Ancient Battlefield Consolidates Cultivation, Divine Sense First Explores Investiture of the Gods

On the western edge of the Great Desolation, at the ruins of an ancient battlefield.

The dark red earth stretched endlessly, as if dyed and solidified by an infinite amount of blood. Broken chariots, rusted divine weapons, and colossal withered bones lay scattered everywhere, silently recounting the brutality of some ancient, fierce battle. The air was filled with an unceasing scent of rust, a faint smell of blood, and a bone-deep desolation and silence. The spiritual energy here was thin and violent, mixed with various residual malevolent energies, resentments, and fragments of broken laws. For ordinary immortals and gods, not only would cultivation be difficult, but they might even have their Dao hearts corrupted or fall into demonic possession.

However, for Tongtian, who had just undergone tempering in the Netherworld Cold Pond and whose magical power possessed both Chaos and Netherworld characteristics, the harsh environment here instead became an excellent place for concealment and cultivation. The violent spiritual energy and malevolent energies could all be easily devoured and transformed by his Primordial Dao Fruit, becoming sustenance to nourish himself.

Tongtian found a natural cave formed by giant beast bones and collapsed stone pillars, and waved his hand to set up several layers of restrictions. One layer of chaotic airflow distorted light and divine sense detection, another layer of Netherworld Death Qi simulated the environment here, and the innermost layer agitated the residual fierce energies of the ancient battlefield to form a natural barrier. With three layers of restrictions stacked together, unless a Saint personally came to investigate carefully, it would be extremely difficult to discover any clues.

"Wudang, guard the cave entrance and use this malevolent energy to temper yourself and stabilize your Golden Immortal realm," Tongtian commanded.

"Yes, Master!" Saint Mother Wudang accepted the order. She had recently advanced to Golden Immortal and needed to refine herself. Although the malevolent energy here was fierce, it was also a good place to temper willpower and magical power.

Tongtian walked into the depths of the cave and sat down cross-legged. He did not immediately begin refining the Otherworld fragment but first closed his eyes and focused his mind, fully circulating the Primordial Unity Scripture.

His recently breakthrough late-Quasi-Saint realm needed to be stabilized, his magical power, which had initially fused with Netherworld Death Qi, needed further purification, the subtle injuries to his Saint Body and primordial spirit needed to be completely repaired, and more importantly, he needed to thoroughly digest and absorb the vast and chaotic information from Ksitigarbha's memories.

A phantom image of the Chaos Bead appeared above his head, slowly rotating like a miniature vortex of chaos, beginning to greedily plunder the fierce energies and thin spiritual energy pervading the ancient battlefield. These energies, which were poison to others, were rapidly ground, purified, and transformed after entering the Chaos Bead, becoming pure dark gray chaotic-Netherworld magical power that nourished his limbs, bones, and primordial spirit like sweet dew.

His aura became increasingly steady, contained, and profound at a speed visible to the naked eye. Faint chaotic patterns and Netherworld runes occasionally appeared on his body, interweaving and shining, appearing mysterious and powerful. Within his dantian, the pigeon-egg-sized Primordial Dao Fruit had completely stabilized, its color deep, the lotus petal patterns on its surface becoming clearer. As it rotated, it autonomously absorbed and expelled magical power, forming a perfect cycle with external energy.

Time flowed by quietly during his cultivation.

Several days later, Tongtian opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and radiant. His essence, energy, and spirit were all adjusted to their peak state. The late-Quasi-Saint realm was completely stabilized, and he had even made subtle progress.

"It's time." He took a deep breath and took out the fragment of Otherworld metal he had obtained from the bottom of the Netherworld Cold Pond.

The fragment was black and heavy, its touch ice-cold. Strange patterns on it flowed faintly in the dim cave, emitting an aura of destruction and devouring that caused the surrounding space to slightly distort.

Tongtian's expression was solemn, and he carefully extended his divine sense into it.

BOOM! It was as if he had crashed into a violent sea of chaos filled with destructive will! Countless chaotic, frenzied, bloodthirsty thought fragments, like billions of steel needles, fiercely pierced his divine sense! It was a manifestation of chaotic laws, completely different from the laws of the Great Desolation Heavenly Dao, and even mutually repelling!

Tongtian grunted, his brow stinging, but his eyes became even brighter. He stabilized his mind, his Chaos Dao Fruit operating at full capacity. His powerful divine sense was like a solid rock, resisting the impact of the chaotic will, while simultaneously analyzing and deciphering the fragmented legal information.

[Detected high-concentration异种 (foreign/variant) law information stream, analyzing energy attributes: Destruction, Devouring, Chaos, Distortion. Law composition similarity with Great Desolation is less than 17%. Contains faint coordinate information. Residual biological activity warning: Analysis process may trigger unknown risks]

The System's prompts sounded continuously, assisting him in processing the massive amount of information.

The refining process was far more dangerous than absorbing Netherworld Death Qi. The energy and will within this Otherworld fragment were extremely aggressive. A slight carelessness could lead to backlash or even contaminate his Dao foundation.

Tongtian was fully focused, using the Chaos Bead as the core, like the most precise furnace, to peel away the chaotic will from the fragment bit by bit, carefully extracting the pure, extremely high-quality foreign destructive energy and slowly integrating it into his own chaotic-Netherworld magical power.

This was a process that required patience; haste was impossible.

After an unknown amount of time, when the dark luster on the surface of the Otherworld fragment completely dimmed and became like ordinary iron, Tongtian finally completed the preliminary refinement.

He slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. That breath actually carried a faint black-red hue, containing destructive energy. It struck the cave wall, corroding a deep pit.

And his magical power, in addition to the vastness of Chaos and the stillness of the Netherworld, now possessed a hidden, highly destructive characteristic! Although extremely weak, it had elevated the essence of his power by another level!

More importantly, from the fragment, he had captured a trace of extremely vague coordinate perception pointing in a certain direction deep within Chaos, as well as some fragmented images and information about the forms and combat methods of the beings from that Otherworld.

"As expected, it's a world full of aggression and destruction..." Tongtian murmured to himself, his vigilance increasing. The Western Teachings actually wanted to deal with such an existence; it was no different from inviting a wolf into the house.

He put away the completely depleted fragment. Its material was special and might be useful later.

With his cultivation consolidated and the Otherworld fragment preliminarily refined, the next step was the most important attempt—communicating with the Investiture of the Gods!

This matter was extremely risky! The Investiture of the Gods was bestowed by Dao Ancestor Hongjun, managed by Haotian Shangdi, contained the power of the Heavenly Dao, and was connected to the fortunes of all Saints. Forcibly communicating with it could easily be detected, or even trigger the backlash of the Heavenly Dao and the thunderous wrath of all Saints!

But Tongtian had to try! He could not stand by and watch his disciples' True Spirits be forever trapped in the Heavenly Court, reduced to tools for providing incense and merit!

He adjusted his breathing, bringing his state to its peak. The light of the Chaos Bead above his head retracted, hovering over him, and streams of energy descended to protect him. Then, he formed a profound and complex hand seal—this was the "Deceiving Heaven and Concealing Dao Seal" he had deduced with his Primordial Dao Fruit, combined with the shielding method provided by the System, specifically created for this operation.

"In the name of Primordial Unity, I trace the threads of karma, to sense my disciples' True Spirits..."

Tongtian chanted silently, his divine sense highly condensed. Instead of forcefully impacting the Heavenly Dao, he followed the deepest master-disciple karmic thread between himself and his disciple Zhao Gongming, like the most delicate spider silk, cautiously reaching towards the Investiture of the Gods, which hung high above the Thirty-Three Heavens in the unseen realm.

This process was incredibly difficult, like searching for one specific thread among billions of interwoven Heavenly Dao laws, while also avoiding all vigilant "tentacles."

His divine sense struggled through the invisible Heavenly Dao network, enduring immense pressure. Fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on Tongtian's forehead.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, his divine sense touched an unimaginably vast, cold, golden-glowing behemoth—the phantom image of the Investiture of the Gods!

Even just a phantom image, its immense Heavenly Dao pressure almost crushed his divine sense! Countless points of light representing True Spirits were embedded on it like stars. Most were dim and lifeless, operating numbly, while only a few brighter ones represented those esteemed true gods.

Tongtian endured the intense pain and pressure emanating from his primordial spirit, followed the karmic thread, and arduously found one of the brighter points of light, which exuded a deep weariness and oppression—Zhao Gongming!

He dared not make any extraneous movements, pouring all his mental focus and strength into maintaining this subtle connection, and transmitting a trace of extremely weak intention, imbued with Primordial Unity Dao rhythm and deep care.

"Gongming, my disciple..."

In the Heavenly Court, in the main hall of the Department of Wealth.

Zhao Gongming, clad in divine robes, sat expressionlessly behind the desk, processing endless documents and decrees concerning the flow of wealth in the Great Desolation. Divine power flowed around him, befitting his position as God of Wealth. He appeared majestic, but deep within his eyes was a profound numbness and fatigue.

Bound by the Investiture of the Gods, although he had attained a divine position and enjoyed longevity, he was like a puppet on strings, denied freedom. The pride and rebelliousness of his former days as the outer disciple of the Jie Teachings had long been worn away by the endless years and Heavenly Laws.

Just as he was mechanically reviewing a document, a voice, as if from the depths of a distant memory, yet incredibly familiar and impossible to hear again, like a faint but clear electric current, suddenly pierced through the heavy restrictions of the Investiture of the Gods and directly resonated in the deepest part of his primordial spirit!

"Gongming, my disciple..."

Zhao Gongming's entire body suddenly stiffened. The divine brush in his hand fell onto the jade desk with a "clatter."

His pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with extreme shock, disbelief, and a sliver of... ecstatic joy he dared not hope for!

"Master?!" he subconsciously responded tremulously within his primordial spirit, as if afraid this was a dream that would easily shatter.

"It is I..." Tongtian's intention was intermittent, appearing very difficult, "I have returned. Your suffering, I am aware of. Hold on, wait for your master..."

Before he could finish speaking, the connection suddenly became extremely unstable!

The Investiture of the Gods seemed to sense the subtle abnormal fluctuation. The Heavenly Dao's pressure intensified abruptly! At the same time, a cold, indifferent, and powerful divine sense swept through the Department of Wealth's divine palace!

"How dare you! What kind of fiend dares to spy on the Heavenly Ranking!" Haotian's furious roar seemed to explode on the Heavenly Dao level!

A muffled groan came from Tongtian's side, and the connection instantly became precarious!

Zhao Gongming's heart raced. He immediately snapped out of his immense shock and joy, realizing his Master was in grave danger! He gritted his teeth fiercely, a hint of desperation flashing in his eyes!

I can't implicate Master!

He forcibly mobilized most of his divine power, which had been suppressed by the Investiture of the Gods. Instead of resisting, he made an extremely desperate move—he violently impacted the connection point between his True Spirit and the Investiture of the Gods!

Pfft! Zhao Gongming's face instantly turned as pale as paper. He spat out a mouthful of golden divine blood, his aura suddenly weakening, his primordial spirit severely injured!

However, it was precisely this self-mutilating act that caused the Investiture of the Gods to fluctuate violently for a moment, cleverly masking Tongtian's subtle connection fluctuation!

"Hmm?" Haotian's divine sense swept over. He only saw Zhao Gongming's True Spirit vibrating and him spitting blood due to "careless cultivation," without detecting the external divine sense connection. His divine sense hovered suspiciously around the Department of Wealth for several circles before finally slowly receding.

"Master, hurry..." Zhao Gongming used the last of his strength to transmit this sentence intermittently through his primordial spirit before completely losing consciousness.

Inside the ancient battlefield cave.

Tongtian suddenly opened his eyes. His face was pale, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. However, his eyes burned with fierce rage and deep sorrow!

"Gongming, you suffered..." He wiped the blood from his lips, his voice low and hoarse. In that final moment, he had clearly felt Zhao Gongming's resolve to damage his own True Spirit to shield him!

Although the connection was forcibly severed and they were almost discovered, the objective had been achieved! He had confirmed Gongming's status, transmitted the message of his return, and more importantly, he had tested that combining the Primordial Dao Fruit with the Heaven-Deceiving Seal could indeed allow him to briefly evade the surveillance of the Heavenly Dao and Haotian to establish contact with disciples on the list!

Although the risk this time was immense, and it seemed impossible to have an effective conversation currently, this was undoubtedly the first ray of dawn in the darkness!

"Haotian, Saints..." Tongtian slowly clenched his fists, his fingernails digging deeply into his palms. "I will make you repay this debt a hundredfold sooner or later!"

He suppressed his churning Blood Essence and killing intent, his gaze becoming incredibly sharp and determined.

The plan to communicate with the Investiture of the Gods was feasible, but it required more meticulous preparation, greater strength, and perhaps some special opportunities and mediums.

The next step was not only to continue improving his strength but also to begin making arrangements and searching for the fulcrum that could leverage the Investiture of the Gods!

He looked outside the cave, his gaze seeming to pierce through ten thousand miles, falling upon the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, which commanded the gods by the mandate of heaven.

The contest had only just begun.