Chapter 541: The Inheritance Ends

When the inheritance opportunity event reached its seventh year, the more than ten thousand demigods began to feel the difficulty of this challenge one after another.

"What kind of bamboo can reach a height of one hundred thousand units under these current conditions?"

"Hard, too hard. At the very least, I can't do it!"

"Among the three schools of Agriculture, I'm afraid even one school alone would find it difficult to achieve."

"With the timing restricted and the self lacking the Dao, how could one possibly cultivate a common species to such a height relying solely on geographical advantage?"

"Nurturing divine soil is even harder. Fifty thousand units underground is a dead vein; a single territory alone cannot nurture god-tier soil."

"More than just one territory? I just calculated it: the total underground nutrients of 13,481 territories can at most supply two or three individuals to complete this challenge! And that's assuming one can fully utilize them!"

"One territory is one boundary unit, and reaching fifty thousand units deep underground is a massive space in itself. Even if three people split it, each person still has to control over four thousand territories. Spell effects have range limits; who has such a powerful true spirit?"

"Hmph, one has to damage the roots during the process of seizing land. Each person only has ten bamboo stalks, which cannot regenerate. Perhaps they will be exhausted during the expansion process."

"No wonder the Penglai Divine General's inheritance is still here after so long. This is simply an impossible challenge."

"Is the Penglai Divine General playing with us on purpose?"

The mental intentions of the crowd drifted in the air, and the participants all let out sighs of lament.

It was too difficult; from any angle, this was the hardest problem they had ever encountered.

Some even felt that the Penglai Divine General had set this inheritance specifically to toy with everyone; he never intended to hand it over at all.

"The elimination is almost done; it's time to entertain the guests." In the Water Bamboo Cave Heaven, on Sea Elephant Island, the Penglai Divine General, dressed in a green straw raincoat, stood beneath a black and white bamboo.

He was whittling bamboo strips with a knife. Every time he finished one, the bamboo strip would transform into a table, appearing in the bamboo forest.

When the first two tables formed, nothing happened.

The Penglai Divine General looked up at the sky: "Not coming down?"

"I won't come in to sit this time." A voice entered the Penglai Divine General's ears.

"Really not coming down? There's good food."

"Oh my, I really can't. Don't tempt me." The voice was soft and delicate, sounding quite distressed.

The Penglai Divine General looked somewhat surprised: "How rare. It seems the person you are protecting this time is very important. Then I won't save any for you."

Having said that, the Penglai Divine General wiped away the two seats.

He continued whittling bamboo, and a third seat appeared.

At the same moment the seat appeared, a silk thread suddenly drifted down from above it.

Xu Huai's teacher, Divine General Shen Ge, appeared beside the seat with some surprise.

A section of the causal line he was using to pull Xu Huai had been yanked down, forcing him to take a seat.

However, Divine General Shen Ge quickly regained his composure.

"Shen Ge of the Honggu Heaven, greets Fellow Daoist Penglai."

The Penglai Divine General looked at Shen Ge: "Since you have come from afar, you are a guest. Please take a seat, Fellow Daoist."

"Many thanks." Divine General Shen Ge bowed respectfully and then sat in the seat.

The Penglai Divine General continued whittling the next bamboo strip, forming a second seat.

Just as the seat formed, a thread suddenly drifted down from the sky, transforming into a human figure that appeared beside the seat.

After Divine General Yin Zai appeared, he took the initiative to cup his hands toward the Penglai Divine General: "I have come to disturb Brother Penglai again. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist."

The Penglai Divine General's expression was indifferent: "Fellow Daoist, this is your third visit to Penglai. Do you still not want to give up?"

Divine General Yin Zai hurriedly said: "I dare not. I only let the child come to broaden his horizons; I have no designs on your inheritance."

Having said that, golden light flickered at Divine General Yin Zai's fingertips, and a small pagoda floated toward the Penglai Divine General: "This is a small token of my sincerity."

Divine General Shen Ge was here for the first time. Seeing this scene, he immediately muttered to himself: "To participate in the Penglai Divine General's opportunity inheritance event, the protector behind the scenes has to pay—so the rumors were actually true?"

Divine General Shen Ge immediately followed suit and built a divine power pagoda. Since it was his first time, he only needed to build one level.

Divine General Yin Zai, being on his third visit, built a full three levels. After finishing, his figure looked somewhat translucent.

The Penglai Divine General continued whittling bamboo into a table, and a third thread transformed into a human figure that appeared beside the table.

He was dressed strangely, his entire body wrapped in layers of black satin, as if bound in bandages, with only his eyes exposed.

These eyes had been tightly shut, but upon appearing here, they immediately opened wide as if startled.

Shen Ge had thought the Black Satin would be like him and Yin Zai, but he didn't expect the figure to kick off with both feet, immediately turning back into a thread, attempting to escape into the void.

What is the meaning of this? Is there someone trying to skip the bill?

Divine General Shen Ge observed, while Divine General Yin Zai acted as if he were used to it, drinking the bamboo tube wine on the table as if he knew what was going to happen.

"Bang!"

Before the Black Satin could turn ethereal, a loud noise suddenly erupted, as if it had jumped and hit the ceiling.

"Clatter~"

The figure first solidified, let out a roar of unwillingness, and finally expanded into a pool of liquid.

"Plop!"

The next moment, the Black Satin disappeared, but a delicate pagoda appeared on the third table; the bottom four levels glowed with gold, while the top five remained empty.

Divine General Shen Ge picked up the bamboo tube wine to hide his surprise.

"I wonder if this one exceeded the limit and was caught red-handed, or if he simply didn't want to 'give a gift'."

"Truly unwise."

Arriving on the Universe Boat is equivalent to arriving in the Penglai Divine General's territory.

A Divine General is certainly stronger on their own turf.

The advantage brought by territory is especially obvious for Agriculturalists.

However, the territorial bonus of the Geographical School is still not the strongest; the Self School is.

As the saying goes, timing is not as good as geographical advantage, and geographical advantage is not as good as the self.

When a member of the Self School becomes a god, their inner world is not called a Divine Domain, but a Divine Realm. The reason it is listed separately is that the Divine Realm cultivated by the Self School is far more effective than an ordinary Divine Domain.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish~"

As the Penglai Divine General continuously whittled bamboo into tables, more and more figures appeared.

Shen Ge counted; including the Black Satin, eighteen Divine Generals had appeared in total, five of whom were in the same situation as the Black Satin.

They were beaten into divine power origin pagodas after entering.

As for the Divine Soldier level? They weren't even qualified to enter this bamboo forest, falling one after another into the sea area beside the forest, to be swallowed by a sea elephant.

"Crunch, crunch~"

Divine General Shen Ge seemed to hear the sound of those Divine Soldier-level beings being gnawed on by the sea elephant.

"Divine concealment is forcibly broken, and causality and fate are severed by a section. From then on, a gap will forever appear on these Divine Soldier-level beings."

"Unless they attain the Dao through heaven and earth, they will never reach the state of complete divine concealment again."

This is the price for not following the Penglai Divine General's rules!

In the Fushan Domain, the little yellow duck at the edge of the event had tears of heartache flowing from its mouth. It jumped back and forth on Yan Ao's shoulder, screaming: "Waste, what a waste!"

"Yan Ao, what's the use of that sea elephant eating so much? It can't get out!"

"This guy is eating my food, mine!"

Yan Ao grabbed Lu Ya off his shoulder: "I know you're heartbroken, but you don't have to be so excited. My clothes have been pecked to shreds by you."

"Yan Ao, I'm so hungry." The little yellow duck still had Yan Ao's clothes in its mouth. "You're a good person; why don't you let me have some fun!"

Having said that, the little yellow duck kept pecking at Yan Ao's palm.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang~"

The fleshy palm immediately emitted a crisp sound.

After pecking seven times in a row, the little yellow duck's beak was crooked, but Yan Ao's palm only had a few dents, not even breaking the skin.

Yan Ao comforted it as he was accustomed to: "Don't be anxious. When Zhao Xing comes out, let him find you something to eat. There will definitely be evil gods coming."

Lu Ya slumped in Yan Ao's palm, weak and powerless: "But I still ate less. Sigh, then I'll sleep for a while—"

Yan Ao closed his palm into a fist and gently placed the little yellow duck back into his hair to sleep.

At the bamboo forest seating, including Yin Zai and Shen Ge, twelve Divine Generals had finally taken their seats.

Twelve Divine Generals meant that only twelve demigods remained in the Water Bamboo Cave Heaven, still carrying out the challenge.

Over thirteen thousand demigods, and after ten years, only twelve people remained who hadn't given up.

"Twelve Divine Generals means there are only twelve challengers left. Hmm? That's not right."

Shen Ge looked at the bamboo tube wine. In the reflection of the wine, he saw that there were still three or four thousand demigods in the test area of the Water Bamboo Cave Heaven who had not left.

Most of them were gathered in the south.

"What's going on? Why are there still so many demigods in the south?"

Shen Ge was puzzled.

The other Divine Generals also discovered this situation.

"Whose subordinate is that demigod in the south?"

"Other geniuses are all seizing and plundering, fighting all the way, and while plundering territories, they also eliminated others."

"But this person plundered land all the way, yet many people remained in their original territories."

"He hardly had any fights, yet he occupied thousands of territories in the south."

"How on earth did he convince the others to make way?"

Among the twelve Divine Generals, only Shen Ge, Yin Zai, and Ke Ben recognized the young man reflected in the water.

Because the three of them were the teachers of Xu Huai, Liu Qingci, and Zhuohua, and they knew what happened in the Yasi Sea Area.

"This Han Bing is truly remarkable." Shen Ge couldn't help but be surprised. "In the Yasi Sea Area, he was able to unite with the people of the Mountain Patrol Divine Office. I originally thought it was due to luck."

"Now, in the Penglai Divine General's inheritance test, he can actually subdue the enemy without fighting?"

"What kind of magic does Han Bing have?" Divine General Ke Ben was also very surprised. "Eighty percent of the people he encountered didn't even fight; they just stood and chatted for a while, and then they obediently made way?"

That opportunity event in the Yasi Sea Area had the possibility of cooperation, but here there was absolutely none.

In the struggle for the Great Dao, how could one easily make way?

Yet this Han Bing managed to do it; it's simply unimaginable!

"This child must be the beloved disciple of the Boundless True God!" Divine General Yin Zai couldn't help but sigh in his heart. "He hasn't attained the Dao yet, but he already has the bearing of a True God."

He felt that those demigod Agriculturalists looked at Han Bing much like he looked at the Boundless True God—with awe.

Putting himself in their shoes, if he were in the same place as the Boundless True God, he would probably also make way for the Boundless True God, because Yin Zai himself felt both admiration and fear toward the Boundless True God.

"The underground palace as a support, yin and yang blending; if heaven does not suit me, I will split the earth and ascend."

A voice entered the ears of Venerable Xixian.

He turned around, looking at Zhao Xing and the layers of magic power incarnations behind him, feeling somewhat surprised.

Among these people, some were Agriculturalists who wanted to stay and learn, such as Venerable Zizhao.

In an opportunity event, it is not necessarily the case that one must obtain a specific material to count as an opportunity; knowledge and insight also count as a kind of opportunity!

Some were just there to watch the fun, wanting to see Zhao Xing fail.

However, following Zhao Xing at this time made them look like Zhao Xing's followers, putting immense pressure on Venerable Xixian.

It was as if an Agriculturalist God had come to test his Dao.

Venerable Xixian stopped what he was doing, wanting to see what the other party was doing, but Zhao Xing stopped when he reached the edge of the territory and didn't talk to Venerable Xixian, instead answering the questions of his followers.

"May I ask Venerable Han, what you just said, are you talking about the Dao of refining divine soil from the earth?"

Zhao Xing said leisurely:

"To explain the birth of divine soil solely by the earth-refining method is too narrow."

"For example, the ancient life demon god Agara was conceived in a naturally formed underground palace."

"It was first a stone fetus, which attained spiritual intelligence and became divine after three periods of earth changes. The divine-hidden stone fetus then went through seven epochs to form a mountain peak. The mountain peak absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, and after four tribulations, it was able to be born."

"The natural evolution of the Gara land conforms to the great principles of the Earth Change Method, Earth Hidden Method, Earth Connection Method, and Spirit Mountain Method; it was not formed by a single method."

"May I ask Venerable, can such a method of becoming a god be replicated?" Venerable Zizhao asked.

"If you seek the Dao, both the Dao and the method will exist; if you seek the method, both the Dao and the method will be empty."

Venerable Zizhao was thoughtful: "I understand. Becoming a god is not the goal; it is merely proof of attaining the Dao. To seek the method and abandon the Dao is like putting the cart before the horse."

"Venerable, I have a question." Another person asked.

"Please speak." Zhao Xing nodded.

Venerable Xixian was somewhat speechless. This Venerable Han Bing came to the edge of his territory, ignored his existence, and just sat there discussing the Dao with his followers.

It was the first time Xixian had seen an inheritance test turned into a Dharma assembly.

He didn't want to pay attention to it, but with so many geniuses of the same level discussing the Dao right next to him, Xixian couldn't help but want to listen.

Listening to a god-level being with a higher realm discuss the Dao is very beneficial, and demigods discussing the Dao also yield no small gains.

What's more, Zhao Xing soon talked about Venerable Xixian.

"The territory next to me has 153 boundary units, half of which have already been refined into peaks, and the peaks into mountains."

"In addition, more than eighty anti-dou underground palaces have been arranged underground. This is intended to use the underground palaces to support the refined mountain peaks as they rise, and then let the Golden Spirit Bamboo break through the soil from the mountain peaks to complete the test of reaching a height of one hundred thousand units."

"However, this kind of thinking is destined to fail."

Venerable Xixian could no longer hold back.

He took the initiative to run over and scold: "Why are you grandstanding and talking nonsense?!"

Before Zhao Xing could speak, Venerable Zizhao took the lead in charging. He looked at Venerable Xixian, his tone somewhat dissatisfied: "People don't get angry because others say wrong things; they only feel angry because they hit the nail on the head."

"If Venerable Han's words are absurd, why do you take them to heart? Running over here to take it personally?"

Facing the many mocking gazes, Venerable Xixian couldn't help but take a deep breath. He realized that he had indeed been somewhat uncomposed just now.

"You are disturbing me!" Venerable Xixian regained his composure, and hills arched up from the ground. "If you want to discuss the Dao, go elsewhere, otherwise don't blame me for being impolite."

Since Zhao Xing and his group were all magic power incarnations, Venerable Xixian only needed to use the roots underground to shake slightly to occupy this territory and drive them all away.

However, before he could do so, Zhao Xing spoke.

"Fellow Daoist, you refined the earth into peaks, and hidden within the mountain peaks are thirty-six fire spirit mountains. Using the mountain method as a base, you formed the volcanic earth-hidden method to nurture spirits."

"The thirty-six mountains are intended to nurture a fire spirit bamboo, but you placed the fire spirit bamboo in the Zhen position. Fellow Daoist, are you hesitating, not knowing how to choose?"

Venerable Xixian was surprised and speechless.

If it could be said that Zhao Xing seeing through Xixian's layout before wasn't that impressive, then the words just now were a bit too divine.

The other party had completely seen through his thoughts, and even saw his hesitation.

He had used concealment methods, yet they had seen through the entire layout after just watching for a few days?

An expert, definitely an expert!

Xixian immediately felt that this Venerable Han Bing was not simple; at the very least, his vision was above his own!

Xixian really wanted to ask for clarification, but doing so would be tantamount to admitting he was inferior to the other party.

Just as he was hesitating, a roar came from the east.

A Di Cang suddenly appeared in the sky to the east, absorbing all the clouds, and then spat a breath downward, spraying it into the mountains.

The Cang breath can nurture spirit roots. After Xu Huai spat out this breath, he couldn't help but cancel the Hou Change Method and collapsed to the ground.

He stared fixedly at the bottom of the 【Heavenly Cang Bamboo】, full of expectation.

After being influenced by the Di Cang breath, the seventy-thousand-unit Heavenly Cang Bamboo's figure surged.

Seventy-five thousand, seventy-eight thousand, eighty-two thousand...

The growth was astonishing, which also made Xu Huai jump up from the ground in excitement.

"Charge, charge, charge! Break through all obstacles for me! Break the limit!"

Almost everyone was attracted by Xu Huai's actions.

Even the Divine Generals in the black and white bamboo forest were paying attention to Xu Huai.

"This is my disciple!" Shen Ge felt a sense of pride, because in just half a month, the Heavenly Cang Bamboo cultivated by Xu Huai had already broken through the height of ninety thousand units!

However, Shen Ge soon realized he had been happy too early.

After reaching a height of ninety-one thousand units, the Heavenly Cang Bamboo could no longer continue to grow.

On the seventeenth day, not only did it stop growing, but cracks appeared in the upper part.

This was because the broken life Dao restriction had re-fused, re-forming shackles at the microscopic level.

Xu Huai continued to transform into Di Cang and began to spit breath, and the cracks were quickly repaired.

However, it only lasted for one day.

On the eighteenth day, cracks appeared again, and this time there were two.

Cang circled the Heaven-Cang Bamboo, continuously erupting with Qi.

Yet this was like drinking poison to quench thirst; the more he sprayed, the more cracks appeared on the Heaven-Cang Bamboo.

By the twenty-fifth day, Xu Huai was already exhausted and could no longer maintain the Cang form.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!" The balance between life and destruction suddenly tilted.

A massive number of explosions rang out.

The perfectly fine Heaven-Cang Bamboo seemed to have turned into a firecracker, beginning to burst continuously and collapsing rapidly.

"Failed after all."

Xu Huai lay on the ground, feeling somewhat unwilling to accept it.

The trial of the Penglai Divine General was like forcing someone to build a house using the Great Dao of Life.

Xu Huai had painstakingly spent ten years and eight months, finally building this house to the limit of ninety-one thousand poles.

Yet the collapse happened in a single instant.

And this was also Xu Huai's last bamboo seed.

"This is the domain of gods; it is an impossible trial!" Xu Huai muttered to himself as the bamboo pole crashed down toward him.

At the moment he was about to be struck, Xu Huai was teleported out.

In the black and white bamboo forest, the Shen Ge Divine General also vanished.

"Xu Huai failed." Liu Qingci watched the Heaven-Cang Bamboo collapse, turning into essence Qi that dispersed in all directions. "He was already powerful enough; I even thought he would succeed, but he still failed."

"Is this trial truly possible to complete?"

"Although I am a Farmer of the Earthly Advantage faction, Xu Huai has also been continuously strengthening his own Earthly Advantage spells over these years, combined with his Cang Transformation; this was already a quite formidable performance. If even he couldn't do it, I'm afraid I am not even his equal." Venerable Zhuohua looked at the collapsed Heaven-Cang Bamboo, also somewhat dazed.

Another young man grabbed his own hair, his eyes filled with pain.

"Xu Huai is a Farmer who made it onto the White Burning Era Genius List. His comprehension is so strong that it has been enough for him to practice three types of Earthly Advantage spells to an extremely high level over these years."

"With the Hou Bian Law and Cang Transformation as support, combined with Heaven-Sea Earth-Store and Extreme-Origin Earth-Palace, even this method doesn't work?"

"Difficult, difficult, difficult!!"

The other participants, seeing Xu Huai's failure, did not gloat; instead, their moods were heavy.

At this moment, this trial of the Penglai Divine General had already brought immense psychological pressure to many geniuses.

Even Zhao Xing could not help but furrow his brows at this moment.

"Xu Huai's idea was also a path to success I had once envisioned, yet he still failed. Why is this? Where did it go wrong?"

Zhao Xing began to deduce in his heart unconsciously, his Eighteen Tribulations True Spirit spinning crazily, repeatedly reviewing the scene of Xu Huai's Heaven-Cang Bamboo collapsing.

Taking others as a mirror can clarify gains and losses, but now, the more he deduced, the more desperate it became. Even Zhao Xing felt a sense of powerlessness rising in his heart.

However, some people had different reactions.

For instance, Venerable Xixian.

"I have realized it!"

After staring at the direction where the Heaven-Cang Bamboo collapsed for four months, he suddenly flew up.

"Whoosh~"

He extracted the majority of the essence Qi after the Heaven-Cang Bamboo's death, and streams of essence Qi turned into a torrent, pouring into his volcanoes.

"Gurgle~"

Thirty-six volcanoes began to bubble, the earth began to shift, and one by one the volcanoes merged, finally forming one.

"Rise!!"

Following Venerable Xixian's explosive shout, the volcano erupted.

The first section of volcanic lava erupted straight into the sky, but it quickly cooled, forming a mountain upon a mountain.

The second section continued to erupt and cool on the foundation of the first, forming a second mountain upon a mountain, only smaller.

Repeating this, after the sixth month, the height of the volcano had already risen to twenty thousand poles.

And just at this moment, in a lava lake at the very top, a bamboo tip shining with fire-red light quickly emerged and shot into the sky. "His method has long been proven; raising the foundation is useless," Venerable Zizhao shook his head. "Height is calculated from the parts above the root system; no matter how high you pile the mountain, it is useless."

"He certainly knows that," Zhao Xing said indifferently. "He used the volcano method not to take a shortcut, but to protect the bamboo seed itself from the influence of Heavenly Time. The volcanic eruption broke through the cloud layer, including the Extreme-Gang layer and the Void-Flow layer; this was just using the Fire-Method Mountain to better protect the bamboo seed itself."

"Venerable, is this method feasible?" someone asked.

"It will not succeed," Zhao Xing shook his head. "He misread the question; he won't even reach ninety thousand poles."

Three months later.

Venerable Xixian failed; his Fire-Spirit Bamboo was even worse than Xu Huai's Heaven-Cang Bamboo, only reaching eighty-eight thousand poles.

Venerable Zizhao was greatly shocked because Zhao Xing's prediction had come true again.

Venerable Xixian indeed did not break through the height of ninety thousand poles.

"Why?"

Venerable Xixian fell from the sky.

He was very unwilling to accept it; before he failed, he had always felt he had a great chance of success.

Once the failure truly happened, he began to doubt his own Daoist arts.

He even felt fear in his heart.

What he feared was not the failure, but not even knowing how he had failed.

He was a genius who aspired to attain the Dao in heaven and earth!

Venerable Xixian's gaze turned toward Zhao Xing, suddenly as if he had grabbed a straw for survival: "Venerable Han, why did I fail?!"

Zhao Xing shook his head and turned to leave.

Since Xixian had not consulted him beforehand, there was no need for him to teach the other party.

He bypassed Xixian to receive new territory and nutrients.

At this time, only ten people remained.

Another year passed, and Zhao Xing had already extracted nutrients from twenty-five hundred territories.

This year, another Farmer began to attempt the challenge and failed.

Only nine inheritors remained.

Ten years later, the number of inheritors plummeted to four.

This was simply because the four strongest appeared among them, plundering the territories of the other five and stealing their nutrients.

These four were Zhao Xing, who occupied the due south of the trial space.

Venerable Miaohua in the due north.

Venerable Yuhe in the due east.

Venerable Ren Chuan in the due west.

The others either failed their own challenges or were defeated by these four.

"The pattern of the big four has been born; each occupies more than three thousand territories, so there shouldn't be any more battles," Liu Qingci thought to herself.

She and Venerable Zhuohua had failed after attempting five years ago, but they had barely maintained the vitality of their bamboo and did not need to leave the cave-heaven.

Now she and Zhuohua stood in the southern territory, watching Zhao Xing busy everywhere.

"I heard that Ren Chuan was the head of the Ancient Hill Mountain of a certain era. If there is anyone with the most hope, it should be him," Zhuohua communicated with Liu Qingci. "I just don't know what method he will use."

"I actually think Brother Han has a better chance," Liu Qingci said. "The heads of the Ancient Hill Mountains also depend on their quality; the heads of some eras might not even be as strong as you."

"That is true," Zhuohua nodded. "If I were in the Wild Domain era occupied by evil gods, I would at least be a mountain head."

Zhao Xing, who was passing by, couldn't listen anymore: "How is it, Brother Zhuohua, do you look down on the mountain heads of the Wild Domain era?"

"What is there to say about the Wild Domain era? It's just a barren land; I'm afraid even a twelfth-tier Venerable could be a mountain head," Zhuohua shook his head.

Zhao Xing said no more. He knew as soon as he heard that Zhuohua didn't understand the situation of the Wild Domain era at all; he was probably just repeating what others said after hearing a few words, so he couldn't be bothered to say more.

"Brother Han, when do you plan to attempt it?" Liu Qingci asked. "More than three thousand territories should be reaching the limit of what you can control, right?"

"Hmm, just about," Zhao Xing nodded.

It is unrealistic for one person to dominate more than thirteen thousand territories; one cannot control such a large place.

Just grabbing them is useless; one must be able to utilize these environmental resources.

Zhao Xing had already seen the strength of Venerables Miaohua, Yuhe, and Ren Chuan; they were all at the seventeenth-tier level, which could be called quite formidable existences. These three were also semi-god Farmers on the White Burning Era Genius List.

However, even these three did not continue to expand because they had already reached their control limit.

Now they were all utilizing existing resources to make final preparations.

Actually, Zhao Xing's control limit could be even higher.

First, he was an Eighteen Tribulations True Spirit, and due to the passive splitting of the Primordial Grass Man Law, he possessed a two-hundred-fold soul amplification.

His limit of control should be around nine thousand world-element units, but Zhao Xing did not intend to continue expanding.

One reason is that to expand, one must fight; to win, one must display the strength of the Eighteen Tribulations.

In this way, it would be very easy to expose his identity as Zhao Xing.

There are still many seventeenth-tier semi-gods in the endless time and space, but eighteenth-tier semi-gods are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

As long as he uses this level of strength, he will be caught immediately.

Second, he felt that his current territorial foundation was enough. If he still couldn't succeed, then it wasn't a problem of basic environmental resources, but a problem with the person.

"If I miscalculated the environmental conditions, then I must go into deep seclusion and cultivate hard with Bowei for a while," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

If he put in such a fierce effort and still failed at this, it couldn't even be counted as an off-day; he would have to deeply reflect on whether his path had gone astray.

The sixtieth year of entering the Water-Bamboo Cave-Heaven, the Jiazi Yang year, mid-July, the sun and moon shining together.

And on this day, Zhao Xing, Ren Chuan, Miaohua, and Yuhe all moved almost simultaneously.

In the black and white bamboo forest, the corner of the Penglai Divine General's eyes revealed a trace of a smile.

"Truly not bad, all four are good seedlings."

In the black and white bamboo forest, there were already only three Divine Generals; excluding Zhao Xing's guardian, the guardians of the other three were all here.

At this moment, they were also watching the images inside the bamboo tubes with concern.

The bamboo chosen by the four—Zhao Xing, Miaohua, Yuhe, and Ren Chuan—all broke through the soil after the initial year of gestation and were already in a brand-new appearance.

And the four of them chose the Five-Elements Bamboo without prior agreement.

Starting from the second year, the Five-Elements Bamboo of the four all reached 10,000 poles, and they almost stopped at the same time.

And without prior agreement, they began to use Heavenly Time Laws and Self-Nature Laws for assistance.

"So that's how it is, I understand!" Liu Qingci's eyes were filled with brilliance. "Heavenly Time is not apparent, Self-Nature is not strong, Earthly Advantage is king; this is the strength ranking of the Farmer Great Dao in the Water-Bamboo Cave-Heaven."

"Although the Penglai Divine General believes the Earthly Advantage faction is the strongest, he also believes that the two paths of Heavenly Time and Self-Nature are indispensable, so he did not forbid these two paths, only weakened them."

"No wonder they waited so long and acted together; at this time, the Heavenly Time conditions reached the peak of the six-week cycle."

"The four of them did not ignore any kind of Dao, and all had the ability to utilize the three paths."

In the third year, differences began to appear.

When Zhao Xing was using the Heavenly Time Law to break through the Void-Flow layer and the Extreme-Gang layer, his tree canopy bloomed, the leaf surfaces faced the sun, and the brilliance of the sun star was almost sixty percent snatched away; the canopy covered the sky and sun, far larger than the area of the other three.

"No matter how dense the forest, the tree canopies are staggered," Venerable Zhuohua sighed with emotion. "Han Bing has already surpassed the other three in the Heavenly Time Law."

Liu Qingci nodded: "His foundation should still be in the Heavenly Time faction. Otherwise, he wouldn't be this strong."

In the seventh year, the differences between the four became increasingly obvious.

At this stage, Zhao Xing began to use the One-World Divine Brilliance and the Primordial Divine Foundation.

As the two great divine laws of the Self-Nature faction's Condensation series and Strong-Foundation series, this ensured the stable growth of the bamboo's root foundation.

At this time, the bamboo of the four had all exceeded fifty thousand poles in height. Although Zhao Xing's Five-Elements Bamboo was not the tallest, its life form was the most stable.

Zhao Xing glanced at the others; among them, Yuhe's Five-Elements Bamboo was the tallest and also looked very stable, having already reached seventy thousand poles.

Miaohua's was second, also reaching sixty thousand poles.

On the contrary, Ren Chuan, who was most favored before, had only barely reached fifty thousand poles at this time, and it was trembling and swaying, having already appeared bent, not even as good as Zhao Xing's.

Zhao Xing was thoughtful.

In the twelfth year, the entire territorial space began to vibrate.

More than thirteen thousand territories were almost all mobilized, and the four displayed incomparable control.

All roads lead to the same destination; in the twelfth year, the four all returned to the Earthly Advantage Law, beginning to stabilize their foundations a second time, extracting underground nutrients to store energy,

and preparing for the next impact.

In the territory at this time, Ren Chuan's movement was the greatest; his bamboo had completely tilted, no longer straight, looking more like a weeping willow.

"This Ren Chuan, how is he so useless?" Zhuohua was somewhat disappointed. "I favored him quite a bit before, and this is his performance."

"Truly the worst batch of mountain heads I have ever seen!"

Zhuohua was somewhat frustrated. Because he had also been a mountain master of the Ancient Hill, he felt a sense of identification with Ren Chuan, but this identification turned into indignation after Ren Chuan's performance was inferior.

"Truly disgraced the Ancient... Hmm? What is Brother Han doing?" Zhuohua suddenly discovered that Zhao Xing was actually cultivating a second bamboo, and after it grew to fifty thousand poles, it quickly tilted, its structure becoming seventy or eighty percent similar to Ren Chuan's.

"Damn, not learning the good, but learning the bad?"

"Venerable Han hasn't been influenced by Ren Chuan, has he?"

"No, the four of them have all influenced each other; look, they have all catalyzed a second and third bamboo."

"Yuhe is learning from Han Bing, Venerable Miaohua is learning from Ren Chuan, and Ren Chuan is learning from Han Bing and Miaohua!"

"This—I truly cannot understand it anymore; the realm of these four is already a level higher than mine."

"Hiss, it was truly worth coming; for such a small inheritance trial, I actually feel like I am watching the attainment of the Dao in heaven and earth, with many insights surging into my heart!"

This stage was the stage of mutual learning and mutual influence.

"It is also the most dangerous stage," Zhao Xing withdrew his gaze, his True Spirit feeling somewhat chaotic and dizzy.

"It's as if I've been hit by the Copper History Law; a genius's Dao will influence others, and others will be influenced uncontrollably. As long as you have seen it, you can never forget it, subconsciously trying to verify it."

"Among the three, Miaohua is the most insidious; his first bamboo is completely a smokescreen, fundamentally a wrong Dao."

Zhao Xing took a deep breath.

Understanding the principles and distinguishing right from wrong, he began to continuously cut away Miaohua's Great Dao influence in his mind, forgetting the life Dao diagram he had just observed.

However, the trial space was only so large; this kind of influence was impossible for the four to completely discard. Each person had to carry the influence of the other three to complete this challenge.

Now it depended on whose Dao heart was firmer and who could break free from this influence faster.

"The mental environment is also a type of environmental condition; the Penglai Divine General arranged the trial space so crowdedly, truly taking great pains," Zhao Xing couldn't help but think. "His requirements for a successor are truly excessively high."

Such high-pressure confrontation meant that even Zhao Xing had to concentrate all his energy and go all out, not daring to underestimate the other three.

He found it hard to believe what Bowei said was official history; how was the Penglai Divine General a peace-loving person who didn't like fighting and killing?

This is the exact opposite, okay?!

The ninetieth year since the inheritance trial began, the competition among the four had lasted for thirty years.

At this time, the southeast, north, and west occupied by the four all had more than two bamboo plants at ninety thousand poles.

This inheritance trial had also entered its final stage.

The confrontation had ended because by this time, the laws applied and the Dao embodied in this bamboo plant by everyone had already been finalized and could not be influenced.

Now was the time to verify the results.

Above the four people, there were no Heavenly Obstacles; all Heavenly Time conditions, whether good or bad, had been utilized to the extreme.

Underground, four large rift valleys had cracked open, like abysses, separating the four people.

In each rift valley, one could see the Dead Pulse layer at the very bottom.

The underground was covered with root systems like rainbow dragons.

And except for the territory around the bamboo, the soil layer in other places had all turned into powdery sand.

"Too powerful, is this the gap?"

"I feel that the four of them have all utilized the Heavenly Time and Earthly Advantage conditions to the extreme, and at the same time have also used the Self-Nature Law to completely absorb all nutrients."

"I simply cannot tell who is more powerful; it seems to have exceeded my cognition. Could this be the gold content of the White Burning Era Genius List?"

"Who is stronger in the end? I don't understand, it's such a pity—"

"Break!"

In the ninety-first year, Venerable Yuhe took the lead, ending the energy storage.

His two bamboo plants, one rose, and in one go broke through one hundred thousand poles!

One plant stopped at ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine poles, missing one pole to complete the feat of double one hundred thousand poles shooting into the sky.

In the ninety-second year, Venerable Miaohua acted; he also had two bamboo plants acting.

The first one also broke through one hundred thousand poles.

But the second one suddenly shattered, turning into starlight, and the land also collapsed, beginning to shrink continuously.

Finally forming a handful of yellow soil the size of a palm.

In the ninety-third year, Ren Chuan acted.

The first bamboo plant stopped at 99,999 poles.

But the second bamboo plant turned into starlight and condensed together with the land.

Finally, the territory occupied by Ren Chuan almost disappeared by eighty percent, and a bit of divine light flickered, appearing as a square block the size of a head.

In the ninety-fourth year, Zhao Xing acted.

His first bamboo plant broke through one hundred thousand poles, and the tree canopy completely replaced the sun, shining with brilliance.

The second bamboo plant also collapsed inch by inch, turning into starlight, and finally, a grain of sand fell into his palm.

After the brilliant light faded, the voice of the Penglai Divine General reappeared, announcing the results.

"Yuhe completed the challenge of the mortal bamboo shooting to one hundred thousand poles."

"Miaohua completed the challenge of the mortal bamboo shooting to one hundred thousand poles, with one hundred thousand units of ninth-tier spirit soil."

"Ren Chuan cultivated first-tier divine soil, with the mortal bamboo reaching 99,999 poles."

"Han Bing completed the challenge of the mortal bamboo shooting to one hundred thousand poles, with one grain of divine soil."

"Although four people completed the challenge in this inheritance, there is no need to compare further."

"The final inheritor is Han Bing!"