alliance!" Reporting traitors, of course, also earned contribution points, and among contribution rewards, it was one of the more generous categories. "Destroying an evil god's lair, especially if it's just a simple wooden carving with a trace of divine power, yields a paltry 1,000 to 10,000 contribution points. But reporting demigod-level traitors who are deeply involved in missions can earn up to 500,000 points!" "The demon race and human race are currently allies, so if I report Venerable Hujue, I wonder if I'll get any contribution points."

Zhao Xing's separated soul immediately headed straight for Gu Luohe's palace in Primordial City.

"Here again?" Gu Luohe was somewhat puzzled. Only a few months had passed since Zhao Xing's last outing. Was the progress in investigating evil gods truly this fast?

"Senior Gu, I am currently in an evil god's lair, awaiting their descent," Zhao Xing reported. "I encountered two of their followers and accidentally saw their true forms, confirming their identities."

"What level are they?" Gu Luohe asked casually.

"Both are demigods who have undergone fourteen True Spirit tribulations."

"Hmm?" Gu Luohe was surprised once more. Logically, Zhao Xing had only recently come into contact with evil gods, and for such a short time. How could he have encountered other evil god followers, especially ones of such high level? A fourteen-tribulation demigod was not a low rank at all; throughout the entire Profound Spirit Starfield, they were well-known figures, powerful enough to awe an entire region.

"Senior Gu, can I say it now?" Zhao Xing asked, fearing revealing heavenly secrets. "Should I go to the Celestial Master's Mansion—"

"No need," Gu Luohe waved his hand. "Primordial City itself blocks all heavenly secrets. Even if the Infinite Evil God were not just a god of formations but a god of fate masters, he couldn't calculate anything about the Primordial Realm. You can consider Primordial City an independent time-space."

With that assurance, Zhao Xing felt relieved. "One of them is Venerable Fuping, the previous national lord of the Violet Profound Ancient Kingdom." "The other is Venerable Hujue of the demon race."

Gu Luohe closed his eyes, seemingly communicating with someone. After a moment, he reopened his eyes. "Zhao Xing, Venerable Fuping is an infiltrator like you, carrying out missions for the human race, so your report concerning him is invalid." Gu Luohe directly revealed Venerable Fuping's undercover identity to Zhao Xing. There was no other way; he had to make sure Zhao Xing knew and didn't forget, otherwise, once Zhao Xing left, he would remember to report again.

"As for Venerable Hujue, he is indeed a traitor," a hint of coldness flashed in Gu Luohe's eyes. "Just now, a demon god immediately checked Venerable Hujue's clone left in the demon territory and, through karma, confirmed that Venerable Hujue indeed appeared in the Black Sky Barren Realm and is under serious suspicion. However, the alliance between the demon race and us isn't very strong, and our relationship isn't that good. Reporting Venerable Hujue can only get you 150,000 contribution points."

Zhao Xing understood. Whether the demon race produced traitors was their own affair; for humans to interfere was somewhat like a dog catching mice—meddling in others' business. Furthermore, the alliance between the demon race and humans had only been established for a mere three thousand years. Being able to receive 150,000 contribution points was already quite good, and this was due to the significant impact of Venerable Hujue's rebellion, given his non-trivial status within the demon race.

"Buzz~" Gu Luohe waved his hand. Zhao Xing looked down and saw that his contribution points in the Star Mirror had been updated. It had increased from 3,500 points to 153,500 points. As for his rank, it had only risen by seven places. It seemed he was among the last batch of candidates added in the Barren Realm 2nd Epoch, and others already had significantly higher contribution points.

"Your luck is quite good; you just went to investigate and stumbled upon such a favorable situation," Gu Luohe remarked. "However, both Venerable Hujue and Venerable Fuping should have methods of disguise and concealment, perhaps even being protected by evil gods. How did you discover them?"

"My—"

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing almost blurted it out. Previously, when faced with inexplicable situations, he would always say "my master, Qingyuzi" or "my master, Gu Luohe." But now Gu Luohe himself was asking, so he couldn't just brush it off.

"In my hometown, I obtained Wei Tianchen's legacy and also acquired the divine bone of the Snow Auspice Fortune God," Zhao Xing explained.

"Go on," Gu Luohe didn't press further. He was truly the ultimate template for a superior: protective and generous.

"Understood," Zhao Xing said, taking his leave.

After leaving Gu Luohe's palace, Zhao Xing looked at the credited contribution points and couldn't help but feel excited. "With the system panel, a powerful weapon like this, catching evil god followers is incredibly accurate. As long as I worship enough evil gods, I'm bound to encounter many traitors." "Perhaps by reporting, I can gather enough resources to become a god."

Zhao Xing was very excited, but on the other side, Venerable Hujue in the Black Sky Barren Realm was having a terrible time. Due to his identity being exposed, all his assets in the demon kingdom were seized, and his relatives were either arrested or executed. Even more terrifying, a demon god who ruled over him cast a curse on him through the Great Dao of Karma. Although it hadn't taken effect yet, as soon as he returned to the Spirit Energy Starfield, his lifespan would drop to an extremely dangerous level, and his strength would also significantly decline.

"How was I exposed? From Demon God Ji's interrogation, it seems someone reported me. Damn it, I was already so careful—" Venerable Hujue's heart bled, and his breathing became noticeably heavier. He directed his gaze towards Zhao Xing and Venerable Fuping.

At this moment, Zhao Xing showed no abnormality whatsoever. This was because he had no idea that his separated soul had reported Venerable Hujue. The clones created by the Primordial Straw Man Method were independent of each other. Before ascending the mountain, Zhao Xing had purified his thoughts with the Enlightenment Golden Circlet to prevent the Infinite True God from detecting any abnormalities, so he had no specific thoughts or actions. There was a brief delay in his separated soul receiving information from the Black Sky Barren Realm. Therefore, after his main body entered the temple, Zhao Xing's separated soul completed the report, but his main body remained unaware and would only find out after leaving the temple.

Venerable Hujue's suspicious gaze swept past Zhao Xing and quickly settled on Venerable Fuping. He noticed that Zhao Xing, the newcomer follower, had shown no abnormalities just now, but Venerable Fuping, whom he had seen once before, had also trembled moments ago. "Could it be him?!" Venerable Hujue instantly made a connection.

If Venerable Fuping knew what Venerable Hujue was thinking, he would surely cry out in injustice. His aura had trembled just now purely because he had also been interrogated and, incidentally, had his karmic protection strengthened by his superior divine general, fearing his exposure before the Infinite True God. Venerable Fuping was also puzzled: who had seen through him? Could it be this unknown demon next to him? He glanced back, but this action was misunderstood by Venerable Hujue.

"Damn it, it must be him!" Venerable Hujue cursed inwardly, hating this unknown human to his core. If he weren't currently inside the temple, he would immediately pounce and tear the human to shreds! "You just wait!" Venerable Hujue mentally marked Venerable Fuping with intense hatred, and incidentally included Zhao Xing.

"Tick-tock~" Just then, the hour hand on the mechanical throne suddenly rotated, and infinite golden light burst forth from the surrounding time-space as a colossal figure appeared.

The Infinite True God had descended!