Chapter 576: Opening the Box, Reborn and Remade

Under the cover of a gloomy night, Wang Yu and Long Quezhou sprinted toward the depths of the Steel Plains.

Their mission was to draw out the person behind Zodiac, and it was far from finished.

After their capture, Snake and Sheep had only given up the locations of the remaining three members. According to them, they didn't have much information on the "lord" from the Central Region either.

Most of the time, communication from the other side was strictly one-way. The only ones who seemed to know how to contact them were Dog and Chicken.

After learning everything they could, Wang Yu and Long Quezhou crippled the two of them, leaving only Rat Tian Fangfei, Pig Nan Dong, and Horse Ma Jiangyao with their tiers intact.

For those three, living out the rest of their days would likely be a fate worse than death.

"We should be close, right?"

Wang Yu slowed her pace and looked into the distance.

A high wall appeared at the edge of their vision.

That was the boundary line separating the Central Region from the peripheral areas.

After sprinting at full strength all night, they had finally crossed the Steel Plains and reached the edge of the central areas.

According to Sheep and Snake, the remaining members were waiting here.

They had already been recognized by the Central Region and absorbed into its ranks.

However...

Long Quezhou looked up at the numerous figures lining the high wall, a hint of self-mockery in his tone. "We wasted all that effort just to become watchdogs. To think we actually considered it back then."

"Even being a watchdog is something many people beg for but can't get," Wang Yu sighed.

Examples of watchdogs rising into the upper echelons weren't unheard of, and such stories were widely circulated.

Looking back at it now, those stories were clearly spread with ulterior motives.

"We can't just attack directly, can we?" Long Quezhou frowned.

Guards were stationed every few hundred meters along the high wall above, and they weren't just Zodiac members.

They were only here to draw out the person behind Zodiac. If they attacked rashly, they would likely be slapped with the crime of "assaulting the Central Region." That was no laughing matter.

"We need a plan." Wang Yu frowned as well.

"How about this," Long Quezhou said, struck by an idea. "We..."

Wang Yu thought it over for a moment and found it feasible.

The two immediately began their preparations, entirely unaware of a tiny figure high above watching their every move.

When Shen Youran woke up, her heart seized. Her eyes darted around in a panic, searching for Yan Jing.

"Good morning, Teacher Shen."

Yan Jing's voice drifted over from the side, striking the softest part of her heart like a precisely aimed arrow.

"Do you want to eat breakfast first? Or wash up?"

Like performing a magic trick, Yan Jing conjured a glass of warm milk and a fried dough stick from his palm.

Splash—like a fish leaping into water.

Shen Youran threw herself into Yan Jing's arms.

"Good morning, Xiao Yanzi."

After breakfast, Yan Jing quickly resumed his secluded cultivation.

Even though he still had a few days before participating in the Blood War in the Heavenly Kingdom, he needed to start preparing in advance.

The very first thing on the agenda was to take inventory of his important assets.

He still had a few crucial items that could boost his strength.

The finger bone and the Blood Promissory Note were his absolute trump cards; he didn't need to use them just yet.

Then there were the two pieces of Divine Source. Yan Jing planned to use one this time.

And then, the box.

The latest Dungeon had rewarded him with a Divine Envoy Box. He hadn't touched it yet, but he was ready to open it now.

As for potions, apart from his eight or nine bottles of Advanced Healing Potion and over a dozen bottles of Constitution Amplification Potion, he had recently acquired one bottle of Ultimate Physical Enhancement Potion and one bottle of Ultimate Healing Potion. Yan Jing had tried a Constitution Amplification Potion before, but its effects had been limited, so he had been saving the rest. He wondered if these two potions with the "Ultimate" prefix would yield better results.

The remaining items weren't of much help to Yan Jing right now.

For instance, Tianji's book could previously help him issue missions in the Surface World. Now, however, Yan Jing held an entire Level-One Incomplete Domain. As a Domain, the Cat Ship had its own way of communicating with the will of the Inner World, allowing him to issue missions whenever he wanted.

However, there was one exception. Yan Jing thought of an item from his latest mission rewards and took it out.

It was a red stone. It didn't glow like his other items, and he couldn't see anything special about it.

[Item Name: Miracle: Reappearance (Bound Item)]

[Usable Tier: Usable by all tiers (Cannot be used for a Ritual)]

[Item Effect: Can recreate something that has happened once before]

[Item Description: This is a miracle. Note that it does not originate from a Deity. A miracle is just a miracle. When the day comes that you understand what a so-called miracle truly is, you will realize just how incredibly lucky you are. Friendly reminder: please do not use it to duplicate items you have already used. That would simply be a reckless waste of a heavenly treasure.] "Recreate once before..."

Staring at the item description, Yan Jing could confirm one thing: this item could duplicate an item he had previously used.

But the description also explicitly warned him not to do that.

"Does not originate from a Deity..."

Yan Jing furrowed his brows. He felt this sentence was somewhat redundant.

Or rather, placing this sentence in the item description felt like a hint.

It was as if it were subtly telling him that the origins of this item were even greater than those of a Deity.

Since Yan Jing had previously used items related to Deities, and this stone could duplicate them despite not originating from a Deity itself, his mind inevitably spun with the implications.

Ultimately, Yan Jing put the stone away.

He mentally bumped its preciousness level up to the absolute maximum, hoping this reward for an SSS-rank mission completion wouldn't disappoint him at a critical moment.

"Let's open the box."

Yan Jing took out the Divine Envoy Box.

He was no longer as excited about opening boxes as he used to be. Now, it just felt like going through the motions.

He couldn't help it. There was a box to open after almost every mission. What would be an unexpected windfall for others was just a standard bonus for him.

He opened the box.

Just like always, the aura of Chaos, a vortex, Weird Energy, and a brilliant light bloomed together...

The next step was simply to wait for the gazes to descend.

Yan Jing's expression was indifferent, his eyes calm.

He had already been observed by seven gazes last time.

He had later analyzed the origins of those seven gazes. According to his theories, they were "Technique," "Messenger," "Time," "Fear," "Slaughter?," "Frost," and "Earth."

The weakened Messenger had been the first to be chased away, and then Slaughter disappeared. After that, Frost and Earth left one after another, ultimately leaving only Fear, Technique, and Time.

Compared to last time, even though he now possessed the Universal Ritual, his paths hadn't actually increased. He figured there would be at most one additional gaze this time—a soul.

Clearly, however, his assumption was dead wrong.

A few minutes after he opened the box, his scalp suddenly prickled. In an instant, it was as if a starry sky had appeared right above his head. Countless dazzling stars twinkled, their starlight cascading down to envelop him.

The eerie part was that he could see clearly: the stars above weren't actually stars, but bizarre, absurd eyes.

Every single one had a different shape and a different gaze, yet right now, they were all locked onto him.

Without any hesitation, Yan Jing activated his Stone State.

He didn't know if being stared at by so many "entities" was a good thing or a bad thing, but his body reacted on pure instinct.

Being seen by so many entities would clearly lead to unpredictable consequences.

Sure enough, the moment he entered his Stone State, more than half of the stars in the sky vanished.

But there were still dozens of them left.

Yan Jing took a deep breath. He had no choice but to face them head-on.

At that very moment, another sudden change occurred.

Six stars erupted with brilliant light, weaving layers of radiance into a net that blocked the glow of the remaining stars. It looked as if...

As if they were shielding Yan Jing.

But the remaining stars were naturally unwilling to back down. Although their shine wasn't as bright as those six, they won in sheer numbers. In a flash, Yan Jing saw countless needles of light falling through the "net," threatening to strike him.

While he was staring blankly, a voice suddenly exploded in his ear.

"#¥@#"

It was a language Yan Jing had never heard before. It sounded like a sudden wind sweeping across a boundless prairie on an autumn night at dusk, with countless plants swaying in the gale, ultimately speaking this single sentence.

A language that couldn't even be called words.

Yet, he seemed to understand it directly.

"Come find me on the Train."

Then—

"&*—%" Another sentence followed.

"My Divine Throne. If you want it, choose Frost next."

"—%¥#"

"Keep your feet on the ground. The future is more dangerous than you imagine. Be as steady as the Earth."

"¥#"

"Slaughter all enemies before your eyes."

"!!!"

"Fear! The deepest level of Fear! It is different!"

"~~~~"

"The path beneath your feet will lead to poetry and distant horizons, but it requires repeated practice, persistent learning, and drawing on the strengths of all!"

"Save me, in the rift—unknowable—"

In addition to the first six voices, there was one final, incredibly weak voice. They all poured into Yan Jing's ears simultaneously, nearly blowing his mind apart.

He subconsciously clutched his face. At that moment, it felt like the entire world was violently shaking. His brain felt detached from his scalp; a casual shake was enough to feel the two grinding against each other.

Even though he had always considered his willpower to be quite strong, he felt an incredibly heavy burden right now.

This hurt even more than having a Fear Thorn stabbed into his flesh!

To lighten the load, Yan Jing growled in a low voice, "You all demand so much! Don't you have anything more practical?!"

As his voice faded, the light from those few stars in the sky grew even brighter. Through the gaps in his fingers, Yan Jing could vaguely see several blurry figures scrambling to pass things down to him.

Ultimately, the two brightest stars snatched the opportunity.

Two streams of light fell right in front of Yan Jing.

Just as the Divine Envoy Box was about to close, the figure belonging to that cold voice—who usually kept a low profile—suddenly reached out and cast a sliver of light down through the gaps between the others.

Finally, the box snapped shut completely.

Yan Jing didn't have time to see what had dropped onto the floor. He leaned against the nearby wall and took a good ten seconds or so to recover somewhat from the agonizing state.

He panted heavily.

He gasped for breath. "A bunch of selfish bastards..."

If they hadn't blocked the light of the other stars for him, he really would have started cursing.

Those beams of light just now had forcefully crammed words into his brain, and he could feel that they had used Weird Energy and Divinity to do it.

They clearly didn't care whether he lived or died.

He walked over to the three fallen streams of light. By now, the motes of light had gradually dissipated, leaving behind only three items.

First was a... snowflake?

Yes, a snowflake.

Yan Jing stared at the thumb-sized snowflake, blinked, and reached out to pick it up.

The moment it touched his hand, he immediately sensed intense Weird Energy and Divinity. The Divinity was thicker than any item he had ever obtained before, even surpassing Divine Source.

[Item Name: Origin: Snow (Bound Item)]

[Usable Tier: Tenth Tier]

[Item Effect: Can carve out an entirely new path for you and push you to the apex] [Item Description: The origin of the Deity named [Snow]. The entity behind it paid a massive price to send it down. Presumably, they have encountered tremendous trouble and need you to solve it. PS: That guy doesn't seem to be as aloof as they look.]

Yan Jing recalled the words spoken by the cold voice. They probably wanted him to use this origin as his Tenth Rite.

Passing their Divine Throne to him...

Yan Jing blinked.

This windfall seemed amazing, but wasn't it a bit too massive?

He put the snowflake away. Since the item was already in his possession, he could save it for later.

Next was the light dropped by the second brightest star.

It was a bone.

The moment Yan Jing touched it, the bone uncontrollably drilled into his palm.

Yan Jing immediately summoned his Weird Energy and Divinity to block it. This sudden turn of events startled him into checking the system right away.

[Item Name: Origin: Bone (Bound Item)]

[Usable Tier: Tenth Tier]

[Item Effect: Can carve out an entirely new path for you and push you to the apex. Can augment your bones.]

[Item Description: The origin of the tier-2 Deity named [Bone], a former defeated opponent of the entity behind it. He decapitated [Bone] and didn't think much of this Deity, save for the exceptionally high strength of their bones, which was why he kept their origin. He has now gifted it to you because he is quite satisfied with your flesh, heart, and blood, but feels your bones still need plenty of tempering.] Yan Jing quickly scanned the description. Only after confirming it wasn't harmful did he slowly allow the bone to sink into his body.

In the next second, his entire body shuddered violently.

The indescribable agony nearly made him collapse to the floor. It felt as though tens of thousands of ants had begun crawling over and gnawing at his bones. Pain and intense itching erupted from every part of his body simultaneously. Yan Jing gritted his teeth and curled into a ball, breaking out in a cold sweat.

He didn't know how much time had passed. His vision had even grown blurry from the sweat pouring down his forehead. Finally, the sensation slowly faded, replaced by a feeling of immense emptiness.

Like he had been starved for weeks, Yan Jing felt every cell in his body screaming for energy.

And it wasn't just Weird Energy they wanted, nor could simple food satisfy them.

After devouring all the food stored in the room, Yan Jing eventually turned his ravenous gaze toward the dozen or so bottles of Constitution Amplification Potion.

In the next second, he popped open a bottle and drained it in an instant.