Chapter 514: The Ultimate Traitor and the Eye of Overlooking

Fortunately, in Blood Moon City, while material living standards were poor, accommodation conditions were decent.

As Deputy Commander of the Blood Hawk Division in the Punishment Hall, Xu Jin was assigned a two-court mansion.

Especially the meditation chamber—quite spacious, equipped with a basic isolation and alert array plate.

The only downside was that he was also assigned a steward and a beautiful maid.

Supposedly to serve Xu Jin.

Zhong Ji even outright said Xu Jin could dispose of the maid however he wished, even smiling like a man as he said it.

But Xu Jin understood their surveillance likely outweighed their service.

A steward with only fourth-rank cultivation and a beautiful maid still in the Third-Rank Star Refining realm couldn't monitor Xu Jin at all.

Yet being constantly watched by two pairs of eyes was still annoying.

But Xu Jin didn't act immediately—he'd observe for a few days first.

Upon returning at night to cultivate, Xu Jin replaced the isolation and alert array plate with a high-grade one he'd brought himself, eliminating the need to guard against eavesdropping.

Immediately afterward, Xu Jin contacted National Teacher Cheng Cheng Yuexiao and reported his two critical discoveries to the Grand National Teacher!

【What? The King of the Eight Wildernesses, Envoy Ju Zhang, has already broken through to the Ninth Rank? Why did we get zero intelligence on this?】

Just this first piece of intelligence left National Teacher Cheng Cheng Yuexiao utterly stunned.

This intelligence was too important.

The current human faction's counteroffensive was imminent, and the plan called for deploying Eighth-Rank warriors—several peak Eighth-Rank experts would be stationed to seize opportunities and eliminate enemy Eighth-Ranks.

This was the predetermined strategy.

Specific tactical arrangements would only be finalized before the battle began.

But if the King of the Eight Wildernesses broke through to the Ninth Rank, everything changed.

A Ninth-Rank King of the Eight Wildernesses could defeat or even severely wound peak Eighth-Rank human warriors.

And before that, his sudden appearance could casually slaughter several Eighth-Ranks.

If such losses occurred, they could lead to outright defeat.

In a major battle, every Eighth-Rank warrior was decisive.

After his shock, Cheng Cheng Yuexiao, located in the Danxia Palace of Dachen's Wan Yi District, quickly regained composure.

With the Great Hong Emperor, a deputy leader of the Blood God Sect, present, fabricating or misleading intelligence was far too easy!

Therefore, before the war began, the Great Hong Emperor must be eliminated as a poison.

Otherwise, with such a super traitor present, no matter how well-planned the strategy or tactics, any leak would turn them to garbage!

【Xu Jin, hurry up. The present world and the Star River battlefield have already begun concentrating troops toward the Eight Wildernesses front. The preliminary plan is to launch the counteroffensive in one month.】

【Once the counteroffensive begins, your situation will become extremely difficult for both sides!】

【So you must complete your objective as soon as possible.】

【As for the Blood God Sect's leader's imminent arrival and possible Ninth-Rank breakthrough, for your safety, I'm withholding this information for now—it would put you in danger if revealed.】

【But it must be made public before the war begins.】 National Teacher Cheng Cheng Yuexiao sent this message via the Mandarin Duck Seal.

【Rest assured, National Teacher, I understand.】

【Also, closely monitor the enemy's situation. Without endangering yourself, gather as much intelligence as possible on the Eight Wildernesses continent's true strength, especially the number of Seventh- and Eighth-Rank warriors.】

【And if the Blood God Sect's leader truly arrives, notify me as soon as you can.】

【Understood.】

After contacting the National Teacher, Xu Jin felt relieved.

This was his duty and obligation.

Then Xu Jin began his nightly routine.

Because Wen Meng, Xu Jin's cultivation was now extremely rigorous.

Without major battles causing intense depletion of his divine soul power, he only needed Wen Meng to hypnotize him—half an hour to an hour was enough to fully restore his daily consumption.

Thus, Xu Jin's cultivation time was truly extraordinary.

Of the twenty-four hours, at least twenty were spent cultivating.

Before cultivating, Xu Jin first performed an internal scan, checking the direct radiation distance of his Yuan Ling Yuanling Taiguang.

A single glance filled him with delight.

On January 1, Xu Jin had advanced the Eighth-Rank-Down Cheng Po Star Pattern to Eighth-Rank-Up, and that same day completed all upgrades to Eighth-Rank.

At that time, Xu Jin's Yuan Ling Yuanling Taiguang direct radiation distance was forty-seven meters.

Xu Jin departed on the evening of January 2 and arrived at Blood Moon City today—January 7—after five days of travel.

In seven days, his Yuan Ling Yuanling Taiguang direct radiation distance had increased to forty-seven point seven meters.

A direct increase of zero point seven meters.

That meant Xu Jin's Yuan Ling Yuanling Taiguang direct radiation distance increased by zero point one meters per day.

Previously, it had taken three days to increase by zero point two meters.

Advancing the Cheng Po Star Pattern from Eighth-Rank-Down to Eighth-Rank-Up increased the rate of divine soul cultivation by thirty percent.

This increase was still very significant.

Of course, this was fundamentally tied to Xu Jin possessing thirty-six divine soul star cores.

Theoretically, he'd need only one and a half years to catch up to Tian Yang Tianyang Xingjun's Yuan Ling cultivation.

But even so, Xu Jin's current divine soul cultivation already surpassed most Eighth-Rank warriors of this era.

Yet it was merely a slight lead—not a decisive advantage.

So inflicting heavy damage through divine soul attacks remained difficult.

Unfortunately, there was no method to break through to the Fifth-Rank Yuan Ling realm.

Otherwise, once he broke through, his divine soul star technique potency would surge dramatically.

Lord Lingji Star Temple had a method to break through to the Fifth-Rank Yuan Ling realm, but no one knew how they had been forced to seal their halls and lock their temple in the past.

If he could uncover relevant information, perhaps there was a chance to re-enter Lord Lingji Star Temple.

Then, Xu Jin estimated, whether he offered a single Eighth-Rank-Down Ming Ji Star Pattern or Cheng Po Star Pattern, he could trade it with Lord Lingji Tianyang Xingjun for the secret method to break through to the Fifth-Rank Yuan Ling realm.

The next instant, Xu Jin retrieved a Fifth-Rank Star Gathering Array Plate, embedded five priceless Seventh-Rank Star Jade Tablets, activated the array, and as thick star energy surged toward him, he began cultivating.

The Star Pattern, already enhanced to Layer Eight, was activated again to begin forging Yun Lou.

This cultivation lasted all night.

Just over three hours later, the Seventh-Rank Star Jade Tablets embedded in the Fifth-Rank Star Gathering Array Plate suddenly shattered into powder—their stored star energy fully depleted.

The instant the array's star energy vanished, Xu Jin awoke.

With a sweep of his sleeve, the powder of the Star Jade Tablets was gathered into a pill and stored in his Numinous Space.

Experienced experts could identify the rank of Star Jade Tablets by their powder.

Xu Jin was now extremely cautious.

With a thought, he activated the Yun Lou.

Internally, a ten-layer Yun Lou pierced through his entire body, while within his Upper Star Palace, thirty-six star cores rotated and emerged within his Yuan Ling, shimmering with brilliant starlight like a celestial palace.

At this moment, the Yun Lou and the celestial palace appeared worlds apart.

At least for now, bridging heaven and earth seemed impossibly distant.

But today he had just forged the tenth layer—once he forged twenty, even thirty layers, perhaps things would change. The tenth layer had only just formed one corner and a half; with sufficient cultivation resources, five more days would bring it to perfection, allowing Xu Jin to forge the eleventh layer.

But a glance at his Numinous Space brought a look of helplessness to his face.

His rapid cultivation advancement was built on high consumption—he'd been using Seventh-Rank Star Jade Tablets exclusively, achieving such astonishing speed—one Yun Lou layer every five or six days.

But now, after a quick glance, his previous hundred-plus Seventh-Rank Star Jade Tablets were nearly exhausted; after three more days of cultivation, he'd have to switch to Sixth-Rank Star Jade Tablets.

Cultivating with Sixth-Rank Star Jade Tablets would slow his progress by at least half.

Possibly more.

Previously, one Yun Lou layer took five or six days; now it would take around twelve.

He needed to find more Seventh-Rank Star Jade Tablets—or Wanling Blood Pills, preferably Seventh- and Sixth-Rank.

Currently, Xu Jin could use Wanling Blood Pills with almost no side effects, directly boosting his cultivation.

But low-rank Wanling Blood Pills offered negligible gains for him.

Sixty to thirty Sixth-Rank pills were needed to forge one layer; two to three Seventh-Rank pills were needed to forge one eight-cornered layer.

Before arriving, Xu Jin looted many Wanling Blood Pills from three Blood God Sons, but most were Fourth- and Fifth-Rank; he had only twenty-some Sixth-Rank and just one Seventh-Rank.

That one might help him forge one layer.

But he couldn't use it yet—he might need Wanling Blood Pills to clear a path later.

【When I next hunt for Blood God Sect traitors, it'll be a good opportunity! I've never done extortion myself, but I've seen pigs run—I might still gather some cultivation resources.】

The next instant, Xu Jin gripped the green stone he'd brought from the present world and activated the Ming Ji Star Pattern, attempting to sense the ethereal life rhythm within the stone.

For many days now, he'd made no progress.

Honestly, only the guidance of Qi Sha Tianyang Zhenjun, who had already forged a Mid-Level Seven Kill Sword Heart, kept him going—if not, he'd doubt whether a stone could even have a life rhythm.

And he had to sense it.

It was simply too hard to enter.

After days of continuous sensing, all he'd achieved was briefly warming the stone—nothing else.

Fortunately, Xu Jin had long cultivated extraordinary patience.

Just water dripping through stone!

Keep going!

But as he activated the Mingji Star Pattern to sense, Xu Jin's heart suddenly stirred.

Previously, on the way here, the one-fourth share of the world's primordial source had granted Xu Jin the celestial authority of the Eight Wilderness Continent, fully integrating him into this world and allowing him to summon the power of heaven and earth to bolster himself.

What about sensing?

Earlier, with Blood God Cultists all around him, Xu Jin dared not test it.

But now, he could try.

The next instant, Xu Jin pushed the Mingji Star Pattern to its absolute limit.

In an instant, his sensing radius reached seven li.

The quarter-sized Blood Moon City now lay entirely within his sensing range.

Yet many residences had raised warning barrier arrays of varying scales, blocking the Mingji Star Pattern's sensing.

Forcing sensing into them would surely awaken them.

The next moment, Xu Jin's mind shifted, activating the one-fourth share of celestial authority granted by the Great World's primordial source.

Instantly, he felt the Mingji Star Pattern's sensing expand infinitely and rise infinitely.

As if ascending to the highest heavens, he began to look down upon this world.

After a few breaths, this overhead perspective stabilized.

Surprise surfaced in Xu Jin's eyes.

The celestial authority brought by the Great World's will differed from that of the small world.

Under the Mingji Star Pattern's intervention, his sensing resembled viewing a miniature map centered on himself, spanning a radius of seven thousand li.

But simultaneously, the sensing became blurred.

He could only roughly sense powerful energies.

Finer details were invisible.

For instance, when Xu Jin tried to clearly observe the valley in the eastern part of Blood Moon City, he would be pulled out of this celestial perspective.

In short, when activating the Great World's celestial authority, the field of view became enormous, but resolution plummeted.

He could only vaguely discern terrain outlines and sense the energies of sixth-, seventh-, and even eighth-rank cultivators.

After a few breaths, Xu Jin's expression darkened.

The number of eighth-rank cultivators' energies within Blood Moon City far exceeded his expectations.

Before arriving, Xu Jin and the State Tutor had analyzed the eighth-rank cultivators of the Eight Wilderness Continent.

The number of eighth-rank cultivators on the Eight Wilderness Continent was certainly greater than among present-day humans.

Many seventh-rank ninth-layer non-humans from sixth-rank star domains had broken through to eighth rank after their domains merged into the Eight Wilderness Continent.

Among these eighth-ranks, only the warlords of the star domains were exceptionally strong; the rest were ordinary.

At the time, State Tutor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao estimated the number of eighth-ranks on the Eight Wilderness Continent might exceed one hundred.

After all, many seventh-rank eighth- and ninth-layer non-humans had seen their cultivation surge rapidly due to the lifting of the world's cosmic limit.

Yet now, Xu Jin sensed twenty-one eighth-rank energies within Blood Moon City alone!

And this was only Blood Moon City.

Then Blood Cloud City's eighth-rank count should be roughly the same.

That's just two cities.

According to intelligence, the Eight Wilderness Continent had over twenty such large cities resembling Blood Moon City.

Of course, the number of eighth-ranks in Blood God Cult territory was unusual; other non-human cities could not possibly have so many.

But even if other non-human cities had only four or five eighth-ranks each,

the cumulative total would far exceed one hundred!

This was another vital piece of intelligence to report to State Tutor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao.

After maintaining this state for over a dozen breaths, Xu Jin realized its greatest utility was in roughly tracking the movement patterns of powerful cultivators.

With only one-fourth of the celestial authority, it was extremely limited.

Under the celestial perspective, he could not identify which energy belonged to whom, but he could discern their general trajectories.

"If my identity is ever exposed, this could be extremely useful for escaping."

Smiling, Xu Jin withdrew the celestial perspective—its consumption of his soul cultivation was quite rapid.

The next instant, Xu Jin focused all his attention on the green stone in his hand, continuing his immersive sensing of the stubborn rock's life rhythm.

Drops of water eventually wear through stone!

An hour later, a maid knocked at the door: "My lord, you're due on duty in half an hour."

"Understood."

Xu Jin opened his eyes, ceased activating the Mingji Star Pattern, but still held the green stone as he cast Dream Warmth upon himself.

Instantly, he fell asleep.

Two watches later, Xu Jin awoke, his eyes gleaming with vigor, his spirit refreshed.

His soul cultivation and mental state were fully restored!

The next instant, Xu Jin rose: "Today, I'm going to play the divine detective and catch the mole!"

(End of Chapter)