Mortals get a golden finger for immortal cultivation every year

To enter the Conferred God Platform, one still needs to take a test, which is no problem for Zhao Shuang at all. However, during this test, he encountered an old acquaintance, a spirit artifact, with whom he had some connection.

"I can't believe you're still alive, old man. It's been so many years, and you're still alive? That's quite surprising. But it's also surprising that you haven't become a divine artifact after all these years. It seems your luck isn't very good. I clearly passed on the cultivation method of your artifact spirits to you, but you're still just a supreme holy artifact. Although you're a bit old, you're really too weak. It's surprising that you haven't advanced after all this time. However, your current strength is second only to the gods. But if you want to survive the tribulations to come, the first step is to reach the realm of gods. So what you need to do now is to improve your strength as soon as possible, instead of making things difficult for us juniors."

Facing the old man, Zhao Shuang's words were utterly disparaging. The old man, somewhat helpless in the face of Zhao Shuang's contempt, acknowledged that while he had indeed obtained the cultivation method for their artifact spirits, even so, reaching the divine realm was no easy feat. Artifact spirits possessed lifespans far exceeding those of ordinary beings, even surpassing the lifespans of true dragons and celestial phoenixes. This very reason made further advancement, especially on their own, incredibly difficult. The time, effort, and resources required for each advancement were immense, especially becoming a divine artifact—that was extremely challenging. Becoming a divine artifact was practically impossible even after hundreds of thousands of years; without sufficient materials, it was simply impossible to advance to that level. Otherwise, how could something as powerful as the Kunlun Sword have only possessed ten divine artifacts after so many years?

"Isn't what you're saying a bit excessive, Celestial Venerable? You didn't say that when you first imparted the cultivation technique to me. You valued me highly, believing I could become a divine artifact. But all these years, I've devoted myself to cultivating the technique you taught me, yet I still haven't become a divine artifact. Shouldn't you take some responsibility for this, instead of just blaming an old man like me? Besides, at your age, you shouldn't be considered a junior, right? Even if you've entered reincarnation, you're still not a junior. If you want to go in, then go ahead. Don't waste your breath here. If you don't want to go in and just want to cause trouble, then please leave. It's not that I don't welcome you, but I don't welcome troublemakers. If you're angry and want to destroy this wisp of my soul, that's fine too. After all, my main body is still in deep slumber, so I can't meet you for the time being. I hope you can understand."

"Is this how you speak to the Heavenly Venerable? How rude! You have no manners at all, just like before. When I brought you out of this Conferred God Platform, you seemed quite respectful to me. Now that I've entered reincarnation and become a junior, you treat me so rudely. It's truly disheartening. I never expected to see an old friend like this. It makes me angry and sad. However, what you said is not wrong. Even with the cultivation techniques I taught you, breaking through to the realm of gods and reaching the level of divine artifacts is not an easy task."

"But overcoming the upcoming tribulations won't be easy. Becoming a god is the bare minimum. If you haven't even reached that level, you simply can't survive. Unless you find a place to hide, there won't be a suitable place to hide, because many places might be discovered and affected. In this situation, you can only rely on becoming stronger to have any chance of escaping. If you're unlucky, even a god will only face death. Even someone as strong as me died back then. If I hadn't been lucky enough to enter reincarnation, I would have died long ago, without even the right to reincarnate. So you must work hard too. Don't think about relying on the power of others; it won't help you at all. So you now..." You must also hurry to break through to the realm of a god. Only in this way can you escape the calamity. Only by becoming a divine artifact can you play a greater role in the upcoming tribulations, because every divine artifact is extremely powerful. Only by becoming a divine artifact can you gain a glimmer of hope in the upcoming tribulations. After all, divine artifacts are even rarer than gods. It can be said that even those powerful worlds don't have many divine artifacts. Only in this way can you be valued by those powerful gods and thus gain a glimmer of hope. Of course, you might also be the first to be destroyed in the calamity. So, it all depends on your luck. If you're unlucky and are chosen by those war-loving gods, then you're doomed. For example, the Lord of the Temple of Truth is a battle maniac; even I, as strong as I am, had to be wary of him back then.”

"So you have to be extra careful no matter what, and you absolutely cannot become his weapon. If you do, the consequences would be unimaginable. In short, be extra careful, otherwise I might not see you again next time, which would be too disappointing and painful for me. You are already my oldest friend."

After patting the old man on the shoulder, Zhao Shuang left and headed straight for the Conferred God Platform.

No one knew exactly what Zhao Shuang and the Investiture Platform had discussed. No one dared to eavesdrop, and Zhao Shuang didn't hide his identity from anyone. There was no need to conceal it; although he had many enemies, only a handful could pose a threat or cause him harm, especially among the younger generation. Under these circumstances, there was no need to hide his identity. On the contrary, his arrival terrified the others, who feared he would obtain what they desired.

That would not be a good thing.

When Zhao Shuang entered the Investiture Platform, he was greeted by an unparalleled sight.

It wasn't some celestial abode, but rather a dilapidated building, yet it exuded a grand and ancient aura. Before him stood a blue stone gate, above which was a plaque inscribed with the words "Outer South Garden." Beyond lay an endless expanse of ruins. These ruins were beyond description, but even in their devastation, valuable items were found. However, no one dared touch them, for anything taken from here would generally result in death within three months. Not by human hands, but by a curse that brought immediate demise. Therefore, aside from sacred fruits and medicines, nothing else could be taken out, especially the remaining fragments amidst the ruins.

They are all cursed; anyone who takes them out will meet a bad end.

Even so, the soil here still contains faint purple specks of light, clearly the power of the gods, and this is where the gods once resided. The reason it's considered a divine abode is because Zhao Shuang lived here for a time, attempting to stop the last—no, the one before that—calamity. Ultimately, he failed, leaving the place in ruins. Even ruins contain many treasures, as this was once his home, naturally holding countless riches. This is why he came here; it's his homeland, and he naturally had to return, especially since he had promised Fairy Tianchu.

Soon Zhao Shuang encountered other beings, and these beings were not all human. On the contrary, they came from various worlds and were all kinds of beings from different worlds. However, they were all in human form now. The reason they were in human form was because the human form was the most perfect form, which could do many things and was much stronger than their original forms. However, this strength was relative. If they exposed or used their original forms, they would be even stronger when fighting enemies.

At this moment, these beings were gathered around a pool, numbering in the dozens, all of them top-tier beings. Of course, this was only relative; compared to the Saint King level, they were already very powerful, but not the strongest, merely top-tier beings. The large pool in the center was only a little over a hundred meters in diameter, and in its center stood a white sacred tree, its white color resembling jade carving. On the tree were a dozen—no, dozens—fruits, each radiating a moon-like light, their fragrance intoxicating, tempting one to pluck them, yet none dared to touch them.

Because without a suitable tool to pick it, even if you managed to get it, it would turn into a puddle of water. So no one dared to try it lightly.

As for suitable objects, they would naturally be things formed from the trunk of the Divine Tree. This was no problem for Zhao Shuang at all. As soon as he stepped forward, everyone made way for him. Then they saw that Zhao Shuang had a box in his hand. This box was made from a branch of the World Tree. With one move, he directly picked all forty-odd fruits from the tree, which greatly disappointed the others. They wanted to leave but were reluctant to part with them. Then, a bolder creature spoke up to Zhao Shuang.

"Your Majesty, may we exchange something else for this sacred fruit?"

As soon as the man spoke, the other creatures all looked at Zhao Shuang with expectant eyes. Zhao Shuang naturally had no objection, as the sacred fruit was of little use to him, so he nodded and agreed.

"Of course there won't be any problems. As long as you can provide something suitable, don't worry."

After that, a good deal began, and no one dared to lay a hand on Zhao Shuang. They all respectfully handed over the rare items they carried to Zhao Shuang in exchange for a fruit.

Only one of these fruits can be consumed; consuming a second one will have no effect. Zhao Shuang obtained quite a few good things and then headed to her next destination.

It was a sacred tree, laden with fruit. Zhao Shuang directly harvested all the fruit, disappointing the others. However, some bold individuals still tried to do business with Zhao Shuang, which he naturally accepted, acquiring even more valuable items. Since there were indeed many good things here, he didn't care about getting enough. He continued to pick all the fruit from the sacred tree along the way. Although many people and beings harbored resentment towards Zhao Shuang's actions, they dared not speak out and had to obediently offer their own valuable items in exchange. They needed these fruits to enhance their strength; their primary goal in coming here was to use these fruits to greatly increase their power. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come in the first place. They certainly possessed a considerable amount of valuable items, as those invited were the most outstanding geniuses from various worlds. To come here without such status was simply a joke. They naturally had many good items, some of which even surprised Zhao Shuang, making him marvel at how abundant the world's treasures had become.

So naturally, he didn't hold back and took all these good things, then began to consume them himself or use them for other purposes. Zhao Shuang's gains were countless, making others envious but also too afraid to make a move, because everyone knew that daring to do so would mean certain death.

Zhao Shuang was extremely satisfied with his gains, to say the least, and had no complaints whatsoever. At the same time, he also encountered several acquaintances, or rather, their descendants. Each of them looked quite strange, except for the dark-skinned guy and a guy with three heads and six arms.

This person is Nuwa, or rather, the one created by the goddess Nuwa.

Therefore, his potential is enormous.

When he saw Zhao Shuang, he greeted her warmly. (End of Chapter)