Become a king right from the start, beginning with receiving rewards from all the heavens.

The new rankings will be released in five days!

This resounding announcement seemed to silence the entire city.

Xia Zhaoyan looked at the Divination Mirror hanging high in the sky, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes!

He didn't expect his subordinates, who had already emerged from hiding, to continue to remain in the shadows, after all, that was the Divination Mirror.

It is a spiritual treasure renowned throughout the desolate continent, said to be able to divine the heavens and the earth, and even to predict everything that has passed along the river of time.

I'm afraid the divination mirror might also reveal the origins of these subordinates.

"System, are you there?"

"You should know about the Celestial Mirror, a magical treasure of this world, right? Can it calculate the relationship between Duan Lang and the others, and me?"

[Host, rest assured, the Heavenly Mirror was able to deduce their existence this time.]

However, it's impossible to deduce their relationship with you, after all, this is merely a magical treasure from the primordial world.

[If this treasure belongs to an ancient dynasty, consuming the collective fortune of all beings can reveal their relationship with you.]

Xia Zhaoyan was relieved to hear this, as long as the relationship between these people and himself was not exposed.

So it doesn't matter if they are all exposed, since most of these people are already known to the Great Xia anyway.

"I was originally planning to make another sacrifice after I survived the tribulation, but it seems I should wait for now."

"Heh heh, Bu Tian Sect, I'd like to see how you handle this situation when another unfamiliar powerhouse suddenly appears right after you released your new rankings!"

Upon hearing this, the three women couldn't help but cover their mouths and giggle.

"Your Highness, you're so wicked! You're trying to completely sever the foundation of the Bu Tian Sect!"

Li Mochou said thoughtfully, "The core secrets of the Bu Tian Sect are actually known throughout the cultivation world."

It's nothing more than publishing various lists and using special techniques to collect people's seven emotions and six desires for cultivation and deduction.

But if the fairness of the rankings is questioned or doubted, then they will no longer be able to collect this energy.

"I intend to sever their foundation. The Heavenly Divination Cult? Hmph!"

"In fact, many ancient forces suspect that they are lackeys supported by the Heavenly Dao."

"In the past, after each cycle of reincarnation, many hidden Dragon Transformation Realm cultivators were discovered by the Heavenly Dao."

"The Temple of Divination deserves much of the credit for this!"

Of course, people only suspect this, and there is no direct evidence.

After all, the Bu Tian Sect is a very ancient and established sect.

As to its true internal strength, no one knows the specifics at present.

However, its true strength is definitely much greater than that of the current Great Xia.

"By the way, how much longer will my house arrest last?"

Xia Zhaoyan suddenly remembered that his house arrest was not over yet, and he wondered how to materialize the reward he received after the sacrifice!

Shi Feixuan gently put down her teacup. "Your Highness, there are still forty days left!"

"Forty days?"

"Forget it, let's wait until the house arrest is over before making the sacrifice."

He is now secretly protected by the royal family's ancestor.

Unless those three assassins can be dealt with as soon as possible, this old patriarch is unlikely to leave.

It's only forty days. One hundred and forty days have already passed in the past one hundred and eighty days, so what's there to be afraid of in a mere forty days?

...

In the desert of Ximo Prefecture, Duan Lang of the Underworld, Zhang Han of Baiyujing, and Gongshu Chou stood in the air.

"Brother Gongshu, I'm in trouble with you this time!"

Zhang Han, with a serious expression, cupped his hands in greeting to Gongshu Chou.

Gongshu Chou's large bald head was very conspicuous in the desert, making him look rather comical, but at this moment he had a hint of dissatisfaction on his face.

"I say, my two fellow Daoists, you actually kept the fact that someone dared to assassinate His Highness a secret from me."

"Are you underestimating the strength of my Gongshu family?"

Both Duan Lang and Zhang Han wore a slightly embarrassed expression.

They did share the same view before, believing that the Gongshu family, given their current strength, was unable to help them in this matter.

"Hmph, I knew it would be like this."

"It seems you truly underestimated the mechanical skills of the Gongshu family!"

After saying that, he waved his hand, and instantly countless thumb-sized insects appeared in the sky around the three of them.

"This is my improved reconnaissance mechanical beast. It can easily tear open and enter any formation that is not set up by a Dragon Transformation Realm cultivator."

If it were just a mechanical beast from his past life, Gongshu Chou wouldn't have spoken with such confidence.

Instantly, their eyes lit up; they could actually sense a trace of spatial power emanating from these tiny mechanical beasts.

It's important to understand that the laws of space are not something that those below the Celestial Realm can control.

"Heh heh! You're allowed to mythologize your martial arts techniques, but why can't my mechanical arts be mythologized too!"

Upon hearing this, Duan Lang and Zhang Han almost simultaneously produced a map.

"Brother Gongshu, these are the places marked on this map that I, from the underworld, feel have problems."

"Brother Dao, the places marked on my map are also the places where I, Bai Yujing, have noticed problems."

Gongshu Chou scanned the data on the two maps with his divine sense, and then, as his hands moved, a circle of ripples twisted the air and rushed outwards.

In an instant, a glimmer of light flashed above the heads of these thumb-sized mechanical beasts.

"Alright, now let's see what these mechanical beasts of mine are capable of!"

As soon as the sound faded, countless mechanical beasts instantly disappeared into the desert.

These mechanical beasts are fantastical mechanical beasts recreated by Gongshu Chou, who improved upon the previous life's Potu Sanlang.

The mechanical arts after the mythology not only allowed him, a Grandmaster-level cultivator, to control the power of space!

This makes the upper limit of what was originally ordinary mechanical arts no less than that of martial arts!

Duan Lang locked onto a mechanical beast with his divine sense, wanting to see what was so special about these lifeless creatures.

After sinking a hundred meters underground, the mechanical beast determined its direction and then vanished from the spot in an instant.

A hundred meters underground, only a faint trace of spatial power remained.

Wow, these mechanical beasts can really travel through space!

At this moment, beneath this desolate desert of Ximo Prefecture, countless black insects swarmed in all directions.

They constantly traverse space, each carrying a spirit crystal within them for consumption. Combined with their spatial attributes, they are truly expert scouts.

As time passed, finally on the third day...

Gongshu Chou's expression suddenly changed, and his excitement stirred up sandstorms that stretched for kilometers around him.

"My two fellow Daoists, my little ones have discovered a strange place."

"If all goes as expected, that should be the target we're looking for."

Zhang Han and Duan Lang were instantly shocked. Were those little mechanical beasts really that powerful?

Without saying a word, Duan Lang waved his hand and tore open the space in front of him.

A dark spatial passage appeared here.

"Brother Dao, please give me the specific coordinates so we can go there quickly and investigate thoroughly."

A beam of light appeared at Gongshu Chou's fingertip and slowly drifted toward Duan Lang.

His divine sense immediately covered the information, and then he waved his hand again, adding a layer of true essence shield to Gongshu Chou.

The next moment, the three of them jumped into the pitch-black spatial passage!