Bai Yuantang's Third Thought Projection

Bai Xiaowen sucked in a cold breath.

This Ninja Turtle was still technically "alive," but he could not make any movements.

He could only wait for the Rubik's Cube Grids to shift again. If he was lucky, when the grids connected once more, his head would return to its original position.

That was assuming no one attacked his head or body during that time.

Bai Xiaowen looked at the Ninja Turtle's Headless Body and raised his hand, lightning energy gathering within his palm.

"Wait!"

A wave of thought came from the Ninja Turtle's Headless Body.

The other party's voice was urgent. "Don't destroy my body! I'm begging you!"

This mental wave surprised Bai Xiaowen slightly. It seemed that having his head separated from his body only prevented this Ninja Turtle from moving; he could still communicate with the outside world.

What surprised Bai Xiaowen most was that only the Ninja Turtle's Headless Body was before him. Its head had moved along with the grid just now and was already ten kilometers away. Yet the Headless Body could still transmit thought waves.

Bai Xiaowen tilted his head. "Give me a reason not to kill you."

The Ninja Turtle's Headless Body said, "I can pay for my life! I haven't gotten any Divine Artifact Fragments yet, but I have plenty of Spirit Crystals, as well as a Divinity Core..."

Bai Xiaowen said gravely, "Wait. I don't want your Spirit Crystals, but I want to ask you some questions! You must answer truthfully."

In this bizarre Cube Area, intelligence was the most important thing.

The Ninja Turtle said, "Of course, of course!"

"First, tell me why you three Turtle God Chosen Ones were guarding this Rubik's Cube Grid. What is hidden here?"

With his life in Bai Xiaowen's hands, the Ninja Turtle answered smoothly, "We received a Divine Decree! A very important Altar will appear here at a certain time. We are supposed to take the item on the Altar and then destroy it!"

"A crucial Altar... whose Altar is it?" Bai Xiaowen demanded.

"I don't know, but according to the three of us, it should be closely related to the God of Prophecy. This is inside His temple, after all!" the Ninja Turtle cried.

"What are you supposed to take?" Bai Xiaowen asked.

"I don't know... The Turtle God only said to take an item. He didn't tell us what that item was!"

Bai Xiaowen frowned. "You don't know anything, yet you expect me to spare your life?"

Hearing the impatience in Bai Xiaowen's voice, the Ninja Turtle shouted, "Wait! I know more important information, about this Prophecy Temple!"

"Speak."

The Ninja Turtle said, "It is said that an Eye of Prophecy is hidden within this Prophecy Temple! It is supposedly the God of Prophecy's Origin Divine Artifact, and it can sense the locations of fragments of other Divine Artifacts! As long as one obtains the Eye of Prophecy, one can continuously find Divine Artifact Fragments and assemble large numbers of complete Divine Artifacts..."

"Hmm..."

Bai Xiaowen narrowed his eyes.

But just as Bai Xiaowen was pondering this, a gigantic Dark Tide suddenly surged up in the center of the river grid! It was as though an invisible hand was lifting it, raising it higher and higher.

"There! The Altar is about to appear!" the Ninja Turtle cried. "I didn't lie to you. You believe me now, right?"

Bai Xiaowen abandoned the Ninja Turtle and flew rapidly toward the center of the river grid.

Lifted by the surging Dark Tide, a Black Altar slowly rose.

The moment Bai Xiaowen saw the Altar, a familiar feeling arose in his heart. The Runes carved into its four walls were exactly the same as those in the Trial Grounds he had entered when he had first stepped into the world of Evolutionists! It was in those Trial Grounds that Bai Xiaowen had encountered the first thought projection left behind by his father, Bai Yuantang.

After examining it carefully, Bai Xiaowen stepped onto the Altar.

A beam of gentle light enveloped him.

That familiar voice rang out again. "You finally came."

Within the white light, Bai Yuantang's figure flickered in and out of view. This time, he did not enter Bai Xiaowen's sea of consciousness, but manifested directly before him.

"Dad." Bai Xiaowen called out, then smiled. "I thought the crucial Altar the Turtle God wanted to destroy was something important. I didn't expect it to be the third thought projection you left behind."

"Just a stupid turtle. Though it is quite powerful, it cannot compare to me when it comes to using its brain."

Bai Yuantang smiled casually. "This Altar only appears when it senses the Eye of Evolution. In other words, it could only appear after you arrived. The Turtle God had three Chosen Ones lying in wait here for nothing more than to hand you easy kills."

"The Turtle God is our enemy too." Bai Xiaowen sought confirmation.

Bai Yuantang nodded slightly, then shook his head. "In the Land of Origin, the Chosen of all other Deities are your enemies. This is a winner-takes-all gamble. Other than the sole lucky winner, everyone else will leave empty-handed. So remember this: temporary cooperation is fine, but never trust others too easily."

"Understood." Bai Xiaowen said, "This should be your final thought projection. What instructions do you have?"

"They are not instructions, merely a small convenience I have provided for you," Bai Yuantang said with a smile. "I left behind a Titan Star Chart and mapped out a route for you within it... Follow this route, and you will find the Central Hub."

"This... is this cheating?" Bai Xiaowen asked in astonishment.

"That's right, but you aren't the only one cheating," Bai Yuantang said. "With the Land of Origin opening this time, all the Deities have formed temporary alliances and are working to calculate the optimal route to the Central Hub. At critical moments, the Deities will each find one or more elite Chosen Ones in whom they place great hopes and give them route maps. The other Cannon Fodder Chosen Ones do not receive such treatment."

"So... the number of people competing with me will be greatly reduced, but every competitor will be very strong?" Bai Xiaowen asked.

"Correct. Moreover, the optimal routes often converge by different paths. You may not encounter them at first, but as you draw closer to the Central Hub, the chances of encountering other elite Chosen Ones will grow higher and higher. More and more battles will accompany that."

Bai Xiaowen nodded and drew a breath.

He understood that the route Bai Yuantang had found for him might not be the best, but it would certainly be safer and more efficient than wandering around blindly on his own.

Still, Bai Xiaowen felt somewhat lacking in confidence when it came to facing the top Chosen Ones head-on. He had been an Evolutionist for far too short a time. Compared to a century-old monster like Qiao Liqun, there was still a gap. Not to mention the alien Chosen Ones.

Bai Yuantang seemed to see his concerns and said with a smile, "Don't worry. I left you a key planet in the Star Chart... As long as you go to that planet, find that item, and complete the final fusion, no matter how strong a Chosen One is, they will not be your match—unless a Deity personally enters the fray."