Chapter 364: Let me tell you a story (Big chapter!)

Yun Tiandao came out.

Yun Tiandao approached.

Zhao Xing was beaten.

……

Yun Tiandao's chest heaved as he maintained a posture. A storm gathered in his eyes; he had just landed a hundred uppercuts on Zhao Xing. Because his speed was so fast, it looked as if he had only thrown one punch.

Why did he beat Zhao Xing? Because Yun Tiandao was very angry.

He knew that if he asked Zhao Xing after coming out, he wouldn't get an answer immediately; Zhao Xing would definitely only speak after ascending.

He would certainly not tell him now, so as to distract his energy and continue to disturb his Dao heart.

Since he wouldn't speak, he would just break Zhao Xing's jaw and make him shut up once and for all!

Zhao Xing did not dodge, nor did he resist. One had to let people vent sometimes.

Thus, he just looked at the other party with an "I am very sorry" expression.

When Yun Tiandao finished and withdrew his hand, Zhao Xing rubbed his chin and set his dislocated jaw back into place.

"Brother Yun, this set of boxing techniques is called 'Little Four Seasons Hou Hou Bian Fist'." Zhao Xing said helplessly, "Even if you wanted to test whether what I said was true, you didn't have to throw so many punches. I could have named this boxing technique after one punch. This was when you were the Great Si Nong of the Xia Dynasty and were..."

"Enough! Don't bring up old history!" Yun Tiandao's face darkened. How did this guy know everything?!

Of course Zhao Xing knew; Yun Tiandao had told him personally in his previous life.

Restraining his anger and recovering his composure, Yun Tiandao finally calmed down. He stared at Zhao Xing: "If what you said is a lie, then you have truly succeeded in tricking me out. Now, I have no other path to take."

Zhao Xing said with a solemn expression: "Brother Yun, I did not lie to you. At most a hundred years, at least fifty, and you will know everything."

Completing the feat of ascension, in Zhao Xing's estimation, would take about fifty to a hundred years.

After Ji Che established the Dao, the timing was basically ripe; conquering the barbarians would not take that long.

Yun Tiandao stopped talking nonsense. Since he had made his choice, he would follow this choice to the end, until death.

"Someone must enter the House of the Era to become its new master before I can completely leave the Land of Return to Ruins."

"I have now left the core of the House of the Era. You have about four hours to consider who to send in."

Hearing this, Zhao Xing nodded: "It won't take that long. I will go find them now."

Yun Tiandao did not follow.

When Zhao Xing went to find Ji Che and the others, Yun Tiandao straightened the non-existent wrinkles on his clothes in front of the door and looked back at the courtyard that had trapped him for long, long years.

His expression shifted from reluctance, worry, and bewilderment.

Soon, it turned into excitement and anticipation.

"Zhao Xing."

He smiled.

Finally, he returned to calm.

…………

When Zhao Xing arrived at the place where everyone was resting.

Yun Ze was pacing back and forth in the hall. Lu Xia picked up the teacup with rolling tea leaves once again. Kan Qing and Xiao Yun were chatting idly with Fairy Lingdie. Chen Yu was examining the Cloud and Rain painting hanging on the wall.

Ling Ling Tianchen and Wang Wang Tianzhi sat beside Ji Che, their expressions relaxed, while Ji Che was closing his eyes to rest.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Xing slowed his pace.

"As expected, only Old Wang and Dean Ling are suitable candidates."

Asking Ji Che to take people away was actually a process of observation.

Ji Che would give the seven people a strong signal at the place where Fairy Lingdie was resting, which was: Zhao Xing would definitely be able to persuade Yun Tiandao.

Since he would definitely be able to persuade him, the next problem would be: who would go in to replace Yun Tiandao?

Zhao Xing and Ji Che trusted these seven people; every one of them was willing.

But willingness was one thing, and whether they could endure it was another.

Becoming the master of the House of the Era meant becoming a lonely watcher.

This watching time was not one or two years, not a hundred or two hundred years, but a million years!

Not everyone was suitable for this task.

"I'm back."

Zhao Xing stepped into the hall.

Ji Che opened his eyes and met Zhao Xing's gaze. Both nodded slightly.

The seven Si Nong immediately fell silent and looked at Zhao Xing.

"Your Majesty, Senior Yun has agreed to come out of seclusion."

Hearing Zhao Xing's words, the seven couldn't help but cheer.

"That's great!"

"Hahaha, the Great Si Nong is worthy of being the Great Si Nong."

"Ancestor Yun is indeed a good ancestor."

"But he happens to have a descendant like you, tsk."

"Dean Kan, what nonsense are you spouting? Dean Lu, look at her!"

"Crazy."

"……"

If there was anyone most surprised here, it had to be Fairy Lingdie.

She was a grand-disciple taken in by Yun Tiandao in the last thousand years. After her teacher died, she became Yun Tiandao's eyes in the Profound Yellow World.

She understood this grand-teacher very well; logically, he would absolutely not come out of seclusion halfway.

How powerful was grand-teacher's will? That was a million years of persistence!

Yet, grand-teacher was actually persuaded by Zhao Xing?

"Lord Zhao, has grand-teacher really come out of seclusion?"

"Yes, Fairy can go and see."

"Alright, please excuse me."

Fairy Lingdie apologized and then hurriedly left the room.

Thus, only the nine people from the Great Zhou remained in the room.

Ji Che scanned everyone and spoke slowly: "Since Yun Tiandao has come out, to leave completely, someone must be sent into the House of the Era to replace him."

"Your Majesty, this subject is willing to go." The seven Si Nong came to the middle of the hall and spoke in unison.

Ji Che waved his hand: "I know you are all capable of taking on the heavy responsibility, but this is a death choice that may last for a million years, or even result in never being able to come out again."

"If anyone is willing to withdraw, take a step back now. I swear by the ancestors that I will never force you. Furthermore, I will erase everyone's memory of this segment, and no one will ever know."

Not a single person stepped back, but Zhao Xing keenly felt that five of the seven people had extremely subtle soul fluctuations; only two were as they had always been.

Ji Che closed his eyes. After a brief silence, he waved his hand: "Wang Wang Tianzhi and Ling Ling Tianchen stay, the others go out."

The other five looked at each other, then looked at Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing spoke:

"His Majesty not choosing you five is not because he looks down on you, nor because he thinks you are cowardly, but because he is choosing who is more suitable for the duty of a guardian."

"Go out and wait."

Hearing Zhao Xing say the same, Lu Xia, Xiao Yun, Kan Qing, Chen Yu, and Yun Ze had no choice but to bow and withdraw.

Only Wang Wang Tianzhi and Ling Ling Tianchen, along with Ji Che's clone and Zhao Xing, remained in the hall.

At this step, Ji Che found it a bit difficult to choose.

From entering the Land of Return to Ruins until now, both men's performance was suitable for taking on this duty.

But, Zhao Xing had said earlier that this was the Profound Yellow World's last chance.

Then, choosing someone was almost like sending them to their death, and the kind that would only die after an era had passed.

Such a choice was too cruel, not to mention these were all core members he had known since childhood. Ji Che was an Emperor, true, but he was not the cold and heartless Emperor Jing; he could not make a choice so quickly.

"Your Majesty, I am more suitable to become the guardian." Ling Ling Tianchen did not let the silence become long and cruel. After the five went out, he spoke.

"The Hou Hou Bian Academy has always had such a tradition; I, Ling Ling Tianchen, will not shirk."

Then Ling Ling Tianchen turned to Zhao Xing: "Great Si Nong, the position of Dean of the Hou Hou Bian Academy can be taken over by Hu Yang or Zhang Tianxing. Personally, I prefer Zhang Tianxing."

"Hu Yang is still not steady enough; he easily offends those mechanism masters. Zhang Tianxing is just joking; he really would tease those mechanism masters..."

"Wait a minute, Dean Ling!" Wang Wang Tianzhi was unhappy and immediately interrupted. "How come you've started arranging your funeral affairs? I haven't even agreed yet."

"Your Majesty, Great Si Nong!" Wang Wang Tianzhi said loudly: "When it comes to the duty of a guardian, it should be me, Wang Wang Tianzhi!"

"Ling Ling Tianchen is good at the Hou Hou Bian Law and the four laws of wind, rain, thunder, and clouds, but he cannot compare to me."

"Staying in the Land of Return to Ruins to collect spiritual energy, he is definitely not as good as me."

"Besides, what do you mean by your Hou Hou Bian Academy's tradition? Making it seem like only your Hou Hou Bian Academy is great in the Profound Heaven Academy."

"Wang Tianzhi, you..."

"Enough, don't fight with me this time." Wang Wang Tianzhi interrupted: "I'm sick of always being second. Can you let me grab first place for once?"

"No."

"You bastard."

"Shut up, just be your ten-thousand-year second-in-command for me!"

"……"

Taking advantage of their argument, Ji Che looked at Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing thought for a moment, his gaze falling on Wang Wang Tianzhi as if casting dice.

Ji Che immediately said: "Dean Ling, you go out, Wang Wang Tianzhi stay."

Ling Ling Tianchen's body shook, his expression dim.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Wang Wang Tianzhi waved at Ling Ling Tianchen happily: "Dean Ling, take care. Go back and tell my teacher that I, Wang Wang Tianzhi, am going to live forever, hahaha. Who else in the Profound Heaven Academy can do this?"

Ling Ling Tianchen couldn't help but be speechless. Looking at Wang Wang Tianzhi's silly happy appearance, he couldn't tell for a moment whether Wang Wang Tianzhi really thought so in his heart or was saying it on purpose.

After Ling Ling Tianchen left, only three people remained in the hall.

"Dean Wang, do you have anything else you want to say?"

Wang Wang Tianzhi thought for a moment:

"Your Majesty, Great Si Nong, this subject actually has nothing left to say, just some regrets about not being able to witness the Great Zhou's feat of ascension."

"Of course, if you are talking about a last wish. This subject does have one small request, but this might be a bit excessive."

Wang Wang Tianzhi secretly glanced at Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Dean Wang doesn't want to experience the addiction of being the Great Si Nong before leaving, does he?"

"Hahaha, the Great Si Nong is wise."

"……"

Ji Che also laughed. He took out an imperial decree from his Qiankun bag (small) and wrote one on the spot: "Wang Wang Tianzhi, listen to the decree."

"Your Majesty, I was joking." Wang Wang Tianzhi was stunned.

Ji Che read directly: "After I ascend, Zhao Xing will choose an opportunity to step down as the Ninth Great Si Nong, and you will become the Tenth Great Si Nong of the Great Zhou."

"The position of the Tenth Great Si Nong will remain vacant until we bring you back."

Seeing Wang Wang Tianzhi stunned, Zhao Xing smiled: "Dean Wang, why don't you accept the decree?"

Wang Wang Tianzhi then reacted: "This subject, this subject accepts the decree."

Afterwards, Wang Wang Tianzhi held the imperial decree and asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, Great Si Nong. Can I still see you alive?"

Zhao Xing nodded: "Of course."

Wang Wang Tianzhi was silent.

"You don't believe it?"

"I believe it."

"Stop pretending, Dean Wang, you just don't believe it."

"Alright, I still don't quite believe it." Wang Wang Tianzhi spread his hands: "Didn't the Great Si Nong say before that this is the Profound Yellow World's last chance for ascension? Since the spiritual energy recovery will no longer happen, how can I see you again?"

Zhao Xing said: "I did say this is the Profound Yellow World's last chance for ascension, but I never said you couldn't ascend, nor did I say we couldn't come back and fish you out."

"You must know that above the Ascension Realm is the Origin Realm."

"The Origin Realm has three stages. Reaching the third stage, combined with a World Weapon, I will be able to fish you out."

Seeming to see the doubt in Wang Wang Tianzhi's heart, Zhao Xing said leisurely:

"Just because other dynasties couldn't do it doesn't mean the Great Zhou can't."

"Just because other dynasties haven't come back doesn't mean we can't."

"The Profound Yellow World is dying, but the human race is getting stronger generation by generation."

"How many Ultimate Laws of Heaven and Time were there before? Only seven. But now, there are over a hundred!"

A light lit up in Wang Wang Tianzhi's eyes.

Zhao Xing indeed did not lie to Wang Wang Tianzhi.

In his previous life, he was among the first batch of players to ascend, so of course there were a second batch, a third batch, and even more.

But since the Profound Yellow World had no chance to recover its spiritual energy and was heading towards extinction, how would the later players ascend?

The answer is: the first batch of players come back to fish people out.

The first batch of players to ascend would trigger a large-scale quest "Save the Profound Yellow World" after ascending.

And this quest was consistent with the interests of large-scale guilds; after all, the first batch of people to ascend were too few. They were weak in the universe, and only fellow players were the most useful.

Dying and living, living and dying, players were willing to do any dirty or tiring work. Immortal and indestructible cattle and horses... where else could one find them?

To complete the "Save the Profound Yellow World" quest, one had to continuously complete a series of chain quests like 【Hidden Broken Illusion】, 【Confirm Coordinates】, 【Break the Origin】, etc.

In his previous life, major national guilds managed to achieve the point of fishing people out for ascension one after another. Zhao Xing knew these things clearly; it just depended on whether he wanted to or not.

"You are much better than Yun Tiandao; we certainly won't let you wait for an entire era."

"About how long?" The one asking was Ji Che.

"Hard to say, at least three thousand years." Zhao Xing pondered. He didn't make a full promise, otherwise, if Wang Wang Tianzhi didn't see anyone when the time came, wouldn't he be disappointed?

If nothing unexpected happened, Zhao Xing would be more than two thousand years ahead of the ascension node in his previous life.

Being ahead by so much, it wasn't a familiar plot, so it was really hard to say how things would develop.

"Only three thousand years?" Wang Wang Tianzhi was immediately happy. Compared to a million years, these three thousand years were just a nap.

"Hahaha, grabbing this first place was indeed the right choice!"

…………

On the way to see Yun Tiandao, Wang Wang Tianzhi was very excited, laughing happily as if he had taken some great advantage.

Seeing him like this, Ling Ling Tianchen and the others felt complicated.

Yun Tiandao also didn't understand at all.

"What did you promise him? Why is he so happy?"

It was truly strange. For something like going to die, it would be good enough if Wang Wang Tianzhi could be indifferent, yet he was actually happy like a fool.

He could understand if it was faked, but Yun Tiandao could see that Wang Wang Tianzhi wasn't faking it; he was truly happy from the bottom of his heart.

This was very hard to understand.

"He probably remembered something happy."

"What happy thing?"

"He, forget it..."

Yun Tiandao took a deep breath.

He found it hard to believe that he would actually be friends with such a person. Always saying half of what he meant—it was really hard to resist not hitting him.

The road back to the House of the Era seemed infinitely long.

But the road had to be finished eventually.

Soon, Yun Tiandao and the others returned to the front of the door.

"To become the master of the House of the Era, first, one must reach the Rule Realm, and second, one needs to use the Key of the Era as a medium to make a life-soul oath."

"After making the life-soul oath, you will refine it instantly. After that, as long as you walk in, you can completely become the master of this house."

"No matter how long you live, your lifespan will be frozen."

"You can cultivate and sleep inside... you can do anything, but you must follow certain rules, such as waking up at regular intervals to collect spiritual energy."

Yun Tiandao handed a crystal-clear bead to Wang Wang Tianzhi: "This item is called the Spiritual Energy Bead, an advanced version of the Cloud and Rain Bead."

"When it completes the seven-color change of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, and then turns transparent again, you will have met the conditions for replacing someone. Before that, even if you find someone, you won't be able to swap yourself out."

"In the House of the Era, you can cultivate up to the realm of Establishing the Dao and Ascending."

"Reaching this realm, you will no longer be able to advance, but you can pass the time by doing other things, such as studying spells."

"Theoretically speaking, there is no limit to spells; it just depends on how high your talent is."

"After collecting enough spiritual energy, you can influence the outside world through your three souls, such as taking in a disciple and bringing them to the Land of Return to Ruins, but there is only one quota. If there are more, it will automatically erase their memory, and they will forget you after going out."

"You can also observe the universe in the House of the Era, but now you won't be able to see much. Most of the time, you won't get any insights."

"Inside the House of the Era, there are also some notes left by several guardians..."

Yun explained in great detail.

During the time before Wang Wang Tianzhi entered the door, he explained everything that needed to be explained.

Listening to Yun Tiandao's narration, Wang Wang Tianzhi became more and more excited.

If one set aside the restriction on freedom, the House of the Era was simply an excellent place for enlightenment and cultivation!

Plus, he firmly believed that Zhao Xing would come back to fish him out. Looking at it this way, he was simply taking a huge advantage!

"Big Brother, why do I feel that this Dao Weapon wasn't born for protection, but rather like some kind of cultivation place?" Ji Che transmitted his voice, expressing his doubt.

"Hmm, actually, it was built as a kind of 'cultivation dark room'. Its purpose is forced seclusion; you cannot leave until you achieve certain conditions."

"The House of the Era's widespread use in the universe is actually this. The Profound Yellow World is just a custom version that ended up like this."

"Direct descendants of large families and major forces usually inherit their parents' powerful cultivation talent, but they don't really need to cultivate much and find it hard to be diligent. This thing is just to regulate those lazy people with good talent." Zhao Xing explained.

"The universe is vast, and there is nothing strange in it." Ji Che yearned.

…………

Wang Wang Tianzhi entered the Land of Return to Ruins happily; even his farewell seemed very perfunctory. He just waved his hand and ran excitedly to study the mysteries of the House of the Era.

His optimism also dispelled some of the negative emotions of Ling Ling Tianchen and the others.

Yun Tiandao took Fairy Lingdie onto the Cloud Sea Flying Boat and embarked on the journey back to the Profound Yellow Continent.

On the way back, Yun Tiandao, Zhao Xing, and Ji Che began to chat about the recovery plan and the ascension plan.

"I didn't come out as a guardian for nothing."

"This is the Spiritual Energy Bead." Yun Tiandao took out a transparent bead the size of a fist, "Inside is the spiritual energy I accumulated over nearly an era."

Every year, spiritual energy flowed from the four seas into the Land of Return to Ruins, which meant it flowed into this bead.

Even in the era of low spiritual energy, there was still spiritual energy, just not much. Accumulating for an era, the spiritual energy inside was an astonishing amount.

"It itself is at the level of a Top-Grade Star Dao Weapon, but it only has one function: to collect and release spiritual energy."

"Ji Che, now, I hand it to you." Yun Tiandao handed the bead over.

"Thank you, Mr. Yun." Ji Che didn't mind Yun Tiandao's form of address; after all, Yun Tiandao was a subject of the Xia Dynasty, not his subject.

Yun Tiandao would only respect the Xia Emperor as Your Majesty; he and he were at most a cooperative relationship.

To show respect, he could call him Senior or Mr.; if he didn't want to lower his status, calling him Fellow Daoist Yun was also fine.

After all, they had a common goal.

"I don't have any other treasures on me; if I do, they are just some souvenirs." Yun Tiandao said frankly: "I won't take them out to embarrass myself."

"Mr. Yun himself is the greatest treasure." Ji Che smiled. "I wonder what step Mr. Yun has reached in Establishing the Dao and Ascending?"

Yun Tiandao replied: "My Dao has reached its end in the Profound Yellow World and cannot continue."

"That is to say, Mr. has reached the perfection of Establishing the Dao."

"Yes."

Zhao Xing and Ji Che were not surprised.

Yun Tiandao himself was the Great Si Nong of the Xia Dynasty. Such a genius, having experienced the long cultivation of the House of the Era, was himself the greatest treasure!

Theoretically speaking, he was even more powerful than Ji Che!

Because Ji Che was only at the initial stage of Establishing the Dao, while Yun Tiandao was already at the perfection of Establishing the Dao.

But in reality, the strength of the two had to be compared according to the situation.

If he left the territory of the Great Zhou and Ji Che acted alone, he would be weaker than Yun Tiandao.

If it were within the territory of the Great Zhou, or if he were on a personal expedition with all the emperor's gear, he would be stronger than Yun Tiandao.

Of course, in the Profound Yellow World, such a gap was very small, belonging to the level where neither could do anything to the other, because both of their strengths were already at the ceiling level of the Profound Yellow World.

If one set aside the identity of the Luck Emperor and put the two in a great battle outside the Profound Yellow World, then Yun Tiandao would definitely win.

Because his Law was too strong.

Even if he only spent half of his waking time cultivating, that was half of four hundred thousand years!

In the universe, he could easily kill the cultivator Ji Che, but he couldn't kill the Luck Emperor Ji Che.

"All my spells start from the perfection of the Ultimate Law."

"The five laws of the Si Nong Dao: Wind, Rain, Thunder, Cloud, and Hou Hou Bian."

"The four laws of Earthly Advantage: Earth Palace, Earth Store, Profound Earth, and Spiritual Mountain."

"All have multiple Ultimate Laws."

"As for the four laws of the Self, I only created the Ultimate Law of Folding and Bending, but it has also reached perfection."

"All other miscellaneous spells and side-door paths are at least at the perfection of the Ultimate."

"In addition, I have four spells that have reached the level of Minor Divine Ability."

"Two of them belong to the Dao of Heaven and Time, namely Cloud and Wind."

"One is a physical spell called 'Star Eye', which I realized from observing the changes in the universe."

"One belongs to the fate-type spell, called 'Mountain and Sea Great Luck', used for finding people."

Even though they were mentally prepared, Zhao Xing and Ji Che were still shocked by Yun Tiandao.

Spells starting from the perfection of the Ultimate Law, and he was almost an all-around talent.

He even created four Minor Divine Abilities!

Note, Yun Tiandao didn't learn them; he created them!

"Old Yun's talent is truly monstrous; even in the ancient kingdoms of the Desolate Domain, he would be a genius." Zhao Xing sighed in his heart.

His talent was even above Qing Qing Yu Zi's!

After all, Yun Tiandao hadn't systematically studied; he had realized them himself in the Profound Yellow World and created Minor Divine Abilities. Of course, these divine abilities weren't as strong as "Three God Life Palace" or "Eight Era Purple Light", but they were in the ranks of Minor Divine Abilities.

"Mr. Yun is a great talent; Che admires him from the bottom of his heart." Ji Che focused on the two Minor Divine Abilities Yun Tiandao had created.

"Star Eye" observed the universe; clearly, Yun Tiandao had been conscientiously fulfilling his duty.

"Mountain and Sea Great Luck"—the Mountain and Sea Calendar was created by the Xia Emperor, and it was also the year name of the Xia Emperor. The Great Luck Coin was also invented in the Xia Dynasty.

Yun Tiandao, a Si Nong, had actually created a fate-type Minor Divine Ability because he missed his relatives and hometown whose lives and deaths were unknown. Such a subject was hard not to respect.

"Based on Mr.'s experience, does our dynasty already have the conditions to conquer the Southern Barbarians?" Ji Che asked. Along the way, he and Zhao Xing had introduced the foundation of the Great Zhou to Yun Tiandao.

Since they were partners, the details had to be told to Yun Tiandao, not to mention that the Xia Dynasty had successful experience.

"The only obstacle for the Great Zhou to conquer the Southern Barbarians is the Great Divine Ability 【Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication】 after passing the Yin-Yin Mountain."

"The other conditions can be said to be better than when we were there." Yun Tiandao scanned the secret files over and over.

"Is there a way to break 【Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication】?" Ji Che asked.

While looking one by one/p>

"No." Yun Tiandao shook his head. "At most, one can only pull both sides to the same condition. It is already very difficult to do this; it is absolutely impossible to break it."

Ji Che looked at Zhao Xing again, who also nodded: "Yes, there is no way to break it."

Yun Tiandao continued: "Only a Great Divine Ability can break a Great Divine Ability. Once Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication is deployed, it will only dissipate when the era of spiritual energy ends."

Ji Che asked strangely: "Doesn't that mean the Witch Moon God is stronger than all of us?"

Yun Tiandao had stayed in the House of the Era for so long, and in the end, he could only display a Minor Divine Ability.

His talent and strength could be said to be the ceiling of the Profound Yellow World.

Yun Tiandao couldn't do it, but the Witch Moon God could?

It was normal for Ji Che to have such doubts.

Yun Tiandao shook his head: "No, Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication was not deployed by the Witch Moon God. The so-called last disaster of the Ten Disasters of the Heavenly Witch actually has nothing to do with the Heavenly Witch. He just acted as a medium to activate Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication."

"As for how this Great Divine Ability was formed, we didn't figure it out at the time; we only guessed that it might have some connection with the origin of the Profound Yellow World."

Ji Che asked: "How did the Xia Dynasty pass this hurdle?"

Within Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication, everyone else turned into ordinary people, and even mechanism arrays lost their effect.

It was as if a world of high martial arts and high magic had suddenly turned into a world without martial arts or magic.

But the Southern Barbarians still had some people who maintained partial strength.

The enemy couldn't mobilize origin energy or spiritual energy, couldn't display martial arts or spells—such an advantage sounded desperate.

Yun Tiandao recalled: "Actually, it's not as absolute as you think."

"I just said that the Witch Moon God is only a medium; this is not his own power."

"We can look at Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication as a precise mechanism. The Great Zhou does not have the usage permission and will be suppressed by this precise mechanism."

"This mechanism was not made by the Witch Moon God either; he can only use part of the permission."

"Therefore, the highest combat power that appears in Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication will not exceed the Sixth Rank."

"Sixth Rank Heaven-Gang Realm..." Ji Che muttered to himself. "It really is a destined number in the dark."

Ninth Rank Qi Gathering, Eighth Rank Spiritual Bridge, Seventh Rank Earth-Sha, Sixth Rank Heaven-Gang. It just so happened that the highest "permission holder" allowed in Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication was the Sixth Rank Heaven-Gang Realm.

Yun Tiandao picked up a memorial on the desk: "Now, it is a permission token that can use spells and martial arts."

"Clatter~"

Yun Tiandao swept away the official documents on the desk, cleared a blank space, and then placed the memorial in the south.

"Now the Southern Barbarians have many such tokens. Holding them, one can use strength not exceeding the Sixth Rank within the range of Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication."

"The vast majority of the Southern Barbarians are still restricted and are ordinary people."

Yun Tiandao drew another circle, circling the memorial.

"When Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication is deployed, it must be the moment the Southern Barbarians are at the brink of life and death."

"At this time, the Luck Dynasty of the Central Plains will far exceed the Southern Barbarians in both numbers and logistics."

"Ji Che, I want to ask a question."

"Mr., please speak."

"Is the Sixth Rank invincible to ordinary people?"

Ji Che nodded: "Yes, it can absolutely be called invincible. After the body tempering of Earth-Sha and Heaven-Gang, even the most fragile Ritual Cultivator's body cannot be harmed by ordinary swords."

"Even if surrounded by ten thousand or a hundred thousand people, they cannot be killed; they can escape."

Ordinary swords refer to non-ranked mortal weapons; ranked ones are called Divine Weapons.

Yun Tiandao nodded: "What about the Ninth Rank?"

Ji Che's eyes lit up, and he understood instantly: "So that's how it is."

Ninth Rank Qi Gathering is not invincible to ordinary people.

An army composed of ordinary people can absolutely encircle and suppress a Ninth Rank.

Think about what spells Zhao Xing knew in the Ninth Rank? Raising wind, calling thunder, moving clouds, and spreading rain.

He might be able to kill one mortal, ten mortals, but by the time he killed the hundredth mortal, he would definitely be exhausted and die.

If it were a well-trained elite army, even if composed of ordinary people, a Ninth Rank Qi Gathering couldn't withstand the volleys of strong bows!

Strong bows, catapults, bed crossbows, poison arrows... these have great lethality against Ninth Rank Qi Gathering.

"The method the Xia Dynasty used actually wasn't very clever."

"We used our advantage in population and logistics to eat away at them step by step."

"By using an army to kill a Qi Gathering Realm together, one of us can obtain the permission on them."

"When there are enough Qi Gathering Realms, combined with the army, we can kill a Spiritual Bridge Realm."

"Layer by layer, in the end, the number of cultivators in the Xia Dynasty exceeded that of the Southern Barbarians."

"Thus, we achieved final victory." 【301】 Ji Che frowned upon hearing this: "In that case, the casualties of the Great Zhou in this war will be huge." 【302】 Relying on ordinary armies to pile up and kill cultivators—anyone could imagine how difficult that would be. 【303】 This was only talking about the combat situation. 【304】 Most crucially, there was logistics. 【305】 Cultivators and mechanism arrays were the foundation of an army's mobility. Once these things failed in Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication. 【306】 In the vast and desolate Southern Barbarian land, even supply would become a problem. 【307】 "Yes." Yun Tiandao sighed: "It is very, very difficult for the soldiers of a Luck Dynasty to suddenly become weak, ordinary people and get used to this." 【308】 "Dying in Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication means really dying; there is no chance to turn into a Yin God. They will die like mortals." 【309】 "This will be a primitive and tragic war; we call it the 'War of Mortals'." 【310】 "War of Mortals..." Ji Che muttered to himself: "The high and mighty path to ascension is actually decided by a group of mortals. How ironic." 【311】 "I seem to see the mocking expression on the Witch Moon God's face." 【312】 Ji Che looked up and asked Yun Tiandao in confusion: "Mr., I am very puzzled. Why does the Witch Moon God lineage have to block the people of the Profound Yellow World from ascending?" 【313】 "Does he not want to leave the Profound Yellow World, not want to ascend? Is there no possibility of peace talks? Is there really only one path of filling it with human lives?" 【314】 "If we could have peace talks and have fewer people die, I would agree to whatever he wants!" 【315】 Yun Tiandao looked at Ji Che and couldn't help but sigh: "You care about the people; you have the same benevolence as the Emperor." 【316】 "But unfortunately, we have tried, but the Witch Moon God has no possibility of peace talks." 【317】 "Why?" Ji Che was extremely puzzled. 【318】 "I don't know." Yun Tiandao shook his head. "This is also my biggest doubt. We defeated the Southern Barbarians, but we couldn't kill the Witch Moon God. Even if there were records of killing him in history, the Southern Barbarians would always give birth to a new generation of Witch Moon God." 【319】 "I even suspect that the Witch Moon God himself doesn't know." 【320】 After a pause, Yun Tiandao suddenly looked at Zhao Xing, who was lost in thought: "I wonder what insight the Great Si Nong has?" 【321】 Ji Che also looked over. 【322】 If the Witch Moon God himself didn't know why, then perhaps only the magical elder brother had the answer in this world. 【323】 He could even persuade Yun Tiandao, the guardian; Ji Che's confidence in Zhao Xing was almost blind. 【324】 The flying boat shook, and Zhao Xing was about to say something, but the flying boat had already exited the passage and returned to the ground of the Ancient Marsh Cave Heaven. 【325】 Meng Kun and Qiu Yuanshan, who were waiting outside, wanted to come in to pay their respects and ask about the Emperor's safety, but Ji Che stopped them from coming in. 【326】 "Big Brother, don't worry about them for now. You were hesitant to speak, clearly you have a theory." 【327】 "If you stop here and don't say it, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight." 【328】 "Mr. Yun might scold you, or even hit you." 【329】 Hearing this, Yun Tiandao snorted lightly and flicked his sleeves. 【330】 He did have some bad memories just now, recalling what Zhao Xing said when he lured him out. 【331】 Seeing this, Zhao Xing didn't shirk anymore and sat down again. 【332】 "I had some guesses about this problem after my trip to the Dragon Court." 【333】 "Your Majesty, Senior Yun." 【334】 "Let me tell you a story." 【335】 "Good, good, I like listening to Big Brother tell stories the most." Ji Che immediately sat in a posture, looking like he was listening attentively. 【336】 Yun Tiandao was also quite curious about the relationship between Zhao Xing and Ji Che; he and the Xia Emperor were not as close as these two. 【337】 "A long, long time ago, in the boundless sea, there was an island where two brothers lived." 【338】 "The elder brother was named 'Wu', and the younger brother was named 'Huang'. The two brothers lived on this island." 【339】 "Wu was silent and introverted, good at observing weather and stars; Huang was good at hunting and fighting, enthusiastic and outgoing, full of curiosity." 【340】 "Wu had a high status, and under his guidance, every action of Huang was successful, always bringing a bumper harvest to the village." 【341】 "Under the leadership of the two brothers, the village became more and more prosperous." 【342】 "However, as more and more people came, Huang found that the food on the island was gradually becoming insufficient." 【343】 "Wu also calculated that if this continued, the village would sooner or later head towards extinction." 【344】 "Because the originally calm and gentle sea, which provided plenty of food, had also changed. It became moody, started to frequently bring storms, and the food around the island became less and less." 【345】 "Thus, one day, Wu and Huang made a decision: leave this island, leave the village they relied on for survival, and find a way out for the people in the village." 【346】 "'Wu' was not good at fighting, but he cared about his younger brother very much. Because he often observed the weather and the sea, he knew that such an adventure was very dangerous." 【347】 "So Wu prepared a lot of supplies for the group led by his younger brother 'Huang'. This included some strange weapons and ancient stone slabs; in Wu's interpretation, they seemed to be a kind of guidance." 【348】 "They were well prepared and carried strong anticipation." 【349】 "But, the sea didn't just have storms; it often had fog. Because they had no experience of going to sea, and there were no other islands around, there was no direction guidance." 【350】 "Thus, the first generation of Huang never returned after going out." 【351】 "The first generation of Wu was very sad, not only for his brother but also worried about the future of the island tribe." 【352】 "Fortunately, after a period of time, the sea returned to its former calm and gentleness, and the food around the island increased again." 【353】 "So, as the tribe's guide, the first generation of Wu, on his deathbed, used this adventure as experience and left a warning for future generations." 【354】 "That is, the sea and long-distance travel are dangerous." 【355】 Speaking of this, Yun Tiandao and Ji Che both realized something from this story, but they still had some doubts. 【356】 As qualified listeners, Ji Che and Yun Tiandao had enough patience; they didn't interrupt Zhao Xing but listened quietly. 【357】 "Time passed, and soon, the first generation of Wu died, and the first generation of Huang was missing." 【358】 "The tribe ushered in the replacement of the old and the new. The second generation of Wu and Huang appeared." 【359】 "They were still cousins, but their relationship was no longer as close as the first generation of Wu and Huang, who were brothers." 【360】 "Soon, the second generation of Wu and Huang encountered the same predicament as the first generation." 【361】 "The second generation of Huang made the same decision as the first generation of Huang, which was to take risks." 【362】 "The second generation of Wu was a bit hesitant, but as time passed, the tribe obtained mysterious totems and stone slab guidance, and they were also progressing. Although the second generation of Wu read the warning, he thought, perhaps the previous generation just lacked technology and martial power?" 【363】 "Thus, the somewhat hesitant second generation of Wu accepted such an adventure, and the second generation of Huang once again set off with a large amount of supplies and manpower." 【364】 Zhao Xing paused and pondered: "Obviously, the two explorations had the same ending." 【365】 "The second generation of Huang never returned and disappeared on the vast sea." 【366】 "At the same time, in the second generation of Wu's calculations, the weather at sea would return to calm, food would increase again, and the island would become suitable for survival again." 【367】 "This was surprisingly similar to the records left by the first generation of Wu!" 【368】 "So the second generation of Wu remembered the first generation of Wu's warning, and on his deathbed, he left his own last words: the sea and long-distance travel are dangerous. The island and the sea will always return to normal; you only need to wait patiently to wait for the moment of harvest." 【369】 Speaking of this, Zhao Xing stopped, giving Yun Tiandao and Ji Che time to digest. 【370】 After a while. 【371】 "The story continues, and soon, there were the third, fourth, and fifth generations of Wu and Huang on this island." 【372】 "At this time, the blood relationship between the later generations of Wu and Huang became thinner and thinner." 【373】 "It was only because of the tribe's system that Wu and Huang would often discuss things together, all about the future direction of the island." 【374】 "But in reality, the intimate relationship between them had already developed huge cracks." 【375】 "In one instance, when facing the same choice, Wu and Huang had a strong disagreement." 【376】 "Huang believed that only by going out could they find a way out. Huang still received a lot of support because people always had infinite curiosity and desire for exploration, and Huang was the symbol of martial power, stronger than Wu. So he received a lot of support." 【377】 "But Wu was also supported by the people on the island; this group of people liked stability and feared the unknown and death. And after generation after generation of payment and disappointment, the people on Wu's side had summarized many laws and were becoming more and more abundant." 【378】 To deepen the impression, Zhao Xing carved a line of words on the desk: 【379】 1. The sea is a symbol of danger and death; no one can return alive. 【380】 2. People cannot swim in the sea; falling in means death. It is also impossible to survive by drinking seawater; one needs to carry a large amount of island supplies to sail. 【381】 3. The island's food shortage and harsh sea weather are only temporary; as long as you endure, you can welcome a prosperous harvest period. 【382】 4. Huang's way of exploration will cause great damage to the island. Every voyage requires digging away the foundation of the island, such as the soil that can cultivate plants, such as the special trees that build ships and are not eroded by the sea. 【383】 Some materials can be regenerated, but some materials cannot. Such as mysterious stone slabs and totem weapons. 【384】 Continuous exploration and long voyages will make the island smaller and smaller. 【385】 Every generation of Wu must stop Huang's delusions! 【386】 After Zhao Xing finished carving, he continued: "Based on the above messages, in that discussion, Wu issued a strong warning." 【387】 "He shouted at Huang: Don't explore! Don't explore! Don't explore!" 【388】 "You will kill that batch of people, and you will kill all of us!" 【389】 Ji Che's breathing became rapid, and Yun Tiandao was also a bit nervous. 【390】 They automatically substituted themselves into Huang's perspective and understood very well what it meant when the two leaders of a tribe had such a strong disagreement. 【391】 "Yes." Zhao Xing looked at the two: "The reason Huang is Huang is because he will not give up, so war broke out." 【392】 "In the propaganda of Huang's lineage, every generation of Huang who left with people did not die. They went to the depths of the sea, discovered islands larger than their hometown, and lived a more prosperous life." 【393】 "In the propaganda of Wu's lineage, Huang's lineage was portrayed as demons who destroyed everything! It was Huang's constant digging of the island's foundation that destroyed everything, making the time for the island to return to calm longer and longer." 【394】 "Since then, these two brothers, Wu and Huang, occupied the two ends of the island and completely broke off for their respective survival concepts." 【395】 Ji Che and Yun Tiandao fell into thought after listening. 【396】 "Big Brother, I have a question." Ji Che raised his hand habitually, just like when he was a child and Zhao Xing told him stories. 【397】 "Speak." 【398】 Ji Che asked in confusion: "What are the mysterious stone slabs and totems in the story? Did Huang and Wu not summarize any useful laws after so many years of exploration? I mean laws that help harmonious exploration." 【399】 Zhao Xing nodded: "First, answer your first question." 【400】 "The mysterious stone slabs and totems include the remnants of the Dragon race, the remnants of the Ka God race, and the remnants of visitors from outside the sky." 【401】 "I once told you the last words of the Dragon Emperor Fang Jie. My story takes place at a time after the Dragon race retreated to the Dragon Court Ancient Land and the Ka God race had vanished from the Profound Yellow World. This is the time when the Dragon Court lost its ruling power and the human race began to flourish." 【402】 "As for useful laws, there are some." 【403】 Zhao Xing pondered: "Both Wu and Huang have absorbed useful knowledge from the mysterious stone slabs and totems." 【404】 "For example, Huang's branch believes that the second law summarized by Wu is wrong. Seawater can be drunk; as long as they cultivate to a certain level, they can draw survival supplies from the dangerous ocean and can even swim in the sea." 【405】 "Wu also cracked a lot of useful information about navigation from the mysterious stone slabs and totems. For example, possible routes, for example, there might be another small island in the route that can be used as a supply." 【406】 "However." 【407】 "No matter the outcome of the war between Wu and Huang later, the high-end power of Wu's lineage was always getting stronger. The information Wu mastered was also getting more and more, and he would hide the information deeper after Huang left, not letting the Huang born later know." 【408】 "The estrangement between the two sides had already become deeply rooted after many generations." 【409】 "And at this time, a certain generation of Wu made a major breakthrough in power. He deciphered a key stone slab and, with the entire island as the foundation, created a blockade area." 【410】 "For the first time, Wu blocked Huang, making them unable to leave. Because there were only four wind-favorable ports on the island, and the largest one was occupied by Wu." 【411】 "Later, generation after generation of Wu strengthened this power, and when passing it on to the later Wu, they strengthened these four laws and turned them into a great power, deeply branded in their minds." 【412】 "Thus, the later Wu never thought about going out again, leaving only protection." 【413】 Ji Che sighed: "So the stone slab is Absolute Heaven and Earth Communication, and the reason Wu cannot have peace talks is because of the inheritance rules deeply rooted in the soul." 【414】 "No wonder every generation of Wu is so strong, able to activate a Great Divine Ability, and so stubborn." 【415】 Yun Tiandao suddenly shook his head: "Wrong!" 【416】 Zhao Xing looked up: "What's wrong?" 【417】 Yun Tiandao stared at Zhao Xing: "In your story, not a single generation of Huang has ever returned. Why is this? On the time scale of the universe, no matter how small the probability is, it should have happened!" 【418】 "Is Huang's lineage really dead?" 【419】 Zhao Xing knew what Yun Tiandao meant by this question. 【420】 He was actually asking whether the Xia Dynasty had really been destroyed, and whether what he said in the Land of Return to Ruins was a lie. 【421】 Yun Tiandao had waited for an era without waiting for anyone from the Xia Dynasty to come and pick him up. 【422】 One could imagine the impact he felt after hearing this story. 【423】 Zhao Xing pondered for a moment: "Actually, it's not that no one could return. In the era before Wu and Huang, the Ka God race and the Dragon race had strong people who returned and left methods to guide ascension. At that time, there was no need to ascend in groups, let alone tools." 【424】 "Because the sea was gentle; even drinking seawater didn't matter. Any life that could leave the island and go to sea could roam in the ocean. As long as they swam in one direction, they would eventually reach the other shore." 【425】 "However, Wu's judgment was wrong; the number of times the sea recovered was limited." 【426】 "We return to the universe. When a place no longer has spring, summer, autumn, and winter, it will become a desolate domain." 【427】 "A place without spring, summer, autumn, and winter will naturally change." 【428】 "So here we need to derive two more laws:" 【429】 Zhao Xing carved two lines of words on the desk again: 【430】 1. Universe desolate domain phenomenon. 【431】 2. Hidden broken illusion. 【432】 Then Zhao Xing began to explain the first one: "When the spiritual energy in a certain area of the universe drops, stars and the void will change. I explained the difference between 'spirit' and 'spirit' in "Qi Theory" before; it should be easy to understand." 【433】 Yun Tiandao and Ji Che nodded. 【434】 The spiritual energy value drops significantly, which even affects cultivators staying in the Profound Yellow World, with cultivation limits appearing, the First Rank being the strongest, and various natural disasters appearing on the earth and in the sky. Then, outside the Profound Yellow World, such changes should be even more intense. 【435】 Zhao Xing used the fact that seawater becomes salty and cannot be drunk as a metaphor for such changes. 【436】 Following this line of thought, Yun Tiandao and Ji Che naturally thought of more changes. 【437】 Life islands (World Stars, Small Worlds) turned into barren islands (Dead Stars, Dead Worlds). People sailing could not get supplies. 【438】 The wind and waves on the sea also became bigger and bigger, and the possibility of ships being blown over became greater and greater. 【439】 So the high mortality rate of generation after generation of "Huang" had a partial explanation. 【440】 But, it still couldn't fully explain why not a single generation of "Huang" returned. 【441】 So the two looked at the second line: Hidden Broken Illusion. 【442】 Zhao Xing spoke: "I used the sea to compare to the universe territory because the ocean has two characteristics." 【443】 "One is fluidity. The position of the Profound Yellow World in the universe territory is not constant; you can understand it as the Profound Yellow World rotating at all times." 【444】 "Two is mirage. In the universe territory, phenomena similar to mirages will appear, which will also mislead the 'Huang' who return, making it very difficult for them to find a specific place." 【445】 "The universe territory desertification is more complex than the ocean; just using these two characteristics of the ocean is not enough to fully describe it." 【446】 "It can only be attributed to the 'Hidden' characteristic." 【447】 "The second word, 'Broken'." Zhao Xing pointed above, "This means destruction." 【448】 "Every generation of Huang, after the 'return distance' of leaving the island, will see the scene of the Profound Yellow World 'destroyed'." 【449】 Zhao Xing closed his five fingers, and then suddenly opened them: "Boom! The Profound Yellow World suddenly exploded and erupted with a brilliant light." 【450】 "Thus, the 'Huang' who saw the illusion, from this moment on, had no concept of home in their hearts, and naturally would not return again." 【451】 "Based on the Hidden Broken Illusion rule, the 'Huang' who finally survived, some of them, because of the 'Broken Illusion', would not come to look for the Profound Yellow World." 【452】 "Even those who were unwilling to give up and took action to search would be confused by the 'Hidden' illusion." 【453】 "This is why no Huang has ever returned." 【454】 "No one returned, and no matter how much generation after generation of Huang talked, Wu would not believe it, naturally leading to these four rules." 【455】 "What?" Yun Tiandao and Ji Che were both stunned. "Hidden and destruction, what kind of logic is this?" 【456】 "I don't know how it was formed." Zhao Xing shrugged. "Not all small worlds (referring to Profound Yellow) will have such a situation. It only appears in the process of desolate domain evolution." 【457】 "Actually, these two laws are both desolate domain phenomena." 【458】 "It's just that in order to distinguish between the desolate domain phenomenon that has already occurred and the one that is occurring, the second one is called 'Hidden Broken Illusion', and it is also listed separately." 【459】 "As for what kind of logic this is?" Zhao Xing said it very smoothly, so he subconsciously replied: 【460】 "Of course it is..." 【461】 Zhao Xing suddenly stopped. 【462】 Because his Three God Life Palace felt a burst of excitement, as if continuing to speak would lead to something terrifying, he immediately activated his long-unused memory palace to seal the memory. 【463】 The words on his lips also changed to another way of saying it: 【464】 "Scholars who specialize in studying desolate domains do have some hypotheses to explain it... but there is no definitive conclusion." 【465】 "Alright, let's stop the story here for now." Zhao Xing pondered: "In short, it is impossible for the Witch Moon God to have peace talks, and we actually have a way to return." 【466】 "Che, Senior Yun, the only thing we need to consider now is when to launch the Great War of Conquering the Barbarians?" 【467】 ps: It starts in the next chapter. 【468】 Up to this point, only the final "War of Mortals" remains in the Profound Yellow World plot, and it is expected that the universe chapter plot can begin this month. 【469】 In addition, the growth activity is on today, everyone can participate in the exchange. 【470】 Thanks to the three new alliance leaders 'Bu Yi Zhe', '-——ouo', and 'Xiao Yun'. We are only 16 alliance leaders away from breaking the circle of 100 alliance leaders for l4. I didn't ask for monthly tickets, but everyone still rushed to eighth place. Thank you for your love. 【471】 In the second half of this month, the Captain will try his best to ensure quality and quantity, and pay back as much of the update debt as possible. 【472】 (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 365 =====

Ji Che frowned upon hearing this and said, "In that case, the casualties for the Great Zhou in this war will be enormous."

Relying on ordinary armies to wear down cultivators to death—just thinking about it, one knows how difficult that is.

And that is only speaking of the combat situation.

Most crucially, there is also logistics.

Cultivators and mechanical arrays are the foundation of an army's mobility; once these things become ineffective due to the Severing of Heaven and Earth,

the vast and desolate Southern Barbarian lands will make even simple resupply a problem.

"Indeed," Yun Tiandao said with emotion, "It is very, very difficult for soldiers of a Qi-Luck Dynasty to suddenly become frail, ordinary people and have to get used to that."

"To die during the Severing of Heaven and Earth is to truly die; there isn't even a chance to turn into a Yin Spirit. They will die just like mortals."

"This will be a primitive and tragic war; we call it the 'War of Mortals'."

"'War of Mortals'..." Ji Che muttered to himself, "The path to ascension, which stands so high above, is actually decided by a group of mortals. How ironic that is."

"I can almost see the mocking expression on the face of the Moon Shaman God."

Ji Che raised his head and looked at Yun Tiandao in confusion: "Sir, I am very puzzled. Why must the lineage of the Moon Shaman God block the people of the Profound Yellow Realm from ascending?"

"Does he not want to leave the Profound Yellow Realm? Does he not want to ascend? Is there no possibility of peace talks? Is the only path to fill the void with human lives?"

"If we could negotiate and save lives, I would agree to whatever he wants!"

Yun Tiandao looked at Ji Che and couldn't help but sigh: "You care for the masses, and you possess the same benevolent heart as His Majesty."

"But unfortunately, we have tried, yet there is no possibility of peace talks with the Moon Shaman God."

"Why?" Ji Che was extremely puzzled.

"I don't know," Yun Tiandao shook his head. "This is also my greatest doubt. We have defeated the Southern Barbarians, but we cannot kill the Moon Shaman God. Even if historical records show instances of killing him, the Southern Barbarians always give birth to a new generation of the Moon Shaman God."

"I even suspect that the Moon Shaman God himself does not know."

After a pause, Yun Tiandao suddenly looked at Zhao Xing, who had fallen into deep thought: "I wonder what insight the Great Si Nong has?"

Ji Che also looked over.

If even the Moon Shaman God himself didn't know why, then perhaps only the magical elder brother in this world had the answer.

He had even been able to persuade Yun Tiandao, the guardian; Ji Che's confidence in Zhao Xing was now almost blind.

The light inside the flying boat flickered. Zhao Xing was about to say something, but the flying boat had already exited the passage and returned to the ground of the Ancient Marsh Secret Realm.

Meng Kun and Qiu Yuanshan, who were waiting outside, wanted to come in to pay their respects and inquire about the Emperor's safety, but Ji Che stopped them from entering.

"Big Brother, ignore them for now. You stopped mid-sentence, so you clearly have an explanation."

"If you stop here and don't finish, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight."

"Mr. Yun will probably scold you, and might even want to hit you."

Upon hearing this, Yun Tiandao let out a soft huff and flicked his sleeves.

He had indeed had some unpleasant recollections just now, remembering the things Zhao Xing said when he lured him out.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing no longer demurred and sat back down.

"I also had some guesses about this question after my trip to the Dragon Court."

"Your Majesty, Senior Yun."

"Let me tell you a story."

"Good, good, I love listening to Big Brother tell stories the most." Ji Che immediately settled into a posture, looking like he was listening intently.

Yun Tiandao was also quite curious about the relationship between Zhao Xing and Ji Che; his relationship with the Xia Emperor was not as intimate as these two.

"A long, long time ago, in the middle of an endless ocean, there was an island where two brothers lived."

"The elder brother was named 'Wu' (Shaman), and the younger brother was named 'Huang' (Emperor). Both brothers lived on this island."

"Wu was silent and introverted, skilled at observing the weather and stars; Huang was skilled at hunting and fighting, passionate, outgoing, and full of curiosity."

"Wu held a revered position. Under his guidance, every action Huang took was successful, always bringing a bountiful harvest to the village."

"Under the leadership of the two brothers, the village became increasingly prosperous."

"However, as the population grew, Huang discovered that the food on the island was gradually becoming insufficient."

"Wu also calculated that if things continued this way, the village would sooner or later head toward extinction."

"Because the ocean, which had originally been calm and gentle and provided plenty of food, had also changed. It became temperamental, frequently unleashing storms, and the food around the island became scarcer and scarcer."

"And so, one day, Wu and Huang made a decision: to leave this island, to leave the village they relied on for survival, and to find a way out for the people of the village."

"'Wu' was not skilled at fighting, but he cared deeply for his younger brother. Because he often observed the weather and the ocean, he knew well that such an expedition carried a high risk factor."

"So, Wu prepared many, many supplies for the group led by his younger brother 'Huang'. This included some strange weapons and ancient stone tablets; in Wu's interpretation, those seemed to serve as a kind of guide."

"They were well-prepared and carried strong expectations."

"But, the ocean didn't just have storms; it often had fog. Because they had no experience at sea and there were no other islands around, there was no direction to follow."

"And so, after the first generation of Huang went out, he never returned."

"The first generation of Wu was very sad, not only for his brother but also worried about the future of the island tribe."

"Fortunately, after a period of time, the ocean returned to its former calm and gentleness, and the food around the island increased again."

"So, as the guide of the tribe, the first generation of Wu, on his deathbed, used this adventure as an experience and left a record of warning for future generations."

"That is: the ocean and long-distance travel are dangerous."

At this point, both Yun Tiandao and Ji Che had grasped something through the story, but they still had some doubts.

As qualified listeners, Ji Che and Yun Tiandao both had enough patience; they did not interrupt Zhao Xing but listened quietly.

"Time passed, and soon, the first generation of Wu died, and the first generation of Huang's whereabouts remained unknown."

"The tribe welcomed a changing of the guard, and the second generation of Wu and Huang appeared."

"They were still cousins, but their relationship was no longer as good as that of the first generation of Wu and Huang, who were biological brothers."

"Soon, the second generation of Wu and Huang encountered the same dilemma as the first generation."

"The second generation of Huang made the same decision as the first generation of Huang: to take the risk."

"The second generation of Wu was somewhat hesitant, but as time passed, the tribe obtained mysterious totems and stone tablet guidance and was also progressing. Although the second generation of Wu had read the warning, he felt that perhaps the previous generation just lacked the technology and military strength."

"And so, the somewhat hesitant second generation of Wu accepted the adventure, and the second generation of Huang once again set off with a large amount of supplies and manpower."

Zhao Xing paused and pondered: "Clearly, both explorations had the same ending."

"The second generation of Huang never returned, disappearing into the vast ocean."

"At the same time, in the calculations of the second generation of Wu, the weather on the sea would return to calm, food would increase again, and the island would once again become suitable for survival."

"This was strikingly similar to the records left by the first generation of Wu!"

"So the second generation of Wu remembered the warning of the first generation of Wu, and on his deathbed, he left his own last words: The ocean and long-distance travel are dangerous; the island and the ocean will always return to normal. One only needs to wait patiently to wait for the moment of a bountiful harvest."

At this point, Zhao Xing stopped to give Yun Tiandao and Ji Che time to digest it.

A moment later.

"The story continues. Soon, there were third, fourth, and fifth generations of Wu and Huang on this island."

"By this time, the blood relationship between the later generations of Wu and Huang was becoming increasingly distant."

"It was only because of the tribe's system that Wu and Huang would often discuss matters together, all regarding the future direction of the island."

"But in reality, a large crack had already appeared in their intimate relationship."

"On one occasion, when Wu and Huang faced the same choice, a strong disagreement arose."

"Huang believed that only by going out could they find a way out. Huang still received a large amount of support because people always have infinite curiosity and a desire for exploration, and Huang was a symbol of military strength, stronger than Wu. So he received the support of many people."

"But Wu was also supported by the people on the island; this group of people liked stability and feared the unknown and death. And after generation after generation of sacrifice and disappointment, the people on Wu's side had summarized many laws, and they were becoming increasingly rich."

To deepen the impression, Zhao Xing carved a line of text on the table:

1. The ocean is a symbol of danger and death; no one can return alive.

2. Humans cannot swim in the sea; falling in means death. It is also impossible to survive by drinking seawater; one must carry a large amount of island supplies to sail.

3. The island's food shortages and harsh sea weather are only temporary; as long as one endures, one can welcome a prosperous harvest period.

4. Huang's method of exploration will cause great damage to the island. Every voyage must dig away the island's foundation, such as the soil that can cultivate plants, or special trees that can build ships and not be eroded by the ocean.

Some materials can be regenerated, but some cannot. For example, mysterious stone tablets and totem weapons.

Continuous exploration and long-distance voyages will make the island smaller and smaller.

Every generation of Wu must stop Huang's delusions!

After Zhao Xing finished carving, he continued: "Based on the above message, in that discussion, Wu issued a strong opposition."

"He loudly warned Huang: Do not explore! Do not explore! Do not explore!"

"You will kill that group of people, and you will kill all of us!"

Ji Che's breathing became rapid, and Yun Tiandao was also somewhat nervous.

They automatically substituted themselves into Huang's perspective, clearly understanding what it meant when two leaders of a tribe had such a strong disagreement.

"Yes," Zhao Xing looked at the two and said: "The reason Huang is Huang is because he will not give up, and so, war broke out."

"In the propaganda of Huang's lineage, every generation of Huang who left with people did not die. They went to the depths of the ocean, discovered islands larger than their home island, and lived a more affluent life."

"In the propaganda of Wu's lineage, Huang's lineage was portrayed as demons who destroyed everything! It was Huang's constant digging of the island's foundation that destroyed everything, making the time for the island to return to calm increasingly long."

"From then on, the two brothers, Wu and Huang, occupied the two ends of the island, and they completely broke apart for the sake of their respective survival philosophies."

After hearing this, Ji Che and Yun Tiandao fell into deep thought.

"Big Brother, I have a question." Ji Che habitually raised his hand, just as he did when he was a child and Zhao Xing told him stories.

"Go ahead."

Ji Che asked in confusion: "What are the mysterious stone tablets and totems in the story? After so many years of exploration by Huang and Wu, did they not summarize any useful laws? I mean laws that help with harmonious exploration."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Let me answer your first question first."

"The mysterious stone tablets and totems include the legacies of the Dragon Race, the legacies of the Ka-God Race, and the legacies of visitors from beyond the heavens."

"I once told you the last words of the Dragon Emperor Fang Jie. My story takes place at a time point after the Dragon Race retreated to the Ancient Dragon Court and the Ka-God Race had vanished from the Profound Yellow Realm. This is the time when the Dragon Court lost its ruling power and the Human Race began to slowly flourish."

"As for useful laws, there are some."

Zhao Xing pondered: "Both Wu and Huang have extracted useful knowledge from the mysterious stone tablets and totems."

"For example, Huang's branch believes that the second law summarized by Wu is wrong. Seawater can be drunk; as long as they cultivate to a certain level, they can extract survival supplies from the dangerous ocean and can even swim in the sea."

"Wu also deciphered a lot of useful information about navigation from the mysterious stone tablets and totems. For example, possible routes, or that there might be another small island along the route that could serve as a supply point."

"However."

"Regardless of the outcome of the war between Wu and Huang later, Wu's lineage's high-end power is always becoming stronger. The information Wu masters is also becoming more and more abundant, and he will hide the information deeper after Huang leaves, so that future generations of Huang will not know."

"The estrangement between the two sides has become deeply rooted after many generations."

"And at this time, a certain generation of Wu made significant progress in power. He deciphered a key stone tablet and, using the entire island as a foundation, created a blockade zone."

"For the first time, Wu blocked Huang, making it impossible for them to leave. Because there were only four favorable ports on the island, and the largest one was occupied by Wu."

"Later, generation after generation of Wu strengthened this power, and when passing it on to the later Wu, they reinforced these four laws, turning this into a great power, deeply branded in their minds."

"And so, the later Wu never thought about going out again, leaving only guardianship."

Ji Che sighed: "So the stone tablets are the Severing of Heaven and Earth, and the reason Wu cannot negotiate is because of the soul-deep inheritance rule restrictions."

"No wonder every generation of Wu is so strong, able to activate great divine powers, and yet so stubborn."

Yun Tiandao, however, suddenly shook his head: "That's not right!"

Zhao Xing raised his head: "What's not right?"

Yun Tiandao stared fixedly at Zhao Xing: "In your story, not a single generation of Huang has ever returned. Why is that? On the time scale of the universe, no matter how small the probability, it should have happened!"

"Has Huang's lineage really been wiped out?!"

Zhao Xing knew what Yun Tiandao meant by this question.

He was actually asking whether the Xia Dynasty had truly been destroyed. Was what he said in the Land of Return a lie?

Yun Tiandao had waited for an epoch without seeing anyone from the Xia Dynasty return to pick him up.

It was understandable how touched he was after hearing this story.

Zhao Xing pondered for a moment and said: "Actually, it's not that no one could return. In the era before Wu and Huang, the Ka-God Race and the Dragon Race had strong individuals who returned and left behind methods to guide ascension. At that time, there was no need to ascend in groups, nor was there a need for tools."

"Because the ocean was gentle; even drinking seawater didn't matter. Any life that could walk out of the island and enter the sea could wander in the ocean. As long as they swam in one direction, they would eventually reach the other shore."

"However, Wu's judgment was wrong; the number of times the ocean recovered was limited."

"Let's return to the universe. When a region no longer has spring, summer, autumn, and winter, it becomes a wasteland."

"A place without spring, summer, autumn, and winter will naturally undergo changes."

"And so, two more laws need to be derived here:"

Zhao Xing carved two more lines on the table:

1. The Universal Wasteland Phenomenon.

2. The Hidden-Broken Illusion.

Zhao Xing then began to explain the first one: "When the spiritual energy in a certain region of the universe drops, the stars and the void will all change. I explained the difference between 'Spirit' and 'Spirit' in 'Qi Theory' before; it should be easy to understand."

Yun Tiandao and Ji Che both nodded.

If the spiritual energy value drops significantly, even cultivators staying in the Profound Yellow Realm will be affected; the cultivation base will have an upper limit, with the First Rank being the strongest, and the earth and celestial phenomena will experience various natural disasters. Then, outside the Profound Yellow Realm, such changes should be even more violent.

Zhao Xing used the fact that seawater becomes salty and undrinkable as a metaphor for such changes.

Following this line of thought, Yun Tiandao and Ji Che naturally thought of more changes.

Life islands (Boundary Stars, Small Worlds) became barren islands (Dead Stars, Dead Realms). Those sailing could not get supplies.

The wind and waves on the ocean also became increasingly violent, and the possibility of ships being blown over increased.

So, the high mortality rate of generation after generation of 'Huang' had a partial explanation.

But, it still couldn't fully explain why not a single generation of 'Huang' had returned.

So the two looked at the second line: Hidden-Broken Illusion.

Zhao Xing began: "I used the ocean as a metaphor for the territory of the universe because the ocean possesses two characteristics."

"First is fluidity. The position of the Profound Yellow Realm in the territory of the universe is not constant; you can understand it as the Profound Yellow Realm constantly rotating."

"Second is the mirage. In the territory of the universe, phenomena similar to mirages will appear, which will also mislead the returning 'Huang', making it very difficult for them to find the specific location."

"The desertification of the universe's territory is more complex than the ocean; using these two characteristics of the ocean as a metaphor is not enough to fully describe it."

"It can only be summarized under the characteristic of 'Hidden'."

"The second character, 'Broken'." Zhao Xing pointed to it, "This means destruction."

"Every generation of Huang, after leaving the 'return distance' of the island, will see the scene of the Profound Yellow Realm 'breaking and being destroyed'."

Zhao Xing closed his five fingers and then suddenly opened them: "Boom! The Profound Yellow Realm suddenly exploded, erupting with a brilliant light."

"And so, the 'Huang' who saw the illusion, from that moment on, no longer had the concept of home in their hearts, and naturally, they would not return."

"Based on the Hidden-Broken Illusion rule, a portion of the Huang who ultimately survived, because of the 'Illusion of Breaking', would not come to look for the Profound Yellow Realm."

"Even those who were unwilling to give up and took action to search would be deceived by the 'Hidden' illusion."

"This is the reason why no Huang has ever returned."

"With no one returning, no matter how much generation after generation of Huang talked, Wu would not believe it, and naturally, these four rules were derived."

"What?" Yun Tiandao and Ji Che were both stunned, "Hidden and Broken—what kind of logic is that?"

"I don't know how it formed either," Zhao Xing shrugged, "Not all Small Worlds (referring to Profound Yellow) will experience such a situation. It only appears during the process of wasteland evolution."

"Actually, these two laws are both wasteland phenomena."

"It's just that in order to distinguish between the wasteland phenomena that have already occurred and those that are occurring, the second one is called the 'Hidden-Broken Illusion', and it is also listed separately."

"As for what kind of logic this is?" Zhao Xing said it smoothly, and then subconsciously replied:

"Of course it is..."

Zhao Xing suddenly stopped.

Because his Three Divine Life Palaces felt a surge of agitation, as if continuing to speak would invite something terrifying. He immediately activated his long-unused Memory Palace to seal the memory.

The words on the tip of his tongue also changed into another way of saying it:

"Scholars who specialize in studying wastelands do have some hypotheses to explain it... but there is no definitive conclusion."

"Alright, let's stop the story here for now." Zhao Xing pondered: "In short, the Moon Shaman God cannot negotiate, but we actually have a way to return."

"Che, Senior Yun, the only thing we need to consider now is when to launch the Great War to Pacify the Barbarians?"

PS: It starts in the next chapter.

With this, the plot of the Profound Yellow Realm is left with only the final 'War of Mortals'. It is expected that the plot of the Universe Arc will begin this month.

Also, the growth event is on today; everyone can participate in the exchange.

Thanks to the three new alliance leaders 'Bu Yi Zhe', '-——ouo', and 'Xiao Yun'. We are only 16 alliance leaders away from breaking the circle of 100 alliances for L4. I didn't ask for monthly tickets, but everyone still pushed us to eighth place. Thank you all for your love.

In the second half of this month, the Captain will try his best to maintain quality and increase quantity; I will pay back the update debt as much as I can.

(End of chapter)