Dongbo Xueying gazed at the street before him. Everything appeared frozen. From his perception of the mysteries of laws, the passage of time in the outside world was extremely slow—almost at a standstill! Or perhaps, time in his current region was flowing much, much faster than the outside.
“Dongbo Xueying,” a deep, powerful voice spoke, still indifferent, still aloof and superior.
“The Temporal Palace invites you to join us once again.” The voice continued, “This is the second time. According to the rules of the Temporal Palace, invitations may be made once, twice… but never a third time. Even if you master a First-Rank True Dao in the future, the Temporal Palace will never extend a third invitation to you! So, consider this decision carefully.”
The Blood Blade Tavern belonged to the Blood Blade Divine Court.
The Temporal Palace, however, belonged to the Time-Space Island!
Both were the most supreme and powerful forces in the Divine Realm and the Dark Abyss, ancient and deeply entrenched, unshakable! Mastery of a First-Rank True Dao might attract the attention of a great power in the Divine Realm, but colossal entities like the Blood Blade Divine Court or the Time-Space Island had their own internal rules and would never grovel for recruits.
The Temporal Palace could infiltrate countless mortal worlds and even the Divine Realm and Abyss. Searching for prodigies was effortless for them, hence their recruitment conditions were comparatively stricter.
Unfortunately, other factions wishing to send treasures to the lower realms had to suffer heavy exploitation by the Temporal Palace!
For example, completely healing Dongbo Xueying would require the combined efforts of all the Xia Clan’s ancestral deities, and even then, it would not be enough. Such a cost was simply too great. At his current level, Dongbo Xueying had not yet reached the status where major powers would be willing to pay such a price. Only the Temporal Palace could effortlessly transport him to the Divine Realm and heal him with ease, at a negligible cost.
“If you agree to join, the Ghost Hex Venom in your body can be removed today! You will fully recover. At your current cultivation level, you can immediately undergo a second awakening of your ancient bloodline and step into the Half-God realm, regaining the ability to wield combat energy,” the deep voice continued. “Furthermore, you will still become a Golden Decree Divine Envoy, and upon joining, you will receive two divine artifacts perfectly suited to you. Your fate will completely change. Without the Temporal Palace, you would not even qualify for other factions to consider expending such resources to cure you. Without us, the venom will continue to torment you, forcing you to gamble your life at Redstone Mountain.”
“Gambling my life at Redstone Mountain might offer a chance to be cured, right?” Dongbo Xueying replied with a smile.
“There is indeed a chance, but you may very likely die there,” the deep voice continued. As the artifact spirit of the Temporal Palace, it had no need to lie. “Let me tell you, the Ghost Hex Venom is not as simple as your Xia Clan believes. It’s not something easily resolved by merely entering Redstone Mountain. The cure is difficult, and Redstone Mountain itself is extremely dangerous.”
“There’s still a great chance of success, isn’t there?” Dongbo Xueying countered.
“Are you preparing to refuse?” the deep voice asked.
“I’m considering carefully, so I’m asking more questions,” Dongbo Xueying continued. “By the way, the conditions you’ve offered seem unchanged from last time. Just two more divine artifacts. That’s not much, is it? I’ve already seized more than one divine artifact on my own.”
“That’s because you haven’t changed much from back then,” the deep voice continued. “Back then, even counting your mortal years, you had cultivated for only a few decades yet mastered three Second-Rank True Dao, each representing a different path. Your comprehension ability is extremely high! Had you joined back then, you might have mastered secret techniques far earlier than now. The offer I’ve made is already the limit. There will be no more. The Temporal Palace has its own rules.”
Dongbo Xueying fell into thought.
“Let me remind you,” the voice continued, “your Xia Clan is currently facing a great calamity. Your enemies are two World Gods! And not ordinary World Gods either—one is a great demon god who has cultivated to an extremely profound level, and the other is a unique lord of a material world! As for what your Xia Clan can rely on, it’s only some ancestral deities. None of your Xia Clan’s ancestors have ascended to World Godhood. Your foundation cannot compare to theirs.”
“Once they launch their plan, your chances of victory are less than one in a hundred. Your clan will be annihilated!”
Dongbo Xueying’s pupils constricted.
“Their caution is not only due to wariness of your Xia Clan, but mainly due to the Earth Temple. However, let me tell you, if they pay a sufficient price, the Earth Temple may completely abandon the faith of this mortal world,” the deep voice continued. “However, if you join the Temporal Palace, you can designate your homeland as a resting place. You may return anytime after completing a mission! Moreover, you can exchange for numerous treasures within the Temporal Palace and bring them back to your homeland. There is no cost to bring them back to your resting place. Your Xia Clan’s ancestors must pay a great price to send treasures down.”
“With your talent and strength, combined with the Temporal Palace’s cultivation of you, the treasures you bring back might surpass even those of your Xia Clan’s ancestral deities!”
“Moreover, your strength will rise rapidly! When war erupts… you will be of great help to the Xia Clan.”
“Think carefully.”
The artifact spirit of the Temporal Palace did not deliberately analyze him, but with its immense power, it easily understood Dongbo Xueying’s nature and tailored its persuasion accordingly.
Dongbo Xueying nodded, then frowned. “I’ve heard that once one joins the Temporal Palace, it’s difficult to escape control. Even one’s soul is controlled?”
“The Temporal Palace sends you to various realms and must also retrieve you quickly, so naturally, there must be some control. But everything follows rules! The Temporal Palace does not act recklessly, otherwise the Time-Space Island would never have become the supreme power in both the Divine Realm and the Abyss,” the deep voice explained. “Moreover, as a Golden Decree Divine Envoy, you already enjoy considerable freedom. Once you become a World God, you will be even freer. These bindings can be ignored.”
Even if they could be ignored…
There would still be some control over the soul.
However—
No one could be absolutely free. As one’s strength increases, the bindings of the Temporal Palace would weaken. Dongbo Xueying still felt that joining the Temporal Palace was the better choice!
After all, the threat of the Demon God and the Great Demon God was too great!
If the war didn’t erupt yet, that was fine. But once it did…
Would anyone be able to stop it?
Sacrificing a bit of freedom, and undertaking repeated missions and dangers, in exchange for abundant resources that could help the Xia Clan win the war—it was worth it.
“After joining the Temporal Palace, will I have to undertake repeated missions?” Dongbo Xueying asked.
“Yes. In the early stages of cultivation… our cultivation of you cannot slacken,” the deep voice replied.
“I’m worried that while I am on a mission, the Demon God and the Great Demon God might launch their attack,” Dongbo Xueying said. This was very possible. He was the strongest in the Xia Clan, and his strength would only grow with time. Unless the Demon God and the Great Demon God were fools… they would certainly choose to attack when he was not in the Xia Clan’s world!
“Therefore, I have a request. I hope the Temporal Palace can monitor the Xia Clan’s world. Once war breaks out, the Temporal Palace must immediately notify me. I must immediately abandon my mission and return home! As for the mission, I can complete it later,” Dongbo Xueying continued.
“Abandoning a mission is possible. Golden Decree Divine Envoys do have some privileges,” the deep voice said. “However… I cannot monitor the Xia Clan’s world constantly. I must transport countless reincarnators. I must continuously explore various worlds. I cannot focus on a single world indefinitely.”
Dongbo Xueying was momentarily stunned.
“Also, understand this,” the voice continued. “As the artifact spirit of the Temporal Palace, my invitation follows the Master’s command. You are not qualified to make demands of me. Even a great power in the Divine Realm does not concern me. I only follow the Master’s orders.” The voice said, “Therefore, once you join, you will follow the duties of a Golden Decree Divine Envoy, carrying out missions one by one. I will grant you no further privileges.”
Dongbo Xueying suddenly understood.
Well, that was fair. After all, he was just a small fry. The artifact spirit of the Temporal Palace didn’t care about him—it was just following basic protocol.
“Then, could the divine artifact you are about to grant me be exchanged for another item instead? I would leave it in the Xia Clan. Once the Xia Clan’s people crush or activate it, I would sense it while on a mission and immediately return,” Dongbo Xueying asked.
“Your strength is already very high. Your missions will almost always be in the Dark Abyss and the Divine Realm, realms far too distant from your mortal world. The entire material world would form a barrier. You cannot even maintain a combat energy clone, let alone sense an object while not a deity,” the deep voice replied. “However, if you perform well within the Temporal Palace, you may have the chance to exchange for the rare Cultivation Clone Technique.”
“A clone?” Dongbo Xueying asked.
“World Gods, even great powers of the Divine Realm, nearly all possess clones. Half-Gods can cultivate them as well. You can exchange for them within the Temporal Palace,” the deep voice explained. “Then, you can leave your main body in your homeland while sending a clone to adventure.”
“What’s the cost?” Dongbo Xueying asked. “How many ordinary divine artifacts is it worth?”
“One hundred,” the deep voice replied.
“That expensive?” Dongbo Xueying was stunned.
“Even deities rarely possess clones, let alone Half-Gods. The Cultivation Clone Technique itself is extremely rare. This price is already very low. In the Divine Realm, even a thousand divine artifacts or more would not be enough to obtain it. Only Golden Decree Divine Envoys have this privilege,” the deep voice said. It didn’t mention that even with the technique, many rare treasures would still be required. But since Dongbo Xueying didn’t ask, it wouldn’t say more—its only goal was to secure his acceptance.
Dongbo Xueying frowned.
He was reluctant.
He was willing to join the Temporal Palace, but if war broke out while he was on a mission, by the time he returned, the war might already be over. What use would that be?
“If I cannot help the Xia Clan, then what use is there in joining the Temporal Palace?” Dongbo Xueying shook his head.
“You can exchange for treasures to give to the Xia Clan,” the deep voice suggested.
Dongbo Xueying shook his head again.
Treasures?
Treasures were only useful in the hands of capable people. Previously, hadn’t the Xia Clan struggled against Lord You Lan? At present, his strength was equal to Lord You Lan’s, and would only grow stronger in the future! His strength would be far more critical to the Xia Clan than mere treasures.
“If I cannot guarantee immediate participation in the war when it breaks out, I can only refuse,” Dongbo Xueying said. “I would rather risk myself in Redstone Mountain. There, I also have a chance to be cured and obtain treasures, and I would still be free.”
“But you might very likely die there.”
“If I can’t fight for the Xia Clan during the war, it’s no different from death.”
“Understand this,” the voice said sternly. “The Temporal Palace will never offer you a third chance! Once you refuse, the Temporal Palace will never extend another invitation to you.”
“Then it must mean that I and the Temporal Palace were never destined to be connected!”
“Fine.”
A mysterious and vast fluctuation quickly receded, leaving the Xia Clan’s world.
The flow of time returned to normal.
The cries of nearby street vendors and the chatter of passersby resumed around him.
Dongbo Xueying looked up at the sky, feeling a sudden clarity in his heart. Then so be it—he would go to Redstone Mountain, carve out a future with his own spear, and rely solely on his own strength!
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