378: Pressed, all three books complete

“Alright, second question.”

“What is Heavenly Essence, and how is it different from divine essence?”

Hearing this, the Nian Domain Cultivators exchanged glances.

Then, a slightly older Nian Domain Cultivator mustered his courage and said, “Sir, I can answer all your questions.”

“But, you see, could you perhaps release some of our Clan’s Cultivators first?”

Upon hearing this, you did not reply. With a mere glance, you instantly annihilated this Thought Clan member.

The other Thought Clan members, though terrified, knew deep down that they had no power to resist you.

They could only answer all the questions you posed.

They told you:

Heavenly Essence and divine essence are essentially very similar.

The only difference is that Heavenly Essence is Innate, while divine essence is Acquired.

Their exploration team’s purpose was not to search for Heavenly Essence, but rather to find the divine essence carried by Cultivators.

Although Innate Heavenly Essence can enhance the power of a domain, its conditions for birth are extremely stringent.

Generally speaking, Heavenly Essence can only be born in places that were once of a very high Rank but later degenerated into lower-Rank domains.

Moreover, this degeneration is not irreversible.

As long as the current domain’s contractor can find a few more divine essences, that world can return to its former glory.

Therefore, Heavenly Essence is only born in a very small number of worlds.

But divine essence is completely different.

Although it is also rare, in every domain, there are always a few Cultivators who can condense it.

As long as one can defeat the contractor of that domain, one can successfully plunder it.

So, over the years, the Thought Clan has successfully obtained a large amount of divine essence through their extensive explorations.

This has also caused the Thought Clan’s overall strength to advance by leaps and bounds, far surpassing other surrounding domains.

After hearing the answers from these Thought Clan members, you nodded thoughtfully.

Although they didn't know everything thoroughly, these answers undoubtedly resolved many of your doubts.

“Where is Xiao Tiandou now?”

“Replying, Sir, he was previously imprisoned by us in the core of this domain. Here is his location information…”

You took the map handed to you by a Thought Clan member and nodded slightly, then spoke, “Last question: describe all the domains you know.”

“Each of you describe them separately. If there are any discrepancies, you die!”

With that, you separated and confined them, while you went to search for Xiao Tiandou’s whereabouts.

This process was exceptionally smooth.

Using the map provided by that Thought Clan member, you quickly arrived at Xiao Tiandou’s location.

However, at this moment, he was emaciated.

Although not dead, he had clearly suffered a great deal of inhuman torment.

Furthermore, a special energy was tearing at his Soul, deep within his body.

Every time Xiao Tiandou recovered a little, that energy would rip his Divine Soul a little, keeping him in a muddled state, unable to move even an inch.

Seeing this, you nodded slightly.

This Thought Clan truly has profound foundations.

After realizing that Cultivators who had contracted a domain were difficult to kill, they even invented such a method to torment their opponents.

You thought that you should learn this method from them for future contingencies.

And seeing you arrive, a glimmer of hope sparked in Xiao Tiandou’s eyes.

He urgently sent you a distress signal.

Although he could only move slightly at this time, you still understood his meaning.

You killed Xiao Tiandou with a single palm strike.

His Divine Soul quickly returned to the world, and in just a few breaths, he was resurrected again.

“Thank you for saving me, Sir.”

Xiao Tiandou bowed respectfully to you.

Because if it weren't for you, he didn't know how long he would have remained in that state.

In fact, if those Thought Clan members had wished, they could have kept him trapped there for all eternity.

Hearing this, you waved your hand slightly and said, “No need for thanks.”

“But the Book of Heaven on you, this Lord is truly interested in it.”

Upon hearing this, how could Xiao Tiandou not know your thoughts?

He immediately spat out a mouthful of his heart’s essence blood, reducing the connection between the Book of Heaven and himself to its lowest point.

“Sir, please!”

You took the Book of Heaven without a word.

A moment later.

You completed its refinement.

And the three books of heaven, earth, and man simultaneously burst forth with brilliant light.

Although their appearance had not changed, you could clearly feel that a certain extraordinary relationship had subtly formed between them.

You looked at the three books of heaven, earth, and man and nodded slightly, planning to find an opportunity to study them carefully.

Afterward, you brought Xiao Tiandou to the outside world.

At the same time, the surviving Thought Clan Cultivators had already finished copying their respective maps and presented them to you like treasures.

You took the maps and examined them carefully.

Xiao Tiandou, who appeared with you, felt a storm raging in his heart.

Previously, he had thought that you had rescued him after the Thought Clan retreated.

But now, upon seeing the situation, it was completely different from what he had imagined.

Given the attitude and humble demeanor of these Thought Clan members, he was absolutely certain that you must have done something earth-shattering.

“Sir… this is…”

“The Nian Domain has been destroyed. These ten-Rank Thought Clan members before you are the very ones who suppressed you.”

“What?!”

Your words instantly stunned Xiao Tiandou, leaving him at a loss.

But you were too lazy to bother with him.

You began to examine the maps before you on your own.

Because they were drawn individually, these maps inevitably had some discrepancies.

Fortunately, these discrepancies were not significant, only minor differences in detail.

From the maps drawn by these Thought Clan members, you roughly understood that the domains of Immortals, Devils, Demons, Ghosts, Humans, and Gods were located on the east side of the Nian Domain.

This was also the maximum distance the Thought Clan had explored so far.

In fact, before the Thought Clan formed exploration teams, they didn't even know of its existence.

As for the other directions of the Nian Domain, they had explored a bit more.

To the north of the Nian Domain was a vast cluster of domains, with dozens of large and small domains.

However, they were not powerful, so after exploring them, the Thought Clan bothered no further with them.

To the southeast of the Nian Domain, there were several domains slightly weaker than the Nian Domain.

These were their primary targets for plunder.