After adjusting the ending values for greater plausibility:
If Zhao Xing's group returned to the Great Gan Ancient Kingdom through the original entry anchor point in the historical timeline, it would only cost 500 Boundary Spirit Points.
Taking a non-anchor path for emergency return required an additional expenditure of the Transmission Realm Tower's divine power, raising the cost to 50,000.
Once the Void History Event was triggered, the emergency return cost surged even higher—Zhao Xing's Six-Pillar Jade now required 300,000, while Ji Si and Yang Baihe each needed 500,000.
When Lord Sangyu failed to infiltrate the Medicine King Banquet and triggered the Void History Event, Zhao Xing and Yang Baihe immediately decided to escape.
Although the Realm Passage of the Medicine King Realm had been sealed by formation arrays, individual escape routes still existed.
Yang Baihe reasoned that lockdown couldn't be enforced instantly.
After all, the Emperor-level experts were all attending the banquet, leaving the Xia Ling Blessed Land's law enforcement team with only Emperor-level experts at best.
Since the one who triggered the event, Lord Sangyu, had managed to flee, there was no reason their trio couldn't do the same.
Yang Baihe immediately had Zhao Xing abandon his disguise, leaving behind Zhao Changling's Skywind Palace and its guards and attendants, choosing instead to flee alone.
When it came to running away, no one knew better than Zhao Xing.
Without hesitation, Zhao Xing jumped up from his flower-patterned wheelchair. His true body disappeared into his World Ring, and his Void Incarnation emerged.
In an instant, he completed the swap between his true body and his incarnation.
Whoosh—
Yang Baihe and Ji Si were both scooped up by the Void Incarnation in one motion.
"?"
Yang Baihe wore a face full of question marks.
The Void History Event was so terrifying that Zhao Xing even stood up from his wheelchair?
"Captain, don't panic. This is my incarnation."
The Void Incarnation was healthy and wielded the power of the Blue Flower. Zhao Xing had kept this from Yang Baihe until now, revealing it only in this critical moment.
"As long as you're alright… I thought you were—"
Yang Baihe stopped himself mid-sentence.
When a Void History Event occurred, it would trigger all sorts of anomalies.
Even casual words might become reality through the reverberations of the Dao of Karma.
Right now, unless necessary, it was better to shut up and focus on escaping.
Buzz—
The Void Incarnation instantly sank into the ninth stratum of the Dao Manifestation Layer.
The Medicine King Realm Star vanished. The explosions in the Xia Ling Blessed Land vanished. Buildings and crowds vanished.
What replaced them was pure emptiness.
"Huh? This is the ninth stratum, and it's still void?"
Normally, the Dao Manifestation Layer was filled with Void Currents—cosmic phenomena where currents carried "fiery" energies through the void.
Spiritual Qi domains were typically stable sections of these Void Currents, not turbulent zones.
However, the Medicine King Realm Star was completely different.
Zhao Xing descended all the way to the thirteenth stratum of the Dao Manifestation Layer, but it was still empty.
"No, not entirely empty."
Zhao Xing looked up toward the upper void.
There, floating at the center of the Medicine King Realm Star, was a green gourd shrouded in chaotic mist.
"All the Void Currents have been absorbed by that green gourd. The Medicine King Realm is using it to control the flow of 'fiery' energies in its core region," Zhao Xing instantly understood.
It was like those high-Spiritual Qi cultivation chambers often seen in the empire, where the concentration of Spiritual Qi was artificially controlled.
But the Medicine King Realm Star operated on a much larger scale and in a way that seemed closer to nature.
It also served as a defense mechanism, preventing intruders from infiltrating via the Void Layers.
"Can't run through the Dao Manifestation Layer, so I'll have to enter the Dao Ancient Layer."
The Void Incarnation distorted the void again, leaping thirty strata to reach the third stratum of the Dao Ancient Layer.
Boom!
As soon as they entered, the Void Incarnation was flung away by a massive force.
Crack crack crack crack—
The terrifying force caused cracks to appear all over Zhao Xing's body.
While being flung away, Zhao Xing noticed a second wave of force barreling toward him.
"What terrifying Void Turbulence."
Zhao Xing immediately equipped his Void Straw Puppet with the Golden Cicada Robe.
With the puppet's innate abilities, he barely managed to stabilize himself.
"Using the Dao Ancient Golden Cicada with the Void Straw Puppet allows movement within the first nine strata of the Dao Ancient Layer.
But in a fortress like the Medicine King Realm Star, even the third stratum is nearly impossible to navigate."
"Blue Flower Power, Millet Chaos Technique!"
As the Void Turbulence raged, even the Void Straw Puppet struggled to survive without the protection of a boundary vessel.
But the moment Zhao Xing activated the Blue Flower Power, everything changed.
Whoosh—
The turbulent void parted, and the Void Straw Puppet transformed into a streak of light, piercing through one wave of turbulence.
In the Dao Ancient Layer, the visuals were completely distorted into colors and lines, making it impossible to tell direction.
However, the waves of the Dao Ancient Layer encompassed countless spaces.
Crossing even a single wave here could mean jumping across entire star systems in the Dao Manifestation Layer.
So Zhao Xing stopped after breaking through just one wave.
"Just breaking through one wave cost me a strand of Blue Flower Power.
Traveling through the Dao Ancient Layer really burns energy," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been so taxing.
But that gourd artifact in the Medicine King Realm Star had also suppressed the entire Dao Ancient Layer.
Even Emperor-level experts would struggle to move here, let alone Zhao Xing.
Buzz—
Zhao Xing immediately began ascending, emerging at the third stratum of the Dao Manifestation Layer.
He switched back to his true body, preparing to let Yang Baihe and Ji Si take the lead.
But just as he was about to bring them out—
A streak of blue light appeared at the third stratum.
Zhao Xing looked over, and the other party immediately looked back.
It was Lord Sangyu!
"Zhao Xing?" Lord Sangyu was momentarily stunned.
"Didn't expect you to escape too. Hahaha, what a coincidence."
Lord Sangyu burst into laughter and immediately launched a soul attack, charging toward Zhao Xing.
"This lunatic."
Zhao Xing's face changed as layers of illusions appeared in his eyes.
Before he could activate his Incarnation, Lord Sangyu's soul force had already pierced into his true body's sea of consciousness.
"Huh?"
Lord Sangyu's soul force traveled through the void but didn't touch Zhao Xing's soul.
Instead, all he saw was a pitch-black void.
"What the hell is this?"
Lord Sangyu shuddered and instantly snapped back to his senses.
He felt his life was in danger!
"Argh—"
The invading soul force quickly withdrew, carrying a wisp of black energy. Lord Sangyu let out a miserable scream, clutching his head in agony as he tumbled through the void.
"Huh? What's going on?" Zhao Xing was stunned for a moment.
But then he immediately understood why.
"It's the True Soul Heavenly Poison?"
Lord Sangyu was a soul master, and all his attacks were based on the soul.
However, Zhao Xing's true soul was currently wrapped in the True Soul Heavenly Poison.
If Lord Sangyu wanted to kill him, he would first have to pierce through that poisonous barrier.
Sure, the True Soul Heavenly Poison had made his true body practically useless.
But now, it was acting as an unexpected shield for his soul!
It had become a natural defense that completely blocked Lord Sangyu's soul attack.
"Hah, serves him right."
Zhao Xing was about to retaliate but thought better of it.
Lord Sangyu had already triggered a Void History Event. This lunatic was nothing but trouble now—better to avoid him altogether.
"You… you haven't been cured?" Lord Sangyu gasped, finally regaining his composure.
He had assumed Zhao Xing had already been treated by Bowe.
That close call had nearly scared him to death.
True Soul Heavenly Poison—who wouldn't be terrified of that cursed thing?
He had almost fallen right into it!
"Hmph, I'll spare your life this time!"
Lord Sangyu didn't linger. He turned and left without another word.
At that moment, the Void Currents began to stabilize.
The chaotic colors and lines gradually reformed into a coherent, stable scene.
This meant they were about to reach the Manifestation Layer, where real matter existed.
"Captain, did we make it out?"
Zhao Xing released Yang Baihe and Ji Si.
Yang Baihe stared ahead at the stabilizing currents, his expression darkening rather than relaxing.
"No. This isn't stable Void Current."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Xing looked around.
The current seemed to flow smoothly. Other than feeling a bit heavy, nothing seemed off.
"If it's not Void Current, what is it?"
"Master Yang, could this be the Reverse Flow Phenomenon described in the Outer Bronze Mirror Canon?" Ji Si's expression shifted.
Yang Baihe nodded grimly. "Yes."
"What does that mean?" Zhao Xing was utterly lost. This was beyond his knowledge.
"Do you remember what we experienced in the Xuanluo Freezing Abyss?"
"I remember."
"Before we entered that Transmission Realm, we encountered a Guardian River," Yang Baihe explained. "It was part of the Transmission Realm owner's Bronze Mirror Canon, a reverse-flow enchantment."
"The Transmission Realm owner had hidden historical figures within that river. If someone looked down, they would see their forms."
"Those powerful figures' Dao Bodies and Golden Forms would unconsciously influence others to imitate them, adjusting their cultivation paths. In the end, they would either become puppets of the book or die when their Dao Bodies collapsed."
Zhao Xing nodded slowly. "But this seems different from that."
"It is different," Yang Baihe said with difficulty. "That was an artificial technique with limited influence."
"But what we're facing now is a natural temporal phenomenon formed by historical spacetime distortion. Its influence is exponentially stronger."
The Outer Canon recorded major historical events and their relation to time-based techniques, while the Outer Bronze Mirror Canon spoke of naturally occurring phenomena caused by the distortion of the timeline.
"It's like the Triassic Boundary Mass Extinction you studied," Ji Si added, making it easier for Zhao Xing to relate.
Seeing their tense expressions, Zhao Xing tried to reassure them. "Didn't the Triassic Boundary issue have a solution? You guys don't need to look so alarmed. Captain, do we have a way out of this?"
Yang Baihe didn't answer. He was staring at the swelling currents around them. "Don't move. Start sliding slowly in the opposite direction of Lord Sangyu."
Zhao Xing glanced over.
In the direction Lord Sangyu had fled, a figure emerged from the Void Current—a general in blue armor riding a gray Qiniu beast and holding a long spear.
Behind him were about twenty-seven black-armored riders.
One of them carried a large banner with an ancient character embroidered on it.
But something was off about their condition.
It looked like they had just come through a brutal battle.
Aside from the lead general, the rest had damaged armor and broken weapons.
Many were missing limbs—eight of them were missing arms or legs, and three had no heads at all.
Yet they still moved as if alive, quickly surrounding Lord Sangyu.
"Captain, who are they?"
Next to Yang Baihe, the Moyuan Brush began scribbling wildly.
Due to the Void History Event, the brush's writing was chaotic and hard to read—only Yang Baihe could decipher it.
"One of the founding generals of the Tian Shuang Dynasty—Marquis of Thunder Might."
"Tian Shuang Dynasty?" Zhao Xing whispered as they carefully moved without making a sound. "Wasn't that the last nation destroyed by the Feather Emperor during the unification of the Xuanling Star Domain?"
"That's right," Yang Baihe nodded. "The Tian Shuang Emperor had eight great generals, each stationed in one of the eight barren domains."
"Marquis of Thunder Might was the strongest among them."
"Since only twenty-seven riders remain with him, this must be from his final battle."
"Why are they suddenly attacking Lord Sangyu?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Did you forget what I told you? After triggering a Void History Event, the whole world turns against us."
"This is exactly that."
Zhao Xing finally understood.
Normally, they wouldn't encounter figures from the Feather Emperor's era in the twenty-second era of the Barren Domain.
But now, because of the Void History Event, characters from that era had appeared here.
It was as if the Medicine King Transmission Realm's storyline had been forcibly mixed with a completely unrelated piece of history.
And it was happening just to target them.
"Captain, they're not real people, are they?"
"No," Yang Baihe shook his head. "They're projections created by the Bronze Mirror Canon, like our Chronicle Incarnations, Transmission Realm Avatars, or Book Puppet techniques."
"So they're not as strong as the real ones?"
"Strong enough to kill Lord Sangyu with ease," Ji Si whispered, her eyes trembling. "I can already see his death."
"What about us?" Zhao Xing asked, his voice tightening.
Ji Si kept silent, simply pulling out strands of her hair.
Zhao Xing suddenly felt his scalp go numb.
He glanced toward Lord Sangyu's direction.
That soul master was already letting out miserable screams.
With them this close, how could they possibly get through unscathed?
"Hou!!"
Suddenly, a roar echoed from the direction Zhao Xing was moving.
A Xuanji Wooden Dragon emerged from the current.
Thump!
Three thousand mechanical kites carrying thunderfire bombs sealed off the upper layer of the Void Path.
Clack clack clack~
Three hundred sixty pieces of Black Iron Dragon Scales shifted, and a red-haired female general emerged from the dragon's head.
"Captain… who's this now?" Zhao Xing froze, afraid of drawing attention.
"She's Princess Qianji, Dao Companion of the Marquis of Thunder Might, a Mechanist Emperor…" Yang Baihe was about to sigh when he noticed Ji Si pulling out a book and aiming it toward Princess Qianji.
"…What are you doing?"
"I'm studying. Maybe I can use these as templates for Transmission Realm Avatars." Ji Si didn't even look up.
"Madam Ji… at a time like this, you still have the mood to study? Impressive." Yang Baihe was speechless.
Just what kind of monsters did Great Zhou produce?
But then he seemed to realize something.
"Madam Ji… does this mean… we can survive this?"
Ji Si didn't answer and kept studying furiously.
Yang Baihe stopped talking as well and started analyzing like mad.
Putting the danger aside, witnessing such a massive spacetime anomaly was an incredible opportunity for scholars like them.
"Kuolong… ~~~, Hou!!"
Zhao Xing did his best to evade, while Ji Si and Yang Baihe stood on his shoulders, scribbling away frantically.
Zhao Xing sneaked a glance.
Ten Thousand Mechanisms Chest, Wuyou War Soldiers, Flowing Fire Kite Formation, Milky Way Starshattering Crossbows, Four Symbols Mechanist Guardians…
On Ji Si and Yang Baihe's papers, scenes from the historical figures they were observing were being mirrored.
"No one's telling me what to do… guess I'll have to improvise."
Zhao Xing slowly pushed the flower chair forward.
The True Soul Heavenly Poison had become a shield.
His soul aura didn't leak out at all.
Because of this, he passed right through Princess Qianji's massive army completely unnoticed.
"Bowe… you're a genius!"
Zhao Xing silently praised the Demigod Scholar.
After Bowe's first stage of treatment, the True Soul Heavenly Poison had actually been adjusted into a kind of True Spirit Soul Armor.
"In that case… can I speed up a little? What if Lord Sangyu catches up…"
Zhao Xing couldn't help glancing back, then slapped himself.
He had jinxed it.
After being attacked by the projected Marquis of Thunder Might, Lord Sangyu immediately started chasing after Zhao Xing.
Because he noticed… Zhao Xing wasn't being affected at all!
"Zhao Xing, don't run! Let's talk!"
Lord Sangyu broke through the twenty-seven riders' encirclement and shouted toward Zhao Xing.
"Only an idiot wouldn't run!"
Zhao Xing furiously spun the wheels of his chair, bolting like a streak of light.
Lord Sangyu was enraged.
Why was he being hunted while Zhao Xing remained untouched?
"Why aren't you killing him instead? He's an enemy too, right there! Are you all blind?!"
Lord Sangyu roared in frustration, his body already riddled with wounds.
He watched as Zhao Xing calmly maneuvered through Princess Qianji's forces, completely unscathed, and nearly broke down.
Unfortunately, he didn't speak the language of the Feather Emperor's era. Even if he did, there was no way to communicate.
Once a Void History Event was triggered, there was no negotiating. No matter how smooth his words, there was no escaping battle.
This was the price of entering the Transmission Realm without a Fate Master or Historian on the team.
"No!!"
Lord Sangyu's desperate screams grew weaker.
Meanwhile, inside the Transmission Realm Tower, Seventh Floor.
This was the tower's restricted area. At this moment, only Bowe, the Grand Scholar of the Academy, stood there alone.
In front of him were rows of display cabinets, each containing floating light spheres.
The misty spheres flickered with shifting colors, occasionally flashing scenes of spacetime events.
Bowe silently observed countless historical timelines.
[Three Void History Events have been triggered in the Twenty-Second Barren Era.]
[Locations: Medicine King Realm, Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, Myriad Demon Mother Star]
[Events: World Heart Explosion, Li Xing River Surge, Demon Emperor Bone Extraction]
"Hm?"
Bowe's gaze settled on one of the light spheres—the very event Zhao Xing had entered.
"He got caught in a Void History Event… Lord Sangyu detonated a World Heart trying to control another Emperor-level figure."
Standing on the Seventh Floor, Bowe was practically half the master of the Transmission Realm Tower.
One glance was enough for him to understand exactly what had happened.
"Foolish."
Bowe let out a cold snort, clearly displeased with Lord Sangyu.
He analyzed Lord Sangyu's intent and actions, finding the man utterly foolish.
Every step Lord Sangyu took only pushed him closer to ruin.
"Bowe, isn't it suspicious that the very first time Zhao Xing enters the Transmission Realm Tower, he encounters a Void History Event?"
Behind Bowe, the reflection of Elder Zhixin's face appeared in the communication mirror.
Zhixin had now fully sided with Bowe and knew Zhao Xing had already been designated as a core figure in Bowe's plans.
Since that was the case, Bowe naturally didn't want Zhao Xing to die.
The True Soul Heavenly Poison originally covered Zhao Xing's soul in chaotic layers, but Bowe had forcibly restructured it, allowing Zhao Xing to safely enter the Transmission Realm Tower without fear of most Void History hazards.
If the Transmission Realm were a game, then Bowe was now the admin, and he'd given Zhao Xing a cheat to keep him alive.
Of course, he had no intention of letting Zhao Xing know.
"Master, this Void History Event wasn't his doing," Bowe said flatly. "It was purely because of that idiot Lord Sangyu, overestimating himself."
"Still, the fact remains—his first time in the Transmission Realm Tower, and he runs straight into a Void History Event."
Zhixin didn't argue further, but he couldn't ignore the coincidence.
"Did you anticipate this?"
"Master, you are right," Bowe lowered his head in serious thought.
"There are indeed things I didn't foresee."
"Zhao Xing's Void Straw Puppet actually managed to break into the Void Dao Ancient Layer to take refuge."
"The 'Purple-Green Gourd' of the Medicine King Realm Star is a divine artifact. It has the power to suppress the void. Even with the Golden Cicada Robe, Zhao Xing shouldn't have been able to enter the third layer of the Dao Ancient Layer."
Bowe had assumed that after Zhao Xing was infected by the True Soul Heavenly Poison, he wouldn't be able to fight at all.
Yet now, Zhao Xing had summoned a Void Clone and demonstrated an astonishing ability to escape.
"His soul is wrapped in the True Soul Heavenly Poison, yet his clone can still unleash such power?"
This was beyond Bowe's understanding.
A Void Clone combined with a Golden Cicada Robe shouldn't be this capable.
"He's… unique," Zhixin commented. "Maybe making him a core member wasn't the right choice after all."
"Master, that's just speculation," Bowe shook his head. "I only look at facts."
"So, what facts do you see?"
"I see a super genius," Bowe said with excitement. "He's like an unpolished gem that will shine with barely any refining."
What Bowe didn't know was that Zhao Xing's Void Clone existed before the poisoning, not after.
Nor did he know about the existence of Blue Flower Power.
Judging purely by Zhao Xing's performance, Bowe concluded, "His value far exceeds Du Yun by several levels."
A flash of excitement crossed Bowe's eyes.
"Let's hope you're right," Zhixin nodded slightly.
Bowe respectfully bowed toward the mirror, saying, "Your concerns aren't unfounded, Master. Please keep reminding me in the future."
Meanwhile…
One, two, three…
After crossing three void currents, Zhao Xing's remaining Blue Flower Power was completely depleted.
His vision cleared from chaotic void colors and lines to solid, material scenery.
This meant he had reached the Manifestation Layer—the true material world where all living things exist.
"Where did I end up this time?"
Zhao Xing glanced around.
Having traversed three waves of currents in the Dao Ancient Layer's third depth, he knew each wave folded infinite space.
It was possible that just one wave contained an entire galactic sector.
He still had three strands of Blue Flower Power left, but he didn't dare go further. Otherwise, he might exit the Medicine King Transmission Realm entirely.
That would trigger another Void History Event.
Yet there were no signs of life around.
Zhao Xing scanned half a star sector but still saw nothing—no people, no activity.
"Don't tell me I landed in the Barren Domain again?"
"And what's with these chaotic void rivers? Am I still in the void?"
He hadn't had any choice during the void escape—just surviving was already a blessing.
Zhao Xing couldn't shake the feeling he had ended up in the Barren Domain again.
He immediately opened his interface to check his coordinates.
[You have entered Tianyou Ancient Kingdom (22nd Barren Era, Year 87), Li Xing River Region. Coordinates in this area cannot be determined.]
"I actually ended up in Tianyou Ancient Kingdom after just three jumps?" Zhao Xing was shocked.
He checked his Boundary Jade, seeing that the emergency traversal cost had dropped to 250,000.
While better than 300,000 back at the Medicine King Realm Star, it was still absurdly high.
"Where the hell are we?" Yang Baihe and Ji Si, just released, both looked completely lost.
"Could this be the Barren Domain?" Yang Baihe's face turned pale.
There were no celestial references here—no Great Sun Star, no Solar Star.
Only countless barren stars and wasteland continents floating in a river of space.
It really did resemble the Barren Domain.
"Emergency traversal 450,000… Did we just leave one hell to fall into another?" Yang Baihe looked like he was about to break down. "I came here just to take a vacation, damn it, is this really necessary?"
Ji Si remained calm—not because he'd calculated anything, but because Zhao Xing didn't seem that panicked.
"That means Grand Shennong, despite the danger, at least knows where we are," Ji Si thought to himself.
So, he stayed quiet, waiting for Zhao Xing to speak.
"Captain, this isn't the Barren Domain," Zhao Xing said firmly.
"What else could it be, looking like this?" Yang Baihe slammed his pen to the ground. "Damn this broken Mo Yuan Brush!"
Zhao Xing let Yang Baihe vent. After all, surviving such a close call would leave anyone on edge.
"Captain, this really isn't the Barren Domain," Zhao Xing repeated with certainty. "We're in the Li Xing River Region of Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, probably somewhere in the south. I don't know exactly where though."
"Tianyou Ancient Kingdom… Li Xing River?" Yang Baihe calmed down and observed his surroundings carefully. "How are you so sure?"
With nothing recognizable around, Yang Baihe couldn't understand how Zhao Xing could identify their location.
"My teacher, Gu Luohe, taught me a secret art called Void Positioning Technique."
Pfft— Ji Si suddenly burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Yang Baihe asked, puzzled.
"Nothing, I just thought of something amusing," Ji Si shook his head.
"What's so amusing?"
"Captain, you're supposed to be in Great Zhou making babies."
Pfft! Zhao Xing couldn't hold it in anymore either.
"What the hell are you laughing at?!" Yang Baihe was completely triggered now.
Zhao Xing's main body was still smiling as a wisp of poisonous mist leaked from his body.
"It's because both Ji Si and I are poisoned," the Void Clone explained. "This place has chaotic Six Qi elements. The Li Xing River has released massive amounts of poisonous gas. Captain, hurry and use your Healer Clone to save us!"