Origin God, Origin Ghost

"No wonder it felt familiar—this person cultivates the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art."

The old man was a peripheral member of the Ruthless Bloodline, having lived for five thousand years, with profound mastery in feng shui arts.

In his youth, he made his fortune by grave robbing, accumulating excessive Corpse Qi. He used feng shui arts without restraint, suffered heavenly punishment, and could no longer advance.

Later, the Ruthless Bloodline found him and passed down the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art. By devouring the origins of predecessors, he became a True Saint and was appointed Branch Leader of the Ruthless faction.

After thousands of years of cultivation, he was still a step short of Saint King. With his Lifespan Approaching End, he grew desperate and set his sights on Source Masters with extraordinary Source Arts.

If he could obtain rare treasures, he could not only break through to Saint King and gain a thousand years of life, but also find more longevity-extending resources.

While gathering information in Saint City, he set up a stall on the main avenue, stuffing valuable items into Stone Materials and placing them among a pile of waste stones for people to pick through, thereby identifying those skilled in Source Art.

Several people among them had fallen for the trap and lost their lives, but this time he hooked Zhang Huan—a great shark—and was instead refined into a puppet.

"Old Thing, you deserved to die."

A man like this had blood on his hands beyond counting. Killing him felt satisfying—good riddance.

It also gave Zhang Huan a crucial lead on the Heir of the Ruthless.

"A pillow just when you're nodding off. Heh."

The Ruthless Bloodline was deeply hidden, their traces in the Big Dipper mysterious, almost never revealing themselves. Even this old saint who had been recruiting for thousands of years didn't know where they were.

They relied entirely on a Mysterious Figure to contact the various Branch Leaders recruited from the periphery, commanding the forces they cultivated.

Zhang Huan took a pitch-black token from the old saint's Bitter Sea, engraved with the character "Demon," deep and dark.

The token was issued by the Ruthless Bloodline to prove identity. Its unique demonic art aura would be instantly recognized by any cultivator specializing in the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art.

If he followed the Mysterious Figure's trail, he might find their lair and Captured them all in one fell swoop.

As long as the Ruthless Bloodline produced no Quasi-Emperor, even if some slip-ups occurred, Zhang Huan Must also forcibly deduce their whereabouts.

He would never let go of the other Indestructible Heavenly Art. This method absolutely had to fall into Zhang Huan's hands—it was the key to breaking free from the demonic art's shackles.

The Indestructible Heavenly Art, Great Emperor Ruthless's second Emperor Scripture. Its most heaven-defying aspect was that it allowed the cultivator to shed their old body and give birth to a Divine Embryo.

Legend had it that Great Emperor Ruthless used this technique to shed her demonic body, giving birth to a new Divine Embryo and reversing a lifetime.

"The Mysterious Figure will come to the branch to collect resources in a few months. That will be an opportunity."

In the old saint's memory, the other party contacted him once every ten years via the token. The next time was still a few months away.

After storing the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and saint weapons the old saint carried, Zhang Huan snapped his fingers, conjuring a flame to burn the corpse to ashes.

There was still some time, so he could relax in Saint City for a while.

Having learned many Source Arts from the old saint's memories, Zhang Huan's mind was active, eager to try them out.

He returned the same way, speeding through the air, while the cultivators walking below dared not voice their anger.

The Dao One Holy Land had not yet been established at this time, so there was no chance of obtaining the Qilin Undying Divine Medicine. Zhang Huan regretfully entered a holy land's Stone Gambling House.

Stepping up the stairs, passing through the crowd, following a path paved with pebbles, crossing several stone gardens, he encountered fewer and fewer people.

Walking deeper, Zhang Huan directly entered the Heavenly Grade Stone Garden.

Here, almost no one was present—only old-timers who stayed year-round, well-versed in stone gambling. Some couldn't make up their minds to gamble, others simply came to appreciate.

The stones placed here were few, but all were extraordinary, blending into the scenery, exuding the charm of the Dao. Each might contain rare treasures of astonishing value.

Correspondingly, the prices were exorbitant, the threshold too high. Even a Holy Lord of a region couldn't afford it. If they gambled wrong, they'd lose everything on the spot. Thus, almost no one dared to go all-in and cut stones here.

Zhang Huan walked into a pool of water and was immediately drawn to a stone.

A few old eccentrics glanced at the new face out of curiosity. Seeing his actions, they recognized a fellow enthusiast and came over to share their research insights on these stones.

The pine and cypress on the pool were lush green. A cluster of needle-like emerald leaves pressed down on a stone that radiated a shimmering Life Force, pulsing like a living heartbeat, brightening and dimming with the patterns on the stone's surface, indistinguishable from breathing.

If there was something inside this stone, its origin would be astonishing. Under the Origin Master's gaze, Zhang Huan cast several Source Arts, drawing on the heavenly and earthly spiritual veins, hoping to glimpse what lay within.

Golden Dao patterns, thousands upon thousands, wove into various visions, burrowing into the stone, but were all blocked by the stone's skin, revealing nothing. Whether there was anything inside was truly hard to say.

If the legendary Origin Heaven Master were here in person, they might have the ability to know the secret. But the Origin Heaven Book had been missing for tens of thousands of years.

Zhang Huan Looked at this stone again and again, still unable to decide. He set it aside for now and turned to other stones.

Three days passed in a row, and the old eccentrics around him had changed over. Zhang Huan finally finished studying all the stones. Pointing to one, he told the Origin Master he wanted to cut it immediately.

This stone was plain and unadorned, like a common waste stone.

But sensing with Source Art, within it was a rigid and extremely domineering aura, accompanied by the Great Dao Heavenly Sound that lingered long without fading. Deduced by various methods, it absolutely contained a treasure within.

"This stone! It's one of the longest-standing stones in this garden, displayed for many years. It could be called the garden's crown jewel!"

An old eccentric said excitedly, staring intently. He had once considered this stone, studied it for a long time, but ultimately dared not cut it, waiting for someone fated to fulfill his dream.

"I studied this stone too. I felt I could grasp something, but it was like looking at flowers through fog. Each time, I came back empty-handed. Truly unfathomable."

Under everyone's gaze, the Origin Master was meticulous, peeling off the stone's skin piece by piece. The entire audience was focused, Staring at every movement.

As the saying goes, one cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich. The stone gambling trade has an innate allure.

"Weng~"

It seemed to stir the Great Dao Heavenly Sound. Faintly, light Shot out, immortal radiance shone everywhere, petals fell in profusion, crystalline and fragrant.

An incredible phenomenon appeared, drawing waves of exclamations.

Zhang Huan shook his head, not entirely satisfied with the treasures he had opened. He then selected a few stone materials he was about thirty percent sure of, spending over a million catties of Origin in one go.

Bloodstained ancient saint weapons, mysterious primordial creatures, a Thirty Thousand Year Medicine King—one after another, they were opened, each accompanied by a flurry of visions, leaving every Old Monster green with envy.

Outside the stone workshop, the crowd had already swelled to a sea of people, all craning their necks to see the treasures unearthed from the Heavenly Grade Stone Garden. Yet Zhang Huan stopped there, unable to get a read on the remaining stone materials, and did not continue cutting.

"Sell these to the workshop and exchange them for some Origin for me."

Most of what he had opened was far beneath what could be useful to someone at his cultivation level. Zhang Huan dismissed them, keeping only two or three pieces and trading the rest directly to the workshop on the spot.

As he walked out of the stone workshop, the Old Monsters kept their eyes fixed on his Every Move. When they saw Zhang Huan enter another stone workshop, they immediately followed with great excitement.

For over ten days straight, Zhang Huan moved between several stone workshops, setting up formations, using Origin Arts to analyze the stone materials, and purchasing a few—most of which yielded results.

"The Jade Pool Holy Land's stone workshop."

Zhang Huan led a surging crowd, with several Old Monsters clearing the way ahead of him.

A female disciple greeting guests at the entrance immediately ran over and bowed respectfully.

In recent days, his deeds had already spread throughout Saint City, earning him the title of Master of Origin Arts. He was almost certainly a senior expert of high standing.

Countless people wanted to Become a Disciple and swarmed toward him. Every time this happened, the Old Monsters would Make a Move, tossing these people aside like diligent bodyguards, shielding Zhang Huan from trouble.

"No need. I'll look around on my own. You don't have to follow."

Zhang Huan waved his hand, declining her reception, and walked into the Heavenly Grade Stone Garden on his own.

Using Origin Arts to inspect each stone one by one, he wandered through the garden. After observing for two Hours, he finally settled on an oval stone with seven openings.

"Has the senior made a choice? This stone has remarkable spiritual essence in its seven openings. It absorbs essence by day and radiates brilliance by night, with visions of flying immortals appearing within—truly mysterious and extraordinary. It is valued at three hundred thousand catties of Origin."

The Origin Master explained with care.

Every stone here had accompanied him for years, and he knew their peculiarities best.

"This stone should contain a hidden realm, holding a treasure within."

Zhang Huan instructed the master to cut, firm in his decision to buy it.

As the master peeled away the stone's outer layer, a dazzling divine radiance illuminated the air, making it sparkle like crystal, translucent and pure.

"It's... it's Opened!"

Another Exclaimed from the crowd gathered around the stone garden.

With such a vision manifesting, a Peerless Rarity must have been cut out—likely worth a fortune.

A barrier of light rose, sealing off this space.

Brilliant rays shot in all directions. A dreamlike flying immortal emerged from the glow, vanishing in an instant, as beautiful and fleeting as a bubble.

When the light barrier dissipated, the cavity within the divine Origin was completely empty, leaving only a few strands of red hair behind.

The moment he spotted the red hair, Zhang Huan instinctively stepped back several paces, on full alert against any anomaly.

"Why is this? There should have been a peerless treasure inside. Why is there no trace of it?"

"Strange. What are these red hairs? Could they be the treasure? But they have no divine nature—they look more like something shed by a living creature."

The Old Monsters Analyzed the oddity in the stone, each saying a word here and there, all baffled. It defied common sense; the visions that had manifested didn't match what was inside.

The Origin Master had never seen such a situation and was equally puzzled, Muttering to himself.

Seeing this, Zhang Huan cursed inwardly.

He knew who was behind it. This piece of Origin must have been snatched first by the Origin God and Origin Ghost of the Underworld.

Those two half-dead creatures specialized in stealing rare treasures from heaven and earth, and before leaving, they deliberately left a few hairs behind, as if mocking the one who opened the stone.

"Tsk, three hundred thousand catties of Origin. I couldn't save that much in a lifetime, and it's all gone to waste. What a shame, what a shame."

A young man shook his head and sighed, as if lamenting the lack of gain from this opening.

There were still plenty of stone materials left, but Zhang Huan had lost the desire to continue. The red hairs had ruined his mood.

He asked a nearby fairy maiden to take him to a secluded spot, then had the group of Old Monsters follow him.

Though these people never left Saint City, they were well-informed, had deep ties with the Major Powers, and were bound by no constraints—making them ideal candidates for gathering information on the Ruthless Bloodline.

As it happened, they were obsessed with the path of Origin Arts, with clear weaknesses. A little temptation would surely get them to reveal some news about the Ruthless Bloodline.

The stone-opening session ended abruptly. The crowd, still lost in the experience, dispersed reluctantly.

"You've followed me diligently all these days. Even without great achievements, you've put in effort. I'm willing to impart some Origin Arts to you. What do you say?"

Zhang Huan faced the many Old Monsters and spoke calmly.

"We wouldn't dare! For the senior to let us appreciate the stones is already a great favor, fulfilling our long-cherished wish. How could we be so shameless as to ask you for Origin Arts?"

"Is that so? Then let me put it another way—how about an exchange?"

Zhang Huan saw the Old Monsters exchange glances, their words seamless and perfectly coordinated.

"I once had a feud with the Ruthless Bloodline. Now that I've cultivated to great success, I intend to settle that old score."

"Whoever can provide valuable information or help me track them down will receive the full teachings of my Origin Arts on the spot."

Zhang Huan, seeing that the groundwork had been laid, cut straight to the point.

"Just providing information is enough, senior?"

An old monster, tempted, took a deep breath and asked.

"I'll take revenge myself. You needn't worry about anything else. I only need their intel—the more detailed, the better."

These words put several old monsters at ease, and someone immediately answered.

"Eighteen hundred years ago, my holy land once detected traces of the Demonic Art. An infiltrator reported that it was a branch stronghold. In the end, the branch master was besieged, perished body and soul, and the entire stronghold was annihilated."

"And the main stronghold? Any news of the Ruthless Bloodline?"

Zhang Huan's gaze was piercing. This matched what he already knew, so he quickly pressed for more.

"Uh, no."

The old monster shrank his neck awkwardly, explaining that the Ruthless Bloodline had always been mysterious—known only to exist, their movements elusive, with useful intel rarely obtained.

But Zhang Huan was determined and added a holy weapon to the exchange.

Wealth moved hearts. After weighing the risks, someone revealed deeper clues, known now only to a few high-ranking members of the holy lands.

"In truth, we once made contact with a Saint King who cultivated the Indestructible Heavenly Art."

"He called himself a Demonic Person, wielded many great divine abilities and techniques, their subtlety rivaling the Nine Secrets, and was suspected to be an inheritor of the Ruthless Bloodline."

"Our holy land fought him once, but in the end, he escaped."

The old monster's voice was heavy, as if reluctant to recall that incident. The man's escape art was astonishing; even with the entire holy land mobilized, they couldn't catch him—a loss of face if it got out.

"Senior, take a look. This is his likeness. We've studied his information and psychological traits. The method to deal with his escape art is also in these notes."

Zhang Huan took the yellowed notes, glanced at them twice, and confirmed their authenticity.

"Good."

Then the old monsters revealed more to him, and Zhang Huan grew increasingly confident.

Everything was ready—he only needed to wait a few months for that Saint King called the Demonic Person to come knocking.