Golden Cicada Dharma Form, the First Opportunity Event Ends

After Lei Hong and Chu Ji entered Qi Palace Peak, they were shocked to find ten thousand cubic units of Earth God Crystals stacked neatly in Water Bamboo Grove!

Divine light shimmered brilliantly, and the Descenders who followed them down instinctively felt greed arise within them.

Especially Chu Ji. He felt that if he could monopolize these Earth God Crystals, he could leave directly after this trip. After all, his expectations were not that high.

"As an Earth Vein divine treasure, Earth God Crystals can be used as consumables. They are incredibly powerful supplements. No wonder Venerable Jade Flute's aura did not diminish at all after that battle." Lei Hong stared at the small mountain of crystals, his breathing growing hurried. "If it were me, I would not be willing to give them up either."

"Venerable Han, they are all here." Liu Qingci looked somewhat pained. "No more, no less—exactly ten thousand cubic units."

Lei Hong, Chu Ji, Yue Zhen, Yi Kun, Dang You, Quan De, and Ning Si—a total of seven Demigods—all turned their gazes toward Zhao Xing.

Could Venerable Han truly be willing to distribute them as promised?

Rather than merely testing them?

"Venerable Jade Flute, you may take one-tenth." Zhao Xing said calmly.

According to their previous contract, Liu Qingci was permitted to take one-tenth of this harvest, which was one thousand cubic units.

Any future gains would only require her to hand over half.

With a swish, Liu Qingci collected one thousand cubic units, then withdrew from Water Bamboo Grove.

She did not leave immediately. Instead, she wanted to see whether the eight of them would end up fighting over an uneven division of spoils.

Lei Hong, Chu Ji, and the others did not move either. They all waited for Zhao Xing to continue.

Zhao Xing first put away four thousand five hundred cubic units. His karmic burden increased accordingly, but he acted as though nothing had happened, sweeping his gaze across the other seven one by one.

His eyes passed over the relatively powerful Yue Zhen, Yi Kun, and Lei Hong, as well as Dang You, Quan De, and Ning Si, who had slacked off earlier, before finally settling on Chu Ji.

"I said before that once the matter was done, I would take out half and distribute it according to merit."

"In this battle, Chu Ji made the greatest contribution. He will receive two thousand cubic units."

Everyone's hearts trembled, and they looked at Zhao Xing in disbelief.

He was really distributing them? This was not a test?

No one dared voice an opinion, and Chu Ji did not dare move either.

Zhao Xing said calmly, "Chu Ji, what are you standing there for?"

Chu Ji awkwardly cupped his hands. Even his form of address changed unconsciously. "Venerable Han, I... I cannot bear such a great karmic burden."

Chu Ji's answer left Zhao Xing somewhat stunned.

But he quickly understood why.

Chu Ji had no master or sect and belonged to no faction. He was a genuine independent cultivator. He had merely bought an opportunity ticket from the Dark Shadow Temple, entered Opportunity 341 of the Desolate Territory, and boarded the Cosmic Ark.

Opportunity tickets also came in different grades.

For example, Zhao Xing had the Profound Spirit History Book Replica protecting him. After entering, his status was higher, and the replica could actively share some of the consequences of bad karma.

When he took four thousand cubic units of Earth God Crystals, his karma value only dropped by forty points.

A slightly inferior ticket was the Karma Token held by Lei Hong and Xu Huai.

It could also share some karmic burden, but it was nowhere near as powerful.

Zhao Xing, Liu Qingci, Lei Hong, and people like Xu Zhun also had protectors watching over them.

Chu Ji was completely different. His expenditure at the Dark Shadow Temple primarily covered Time Travel, along with a complimentary mid-tier Historical Post related to the Cosmic Ark event.

The status granted by a mid-tier Historical Post was still random. Chu Ji had obtained the position of deputy mountain patrol envoy because his luck had been good. As for its ability to share karmic burden, it was very weak.

Take stealing Earth God Crystals as an example.

If Lei Hong and Liu Qingci took two thousand cubic units, their karmic burden would increase, reflected by a drop of forty points.

If Chu Ji took two thousand cubic units, he would lose one hundred points!

That could lead to terrifying consequences. For instance, the moment Chu Ji took them, the sleeping Bi Luo Free God might immediately awaken, suspect Chu Ji of stealing the Earth God Crystals, seize him for interrogation, and execute him.

In Chu Ji's situation, he had to wait, digest a little karma, then take a little at a time—like an ant moving house.

"You really cannot take them?" Zhao Xing confirmed once more.

"I really cannot."

Chu Ji felt ashamed, secretly hating himself for not preparing more thoroughly. The treasure was right before him, yet he could not take it. How was he supposed to improve like that?

And with so many people watching him, he looked like some country bumpkin.

But Chu Ji had never expected that after entering the Cosmic Ark, he would encounter something like this!

Just as Chu Ji was drowning in shame, Zhao Xing's voice sounded again.

"If that is the case, I will help you."

Zhao Xing wrapped up one thousand cubic units.

At that moment, Zhao Xing's karmic burden increased by another ten points. It had originally been positive, but now it was already approaching the negative range.

Roar.

Zhao Xing let out a low roar. His body abruptly swelled by a full circle, golden light enveloping him as though a cicada were clinging to his back.

Golden Cicada True Form: Dual Body, activate!

Bang!

A bolt of lightning flashed as Zhao Xing severed his dual body.

Then he gently pushed the Earth God Crystals before Chu Ji.

"These thousand cubic units will not increase your burden. You should be able to bear the remaining thousand yourself."

Chu Ji stared at Zhao Xing, clearly stunned for a moment.

Liu Qingci, Yi Zhen, Lei Hong, and the others all had their pupils constrict.

"Golden Cicada True Form, Ten-Thousand Bodies... He actually knows such a technique?"

"To master such a Divine Art is truly remarkable."

"I also have methods to reduce karmic burden, but compared to Han Bing's methods, mine are not even on the same level."

After Zhao Xing displayed such ability, the crooked thoughts in the hearts of Yue Zhen, Yi Kun, Lei Hong, Dang You, Quan De, and Ning Si were immediately extinguished.

After Chu Ji took his share, Zhao Xing distributed the remaining two thousand five hundred cubic units of Earth God Crystals.

"Lei Hong, you receive six hundred cubic units of Earth God Crystals."

"Yue Zhen and Yi Kun, you each receive five hundred cubic units."

"Dang You, Quan De, and Ning Si, you each receive three hundred."

Once the distribution plan was announced, a spirit tablet within Liu Qingci's body, bearing the divine image of Yin Zai, spoke.

"Such methods possess quite the bearing of the Boundless True God."

"You wanted to wait for them to divide the spoils unevenly and fight among themselves. That is no longer possible."

"Lei Hong, Yue Zhen, and Yi Kun contributed roughly the same amount, but Lei Hong joined earlier, so he received an extra hundred cubic units."

"Dang You, Quan De, and Ning Si received the least because they truly held back considerably in the previous battle."

"Han Bing's distribution rests entirely on the premise that he has complete control over the situation."

"After this distribution, the Mountain Patrol Divine Department of the As Sea Region will likely all fall under his control."

Liu Qingci nodded as well. This Han Bing could endure and fight, his knowledge rivaled that of a scholar, and he did not hoard everything for himself. Fortunately, he was on the side of the righteous gods. If he had been a Desolate Territory Evil God, he would definitely have been an extremely troublesome opponent.

"Divine Venerable, if we do not seek opportunities in the As Sea Region, where should we go?" The contract Liu Qingci had signed with Zhao Xing was quite equal. She could choose to wait here for opportunities or go elsewhere.

Divine General Yin Zai said, "You may remain here for now. This Venerable Han Bing is still orderly, not the sort of evil person with no scruples."

"If you change locations, you will need to change your post. That would waste a Historical Post to alter your event identity, and now is not the time."

After the Earth God Crystals were divided, everyone used their own methods to reduce their karmic burdens.

Zhao Xing quietly watched the seven of them, trying to identify something from the methods they used, but ultimately found nothing.

"Elder, are there any of our people among these Descenders?"

"Probably not." Bowei pondered. "Why? Did you discover something?"

It was more than a discovery—it was an enormous discovery!

"Elder, this is what I am thinking. There are thirty-five deputy envoys in the Mountain Patrol Divine Department. Including me, the chief envoy, there are thirty-two Descenders among the thirty-six of us."

"Based on that proportion, there are likely many Descenders in the other Divine Departments as well."

Bowei did not answer. Instead, he asked, "I have always been curious. How do you determine that these people are Descenders?"

"My master—"

"If you do not want to say it, then do not. There is no need to use such a clumsy excuse." Bowei interrupted irritably.

Zhao Xing chuckled.

He could hardly say that he had a panel that allowed him to distinguish Descenders from non-Descenders through their remaining lifespans.

Bowei did not press the matter and slowly analyzed the situation.

"Just as I said before, you created the Ten Directions Mountain Scripture, yet could not be converted by the Evil God Faction. Once you travel through time and become a god, Evil Gods will inevitably come after you and try to interrupt your path to godhood."

"Once they accomplish that, you will naturally develop distrust and insecurity toward the Desolate Territory Faction."

"The purpose of intimidation and threats will then have been achieved, and you will be very likely to defect to the Evil Gods."

"And it would not be difficult to guess the time and place to which you traveled."

"You have only been a Demigod for a short time, so your Contribution Points ranking cannot be very high."

"Among the known 356 eras of the Spirit Domain Era, there are not many places of godhood related to the Minister of Agriculture."

"The Evil God Faction will likely send many Demigods, perhaps even gods, to lie in wait across various locations and see whether they can catch you."

"As a relatively famous secret realm, the Cosmic Ark is one of the key areas where they would deploy forces."

Zhao Xing's heart chilled. That possibility was indeed very high.

"You are currently using the alias Han Bing, and your identity is well concealed. As long as you do not reveal traits associated with Zhao Xing, it will be difficult for them to find you and make a move against you."

"For example, you absolutely cannot use that Straw Man Clone of yours."

Only Zhao Xing, Zuo Qiyu, and Liu Tianning knew the Primordial Beginning Straw Man Technique in the Wilderness Era.

Zuo Qiyu was not a Demigod, while Liu Tianning had not obtained the qualifications for godhood. That left only Zhao Xing.

Once that was exposed, they could catch him with absolute certainty.

The same applied to Primal Epoch Mountain that he carried with him, as well as the mountain-head treasure, the Earth Treasury Divine Needle.

"Stay low-key while still making money." Zhao Xing sighed. "It really is not easy. I wonder how Lao Qing managed to become a Divine General."

His circumstances were extremely similar to Qing Yuzi's. Qing Yuzi had leaked the timing of the Evil God Faction's attack and issued a warning, only to be pursued by the forces of Bookless City. He did not even have a protector, yet he had somehow climbed from Divine Soldier Grade to Divine General level.

Heavenly Mystery Chaos Level Reaches Peak.

At that moment, a new piece of information appeared on Zhao Xing's Profound Spirit History Book Replica.

"The opportunity event is about to end."

Upon seeing that message, Zhao Xing understood that the first Divine Mountain Earth Change was about to end.

Because Heavenly Mystery Chaos had reached its peak, its intensity would weaken next, and the Bi Luo Free God of the Mountain Patrol Divine Department would likely awaken soon.

"Once he compares accounts and discovers that many Earth God Crystals are missing, he will definitely question us mountain envoys. That is the concrete manifestation of karmic burden."

"We need to speed up."

Zhao Xing relayed this information to the seven deputy envoys before him and the eight deputy envoys scattered throughout the As Sea Region.

Chu Ji grew even more reverent toward Zhao Xing, because he did not possess such an early-warning ability at all.

He had thought the Divine Mountain Earth Change would continue for some time yet.

Lei Hong, Yue Zhen, Yi Kun, and the others only confirmed that Heavenly Mystery Chaos was weakening several months later than Zhao Xing.

Their fear of Zhao Xing deepened as well.

He was powerful, had high status, and could seize the initiative in opportunity events. Without a doubt, they stood no chance whatsoever if they wanted to resist Zhao Xing.

Another three years passed. Zhao Xing was no longer operating in the deep sea. He returned to the shallow sea and began visiting the caves of the other sixteen deputy envoys, only returning to his own cave at the very end.

In the 325th year of the First Solar Year, the opportunity event "Divine Mountain Earth Change" was triggered.

At the beginning of the year 337, the opportunity event "Divine Mountain Earth Change" entered its final stage.

"Be careful. I cannot speak anymore."

"The Bi Luo Free God of the Mountain Patrol Divine Department has awakened."

Bowei suddenly issued a warning, then fell silent.

At the same time, Divine General Yin Zai also fell silent within the spirit tablet in Liu Qingci's body.

Although Bi Luo Free God was only Divine Soldier Grade, his appearance still counted as a god-level event. Protectors such as Bowei and Yin Zai

all maintained silence to avoid bringing unnecessary trouble upon those under their protection.

At the beginning of year 337, the Bi Luo Free God of the Mountain Patrol Divine Department awakened and immediately appeared in the As Sea Region, suppressing the Divine Mountain Earth Change.

At this stage, whether chief envoy or deputy envoy, no one dared continue stealing Earth God Crystals.

The window for the opportunity event had already passed.

Anyone who dared keep stealing Earth God Crystals would increase the risk of exposure and would either die or be forced out of the Cosmic Ark event.

At the end of year 337,

the first Divine Mountain Earth Change event ended.

Inside Xu Mountain's cave, Chu Ji's karmic incarnation appeared before Xu Zhun.

"You are saying that you want to take seventy percent of my Earth God Crystals?" Xu Zhun's face darkened. "Hmph, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"It is not taking them. It is handing them over to Venerable Han." Chu Ji cupped his hands toward the air. "After handing them over, you will receive protection. In the next opportunity event, you will not need to hand over seventy percent either—only thirty percent."

Xu Huai was so angry that he laughed. Was that not simply robbery?!

"I need his protection? How ridiculous. Get out of my cave immediately, or do not blame me for being rude!"

Chu Ji replied unhurriedly, "Please consider carefully. If you miss this chance now, the amount will not be the same later."

"Get out!"

Chu Ji gave Xu Huai a pitying look, then vanished from the cave.

Xu Zhun watched Chu Ji leave and gradually calmed down.

He frowned in thought. "I wonder where this Han Bing came from. He can actually subdue the other Descenders."

"This Chu Ji has passed sixteen True Spirit Tribulations. Though he cannot enter the Bai Zhuo Era Demigod Ranking, he is still quite capable. Yet he acts like a lackey."

Xu Zhun sensed that things were not so simple, but there was no way he would hand over seventy percent of his harvest based on mere words.

Because he had already borne the price. The Earth God Crystals he handed over now were all clean goods that required no further cost.

"Hmph, no matter where he comes from, that idea is simply wishful thinking."

Chu Ji returned to the cave. Within a month, he had visited every Descender cave in the Mountain Patrol Divine Department.

"Chu Ji, you're back. How did it go?" In the undersea cave dwelling, Zhao Xing, who had been cultivating his dual body, opened his eyes.

"Chu Ji was incompetent. Of the sixteen Descenders, not a single one agreed."

"A few of them refused, but gave me one or two Earth God Crystals. They treated me like a beggar." Chu Ji spoke bitterly.

"Hahaha." Zhao Xing laughed loudly. "You've suffered, Chu Ji."

The sixteen deputy envoys were all people he had never met. If he suddenly demanded protection money from them, they naturally would not agree so easily.

"Venerable Han, what should we do next?" Chu Ji asked.

"Wait. Go again in half a year," Zhao Xing said flatly.

"Yes."

After Chu Ji withdrew from the Crystal Palace.

Zhao Xing immediately closed his eyes and began casting a spell.

Golden Cicada Dharma Forms emerged from behind him one after another, then flew out in succession.

Since Zhao Xing had just ordered Chu Ji to threaten the sixteen deputy envoys—the Descenders—there was now a karmic connection between them.

Thus, sixteen Golden Cicadas climbed along the Karma Threads and flew toward the sixteen deputy envoys.

Xianjian Rong Palace, Venerable Cen Guang's cave dwelling.

Inside a secret chamber, a pile of Earth God Crystals lay before him as Venerable Cen Guang used a secret technique to dispel his karmic burden.

Then suddenly—"Buzzz."

He felt as if something had bitten him. At some unknown point, a Golden Cicada had appeared in the secret chamber.

The karmic burden he had painstakingly dispelled suddenly increased again, and the value on his Karma Token dropped by ten points.

"What?" Venerable Cen Guang was greatly startled. "Who is attacking me?"

Screech, screech, screech, screech, screech! Venerable Cen Guang immediately counterattacked, quickly killing the Golden Cicada. He tried to trace the attack back, but when he followed the Karma Thread, he saw a gigantic Golden Cicada!

The giant cicada was swallowing and exhaling Karma Threads, seemingly waiting for him to arrive.

"Hiss."

When Venerable Cen Guang saw the figure beneath the Golden Cicada, he involuntarily sucked in a cold breath and decisively withdrew his attack.

"It's Han Bing!"

Venerable Cen Guang still felt lingering fear. "He's actually this strong? And he can interfere with my efforts to dispel karmic burden?"

He recalled that someone named Chu Ji had previously come to persuade him on Han Bing's behalf, and his expression darkened.

"What do I do now? If I don't pay, will I be unable to dispel my karmic burden forever? How will I trigger opportunity events then?"

At the same time, furious roars erupted from other cave dwellings throughout G Lili Country.

"Han Bing, don't bully people too far!"

"The Great Dao stretches toward heaven; each walks his own path. Are you trying to make an enemy of me?"

"I'm willing to hand over fifty Earth God Crystals. Could Venerable Han please show mercy?"

Inside Zhao Xing's cave dwelling, the Golden Cicada True Form vanished and reforged itself again and again.

On the Profound Spirit History Book, his opportunity value remained as high as fifty.

That was because the Golden Cicada True Form: Dual Body was originally a god-tier support secret technique Bowei had given him.

It could even eliminate the aftereffects of cultivating the Nine Marsh God, so naturally it could eliminate karmic burden as well.

Bowei had casually told him other knowledge.

But Zhao Xing had traded a promise for the Golden Cicada True Form: Dual Body.

One could imagine that this secret technique was precious even to the scholar divine general Bowei.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang~

The first month passed, and Zhao Xing launched disruptive attacks against the sixteen deputy envoys.

Three deputy envoys were worn down until they lost their tempers. On the spot, they agreed to Zhao Xing's terms and signed unequal contracts.

The second month passed, and another four deputy envoys chose to give up resisting and pay protection money.

The third month passed, and five deputy envoys chose to pay protection money.

Yet four people still held out until the sixth month without yielding.

Xu Huai was among them, because all four possessed treasures or secret techniques capable of resisting Zhao Xing's interference.

Half a year later, Zhao Xing's Golden Cicadas stopped attacking because a wave of divine power entered his residence.

"All Mountain Envoys, come at once!"

In the As Sea Region, at Bi Luo Mountain, a tall and majestic golden figure summoned all Mountain Envoys of the Mountain Patrol Divine Department.

Upon hearing the order, every deputy envoy had no choice but to head for Bi Luo Mountain.

Xu Huai sat in his flying vessel, an unshakable gloom lingering between his brows.

During the opportunity event that had lasted twelve years, Xu Huai's gains had been quite good. His Karma Token now displayed negative forty-five.

By all rights, that was still a safe value, one that would not trigger a Great Misfortune event.

Afterward, he could slowly dispel it until the value completely returned to zero, or even rose into the positives, preparing for the next opportunity event.

But that was under ideal circumstances.

Half a year after returning to his cave dwelling, Xu Huai's value had not only failed to return to normal—it had reached negative forty-eight, dropping another three points!

Once it exceeded negative sixty, he would trigger a god-tier negative event!

If he could not dispel it quickly, let alone seek opportunities, even survival would become a problem.

"Damn Han Bing, he's simply bullying people too far!" Xu Huai slapped the token in his hand until it clanged loudly.

"If it weren't for him, I would have corrected the value long ago in these past six months. He's leaving people no way to live!"

"Now that the Bi Luo Free God has summoned us, he's probably going to settle accounts. If I fail to explain myself properly, I may trigger a god-tier negative event. There are opportunity events, and naturally there are negative events. Xu Huai wasn't afraid of the Bi Luo Free God.

Bi Luo was merely a mid-stage Divine Armament Free God. If they truly fought, Xu Huai was even confident he could kill Bi Luo!

But what after killing him? His karmic burden would soar past one hundred, and then General Yue Nan would appear.

Unless he no longer wanted to remain here, doing that would be courting death.

Despite possessing great combat power, he could not solve the problem. Xu Huai felt utterly stifled.

He had not yet gained enough. Leaving after benefiting from just one opportunity event would be an enormous loss.

But he was unwilling to lower his head to Han Bing. Ministers of Agriculture from the Celestial Timing Faction had always been proud and lofty, and Xu Huai was even more so.

He had once been a Demigod on the Bai Zhuo Era Genius Ranking. Though he had quickly fallen off it afterward, Xu Huai's Dao heart would never allow him to easily yield to someone of the same rank.

"Venerable Han Bing!" Through the Karma Thread formed earlier, Xu Huai took the initiative to contact Zhao Xing. "Do you dare fight me fairly? If you win, let alone seventy percent, I'll give you all my gains."

"If you lose, then get the hell out of my way!"

On the flying vessel elsewhere, Zhao Xing heard Xu Huai's roar and could not help smiling.

"A true Minister of Agriculture from the Celestial Timing Faction really is arrogant. He would rather lose everything in battle than yield and offer seventy percent of his Earth God Crystals."

Old Master Zhao naturally would not agree to Xu Huai's request.

"Xu Huai, my rules are the rules."

"If you wish to challenge me, I can add another clause to the contract and give you a chance to challenge me afterward."

"But this time, you must hand over the seventy percent first."

"Otherwise, just wait to trigger a negative event!"

Having said that, Zhao Xing ignored Xu Huai's roars.

Year 338, before Bi Luo Mountain.

In the As Sea Region's Mountain Patrol Divine Department, thirty-five deputy envoys and one chief envoy had all arrived.

Including Zhao Xing, thirty-two of them were Descenders. Only four were event characters.

"Greetings, Divine Lord Bi Luo."

Everyone lowered their heads in salute.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred—a mirror appeared over Bi Luo Mountain. Divine light shimmered within it and scattered over everyone.

Every Descender was shocked to discover that their negative karma value had increased by ten points!

"The Karma Mirror?"

Zhao Xing's heart tightened. His opportunity value had also fallen by ten points, though it still remained at positive thirty.

He had not expected this to happen.

Yet after the mirror's illumination, the Bi Luo Free God atop the mountain suddenly fixed his gaze on a white-haired, green-eyed man among the Mountain Envoys.

"You dare embezzle divine crystals? Die!"

With a thunderous crash, immense divine power condensed into a mountain that slammed down from above.

Before the mountain descended, wind had already arrived.

Zhao Xing felt himself and the others being pushed away by that wind.

Meanwhile, Venerable Yin Xue, the white-haired, green-eyed man, stood at the very center of the suppression.

Space had already been severed apart. The white-haired, green-eyed man could not absorb the slightest bit of spiritual energy, nor could he draw upon any power of heaven and earth.

Heaven and earth themselves were targeting him!

Venerable Yin Xue had triggered a god-tier negative event!

Everything happened too quickly. Yin Xue had no time to consider anything else and could only immediately have his protector use the Life Thread Karma Thread to pull him out of the Cosmic Ark.

"Han Bing!!"

Before leaving, Venerable Yin Xue roared in Zhao Xing's direction.

Then his physical body exploded, scattering a large number of divine crystals, while only his true spirit was taken away.

After the earthshift ended, Yin Xue had half a year to reduce his karmic burden.

But because of Han Bing's presence, he made no progress whatsoever during those six months, and his negative karma value had reached fifty-one!

Then, after being illuminated by the Karma Mirror just now, it immediately exceeded sixty.

At Yin Xue's shout, the remaining three who had refused to yield—Xu Huai, Peng Tian, and Xuan Zhuang—seemed to see hope.

They all hoped Zhao Xing would be affected by this. That way, they would no longer have to endure this fellow's oppression.

Yin Xue's actions did indeed affect Zhao Xing. His karma value dropped by three points.

At the same time, the Bi Luo Free God's gaze turned toward him.

Before the Bi Luo Free God could speak, Zhao Xing admitted his fault. "Divine Lord, Yin Xue stole Earth God Crystals. This subordinate failed in his duty of oversight."

But at that moment, people immediately stepped forward to Zhao Xing's side and spoke in his defense.

"Reporting to Divine Lord, before the earthshift occurred, Chief Envoy Han detected unusual activity in the undersea mountain peaks and summoned all deputy envoys to discuss countermeasures."

"Yet only six deputy envoys came. The rest ignored the summons."

"This subordinate can testify."

"This subordinate can testify as well."

The four event deputy envoys were the first to step forward.

Following them were the Descenders.

Chu Ji still charged ahead first. He knelt beside Zhao Xing and respectfully said, "Divine Lord, after the earthshift, the chief envoy immediately found Deputy Envoy Lei Hong and me. Together, we suppressed the disturbance in the undersea mountain range and handled the disaster caused by the earthshift."

Lei Hong immediately stepped forward. "After that, this subordinate and the chief envoy rescued people together. In the end, fifteen deputy envoys joined the chief envoy, supervising one another."

"Reporting to Divine Lord, I can testify."

"Reporting to Divine Lord, I can testify."

"

Xu Huai stared in stunned disbelief.

How had all these people become Han Bing's accomplices?

Could it be that he had anticipated this scene long ago?

Zhao Xing merely stood quietly in place, maintaining his bowed posture.

What did it mean to have learned scholars argue the scriptures on one's behalf?

After all this testimony, he discovered that the three points he had just lost had returned. Not only that, they increased by another five points.

Beside him, Liu Qingci could not help sighing. When the Demigods below colluded as one, even gods could be deceived.

Xu Huai had originally not planned to step forward, but both he and Venerable Zhuo Hua had attended the crisis-response meeting Zhao Xing held beforehand. Thus, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and step forward as well.

"This Han Bing truly has extensive experience participating in historical event secret realms."

"He has united so many deputy envoys. If he were to bite someone else at this time, it would probably be very difficult for that person to clear his name."

Of course they could not clear their names, because they were not innocent to begin with!

The Descenders had all come to steal Earth God Crystals. The only difference was whose Karma Threads were concealed more effectively.

The Bi Luo Free God continued asking, "Han Bing, did you make any other discoveries during this process?"

"Reporting to Divine Lord," Zhao Xing answered, "from beginning to end, I was unable to contact Deputy Envoys Ni Feng, Yu Chen, and Yin Xue."

Ni Feng, Yu Chen, and Yin Xue were the three Descenders who had stubbornly refused to yield.

Xu Huai had originally been among them as well, but before coming here, he ultimately signed a contract with Zhao Xing because he wanted to turn things around through a battle afterward.

So it did not matter if the Earth God Crystals were placed with Zhao Xing first. Xu Huai had absolute confidence in his own strength.

Therefore, Zhao Xing only accused the three people unwilling to pay protection money.

Yin Xue had just been blown apart. The expressions of the remaining two venerables, Ni Feng and Yu Chen, changed drastically.

"Absurd! Han Bing, you're the greatest scourge!"

"Divine Lord, do not listen to his one-sided words. Han Bing has stolen the most Earth God Crystals!"

Venerable Ni Feng tried to argue.

But while Zhao Xing was speaking, Venerable Yu Chen immediately activated his protector's retrieval function.

Whoosh, whoosh.

A red thread suddenly emerged from the void and enveloped Yu Chen. A moment before the Bi Luo Free God could attack, he vanished.

"So he really was a spy!" The Bi Luo Free God's hand, massive as a mountain, crashed down fiercely.

Boom!

The sea surface was crushed into a terrifying whirlpool, and Venerable Ni Feng also vanished.

"He was pulled away."

Zhao Xing watched from afar. Just moments ago, Venerable Ni Feng's protector had taken him away as well.

Both of them kept the Earth God Crystals they had brought with them and left the Cosmic Ark.

Their outcome was a little better than Venerable Yin Xue's. At least they had taken the gains from this opportunity with them.

Venerable Yin Xue had gained nothing. His physical body had been blown apart, and only a remnant true spirit had escaped.

"All Mountain Patrol Envoys, return to your cave dwellings. Without a Divine Edict, none may leave!"

This turn of events also prompted Bi Luo Free God to issue a ban.

"Yes."

Zhao Xing glanced at the historical record rubbing and found that his karmic burden had not increased. He could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Only after safely returning to his cave dwelling did this Divine Mountain Earth Change truly come to an end.

"Only now can the treasures in my hands truly be considered mine, and I can continue to keep them." Zhao Xing began tallying the gains from this expedition.