Chapter 439 Investigation 2

The sky was a bright, pure white, with a golden sun hanging high above, releasing light and heat.

But on closer inspection, one would find that the sun did not move, and the clouds did not drift.

The ground was paved with flat, white stone tiles, perfectly level everywhere. No trees or weeds were visible. The occasional plant grew only in the artificial flowerbeds scattered about.

There was absolutely no sign of wild plants.

Aside from all that, the air here…

‘The concentration of Disaster Energy in the air is surprisingly low… For a power capable of experimenting with multiple types of Disaster Energy, to have such a low concentration internally… Clearly, their management of its diffusion is extremely strict.’

Through Yan Qiushi’s eyes, Lin Hui surveyed the area.

A faint white mist drifted in the distance, yet he could still clearly see objects a kilometer away.

As they continued on their way, the mist slowly dissipated, and a massive golden statue ahead of them loomed closer.

The statue seemed to be made of pure gold. It was over a hundred meters tall and depicted a broad-shouldered man wearing a round hat and a greatcoat.

The moment Yan Qiushi saw the statue, she hurried toward it, landing at its feet. She respectfully placed her hands together, closed her eyes, and seemed to be silently chanting something.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and bowed to the statue. Only then did she let out a light sigh, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and a faint smile returned to her face.

Lin Hui didn’t ask. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; the moment Yan Qiushi approached the statue, he had been frozen in place by what it contained.

Power of Existence!!

It was the Power of Existence, a golden light so condensed it was almost blinding!

Right inside this very statue!

He only snapped out of it when Yan Qiushi turned to leave.

He roughly estimated the total amount of Power of Existence within the statue. Based on the concentration of his new disciple’s golden aura, it was enough to cut the time needed for his Blood Seal by more than half.

Of course, such a vast amount of Power of Existence concentrated in one place was a clear sign that the Endless Divine Race possessed a profound understanding and application of it.

Otherwise, it couldn’t be a coincidence that they could gather so much of it inside an artificial statue.

Lin Hui suppressed the urge to snatch the statue. Seeing Yan Qiushi about to leave, he finally spoke up.

“What is that statue?”

Yan Qiushi was startled by his sudden voice.

“That’s… it’s a Divine Food Statue. A special Divine Statue used to obtain Divine Power for sustenance after praying,” she quickly explained.

“Divine Power for sustenance?”

“Yes, we rely mainly on Divine Power Fountains and Divine Food Statues for our meals.”

“Did you make these yourselves?” Lin Hui asked.

“I don’t know. As long as I’ve been alive and aware, the Divine Food Statues have existed, and their number has always been fixed. It’s never changed,” Yan Qiushi replied. “These statues are incredibly hard and fused to the ground, so they can’t be moved. Aside from the different kinds of Divine Food they produce, they haven’t changed in all these years.”

‘I see…’ Lin Hui felt there was something strange and unnatural about the Endless Divine Race, as if they weren’t truly living beings.

Watching the giant statue shrink into the distance, Yan Qiushi continued on her way back.

Lin Hui wasn’t disappointed, because it wasn’t long before another golden Divine Food Statue appeared a short distance ahead.

According to Yan Qiushi, she was using the Divine Food Statues as waypoints, moving from one to the next.

Around this Divine Food Statue, there were public benches where a few vagrant members of the Divine Race were dozing.

Tugging her suitcase along, Yan Qiushi briefly explained about these vagrants.

“Because you can get all the sustenance you need just by praying to the Divine Food Statues, a rather large group of lazy Divine Race members has appeared. They don’t want to do anything, just coast by and wait to die. They don’t work, study, or strive for anything. They just maintain a basic existence using the Divine Food Statues and fountains. Sometimes they’ll even form partnerships and families, but when they have children, they just ignore them, abandoning them or giving them away. If they desperately need money, they’ll go find some temporary odd jobs…”

When she spoke of these vagrants, an inexplicable hatred tinged Yan Qiushi’s words.

Clearly, she had been a child victim of such people.

Lin Hui had no time to dwell on her subtle emotions. He was once again focused on observing the reserves of the new Divine Food Statue.

This statue, depicting a young girl in a lace-brimmed hat, contained slightly more Power of Existence than the previous one of the man in the greatcoat. If he could slowly absorb the Power of Existence from both, the time required for his Blood Seal might just vanish completely on the spot!

But right now he was just a wisp of his Heart and Spirit and couldn’t absorb it. Only his true body, in person, could completely absorb all the Power of Existence.

This tantalizing feeling—of a prize he could see but not touch—ignited a long-dormant craving and passion within him.

Yan Qiushi continued on, soon reaching a small town where all the buildings were enormous.

The entire town was comprised of just five buildings. These five buildings were divided into five districts, with simple streets constructed within.

As Yan Qiushi entered one of the buildings, Lin Hui also spotted a colossal giant, at least several hundred meters tall, leaning against a wall in a corner and snoring soundly.

“Every city district here has a guardian like this one. The town we’re in now is called Songxiang Town. So this guardian’s name is Songxiang,” Yan Qiushi explained. “In reality, while they’re called guardians, actual defense is handled by the Divine Army. The giants themselves don’t have much combat power. They are mainly used for moving buildings. Their strength is immense.”

“They’re from the Divine Race too?”

“Yes, they are specialized members of the Divine Race. They take on this form through special modifications and training. They can revert back later, but it comes at a certain price,” Yan Qiushi said.

“Are all the cities like this?”

“Yes, they all are. Our internal city structure, from the bottom up, consists of towns, cities, and Royal Cities. There are only eight Royal Cities, one for each of our eight God Kings. There’s one city for every planet in the Human Realm, so there are quite a few of those. The number of towns isn’t fixed; there are countless. And often, the towns can be lifted and moved by the giants.”

Lin Hui took in the town’s unique style, finding it rather novel.

‘The Divine Race doesn’t need to eat or excrete. They can just close their eyes and make any spot their bed. It’s no wonder there are so many vagrants. This kind of life completely kills any ambition.’

Next, Yan Qiushi gave him a firsthand look at the so-called “efficiency” of the Divine Race.

Because she was acting as a purchasing agent, she needed to register her items upon returning to town, so Yan Qiushi went to the town’s registration office.

No one was in line at the office; she was the only one there to get something done.

The clerk lazily told her to wait. He said he was hungry and was about to go out to pray for a bite to eat. He’d heard the Divine Power produced by a certain statue somewhere tasted pretty good, so he left to go have a meal.

Three hours later… the sky was still bright, it was still daytime, and the clerk hadn’t returned.

Yan Qiushi took a simple, foldable military cot from her Space Ring and unfolded it in an empty space in the office.

“What are you doing?” Lin Hui sensed something was off and quickly asked.

“Going to sleep,” Yan Qiushi replied, her big eyes wide with innocence.

“I thought you were here on business? You’re going to sleep?” Lin Hui had been waiting for her to take him to see more Divine Food Statues, but she was planning to just camp out right here?

“Of course. I’m on business, but am I not supposed to sleep? You expect me to just suffer through the wait?” Yan Qiushi retorted, as if it were perfectly logical.

“So how long does it usually take to get business done here?” Lin Hui asked, speechless.

“If it’s fast, three days. If it’s slow, you have to wait at least two weeks. The longest I’ve ever waited was half a year,” Yan Qiushi replied.

Lin Hui withdrew his consciousness without hesitation. He’d now experienced the work ethic of a race that never had to worry about its next meal.

After retracting his Heart and Spirit, his true body, back in the Heart Source Demon Palace, made some calculations. The Power of Existence within the Divine Food Statues gave him immense motivation to invade the Endless Divine Domain.

‘I didn’t expect to find such a high concentration of Power of Existence so quickly. It seems my choice of target was correct… The Endless Divine Race… I need to make my move soon…’

He had originally planned to wait for his big sister’s side to confirm a date before acting, but now, he felt he couldn’t wait any longer…

‘Just by casually entering their Divine Domain, I’ve already found so many aggregation points for the Power of Existence. If I could scour the entire place from top to bottom, the gains would be simply unimaginable!’

‘The only problem is that the Divine Domain of the Endless Divine Race doesn’t seem that large. The population density is high, and everyone lives in close proximity. This means that if trouble starts, their experts can reinforce each other very quickly… The upside is, they probably wouldn’t dare to unleash their full power wantonly during a fight. The density is too high, and they could easily destroy their own people and territory.’

After weighing the pros and cons, Lin Hui stood up and casually swiped his hand through the air.

Cutting open a rift, he stepped into the Black Domain.

Outside the world, in the Black Domain, countless World Balls streaked overhead like meteors, brilliant and colorful.

The Black Domain outside this greater world had always been this lively. It was the complete opposite of the exterior of the Fog People World back then.

Lin Hui scanned his surroundings to make sure there were no other eyes on him. Then he raised his right hand, and four different colored flames—red, blue, green, and gold—suddenly ignited in his palm.

The four flames burned separately, not mingling or merging.

“Everyone, have you made your decision?” His voice split into four, transmitted to four different Realms.

At the same time, from within the four Calamity worlds—Purgatory, Extreme Cold Heaven, Haiming, and Hui Jing—corresponding ripples and responses echoed back one by one.

“According to the intelligence and the physical samples you provided, this group, the Endless Divine Race, does indeed possess high cognitive value,” the Duke of Purgatory was the first to answer. “I have already reported to the Emperor. His Majesty has decided that several of us dukes will act as the vanguard, while he personally oversees the operation. We’re going to make a big score this time.”

“Aren’t you afraid of losing everything?” Lin Hui said with a laugh.

“The Emperor made a move once before, but it failed. A small world was even destroyed, yet they still pushed back. We suffered great losses. This time, we have a good entry point from the start. As soon as I finished my report and he confirmed its authenticity, His Majesty was immediately tempted,” the Duke of Purgatory said with a laugh.

“Good. Then wait for my signal. It will be sometime in the next few years. I will notify you in advance when preparations are complete,” Lin Hui said.

“Alright. So this time, you plan to…?”

“I’ve taken a trip into the Endless Divine Domain and have a general idea of how to get in and what their security measures are,” Lin Hui replied. “My plan this time is to bring everyone together, see what the best method of entry is, and decide how to act once we’re inside. It would be best to first send in a team of elite experts to coordinate from the inside and out.”