Chapter 523: The Origin Celestial Palace, The Trial of Divine-Grade Materials

"The seas in tens of thousands of star systems south of Xuanling are frozen?" Ji Si exclaimed, startled. "Lord Grand Minister, something terrible must have happened to the Mirage Sea Alliance."

Zhao Xing, however, did not reply. His soul sense had already entered the star mirror, quickly notifying the Black Sea Emperor of the Mirage Sea Alliance and his grandson, Zhu Haichao.

The Mirage Sea Alliance could be considered his own people. Zhu Haichao had initially been brought in by him as a development partner for the Star Annihilation Ancient Path.

Later, his grandfather, the Black Sea Emperor, had also helped him on Polaris Island.

In the fight against the Carlos family, the Mirage Sea Alliance had also exerted great effort, being responsible for attacking the Carlos family's overseas territories.

Affected by the New Generation Turbulent River Era, the southern cosmic space of the Xuanling Starfield had always contained an ocean floating in space.

The main territory of the Mirage Sea Tower was in the Pan-Sea region.

There were both real liquid seawater and void currents, making it the source of the void rivers in the southern Spirit Domain. It was renowned as the place closest to the primordial ocean.

Through the reflection of the Great Sun Sea, the last scene Zhao Xing saw was the area where the Mirage Sea Tower was located, with star continents and cosmic islands floating on the sea, freezing and disintegrating along with the ocean.

"No response."

"Neither the Black Sea Emperor nor Zhu Haichao responded to me."

As one of the few Heavenly Timing faction forces in the Xuanling Starfield, he did not wish for the Mirage Sea Alliance to disappear. But now, it seemed grim.

"Lord Grand Minister, perhaps they merely forgot you, and are not dead," Ji Si comforted him.

"That's very unlikely," Zhao Xing sighed.

"The space-time turbulence first caused confusion in space-time memory, affecting the true spirits."

"It occurred within an extremely short period, less than a million immeasurable units of time."

"Its power had already exceeded the threshold of a Demigod. Unless one possessed three types of divine artifacts—Time, Mind, and History—it would be difficult to resist."

"Subsequently, it triggered a tangible natural disaster at the Dao Manifestation Layer."

"The nine great Yang Stars extinguished, causing a complete imbalance of Yin and Yang. The extreme Yin essence swept across tens of thousands of star systems. This reaction time was slightly longer."

"It decreased to less than a million immeasurable units of time, so a Rank 15 Demigod should have been able to react and activate a barrier to resist the tangible disaster, or teleport away before the disaster spread."

Zhao Xing multi-tasked. While speaking with Ji Si, his clone in the Primal Realm was reporting to Gu Luohe.

"Senior, the Mirage Sea Alliance's predecessor was the Divine River Sect and the Sacred Sea Sect from the Five Emperors Era. They should possess divine artifacts, so there might be a chance of escape."

"I believe the Empire should send powerful individuals for rescue."

Although the possibility was small, it wasn't entirely impossible. Zhao Xing still hoped the Empire could extend a helping hand.

Gu Luohe shook his head. "That's impossible now."

"Two million immeasurable units of time before your report to me, the Xuanling Historical Records of the Origin Heavenly Palace had already issued a warning."

"Subsequently, the Moon God Palace Master of the Origin Heavenly Palace compiled all the information and transmitted it to the Empire. One million two hundred thousand immeasurable units of time ago, the Grand Evolution Divine Weapon produced a prediction."

"With the nine Yang stars extinguished and the turbulent sea frozen, it swept across 35,243 star systems immediately. The survival rate for all personnel of the Mirage Sea Alliance was less than one in ten thousand."

Gu Luohe spoke these chilling figures one by one.

"The area where the Mirage Sea Alliance was located was inherently within a void ocean of perpetual transformation."

"If it were merely space-time turbulence causing memory confusion and spiritual shock, there would still be hope for rescue."

"The extinguishment of the nine great Yang stars triggered a Dao Manifestation disaster. According to the analysis of the Grand Evolution Divine Weapon, it had already reached the threshold of a divine weapon-level catastrophe."

"Therefore, there is no need for rescue anymore."

Zhao Xing sighed inwardly. The Grand Evolution Divine Weapon's prediction aligned with his own thoughts.

Those who could escape have already escaped by now.

Those who could not escape cannot still be alive.

The environment of the turbulent sea region where the Mirage Sea Alliance was located was inherently unstable, with transformations occurring ceaselessly within that ocean.

The existence of the nine great Yang stars offered a ray of hope there. The Mirage Sea Alliance was also able to use Heavenly Timing faction magic to establish transformed sea islands and raise sea beasts, which was their main source of income.

However, after the nine great Yang stars extinguished, this ray of hope vanished. The space-time origin triggered an imbalance in the Yin-Yang origins, subsequently leading to an overwhelmingly powerful disaster at the Dao Manifestation Layer.

In a relatively stable spiritual energy environment, even if a disaster occurred at the Dao Manifestation Layer, its intensity would not be this high.

The already harsh environment would become even worse at such a moment.

Since no one was alive, there was naturally no need for rescue.

Gu Luohe also seemed to be multi-tasking, appearing to be conversing with different people. His Saint Body continuously expanded and contracted, though the reason was unknown.

"Zhao Xing, how did you know that a disaster occurred in the distant southern turbulent sea?"

The Grand Evolution Divine Weapon had not informed Zhao Xing. Zhao Xing naturally could not have known the intelligence from the Origin Heavenly Palace, as his soul sense was too weak to communicate at levels beyond a million immeasurable units of time.

Thus, Demigods like Zhao Xing would only receive notifications in the second or third batches, with the right to know information purely determined by strength.

However, Gu Luohe discovered that Zhao Xing had learned of the news very early, and even the sequence of the nine great Yang stars extinguishing was perfectly accurate. This was very strange.

"Senior, the Great Sun Without Sea technique I learned from the Immeasurable True God has achieved minor success," Zhao Xing explained. "I 'saw' everything through the nine great Yang stars."

The first layer of the Great Sun Sea, the Sea of Ultimate Stars, gathers light to form a source. It gives birth to Heavenly Timing magical power, capable of gathering and absorbing the essence of ultimate stars.

Upon cultivating to the second layer, one's Dharma Body transforms into the Great Sun Saint Body, possessing 'Aurora Speed', and can sense the positions and changes of high-level Yang stars.

The 20 wisps of ultimate star essence Zhao Xing obtained from the Eight Directions Divine Mirror had allowed him to cultivate the Great Sun Blazing Sea to the second layer, thereby gaining this sensing ability.

From cultivating the Great Sun Sea to mastering the second layer, only a few decades had passed. Gu Luohe was not surprised by such cultivation speed, as he himself was a genius with exceptionally fast cultivation speed.

"Senior, I wish to participate in this war," Zhao Xing expressed his desire.

At this time, the situation was unclear. Teleportation channels to the outside were closed across the Empire. Divine Realm candidates like Zhao Xing had their contribution point missions temporarily frozen.

Just as Zhao Xing had taken all important figures of Great Zhou into the Eight Directions Divine Mirror, Gu Luohe also did not allow Zhao Xing, Five Poisons, and others to leave the Empire's territory. It was best for them to remain in the Primal Realm.

Facing Zhao Xing's request, Gu Luohe did not immediately agree.

Zhao Xing continued:

"Senior, the turbulent sea's upheaval is merely an appetizer. The Empire will eventually be affected."

"I am knowledgeable in the three factions: Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and True Self. Facing tangible natural disasters caused by anomalies in the space-time origin, I can play a greater role than an ordinary Demigod."

"I wish to do something for the Empire."

Since most people's contribution point missions were frozen, this was his opportunity to catch up.

After a moment of thought, Gu Luohe said, "Alright, but you must first accomplish one task."

At the Empire's frontier, Jiachen Pass.

Zhao Xing's true body opened its eyes and put on the Space-Time Grain Rain Robe.

"Ji Si, I'm going out of the Empire for a while."

Ji Si was greatly surprised. "Lord Grand Minister, you want to leave the Empire at a time like this?"

Staying within the Empire's borders would reduce the risk, but going out would weaken the protection.

Last time, Zhao Xing was swept into the Fengchan Land by space-time turbulence and disappeared for over 2,500 years. Who knew what else might happen?

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the Void Ancestor Star System of the Origin Heavenly Palace," Zhao Xing said.

"Gu Luohe agreed to unfreeze my contribution point mission, but with one prerequisite: to resolve the hidden dangers of the Primordial Clone and make the Primordial Grass Figure stronger."

"Otherwise, even if a clone is merely traveling outside, it could encounter danger. If it were captured, and its separated soul was misguided or exploited, uncontrollable consequences would arise."

"There are two ways to solve this problem."

"One is to go to the Origin Heavenly Palace, exchange for some divine-grade materials from the Void Ancestor Star System, and elevate the Primordial Grass Figure's body to the divine weapon level."

"The second is to kill the other cultivators."

Ji Si frowned and said, "Killing Jin Yan is no problem, but the other cultivator is Zuo Qiyu—"

Zhao Xing: "That's why I must go to the Origin Heavenly Palace to see if I can find another way, one that allows me to continue cultivating this secret art without killing Zuo Qiyu."

Ji Si seemed to ponder something.

Zhao Xing immediately interrupted his thoughts. "Ji Si, don't act rashly."

Ji Si fell silent. He had indeed been thinking about that just now.

The Grand Minister found it difficult to act, so perhaps he could be the villain. He might be able to persuade Zuo Qiyu to commit suicide.

However, Zhao Xing instantly saw through Ji Si's thoughts.

"I don't want Zuo Qiyu to die."

"Ji Si, don't even think about it."

"Alright," Ji Si nodded with a hint of regret.

In truth, that method was the quickest. How difficult would it be for the Grand Minister to resolve the issue from another angle?

However, Zhao Xing was uneasy and repeatedly cautioned him, and eventually Ji Si had no choice but to abandon the idea.

The Origin Heavenly Palace was located in a remote part of the Xuanling Starfield, built around three Void Ancestor Star Systems.

Although the area was not large, the three Void Ancestor Star Systems were among the most dangerous levels of cosmic secret realms, and also the regions with the highest concentration of treasures.

Inside the three Void Ancestor Star Systems, there were seven Origin Realms each, from which countless treasures were born. Even the Xuanling Treasury was originally established under the leadership of the Origin Heavenly Palace.

Taking one month, Zhao Xing traveled through the Empire's only three void channels, led by Chen Jiu, a detached spirit of the Grand Evolution Divine Weapon, and finally arrived at the Origin Heavenly Palace.

"That is the first Void Ancestor Star System of the Origin Heavenly Palace." Zhao Xing, from within an Imperial Realm Vessel, gazed out into the cosmic starry sky.

Countless vortices appeared around the periphery of the star system. Some of these spatial vortices were naturally formed, while others were artificially relocated.

Approximately thirty million spatial vortices covered the first Void Ancestor Star System.

"It's simply impossible to steal anything from the Origin Heavenly Palace," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

The Samsara Divine Palace, despite its factional divisions, had a history of losing many Divine Evolution Stele.

Even the Primeval Hill had the dark history of an ancient vein being bitten off by the demon race.

However, the Origin Heavenly Palace had never experienced anything similar.

"Aside from the three strongest Palace Masters, the Origin Heavenly Palace also had several Palace Masters at the Divine General and Divine Weapon levels. Yet, they were incredibly unified, and no treasure theft had ever occurred."

"As long as it's a divine weapon material controlled by the Origin Heavenly Palace, it has never appeared anywhere outside of legitimate channels," Zhao Xing mused silently.

He had purchased materials for the Primordial Grass Figure and the Grand Void Grass Figure many times, each time through proxy purchases by Venerable Five Poisons and Zuo Qiyu, because before becoming an Emissary of Origin, he was not qualified at all.

It was rumored that the headquarters of the Xuanling Treasury was located within the Origin Heavenly Palace!

"This Imperial Realm Vessel is headed for Luya Palace." Zhao Xing looked to the next level of the realm vessel.

Even with the entry into the third epoch of the Desolate Domain and the occurrence of the turbulent sea disaster, several major projects had not halted.

One was the conquest of the Heaven's Grace Desolate Domain, though the nine top-tier ancient paths were temporarily closed to lower-level cultivators.

The second was the collaborative selection process between the Empire and the Origin Heavenly Palace, concerning the cultivation of the Devouring Tribulation Art.

The Devouring Tribulation Art was obtained by Zhao Xing from the Void Ancestor's Molted Divine Bone in the World Transmission Tower. Initially, he only obtained incomplete fragments, which were later completed by both parties.

This divine-grade secret art was shared by the Empire and the Origin Heavenly Palace, with suitable geniuses selected for its cultivation.

Five Poisons had once said that among the first batch of selected individuals, Du Yun was the fastest at cultivating the Devouring Tribulation Art.

Currently, this vessel was transporting the second batch of Imperial geniuses, totaling over 3,500 people. The lowest cultivation realm was the Life-Death Dao Domain, and the highest was the Eight Tribulations Emperor Lord.

Of course, they did not know Zhao Xing was on this vessel. This vessel was entirely controlled by the spirit of the Grand Evolution Divine Weapon, making it a divine-grade realm vessel.

Whoosh~

The realm vessel passed through one of the spatial vortices, and soon appeared in a stable spiritual energy star system.

Before their eyes, lush star continents emerged layer by layer. The spiritual energy index exceeded three thousand.

The sun star illuminated the land, and numerous spirit beasts leisurely lived on the continents.

The starry sky was bright, with few dark areas. Some rode swords, others chased clouds. In some areas, there were also 'cloud flames' about to condense into star continents or realm stars, with palaces floating within them.

The Origin Heavenly Palace was the place that most closely matched Zhao Xing's imagination of a celestial realm.

It seemed to be the last pure land in the Xuanling Starfield.

The Empire's divine-grade realm vessel landed on a mountain of a star continent, approximately three trillion kilometers in diameter.

The artifact spirit Chen Jiu split off a clone, leading the geniuses to the place where the Devouring Tribulation Art was cultivated.

Another clone came to the independent space on the realm vessel.

"Zhao Xing."

"Venerable Chen Jiu."

Zhao Xing bowed respectfully. The detached bodies of the Grand Evolution Divine Weapon could have varying cultivation realms.

When facing him, Chen Jiu's artifact spirit would enhance itself to the Demigod level, and would also assume a Demigod-level mechanical body.

However, when facing Emperor Lords or Dao Domain realm cultivators, Chen Jiu would only appear as an Emperor Lord-level artifact spirit with a mechanical body.

"You are now an Emissary of Origin, qualified to enter the core area of the Origin Heavenly Palace to purchase Void Ancestor series materials."

"However, the precious materials of the Void Ancestor series are limited in quantity, and many Demigods come here to acquire them."

"In principle, divine-grade materials will be prioritized for actual Gods by the Origin Heavenly Palace."

"Nevertheless, the first Void Ancestor Star System also has some output reserved for Demigods," the artifact spirit Chen Jiu explained.

"For purchasing priority, the first factor is contribution points."

"Demigods with higher rankings can purchase first."

"Only if you can rank high enough will it be your turn to pay."

"Here is a list of materials, with each material indicating its quantity, number of people in queue, and purchase price."

"Both contribution points and divine artifacts of equivalent value are accepted for exchange."

"There are also some rules and regulations which I won't detail; please review them yourself. Once you understand, choose an area,