164: Fat sheep

Zhang Sheng carefully reviewed the "Myriad Manifestation Divine Fetus," and as he read, his brow furrowed deeper.

This method for condensing a True Embryo was outrageously difficult; it was simply not meant for humans to practice.

The Senior who created it had a Realm that was far too high, while he, Zhang Sheng, was merely a "Prefecture Lord" who had just ascended from the Lower Realm.

"Forget it, I still have the 'Great Sun Golden Crow Fetus' as a fallback. It won't matter if I can't master the 'Myriad Manifestation Divine Fetus'." He comforted himself inwardly.

Half a month had passed since he last crossed the Metal Element Tribulation.

Zhang Sheng looked inward at himself and, after confirming his Foundation was thoroughly stable, no longer hesitated and immediately began to challenge the Wood Element Tribulation.

In less than half an hour, the Wood Element Tribulation power was successfully absorbed and refined by him!

The Wood Element Spiritual Qi in the surrounding environment suddenly became dozens of times clearer in his perception.

The speed at which the "Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art" operated on its own also surged by ten percent.

To Cultivate the "Myriad Manifestation Divine Fetus," the prerequisite was that all nine tribulations of the Nine Tribulations Secret Codex - Divine Breath Chapter must be completed.

Conveniently, this period could be used to search for the rare resources needed for cultivation.

At that moment, Hou Wu's Divine Sense transmission echoed in his Sea of Consciousness: "Prefecture Lord, the exploration team has been assembled. We plan to conduct reconnaissance on the three Guard Cities near Hua Prefecture simultaneously."

These so-called "Guard Cities" were similar to super-large metropolitan areas on Earth, serving as core zones for trade among surrounding New Prefectures and various factions.

Not only did they gather vast amounts of resources, but they also featured teleportation arrays leading to other Guard Cities and even Commandery Cities, acting as regional trade hubs and transportation lifelines.

"Go ahead, but be sure to prioritize safety," Zhang Sheng replied concisely.

Three Jade Slips then flew to his side.

Hou Wu's voice came again: "Prefecture Lord, these are the communication jade slips for the captains of the three teams. If there is any news, it will be convenient for them to report to you immediately."

...Zhang Sheng himself actually intended to make a trip to a nearby Guard City.

Whether it was to figure out the background of the surrounding factions or to gather cultivation resources, he had to go out and see for himself.

Relying solely on the accounts of the Youyuan Chamber of Commerce and the Qinglan Chamber of Commerce was ultimately not reassuring enough.

With a single thought, Zhang Sheng's figure appeared above the spirit plant base of First Cultivation University.

Below him were over a thousand carefully cultivated Mist-Gathering Spirit Firs.

With a slight movement of his mind, the Wood Element spiritual power within a hundred-kilometer radius suddenly boiled!

In the sky, countless crystal-clear raindrops containing majestic wood spirit power rapidly condensed.

In the blink of an eye, a vast "Azure Rain Spiritual Rain" poured down.

Under the precise guidance of Zhang Sheng's powerful Mental Energy, the spirit rain filling the sky converged into a giant water sphere with a volume far exceeding previous ones and a doubled concentration of spiritual power.

Immediately after, the water sphere split into hundreds of portions, precisely irrigating every Mist-Gathering Spirit Fir.

Visibly, the spirit fir trees began to accelerate their growth.

Although the growth rate failed to break the 600-fold limit, the duration of the spirit rain's effectiveness was extended several times over.

Zhang Sheng was quite satisfied with this test result.

"Brother Sheng!"

A youthful figure quickly appeared before Zhang Sheng; it was Xie He.

"Brother Sheng, I want to join the exploration team! But Uncle Hou and the others won't let me; they insisted I come to you for permission," the boy said urgently.

Zhang Sheng sized him up; after three months, he had indeed grown quite a bit taller.

"Xie He, you are still too young. Before you step into the True Fetus Realm, you are not allowed to leave the Hua Prefecture area, understand?" His tone brooked no argument.

Xie He was not even fifteen years old yet. Although he possessed the "Practice Makes Perfect" Talent and was the type to accumulate strength over time, the outside situation was unclear, so it was too early to let him go out and wander now.

"...Yes, I'll listen to you," the boy said, unable to hide his disappointment.

A red Jade Slip hovered in front of Xie He.

"This is a technique for condensing a True Embryo. Once you Breakthrough to the True Fetus Realm, you can leave Hua Prefecture," Zhang Sheng's voice rang out. "However, your essence, qi, and spirit must all be polished to the extreme!"

"I got it, Brother Sheng! I'm going back to Cultivate right now!" The boy took the Jade Slip, his face instantly brightening from gloom to joy as he turned and flew away... In a deserted valley, Zhang Sheng's hands moved in rapid seals, and spiritual power surged within his body.

Following his movements, an energy arrow about a meter long and as thick as a finger, emitting a piercing light, slowly condensed into shape before him.

"Spell: Flowing Light Arrow · Rank 2 (Beginner: 1%)"

After countless attempts, he finally managed to barely reach the Beginner level of this light-attribute Spell.

Compared to Five Elements Spells, its difficulty for a Beginner was more than just one level higher.

Next came tedious but efficient practice.

Two days later, "Flowing Light Arrow" successfully reached the stage of Perfection.

Zhang Sheng spent another five days without rest, cultivating the two Rank 2 Spells, "Void Splitting Finger" and "Kun Yuan Dragon Capturing Hand," to the level of Perfected State.

Among them, "Void Splitting Finger," being a space Spell, took him a full four days, while the earth-attribute "Kun Yuan Dragon Capturing Hand" was completed in just one day.

At this point, the nine great tribulation powers required for the Nine Tribulations Secret Codex - Divine Breath Chapter—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Light, and Space—were all ready for Zhang Sheng.

He set off for the Qinglan Chamber of Commerce and purchased over a dozen pairs of communication jade slips.

These Jade Slips were used in pairs; after both parties injected Mental Energy, they could achieve instant long-distance communication.

Zhang Sheng left one for Song Xian, Hou Wu, and his own family members respectively.

Long before the exploration team set out, Zhang Sheng had already planned to visit a nearby Guard City personally.

The current intelligence basically came from the Youyuan and Qinglan Chambers of Commerce; the real situation outside Hua Prefecture ultimately had to be seen in person! Not to mention, he also needed to search for resources to Cultivate the "Myriad Manifestation Divine Fetus."

Having made the arrangements, Zhang Sheng transformed into a brilliant rainbow of light and sped towards the west.

According to the map provided by Su Tang, the closest Guard City to Hua Prefecture was named "Heavenly Injury City," located a full million miles away. Along the way, he couldn't fly directly over other prefectures; the areas between prefectures were mostly desolate and uninhabited wildlands.

While flying, Zhang Sheng's powerful Divine Sense swept below, and he was shocked to discover a giant palm print with a diameter and depth reaching over a hundred kilometers!

"A piece of work left by a Star God Realm Expert? Or... a relic from the era of the Opening War?" Zhang Sheng felt a chill in his heart.

Along the way, similar terrifying traces of battle were not uncommon.

Nowadays, these wildlands were occupied by some Wild Beasts that fought solely with their blood and qi, with their strength reaching no higher than the Divine Breath Realm.

After flying another tens of thousands of kilometers, Zhang Sheng's Divine Sense suddenly captured the auras of several True Fetus Realm Cultivators directly ahead.

Encountering other Cultivators was not strange, but what was strange was that these twelve True Fetus Realm Cultivators had all deliberately cast breath-concealing Spells!

Unfortunately, before Zhang Sheng, who had already cultivated the Concealment God Technique to the Perfected State, their shallow concealment methods were like wearing the "Emperor's New Clothes," completely useless.

Zhang Sheng remained unfazed, maintaining his original speed and posture.

Three hundred kilometers ahead.

"Boss! A lone Divine Breath Realm Cultivator is coming from the east!" a Cultivator with a special ocular Talent excitedly transmitted.

"Thin Monkey, be more specific!" The Cultivator called Boss swallowed hard, greed flashing in his eyes.

"Dressed in a Black Profound Robe, his speed is three times faster than a normal Divine Breath Realm! He doesn't even have a flying boat for transportation; he's likely a fat sheep from a New Prefecture!"

"Brothers, get ready to strike! A big fish has taken the bait!" the Boss growled excitedly, his experience in plundering New Prefecture Cultivators making him full of confidence.