Chapter 378: The Extraction Divine Art

Jing Yan's "Soldier-Law Prohibition" is divided into Soldier Prohibition and Law Prohibition.

"Soldier" refers to Dao-soldiers, and "Law" refers to magic arrays.

Zhao Xing had once seen Jing Yan cast it; the effect was indeed powerful. Even on a high-level star continent, it could cover a range of 300 million kilometers. Given the significant restrictions of a high-level star continent, having such a coverage range was already quite monstrous.

Within the coverage area, only top-grade star-level Dao-soldiers could still be used. Anything below top-grade—puppets, magic arrays, Dao-soldiers, or even talismans—would all be rendered ineffective.

Jing Yan relied on this move to travel through the universe, surviving many dangers.

"Step aside, brother, I'm about to show off."

Jing Yan twisted his neck and loosened his body.

Zhao Xing smiled slightly and retreated behind Jing Yan.

"Heaven and Earth Boundless, Ten Thousand Laws Return to the Source, Yin and Yang Reversed, Origin Paths Avoid!"

"Prohibit!"

Jing Yan's hands formed seals frantically. Fire rings radiated from his left and right shoulders and knees. Space rippled, spreading outward continuously.

Jing Yan's aura plummeted rapidly; his spiritual power fluctuation dropped by about thirty percent.

When he fought Zhao Xing earlier, all those attacks combined didn't consume as much as this single casting.

It was evident that for a Void Realm cultivator, casting a minor divine art was no small burden.

Watching Jing Yan finish his casting, Zhao Xing couldn't help but feel puzzled: "Brother, I've had a question for a long time."

"Ask away."

"Every time you cast this, you recite such a long passage and form so many seals. Isn't the wind-up a bit too long? Can't you skip it?"

"Of course I can," Jing Yan grinned. "I recite that passage just to show off. The seals are for the same reason; otherwise, the divine art wouldn't look imposing enough."

Zhao Xing: "..."

That's you, alright.

"Alright, we can go now." Jing Yan waved his hand, and the flying spheres he had sent out earlier returned, merging into his body.

Zhao Xing followed him down. They glided past rows of towers, inside which stood puppet warriors about eight hundred meters tall. They had strange appearances, fierce and menacing, holding various weapons like stone axes, longswords, broadswords, and spears.

However, as they passed, the puppets remained completely motionless.

Jing Yan might be a show-off, but he was truly capable. These second-realm mechanical puppets hadn't been activated at all.

"How long can you seal them?" Zhao Xing asked. Since it was a divine art, there had to be a time limit.

"About half a year."

"Only half a year?"

Jing Yan spread his hands. "Brother, don't think half a year is short."

"The puppet array placed here is extremely exquisite. The Heaven, Earth, and Void origins fluctuate constantly, resisting my prohibition. In places you can't see, the array is automatically changing its basic formation to break through the seal."

"I suspect the tomb owner was either a master mechanic himself or a very wealthy man in his lifetime."

Zhao Xing nodded. Laymen see the spectacle, experts see the technique; he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Although it's only half a year, we can just cast it again when we return from inside. It's just that the duration will be shorter next time," Jing Yan said.

The dark underground space was deathly silent. Zhao Xing and Jing Yan flew slowly, not daring to fly too fast for fear of triggering hidden mechanisms.

Jing Yan sent out flying spheres from time to time to scan the terrain and clear out hidden traps and magic arrays. It took Zhao Xing and Jing Yan only seven days to traverse the long puppet avenue.

Seeing they were about to finish, Zhao Xing couldn't help but ask: "Can we dig up a few towers and take them with us?"

Second-realm mechanical puppets, and ancient ones at that, were definitely worth a lot of money.

There were at least a thousand towers along the puppet avenue. Even if each was worth only 100 million, that would be 100 billion!

"Can't take them." Jing Yan shook his head. "This array incorporates the Void-to-Soldier magic array. The materials of the puppets you see aren't actually valuable; they are formed by the array combining earth veins and Taiyin origin with void matter."

"I can do this trick too." Fearing Zhao Xing wouldn't understand, Jing Yan demonstrated. He waved his hand, and the soil on the ground combined with Taiyin origin to immediately form a tall, fierce puppet in Jing Yan's likeness.

"Look, this is Void-to-Soldier. But they only have the combat power of a standard late-first-realm cultivator, and they don't last long. They can bully ordinary Origin Realm cultivators, but against a genius like you, it's just a waste of my spiritual power."

Zhao Xing nodded. This was like his Straw Man Art. It had great potential, but the version he currently knew couldn't satisfy his combat needs, though it was useful for other things.

He had originally thought these puppets in the towers were real. When he saw them in his past life, the towers were empty, and he had assumed they had been moved away. It turned out to be the "Void-to-Soldier" method.

"Don't be impatient. To set up such a powerful array, the tomb owner must be wealthy. There must be good stuff among the burial goods," Jing Yan said.

"I'm not impatient, just asking." Zhao Xing naturally knew what kind of goods were here.

Passing through the second barrier, the Puppet Great Array, Zhao Xing and Jing Yan soon encountered the third barrier—the Corrosion Space.

In the dark space, spiritual power fused with a certain misty gas, forming a strange gray-black space, like a cloud blocking their path.

The ground was covered in viscous, green, corrosive liquid—neither soil nor water, like a swamp.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~"

Jing Yan's detection spheres, upon entering the gray fog space, erupted in thunder and fire before falling into the swamp.

In less than a second, they were completely dissolved.

Spheres kept drifting out from Jing Yan. Each combination he sent out had a different effect—some spherical, some shuttle-shaped, and others condensed into puppet giants or small boundary puppets.

After fifteen days, Jing Yan frowned. "Zhao Xing, we've got a problem."

"I sent out the most durable 'Heaven-B' boundary puppets, and they couldn't withstand the corrosion. They only lasted three days at most."

"The point is, my spirit tool still can't analyze its composition."

"Only the Mustard Storage Device can have some effect."

"But the fog here is endless. I blew up three Mustard Storage Devices, and the amount of fog hasn't changed at all in half a month."

Zhao Xing's gaze fell on Jing Yan's hand, which held half a square box.

Originally, this Mustard Storage Device was meant to absorb the gray fog.

Its internal space was comparable to a small star, but it couldn't be filled and simply exploded.

If Jing Yan hadn't discovered it in time, they would have been injured by the leaking fog.

Zhao Xing nodded. This third barrier, the Corrosion Space, was indeed tricky.

He hadn't been idle for the past half month, trying his own methods.

His self-created origin law, "Mysterious Earth Divine Concealment," had been perfected to the Void Law stage, reaching the eighth level.

Yet, he still couldn't escape through it. When earth-escaping, the protective barrier formed by the magic art could only last two and a half days before draining his spiritual power.

The "Earth-Splitting Step" was the same; it couldn't shake open these viscous substances to form a safe passage.

He had tried the ground and the sky.

The "Blood Cloud Realm" could devour the gray fog, but the effect was slow. According to Zhao Xing's estimate, to devour the fog fast enough to pass through, he would need an epoch.

It was even less efficient than Jing Yan's Mustard Storage Device.

Jing Yan asked: "Brother, I'm really out of ideas. Looking at this situation, even the Twelve Wandering Gods can't block it."

Star-level Dao-soldiers were barely able to block such corrosion.

If they were only barely blocking it, they wouldn't dare to venture deep inside. Who knew what else was in there? A slight mistake would cost them their lives.

"Do you have any ideas?"

Zhao Xing smiled. "This is where I have to mention my divine art, the Purple Light Eight Epochs."

Jing Yan's eyes lit up. "Come on, let me see."

The third barrier was, in essence, an extremely harsh environment.

To deal with an extremely harsh environment, a Silonong was naturally the most capable.

"Step aside." Zhao Xing pushed Jing Yan to the side. "I'm about to show off."

Jing Yan grinned and retreated behind Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing formed seals and chanted.

"All phenomena are but ants, I alone dominate Heaven and Earth."

"Purple Light Eight Epochs, Heaven and Earth Reversed, Go!"

Brilliant purple light erupted from Zhao Xing's body. Forty-eight solar term commands were rendered in purple-gold, with starlight dotting the area, as if a galaxy had descended upon the Corrosion Space.

The Taiyin and Sun stars appeared simultaneously, and purple stars shone in the surrounding star positions: "Heavenly Great General," "Military South Gate," "Zao Jiao," "Great Mound," "Heavenly Boat," "Heavenly Kitchen"...

Jing Yan watched Zhao Xing control the movement of the star positions and felt the divine art was quite complex, so he asked curiously: "Brother, is that incantation real?"

Zhao Xing: "Learned from you, I made it up."

Jing Yan: "..."

As expected of a good brother!

It's just that this incantation is even more arrogant than mine; I'm afraid it's easy to get beaten up saying that.

Casting the minor divine art was also quite taxing for Zhao Xing.

Even with the support of dual origins, his spiritual power dropped by more than thirty percent after the divine art appeared.

The benefits of dual-cultivating the "Self-Nature" path were reflected here.

After Zhao Xing finished casting, he immediately drew spiritual power from the origin space through the "Yuanhai Realm" to replenish himself.

In just a few breaths, he was back to full state.

"Is your recovery ability a bit too monstrous?" Jing Yan sensed Zhao Xing's spiritual power drop and rise, feeling quite surprised. "You didn't also dual-cultivate the Self-Nature path, did you?"

"Practiced a little for a few years," Zhao Xing said modestly.

"Awesome!" Jing Yan gave a thumbs up.

He had really been shown off by Zhao Xing!

After all, a Silonong who solely walked the Self-Nature path was already a "rare profession" among Silonongs!

To be able to dual-cultivate was even more impressive.

Zhao Xing was younger than him, only a thousand years old; this truly made Jing Yan admire him from the bottom of his heart.

"If you returned to the Empire, you might be able to enter the Primordial Realm," Jing Yan said.

The Primordial Realm was one of the holy lands of the Self-Nature path in the Red Star Empire. The threshold for entry was very high, with a difficulty comparable to the selection standards of the Ancient Hill.

"I'm still far from that." Zhao Xing shook his head. This time it wasn't modesty; he really wasn't qualified yet.

The two chatted while waiting.

Although the Corrosion Space was strong, the Purple Light Eight Epochs were not weak either.

It was capable of carving out an ecosystem on a barren asteroid.

The gray fog in the Corrosion Space gradually became clear, and the corrosive swamp on the ground began to condense into a patch of solidified soil after a month.

"Got it! Got it!"

Jing Yan shouted excitedly.

"The spirit tool detects that the corrosion coefficient has dropped to the intensity of a standard second-realm peak, and the toxicity has also greatly decreased. We can pass!"

The intensity of the corrosive attack and toxic erosion was still about 10 times that of a standard second-realm peak.

But both of them were not rookie second-realm cultivators. As long as the intensity dropped to the second-realm range, they could pass with their methods.

"Go slowly." Zhao Xing warned.

"Understood, I'll follow your lead." Jing Yan put away the spheres, effectively entrusting his safety entirely to Zhao Xing.

If Zhao Xing wanted to murder him for his wealth, he could take a "Earth God Pill" to resolve the previous soul oath and immediately launch a sneak attack on Jing Yan; he would definitely be able to kill him.

"Wait a moment." After flying slowly for two days, Zhao Xing suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Jing Yan asked.

"This place is not bad; it has utility value." Zhao Xing said.

He waved his hand, and an origin projection appeared, with a giant mushroom appearing in the corrosive swamp.

"What kind of mushroom is this?" Jing Yan asked.

"Phantom Star Mushroom," Zhao Xing said.

"Mushroom-type Yin-attribute soldier species, suitable for activities in Yin-attribute origin areas."

The Phantom Star Mushroom possessed four innate talent skills. At maturity, it was at the first origin realm; at its peak, it was at the second origin realm. The four talent skills were "Hallucination," "Division," "Camouflage," and "Yin Poison."

For third-realm plant soldier species, the slightly better ones were unaffordable.

Furthermore, the process of subduing them involved the plant life's will to resist. Initially, he had the Yuanhai Palace officials help subdue them. However, in the long run, there was still a possibility of backlash against the master.

It was like someone helping to tame a wild horse; it submitted due to pressure at the time, but Zhao Xing himself was weak. After a period of time, there was still a risk of backlash.

So Zhao Xing's plant soldier species remained the Phantom Star Mushroom, Heavenly Sound Bamboo, and Nine-Yin Magic Vine.

These three were all rare varieties. When bought, they were at the adult stage, first realm. At their peak, they were at the second realm.

The Moon Luo Mausoleum was suitable for cultivation. Zhao Xing calculated that letting the three major soldier species take root here for a period of time would allow them to reach their peak without spending money.

"Hum~"

After the Phantom Star Mushroom, came the Heavenly Sound Bamboo and the Nine-Yin Magic Vine.

After they took root, Zhao Xing put away the origin soil.

"Let's go. It's just right that the Heavenly Sound Bamboo can provide a warning."

Zhao Xing's move was equivalent to tethering three "dogs" here. Among them, the sound of the Heavenly Sound Bamboo could travel very far. If there was any movement, he would be able to know in time.

As for the Phantom Star Mushroom and the Nine-Yin Magic Vine, they didn't have this function. Rare-quality plant soldier species didn't have telepathic communication, only vague sensing. Now that they were separated from the origin soil and in the chaotic environment of the tomb, if they went too far, only the Heavenly Sound Bamboo would be able to transmit some movement.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~"

The three major plant soldier species were all Yin-attribute plant life. After being modified by the Purple Light Eight Epochs, this place was just right for them to take root and grow.

Zhao Xing spent a little time watching for a few days before continuing to venture forward with Jing Yan.

After walking for a month, Zhao Xing and Jing Yan finally left the Corrosion Space and saw the real tomb.

It was seven palaces hidden in a dense forest. The palaces were three thousand kilometers high, half of which had been covered by dense vines and unknown grasses.

The seven palaces were different in color and shape, but they all shared a common feature: they were illuminated by the Taiyin star and surrounded by void turbulence.

In front of the palaces were seven statues, ten thousand meters high, all exuding cold fluctuations.

"Zhao Xing, have we arrived?" Jing Yan was excited. "But why are there seven tombs? We're already here, and they're still playing tricks."

"Not tricks." Zhao Xing shook his head. "This person should have seven bodies."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Along the way, I discovered that this place is very likely the tomb of a Self-Nature path Silonong."

"Self-Nature path Silonongs in the third realm, if they cultivate the Straw Man Art, the original body and the clones are equally important. They won't dissipate even after death, so I say these seven tombs are not tricks."

"Self-Nature path Silonong? How can you tell? There's just a bit more grass," Jing Yan asked curiously. "Zhao Xing, you really know a lot."

As an Imperial citizen who had traveled to many ancient kingdoms, Jing Yan felt that Zhao Xing's knowledge was even stronger than his.

"A small Purple God Palace actually cultivated such a great talent. I wonder who your teacher is?"

"Qing Yuzi."

Qing Yuzi. Jing Yan secretly remembered this great expert's name.

Since it was a Silonong's tomb, Jing Yan stopped using his brain.

"Brother, where should we start digging?"

"Try them all." Zhao Xing said. "Whichever one we can enter, we enter."

The tomb of a third-realm Self-Nature path Silonong was not so easy to dig.

Zhao Xing didn't expect to harvest everything. To get one would be a profit, as they hadn't spent much effort anyway.

"Brother Jing, don't move randomly."

"Okay."

Jing Yan followed Zhao Xing toward one of the tombs in the south-north direction.

"Hum~"

When Zhao Xing and Jing Yan approached, the dog-headed, human-bodied statue suddenly came to life.

Jing Yan was surprised because he hadn't sensed any fluctuation of a mechanical magic array at all, as if this wasn't a mechanical puppet.

"To be able to break into this place, the two fellow Daoists can be considered experts in the third realm."

"I have a small gift here. If the two fellow Daoists are willing to show mercy, willing to swear a Heavenly Dao oath not to disturb my eternal sleep again, and keep their mouths shut, then this gift will be given to the two of you."

The dog-headed statue said, spitting out two golden lights that drifted out.

"What is he saying?" Jing Yan was confused.

He couldn't understand because the dog-headed statue was speaking the language of the Moon Luo Ancient Kingdom.

Zhao Xing only understood a little bit.

The official deciphering of the Seven Star Ancient Coins and the language of the Moon Luo Ancient Kingdom was not very accurate.

However, he had the experience of his past life, so even if he couldn't understand it at this moment, he could understand what the dog-headed statue was saying.

"He means that if we swear a soul oath not to disturb him again, we can take two gifts and leave." Zhao Xing said. "It's an old rule: surrender and lose half."

The contest between tomb owners and tomb raiders was not entirely a life-and-death struggle. Some sensible tomb raiders were not greedy; they would take a little, swear a Heavenly Dao oath, and take the initiative to erase their tomb-raiding experience.

The Earth God Pill could break such oaths, but the Earth God Pill was also quite expensive. Weighing the pros and cons, many tomb raiders would stop disturbing the tomb.

Of course, there were greedy ones who thought they could crack it, often losing their lives because of it.

"What do you think we should do?" Jing Yan looked at the two treasures, revealing a touch of greed. "The two left outside, I sensed them, at least they are of the upper-grade star-level Dao-soldier fluctuation. I'm afraid there will be more inside."

"Let's look at the others first." Zhao Xing said. "The seven tombs should all have left such means. If it's suitable, we'll take what we see and leave."

"That works too." Jing Yan was proud, but that didn't mean he wouldn't listen to advice. A third-realm Self-Nature path Silonong might even be a Great Divine Art master.

Greed might lead to big trouble. You have to be alive to spend the money you earn!

"To be able to break into this place, the two fellow Daoists can be considered experts in the third realm."

"I have a small gift here. If the two fellow Daoists are willing to show mercy, willing to swear a Heavenly Dao oath not to disturb my eternal sleep again, and keep their mouths shut, then this gift will be given to the two of you."

At the fifth tomb palace.

Zhao Xing saw a statue that looked like a tree man.

It was also saying the same words and spitting out two light clusters.

Zhao Xing looked closely and was overjoyed.

Because one of the two light clusters contained a star stone slab, and that was the magic art secret book recording the "Extraction Divine Art"!

"Okay! I am willing to swear the oath." Zhao Xing responded.

The divine art of the Silonong Self-Nature path was basically not passed on. That is to say, in the Yuanhai Ancient Kingdom, you couldn't buy it even with money. You either had to join a certain force and accumulate contributions... In short, you had to be bound to a certain extent to learn it.

If you left that force, you had to erase this divine art, which was very troublesome.

Because passing on the divine art of the Silonong Self-Nature path could break the life structure and the shackles of life, which was the core source of making money!

Who would easily take core technology out to sell?

Therefore, a completely unbound Self-Nature path divine art was very precious!

Zhao Xing's main purpose in coming to this tomb was the "Extraction Divine Art." If he got the Extraction Divine Art, this trip would not be in vain.

"Brother Zhao, what is that?" Jing Yan asked. "Why are you so excited?"

"Self-Nature path divine art secret method." Zhao Xing said.

"What?" Jing Yan was shocked. "This thing was also given away casually? I'm afraid this is the tomb of a Great Divine Art master!"

"Brother Jing, my goal has been achieved." Zhao Xing said. "I want this method; I won't take any of the other treasures, I will help you with all my strength."

"Okay." Jing Yan nodded. "You take it."

Zhao Xing immediately swore the Heavenly Dao oath.

With a wave of origin fluctuation sweeping through his body, Zhao Xing felt an urge to leave this place immediately, and his memory was gradually fading.

However, in the Three God Life Palace, the Life Soul, Karma Soul, and Rebirth Soul opened their eyes simultaneously, preserving the memory.

"Three God Life Palace, unaffected by karma. If I am willing now, I don't need to take the Earth God Pill to resist and break the contract." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

The divine art from the Reincarnation Temple was just that double-standard.

"I'll exit this area first."

Zhao Xing took the star stone slab and retreated to the third barrier area, the Corrosion Space.

As for Jing Yan, he was still selecting.

"Brother Jing, if you need anything, call me immediately." Zhao Xing said. "But you must be careful; even if you break in, don't easily break into that palace in the east."

"Understood." Jing Yan nodded.

Zhao Xing carried the star stone slab and returned to the Corrosion Space quickly.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the three major soldier species. The star stone slab floated up, and Zhao Xing began to comprehend the "Extraction Divine Art."

"Hum~"

A phantom appeared in front of Zhao Xing. This was the "Preaching Portrait," which stored the past preaching of the tomb owner.

"The innate ability of plant life is a kind of 'innate origin'."

"But not every origin is good. Some 'innate origins' hinder the development of plant life. Countless tiny origins intertwine, limiting the growth of plant life, which is commonly known as growth shackles."

"The Extraction Divine Art is to remove those useless origins in plant life and amplify those useful innate origins..."

The Preaching Portrait spoke the language of the Moon Luo Ancient Kingdom, but that didn't matter. The Preaching Stone Slab was a series of pictures composed of origin fluctuations, allowing the user to comprehend.

It didn't matter if the language and characters were not understood, because learning magic and comprehending the Dao in the universe was not something that could be transmitted by carriers like characters, but by the fluctuations of the Dao origin preserved in objects.

So even if Zhao Xing remembered the explanations of many secret methods from his past life, it was useless; memory could not retain the core things.

"Innate origin..." Zhao Xing carefully sensed it. Countless pictures appeared on the star stone slab, stars flickering, like life structure diagrams.

"The innate ability of plant life is determined by the innate origin."

"The Self-Nature path believes that any plant has the possibility of becoming a god-level variety and has the potential to become a god-level variety, but due to acquired reasons and generations of development, those 'god-level origins' are all completely introverted and not expressed."

"Why is this? Because 'survival' is the priority."

"Powerful abilities often consume more spiritual energy resources. If a weed is cultivated in god-level soil, it can also give birth to powerful abilities. If a god-level variety is placed in a barren region, it will also degenerate, and after generations of reproduction, the grade will also decrease."

"Acquired environments have subtly formed various shackles, making plant life no longer manifest those powerful talents, but these talents have not disappeared; they have been hidden."

"After learning the Extraction Divine Art, there are two effects: one is to amplify the innate ability of plant life, and the other is to dig out hidden abilities."

Billions of stars were reflected in his eyes, each star being the foundation of life.

"In other words, it's gene editing." Zhao Xing understood it as such.

The principle was simple, but how to do it was the difficulty.

Zhao Xing tried to cast it for the first time three months later, using the Nine-Yin Magic Vine as a sample.

A golden thin line appeared in front of him, which fused spiritual power, Yin-Yang origin, and divine soul power.

It was like a needle, piercing into the Nine-Yin Magic Vine.

"This is the Extraction Divine Art." Zhao Xing manipulated it carefully. "This 'needle' is the manifestation of the divine art."

A microscopic vision appeared before Zhao Xing's eyes, and the life structure of the Nine-Yin Magic Vine unfolded before him like the night sky.

From the outside, the "needle" was imperceptible, but in the microscopic vision, it was like a pillar supporting the sky, thick and sturdy.

Zhao Xing controlled it to hit a certain star.

"Boom!"

One of the stars disappeared, turned into starlight, and was absorbed by the remaining stars.

"The exploded star is the life origin of the Nine-Yin Magic Vine. Now it has been absorbed by the rest."

Zhao Xing switched to the macroscopic perspective to observe the Nine-Yin Magic Vine.

There was no change at all.

"Well, I only shook one life origin. This level doesn't even count as a dead cell; there's no change at all."

"Better not use the Nine-Yin Magic Vine for testing. The best test subject is the Phantom Star Mushroom."

The Phantom Star Mushroom possessed the "Division" talent, so he could practice with it without worry.

"I only have one 'divine art needle' now; the speed is too slow. Let's practice proficiency first." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

According to the tomb owner, mastering 1 trillion divine art needles at the same time was considered successful, and perfection was 10 quadrillion.

"Come on, mushroom."

Zhao Xing forced the Phantom Star Mushroom to divide continuously.

Then he stabbed the divided mushrooms with needles.

Anyway, the goal now was not to let the mushroom grow, but to practice the control of the "divine art needle," so it didn't matter where he stabbed.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

In the microscopic vision, the stars representing the life origin of the Phantom Star Mushroom fragments were extinguished frantically and absorbed by the rest.

The outside world remained calm.

Zhao Xing used the panel to brush up his proficiency.

He stabbed at a high frequency, and soon the proficiency soared.

Such training seemed boring to outsiders, but Zhao Xing was someone who could endure loneliness. After all, the panel proficiency could show progress, and stabbing was quite interesting.

On the first day, Zhao Xing expanded to "ten needles."

On the second day, he could control "a hundred needles" simultaneously.

On the third day, he reached "a thousand needles."

Time passed, and three months after Zhao Xing obtained the "Extraction Divine Art."

"Boom!"

The first mushroom finally underwent a qualitative change!

"Roar!"

As if it couldn't stand being stabbed by Zhao Xing, this Phantom Star Mushroom actually let out a beast-like roar, then exploded violently!

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~"

Zhao Xing was splashed with a layer of transparent juice.

"Why is there a meaty smell? The toxicity has completely disappeared, the explosive power has decreased by ten thousand times, but its own mass has increased by dozens of times."

Zhao Xing dispersed the air. He saw clearly that before the explosion, the mushroom had completely changed its shape, becoming a strange-looking lump.

"A good second-realm plant was actually messed up by me to below the Life Palace realm."

The fragments of the Phantom Star Mushroom were at the early second-realm level.

After being messed up by Zhao Xing, it exploded directly, and before the explosion, it only had the life level of the Heaven Luck realm.

"Won't I create some monster?"

Zhao Xing muttered. Self-Nature path Silonongs often encountered accidents during experiments, and there was no shortage of people who created something terrifying and then died.

"Must be careful from now on."

Zhao Xing no longer just practiced the control of the extraction needles but began targeted training.

"This star area is the 'poison origin' of the Phantom Star Mushroom."

"Around and in the middle, there are some unknown origins mixed in."

"Try amplifying the toxicity first."

Zhao Xing could now control millions of "extraction needles" and began formal practical changes.

Half a month later.

Zhao Xing had three Phantom Star Mushroom fragments in front of him.

One was the experimental subject, and two were control samples.

"Control samples, appearance green with purple."

"Experimental subject, turned pure black."

"The camouflage and hallucination talents have completely disappeared, leaving only the 【Yin Poison】 talent."

"The lifespan has become very short."

Zhao Xing sensed carefully.

"It will die within about two hundred years."

"But the 【Yin Poison】 talent has been amplified by 50 times. This experimental subject, in terms of toxin intensity alone, can already threaten the third realm."

Zhao Xing's face was a bit solemn. He had to handle it carefully, otherwise, he would hurt himself.

Why were Self-Nature path Silonongs excluded by the Heaven and Earth factions? It was because these people were very extreme and often made people feel very dangerous.

Self-Nature path Silonongs were either geniuses or lunatics, or there was no difference between the two.

"Throw it far away."

Zhao Xing carefully wrapped it and threw it to the other side of the corrosive swamp.

"Continue trying, figure out the fragments, and then move on to the mother body."

Zhao Xing's control over the extraction needles increased, and his proficiency soared.

More and more mushrooms were thrown away.

Immersed in cultivation, he lost track of time.

Until one day, Jing Yan suddenly sent a message to Zhao Xing: "Brother Zhao, I've encountered some trouble."

"Here it comes."

Zhao Xing threw the mushroom away and took an 【Earth God Pill】.

The Earth God Pill entered the sea of consciousness but suddenly turned into a sword, held in the hand of the Life Soul.

"Hum!"

The restraint of the oath sworn earlier was easily cut off.

Zhao Xing changed his aura and appearance before re-entering the fourth barrier area.

While Zhao Xing and Jing Yan were exploring the seven tomb palaces.

At the outermost periphery, at the Star Wheel Labyrinth.

"Brother Zeng, we need to speed up." Wang Yun looked at Zeng Zhuo. "One-third of the three-year time limit set by Steward Hong has passed, and we've only just broken the first barrier."

"This tomb really has some tricks." Zeng Zhuo sighed. "It's not easy to dig."

The big shots above just move their mouths, and the people below have to run their legs off.

If the requirement was just to break it, it would be easier to handle.

For violent cracking, mechanical master Zeng Zhuo had a bunch of methods, and the Moon Sandalwood Marquis Mansion had equipment and people.

But, in order for the young lady Lu Yuehan to have a sense of achievement, Steward Hong insisted on "half-broken, half-unbroken."

It had to lower the difficulty of opening the tomb, but it couldn't be completely broken, and the magic array itself had to be preserved as much as possible.

Who can you reason with about this?

But even if it's hard to handle, it has to be done.

If Zeng Zhuo doesn't do this job, there are plenty of others who will.

"I will have people speed up." Zeng Zhuo said. "I have to rely on Brother Wang more."

"My strength is low, I'm afraid I can't help Brother Zeng much. This matter is handled by Brother Zeng; I believe Brother Zeng can solve it." Wang Yun didn't want to be involved at all.

Because Zeng Zhuo was the main person in charge, if the progress was fast, he would increase his participation.

But Zeng Zhuo looked like he wouldn't be able to finish, so he wanted to shift the blame.

Zeng Zhuo cursed inwardly, but still had to accompany him with a smile.

You can't offend a Fate Master. Wang Yun often showed his face in front of Steward Hong and the young lady. If he said a few bad words about him, the impact would be too bad.

Seeing that one-third of the time had passed, Zeng Zhuo had to go into battle himself.

He had research on magic arrays, but his actual combat power was not very good.

In one year and one month, Zeng Zhuo finally adjusted the Star Wheel Labyrinth to a reasonable degree.

Lu Yuehan was in the early second realm. If she put her heart into it, she could break the array.

Then, Zeng Zhuo came to the second barrier, the Puppet Avenue.

"Why is this barrier so difficult again?"

Zeng Zhuo frowned as he looked at it.

There were thousands of towers around the Puppet Avenue, and there were many second-realm puppets inside.

Thousands of puppets, combined with the magic array to besiege, Lu Yuehan would be in trouble.

It wasn't that difficult originally, but after Jing Yan's "Soldier-Law Prohibition," the power of the Puppet Great Array evolved and was raised by a level.

"(o｀*))) Sigh."

Zeng Zhuo sighed. He felt that after this workload was completed, his lifespan would be reduced.

He spent another half a year, busy and busy, and finally suppressed the power of the Puppet Avenue to a degree that Lu Yuehan could accept.

He had no way to change the Puppet Great Array, so he adopted the same sealing means as Jing Yan.

He also built some puppets that looked the same as those in the towers, but were only at the peak of the first realm.

"Anyway, she can't tell, just fool her!" Zeng Zhuo complained in his heart.

Half a year passed, and Zeng Zhuo didn't dare to stop at all, continuing to move forward.

The third barrier was the Corrosion Space.

Since Zhao Xing had left the Corrosion Space for a period of time, the effect of the Purple Light Eight Epochs was maintained for a while before slowly disappearing.

Now it was the same as before, with gray fog filling the air, swamps blocking the way, blocking Zeng Zhuo and his party in front.

Of course, the difficulty was lower than before. After all, the Purple Light Eight Epochs and the Soldier-Law Prohibition were different in nature, and they had caused some permanent effects here.

"First exploration team, enter. Return no later than one month."

Zeng Zhuo ordered.

"Yes!"

One month later, Zeng Zhuo frowned.

Why haven't they returned yet? Did something happen?

It was normal for accidents to happen. Communication was blocked here, and there was no feedback, so he felt it was normal.

"Second exploration team, enter!"

Zeng Zhuo increased the intensity of the exploration, and the lineup and equipment were more perfect, basically all experienced second-realm cultivators.

Two months later.

Roars came from the depths of the fog.

In the end, only one mechanical puppet walked back.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~"

Zeng Zhuo touched the mechanical puppet, and some fragmented pictures flashed by on it.

"Hmm? The second team didn't die, they are still alive... But why didn't they come back?"

"Is this barrier so strange?"

"My people are carrying top-grade star-level Dao-soldiers, and still no one came back. What happened?"

Zeng Zhuo couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Seeing that the time set by Steward Hong was getting closer, Zeng Zhuo couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"I'll go myself!"

"You go and report to Steward Hong, report the situation here truthfully!"

"Yes."

Zeng Zhuo put on his mechanical battle armor and set off for the Corrosion Space.

He didn't bring any followers because he was already in the third realm. The second team still had survivors, proving that the third barrier should be between the third realm and the second realm in intensity.

Zeng Zhuo was not sending himself to death; he still had some confidence.

"Gurgle~ Gurgle~"

The giant puppet flew at low altitude, bubbles kept emerging from the surrounding swamp, and green aura drifted. A string of information flashed before Zeng Zhuo's eyes.

"Regional average chaos index 85."

"Toxin index 75, toxin invasion methods are seventy-six types..."

"Spiritual power index 9, spiritual power contains toxins, completely unable to absorb."

"Not right."

Zeng Zhuo frowned. Just looking at the current data, it shouldn't have been enough to trap the two teams he sent ahead.

"Detect whether there is life in the area..."

Zeng Zhuo began to move horizontally.

Suddenly—

"Boom!"

The two feet of his mechanical battle armor seemed to hit something.

"Hmm?"

Zeng Zhuo stepped on it subconsciously.

It was soft.

He immediately pulled up his altitude.

But at this moment, he smelled a scent.

"What?!"

Zeng Zhuo was startled. He had the barrier open, so how did this scent get in?!

He pulled up quickly while looking at his feet.

However, he hadn't pulled up a thousand meters when he hit something on his head.

"Boom!"

A strong impact instantly sent Zeng Zhuo flying.

It seemed like something had exploded!

【Warning, the barrier of the 'Tu Yue' has dropped to fifty percent!】

【Unknown toxin invasion detected—】

"Analyze the source of the attack!" Zeng Zhuo shouted loudly.

【After analysis, the attack on the 'Tu Yue' is: Peak plant life 'Phantom Star Mushroom' (75%)】

"Impossible!"

"The Phantom Star Mushroom is at most second realm? How can it have such power?!" Zeng Zhuo doubted his ears.

"Boom!"

Before he could finish speaking, he suffered another explosive impact from another direction.

"Analyze the source of the attack..."

【After analysis, the attack on the 'Tu Yue' is: Peak plant life 'Phantom Star Mushroom' (65%)】

"Another mushroom?"

Zeng Zhuo was dumbfounded.

He was in the third realm. Although he only had minor divine arts and his combat ability was not outstanding, it was only relative. Zeng Zhuo considered himself quite comprehensive.

"Tu Yue Heaven Illumination!"

Zeng Zhuo cast his mechanical divine art, which was a detection-type mechanical divine art.

【Regional map analysis complete!】

"Hum~"

A three-dimensional terrain map of a radius of 100 million miles appeared in Zeng Zhuo's eyes.

In the gray fog, all kinds of mushrooms were growing, some black and purple, hidden in the Taiyin origin.

Some had grown arm-like mushrooms, opening their bloody mouths, devouring other mushrooms.

Some were dividing, like giving birth, falling off the umbrella...

What appeared in Zeng Zhuo's eyes was a huge and strange mushroom forest!

"Heavens, what kind of place have I come to!" This was Zeng Zhuo's first reaction.

"This mushroom forest was newly planted by someone!" This was Zeng Zhuo's second reaction because most of the soil under the mushroom forest was very new.

"Boom, boom!"

A series of explosions occurred in the distance. The Taiyin origin formed by the explosion was like a purple-black sea of fire, and the shock wave swept over the Tu Yue mechanical battle armor.

Zeng Zhuo felt his breath hitch, and everything went black before him, and he passed out completely.

"Damn, who the hell is planting mushrooms here!" This was Zeng Zhuo's last thought before passing out.