Chapter 502: The New World

In the warm spring of March, the earth begins to warm again.

Inside the city of Dingzhou, in the mansion of the governor.

“Ding’er is so brave!”

Wu Ming, dressed in official robes, sat side by side with Wu Zhi in a pavilion. They watched their son, being carefully attended by a group of nannies and maids, crawling around on the soft grass. Her eyes brimmed with maternal affection as she smiled and announced to Wu Ming.

“Mm… indeed…”

Wu Ming took a sip of tea. In this world, there was an old saying: “Rolling at seven months, crawling at eight.” It meant that infants could roll over at seven months and start crawling at eight.

Yet now, Ding’er was already doing so just one or two months after birth. No matter where he was, he would be regarded as a prodigy, perhaps even worthy of the title “child genius.”

“Actually, Ding’er has inherited the essence of a sixth-level expert, so he’s already a genius among geniuses… Probably able to walk in another two months, speak by age one… Begin his studies at three, and by eight or nine, perhaps be famous throughout the land?”

Wu Ming had no doubt about the integrity of the civil and military officials under Wu Zhi.

Even more so, he suspected that some were already beginning to praise the child excessively. Of course, Wu Zhi naturally welcomed such developments, as they symbolized a certain heavenly mandate.

“What a leisurely life…”

Wu Ming lazily yawned, half-reclining on a soft chair, enjoying the warm and gentle sunlight with his eyes half-closed. Yet his consciousness gathered at his brow.

…

Inside the Temple of the Lord God.

Wu Ming’s true form sat upright, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

Within the Great Luo Hall, projections of various worlds appeared, each showing scenes of the activities of the Reincarnators.

By guiding missions, the Reincarnators frequently intervened in these worlds, causing deviations in their destined fates.

“Actually, achieving what we did in the Divine Demon World or the Phantom Spirit World—directly splitting the world essence—is extremely difficult… or rather, it was a rare coincidence, one in a million! But even the smallest gains, like the meat on a mosquito’s leg, can accumulate into something great through persistent effort…”

Essentially, the existence of the Reincarnators themselves was a deviation from fate.

Therefore, as long as Reincarnators were sent into real worlds, there would naturally be some harvest, albeit very slight.

In the myriad worlds across the cosmos, countless tiny specks of purple light converged into the Yuanli Pool, steadily increasing its reserves—this was the best proof!

“With the initial capital and a large number of elite Reincarnators, the Temple of the Lord God has finally entered a healthy and virtuous development cycle…”

Seeing this, Wu Ming exhaled in relief.

In the early days after acquiring the Temple of the Lord God, the Yuanli Pool had been broken and its reserves were extremely low, forcing him to personally enter other worlds to harvest Yuanli.

Now, with some initial investment, the pool was beginning to generate returns, meaning the Temple was finally turning a profit and could enjoy the fruits of its labor.

“Once the wheels of the Temple of the Lord God start turning, each world can only be mercilessly crushed beneath them… This is the trend, and moreover, it will only grow stronger!”

As for these Reincarnators, Wu Ming’s attitude was one of restriction and utilization.

First, all possible permissions were forbidden—Reincarnators would remain Reincarnators for their entire lives, never gaining the chance to become Permission Holders.

Next, a voucher system was introduced. While they could exchange for abilities, major breakthroughs in cultivation still required strict limitations.

Finally, the Temple’s rewards were based first on the Reincarnators’ contributions to the Temple, then on a proportional share, ensuring that the strong became stronger while the Temple always remained superior to other Reincarnators.

“Actually, as long as a complete and mature system is established, along with a certain degree of self-correcting ability, programs can often last longer than humans…”

Suddenly, Wu Ming recalled the original Temple of the Lord God: “The original Temple, without a Sovereign controlling it, still existed within the Zhou World, stirring up storms and selecting Permission Holders according to its pre-programmed procedures—that was the best proof!”

[Ding! Abnormal world detected. According to Protocol One, reporting to the Sovereign!]

Suddenly, a notification window appeared before Wu Ming.

“Abnormal world?”

Wu Ming became slightly interested, looking at the detailed report.

“Hmm… multiple Reincarnation missions, and the teams were completely wiped out. Suspected interference or suppression forces?”

As he continued reading, his expression became increasingly solemn.

At this time, the Temple’s deployment range was still limited to this universe, as all were part of the Xianwu system, making it very suitable for the Zhou World’s Reincarnators.

Additionally, due to the deliberate leniency in the previous “Western Journey of the Zhou Dynasty,” new Reincarnators were able to grow and compete or cooperate with veteran Reincarnators. Basically, each world yielded some harvest.

However, this particular world, due to repeated deployments of Reincarnators resulting in near-total annihilation, stood out sharply from the surrounding normal worlds, drawing the Temple’s attention.

Immediately, a report was submitted to the Supreme Sovereign—Wu Ming.

“Even a fourth-level Reincarnator perished… This world is no simple place…”

Wu Ming pondered for a moment before activating his authority: “Retrieve the true soul of the fallen Reincarnator and search their memories…”

Soon, the soul imprint of a fallen Reincarnator appeared, and scenes from their memories were rapidly extracted, revealing the details of this mission world to Wu Ming.

“Hmm… a very ordinary ancient world, with no particularly high mission difficulty…”

Wu Ming concluded: “But… all foreign powers are suppressed here?”

The Temple of the Lord God possessed partial Great Luo abilities, and even if other world’s Golden Immortals or Heavenly Immortals tried to suppress the Reincarnators at the level of laws, they would find it difficult.

Yet this world had managed to do so, which was truly astonishing!

“That world… has a Great Luo-level expert? Or… a power source originating from the Temple itself?”

To suppress the Temple, only a Great Luo Golden Immortal or a component identical to the Temple itself would suffice.

“If there were a Great Luo Golden Immortal in this universe, the Temple should have been discovered long ago… Considering the Temple’s original body fell into the Zhou World, it’s most likely that some of its components also fell into this universe…”

Wu Ming’s eyes suddenly gleamed: “Looks like it’s time to thoroughly explore this world…”

This potentially existing Temple component was closely related to the Temple’s secrets. Naturally, Wu Ming wouldn’t entrust such an important mission to any Reincarnator—he would have to go in person.

Of course, by “in person,” he meant sending out a divine projection.

His true form remained in the Temple, essentially half a Great Luo Golden Immortal, capable of infinite rebirths and opportunities. A fool would abandon such a major advantage.

In the Great Luo Hall, the sound of countless galaxies roared.

Wu Ming stood beneath the dark and mysterious cosmic backdrop, his divine consciousness already locked onto a world.

From the outside, this world appeared like a golden sun, continuously radiating light and heat, dominating numerous smaller worlds and pocket realms around it.

Yet in Wu Ming’s eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disgruntled: “The Zhou World was originally purple, the Phantom Spirit World was cyan. This time’s world… is actually a whole level lower than the Phantom Spirit World. Could it be that I’m regressing instead of progressing?”

Of course, in reality, world levels only represented general strength. If a world’s Chosen One appeared, with the world essence piled upon him, who knew what might happen?

“Besides… the more restrictive a world is toward supernatural forces… the greater the limitations on human bodies, and the easier it is for high-level experts to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers…”

Wu Ming’s expression grew serious. He flicked his finger, and a streak of light flashed, quickly vanishing into the golden stellar range.

Buzz!

A meteor sped away, within which was Wu Ming, wrapped in layers of Great Luo power.

“The resistance upon entry… is almost no less than the Phantom Spirit World. This world is indeed quite extraordinary!”

Despite the secrets of this world, under the Great Luo’s interdimensional travel capabilities of the Temple, it still succumbed, allowing Wu Ming to break through the boundary and enter.

“Great Luo power… begin gathering information…”

Wu Ming waved his hand with his divine projection, some of his power dispersing outward to capture news and even future fragments of this world.

But in an instant, a mighty force surged forth, completely foiling his plans: “This is…”

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, the heavens and earth changed. When Wu Ming regained his senses, he stood at the edge of a forest, surrounded by wildflowers and lush green grass. A clear spring gently flowed beside him, its tinkling sound like the chime of jade bells.

“Indeed…”

He closed his eyes: “Throughout the entire world, there is a powerful suppressing force, but its origin remains undetectable…”

“Daoist cultivation is suppressed the most, while martial cultivation is still possible, though requiring gradual transformation…”

…

Within the Great Luo Hall, Wu Ming’s true form observed this scene, his face showing a strange expression.

Crack! Crack!

Suddenly, the entire golden world trembled, its outer solar corona beginning to contract inward, even transforming into crystalline substances that tightly sealed the entire world.

A yellow jade-like crystalline membrane seemed to form a crystal barrier system, enclosing the entire world within. From the cosmos, it appeared as if one were looking at an amber.

“It’s been triggered—the defensive mechanism of this world… but it doesn’t seem like the awakening of the world’s will; rather, it appears to be an automatic reflex…”

Seeing this, Wu Ming’s true form smiled slightly: “Interesting! Truly interesting!”

The projection he had sent was merely for reconnaissance. If he truly discovered fragments or components of the Temple, even if it meant initiating a world war, he would certainly take control of them!

…

Inside the Amber World.

“This world… is indeed quite peculiar…”

Wu Ming waved his hand, and a flame flickered into existence between his fingers. He stared at the blue-green core of the flame for a long while, speechless.

“In the Zhou World, Daoist techniques capable of scorching mountains and boiling seas are reduced to just this tiny flame here? Yet it’s not like the suppression found in the Phantom Spirit World… Strange! Truly strange!”

If before he had only a one-in-ten chance of certainty, now the possibility that this world contained a fragment of the Temple had instantly increased by thirty percent!

“Pity… I can’t sense any trace of it at all…”

He sighed inwardly, his eyes once again turning resolute: “At worst, this projection will remain in this world indefinitely. Even if it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack, I must find it!”

“Any fragment of the Temple must possess extraordinary properties. The natives of this world might have noticed its uniqueness and recorded it in their histories—this is also a possible lead…”