The Dao Sovereign of Shennong

March 6th, at the second quarter of the Si hour.

Zhao Xing was running in the Eighteen Locust Willow Courtyard when suddenly—

"Buzz~"

A ball of flame appeared on his body, forming a mysterious pattern. Through the flames, Zhao Xing saw a golden figure within.

"It's the Dao Body of True Lord Lihuo!"

Zhao Xing immediately clasped his hands in respect.

"Thank you, True Lord, for allowing me to borrow the Dao."

"Twenty thousand and eighty-three li have been repaid. The karmic debt is cleared."

As soon as the words were spoken, the flames vanished into thin air.

Zhao Xing let out a long breath of relief.

"Finally, it's done."

Thanks to his daily burdened running of at least four hours, the repayment process finished earlier than expected.

In just over six days, he had fully repaid his debt to True Lord Lihuo.

As for the whole process of repaying the Dao, Zhao Xing's main feeling was fatigue—immense fatigue.

After all, this training pushed his body to the brink every day.

"But being this tired also has its benefits."

"My proficiency in the fifteenth stage of Essence Gathering is already more than halfway through."

Before entering the Ten Suns Cave-Heaven, Zhao Xing had just reached the fifteenth stage of Essence Gathering, with a long way to go. Now, that gap had significantly closed.

The six days of intense training squeezed more potential out of his body than ever before, akin to the training regimen of a martial artist.

Don't underestimate running with a heavy load. As they say, "The simplest path is the greatest," and this was a way to train the entire body and mobilize all its strength.

"My comprehension of the Dao is sufficient. For every ten stages of Essence Gathering, I can rise one grade. My understanding of the Dao has long surpassed the requirement. At the fifteenth stage now, I just need five more minor stages to reach the eighth grade." Zhao Xing contemplated.

Essence Gathering involved the enhancement of the body and the gathering of Essence energy, the process of unlocking the body's potential.

Most spellcasters usually lagged behind in body refinement compared to their comprehension of the Dao.

This was because they had to allocate a large portion of their time to comprehending the Dao (practicing spells), and that effort did nothing to strengthen the body's seven souls.

However, martial artists trained their bodies as they honed their combat skills, strengthening their seven souls in the process.

"Martial artists may start off weak, but later on, they can more easily reach the fourth grade Primordial Soul stage. Yet, by the time they reach the third grade, they lag behind others since the Primordial Soul stage requires a deep understanding of the Dao."

"Still, military Shennong practitioners place great emphasis on physical strength. I wonder if there are any physical training courses here."

In Zhao Xing's past life, many military Shennong practitioners started training their seven souls early.

The environment during the Age of Calamities was extremely harsh and erratic.

There were many instances where the situation became so extreme that Heaven School and Earth School spells were completely ineffective!

To survive such situations, many chose to train their physical bodies and seven souls early.

At least, when those extreme circumstances occurred, they wouldn't be completely defenseless. Carrying a big sword, a military Shennong practitioner could still fight when necessary.

"Rolling Thunder is already at the fourth transformation, and I've repaid True Lord Lihuo's Dao."

"Basic training is complete. Time to start the advanced training."

After washing up, Zhao Xing opened the courtyard door, stepped onto his cloud, and flew away.

Basic training involved purchasing inexpensive spell manuals from the armory and relying on one's own comprehension to achieve entry-level mastery.

Advanced training, on the other hand, involved using the treasure grounds of the Shennong Bureau to further comprehend and enhance one's abilities.

Zhao Xing was now heading to the Di Li Academy.

"There are three treasure grounds in the Di Li Academy for free comprehension."

"First is the Earth Vein Hall, which contains nineteen Earth Vein Diagrams, depicting tens of thousands of Earth Veins from across the nineteen provinces."

"Comprehending these diagrams is akin to observing a transmission painting with unlimited uses."

"The second is called the Seventy-Two Earth Palaces."

"These seventy-two Earth Palaces are constructed directly on exposed Earth Veins, each filled with profound mysteries. Observing them from a distance can also lead to enlightenment."

"The third is the Mysterious earth prison."

"The Mysterious earth prison holds various underground creatures captured during the development of the Ten Suns Cave-Heaven."

"The formations in the Mysterious earth prison stimulate the imprisoned beasts every hour, causing them to go berserk. Observing their natural abilities during these outbursts can also aid in comprehension of the Dao."

Zhao Xing first headed to the Seventy-Two Earth Palaces.

This area tended to have fewer people, while the other places were more crowded. He planned to visit those after dark, when fewer people were around.

After flying for a while, Zhao Xing landed in front of a massive wall.

The Seventy-Two Earth Palaces were enclosed by a powerful formation.

Exposed Earth Veins were extremely dangerous. The Lava Plains, for example, became chaotic because the Earth Veins had risen too high, and Zhao Xing's casual casting had triggered a fifth-level rampage.

Thus, the Seventy-Two Earth Palaces were surrounded and protected by numerous formations.

There were also strict rules for those who entered to observe.

"To enter the Earth Palace for comprehension, you must wear this Energy-Sealing Ring. Other than using a trace of Essence energy for your Cloud-Stepping Boots to move around, all other spells are forbidden," a guard explained the rules to those entering.

"No one is allowed to approach within a hundred meters of the palaces; they can only be observed from the perimeter. Anyone who breaks this rule will be permanently barred from entry."

"Do not throw fruit pits, pills, or anything of third grade or higher into the Earth Palaces. Violators will face military law."

"No urinating or defecating inside."

"..."

The rules were strict, and some were quite bizarre.

But behind every strange rule was a real-life incident.

For instance, the rule about fruit pits likely existed because someone had thrown one in before.

Zhao Xing was quite familiar with this rule.

In his previous life, some players had been skeptical and insisted on throwing items in, and they did so secretly.

When the fruit pit, which contained potent life energy, grew into a sapling, it started absorbing Earth Vein energy, triggering an Earth Palace rampage with disastrous consequences.

The queue moved quickly, and it wasn't long before it was Zhao Xing's turn.

"Please show your personal seal."

Zhao Xing handed over his personal seal.

"Please read the rules on the notice board and confirm that you understand the regulations for observing the Earth Palaces."

Zhao Xing spent about ten seconds, then nodded. "Confirmed."

The guard handed him a device resembling a handcuff. "Please put on the Energy-Sealing Ring."

Zhao Xing expressionlessly extended his right hand.

Clack

The mechanism clicked into place, and nine needles pierced into his skin from the inside of the heavy cuff.

Glancing at the display, he saw that his Essence energy had been temporarily reduced to just one point.

Other than using his Cloud-Stepping Boots, he couldn't do anything else.

"Alright, you may enter."

"Thank you."

As Zhao Xing passed through the gate tunnel, he felt a wave of heat wash over him.

The first thing that caught his eye was an entirely dark red palace, its roof covered in glazed tiles, with a central flame orb at the top. Waterfalls flowed from the eaves all around.

Upon closer inspection, Zhao Xing realized it wasn't water, but the intense power of the fire-type Earth Vein, dense to the point of flowing like a river.

"Old Chen's Fire Prison Earth Palace was somewhat similar to this one."

"But his Fire Prison Earth Palace isn't even one percent as real as this."

The more real an Earth Palace, the more powerful it was.

Zhao Xing marveled at this Fire Prison Earth Palace. Aside from the flowing waterfall, it was impossible to tell which part of the palace was created by the Earth Vein's power and which was real.

"Every brick and tile looks real. Impressive."

Zhao Xing didn't linger in front of this Earth Palace for long.

His Boundless Earth Palace was entirely different, and it would only be useful to comprehend something similar.

Walking along the path for observers, Zhao Xing continued to observe the distant palaces.

There was a Fire Prison Earth Palace engulfed in flames, a nearly transparent Water Crystal Earth Palace made entirely of water, and a Wind and Thunder Earth Palace filled with tornadoes and lightning...

Seventy-two Earth Palaces, each containing the mysteries of the Earth Veins and the five elements.

Zhao Xing continued walking without stopping until he rounded a corner—

"Hmm? What's this Earth Palace…?"

After rounding the corner, Zhao Xing felt a sudden tug in his heart, and his gaze was drawn to a particular building up ahead.

"Is this a palace?"

Zhao Xing didn't slow his pace because he noticed that this palace was small—so small it couldn't even be called a palace, more like a single room.

It looked more like an octagonal cage, constantly moving.

Zhao Xing quickened his pace.

Although the octagonal palace only moved a short distance each time, it moved quickly.

If it weren't for the fact that it was moving in circles around the observation path and that Zhao Xing was still over a hundred meters away, he might not have been able to keep up.

"What kind of Earth Palace technique is this? I've never seen anything like it. How strange..."

Zhao Xing kept running while observing.

Fortunately, he had grown accustomed to observing while running over the past few days, and his bright eyes followed the moving octagonal palace.

The golden octagonal palace circled Zhao Xing once, then suddenly sank into the ground.

"Gone?"

Zhao Xing was watching it intently when, all of a sudden, he turned his head and saw the octagonal palace emerge from another location.

"Hmm? This isn't just an ordinary Earth Palace technique. It's a combination of Earth Palace and Mysterious earth techniques?!"

Zhao Xing's eyes lit up.

He couldn't help but want to fly closer, but his Cloud-Stepping Boots wouldn't activate, and his wrist throbbed in pain.

"Hiss~"

Zhao Xing gasped.

"It actually made me instinctively try to use my techniques. I was unconsciously drawn to it."

"I have to seize this opportunity!"

Zhao Xing didn't know the origin of this palace, but he had never seen anything like it in the Seventy-Two Earth Palaces.

A deep intuition told him he couldn't miss this chance.

Tap, tap, tap—the sound of footsteps.

Zhao Xing wasn't the only one who noticed the peculiarity of the octagonal palace. Seven or eight others had also noticed it and were chasing after it.

"Bang!"

Three of them were so focused that they ran straight into each other.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

One of them, however, didn't even acknowledge the collision. His expression was cold as he continued chasing the palace without a glance.

Two quarter-hours passed.

Out of the eight who had been chasing, six gave up.

It was too difficult to comprehend. First, they weren't used to trying to observe while running. Second, the octagonal palace was too mysterious and kept disappearing unexpectedly.

Even Zhao Xing felt frustrated. Just as he was about to understand a small piece of it, the palace would disappear, breaking his concentration. It was like someone was teasing him with a "寸止" (inch stop) challenge!

Still, he remained patient and continued pursuing it.

The more difficult it was, the more it proved that this octagonal palace wasn't ordinary, and since it resonated with his Boundless Earth Palace technique, Zhao Xing wasn't going to give up easily.

Time passed quickly, and three days went by in the blink of an eye.

For three days, Zhao Xing didn't eat or drink, nor did he rest. He kept chasing the small octagonal palace.

Others came and went, trying their luck, but the people chasing the octagonal palace were no longer the same group as before.

Only the cold-faced youth who had been involved in the initial collision remained, just like Zhao Xing, still relentless in his pursuit.

"Bang!"

The Earth Palace suddenly turned a corner, and since they were quite close, both Zhao Xing and the other youth, who had both made some progress in their understanding, collided.

Zhao Xing reacted quickly, avoiding injury.

However, the other youth seemed too focused, hitting his head on the edge of a rock. His eyebrow split open, and blood immediately began to flow.

"You alright, brother?" Zhao Xing finally pulled his attention back and was startled to see the injury.

"I'm fine." The young man shook his sleeve, wiped his wound casually, and stood up.

Is this guy made of iron?

He's bleeding, and he's still determined to continue?

"Maybe you should stop the bleeding." Zhao Xing pulled the young man aside. "It's affecting your concentration. If you blink at the wrong moment, you'll miss something."

The young man thought for a moment. "Alright."

He pulled out a white medicinal patch from his sleeve, peeled it off, and slapped it onto his head.

Zhao Xing recognized it as a military-grade healing patch, made by alchemists to treat external wounds.

Watching him, Zhao Xing found it a bit odd.

How accustomed to injury are you?

You brought military-grade healing patches just to observe an Earth Palace?

Seeing that the young man truly didn't seem to mind and wasn't much of a talker, Zhao Xing cupped his hands and was about to continue, but then the youth unexpectedly spoke.

"You've been observing for three days too. Have you figured out what technique this is?"

Zhao Xing remembered that this was the same person who had stuck with him the longest and decided to stop.

"I think it's a combination of Earth Palace and Mysterious earth techniques. The Earth Palace portion, from what I've gathered, seems to be the 'Shenxing Earth Palace,' but I haven't figured out the Mysterious earth part."

The young man looked up in surprise. "How could it be the Shenxing Earth Palace? It's clearly the Cold Current Earth Palace."

Zhao Xing was surprised too. He quickly thought of a possibility.

"What did you see?"

"What did you see?"

They both asked at the same time.

"You first."

"No, you first."

"…"

Zhao Xing and the young man stared at each other. This was oddly in sync.

Finally, Zhao Xing gestured for the young man to go first.

"Alright, I'll go first," the young man said, pointing to the Earth Palace path that had just emerged. "I saw a dock, resembling a smaller version of a dragon-headed boat. The pattern is erratic, but it consistently follows an order of earth, water, earth-fire, earth, metal, earth, and wood along different Earth Veins."

Zhao Xing was stunned. "I saw a house, octagonal in shape, with no doors, as if it were sealed off. The pattern I observed was completely different from yours—it followed earth-wind, earth-metal, earth-fire, earth-thunder, and earth-water."

The young man also fell into deep thought. "No wonder people were bumping into each other. I thought it was just because they were too focused."

"Now it seems like it's the palace itself causing it."

Zhao Xing chuckled and nodded. "I realized that too. Sorry about earlier, by the way. I'm Zhao Xing, from the Shenwei Army. What about you?"

The young man's expression shifted slightly in surprise. "Shenwei Army, I'm Han Bing."

Shenwei Army's Han Bing? The tenth to report in? What a coincidence!

"So, we're comrades. My apologies for earlier, Han Brother," Zhao Xing cupped his hands.

Han Bing's expression softened, his cold demeanor thawing a bit. "No need for apologies. I think we should share our insights as we progress."

Zhao Xing nodded. "Agreed. Shall we continue?"

"Yes."

Another two days passed quickly.

During this time, many people came to observe the elusive Earth Palace, but most eventually gave up.

After all, there was only one month for training, and wasting too much time on something uncertain wasn't worth it.

But Zhao Xing and Han Bing hadn't given up.

Zhao Xing refused to let go of the opportunity because he had never seen this Earth Palace before, not even in his past life. There was no way he was giving up on such a rare find.

As for Han Bing, he was just that stubborn, the type who wouldn't stop until he achieved his goal.

And so, the two occasionally exchanged ideas as they continued their pursuit.

Another three days passed.

"It's already the eighth day."

By now, Zhao Xing was feeling hungry and tired. He hadn't brought any food, mainly because he hadn't expected to stay here without rest for so long.

Fortunately, Han Bing had given him a couple of fruits to eat. It seemed like he had a habit of carrying provisions with him.

"It's been eight days. Since the fifth day, I've had this nagging feeling that I'm about to comprehend a new technique, but it's always just out of reach." Zhao Xing was starting to feel frustrated. "Am I really close, or is it just a delusion? Or could the master of this Earth Palace be toying with me?"

It wasn't impossible.

There were many experts in the military realm, and some weren't required to teach. The military wouldn't force them.

Some of these people were old and eccentric, having lived for hundreds of years. Running into someone with a quirky temperament wasn't uncommon.

"If I don't figure it out by the end of today, I'll have to leave." Zhao Xing had a strict training schedule, and this pursuit had already thrown it off a bit.

"I'll give it three more hours. If I get it, great. If not, I'm out. I'm not so desperate that I need this one opportunity." Zhao Xing calmed his mind and quickly adjusted his attitude.

With his mindset back on track, Zhao Xing wasn't in a rush anymore. He strolled around, no longer chasing the palace so eagerly.

If his time was up and he still hadn't grasped it, so be it.

When the palace disappeared underground, he even wandered off to observe other things, no longer stressing over the mysterious Earth Palace.

It was with this mindset that, near midnight, something clicked.

When Zhao Xing saw the octagonal Earth Palace emerge again…

In his vision, a door suddenly appeared.

Previously, the entire octagonal Earth Palace had been sealed off, though the walls had various five-element energies flowing over them in intricate patterns.

But now, on the side facing Zhao Xing, a door had suddenly opened.

It was as if a door had opened in Zhao Xing's mind as well.

"So that's it." Zhao Xing sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.