Chapter 520: History Bookworm, Wanji Flower God Seed, Breakthrough and Sacrifice

"Greetings, True God!"

Venerable Fuping, Venerable Hujue, and Zhao Xing immediately bowed in礼.

The Infinite True God waved a hand, and a surge of divine power lifted all three of them.

Looking up, Zhao Xing found that he could no longer see Venerable Fuping or Venerable Hujue. He surmised that the Infinite True God was assigning tasks to them separately.

The Infinite True God acted decisively. First, he presented Zhao Xing with the reward he had promised previously. Three golden lights appeared before Zhao Xing.

"Zhao Xing, these are three portions of divine power containing the essence of time.""You are the Minister of Agriculture, and you cultivate both the Geomancy School and the Ego School.""Time-essence divine power offers great benefits, whether for the growth of the Extreme Continent or for your inner world and unit types.""If used for unit types, it can accelerate their growth, even allowing Emperor-tier plant units to break through to the Legendary tier.""If used for the evolution of your inner world, these three portions can accelerate it by approximately one era, saving you an era of slow accumulation."

Zhao Xing was stunned, then overjoyed. "Thank you, True God!"

It seemed the Infinite True God was a time array master, having cultivated time-essence divine power. And he was truly generous, casually bestowing three portions of time-essence divine power. This trip was well worth it; he had reaped great benefits.

With the sweet reward given, it was time for the tasks.

"Zhao Xing, I have three tasks for you.""You may choose freely based on your capabilities. Completing any one of them will earn you my reward." However, the Infinite True God's tone shifted, becoming colder. "If you fail to complete any of them within the allotted time, it will prove you are either useless or disloyal to me.""You will be subjected to a karmic curse, and even as a demigod, your lifespan will be greatly reduced."

Zhao Xing's heart trembled. He realized that joining the ranks of an Evil God was not without its perils. Especially with a god as self-important as the Infinite True God; his task rewards were generous, but his punishments were severe.

"True God, I will do my utmost."

The Infinite True God drew out a wisp of thread and infused it into Zhao Xing's Fate Palace. This was a divine thought containing the task details. Zhao Xing could only learn the specific tasks by accessing it. Moreover, this wisp of divine thought was unique, similar to Fan Qianrou's Mind Sealing Art: its content could be viewed, and actions could be taken based on it, but it could not be spoken aloud.

Zhao Xing touched the divine thought and quickly understood the three tasks.

The first was a very standard sacrifice task: it involved star harvesting, leyline gathering, and refining flesh, blood, and souls. The task content was similar to what Yun Tiandao received from the Wuji Thunder Mother. This was normal, as material essence was always in demand. However, Zhao Xing's higher tier meant the requirements were also higher. The quantity needed was a hundred times that of Yun Tiandao's.

If the first task was normal and within Zhao Xing's capabilities, the latter two tasks were somewhat beyond his scope.

The second task: Nurture the 'Myriad Epoch Flower Divine Seed'. According to the Infinite True God's explanation, the Myriad Epoch Flower Divine Seed was a space-time parasitic species. The universe's grand seasons manifest differently in various epochs. The Myriad Epoch Flower Divine Seed needed to experience ten thousand different epochs, absorbing the essence from different cosmic periods to bloom and bear fruit. Zhao Xing now held a hundred such seeds, resembling grains of wheat with faint space-time cracks on them. Evidently, they had only just experienced one era, so their value was not particularly high. The Infinite True God required Zhao Xing to ensure that each Myriad Epoch Flower Divine Seed developed at least one new crack. The more cracks, the higher the reward.

The third task was: Cultivate bookworm larvae. The Infinite True God gave Zhao Xing three larvae, each about half an inch long. These bookworm larvae could only grow by devouring historical records. The highest-tier historical records were, of course, the Profound Spirit Histories. If they could chew even a corner of a Profound Spirit History, the task would be immediately completed. Next in value were Ancient Kingdom Histories and Demon Kingdom Histories, though these would require larger quantities.

Of the three tasks, only the first was relatively simple; the latter two were quite challenging.

"If you can complete any one of the latter two tasks, I can take you away from the Desolate Realm Era and help you achieve Sovereign Godhood. There is at least an eighty percent chance of becoming a god." The Infinite True God's words were immensely enticing.

"If you only complete the first sacrifice task, you will also receive treasure rewards to help you transcend your tribulation.""Go."

The Infinite True God waved his hand, and Zhao Xing's vision blurred. He found himself at the foot of the mountain.

"The Infinite True God's tasks are truly difficult, far more challenging than the Wuji Thunder Mother's.""If you lack ability, neither faction is easy to navigate," Zhao Xing mused. The Evil Gods' tasks also served as a screening process, with thresholds. It wasn't as if an incompetent person could join an Evil God and immediately dominate contemporary geniuses.

However, the emergence of the Evil God faction did increase the overall chances of achieving godhood. Previously, only contribution tasks from the Profound Spirit Starfield were available; now, there were additional tasks from Evil Gods. Demigods had more choices. The threshold was also somewhat lower than for the righteous god factions in the Desolate Realm Era. For example, Venerable Hujue, who previously had no right to compete for divine-tier resources within the demon race, now had hope of obtaining them from the Evil God faction. Of course, for Venerable Hujue to have more choices, he would have to bear greater risks.

*Whirrr*

When Venerable Fuping and Venerable Hujue appeared, the space vibrated. Tearing through the void in the Dark Heaven Desolate Realm was difficult, yet Zhao Xing saw the mountain temple rapidly shrink and vanish into a rift. Striking one spot and moving to another, the Infinite True God was quite cautious.

"The Infinite True God needs to assign tasks and transport items, so his descent likely consumes divine power. That's why he summoned his followers simultaneously," Zhao Xing pondered. Descent required a price, and the time spent after descending was brief, similar to the rules of the Trans-Realm Tower.

Zhao Xing was about to fly away when Venerable Hujue suddenly launched an attack. A shadow abruptly spread across the heavens and earth, forming a colossal black maw, intending to swallow Venerable Fuping and Zhao Xing in one gulp.

"What are you doing?!" Venerable Fuping roared, immediately activating a spinning top artifact. The artifact rotated continuously, seemingly crushing space, slowing the giant maw's engulfment.

Zhao Xing was also within the attack range, but he only received about twenty percent of the attack; Venerable Hujue's primary target was Venerable Fuping. Zhao Xing simply used Spaceless Teleportation to leap out of the encirclement, appearing on a nearby mountaintop.

"What's wrong with that tiger demon? Oh—it was me who reported him." After escaping, Zhao Xing immediately connected with his sub-soul and learned about the report.

"Doesn't the Infinite True God intervene in such matters?" Zhao Xing thought from the Infinite True God's perspective and realized that the Infinite True God would rather reinvest in other demigods than spend time managing such a conflict. If one couldn't even protect oneself or withstand such pressure, how could they be fit to serve the Infinite True God?

"Roar!"

Seeing Zhao Xing escape, Venerable Hujue ignored him, focusing on Venerable Fuping. From discovery to reporting to confirmation, surely some time would pass? Zhao Xing had just arrived when his identity was exposed; the timing didn't add up at all. He believed that the time he was reported must have been before Zhao Xing's arrival. Therefore, Venerable Hujue immediately dismissed the correct answer, concluding that it was Venerable Fuping, whom he had already met once, who had done it.

Zhao Xing touched his palm, which wore the Fortune Divine Bone. The luck it brought was truly extraordinary, describing it as turning misfortune into blessing and having overwhelming luck would not be an exaggeration.

"Venerable Fuping, take care of yourself. I can't expose my identity to help you."

His main body made seven consecutive leaps, exiting the Dark Heaven Desolate Realm. Then, with just three more leaps, his main body returned to the Sanyang Empire's territory.

Upon his return, Zhao Xing immediately went to the Mind Palace to meet Mind General Qiluo. Each time he returned from a mission, he had to meet the Mind General to clear any hidden dangers from performing Evil God tasks, preventing him from being unknowingly bewitched.

In the misty void of the Ancient Dao Layer, an immensely tall palace floated. This was Qiluo's Mind Palace. Zhao Xing descended onto the first-tier plaza of the Mind Palace, where many high-tier realm ships and flying boats were docked. Evidently, Zhao Xing was not the only one carrying out missions; there were many other Venerable Demigods.

"Greetings, Primeval Emissary." As Zhao Xing arrived on the first tier, a gracefully robed maid immediately appeared before him. All of them were mechanical puppets, with very high-tier artifact spirits, belonging to the Great Derivation Divine Weapons, ensuring absolute secrecy.

"Take me to the Mind Palace Master," Zhao Xing said.

"Please follow me," the maid led Zhao Xing into a cloud-shrouded passage.

They walked along this passage for a long time without reaching their destination, as if treading in place. However, Zhao Xing showed no impatience. After walking for a very long time in the lengthy passage, suddenly, "Primeval Emissary Zhao Xing, your mind shows no anomalies."

Zhao Xing was startled, suddenly feeling himself rapidly retreating. *Buzz!* He abruptly opened his eyes, finding himself still standing in place.

"Was I just...?" Zhao Xing looked at the mechanical maid beside him.

"Primeval Emissary, your soul just entered the Mind Passage. Since there were no issues, you naturally returned," the maid explained.

"So that's it." Zhao Xing was amazed by the Mind General's prowess. His soul had left his body and traveled through the Mind Passage without him even noticing. The methods of the Divine Realm were indeed terrifying, especially those of mind-type Divine Realm experts, whose mental techniques were even harder to detect.

"Thank you, Mind Palace Master."

Zhao Xing bowed towards the massive palace, then departed from the Mind Palace.

After his main body left the Mind Palace in the Ancient Dao Layer, he returned to his residence in Primeval City.

"Three wisps of time-essence divine power. This is the benefit given by the Infinite True God. I wonder if the God-tier Primordial Seed can consume it."

Zhao Xing opened his inner world and sent the three wisps of divine power towards the God-tier Primordial Seed. The three wisps of divine power were utterly insignificant before the planet-like Primordial Seed. The three wisps of time-essence divine power were absorbed in an instant.

*Hum~*

The Primordial Seed vibrated slightly, seemingly very satisfied. Zhao Xing checked the panel, finding no obvious difference; it still showed "in incubation."

Zhao Xing teleported next to the seed-planet and discovered that about half of the Infinite True God's time-essence divine power was still being expelled, coalescing into a single portion.

"Fifty percent absorption efficiency? This is much higher than the World-Splitting Divine Stone and Azure Flower Mana's absorption efficiency."

Previously, when Zhao Xing fed the remaining power of the World-Splitting Divine Stone to the Primordial Seed, it only absorbed one percent. As for Azure Flower Mana, it absorbed one ten-thousandth. But it consumed half of the Infinite True God's time-essence divine power.

"Does the Infinite True God's divine power have such a benefit?"

Zhao Xing collected the "residue" portion that the seed expelled. Upon careful sensing, he found that this divine power had become incredibly pure, containing no dao whatsoever—it was entirely a new kind of divine power.

"The Infinite True God's divine power originally contained his dao and law, but now they are gone.""My Primordial Seed can also be used as a filter."

Zhao Xing had originally worried about hidden dangers from using the Infinite True God's divine power for purification, but now he had no need to worry at all.

"I'll eat it."

Zhao Xing consumed it himself. The pure divine power entered his body and went straight to his Dantian. Zhao Xing used this portion of divine power on his Extreme Continent Mustard Seed Dharma Realm. The 840 million particle mountains began to shake. The originally gray mountain peaks were now tinged with gold. The golden peaks reflected light, illuminating the True Spirit within his Fate Palace.

*Swoosh~*

Zhao Xing's True Spirit sub-souls began to grow continuously. Progress in cultivation techniques naturally fed back into the True Spirit. When this reflection and feedback ended, Zhao Xing opened his eyes.

"Since returning and defeating the Carlos family, I've gained a large amount of demigod-tier resources. Besides my wandering sub-soul and the cultivation sub-soul in the Primeval Hill. The tier of my sub-souls has also progressively risen to the Ninth Tribulation level.""Coupled with this divine power purification, my True Spirit is now ninety-eight times stronger than a ninth-tier demigod's!""I can now choose to actively break through and trigger the tenth True Spirit Tribulation.""I wonder what my tenth True Spirit Tribulation will be like, or if it will even appear."

Logically, after emerging from the Bone Divine Realm, each sub-soul should have undergone the ninth True Spirit Tribulation. However, all of Zhao Xing's sub-souls had reached the ninth-tier level, yet he hadn't encountered a single True Spirit Tribulation. He consulted the Eight-Direction Divine Mirror's artifact spirit, who offered the following speculation:

"The essence of True Spirit Tribulations is the universe punishing cultivators who escape the cosmic laws, such as those who reincarnate and are reborn, indirectly breaking the law of life and lifespan.""You have never reincarnated and recultivated; that's one reason.""Secondly, your fortune has reached a very high level due to the Divine Bone. The essence of fortune is the favor of the universe's primordial dao.""Combining these two, you experience no True Spirit Tribulations when breaking through to demigod.""If you don't believe me, you can ask Gu Luohe. He probably also hasn't experienced the Ninth or Tenth Tribulations, yet his True Spirit automatically grew stronger."

Zhao Xing sought out Gu Luohe for verification, and the answer he received was indeed similar to the Eight-Direction Artifact Spirit's.

"That's right, I didn't experience True Spirit Tribulations when becoming a demigod. About seven times, I directly skipped the tribulations and naturally grew stronger."

Zhao Xing was speechless. He skipped seven tribulations? Gu Luohe's fortune tier was thirty-one, one tier higher than his own with the Fortune Divine Bone, and this was Gu Luohe's inherent fortune, not something accumulated through Five Emperors Coins or the Fortune Divine Bone like his.

"No wonder Gu Luohe is a twenty-second tribulation True Spirit. Truly the favored son of this version."

After getting the answer, Zhao Xing attempted to break through. On this day, his main body purchased a large amount of demigod-tier resources, using all the dividends obtained from the Star-Annihilation Ancient Path to buy demigod resources from the Imperial Treasury.

*Gulp*

All ninety-eight sub-souls emerged, standing in a formation grid, continuously consuming True Spirit-type treasures, their aura constantly growing.

"If I don't have to consider tribulations, with my current wealth, I can buy many True Spirit-type treasures.""For example, 'Heaven and Earth Mother,' True Spirit Fruit, Heart of the Primordial Realm..."

After becoming a demigod, the main fear was transcending tribulations. Like Venerable Five Poisons or Venerable Hongshan, their demigod seclusion was primarily to cope with tribulations, for instance, by going to the 'Reincarnation Realm,' which could reduce the tribulation's power. If one didn't need to face tribulations, then advancement would be relatively simple.

"Divine Bone, let me see your limit!""I'll eat!"

Zhao Xing began to devour True Spirit-type treasures on a large scale, freely expanding the True Spirits of his main body and sub-souls.

A month later, the panel showed that Zhao Xing was a 'Tenth-tier True Spirit,' but no tribulation descended. Two months later, an Eleventh-tier True Spirit, still no tribulation. Six months later, a Twelfth-tier True Spirit! It was only at this point that Zhao Xing vaguely sensed the existence of a True Spirit Tribulation.

Zhao Xing attempted to actively trigger the thirteenth tribulation.

*Boom!*

Terrifying thunderclouds suddenly tore through the void, and a bolt of lightning struck directly at one of his sub-souls. *Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!* The other sub-souls and his main body scattered, leaving only this sub-soul to face the tribulation.

"Go!"

This sub-soul of Zhao Xing raised a hand and pointed, and a bolt of lightning also appeared, but it was black. The black lightning, like heavy water, clashed with the tribulation lightning. This move, named Heavy Water Divine Thunder, was a Heavenly Time Thunder Art cultivated from the incomplete Nine Origins Divine Thunder Art obtained from the Tianji Thunder Mother.

*Boom-crack!*

The two bolts of lightning clashed head-on. The black lightning from the sub-soul surged upstream, attempting to crush the tribulation lightning.

"Succeeded?"

Zhao Xing's main body observed carefully. This was merely a visible lightning tribulation induced by a sub-soul, the thirteenth one, and it had no relation to his main body.

*Boom!*

Just as Zhao Xing thought this move from a divine-tier thunder art could overcome the thirteenth True Spirit Tribulation, suddenly—

A second tribulation lightning bolt appeared, merging with the first, forming a new bolt. The light column rapidly expanded, resisting the Heavy Water Divine Thunder's assault. Immediately after, a third merged, then a fourth... When the tribulation lightning merged to the ninth bolt, the thunder art unleashed by the sub-soul was completely at a disadvantage.

*Bang!*

The tenth tribulation lightning bolt merged, and an overwhelming force appeared, striking down and pulverizing the sub-soul. Then, the lightning wrapped the True Spirit fragments of the sub-soul and swept back, disappearing into the void.

"Failed."

Zhao Xing glanced at the panel and found that he had lost a level of amplification, now only at ninety-seven times. However, he immediately performed a split, allowing the newly generated sub-soul to continue consuming treasures, successfully reaching the twelfth tribulation tier again. The combination of the Fortune Divine Bone and the Primeval Strawman Art's splitting ability was truly defying.

"The thirteenth tribulation, a visible lightning tribulation, is comparable in power level to the Heavy Water Divine Thunder from the Nine Origins Divine Thunder Art. The Heavy Water Divine Thunder's essence level is even slightly higher than the combined ten tribulation lightning bolts.""However, the sub-soul residing in the Primeval Strawman's body lacks the support of a Heavenly Time cultivation technique similar to 'Extreme Continent', and thus lacks Heavenly Time mana. I can only empower it with Azure Flower Mana and Red Lotus Mana, which ultimately prevents the Heavy Water Divine Thunder from exerting its full power," Zhao Xing summarized."If my main body were to undergo this thirteenth lightning tribulation, it would likely only barely pass."

Zhao Xing abandoned the idea of continuing to advance. Further advancement would mean facing the fourteenth True Spirit Tribulation. If it was only a marginal advancement, it wouldn't be a good thing, but rather a bad one. Because then the fourteenth tribulation would become uncontrollable, not something he could trigger at will. In battle, he wouldn't be able to exert his full strength, instead being constrained. If it came to that, even if his sub-souls could endlessly consume treasures to manifest and replace his main body in transcending the tribulation, the tribulations would continuously destroy sub-souls. He would fall into a never-ending cycle of draining his financial resources. Cardinal Carlos dared not exert his full power precisely because he had to suppress himself. He had indeed passed fifteen tribulations, but he feared the sixteenth, having no confidence in overcoming it.

Even though he didn't pass the thirteenth tribulation, Zhao Xing was still astonished by the terrifying nature of the "Path of Divinity through Fortune."

"From a Ninth Tribulation True Spirit all the way to the Twelfth Tribulation, I directly skipped them all. No wonder in the Five Emperors Era, everyone wanted to steal fortune, the Five Emperors Coins were no longer minted, and even this path to godhood was forbidden by a certain Divine Emperor—this truly is a shortcut to cultivation."

"Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I removed the Xuerui Sovereign God's Divine Bone. Would the True Spirit Tribulation descend again?"

Currently, Zhao Xing's inherent fortune had risen to tier twenty-one. At this point, the Five Emperors Coins no longer offered additional boosts. If he removed the Fortune Divine Bone, his fortune would drop back to tier twenty-one. The moment Zhao Xing entertained this thought, he had a vague premonition.

"No, I can't take it off.""If I take it off, I will immediately face the thirteenth True Spirit Tribulation.""It seems this bug of the Fortune Divine Bone cannot be widely used."

Zhao Xing had thought about lending the Fortune Divine Bone to Ji Si or Old Liu, which would cause the Great Zhou's strength to soar again. But now it seemed, such bugs shouldn't be exploited carelessly.

"In the future, I still need to find ways to permanently increase my fortune. Relying on the Xuerui Sovereign God's Divine Bone is, after all, a false 'Son of Heaven's Dao'," Zhao Xing secretly warned himself. However, for now, the Fortune Divine Bone was still quite useful.

In the forty-fourth last world-star year of the Desolate Realm's Second Era, Zhao Xing's sub-souls were dispatched on a large scale to the Dark Heaven Desolate Realm, Chenluo Desolate Realm, Siyue Desolate Realm, Fanhai Desolate Realm, and other places, searching for the whereabouts of Evil Gods.

With the thirty-tier fortune blessing, in the forty-fourth last world-star year, Zhao Xing managed to connect with fifteen Evil Gods of various sizes. While performing tasks for the Infinite True God, he also undertook the cyclic quests for these fifteen Evil Gods.

The initial few cycles of Evil God tasks were largely similar: all required collecting Yin-Yang Twin Stars and refining souls. Thus, Zhao Xing began to purchase Yin-Yang Twin Stars in large quantities.

"I won't steal Yin-Yang Twin Stars; I'll just buy them with money. Buying a little from this star system and a little from that one, I'll surely gather enough."

Master Zhao had now taken over many territories from the Carlos family, so he had no worries about ordinary wealth; one could say he was financially free. His previously earned reputation could not be degraded for such petty gains. So, after greeting Gu Luohe, he began to use this worldly wealth to purchase Yin-Yang Twin Stars.

However, space pirates and criminals were not so easy to buy. Because of his experience in mining the Star-Annihilation Ancient Path, coupled with his establishment of the Star-Annihilation Six-No-Matter art, he himself could be said to have a demand for Yin-Yang Twin Stars. But buying space pirates and criminals to refine souls would be too conspicuous. Some people might even intentionally turn their subordinates into criminals and space pirates.

"I should do it myself. Identifying space pirates and criminals with mind arts ensures peace of mind for what I handle myself.""What I need is also quite high-tier; ordinary Origin-tier space pirates and criminals aren't enough for me. Hunting Dao Domain-tier, or even Samsara-tier ones, would be faster.""Bula Star, known as the 'Star of Sin,' is located in the southern transitional zone of the Profound Spirit Starfield in the Fanhai Desolate Realm. There are many powerful and unscrupulous rogue cultivators there. It's unclear if major powers support them, but it doesn't matter. This will be my first target."

Bula Star was also relatively famous among underground forces; some enthusiasts had even ranked it within the top hundred. *Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!* Zhao Xing's many sub-souls began to converge on Bula Star.

On Bula Star, in the territory of the largest space pirate organization, the 'Snow Feather' gang, the pirate leader Fanyu was drinking fine wine and watching music and dance in the grand hall. Food was before him, beautiful women in his arms, but Lord Fanyu was not in a good mood.

"Life has been getting harder lately.""North of the Fanhai Desolate Realm, it has become increasingly cold over the past three millennia.""The number of adventurers and merchant caravans passing through has steadily decreased.""And I still have to surrender most of it to that individual. If this continues, the organization won't even be able to maintain basic operations.""Where is my path forward?"

With the worsening environment, underground forces also found it difficult to survive. Lord Fanyu desperately wanted to go straight, but whether he could leave the life of crime was not his decision. He had done too much for the mysterious figure behind him; suddenly wanting to quit would mean death.

"Alas~""Why does Master sigh?" The beauty in his arms asked flirtatiously.

"You—" Lord Fanyu was about to say something when the entire hall suddenly shook. Seven layers of protective barriers instantly lit up automatically, while several pillars in the hall began to explode, and his seat plummeted. *Swoosh!* He was instantly swept into an underground wind tunnel. The wind tunnel carried his table away in an instant, heading straight for the core of the planet, where a hidden teleportation array was activating.

"Someone has broken into my lair!""Seven layers of barriers broken instantly—it must be a master. But who wants to kill me? Is it Wuyan from Pengyu Star Continent? No, he doesn't have that capability..." Lord Fanyu was shocked. Since the Snow Feather Gang was established, such a crisis had never occurred.

"It only needs thirty-thousand and forty-six measure-units of time, and the teleportation array will activate. Even an ordinary Emperor-tier wouldn't be able to kill me. I should be fine—" He wasn't very panicked. After all, this was his lair, not so easily dealt with. Lord Fanyu had already seen the glowing light of the array, but at that very moment, the array's foundation automatically cracked open, and countless soils tumbled. The teleportation array was replaced by a profound spell!

"Oh no!" Before Lord Fanyu could react, the next mechanical array was replaced by the Star Shifting technique from the Earth Passage Art, and he was teleported into Zhao Xing's palm.

"Interesting." Zhao Xing's Primeval sub-soul curiously scrutinized Lord Fanyu. This small Snow Feather Gang's lair surprisingly had so many array protections. These defensive arrays and escape methods were sufficient to deal with some ordinary Emperors; even three or four tribulation Emperors could easily be evaded by Lord Fanyu.

"Senior." Lord Fanyu immediately knelt. When he appeared in Zhao Xing's palm, he instantly understood that he had encountered an incredibly powerful master. This pressure was even stronger than that of the mysterious figure he served.

"Senior, please spare my life. I am willing to offer all my wealth and serve as your slave."

"Very well," Zhao Xing said faintly. "Enter my Human Emperor Banner and pledge your allegiance."

"What?! Senior—" Seeing that pleading was useless, Lord Fanyu immediately pulled out a treasure—a pure white feather. The space in Zhao Xing's palm vibrated, seemingly trying to tear through the void to escape.

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing casually pinched the feather, and all abnormal movements ceased.

Lord Fanyu was stunned. This was the greatest opportunity he had obtained in five eras from a certain ruin, intended to one day escape the control of the person behind him. This treasure, unless one was a demigod, no one could catch him with it. But it had actually failed! Could the person who caught him be a demigod?

"What virtue or ability do I, Fanyu, possess that I've drawn a demigod to kill me?" Lord Fanyu despaired.

"A mere space pirate leader, possessing such a treasure? Did you have a unique encounter, or is there someone behind you?" Zhao Xing was delighted. "Speak quickly. If what you say is valuable enough, I can spare your life." Zhao Xing didn't even bother to interrogate him; Wei Tianchen's medicine was more valuable than this man's life.

"Yes, Senior." Lord Fanyu heard this and his hope rekindled.

A day later, all members of the Snow Feather Gang vanished without a trace, all having entered Zhao Xing's Human Emperor Banner. The Snow Feather Gang was declared dissolved.

Meanwhile, within the territory of the Sanyang Ancient Kingdom, where a Prince-King resided. *Swish, swish!* Zhao Xing forcibly breached the barrier and directly descended into the royal capital.

"Who?!"

A young man dressed in luxurious robes and wearing a crown looked in surprise at the person who had appeared before him.

"You are Emperor Xuanyue, correct?"

"Who are you, to dare trespass into my Xuanyue Palace?" Emperor Xuanyue was startled and uncertain. He was the son of the previous King, and the brother of the current King. How could someone dare to force their way into his palace?

"It is you, indeed." Zhao Xing opened his palm, revealing the tiny Lord Fanyu kneeling within. "You've controlled many space pirate organizations to satisfy your selfish desires. Over two eras, you've killed over three hundred billion, harming many of your own citizens."

Zhao Xing recalled Lord Fanyu's report. He heard that this Emperor Xuanyue usually threw abducted people onto a world-star and would gather the nation's nobles to hold 'hunting banquets,' playing with them sufficiently before killing them. He didn't kill slaves who could be killed without breaking the law; instead, he enjoyed targeting regular citizens, even Dao Domain-tier and Origin-tier geniuses. Sometimes, when he grew tired of them, Emperor Xuanyue would even pretend to be a savior, rescuing geniuses from certain forces to gain a good reputation. The thrill of setting rules and then trampling on them made Emperor Xuanyue insatiable.

"Your Excellency, do not meddle in others' affairs. My brother is the King of Sanyang, and my father is Venerable Leiyang. You have forced your way into my palace—"

Zhao Xing saw him admit it directly without even pretending, and he didn't bother with further words. After recording it with his Star Mirror, he immediately reached out and grabbed him.

*Bang!*

Emperor Xuanyue desperately resisted, but those five fingers were like a colossal mountain, ignoring his numerous treasured resistances, forcefully seizing him.

*Gulp~*

Emperor Xuanyue was thrown into the Human Emperor Banner and instantly refined.

"Excellent. Capturing this one is worth countless Dao Domain-tier and Origin-tier individuals."

The moment Emperor Xuanyue died, *Swoosh!* A rift suddenly tore open in the void outside the royal palace. The current King of Sanyang appeared, riding a mechanical treasure river.

"Who dares to kill my younger brother?!" The King of Sanyang's voice was filled with rage.

Zhao Xing didn't bother with pleasantries, directly revealing his true appearance, then prepared to speak.

"Well killed."

The anger in the King of Sanyang's voice immediately vanished, replaced by a smiling face. The King of Sanyang's attitude changed so quickly that Zhao Xing was a bit taken aback.

"Doesn't the King even ask why?"

The King of Sanyang shook his head. "Given Minister Zhao's reputation, coming personally to my Sanyang Ancient Kingdom to kill my brother surely has a reason. Either he committed an unforgivable crime, or he betrayed humanity. I must thank Minister Zhao.""If you are willing to tell me the reason, I would be deeply grateful. If not, I understand."

"With the King overseeing Sanyang, it will surely flourish," Zhao Xing couldn't help but genuinely praise him.

*Whoosh~*

Zhao Xing pulled a record from his Star Mirror and transmitted it to the King of Sanyang.

"The events are all here. I happened to pass through Bula Star and discovered these matters."

The King of Sanyang read it and immediately became angry for a second time. "Well killed! Xuanyue was a disgrace to our royal family. Minister Zhao has truly eliminated a scourge for me!"

Zhao Xing was unsure if the King of Sanyang was acting or truly so selfless. But regardless, this person was certainly fit to be a king.

"I'm leaving. You can handle the aftermath as you see fit."

Zhao Xing declined the King of Sanyang's invitation to a banquet, giving him face. The King of Sanyang soon announced that his brother, Emperor Xuanyue, had unfortunately suffered a cultivation deviation and died.

Seven years later, in the thirty-seventh last world-star year of the Desolate Realm's Second Era, the number of nobles in the Profound Spirit Starfield who "suffered cultivation deviation" increased to twenty-eight. Seventeen of the top hundred space pirate organizations were annihilated.

Fourteen years later, in the thirtieth last world-star year of the Desolate Realm's Second Era, the number of Ancient Kingdom power figures who "suffered cultivation deviation" or died unexpectedly during adventures increased to eighty-four. As for the annihilated space pirate organizations, their number also rose to twenty-nine.

Initially, the deaths of Emperors were considered news; for example, Emperor Xuanyue's death garnered some attention. However, gradually, such news no longer held much significance. When cultivators heard of it, they would only lament the difficulty of cultivation, how even Emperors could suffer cultivation deviation or die during adventures.

"How strange," Venerable Fuping muttered, as he visited the intelligence department of the Ancient Kingdom Alliance, flipping through information on space pirate organizations. "Why is someone even competing to kill space pirates?""Could there be many demigod-tier Evil God followers?"

Zhao Xing's efficiency was very high. His Primeval sub-souls were all Twelfth Tribulation True Spirits, naturally acting faster than Venerable Fuping.

"Many of the easy targets have been eliminated, leaving only the difficult ones to kill," Venerable Fuping observed. Some space pirate organizations were actually fronts, set up by certain demigods to gather intelligence on the demon race. Zhao Xing would not touch such organizations if he found them.

"Forget it, I'll search slowly," Venerable Fuping didn't pay too much attention. In those regions, as long as no rules or order were established, the destroyed space pirate organizations would eventually reappear. Darkness would always exist in the world! Because there would always be cultivators unwilling to follow order, preferring to believe in the law of the jungle. This was why the Shadow Temple had so many clients and assassins.

"The deadline to complete the third task is fifty years. If there aren't many opportunities in human territory, I'll have to check out demon territory," Venerable Fuping mused.

Venerable Fuping slid his finger across the Star Mirror, his consciousness entering a void space within the mirror. This was a city of minds, also known as Myriad Stars City, because it was fixed by ten thousand stars circling its sky. Myriad Stars City was a place for Venerables who were God-tier candidates to communicate. Not all demigods took on the task of being Evil God undercover agents; such individuals were a minority, and he wasn't afraid of exposure.

Venerable Fuping didn't put all his eggs in one basket either. He often visited Myriad Stars City to make friends and see if he could find some relatively easy contribution tasks. The human higher-ups hoped that demigods would engage in healthy competition, and also that these demigods would unite and form friendships. Many demigods would even call upon friends to challenge a certain contribution task together.

As his mental essence entered Myriad Stars City, Venerable Fuping appeared in a private room in a certain restaurant. At that moment, Venerable Fuping heard his friend, Venerable Holywing, chatting with three other demigods. They seemed to be mentioning the Sanyang Empire, the Primeval Realm, and so on.

"...Holywing, what are you all discussing?" Venerable Fuping appeared and sat in his usual spot.

"Fuping, you've come at just the right time," Venerable Holywing said. "We were just talking about a candidate who's been rising very quickly. In just over ten years, he's soared more than ten thousand ranks."

"Who?" Venerable Fuping had been engrossed in Evil God tasks for the past decade or so and rarely visited Myriad Stars City.

"Zhao Xing, the Primeval Emissary from the Sanyang Empire," Venerable Holywing replied. "His contribution rank has been consistently increasing every year. In these fourteen years, it has risen by over fourteen thousand ranks."

"Oh? Is that Minister Agriculturist Demigod Zhao Xing, who wrote the two great treatises?" Venerable Fuping nodded. "I've heard of him. They say this talent has only cultivated for a little over ten thousand years. I didn't expect him to enter the God-tier candidate ranks so quickly."

"It's best to become a god early," said another demigod, clad in black-gold robes with three golden runes on his cheeks. "Such young geniuses have more hope. Old folks like us who have lived for a long time actually have less hope than he does."

"I hope Zhao Xing succeeds," another demigod took a sip of wine. "If we can gain another Minister of Agriculture God, our lives will be easier in the future."

"Indeed." Venerable Holywing and another demigod both nodded in agreement. They were veteran Venerables who had traversed space and time to fight in temporal territories multiple times. They clearly understood the help that a Minister of Agriculture God's existence would bring to their faction.

"Last time, in the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom during the Desolate Realm's Twenty-third Era, I encountered the Qingyu Sovereign God. I was tracking an enemy demigod to the Li Star River, and then the Li Star River anomaly occurred," Venerable Holywing recalled. "That kind of natural disaster was terrifying. If I hadn't happened to encounter the Qingyu Sovereign God passing by, I might have died."

"I heard that Minister Zhao also has some connection with the Qingyu Sovereign God," said the demigod in black-gold robes. "Holywing, can you invite Zhao Xing to a gathering?"

"I've only met the Qingyu Sovereign God once, and barely exchanged a few words," Holywing chuckled. "Fang Ying, if anyone should invite him, it should be you. Your reputation is much greater than mine, and you hold more sway."

"Haha," Venerable Wanying laughed. "How about the four of us make a wager? Let's all try to invite Zhao Xing to Myriad Stars City for a gathering. 100,000 contribution points, a small game, what do you say?"

"Gaoyu is a Fate Venerable; how can we play this?" Venerable Fuping looked at the other person. "Wanying, you're just giving him money."

"Can Zhao Xing's karma be predicted by me? This game is fair to me too," Venerable Gaoyu smiled.

"If we're going to play, let's go big. 200,000," Venerable Fuping said.

"Deal!"

"I'm in."

After waiting for the others to agree, Venerable Wanying revealed a triumphant smile. "Hahaha, you'll all just hand over the money obediently. I know Zhao Xing's teacher."

"Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier?!" Venerable Fuping fumed.

"Fuping, this time you're truly just providing aid to the poor."

"Hahaha."

Zhao Xing had no idea that his fourteen years of continuously reporting Evil God followers and frantically completing contribution tasks had earned him a considerable reputation among demigods. His reputation, as he accumulated it, began to radiate to increasingly higher levels and wider ranges, reaching core places like Myriad Stars City. Of course, he also didn't know that Venerable Holywing, Venerable Fuping, Venerable Wanying, and Venerable Gaoyu wanted to meet him and had even set up a wager.

At this moment, he had already completed the Infinite True God's first task and was bringing a large number of Yin-Yang star cores and souls to the Dark Heaven Desolate Realm.

"Completing the task in fourteen years—I wonder if the Infinite True God will be surprised." A small boat radiated faint light as Zhao Xing sat cross-legged beneath the Dark Heaven Moon Tree.

Completing the collection task in fourteen years was remarkably fast. For an ordinary Evil God follower, such speed would be impossible. They would usually slowly kill low-tier cultivators and spend time accumulating souls, trading time for space.

"On the human side, in these fourteen years, I've continuously reported and gained 970,000 contribution points," Zhao Xing mused. After all, not many demigods genuinely betrayed and became Evil God followers. Low-tier Evil Gods also dared not bewitch demigods. If it was just ordinary Samsara-tier or even Dao Domain-tier individuals, the contribution points given would be relatively small.

"970,000 is not a small amount. As I progress through more cycles and climb higher in the Evil God faction, the panel's true function will be realized."

Among the known Evil Gods, the strongest was undoubtedly the Lord of Cold Food's avatar, which was at the Divine King tier. Next were the Tianji Thunder Mother and the Infinite True God. The other dozen or so Evil Gods he had encountered were all Divine Weapon-tier Sovereign Gods, and they had not yet provided Zhao Xing with significant contributions.

"Arrived!"

Zhao Xing stopped in a certain area of the Dark Heaven Desolate Realm. He made the Dark Heaven Moon Tree emit light and found that this time's 'worship location' was on a barren star continent. This time, there was no need to ascend a mountain, nor did the temple appear in advance. On the barren star continent, there was only a simple array foundation. Zhao Xing took out the statue and began to summon the Infinite True God.