Seeing the Lord of Purple Moon Mansion and Lord of Yuqing Mansion like this, Zhao Xing frowned. But he didn't panic. These two weren't that strong, so he could easily suppress them. Still, he could only hold them down—he had no way to actually fix this.
After all, they hadn't been hit by some illusion. This wasn't a simple problem he could solve. This needed a powerful historian, someone skilled in these arts. Luckily, he happened to have a demigod-level historian right inside his inner world.
"Venerable Tianguan, sorry to interrupt your study—I have something important to ask," Zhao Xing said, pulling Venerable Tianguan out.
"Zhao Shennong, what is it?" Venerable Tianguan asked, puzzled.
"Have you ever heard of Historical Bookworms?"
"Historical Bookworms?" Venerable Tianguan's face changed instantly. "Of course I've heard of them! Bookworms are every scholar's nightmare. Most bookworms aren't too dangerous, but Historical Bookworms are a serious threat to historians."
"They're born from the river of history itself—a kind of Dao worm, considered the king of strange insects."
"Legend says that fully grown Historical Bookworms can affect the fabric of history itself, even wiping out entire ancient kingdoms."
"But they usually only exist in the Dao-Ancient Layer, and they're incredibly hard to raise."
"In this era, Historical Bookworms are basically extinct. Even if larvae exist, it's nearly impossible for them to grow up."
"There was once a Historical Bookworm catastrophe recorded in history. It's said to be one of the reasons for the historical gap after the Five Emperors Era."
Zhao Xing remembered the Dao-Ancient Golden Cicada Robe the Five Venom Emperor had given him before. In the Dao-Ancient Layer, many strange lifeforms were born, and these Dao worms were often directly connected to the source of the Dao itself. Life born in the Dao-Manifest Layer or Image-Manifest Layer was much easier to study or kill.
Zhao Xing knew something about insect catastrophes but had never heard of a Historical Bookworm calamity. "Is it really that bad?" he asked.
"I don't know. I've never seen one myself," Venerable Tianguan shook his head.
"Take a look at these two," Zhao Xing said, pushing the Lords of Yuqing and Purple Moon forward. "Their memories have twisted. It feels like they were affected by Historical Bookworms."
Venerable Tianguan studied them carefully, his eyes flashing with confusion. "It really does look like symptoms caused by a historian's spell. But I can't see the root of it. I can't solve this."
"Then, Venerable Tianguan, please open your Chronicle River and check. You're from the Ancient Kingdom of Mangya—if there's any tampering with your homeland's history, you should be able to spot it," Zhao Xing urged.
Venerable Tianguan acted right away. A Chronicle River coiled around him, and bronze gates floated up and down within different sections of the river, as if blocking certain historical nodes. Some parts of the river were crystal clear, others were muddy.
The clarity or murkiness of the Chronicle River reflected the strength of a historian. Venerable Tianguan had near-perfect knowledge of his homeland's Chronicle River—very few sections were murky. But when he looked at the great river representing the history of the Xuanling Star Domain, it was full of swirling clouds and murk.
Above that lay another river layer: it included the Xuanling Star Domain plus the newly discovered Tianze Star Domain, covering the histories of the ancient demon clans, humans, and all kinds of lifeforms—a grand "Universe Chronicle."
But the Universe Chronicle River was almost completely an illusion of swirling chaos, with only a few trickling streams of clarity. Yet having even this rudimentary form showed Venerable Tianguan was a top expert in his field. Zhao Xing remembered seeing Yang Baihe's attempt; he hadn't even formed a Universe Chronicle at all.
"I don't see any problems in my homeland's history," Venerable Tianguan reported.
But then his gaze shifted—and his expression darkened. "But there's something wrong with the chronicles of Tianyou Ancient Kingdom and the Ancient Demon Histories."
"Which era?" Zhao Xing asked immediately.
"The 452nd solar year of the 8th Era before the Wild Domain—I can't see it at all!" Venerable Tianguan's face showed fear. "This is bad!"
"Don't panic!" Zhao Xing barked. "I just got word: a swarm of Historical Bookworms is gnawing its way toward the Third Era of the Wild Domain. I don't know how big the impact could get. But you're a historian—maybe you know more."
"For now, we need to inform our superiors in each of our factions. But only people we can truly trust," Zhao Xing ordered.
"Yes, yes!" Venerable Tianguan replied. He had no mood to continue his studies. He summoned a winged ancient demon mount, leaped onto it, and sped away from the Bowa Star Continent.
Zhao Xing also left immediately.
'Judging by Venerable Tianguan's reaction, it looks like only Tianyou Ancient Kingdom's history is being eaten right now. This is a localized attack,' Zhao Xing thought quickly. 'Old Qing was once a ruler of Tianyou Ancient Kingdom. He must've discovered this secret assault, but for some reason, he couldn't send a clear message back to the Third Era.'
'If the Historical Bookworms are only devouring Tianyou's history… could this be targeting the Reincarnation Divine Palace?'
What did Tianyou Ancient Kingdom hold? The Reincarnation Divine Palace's main base was right there.
Flying out of the Bowa Star Continent, Zhao Xing immediately tried to contact the Primordial Realm through his star mirror.
But then—"Whoosh—"
His star mirror suddenly glowed bright red and turned scorching hot, refusing his attempts to use it.
"What's going on?" Zhao Xing's eyebrows twitched. He gripped the star mirror, which trembled violently in his hand, as if it was about to explode.
"Impossible," Zhao Xing muttered in shock.
As a Primordial Envoy, his star mirror was integrated with the Primordial Token itself. At this level, even Gu Luohe couldn't tamper with it. It was directly controlled by the spirit of the Grand Yan Divine Weapon.
For it to reject his access—and even seem like it was about to self-destruct?
But just then, Zhao Xing noticed the star mirror stabilizing again. A faint blue light surged from deep inside, clashing head-on with the fiery red glow.
Where the two forces clashed, a white cube and a pitch-black cube appeared. Countless black and white dots burst out, forming a sea of micro-arrays before Zhao Xing's eyes. His palm-sized star mirror revealed billions of trillions of miniature formations.
Only now did Zhao Xing realize the star mirror in his hand was such an incredibly complex mechanical construct. Looking at the scene, he felt like the formations were soldiers, fighting each other fiercely.
"This is bad!"
His heart skipped a beat. One of the artifact spirits here was clearly a split body of Zifang Emperor, and the other belonged to Chenjiu Emperor.
'Could the star mirror's artifact spirits themselves be affected too?' he thought.
Crack!
Without hesitation, Zhao Xing wrapped the star mirror layer by layer with Azure Flower power, then locked it inside the black box that Venerable Bermon had given him.
The normal routes were no longer safe. He couldn't risk using the star mirror for communication. He considered connecting through karmic threads, but immediately realized that the Dao of Time and Space was deeply linked with the Dao of Karma—that might not be safe either.
So he switched to his Mind Will Technique, reaching out mentally to Gu Luohe, Ji Si, the Five Venom Emperor, and the others.
This worked.
Ji Si responded first with a brief message: "Grand Shennong, the artifact spirit splits of the Grand Yan Divine Weapon have gone rogue. I'm fighting inside the Heavenly Master Mansion. Do not use the star mirror anymore."
"What exactly happened?" Zhao Xing asked urgently.
Ji Si replied hastily: "Unclear yet. But this involves the empire's entire artifact spirit system."
Zhao Xing's eyes widened. The Red Star Empire had risen thanks to mechanists. Its advanced artifact spirit system was the backbone of its power. Artifact spirits controlled many facilities, including formation operations, defense barriers, and the mechanical puppet armies.
Back when Zhao Xing first stepped into the universe, the first "person" he encountered wasn't even a living being of flesh and blood, but the artifact spirit Aina.
If the artifact spirit system went haywire, the consequences would be catastrophic. He shivered, remembering the billions of mechanical puppets at Jiachen Pass—if they all rebelled and started marking their own people as enemies, it would be a nightmare.
'Could the evil gods be attacking both Tianyou Empire's history through the Reincarnation Divine Palace and the empire's artifact spirit system at the same time?' Zhao Xing thought.
He looked around. Not a single enemy was in sight. Yet he felt a chilling sense that the whole world had turned against him.
Then Gu Luohe's mental reply came: "Don't follow the old path. Until you're back in the empire, do not use distance-free teleportation. Abandon all mechanical starships, formations, and similar methods. The plants will show you the way home."
Whoosh—
Zhao Xing immediately jumped out of the White Jade Five-Tombs Boat. Although this battleship from Wei Tianchen hadn't shown any signs of going rogue yet, Zhao Xing obeyed instantly.
'The plants will guide me home?' he thought, and a realization struck him.
Tiny green buds sprouted all over his body as he activated the perfected Five Elements Bud Technique. Mutation Technique, activate! Every parasite seed on his skin transformed into Void Seeds. Whoosh! He tore through space, changing his route in an instant. Three breaths later, he landed on the administrative star of the Bowa Star System.
As one of Tianyou Ancient Kingdom's top star systems, Bowa's administrative star hosted an outpost of the Primordial Realm.
"Restricted zone of the Primordial Realm—entry forbidden!"
The moment Zhao Xing arrived at the Primordial Palace, a swarm of mechanical puppets appeared.
"Get out of my way!"
Vines whipped out around him like iron whips, tearing space with each swing, smashing the dense mass of puppets and sending them flying into orbit.
These mechanical puppets no longer recognized his authority. Zhao Xing wasn't about to waste time explaining.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Like a phantom, he dashed through the Primordial Palace's forest area and found his target. Before him spread a dazzling sea of flowers—each blossom had translucent petals and glowing roots with shimmering starlight.
"Instant Flower Sea!"
When mechanical formations were unreliable, magical plants could still provide transport. Back during his challenges across the Primordial Realm, Zhao Xing had used single Instant Flowers many times for short-range jumps. But now, a whole sea of them was in bloom.
Single Instant Flowers had short range. But with a whole field, the living formation could teleport him much farther.
"Send me to Red Tower Star System in Tianyou Ancient Kingdom!"
He sat at the center of the largest blooming Instant Flower, grabbed its tall, three-meter pistils like control levers, and started the teleportation.
"Vmmm—"
The entire flower sea lit up. Light in the roots flowed toward the central flower king. The petals closed tightly, glowing pink and translucent.
Zhao Xing felt a powerful surge of time-space energy gather above him.
Then—
Boom!
The closed petals burst open like a volcanic eruption, launching Zhao Xing high into the sky. The light jet shot up a hundred meters before abruptly vanishing.
His figure disappeared inside the oval beam of light, leaving Bowa Star System behind.
A moment later, his trajectory flipped from rising to falling as he landed inside another flower king.
"One, two, three, four—nine pistils left. That's one more teleportation available," Zhao Xing counted quickly. Half the pistils had already withered, but nine still stood firm, showing the Instant Flower Sea could perform one last jump.
This kind of long-distance teleportation, usable only by top figures in the Primordial Realm, wasn't something many could pull off. After three jumps, Zhao Xing had already escaped Tianyou Ancient Kingdom's territory and arrived safely in the empire's southern border—Liufang Kingdom.
Liufang Kingdom was a vassal state of the empire, right on the frontier where the empire bordered the yao race. The famous Zhenyao Pass had been built with Liufang at its center, and Yun Tiandao had once earned great merit here.
Now that he was here, Zhao Xing could sense his stored avatars within the empire.
"Liufang Kingdom's in chaos," he muttered, looking at the layered starry ring continents. The void passages were all sealed. Inside the formations, many people were being chased by mechanical puppets.
"I wonder how long it'll take the empire to restore order to the artifact spirit system," Zhao Xing thought. Even a few minutes of disruption and confusion could cause terrifying disasters. The longer it dragged on, the worse the damage would get.
"Freeze!"
Before activating distance-free teleportation, Zhao Xing spread his Mustard Seed Domain over the entire Liufang Kingdom, instantly locking all the puppets in place. But he was no expert in the Dao of Mechanisms. He could only immobilize them, not destroy their artifact spirits. Destroying them blindly without knowing their purpose could make things worse.
"Liufang Emperor, do you recognize me?" Zhao Xing appeared right before the kingdom's ruler.
The emperor was surrounded by seven silver mechanical puppets. These puppets shifted constantly, sometimes turning into yao, other times into humans. But when Zhao Xing descended, they froze completely, unable to move.
"Greetings, Grand Shennong!" the Liufang Emperor fell to his knees. Before Zhao Xing could even ask, the emperor began to cry out in terror: "Grand Shennong, we never betrayed the empire, never! Why did the Zhenyao Pass artifact spirits mark Liufang Kingdom as the enemy?"
Zhao Xing fell silent. If even his own star mirror had been compromised, the situation in vassal territories like Liufang was bound to be even worse.
"What exactly happened?" he asked.
"The pass's artifact spirits sent powerful mechanical puppets to slaughter Liufang Kingdom's elite—" the emperor recounted sorrowfully, "It happened so suddenly. Over 10,000 of our strongest were instantly killed by the Thunder Realm Net and Slaughter Realm Net!"
"Then seven Da Luo Heavenly Soldiers launched from the pass arsenal to hunt me down—" the emperor's voice trembled as he recalled the nightmare.
"Liufang Emperor, I'll leave an avatar to help you clean up the aftermath," Zhao Xing said. He didn't understand the deeper reasons behind the chaos, but since this emperor recognized him, he was clearly still rational. Zhao Xing left an avatar behind to assist.
He didn't share his guesses with the Liufang Emperor—he didn't want to spark more panic. "Keep yourself safe, gather the empire's loyal forces, and wait here for new orders. Remember: obey orders from people, not artifact spirits."
With that, Zhao Xing's true body activated distance-free teleportation.
After teleporting, he didn't arrive in the Primordial Realm. Instead, he appeared under a pale blue starry sky, standing on a small star continent beside Gu Luohe's right side. Around him were many gods—Zhao Xing counted and realized there were 36 of them!
Among them were familiar faces: Mind General Ji Luo, Martial God Yan Ao, Mechanist God Yuan Yuan, and Sword God Guo Meng. Zhao Xing glanced at Gu Luohe and saw that even he had now become a Free God General!
Behind these gods stood many demigods: the Five Venom Emperor, Meng Wu, and others—all eyes fixed ahead. In front of them was a dazzling mechanical planet, glowing red on one hemisphere and blue on the other. The two energies occupied their own halves, and torrents of mechanical puppets and Dao soldiers clashed around it.
Mechanist God Yuan Yuan was floating closest to the planet, alone.
Zhao Xing swallowed hard. This had to be the core body of the empire's greatest artifact—the Grand Yan Divine Weapon. Even at this distance, with Mechanist God blocking most of the fluctuations, Zhao Xing's mind still shook just watching it.
"Senior Gu, what—"
Sure enough, something had gone terribly wrong with the Grand Yan Divine Weapon. But why?
Gu Luohe glanced at Zhao Xing's returned true body and shook his head. "The Emperor isn't in the current time-space. The nine split artifact spirits of the Grand Yan Divine Weapon went berserk fifteen minutes ago. Zifang and Chenjiu began attacking each other, even marking me as an enemy."
"Two Red Star Divine Weapons in the Primordial Realm ambushed me and destroyed Seaweed City. I only survived by breaking through to become a Free God General," Gu Luohe said grimly.
"God General Yuan Yuan arrived and managed to suppress the Divine Weapon's further rampage. The Heavenly Master Mansion is also working to deduce the cause, but they haven't found it yet."
Zhao Xing felt a chill in his heart. Even Gu Luohe had been targeted. Seaweed City was gone. Gu Luohe had been forced to ascend—this was an unprecedented disaster.
"Senior, I have something urgent to report," Zhao Xing said, connecting the dots in his mind.
"Speak," Gu Luohe urged.
"On my way back—" Zhao Xing quickly explained what happened on Bowa Star Continent, including Qing Yuzi's warning.
"What did you say?" A middle-aged man in Taishi robes, wearing a Taishi crown and blazing with divine power, suddenly appeared before Zhao Xing. "Era Worms? Are you certain?"
"Reporting, Starfire God General—this was a revelation from God Qing Yuzi. I can't be certain myself; it's only my guess," Zhao Xing replied. He knew this was the supreme leader of Starfire, a Free God in the History branch.
"I understand," Starfire God General said before shooting off straight toward the mechanical planet.
As he approached, the mechanical planet suddenly expanded rapidly.
Screee—
A piercing shriek, like an ancient beast's roar, erupted from deep inside the planet. Zhao Xing watched as seven or eight divine incarnations of Starfire God General dragged a shadowy figure out from the contracting sphere.
The shadow was half of a giant worm, its jagged mouth packed with rows of sharp teeth. Bits of paper still clung to them. Streams of glowing light fell like liquid, setting the mechanical planet ablaze. Zhao Xing felt his vision blur, layers of afterimages flickering before his eyes.
At the same time, the Era Worm larva in his storage ring started thrashing wildly inside its box.
[Era Worm (Mutant)]
[Type: Bookworm]
[Quality: Divine-grade]
[State: Adult]
[Description: A mutant born from devouring Time Pages and many rare historical books, capable of distorting the time-space memories of artifact spirits.]
"Hiss…" Zhao Xing sucked in a cold breath as he stared at the massive worm beast twisting across the starry sky. He never imagined a mutant Era Worm would slip into the Grand Yan Divine Weapon.
This special kind of bookworm specifically targeted artifact spirits. Compared to humans, artifact spirits had far more complex and massive memories. Who knew how many Mechanism Histories this Era Worm had eaten?
With the Red Star Emperor away, it had snuck into the Grand Yan Divine Weapon unnoticed, throwing the empire's entire Dao Soldier system into chaos.
No wonder Mechanist God Yuan Yuan couldn't fix it—this wasn't just a mechanical attack but something striking at a much deeper level.
Screee—
As the Era Worm shrieked, countless Dao Soldiers began to shudder. Zhao Xing saw many Dao Soldier users around him start to lose control. Mechanist cultivators were hit the hardest—quite a few respected figures were even wounded by their own Dao Soldiers.
But after two more ear-piercing cries, the Era Worm was slashed into nine pieces by the combined strike of Yuan Yuan and Starfire God General.
Swoosh—
Tens of thousands of small nodes scattered, exploding into fragments that spread outwards. Strange symbols shimmered in the flowing light. Zhao Xing realized these fragments had no physical form yet clearly distorted time and space.
Fortunately, they were quickly bound by the empire's divine-level experts.
Hoo—
The mechanical planet's glow shifted back to a calm blue. As the light drew inward, Zhao Xing glimpsed the Grand Yan Divine Weapon's core—huge holes now marred the surface of the mechanical planet.
Swoosh—
Yuan Yuan and Starfire God General returned together.
"The Grand Yan Divine Weapon's artifact spirit is stable again," Yuan Yuan said grimly. "But Chenjiu, Zifang, and Tianyi—these three sub-spirits suffered severe damage. Chenjiu will need to 'rebirth.' Without the Emperor's return, it will take 30,000 star years to recover to its former level."
"What was that thing?" Yan Ao asked, frowning at the worm's corpse.
"Era Worm," Starfire God General answered. "A unique Dao Worm that distorts artifact spirit memories. It originated from the time-space territory of the 48th era in the Barren Domain. We've never seen it before."
Mind General Ji Luo looked grim. "Never seen it," he agreed.
Starfire God General shook his head. "It's likely a creation from a God General-level evil god achieving Dao in their own world. That makes it extremely dangerous."
The gathered gods fell silent. Anything created through Dao achievement was powerful—and there was no telling if more such attacks would follow.
Starfire God General turned his gaze to Zhao Xing. "If Zhao Xing hadn't brought back Qing Yuzi's warning, I might not have noticed. This was a completely unknown Dao Worm. Even a moment's delay could have caused catastrophic damage to the empire."
"Seems Qing Yuzi discovered something big in that timeline. The Reincarnation Divine Palace will likely face more trouble soon—devouring Tianyou Ancient Kingdom's history could spark a massive disaster. And since there was no alert from the Xuanling Chronicles, it's probably because the bookworms suppressed it too."
"Proceed according to plan," Starfire God General commanded.
Most of the 36 gods' conversation wasn't shielded from Zhao Xing, letting him understand everything. He immediately realized Qing Yuzi must have uncovered a major secret during his time travels. But delivering that warning across timelines had been hard—efficient communication methods were all blocked, forcing him to send it to minor figures like the Lords of Purple Moon and Yuqing Mansion.
Without his mission from the Immeasurable True God to raise the Historical Bookworm, Zhao Xing wouldn't have been able to decipher it at all.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh—
One by one, the gods began to withdraw their divine lights and vanish.
Though the Grand Yan Divine Weapon was stabilized, many of the empire's other artifact spirits lay outside its direct control and still needed fixing. Zhao Xing followed Gu Luohe back to the Primordial Realm.
Back in familiar Taishi City, Zhao Xing noticed exhaustion in Gu Luohe's eyes.
"Destruction is easy, but rebuilding is hard," Gu Luohe sighed. "For a long time, the empire will have to reconstruct the Dao Soldier and artifact spirit systems. And since the Xuanling Chronicles didn't issue a warning, if Qing Yuzi's message hadn't arrived, the consequences would've been catastrophic."
Zhao Xing nodded seriously. A mass artifact spirit rebellion? That was terrifying. Artifacts like the empire's legion-level Absolute Despair Wall or the Four Seasons Heavenly Gates could kill Free God Generals. If those weapons turned inward, it would be an apocalyptic disaster.
Luckily, those artifacts still needed human commands to activate. As long as only the spirits rebelled, they couldn't trigger them on their own.
"For this warning, Qing Yuzi deserves primary credit. But you deserve secondary credit," Gu Luohe told him. "All 36 of the empire's God Generals have agreed to award you 150,000,000 contribution points."
150 million contribution points? Zhao Xing's heart skipped a beat.
What did this mean? 50 million contribution points alone could give someone a chance to ascend to a Free God, with odds over 30%. 150 million meant three chances—perfectly covering timing, place, and self, giving three shots at breakthrough!
He never dreamed deciphering Qing Yuzi's message would earn him so much.
"Of course, any merit award over 100 million contribution points requires approval from the Xuanling Star Domain's human leadership—including Primordial Hill, Origin Heaven Palace, the Reincarnation Divine Palace, and the Ancient Kingdom Alliance. You'll have to wait for them all to sign off."
"I understand," Zhao Xing replied firmly. He knew perfectly well what over 100 million contribution points meant—it was a staggering amount of resources, especially resources tied to becoming a god. No one would hand that out carelessly.
He'd once helped Old Qing ascend to godhood. Now Old Qing, in a roundabout way, had helped him do the same. It felt like a perfect cycle of karma. But if he really succeeded, Zhao Xing knew he'd owe Old Qing a huge debt.
"The Third Era of the Barren Domain will be anything but peaceful for the next 5 solar years," Gu Luohe said in a low voice. "Most of the time, I won't be able to look after you. You must be careful."
"Senior, I have something else to report," Zhao Xing said quickly, sensing Gu Luohe's urgency.
"I've killed Jin Yan," he continued. "And in the process, I discovered—"
As Zhao Xing detailed what he'd found, Gu Luohe's face darkened. Zhao Xing could practically feel a wave of anger rolling off him. It was shocking. Gu Luohe was now a Free God General, yet he couldn't hide his fury? Zhao Xing almost doubted his own senses.
"You may leave," Gu Luohe said with a wave of his hand. "For now, don't practice the Primordial Straw Puppet Technique."
Zhao Xing didn't know what had triggered this reaction, but he knew Gu Luohe was clearly in a terrible mood. What secret was tied to the Primordial Straw Puppet Technique? Was Gu Tianyang really still alive in this timeline?
Gu Luohe wasn't saying, and Zhao Xing knew it wasn't his place to ask further.
As he stepped from the hall, he cast one last glance at Gu Luohe's figure slumped in his seat.
Swoosh—
Zhao Xing's true body disappeared beyond the doors.
The destruction of Seaweed City had cast a shadow over the entire Primordial Realm—and even the empire itself.
Zhao Xing split off two avatars: one headed for the Great Zhou's territory, the other to find Ji Si. His true self traveled to Primordial City.
Primordial City was still as quiet as ever, though its walls had vanished. Seaweed City had been obliterated. Gu Luohe had been attacked by divine weapons. Some other locations were also targeted—including Zuo Qiyu's Primordial City.
Yet ironically, it was the lowest-tier Seaweed City that was destroyed, while Gu Luohe and Primordial City remained untouched.
Now Zhao Xing could see Zuo Qiyu without Gu Luohe's presence.
Inside Primordial City, besides Zuo Qiyu, there was another person: Liu Tianning.
Old Liu had been studying straw puppet techniques tirelessly, trying to create something stronger than the Primordial Straw Puppet Technique. Over the past 2,000 years, he and Zuo Qiyu had become close, often meeting to discuss their insights.
As Zhao Xing appeared, Liu Tianning visibly froze.
"You two, what's—"
Zhao Xing barely reacted, but Zuo Qiyu lost control for a moment, rushing toward him. Yet as quickly as he moved, he was pulled back. Zhao Xing flicked his sleeve, and Zuo Qiyu was yanked into reverse, settling back into the stone chair under the vine trellis.
Humm—
A radiant, holy Zhao Xing soul projection appeared behind Zuo Qiyu.
It was the Asura Clan's mental will secret art: Immovable Bright Lord!
The Asura Clan were bloodthirsty by nature. This secret art was created by their demigod leader to suppress that murderous instinct. When Zhao Xing cast Immovable Bright Lord, the killing intent in Zuo Qiyu's eyes quickly faded.
"Senior Zuo, I'm teaching you this technique," Zhao Xing said softly. "Use it to suppress your urge to kill, and I will protect your path until you master Immovable Bright Lord. This will settle the karma from when you taught me the straw puppet techniques."
He reached out, sending the Great Dark Heaven secret art directly to him.
Zuo Qiyu nodded, closing his eyes to start cultivating right away.
Knowing his opportunity to become a god was approaching fast, Zhao Xing decided to clear up as many karmic debts as he could.
Liu Tianning waited patiently beside them. When Zhao Xing finished, he finally spoke: "Zhao Xing, what happened?"
"It's a long story," Zhao Xing sighed. "It's very possible that Senior Zuo, Jin Yan, and I were all just experiments in someone's attempt at heaven-and-earth Dao attainment."
"Then you won't be using the technique anymore?" Liu Tianning asked, frowning.
"Right. But thankfully, I think I'll find a replacement," Zhao Xing said.
With 150 million contribution points, he might gain the ability to travel through time. He felt confident he could learn a divine-grade straw puppet technique from history itself.
Liu Tianning fell silent, then spoke resolutely: "In that case, will you teach it to me?"
Zhao Xing hesitated. "Teacher, didn't I make it clear? This technique—"
"I know," Liu Tianning interrupted with a calm smile. "Even so, I still want to learn it."
"You once walked this path. I felt awkward asking before. But since you're giving it up, I want to try. Straw puppet techniques that connect to heaven-and-earth Dao attainment are too rare to pass up."
"I've never practiced it, but I know this art almost as well as you do."
"Even if Gu Tianyang truly lurks behind the scenes, I want to face him myself."
Hearing Old Liu's powerful, determined voice, Zhao Xing felt like Liu Tianning was glowing with courage. That unwavering gaze held a willingness to risk death and a fearless resolve to challenge a god.
There was care in it, too—Zhao Xing realized Liu Tianning might be trying to help him resolve this hidden threat, just as he'd once helped Liu clear the dangers of the Ten Thousand Methods Straw Puppet.
He knew he couldn't refuse.
"Alright," Zhao Xing said.
"But, Teacher, I have one condition: you must first reach the demigod-level true spirit," he added firmly.
Liu Tianning was now an Eight-Tribulation Emperor Lord, with billions of avatars. Just to be safe, Zhao Xing still thought it best for Old Liu to become a demigod before learning the technique.
"I thought you were going to ask for something hard," Liu Tianning chuckled, a faint smile on his face. "Give me a moment."
He closed his eyes immediately.
"What does he mean?" Zhao Xing was stunned—then realized instantly what was happening.
Old Liu was actively triggering his True Spirit Tribulations.
"Teacher, don't tell me you've already—" Zhao Xing looked up at the sky.
Outside Primordial City, countless Liu Tianning avatars flew over, each different in expression and posture.
One by one, these straw puppet versions of Liu Tianning rapidly arrived before the true body. Soon, the courtyard was packed with various Old Lius.
Some carried swords—sword-path straw puppets. Some held hammers—Shennong Liu Tianning puppets. Others bore a Seven Stars Chest, or sat in the corner playing a zither, or carried a formation diagram on their backs.
The ones that caught Zhao Xing's eye the most were four special straw puppet avatars: child, teenager, young man, and old man versions of Liu Tianning.
Each of these four had faint streams of time origin flowing through them.
"This…"
Before Zhao Xing's stunned eyes, Liu Tianning began recalling the soul power from about 10,000 straw puppet avatars.
On the seventeenth Realm Star Year of the Third Era of the Barren Domain, seventh month, fourteenth day, at the third quarter of noon, Liu Tianning consecutively triggered his ninth and tenth True Spirit Tribulations.
By the fourth quarter of noon, he had reached tenth-stage demigod level.
Seeing Zhao Xing's shocked face, Liu Tianning's eyes glowed with humor. "Disciple, is this enough for you?"
"If it's not, I can trigger another tribulation," he added casually.
Zhao Xing finally understood why Zuo Qiyu could get along so well with Liu Tianning.
Only true geniuses could recognize and admire each other!
"Besides Ji Si, the Great Zhou now has another monstrous talent," Zhao Xing thought. "Good old Liu—he endured all these years just to show off in front of me today?"
He looked at the courtyard full of Liu Tianning avatars and quickly waved his hands. "Enough, teacher, it's more than enough!"
Liu Tianning laughed heartily. After all these years, he finally saw true shock on his disciple's face—every bit of his painstaking cultivation felt worth it.
Zhao Xing accepted it wholeheartedly. He no longer thought Liu Tianning learning the Primordial Straw Puppet Technique was suicidal.
Truth was, back when Zhao Xing mastered the Great Void Straw Puppet Technique, it was only thanks to Liu Tianning's guidance that he could pass Zuo Qiyu's trial.
When it came to talent in straw puppet arts, Old Liu was the strongest he had ever seen.
Swoosh—Zhao Xing split off two avatars, one linked to Great Void, one to the Primordial.
The Great Void Straw Puppet swallowed Liu Tianning inside.
In just half an hour, Liu Tianning burst forth from it.
A new illusion appeared before Zhao Xing's eyes, showing Liu Tianning's silhouette emerging behind him.
Then, Liu Tianning took the initiative and swallowed the Primordial Straw Puppet.
A month later, the Primordial Straw Puppet Technique was complete.
The Great Dao manifested again, placing Liu Tianning between Zhao Xing and Zuo Qiyu.
Now the order was: Zhao Xing in the lead, Liu Tianning half a shoulder behind, and Zuo Qiyu another half shoulder behind Liu.
"Awesome!" Zhao Xing had no other word in his head—just those two characters over and over.
"I won't go any further. Better to be cautious," Liu Tianning said calmly, opening his eyes.
Zhao Xing looked closely and saw Liu Tianning had no killing intent toward him or Zuo Qiyu.
"Teacher, do you not feel the urge to swallow me or Zuo Qiyu?" Zhao Xing asked, unable to hold back.
"Of course I do," Liu Tianning admitted, nodding. "That urge feels like an instinct, part of life itself. But I can suppress it."
"My billions of avatars roam the universe. Controlling all of them gives me more than enough willpower to handle this bit of desire."
"Zhao Xing, you were right—this technique definitely has problems. I can vaguely sense its connection to the Dao of Sacrifice."
Zuo Qiyu opened his eyes too, staring at Liu Tianning with pure amazement. "Forget Zhao Xing—you truly are a monster!"
No doubt about it: Liu Tianning's talent in straw puppet techniques shocked not only Zhao Xing, but also Zuo Qiyu.
Zhao Xing's progress surpassed Zuo Qiyu's mostly because of a unique opportunity that greatly enhanced his True Spirit.
But Liu Tianning surpassing them both was pure, overwhelming talent in straw puppet arts.
"Senior Zuo, back when I learned the Great Void Straw Puppet Technique, it was only because of Teacher's guidance that I could pass your test," Zhao Xing said with heartfelt emotion.
In the Thousand Willow Dao Academy, Liu Tianning's own teacher had only been a lord-level figure.
Back then, Old Liu's horizons were nowhere near what they were now, nor was his knowledge so vast.
"Alright, enough of the flattery," Liu Tianning interrupted, turning to Zhao Xing. "Disciple, leave Senior Zuo's protection to me. I know you're a candidate for godhood with many duties—don't let yourself get distracted by this place."
"Understood," Zhao Xing agreed without hesitation.
He did have important tasks. First, he needed to recover the avatar he'd left at the Ancient Hill.
Since the Primordial Straw Puppet Technique required caution, he couldn't let his avatars wander too far or too long anymore.
Aside from the avatar lost to study in the Black Sky Barren Domain—which he couldn't retrieve—the rest needed to stay close.
Plus, with the recent disaster of the bookworms, time-space impacts were sure to follow. He had to protect the Great Zhou.
Swoosh—
Zhao Xing left the Primordial Realm.
For now, using the Primordial avatar's teleportation inside the Empire should still be safe.
Very soon, he arrived at Crystal Island at the Fourteenth Gate of Shenchen.
Swoosh—
One of Ji Si's Benji avatars was already waiting for him inside the Zhongji Hall. Yun Tiandao and Martial Emperor were there too.
"Fifth Brother, Ji Si, Old Yun, how's the situation?"
"The Great Zhou is unaffected," Ji Che replied with a hint of confusion. "Whether it's the Great Zhou's historical records or the time-space memories, every citizen, strong or weak, remains unchanged."
"But the artifact spirits, except those developed independently by the Great Zhou, all experienced some degree of mutation, though the severity isn't too high."
Zhao Xing and Ji Si exchanged a glance. Both saw the same answer in each other's eyes: the Fengshan Site.
The Xuanhuang Realm of the Great Zhou era was built on the ruins of the Fengshan Site. Whether time-space fluctuations or the Era Worms themselves, neither seemed able to invade the Xuanhuang Realm.
"Ji Si, have you communicated with Wang Tianzhi?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I have," Ji Si nodded. "Wang Tianzhi remembers everything, no changes at all."
"The Fengshan Site from the Five Emperors Era, even if it's not as miraculous as before, clearly isn't easily affected," Zhao Xing sighed in relief.
If his family and friends had forgotten him while he still remembered them, that would have been pure agony.
"Tianji Leimu has suspended my mission," Yun Tiandao added. "I suspect she's been affected by this disaster too."
"That suggests Tianji Leimu, the Immeasurable True God, and the evil gods behind this disaster aren't on the same side," Zhao Xing transmitted to Ji Si.
"Grand Shennong, I think it's time for the Great Zhou's third migration," Ji Si said.
"The Great Zhou's current territory isn't safe inside the Empire. Since we're barely affected, this is the perfect time to move to the old site of the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom."
"As long as you and I don't break from the Empire, resistance to the move should be minimal."
Zhao Xing didn't answer right away but instead asked, "Ji Si, what does the Tianshi Hall think about this Era Worm disaster? What's the evil gods' goal?"
Ji Si glanced at Yun Tiandao and Ji Che. "There's nothing here we can't share. This will be announced anyway. The more people who remember, the better."
He waved his hand, and a river appeared, opening the Greenstone Long River alongside it.
"The Tianshi Hall has traced several attack patterns by the evil gods. Our overall assessment of the Third Era of the Barren Domain is roughly as follows:"
"First was the assault on the Chaotic Sea, which spread panic throughout the Xuanling Star Domain."
"This involved roughly three Tianwei Beasts, forcing the righteous gods' faction to focus on defending against time-space memory shocks."
"Then came the Era Worm disaster, coupled with a massive time-space assault."
"On the surface, the time-space shock was the main tactic. But the hidden plan was to destroy the artifact spirit system established by the Xuanling human race."
"However, that plan leaked to Qing Yuzi. Because of him, the plan probably won't succeed as intended."
Zhao Xing thought of the weeping Qing Yuzi statue. 'Old Qing must be in a terrible situation right now,' he thought.
He was probably beaten until he cried.
But damn, he was fierce enough to dig up such confidential information on the evil gods' plans!
Even if the warning came only a bit before the attack, it helped a lot. Gaining even one second of preparation could save countless lives.
Still, for leaking such a massive secret, Qing Yuzi was likely being hunted relentlessly now. Who knew if he'd even survive?
"When the Era Worm and time-space disasters end, collective perception across the Xuanling Star Domain will be reshuffled," Ji Si said grimly.
"What do you mean?" Yun Tiandao asked.
"If some people no longer see the evil gods as evil, but as righteous, it will make it much easier for evil gods to spread their teachings. They could even act openly," Ji Si explained.
Zhao Xing, Yun Tiandao, and Ji Che couldn't help imagining the scene.
If a group of evil gods appeared before them but everyone thought they were righteous, resistance would drop dramatically, and people might even shield the evil gods themselves.
If only mid-level cultivators got confused, that might still be manageable.
But if someone on the level of the Heartmind Generals believed the evil gods were allies?
In that case, with the Xuanling historical records unable to issue warnings, even if a God King personally killed an evil god, their divine soldiers and generals below might start questioning their own God King.
It'd be like if Gu Luohe suddenly pointed at the Five Venoms Venerable and said, "He's a spy for the evil gods. I must kill him."
How would everyone react?
If hearts and minds divided like that, even God Kings wouldn't be able to control the chaos. That was exactly why the Great Emperor's true body had left: to solve the root cause.
"I really can't imagine such a scenario," Yun Tiandao sighed. "If you can't tell friend from foe, how do you even act?"
"The evil gods' faction went to so much trouble; it's probably not just to start a massacre," Zhao Xing reasoned. "Ji Si, what else has the Tianshi Hall seen?"
"Yes. Slaughter isn't the main goal—corruption is," Ji Si said firmly. "I've seen many fragments of mass gatherings being convened."
"Those gatherings will become the main battlefield."