Yellow Sand Natives

Bai Xiaowen had also evaluated the Classic of Supreme Emptiness.

"As a Profession Codex from a Huaxia background, the Classic of Supreme Emptiness seems vastly different from other types of Profession Codices. It is also completely out of place with the Star Alliance's—and even the universe's—higher-level backdrop."

Having reached the level of a High-Tier Evolutionary, gradually come into contact with the world of the Chosen, and now becoming involved in the contest between Deities, Bai Xiaowen felt this sense of being "out of place" more and more keenly.

Put simply, every Deity governed a certain aspect of Law Authority. The Sea God likely governed the ocean, the Winter God cold, the God of Fire flames, the God of Shadows Shadow Space, the God of Truth leaned toward the mastery of knowledge, and the Death God ruled over the undead.

These judgments were based on the God-given Abilities displayed by each Chosen, so they naturally possessed a certain degree of accuracy.

Most Profession Codices produced by Plane Worlds with Western Mythology or Magic Backgrounds also fit within this system of "Law Authority." For example, the "Prophecy Class" Codex produced by the Black Tide Plane corresponded to the God of Prophecy, while magic codices corresponded to the God of Magic. Even Elves, corresponding to the God of Elves, were a species rooted in Western fantasy backgrounds.

By comparison, Ancient Huaxia Profession Codices seemed unrelated to Law Authority. They placed greater emphasis on the Immortal Cultivation Path of "Unity of Heaven and Man." Since cultivating the Classic of Supreme Emptiness, Bai Xiaowen had never figured out what kind of godhood path this codex corresponded to.

From the Nascent Soul of before to his current Astral Projection, these all seemed to be cultivation realms unique to Ancient Huaxia. Then the end of the Classic of Supreme Emptiness was most likely Tribulation Transcendence to Immortality?

But where were the immortals? In this grand feast at the Land of Origin, he had not seen a trace of any immortal.

What, exactly, was the difference between Law Deities and Huaxia Immortals?

In Bai Xiaowen's view, Law Deities placed greater emphasis on "qualification" and "authority." The crucial point was "divinity." Losing one's divinity meant perishing, while a mortal who gradually acquired and controlled divinity could become a Law Deity.

What was divinity? At this point, Bai Xiaowen was qualified to give the clearest definition:

Divinity was "access permission" within a certain domain.

If the myriad things of the universe were compared to a colossal program, then the Creation God—or Creator—was the program's Writer and holder of the highest authority. The Demon God, Death God, and the other Deities beneath him were holders of permissions over corresponding "subroutine" domains. The manifestation of those permissions was "divinity."

However, inheriting divinity—that was, the corresponding "access permission"—was no easy matter. One had to constantly study and accumulate knowledge, just as Bai Xiaowen had gradually assembled the Divinity of the Death God and continuously learned the knowledge contained within it.

What about Ancient Huaxia Immortals? They had no divinity and did not condense divinity. Instead, they had taken another path, one whose key principles Bai Xiaowen could not yet summarize.

Perhaps the focus of that path was self-cultivation and continuously breaking through one's limits. Perhaps it was Unity of Heaven and Man, sensing the Great Dao. But it had nothing to do with "access permission."

"I'm still human. I haven't taken that final step to become the Death God..."

After glancing at the "Humanoid/Human Race" entry in the second column of his Personal Panel, Bai Xiaowen closed it.

"We're about to reach the Core Star Region."

Qiao Liqun's voice came from beside him, carrying a trace of exhaustion. "I don't know why, but the closer we get to the Core Star Region, the more hostile the Native Creatures become. They are even appearing in groups, as if someone is commanding them."

Bai Xiaowen smiled and said seriously, "I think they're targeting me. Senior Qiao, why don't you go on ahead? You'll definitely reach the innermost Core Star Region with ease."

Qiao Liqun shook his head. "No. My God's instruction to me was that I must bring you there safely."

After a pause, Qiao Liqun added, "Actually, as long as you choose to become a god, these Native Monsters, at most Divine Bloodline Grade, would never dare offend you... I don't know what you're hesitating over."

"Senior Qiao, did the God of Truth ever tell you... what would happen after I became a god?"

Qiao Liqun shook his head and said in astonishment, "You'd Sweep all the way to the Central Hub... What other result could there be?"

Bai Xiaowen carefully observed Qiao Liqun's expression and found that he truly was not pretending.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaowen did not explain further. He merely smiled and said, "Senior Qiao, just take it as me being willful. I still want to be a 'human' for a little longer. Leave any enemies that appear next to me."

Qiao Liqun let out a breath and smiled. "Fine. You brat, you really won't do without a little pressure. Don't underestimate the Native Monsters near the Inner Star Region. If you feel you can't hold on, become a god immediately."

Bai Xiaowen sat cross-legged and closed his eyes in Meditation.

Before long, he had located the Teleportation Gate on this planet. This was a wide-range search with his divine sense, something he could do after the Classic of Supreme Emptiness advanced to Level 17 and granted him the ability of Astral Projection. Now that he was Level 19, the range of his divine sense had expanded enormously. Covering one-tenth of the planet's surface in a single search was no problem.

It was no longer an ability on the same level as Spirit Sense Detection or an Awakened's Spirit Power Detection.

After confirming the location, the two advanced across the yellow sand.

The lowest-ranking Native Monsters on this Yellow Sand Planet were Scorpion Monsters called "Crystal Thorn," and their strength was... High King Rank.

That was right. The lowest-ranking and most numerous Crystal Thorn Scorpion Monsters were all at this level.

Furthermore, Crystal Thorns lived in groups.

Each group was led by a Scorpion Mother, whose strength was genuinely at Divine Bloodline Grade.

The Rock Carapaces of these Scorpion Monsters could block most physical damage. Moreover, due to the Yellow Sand Planet's unique geographical environment, their Rock Carapaces were inlaid with glass-like Crystal Armor Plates. While providing substantial spell resistance, these plates even granted them the innate ability to reflect spells.

They feared neither physical nor magical attacks. Even powerful Chosen had to avoid their edge when encountering multiple Crystal Thorns.

What stood before Bai Xiaowen was not merely a few Crystal Thorns, but several large groups!

The dense black mass numbered several hundred, including no fewer than ten Divine Bloodline Grade Scorpion Mothers.

"My god."

Qiao Liqun sighed. "These Scorpion Monsters seem to know our objective. They've surrounded the Planet Teleportation Gate... This time, we can't avoid the battle through spatial teleportation."

"I told you. Leave it to me."

There was no unnecessary expression on Bai Xiaowen's face as he directly mounted the Silver Throne.

Naturally, he would not open with his ultimate move. He would only test them first.

He used Lightning Strike to probe them while protecting himself with Mind Power Armor. When faced with volleys of Crystal Thorn Needles from the huge mass of Scorpion Monsters that exceeded the defensive limit of the Mind Power Armor, he evaded with the Shape Shift Dao Technique.

After several Lightning Strikes, Bai Xiaowen had already figured out these Scorpion Monsters' weaknesses.

Then, Bai Xiaowen slightly closed his eyes. His divine sense Swept across them, and every Scorpion Monster present, every minute movement they made, was imprinted in his mind. Within his mind, he constructed a miniature holographic battlefield.

High-level skill of Grand Duke's Art of War—War Deduction!

Heavenly Origin Thunder!

After a brief buildup, a Thunderstorm Cloud took shape.

Then, blinding lightning split into thousands upon thousands of lightning serpents that twisted down from the sky!

Qiao Liqun was dumbfounded.

From his perspective, he could see clearly:

Every lightning serpent precisely struck a Scorpion Monster.

Moreover, the lightning serpents seemed alive. Their landing points were exceptionally tricky, striking directly into the gaps between the Scorpion Monsters' Crystal Armor Plates and burrowing along those gaps into their bodies.

With that, the spell resistance and even spell-reflection talent the Scorpion Monsters gained from their inlaid Crystal Armor Plates became completely useless!