Xu Youling stirred up the crowd of partners to challenge Zhao Xing, and soon got plenty of enthusiastic responses.
Xu Youling, Han Qianye, Wu Yanlin, Hebis, and Daoist Miaosong all stepped forward to join the encirclement.
Zhao Xing had just broken through and was itching to stretch his skills. Facing a group alone didn't bother him at all—if anything, he found them not giving him enough pressure.
"Xu Youling, Han Qianye, Wu Yanlin, Hebis, Daoist Miaosong—you were all top ten in the Primordial Assembly, and I barely made it into the top eighty. Is this really all you've got?"
"Tuosen, Wei Lan, Ai Miaomiao, Pu Tianrui—don't just stand there. Come play too."
Zhao Xing began calling out his partners one by one.
"Zhao Xing, you're not even activating your World Projection. You're way too arrogant!"
"Taking on ten of us? That's pure arrogance!"
"Everyone from Great Zhou is watching. Don't blame us for beating up your Grand Shennong—it's him asking for it!"
"Junior brother, I can't just stand by anymore. Take this!"
Provoked by Zhao Xing's taunts, Tuosen, Pu Tianrui, Wei Lan, Ai Miaomiao, Yu Qing and several other Shennong from the Primordial Realm all joined in the siege.
Boom boom boom—
World Projections unfolded, summoning countless plant-based soldier species.
The skies and earth of Nanyang Star Continent turned into a sea of green.
Life Formation stream, Mother Tree Extremity stream, Mutation stream, Burst Soldier stream, Mental stream, Parasitic stream—it was like a real-time masterclass in Self School Shennong combat styles.
Zhao Xing's breakthrough was real, but his partners weren't weak either. After their dividend bonuses, everyone had grown rapidly.
When the number of attackers exceeded fifteen, even Zhao Xing couldn't just stand still, relying on mana shields alone to ignore their attacks.
"World Projection—Yin-Yang Partition!"
Surrounded on all sides, Zhao Xing didn't even have room to unfold his projection. There wasn't a single stable patch of space in the sky or ground.
But his internal world was too powerful. With just a tap of his toe, he cracked open a gap in the blockade of projections.
With that gap as the breach point, the crack rapidly expanded outward.
"Wu Yanlin, are you kidding me?! How'd you let Zhao Xing open his World Projection?" Xu Youling snapped at her teammate.
Zhao Xing had torn open a rift in Wu Yanlin's projection zone.
Wu Yanlin looked aggrieved. "Auntie, don't blame me! You try standing against him—you'll get pushed back too!"
Xu Youling didn't buy it. She quickly filled in the gap left by Wu Yanlin's retreat, trying to suppress Zhao Xing.
World Projection was the foundation for summoning soldier species—suppressing it meant suppressing a Self School Shennong's entire combat power.
"Three Treasures Suppress Heaven and Earth!"
Xu Youling's World Projection turned a deep green, spreading along the ground, forming three bronze artifacts before Zhao Xing.
Each one was engraved with suns, moons, and mountains—this was a secret art of the Sanbao Dao Sect.
"In terms of World Law alone, the Sanbao Dao Sect's methods are far more refined than my Yin-Yang Partition," Zhao Xing admitted inwardly.
He'd learned Yin-Yang Partition in the Northern River Star System—it was impressive in its own right. But against a sect's core secret art, it didn't hold up.
Still, even a great technique depends on who's using it.
Boom!
With a single thought, Zhao Xing's internal world's primordial ocean began to boil.
Chaotic currents surged outward, instantly smashing apart the three bronze artifacts and obliterating Xu Youling's projection.
The green world was quickly eroded by the gray beneath Zhao Xing's feet.
Before long, the World Projections of over ten Shennong were completely torn apart by Zhao Xing's overwhelming force.
In a flash, the battlefield was left with only Zhao Xing's World Projection.
Whether it was Tuosen, Han Qianye, or Daoist Miaosong—any Shennong from the Self School found their summoned plant soldiers forcibly retracted into their internal worlds.
"Ah!" Xu Youling put all her strength into trying to raise her projection again, but it was like trying to strike flint—brief sparks that quickly fizzled out.
No one could unfold their World Projection again.
Zhao Xing, facing more than ten opponents, had managed absolute suppression!
"That's it?" Xia Jing blinked. He'd just started collecting bets, and Zhao Xing had already won.
"One versus fifteen, and it ended in a blink. What's the point of betting? Refund!" Long Xiao rushed to grab back his stake.
"Fifteen Reincarnation Realm experts, all powerhouses from the Primordial Realm, and they got crushed instantly? Grand Shennong is insane!"
The spectators from Great Zhou all burst into cheers.
To them, Zhao Xing was already a legend—but most had never seen him fight in person.
Now, seeing the legend take action with their own eyes, the myth became reality.
All those challengers were big names, yet even together, they couldn't take Zhao Xing down!
"How big is your internal world, exactly?" Xu Youling was stunned. "Mine has eight hundred world-element units. With the Sanbao secret art, I can fight well above my level, but I still got completely suppressed."
"Zhao Xing, you used Yin-Yang Partition. That technique isn't exactly top-tier. For us, it's borderline low-grade," Pu Tianrui said in disbelief.
The technique wasn't refined, yet its suppressive power was monstrous. That only meant one thing—Zhao Xing's internal world was unimaginably strong.
Everyone was curious about this—Shennong like Tuosen and Wei Lan, as well as outsiders like Du Yun and Yang Baihe, all wanted to know.
Seeing all his partners staring expectantly, Zhao Xing finally gave them the answer. "My internal world has surpassed ten thousand world-element units."
"What?!"
"That's impossible! That's Emperor-level territory!"
"You just broke through and it's already ten thousand units? Is that an internal world or a star system?"
"Did you use a World Core to open it? But even with one, how did you suppress that kind of expansion?"
"Don't tell me you also had a Dry Origin Dao Tower assisting?"
"Hiss… terrifying!"
Everyone present was sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued. With just a few lines of speculation, they were already close to the truth.
If Zhao Xing wasn't lying, then for his internal world to be this massive, it could only mean he used a very high-level realm stone, and also had to suppress it with an equally powerful artifact.
Still, none of them dared guess it was god-grade.
The Hunyuan Dao Tower was well known, but the Boundary-Splitting Divine Stone? Most had never even heard of it!
"Alright, don't bother guessing—it's about what you're thinking." Zhao Xing smiled faintly.
Whoo—
A bamboo stalk glowing with both purple and golden light, bearing seven leaves, shot up from the ground.
"An Emperor-grade Seven Realms True Spirit Bamboo!"
Gasps of shock erupted again.
"Alright, folks, that's enough sparring." Zhao Xing chuckled. "This is the only Seven Realms True Spirit Bamboo I have that's fully usable right now. If we keep fighting, someone's bound to get hurt."
Back when he was still a rising talent, Zhao Xing kept everything hidden. But now that he'd stepped into the Reincarnation Realm, it was time to show some strength.
Everyone already knew he'd made a fortune.
Revealing his power now was the best way to shut down any greedy thoughts.
An internal world comparable to an Emperor, and now even Emperor-grade plant soldiers—anyone who wanted to rob him had better seriously reconsider whether they had the strength.
Of course, this wasn't even his full power. The ten thousand world-element units were just the beginning. He hadn't fully digested the Boundary-Splitting Divine Stone yet.
According to his estimates, once it was completely absorbed, he could expand to fifty thousand world-element units, and fully mature seven Emperor-grade original plant species.
"Alright, alright! What are we even fighting for anymore?"
"Zhao bro's making bank—of course he's got Emperor-grade soldiers!"
"With more than twenty million Xuanling Ancient Coins, Zhao bro's cut wasn't small. Of course he's got top-tier plants."
"That Seven Realms True Spirit Bamboo's also known as the Reincarnation Bamboo. One hit from that and you'll be reincarnated. Who wants to spar with that? I'm out."
The sight of that single Emperor-grade True Spirit Bamboo was enough to kill everyone's will to fight.
Even Du Yun gave up on the idea.
If he brought out all his trump cards, he might withstand a few blows, but in terms of regular strength, Du Yun was only at the peak of the Lord-level. There was no point in sparring like this.
Still, Du Yun didn't leave right away. He stopped Zhao Xing and asked:
"Zhao Xing, tell me honestly—back in the Primordial Realm when we fought, was that your real strength?"
Zhao Xing smiled and shook his head. "Senior Zuo possessed me back then. The one who beat you wasn't really me."
Honestly, that whole duel had been just a cover. Did the Source Heaven Palace really not expect Zuo Qiyu to intervene? It was just giving them an excuse to accept a lesser share.
Saying straight out, "I'm willing to take second place," would've been too humiliating.
Now that their partnership was going smoothly, telling Du Yun the truth didn't matter.
Du Yun burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! I knew it!"
"Alright, I'm off. When the exploration of the Demigod's Cave opens up, don't forget to tell me."
"My Source Heaven Palace bought a few entry tickets too."
"Farewell," Zhao Xing cupped his fists in salute.
Once the partners' banquet dispersed, everyone returned to their original posts.
News of Zhao Xing's breakthrough to the Reincarnation Realm quickly spread.
The ten thousand world-element unit internal world—comparable to an Emperor-grade world—became the big headline.
Many people were genuinely happy for him, mainly his partners and close friends.
But many others were bitter and jealous.
For instance, deep in the demon race's territory, in a special palace built by Jin Yan, another cultivator of the Primordial Avatar Technique.
"Shadow Sanctuary rejected the assassination contract on Zhao Xing, saying I couldn't afford the price."
"One godly artifact?! If I had a godly artifact, why the hell would I be hiring anyone?!"
"Hmph. Just because you don't have one doesn't mean my main body doesn't," another Jin Yan sneered. "My true self's been missing for days now—he must be preparing for the assassination."
"I sensed Zhao Xing's breakthrough. Has he really gotten that strong?"
"He's reached the Reincarnation Realm. That means the other cultivator of the Primordial Avatar Technique is now fair game. Who wants to join me in killing Zhao Xing?"
"You guys are so noisy. Can't a guy get some sleep? If you want to kill someone, go ahead—I just want to nap."
"Anyone want tea? I just brewed some. We're stuck here anyway—what's the point of stressing?"
"I'm offering ten top-grade Reincarnation Dao Weapons. The goal is to capture Zhao Xing alive and bring him here."
In the depths of the Ancient Dao Layer, atop a uniquely shaped eight-sided landmass, lay one of Wei Tianchen's safe havens.
This place was extremely hidden—even a god would have a hard time locating it.
"Too low," said the black-robed figure from Shadow Sanctuary, shaking his head at Wei Tianchen's offer. "From what I know, Zhao Xing has already cultivated the Primordial Avatar Technique. Now that he's broken through to the Reincarnation Realm, killing him might be doable, but capturing him? That's a different story."
"A mission like this could only be taken by a Demigod, and no Demigod would accept it for just ten top-grade Reincarnation Dao Weapons."
"I told you last time, you should've had the Sanctuary act directly. If you'd done that then, it might've worked."
"But now? You'll need to offer at least one godly artifact."
One godly artifact? Wei Tianchen fell silent.
If he offered one, sure, a Demigod might accept the task.
After all, Demigods weren't interested in most worldly goods. Their only goal was to transcend and become true gods. But as the Barren Domain expanded, the path to godhood was shrinking. Only by studying divine artifacts could they perhaps improve their chances.
Wei Tianchen had once kidnapped Zhao Xing and paid the price—being hunted by major factions and forced to go into hiding.
No Demigod would risk losing their ability to operate in the Xuanling Star Domain over ten Dao Weapons.
But if he offered a godly artifact, the situation would be different. Plenty of Demigods would be willing to take that risk.
Wei Tianchen did have several divine items. But they were extremely hard-earned, and he couldn't operate publicly in the Xuanling Star Domain anymore. Using even one would leave him with one less—and it'd be almost impossible to replace.
So, should he spend one godly artifact just to commission the Shadow Sanctuary for another attempt at capturing Zhao Xing?
However, Wei Tianchen didn't hesitate for long this time. Compared to the secrets hidden within the Seven Stars Fighting Cabinet, giving up a single divine artifact was an acceptable price.
"I can offer a divine artifact. It's called the Seven-Star Lihuo Sword." Wei Tianchen lifted a hand, and a mass of flame appeared beside him.
The dim fire twisted space itself, and divine patterns collapsed inward from the outer layers of the flame. A sword tip slowly emerged from within.
"The quality of the Lihuo Divine Sword has been confirmed." The black-robed figure gave a nod, then absorbed the flame into his robe. "The Shadow Sanctuary will accept five top-grade Reincarnation Dao Weapons as commission. If no one takes the contract within five hundred years, only the Lihuo Divine Sword will be returned. If the contract is fulfilled, another five top-grade Reincarnation Dao Weapons will be collected."
"I await good news from the Sanctuary."
The black robe nodded, opened a spatial tunnel, and vanished.
On Nanyang Star Land, Zhao Xing's true body returned to cultivation again after the sparring session.
This time, his focus was on comprehending the Heart-Sealing Technique left behind by Fan Qianrou.
After breaking through to the Reincarnation Realm, with his soul fused into a True Spirit, his comprehension of various Daos had deepened, and he now had the qualifications to understand higher-level secret techniques.
The mana section of the Heart-Sealing Technique could produce Seven-Colored Mana. The Blue Flower Mana was full of marvelous uses—it could balance the Three Paths of Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and the Self; and even nourish god-grade original species.
Zhao Xing's urgent task was to improve his progress in cultivating Blue Flower Mana, and possibly comprehend a second kind of mana as well.
"Hoo—"
"Inhale—"
Above the canyon on Nanyang Star Land, six streams of energy rotated and intertwined above Zhao Xing's head, converging into a blooming blue flower. This was a phenomenon born during the transformation of ordinary mana into Blue Flower Mana.
He had started cultivating Blue Flower Mana from the Dao of Life, and it had been thirty years since he began.
Inside Zhao Xing's body, the swirling nebula of power was steadily filling with more and more Blue Flower Mana.
[You have comprehended "Seven Apertures Heart-Sealing Technique", gaining 5 proficiency points.]
[Blue Flower Mana: 924/10000]
"Since I began cultivating Blue Flower Mana, it's been close to nine hundred years, and I've refined over nine hundred threads of it now."
Zhao Xing checked his panel. The progress bar no longer showed a question mark—there was now a visible cap.
"Back then, the question mark appeared because my mana limit was only 10 realms, but now it's at 105 realms. Every time I convert a full body of mana into Blue Flower Mana, I burn through all my power in the process."
"With my mana limit expanded, I can finally see the end point of fully mastering Blue Flower Mana."
Those 924 proficiency points represented 924 threads of Blue Flower Mana, most of which were refined during the past thirty years since breaking into the Reincarnation Realm.
"With 924 threads, I wonder if I could hold my own in a fight against an Emperor-level opponent…"
At the Lord-level, just one thread of Blue Flower Mana could decisively suppress enemies.
But using it to support Reincarnation-level secret techniques as part of regular combat strength would burn through much more.
Emperors' own mana was already nearly on par with Blue Flower Mana.
Whoo—
He visualized the Heart-Sealing Technique again. First came the shape of the Seven Stars Fighting Cabinet, pulsing like a heart.
Then a streak of white light appeared, followed by the splitting of seven distinct colors, like seven mighty rivers diverging.
The torrent of Dao surged endlessly—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, time, space, light, darkness, death, life... seemingly all-encompassing.
Zhao Xing felt like he was immersed in a world of pure mana, and that source of white light was the very power of divinity.
He had originally used the Dao of Life to comprehend Blue Flower Mana. Now, he was reversing the process—using Blue Flower Mana as a starting point to understand the other types.
"Tracing the Blue Flower Mana to its origin, right beside it is a torrent of red-colored mana."
Zhao Xing's gaze landed on one of the branching junctions.
"If I can raise my Blue Flower Mana to a certain level, I should be able to grasp that red-colored mana next."
His true body closed his eyes and entered deep contemplation.
At the same time, four Primordial Avatars were also moving across the world.
One Primordial Avatar remained stationed at the frontmost edge of the Yanxing Corridor at Qitian Base.
Together with Zhu Haichao, Jiang Tiansu, Lord Xiye, and Baili Yang, he continued managing the development of the Yanxing Ancient Path.
By now, most of the green stone slabs had already been relocated by Emperor Moshu of the War God Hall and the Illusion Emperor.
Only sixteen Emperor-level cave dwellings and seven Demigod mansions remained.
Their fixed positions made them difficult to carve out.
But after relocating over three thousand green slabs, Zhao Xing's development project for the ancient path could continue.
The second Primordial Avatar had just arrived at Primordial Hill.
Primordial Hill was located in the southeast of the Xuanling Star Domain, near the Black Heaven Barren Domain.
The Empire, by contrast, bordered the Siyue Barren Domain in the northwest of the Xuanling Star Domain, meaning the two locations were incredibly far apart.
Zhao Xing had dispatched this Primordial Avatar, and after thirty years post-breakthrough, it had only just reached Primordial Hill.
"This trip to Primordial Hill is for mastering every Earthly Advantage spell—starting with the one mentioned by the Eyebrow Mountain Venerable: the 'Life Earth Palace'."
The Primordial Avatar landed on a red-colored planet on the outskirts of Primordial Hill, called Gushen Star. It was where Zhao Xing had spent the most time in his past life.
This time, however, he was just passing through. After arriving on Gushen Star, he would teleport from there to Eyebrow Mountain, one of the Twelve Mountains of the Three Realms.
Primordial Hill had both core and outer territories. To enter one of the Twelve Mountains of the Three Realms, teleportation through a formation was required.
"Shennong Zhao, I'm Kang Yue. My master ordered me to wait here for you."
"Thank you."
The third Primordial Avatar had returned to Coral City in the Primordial Realm.
This return trip was the most troublesome of all.
Zhao Xing first tried to notify the Five Venom Emperor, but after receiving his profit share, that man had gone into seclusion.
With no other option, he had to ask the Bishui Emperor to contact Gu Luohe.
He waited outside the Primordial Realm for a full twenty-five years before Gu Luohe came to receive him.
Zhao Xing and Zuo Qiyu both couldn't suppress their killing intent. The two Primordial Avatar cultivators being too close together meant that even without actually fighting, their mere presence would disrupt the peace of the Origin Realm—no one else would be able to cultivate puppet techniques.
After Gu Luohe came out, he sealed all other abilities of Zhao Xing's Primordial Avatar, retaining only the split-soul's ability to reside and nurture within the realm.
This way, Zhao Xing could return to buy resources and cultivate Self School techniques, but would no longer sense Zuo Qiyu's presence.
"This time I'm back to cultivate five categories of Reincarnation-level Self School techniques: Heartfield Technique (mind-will type), World Law, Divine Radiance Law, Origin Foundation Law, and Spirit Seed Law."
Zhao Xing only had three plant soldier species, but they were too high in quality to mutate. Learning mutation-based techniques would be a waste. It was better to study supportive methods—since the troops were strong enough, boosting and controlling them became the focus.
Also, studying these five types was part of an effort to uncover patterns that could lead to producing god-tier original species.
"The Origin Dao Canon and the Three Thousand Dao Seeds zones are my main cultivation areas. I'll start by redeeming 1,000 years of training time!"
As for the fourth Primordial Avatar, it had been sent to visit top-tier Heavenly Timing School factions across the Xuanling Star Domain.
Heavenly Timing School lacked cultivation methods or techniques that could compare with those of Self School and Earthly Advantage School.
Even though Self School currently had no godhood-level cultivators, the Origin Realm still housed the Primordial Divine Tree, and its techniques pointed toward godhood.
Flipping through ancient texts, Zhao Xing found that even before the Barren Domain Era, Self School still had godhood cultivators during the first eight eras.
But Heavenly Timing School had scarce divine relics, and even fewer techniques that pointed toward godhood. Since the Five Emperors Era, there hadn't been a single godhood cultivator recorded.
This contradicted what he believed, and he needed to find a powerful Heavenly Timing technique to rebalance the three-path cultivation. Visiting all major Heavenly Timing factions in the star domain was the main goal of this Avatar.
Also, this was his weakest Avatar. The soul-split Zhao Xing placed in it only contained Heavenly Timing techniques.
"My first stop is the Four Seasons Palace. It's within the empire. If nothing turns up there, I'll have to leave the empire and look elsewhere."
While his four Avatars traveled abroad, Zhao Xing's true body continued cultivating in peace on the Nanyang Star Land.
Another 70 years passed.
Suddenly—
Boom!
A beam of crimson light shot into the sky from the canyon in Nanyang Star Land.
Then a red lotus bloomed above the canyon. Every petal bore mystic runes, instantly burning through the Manifest Layer.
Its flames reached from the third to the tenth ridge of the Dao Manifest Layer.
Even the stable flow of the void river was evaporated dry.
Whoosh whoosh~
At the boundary between the tenth ridge of the Dao Manifest Layer and the Dao Ancient Layer...
A corner peak from a small layered boundary mountain suddenly flew over. Chen Shijie jumped down from it, leading 100 Earthly Advantage School Shennongs.
In his left hand, he held up a small tower that was shaped exactly like the corner peak.
A wave of flowing sand formed under their feet. It wrapped around the feet of the 100 Shennongs behind him, forming a Earth Repository spell formation.
"Mount!"
Chen Shijie gave a low command.
All the Shennongs' power surged at once.
"Fracture!"
The small tower suddenly cracked evenly. The corner peak of the layered mountain split into eight parts.
"Open the wall!"
The cracks widened further. The layered mountain's properties were perfectly exploited, with eight broken peaks forming a twisted tunnel.
The flame entered the tunnel but was reflected back. After passing through eight layers of weakening, by the time it reached Chen Shijie, it had turned into just a warm breeze.
Seeing the corner peak glowing red-hot, Chen Shijie finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lord Chen, what kind of technique is this? It burned through seven layers of the Eightfold Boundary Mountain Formation..." said Chen Yu, another Shennong Commander nearby, watching the retreating flames with lingering fear.
"I don't know," Chen Shijie shook his head. "First time I had to use the full power of the Eightfold Boundary Mountain Formation—and it's for internal use. What a joke."
With funding, everything changed. The Great Zhou Shennong Bureau had been reborn.
The Eightfold Boundary Mountain Formation was one of their defense systems—portable heavy defense structures built from peaks split off of Layered Boundary Mountains, designed to withstand disasters at the Emperor level.
Who would have thought the first test of its power wouldn't be against an enemy—but against Zhao Xing.
"You control the Octagonal Tower. I'll go take a look." Chen Shijie handed the tower to Chen Yu.
[You have comprehended 'Seven Aperture Heart-Sealing Method,' unlocking 'Red Lotus Force.']
[Seven Aperture Heart-Sealing Method: Force Chapter]
[Blue Flower Mana: 1000/10000]
[Red Lotus Force: 100/10000]
In the canyon of Nanyang Star Land, Zhao Xing opened his eyes.
A red lotus bloomed in his pupils, then quickly spun shut.
The lotus above his head also turned into flaming energy and poured back into his eyes.
"Finally broke through!"
Zhao Xing let out a long breath.
In his first 100 years after breaking through to the Reincarnation Realm, the Blue Flower Mana had reached 1000 proficiency.
And now, during his contemplation, he had finally unlocked the second kind of force—Red Lotus Force.
It seemed that once a threshold had been reached, the Blue Flower Mana hit 1000, and Red Lotus Force was instantly unlocked and jumped straight to 100 proficiency.
Unlike Blue Flower Mana, which embraced and integrated all Daos, Red Lotus Force was violent—it destroyed everything.
A wisp of pinkish-red flame flickered at Zhao Xing's fingertip. Upon closer inspection, the flame held countless particles shaped like closing lotus petals in motion.
He flicked his finger and cast [Life Revival] toward a withered tree.
But instead of reviving, the tree was annihilated—without even ashes left behind.
"Red Lotus Force is based on the Dao of Destruction. Any technique powered by it turns into an attack spell."
"It seems to offer no boost to support spells, but the damage amplification surpasses Blue Flower Mana."
One hundred points of Red Lotus Force proficiency had already outperformed one thousand points of Blue Flower Mana in terms of raw destructive power. Clearly, Blue Flower Mana had more all-around applications, while Red Lotus was more narrowly focused on pure damage.
"If I used Red Lotus Force to empower the Seven-Domain True Spirit Bamboo... what would happen?" Zhao Xing opened the World Projection and looked at the bamboo plant.
"Shasha~" The Seven-Domain True Spirit Bamboo trembled violently. Its spirit intelligence twitched uncontrollably—it had sensed its master's intentions and immediately shrank back into the ground, as if terrified.
"Useless. So scared." Zhao Xing curled his lip.
He could have forced it to accept Red Lotus Force augmentation—but he figured he might as well not. Cultivating an Emperor-grade plant-type soldier was no easy feat. Breaking it out of curiosity would be heartbreaking.
If plant soldiers were out, then he'd test it himself.
"I'll use Red Lotus Force to cast the Ten-Thousand-Spirit Hou Transformation. Let's see if the Flame Ape form can boost my combat strength."
No sooner said than done.
Red lotus bloomed in Zhao Xing's eyes. Immediately after, the Hou Transformation activated!
Within his Dharma Body, a surge of red energy swept through his muscles, skin, and bones like a storm. The transformation was instant and violent.
"Ahhhhhh—!"
A painful roar tore from Zhao Xing's mouth as his body underwent drastic change. Red fur spread over his entire body, and his hair turned crimson, pulsing with a fiery aura.
The Hou Transformation was based on the Flame Ape clan of the Rain Immortal World. At this moment, Zhao Xing transformed into a flaming giant ape. The already wrecked canyon floor was flattened by his surging aura.
Just as Chen Shijie teleported over using an Earth Master technique and appeared outside the canyon, he was blasted back by the overwhelming pressure, as if death itself had descended.
"ROAR!"
The furious bellow nearly shattered Chen Shijie's heart.
Then, he felt himself lying in a massive, flexible palm. A flamboyant, demonic face loomed over him. Crimson pupils stared directly at him. Under that gaze, Chen Shijie couldn't speak. Even his magic power seemed frozen. He'd only ever felt this kind of pressure from the likes of Emperor-level beings like Emperor Hongshan.
"Old Chen, what are you doing here?"
Zhao Xing had reverted to his normal form. A thread of Blue Flower Mana helped Old Chen stabilize his breath. Then Zhao patted the glowing embers on his shoulder.
"I was cultivating. It's dangerous for you to get so close."
Chen Shijie came back to his senses and nearly tossed his hat at Zhao Xing's face. "You call that cultivating? Planning to destroy all seventy-two prefectures of Great Zhou while you're at it?"
"Huh?" Zhao Xing glanced around and realized he'd caused a huge mess.
"I reinforced this place, though. How'd it still blow up? Must be that Chen Yu cut corners again! I'll teach him a lesson..."
Typical Zhao Xing—always passing the blame. Chen Shijie could only stare, speechless.
"Don't pin it on Chen Yu. The two-layer defense on Nanyang's Manifestation and Dao Layers was built by me. If you want to blame someone, come at me, the Head Agricultural Officer."
"How could I dare, haha." Zhao Xing gave a sheepish grin, flashing a row of white teeth.
"Next time you're gonna practice secret arts, could you at least give a heads-up? Great Zhou can't afford your fireworks. If I hadn't gotten here in time, half the surrounding star continents would've shattered."
"My bad, my bad." Only Chen Shijie could make Zhao Xing apologize like this.
Truth be told, Zhao himself hadn't expected it either. The Nanyang star continent had already been reinforced to match a Peak Lord-level cultivation site, and it still couldn't contain him.
"You didn't come just to clean up this mess, right?" Zhao asked. "Official business?"
"Yeah." Chen Shijie took out an encrypted jade tablet. "Emperor Mengwu of the War God Temple had someone notify your avatar at the Qitian base, but you probably didn't see it. So he also sent a copy to the Great Zhou Agriculture Bureau."
"There are only seven cross-realm ships left at Qitian Mountain that contain Demigod-level residences. They say these seven are hard to move, so they want to explore them on-site."
"Oh?" Zhao Xing's eyes lit up. "So we can start exploring the Demigod Mansions now?"
"Why are you asking me? That's your decision. What's a regular Reincarnation cultivator like me supposed to do, worry about Demigod real estate?" Chen Shijie grumbled.
"Haha, much appreciated. I'll have His Majesty raise your salary!" After sending off Chen Shijie with a smile, Zhao began examining the contents of the message tablet.
"According to the original sale agreement, I'm to explore the seven Demigod Mansions jointly with the War God Temple."
"Now the War God Temple has provided a specific plan: out of the 100 total exploration slots for the seven mansions, 20 are mine to allocate—either for personal use or resale. But if I sell, the War God Temple gets first dibs."
"They've already sent seven people and identified three Demigod-level greenstone slabs, and successfully located three inheritance mansions."
"But as agreed, they're waiting for our side to be present before the actual exploration begins—"
After reading, Zhao Xing understood the situation.
"Mengwu's still pretty honorable. His people are already at the door, and they're actually waiting for us."
"Good. Timing's perfect. My current strength is enough to check out a Demigod Mansion. I've never seen one in either life—this time I can't miss it."
What was hidden inside those seven Demigod Mansions? Zhao Xing didn't know. But the wealth recovered from the Primordial Hill project had already paid off its costs and ramped up exploration. It also reaffirmed his commitment.
Whatever lay within, Zhao Xing couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.
Judging by the results of previously explored mansions, the War God Temple had made a solid profit. If that trend held, the Demigod Mansions wouldn't disappoint.
"Boom—" Zhao Xing shot into the sky and flew straight toward the teleportation array.