Supreme Emptiness

He felt his mouth go dry and his throat tighten.

He couldn't believe it—he had so easily obtained a second Infinite Ring!

At the base of that snow mountain cliff.

Inside the Nascent Soul Cave Mansion, he had found an identical Infinite Ring!

This ring possessed the miraculous ability to control gravity.

Back then, when he was still in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Facing Leng Gu at the Ninth Layer of Core Formation, he was on the brink of death.

It was thanks to the ring's residual energy that he shattered Leng Gu.

Six months had passed since then.

And now, he had come across another one!

And for only a thousand merit points!

It felt like a dream.

But still...

Once the Infinite Ring's energy was depleted, it was extremely difficult to restore.

Jiang Fan had exhausted his spiritual power, and all he managed to do was make the ring's color faintly shift.

As a result...

He had temporarily left the Infinite Ring unused, setting it aside.

"Manager, does this Infinite Ring have a backstory?"

Jiang Fan was curious.

Why was one in the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and another at the cliff base?

Could there be some connection between the two rings?

The Manager stroked his beard and said, "The Infinite Ring is a mid-grade spiritual artifact."

"It was found decades ago on the body of a corpse in the tenth layer underground."

"When it was discovered, it was already heavily damaged and barely recognizable."

"According to records, this ring was the lifebound magical treasure of a pair of late-stage Nascent Soul Dao companions from a century ago."

"The rings were divided into Yin and Yang Rings, with a total of two pieces."

"Individually, they are mid-grade spiritual artifacts, but when activated together, their combined power ranks among the top of mid-grade spiritual artifacts."

"At that time, that pair of Dao companions relied on the two Infinite Rings to sweep through their enemies, making a name for themselves."

"However, the two eventually parted ways for reasons unknown."

"One of them entered the tenth layer of our Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion's underground world to explore."

"When her body was found, it was decades later."

"Not only had she perished and her Dao dissolved, but the Infinite Ring she held had also been shattered by some unknown force."

Jiang Fan nodded silently to himself.

The timeline matched up.

That cave mansion also dated back a century.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he said, "Thank you, senior, for sharing this knowledge."

"Junior will take his leave now."

He couldn't wait to test it out back home.

To see if he could guide the energy from the damaged ring into the empty Infinite Ring.

If he succeeded, he'd have one more trump card in his hand.

As he turned to leave...

He suddenly noticed a row of crystal cabinets not far away, flickering with an eerie red glow.

Upon closer inspection...

The crystal cabinets were lined with several sealing talismans.

Moreover, an array had been set up specifically for it.

When he looked at the price tag beside it...

Jiang Fan nearly bit his tongue: "A hundred thousand merit points?!"

"Is there a goddess inside or something?"

After all his painstaking efforts, he had only earned eight thousand merit points so far.

Even if he were to continue his streak of luck in discovering two hidden spaces every month...

He wouldn't be able to gather that much in an entire year.

Who could even afford that?

The Manager also showed a bitter smile. "Indeed."

"A hundred thousand merit points, even in the glory days of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, was an astronomical number."

"Nowadays, even if you accumulated your entire lifetime's earnings, it would still be challenging to reach that amount."

"However, the item inside is actually worth far more than one hundred thousand merit points."

Jiang Fan grew intensely curious.

Even a hundred thousand merit points underestimated its value?

"What's inside?"

Looking through the crystal cabinet, he vaguely made out a pitch-black jade bottle.

It was only the size of a palm.

There was no way to discern what was contained within.

"True Spirit Blood."

What?!

Jiang Fan's entire body shuddered, as though a surge of electricity raced from head to toe.

His pupils dilated, and his breathing grew erratic.

Back in the day, even Lu Jiulin, who created the Brahma Saint True Spirit Technique, had failed to gather four types of True Spirit Blood.

Their rarity was beyond imagination.

And yet the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had a vial of it hidden here?

The True Spirit Blood of a rebellious guy—a single vial would be enough for Jiang Fan to cultivate the Divine Image, rendering him invincible under the Nascent Soul Realm.

According to the cultivation technique...

Cultivating two Divine Images would grant him a Golden Body.

In other words, his physique would rival a Nascent Soul cultivator!

With such a body, what did he have to fear from Demon Emperors?

He finally understood...

Why the Manager claimed that one hundred thousand merit points underestimated its worth.

If Lu Jiulin, who had searched his entire life for four types of True Spirit Blood, knew...

That the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion offered it for a mere hundred thousand merit points...

He'd likely vomit blood in frustration.

What he had risked life and limb and still failed to find could be exchanged here for just a hundred thousand merit points!

But upon regaining his composure...

Jiang Fan couldn't help but show a slightly bitter smile.

In the current underground world...

One hundred thousand merit points was truly no small feat.

But at least a glimmer of hope had been found.

He reluctantly cast one last lingering look at the True Spirit Blood before leaving decisively.

Soon after...

He led the Zero Team straight to the Task Hall.

Behind him, furious roars erupted from the Wuji Team and the Far Expedition Team.

"That bastard took the Moon Realm!"

"Damn it, the Bright Light Brocade Robe is gone too!"

The first grievance was bearable.

But the second came with rules that made the Wuji Team want to cough up blood.

The Bright Light Brocade Robe could only be exchanged by one team.

Even if there were five robes left, Wuji would be unable to claim one.

They would have to wait until Zero Team's one-year usage period expired before they would qualify.

That was, of course, assuming Wuji's merit points surpassed Zero Team's by then.

"Jiang Fan!" Li Shangqiu roared with fury.

As for Jiang Fan...

He appeared inside the bustling main hall of the Task Hall.

Many disciples were accepting tasks, their expressions particularly grim.

Jiang Fan appeared puzzled.

Suddenly, spotting Ren Guhong, he called out, "Brother Ren."

"Has something happened?"

When Ren Guhong saw Jiang Fan, his eyes lit up, and he said:

"Junior Brother Jiang, the Pavilion Master has suddenly issued an ultra-dangerous task."

"Only disciples at the Seventh Layer of Core Formation or above are eligible to accept it."

"The task is to search for traces of the Hell Beast, with a reward of ten thousand merit points."

"If discovered by one individual, they will claim all ten thousand merit points."

"If discovered by multiple individuals simultaneously, the points will be divided among them."

"I've teamed up with Wu Manyue. Junior Brother Jiang, would you like to join us?"

Although Jiang Fan was still at the Sixth Level of Core Formation...

His resourcefulness and cleverness would far exceed the contributions of some Ninth Layer companions in such a mission!

Moreover, this task was exceedingly dangerous.

A poor choice of companions could easily drag one into deadly peril.

Thus, Ren Guhong sincerely extended the invitation to Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan frowned in thought.

He would naturally prefer to bring the Zero Team along.

But after some calm analysis, he dismissed the idea.

Tracking a Hell Beast was unimaginably perilous.

It required the combined efforts of humans and demons—led by one Nascent Soul cultivator and five Demon Emperors—to deal with.

Without exceptional escape skills, survival was highly unlikely.

Jiang Fan himself might not even be able to preserve his own life.

How could he look after others in such conditions?

More importantly...

The reward was shared among all participants.

For Jiang Fan to complete it alone meant the points would remain the same.

Bringing the team along would only dilute the reward.

Ren Guhong likely hadn't brought his own team along for the same reason.

Therefore...

After brief consideration, Jiang Fan replied, "Alright."

"When are we departing?"

Ren Guhong beamed with joy and said, "As soon as we've accepted the task, we're good to go."

"However, for such a dangerous venture..."

"Wu Manyue and I both need a day to prepare ourselves."

Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the woodcutter.

The Hell Beast had rampaged unchecked for so long without anyone tracking it down.

It certainly wouldn't mind one more day.

Ensuring one's survival was key, and ample preparation was the only way to do so.

Jiang Fan's eyes gleamed as he nodded. "Agreed!"

"We'll meet at this time tomorrow, in front of the Task Hall."

After bidding farewell to Liu Qingxian and the others...

Jiang Fan quickly accepted the task.

Then, holding his Identity Token, he rushed to a valley thirty miles outside the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.

This was the very spot where the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Master had once faced a tribulation.

To this day, the valley still carried the lingering aura of that tribulation.

Inside the valley...

A thunder pool crackled with arcs of lightning.

The Yizhu Demon Emperor, bathing naked in the pool, showed faint signs of pain on her face.

Calmly, she allowed the Tribulation Thunder to temper her body.

Looking up at the hesitant Old Dream Demon Emperor above, she couldn't resist snapping: "Are you coming down or not?"

The Old Dream Demon Emperor fiddled with her collar, nervously scanning her surroundings.

"The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Master said disciples might show up at any moment."

"If someone catches us both stark naked in the thunder pool, how could I ever show my face again?"

The Yizhu Demon Emperor rolled her eyes.

"Fine, then keep your clothes on when you step into the thunder pool—but don't blame me when every single garment gets scorched away by the Thunder Arcs."

"Besides, what junior could be so skilled as to sneak up on us unnoticed?"

"If anyone approaches, we'll simply hide among the clouds above."

"Honestly, what are you so afraid of?"

After a long moment of hesitation...

The Old Dream Demon Emperor finally gave in.

Pressing her red lips together, she reluctantly disrobed.

Revealing a youthful and proud figure.