Standing with Zhao Xing in front of the great gate were four people. Besides Zuo Qiyu and the Five Venom Emperor, one of them was named Jing Yue, a senior sister from the Celestial Master Manor and Ji Si's senior. She had once been chosen to travel to the Blue Butterfly Ancient Path to rescue Zhao Xing, so they had met once before.
The other was called Fan Hua. According to the Five Venom Emperor, he was a domain Emperor Level starry sky historian, but Zhao Xing noticed that this man cultivated both martial arts and historical studies.
Anyone capable of dual cultivation was extraordinarily gifted, and Fan Hua was a half-blood hybrid of the demon race and the human race. A red-furred tail coiled around his waist, and though his body was muscular, he rarely spoke and seemed to dislike conversation.
The five of them waited for a while in front of the gate before Bowe finally appeared from within. Zhao Xing could vaguely sense that Bowe was in a foul mood, perhaps because the arrival of Emperor Meng Wu carried certain heavy implications.
If Zhao Xing still couldn't enter the Transmission Realm Tower, it would confirm that the tower had uncontrollable risks.
And an uncontrollable divine item? It absolutely had to be sealed.
The development of Siyue Barren Domain had given the Red Star Empire significant influence among the superpowers. If the empire demanded that Bowe shut down the Transmission Realm Tower, he would have no choice but to comply.
After all, Meng Wu's master was a god-level cultivator. If Meng Wu made such a request, it would mean the god-level forces themselves were ordering the shutdown.
"Greetings, Grand Elder," the five greeted in unison.
"Proceed inside first and wait in the main hall," Bowe instructed.
"Yes."
The Five Venom Emperor, Zuo Qiyu, Jing Yue, and Fan Hua all stepped through the gate without any obstacles.
Only Zhao Xing, seated in his flower chair, remained.
Bowe flew over from within the gate and stood behind Zhao Xing, beginning to push the chair forward.
"Rumble~~"
Two streams of black and white energy burst from either side of the flower chair as two vine-like tendrils extended into Zhao Xing's body.
It was only then that Zhao Xing realized this chair Bowe had crafted could actually manipulate the Dao of time and causality.
"Definitely a top-grade Reincarnation Dao Soldier!" Zhao Xing was startled.
A Dao Soldier that could stir time and causality was extremely rare!
"So this is the safeguard Bowe prepared for me."
If Zhao Xing hadn't cultivated the Blue Flower Mana, he wouldn't have sensed any of this.
At that moment, Bowe began pushing the chair forward.
His hands also turned black and white, while the inscriptions on the chair lit up. The black and white streams of energy completely wrapped Zhao Xing and the chair as they slowly advanced.
"Rumble~~"
The outside world remained calm, but Zhao Xing felt as if he were stepping into a storm vortex.
The red light barrier appeared again, and the black and white streams from the chair clashed violently against it.
The surroundings turned into chaotic colors and swirling lines, resembling the collapse of a miniature world.
Zhao Xing felt as if doomsday had arrived. The terrifying pressure of the Dao made even his soul and the True Soul Heavenly Poison within him tremble.
If he had been weaker, perhaps it wouldn't have mattered, but now that he had cultivated Blue Flower Mana, he could fully sense this overwhelming pressure.
Boom boom boom~~
Thunderous explosions echoed through his mind, and Zhao Xing felt like he was on the verge of complete annihilation.
"Huff~"
Suddenly, all the anomalies vanished, and Zhao Xing realized the red light barrier had disappeared. He had crossed the threshold.
"Grand Elder, you—"
"Speak cautiously. Do not reveal heavenly secrets," Bowe warned, his voice sounding weary, as if he had just fought a great battle.
Strange, weren't scholars unable to fight?
"Grand Elder, is there anything else I need to know?" Zhao Xing quickly refocused.
"The flower chair contains four strands of my power," Bowe explained, patting the back of the chair. "Press the left side to activate emergency teleportation. It ignores all circumstances and brings you straight back here to the seventh floor, but it only works for you and only if you're seated in the chair."
"Press the right side to activate the Flower Spirit Barrier. As long as you avoid contact with gods in historical time-spaces, even demigods won't be able to break it within three breaths."
Bowe's power? That was demigod-level mana!
Mana was the combination of law and spirit power, and as a scholar proficient in all professions, Bowe's mana was likely the strongest among demigods.
Bowe hadn't planned to reveal the flower chair's secrets so soon, but times had changed.
Whether Zhao Xing's mission succeeded or not would determine if the Transmission Realm Tower remained operational.
This had nothing to do with Zhao Xing's talent or who his master was.
It was Zhao Xing's experiences that made the empire consider the tower a dangerous divine item. If Bowe could resolve the issue, there was room for negotiation. If not, the only option was to shut it down.
"You're inside the tower now, but essentially through a loophole. I suspect the Transmission Realm Tower's time-space laws need to fully cycle before you can use realm tokens or the Historical Register."
"Which means your journey ahead might be very difficult."
"I understand, Grand Elder. So which realm should I enter next?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Don't ask me. Ask yourself," Bowe replied. "You can't enter using normal methods. You have to make the choice on your own."
Zhao Xing understood. He was still being rejected by the tower, though not as strongly as before.
He could enter now, but he couldn't join a team, since the team mechanism relied on the tower's realm tokens.
Since the realm tokens were useless to him, his only option was to use the flower chair to enter alone.
That meant he had to choose a suitable realm himself, one where he could reunite with Zuo Qiyu and the others as soon as possible.
Bowe pushed the chair to a quiet hall, but the four others were already nowhere to be seen.
At this moment, only three interlocked orbs floated at the center of the hall. The intersection between them glowed red, while the rest continued to emit blue light.
"No matter which one I choose, there's really no difference," Zhao Xing muttered to himself. "Since the three realms have merged, any one of them leads to the same place—the real anomaly lies in the merged time-space."
"Since the anomaly I encountered was in Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, I should choose the Transmission Realm of the Lixing River Mutation."
Seeing that Bowe didn't react, Zhao Xing stopped thinking about it and steered the flower chair toward the glowing sphere.
Click click click~
As soon as Zhao Xing disappeared into the sphere, its fusion suddenly accelerated, and the red light became even more intense.
Bowe stared upward, his expression heavy. After a long silence, he let out a cold chuckle.
"Ah, just a bunch of cowardly hypocrites, selfish and ungrateful."
After entering the sphere, Zhao Xing felt as if the world was spinning wildly before he completely blacked out.
When his consciousness returned, he faintly heard someone calling his name.
"Lord Zhao, wake up! Wake up!"
Zhao Xing tried to open his eyes but, for some reason, felt unbearably exhausted, like he just wanted to sleep forever. He mumbled, "Don't bother me… let me sleep a little longer—"
But the voice didn't stop. Instead, someone started shaking him.
"Zhao Feiyang, you damned dog of an official, wake up right now or I'll cut you down where you sit!"
"Hey, don't! If you kill him, we're all doomed!"
Clang—the sound of a sword being drawn rang out sharply, followed by a prickling sensation that made Zhao Xing snap awake. His eyes shot open.
He found himself still seated in the flower chair, but its appearance had changed.
The surroundings were now an ancient-style grand hall, and above him hung a plaque with four large characters: Fight for the Heavens, Serve the People.
Scattered across the desk in front of him were piles of official documents. To his left was a bamboo tube containing twenty-three colored divination sticks, including ones labeled Pure Brightness and Grain Rain.
Zhao Xing noticed he was currently holding the divination stick labeled Start of Spring.
Shifting his gaze forward, he saw two people.
One was a young man dressed in full black armor, holding a sharp sword. The blade's glow flickered menacingly, stopping just three inches from Zhao Xing's forehead.
Beside him stood an elderly man in a gray raincoat, looking distressed as he tried to pull the young warrior back.
Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?
Zhao Xing's mind was sluggish, struggling to process the situation.
"Hmph, pretending to be dead, are you?" The armored general's expression darkened. "Zhao Feiyang, give me a straight answer. Can you do it or not? If not, I'll kill you right now!"
"Please don't! Please don't!" the old man kept pleading. "General Fang Yu, calm down, please calm down!"
"You are—uh, General, could you lower your sword first before we continue this discussion?"
Thanks to the flower chair's assistance, the True Soul Heavenly Poison in his mind settled down, allowing his thoughts to gradually clear. He quickly began to piece things together.
Fang Yu, seeing Zhao Xing's words, mistook it for submission and let out a cold snort. "I'll give you one month. If you haven't resolved the issue in one month, don't blame me for leading the Black Feather Army into Lixing City to demand an explanation."
"When that time comes, I may recognize your official title, but my sword sure as hell won't!"
Crack!
Fang Yu suddenly sheathed his sword, but the blade's energy sliced off a clean corner of the desk.
"Ah, what should we do? What should we do?" the old Shennong muttered anxiously after Fang Yu left. "One month… that's impossible…"
Zhao Xing remained silent, quietly waiting for the flower chair to deliver information.
The chair now functioned like a realm token, providing Zhao Xing with details about the time, location, the historical event, and the role he had assumed.
"Year 98 of the 22nd Era of the Barren Domain."
"This time point…"
Zhao Xing first registered the date, and his brow furrowed.
The last time he entered the Medicine King Realm, it had been Year 94 of the 22nd Era of the Barren Domain.
Since the Barren Domain's eras count in reverse, the smaller the number, the closer it was to the present Barren Era.
One solar year was 1,000 realm-star years, meaning it would still be another 4,000 realm-star years before he could encounter his past self!
But his remaining lifespan was only a little over 3,000 years!
Next, the role information came through.
"My current position is the Xinghe River Supervisor of Lixing City in the Wuma Constellation, Tianyou Ancient Kingdom."
"A minor official with little power but heavy responsibility. According to the Tianyou River Defense Records, during the Lixing River Mutation, this was the position with the highest execution rate!"
"Goddamn it…"
Zhao Xing immediately felt numb after receiving the information.
If last time had been a heavenly start as a prince, this time was unquestionably a hellish start.
Since he had been rejected by the Transmission Realm Tower, his realm token was useless, and his registration in the Historical Register, the Six Pillar Jade, was nonexistent.
He had become a nameless, faceless nobody in history!
"Hoo~"
Zhao Xing rubbed his face and let out a long sigh.
No matter what, what must come will come.
Bowe had mentioned that he was essentially a stowaway in the Transmission Realm Tower now and had to wait for its time-space laws to cycle before things could return to normal.
Escaping now with the flower chair wasn't the best choice. If he exited now, the next time might not land him at a better time or with a better role.
"Being a minor character has its perks too—less chance of triggering a major historical anomaly," Zhao Xing decided to stay.
Since he had chosen to stay, he immediately began immersing himself in the role.
"My name is Zhao Feiyang, Xinghe River Supervisor of Lixing City in the Wuma Constellation, Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, cultivation realm: Yin-Yang Dao Domain Realm."
"According to Tianyou's official ranking system, I am a fourth-rank local river defense officer."
"After the Lixing River Mutation, this position became a nightmare. Guarding the river made it nearly impossible to achieve merits, yet it was extremely easy to get into trouble."
"In the past 1,000 years, this position has already seen four replacements—two were executed, one was demoted, and one was fined into ruin and exiled to the Barren Domain."
Managing the starry river… not an easy job at all.
Normally, a river officer would be stationed for at least one hundred years before being transferred, but after the Lixing River Mutation, the turnover rate for the Pinghuai Division's river officers increased drastically.
This was mainly because, at this point, the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom was plagued by both internal unrest and external threats.
"After the Lixing River Mutation in the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, two neighboring demon kingdoms—the Ten Thousand Rivers Demon Kingdom and the Devouring Star Demon Kingdom—declared war on Tianyou."
"Of them, the Ten Thousand Rivers Demon Kingdom hit the hardest. As the saying goes, strike when they're down. With Tianyou suffering a catastrophic natural disaster, it was the perfect time to launch an invasion."
"That general from earlier, Fang Yu, is heading south to Xinghe Pass to resist the demon invasion from the Ten Thousand Rivers Demon Kingdom."
The Dao Domain Realm was the backbone of warfare and defense against the Barren Domain. The route Fang Yu had to take passed through the Wuma Constellation's Wuma Lixing River. This chaotic river twisted and wound across the entire constellation, and the only resupply points along the way were the cities built on the star riverbanks.
Fang Yu's army needed to cross the river, but Zhao Feiyang had failed to manage it properly, leaving only one of the eight stable void river routes around Wuma Lixing City barely usable.
Everyone knew that navigating void rivers was the fastest means of travel, especially when time-space was unstable, causing teleportation arrays to fail or misfire. Advancing through the void rivers was the only reliable option for rapid troop movement.
If they had to fly slowly through the starry sky, they wouldn't have made it out of Shenluo Barren Domain in ten thousand years, just like Zhao Xing's own journey back then.
"Lord Zhao, it's impossible to meet Fang Yu's demand in just one month. The only option now is for you to flee," the old Shennong finally stopped sighing and miserably advised Zhao Xing to escape.
The old Shennong was named Jiao Zhongchun, also a Yin-Yang Dao Domain cultivator, though he was long past his prime.
He served as Zhao Feiyang's assistant officer and was one of Wuma Lixing City's river officials.
His advice came from both kindness and helplessness. First, because they were from the same realm-star and considered fellow townsmen, and second, because he knew there was no other choice.
"Uncle Jiao, if I run, what happens to you? You'll surely be punished."
"Wouldn't I be punished if you stay?" Jiao Zhongchun shook his head. "The Lixing River has been a disaster area from the start. If it were just the Ministry of Shennong overseeing this, things might not be so bad. But ever since this place became a military-controlled zone, the military also has authority over us."
"Fang Yu has his orders. If he can't fulfill his military mandate, he'll execute you to report back to his superiors."
"My lifespan is nearly at its end anyway. Whether I run or not makes no difference."
Zhao Xing couldn't find any words to reply.
Natural disasters, man-made calamities, endless wars—Tianyou's administration had turned into a mess.
Disaster strikes? Let's execute a Shennong.
The ground shakes? Let's execute another Shennong.
Lost a battle? Who cares—executing a Shennong is never wrong.
After the Lixing River Mutation, this place had become a nightmare for every military Shennong.
"No wonder the Tianyou River Defense Records said the Lixing River Mutation lasted two eras, not because of natural disasters, but because of man-made ones!" Zhao Xing sighed.
With such prolonged high-pressure rule, even those Shennongs who wanted to do something didn't dare to anymore.
But Zhao Xing's situation now was different—doing nothing meant immediate death.
He could beat Fang Yu in a fight or even run away, but that clearly wasn't what he wanted.
"Uncle Jiao, I'm not planning to run."
"You're not running? You're planning to wait here and die?" Jiao Zhongchun panicked. Although they hadn't known each other long, Zhao Feiyang had always treated him with respect, and being from the same realm-star, Jiao Zhongchun had long considered him a junior of his own.
"Not necessarily waiting to die," Zhao Xing said as he slid the Start of Spring Seasonal Qi Command stick back into the bamboo tube, speaking slowly. "I can tell that Fang Yu isn't like those typical military bullies. He didn't really intend to kill me just now, or else, Uncle Jiao, you wouldn't have been able to stop him."
Zhao Xing could tell at a glance that Fang Yu was a Life-and-Death Dao Domain sword cultivator. If he had truly wanted to kill, he would've done it already—ten thousand Jiao Zhongchuns wouldn't have been able to stop him.
"Since he isn't that kind of brute, if we can handle the matter properly, there won't be a problem," Zhao Xing said as he picked up a sheet of paper and began folding it while he spoke.
"Handle it properly?" Jiao Zhongchun forced a bitter smile. "Only one of the eight void rivers outside Wuma Lixing City is barely usable, and even that isn't stable. He's demanding that half of them be restored within one month to ensure safe passage for his army. How could that possibly be done?"
"Do you not know what kind of state the Lixing River Defense Office is in? No manpower, no supplies."
"Forget one month, even one hundred years wouldn't be enough!"
"That's why I plan to talk to him," Zhao Xing replied, stopping his folding. The sheet of white jade paper had already become a paper crane.
After channeling his magic into it, the paper crane let out a chirp and flew out of the hall.
"Hey—no—hey!" Jiao Zhongchun tried to stop him but could only stomp his feet in frustration, thinking Zhao Xing was just digging his own grave.
What's the point of talking to those military bullies?
Paper Crane Magic was a common utility spell, but with Zhao Xing's power channeled into it, the result was extraordinary.
Fang Yu, a Life-and-Death Dao Domain cultivator, naturally traveled fast. By the time the paper crane reached him, he had already flown beyond Lixing City's barrier and was about to board a warship docked in the void.
Just as he was about to step aboard, a flash of red light streaked toward him.
"Hm? A paper crane?"
Fang Yu turned around to see the crane flying from the city.
It looked like an ordinary paper crane, yet Fang Yu felt something unusual about it.
Whoosh~ The paper crane burst into flames and transformed into Zhao Xing's image.
"It's you," Fang Yu's expression instantly turned cold. In his eyes, the reason the eight river routes of Wuma Lixing had been reduced to just one was entirely due to this pig-headed Zhao Feiyang sitting in the wrong position.
Fang Yu only cared about results, not excuses. The fact was that Zhao Feiyang had failed to safeguard the river routes, blocking his army's advance. What more was there to discuss?
"General Fang, I can restore all eight river routes within three months, but I'll need your Black Feather Army's cooperation," Zhao Xing stated bluntly.
"Closing the door in my face earlier, stalling for time—and now you're suddenly being so cooperative?" Fang Yu sneered.
"Two and a half months!" Zhao Xing ignored the mockery. "If I fail, I'll draft my own confession letter, submit it to headquarters, and let you execute me however you see fit."
Fang Yu's eyes flickered.
Zhao Xing's offer to take full responsibility and willingly become the scapegoat had caught him a little off guard.
Actually, Zhao Xing had no other choice. His position was too low. Without a matching status in the Transmission Realm, he didn't dare fully reveal his strength.
After all, "Zhao Feiyang" was just a fourth-rank river official in the Yin-Yang Dao Domain. If he suddenly displayed power on par with a Emperor Level expert, it would definitely trigger a virtual history event.
Since he had decided to stay, Zhao Xing had to find a way to solve the current crisis.
If he could climb higher in rank, maybe he could turn passive into active.
He remembered that Bowe's treatment plan mentioned two forces within the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom that had the ability to partially resolve the True Soul Heavenly Poison.
And only by rising in rank could he hope to find Five Venom Emperor and Zuo Qiyu.
"What do you need my Black Feather Army to do?" Fang Yu still asked coldly.
Back in the ninety-fourth solar year of the twenty-second pre-Barren Era, at the capital of the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom.
Jing Yue, Five Venom Emperor, Zuo Qiyu, and Fan Hua quickly gathered after descending as a team using the Boundary Jade.
"Buzz~"
Jing Yue activated the Heavenly Mechanism Disc in her hand to locate Zhao Xing.
As long as they existed in the same time-space, they would inevitably be able to find Zhao Xing.
"How is it?" Five Venom Emperor asked.
"Strange—" Jing Yue frowned. "Logically, Zhao Xing has causal protection from the Celestial Master Manor. My calculation shows no problem, but now it seems like something's off."
"What's off?" Five Venom Emperor pressed.
Jing Yue said, "Zhao Xing didn't use the Boundary Jade, nor can he use the Historical Record, which means he's a nobody in this Transmission Realm, starting from the very bottom."
"I couldn't locate him at first."
"But midway, I seem to have found him."
"The results suggest Zhao Xing is in the heavily restricted palace of the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom and holds a very high position."
"How high?" Zuo Qiyu didn't seem impressed.
Jing Yue shook the disc again, calculating Zhao Xing's position and authority within this Transmission Realm.
After a moment, the Heavenly Mechanism Disc stopped, and her expression turned strange. "This thing must be broken. I must have miscalculated."
"What is it? Spit it out already," Five Venom Emperor urged. Why were people from the Celestial Master Manor always so slow?
Jing Yue looked conflicted. "The result suggests Zhao Xing's authority level is enough to mobilize forces capable of killing all of us."
"Yeah, it's definitely broken." Five Venom Emperor curled his lips. "Killing all of us? Both I and Zuo Qiyu are Emperor-level. You're saying he can mobilize a Demigod?"
At this time, the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom had so few Demigods they could be counted on one hand.
"It must be a mistake," Jing Yue nodded. "I'll check again."
"Jing Yue's calculation might not be wrong," Fan Hua, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
Rustle—
A historical record materialized around him, pages flipping as the River of History circled, projecting countless silhouettes.
"What do you mean?" Jing Yue was stunned.
"You couldn't find Zhao Xing at first probably because he arrived at a different time point than us," Fan Hua pondered. "If Zhao Xing descended earlier than us, and you used the 'Time-Causal Method' to search, your calculation would fail fundamentally."
Jing Yue nodded. The Celestial Master Manor's Time-Causal Method required the correct time reference, or the calculation would be flawed from the start. This technique was specifically developed for use within Transmission Realms.
"But why could I find him later? And in such a specific, high-ranking palace location?"
"I just proposed a hypothesis," Fan Hua said as the River of History rolled on. "If Zhao Xing arrived earlier than us, and stayed within the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, achieving merits and climbing ranks, then it's possible he advanced from a nameless extra to a 'key historical figure'."
"In other words, even though his arrival time differed from ours, he truly exists in this timeline and never left the territory of the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom. He didn't trigger any external virtual history events."
"Meaning, he remained inside the story, never outside of it."
"I get it now," Five Venom Emperor said in realization. "At this moment in the Origin Realm, there should also be a Five Venom Emperor and Zuo Qiyu, but since we aren't part of this Transmission Realm, it's like we don't exist here. If the Celestial Master Manor tries to calculate us, they'd find nothing."
"Exactly," Fan Hua nodded.
Jing Yue's mouth hung open in shock. "Fan Dao-brother, are you saying Zhao Xing climbed all the way to the position I calculated earlier, even before we arrived?"
Hearing this, both Five Venom Emperor and Zuo Qiyu started to realize something.
If Fan Hua and Jing Yue's reasoning held true…
Then what exactly had Zhao Xing experienced before they arrived that allowed him to rise so high?
"This kid… could he have replaced the king of Tianyou Ancient Kingdom already?" Five Venom Emperor asked excitedly.
"Impossible," Fan Hua shook his head. "My historical records show no virtual history event triggered. That means the king of Tianyou remains the same historical figure, unchanged."
Rustle—
The sound of pages flipping stopped, and the River of History abruptly froze.
A silhouette appeared in Fan Hua's sight.
"What's this?"
Five Venom Emperor leaned in. The River of History wasn't static but showed a dynamic image.
It was a young man in a wheelchair inspecting a river route.
"Wuma Constellation River Officer, Zhao Feiyang," Fan Hua extracted the silhouette, turning it into a translucent book. "This should be Zhao Xing's historical identity."
"I've reviewed the virtual history generated in the Lixing Transmission Realm over the past ten thousand years, combed through every Shennong official, and finally found him."
Virtual History referred to the historical records generated by participants in the Transmission Realm, not actual history. Only a few historians in the Red Star Empire had the ability to extract Virtual History, and Fan Hua was one of them.
"How can you be sure it's him?" Zuo Qiyu asked curiously.
"First, the Flower Seat. Second, the traces he deliberately left behind," Fan Hua said, holding the phantom book. "With this, we can finally learn what Zhao Xing has been through."