Chapter 587: The Trial of God King Yu Heng

Bai Lanjun and Fu Mengzhen—Zhao Xing certainly remembered the names of these two people.

Back in the White Bone God Domain, he had first encountered Bai Lanjun, and in the end, it was thanks to his Fire Pond that he escaped the pursuit of the Freedom God Danye.

As for Fu Mengzhen, she had been fighting for the finger bone of the Freedom God Xuerui in the Nine Yin River when she was controlled by Wei Ling Tianchen using the Dao Heart Bewitching Drug; later, she had fled alongside him.

But how could these two people appear in the current Profound Yellow World?

Logically speaking, the era in which the Land of Fengshan was located was far removed. Judging from the experience of space-time travel, there were many artificial time barriers within the three eras: the Five Emperors Era, the Spirit Domain Era, and the Desolate Domain Era.

Once a certain point in time was reached, time would not continue to flow forward; it might even fold back, just like the experience of the Penglai God General.

"What exactly is going on with Fu Mengzhen and Bai Lanjun? If they are in the current Profound Yellow World, then where is Bamboo Sword?" Zhao Xing was utterly bewildered, yet he did not immediately agree.

Bai Lanjun was easy to talk to, but it was hard to say whether Fu Mengzhen was a friend or a foe.

"Great Si Nong, do you actually know these two?" Ji Si asked, puzzled.

"I do." Zhao Xing nodded. "However, I am currently only in the form of a Book Puppet; it is not convenient for me to go in and see them."

He was afraid of getting trapped in another loop event. Moreover, the Profound Yellow World was originally sealed; even bringing Old Wang out had required requesting permission from the Moon God Palace Master.

Bringing out two more people whose allegiances were unclear—Zhao Xing knew just by thinking about it that it was impossible.

"Ji Si, where is the Black and White Palace Master?"

"He is right here in this Eight Directions God Mirror."

"Release him quickly," Zhao Xing said. "Hand him over to the Palace Master. And do not let anyone know that I have returned."

"I understand," Ji Si nodded.

Zhao Xing had come this time because the Moon God Palace Master had used magic to guide his true spirit to descend. Meeting Ji Si and explaining the situation was already the limit; it was impossible to let more people know.

"Ji Si, find a way to appease the Great Zhou," Zhao Xing said. "Wait for me to become a god and return."

"As for the matter of you capturing the Black and White Palace Master, the Palace Master will handle the aftermath—"

After giving his instructions, Zhao Xing left the mirror and returned to the presence of the Moon God Palace Master.

"Palace Master, please forgive Ji Si's recklessness."

"Rest assured, the Profound Spirit History Book will conceal the events that occurred during this period. Even the Black and White God General will not discover that he was captured once."

The Moon God Palace Master reached out and beckoned, and the unconscious Black and White Palace Master returned to the Black and White Palace.

Next, the Great Zhou forces retreated rapidly, all returning to their ships.

Except for the fact that there was one more person on the ship, Wang Wang Tianzhi, there was no difference from before they arrived.

Everyone, except for Ji Si, had never seen Zhao Xing, nor did they know what had happened.

Zhao Xing left the Great Zhou side to Ji Si, the Fate Master, to handle. He looked at the Great Zhou ships from afar; he also very much wanted to go back and take a look, but he could not do so now.

"Go!"

The Moon God Palace Master gave a light tap. Zhao Xing felt his vision go black; his true spirit exited the Book Puppet's body and entered the black passage again, shuttling through it continuously.

When his vision cleared, he found that he had returned to his body deep underground in the Desolate Star Land.

"Did I really go back?" Zhao Xing felt a bit dazed; everything just now felt like a dream.

He looked at an hourglass in the underground space; the sun in the upper half had moved to the middle track, indicating that fifty-three years had passed.

"Fifty-three years in such a short while?" Zhao Xing clicked his tongue in secret. "It seems that even for the Moon God Palace Master, using such a smuggling method cannot accurately send me back to the initial point in time."

"That is to say, fifty-three years have passed since I parted ways with Qing Qing Yu Zi. At this time, Old Qing should be in the inner world of God King Yu Heng."

"I just don't know if the closed loop has been completed."

Zhao Xing pointed his five fingers toward the sky and began to practice the Mingli Shadowless Art. If the closed loop was completed, then his Mingli Shadowless Art should be able to enter the second layer: Gathering Shadows into Seals.

"Yu~"

The black shadow squirmed like liquid, condensing beneath his feet. Zhao Xing flipped his hand and grabbed downward.

The black liquid rose rapidly, condensing into a black seal in his palm.

Mingli Seal!

"Cause and effect, space-time, fate—a spell created by Emperor Li based on three Great Daos."

"Whoever this black seal hits, their God Concealment will drop a layer."

Zhao Xing looked at the pitch-black seal; inside, it seemed as if dots, lines, and light were swimming. The black halo was flickering, looking very mysterious. "Since I have already cultivated the Mingli Seal, it looks like the loop is closed."

"However, I must first go to God King Yu Heng's inner world to check the situation before I can return to God Machine City."

The Boundless True God told him not to worry about whether Qing Qing Yu Zi lived or died, and to return once the loop was closed.

But Zhao Xing could not just ignore it. Besides, this was also one of the requirements of God King Zhangyue. God King Yu Heng's inner world left behind a legacy; assuming he didn't even go, that would be a violation of his cause-and-effect heart oath.

"Spatial Earth-Connecting Art, speed!"

Zhao Xing pointed a finger. The soil deep underground squirmed, and five earth veins were hooked out by Zhao Xing, intertwining to form a spatial passage.

The other end of the passage was Liu Kong Run, the micro-star land where he and Qing Qing Yu Zi had lived.

As long as there was earth in the places he had been, he could return using the Spatial Earth-Connecting Art, a branch of the Earth-Connecting Art.

However, these two spells had to satisfy two conditions: first, he had been there before; second, there had to be earth.

"Yu~"

A moment later, Zhao Xing returned to Liu Kong Huang Jian. In the distance, there were still green mists and the God King's corpse.

"The green mist looks like strips; it couldn't be that God King Yu Heng's corpse has gone moldy, could it?" Zhao Xing thought to himself, approaching very slowly.

Since Old Qing had encountered danger, he might also encounter it, so Zhao Xing was extremely cautious along the way.

Every step he took, he had to use the Mingli Shadowless Art to collect his shadow and erase his traces. In this way, he was effectively non-existent to this area, and even if there were any dangers, they would be difficult to trigger.

"The mist blocks detection spells; I can't see anything beyond about ten thousand meters. It's truly terrifying," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

A God-level spiritual sense could easily cover the entire area of a super-first-class star system and could roughly scan hundreds of millions of star worlds; the range was quite vast.

But now, scanning less than ten thousand meters—for a God Realm expert, it was no different from being blind.

Zhao Xing stepped on clouds, surrounded by whirlwinds, flying extremely slowly.

The Golden Cicada True Form was activated at any time; once anything invaded his body, he would cut it off immediately.

He grasped the Book of Elixirs in his right hand, pinched a magic seal with his left, and had a golden dangling hairpin stuck in his hair—a full combat posture.

"Swish swish~"

The mist was hazy, and Zhao Xing's perception was quickly compressed to under a thousand meters.

The performance of the Space-Time Valley Rain Robe was also gradually decreasing. Only the golden dangling hairpin on his head could emit a little golden light, guiding Zhao Xing to continue forward.

After flying slowly like this for more than two months, the mist suddenly thinned, and a purple-blue curved surface appeared before his eyes.

"Boundary wall? I should have arrived," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

God King Yu Heng actually no longer had a physical body; the so-called massive corpse was actually just a shadow of time fixed by God King Zhangyue's true spell.

Only the boundary core still existed, and the inner world remained real.

Without the golden dangling hairpin, he wouldn't even be able to pass the mist barrier and would fall into the trap set by Zhangyue and the God Kings she had invited.

"Usually, once a Benwo Sect Si Nong dies, the boundary core also loses its activity, the inner world loses its support, and it will quickly explode and dissipate. The phenomenon of 'exploding equipment' when killing a Benwo Sect Si Nong is based on this principle."

"However, God King Yu Heng's inner world is still so complete?" Zhao Xing looked at the boundary wall ahead; the deep blue boundary wall looked perfect and full of divine charm.

"Swish swish swish~"

Zhao Xing's flight speed increased. Even though he saw the boundary wall, it took him a full half a year to actually reach it.

At this time, he finally discovered the imperfections of the boundary wall: many purple-black cracks had appeared on it.

The cracks crisscrossed, as if a flawless porcelain bowl had developed burn cracks.

It also looked a bit like a patient who had haphazardly applied some bandages to a wound.

"I wonder what God King Yu Heng was injured by." Zhao Xing looked at the terrifying cracks, feeling shocked and uncertain.

It was very clear that God King Yu Heng had died accidentally.

The memoirs had mentioned that Zhangyue's lifespan was originally much shorter than Yu Heng's because she was restricted by the Yellow Extinction World.

God King Yu Heng, on the other hand, could have lived for a very, very long time. Normally speaking, he would only die when the universe entered the extinction period; he was almost immortal.

But in the end, God King Yu Heng died accidentally before God King Zhangyue.

"Whoo whoo whoo"

Cold winds whistled, snowflakes drifted—a scene of ice and snow.

Zhao Xing appeared out of thin air. With a sweep of his gaze, he saw a thatched cottage in the distance. Inside the cottage, a red-haired man sat cross-legged. In front of him were wine pots, a small stove warming the wine, and a common wooden sword placed beside the table.

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing could sense that this person's aura was very deep; he should be at the middle stage of the God General level.

But upon closer inspection, he found that the panel did not read out any information, so this person was not a real living being.

Could it be a puppet?

The red-haired man stood up, his gaze falling on the golden dangling hairpin on Zhao Xing's head, and he smiled.

"After such a long time, someone has finally entered the Master's world again."

"My name is Number Thirteen, a mechanical puppet left behind by the Master," the red-haired man introduced himself.

"I am responsible for guarding this snowy field."

"Take one sword strike from me, and you can continue forward."

"Otherwise, go back the way you came."

"I will give you a quarter of an hour to prepare."

Zhao Xing nodded, put away the Book of Elixirs, and five spirit beads floated out from his body.

Thinking about it, he still felt it wasn't safe, so he immediately summoned the Void-type troop 【God Fire Husband Void】 from his inner world.

"Dual-sect cultivation, not bad." Number Thirteen nodded in appreciation, while the wooden sword floated into his hand.

"However, I must remind you: if you cannot withstand this sword strike, the golden dangling hairpin on your head will be snatched away by me, and at the same time, you will forget all your memories from the last five thousand years."

"Forget?" Zhao Xing pondered in his heart and immediately stomped his foot fiercely.

The ice and snow shattered, the broken glaciers rose like a seesaw, and soon an underground palace was formed.

Ice Heart Underground Palace Art.

This Earth-type spell had no other function; it merely assisted the Si Nong in strengthening their true spirit's will, allowing them to maintain the greatest degree of clarity.

A quarter of an hour later, Number Thirteen made his move as promised.

"Swish."

The wooden sword slashed, and not a single strange phenomenon occurred; even the snowflakes drifting nearby were not affected in the slightest.

Number Thirteen seemed like a mortal, waving a sword casually. There was no sword light, no sword energy, and he didn't even trigger the origin Dao.

However, Zhao Xing faced a formidable enemy, because he couldn't see the power of this sword strike, yet his heart tightened rapidly.

It wasn't that the greater the commotion of an attack, the stronger the strength; the higher the true realm, the less power would leak out, to the point where one couldn't even see how the attack was launched.

Such sword moves were also very difficult to defend against.

Zhao Xing's first thought was Heart Sword Art, so he immediately strengthened his mental defense.

Sure enough, after the wooden sword slashed past, a virtual sword abruptly appeared in his Life Palace.

And after appearing, it transformed into countless swords.

The Heart Swords formed a world of swords, strangling the thoughts generated within Zhao Xing's Life Palace.

Just as Number Thirteen had said, if Zhao Xing couldn't withstand it, his memories would cease to exist, because what the Heart Swords were strangling was precisely his memories.

A portion of the thoughts within the Life Palace were fixed; it was the partition of memory, the essence of a person's ability to recall the past.

If it disappeared, then one would not remember what had happened in the past.

Zhao Xing immediately cast the Heart Field Art, and at the same time, his entire Life Palace world began to distort significantly.

"Swish swish swish~"

Thousands of Heart Swords launched their first attack, but they did not achieve the expected effect.

This was because Zhao Xing had distorted the various partitions of his Life Palace using soul secret arts.

The area representing memory was instantly shifted to another location, and the Heart Swords only pierced and extinguished a small amount of miscellaneous thoughts.

During the three thousand-plus years spent in God Machine City, Zhao Xing had naturally put effort into soul secret arts and mental will.

If his mental and soul strength were slightly weaker when dealing with the God General Beifeng's spear lightning evil, he wouldn't even have been able to launch his moves.

What he had just cast was precisely a soul secret art created by the Boundless True God himself, named "Seven Luminaries Boundless Heaven."

If his true spirit hadn't survived eighteen tribulations and received the blessing of the Ancestor Imperial Dynasty, reaching the same level as his spiritual sense, it would have been impossible for a demigod to learn "Seven Luminaries Boundless Heaven."

Because this was the core soul secret art used by the Boundless True God to control his countless divine power incarnations across endless space-time.

Zhao Xing had spent three thousand years in God Machine City and had only barely managed to learn the first layer: "Mysterious Fetus Life Palace."

Mysterious Fetus Life Palace, Three Souls Turning.

The first layer allowed the soul to control its own Life Palace.

There were multiple areas within the Life Palace, such as the True Spirit Nourishing Palace, where the true spirit was fixed, nourished, and strengthened.

The Incense Spiritual Sense Palace, specifically for receiving incense prayers from believers.

The God Memory Palace, specifically for storing memories.

If the Life Palace were viewed as a city, then usually the layout of the city was fixed; it was impossible to move it just because one wanted to.

But the first layer, Mysterious Fetus Life Palace, had the characteristic of being able to shift instantly.

This art was like a mortal being stabbed in the left chest, but their heart could instantly shift to the side, avoiding injury to the vital point.

"A very profound secret art, actually able to change the position of the Life Palace." Number Thirteen was somewhat surprised. "However, relying solely on dodging is useless. The power of this sword strike of mine is not small; it will keep hunting down your memories of the last five thousand years."

"If there is no resistance, it can exist in your Life Palace for at least eighty to a hundred years."

Zhao Xing also discovered that the consumption of these sword lights was very low; after attacking once, the loss was almost negligible.

If he didn't find a way to expel or withstand them, they would indeed persist for eighty to a hundred years.

"Long-term defense leads to failure; I really cannot keep dodging."

Within the Life Palace, the true spirit fetus being nourished immediately opened its eyes: "Mysterious thoughts as soldiers, true spirit as general, kill!"

The first layer of "Seven Luminaries Boundless Heaven," Mysterious Fetus Life Palace, was not without any means of attack.

At this moment, the entire Life Palace lit up, and a battlefield appeared out of thin air.

Zhao Xing's true spirit emitted a large number of thoughts; these thoughts transformed into individual soldiers, all in Zhao Xing's likeness, charging toward that ocean of swords.

"!"

A wooden sword pierced through over a hundred "Zhao Xings," and the thoughts quickly exploded.

But immediately, Zhao Xing generated new "spiritual thoughts," which transformed into divine soldiers and charged over.

"Clang!"

After killing a thousand of Zhao Xing's spiritual thought soldiers, the first wooden sword appeared to crack.

"Kill a thousand enemies just to lose one wooden sword?"

"This sword strike of Number Thirteen is truly terrifyingly strong."

Zhao Xing had seen many sword-path experts; for example, the Bamboo Sword Venerable was also skilled in Heart Sword Art, but Number Thirteen's sword technique was clearly different from Bamboo Sword's school.

Bamboo Sword's Heart Sword Art was very singular and pure, while the Heart Swords presented by Number Thirteen encompassed everything.

Violent, gentle, eerie, fiery—

A cold sword could suddenly transform into a Heart Fire Sword, and a charge that was wide open could suddenly turn into an ethereal and eerie sword, making it very difficult for Zhao Xing to defend.

He lost a thousand thoughts just to consume one sword, proving that the power he exerted compared to Number Thirteen had at least a thousand-fold gap.

"In terms of secret arts, what the Boundless True God gave me is definitely good stuff. The gap is mainly in the realm and my insufficient research into the secret art, which led to such a large gap," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

"If I knew the second layer and could condense the God Spirit Pointing Platform, it would be easier to deal with."

The true spirit fetus hid in the nourishing area and could not fight the enemy personally; spiritual thoughts could only exert soldier-level strength.

If he reached the second layer, a single thought would possess the soul power of a God General.

But even the Boundless True God could do it, while it was very difficult for him to reach the second layer.

Zhao Xing estimated that only after becoming a true God Realm expert would he be able to cast this move.

Relying on the Ancestor Imperial Dynasty was equivalent to eating a divine power minimum guarantee; the foundations were all at the lowest standard, making it very difficult to master such powerful methods, as this was created by the Boundless True God based on his own true god foundation.

IIII

Unknowingly, the battle between Zhao Xing and Number Thirteen had already exceeded two years.

Outside, the wind was light and the clouds were calm, and both of them stood in place without moving, but inside the Life Palace, it was a tragic battlefield.

However, after fighting for two and a half years, Zhao Xing increasingly presented an overwhelming advantage.

Because his thoughts could be endless, as long as he defended against being pierced in the memory palace.

Number Thirteen only launched one sword strike; no matter how strong this sword strike was, its power was limited and could not be inexhaustible.

And as the wooden swords were destroyed more and more, the second half naturally presented a one-sided situation.

Three years and eight months.

"Whoo~"

Zhao Xing in the Ice and Snow Underground Palace knelt on the ground, drenched in sweat.

He had completely eliminated the wooden swords in his sea of consciousness.

Raising his head, he saw that Number Thirteen had arrived in front of him at some point, handing over the warmed wine.

"Gulp," Zhao Xing drank it in one gulp and immediately felt his soul become much more comfortable.

"Not bad, you have passed this trial of mine," Number Thirteen smiled slightly. "However, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for you to pass the subsequent trials."