Chapter 551: Fallen General, Two Treasures

Seeing Lei Hong compromise so easily, Bowei, in the inner world, was speechless.

Lei Hong's act of picking up the Earth God Crystal wasn't a one-time transaction; it represented a karmic contract.

After this, Lei Hong would have to give Zhao Xing two-thirds of all Earth God Crystals he acquired!

If Zhao Xing continued with this strategy, he would likely acquire enough divine-level essence from this single God Mountain transformation.

How difficult was it for him to become a god? He sacrificed his mentor, integrated the Starry Sky Historians, and initiated the Daoist Follower Plan. After countless hardships, he finally obtained the Profound Spirit History Book, only to break the Omniscient Mirror.

“What a disgrace for an evil god! Why doesn't he dare to fight Zhao Xing?”

Lei Hong was actually very reluctant to pay three bowls' worth of money for one bowl of noodles.

However, he had no choice.

Lei Hong had weighed his options for a long time, considering many possibilities.

Fight? He couldn't win!

Escape? He would miss his chance with the Cosmic Ark!

Having crossed multiple spatio-temporal barriers to get here, Lei Hong was burdened with considerable debt. Staying here at least gave him a chance to recoup his costs.

So, could he achieve a mutual defeat with Honored One Han Bing?

For example, by 'reporting' him to the Azure Luo Free God to increase his karmic value?

Lei Hong thought carefully and realized it would be difficult.

“This Han Bing had already summoned the deputy envoys before the fortuitous event.”

“He deliberately made us accumulate karmic burden. If Azure Luo Free God reviews the entire process later, he will find that any deputy envoy who didn’t report for duty is highly suspicious.”

“On the contrary, Han Bing only arrived after the incident, greatly reducing his suspicion.”

“His authority is also high; even if the fish die, his net probably won't break.”

“But how did he calculate this?”

Lei Hong couldn't understand. Normally, no one could distinguish between a 'descender' and a native, unless they revealed themselves.

If Zhao Xing didn't have a way to identify descenders, then his act of summoning the deputy envoys beforehand would have been foolish, only adding to his own karmic burden.

“This person is truly unfathomable.” Lei Hong cast a deep gaze in the direction Zhao Xing had left, giving him that evaluation.

“It seems after this fortuitous event ends, I'll have to find a way to reduce my karmic burden.”

Whoosh~

Ocean currents continuously buffeted Zhao Xing's body; he was already pursuing other deputy envoys.

“During the first Yang Year, there will be a total of three undersea God Mountain transformations.”

“This is only the first. The descenders haven't recouped their costs yet and definitely won't be satisfied with just one fortuitous event. As long as I can carry out precise strikes, there's a high probability of coercing descenders from the evil god faction to sign karmic contracts.”

“This way, I can obtain the most Earth God Crystals with the least cost.”

Lurking, participating in a fortuitous event, increasing karmic burden, resolving karmic burden, continuing to lurk, waiting for the next fortuitous event. This was the conventional process for adventurers in the Cosmic Ark event.

However, for evil gods like Lei Hong, coming to the Spirit Domain era was very costly.

While he himself needed to spend 150 million contribution points, descenders from the evil god faction would pay ten or even a hundred times more to come here.

Zhao Xing clearly understood that one of his advantages lay in the cost of adventure.

The Spirit Domain era was ruled by his own faction, so coming here for 150 million contribution points wasn't actually that much.

But for the evil god faction, it was extremely expensive.

Of course, if he went to the Five Emperors Era, which was ruled by the evil god faction, the situation would be reversed; the evil gods would be 'locals,' and their adventure costs would be far lower than his.

“The reason this situation arises is purely because certain fortuitous opportunities are limited to specific eras.”

“For example, demigods who chose first or second-tier opportunities on the Ark of Time and Space might not go to a fortuitous location with higher specifications than the Cosmic Ark.”

“However, some professions and schools of thought have no choice. For instance, Bai Yuqing, the demigod musician from the Ark of Time and Space, if she wanted to become a god, she would at least have to smuggle herself into the Luo Emperor Era, because Mount Yu Yin was still Mount Yu Yin back then, not the Six-Winged Mountain that was later left with only half.”

Grasping this point, Zhao Xing believed he could gain a lot.

Of course, his other, and most significant, advantage was that his interface could distinguish between descenders and natives; otherwise, Zhao Xing wouldn't dare to play this game.

“Compared to Old Qing's schemes against the Ancient Dongyan Clan, my current difficulty is merely child's play—? Hmm? Reroute.”

As Zhao Xing was moving through the water, he suddenly felt a pang in his heart. His Four-Pillar Profound Gates immediately retracted, and his aura vanished.

“Elder, I feel danger, but I can't see where it is,” Zhao Xing quickly called out to Bowei.

“Of course you can't see it. Inside the triangular mountain range ahead, there's a spherical cave with a radius of 100,000 kilometers. A god-level sea beast resembling an octopus is in a divine slumber there, completely hidden.”

“If you continue stealthily, you'll run right into it and break its divine concealment.”

Zhao Xing inwardly thought, 'That was close,' and immediately increased his travel height within the undersea mountain range.

Many god-level beings lived in the primordial ocean. While the God Mountain transformation was a mighty and undeniable disaster for demigods, god-level beings could still sleep soundly, unless the God Mountain fully emerged. Currently, it was only leaking a small amount of divine essence.

Buzz~

The path ahead was blocked. Zhao Xing saw the value instantly turn to negative ten and immediately changed direction.

After moving away, the value displayed on his Dao Book immediately turned positive and gradually climbed.

For three consecutive days, the reading remained stable around ten.

Zhao Xing then proceeded along the ocean currents.

Half a month later.

Zhao Xing suddenly had an inspiration and switched from one current to another.

The value on his Karmic Edict immediately surged upward!

“Ten, fifteen, thirty-six, fifty-four — seventy!”

Zhao Xing immediately understood that there were Earth God Crystals nearby.

Honored One Chu Ji transformed into a torrent of flames and forcefully struck an undersea mountain peak, causing it to crack and form a rift valley.

His fiery tail retracted, revealing a youth with flowing red hair, dressed in fiery feathered robes.

Normally, such destructive actions would lower one's karmic value, but with the current chaos in heavenly secrets, it was a time when descenders could act with impunity.

“Ten Directions Earth God Crystal!” Honored One Chu Ji was ecstatic. “Excellent, excellent! As expected of the Cosmic Ark, truly a wonderful place!”

“At least I have a way to return home!”

However, he rejoiced too soon.

When Chu Ji picked up the Earth God Crystal and undertook this wave of karmic burden, an alarm immediately rang in his heart.

“Huh? What's that—” Chu Ji felt something envelop him from behind, like he was about to be ambushed.

He was startled and immediately tried to dodge.

While dodging, Chu Ji unhesitatingly activated his ultimate move. His body continued to shrink, and his lower half transformed into a caterpillar.

“Oh, a rather novel transformation method,” a teasing voice emerged.

“Who?!” Chu Ji was shocked.

But he suddenly saw the illusion of a divine tree, and then his speed sharply decreased.

“Divine power? World Law?!”

Chu Ji's heart pounded. He was a Scribe of the Heavenly Time faction and had intended to transform and flee, but his transformation speed now seemed to slow down a hundredfold.

The Cangwu World Law, a divine method of the Ego Faction, instantly reduced Chu Ji's transformation speed by a hundredfold under Zhao Xing's sneak attack, making him move like a sloth, everything in slow motion.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~ Zhao Xing then inserted three Sky Transformation Divine Needles into Chu Ji.

This completely interrupted Chu Ji's transformation, causing him to fall heavily into Zhao Xing's palm.

“Mmph! Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!!”

A caterpillar wearing robes squirmed continuously in Zhao Xing's palm.

Beneath the robes, faint secret patterns pulsed under the smooth skin, attempting to converge.

However, the presence of the three Sky Transformation Divine Needles prevented these secret patterns from merging and completing the transformation.

Chu Ji was in agony!

Having his transformation interrupted midway was like being about to have a satisfying bowel movement, only for someone to throw a firecracker into the outhouse, abruptly stopping it.

“Deputy Envoy Chu, that's a rather novel transformation method. How did I not know you were a Scribe of the Transformation Faction?” Zhao Xing playfully examined the caterpillar in his hand.

“Chief Envoy Han? No! You are—” Chu Ji initially thought he had encountered someone from the event, but he quickly realized, Han Bing was also a descender.

Because the value on his Karmic Edict hadn't dropped into the negatives, and typically, figures within the event wouldn't attack him.

“It's over.” Despair surged in Chu Ji's heart. He felt that the other party would surely kill him; after all, in his era, moral standards weren't high, and killing for treasure was commonplace.

“Fellow Daoist Chu, I can spare your life,” Zhao Xing said, switching to telepathic communication.

“What?” Chu Ji was startled.

“We're all here to seek opportunities in the evil god's spacetime; there's no need to fight to the death.” Zhao Xing seemed to read his mind and pointed to himself with his thumb: “If you can sign a unilateral karmic contract with me, then you can live.”

Zhao Xing used his soul sense to activate his personal karmic line, and Chu Ji quickly understood.

“You mean, if I give you seventy percent of the Earth God Crystals I obtain, I can live?”

“That's right,” Zhao Xing nodded. “It's limited to this spacetime, to the Cosmic Ark only. Once you leave, our karmic ties are severed.”

“I agree!”

Bowei, in the inner world, watched, his mouth twitching again.

Lei Hong at least thought for a moment, but this Chu fellow surrendered even faster than Lei Hong, with hardly any hesitation!

However, Bowei didn't know that Lei Hong was a demigod with influence and backing, a disciple of Spirit Yang God General under the Demon Lord of Heavenly King Xi.

Chu Ji's situation was different; the faction he had pledged allegiance to was relatively weak.

He had no Dao Protector and had to smuggle himself into this spacetime through the Shadow Sanctuary, incurring considerable debt for it.

Moreover, he had bought a one-way ticket and had to earn enough to smuggle himself back home!

The Shadow Sanctuary only recognized money, not favors. Without money, Chu Ji would slowly rot in this spacetime.

Zhao Xing suppressed him with a flick of his hand. What else was there for Chu Ji to consider?

Without the slightest hesitation, he signed the unequal karmic contract.

“Honored One Han, I'll take my leave then.” After the suppression ended, Chu Ji reverted to his human form, no longer a beast in robes.

“Very well, Fellow Daoist Chu, please proceed with caution,” Zhao Xing said with a smile.

With the contract signed, Chu Ji was now his subordinate, and naturally, Zhao Xing's attitude improved.

“Many thanks.” Chu Ji bowed again, then picked up the three Earth God Crystals and went to pursue the next location.

At the other end of the inner world, God General Huali had also been observing Zhao Xing's actions.

After watching two consecutive instances, God General Huali couldn't help but laugh; she found the scene quite amusing.

“Zhao Xing isn't here to adventure; he's clearly here to recruit workers.”

“They pay their own expenses to work for him, and they even have to thank him.”

Time flowed on. After ten months of continuous pursuit, Zhao Xing encountered eight deputy envoys and successfully had eight unequal karmic contracts signed.

Why such high efficiency? Mainly because chief and deputy envoys were connected by tokens, allowing them to communicate during the initial stages of the transformation.

These eight unfortunate individuals were found by Zhao Xing in this manner.

For the next three months, Zhao Xing found nothing, and Bowei felt somewhat pleased.

“It seems your plan isn't going so smoothly. Apart from these eight unlucky ones, everyone else is very cautious, and the heavenly secrets will become increasingly chaotic, making it difficult for you to find anyone.”

Facing Bowei's schadenfreude, Zhao Xing said nothing, simply burying himself in the search.

At this point, the undersea God Mountain transformation became increasingly violent, making it indeed difficult for him to track the other deputy envoys.

For the next two full years, he didn't encounter another deputy envoy.

Just when Zhao Xing thought his luck had run out,

Whoosh!

The murky currents became clear, and visibility on the seafloor greatly improved.

Ahead floated two mountain peaks, emitting a faint golden halo from their mid-slopes. The halo spread outwards in circles, and many spirit beasts swam around the golden mountains.

“Hmm? A fortuitous opportunity? Is it an Earth God Crystal?” Zhao Xing's heart pounded.

Although excited, he remained cautious, swimming forward step by step.

Once he got close enough to see clearly, Zhao Xing realized he had been mistaken.

“'Half-Moon Mountain,' a medium-sized spirit mountain.” The interface displayed coordinates and a place name. “Why has it never appeared on any map?”

Half-Moon Mountain was small; it took Zhao Xing only half a day to swim around it once.

“So that's how it is.”

Zhao Xing understood what divine-level fortuitous opportunity he had triggered.

It was a divine artifact stuck in the middle of Half-Moon Mountain: a crescent blade, which seemed to be the artifact that had split Half-Moon Mountain apart.

Bowei also took a moment to glance at it, his eye twitching instantly. “He just wanders around and stumbles upon a divine artifact? What kind of luck is this?!”

Whoosh~

Zhao Xing unfurled his inner world, and an emperor-level vine shot out, coiling towards the crescent blade divine artifact in the rift valley.

As the vine reached for the crescent blade artifact, it was instantly shredded by the sharp blade aura.

Although the vine was shredded, Zhao Xing still obtained information from the crescent blade artifact.

“I am God General Tian Yi. This Tian Yi Divine Blade is my innate divine item, accompanying me through four divine tribulations.”

“After the Cosmic Ark's demise, some said the Extreme Land Cosmology was absurd, others said the Cosmic Ark project was an irresponsible escape, and thus it was punished by the universe.”

“However, I ignored all that. I only wanted to gain benefits to counter my next divine tribulation, so I came here with my friends to seek opportunities.”

“But after entering the Yuanzang Divine Sea Ark, I became trapped and died here.”

“I tried everything, but I couldn't escape. My lifeline is about to break, what a pity—”

“So the two Great God Kings concealed the entire Cosmic Ark divinely. No wonder I couldn't escape, but that no longer matters.”

“I am about to perish. This Tian Yi Divine Blade contains my lifelong inheritance. I hope that after the Cosmic Ark becomes a historical event, my divine concealment will be broken, and someone will discover me and inherit it.”

Zhao Xing lowered his head, watching the divine light in the rift valley gradually recede, and feeling God General Tian Yi's lingering obsession on the divine blade, he couldn't help but frown.

“Looking at this message, God General Tian Yi seems to also be a descender, and he was actually trapped and died in the undersea mountain range?”

So, should he take it or not?

When in doubt, consult Bowei.

“God General Tian Yi? Never heard of him.” Bowei also shook his head. “He's likely a descender who died here previously, and you just happened to stumble upon his half-divinely concealed state.”

“Wait a moment, Elder,” Zhao Xing asked, puzzled. “Isn't this the first Solar Year of the 341st pre-Wilderness Era? Logically, God General Tian Yi and I should have entered at the same time, so how could he have been here 'before'?”

Bowei didn't answer. Instead, he waved his hand, and a river appeared beneath his feet.

He took a branch and made a mark on the riverbank: “This represents the first Solar Year of the 341st pre-Wilderness Era.”

Zhao Xing concentrated; he knew Bowei was about to teach him a lesson.

Bowei waved his hand, picked up a stone from the downstream riverbed, and dropped it into the river at the marked point: “Look, this is your first time coming to the 341st pre-Wilderness Era. Let's assume there are only you and Ji Si at this time.”

Faint ripples appeared on the water.

“After a period, let's say 1,000 years, you and Ji Si were too weak and failed to become gods. Then, in the second Solar Year, you were taken away by a god.”

Zhao Xing, from outside, pouted. Could Bowei not wish him well for once? Even his examples involved personal attacks.

Bowei then took another step, retrieving the stone from the river at the point representing the second Solar Year.

He then returned to the initial position and once again dropped the stone representing Zhao Xing into the first Solar Year of the 341st pre-Wilderness Era.

“When you and Ji Si time-traveled a second time and arrived at this point. But the second time—”

Bowei waved his hand, and countless stones drifted from upstream and downstream, slowly sinking into the spacetime river of the 341st pre-Wilderness Era.

As countless stones sank, the section of the riverbed representing the 341st pre-Wilderness Era rose, and the water level of the entire River of Spacetime noticeably became higher.

Zhao Xing was thoughtful, and Bowei posed a question.

“Both times, you arrived at the first Solar Year of the 341st pre-Wilderness Era. What's the difference between these two times?”

Zhao Xing looked at the ripples, contemplating, “The water level rose?”

“Be more specific,” Bowei said, dissatisfied.

“The rise in water level indicates that the spacetime of the 341st pre-Wilderness Era has undergone a change,” Zhao Xing mused. “Ji Si and I can't possibly experience the same things again.”

“Correct,” Bowei nodded. “The second time you come, you might not see Lei Hong or Chu Ji again. This is the volatility of the River of Spacetime, causing historical alterations.”

“The evil god faction stockpiles and unleashes floods upstream, which is how so-called 'time shocks' and 'time memories' are generated.”

Bowei inserted a pillar into the river, with many markings on it.

“Each significant rise or fall in the water level signifies a fluctuation and shift in the era's spacetime. Scholars have introduced the concept of 'reincarnation' to explain these spacetime fluctuations and the historical changes they trigger.”

“The Phenomenal Layer, Dao Manifestation Layer, and Ancient Dao Layer describe space in three dimensions. Add time and reincarnation, and that makes five dimensions. Are these five dimensions used to explain spacetime travel?” Zhao Xing sought to clarify Bowei's words.

Bowei spoke softly, “The first god traveled the River of Time, triggering historical changes upstream. Another god downstream observed this change, remained unaffected, and recorded the process, naming it the First Reincarnation Era.”

“To ensure others could also remember, a historical book was forged, named the Profound Spirit History Book.”

“And the Profound Spirit History Book was given the function of recording reincarnation eras, major events, and solidifying history.”

Zhao Xing suddenly understood: “Since the divine realm is unaffected, then God General Tian Yi must have died in an earlier reincarnation era.”

“Precisely,” Bowei nodded. “Gods and divine items both possess this characteristic. That's why you'll find that you've just entered the Cosmic Ark, and its destruction hasn't even begun, yet God General Tian Yi seems to have already experienced many things on the Cosmic Ark.”

“Elder, I have a question.” Zhao Xing looked at the river. “Suppose when I come here a second time, will I see my past self who came the first time? What would happen if we met?”

Bowei replied indifferently, “If it's a god, it has no impact; their existence in infinite spacetime is like a clone. What you saw with the two Lu Yas earlier was this situation; we usually call it a 'divine power clone.'”

“The origin of divine power is constant. Whichever era you distribute your origin to will be stronger and considered the main body.”

“However, if they are not gods, meeting would be very troublesome, leading to severe karmic backlash.”

“Therefore, only demigods with exceptional talent are allowed to travel through spacetime, and when they do, they are always seeking to become gods.”

“Suppose you come here a first time and wish to come a second time, you should choose another divine ark to obtain opportunities, to avoid the backlash from the River of Spacetime.”

“Even so, before becoming a god, you can only come a maximum of three times.”

“However, independent spacetimes like the Cosmic Ark are special; even God Generals can only come three times, with each visit being shorter than the last.”

Zhao Xing recalled his experience in the Transmission Realm Tower, where he had been kicked out because two versions of himself met, resulting in rejection and backlash from the divine artifact's rules.

“Divine items also possess uniqueness. Suppose you come both the first and second time, bringing the Primordial Era Mountain; one of them would become a 'void history divine item,' rendering one ineffective or even causing it to disappear entirely.”

“God General Tian Yi's inheritance and blade were taken by you. Counting from this reincarnation of yours, this treasure no longer exists on the Cosmic Ark, unless the entire spacetime is distorted and your entire experience this time is twisted—that's another scenario, but given the Cosmic Ark's grand event is unshakable, it's virtually impossible.”

Zhao Xing sighed with emotion, “I wonder what happened to God General Tian Yi in his reincarnation era that he actually died here.”

“Historically, there's a mainstream theory about why the Cosmic Ark was destroyed,” Bowei said.

“That is, when the Cosmic Ark reached the Fushan Domain, the environment underwent significant changes. Cosmic rules and fundamental Great Dao descended in rank, causing the previously balanced internal structure to become imbalanced, ultimately unable to maintain such a massive battleship structure.”

“Consequently, the three Sea God Arks, carrying primordial ocean matter, were the first to collapse.”

“It's like how the Solar Star and Lunar Star had their lifespans greatly reduced when they were moved into the Wilderness Domain.”

“God General Tian Yi must have encountered the 'Heaven Collapse' event.”

Zhao Xing immediately envisioned a scenario: each time spacetime travel occurred, the Cosmic Ark 'instance' effectively reset. However, with each reset, the items within would vary in quantity. For example, Earth God Crystals would certainly decrease with each reset, while external descenders like God General Tian Yi would not be reset but instead left behind in the instance.

Seizing Bowei's interest, Zhao Xing asked again, “Elder, by the way, which region does the Fushan Domain correspond to in the Wilderness Era?”

Bowei shook his head. “The Cosmic Ark is unique. After leaving the Profound Spirit Starfield, it formed its own unique spacetime.”

“Therefore, when the Cosmic Ark fell in the Fushan Domain, there should be no corresponding location in later eras, not even ruins.”

“Why is that?” Zhao Xing asked.

Bowei pointed to the great river beneath his feet. Golden light shimmered as battleships appeared above the river.

“The Cosmic Ark itself is space, and at the same time, it has already departed from the River of Spacetime. This was the goal of the Extreme Land Cosmology and the Zhoushan Faction.”

“To escape the universe, one must first break free from the constraints of spacetime rules.”

Bowei's finger moved, and 1,200 Cosmic Arks arranged themselves above the river.

“Historically, the Cosmic Ark event was designated as a schism, meaning there were opponents to the Extreme Land Cosmology and and the Zhoushan Faction.”

“The two Great God Kings left themselves no path of retreat. Their divine domains covered the entire Cosmic Ark, allowing the fleet as a whole to achieve divine concealment, as if gods had leapt out of the River of Spacetime.”

“This way, no one could return to the beginning of the Cosmic Ark construction project to stop them. It was as if the two God Kings, with their immense power, had solidified that period of history.”

“And when the Cosmic Ark ruptured, this event only spread within the 1,200 Solar Years of the 341st pre-Wilderness Era before the Desolate Domain's demise.”

“The Fushan Domain only existed in that one era. It is completely untraceable in later eras; it simply doesn't exist. This is what is commonly referred to as 'independent spacetime.'”

Zhao Xing immediately thought of the Fengchan Land, also reputed to be an independent spacetime, but it at least had ruins. The Cosmic Ark, however, left no ruins in later eras after its demise.

The determination of the two Great God Kings was truly astonishing; by leaving no path of retreat for this project, they essentially gave themselves no chance of resurrection, choosing to live and die with the Cosmic Ark project.

Upon receiving Bowei's confirmation, Zhao Xing no longer hesitated and retrieved the Tian Yi Divine Blade.

Since it was an inheritance and treasure left behind by a descender from a previous reincarnation era, Zhao Xing did not incur any additional karmic burden.

He threw the Tian Yi Divine Blade into his inner world for Bowei to appraise.

“Elder, what level is the Tian Yi Divine Blade?”

“By itself, it's merely a low-tier Dao divine artifact. However, it also contains God General Tian Yi's lifelong knowledge, which barely elevates its value to that of a mid-tier Dao divine artifact.”

“The Profound Spirit Treasure Pavilion should reclaim such divine items.”

The reason for saying 'should' is primarily because the sheer number of cultivators means there are many divine artifacts, and a top-tier treasure vault like the Profound Spirit Treasure Pavilion rarely reclaims them.

After all, the cultivator divine artifacts within the vault itself are abundant and superior.

If there's a need, a divine craftsman like God General Jieluo can forge them, and custom-made at that!

For god-level cultivators, using someone else's divine artifact is, of course, inferior to a personalized one forged by a divine craftsman.

Occasionally, low-tier Great Dao divine artifacts from cultivators are reclaimed, but only to be melted down and reforged as materials, with the reclamation price being merely the material cost.

At most, it's equivalent to an opportunity to become a god, priced between 50 million and 100 million contribution points.

However, with a Great Dao divine artifact carrying a complete inheritance, the situation is different. This has a certain potential to allow the inheritor to cultivate to the God General level, and the reclamation price would be much higher.

Earth God Crystals were for his own use and wouldn't be sold, but obtaining the Tian Yi Divine Blade had already made the trip worthwhile.

In other words, this time-travel trip, Zhao Xing had broken even; everything from now on would be profit.

“Go, go, go! Keep searching!”

Having gained something, he now had motivation. Zhao Xing didn't want to be forced into labor like Old Qing.

Having gone to great lengths to travel through time, he naturally wanted to maximize his gains. The entire ocean was murky, so he temporarily set aside kidnapping the patrolling deputy envoys. Zhao Xing wandered around aimlessly, trying his luck, hoping to fully leverage his 30-level intrinsic fortune.

In the fifth year of the God Mountain transformation, Zhao Xing's luck exploded once more, and he stumbled upon another ruin.

“I am the Beast God 'Tibu,' born in the Li Emperor Era of the Scorching White Epoch. I heard that a Cosmic Ark appeared in the Spirit Domain Era, ruled by the evil gods of the Wilderness Domain. Based on its reputation, I brought my three most talented kin under my command to this spacetime to serve as their Dao Protector.”

“I believe I entered the Cosmic Ark in the 329th reincarnation era.”

“Before the Heaven Collapse event, the Cosmic Ark encountered a severe attack.”

“This caused my karmic burden to increase sharply, with the value already exceeding three hundred.”

“Two of my three talented kin had also died by then.”

“However, the Heaven Collapse event was about to happen. As long as one succeeded, this journey wouldn't be in vain.”

“Alas, 'Chang' also died. I still underestimated the dangers of the Cosmic Ark.”

“It seemed not very dangerous; as long as one could control the karmic burden and prevent values from soaring, it was safe.”

“But the longer one stayed, the more uncontrollable things became. To reduce my karmic burden, I had to do certain things within the event. For instance, my superior, God General Yue Ying, suspected me, which caused my karmic burden to increase significantly, leading to repulsion and backlash from the Cosmic Ark.”

“Therefore, I had to do things to alleviate his suspicions and resolve this increase in karmic burden.”

“But in this process, not only did I not resolve it, the value on my Karmic Edict became even more negative!”

“To cross a river, you need to build a bridge; to build a bridge, you need to cut trees; to cut trees, you need to sharpen an axe; to get an axe, you need to find a forge—hahaha, what a Cosmic Ark. I already regret coming here, but my karmic burden has exceeded five hundred, and I can no longer leave on my own.”

“I, Tibu, am destined to die here.”

“My only remaining concern now is my kin in the Scorching White Epoch. If any fellow Daoist sees my last words, in the eighth cave below my skeleton, I've left the only divine item I have left. If you are willing to look after my kin, then this treasure is yours.”

In the dark cave, where three beast carcasses lay, Zhao Xing silently dug open a hole and unearthed a long shuttle glowing with silver-white light.

“Elder, what kind of weapon is this?”

“It's not a weapon.” In the inner world, Bowei stood on an empty ground, watching the silver shuttle descend. “It's a burrowing vehicle, similar to your Archaic Hill's burrowing shuttles. This beast god probably wasn't skilled in burrowing techniques, which is why it prepared such a treasure.”

“It is a mid-grade Dao divine artifact, likely worth a billion contribution points.”

“A billion?!” Zhao Xing's eyes lit up. “Really, Elder? It's worth that much?”

“Is a billion a lot?” Bowei chuckled. “Zhao Xing, you'll have many places to spend contribution points in the future. Don't just say a billion; even ten billion or a hundred billion might not be enough for you.”

“Elder, I'm not that extravagant,” Zhao Xing laughed, adding, “Besides, future matters are for the future.”

Seeing Bowei remain silent, merely performing deductions on the ground, Zhao Xing couldn't help but ask, “Elder, have you calculated something?”

Bowei was an omniscient scholar God General, also skilled in divination and deduction. Zhao Xing found it hard to ignore Bowei's every move.

“Your path to godhood won't be that simple,” Bowei said, wiping away the marks beneath his feet, causing the trigram array on the ground to instantly scatter.

“You cultivate three factions simultaneously. To balance the Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and Ego Great Daos, it's very likely you'll need to achieve godhood in all three simultaneously.”

“If you first become an Earth God, the immense weight of the extreme meridians within you will drain the Great Solar Sea and crush your Primal Chaos World.”

“You should have encountered this problem ever since you cultivated from the Origin Realm.”

Zhao Xing's expression immediately turned solemn. He had indeed faced this balance issue at every stage, but no one in the Wilderness Era had reached this point, so he had to figure it out himself.

“Becoming a god of the Ego Faction is easy, but becoming a Celestial God is not. How many contribution points would it cost to go to the Five Emperors Era? Even just traveling to the last Solar Year of the Luo Emperor Era would cost one hundred billion contribution points.”

Bowei snorted, “Do you still think a billion is a lot now?”

“In that case, it's indeed not much,” Zhao Xing smiled.

“It seems I need to buckle down and make the most of this first time-travel opportunity, aiming to dig up a substantial first pot of gold. Elder, thank you for the reminder!”

“Oh, how do you plan to buckle down?” Bowei asked with interest.

Zhao Xing didn't answer. He simply used his spiritual communication, and soon, the spiritual illusions of Chu Ji and Lei Hong appeared before him.

“Fellow Daoist Lei, Fellow Daoist Chu, what's the situation?”

“I've found some leads,” Chu Ji replied first. “Fellow Daoist Han, I'm currently tracking.”

“I've also discovered some traces on my end,” Lei Hong said. “However, I need to confirm them. Once confirmed, we can act immediately.”

“Good, then I'll leave it to the two of you.” Zhao Xing nodded with satisfaction.

“What did you tell them?” Bowei asked.

“Nothing much,” Zhao Xing replied. “I told them that if they could help me locate other deputy envoys, they could submit half a percent less Earth God Crystals.”

“And if they could trick someone into coming to me, they could submit one percent less.”

“There will be many more fortuitous events, and I can also use my authority to grant you priority access to them.”

After hearing this, Bowei couldn't bear to look. The rites and music have truly collapsed!

Who exactly was he protecting the Dao for? A pirate leader?

With the help of Lei Hong, Chu Ji, and the other eight, over the next half year, the number of deputy envoys forced to sign labor contracts reached fifteen!

Then, in the eighth year after the God Mountain transformation, Zhao Xing finally encountered a tough opponent.