When Zhao Xing appeared again in the southern borders of the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, after sending his past self away, he immediately felt something strange.
A flash of red light swept past. Two mighty Dao forces brushed over his body like a gentle breeze and flowed into his origin space.
The phantom images of two plant seedlings formed—one was the Black Sky Moon Tree, and the other was the Soul-Devouring Grass. Along with them appeared eight Nine-Turn Soul Dissolution Pills.
"The spacetime law of the Transmission Realm Tower has formed a closed loop on me."
Zhao Xing seemed to grasp something. Through his Blue Flower divine power, he could clearly feel the two great Dao forces passing over his body.
The three items that appeared were all things he had obtained in the Medicine King Realm. They had disappeared before, without even the chance to be exchanged.
But now, they had all reappeared, along with the Realm Jade.
"How strange."
"So… what should I do next?" Zhao Xing instinctively began to think but quickly shook his head. "Qing Yuzi told me to let things take their course."
"Then by that logic, the next step should be to completely purge the True Spirit Heavenly Poison and leave quickly."
How to purge it? Zhao Xing wasn't sure, but he believed Qing Yuzi wouldn't make it too troublesome for him. That meant the answer should be obvious.
Zhao Xing looked down at his feet.
He was now standing on a smooth gray surface, so polished that it reflected his shadow.
As he looked more closely, his heart suddenly began to pound violently. His reflection seemed to come alive, roaring up at the sky.
Pfft!
Zhao Xing's blood and qi surged violently, even his soul, wrapped in the True Spirit Heavenly Poison, wavered and grew dizzy.
"What the hell is this thing?"
He quickly looked away, only to realize that Five Venom Emperor and Zuo Qiyu were doing the same, both fully focused on the ground.
"Master, Senior Zuo, what is this? Why is it so strange—"
Five Venom Emperor didn't respond, seemingly lost in thought. Zuo Qiyu, though not lifting his head, replied.
"It's a Shedding Divine Bone of the Void Ancestor."
"A Shedding Divine Bone of the Void Ancestor?" Zhao Xing was stunned. "There's such a thing?"
The Void Ancestor had reincarnated nine times. Every time he sat in meditation in the starry sky, his body disintegrated. His left eye turned into the Solar Star, his right eye into the Lunar Star. His hair transformed into countless stars, and his breath became wind and clouds, giving birth to endless worlds. The Void Ancestor Star System was under the control of the Origin Heaven Palace.
That was the story of the Void Ancestor during his Reincarnation Realm.
But Zuo Qiyu mentioned a Shedding Divine Bone. Did that mean the Void Ancestor had another transformation after becoming a god?
"The Void Ancestor created the Martial Qi Sect system. After reaching Godhood, he secretly underwent another shedding, paving a path for future martial cultivators to break through to Godhood. Rumor has it this shedding took place within the Void Ancestor Star System, in the Origin Heaven Palace's territory, covering a relatively small area," Zuo Qiyu explained.
"What happened afterward, Senior Zuo?" Zhao Xing asked.
"No one knows," Zuo Qiyu shook his head. "The Void Ancestor vanished. After that, the Xuanling Star Domain went through massive upheaval. About nine eras are missing from the records, and nine pages are torn from the historical books of Xuanling. Afterward, the Lihuo Emperor emerged and unified the Xuanling Star Domain once again."
"If he disappeared, how can you be sure this is the Shedding Divine Bone?"
"Because the Origin Heaven Palace has one," Zuo Qiyu pointed upward. "When we arrived, we saw Emperor Tianwu locked in a deadly battle with the five demon emperors. If this wasn't the Void Ancestor's Shedding Bone, it wouldn't be worth risking his life to guard it."
Zhao Xing looked up and saw, within the gray mist, Emperor Tianwu battling the five demon emperors. Despite being injured, he refused to retreat.
As for Du Yun, he was besieged by three lords, with Yellow Sand Crossing flickering in and out of the gray fog.
Bowe had said the Transmission Realm Tower couldn't exchange divine items yet, but this Shedding Divine Bone surely held countless secrets. The demon race didn't need to take it; even learning a little information would be a huge gain.
For instance, clues about how Martial Qi Sect cultivators could ascend to Godhood. Even a single word would be priceless.
"Senior Zuo, aren't we going to help?" Zhao Xing asked.
Zuo Qiyu ignored him, but Five Venom Emperor finally looked up and glanced at Zhao Xing. "If someone from the Origin Heaven Palace personally asks for help, we can consider stepping in."
"Disciple, superpowers both cooperate and compete."
"Whether we choose to cooperate or compete depends not on personal feelings, but on whether our interests align."
"Right now, we should focus on uncovering the secrets of the Shedding Bone, not playing the hero."
"If the Origin Heaven Palace had the chance to seize core secrets of the Primordial Realm, they'd make the same choice."
Zhao Xing understood.
Indeed, when the Empire's Grand Fate Officer obtained the First Hexagram of Ten Thousand Mountains, countless karmic lines attacked from all sides, all seeking the hexagram's secrets.
Did other superpowers get involved? Of course they did.
Between nations, today's blood-sworn allies could become tomorrow's enemies at the gates. There were no eternal friends or enemies—only eternal interests.
If you really think about it, the demon emperors in the Transmission Realm Tower were technically allies who had signed agreements with the Empire.
Zuo Qiyu and Five Venom Emperor represented the Red Star Empire. Even if they showed up, it would only be to mediate.
"Don't stray too far from us," Five Venom Emperor said before refocusing on the ground.
Zuo Qiyu even lay down on the ground, using various methods to try to penetrate the bone's inner structure.
However, the gray mist continued to block them, and it was unclear whether they had made any progress.
Zhao Xing couldn't analyze the bone himself, but that didn't mean he was doing nothing.
"Since the city gate's fire affects the fish in the moat, let's send those poor souls away first."
The gray divine bone was so massive that it had formed a kind of earth vein-like gravitational pull. If Liang Rui and the others fell into the vortex, they'd have no chance of survival.
Zhao Xing and the other two were positioned below the void river. Thanks to the interference of the Li Star River, the gravitational pull they felt from the divine bone was relatively weak.
At this moment, not far from the gray bone, there was a boundary ship—none other than the one carrying Tianyou Ancient Kingdom's Seventh Prince Liang Rui and Tang Menghe.
Their boundary ship was being dragged toward the vortex of gray mist surrounding the Void Ancestor's Shedding Bone, unable to break free.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Zhao Xing immediately sent out his Primordial Clone, striding forward with large steps.
Even the tiniest protrusion on the divine bone was like a towering mountain or massive basin to someone as small as Zhao Xing. He climbed up one of these bone mountains and looked up.
"Expand, expand, expand!"
The Primordial Clone rapidly enlarged until it reached the Ninth Extremity Form. Zhao Xing then activated the Five Finger Mountain technique, slamming his palm forward.
Boom!
An orange-yellow stream of energy formed into a massive palm, tearing through the restraints of the gray mist and surging toward the boundary ship that was drifting helplessly in the starry sky.
Bang!
Next to Liang Rui, the Mechanist was desperately manipulating the boundary ship, trying to break free. But no matter how hard he tried, the ship was inching closer to the vortex.
"Damn it… heaven really wants us dead."
Feeling the terrifying gray vortex approaching, Liang Rui couldn't help but fall into despair.
Back when they had escaped from the Medicine King Realm, they had also been affected by the Void Historical Event.
The Void Historical Event triggered by Lord Sangyu had affected the entire realm.
The difference lay in the proximity to the event's center. This was reflected in how the teleportation quota of their Realm Jade fluctuated.
Liang Rui, Tang Menghe, and the others had a total of nine people. Three of them had been seriously injured at the time, and the other six had suffered minor injuries.
Back then, their teleportation quota had become insufficient to fully evacuate all nine of them.
So they had no choice but to stay in Tianyou Ancient Kingdom to recover, waiting for the turbulence to pass.
The Void Event attracted all kinds of targeted dangers. Zhao Xing and the others had faced random attacks by Void Beasts back then, and Liang Rui's group was no exception.
While waiting, Liang Rui had been assigned to patrol the Li Star River over some trivial matter.
And just by sheer misfortune, they got swept into one of Li Star River's chaotic surges.
They ended up being carried all the way here.
Facing what seemed like certain death, Liang Rui wasn't overly distraught. He quickly composed himself and called over the eight guest cultivators who were still struggling.
"Everyone, please accept my bow."
The eight guest cultivators paused, silently watching Liang Rui.
"Your Highness, what are you doing—"
"We can't escape anymore. In about two star days, we'll be beyond saving."
"Reaching this point is all because you were trying to protect me. It's my fault, Liang Rui's fault, that all of you are in this mess."
After saying that, Liang Rui bowed again.
"Your Highness, you could have left back then. It was because of us three injured that you chose to stay. How could we blame you?"
"Yeah, if anyone's to blame, blame Tang Menghe!" one of the martial artists added angrily.
Tang Menghe's face flushed with shame.
Liang Rui stood up again but didn't try to defend Tang Menghe. "I just fear I won't have another chance to thank all of you. If there's a next life, I'll repay you all for your kindness."
"Your Highness need not be like this. Life is uncertain, and death is destiny," one of the historians replied. "To die alongside Your Highness in adventure… it's not a bad way to go."
After bowing three times, Liang Rui stood up, looking at the eight loyal followers. The fear in his heart completely vanished.
Liang Rui flipped his hand and took out his guqin, laughing heartily. "Alright then! Since that's the case, I won't hold back."
"How can we cross to the Yellow Springs without music and dance? Yimeng!"
The female dancer immediately twirled her ribbons as a bright moon rose behind her, dancing to the melody.
The others stopped their futile efforts and began tapping on whatever they could find around them, joining in the rhythm.
To avoid ruining this final moment, the Mechanist even shut down the loud reinforcement barrier. Without control, the boundary ship started falling faster.
"Hmm?"
Standing on the bone mountain, Zhao Xing gazed into the starry sky. When the Five Finger Mountain pierced through the gray mist, his vision cleared, and he saw Liang Rui and the others' strange behavior.
"Are they seriously singing and dancing at a time like this? What the hell are they doing?"
Zhao Xing couldn't understand it at all. He even wondered if he was hallucinating. He was the type to fight until the very last breath and couldn't comprehend why Liang Rui's group had already given up.
Boom!
The Five Finger Mountain technique exploded again, this time infused with a trace of Blue Flower divine power.
The originally orange-yellow palm now carried a tint of green, and its range expanded further.
At that moment, Tang Menghe suddenly felt something. He struggled to his feet, craning his neck to look ahead, and suddenly became agitated. "A hand! A hand! A hand!!"
A nearby martial artist, annoyed, dragged him back down. "At a time like this, can't you stay quiet, Brother Tang?"
Tang Menghe, shoved to the ground, quickly scrambled back up. He didn't even care that his hat had fallen off, his hair in disarray. He crawled to one of the mechanism platforms and slammed down the lever to reinforce the barrier.
Boom~
The roaring sound erupted again, cutting off the music and dance.
"Tang Menghe, what are you doing?"
But Tang Menghe, now trembling with excitement, shouted at the Mechanist, "Quick, open the Moon Radiance Ship's barrier and focus the array's defense on the forward bow!"
"I saw a way out!"
The Mechanist ignored him.
With the music and dance interrupted, Liang Rui put away his guqin. "Let's trust Mister Tang one more time."
"Alright." The Mechanist did as he was told.
About half a day later…
Through the thick layers of mist, the Moon Radiance Ship crashed head-on into a massive blue Five Finger Mountain.
"!"
The entire boundary ship was flung away by the tremendous force, sending everyone tumbling like rag dolls.
After a while, the view in front of Liang Rui and the other eight quickly zoomed out.
They realized they had broken free from the mist vortex!
"Did we… survive?"
The nine of them stared ahead, dumbfounded.
"Quick, quick, quick! Head over there!" Tang Menghe roared. "Trust me, this time I'm sure!"
In the Grand Hall of the Transmission Realm Tower, Bowe was holding six jade records. Seeing Zhao Xing's name reappear on the registry, he let out a sigh of relief.
"How did it go?" Zhixin's voice came through the Universal Mirror.
"Temporarily resolved," Bowe replied. "Teacher, this divine artifact seems to hide an enormous secret."
"What secret?" Zhixin asked with curiosity.
"I don't know yet. Just getting the Transmission Realm Tower isn't enough—I still need the Xuanling Chronicles."
Zhixin shook his head. "Forty percent of the pre-Archaic Era Xuanling Chronicles are in the hands of the Reincarnation Divine Palace, another forty percent are with the Demon God Palace, ten percent with the Origin Heaven Palace, and the last ten percent is scattered who knows where. Gathering the complete Xuanling Chronicles is harder than becoming a god."
"I must get it!" Bowe's eyes burned with determination. "They're hiding unspeakable secrets. Maybe this has something to do with the rumored Ninth Scholar Law Realm."
Zhixin didn't try to stop him anymore. He knew it was useless. Bowe's ambition reached the heavens, and sometimes even he, as his teacher, couldn't understand him. He could only sigh. "This is a dangerous and lonely path."
"So what do you plan to do?"
Bowe's gaze fell on the three-realm orb that was undergoing mutation. The red light reflected in his eyes. "I'm not the only one who doesn't want to be kept in the dark. Since I can't do it alone, I'll pull more people into this."
"Done!" Zhao Xing clapped his hands, satisfied as he retracted his gaze.
He had only five strands of Blue Flower Divine Power left. Spending one to save Liang Rui and the others wasn't a big deal.
Liang Rui was a straightforward person. Zhao Xing knew he'd repay the favor later. If Liang Rui had hoarded his five hundred thousand Realm Spirit Quota, he wouldn't have ended up like this.
"Shrink, shrink, shrink!"
The Primordial Clone quickly shrank back down.
Above in the sky, the mist that had been pierced by the giant green hand quickly sealed itself back up.
Boom!
The rapid sealing of the mist seemed to trigger some kind of mutation.
The mountain beneath Zhao Xing suddenly collapsed.
Rumble~~~
It was like an earthquake. The ground split apart, and debris filled the air, slamming into Zhao Xing.
Bang bang bang bang!!!
Zhao Xing instinctively retreated to dodge.
At first, he could avoid the falling debris. Even the ones he couldn't dodge couldn't harm him.
But the gray mist's pressure kept intensifying. Zhao Xing could no longer hold on.
The ground grew slicker and slicker. He couldn't fly, and he couldn't even stand!
Thud!
Zhao Xing was pinned flat on the slick ground, crushed under several massive mountains.
"Master, Elder Zuo, my Primordial Clone's in trouble—"
A million li away, Zhao Xing's true body sheepishly called for help.
"Didn't I tell you not to go too far?" Five Venom Emperor looked up, clearly annoyed. "Now you've made Elder Zuo go all the way over there."
A question mark popped above Zuo Qiyu's head. "When did I say I'd go save him?"
Without looking up, Five Venom Emperor replied, "You have more clones. I don't have that ability. That brat is using your clone straw puppet anyway. You should go save your own puppet."
Zuo Qiyu reluctantly accepted this reasoning. He shot Zhao Xing a glare. "You're really careless with my straw puppet. After this is over, I'm taking it back. You can find your own materials next time."
Zhao Xing could only smile awkwardly and nod.
Unexpectedly, Zuo Qiyu sent out a clone—and never came back.
Meanwhile, his true body suddenly raised his head and looked toward where the clone was pinned.
"Something's off."
"What's off?" Five Venom Emperor asked.
"That patch of ground isn't right." Zuo Qiyu took to the air. Around him, hundreds of clones appeared, all flying toward the collapsed area.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Five Venom Emperor sprouted green wings and took off after him.
"Master, I haven't even gotten on yet!" Zhao Xing watched them vanish in a flash. Helpless, he had no choice but to push his wheelchair as fast as he could to catch up.
On the surface of the Void Ancestor's Shedding Bone, even flying required an Emperor-level cultivation. His true body had no choice but to rely on the Flower Chair's mobility.
After much effort, Zhao Xing finally caught up, only to be shocked by what he saw.
The mountains had vanished. Below was an incredibly smooth, white surface, faintly glowing.
Surrounding it were towering mountains enclosing the central white area, where his clone was pinned under one of the mountains.
"The mist here has become more structured, as if it's guarding that central area. The pull has also grown much stronger…"
Sitting on the Flower Chair, Zhao Xing looked down from the mountain peak.
Hundreds of Zuo Qiyu's clones were inspecting the surrounding ground.
Meanwhile, Five Venom Emperor was flying above, surveying from the sky.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Five Venom Emperor soon arrived at Zhao Xing's side.
"Master, did you find anything?"
Five Venom Emperor pointed at the glowing white surface below, where the faint radiance seemed to follow some kind of law in its movement. "Don't ask me yet. Tell me what you were doing just now. How did you stumble across this place?"
"I just saw Liang Rui, the Seventh Prince of Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, and the others. I felt bad for them, so I helped push them out of the vortex's center," Zhao Xing admitted honestly.
"Plant good seeds, reap good fruit," Five Venom Emperor sighed. "So that's how it happened."
"Master, what exactly is this place? What's so special about it?"
"It's one of the divine patterns on the Shedding Bone," Five Venom Emperor explained with shining eyes. "Both I and Zuo Qiyu have visited the Void Ancestor Star System of the Origin Heaven Palace. We were lucky enough to see the remains of the Void Ancestor's final Shedding Bone in his last Reincarnation Realm life."
"The divine patterns here look quite similar to what we saw back then. This proves that this really is the Shedding Bone—and it's of an even higher level, a true Void Ancestor Divine Bone!"
"So the rumors are true?" Zhao Xing's heart trembled. Could it be that the Void Ancestor, even after reaching Godhood, still chose to secretly shed and leave behind a path to guide future Qi Sect martial artists toward godhood?
"Almost certainly." Five Venom Emperor rubbed Zhao Xing's head with a smile. "You really are blessed."
"Am I really that lucky?" Zhao Xing was half-convinced. He had just saved Liang Rui's group, and now he discovered the secret of the divine bone. "Could this really be a reward for doing good deeds?"
Whoosh~
At that moment, Zuo Qiyu finished his investigation and all his clones flew back.
"Well?" Five Venom Emperor asked.
"It's real," Zuo Qiyu replied with excitement on his face. "This is definitely the Void Ancestor's Shedding Divine Bone. The power here far exceeds that of an Emperor-level being."
"But I can't make sense of it," Five Venom Emperor scratched his head. "Just staring at it from the outside won't reveal anything, even if we stared for ten thousand years. Is there any way to get inside?"
At the moment, neither Five Venom Emperor nor Zuo Qiyu could enter the divine pattern area surrounded by the gray mist.
As for Zhao Xing, he couldn't see anything special—he just thought the ground in the middle was unusually white.
"It's very difficult," Zuo Qiyu shook his head. "We could try studying it from the outside and memorizing as much as possible. Maybe that would help us break through to the Half-God level."
Both of them were stuck at the Emperor level and had been for a long time.
If they could make one more breakthrough, there was a real chance they could step into the Half-God domain.
Especially Zuo Qiyu. His Primordial Straw Puppet Technique might even be perfected, since it was originally inspired by the Void Ancestor's form.
Even if they didn't fully understand it, bringing back some information would be a great contribution.
"Wait." Zhao Xing suddenly thought of something. "Master, Elder Zuo, I think I'm already inside."
"Hmm?" Both Zuo Qiyu and Five Venom Emperor turned to Zhao Xing.
"You're inside?"
"Probably," Zhao Xing said. "Half of my Primordial Clone's body should be within the boundary."
His Primordial Clone was massive. When it had been pinned down, half of it had landed inside the central zone while the other half remained outside.
"Your clone hasn't collapsed?" Zuo Qiyu was surprised. His own clone had disintegrated the moment it tried to enter.
That's why he had said something was off.
But Zhao Xing's clone hadn't collapsed.
"That doesn't make sense," Zuo Qiyu muttered to himself.
In the Tianyou Ancient Kingdom, deep inside the palace's elm tree…
Qing Yuzi suddenly opened his eyes. The red light above his head once again began to invade, casting a bloody, terrifying glow on his upper body, while his lower half remained pure and jade-like.
"Bowe seems to hold a deep grudge against Godhood," Qing Yuzi muttered to himself. "I don't know if it's good or bad that the Transmission Realm Tower was opened in his generation."
The Transmission Realm Tower was a tool—one that concerned the safety of the entire Xuanling Star Domain.
But it could only be activated by the Grand Elder of the Scholar City, and only used by the Grand Elder.
At most, they could pressure him to shut it down, but they couldn't change that fact.
"Forget it. I can't control everything. If we're doomed, we'll all go down together." Qing Yuzi raised his hand. White light surged, once again forcing the red light back.
". . . So that's the situation. Although half my body is inside, I can't move at all," Zhao Xing explained while sitting in his Flower Chair.
"No, there might be a way to get you inside," Zuo Qiyu suddenly said.
"You're thinking of teaching him—" Five Venom Emperor immediately realized what Zuo Qiyu meant, looking a little grim. "Is that really wise?"
"There's nothing wrong with it," Zuo Qiyu replied firmly. "That day was bound to come eventually."
This time, Five Venom Emperor didn't argue. He just quietly walked away.
Zhao Xing grew nervous. After Five Venom Emperor left, Zuo Qiyu stood with his back to him.
But Zhao Xing could feel Zuo Qiyu "looking" at him. The intense stare made his heart race, as if some major decision had just been made between the two with barely a word.
Zhao Xing sighed inwardly. "Elder Zuo, whatever it is, just say it. Even if it's dangerous, the Primordial Realm has nurtured me for so long—I won't refuse."
Zuo Qiyu said calmly, "Next, I will teach you the Primordial Clone Secret Art, and I'm certain you'll be able to learn it."
"Once you've mastered it, you can use the Primordial Clone Secret Art to transfer your true body into the straw puppet. If half your body is really inside that boundary, this method might just work."
Zhao Xing quietly waited to hear what came next.
"But your soul will split because of it. The soul within your clone will become independent."
"And once you learn it, your true body must never stay in the same place as me, unless Gu Luohe is present," Zuo Qiyu said coldly. "Otherwise, I won't be able to stop myself from killing you."
Zhao Xing's heart tightened. He seemed to have guessed something.
Splitting, the flaw of the Primordial Series Straw Puppet Technique!
Before, he had only learned the Primordial Void Straw Puppet, not reaching the Reincarnation Realm, so he hadn't encountered this flaw.
Devouring—there were rumors that this could push the Primordial Straw Puppet Technique to a higher level.
He had never touched that level before, so he wasn't sure whether it was true or not.
But now that Zuo Qiyu had spoken, it seemed it really was true.
Zuo Qiyu mentioned Gu Luohe—could it be that Gu Luohe could suppress two Primordial Straw Puppet users at once? Or was it because Gu Luohe was the brother of the ancient Tianyang?
Zhao Xing took a deep breath. "I understand, Elder Zuo. Please proceed."
Zuo Qiyu didn't say much. He simply took a step to the side.
But that simple sideways step caused countless strange visions to appear before Zhao Xing's eyes.
It was like a great path appeared at his feet, and ahead stood an insurmountable mountain blocking his way. On both sides of the path were bottomless abysses of no return.
That mountain glanced back at him, then moved slightly to the side.
A path forward opened up before him.
Whoosh—
At that moment, Zhao Xing couldn't help but step forward.
That single step felt like crossing an immeasurable distance, and countless insights surged into his mind.
He clearly saw Zuo Qiyu's back, and in the same line, another person standing opposite Zuo Qiyu.
A great path split into two, with Zuo Qiyu and that other person standing back to back.
When Zuo Qiyu shifted, Zhao Xing found himself in the center of that path, standing alongside them as an equal.
At that moment, the path ahead turned blurry, with no way forward.
Zhao Xing instinctively looked around.
On his right, the other person's face was blurry, but their aura was nearly identical to Zuo Qiyu's.
On his left, Zuo Qiyu still had his back turned toward him, obscuring his face.
Staring at Zuo Qiyu's back, standing before the abyss, Zhao Xing felt an uncontrollable urge rise in his heart. It was as if every cell in his body was screaming—"Push him down, let him fall into endless ruin!"
Zhao Xing forcefully suppressed that impulse, wanting to end this strange "insight."
But at that moment, the blurry figure on his right suddenly roared angrily, "Master! You actually let a third person share this path? I swear I'll kill you, and I'll kill him too!"
Whoosh—
The illusion vanished.
Zhao Xing snapped his eyes open and found Zuo Qiyu's back gone, replaced by the fully alert and battle-ready Five Venom Emperor.
"Master, I—" Zhao Xing's voice was hoarse.
"You've seen it all?" Five Venom Emperor asked.
"Yes," Zhao Xing nodded.
"Unless Gu Luohe is present, you must never meet Zuo Qiyu again," Five Venom Emperor said sternly. "You must remember this."
"The conflict between those who cultivate the Primordial Clone Technique cannot be reconciled. This path is too strong, too narrow—it cannot tolerate a third person."
"Understood," Zhao Xing finally realized why.
That had only been a vision, yet his urge to kill Zuo Qiyu had already reached terrifying levels. All his thoughts had nearly turned into a killing intent.
He dared not imagine what would happen if they truly faced each other in person.
"So that other person must be Zuo Qiyu's former disciple, Jin Yan Emperor," Zhao Xing thought.
When he walked into that place, the name "Jin Yan" had come to him naturally.
And inside the Primordial Void Straw Puppet, all the methods of the Primordial Clone Technique already existed. Whether he could advance from the Primordial Void to the Primordial Clone depended on whether Zuo Qiyu was willing to move aside on that path.
But the price of doing so was that the power of Zuo Qiyu's and Jin Yan's puppet techniques would both weaken, because a third person—him—had joined that path.
"I can already feel the overwhelming power of the Primordial Clone. And that's while sharing it with two others. If I killed Zuo Qiyu and Jin Yan, just how terrifying would my puppet technique become?"
This thought surged uncontrollably in Zhao Xing's mind.
Slap!
Five Venom Emperor smacked him awake.
"Get your head straight! It was already hard enough for me to suppress my urge to kill Zuo Qiyu. Don't you dare stir up more trouble!"
"Eh…" Zhao Xing rubbed his face. "Master, how did you know what I was thinking?"
"How could I not know? Both of you idiots get bloodshot eyes every time you think about it!" Five Venom Emperor scolded.
"Quickly try to see if you can enter the divine pattern area. If not, we're pulling back to the Second Era of the Barren Domain!"
"You two are standing way too close. If this goes on any longer, I don't know if you or Zuo Qiyu will die first, but I know I'll be the first to drop dead!"
"Understood." Zhao Xing closed his eyes and immediately began casting the technique.