Library of Heaven’s Path

“There sure is a lot of good stuff here!”

Advancing alongside Luo Qiqi, within just four hours of flight, the treasures that he had gathered were already comparable to what he had earned in the Firmament over the past month.

He had been selling batch after batch of Beauty Pills and Breakthrough Pills nonstop, resulting in him accruing a great fortune. Yet, he had managed to earn the same amount within four hours…

This was how valuable the treasures in the Flooding Sea were.

However, that was largely due to Zhang Xuan’s powerful soul. Because of that, he was able to perceive his surroundings with greater clarity, and the area that his senses covered also far surpassed that of other cultivators.

The other Conferred God Kings surely would not be able to find the treasures as efficiently as he did.

Amid the barren land filled with shattered stones, there were quite a few precious medicinal herbs growing, and every stalk of them would be worth a fortune in the markets of the Firmament. There were also ores, metal…

By refining these items, he would be able to forge even God King realm pills and weapons.

“But these items aren’t very useful to me…” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

It was true that these medicinal herbs were valuable, but even pinnacle God Essence Pills were not of much use to him anymore. Unless he could obtain something beyond that level, he would not be able to raise his zhenqi cultivation any further.

“There is land ahead…”

As they flew a little further, they realized that there was land ahead of them.

It would be tempting to call it an island, but it seemed to cover a massive area, such that they could not see the end of it.

What was different about it was that it was actually rich in spiritual energy, and lush plants thrived on the land.

“It could be that when the fissure appeared in the sky, even the land of the Firmament was swept in as well,” Zhang Xuan deduced.

It was due to the size of the fissure in the sky that spiritual energy escaped from it so quickly. It would not be surprising if some land had been swept in as well.

Landing on the ground, Zhang Xuan immediately cast his Spiritual Perception around him, and he could sense that there were innumerable treasures lying all around him. Ores that were rare in the Firmament filled the land, and even a nearby river was made entirely out of condensed spiritual energy.

“There’s someone over there,” Zhang Xuan noted.

There were others who had noticed the place and landed there.

Not too far away from them, there were twelve people, a Conferred God King and eleven God Kings, gathered closely together. They seemed to be discussing something intently with one another.

The other party had noticed them as well and asked, “Friends, would you like to join us?”

“Zhang shi…” Luo Qiqi glanced over.

“Let’s head over.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

They were all there for the same purpose, so there was no need for them to intentionally avoid them.

Walking over, Zhang Xuan realized that the only Conferred God King of the group carried the insignia of the Sky of Cloud Dragon.

“Friends, I am Conferred God King Ao Feng of the Sky of Cloud Dragon,” the Conferred God King introduced himself with a clasped fist.

Zhang Xuan clasped his fist as well to return the greeting.

“We are all here to seek our fortune, but there’s only so much that we can do alone. We are weak in the face of danger. However, if we can put our strength together and look out for one another, there is a lot more that we can do,” Ao Feng said.

The crowd nodded in agreement.

It would indeed be dangerous if they ventured alone as mere God Kings. There were many dimension rifts and traps that were hard to deal with. The slightest carelessness could very well spell their death.

Furthermore, they were not guarding against just the traps from nature. There were Conferred God Kings and God Kings scouring the area to pick on easy targets. It was one thing to find treasure, but it was another thing to take it out of there safely.

For this reason, half of the God Kings and Conferred God Kings who entered the Flooding Sea would end up losing their lives each time around.

“As you know, unless a God King earns the acknowledgement of a God Monarch and overcomes the Trial of Conferment, no matter how they cultivate, they won’t be able to advance their cultivation any further. Their lifespan will be capped at ten thousand years. Once their time is up, that will be the end of them,” Ao Feng said.

The eleven God Kings around him could relate deeply to those words.

The hurdle to becoming a Conferred God King was not one that could be overcome just by cultivating diligently. There were many God Kings in the Firmament that could only live in despair after realizing that there was simply no chance that they could advance any further.

“All of you should have received quite a few treasures from the Flooding Sea already, probably enough for you to push your cultivation up to God King realm pinnacle. But have you thought of what comes beyond that? Your lifespan won’t be increased just because you have reached God King realm pinnacle,” Ao Feng said as he slowly looked at the faces of those gathered around. “The only thing that is in your way is the acknowledgement of a God Monarch!”

“We also know that if we can earn the acknowledgement of a God Monarch and receive their pointers, we should be able to clear the Trial of Conferment easily and possibly become a Conferred God King… But people like us don’t even get the opportunity to meet the God Monarchs, so how can we earn their acknowledgement?” one of the God Kings remarked with a resigned look on his face.

Who did not want to earn the acknowledgment of a God Monarch, the highest existence of the Firmament?

But God Monarchs were lofty beings who lived a world of their own. How could it be easy to catch their eye?

There was once a God King who attempted to amaze a God Monarch by putting on a grand performance, but in the end, what he received was not the acknowledgement of the God Monarch but a slap that condemned him to death.

Ever since then, all cultivators had realized that it was futile to attempt anything excessive before the God Monarchs.

Through years of experience, the God Kings had realized that there were two key factors one had to meet in order to earn the acknowledgement of a God Monarch.

First, one had to be sufficiently talented.

Second, one had to be recommended by someone in power.

Without these two in place, there was nothing they could do that would work.

“I wouldn’t be saying all of this if I didn’t have a way out for you!”

Seeing how he had managed to catch everyone’s attention, Ao Feng said with a chuckle, “The truth is that I have received an order from the Cloud Dragon Monarch. He needs a certain treasure within the Flooding Sea, and if you can help me acquire it, it’ll surely please him greatly. I’m certain that he would be more than willing to listen to any request that you have for him! Whether you want to become his direct disciple or be conferred, it would all be within your grasp!”

“The Cloud Dragon Monarch needs something?”

“Really? Aren’t God Monarchs the strongest existences in the world, such that there is nothing that could move them? It’s hard to believe that there’s something in the world that they need…”

“Can I really take your word for it? As long as we are able to find the treasure that the Cloud Dragon Monarch needs, he’ll take us in as his direct disciple and even confer us?”

Everyone was moved by what Ao Feng was proposing.

The only thing they feared was that the God Monarchs needed nothing.

As long as there was something the God Monarchs wanted, they would be able to catch their attention and please them. Then, it might really be possible for them to receive a conferment!

“May I know what it is that the God Monarch wants?” someone amid the crowd asked.

If it was too difficult to accomplish, such that they might even have to pay their life for it, there would be no point in doing it.

The reason they wanted to be conferred was to lengthen their lifespan and obtain an even higher standing. It would all be meaningless if they lost their lives.

“What the God Monarch wants is a set of Condensed Earth Essence on this land. Due to the concentrated spiritual energy harnessed within it, even someone of my prowess is unable to use it. Only God Monarchs would be able to assimilate it,” Ao Feng said. “However, there are some phantasmagoric spirits protecting the area, so I’m unable to enter it alone. I need your help to acquire it.”

“Phantasmagoric spirits?”

“They’re a unique lifeform that thrive in areas rich in spiritual energy. They don’t have a physical body, and their strength is roughly at the level of a God King, making them hard to deal with. I tried entering the area earlier, but I was stopped outside. However, if we put our strength together, we should be able to overcome their defense easily!” Ao Feng said.

If he could obtain the Condensed Earth Essence by himself, there was no way he would have shared it with anyone else.

However, despite being a Conferred God King, he had found that it was impossible for him to accomplish this task on his own.

“Condensed Earth Essence?” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

He had read about it in the books in Kong shi’s house. Condensed Earth Essence boasted even purer spiritual energy than pinnacle God Essence Pills.

If he could obtain it, there was a good chance that he could push for a breakthrough in his zhenqi cultivation to Conferred God King realm pinnacle in one shot.

A God King amid the crowd asked, “How many phantasmagoric spirits are there? If it’s too dangerous, I’ll have to turn down your request. We would prefer to live our life peacefully in the days ahead…”

“Live your life peacefully in the days ahead?” Ao Feng sneered. “Look at how the Firmament has been faring in the past few decades! With the receding of spiritual energy, competition over cultivation resources is getting more and more intense. Putting aside rising to greater heights, I believe even sustaining your current level is posing to be a problem for most of you. Let me ask you one very direct question. How much longer do you think you have before your fortune runs out?

“The moment you run out of resources and your cultivation starts declining, what do you think your enemies who feared you in the past will do? Do you think that the powers that have backed you so far will continue to back you? Even if I don’t say more, I think most of you should have already gotten my point.”

“This…”

The crowd found themselves at a loss for words.

Cultivation was like going against an upstream river; one could only either advance or regress.

Even staying at the same spot would require a huge amount of cultivation resources. This was similar to how warriors had to train their bodies constantly in order to maintain their level of fitness.

The Firmament was facing an unprecedented shortage of resources, such that even God Kings were having difficulties gathering sufficient resources to maintain their cultivation.

Nearly all God Kings had a massive clan backing them. Once they fell, their clans would fall apart as well. Everything that they had built up to date would fall apart.

“There’s no way to live your life in peace in the current Firmament. You either charge ahead and forge a path for yourself or else back down all the way till there’s nothing left at all. It’s that simple. Even I, as a Conferred God King, am not spared from such a fate!”

Seeing how the crowd had gone silent from his words, Ao Feng changed his tone and sighed deeply before continuing. “I’ll be honest with you. Just two days ago, there was a battle above the moon, and the Heaven Subjugation Monarch… fell!”

“What did you say?”

“The Heaven Subjugation Monarch has died?”

“How did he die? Could it be… the fight with God Monarch Lingxi?”

“Is it even possible for a God Monarch to die?”

Those words caused a huge commotion to erupt from the crowd.

Kong shi and Luo Ruoxin’s battle had taken place on the moon, so other than the God Monarchs and the Conferred God Kings close to them, there was hardly anyone who knew of the news.

The ascension of the Heaven Subjugation Monarch through the ranks had sparked the hopes of many ordinary cultivators. They felt like as long as they worked hard, it was possible for them to become spectacular existences like him!

For this reason, the Heaven Subjugation Monarch was the idol of many cultivators in the Firmament, a figure whom many respected and looked up to.

Many of them had actually been rooting for the Heaven Subjugation Monarch’s victory over God Monarch Lingxi, but who could have known that he would actually lose his life?

If even a God Monarch could lose their life, as mere God Kings, the situation seemed even more desperate for them.

Just like that, the eleven God Kings fell silent, and the atmosphere grew a little stifling.

“I’m not telling you all of this just to scare you,” Ao Feng said. “I am telling you that you need to become stronger in order to survive and protect your clan. The Firmament before us is no longer the same peaceful Firmament we knew.

“I won’t deceive you. There’s indeed some degree of danger when it comes to dealing with the phantasmagoric spirits, but as long as we put our strength together and coordinate well, I am confident that our chances of success exceed ninety percent. There is no better chance than this to turn things around. I have already offered you the opportunity, and it’s your choice if you want to grasp it or not.”

“We still need to think things through a little…”

“Since that’s the case, I’ll offer another alternative to you all.” Seeing that the crowd was still hesitating, Ao Feng added, “As long as you are willing to come along with me, regardless of whether we are able to acquire the Condensed Earth Essence or not, I’ll give you a pinnacle God Essence Pill and owe you a favor as a token of my appreciation. Of course, I’m taking on quite some risk by making this offer, so after we receive the treasure, you need not think about receiving any reward from the God Monarch.”

“This…”

The crowd was stunned for a moment before their eyes glowed in delight.

These eleven God Kings were all unaffiliated cultivators. Some of them belonged to a Sky, but they were not backed by any of the Conferred God Kings. As such, the cultivation resources they had on hand were relatively meager.

A pinnacle God Essence Pill was a staggering fortune to them, and they could receive the favor of a Conferred God King on top of that.

These two were unconditional as long as they agreed to join the team to help him.

On top of that, even though they wouldn’t be able to ask a favor from the Cloud Dragon Monarch if they were to choose this alternative, it was still a good chance for them to catch the Cloud Dragon Monarch’s attention and possibly win his goodwill.

No matter how they looked at it, it didn’t seem to be a bad deal to them.

“Alright, I’ll agree to it then!”

“I agree to it, too!”

…

The key difference between the two offers was that they would not have to fully commit themselves to obtaining the Condensed Earth Essence. Even if they ended up retreating and the mission was a failure, they would still be entitled to the reward.

This was a risk that they could afford to take.

As a result, within just a minute, all eleven God Kings had already made their decisions.

Seeing how he had managed to get their agreement, Ao Feng heaved a sigh of relief internally as he turned to Zhang Xuan and Luo Qiqi and asked, “What about the two of you?”

“I’ll agree to it as well.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

The Condensed Earth Essence was useful to him, so he decided to join the group first before deciding what to do afterward.

“Great! With this, we have formally formed our alliance. From this point on, I have to emphasize that all of you must follow my instructions. I’ll open the option for you to back out until we engage the enemy, but I don’t expect you to abandon us during a critical period. As such an act could put the others at risk, I’ll show no mercy against deserters, understood?” Ao Feng said.

“We understand.”

The crowd nodded in response.

“Alright, let’s go then!”

With the negotiations completed, Ao Feng led the way, and the group followed him closely.

Soon enough, they arrived in the vicinity of a stream.

The spiritual energy in the area was even more concentrated, and the lush greenery rose all the way into the air, blocking off the sky.

Ao Feng pointed forward and said, “The phantasmagoric spirits are right ahead of us.”

The crowd turned their gazes over and saw white mist-like silhouettes drifting around the area.

Those are plant spirits nurtured by the rich spiritual energy in the area! Zhang Xuan thought in realization.

He had been wondering what the heck phantasmagoric spirits were, but it turned out to be just ancient trees and grass gaining consciousness as a result of the rich spiritual energy in the surroundings.

It was rather similar to what had happened to the Pill King.

While these spirits appeared to possess the strength of a God King, due to their limited means, their fighting prowess was extremely weak. However, what made them difficult to deal with was the sheer numbers they came in, such that it was easy to get overwhelmed by them.

Furthermore, as beings that thrived on spiritual energy, they could be said to be indestructible in areas with such concentrated spiritual energy. That made them even more of a hassle to deal with.

“Our goal is to obtain the Condensed Earth Essence and not pit our lives against those phantasmagoric spirits,” Ao Feng said. “Later, I want you to attack from all directions in order to attract the attention of the phantasmagoric spirits. I’ll make use of the chaos to get in, and once I obtain the Condensed Earth Essence, we’ll leave right away!”

“I think it’s a good idea, but what if you run away after obtaining the Condensed Earth Essence without telling us?” a God King said.

They had only just met one another, so it was hard for them to trust each other with their lives.

“Indeed. If you leave us in the lurch after obtaining the Condensed Earth Essence, you’ll be able to avoid paying us and returning the favor. That makes it very risky for us. I don’t think that the plan is feasible,” another God King added.

“What do you suggest then?” Ao Feng frowned after hearing some opposition to what he had proposed.

“We’ll advance and retreat as one!” the God King from before exclaimed.

“Indeed! We’ll advance and retreat as one!”

The rest of the crowd nodded in agreement.

“Such a course of action will indeed make it hard for us to turn against one another, but have you considered the possibility that we might be encircled by the phantasmagoric spirits?” Ao Feng said. “If that happens, not only will we be unable to obtain the Condensed Earth Essence, we could very well lose our lives.”