"Grand Shennong, based on the calculations from the Celestial Master Bureau, the three discovered dwellings so far consist of two martial cultivator dwellings and one musician inheritance dwelling."
When Zhao Xing arrived at Qitian Mountain, the first thing he did was rendezvous with Ji Si and Jing Yue.
Ever since they took over the development of the Annihilation Star Ancient Path, the two had remained stationed in the Long Corridor, accompanying Zhao Xing nearly all the time—either by the side of the Primordial Incarnation or following his main body.
The three dwellings opened by the War God Hall had been divined by the Celestial Master Bureau to extract related information.
It was difficult to determine the exact strength or the specific treasures left behind by their owners, but identifying the profession they held in life was fairly straightforward.
That information was crucial for exploring inheritance dwellings. If misunderstood, sending a martial cultivator into a musician's dwelling would not only waste effort—it could cost lives.
"A musician's dwelling, huh? That's rare."
Zhao Xing became interested. Martial cultivator demigods were common in the Barren Domain Era, but demigod musicians were very unusual.
Among the more than three thousand inheritance dwellings discovered, the overwhelming majority were martial cultivator types. Dwellings of musicians or dancers were extremely scarce.
"Grand Shennong, the War God Hall has been urging for years. They want you to quickly dispatch your people." Ji Si added, "We need to finalize the quota soon."
"What's your recommendation, Ji Si?" Zhao Xing asked.
"The War God Hall is selling exploration quotas internally. The entry token is a top-grade Reincarnation Dao Weapon, and they're only releasing fifty. The remaining thirty have already been distributed by Meng Wu."
"We could follow a similar approach on our end," Ji Si continued. "If none of our partners wish to go, we can sell the quotas."
Zhao Xing nodded. Back then, the Five Venom Emperor and Meng Wu had agreed—seven demigod dwellings would be explored with a total quota of one hundred. The split was 80 for the War God Hall and 20 for Zhao Xing's side. Even if more slots were added later, the ratio would stay the same.
The outer-layer cross-domain ship formations of the first three dwellings had already been broken. Now they just needed people to enter and undergo the inheritance trials. There wouldn't be much danger at this stage.
Zhao Xing had 20 slots. The War God Hall had 80, of which 40 had already been allocated or sold, and 40 remained in reserve.
As soon as Zhao Xing's group arrived, exploration could begin.
"To explore these dwellings safely, you really need demigod-level strength. And anyone who can afford a quota is likely at that level anyway."
"Among our own partners, the only ones eligible are my master, Zuo Qiyu, the Hongshan Emperor, and Lord Lushan. But two of them are in seclusion, and two aren't interested. Let's sell half our quotas for now."
"Alright, I'll make the arrangements," Ji Si nodded.
According to the agreement, sold quotas had to be offered to the War God Hall first.
And true to form, the War God Hall—with its abundance of powerhouses and deep pockets—snapped up ten quotas within three days after Ji Si reached out. Some even asked for more, but Zhao Xing ignored them.
After all, what if one of the other four dwellings turned out to hold a Shennong or mind-based inheritance? If quotas didn't increase, he had to keep the remaining half for his own people.
"I'm keeping one slot for myself, which leaves nine." Zhao Xing and Ji Si discussed how to handle those. "If someone from our side needs them, they'll use them. If not, we'll only exchange them for favors, not cash."
"Ji Si, you've reached the Reincarnation Realm too, right?"
"By luck, yes. I broke through 150 years ago," Ji Si replied modestly.
"If there's a Fate Shaman dwelling, you'll take one of the slots," Zhao Xing instructed.
"Understood," Ji Si nodded. After a pause, he asked, "Grand Shennong, are you planning to enter now?"
"Yeah, I want to check out the musician's dwelling first," Zhao Xing revealed his plan.
When it came to musicians—if they were weak, they stayed obscure, but the powerful ones were absurdly strong… and wealthy.
It was entirely possible that such a dwelling held more than one demigod artifact. If he could secure even one, it would be far more valuable than any sold quota. Who doesn't love money?
Zhao Xing had just broken through to the Reincarnation Realm. The Primordial Incarnation had also undergone a materials overhaul and mastered a second type of seven-colored mana.
He believed his survival capabilities were strong enough now.
Taking off from the Qitian base, he flew through the mountain and arrived at the Qingyu Star Zone.
Six creatures resembling Kun Beasts were swimming through the void—they were actually mechanical cross-domain ships sent by the War God Hall: Kunxu Roaming Deities.
The Kunxu Roaming Deities were among the strongest Mechanist divine weapons—part of the Twelve Roaming Deity Weapons. When all twelve were deployed, they could unleash god-tier power.
This time, only six had been sent, but it was enough to secure the area. They were under the control of Zifang Emperor, one of the sub-spirit artifacts of the Great Derivation Divine Weapon.
The Emperor was a Mechanist, one of the strongest professions. No force would dare sneak past the defenses of the Kunxu Roaming Deities.
"Whoosh~"
"Greetings, Emperor Zifang."
"Zhao Xing, the War God Hall has been waiting. Come in."
"Yes, sir."
Zhao Xing stepped onto the back of a Kunxu Roaming Deity and entered a pure-white cube structure.
The cube followed a canyon-like groove on the creature's back and sank into the Void Dao Layer. That's where the seven jade slabs containing demigod dwellings floated.
The cube soon landed in a spacious hall. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the abstract Void Dao Layer outside.
Dozens of seats were arranged around the room. Sixty-three people were already waiting.
Rustle rustle~
As Zhao Xing descended inside Emperor Zifang's cube, all eyes turned toward him.
Not a single person here was below the level of an Emperor. Each aura was like an abyss, like a prison. The intangible pressure from their presence made Zhao Xing feel a weight on his heart.
"Zhao Xing, you came alone?" Emperor Meng Wu sat in one of three crystal chairs alongside Emperor Moxu and Emperor Xuanying. "Where's your master?"
"Reporting to Emperor Meng Wu, my master is in seclusion. The others are tied up with pressing matters, so I'm handling the exploration on our side."
Zhao Xing's tone was calm and steady.
"Good. Since you're here, let's begin," Emperor Meng Wu said, turning to Emperor Moxu.
Shrouded in a black-and-white robe, Emperor Moxu opened the mechanism box. A beam of red light shot toward the floor-to-ceiling window.
The blurry, line-like scene outside instantly became clear, revealing three parallel jade walls.
On the surface of each square wall, swirling vortexes of different colors spun, seemingly concealing a world behind them.
"The outer space of the three cross-domain realm ships—twenty-seven zhang into the Dao Ancient Layer—has already been stabilized by me with a safe passage."
"Follow that passage, and you can enter the interior of the realm ships."
"The two on the left conceal Martial Artist dwellings; the one on the right is a Musician dwelling, as inferred by the Celestial Master Mansion."
"All additional information is in this jade slip. Check it yourselves—I won't elaborate."
With a wave of his hand, Emperor Moxu sent sixty-two jade slips flying to the front of the waiting cultivators.
"Thanks, Brother Moxu. I'll go first." A burly man with light-red eyebrows, carrying two chain-like Dao weapons on his back, rushed into the passage.
Zhao Xing recognized him somewhat. This was Emperor Chimei, a Qi Sect Martial Artist from the War God Hall.
"Brother Mengwu, Brother Moxu, Brother Xuan Ying, I'll also head out." Two more sword cultivators with radiant auras like blazing suns followed suit.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
One after another, red lights vanished from the hall.
Most had waited long enough. Now that the passage was open, more than half quickly departed.
"Zhao Xing, I heard you're also going. Which dwelling are you aiming for?" Emperor Mengwu toyed with a finger ring as he casually asked.
"I want to take a look at the Musician's dwelling."
"What a coincidence." Emperor Mengwu smiled. "Scholar Feng Chen, Emperor Fuzhi, and Emperor Qianyin have chosen the same. You should join them."
Zhao Xing glanced over. Among them, Emperor Qianyin was a female cultivator from the War God Hall who trained in both dance and music.
Feng Chen was a Six-Realm Scholar from the Academy—a familiar name. Emperor Fuzhi was also from the Academy.
When Zhao Xing saw Emperor Fuzhi, a ripple passed through his mind. "My cultivation's weak. Please look after me."
Emperor Qianyin had an exceptional presence, even among other Emperors—one glance and it was hard to look away.
She knew Zhao Xing wasn't just anyone in this collaboration, and greeted him with a warm smile.
Feng Chen was already an old acquaintance, a Six-Realm Scholar equivalent to Emperor-level. He'd once brought Zhao Xing for treatment of the True Spirit Heavenly Poison and had participated fully in the Star Law Conference.
Emperor Fuzhi's presence was equally remarkable. His appearance was androgynous, but the six energies of the human body exuded a refined beauty—more enchanting than even Emperor Qianyin.
He looked at Zhao Xing with eyes full of curiosity.
"Can't say we'll be looking after you—you might end up helping me instead. I'm not a fighter," Feng Chen chuckled.
"Zhao Sīnóng, no need to be humble. If not for you, we wouldn't have the chance to be here," he added.
All three expressed their welcome. Emperor Fuzhi, despite this being their first meeting, showed particularly warm enthusiasm.
Zhao Xing responded politely, but his heart was unsettled.
Emperor Fuzhi was one of the core figures in Bowe's God-Making Project. He—or she—had made it to the final stage.
In Zhao Xing's past memories, Emperor Fuzhi and two other mysterious individuals entered the final process, earning the right to receive the Scholars' collective enlightenment.
However, after the failure of Bowe's plan, only Emperor Fuzhi's identity was exposed. The other two disappeared without a trace.
Though Emperor Fuzhi was affiliated with the Academy, they were not a Scholar.
The four of them entered the safe passage together.
Zhao Xing discreetly checked Emperor Fuzhi's information through his panel.
[Name: Wu Fuzhi]
[Realm: Emperor-level, late stage]
[True Spirit: Emperor-level, late stage]
[Occupation: Shennong, Martial Artist, Priest, Fate Officer, Physician, Mechanist, Beastmaster, Musician, Dancer, Historian]
[Mana: 801 realm units]
[Internal World: 7000 realm-element units]
[Golden Body: One hundred and eight thousand extremes; Seven Fate Palaces; Ninefold Harp Heart; Boundless Sword Courage; Eightfold Spirit Pollution; Infinite Wandering Divine Palace; Gestating Core Matrix; River of History, Medical Book of the Green Satchel]
[Reincarnation-Level Secret Techniques: Northwind Hundred River Array, Fate Tribulation Method, Eight-String Divine Technique, Heaven-Earth Sword Technique, Reincarnation Altar (Spirit Void version), Beast Spirit Transformation, Taiyi Heavenly Poison Pill Method...]
[Status: General Knowledge Mirror Image. Disguised using divine power; only one or two core occupations and techniques shown.]
"Damn... Bowe is way stronger this life. Emperor Fuzhi is already at late-stage Emperor-level, and nearly maxed out on all professions."
Emperor Fuzhi possessed the core traits of nearly every profession—even the Self School Shennong's internal world.
The Academy was the holy land of humanity. Almost everyone would deposit a copy of their theories or techniques there. Their Dao Trees were used to write books that would last forever, preserving the human legacy.
In his past life, every one of Fuzhi's techniques would've been "Legendary Gold" tier—because the Academy's Eighth Realm encompassed everything.
What made Zhao Xing realize Bowe was stronger this time was that last entry:
[General Knowledge Mirror Image]
The Academy possessed a divine artifact called the Universal Mirror. One of its functions was disguising someone's cultivation system.
Without reading the panel, Emperor Fuzhi would appear to be an ordinary sword cultivator Emperor. His role here was supposedly to protect Feng Chen, the Six-Realm Scholar.
After Zhi Xin's death, Bowe had become the Grand Elder. Among the Academy's new generation, there were no more Seven-Realm Scholars.
Feng Chen was widely regarded as the most promising candidate to break that ceiling. Some even believed he would become the next Eight-Realm Scholar after Bowe.
"Don't tell me he's really going to pull it off…" Zhao Xing thought, his heart filled with doubt and unease.
Bowe had started the Transmission Realm Tower as early as the Second Epoch of the Desolate Domain, which was a much better starting point than doing so in the Third Epoch. That was because after entering the Third Epoch, the Desolation of the Domain worsened further, freezing many of the void rivers across the Xuanling Star Domain. The Third Epoch was even known as the beginning of the Ice Age.
Whether it was the cultivation environment, manpower, resources, or power, Bowe had gained a significant advantage over his past life.
Although he likely lost a lot of Realm Spirit Value during the Transmission Realm Tower operation, he had also gained firsthand experience in confronting beings of the Divine Realm.
"If he actually pulls this off, who knows what kind of disaster he'll stir up... I better stay away from this guy," Zhao Xing couldn't help but shiver inwardly.
Bowe drew power from the Transmission Realm Tower and absorbed the Stargazer Historians into his ranks, declaring that from now on, there would be only Historians. The label on the panel also changed accordingly.
There was no doubt—Bowe was absolutely a child of this version. Zhao Xing reminded himself to maintain a sense of caution and reverence.
If Bowe truly succeeded, what kind of influence would that bring?
Zhao Xing was deep in thought, so much so that he didn't even notice when they had already entered the interior of the cave dwelling.
Only when a clear "ming" sound rang out and the surroundings visibly shifted did he realize that the four of them had passed through the safe passage created by Emperor Moxu and arrived in another world.
"Huu—ming~"
The sky was heavy and overcast. The wind howled, as if playing a mournful tune. Zhao Xing's mood sank subconsciously.
A snowflake drifted past his eyes, suddenly lighting up with a flicker, as if a silhouette danced within it—only to vanish the next moment.
Zhao Xing looked up. The moon was obscured by dark clouds, faintly visible.
He and Feng Chen, Emperor Qianyin, and Emperor Fuzhi stood atop a high mountain surrounded by a bleak and desolate world.
"Zhao Shennong, are you alright?" Feng Chen asked with concern. Now that Zhao Xing had achieved the merit of inscribing a Dao Tree and writing a book, Feng Chen was treating him more warmly.
"Thanks for the concern, Elder Feng. I'm fine. Just... my mood feels a bit heavy for some reason." Zhao Xing exhaled deeply. "This wind sounds so sorrowful, like funeral music."
"The Yu tone of Heaven and Earth—it's deep and soft, symbolizing the return of all things to rest," Emperor Qianyin said, eyes closed, feeling the surroundings. "You're not wrong. This world is indeed playing a lamenting song. And it's been doing so for a long time."
Feng Chen nodded. "My judgment aligns with Emperor Qianyin's. What we're hearing is the Yu tone from the Five Divine Tones—one that lasts the longest."
"As the saying goes, 'Yu tone lingers, heard across three epochs.' That's precisely describing the Yu tone in the Five Divine Scales."
"That's actually good news," Emperor Qianyin said cheerfully. "At least it's still within the scope of what we can understand."
"Indeed," Feng Chen agreed.
Zhao Xing could follow their discussion. He had done his homework before coming to the Musician's Cave Dwelling.
The Five Divine Tones were Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, and Yu—the five foundational scales of musicians. The common phrase "tone-deaf" refers to someone lacking ability in these five.
They were called Divine Tones because, historically, five Divine Emperors—Rui Huang, Yu Huang, Luo Huang, Zu Huang, and Li Huang—once traversed the three void layers of the cosmos, collecting the myriad sounds of the Dao to form these cosmic tones.
The Dao was originally abstract. Once manifested as sound, it could be understood by countless beings. Some even began their path of cultivation from this.
The five tones gave rise to twelve rhythms. All musical pieces derived from these, used in cultivation and rituals alike.
Alongside them were five great Dao artifacts: the Rui Divine Bell, the Yu Divine Zither, the Zu Divine Pipe, the Luo Divine Drum, and the Li Divine Flute. Additionally, there were twelve musical rhythm artifacts.
The reason Feng Chen and Emperor Qianyin were pleased was because, despite the mysterious origins of this cave's master, the music here still followed the orthodox path of the Five Divine Tones. It meant they weren't stepping beyond their area of expertise.
Running into something bizarre and inexplicable would actually make the exploration harder.
"The scale strengthens from south to north. If there's a cave dwelling, it should lie to the north. Would you agree, Emperor Qianyin?" Feng Chen asked.
"I agree," Emperor Qianyin nodded.
Zhao Xing had no objections either. The Tianshi Mansion's report had also said the same.
The four moved north slowly through the air, protecting Feng Chen in the center.
Wind and snow grew stronger, clouds thickened, but the moon remained faintly visible, seemingly unmoving.
Zhao Xing didn't try to alter the sky. According to Feng Chen and Emperor Qianyin, unless the source of the Five Tones was cut off, even if they temporarily dispelled the clouds or snow, everything would quickly return.
Rather than risk unexpected changes, it was better not to interfere. After all, none of them feared this environment.
They flew at low altitude for about half a day. The snow intensified until the world turned completely white.
The extreme cold alone was enough to kill many Lord-level cultivators.
Mana was draining rapidly. Zhao Xing lost about 0.5 Realm Units of mana.
Uncertain how much farther they had to go, he pulled out a Sun Star Lamp from his inner world.
The Sun Star Lamp was a mid-grade Samsara-grade Dao Weapon, its only function being to repel cold.
Feng Chen and Emperor Qianyin smiled. Only Zhao Xing would use such a luxury item so casually. They themselves wouldn't have the heart to do it.
"In terms of wealth, Zhao Xing's probably the richest among us. Looks like we're benefiting just by being here," Emperor Qianyin joked.
"Hahaha, indeed. It's much warmer now," Feng Chen said, exhaling a frosty breath. Laughter rang out amid the snowstorm.
They flew for another two and a half days. The great cold waned to lesser cold.
The snowflakes overhead started changing form, hanging in the air like threads—as if musical notes were floating.
The sound of the wind changed too. Beyond the continuous "ming ming" tone, a new long note emerged—"mi".
"The Jue tone of Heaven and Earth—symbolizing life's sprouting and the growth of wood," Feng Chen said, lifting a wine flask and listening intently. It was partly for warmth and partly out of habit.
"We should be seeing plants soon. Zhao Shennong, keep your eyes sharp. Who knows? You might find some valuable native species to offset the cost of that Sun Star Lamp."
Zhao Xing's hand dimmed as he stowed away the solar star lamp. Its grade had already fallen from mid-grade Reincarnation Dao Weapon to low-grade.
"If it's just a regular native species, there's no need to waste time on it," Zhao Xing said with a grin as he put away the lamp. He didn't care about a bit of money now. He had enough solar star lamps to burn them like candles.
"I came this time mostly to broaden my horizons. Getting treasures is secondary."
"If we really find a cave dwelling, I probably won't be able to pass the owner's trial anyway. I'll be counting on you three."
Zhao Xing kept a humble, laid-back stance. The group dynamic remained pleasant—except that Emperor Fuzhi kept chatting him up, asking about the treatment of Zhenling Heavenly Poison and events within Xuecheng. Her curiosity about him was far from ordinary.
They kept flying north for about two more months.
As expected, the land became vibrant and alive again, the dark clouds and snowfall gradually dispersing.
Zhao Xing saw plenty of plants and trees, and soon, a lord-level native species blocked their path.
Whoosh~
Zhao Xing summoned the Seven Domain Zhenling Bamboo.
"Zui zui~"
Purple energy rippled through the bamboo, and the giant vine in front—its mouth shaped like a gear—was instantly shattered into powder.
Zhao Xing split off a Primordial Avatar and began digging into the soil.
He wasn't that interested in plant lifeforms; he was far more focused on the soil.
"Judging by the soil layers, this ancient micro-world likely dates back to the Early Triassic Period."
"But the spiritual veins are weak now. This might be the last lord-level plant lifeform here."
He left a Primordial Avatar to keep researching while his main body moved forward with the others.
Soon, red fire-colored clouds appeared overhead, suspended like musical notes in the sky. The world brightened. Volcanoes and massive rivers appeared more frequently, and the spiritual energy levels rose sharply.
"Weihyin's lingering resonance—fire element is rising. There are a lot of fire-element boundary stones here," Emperor Qianyin's eyes sparkled.
Below, large mineral veins of boundary stones were clearly visible, exposed right on the surface. There were so many that the group paused.
"Zhao Shennong, we'll have to trouble you with this one," Emperor Qianyin looked to him. She could split mountains and crack the ground too.
But to extract a vein without damaging its structure or value, only a Shennong could do it right.
"Leave it to me." Zhao Xing descended immediately. Using the Earth Core Fissure Method combined with the Fragmentation Technique and the Wall-Splitting Method…
With a barrage of spells, the boundary stone veins surfaced and were extracted cleanly.
"Smooth and elegant! A flawless operation," Emperor Fuzhi praised. "Anyone else would have turned the place into a mess."
"No wonder he's a Shennong who wrote Dao books and founded his own school," Emperor Qianyin also admired him.
They stayed in the Weihyin region for about a month and mined the boundary stone veins completely.
Zhao Xing did a rough estimate. The value of the stones mined was about sixty thousand Xuanling coins.
Split four ways, each person got fifteen thousand. That alone more than paid for their trip. The minimum wealth for someone at the Emperor level was just ten thousand Xuanling coins. A high-grade Reincarnation Dao Weapon ranged from five thousand to fifty thousand.
As usual, Zhao Xing left a Primordial Avatar behind and continued onward with the group.
After passing through the Shangyin metal region, the terrain rose steadily, and lifeforms became scarce again.
Ancient buildings began to appear, but they were mostly ruins—collapsed walls and broken columns that hinted at a glorious past. He left another Avatar behind to study them.
His main body flew on with the others for another six months until they reached the Gongyin region.
"Gong is the first of the five tones, representing kingship and command."
"Its sound is slow and heavy, majestic and solemn."
"We've likely arrived at the residence of the cave's original master."
Zhao Xing looked up and saw the sky ahead filled with floating musical notes. These notes triggered all sorts of phenomena—wind, rain, thunder, clouds—even mountains floated in the sky.
But now the notes were completely disordered, like a collapsed mess, scattered haphazardly.
Worse, they gave off bursts of noise that disrupted Zhao Xing's focus.
Seeing this, Feng Chen pulled out a talisman and stuck it to Zhao Xing's chest.
The noise immediately lessened, and the oppressive feeling lifted.
Dang!
Emperor Qianyin summoned a golden bell and tapped it gently.
Sound waves spread visibly, pushing back the notes in the sky.
A clear path opened, revealing a golden palace in the air. It was suspended by four thread-like strings that looked like guqin strings, anchored on one end to the palace's foundation, and the other disappearing into the void.
The palace looked like it was hanging from a spider web—spinning and shimmering.
Snowflakes drifted. Wind circled. In the moonlight, Zhao Xing saw a giant tree to the east of the palace, its curled leaves swaying in the wind, producing billions of different sounds.
To the south, a vine danced in the air like it was performing.
To the west, there were four flowers with black-edged red petals. Three had withered, and only one remained, petals still closed.
To the north stood a barren golden bamboo pole, stripped of branches and leaves, scarred with black burn marks like it had been struck by lightning.
Zhao Xing focused on the plants. The other three were more interested in the palace itself.
Feng Chen read aloud the couplet inscribed on the palace gate:
"Wind sings, snow weeps, a thousand strings voice sorrow and regret.
Moon hides, flowers fade, five tones bury broken music."
"Gong-Shang—silenced forever."
"Elder Feng, that sounds... unlucky," Emperor Fuzhi narrowed her eyes.
Zhao Xing noticed her hand disappear into her sleeve and reemerge—a habitual motion of a Fate Master calculating fate.
She was clearly trying to divine something.
"Elder Feng, can you tell the origin of this palace?" Emperor Qianyin didn't act rashly.
"No. I can only guess it's from the era of Rui Huang or Luo Huang," Feng Chen shook his head.
Just then, several musical notes fused together on the palace steps outside the gate, forming the image of a long-haired immortal woman dressed in flowing white.
Her gaze swept over the four figures below the steps. She passed over Zhao Xing and Feng Chen, then said something to Emperor Qianyin and Emperor Fuzhi. But Zhao Xing couldn't hear it.
"Fuzhi, what is she saying?" Feng Chen also couldn't catch it and had to ask.
"She said this palace is called Lingluo Palace, and its master was known as Lingluo Zunzhe. She is the artifact spirit of Lingluo Palace," Emperor Fuzhi answered.
"Lingluo Zunzhe left behind an inheritance trial, but only Emperor Qianyin and I are allowed to take part in it."
A flicker of surprise flashed through Emperor Qianyin's eyes. If the trial was restricted by profession, then she should be the only qualified one. Why would Emperor Fuzhi, a sword cultivator, be allowed too?
But there was no time to think further, because Feng Chen had already nodded, and Emperor Fuzhi stepped through the palace gate.
Emperor Qianyin hurried to follow. Since the title "Zunzhe" implied semi-divine status, she couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.
"Elder Feng, what about us? Just wait out here?" Zhao Xing eyed the four types of plants surrounding the palace, itching to make a move.
The treasures inside the palace were off-limits to non-musicians—fine.
But those four plants? They were all fantastic!
Through his panel, Zhao Xing could tell that aside from the withered bamboo, the other three were all still alive and at Emperor level.
More importantly, they were rare "derivative species," trained by Lingluo Zunzhe's musical cultivation. They possessed musician and dancer skills.
Emperor-tier plant soldiers that understood the Dao of music? That was rare beyond belief!
Zhao Xing had just opened up his internal world and needed new soldier species. He had Black Sky Moon Tree for support, Devouring Spirit Grass still in training, and only one usable Seven Region True Spirit Bamboo. Hardly worthy of being called a swarm commander.
"You want to subdue those plants?" Feng Chen caught on to Zhao Xing's thoughts.
"Yes!" Zhao Xing nodded quickly. "I can't enter the palace, but maybe there's some wiggle room for what's outside. Could you ask her on my behalf?"
Feng Chen could read the couplets on the gate, while Zhao Xing couldn't. As a Six Realms Scholar, Feng Chen should also be able to communicate with the artifact spirit.
Scholars' general knowledge skills could decipher all worldly methods! Understanding languages was a basic skill. In ancient realms, no exploration team could go without a scholar translator. A mistranslation could easily trigger fatal consequences.
"I'll ask." Feng Chen stepped forward. Golden light flowed from his mouth as he spoke in an unknown language to the artifact spirit at the steps.
Zhao Xing waited eagerly.
The artifact spirit really responded. He studied their expressions carefully, but couldn't glean much.
After a while, the spirit suddenly snorted, her expression souring.
Feng Chen had to stop speaking and walked back.
"Elder Feng, what did she say?"
Feng Chen shook his head. "The artifact spirit is named Xuanyue. At first, she was polite."
Scholars are respected in any era, so letting a scholar speak caused less offense.
"I told her that we have a genius Shennong in our time, someone who's authored books on the Dao Tree. These plant lives would wither and die here eventually, so why not entrust them to you?"
"What did she say?" Zhao Xing asked eagerly.
"She said you're too weak and can't keep them alive."
Calling me weak? That rubbed Zhao Xing the wrong way.
Blind spirit!
"I said, weak or not, at least let you try," Feng Chen continued.
"After some persuasion, she agreed to let you attempt to collect the plants. But the terms are harsh. She demands you pass three tests under her hand. Each one requires Emperor-tier strength just to have a chance."
"I tried negotiating. She got annoyed, and the conversation ended."
"Elder, please tell her I want to try." Zhao Xing pleaded.
His internal world met the Emperor-tier standard. And cultivation systems in ancient times weren't as developed—maybe her standard for Emperor wasn't as high as today's?
He also had Blue Flower and Red Lotus mana, plus a full set of magical tools. How could he not try?
"You're not joking?" Feng Chen was stunned. He still didn't have a clear picture of Zhao Xing's strength. "Didn't I make it clear? The requirement is Emperor-tier, not Lord-tier."
"Elder, I can do it." Zhao Xing insisted.
With a wave, he instantly took Feng Chen into his internal world—
Then released him just as fast.
"Your internal world—" Feng Chen looked surprised after stepping out. "Why is it so vast?"
Even with a quick glance, he saw boundless continents, primeval oceans, and primitive clouds with a yin-yang nine-star system. This didn't look like someone who had just broken into Reincarnation Realm.
"No, this is still too risky." Feng Chen was kind-hearted and worried. "Since I brought you in, I'm responsible. If anything goes wrong, I'll have to answer for it."
Zhao Xing grew anxious. Couldn't he see how eager he was to improve?
"Elder, let me try. If it doesn't work, I'll withdraw immediately. I won't push it."
"Alright then." Feng Chen reluctantly nodded. "In that case, I'll go ask again and find out exactly what the three trials are."
Earlier, he hadn't asked in detail. As soon as he heard "Emperor standard," he tried to bargain and got cut off. Now he had to get specifics.
Before long, Feng Chen returned.
"She made it clear. The first trial is the Trial of Will." Feng Chen pointed to the staircase to the east. "You must walk up, pass through the Five-Tone Illusion Realm, and reach that big tree. If you can make it there, the first trial is passed."