Two Realms Palace

Chu Capital, night lay shrouded in haze.

Within an ordinary courtyard, Chu Chang Marquis drank alone when an invisible ripple suddenly enveloped him.

"Hmm?" Chu Chang Marquis felt heaven and earth shift, and found himself within an illusory world.

"Chu Chang Marquis." Clouds and mist gathered into a figure that smiled at him.

"I waited alone in this courtyard for you people for quite some time." Chu Chang Marquis looked around. "I never expected you to drag me into an illusion. The Two Realms Palace, renowned throughout the entire Origin Continent, only dared meet me in an illusion?"

The misty figure said, "This is Chu Capital, personally refined by Yan Feng Ancestor! We of the Two Realms Palace must also act cautiously. I hope Chu Chang Marquis understands."

Chu Chang Marquis looked at the other party.

The Two Realms Palace was a vast force lurking in the darkness of the Origin Continent. The identities of its internal members were all mysteries. It was said that even its weakest members had to be God King Second Realm, and there were even rumors that Yuan's disciples were among them.

Compared to Yan Feng Ancestor and Thunder Ancestor, Yuan was held in even greater reverence on the Origin Continent.

Yuan was too transcendent. He had merely left behind some powerful inheritances and precious resources, and could not be bothered to take disciples himself. Of course, some Ancient Existences who had obtained inheritances and received Yuan's guidance called themselves "Yuan's disciples."

"I am merely an ordinary member of the Two Realms Palace." The misty figure smiled at Chu Chang Marquis. "However, helping Chu Chang Marquis secure one of the very top rankings in this Heaven-Level Task would be an easy matter."

"You want to help me?" Chu Chang Marquis looked at him.

So long as he was a formal member, this misty figure had to be at least a God King Second Realm existence! Someone who could crush him to death with a flick of a finger.

Yet as a First-Class Marquis of the Imperial Clan, Chu Chang Marquis naturally possessed his own pride.

"Chu Chang Marquis," said the misty figure. "You should understand that among the Seven First-Class Marquises of the Di Chu Lineage... in terms of comprehension and potential, Chu Ying Marquis should rank first. Chu Feng Marquis and Chu Ji Marquis are likely above you as well."

Chu Chang Marquis listened.

After contending for countless years, aside from the newly promoted Chu Yu Marquis, the other six First-Class Marquises understood one another very well.

"Without sufficiently powerful help, you cannot enter the top three this time," said the misty figure.

"I can help you enter the top three, but you must give me half the resources you obtain." The misty figure looked at Chu Chang Marquis.

Chu Chang Marquis looked at him and sneered. "Half? These are resources of the Yan Feng Ancient Nation Imperial Clan. Your Two Realms Palace truly has some nerve."

"Everything is entirely voluntary. I will not force you," said the misty figure. "If you refuse, I can leave immediately and no longer disturb you, Chu Chang Marquis."

Chu Chang Marquis looked at him.

Among the Seven First-Class Marquises of the Di Chu Lineage, he was the least outstanding! Even the newly promoted Chu Yu Marquis had Chaos Realm Transcendence Great Sage Luo He supporting him from behind.

"If you help me and I take first place this time, I'll give you half!" said Chu Chang Marquis. "If I take second, you can only have twenty percent. If I take third, you can only have ten percent. If I fail to enter the top three, that means you are too useless and have no right to share the resources."

The misty figure shook his head. "Helping you with all my strength will also require no small amount of effort on my part."

"If you take first place this time, I want half."

"If you take second, I want thirty percent."

"If you take third, I want twenty percent. Lower than that? I can take nothing." The misty figure looked at Chu Chang Marquis. "These are my final terms. You may choose to refuse."

Chu Chang Marquis looked at him, then suddenly laughed. "Fine. It's a deal."

The misty figure nodded. "Since it is agreed, karma has been formed! Chu Chang Marquis, do not even think of reneging on the debt... you cannot bear the price of karmic backlash." With that, the misty figure vanished without a trace.

Chu Chang Marquis merely felt the illusory world dissolve, and he was still seated beside the table in his courtyard.

"The price of karmic backlash?" Chu Chang Marquis frowned slightly. He was ultimately only at the peak of the Chaos Realm, and he had never considered reneging on a debt to an internal member of the Two Realms Palace.

"If I obtain the most resources in this Heaven-Level Task, perhaps I may undergo a transformation." Chu Chang Marquis had ambitions of his own as well.

His talent was merely somewhat inferior among the Seven First-Class Marquises. Since he had cultivated to the peak of the Chaos Realm, he naturally possessed a certain degree of potential. So long as he had enough resources, he too had hopes of charging into the God King level.

The treatment of an Imperial Clan First-Class Marquis and that of an Imperial Clan God King were worlds apart.

Among the Seven First-Class Marquises of the Di Chu Lineage, Chu Ying Marquis was the most famous.

Chu Ying Marquis gazed at the night sky beyond the window.

"Buzz." Holding a Communication Token, he began contacting a sufficiently powerful friend.

"Junior Brother Chu Ying." A cool voice rang out.

"Senior Sister Bi Yun." Chu Ying Marquis was rather modest.

Great Sage Bi Yun was Emperor Qing's Direct Disciple!

Emperor Qing was the strongest of the thirteen emperors of the Yan Feng Ancient Nation, and he was also skilled at teaching disciples. Even among Chaos Realm Transcendences, Great Sage Bi Yun was considered outstanding. Her methods were unfathomable and unparalleled, and with the treasures granted by Emperor Qing, she was immensely powerful.

"This time, the Seven First-Class Marquises of my Di Chu Lineage must compete as well." Chu Ying Marquis explained. "For the task of gathering Blood Spirit Golden Pearls, I will need your help too, Senior Sister."

"Back when many Imperial Clan elites visited Master, Master said... among your Di Chu Lineage, Junior Brother Chu Ying possesses the highest talent and will certainly become a God King." The cool voice said, "The Di Chu Lineage ought to use its finest resources on you."

Chu Ying Marquis was also deeply grateful to Emperor Qing.

With a single word from Emperor Qing, Chu Ying Marquis's status had soared, and he had received a greater allocation of resources.

"The competition among Imperial Clan First-Class Marquises is a rule set by the Ancestor. We must still compete." Chu Ying Marquis said, "Does Senior Sister have time for this task of gathering Blood Spirit Golden Pearls?"

"Leave it to me," Senior Sister Bi Yun answered. "For the task of gathering Blood Spirit Golden Pearls, I cannot promise first place, but I certainly will not hold you back."

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior Sister."

Chu Ying Marquis secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A word from Emperor Qing had made some God Kings and Chaos Realm Transcendences willing to befriend Chu Ying Marquis.

However, Blood Spirit Golden Pearls were produced at the border between the Two Great Ancient Nations. Conflicts at the border between the two nations were normally restricted to the Chaos Realm level. Should God King-level beings intervene, the border conflict would escalate on a massive scale. Starting a large-scale war between the two nations for a subtask of a Heaven-Level Task? No one could bear the consequences.

With it restricted to the Chaos Realm level, after much consideration, Chu Ying Marquis found that Great Sage Bi Yun was the most suitable helper.

Across the entire Origin Continent, between the Two Great Ancient Nations and various forces in the open and shadows, there were only seventy-one Chaos Realm Transcendences in total. Naturally, these seventy-one varied in strength.

"Among Chaos Realm Transcendences, Senior Sister Bi Yun ranks among the foremost," Chu Ying Marquis thought.

******

On the day the Heaven-Level Task was issued, the Seven First-Class Marquises of the Di Chu Lineage were all searching for ways to prepare.

Luo Feng had originally been taking a walk within his cave residence.

Suddenly—

An invisible ripple enveloped Luo Feng, seeking to drag his consciousness into an illusory world.

"Buzz." On one hand, Luo Feng's soul possessed the Lie Yuan Art, which made his Mind Will extremely stable. On the other, he was protected by the Star Tower.

This invisible ripple could not budge Luo Feng's consciousness at all.

"Hmm? He can resist the Two Realms Palace's summons?" The hidden existence was somewhat startled.

"Who?" Luo Feng naturally sensed that powerful pulling force, but with both the Lie Yuan Art and Star Tower guarding him, he naturally had no fear.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~~

The wind rose, naturally gathering into a vague figure that appeared before Luo Feng. Invisible ripples spread through the surroundings, isolating them from prying eyes.

"Great Sage Luo He, have you heard of the Two Realms Palace?" The figure of wind smiled at Luo Feng.

Luo Feng was secretly startled.

Whether through his teacher Sitting Mountain Guest's lineage, the Duan Dong He lineage, or his current rise in status, Luo Feng had gained some understanding of the great forces of the Origin Continent.

The many forces of the Origin Continent could be divided into those in the open and those in the shadows. The major open forces all possessed territories, with the Two Great Ancient Nations standing supreme! Tianmu Kingdom, WanJie Kingdom, and the Eastern Domain were first-rate open forces. Yu Country, Food Country, and many other nations were second-rate nations, while there were also numerous third-rate nations.

The hidden forces were far more mysterious.

Who were the members of each hidden force? How powerful were they truly? Much of it remained a mystery.

It was possible that God Kings of the Two Great Ancient Nations were involved, and perhaps even foreign races from beyond the Cage participated.

The Two Realms Palace was one of the foremost hidden powers.

"The Two Realms Palace has business with me?" Luo Feng looked at him.

"Luo He, you are only a Chaos Realm Transcendence now, so you have yet to realize the hardships of the cultivation path." The figure of wind said, "Once you become a God King, you will discover that the higher you go, every step is like a heavenly chasm."

Luo Feng listened.

Of course he understood. The gap between God King First Realm and Ultimate Realm was like the gap between grasping one of the Ten Great Basic Laws and grasping the Chaos Law. The difficulty was countless times greater. Naturally, the higher one went, the harder it became.

"In terms of resources, the Two Great Ancient Nations will only nurture their Imperial Clan," said the figure of wind. "Even as Emperor Chu's Direct Disciple, you still need Emperor Chu to give you some of his own resources."

"You are weak now, so he is willing to give you resources that he does not need."

"But when you become a God King in the future and grow increasingly powerful, you will need more precious resources—resources that are also very important to him. Will he still give them to you?" said the figure of wind.

"In terms of cultivation guidance... you should be cultivating the three Origin Great Paths of life, destruction, and material concurrently." The figure of wind said, "Emperor Chu can only teach you the Great Path of destruction. What will you do about the other two Origin Great Paths?"

Luo Feng listened.

Cultivating three Great Paths concurrently? Since when had I cultivated the Material Origin Great Path concurrently?

"The Two Great Ancient Nations are unwilling to produce their most precious resources, so you must rely on strength to seize them." The figure of wind looked at Luo Feng. "As for guidance? Internal members of our Two Realms Palace can guide you in the Life Origin Great Path and Material Origin Great Path. We will certainly teach you better than Emperor Chu can."

Luo Feng looked at him. "What do you mean by all this?"

"I can first make you an outer member of the Two Realms Palace," said the figure of wind. "The guidance you receive in the Two Realms Palace will certainly surpass Emperor Chu's. He simply does not know how to teach disciples."

"You came to find me. What exactly do you want?" Luo Feng looked at him.

"Join us."

The figure of wind looked at Luo Feng. "I admire you greatly."

He had originally come merely for a transaction, but after discovering that he could not drag Luo Feng's consciousness into an illusory world, he changed his mind.

Resisting the Two Realms Palace's summons was exceedingly rare.

"This Heaven-Level Task can serve as a small test," said the figure of wind. "Continue helping Di Chu Yu fight for Blood Spirit Golden Pearls. Give him one or two when the time comes. Give every other Blood Spirit Golden Pearl to me!"

"A small test to see whether you are willing to join the Two Realms Palace." The figure of wind said, "I trust you know as well that the identities of Two Realms Palace members are all kept secret. Joining will bring you only benefits, no harm."

Luo Feng looked at him, somewhat mocking. "Chu Yu Marquis is my closest friend. You want me to betray my friend?"

Boom!

Luo Feng waved a hand, and a ripple swept directly over the figure of wind.

The figure of wind scattered apart in astonishment.

"You actually dare..." The figure of wind gathered again, both shocked and enraged.

He actually gave him no face at all?

"This is Chu Capital! My teacher's Chu Capital! Does your Two Realms Palace dare Make a Move here?" Luo Feng looked at him. "If you have the nerve to Make a Move, then I truly admire your Two Realms Palace."

The figure of wind was furious and anxious.

Emperor Chu was, after all, one of the peak existences of the Origin Continent. He was not invincible in the outside world, but within Chu Capital, so long as Yan Feng Ancestor and Thunder Ancestor did not act, Emperor Chu was invincible on the Origin Continent.

"Still not leaving?" Luo Feng clearly could not be bothered to waste words with him.

"You have no idea what the Two Realms Palace represents!" The figure of wind said coldly. "Nor do you understand what you rejected today! Once you become a God King, you will regret today."

Having said that, the figure of wind vanished without a trace.

Luo Feng watched this and gave a cold laugh.

A bunch of self-important fools!

Even if his World Beast Moluo Sa grew to his peak, who in the Two Realms Palace could afford to provoke a peak World Beast? A group that only dared hide in the shadows!

"Moluo Sa." Luo Feng sent a mental transmission.

"Master." Moluo Sa hurried over at once.

Inside one of the levels of the Star Tower.

"What is this?" Moluo Sa stared at the enormous corpse of the Golden Scale Armor Insect before him. The World within his body emitted an intense yearning, an intense call. "Master, is this for me? I can feel that it will help me far more than the previous Chaos Realm corpse."

Luo Feng smiled at him. "This is material for my cultivation."

"It is for Master's cultivation?" Moluo Sa was somewhat disappointed. No matter how much he craved it, he could not snatch it from his master.

"I have taken one percent of every kind of material from this Golden Scale Armor Insect corpse. That is enough for my cultivation," said Luo Feng. "This corpse is yours."

Moluo Sa was thrilled and overjoyed.

"This is no ordinary corpse. It may be even stronger than an ordinary God King corpse. Do not disappoint me." Luo Feng looked at him.

The Golden Scale Armor Insect could use its physical body to battle God Kings across a realm, showing just how extraordinary its body was.

"Thank you, Master." Moluo Sa was incomparably excited. He could sense that this Golden Scale Armor Insect corpse would likely bring him a complete transformation.