Cross-Realm Challenges Can Be Played Like This Too?

"Reporting to Heavenly Lord, half a month ago, some strange occurrences appeared in the Jixi Province under this disciple's guard."

At Purple Violet Peak of the Corpse Puppet Sect, within an Azure Hall, a white-bearded old man in purple robes opened his eyes.

"Jixi Province?" Purple Violet Heavenly Lord did not immediately recall where that was. Jixi Province was not an important place at all. The Corpse Puppet Sect and the Four Extremes Sect jointly administered it solely because Gourd Heaven was a passage leading to Great Zhou. "What could possibly be strange about Jixi Province?" Purple Violet Heavenly Lord asked. They only grew some medicinal ingredients for Dao Xuan Pills there. They had some value, but not much.

"While guarding Jixi Province, this disciple has heard certain sounds over the past half month." The reporting Guardian Art was gaunt as a skeleton as he carefully recalled, "I occasionally saw some illusions as well."

"You mean a mirage?" Purple Violet Heavenly Lord glanced at the map, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

"Yes." The Guardian Art nodded, then shook his head. "This disciple and the others could all see those ancient people. They seemed to be living, cultivating, and meditating within it."

"At first, this disciple also believed it was a mirage. But gradually, we began hearing sounds. Those sounds seemed to contain some Great Dao, and many disciples reacted differently after hearing them."

"Some saw their techniques improve drastically, while others suddenly went berserk. Some even became deranged and bowed toward one particular place every day."

"This disciple questioned them. Some said they had heard someone preaching the Dao to them..."

"Oh?" Purple Violet Heavenly Lord's expression turned solemn. Such a place closely matched descriptions of certain ancient Dao fields. Could Jixi Province once have been a cultivation ground?

After listening carefully, Purple Violet Heavenly Lord nodded. "Very well. You may leave."

After dismissing the Guardian Art, Purple Violet Heavenly Lord summoned two of his own disciples, Secluded Fiend True Lord and Cloud Water Immortal.

"Master." The male and female Daoists quickly arrived.

Purple Violet Heavenly Lord told the two disciples about Jixi Province.

"An ancient Dao field?" Secluded Fiend True Lord and Cloud Water Immortal's eyes lit up. The first things they thought of were inheritances and treasures.

Purple Violet Heavenly Lord said:

"Ever since our expedition into Dragon Court two hundred years ago, our Corpse Puppet Sect suffered grievous losses in Guting Royal City, and our branch has faced considerable exclusion. Now, Jixi Province is an opportunity. As your master, I have decided to take the two of you there to investigate."

If Zhao Xing had been here, he would certainly have recognized them. Were these not Purple Violet True Person, Secluded Fiend, and Yun Ji from back then?

The three had once entered Dragon Court and gone through great pains to reach Guting Royal City, only for the Corpse Puppet Sect's treasury to be dug clean by Zhao Xing.

As a result, the three gained very little in Dragon Court, nowhere near enough to make up for those losses. Over the past two hundred years, Purple Violet Peak's resources had been drastically reduced.

However, Purple Violet True Person had now advanced to Purple Violet Heavenly Lord, while his two disciples, Secluded Fiend and Yun Ji, had also advanced to first-rank True Persons. Yun Ji had merely changed her Daoist title.

Because she had once detonated a corpse, which was considered an ominous sign.

"Master, I remember that part of Jixi Province is still occupied by people from the Four Extremes Sect. Should we..." Secluded Fiend made a throat-slitting gesture.

If they confirmed that a treasure was emerging, they could secretly kill the Four Extremes Sect disciples first and seize the place.

Jixi Province was not important anyway. The people the Four Extremes Sect stationed there were merely ants. Killing them would not matter. At worst, they would pay some compensation. If that failed, they could always find someone to take the blame.

"No need," Purple Violet Heavenly Lord said. "The strange phenomena in Jixi Province have caused quite a stir. Since one of our Guardian Arts returned to report it, experts from the Four Extremes Sect must know as well."

"Before seeing any benefits, there is no need to invite trouble." At the Heavenly Gate Divine Hall of the Four Extremes Sect, Four Extremes Divine Lord looked at the two elders below him. "The people of the Corpse Puppet Sect are not so easy to provoke."

"Most of their disciples have second bodies. Even if one leaves, the news will still leak out."

"Four Symbols, Five Peaks, the two of you will go and investigate."

"Understood." Four Symbols Heavenly Lord and Five Peaks Heavenly Lord vanished from where they stood.

Because of the anomaly in Jixi Province, both sects dispatched experts to investigate at once. Yet the first to arrive were Zhao Xing, Ye Yukong, Divine Luo King, Ji Yun, and Cui Chengzhi.

The highest cultivation level among those usually stationed in Jixi Province did not exceed third rank.

After the five entered Jixi Province, Zhao Xing cast Invisibility. Even when they passed right beside disciples of the Corpse Puppet Sect and Four Extremes Sect, no one could see them.

"Be careful. If you notice anything unusual, do not speak immediately. Do not even use voice transmission. We are almost there." Zhao Xing pointed ahead, forming words in the air to remind the others.

The four nodded, their expressions tense.

They were all first-rank Fate Palace Realm cultivators, and they had indeed sensed something unusual.

Half an hour earlier, after entering Jixi Province, they had encountered an area where they could neither speak nor use voice transmission.

How did they know? Ye Yukong had emergency bandages wrapped around his head. He had been the first to get hit after speaking aloud. For violating the rules, he had suddenly been struck by lightning.

The lightning appeared silently and without warning. No one knew how it formed. Even Zhao Xing only sensed it when it was already too late.

Fortunately, the lightning of this rule was not especially powerful. It merely prohibited loud noises. Ye Yukong had only muttered softly, so it had not reached the point of killing him.

Still, the strike had left his head spinning and burned away Ye Yukong's flowing hair.

Divine Luo King had it even worse. He had merely answered with an "Mm," yet he had been struck too. Fortunately, Divine Luo King was bald to begin with, so he did not have that problem.

But the two had learned their lesson. They no longer dared even to mutter quietly. They kept part of their attention on Zhao Xing at all times, waiting for his instructions.

They only dared walk where Zhao Xing had walked. They even had to imitate Zhao Xing's movements while walking.

It was like a line of cats crossing snow, each following cat stepping in the paw prints of the one before it. "It should be up ahead." Zhao Xing gazed into the distance.

A high hill suddenly appeared ahead, with a Stone Gate exposed from within the mountainside.

The Stone Gate had long since fallen into ruin, its surface covered in broken cracks. Portions of eaves and palace walls were exposed around it.

The once-exquisite carvings upon the gate and palace walls had become blurred beyond recognition. Only strange, vaguely humanoid outlines could still be made out.

Deep, shadowy gazes seemed to watch every living being that approached from the places where their eyes should have been.

The doorframe was built from massive black stones and covered in vines that emitted a faint glow. The vines seemed alive, twitching from time to time with soft rustling sounds.

"This is it, the Jixi Dao Field." Zhao Xing raised a hand, signaling the five behind him to stop, then slowly descended with them to the ground.

Wait here. I will send clones ahead to investigate.

Ji Yun, tell me about any movement on the Heavenly Luck Golden List. In particular, if ancient characters suddenly appear on the Golden List, retreat as quickly as possible.

Ji Yun wrote in the air with a tense expression: Ancient characters that suddenly appear? What does that mean? The names on the Heavenly Luck Golden List all represent people. Could something like resurrection from the dead happen here?

Zhao Xing did not answer immediately. Instead, he used the surrounding grass and wood to create dozens of advanced Flying Straw Puppets.

His Straw Man Clones could now cast spells. Using the Every Tree and Bush an Enemy spell, he could create some non-top-tier straw men.

"Rustle, rustle~"

Black vines and branches from the surroundings formed one straw man after another. They silently rose into the air and flew toward the Stone Gate ahead.

It was extremely strange. The straw men all had vicious faces and black bodies. Combined with this eerie place and Zhao Xing's lack of response to Ji Yun's question, even these people who had seen death countless times felt their scalps tingle.

Only after Zhao Xing sent the straw men to explore the interior of the ruined Dao field did he turn back and write out an answer to Ji Yun's question.

Yes. The Vitality Tide and the ruined Dao field together will make certain past illusions become real.

For now, we will call such things formed under the influence of changes in heaven and earth Heaven Puppets.

Heaven Puppets emerge from the ruined Dao field. The Dao intent within the field retains remnants of its master's will. A Heaven Puppet may contain the will of that former Jixi Daoist, perhaps even those of his powerful Rule Realm disciples. Those are called Earth Puppets.

If names you cannot understand appear on the Heavenly Luck Golden List, then Heaven Puppets and Earth Puppets have appeared.

Do not overthink it. Just retreat. Otherwise, if they set their sights on you, it will be troublesome.

Upon hearing this, Divine Luo King became excited instead. Puppets created by heaven and earth? What truly ingenious craftsmanship.

He could not help yearning for it. If he could study these heaven-and-earth puppets, perhaps he could really break through to the Rule Realm here!

Zhao Xing's soul was incredibly sharp, and he immediately sensed Divine Luo King's excitement: Divine Luo, do not get any wild ideas. You cannot capture heaven-and-earth puppets, so forget about studying them.

What a joke. Heaven Puppets possessed part of the power of the Establish Dao Realm, while Earth Puppets possessed part of the power of the Rule Realm.

Was that something a mere Fate Palace Realm cultivator could study? He was afraid that Divine Luo King would become obsessed at the sight of them.

Ye Yukong gestured animatedly in front of Divine Luo King: We are talking to you. Do not act impulsively. You Mechanism Masters tend to lose your heads when you see puppets.

Divine Luo King glared at him: I heard you. Mind yourself! Zhao Xing continued controlling his clones forward.

Upon entering the Dao field, the first thing that came into view was a desolate plaza.

The ground had been paved with enormous bluestone slabs, but most of them were now shattered. Blood-red moss grew from the cracks, glimmering with an eerie light in the darkness like blood seeping from the earth.

At the center of the plaza stood a massive stone platform. Its surface was covered in deep scratches and dried bloodstains, while broken stone statues lay scattered around it.

The heads of those statues had all disappeared, leaving only incomplete bodies. Their twisted postures made them seem as though they were enduring immense pain.

Some halls had already appeared within the Dao field, but most had collapsed halfway.

There were many enormous holes in the hall walls. Beyond them was utter darkness, with pairs of green eyes occasionally flickering from within.

Strange symbols flickered faintly on the roofs of the halls. They seemed to speak of an ancient and terrifying curse.

Bang!

One of Zhao Xing's clones suddenly exploded, and even its soul power was annihilated.

At the same time, Zhao Xing outside gave a cold snort and shattered the illusions within his soul. He quickly wrote:

Rule One: Do not stare directly into the eyes in the darkness.

Green or dark-blue eyes often peer from the dark places within the Dao field.

Do not make eye contact with them. Once you do, you will find your gaze unable to turn away. Those eyes will gradually invade your consciousness, making you see the scenes you fear most. Your soul will be consumed by fear, while your body will be frozen in place.

Ji Yun, Ye Yukong, Cui Chengzhi, and Divine Luo King carefully memorized every word Zhao Xing had written.

Rule Two: Stay away from flickering symbols.

The mysterious symbols flickering on the roofs and walls of the halls may seem like nothing more than unusual light and shadow, but they are actually ancient seals.

Once you enter a certain range of these symbols, the seal's power will be disturbed and may release some of the forces sealed within. Those forces may attack in various forms, such as becoming a gale that sweeps you into endless darkness, or twisting the surrounding space and dislocating every part of your body.

Rule Three: Do not touch the blood-red moss.

The blood-red moss growing in the cracks of the plaza stones is an extremely dangerous existence. Even the lightest touch will make the moss rapidly crawl across your body. Its redness will spread over your skin like burning flames. This red will gradually erode your vitality, leaving your body weak and powerless. At the same time, countless cries will echo within your mind, disrupting your sanity and driving you mad.

Rule Four: The stone platform at the center of the plaza is a safe area, but do not remain on it for more than two hours.

The stone platform is the Dao field's place of worship, but it is also one of its most dangerous locations. If you remain on the platform beyond a certain period, you will feel a powerful suction coming from within it, pulling your soul out of your body. Once two hours pass, you will be trapped on the platform forever.

The soul in Zhao Xing's mind churned violently, but he still endured and wrote down these words. Soon, nearly all the straw men within the Dao field collapsed.

"Whew, whew~"

The fluctuations in Zhao Xing's soul grew increasingly violent. Soon, even the soul within this Blazing Fire Academy clone was severely affected.

I will send more clo—

Before he could finish writing, the Blazing Fire Academy clone collapsed as well.

The four were utterly stunned. They had not expected Zhao Xing to be affected so severely merely by sending straw men inside.

At the same time, at North City Delta Base in Southern Gourd Heaven.

Zhao Xing's true body opened his eyes, and the Three Gods Fate Palace crushed the illusions in his mind.

"Grand Agriculture Official, what happened?" Qin Feng seemed to sense something and suddenly appeared at the door.

"It is nothing." Zhao Xing shook his head, then waved his hand. Several Dragon Spirit Clones and Blazing Fire Academy clones appeared. "Please have General Qin send my clones over."

"Alright." Qin Feng was somewhat surprised, but he said nothing. He did not know that a ruined Dao field had appeared in Jixi Province of Northern Gourd Heaven.

The clones reached Jixi Province again two days later, at Noon Hour. By then, Zhao Xing could clearly sense that there were more people in Jixi Province. "Soul Heaven Vision!"

Zhao Xing's soul left his body and seemed to merge with heaven and earth as it observed everything around him, his consciousness rapidly spreading outward.

Yet after spreading only ten thousand meters, he felt violent resistance. "It has accelerated its emergence. Withdraw!"

Zhao Xing's consciousness instantly returned to the clone's body.

At that moment, whirlwinds rose from all directions in Jixi Province. They appeared abruptly, and though the winds were weak, they were signs that an opportunity was about to arrive!

"Eight whirlwinds. They will eventually grow stronger and converge upon the Dao field at the center. This will erase the Dao of the Jixi Dao Field."

The reason Zhao Xing was willing to waste precious clone materials to investigate thoroughly was because he feared that this place differed from what he knew from his previous life.

Even the slightest difference could get Ye Yukong and the others killed. Zhao Xing would rather be cautious.

"If a clone breaks, I only spend more money. Any problem money can solve is not a problem. Eh? I can actually say something like that now. That is really Not Easy."

Zhao Xing sighed, then quickly headed toward Ye Yukong and the others' coordinates.

Ji Yun saw Zhao Xing's name appear on the Heavenly Luck Golden List and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She grabbed a piece of meat and took large bites while writing on the ground: The Grand Agriculture Official is coming. Do we still have enough food above seventh rank?

Divine Luo King: My seventh-rank food supplies can last another half month. Cui Chengzhi: About the same for me.

Ye Yukong: I am going to start eating eighth-rank supplies.

Ji Yun waved her hand and sent a Wen Bamboo Box over to Ye Yukong. As the ruined Dao field's range expanded, they were quickly affected.

At Mao Hour on the first day after Zhao Xing's clone exploded, they encountered the first rule: Essence Feeding.

A voice constantly urged them to eat.

The first day was manageable. They only needed to eat three times, at Mao Hour, Noon Hour, and Wei Hour. But on the second day, the number of Essence Feedings surged from three to three hundred! If they did not eat, they would suffer the rule's punishment.

Essence Feeding also had requirements for the food itself. Food of even slightly lower quality would not do.

Ji Yun had just watched a group of sect disciples get struck to death by lightning.

Cui Chengzhi: This is far too strange. The Essence Feeding rule on the first day was still normal. How did the food-supplementation schedule set by the Jixi Daoist suddenly become like this? This is absurd.

Three hundred times. After a whole day of that, they could forget about doing anything else. They would spend all day eating.

The problem was that they could not fake it. Chewing alone did not count. They had to swallow it, and they could not waste any.

If these people did not possess rapid digestion abilities, eating so much food equal to their cultivation level would make them burst from overstuffing.

Ye Yukong: Luckily, we only have to eat. If we had to eat while sleeping, we would be finished.

Before he even finished speaking, a voice appeared beside them. It seemed to possess some kind of magic, making them drowsy.

Cui Chengzhi was speechless. He immediately grabbed food and started running. Damn it!

What a cursed mouth!

Divine Luo King and Ji Yun also fled in terror while carrying their boxes, attempting to leave the Dao field's range.

But people could not outrun rules. Soon, after the four continued staying awake, they suffered the rule's punishment.

I will block it!

Ye Yukong swung his longsword and stayed behind. His sword domain rippled outward, enveloping the other three.

Crack!

His top-tier sixth-rank sword Dao domain blocked four bolts of heavenly lightning.

Because it was not a fatal punishment, the experienced Ye Yukong successfully blocked the lightning's effects on his companions.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~ The four quickly retreated.

A quarter of an hour later, Ji Yun's expression suddenly changed, and she blurted out instinctively, "Oh no, ancient names I cannot understand have appeared on the Heavenly Luck Golden List!"

Divine Luo King immediately glanced back, his pupils shrinking. A black shadow had appeared behind them.

The black shadow chased after them. With one step, it seemed to shrink the earth to an inch, instantly crossing three thousand meters.

Terrifying pressure descended as a black wind swept toward Ye Yukong. Just as they were about to be caught by that monster comparable to the Rule Realm—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Five fiery-red figures appeared beside them. In the next moment, one fiery-red figure was blasted apart by the black shadow.

The other four vanished with the four of them, leaving only four faint wisps of mist behind.

On a hill outside the Dao field, Zhao Xing appeared with the four.

After landing, Zhao Xing asked, "What happened? How did you run into an Earth Puppet?"

Ye Yukong fumed, "Damn! What kind of lousy place is this? We get attacked by Earth Puppets just for not sleeping? What is wrong with the Jixi Daoist? His disciples do not sleep, and he sends people to check their beds?"

Cui Chengzhi smiled. "I think you were just too brave. You blocked several rule punishments in a row, so you drew the Earth Puppet here."

Ji Yun shook her head. "Our luck was bad too. The areas affected by these rules aren't fixed." She could sense a group of sect disciples a few kilometers away, no more than fourth or fifth rank, yet they were fine despite not sleeping. Clearly, the area they were in had not been affected.

Divine Luo King merely stared in the Earth Puppet's direction, lost in thought.

"Divine Luo King." Zhao Xing noticed something unusual about him. "Did you sense something?" "Yes." Divine Luo King took a deep breath. "Just now, I felt a stirring in my heart. I feel that where the Earth Puppet was born is the opportunity for my breakthrough."

"Why didn't I feel anything?" Ye Yukong was puzzled. "Neither did I." Cui Chengzhi and Ji Yun both shook their heads.

Zhao Xing pondered. "That's normal. When the source force stirred by the Vitality Tide begins erasing the Dao of the dao field, all kinds of fortuitous opportunities will emerge."

"You can think of this as a Heavenly Spirit Essence, an exclusive limited edition." "There may be an opportunity in the Earth Puppet's area that will allow a Mechanism Master to break through." A trace of longing rose in Divine Luo King's eyes. "Grand Agriculture Official, can we go?"

Zhao Xing closed his eyes. A map surfaced in his mind, then he took out an almanac and checked the time.

"We can, but we need to wait." "How long?"

"Eight hours after the Earth Puppet appeared, there should no longer be cases of multiple rules stacking together. There'll be a relatively low-risk window."

At that moment, Ji Yun's expression shifted. She glanced at the Heavenly Luck Golden List. "Grand Agriculture Official, sect experts are coming."

"Who?"

"Purple Violet Heavenly Lord, Secluded Fiend True Person, and Water Cloud Xianzi from the Corpse Puppet Sect. Purple Violet Heavenly Lord is peak first rank, while the other two are late first rank."

Zhao Xing blinked. "Why do those names sound familiar?"

Ye Yukong smiled. "Did you forget? We dug up quite a few Corpse Puppet Sect treasure vaults in Guting Royal City. One of the major vaults was excavated right in front of Purple Violet Heavenly Lord. Back then, though, he was only second rank."

Divine Luo King nodded. "I remember them too."

Of course he remembered. During the trip to Guting Royal City, Divine Luo King had obtained a divine artifact. Back then, he had never imagined he could take someone else's treasure and buy things from Yin Xiu.

"So it's them." Zhao Xing suddenly remembered the three unlucky fools as well. "Ignore them."

"It's normal for people to come. I'd rather they brought more."

Given the situation in Jixi Province, if the Sect Realm wanted to figure out all these rules, it had no idea how many lives it would have to spend.

Zhao Xing did not idle away those eight hours. He took out a ring and handed it to Divine Luo King.

"What's this?" "The Rebirth Ring."

What Zhao Xing had taken out was the old-grandpa ring he had obtained when clearing Su Xianzi's trial. "My straw clone exploded two days ago, and I wasn't by your side. You were still too vulnerable."

"This soul artifact contains a wisp of my soul. Even if all my straw clones are destroyed, you can still speak with me through the Rebirth Ring whenever you want."

Zhao Xing had an even more powerful Void Escape Soul Ring, but there was no need to waste it here.

Eight hours later, Zhao Xing set off again with the four of them. They entered the Stone Gate and reached the interior of the dao field.

After rounding a corner, Zhao Xing suddenly froze. As for the four behind him, they barely dared to breathe.

Because they saw the Earth Puppet.

The Earth Puppet drifted across the ruined plaza. It seemed to have no physical form, passing straight through the wreckage on the ground.

Fifty meters ahead of it, five high-ranking cultivators in Four Extremes Sect robes were trembling as they cultivated.

Beside them lay three smoking corpses.

"Meditate. Cultivate." Zhao Xing abruptly stopped and Sat Cross-legged. Ye Yukong, Cui Chengzhi, Ji Yun, and Divine Luo King immediately sat down as well.

At that moment, a Heavenly Luck Realm cultivator from the Four Extremes Sect who had been cultivating suddenly exploded and died.

"This... weren't they cultivating too? How did..." Divine Luo King felt his scalp go numb.

They could die from that too? This was ridiculous!

Zhao Xing immediately transmitted, "Focus on cultivating. Cultivate whatever you want, but stay focused!" With his reminder, the four of them quickly steadied their breathing.

"Tap, tap, tap~"

Suddenly, a sound drew closer, accompanied by an overwhelming pressure. Yet the four were all strong-willed, and they trusted Zhao Xing completely.

So even when the Earth Puppet floated past them, it did not spare them a second glance. They continued circulating their cultivation techniques and breathing steadily.

Their wills were firm, but the remaining four members of the Four Extremes Sect could not take it anymore. "Whoosh~"

A second-rank Heavenly Luck Realm cultivator tried to flee. "Swish~"

The Earth Puppet's gaze instantly turned toward him. "Bang!"

The next second, that Four Extremes Sect expert exploded outright. Bones, flesh, and blood scattered across the ground.

For real—one look, and you exploded!

The remaining three were even more terrified. Time passed second by second.

An hour later, the Earth Puppet finally drifted away and stopped watching this place. The three from the Four Extremes Sect immediately let out long breaths.

One of the elders saw that Zhao Xing's group was completely unharmed and immediately cupped his hands. "Generals, are you from Great Zhou? I am Chen Song, peak Fate Palace Realm. These two beside me are my junior brothers, Zhang Liang and Peng Bo."

Zhao Xing glanced at them. Aside from Chen Song, who was in the Fate Palace Realm, the other two were merely peak second rank.

Ignoring him, Zhao Xing led his people onward.

"Senior Brother, what do we do?" Zhang Liang's voice trembled.

"Follow them." Chen Song gritted his teeth. "Those people cannot have died for nothing. We have to find out what this place is."

"They're completely unharmed, so they must know something. Whatever they do, we'll do the same."

Zhao Xing led them onward. After turning onto another street, they saw more strangers. "They're from the Corpse Puppet Sect. Fifteen people in total."

"They're pretty lucky," Ye Yukong transmitted.

According to Zhao Xing, this was currently a weak cycle. The dangers in the outer areas had been greatly reduced, so they had successfully entered the core region of the dao field.

"Not necessarily luck. The Corpse Puppet Sect and Four Extremes Sect already had people stationed in Jixi Province. The anomaly here didn't start just a day or two ago. Some of their disciples were probably already here and figured out a few things," Zhao Xing transmitted.

"Even so, the Corpse Puppet Sect has probably lost quite a few people." Ji Yuan glanced at the Heavenly Luck Golden List. "That one called Secluded Fiend has disappeared from the list."

As they spoke, Water Cloud True Person beside Purple Violet Heavenly Lord also spotted Zhao Xing's group.

"Master, isn't that Zhao Xing?" "Hmph, it really is him." A trace of hatred flashed through Purple Violet Heavenly Lord's eyes. Back then, Zhao Xing had stolen the Corpse Puppet Sect's accumulated wealth in Guting Royal City.

"I didn't expect Great Zhou to have sent people too. It seems there really are treasures here."

"However, our people have been stationed here for a long time. Before those bizarre rules, Great Zhou's people are simply coming here to die." Purple Violet Heavenly Lord's eyes held a hint of pleasure. "What a pity Zhao Xing himself isn't here."

If Zhao Xing's true body had come, perhaps he could have died here!

After thinking it over, Purple Violet Heavenly Lord transmitted at once, "Zhao King, long time no see. I never expected you to come as well."

When Zhao Xing saw Purple Violet Heavenly Lord take the initiative to greet him, how could he not know what the old fellow was thinking?

He was probably trying to set him up!

"So it's the Treasure-Delivering Heavenly Lord. What, does your Corpse Puppet Sect have a treasure vault here too?"

Purple Violet Heavenly Lord was hit right where it hurt, and anger rose in his heart. But thinking of the rules that were about to come, he continued speaking with Zhao Xing.

"That's right. This is our Corpse Puppet Sect's base. Zhao King, Divine Luo King, Bright Moon Prefecture Lord, if you wanted to come, why sneak around? You only had to say so. A dignified Grand Agriculture Official, yet you keep doing such shameful things?"

Zhao Xing shot back without any courtesy. "Why should we talk about morality and righteousness with people like you? Are you worthy?"

"Fine, perhaps we aren't. But Great Zhou has now reached a peaceful coexistence agreement with the Sect Alliance. You came here uninvited. Aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by the world?"

"Or is it that your Great Zhou emperor can no longer control you ministers?" Purple Violet Heavenly Lord spoke words meant to strike at their hearts, trying to provoke Zhao Xing's group.

At the same time, he silently counted down.

Ten breaths remained until the time when speaking would be forbidden!

He had already made up his mind to provoke them. One second before the rule descended, he would stop speaking, forcing them to break the rule.

Zhao Xing snorted coldly and refused to take the bait. Before the rule descended, he stopped transmitting altogether and simply wrote two words in the air: idiot.

Seeing his scheme exposed and being mercilessly mocked, Purple Violet Heavenly Lord was instantly furious.

Yet at that moment, Zhao Xing suddenly made a move. He cast a spell toward the runes on the palace and walls.

He deliberately made a disturbance, drawing Purple Violet Heavenly Lord and the others' attention. As expected, they instinctively looked where Zhao Xing had attacked. "Buzz~"

Within the broken openings in the palace and walls, outlines resembling rows of green eyes suddenly lit up in the eerie, dark areas.

"Ah—"

A third-rank elder behind Purple Violet Heavenly Lord was immediately struck by the illusions within those eyes and cried out.

Purple Violet Heavenly Lord and Water Cloud True Person were horrified and hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

"Bang!"

Heavenly lightning streaked down from above, and the disciple died beyond any doubt. Bastard!!

Purple Violet Heavenly Lord flew into a rage, but he did not dare say a single word. He could only furiously write curses in the air.

Because he had nearly been hit as well. Those bizarre eyes had affected his mind. Unfortunately, Zhao Xing did not even look at him.

The three Four Extremes Sect experts, Chen Song, Zhang Liang, and Peng Bo, were also complaining bitterly.

They wanted nothing more than to beat Purple Violet Heavenly Lord senseless. Why did he have to provoke them for no reason? He had nearly dragged them down with him.

Yet they did not dare make the slightest sound. They could only continue forward on tiptoe. Before long, the surroundings fell quiet again.

The three groups advanced silently through the dao field and soon came upon another plaza. The ground was covered in blood moss, clearly nothing good.

Everyone cautiously avoided touching it.

There was a stone platform on each side of the plaza, while the Earth Puppet stood before a relatively intact palace to the east.

Divine Luo King could not help clutching his chest, his expression agitated. He wrote with misplaced characters to tell them: This is the place!

Zhao Xing followed the direction Divine Luo King indicated and saw a pale golden orb floating above the palace roof behind the Earth Puppet.

"A Heavenly Spirit Essence. It doesn't seem particularly intense yet," Zhao Xing thought. "But perhaps my senses aren't strong enough, since this is an exclusive Heavenly Spirit Essence for a limited profession."

Zhao Xing asked Divine Luo King: Do you think it is time to harvest it now?

Though excited, Divine Luo King carefully sensed it and still shook his head: It is very close, but not enough yet.

Zhao Xing nodded. The eight hurricanes had not drawn near yet, which meant this Heavenly Spirit Essence still needed time to mature.

It was Not Easy to survive in here, but no one retreated. Zhao Xing's group quickly occupied the eastern stone platform area.

Chen Song, Zhang Liang, and Peng Bo from the Four Extremes Sect followed their example and occupied the southern stone platform.

Purple Violet Heavenly Lord did not know what was happening, since his people had never reached this place before. But seeing Zhao Xing and the Four Extremes Sect do this, he also rushed into the western stone platform area.

"Hm? We can speak now? Is this a safe zone isolated from the rules?" Purple Violet Heavenly Lord was quite surprised, because he realized Zhao Xing understood far more than they did!

"How exactly did he manage this?"

Purple Violet Heavenly Lord stared in Zhao Xing's direction. Like Chen Song and the others, he had decided to imitate Zhao Xing's actions.

The wait for the Spirit Essence to mature was long. Every two hours, Zhao Xing had people take turns leaving the safe zone, resetting the time they had spent within it before returning to rest.

To figure this out, Purple Violet Heavenly Lord's group paid with another life.

Zhao Xing merely arranged for people to casually look around the vicinity. No one would have guessed they could not stay around the stone platforms for too long either.

After waiting for half a month, Divine Luo King suddenly said, "Now. I can feel it. The time has come."

Zhao Xing's clone in the plaza immediately returned. "Wait here for me."

Ye Yukong asked curiously, "Can the Earth Puppet talk?"

After Zhao Xing's clone left the area around the stone platform, it ran directly to the Earth Puppet. Having been Pursued by it before, they all had lingering fear of the Earth Puppet, yet Zhao Xing walked right up to it without a care.

Ji Yun and Cui Chengzhi pricked up their ears to listen.

However, Zhao Xing was writing. He was using the words found everywhere in Jixi Dao Field.

When the rules descended before, they could not understand the sounds, but as Fate Palace Realm cultivators who had mastered domains, they could understand the meaning because it was conveyed through the Dao.

But now Zhao Xing was using the writing of this place, seemingly holding a conversation.

"In such a short time, the Grand Agriculture Official mastered this place's writing?" Ji Yun could not help but sigh. "He truly is a peerless genius."

"I suspect he can even speak this place's language. Didn't Qing Yuzi come here before?" Cui Chengzhi laughed. "Awesome!" Ye Yukong gave a thumbs-up.

On the other side, Zhao Xing had successfully communicated with the Earth Puppet.

Senior Brother, I want to enter the True Inheritance Hall. What are the requirements?

Seeing the words in the air, the Earth Puppet could not help turning back to glance at Zhao Xing. Its eyeballs were deep and black, unlike human eyes.

It spoke directly in what seemed to be an ancient language. "To enter the True Inheritance Hall, you must complete a challenge beyond your rank to prove yourself."

Zhao Xing pondered this, then glanced at the Spirit Essence on the roof before retreating. "How was it? What did it say?"

"I asked the Earth Puppet what the conditions were for entering." "And?"

"It said I need to complete a challenge beyond my rank to prove myself." "Huh?" Ye Yukong and Divine Luo King were somewhat disappointed.

They were already in the Fate Palace Realm. A challenge beyond their rank? Would that not mean fighting someone in the Rule Realm?

That requirement was far too outrageous!

"Don't forget, the rules here have been distorted." Zhao Xing smiled. "Divine Luo King, go kill one of the Corpse Puppet Sect's third-rank cultivators."

"What do you mean?" Divine Luo King was stunned.

"It only said a challenge beyond your rank. It never said it had to be beyond your rank upward." Zhao Xing spread his hands. "Going beyond your rank downward is still beyond your rank, isn't it?"

Everyone: "..."

All four of them were dumbfounded. They could do that?