Gu Zheng stood motionless, running through the technique again and again.

Outside the stone hut, the sky darkened.

Night fell.

The miniature Hurricane Domain continued to perfect its operational patterns according to the Daluo Celestial Inference Technique.

It ran until dawn and continued still.

Night fell once more, then gave way to light again.

Gu Zheng let out a long breath, briefly closed his eyes, then opened them.

The miniature Hurricane Domain materialized, composed of over a hundred spiral structures suspended in midair, slowly rotating.

The smaller spirals within were interconnected, while the three large outer spirals exerted a pull on one another.

The inner and outer layers were nested, each part interlinked.

This was the Daluo Celestial Inference Technique!

The Three Domains Unification—a perfected method for operating a Domain.

Of the two large outer spirals, one would connect to a Spirit Realm, and the other would cover a region of land.

For the former, he just needed to find an ownerless Spirit Realm to link with.

For the latter, he could link with a chosen city.

However, while building the Domain’s structure, Gu Zheng discovered that operating the regional aspect required not just people, but their hearts and minds—their popular support!

Only the people’s heartfelt reverence and love would allow the regional aspect to function.

This was the reason for Luoshan’s failure.

Though his strength was immense and he could inspire fear in countless people, he could never win their true allegiance!

That was why, no matter how many times he experimented with the Daluo Celestial Inference Technique, the end result was always failure.

But this wasn’t an issue for Gu Zheng.

’Popular support?’

That was the one thing he didn’t lack.

There were several places he could choose from.

The Daluo Celestial Inference Technique required the Three Domains Unification: a Spirit Realm, his own Domain, and a populated region. All he was missing was an ownerless Spirit Realm!

Coincidentally, Emperor Zhou and Wu Sanli had mentioned an ownerless Spirit Realm drifting west of the Celestial Gate Mountain Range.

If he could find this Spirit Realm, use the Daluo Celestial Inference Technique to pull it to Qingshi County, and initiate the Three Domains Unification, then the path to the Emperor Body Realm wouldn’t just be within sight—it would be right under his feet!

Tsk!

Gu Zheng felt a flicker of excitement before quickly regaining his composure.

’I haven’t even reached the True Body Realm, yet the path to the Emperor Body Realm is already becoming clear.’

’But I really need to get started on this in advance.’

After repeatedly studying the Daluo Celestial Inference Technique, Gu Zheng realized that achieving the Three Domains Unification would take at least ten years.

And that was with the people’s complete reverence and unified support.

However, if he had the complete Human Emperor’s Seal to assist him, the time required could be cut in half.

This meant that forging the Human Emperor’s Seal was still the top priority.

’I have to get my hands on the last three Tripod Cauldrons as soon as possible.’

...

Having organized his thoughts, Gu Zheng exited the Spirit Realm Space and returned to the seabed.

The Sealing Power on the hill that anchored the Spirit Realm Space had already shattered and vanished. This was because Luoshan had never used the key, leaving the space permanently open.

Therefore, any outsider who approached the entrance could enter the Spirit Realm.

This even included the fish and shrimp in the sea.

Gu Zheng wasn’t concerned about the fish, shrimp, or even the Water Demons.

This underwater hill was located four to five hundred meters deep. Ordinary people couldn’t reach it; they would die if they tried.

But for those in the Heroic Body Realm or King’s Body Realm, it posed no problem.

’If someone were to enter the Spirit Realm, discover the Daluo Celestial Inference Technique, and take the stone slab with them...’

’...then Luoshan’s backup plan would most likely come to fruition.’

That was not something Gu Zheng wanted to see.

He couldn’t seal the Spirit Realm Space at the moment; he had no idea how to even seal the entrance.

However, Gu Zheng could leave his Water Dominating Domain around the hill to seal it off.

Simply put, he would cover the hill with a barrier that would block both sight and senses.

The Water Dominating Domain would be that barrier.

Although a detached Domain couldn’t exist for long...

...this was the bottom of the sea. There was an abundant supply of water to sustain the Water Dominating Domain’s operation!

...

Without hesitation, he began.

First, Gu Zheng deployed his Water Dominating Domain, forming a massive, translucent barrier that enveloped the hill from the outside.

Then, he used his Domain Power to connect with the surrounding seawater, generating the force for a vortex.

The vortex pushed the seawater, reinforcing the Domain. The Domain’s operation, in turn, powered the vortex.

Eventually, a self-sustaining cycle was achieved.

The entire process took the better part of half a day.

Gu Zheng tested it, confirmed there were no issues, and only then did he leave the seabed, floating upward.

He broke the surface of the sea.

He flew toward the mouth of the Mian River where it met the sea.

Following the Mian River against the wind, he made his way back to northern Fengzhou.

The Evil God Cultists in Lijiang Prefecture had yet to be dealt with.

Gu Zheng spent some time hunting down all the hiding Evil God Cultists, annihilating them and harvesting their Demon Points.

Afterward, he headed south, Demon-Seeking Pot in hand. Whenever he sensed a Demon Fiend, he would immediately track it down, slay it, and harvest the Demon Points.

This killing spree lasted for two days.

His accumulated Demon Points were approaching forty thousand.

It was then that he received a distress call from Zuo Lingfeng.

A fourth-rank Evil God Avatar had appeared in Luozhou!

Without hesitation, Gu Zheng took to the sky, streaking through the air at top speed to get there.

He pushed his speed to its absolute limit the entire way.

When he arrived at the location Zuo Lingfeng had provided, Gu Zheng saw a ghastly white light flare up from the horizon.

BZZZZ—

The void trembled.

The ghastly white light seemed to solidify as it swept across an area hundreds of yards in radius.

Within that range, every trace of Life Qi abruptly vanished!

"This is..."

Gu Zheng’s brow rose as he sensed the changes within the area.

Indeed, wherever the ghastly white light had passed, all insects, snakes, birds, and beasts had died.

Humans, of course, were no exception.

’To annihilate all living beings within hundreds of yards in a single strike?’

The problem was, this wasn’t an Evil God. There was no malevolent aura, no overwhelming divine might, and certainly no Divine Realm.

The one who had attacked was a person—a middle-aged man of average height with a blank expression and long, unbound hair. Floating behind his head was the phantom image of a ten-foot-long black ruler.

The ghastly white light that had just annihilated all life for hundreds of yards was released by that phantom black ruler.

’A Divine Weapon Projection?’

’A black ruler Divine Weapon...’

"Gu!"

A hurried cry, laced with shock and anger, came from a mountain peak to the left.

Zuo Lingfeng’s figure flickered as he moved closer to Gu Zheng.

"Gu, my intelligence was wrong! The one who destroyed Jinyang Prefecture, Qingyang Prefecture, seven cities, and killed over a million people wasn’t a fourth-rank Evil God Avatar—it was this man, Zhu Wushi!"

Zuo Lingfeng gritted his teeth and pointed at the expressionless middle-aged man walking slowly across the ground in the distance. "That bastard doesn’t give a damn about human life, all for the sake of his cultivation," he growled. "The entire Zhu Family are butchers, a pack of inhuman, cold-blooded beasts!"

"The Zhu Family?"

Gu Zheng asked calmly, "The Zhu Family of the Life-taking Ruler?"

"Yes, that’s them." Zuo Lingfeng panted, trying to calm himself. "Zhu Wushi is one of them. He’s currently at the Half-King Realm. Though he’s only a Half-King, he can threaten a King’s Body because his Slaughter Force Field can damage a Domain. Gu, be careful."

"Alright."

Gu Zheng nodded and took a step into the air. "I’ve been wanting to experience the Zhu Family’s Slaughter Force Field for myself."

As his voice fell, his figure shot forward.

The Life-taking Ruler, the Zhu Family!

This Noble Family could be called the Dark Family that cared the least about human life.

The Baili Family, which possessed the Divine Weapon Seven Kills Blade, also grew stronger through slaughter, but they had retained their conscience and were not bound by their killing intent.

The Baili Family primarily hunted beings of the Beast-Killing Class and Demon Fiends. Of course, they also killed humans.

However, killing too many humans would cause the residual resentment on the Seven Kills Blade to grow heavier, which would affect even its Divine Weapon Projection.

If the Artifact Spirit of the Seven Kills Blade was immersed in an ocean of resentment for too long, it would become corrupted.

A corrupted Artifact Spirit itself wasn’t the issue. The problem was that the members of the Baili Family who bore the Seven Kills Blade’s Sword Seal couldn’t withstand it. They would be controlled and reduced to slaves of the Divine Weapon. This was not an outcome the Baili Family desired.

For this reason, the Baili Family rarely killed humans.

The Zhu Family of the Life-taking Ruler was different.

This Noble Family killed for the sake of killing. Birds, beasts, flowers, trees—anything that possessed Life Qi was a target.

And humans were their primary focus.

In a sense, the members of the Zhu Family had already become Puppets of the Life-taking Ruler!

...

"BOOM!" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

A massive explosion erupted.

Gu Zheng charged toward Zhu Wushi. Before he could even get close, a terrifying, invisible Force Field erupted from Zhu Wushi’s body. Filled with frenzied killing intent, it swept down to envelop Gu Zheng without an ounce of fear.

BZZZZZZ—

The frenzied killing intent assaulted Gu Zheng’s mind, only to completely dissipate in an instant.

The invisible Force Field, like a Domain, followed close behind, enveloping Gu Zheng...