Chapter 167: Attention

Yan Capital, Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom.

Yan Capital was the city of Di Yan, the first Emperor of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom. Another palace, Yanqiong Palace, also stood there. Both Di Yan and Yanqiong were God Kings born in the earliest days of the imperial family, and their cultivation paths were similar. However, Yanqiong had long been stuck at the second realm of the God King stage, unable to advance further.

Deep within the ancient Yanqiong Palace, a vast world had been created.

Inside this vast world, volcanoes dotted the landscape, and black winds howled incessantly. The black winds swept countless streams of lava high into the sky, scattering them freely. Suddenly, the entire world-continent straightened up. It was a humanoid beast, with countless volcanoes adorning its back. Its natural breathing created violent black winds, and the might of its golden eyes was truly terrifying.

On the membrane of this world, countless mysterious patterns flowed, and invisible energy descended, repeatedly cleansing the colossal beast's body.

"A mere Chaos Realm guest elder, worthy of entering the Infinite Space?" The colossal beast's single golden eye blazed with fury.

"Di Fu! Di Fu!"

The colossal beast spoke directly. On the world's membrane, countless complex patterns flowed, naturally coalescing into a figure: Di Fu, the current Emperor of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom.

Di Fu looked at the colossal beast, sighed inwardly, and then spoke, "Brother Yanqiong, why have you sought me?"

"I encountered Luo He in the Infinite Space." The colossal beast's voice boomed, its might infinitely greater than it had been in the Infinite Space. "How did a non-imperial Chaos Realm cultivator get into the Infinite Space? I suspect Di Chu violated the rules set by our ancestors."

"You've misunderstood Luo He," Di Fu said. "He earned that opportunity through his own strength."

"How could a Chaos Realm transcendent earn such an opportunity on his own?" the colossal beast retorted.

"Your true body is imprisoned here, focusing solely on refining the Primal Chaos bloodline. You know too little about the outside world," Di Fu explained.

"I've always kept up with information on powerful figures from the outside. What could I possibly not know?" the colossal beast countered.

Di Fu gently shook his head. "A hundred epochs ago, Luo He continuously contested for rare treasures at the border, effectively forcing the Thunder Ancient Kingdom to exchange a slot to the Infinite Space for his withdrawal. Luo He did not participate in the border disputes, but he persistently competed with his unparalleled strength as a Chaos Realm transcendent, and the Thunder Ancient Kingdom simply couldn't tolerate it anymore." Di Fu concluded, "So, he indeed earned the opportunity by his own merit."

The colossal beast fell silent for a moment. "So that's how it was." The negotiation and transaction between the Thunder Ancient Kingdom and Luo He had been very secretive and never publicly disclosed.

"By his own merit?" The colossal beast sneered. "He could only participate in those border contests as a guest elder of our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, which is how the Thunder Ancient Kingdom suffered such a significant loss. If he were just a rogue Chaos Realm cultivator from outside our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to participate in the first place!" the colossal beast declared. "Having gained such a benefit by leveraging his identity as our guest elder, he shouldn't have been allowed to hand that slot over to the imperial family. At most, he should just be given some rewards."

Di Fu fell silent for a moment, observing this elder who had once been quite wise and prestigious within the clan. "Brother Yanqiong, haven't you noticed you're being increasingly influenced by the Primal Chaos bloodline?" Di Fu asked. "I'm using formations to help suppress the corruption, yet you're still so volatile. Without the aid of these formations, you would likely lose control."

The Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom publicly claimed that cultivators of the Primal Chaos bloodline never lost control. In truth, those who failed to achieve sufficient clarity of mind were never released.

"I am perfectly clear-minded," the colossal beast stated, looking at Di Fu. "We are the imperial family; our experts are countless, and we should occupy the best resources on the Origin Continent. We are already benevolent by allowing guest elders the chance to exchange for legacy resources. To grant them such freedom! In my opinion, guest elders entering sacred grounds should obey our imperial family's commands."

"Ordinary guest elders are granted sufficient freedom," Di Fu said. "You must understand that the guest elder system was established by our ancestors."

"If the ancestors established it, can it never be changed? Are rules set by our ancestors countless epochs ago forever correct?" The colossal beast erupted in a furious roar.

Di Fu's eyes grew cold.

The colossal beast's heart seized, realizing its rashness. "Di Fu, I helped you in the past." The colossal beast looked at Di Fu.

"Brother Yanqiong, I have always remembered your kindness, which is why I have continually helped you," Di Fu said. "I helped you construct this world, and I've given you many treasures and resources. I've always hoped you could truly remain clear-minded." "I still need..." The colossal beast began to speak.

"You already owe the clan a great deal," Di Fu interrupted, dismissing his request. "You borrowed enormous resources to attempt to reach the Emperor level. But you failed, and you haven't been able to repay that massive resource debt. Yet you continually demand more. Brother Yanqiong, you must understand... you are not the only member of the imperial family; it's impossible for all resources to be given to you."

"You're willing to give to guest elders like Luo He, but not to me?" The colossal beast was filled with indignant rage. Being eternally imprisoned, the feeling was naturally unbearable.

"You owe the clan a great deal," Di Fu said. "Whereas guest elders like Luo He exchange resources based on their merits and do not owe the clan anything."

"Let me remind you again: the guest elder system was jointly established by both original ancestors! It absolutely cannot be questioned by you." Di Fu stared at the colossal beast. "You should also understand that, in the eyes of the ancestors, there is likely no difference between your life and the life of a guest elder."

The colossal beast grew even angrier. Of course, it knew this. God Kings of the imperial family had fallen in conflicts within the Origin Continent, and the ancestors had never intervened.

"You should focus on cultivating your mind," Di Fu advised. "You can seek guidance from Diming. If your mental willpower could reach even two or three-tenths of his, you would have long since suppressed this corruption, remained perfectly clear-minded, and become a new Emperor." Di Fu continued, "In this current epoch of the Origin Continent, Diming ranks first in terms of mental willpower. There is no shame in humbling yourself before him."

"I already humbled myself and sought his guidance!" The colossal beast grew increasingly frantic. "But he humiliated me again and again, making me serve him, making me his subordinate, making me a mere gatekeeper... How could I possibly tolerate that?"

"You, in turn, humiliated him back then," Di Fu stated.

"He was weak then," the colossal beast said.

"In his eyes, you are weak now," Di Fu said. "Reflect on that. In my opinion, your only chance to become an Emperor... is to seek guidance from Diming!"

Having spoken, Di Fu vanished.

"Hah, seek his guidance?" The colossal beast grew even more frantic. "I would rather be eternally imprisoned, even perish in the future, than endure his humiliation again!"

Meanwhile, Di Fu was in the world he had created.

"The imperial family receives too much favoritism from the ancestors, yet they still complain daily that they haven't received enough. They even want to take back the pitiful amount given to the guest elders." Di Fu gently shook his head. "These foolish individuals... do they truly believe the ancestors care about them?"

"The ancestors, after all, came into existence several epochs ago."

"How much affection could they possibly have for descendants separated by several epochs?" Di Fu gently shook his head.

The Sacred Ground, 'Infinite Space'.

Luo He paid little mind to the imperial family's domineering nature, choosing simply to keep his distance. "Fortunately, we're in the Infinite Space, where the power gaps between individuals aren't significant. If this were outside... I might have been easily struck down with a casual blow," Luo He thought with a smile.

According to his information, God King Yanqiong was an ancient God King of the second realm, rumored to have also cultivated the Primal Chaos bloodline. Combined with the imperial family's resources and secret artifacts, his power was unfathomable. However, God King Yanqiong was very low-key on the Origin Continent, almost never making an appearance.

"Many ancient beings are difficult to encounter in the outside world, but quite a few can be found in the Infinite Space." Luo He also found the Infinite Space quite fascinating.

In the Infinite Space, everyone was granted a standard God King-level physical body! To make one's body stronger, one had to forge their own cultivation path. However, no one in the Infinite Space had yet been known to develop a path that reached the second realm of the God King stage. Therefore, most physical bodies were generally at the first realm of the God King stage. Only mental willpower might show significant differences.

"Diming's mental willpower is truly terrifying." Luo He couldn't help but think of Diming. Having been in the Infinite Space for so long, Diming's mental willpower was the only one he was certain absolutely surpassed the God King Ultimate Realm. It was immense, completely transcendent—a qualitative difference.

"Hm?" Luo He suddenly sensed a mind creature ahead. "Good luck, found one." Luo He, with his nine clones, had them scout separately, heading for the most remote areas. He wasn't picky; as soon as a mind creature was discovered, he immediately assigned a clone to occupy that area. A single clone occupying just one mind creature wouldn't attract the covetous gaze of major powers! However, the cumulative total of mind creatures occupied by Luo He's numerous clones, dispersed across various locations, was quite substantial. Of course, this kind of endeavor was only possible for someone with many clones. In the Infinite Space, very few of the newly forged paths allowed for the use of clones.

In a magnificent ancient palace within the East Pole Region.

A woman in green sat there. Within the palace, a vast formation naturally manifested, its countless mysterious patterns flowing and constantly shifting. "Di Fu is truly remarkable; to reach the Emperor level solely by relying on formations, I am still significantly inferior to him," the woman in green mused with admiration. She suddenly observed a shifting pattern within the formation. "Oh? This secret has finally been deduced. The Phaseless God King loudly called Luo He's name within the palace, and then coincidentally vanished from the Infinite Space... His disappearance is connected to Luo He. Moreover, 'Mist' from the Shadow Heaven Realm died in battle, and the cause of death is also linked to Luo He."

"The Lord of the Shadow Heaven Realm endured this? There's been no significant follow-up?"

"This Luo He is unusual," the woman in green remarked, observing the formation. She could project and deduce many traces on the Origin Continent using her formations, uncovering numerous secrets. The more world traces she projected, the more accurate her deductions became.

"Perhaps I could invite him to join my faction?" A thought arose in the woman's mind. She immediately used the formation for a deduction, and the formation projected the world, as if showing its future evolution. "Though it's not entirely clear, it seems like a brilliant decision? It appears this Luo He is also favored by the Supreme Rule." The woman in green was somewhat surprised; she had long known that the Supreme Rule also showed favoritism. The more dazzling and brilliant a cultivator, the more favor they received. Even beings like World Beasts were born favored, having a smooth path directly to the God King Ultimate Realm, growing faster the more they destroyed and consumed. Ordinary cultivators began very common, but gradually, the dazzling ones would be singled out.

"If he's favored by the Supreme Rule, then he absolutely must be invited." With that thought, while remaining in her place, a single notion of hers remotely descended upon Xiangjie City in the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom.