The third era of the Barren Domain, the 73rd Realm Star Year.
In the Black Heaven Barren Domain, at a nameless mountain.
"Your subordinate respectfully invites the Immeasurable True God!"
It was the same familiar temple, the same familiar Clock Throne. In the third era of the Barren Domain, Zhao Xing saw the Immeasurable True God for the first time.
"Zhao Xing, how are your preparations for the Mountain Chief competition?"
"Reporting to True God, I'm still not confident I can kill Kuangchuan during the Dao debate."
He wasn't trying to play the victim; Kuangchuan really was much stronger than him. And he couldn't use outside techniques or drugs in Primordial Hill. Killing Kuangchuan would be truly difficult.
"The Mountain Chief competition in Primordial Hill started way too early. I haven't had enough time to prepare."
The Immeasurable True God thought for a moment and said, "I can give you some time."
Give me some time?
Zhao Xing was confused.
The Immeasurable True God pinched his thumb and forefinger together, and a light spot the size of a rice grain appeared between them.
"This is a time granule," the Immeasurable True God explained. "Its spatial size covers 5 realm unit scales."
"The time duration is 1 era."
"You can use it to accelerate time in your inner world. Don't use it outside—otherwise, the effect will drop dramatically."
Looking at the time granule, Zhao Xing's heart skipped a beat.
In the Xuanling Treasure Pavilion, a time granule lasting 1 era across 5 realm units would cost at least 200 million contribution points! Only God Kings or god-level time-space formation masters like the Immeasurable True God could condense such a thing.
Was Kuangchuan really worth this much?
The Immeasurable True God continued analyzing:
"In Primordial Hill, in terms of power, mountain techniques are number one."
"But raising a mountain inside your body takes too long."
"Luckily, you're a Shennong of the Self School, so you qualify to use this. It'll save you a lot of trouble."
Zhao Xing took the time granule. It looked exactly like a rice grain, except threads of mist seemed to swirl inside it.
"Remember, the time granule can only be used in your inner world. If you use it outside, your half-god power won't be enough to control its force, and you'll end up hurting yourself," the Immeasurable True God warned repeatedly.
"Yes, I understand," Zhao Xing nodded, carefully storing it away.
"If you succeed in this, come back to claim your reward," the Immeasurable True God added. He didn't mention what would happen if Zhao Xing failed.
But Zhao Xing knew—if any part of a mission from an evil god failed, the entire mission chain would break. Worse, you'd get cursed by the evil god, which would reduce your fortune and lifespan.
After the summoning ended, Zhao Xing left the Black Heaven Barren Domain. On the way, he began examining Kuangchuan's past in detail.
After all, this man was incredibly valuable—if he wanted to beat Kuangchuan, he had to understand him first.
"Kuangchuan once published the Minggu Universe Book."
"Although most of the book was just theories and guesses, two of the Dao treatises in it were credible enough to be included in the Nine Classics Pavilion."
Theories and Dao treatises were two very different things.
The Nine Classics Pavilion and Dao texts in the Learning City had extremely high standards.
They required not only solid theory but also corresponding, concrete techniques.
"In the eleventh era before the current one in the Barren Domain, Kuangchuan proposed that the universe wasn't limited to the three major geomantic eras."
"He believed that before the Primordial, Ancient, and Dao Manifestation Eras, there was an even earlier Minggu Era—a stage where the extreme land was still forming."
"But in the tenth era before now, he changed his view. He argued that the Minggu Era occurred right after the extreme land's birth, placing it between the Primordial and Ancient Eras."
"At that time, after a whole era of field research and finding compelling evidence in texts from the Five Emperors Era, his idea gained some support."
"Kuangchuan suggested there was an invisible mountain in the Black Heaven Barren Domain, which he named Minggu Mountain."
"He believed this giant mountain blocked the light of the extreme star, creating the darkness of the Black Heaven Barren Domain."
"During his research, he also proposed the 'Five Seas One Mountain Theory.'"
"He broke the Self School's 'Primordial Ocean Theory' into five distinct seas, arguing that the primordial ocean went through five evolutionary stages: Dangerous Sea, Calm Sea, Clear Sea, Fertile Sea, and Storm Sea."
"Once he had enough supporting evidence, he started turning the conjecture into theory."
"But at that time, few people believed him. His theory was seen as absurd—splitting the primordial ocean theory offended many Shennongs of the Self School."
"Even within Primordial Hill, people thought his ideas were nonsense. If the Minggu Era really existed, why were there three realms in Primordial Hill instead of four?"
"This situation only improved shortly before he disappeared."
Zhao Xing kept reading Kuangchuan's history.
"Before he went to the Black Heaven Barren Domain to search for Minggu Mountain, Kuangchuan published two Dao treatises."
"They were Great Treatise on Minggu Mountain and Dao Treatise on Xuanming Transformation."
"These works were the first to include real techniques supporting his Dao theories."
"In the Great Treatise on Minggu Mountain, he introduced a meditation technique called Minggu Mountain Visualization…"
"Besides Kuangchuan himself, there were four other half-gods in Primordial Hill who practiced Extreme Land Giant God Peak and visualized that Minggu Mountain."
"The power of their mountain techniques soared, and even their mental will grew much stronger."
"Although only five people in total, including Kuangchuan, managed to master the Minggu Mountain Technique, having real techniques to support the theory changed everything."
"For the first time, Kuangchuan was mentioned as a candidate for Mountain Chief."
"But back then, he had no interest in fighting for the Mountain Chief position. After publishing a Dao treatise, he set out alone to the Black Heaven Barren Domain and vanished for ten eras."
"And that second Dao treatise was the Xuanming Transformation Dao Treatise."
"The Xuanming Transformation Dao Treatise was a reincarnation method."
"Kuangchuan believed that during the Minggu Era, the extreme land had gone through a period or zone of 'Extreme Yin.'"
"Without yang, yin can't give birth; without yin, yang can't transform. This patch of Ming Soil was the place where all life returned after death."
"It interacted with the radiance of the extreme star, completing a cycle of life and death."
"He thought that during the Rui Emperor period of the Five Emperors Era, they unknowingly used part of this 'Ming Soil.'"
"They refined it and created the Netherworld, which became the foundation for ruling over souls."
"But during the Rui Emperor period, only a part of the extreme land's Ming Soil was refined. The Dao wasn't complete, which led to the Netherworld collapsing and splitting."
"Kuangchuan even believed the long-standing Reincarnation Temple had some connection to the Yin God Division that managed the Netherworld during the Rui Emperor period."
"His Xuanming Transformation Technique wasn't just for self-reincarnation—it could theoretically even resurrect others?"
After finishing Kuangchuan's biography, Zhao Xing was stunned.
As someone who came from the Xuanhuang Realm, he deeply understood how valuable Kuangchuan's two Dao treatises were.
"The Fortune Dynasty's Qi Luck imperial system also controls the Netherworld. Could that be the Ming Soil Kuangchuan mentioned?"
"Then wouldn't the Xuanming Transformation Technique basically undermine the foundation of the Reincarnation Temple?"
Aside from rogue altar resurrection methods, the right to revive in the Xuanling Star Domain was firmly in the hands of the Reincarnation Temple.
Even if the 'resurrecting others' part was just theoretical, Kuangchuan's Dao treatise directly challenged the Reincarnation Temple's authority.
Zhao Xing's clone in Primordial Hill immediately went to the Taiqiu Library to search for both secret techniques.
He eventually found the Minggu Mountain Technique, but not the Xuanming Transformation Technique.
Zhao Xing went straight to Meishan Venerable to ask why.
"You mean that secret technique? It's been sealed," Meishan Venerable said calmly.
"Sealed? Why?" Zhao Xing asked, puzzled.
"Because the gap between its theory and practical effect was huge. Plus, it touched on taboo areas," Meishan Venerable explained flatly.
"Senior brother, can I know what happened?" Zhao Xing asked.
"After Kuangchuan created it, he decided to test it on himself."
"According to the Xuanming Transformation theory, before starting, he needed to find a piece of so-called 'Ming Soil.'"
"But where in the world would you find Ming Soil?"
"Even with the Minggu Mountain treatise, only five people, including him, ever visualized the invisible mountain."
"No one knew where that unseen mountain was."
"Without Ming Soil, he could only make it himself," Meishan Venerable recalled. "With support from Dream River God General, their faction carried out the first experiment in the Black Heaven Barren Domain."
Zhao Xing nodded. The Extreme Land technique in Primordial Hill began with drawing earth veins into the body and forming them into a mountain.
Refining earth vein soil to make it evolve into a higher form was a kind of Earth Refining method.
"Zhao Xing, how do you think someone could artificially create Ming Soil?" Meishan Venerable asked.
"I don't know," Zhao Xing shook his head. "Ming Soil is extreme yin, but lone yin doesn't last, and lone yang can't give birth. Even among the Thousand Earth Wonders, nothing is completely devoid of yang."
"Exactly," Meishan Venerable nodded. "Earth vein energy always contains a hint of yang. Extreme yin is something that only appears in the theoretical early universe."
"At that time, Dream River God General and Kuangchuan began their experiment in the Black Heaven Barren Domain. All twelve mountain factions of the Three Realms supported it. Almost everyone thought Kuangchuan would be the next Mountain Chief."
"Even I thought so back then—I was sure the Mountain Chief position would go to Kuangchuan," Meishan Venerable remembered.
"Kuangchuan had the backing of gods from the Primordial, Ancient, and Dao Manifestation Realms. They even cut a small piece from the three major earth veins to supply him with materials."
"At that time, Primordial Hill built a secret base in the Black Heaven Barren Domain, giving Kuangchuan full control over massive resources and manpower."
"In the beginning, he made some real progress," Meishan Venerable said, pointing outside the ring continent.
"The Star-Shift Array and the starry ring continent were both improved thanks to Kuangchuan's Ming Soil experiments."
"But over time, things started to go wrong."
Meishan Venerable continued, "Kuangchuan consumed more and more resources, but the major breakthroughs were few and far between."
"The key goal—creating Ming Soil—remained out of reach."
"Opposition among the high-ranking members grew. Many argued that the three realms' earth veins shouldn't keep being carved up for Kuangchuan."
"When the final solar year of the ninth era before the current one arrived, Kuangchuan himself started to spiral into madness as hope faded."
Zhao Xing asked, "Spiral into madness? How exactly?"
Meishan Venerable thought for a moment, then raised his hand. The ground beneath them cracked open, and Zhao Xing felt a stone tablet fly up from deep underground.
Thick streams of earth energy coiled around it, sealing it so nothing was visible.
"Open!" Meishan Venerable barked.
The earth energy scattered, revealing faint words and images on the stone tablet.
Zhao Xing knew this was a unique information storage method from Primordial Hill. Judging by the stone tablet, it had an advanced sealing technique, making it a classified document.
"See for yourself," Meishan Venerable said.
Zhao Xing lowered his head and read carefully, and his expression changed.
In the later stages of the experiment, when Kuangchuan still couldn't get results, he fell into madness and began experimenting on people.
He believed high-level yin spirits could catalyze true extreme yin soil—Ming Soil.
So Kuangchuan started luring his followers to sacrifice themselves for the experiment.
Because at the time he wielded enormous authority, almost certain to become the next Mountain Chief, it wasn't until many disciples of Primordial Hill had died that anyone discovered what he was doing.
At the beginning of the eighth era before the present one, Kuangchuan's experiment was shut down, and everything was sealed away.
Since Kuangchuan was already deemed insane, Dream River God General took the main responsibility for his disciple and asked the Reincarnation Temple to revive some of the victims.
So Primordial Hill ultimately punished Kuangchuan by exiling him to the Black Heaven Barren Domain.
Of course, the public story was that Kuangchuan wasn't interested in becoming Mountain Chief and left to pursue the Dao by searching for the legendary invisible mountain, giving up the position on his own.
That's how Meishan Venerable became the new Mountain Chief of Primordial Hill.
"I see," Zhao Xing said after reading, immediately understanding. "Since then, the Xuanming Transformation Technique stopped aiming to refine Ming Soil. So it became a type of 'Life Earth Palace' method, and its name changed to Xuan Earth Reincarnation Technique."
"That's right," Meishan Venerable nodded. "Even after being cut down, Xuan Earth Reincarnation Technique was still a top-tier reincarnation method."
"Looking back now, it wasn't entirely Kuangchuan's fault," Meishan Venerable continued. "At the time, everyone in the Twelve Mountains of the Three Realms—mortals and gods—had placed high hopes on him. The pressure was enormous."
Zhao Xing nodded. After all, Kuangchuan had made major contributions. Exiling him without a public trial preserved Primordial Hill's reputation.
"His exile wasn't given a fixed term," Meishan Venerable added. "But spending ten eras in the Black Heaven Barren Domain is punishment enough."
"Now that he's back, bringing the earth vein essence of Minggu Mountain with him, that's a huge contribution."
"More than half the gods across the Three Realms believe Kuangchuan still deserves a shot at Mountain Chief."
"Some gods even suggested restarting the Ming Soil refinement, but that was opposed."
Through Meishan Venerable's words, Zhao Xing had a clear idea of what kind of opponent he was facing.
Reputation, strength, Dao treatises, theories, and supporters—Kuangchuan wasn't lacking in any area compared to him.
'Damn, this deal was a loss,' Zhao Xing thought bitterly.
Wuliang True God had only given him 1 time granule to kill Kuangchuan—way too cheap for someone like him.
Even if Kuangchuan was now aligned with the evil gods, evidence was needed. Plus, with spacetime shocks happening so often now, it wouldn't be easy to prove.
Kuangchuan had already passed three rounds of divine evaluations. Even if Zhao Xing killed him, accusing him of serving evil gods would be hard to convince others of.
'So there's no such thing as free benefits.'
'I have only one chance to finish this mission,' Zhao Xing realized sharply.
The only way was to challenge Kuangchuan during the Mountain Chief contest and kill him openly in a Dao battle.
Before or after that, killing Kuangchuan would be far more costly and much harder.
Deep underground in the thirtieth layer of Meishan, at Nanshan Manor.
After returning, Zhao Xing's true body immediately entered closed-door cultivation.
Inside his inner world, the time granule floated above the boundless continent.
"Time granule: area of effect is 5 world unit domains, duration 1 era," he noted. "Once used, I can accelerate refining a great mountain."
Zhao Xing looked at the mountains floating in his inner world.
Since he practiced Layered Boundary Mountain, his materials naturally came from Layered Boundary Mountain. Now, he had nine corner peaks ready as the foundation for his mountain refining.
"Nine corner peaks, plus tens of thousands of earth treasures as aids."
"Once refined, they'll be transferred into my Qiankun Hunyuan Body and become my Life Mountain."
Life Mountains were allowed in the competition; otherwise, mountain specialists couldn't compete.
Other weapons or pills were banned, but Life Mountains could be used.
"Begin."
Zhao Xing gathered the nine corner peaks together, placing them in a 5-world-unit area on the boundless continent.
Then he arranged massive amounts of supporting materials in a formation.
Finally, he released the time granule.
"Rumble—"
As the granule's power unleashed, Zhao Xing felt the targeted area's time speed up wildly.
"The spacetime fluctuations are so intense… no wonder it has to be done inside the inner world. Without its suppression, I couldn't control the granule's power at all."
Watching the violently twisting spacetime below, Zhao Xing was secretly shocked.
"This is like a time calamity beyond the fifteenth rank, maybe even higher."
"If my true soul dared to enter that area now, even with Spacetime Earth-Linking Technique, it'd be torn to pieces."
"Humans can't endure this—only the Layered Boundary Mountain corner peaks can survive it."
That was the essence of Layered Boundary Mountain: constantly absorbing origin power, growing larger and stronger.
Time origin had a huge effect on living true souls, but for mountains, it had very little impact.
Moments later, the churning, chaotic land looked like a boiling pot of porridge. But soon, a new mountainous terrain appeared on the boundless continent, glowing faintly with treasure light.
"The Earth Refining Method taught by Lan Shenzun is already very different from the one I learned in the Bone God Domain," Zhao Xing muttered. "The first layer of Earth Refining Mountain Method is still the Earth Refining Furnace, but it focuses on forging the mountain's foundation."
"The second layer shapes the mountain, forming the peaks."
Zhao Xing watched the nine corner peaks below, like pillars holding up the sky. They kept shrinking, cracking, and reforming.
Normally, this refining only needed three corner peaks. But Zhao Xing used nine, because his Saint Body combined Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and True Self. His Life Mountain had to be driven by all three types of power.
"The third layer: peaks become a ridge. The nine corner peaks join into a mountain ridge, rooting in the three layers of Xiangxian, Dao Manifestation, and Dao Antiquity, making it nearly impossible to destroy."
The nine corner peaks kept growing stronger and clearer.
"The fourth layer: the ridge turns into a vein. The nine peaks form mountain veins, matching the path of my Extreme Land Mustard Seed Mountain technique, with the mountain's veins aligned perfectly to the meridians of my Saint Body."
Zhao Xing soon felt a wonderful connection, like he and the nine peaks were breathing together.
Because time was flowing so fast below, after about half a year, he felt the nine peaks pulsing with his own breath.
"Just one last step: transferring the peaks into my Saint Body to form the Life Mountain."
"Collect!"
Though the time granule was still working, continuing the refining would have little effect.
Rumble—
The nine peaks suddenly flew up, leaving the time granule's area.
"Whoosh—"
Zhao Xing's mind transformed into a physical form, holding the nine peaks aloft. After collecting them, he gently pushed the remaining time granule power into his original seed.
"When I put the time granule inside, the original seed tried to swallow it."
"Now the refining is done, and there's about 300,000 years of power left—go ahead and eat it."
As he watched the original seed devour the remaining time granule, a hint of green spread across its surface. Only then did Zhao Xing exit his inner world.
The nine peaks merged into his Saint Body, landing atop the Great Sun Sea.
"Now that the Life Mountain is refined, if I find better earth treasures later, I can merge them to keep increasing its power," Zhao Xing exhaled deeply.
His whole presence grew heavier and more stable.
"In the Mountain Law school, a Shennong who summons their Life Mountain and resides within it becomes almost invincible—as long as the mountain doesn't break, they won't fall."
"Mountain methods are vast: using mountain valleys as mazes to trap enemies, shifting ridges to reshape terrain, or raising rock lifeforms to attack—countless tricks."
Zhao Xing spent just one year forging his Life Mountain. With three years left before the Meishan Dao Debate, he used the time to expand his mountain techniques.
Three years later, in Nanshan Manor—
"Little junior brother!"
"Little junior brother!"
A vibration came from deep underground, calling Zhao Xing. The tremors grew stronger until they pulled him from his deep cultivation.
"Senior brother." Zhao Xing opened his eyes and saw a mountain puppet of Meishan Venerable standing before him, calling out.
"The Meishan Dao Debate is about to begin. The seventy-two peak lords are all in place; you should come up," the puppet said.
"Thank you for the reminder, senior brother." With a thought, Zhao Xing shot up through the ground, soaring out of the thirtieth underground layer in one breath.
Meishan was bustling inside and out, with every office and post busy.
The Mountain Chief and peak lords' positions would trigger huge shifts in people's roles.
If a peak lord's candidate became Meishan's master, everyone below them would rise in status. And if they went further to become the Mountain Chief of the Twelve Mountains, the rewards would be even greater.
"So many people came. Over 30 human kings of ancient nations are here, along with envoys from over 10,000 ancient countries."
"The ten great demon kingdoms also sent venerables to watch. Bermon Venerable and Qingyao Venerable from the Demon God Hall are here too."
"Yuanding Venerable from the Reincarnation Temple is here—he's old Qing's junior brother. Wan Ying, Holywing, Fuping, and Gao Yu came as well; they're from Origin Heaven Palace—and there's Tianguan Venerable."
The Twelve Mountains' grand forum was clearly the first major event of the third era of the Barren Domain.
The guest list was full of familiar and unfamiliar powerhouses.
Despite the chaos from the Era Worm crisis, sky fissure beasts, and spacetime shocks in the Xuanling Star Domain, this kind of forum was even more important during turbulent times.
"From the empire side, there's Teacher Five Venoms, Ji Ji, Meng Wu, Bi Sui—hmm? Old Zuo is here too, so he's fine."
"But wait—where's Old Liu?"
Zhao Xing didn't see Liu Tianning on the guest list.
"Qiu Zishan, who's in charge of inviting guests for the empire? Why wasn't Liu Tianning invited?"
Zhao Xing quickly found Qiu Zishan, who had once worked for him on the Tongming Ancient Path as the head of the Earth Communication Office.
"Master uncle, who's Liu Tianning?" Qiu Zishan asked cautiously.
Liu Tianning wasn't famous and didn't hold any official post in the empire.
"He's my teacher. Send someone to fetch him immediately," Zhao Xing ordered.
Old Liu really was too low-key—he'd already reached Half-God level, yet had no reputation at all in the empire.
"Yes, I'll go right away."
The internal competition within Meishan was overseen by Lan Chuan Divine General, with Lü Song, Gong Yi, and Yu Ling—three other Divine Generals—serving as witnesses.
For the Meishan Dao Debate, the trials were decided entirely by Lan Chuan Divine General. But fairness had to be guaranteed; he couldn't favor any one peak.
As a Divine Palace Envoy, Zhao Xing was qualified to participate in the Meishan Dao Debate.
Across the seventy-two peaks, palace heads, division chiefs, and institute directors, a total of 183 people had the right to compete.
In the 81st Star Year of the 3rd Era of the Barren Domain, in July, all Twelve Mountains opened their grand gatherings at once.
The Meishan Assembly was divided into three stages.
The first stage was the Qingling Dao Debate. In this stage, there were no rankings; everyone stood equal.
All 183 participants could freely lecture, sharing their theories, cultivation insights, or showcasing their peak's research achievements.
After all, there would be only one Mountain Master. So peak lords, palace masters, division chiefs, institute heads, and divine envoys would all try to show their peak's strengths and attract support for themselves and their people.
There were 183 separate domains and Dao fields—one for each competitor.
Guests invited to watch could enter any participant's domain to listen to their Dao, and there was even a commercial trade aspect.
For instance, back when Meishan Venerable was competing, he'd used this stage to secure lucrative orders for Meishan's Earth Storage and Earth Dao divisions.
The second stage was the Divine Domain Trial.
Lan Chuan Divine General would open a divine domain filled with trials covering all major Earthly Advantage faction techniques—Mountain Arts, Earth Palace Arts, Profound Earth Arts, Earth Splitting Arts, Earth Communication Arts, Earth Refining Arts, and more.
Lan Chuan, Lü Song, Gong Yi, and Yu Ling would score the performances and finalize the rankings. The first-place finisher would become the new Mountain Master of Meishan.
The third stage was the Mountain Master Challenge.
Though the first place determined the Mountain Master, the trials themselves rarely included direct combat between contenders.
So in this third stage, the new Mountain Master would stand atop Meishan's peak and accept challenges from other peak lords.
Usually, this was just an exhibition. After the lectures and divine domain trials, everyone already had a sense of the Mountain Master's power.
Challenges mostly served to give the new Mountain Master and other peak lords a deeper understanding of each other's abilities. But occasionally, if someone refused to accept the outcome, they could initiate a Dao Duel. If they won, they'd replace the Mountain Master.
Only someone who made it through all three stages and still stood firm at Meishan would be recognized as the true Mountain Master.
The Twelve Mountains' struggle for the Mountain Chief title would follow a similar process.
Before the first stage began, Qingling had been completely cleared. Only Meishan Venerable stood waiting atop Qingling Peak.
Once it started, the 183 Meishan Half-Gods all flew toward the Qingling area together.
They bowed as one before Meishan Venerable.
He returned the salute, then called out in a loud voice, "Fellow Daoists, choose your place in Qingling to give your lectures. Show the brilliance of Meishan, but do not disturb the harmony."
"Understood!"
All 183 Half-Gods saluted again, then scattered across Qingling.
But though it was said harmony should be maintained, Qingling was only so big. The best lecture spots were limited.
Who got the prime locations depended on one's ability.
Without using attack spells, a Half-God's Dao Domain was the only way to claim space.
Zhao Xing saw most of the seventy-two peak lords flying toward the high ridges.
Meanwhile, the Divine Palace envoys, palace masters, Dao leaders, and institute heads mostly stayed in the mid-to-lower slopes to give their lectures.
"The seventy-two peak lords are definitely stronger," Zhao Xing thought as he flew upward, observing the others.
He practiced the Extreme Land Mustard Seed Mountain technique. During his Reincarnation Realm days, his domain had been a Mustard Seed Domain, but upon becoming a Half-God, it evolved into an Extreme Land Domain.
With the fourth layer of Extreme Land combined with his Qian Kun Hunyuan Saint Body, his meridians had formed a complete Saint Vein system. The flow of power in his body was like thick, surging earth veins.
Among those flying higher than him were seventy or eighty people. They'd already unfolded their domains, creating chasms in the sky over the high ridges. But Zhao Xing didn't even unfold his domain—he soared upward as if the others didn't exist, surpassing one peak lord after another.
"Huh? Isn't that Divine Palace Envoy Zhao Xing? How does he have such power?"
"Didn't he only become a Half-God less than a thousand years ago?"
"Not even a thousand years yet!"
"High on the ridge, with so many overlapping domains, it's hard to even take off without your own domain. Yet he's moving like none of it affects him?"
"Incredible—Zhao Xing's progress is astonishing!"
Zhao Xing's steady ascent quickly caught the attention of the other peak lords.
Back during the 2nd Era of the Barren Domain, people's impression of him was just as the "Saint Child of the Earthly Advantage Faction." His talent was dazzling, but he hadn't yet grown into a true powerhouse.
Most saw him as a junior, looking down with a senior's gaze.
Even though he'd come to study under Meishan Venerable, then entered the Primordial Realm to comprehend Dao, the time was simply too short.
His Soul Splinter cultivation was kept secret. Before he arrived at the Primordial Hill, even Zhao Xing's own main body didn't know how far he'd progressed.
How could those peak lords not take notice?
As Zhao Xing surged upward, crossing one domain after another, many peak lords turned their heads, eyes full of admiration, surprise, and doubt.
A few even got excited and decided to test Zhao Xing's true abilities, intentionally strengthening their domains to see just how far he could go.
Facing these gazes, Zhao Xing just smiled, nodded slightly, and kept ascending steadily.
At the end, only three remained blocking his path directly above: Gong Peak's Pingyou, Min Peak's Taihan, and Tian Peak's Chuchuan.
Each of their domains had its own unique power—one like a towering mountain spanning the stars, another like an erupting volcano, and the third a palace floating between eight extremes.
"Pingyou, Taihan, and Chuchuan… all Half-Gods at the fifteenth stage," Meishan Venerable thought as he watched carefully. "They're the strongest three in Meishan. They won't let Little Brother Zhao come up so easily."
Even after merging his soul clone, Meishan Venerable still couldn't see through Zhao Xing's true depth. But he knew these three extremely well.
There was no doubt—among the internal competition, these three were Zhao Xing's strongest rivals!
Zhao Xing unfolded his domain. Five Extreme Spirit Orbs appeared beneath his feet, lifting him forward.
Pingyou's massive mountain-like domain was immediately pushed upward. Taihan's volcanic domain and Chuchuan's earth palace domain were also forced aside, unable to stop him.
The sudden shift startled all three at once. They quickly rallied, trying to squeeze their domains back together to hold him back.
But moments later, Zhao Xing broke through their blockade, reaching Qingling's peak and landing beside Meishan Venerable.
"Pingyou, why'd you let him pass? Was that on purpose?" Taihan snapped.
"Yeah, Pingyou, why did you stop?" Chuchuan added, staring at his friend.
Pingyou had been directly in front of Zhao Xing's path; the other two had only been pressing from the sides.
"It's the Dao Debate, not the Divine Domain Trial. Why fuss over it?" Pingyou replied calmly.
In truth, he simply couldn't hold Zhao Xing back. Any more force, and his Mountain Domain would have been pierced.
"Then why did you two back off?" Pingyou countered.
"The same reason as you," Taihan and Chuchuan shot back stubbornly.
They knew if they'd kept resisting, Taihan's volcano would've erupted, and Chuchuan's earth palace would've torn apart.
"Our three domains formed a triangle. Anyone trying to break through should've been shredded. How did Zhao Xing just slip past? Did he find a flaw, or did he overpower all three of us at once?" Pingyou wondered, looking up thoughtfully.
Zhao Xing glanced back at them, smiling as he cupped his hands. "Thanks for letting me pass, all three of you."
None of them answered. They assumed he'd just found a loophole to slip through.
Zhao Xing didn't mind. He'd used the Five Extreme Spirit Orbs' domain to pressure them directly—Water Spirit Orb against Taihan's volcano, Fire Spirit Orb against Chuchuan's earth palace. Judging by their reactions, he'd seen their strengths and weaknesses clearly.
This was the advantage of the strong understanding the weak, while the weak remained clueless about the strong.
"In all of Meishan, the only Half-God who could match me is probably Meishan Venerable himself," Zhao Xing thought quietly.
As the former Mountain Master, Meishan Venerable was an eighteenth-stage Half-God—a level below the likes of Guluohe in his prime, but still in the same tier as Bowe back then.
"Little Brother, you've improved again since we last met," Meishan Venerable said with a wide smile.
"All thanks to your guidance, Senior Brother. Just a small breakthrough," Zhao Xing replied humbly.
Meishan Venerable looked delighted. He should have left once everyone chose their Dao lecture spots, but instead he lingered.
"Little Brother, may I be your first sparring partner for this Dao Debate?" he asked.
Zhao Xing was stunned, then quickly bowed. "Of course, Senior Brother! It would be my honor."
"Good," Meishan Venerable said with a grin as he signaled for the guests to enter and watch.
As the guests arrived and saw Qingling's setup, they couldn't hide their surprise.
"The domain at Qingling's peak… Zhao Xing occupies it?"
"Zhao Shennong became a Half-God only recently. How did he get up there?"
"Is Primordial Hill playing favorites with Zhao Xing?"
"What's going on here?"
"It's a big deal—having the prime spot means everyone sees him first. That says everything."
"Sure, it's not a direct competition stage yet, but getting up there isn't easy."
"Ha, I'd love to know what happened."
"Hmph, I bet Wei Zizhan bribed someone!" sneered Five Venom Emperor, referring to Meishan Venerable's true name in this life.
Even Five Venom didn't believe Zhao Xing had climbed to Qingling's peak purely by his own strength.
When most guests were in place, Meishan Venerable raised a Dao platform at Qingling's peak, stopping just half a step below Zhao Xing.
His booming voice spread in all directions as he cupped his hands toward Zhao Xing: "Wei Zizhan asks Zhao Shennong for Dao guidance!"
At once, every guest turned their eyes to them.