Deity Summoning Heart Sutra

As longtime rivals, both the God of War Bai Zhong and the deputy leader of the Supreme Tribe were well aware of Rising Dusk King's character.

There's a saying that goes, "The one who understands you best is always your opponent." So at this moment, they knew why Rising Dusk King said those things.

Provocation, enrage.

It's that simple: when a person is provoked and angered, they are more likely to lose their judgment.

Only by maintaining absolute calm can they conduct proper analysis and handling, and right now, they need to remain calm.

Therefore, although the people present had gloomy expressions, they remained unchanged in the face of Rising Dusk King's deliberate provocation.

Seeing the indifferent expressions on everyone's faces, Rising Dusk King shrugged and exhaled through his nose. "No guts, boring."

The deputy leader of the Supreme Tribe Gu Mu Yin, spoke in a somber and cold voice, "Let's discuss the matter of this Ruins first, just like Bai Zhong did."

"Ruins?" Rising Dusk King chuckled. "What bullshit Ruins? I discovered them first. What right do you have to take my things?"

Bai Zhong sneered, "The Ruins were originally unclaimed. It's not good for you to try to take them all for yourself today, and you can't do it. Of the three major forces present today, whoever tries to take them all for themselves will face an attack from the other two major forces."

Ruins are extremely important, regardless of Ruins size, and are extremely precious to those who enter Ruins.

Furthermore, none of the three major forces present can stand each other; they are irreconcilable enemies and wish they could wipe each other out immediately. Why should the other party monopolize the benefits?

It's just a matter of words. As long as the other person is worse off than me, I'm comfortable; if they're better off, I'm not.

Xu Bai remained silent until he overheard their conversation, at which point he turned his gaze toward Rising Dusk King.

He was also thinking about how Rising Dusk King should respond.

The current situation is indeed quite stalemate. Even if Rising Dusk King, he probably wouldn't be confident of defeating the other two major forces. After all, everyone's level is about the same, and even if one is slightly weaker, the difference wouldn't be significant.

After Bai Zhong finished speaking, Rising Dusk King suddenly burst into laughter, his tone shifting from forceful to assertive. "How could I be the kind of person who monopolizes things? You're right, anyone who tries to monopolize will face attacks from the other two sides. Am I right?"

Bai Zhong and Gu Mu Yin exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of caution in each other's eyes.

Normally, Rising Dusk King would never be so easy to talk to, so why has he suddenly become such a nice guy? Given Rising Dusk King's personality, he should at least have said a few words of scolding.

The more this is the case, the more cautious we need to be. We're all seasoned veterans; how could we easily trust each other? "In your opinion, what do you want?" Bai Zhong asked.

In any case, the current situation is that we must continue this discussion; the Ruins are about to appear, and we can't just wait around like this.

If we can talk it out, then let's talk. If we can't, then let's all stop playing and nobody can get in.

Bai Zhong believed that if he was going to open this door, he should at least start the conversation, because if everyone stayed away, it would be a waste of an important resource.

Gu Mu Yin didn't speak, but in fact, he agreed with the idea.

But agreeing doesn't mean he can stand Bai Zhong. In fact, none of the three parties present can stand the others.

All eyes turned to Rising Dusk King; clearly, everyone was waiting for Rising Dusk King next words.

Rising Dusk King smiled and said, "How about this? Since no one wants to withdraw, let's all go in together. Whether we live or die is none of your business. Once inside, you can live or die as you please. Everyone can accept their fate and no one can blame anyone else."

Bai Zhong frowned, not answering, as he pondered the meaning of those words.

"Heh." Gu Mu Yin said, "The Ruins have a maximum capacity, and we don't know how many people we'll need next. Since everyone here is a military man, I can send my strongest subordinate, along with elite troops, and we'll be guaranteed a victory."

Rising Dusk King shrugged and said, "I've already said that life and death are predestined, and wealth and honor are determined by fate. You can send your strongest troops and your strongest subordinates, and so can I. So it all comes down to who plays the better game. Anyway, one thing is for sure: if you die, don't blame anyone else."

After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

Both Gu Mu Yin and Bai Zhong knew in their hearts that this was the best solution at the moment.

As for them going in on their own, that's simply impossible; they would never go in on their own.

If they really went in on their own, the other side could take advantage of this time to launch a large-scale invasion. Without them in charge, wouldn't they be leaving their rear vulnerable to others? No one would do something so counterproductive.

Rising Dusk King's tone turned unfriendly. "What are you dawdling about? If you're a man, give me a straight answer: are you willing or not?"

Bai Zhong and Gu Mu Yin came to their senses.

Gu Mu Yin suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed to a spot. "I agree with what you said, but on one condition: he can't go in."

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze followed the direction Gu Mu Yin pointed and fell upon a handsome young man.

Xu Bai had been observing from the sidelines, but now that the fire was burning him, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you mean?"

He was still figuring out how to get in and make some money, but now it seemed the other party didn't want him to go in.

Gu Mu Yin's tone was icy. "Do you think I don't know your identity, King Xu, or Blood Slaughtering Saber Wielder?"

"Fuck your mother!" Xu Bai cursed without hesitation.

They've become hostile forces, and now they're still calling him by that nickname? Who else should they insult but him? "Hiss..."

On the side of the Supreme Tribe, the people of that tribe all gasped in shock.

This is the deputy leader of the Supreme Tribe. To put it bluntly, his status is equivalent to that of Rising Dusk King. Yet now he has been insulted by a young man, and insulted so directly, with him hurling insults at the slightest provocation.

Even in the Great Yue Kingdom, many generals gave Xu Bai a look that conveyed the message that he was truly a warrior.

Huh? Something's not right?

Some people realized what was happening and remembered the identity that Gu Mu Yin had referred to as Xu Bai earlier.

King Xu? The Blood Slaughtering Saber Wielder? Holy crap!

Now everyone present understood.

Gu Mu Yin was suddenly scolded, and he was completely dumbfounded. He couldn't understand why he was being scolded, so he put his hand on the long sword at his waist.

The knife had a faint dark red hue, clearly indicating that it had killed countless people.

In his entire life, who would dare to insult him except for those of equal rank? Before he could retaliate, another voice rang out.

"Damn you!" Xu Bai continued cursing. "You old bastard, what are you looking at? What do you want?"

As he spoke, Xu Bai led his horse closer to Rising Dusk King.

Are you kidding me? We're all enemies anyway, so what's wrong with exchanging a few insults? Besides, with Rising Dusk King here, how could anything possibly happen to me?

He hadn't forgotten that these Barbarian Tribe had sent a tribe's expert to assassinate him. They'd already made it clear. What was wrong with hurling a few insults? Rising Dusk King stared at Gu Mu Yin and slowly said, "You want to make a move?"

Gu Mu Yin took a deep breath and finally calmed herself down.

At this moment, Bai Zhong, who was standing next to him, finally spoke.

"So it's King Xu. I was blind just now and didn't see King Xu presence. Since it is King Xu, then we really cannot go in."

Xu Bai raised an eyebrow.

Bai Zhong continued, "Everyone in the world knows about King Xu's ability to fight beyond his level. We are all members of the military, and there is a limit to the number of people we can take to the Ruins. Moreover, the area is relatively isolated, so there are limitations to summoning the power of the military formation remotely. If King Xu goes in, what will become of our people?"

After he finished speaking, he stopped talking, clearly indicating that he and Gu Mu Yin were on the same side in this regard.

The Ruins are relatively isolated, and each Ruins has a different limit on the number of people allowed, which is especially unfair to those in the military formation.

Unless one has attained sainthood, one cannot summon the power of a military formation remotely from within.

But they simply cannot send someone of that caliber in. If they did, the outside would lose a true expert, and at that point, even if one side had a Qidian motive, the situation on this Border Pass would change.

Therefore, Xu Bai absolutely cannot be let in at this time. They all know that if Xu Bai is let in, he will be killed indiscriminately with a knife.

Xu Bai's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. Just as he was about to speak, Rising Dusk King raised his hand to stop him.

"Very well! I agree." King Rising Dusk King said calmly.

Xu Bai stopped, not saying what he was going to say next, but his mind was racing.

He was thinking about what had just been said. Although he didn't know why he had suddenly agreed, when Rising Dusk King was speaking, he gave him a wink, meaning to tell him to calm down.

In other words, there should be a way to deal with the situation, but for now, we should agree to it as a temporary measure.

"Good, that's great!" Bai Zhong said, "In that case, everyone should retreat first, and we'll come back in a day. But let me make this clear beforehand: anyone who dares to go in first, don't blame us for joining forces."

Neither Rising Dusk King nor Gu Mu Yin spoke, clearly indicating their agreement.

Then everyone turned their troops around and left.

Xu Bai remained silent throughout the journey, not even after arriving at the military camp.

Just as he handed the reins to Chu Yu, Rising Dusk King came over, gently patted his shoulder, and gave him a wink, signaling him to come along.

Xu Bai nodded and silently followed behind, soon entering the Camp Tent of Rising Dusk King.

Before he could even speak after entering, he heard footsteps behind him, followed by a middle-aged woman carrying a Wooden Box around her waist.

Not only that, Chu Yu also came in.

Although the middle-aged woman was old, one could still see the remarkable beauty she had in her youth. She carried a small Wooden Box around her waist, Wooden Box was locked and clearly very valuable.

Chu Yu casually pulled the curtain closed, walked up to Xu Bai, and winked at him.

Xu Bai was taken aback, not understanding what this meant.

At this moment, Rising Dusk King spoke up, "Let me introduce you. This is the Thousand Faces Female Thief. After I rescued her, she has been working under my command ever since. She is skilled at changing her appearance and has made many contributions to the Great Chu Kingdom by using this ability."

Finally, Rising Dusk King added, "From now on, we'll rely on her."

Thousand Faces Female Thief?

A complete makeover?

In an instant, Xu Bai understood what Rising Dusk King meant. Good heavens, this time he was planning a switcheroo.

By using the method of changing one's appearance, one can become a completely different person, and then there won't be any problems at all, right? Brilliant, truly brilliant.

Not only is he tall, but he is also extremely cunning. No wonder he is Rising Dusk King. He may look like a brute, but he is actually full of evil intentions.

But... why did Chu Yu come here?

Xu Bai asked in confusion, "Does Chu Yu also want to go in?"

He already knew that there was a limit to the number of people allowed to enter the Ruins, and maximizing that limit was the most important thing.

If Chu Yu went in with her, that would be correct.

He thought his guess was correct, but before he could finish speaking, Rising Dusk King shook his head.

"I will not let her in. After all, if she goes in and you disappear again, things could get complicated," Rising Dusk King said slowly.

Xu Bai was speechless. "I get it, you want her to impersonate me, right?"

The meaning is clear: if Xu Bai suddenly disappeared, it would arouse suspicion. Therefore, having someone impersonate Xu Bai would at least prevent others from suspecting him.

And who is most suitable to impersonate Xu Bai? It has to be Chu Yu. After all, Chu Yu once lived with Xu Bai and knows Xu Bai usual actions and expressions very well.

Xu Bai laughed and said, "Not bad, not bad. As expected of Prince, you think things through so perfectly. I really admire you. Since I, Chu Yu, am pretending to be me, then who am I pretending to be?"

The plan was clearly sound, and he was able to get in smoothly, so he was in a great mood.

The thought of the progress bar inside makes me even happier.

Rising Dusk King pointed at Chu Yu, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Xu Bai froze, and said uncertainly, "I... impersonate Chu Yu?"

When he saw Rising Dusk King nod, clearly indicating that this was the case, he felt as if struck by lightning.

Chu Yu was displeased and grabbed Xu Bai's sleeve, saying with dissatisfaction, "What's wrong with dressing up as me? Am I not pretty?"

Xu Bai grinned. "That's not what I meant. Actually, it's pretty good."

Actually, disguising oneself is quite normal. It's not like you've really changed; it's just a simple disguise. You can change back completely once you're inside.

Rising Dusk King coughed and said, "Since you've agreed, let's begin."

Xu Bai laughed and said, "We don't need to worry about body shape."

As he spoke, he used the Thousand Faces Technique.

The next moment, his body shape changed to be exactly the same as Chu Yu's, and even his face was exactly the same as Chu Yu's.

Upon seeing this, Chu Yu's mouth gaped slightly. She circled Xu Bai twice and exclaimed in surprise, "You can even do this!"

Not only Chu Yu, but even Rising Dusk King was full of surprise. He had never expected that Xu Bai would know this.

"If you had only focused on one thing, you'd probably be close to me by now. What a pity," Rising Dusk King said with some regret.

The Thousand Faces Female Thief also witnessed this scene and couldn't help but cover her mouth. "This is the Thousand Faces Technique. King Xu is truly astonishing."

Xu Bai stroked his chin and said, "Do I think I can fool them like this?"

To be honest, he was still not confident, after all, the other two were on the same level as Rising Dusk King.

Seeing another "Chu Yu" making the same movements as Xu Bai seemed extremely strange.

Chu Yu, in particular, had her eyes darting around, thinking to herself, "If Xu Bai turned into me, and I turned into Xu Bai, and then... oh dear, how embarrassing!"

Feeling guilty, she cautiously glanced around, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that no one had noticed anything amiss.

The Thousand Faces Female Thief smiled, opened the wooden box next to her, took out two masks, and handed them to Chu Yu and Xu Bai.

"There is indeed a problem with his appearance, but as long as he wears a mask, they shouldn't be able to tell. After all, I'm a professional. If King Xu can change his body shape himself, then I don't need to do anything. After all, changing body shape isn't difficult."

Xu Bai looked at the mask in his hand with a hint of curiosity.

The mask is very smooth, without any facial features, and feels cool to the touch, with a very good texture.

After he put it on his face, he felt a wriggling sensation. Soon he found a mirror and discovered that he had transformed into Chu Yu's appearance.

The Thousand Faces Female Thief smiled and said, "This is a family heirloom of our lineage. It can be changed into any shape you want, and it will be difficult for others to detect. King Xu will need to return it to me later."

"That's natural," Xu Bai said.

On the other side, Chu Yu also put on a mask and transformed into Xu Bai's appearance, but her figure remained unchanged, still with those curvaceous features, making her look very strange.

Xu Bai's lips twitched, his gaze lingering on Chu Yu's incredibly impressive chest, and he said, "You need to change your appearance; it's too big."

"Leave it to me," said the Thousand Faces Female Thief.

Soon, Chu Yu left with the Thousand Faces Female Thief.

After about half an incense stick's time, he had transformed into Xu Bai in both physique and appearance.

"Hmm, very good." Rising Dusk King said with a smile, "In that case, even if they have extraordinary abilities, they won't know my plan. They are doomed this time in the Ruins."

With that, Rising Dusk King waved his hand.

"You may all leave now. Xu Bai, please stay. I have some things to say to him."

With that, Chu Yu and the Thousand Faces Female Thief did not stop and quickly left. Xu Bai watched Chu Yu leave, imitating his walking posture, and couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty.

This Chu Yu is quite good at imitating; it seems she has observed a lot in her daily life.

After the two left, Rising Dusk King looked at Xu Bai.

He first explained the rules of the Ruins, including how to get out.

Actually, the method is very simple: it will appear naturally when the time comes.

Each Ruins has existed for a certain period of time, which is the only way to find it, and the time of existence for each Ruins is not fixed.

After saying all that, Rising Dusk King began the main event.

"This time, although you will be able to enter, we must still be careful. The main reason I kept you here is to talk to you about the Thought Gods within the Ruins." Rising Dusk King's tone became solemn.

Xu Bai nodded, patiently waiting for what was to come.

The Thought Gods is a unique entity, distinct from the supernatural, and is a product of the Ruins.

These kinds of beings possess consciousness, specifically the consciousness they had in their previous life, and they live according to the path they followed in their previous life.

However, as the Ruins unfold, they gradually lose their rationality and eventually become terrifying beings.

Xu Bai was naturally curious about something so novel.

Rising Dusk King didn't waste any time. He first explained the special nature of the Thought Gods, and then added, "The only thing you need to be careful about is not to kill these Thought Gods as soon as you meet them, but to make contact with them."

"Contact?" Xu Bai frowned.

Why would there be any need to come into contact with something so bizarre?

Rising Dusk King nodded and said, "That's right. Do you know that once you encounter Thought Gods, everyone who enters the Ruins will want to make contact with them? This is because they still retain the rationality they had in life. By making contact with them, you can learn about what happened in the past and deduce a lot of resources from it."

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai's face showed a look of sudden realization.

If that's the case, it's quite possible. After all, one could gain a lot from communicating with something conscious.

However, the danger involved is considerable, because you never know when Thought Gods might lose his mind.

They might be communicating with you one second, but the next second they could become a terrifying presence.

"This time, I will send some soldiers to accompany us and fill all the spots to avoid arousing their suspicion," Rising Dusk King continued.

Xu Bai was still thinking about how to gain some benefits next, but after hearing this, his brows furrowed tightly and did not relax.

"Your Prince, if that's the case, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you inside."

He felt free to go in alone, but when he added the Rising Dusk Army, he felt as if he were being restrained.

Rising Dusk King shook his head. "You don't need to take care of them. They are also going in to find their own opportunities. You just need to follow your own ideas."

Since he wanted to seek opportunities, he had to be prepared to risk his life. Obviously, Rising Dusk King had made this preparation. The people he sent in were also seeking opportunities and would not be a hindrance to Xu Bai.

"Just do it my way?" Xu Bai rubbed his chin and laughed, "What if I go in and kill all the Barbarian Tribe and people from the Great Yue Kingdom?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Rising Dusk King's lips twitched slightly.

"As long as you don't kill your own people, it doesn't matter if you kill the enemy. Once you're in that place, life and death are in the hands of fate, and wealth and honor are determined by heaven."

Believe it or not, Xu Bai actually had this idea.

Even if they are enemies, he won't care about other people's lives. Just like in a real battle, others won't show mercy just because of his words.

When dealing with enemies, one must never be soft-hearted; if one is, one will only invite self-destruction.

From the moment Xu Bai entered this circle, none of his enemies ever left alive.

He's not the protagonist in those novels, nor does he have the protagonist's halo to protect him, so he can't do the stupid things that protagonists do.

Especially in the Ruins, where there are mysterious and unpredictable Thought Gods, one cannot be careless. Leaving a few enemies by one's side would only cause trouble for oneself.

"Could it be... that you really intend to go in and start killing?" Seeing Xu Bai's actions at this moment, Rising Dusk King already felt that what Xu Bai had just said did not seem like a lie.

Xu Bai recovered and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I would never lay a hand on my own people. I'm not that heartless."

Rising Dusk King's lips twitched slightly.

Why does this kid give me the impression that he's particularly unreliable?

But thinking about it carefully, if we go in and wipe out the other two forces, that would be great too.

"Then I will inform you tomorrow. We will head over in the morning, and it should be soon," said Rising Dusk King.

The timing of Ruins is quite accurate; if it can be calculated, there will be absolutely no difference.

Xu Bai nodded in agreement and was about to return when he suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, "Your Prince, do you have any advanced cultivation techniques here?"

Rising Dusk King slightly taken aback. He felt that Xu Bai's perspective had jumped a bit too far. They were just discussing the Ruins, and now it had turned into a mental cultivation technique.

However, after hearing Xu Bai's question, he seemed to have thought of something.

"I've acquired quite a few spoils of war from the fighting here on weekdays. I have a relatively high-level cultivation manual here. I sent the lower-level ones to the Capital City, but this one was kept because of some special reasons."

Although he didn't know why Xu Bai asked this, Rising Dusk King was instantly reminded of his memories and realized that he did indeed have a cultivation manual, but this manual was very strange.

"Oh?" Xu Bai's eyes lit up and he said, "Your Prince, since you're keeping it, why don't you just give it to me? If you want anything in exchange, I'll give you everything I have."

The mental cultivation technique is exactly what I lack right now, since it contains two extremely high-level skills that consume a great deal of my True Yuan Power.

If you can improve the level of your inner cultivation technique, you can improve your overall strength, and using those two skills will also reduce the energy consumption.

Of course, we still have to say something, after all, no one gives things to you for free these days, and things given away for free are actually the most expensive.

"I don't want anything from you." King Rising Dusk King didn't seem to want anything from Xu Bai. He turned around and went to a cabinet. He rummaged through it for a while and finally took out a book and handed it to Xu Bai: "However, you have the personality of a merchant. You see everything very directly. How about this, this trip into the Ruins is your reward in advance."

Xu Bai stared intently at the book in front of him, and soon noticed the golden progress bar on it.

The speed is slow, but it's still much faster than the sword manual and the previous lotus technique.

Xu Bai was certain that it was definitely something from the Transcendent Realm, but whether it was from the Extraordinary Realm was uncertain.

The cultivation techniques are extremely precious and rare. Now that there is one, Xu Bai will not stand on ceremony and will put it away.

He recalled what Rising Dusk King had said earlier and couldn't help but ask, "Your Prince just said that this cultivation method is very special. What exactly makes it special?"

Rising Dusk King said, "I send all the good things I acquire to the Capital City, since the Border Pass doesn't need any secret manuals or the like. But this thing is kept by me for a very special reason."

"If you want to take a look, feel free to look, but whatever you do, do not practice it, because this is a book about summoning gods."

Xu Bai was still listening when he heard those words and froze on the spot.

He couldn't understand the books about invoking gods, especially since he didn't know the purpose of this profession.

In his previous life, he had heard of these two words, but he didn't know what "summoning gods" meant in this world.

Rising Dusk King explained, "The so-called 'inviting gods' is to invite something to attach to one's body to enhance one's strength, but no one knows exactly what is being invited, not even those in this profession."

"Moreover, this profession has now disappeared, and this book is the only one left."

Xu Bai fell into deep thought.

Invoking the gods?

Moreover, they don't even know what they're inviting, which makes it a bit mysterious, since they don't even know the profession itself, adding to the mystery.

"Is this profession extinct?" Xu Bai asked.

Rising Dusk King shook his head and said, "I don't know either. It just disappeared inexplicably and has never appeared again."

Having failed to obtain the information he sought—information Rising Dusk King was unaware of— Xu Bai stared at the progress bar in his hand, deep in thought.

After a moment, he figured it out. Since there was a progress bar, he might as well give it a try. With the cheat code, he might be able to discover a lot of secrets after the fusion.

Having discussed everything and acquired a secret manual, Xu Bai didn't linger and turned to leave.

"You'll stay in Chu Yu's Camp Tent tonight, since you're Chu Yu now," Rising Dusk King added.

Xu Bai agreed and did not return to his own Camp Tent. Instead, he went to Chu Yu's Camp Tent. After entering, he lay down on Chu Yu's bed and took out the book again, carefully working on the progress bar.

He was really interested in this book about invoking the gods, especially the section on mental techniques, which greatly piqued his interest.

If there are any special features or disadvantages, it doesn't really matter.

After all, this is just a mental cultivation method, not other skills. He doesn't know how to use it. At most, he can only integrate it with his own mental cultivation method. Even if he learns it, without the corresponding skills, he can't summon gods.

Integration means improvement, and improvement means being able to use the Blade Sword Three Absolutes and the Undying Demon Soul Buddha Body more effectively.

From any perspective, it is beneficial to oneself.

The night was getting deeper and deeper, but Xu Bai couldn't sleep and continued to painstakingly study the progress bar.

The next day.

As the first rays of sunlight shone in the morning, Xu Bai had already gotten up and followed the army of Rising Dusk King to the Third Watch River, which they had visited before.

He didn't bring the first-grade puppet with him, but instead had it stay by Chu Yu's side, who had now become his own.

After all, his status is different now, so he doesn't plan to bring the first-grade puppet into this operation.

On the other side of the Third Watch River, three groups of people had gathered, facing each other without saying a word, clearly waiting for the Ruins to appear.

Xu Bai transformed into Chu Yu's appearance and waited patiently.

Time passed gradually, and after about half an hour, something unusual finally appeared in the surroundings.