"Over ten thousand star regions in the southern part of Xuanling have their seas frozen?" Ji Si was shocked when he heard this. "Grand Shennong, won't this mean trouble for the Mirage Sea Alliance?"
Zhao Xing didn't answer. His soul sense had already entered the Star Mirror, quickly sending messages to Black Sea Emperor and his grandson Zhu Haichao of the Mirage Sea Alliance.
The Mirage Sea Alliance were basically his people. Back when he pulled Zhu Haichao into the Primordial Star Path development partnership, they'd formed a bond.
Later, his grandfather Black Sea Emperor had helped Zhao Xing on Extreme Star Island.
When they attacked the Carlos family, the Mirage Sea Alliance put in huge effort, taking charge of assaults on the Carlos family's overseas territories.
Due to the chaos caused by the new generation's Turbulent River Era, the southern cosmic space of the Xuanling Star Domain had always had a floating ocean drifting among the stars.
The Mirage Sea Tower's main territory was in that vast ocean zone.
That place had both real liquid seawater and void ocean currents. It was the birthplace of the southern spiritual domain's void rivers, known as the closest place to the primordial ocean.
Through the reflection on the Great Sun Sea, Zhao Xing finally saw the last scene: the region where the Mirage Sea Tower stood, with floating star continents and starry sky islands freezing and shattering along with the sea.
A huge number of void sea beasts were fleeing, but in the end, they froze in their last positions.
"There's no response."
"Neither Black Sea Emperor nor Zhu Haichao responded to me."
As one of the few Heavenly Timing factions in the Xuanling Star Domain, Zhao Xing didn't want the Mirage Sea Alliance to vanish. But now, it looked like things were grim.
"Grand Shennong, maybe they just forgot about you, maybe they're not dead," Ji Si tried to comfort him.
"It's very unlikely," Zhao Xing sighed. "Time-space turbulence first triggers memory chaos, affecting the true soul."
"It happens in an extremely short span exceeding 1 million immeasurable moments."
"Its power has already surpassed the threshold of a demigod. Unless you possess artifacts of time, mind, or history, it's nearly impossible to resist."
"After that, it triggers a tangible calamity in the Dao-Manifest Layer."
"The nine great sun stars go out, yin and yang fall into total imbalance, and extreme yin origin sweeps across over 10,000 star regions, though this takes slightly longer."
"When it drops below 1 million immeasurable moments, fifteenth-level demigods should be able to react and activate barriers to resist the tangible calamity, or teleport away before it spreads."
Zhao Xing multitasked as he spoke with Ji Si, while his avatar in the Primordial Realm reported to Gu Luohe.
"Senior, the Mirage Sea Alliance originated from the God River Sect and the Sacred Sea Sect of the Five Emperors Era. They should have artifacts, so there might still be a chance for them to escape."
"I think the empire should send someone powerful to rescue them."
Even if the chance was slim, Zhao Xing hoped the empire would lend a hand.
Gu Luohe shook his head. "It's impossible."
"Before the 2 million immeasurable moments when you reported to me, the Xuanling chronicles in the Origin Heaven Palace had already issued a warning."
"After that, the Moon Palace Lord of the Origin Heaven Palace compiled everything and sent it to the empire. Then 1.2 million immeasurable moments ago, the Grand Derivation God Armament gave a predicted outcome."
"Nine suns going out, the chaotic sea freezing—it immediately swept across 35,243 star regions, with the chance of anyone in the Mirage Sea Alliance surviving being less than 0.01%."
Gu Luohe rattled off numbers that sent chills down Zhao Xing's spine.
"The area where the Mirage Sea Alliance was based has always been in the ever-shifting void ocean."
"If it had only been memory chaos and mental shock caused by time-space turbulence, there might have been a hope of rescue."
"But the nine great sun stars going out triggered a Dao-Manifest calamity. According to the Grand Derivation God Armament's analysis, it reached the threshold of a god-tier calamity."
"So, there's no need for rescue anymore."
Zhao Xing sighed inwardly. The Grand Derivation God Armament's prediction matched what he had suspected.
Those who could escape had already gotten out.
Those who couldn't, there was no way they'd still be alive.
The chaotic sea region the Mirage Sea Alliance occupied was unstable by nature. The ocean there constantly experienced sudden shifts.
The nine great sun stars' presence had been the only sliver of hope, allowing the Mirage Sea Alliance to use Heavenly Timing techniques to build shifting sea islands and raise sea beasts—this was their main source of income.
But once the nine suns went out, that hope disappeared. The origin of time-space caused the imbalance of yin and yang origins, leading to an unstoppable calamity in the Dao-Manifest Layer.
In a relatively stable spiritual environment, even if the Dao-Manifest Layer produced a calamity, its intensity wouldn't be this high.
But in an already harsh environment, it would only become even worse at a time like this.
No one could survive it, so rescue was pointless.
Gu Luohe seemed to also be multitasking, talking to others. His divine body kept swelling and contracting for reasons Zhao Xing couldn't fathom.
"Zhao Xing, how did you know a calamity happened in the distant southern chaotic sea?"
The Grand Derivation God Armament hadn't notified Zhao Xing, and the Origin Heaven Palace's intelligence couldn't have reached him, since his soul sense was too weak to join conversations at the 1 million immeasurable moments level.
For demigods like Zhao Xing, news would come only in the second or third wave, with access based purely on power.
Yet Gu Luohe noticed Zhao Xing had learned the news early, even knowing the exact order of the nine suns' extinction—this was suspicious.
"Senior, the Great Sun Without Sea technique I learned from the Immeasurable True God has reached small success," Zhao Xing explained. "I 'saw' everything through the nine great sun stars."
The first layer of Great Sun Without Sea, called Extreme Star of the Blazing Sea, condenses light into a source, creating Heavenly Timing mana and gathering Extreme Star origin.
Mastering the second layer transforms the divine body into the Great Sun Divine Body, granting "Extreme Light Speed" and the ability to sense the positions and changes of high-level sun stars.
Using the 20 strands of Extreme Star origin he'd gotten from the Eight Directions Divine Mirror, Zhao Xing had cultivated the Blazing Sun Sea to the second layer, unlocking this sensing ability.
From starting the Great Sun Sea to completing the second layer took just a few decades—Gu Luohe wasn't surprised, since he himself had advanced at similarly monstrous speed.
"Senior, I want to take part in this war," Zhao Xing stated his intention.
Right now, the situation was unclear. The empire had closed all external teleportation portals, freezing contribution missions for god-realm candidates like Zhao Xing.
Just as Zhao Xing had stored Great Zhou's key figures in the Eight Directions Divine Mirror, Gu Luohe also wouldn't let Zhao Xing, the Five Venoms, or anyone else leave the empire's territory. They were better off staying in the Primordial Realm for now.
Faced with Zhao Xing's request, Gu Luohe didn't agree right away.
Zhao Xing continued, "Senior, the chaotic sea's upheaval is just the appetizer. Sooner or later, the empire will be hit too."
"I'm skilled in Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and Self School techniques. When it comes to tangible calamities triggered by time-space origin shifts, I can do a lot more than an average demigod."
"I want to do something for the empire."
Since almost everyone's contribution missions were frozen, this was his chance to catch up.
After a moment of thought, Gu Luohe said, "Alright, but you need to complete one task first."
At the empire's border, Jiachen Pass, Zhao Xing's true body opened his eyes and put on the Time-Space Grain Rain Robe.
"Ji Si, I'm going to leave the empire for a bit," Zhao Xing said.
Ji Si was shocked. "Grand Shennong, you're leaving the empire at a time like this?"
Staying inside the empire was definitely safer. Leaving meant less protection.
Last time, Zhao Xing got caught in a time-space turbulence and was dragged into the Sealing Rite site, disappearing for 2,500 years. Who knew what might happen this time?
"Where are you going?"
"I'm heading to the Xuzu Star System in the Origin Heaven Palace," Zhao Xing said. "Gu Luohe agreed to unfreeze my contribution missions, but there's a condition: I have to fix the hidden flaw in the Primordial Avatar and make the Primordial Straw Puppet stronger."
"If a avatar runs around outside with this flaw, it could get captured. If someone manipulates or deceives the divided soul, it could cause uncontrollable problems."
"There are two ways to fix this."
"One, go to the Origin Heaven Palace and trade for some god-tier materials in the Xuzu Star System. Use them to upgrade the Primordial Straw Puppet's body to god-weapon level."
"Two, kill the other cultivators."
Ji Si frowned. "Killing Jin Yan is nothing. But the other cultivator is Zuo Qiyu—"
Zhao Xing cut him off. "That's why I have to go to the Origin Heaven Palace. I need to see if there's another way to keep practicing this secret art without killing Zuo Qiyu."
Ji Si looked thoughtful.
Zhao Xing immediately interrupted his thoughts. "Ji Si, don't do anything stupid."
Ji Si fell silent. He'd been considering it just now.
If Grand Shennong couldn't act, maybe he could be the bad guy and convince Zuo Qiyu to kill himself.
But Zhao Xing had seen right through him.
"I don't want Zuo Qiyu to die."
"Ji Si, don't even think about it."
"Alright." Ji Si nodded reluctantly, a bit disappointed.
This would've been the quickest solution. Finding another way to fix the flaw was going to be extremely hard.
But since Zhao Xing insisted, and kept reminding him, Ji Si had no choice but to drop the idea.
The Origin Heaven Palace sat in a remote part of the Xuanling Star Domain, built around three Xuzu Star Systems.
Though it wasn't large, each Xuzu Star System was among the most dangerous secret realms in the cosmos—and also packed with treasures.
Inside each of these three star systems were seven Origin Worlds, producing countless treasures. The Xuanling Treasure Pavilion itself was originally founded under the leadership of the Origin Heaven Palace.
After a month-long journey, Zhao Xing passed through the empire's only three void channels. Led by the divine spirit split of the Grand Derivation God Armament, Chen Jiu, he finally arrived at the Origin Heaven Palace.
"That's the first Xuzu Star System of the Origin Heaven Palace," Zhao Xing said from inside the empire's realm ship, gazing out into the starry sky.
Countless vortexes appeared around the edges of the star system. Some of these space whirlpools were natural; others had been moved there by humans.
Roughly 30 million space whirlpools covered the first Xuzu Star System.
'Trying to steal from the Origin Heaven Palace? Impossible,' Zhao Xing thought.
The Reincarnation Temple had factions split apart and lost many Derivation of the Divine Spirit Tablets over the years.
Even the Ancient Hill had a shameful history of a piece of its ancient vein getting bitten off by the demon race.
But the Origin Heaven Palace had never suffered anything like that.
"Besides the three strongest palace lords, the Origin Heaven Palace has multiple god-general and god-weapon-level palace masters. Yet they're unbelievably united—there's never been a single case of a treasure going missing."
"Any god-weapon material controlled by the Origin Heaven Palace has never shown up outside official channels," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
He'd bought Primordial Straw Puppet and Grand Void Straw Puppet materials many times before, always through the Five Venoms Venerable or Zuo Qiyu.
Before becoming a Primordial Envoy, he hadn't qualified to buy them directly.
It was rumored the main base of the Xuanling Treasure Pavilion was right here in the Origin Heaven Palace!
"This empire realm ship is heading for Luyagong," Zhao Xing noted, looking down to the next level of the ship.
Even though the Third Era of the Wasteland had started with the chaotic sea disaster, several major projects hadn't stalled.
First, the conquest of Tianze Wasteland, though the nine top ancient paths had temporarily closed to lower-level cultivators.
Second, the empire's collaboration with the Origin Heaven Palace to screen talent for practicing the Food Calamity Method.
Zhao Xing had obtained this method from the Primordial Shed God Bone of the Xuzu line at the Transmission Realm Tower. At first, he'd only gotten a fragment. Later, two more sides helped complete it.
This god-tier secret art was shared between the empire and the Origin Heaven Palace to select suitable talents for training.
The Five Venoms had once said that in the first batch of selected talents, Du Yun had the fastest progress in practicing the Food Calamity Method.
Now, this ship was bringing the second batch of empire geniuses—3,500 people in total. The lowest cultivation among them was the Life and Death Dao Domain Realm, and the highest was an Eight Tribulations Emperor Lord.
Of course, none of them knew Zhao Xing was on board. The whole ship was controlled entirely by the spirit of the Grand Derivation God Armament, and it was a god-tier realm ship.
"Whoosh—"
The realm ship passed through one of the space whirlpools, quickly appearing in a stable spiritual energy star region.
Layer upon layer of lush green star continents appeared before them, with a spiritual energy index above 3,000.
The sun stars shone on the land, and many spirit beasts roamed leisurely.
The starry sky was bright, with only a few dark areas. Some people rode swords, some soared on clouds chasing each other. There were even "cloud torrents" about to condense into star continents or realm stars, with countless palaces floating among them.
Origin Heaven Palace was exactly what Zhao Xing imagined an immortal realm to be.
It felt like the last pure land in the entire Xuanling Star Domain.
The empire's god-tier realm ship landed on a mountain atop a star continent with a diameter of about 3 trillion kilometers.
The spirit Chen Jiu split off an avatar to lead the geniuses toward the place to train in the Food Calamity Method.
Another avatar headed into an independent space within the realm ship.
"Zhao Xing."
"Venerable Chen Jiu."
Zhao Xing bowed respectfully. The Grand Derivation God Armament's split bodies could shift their cultivation level.
When facing him, Chen Jiu's spirit would boost itself to demigod-level and equip a demigod-level mechanical body.
But if he was dealing with Emperor Lords or Dao Domain Realm cultivators, Chen Jiu would lower himself to emperor-level spirit and mechanical body.
"You're now a Primordial Envoy, so you're qualified to enter the core area of the Origin Heaven Palace to buy Xuzu-series materials."
"But the precious materials of the Xuzu series are limited. Many demigods come here trying to buy them."
"In principle, god-tier materials will be prioritized for god-level cultivators."
"However, the first Xuzu Star System does produce a few items reserved for demigods," Chen Jiu's spirit explained.
"Priority in purchasing depends first on contribution points."
"Demigods with higher rankings get to buy first."
"If you can't rank high enough, you won't even have a chance to spend your money."
"Here's a materials list. Each material has its quantity, the number of people in line, and the price."
"We accept either contribution points or equivalent-value divine items."
"There are a bunch of rules, but I won't go over all of them. Read them yourself. Once you're clear, pick a region and I'll take you there."
"Thank you." Zhao Xing started reading carefully.
[Great Void Coral (First-tier god-weapon material): 100,000 contribution points per meter.]
Note: Great Void Coral can be exchanged with Five Emperors Coins, Ancient Nation Coins, or Red Star Coins, limited to 5 meters.
It also accepts divine items of equivalent divine power value, with no limit on exchange quantity.
Inventory: 3,238 pieces.
Number in line: None.
[Seven-Color Xuzu Black Crystal (Second-tier god-weapon material): 3,000,000 contribution points per cubic meter.]
Note: Formed during the third reincarnation cycle of Xuzu, contains Xuzu divine origin.
Only contribution points or equivalent-value divine items accepted.
Inventory: None (next production in 2,903 years, approx. 1,000 cubes).
Number in line: 3,245.
[Sky Demon Spirit Gourd (First-tier god-weapon material): 300,000 contribution points each.]
Note: Planted from corpses of Sky Demons born in Xuzu Star System.
Only contribution points or equivalent-value divine items accepted.
Inventory: None (next harvest in 78 years, approx. 212 pieces).
Number in line: 154.
[Earth Core Blood Core (Third-tier material): 8,000,000 contribution points each; or 800,000 contribution points per entry.]
Number in line: 12,457.
[Extreme Soul Tree Heart (Third-tier god-weapon material): 12,000,000 contribution points each; or 1,200,000 contribution points per entry.]
Number in line: 51,427.
Zhao Xing read through it and saw how sought-after Xuzu Star System materials were.
If there was inventory, you could buy directly with no line.
Some god-tier materials allowed exchange with Five Emperors Coins or empire currency, but had limits.
After all, some demigods had neither divine items nor contribution points—only national currency.
But these first-tier god-weapon materials barely contained divine power and could only be exchanged for small amounts.
Most buyers were blacksmiths, formation masters, or rune masters purchasing practice materials.
Nearly all treasures needed you to queue up, and only demigods with high contribution rankings could get god-tier materials.
"Done reading?" Chen Jiu's spirit asked.
"I'm done," Zhao Xing nodded. "It's really competitive. A lot of demigods probably won't get anything."
"Of course," Chen Jiu's spirit said. "Having more contribution points and a higher ranking means greater talent, ability, and service to humanity."
"So naturally, those people get priority."
"Those with neither contributions nor money are usually demigods with little hope of becoming gods, or who just want a stable life without risking adventure."
"Giving them even a slim chance to trade for god-tier materials is already generous."
"When the empire developed the Yue Wasteland, many demigods refused to adventure there."
"When we fought in the Tianze Star Domain, some demigods were too scared to join."
"If they chose a stable path, they can't blame anyone for missing opportunities."
Zhao Xing nodded. At this level, ordinary wealth mattered little.
You could still buy Reincarnation Dao Soldier-level materials with money, but god-tier materials were out of reach.
Otherwise, families like the Carlos clan, with their money-making schemes over countless eras, could buy anything they wanted.
"The third method of exchange is aimed at people like you," Chen Jiu's spirit said. "You've only recently become a demigod, and your contribution accumulation is still shallow."
"Certain Xuzu materials come with a high-difficulty challenge."
Chen Jiu's spirit pointed at two materials on the list: [Earth Core Blood Core] and [Extreme Soul Tree Heart].
"Their prices go up into the millions or even tens of millions."
"But there's another way: pay less contribution to enter the material's source area and try to retrieve it yourself."
"Buying outright means you get a processed, finished product delivered to you."
"Trying it yourself is much riskier but can get you the same materials for a fraction of the cost if you succeed."
"Of course, these challenges are intentionally tough."
"You could attempt them ten times and come back empty-handed, wasting more than you would've spent buying outright."
Zhao Xing nodded, signaling he understood all the rules.
"Choose. Tell me where you want to go first," Chen Jiu's spirit said. "Once you decide, I'll take you there directly."
"I'd like to buy some Great Void Coral first," Zhao Xing replied.
He currently had over 2.4 million contribution points but still ranked outside the top 100,000.
Lining up? By the time his turn came, who knew how many years would've passed.
So Zhao Xing planned to grab some in-stock auxiliary materials first.
One good thing about the Origin Heaven Palace was the option to trade divine items for equal-value materials.
He still had seven divine items left to sell, thanks to Wei Tianchen's inheritance, giving him the capital to exchange.
His plan was to secure a full set of auxiliary materials first, then use contribution points to gamble on the main materials.
Gu Luohe probably wanted him to visit the Origin Heaven Palace first, hoping he'd gain some strength from it.
"Alright," Chen Jiu said. He shrank the realm ship into a small flying boat, carrying Zhao Xing toward the exchange location.
Most of the first-tier god-weapon material sites in the Origin Heaven Palace were overseen by a god general called "Beihai."
Zhao Xing followed Chen Jiu to Beihai Palace and sold all seven of his divine items in one go.
He exchanged them with God General Beihai for 21 sets of first-tier god-weapon materials.
Combined, these materials were like 21 planets, now stored inside Zhao Xing's internal world.
'If I can gather the 21 core materials for the Primordial Straw Puppet, I could create a straw puppet avatar with a god-weapon-level body.'
'But the main materials all start at second-tier, some even third-tier.'
The Primordial Straw Puppet's two main materials were Extreme Soul Tree Heart and Earth Core Blood Core.
They corresponded to the puppet's brain and heart.
The Extreme Soul Tree Heart could amplify true soul strength and perception.
The Earth Core Blood Core served as the central hub that linked all auxiliary materials.
It acted like a lever, so even a weak divided soul could multiply its power by a thousand or ten thousand times, unleashing the god power stored in the materials.
'In theory, if my true soul can get it moving, that would be a god-tier straw puppet avatar, with at least the defense of a Free God.'
'Protected by the Extreme Soul Tree Heart, my divided soul wouldn't suffer divine power invasion,' Zhao Xing thought.
But that was only theory.
Neither Zuo Qiyu, Jin Yan, nor even the creator Gu Tianyang had ever made a god-tier straw puppet avatar.
Even with the main materials assembled, whether theory could become reality was still a mystery.
Still, buying the materials now wouldn't be a waste, even if it failed.
"Venerable Chen Jiu, I'll challenge the main materials," Zhao Xing told the spirit.
"Zhao Xing, are you sure?" Chen Jiu's spirit asked. "You only have 2.4 million contribution points. Just buying entry will cost 2 million."
"I must remind you," he continued, "whether you can succeed or not aside…"
"Even if you do get the main materials, the Grand Derivation God Armament's calculations show the current Primordial Straw Puppet method can't form a god-tier avatar."
But Zhao Xing confirmed his choice anyway.
Even if he failed, he'd fail trying to create a god-tier avatar, and if he gained any insight, it would still be worth it.
"Alright," Chen Jiu said, stopping his objections. He closed his eyes as if sending a signal.
Soon, God General Beihai's true form appeared on the throne.
"Zhao Xing, the Earth Core Blood Core challenge costs 800,000 contribution points. The Extreme Soul Tree challenge costs 1.2 million."
"If you succeed, you get both treasures."
"If you fail, you get nothing."
Beihai's enormous head blazed with divine fire, like a miniature sun.
"This god must stress two rules."
"One, to ensure fairness, your challenge will be made public. The top ten demigods in line will see your entire attempt. They've waited a long time. If you succeed, their wait time resets."
"Two, your true soul is twelfth-tier. But the Earth Core Blood Core challenge requires crossing two tiers, so you'll need the ability of a fourteenth-tier demigod to have any hope of success."
"The Extreme Soul Tree Heart challenge is even harder. You'll need fifteenth-tier demigod-level ability to stand a chance."
"During the challenge, you can't use any potions or divine weapons, unless they're things you made yourself."
"Even if you break through mid-challenge, the challenge difficulty will rise accordingly—the difficulty is always a fixed standard."
"Do you fully understand these rules?" Beihai asked.
Zhao Xing bowed. "God General Beihai, I understand completely."
Of course the challenge should be public. If you'd waited thousands or even tens of thousands of years in line, only to lose your chance without explanation, you'd be furious.
But if a super genius stronger than you won the treasure, you couldn't complain.
As for difficulty, paying a tenth of the full cost for a chance at tenfold returns obviously meant huge risk.
Challenging second-tier god-weapon materials meant crossing two cultivation tiers. Third-tier materials required power to cross three tiers.
After the fourteenth tier, each demigod tribulation became drastically harder, and the gaps between levels widened greatly.
Anyone who could claim treasures under those conditions was undeniably qualified.
"If you're ready, I'll send you to the challenge location and deduct your 2 million contribution points."
"I'm ready," Zhao Xing nodded.
God General Beihai waved his hand. A divine light enveloped Zhao Xing, and in the next moment, he vanished from Beihai Palace.
At the same time, Beihai sent alerts to the top ten people in line for the Earth Core Blood Core.
In the distant Manhe Ancient Nation, demigod "Zhang He" was cultivating inside the core of a sun.
He was first in line and suddenly received a message from God General Beihai.
[Primordial Envoy Zhao Xing is challenging the Earth Core Blood Core. If he succeeds, your wait time will reset to 350,000 star-realm years. Current wait time: 458 star-realm years.]
"Oh? Another one here to donate money to the Origin Heaven Palace," Venerable Zhang He chuckled as he read the message.
He'd waited over 300,000 years, and during that half-era, many had tried the challenge, even he himself had—but no one had ever succeeded.
No divine weapons, no potions, and you had to fight two tiers higher—how could that be easy?
"Zhao Xing? Never heard of him… did the Red Star Empire spawn another demigod while I've been in seclusion?" Zhang He wondered. His curiosity piqued, he checked Zhao Xing's information.
But reading Zhao Xing's profile wiped the smile from his face.
"Cultivated just over 10,000 years, already a twelfth-tier venerable, and a genius who's mastered all laws?"
"Holy crap… no way—"