Chapter 555: Identity Change, Protector of Penglai Mountain

Zhao Xing had already explored the situation of various bureaus and clans before the first fortuitous event. At that time, he learned that the Divine Martial Bureau in the Yas Sea Region had approximately thirty-six demigod incarnates, and one named Asulong caught his attention.

Each bureau and clan was responsible for different depths of the sea and various locations.

The Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau was in charge of Level 3 sea mountains and trench areas. Most of these places were underwater cultivation bases; for instance, the Qigong Peak area that Liu Qingci was previously responsible for was a Yuanhai Bamboo cultivation ground.

The Divine Martial Bureau, on the other hand, was responsible for maintaining the underwater cities in the mid-ocean layer, which constituted a Level 2 sea region. The divine artifact Zhao Xing had unearthed from Beast God Tibu's legacy was a relic created after an underwater city had fallen.

"Brother Han, I have a few questions," Liu Qingci asked.

"Please speak," Zhao Xing nodded.

"Even if you can identify which incarnates belong to the Divine Martial Bureau, for them, different identities lead to different fortuitous events. These events manifest as incidents they encounter after acquiring their identities."

Liu Qingci sketched a layered map of the sea.

"Although the areas managed by the Bureau of Agriculture and those by martial artists border each other, there are ocean currents separating the bottom ocean mountains from the mid-ocean cities. The Earth Change of the Divine Mountains would not significantly affect the mid-ocean city areas."

"Therefore, the incarnates of the Divine Martial Bureau would almost never participate in the 'Earth Change of the Divine Mountains' event."

"Just like we wouldn't participate in other fortuitous events."

"If you want to frame them, you must at least give them a chance to come down here."

"How would that be achieved?"

The questions raised by Liu Qingci were precisely what most of the deputy envoys were concerned about.

Different bureaus and departments had their own responsibilities; the fortuitous events triggered by incarnates were different and occurred in different locations.

That's why during the first two Earth Changes of the Divine Mountains, the Patrolling Mountain Envoys saw no other professions appear, nor did any other departments participate.

"Excellent question," Zhao Xing nodded. "Whether it's an Earth Change or a leakage, these are matters for the Bureau of Agriculture to handle. If the Divine Martial Bureau personnel come down to the bottom sea region, they would be meddling in affairs that don't concern them."

"Incarnates won't haphazardly seek out opportunities that don't belong to them, lest they accumulate karma and expose their identities."

"The fortuitous events for the incarnates of the Divine Martial Bureau and the Patrolling Mountain Bureau are like two parallel lines; under normal circumstances, there's no possibility of them intersecting."

"But what if the Earth Change of the Divine Mountains at the bottom of the sea affects the cities in the mid-ocean layer?"

Zhao Xing extended his hand, pointing several times on Liu Qingci's aquatic map.

Red dots appeared one by one in the deep-sea region, flickering faintly.

Liu Qingci seemed to understand. "You mean—"

"Exactly. Suppose, during the next Earth Change of the Divine Mountains, an underwater volcano erupts."

"And the mid-ocean city happens to drift with the ocean currents to directly above the volcanic eruption."

"Then—bang!"

A beam of red light erupted from the aquatic map, causing the mid-ocean city to plunge into the deeper sea, disappearing into the darkness.

Liu Qingci fell silent after seeing this, calculating quietly in her mind, then nodded. "I have no objections."

"Wait a moment, how could it erupt directly impacting the city?" Venerable Taoyou asked.

"Are you from the Bureau of Agriculture, and you still need to ask Venerable Han?" Chu Ji laughed. "For a Geomancy Faction Agriculture Bureau member, is it so difficult to make a volcano erupt? Why are you even asking?"

"The Earth Change of the Divine Mountains is already a disaster. We can even be far away from that volcano, or merely suppress the timing of its eruption, or find those four deputy envoys who aren't incarnates to be scapegoats. This way, we can achieve our goal and completely clear ourselves of responsibility."

"Venerable Han, this plan is truly brilliant! Chu Ji is impressed!" Chu Ji concluded his statement with a piece of flattery.

"Chu Ji, what are you showing off for, you country bumpkin?!" Venerable Taoyou was so angered by Chu Ji's verbal barrage that he choked.

His origin was from the Ego Faction, and he had also learned a good deal about Geomancy.

It was just that he was slow to react to matters concerning underwater volcanoes in this primordial ocean.

But Chu Ji's quick retort made him seem very ignorant.

"This country bumpkin runs to Han Bing's cave abode every day; he's getting more arrogant now," Venerable Taoyou gritted his teeth in anger.

"How dare you call me a country bumpkin?" Chu Ji also bristled.

The era Chu Ji lived in was a time of war and chaos, with weak spiritual energy, continuous natural disasters and earth changes, and stagnant inheritances.

Chu Ji also had no major sect lineage. In the eyes of a God's Disciple like Venerable Taoyou, wasn't he just a proper country bumpkin?

The two immediately began to quarrel.

"Chu Ji has grown a lot," Lei Hong watched the two quarrel with a cold gaze. "He's been running to Han Bing's cave abode every day for the past few centuries; it seems he's learned a lot."

Zhao Xing, of course, taught Chu Ji some things. How could the boss personally step in to argue? In many meetings, Chu Ji acted as the vanguard.

Zhao Xing was also very satisfied with Chu Ji's performance.

However, he couldn't show it outwardly.

"Enough! What are you quarreling about?"

At Zhao Xing's shout, their argument immediately ceased.

"Chu Ji, does Venerable Taoyou not understand these principles? You were rude!"

Chu Ji immediately apologized to Venerable Taoyou: "Venerable Taoyou, I was rude just now. Please forgive my impulsiveness."

Venerable Taoyou's attitude remained stiff, but he accepted the apology and bowed to Zhao Xing, saying, "Venerable Han, I also had my shortcomings."

The dispute was quickly quelled, and Zhao Xing continued discussing the plan.

Liu Qingci watched Zhao Xing's plan unfold and secretly nodded.

Geniuses are often unruly, let alone a group of them together.

Zhao Xing's ability to keep these people in line was truly rare.

In terms of combat power, he might not be stronger than the collective, but if he was just a little bit stronger and combined it with some tactics, he could make this small group effective.

"When the God of Autonomy teaches disciples, they often teach them how to protect themselves and avoid karma. True Gods, however, do the opposite; they utilize this karma."

"If I were managing these people, I would never even think of targeting the Divine Martial Bureau's incarnates. Truly worthy of being a disciple of the Immeasurable True God."

During centuries of interaction, Liu Qingci felt that Zhao Xing's style of conduct was not old-fashioned, but she hadn't considered that Zhao Xing was from the Wilderness Era.

She merely thought it was a slight difference due to different masters.

"The fortuitous event is still three years away, but we must start acting now."

"Lei Hong, Quan De, Yi Kun, you handle the volcanoes."

"Not too many; ten or eight from the Cangdai Volcanic Cluster will suffice."

"Yue Zhen, Gao Shan, Yang He, Xu Huai, Wei Hua, you are responsible for external supervision and eliminating uncertain factors."

"Chu Ji, Huang Liang, you go interact with the four event deputy envoys of the Patrolling Mountain Bureau and keep an eye on them."

"Venerable Yusheng, the monitoring and concealment of heavenly secrets are entrusted to you."

"Yes!"

Everyone began to act according to the plan. Those who could enter the secret realm were masters among masters; their operational capability was beyond doubt.

Zhao Xing wasn't idle either. He began pestering Bovi to evaluate his plan.

"Evaluation? You want me to find flaws and make corrections for you, right?" Bovi's voice drifted from within the transmission realm.

"Elder is truly formidable, with keen insight," Zhao Xing complimented from outside the courtyard gate.

"Heroes create the times; times create heroes," Bovi said slowly. Today he was dressed in the attire of a diviner, paired with the Great Dao Golden Hoop, giving him an air of a charlatan.

"You want to pull the Divine Martial Bureau people in as scapegoats; that means you are guiding the direction of the fortuitous event. The plan itself has nothing much to say."

"It all depends on the execution. If it's handled well, you can profit. If not, you'll be altering local history within the Ark of the Universe, and the consequences will be severe."

Bovi said indifferently, "It's best to have scapegoats on both sides. I think Liu Qingci is quite suitable."

Zhao Xing was speechless. Was Bovi teaching him to sell out his teammates?

Bovi: "Liu Qingci was merely forced to sign a karma contract with you. She is a demigod from the Evil God faction, a disciple of an Evil God General Priest. You wouldn't think this is 'selling out,' would you?"

"With Asulong as the scapegoat on the Divine Martial Bureau side, and Liu Qingci as the scapegoat on the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau side, your plan can then be considered secure."

"Elder, are there any other ways?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Since you don't intend to agree to this method," Bovi tossed over a Daoist scripture, "then you'll have to put in some effort yourself. This is a Karma Forced Drive method, 'Gan Si Guo'."

"If you can cultivate it within three years, you can use karma threads to interfere with enemies."

"Even if other incarnates have divine protectors, they won't be able to pull their protected individuals away via karma threads immediately."

"However, the cost is that many gods will resent you."

"Am I afraid of that?" Zhao Xing smiled, immediately taking the Daoist scripture.

Three years later, in the year 573, on the eve of the Earth Change of the Divine Mountains.

Asulong had recently been feeling a surge of emotion, sensing that something significant was about to happen.

Yet, according to his Karma Token, his fortune value fluctuated between 40 and 50, showing no signs of decreasing.

So where could this feeling possibly come from?

"I acquired the identity of a Divine Martial Bureau Director here and have already experienced one fortuitous event. The next one will be in the second solar year."

"It's only the year 573 of the first solar year, so I shouldn't be feeling this. Could it be that some extra event is about to be triggered?"

"Is it good or bad?"

Asulong's entry time node was 200 years ago, falling between the first and second Earth Changes of the Divine Mountains.

However, martial artists had their own fortuitous events, and Asulong participated in the Solar and Lunar Eclipse event.

The Solar and Lunar Eclipse referred to an abnormal phenomenon involving a super solar star and lunar star hidden within the Yuanzang Divine Sea Vessel.

During this abnormal celestial movement, there would be opportunities to secretly collect Solar God Essence and Lunar God Essence for body tempering.

During the previous eclipse Asulong experienced, he collected over three hundred drops of Solar God Essence and had already evolved a divine bone.

The next would be a lunar eclipse; normally, it would take over a thousand years to occur, yet now he had an instinctive premonition.

He vaguely felt that something big was about to happen.

"Is it just an illusion?"

Asulong couldn't sleep, so he simply left his courtyard and went to the top of Bifang City's wall.

Bifang City was the largest city in the mid-ocean layer.

It was inhabited by some underwater races, and a small portion of humans.

Bifang City drifted and moved with the ocean currents. Only this depth range was suitable for underwater races to survive.

Their special life structures meant that if these marine creatures drifted to the surface, they would easily die; if they went deeper, they would similarly be easily crushed by the terrifying deep-sea water pressure.

Of course, Asulong didn't need to consider Bifang City's operation; that was the array masters' business. He only needed to maintain order among the various races.

The Ark of the Universe could be called crowded; even though it was massive, there were too many living beings. Even the oceans had people living in them.

Asulong had just flown to the top of the city wall when he saw two marine beasts of the same clan but different species fighting outside the city.

"It's two young ones from the Yuan Snake clan, fighting again," Asulong observed coldly. "Beasts are beasts; even at the Reincarnation Realm level for humans, they still can't suppress their nature."

Asulong was about to scold them when he noticed that the two Yuan Snakes seemed to be startled by something and suddenly swam away.

And Asulong's heart suddenly began to pound violently.

He abruptly looked down into the sea and saw that the ocean current separating the deep sea from the mid-ocean layer was gone.

The originally clear seawater rippled densely, countless transverse waves generated, and a wisp of firelight appeared from the inky black seabed.

"What?! This is—"

Asulong's body suddenly sank.

The entire Bifang City began to shake.

In the first solar year, 574, the fortuitous event 'Earth Change of the Divine Mountains' was triggered. Divine source energy transformed into Earth God Crystals, breaking through mountain barriers.

Your fortune value in this fortuitous event increased to eighty-two points.

"The third Earth Change of the Divine Mountains has begun."

In a cave abode on an underwater mountain, Zhao Xing looked at the dark sea region, where chaotic turbid energy surged.

"This time it's shorter in duration, but it's also more violent."

*Whoosh, whoosh*

Zhao Xing used the Four Pillars Profound Gate, teleporting repeatedly.

He soon found a relatively high vantage point, gazing distantly at an underwater volcanic cluster, then looked up.

"The turbid energy rose, first breaking through the ocean current layer, causing changes in the underwater water veins."

"But at this point, it still won't affect the mid-ocean layer; we need to apply more force."

Zhao Xing silently calculated the cycle.

By April of 574, Zhao Xing telepathically transmitted to the incarnates of the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau.

"Act!"

In early April, with a boom.

The Cangdai Volcanic Cluster at the bottom of the sea erupted completely, with the eight largest active volcanoes being the most ferocious.

Eight red light pillars surged upwards from the seabed, piercing through multiple water vein buffer zones along the way.

From three of these craters, large quantities of material were thrown into the mid-ocean layer.

At this moment, Bifang City was situated on the last great underwater vein. If the Earth Change of the Divine Mountains were to break through this barrier again, the entire Bifang City would plummet into the deep sea.

But Zhao Xing had listened to half of Bovi's advice; he didn't aim all eight active volcanoes at Bifang City. So, Bifang City wasn't in danger of capsizing. Instead, a pile of Earth God Crystals, propelled by the impact from the three craters, scattered into the mid-ocean layer.

In the outer sea region of Bifang City, Asulong, leading a patrol, was maintaining order.

Suddenly, his vision was drawn by a glimmer of light.

"What is that?"

Asulong looked in the direction and found faint orange light appearing in the seawater.

They dotted the dark sea region like stars.

He immediately recognized that this was a precious divine material!

"My goodness! Is that Earth God Crystal?"

*Whoosh~* Asulong immediately flashed over. "It really is Earth God Crystal!"

"Hmph!" Asulong grunted softly, shattering the mud and rocks in the seawater, creating a vacuum zone.

This exposed even more Earth God Crystals.

"Hiss, so many Earth God Crystals!" Asulong's eyes immediately lit up.

He moved downwards and soon reached the boundary between the mid-ocean layer and the deep-sea layer.

"If there are so many collected above, won't there be even more below? However, my karmic burden is also increasing. Participating in another event might be dangerous—"

But Asulong only hesitated for a moment before being drawn by even more divine light from the seabed.

"Not taking them now would be a waste, wouldn't it? Earth God Crystals are great treasures! What's the difference in seizing one opportunity over another?"

For a moment, various philosophical maxims flashed through Asulong's mind: fortune favors the bold, a gift from heaven unaccepted brings misfortune, and so on.

Asulong gritted his teeth and, seizing the moment of chaotic heavenly secrets, immediately rushed down.

In another direction, the incarnate 'Wu Zhen' also encountered many Earth God Crystals.

"So many Earth God Crystals being thrown up; this must be the Divine Mountain Earth Change fortuitous event."

"Being in the Divine Martial Bureau, can I also trigger this fortuitous event?"

Though Wu Zhen was puzzled, triggering additional fortuitous events was indeed a possibility.

He never imagined there would be another incarnate's conspiracy involved.

"Bifang City is a busy place with many eyes; if I'm going to collect them, I should go down deeper."

"With Bifang City shaking now, I'll take this opportunity to go down to the deep-sea region. As long as I come up early, it should be fine."

"Holy cow, so many Earth God Crystals! This triggered an additional god-level fortuitous event?"

"I'm going to get rich! This is a great opportunity granted by the earth!"

A bald, burly man with a large saber on his back immediately jumped into the deep-sea region.

"I came here and can even trigger an additional fortuitous event? Hahaha, my master said my luck was abundant, and it's truly not an exaggeration."

Venerable Jianling laughed heartily in his heart, swallowed an Earth God Crystal, and plunged downwards.

"Hmm, there might also be incarnates in the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau. But if there are, that's fine; I can pin the blame on them."

All the incarnates of the Divine Martial Bureau triggered this additional fortuitous event.

Of the thirty-six incarnates, half succumbed to the temptation on the spot and dove straight into the sea.

A few, like Venerable Jianling, Asulong, and Wu Zhen, also went down but weren't reckless. They all intended to find other incarnates and make them take the blame, to lessen their own true spirit burden.

As for how to distinguish incarnates?

Just secretly follow someone and see if they appropriate the Earth God Crystals for themselves.

It was hard to tell normally, but easy to spot during a fortuitous event.

"Counting the chief and deputy envoys, the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau has a total of 36. I hope some incarnates can be found among them," Asulong thought to himself.

Deep sea, Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau.

Zhao Xing was observing the situation when he saw a caterpillar swiftly swim over and jump into his palm: "Venerable Han, they've taken the bait. The fish are hooked."

"How many people did you find?"

"I found six. Xu Huai, after transforming, also sensed thirteen. These martial artists all snuck down."

"Heh heh, I didn't expect so many incarnates. Venerable Han really is prescient!"

Under normal circumstances, Divine Martial Bureau personnel were not allowed to come down. Without a transfer order or clear official documentation, they should not approach the Divine Mountains in the deep-sea area.

Even if circumstances demanded immediate action, they should have issued official notice beforehand, informing the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau and descending under the pretext of offering assistance.

But these individuals chose to sneak down, which almost certainly confirmed them as incarnates.

Zhao Xing had previously told Xu Huai, Chu Ji, and others that there were incarnates in the Divine Martial Bureau, and many didn't believe him.

Zhao Xing wasn't a god; how could he know others' identities?

But now, seeing it, they all believed.

Zhao Xing, however, showed no complacency: "Too many people came down. We still need to be careful not to get tripped up."

"Chu Ji, keep an eye on them."

"Venerable Yusheng, tell all incarnates to change from groups of three to groups of five."

"We must ensure overwhelming superiority when confronting these sneaking individuals."

"Understood."

On the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau side, including Zhao Xing, there were exactly thirty incarnates.

Since there were quite a few scapegoats who came down, and the window period for the last Earth Change of the Divine Mountains was only three years, Zhao Xing decisively abandoned individual searching after 574. He divided the team into six groups of five and began rounding up those martial artists.

March, 575.

Venerable Jianling, shimmering with golden light, formed a sword barrier in the seabed and appeared on a mountain peak.

He had just split open a mountain peak and acquired a batch of Earth God Crystals.

"In one year, I've obtained nearly 3,000 cubic meters of Earth God Crystals."

"My karmic burden has also grown significantly, and it's almost time to leave."

"It's a pity I didn't encounter any other incarnates, otherwise I could have forced them to share the burden for me... Hmm?"

Venerable Jianling's wish actually came true. No sooner had he thought it than he saw five figures descend from above.

Zhao Xing, Yue Zhen, Lei Hong, Quan De, and Taoyou had surrounded Venerable Jianling.

"Bold madman! How dare you steal divine objects! Surrender at once!"

"You..." Venerable Jianling frowned, sensing that these five were not simple.

Venerable Jianling wanted to find incarnate scapegoats, but he never expected to become a scapegoat in others' eyes.

When Zhao Xing and the five began to act, Venerable Jianling's expression immediately changed.

Elsewhere, Venerable Wu Zhen was tracking something in a trench.

"Strange, I clearly saw someone absorbing Earth God Crystals just now. This person is definitely an incarnate. I tracked him here, but why did he suddenly disappear?"

Just as Wu Zhen was still puzzled, a three-eyed thunder lion suddenly emerged from a cave.

"Are you looking for me, esteemed one?"

"Hou Bianfa?" Wu Zhen snorted coldly. "You are indeed an incarnate!"

"A mere Timing Faction Agriculture Bureau member dares to counter-ambush me? I'll give you a way out now: immediately hand over the cleansed Earth God Crystals, otherwise—"

However, before he could finish, a horned hoof suddenly shattered the slope where Wu Zhen stood.

*Boom!*

Waves surged, and a miniature Di Cang, suppressing its divine light, appeared on the shattered stone slope.

"You look down on Timing Faction Agriculture Bureau members?" Di Cang stared coldly at Wu Zhen.

*Whoosh, whoosh~*

Three more transformed Agriculture Bureau members appeared around, and five exotic divine beasts surrounded Wu Zhen.

"Damn it! Too many!"

Wu Zhen's heart jolted.

Zhao Xing, leading the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau members, played the role of the oriole. They no longer personally collected Earth God Crystals but instead ambushed the martial artists from behind.

By 576, the final year of the Earth Change of the Divine Mountains.

Liu Qingci reported a problem:

"Brother Han, there are still seven people, including myself, whose karma is negative and cannot be normalized. What do you plan to do?"

"I understand," Zhao Xing replied. "Those whose karma isn't normalized, come to me immediately."

Liu Qingci, meanwhile, was asking her teacher: "Teacher, do you think Han Bing might take this opportunity to use us as scapegoats?"

"If there are also scapegoats on the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau's side, he'd be even safer."

"Hard to say," Divine General Yinzai responded. "With profits at stake, anything is possible. Your harvest this time is too great. If Han Bing wants to set you up, the initiative is in his hands. Be careful."

Liu Qingci and the other six came to Zhao Xing. The anticipated battle did not occur.

Zhao Xing did not choose to sell out his teammates, even those temporarily assembled.

He looked at the seven, including Liu Qingci, and simply said one sentence: "Follow me."

The seven followed, half-believing, half-doubting.

At this moment, eight swirling channels appeared above Qigong Peak.

Zhao Xing waited there with Liu Qingci and the other six.

The end of the whirlpools led to the mid-ocean city, and Earth God Crystals, like strung pearls, flowed through the swirling channels.

"These are cleansed Earth God Crystals, leading to the sea city. Someone will come down soon; you know what to do, right?"

Liu Qingci was somewhat surprised. Zhao Xing was willing to use his own cleansed Earth God Crystals as bait? These things might not be recoverable!

"They're here!"

Zhao Xing gazed upwards.

From the eight channels, the first figure appeared: a green-haired martial artist, surrounded by six daggers, covertly emerged.

"Hmph!"

As soon as he appeared, he was immediately suppressed by Zhao Xing and the others working together.

"You... you guys..." The green-haired martial artist instantly realized something.

"Act," Zhao Xing whispered.

Immediately, an ownerless ring was forcibly shoved into the martial artist's hand.

Blood dripped from the martial artist's chest, and the ownerless ring was forcibly bound to him.

"Holy cow! What are you doing?!" The martial artist was scared half to death after binding the ring.

Because inside it were actually ten thousand cubic meters of Earth God Crystals!

I just came to pick up some scraps!

Why are you doing this to me?

Ten thousand cubic meters of Earth God Crystals—how much karmic burden would that be?

The karma threads generated from the ring began to entangle the green-haired martial artist.

The heavy burden caused him to be repelled by this world. His cultivation art became unstable, and his blood surged to his heart, immediately pushing him to the brink of cultivation deviation.

He desperately tried to resolve it, but such a massive karmic burden was too heavy for him.

Seeing the opponent on the verge of collapse.

*Puchi-meow~*

Zhao Xing chopped off his arm.

"Off you go!" Then, with lightning speed, he sent the person back to the sea region above.

Zhao Xing looked at Liu Qingci, who nodded: "It worked. My karma value has become positive by five points. It's now positive."

"Next one!"

Martial artists from the sea city descended like rain. Under the temptation of the Earth God Crystals, out of the thirty-six martial artists from the Divine Martial Bureau, ultimately only 5 incarnates did not come down.

It wasn't that they resisted the temptation, but rather that their existing karmic burdens were already substantial and unresolved. With karma threads clinging to them, they dared not engage in additional fortuitous events.

Those who did come down were generally skilled, at least in their ability to quickly resolve karma.

However, these martial arts geniuses had terrible luck that year.

In early 577, the Earth Change of the Divine Mountains ended. This time, Biluo God of Autonomy and Bifang God of Autonomy from the Divine Martial Bureau appeared more quickly.

They appeared almost immediately after the event concluded, right in front of the incarnates.

When Venerable Jianling woke up, he found himself back in Bifang City, transported by a flying boat.

His eyes fell on a deity standing before him, none other than Bifang, the God of Autonomy of the Divine Martial Bureau.

"Greetings, Divine Venerable!" Venerable Jianling quickly stood up.

"Tell this god, what is inside here," Bifang said with solemn majesty, holding a ring.

Venerable Jianling took the ring and saw that it contained a pile of Earth God Crystals.

"Divine Venerable, I... I'm innocent!"

"Who put these Earth God Crystals in my storage ring?!"

"Still trying to argue? You're asking for death!"

Bifang opened its large mouth and immediately swallowed Venerable Jianling.

Being entangled by 'Gan Si Guo' caused the karma threads to become chaotic, preventing the protectors of many incarnates from pulling their protected individuals out of the Ark of the Universe event via karma threads.

However, on some individuals, the effect was still subpar, for example, a formidable person like Asulong.

"Han Bing, you're behind all this! You truly deserve to die!"

"But don't think you'll have an easy time either!"

Upon seeing Bifang and Biluo God of Autonomy, Asulong knew his adventure was over.

His karma value had soared and could not be suppressed. No matter how he explained, Bifang wouldn't listen.

"Bigger, bigger, BIGGER!"

Asulong roared, his body suddenly covered in a layer of snowflake-like ice crystals.

"You're asking for death!" After Bifang and Biluo God of Autonomy arrived, they saw Asulong actually daring to resist, and immediately attacked together to suppress him.

Facing the suppression of two great Gods of Autonomy, Asulong immediately broke free from the 'Gan Si Guo' restraints, no longer willing to compromise and stay.

Instead, he chose to resist and fight back.

He wanted to withstand the pressure of Biluo God of Autonomy and Bifang God of Autonomy, kill Zhao Xing and the other incarnates, then seize all the Earth God Crystals and escape.

"Retreat! He's broken free from the 'Gan Si Guo' restraints!"

Bovi issued a warning just before Asulong went berserk, and Zhao Xing's figure immediately retreated rapidly.

Biluo God of Autonomy immediately teleported Zhao Xing to another mountaintop.

*Boom!*

Three divine lights erupted, belonging to Asulong, Biluo, and Bifang.

"Asulong even brought out a Divine General's power artifact?"

"Is this guy crazy?"

"Isn't he afraid of backlash?"

With the sudden turn of events, everyone immediately distanced themselves from Asulong.

*Rumble~*

A divine power giant hand transformed into layers of mountains, and above the mountains, a blood-red maw swallowed everything below.

It collided with the divine artifact Asulong had unleashed.

"He's truly insane."

"If he does this, even if he escapes afterward, he'll be severely injured. Just how much does he hate Venerable Han?" Lei Hong, who arrived later, didn't know what had happened.

"How could he not hate him?" Chu Ji telepathically transmitted, "Asulong only collected a little over three thousand cubic meters of Earth God Crystals, but Venerable Han made him bear three hundred thousand cubic meters of karma."

"Asulong must be the biggest scapegoat."

"What? Such a thing actually happened!"

Asulong, Wu Zhen, and Jianling were truly unlucky. At first, they didn't realize the conspiracy. Then, they didn't realize the power of 'Gan Si Guo' and didn't choose to flee immediately. By the time they realized, they were already facing divine punishment directly.

Watching Jianling being directly swallowed by Bifang and Wu Zhen leaving as a white light, Zhao Xing originally thought the plan would end perfectly.

But an unexpected event occurred: before escaping, Asulong actually unleashed a super-powerful divine power artifact. He had kept it unused before, believing there was still hope to stay. But when he saw no hope and erupted, he used this artifact, which actually severely injured two Gods of Autonomy!

After that, he transformed into a white light, his physical body exploded, and his true spirit was scooped away by an invisible large hand.

Zhao Xing retreated repeatedly, and finally, all the mountain envoys looked at the battlefield with stunned expressions.

"The two great Gods of Autonomy and Asulong have all disappeared."

"Did that guy really severely injure two Gods of Autonomy?"

"Biluo God of Autonomy seems to be at the Divine Weapon Late Stage, and although Bifang is only at the Divine Weapon Mid Stage, it's a naturally born deity. Could it also be...?"

"Something's wrong. My Karma Token is starting to fluctuate; I can't see the value anymore. How can this be?"

Everyone discussed amongst themselves. Logically, this should be the time for the fortuitous event to settle, but now their god-level superiors were gone.

At the same time, the Karma Token values began to blur, unsettling Chu Ji, Lei Hong, Liu Qingci, Xu Huai, and others.

"First, let's return to the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau." Zhao Xing also couldn't predict the outcome of this matter and could only return to a safe area, which was the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau.

They waited for a whole year, during which Biluo God of Autonomy never appeared, nor did any new gods appear in the Patrolling Mountain Divine Bureau.

Until a year later, someone finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Venerable Han, Taoyou, Quan De, and Yue Zhen have also disappeared," Chu Ji ran over and said. "It looks like they've left for good."

"Chu Ji, do you want to leave too?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Yes, I want to leave too," Chu Ji said bluntly. "Boss Han, I've gained enough. I want to leave this place while the historical token's effect is still active."

"Then go," Zhao Xing nodded.

"Boss Han, I am very grateful to you," Chu Ji said sincerely. "Without you, I wouldn't have gained so much."

Zhao Xing smiled faintly. The third fortuitous event had ended. Although there was the incident with Asulong at the end, which meant some Earth God Crystals weren't collected in time.

However, the harvest this time far exceeded the previous two, and everyone's karma remains positive to this day!

Of those who left, only Chu Ji came to express gratitude. The rest simply slipped away without even saying goodbye.

But this was normal, after all, it was a team forcibly put together.

"Boss Han, I am from the 874th solar year of the Luohuang Era. If there's an opportunity, I will find you and repay your kindness!"

With that, Chu Ji bowed to Zhao Xing and left the main hall. Outside, his historical token glowed, and after a few steps, Chu Ji's figure blurred and disappeared from the spot.

"The historical tokens provided by the Shadow Sanctuary allow one to leave the Ark of the Universe's secret realm only when the value is positive and not during a god-level fortuitous event."

"It's truly not easy for someone in Chu Ji's situation to survive," Liu Qingci slowly walked over to the door.

"Why haven't you left yet?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Chu Ji achieved his goal, but I haven't yet," Liu Qingci said softly. "Those who left were shortsighted."

The third fortuitous event ended. Chu Ji left, Taoyou, Quan De left, and in total, twenty-one people left one after another.

Because they didn't know what consequences the battle between Asulong and the two Gods of Autonomy would bring, and given their already good gains, choosing to leave to secure their adventurous harvest was a normal choice.

Only Zhao Xing, Liu Qingci, Xu Huai, and Wei Hua, being highly skilled and courageous, decided to stay and await further opportunities.

While they were chatting, Zhao Xing's mind suddenly stirred.

A page of the Profound Spirit Historical Rubbing inside him suddenly opened, revealing text:

'Biluo God of Autonomy' died from his injuries and perished in the year 577. Bifang God of Autonomy was severely injured.

The historical trajectory of the Yas Sea Region has changed, and unforeseen events are about to occur.

Your identity will undergo a transformation based on your karma value.

Liu Qingci, standing nearby, also seemed to sense something: "My identity is about to undergo a transformation, Brother Han, do you feel it too?"

"Yes," Zhao Xing said with some emotion. "I didn't expect Asulong to actually kill Biluo God of Autonomy and severely injure Bifang."

"The historical event has changed significantly. I fear things on the Yuanzang Divine Sea Vessel have altered somewhat," Liu Qingci said. "I'm returning to my cave abode to prepare. Han Bing, I take my leave."

"Farewell," Zhao Xing nodded.

Three days later, new text appeared on the Profound Spirit Historical Rubbing.

Identity change complete. You have gained a new historical identity: 'Penglai Mountain Protector'.