Zhao Xing, along with his flower-patterned wheelchair, spun hundreds of times before finally coming to a stop. His head was spinning, as if he was drunk.
Naturally, he drew the attention of the surrounding crowd.
"Yo, who's this guy, flying in such a weird way?"
"Isn't that Zhao Xing, the one who wrote the Geological Changes of the Earth Record?"
"Pulling stunts like that in the Sacred Land of the Academic City, how disgraceful!"
"Shut up, old pedant. Who are you to judge how our Grand Shennong Zhao flies?"
"Senior, you better leave quickly. The ones gathering around are Shennongs from Primordial Hill. Bad-mouthing the Holy Son could get you beaten up."
At the center of the crowd, Zhao Xing sat dazed for quite a while before he finally came back to his senses.
"Uncle Zhao, are you alright?"
"Grand Shennong Zhao, do you need a physician? I'll call someone right away."
Several Shennongs in Primordial Hill attire quickly approached to check on him.
Word had spread that Zhao Xing had been poisoned and was crippled. Even if he could be healed, it was said he could only survive, not regain his cultivation.
However, in the hearts of the Shennongs of Primordial Hill, Zhao Xing's status had never wavered.
In fact, thanks to Lord Lushan's constant praise, Zhao Xing's reputation had risen even higher.
Lord Lushan had once said: Even when Zhao Xing saw no hope of recovery, he still put his heart and soul into perfecting the Geological Reform Method.
Such noble spirit! Such great character!
Some even considered Zhao Xing their teacher, because his eight techniques and his theoretical paper had benefited all the disciples of Primordial Hill. Everyone there enjoyed the rewards of his methods and principles.
"I'm fine. Everyone, please disperse," Zhao Xing waved his hand as more and more people gathered.
He didn't know any of them, but they all seemed to be from Primordial Hill.
"Clear the way. Don't disturb Master Zhao."
Someone shouted, and the crowd parted. Four cultivators at the Reincarnation Realm stepped up to escort Zhao Xing toward the cloudway exit.
"Junior Brother Zhao, are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine. Thank you all," Zhao Xing cupped his hands in gratitude, then quickly maneuvered his flower-patterned wheelchair into a private passage.
The clouds closed, and Zhao Xing's figure disappeared.
Once he was clear of the crowd, he immediately pulled up his panel to check.
Even though he felt fine, the bizarre chain of events earlier left him uneasy.
[Name: Zhao Xing]
[Occupation: Grand Shennong]
[Fortune: Sixteenth Grade (plus two grades from Five Emperor Coins)]
[Realm: Life-and-Death Dao Domain Realm (Perfected)]
[Dao Domain: Life-and-Death Dao Domain (Perfected)]
[Mana: 10 Realms]
[Age: 9,243]
[Remaining Lifespan (Abnormal): 3,120 years (True Soul Heavenly Poison corrosion state)]
[Heavenly Timing Techniques: Cloud Summoning, Extreme Star Thunder Dragon, Wind Devouring, Realm Fire, Rain Immortal, Ten Thousand Spirits Marquis Reform Method]
[Earthly Advantage Techniques: Earth Core Fissure, Demon God Earth Palace, Mysterious Earth Star Shift, Primordial Earth Repository, Shaking Light Earth Link, Triassic Boundary Mountains]
[Self Techniques: Stem Fight Divine Ability (Four-System Variant), Life Revival, Heart Field Method (Great Dream Marsh), World Method (Yin-Yang Partition), Swift Straw Puppet, Essence-Draining Transformation]
[Cultivation Methods: Extreme Land, Hunyuan Realm, Bud Technique]
[Soul Secret Technique: Reincarnation (Life and Earth Dual Soul Integration Stage)]
[Divine Secret Technique: Seven Orifice Heart Sealing Method – Mana Chapter]
[Blue Flower Mana: Five Strands]
[Soldier Types: Seven Domain True Spirit Bamboo, Black Heaven Moon Tree, Thousand Illusion Tree]
[Treasure: Dao Ancient Golden Cicada (Supreme-Grade Origin Divine Weapon)]
"Hmm? Everything looks fine…"
Zhao Xing frowned.
The True Soul Heavenly Poison hadn't been cleansed, leaving him with only around three thousand years of lifespan, but he had long known that.
Aside from that, nothing seemed abnormal.
"Too strange. Why did the Transmission Realm Tower reject me?" Zhao Xing was completely baffled.
After using the Realm Jade to teleport back, he should have appeared in the sixth floor lobby of the Transmission Realm Tower, because there was still one final step left—the Exchange Process.
It was only after completing the Exchange Process in the lobby that one could take the items back.
Yet here he was, already outside without completing it.
"Origin Projection, activate!"
Zhao Xing focused and opened his Origin Space.
When he checked the Origin Soil, he found no Soul-Devouring Grass seedling, and no Nine-Turn Soul Dissolution Pills.
As for the Moyuan Brush, Yang Baihe had already taken that earlier.
"My grass… where the hell did my grass go?!"
"What the hell is going on here?!"
Zhao Xing exploded in anger.
He had taken huge risks and spent so much money, only to end up empty-handed?
Damn it, Bowe, refund me right now!
Just as Zhao Xing was cursing internally and preparing to confront Bowe for an explanation, Bowe showed up first.
Standing beside Bowe was a Primordial Clone of Zuo Qiyu, who was permanently stationed in the Academic City.
"What happened?" Bowe asked directly.
Zhao Xing was dumbfounded. Wasn't this the other way around?
You opened the Transmission Realm Tower, and I'm the one who should be asking you!
But that was just what he thought. Bowe was half a god, and Zhao Xing had no right to question him.
"Elder Bowe, I don't know," Zhao Xing answered honestly. "After I activated emergency teleportation, I didn't even have time to complete the Exchange Process before I was forcibly expelled."
"Why would that happen?" Zuo Qiyu frowned and looked toward Bowe.
Bowe, too, was completely puzzled.
"Come with me."
Bowe led Zhao Xing, opening a hidden cloudway toward the sixth floor of the Transmission Realm Tower.
Whoosh—
As they reached the tower's entrance, something strange happened.
A faint red glow emerged in front of Zhao Xing, forming a thin barrier that blocked him.
Bowe could enter. Zuo Qiyu could enter.
But Zhao Xing's flower-patterned wheelchair started smoking from the strain, and he just couldn't get in.
"Hmm?" Zuo Qiyu also noticed something was wrong. He stepped back outside to Zhao Xing's side.
Bowe frowned. "Envoy Zuo, try bringing Zhao Xing in with you."
Zuo Qiyu grabbed the wheelchair and pushed with all his strength.
The wheelchair didn't budge an inch.
He even tried picking Zhao Xing up to carry him inside, but while Zuo Qiyu himself could pass through, Zhao Xing was stuck outside.
No matter how hard Zuo Qiyu tried, he couldn't get Zhao Xing through the barrier.
He tried increasing his strength.
Crack crack crack crack~
Zhao Xing's shoulder and arm bones felt like they were about to shatter, his face twisting in pain.
"Senior Zuo…!"
It hurt too much. Zuo Qiyu's Primordial Clone was about to crush him.
If this continued, Zhao Xing would be a pile of flesh before he even got through the gate.
Zuo Qiyu let go and stepped back outside.
He then cast a spell, swallowing Zhao Xing whole, and tried entering through the gate using his Primordial Straw Puppet.
A strange scene unfolded. While Zuo Qiyu's Primordial Clone managed to enter, Zhao Xing was forcefully expelled from inside him.
"Hmm?" Zuo Qiyu froze.
He had no idea when or how Zhao Xing had been expelled from his Primordial Clone.
The red barrier at the entrance acted like a heavenly lightning pool, impossible to cross. No matter what spells Zuo Qiyu used, he couldn't bring Zhao Xing inside.
What was going on?
Zuo Qiyu turned to look at Bowe.
"Divine Power Barrier." Bowe finally spoke, giving four words.
"For some reason, the divine power of the Transmission Realm Tower is rejecting Zhao Xing."
Zuo Qiyu was already an Emperor-level cultivator, and from the perspective of divine anomaly alone, even a demigod might not have a Primordial Clone.
If even that couldn't get through, then the only explanation for the red barrier was divine power.
"Why?" Zuo Qiyu clearly wasn't satisfied with that answer.
For some reason?
Bowe was the Grand Elder, and the treatment plan had been set by him!
Right now, Zuo Qiyu was representing the Primordial Realm in questioning Bowe.
Bowe had to give him an explanation.
"Please be patient, Envoy Zuo. I will get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."
Bowe was a demigod scholar, but he hadn't fully mastered the Transmission Realm Tower, a supreme-grade divine artifact. At best, he could only use ten percent of its power.
"Envoy Zuo, I need to speak with Zhao Xing alone."
Zuo Qiyu didn't agree right away. Instead, he looked at Zhao Xing.
Of course, Zhao Xing also wanted answers.
He had spent money, retrieved the treasures, and secured the treatment pills, yet this strange situation had happened. Of course, he wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Zhao Xing didn't really believe Bowe would try anything shady. A demigod scholar wasn't that stupid.
He also believed Bowe genuinely didn't know what was happening.
The Transmission Realm Tower was a semi-autonomous divine artifact. Bowe couldn't fully control it.
In other words, it was likely an issue caused by the tower itself.
Whoosh—
Zuo Qiyu's Primordial Clone vanished, leaving Zhao Xing and Bowe alone.
"Zhao Xing, tell me everything you experienced during your escape," Bowe said, staring at Zhao Xing. "Don't leave anything out."
The moment the three realms fused and abnormalities occurred, Bowe had lost all monitoring of the situation inside the three Transmission Realms. He could only rely on Zhao Xing's testimony.
"Yes, Grand Elder." Zhao Xing began to recount what happened as he was teleporting out.
"When we arrived at the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom's territory, we had already traveled for seventeen Realm Star years."
"During those seventeen Realm Star years, I, Yang Baihe, and Ji Si encountered danger—a giant void behemoth that looked like a catfish."
"It was quickly killed by my True Soul Heavenly Poison."
"We thought we were safe, but suddenly a massive rib-like bone, shrouded in gray mist, emerged. I couldn't tell if it was actually a rib, since only part of it appeared in our view."
"As the bone burst from the void turbulence, I saw people fighting on it."
"I recognized Emperor Tianwu from Origin Heaven Palace, Du Yun, and several figures that seemed to be from the Yao Clan—"
"Oh, and there was Liang Rui, the Seventh Prince of Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, and his Fate Officer Tang Menghe."
"Along with the bone, a mass of plants came flying out. Among them was a Soul-Devouring Grass seedling, which I managed to grab."
"Realizing the danger, I immediately crushed our Realm Jades to teleport out. Right before we left, I clearly saw—"
Bowe listened quietly, but when Zhao Xing stopped, he frowned. "Saw what?"
Zhao Xing, surprised, asked, "Grand Elder, I've already said this three times. You didn't hear it?"
Bowe's expression shifted slightly. "You mean to say you did speak, but I didn't hear it?"
"Yes." Zhao Xing nodded, concerned.
Bowe took a deep breath. His face grew serious. "Something's wrong. Very wrong."
"What do you mean, Grand Elder?"
Bowe waved his hand, and two figures appeared before Zhao Xing. "You two, repeat what you heard me ask just now."
The two figures were Ji Si and Yang Baihe. They glanced at Zhao Xing.
Yang Baihe spoke first, honestly recounting, "After dealing with the catfish, Liang Rui and his group appeared from the void turbulence. Zhao Xing immediately crushed the Realm Jades for the three of us to escape."
Zhao Xing's pupils dilated. "Captain, did you really not see anything else? Like a giant bone, or some Emperor-level beings—?"
"No," Yang Baihe replied, looking confused. "Did you see something else besides Liang Rui's group?"
"Of course I did!" Zhao Xing said anxiously. "Why would I crush the Realm Jade just because Liang Rui showed up?"
"Liang Rui had said before that he was leaving immediately. Why would he suddenly appear again in Lixing River? Isn't that a Void History Event?" Yang Baihe had assumed Zhao Xing had made that judgment and crushed the Realm Jade because of it. Now, he was just as shocked.
"Master Ji Si!" Zhao Xing ignored Yang Baihe and turned to Ji Si. "What did you see?"
"I saw the bone," Ji Si replied after thinking for a moment. "I also saw you grab a plant."
"Were there people on the bone?"
"No," Ji Si shook his head.
Hearing the answers from Ji Si and Yang Baihe, Zhao Xing fell silent.
Yang Baihe was now equally confused. What was going on here?
"Yang Baihe, Ji Si, wait outside for now," Bowe ordered.
"Yes."
Once Ji Si and Yang Baihe left, Zhao Xing looked at Bowe and asked, "Grand Elder, do you have any insight into what's happening to me?"
Bowe raised his head, gazing deep into the Transmission Realm Tower. With his hands clasped behind his back, his fingers kept moving under his sleeves. He finally spoke, "Zhao Xing, what I can confirm is that Du Yun and Emperor Tianwu have never entered the Transmission Realm Tower."
This statement made Zhao Xing tremble again. Du Yun and Emperor Tianwu never went in?
Did that mean Zuo Qiyu and the Five Venom Emperor didn't enter either?
Then what exactly had he seen?
"I can't determine the reason for your rejection by the Transmission Realm Tower for now. You'll have to find the answer yourself." Bowe stopped moving his hands and looked down at Zhao Xing.
"Carefully consider the differences between what you said and what Yang Baihe and Ji Si described. And think about that sentence you couldn't voice. I believe the key lies there."
Bowe clearly expected Zhao Xing to resolve this on his own. With that, he sent Zhao Xing out.
Once he was outside again, Yang Baihe and Ji Si immediately approached.
"Zhao Xing, what exactly happened?" Yang Baihe asked.
"Captain, don't ask me. If I knew, would I still be here?"
"Grand Elder didn't give you an explanation?" Yang Baihe pressed.
"No. He told me to find it myself."
"I understand." Yang Baihe nodded and hurriedly excused himself.
Zhao Xing knew exactly why Yang Baihe left.
Bowe had opened the Transmission Realm Tower, drawing in countless powerful cultivators. The precondition for all of this was that Bowe had to have a certain level of control over this divine artifact.
Now that something so strange had happened—something even Bowe couldn't explain—Sparks Unit would have to report this immediately.
Entering the Transmission Realm required a cost, and 1 point of Realm Spirit Value was worth more than the merits awarded for opening up the Empire's Western Frontier.
To avoid the risk of losing both people and resources, the Empire would have to reevaluate the risk level of the Transmission Realm Tower. They might even join forces with other major powers to force it to shut down!
"I remember that the Transmission Realm Tower was eventually shut down in my past life. Could this be the start of that? What exactly is the reason?" Zhao Xing didn't know. He recalled that the closure had never been explained to the public.
"Grand Shennong, may I report today's events to the Celestial Master?" Ji Si asked.
"Yeah." Zhao Xing nodded. After all, this couldn't be kept a secret. Bowe telling him to find the answer himself already implied that this matter couldn't be hidden from the high-level powers.
Soon, Zuo Qiyu's Primordial Clone reappeared behind Zhao Xing.
"What are your thoughts now?"
"Senior Zuo, please send me back to the Primordial Realm. I have something to report." Zhao Xing had made up his mind to return to the Primordial Realm first.
Zuo Qiyu didn't say anything. He simply swallowed Zhao Xing and Ji Si into his body world.
Inside Zuo Qiyu's internal world, Zhao Xing started piecing things together. He began listing all the strange events in his mind.
First, Du Yun and Emperor Tianwu had never entered the Transmission Realm Tower.
Second, Yang Baihe had only seen Liang Rui and Tang Menghe, while Ji Si had seen the bone and the Soul-Devouring Grass.
Third, the Transmission Realm Tower had rejected him, refusing to let him enter.
Fourth, Bowe had told him that the Medicine King Realm, Lixing River Catastrophe, and the Demon Emperor's Descent—three realms had fused.
Fifth, the most shocking of all, during the final moment of teleportation, he had seen the Five Venom Emperor, Zuo Qiyu, and—himself beneath that bone!
Listing these five points, Zhao Xing began analyzing them one by one.
The fifth point especially shocked him to the core.
But now that he had calmed down and gathered more information, a theory began to take shape in his mind.
"First, Du Yun and Emperor Tianwu never entered the Transmission Realm Tower. That doesn't conflict with me seeing them back in the 97th Solar Year of the 22nd Era of the Barren Domain."
"Even if they haven't entered yet, they could enter in the future. If they choose a historical time anchor before my entry, and because of the realm fusion, we could still meet."
"Yang Baihe only saw Liang Rui and Tang Menghe, while Ji Si, being a Fate Shaman, could see future scenes, so he saw the bone and the Soul-Devouring Grass. This supports my theory. Yang Baihe saw what belonged to the current timeline, but Ji Si saw beyond."
Zhao Xing closed his eyes and thought for a moment before arriving at a bold guess:
"My future self, along with Zuo Qiyu and the Five Venom Emperor, entered this fused historical timeline through another Transmission Realm. It must be one of the three fused realms: Lixing River Catastrophe, Demon Emperor's Descent, or the Medicine King Conference."
"And because of the fusion, my past self and future self met."
"Now, about the rejection by the Transmission Realm Tower…"
"Why was I rejected?"
"Could it be because I violated the laws of time and causality?"
Zhao Xing thought this was very likely.
The Transmission Realm Tower restricted the historical timelines accessed through Transmission techniques.
Each Transmission Realm represented an independent timeline, unaffected and undisturbed by other timelines.
To put it in gamer terms, every instance of entering a dungeon is a fresh instance.
Even if Zhao Xing re-entered the Medicine King Realm, returning to the 94th Solar Year of the 22nd Era of the Barren Domain, he wouldn't encounter another version of himself, nor would he meet Ren Qiujun, Lord Sangyu, Lord Fengyang, or Liang Rui and Tang Menghe again.
But now, two versions of himself had appeared in the same timeline!
"Thinking it through, in that final scene, only I appeared twice. None of the others were duplicated."
"This must be the root cause of my rejection by the Transmission Realm Tower."
Zhao Xing arrived at this conclusion.
But then a bigger question arose. "Why was I able to violate the laws of this divine artifact?"
"Do I have something on me that can counter the divine power of the Transmission Realm Tower?"
"Or was it simply the result of a Void Historical Event, triggering the fusion of the three realms, and it just so happened that my future self was in one of the other two realms?"
The Heart-Sealing Technique? The Blue Flower Mana? That seemed too far-fetched. His Blue Flower Mana was merely one of the seven-colored manas, still far from anything that could be called divine power.
Even Fan Qianrou herself might not be able to defy the time-space and causality laws of the Transmission Realm Tower.
Considering that the Transmission Realm Tower had previously been sealed by the sages of the Academy as the Eighth Great Law Realm, Zhao Xing leaned toward the first possibility.
That is, after the Void Historical Event, the fusion of the three realms led to two versions of himself appearing in the same timeline, violating the Tower's own rules.
So after he used the Realm Jade to teleport, the Tower immediately kicked him out.
Since it couldn't resolve the contradiction, the Tower simply expelled the "bug"—himself—and resumed normal operations.
Perfect logic.
"That's also why I couldn't tell Bowe about the three people I saw in the final moment: Zuo Qiyu, the Five Venom Emperor, and myself."
"Because the Transmission Realm Tower's secondary rule is affecting the 22nd Era of the Barren Domain, which is my present."
"To maintain the balance between past and present, the Exchange Rule also includes information restrictions."
"Looks like the reason the Tower was sealed in the first place is because bugs like this can happen."
Based on his past-life knowledge, Zhao Xing finally arrived at a relatively reasonable explanation.
But with it came a serious problem:
"How can I enter the Transmission Realm Tower again?"
Although he had come up with a theory, the problem remained unsolved.
Being locked out was a life-threatening issue.
"If I can't enter the Tower, my treatment can't continue."
"Which means I'll still die in three thousand years, succumbing to the True Soul Heavenly Poison."
Zhao Xing furrowed his brow, then slowly relaxed.
"There must be a solution!"
"Just because I can't enter now doesn't mean I'll never be able to enter."
"My future self clearly managed to enter again, otherwise it would mean my future self killed my past self, which contradicts the laws of time."
"So how exactly do I get back in?"
His head felt like it was about to explode. Already suffering from the True Soul Heavenly Poison, his mind was sluggish. Now he had to deal with this divine artifact bug, which felt like it would melt his brain.
"Grand Shennong, you seem troubled." Ji Si, who had been resting under a tree, seemed to sense something. He got up and walked over.
"I am troubled." Zhao Xing sighed. "What happened in the Transmission Realm Tower is far too strange."
Ji Si said, "If you don't mind, Grand Shennong, why not tell me about it?"
Zhao Xing thought for a moment. "Ji Si, imagine you couldn't enter the Celestial Master Manor, but you had to enter to survive."
"But the reason you couldn't enter was directly tied to yourself."
"And it even involved many people and events that haven't happened yet."
"What would you do?"
"Grand Shennong, are you talking about a causal paradox?" Ji Si quickly understood.
"Exactly."
Ji Si laughed. "Grand Shennong, you seem to misunderstand the Great Dao of Time and the laws of causality."
"Fate Shamans can reverse causality, Historians can condense avatars from the past, and we even encountered reverse flow phenomena in the Medicine King Realm."
"The Transmission Realm Tower can exchange historical artifacts."
"Everything proves that past and future are deeply connected, yet can also be separated."
"In fact, both Fate Officers and Historians have theories about the continuity of historical timelines, but the laws of nature in the universe are designed to exploit loopholes. We practice spells to pursue longevity, and Emperors reincarnate again and again, isn't that also defying the laws of lifespan?"
"So, Grand Shennong, you've fallen into a logical trap."
"Just because I can't enter the Celestial Master Manor now, doesn't mean I'm the cause. The cause I planted may not bear my fruit."
"Likewise, just because I can enter the Celestial Master Manor later, doesn't mean I'm the cause. The fruit I reap may not be from my seed."
"That's why Fate Shamans separate cause and effect in their four cultivation methods."
"In the Celestial Master Manor, there are four Great Law Realms: the Cause Realm, the Effect Realm, the Destiny Realm, and the Reversal Realm."
Ji Si's words cleared Zhao Xing's clouded heart.
That's right. Even something like the Sea Conference could rewrite history. If destined calamities could be overturned, what was there to be afraid of?
Though Ji Si's explanation sounded complicated, it actually boiled down to something very simple:
To a Fate Shaman, anything is possible!
"Ji Si, what do you think I should do next?" Zhao Xing asked. Although he understood the logic now, he still didn't know how to proceed.
"Grand Shennong, since you can't make sense of the events, why not start with the people?" Ji Si suggested. "The future is uncertain, but the people you face now are real and clear."
Ji Si's words gave Zhao Xing a clear direction to move forward. Since the events were chaotic and unclear, the first step was to find the right people.
From that final scene, there were the Heavenly Martial Emperor, Du Yun, the Five Venom Emperor, Zuo Qiyu, Tang Menghe, Liang Rui, and some demon race Emperors. Ignoring the outsiders for now, at least his own people would be easier to reach.
If Du Yun and the Heavenly Martial Emperor hadn't entered the Transmission Realm Tower yet, then the solution was to send them in. If his survival depended on it, then the future had to confirm their presence—meaning he had to make sure Du Yun, the Heavenly Martial Emperor, the Five Venom Emperor, and Zuo Qiyu appeared on that massive, gray, mist-shrouded bone.
Maybe doing so would not only save his own life but also help fix the bug in the Transmission Realm Tower. Even though Zhao Xing found the idea ridiculous, from a Fate Shaman's perspective, such reversals of causality were not strange at all.
The Five Venom Emperor was busy, but hearing his disciple's request, he quickly responded, "You're saying if I don't enter the Transmission Realm Tower, you'll die?"
"Yes, Master," Zhao Xing replied. "I know it's hard to explain, but—"
"No need to explain," the Five Venom Emperor cut him off, adding, "I've seen plenty of weird things. Even gods can't know everything, so why do we need to figure out every little reason? Besides, Zuo Qiyu and I had already planned to check out the Transmission Realm Tower, isn't that right?"
Zuo Qiyu shot him a glare and warned coldly, "Go ahead, try calling me 'Xiao Yu' again, I dare you."
The Five Venom Emperor forced a grin and said humbly, "I wouldn't dare. Honored Original Realm Envoy, please forgive my rudeness."
Zuo Qiyu didn't even bother replying, just shaking his head and saying, "I'm not going, I'm not going."
The Five Venom Emperor, like a child, tugged at Zuo Qiyu's sleeve, begging, "Come on, come on, let's go."
Zhao Xing could only pretend he heard and saw nothing. After much pestering, Zuo Qiyu finally agreed, though he was extremely reluctant, sighing as he added, "Let me be clear—I'm not going for him, I'm going to look for that legendary plant soldier."
"Yes, yes, of course," the Five Venom Emperor nodded eagerly, pulling Zuo Qiyu along.
Meanwhile, Du Yun's projection appeared in Zhao Xing's star mirror, saying, "Zhao Xing, I've just received an assignment to enter the Transmission Realm Tower alongside the Heavenly Martial Emperor. My superiors mentioned this mission seems to be related to you."
Zhao Xing wasn't surprised since arranging this mission through the Original Realm and the Origin Heaven Palace was no trouble, given their ongoing cooperation on Barren Domain development. "To be honest, this mission is because of me," Zhao Xing admitted. "But I only understand part of it. It might drag you into something dangerous, and I owe you one for that."
"You're making it sound too serious," Du Yun waved it off. "The opening of the Transmission Realm Tower is a major event. Even without this mission, I planned to go. After the battle in the Lingxu Origin Realm, there hasn't been much action for the Pioneer Army here in the Barren Domain."
"Either way, I still owe you one," Zhao Xing insisted, and Du Yun, being straightforward, said no more.
With the key people lined up, the plan moved forward smoothly. This was partly thanks to Zhao Xing's efforts, but also because the abnormalities in the Transmission Realm Tower had alarmed the higher-ups.
After the Sparks Department reported it, the senior leadership of the Red Star Empire took immediate action to figure out how to get the Demon Race Emperors into the Transmission Realm Tower. The Red Star Empire dispatched Meng Wu, a god-ranked disciple, to the Scholar City to seek Bowe's cooperation.
Not long after, Bowe made a groundbreaking announcement, declaring that the Transmission Realm Tower would be open to the entire Xuanling Star Domain under the scholar's principle of "teaching without discrimination," which included even the demon nations, long-time enemies of humanity. Of course, the opening was limited and controlled in scale.
This move not only allowed the Demon Race Emperors to enter the Transmission Realm Tower but also provided a chance to temporarily ease tensions between the human and demon factions, helping to create a more stable environment for the Pioneer Campaign in Siyue Barren Domain.
After Bowe's announcement, the Celestial Master Manor summoned Zhao Xing's true body to perform another Causality Ceremony. However, this time, it was purely staged, with a Celestial Master from the Empire personally "fighting himself" on Zhao Xing's body.
The goal was to spark the Demon Race's curiosity about Zhao Xing, drawing the Demon God Hall's attention to him, and using that interest to lure several Demon Race Emperors into the time-space node associated with Zhao Xing.
"Looks like I've really become a hot commodity," Zhao Xing muttered helplessly, recalling what Qingyuzi had once said. He had gathered so much 'calculation power' from the Fate Shamans, becoming like a treasure radiating irresistible light.
Though he didn't understand why, if everyone else was after him, then the Demon Race wouldn't sit this out either. The Celestial Master Manor had simply exploited this unique trait of his.
"If this works, great. If not, I've really just brought trouble on myself," Zhao Xing sighed. His philosophy had always been to keep a low profile, but after all this, it seemed low profile was no longer an option.
"This is all Wei Tianchen's fault. This is all Bowe's fault!" Zhao Xing cursed silently, deciding that after this was over, he would follow Qingyuzi's advice and return to the Xuanhuang Realm.
Based on that conversation with Qingyuzi, returning to the Xuanhuang Realm might be the key to erasing his 'presence.'
Seven years later, Zhao Xing emerged from the Celestial Master Manor and arrived once again at the Scholar City, standing before the Transmission Realm Tower's gate.