Under the guidance of Jiao’s father, Feng indeed found the vein containing the Yellow Jade Demon Crystals. Though the amount inside wasn't as vast as imagined, they still managed to mine nearly 50 tons!
Measuring Yellow Jade Demon Crystals in tons—if another world knew of this, the entire globe would surely go mad.
However, Chen Feng was no longer surprised by tons of Yellow Jade Demon Crystals; in his canteen, thanks to "plagiarizing" the magic array near the Purple Fire Crystal Mother, he already possessed at least ten tons!
Chen Feng calmly collected the ore into his canteen, and an idea surfaced from the depths of his heart.
If this world could yield such a mine, could there be a second one?
So, he left a few Demon Crystals for Pope Woma, instructing him to have people continue the search, while he, along with Ling Feng, Xiao Hu, and the others, returned to this world.
What greatly relieved Chen Feng was that 【Nature】 could actually be utilized, allowing the 【Sweep Across the Horizon】 Legion to easily cross over from the other world.
But the sudden appearance of such a powerful force here was bound to cause a stir, and if targeted by other factions, it would inevitably lead to a bitter fight. Chen Feng considered the matter and pointed a direction out to White.
That direction led to the chaotic zone covering trillions of square kilometers on the Purple Cloud Continent (the name for the overseas continent, first appearing in Chapter 248)!
This chaotic zone was not governed by the Three Great Factions or the Seven Great Empires; instead, it was backward and ignorant, riddled with petty states and perpetual warfare.
Chen Feng’s objective was for White to lead the legion to subdue this chaotic zone, establish a colossal empire, and unify their beliefs!
During this time, Chen Feng learned a great deal about godhood from Ling Feng’s stories, finally grasping the crucial importance of Faith Power. Furthermore, he faintly perceived a strange phenomenon: he could now utilize this peculiar energy.
Previously, possessing the Faith Crystal of the Divine Palace of Light allowed him to absorb and utilize Faith Power. But now, his divine-level physical body could also absorb and employ this power!
Knowing this, Chen Feng devised a plan for White to unify the faith of the chaotic zone, leading the people to believe in him and enthrone him as a god!
Although the people of the chaotic zone were savage, they possessed a blind reverence for deities. Unifying them would allow him to acquire a massive influx of Faith Power!
Naturally, Faith Power was accumulated over time; initially, results would be negligible, but over the long run, small amounts would naturally build up.
With this idea in mind, Chen Feng also focused on the areas already unified within the Realm of Nature.
The Realm of Nature had previously worshipped the God of Justice, but after ten thousand years without a divine miracle, their faith had waned. Faith Power, if not absorbed by a deity, would weaken and eventually dissipate into the cosmos.
It was similar to temples: a flourishing incense smoke imbued them with a sense of solemn grandeur, whereas a dilapidated temple lost that feeling.
This explained why many deities favored using Faith Crystals to collect Faith Power. Deities could not remain in the temples built in the lower realms every day; if the Faith Power accumulated in the temples wasn't absorbed promptly, it would quickly vanish.
So, the gods devised an excellent solution: utilize Faith Crystals to absorb the power. The deity would only need to periodically retrieve the Faith Power stored within the crystals!
The Faith Crystal was like a reservoir; the Faith Power flowing in was like a stream. Only continuous flow could fill the reservoir!
Understanding this, Chen Feng finally grasped the function of the "Divine Palace of Light" he had obtained long ago. The Light Main God truly lived up to his title—a magnificent stroke of genius! By carving out a spatial passage in a stable dimension, he could directly transmit the Faith Power absorbed by the crystal back to himself through that passage! This meant he needed no avatars to descend and collect it himself!
Although the Realm of Nature had a vast population base, the lack of divine miracles for a long time had thinned their faith, which explained the rebellion that occurred over a decade ago. The primary catalyst for that rebellion was the presence of the spirit of doubt!
Moreover, if their faith had been unwavering, heretics could never have spread so quickly, nearly wiping out the Church in a short span!
To ignite fanatical faith among the people of the Realm of Nature, Chen Feng devised an ingenious scheme. Magic did not exist in the Realm of Nature; thus, casting spells would undoubtedly appear as divine miracles to them. His plan was, upon returning to the Dragon Domain, to dispatch several hundred young descendants of the Dragon Race to pose as divine emissaries and spread the faith!
Given the unique nature of the Dragon Clan descendants, there was absolutely no concern regarding their loyalty.
As for replenishing the magical energy, that was even simpler: with an abundance of Yellow Jade Demon Crystals on hand, casting any amount of magic would not be an issue!
This method would allow him to assimilate all the faith of the Realm of Nature unto himself!
After settling all these matters, prompted by Ling Feng, he suddenly recalled the "Five Elements Grand Competition," and hurried over with Ling Feng and the others.
They arrived at the competition venue just in the nick of time.
……………………………………………………………………
As a faint voice sounded, all surrounding gazes instantly focused on the competition stage.
"Lord Dragon God! It is Lord Dragon God!"
The faces of the Dragon Domain members flushed with excitement, their hearts brimming with joy.
After the battle two years ago, the Dragon God’s whereabouts had been lost; the elation of seeing him again could only be imagined.
Kassim stared blankly at the youth before him, but a vicious grin quickly spread across his face: "So, it’s just a little whelp. Don't blame me for not showing mercy!"
He then looked toward the other corner of the stage, where an elder met his gaze with a slight smile—it was Hu Ben, the Second Elder of the Tiger Domain.
Clutching the item given to him by Elder Hu Ben through his robes, Kassim felt a surge of excitement; only by killing this youth before him could he truly possess this object!
"So what if the Dragon Domain is strong? A Third-Level Dou Zun two years ago—I doubt he could surpass my current cultivation level in two years!" Kassim sneered inwardly.
The intelligence he possessed had been provided by the Xuanhu Clan, but he wasn't a fool to trust them entirely. After further investigation through multiple channels, the discovered facts matched the received intelligence perfectly, putting his mind at ease.
Gaining victory in the competition while also reaping a personal benefit—only a fool would refuse such an arrangement!
"Begin!" Chen Feng glanced at the middle-aged man before him and smiled, not taking him seriously at all.
"Heh heh, brat, if your attitude were better, I might consider going easy, but seeing your arrogance, don't blame me for being impolite!" Kassim cackled wickedly.
Chen Feng held no interest in someone of this cultivation level and said calmly, "You should just jump off the stage yourself. I genuinely don't wish to fight!"
Kassim almost spat blood upon hearing this: "Since you seek death, I won't hold back!" He turned and shouted toward the nearby referee, "Is it permissible to kill him on stage during the Five Elements Grand Competition?"
The referee glanced at him and replied, "The Five Elements Grand Competition tests an individual's combat, attack, speed, power, and endurance separately. The first round is combat! As long as it's not malicious murder during the match, it is entirely permitted!"
Kassim gave a cold laugh, his eyes blazing with killing intent, and declared, "Very well... Heh heh!" Saying this, he pulled a spindle-shaped object from his robes.
This object was covered in scales and, from a distance, resembled a shimmering golden fish.
"Ah... It's the Spindle-Patterned Goldfish! The divine artifact of the Xuanhu Clan, the Spindle-Patterned Goldfish!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
This single shout sent a ripple through the crowd. The fact that the Xuanhu Clan possessed ten great divine artifacts was no secret. This Spindle-Patterned Goldfish ranked seventh among the ten, capable of instantly releasing one thousand three hundred and fifty-four tail hair needles. The needles moved with lightning speed, making evasion virtually impossible!
Moreover, the hair needles automatically returned to the Spindle-Patterned Goldfish after deployment, allowing for repeated use. If used for murder, even a peak Saint Domain expert could not evade them!
The Great Elder's face tightened, and he shot up, glaring fiercely at Hu Ben: "You... How despicable!"
Hu Ben looked back triumphantly, "Despicable? Heh heh, Long Yi, what basis do you have for that claim? Kassim is an independent cultivator; he has no connection to our Tiger Domain. On the contrary, he stole our Xuanhu Clan's divine artifact; he is our enemy! However, today, out of respect for the Fist Emperor, we will not pursue the matter for now. After the competition, we will reclaim our artifact!"
"Reclaim? More like silence him by killing him!" the Great Elder roared.
"Kill who? Long Yi, stop spitting baseless venom! If you dare falsely accuse our Xuanhu Clan, I can assure you, our Tiger Clan is not easily bullied!" Hu Ben countered.
"Fine, today I want to see just what capabilities you possess!" Long Yi roared, stretching out a finger and pointing toward Hu Ben.
A massive whirlwind immediately formed at his fingertip, spanning seven or eight meters in diameter. It whistled ominously in the air, and the surrounding space actually tore open with dark fissures under the wind's violent pulling!
Wind Element Forbidden Spell, The Cry of Heaven and Earth!
"Good! I truly want to see the cultivation of someone who has always hidden within the Dragon Domain!" Hu Ben roared simultaneously, effortlessly drawing his magic staff and spinning it twice in the air. A colossal fireball simultaneously materialized above him!
Fire Element Forbidden Spell, The Shock of Flames!
The combat hadn't even started on the stage, yet a fight had broken out below!
The faces of those near the competition stage shifted dramatically, and they began fleeing outward in all directions. Long Yi and Hu Ben were both peak Saint Domain powerhouses; if they fought, those nearby would surely meet their doom!
"Give me some face!" A voice suddenly descended from the sky.
"Fist Emperor, stay out of this matter!" Hu Ben raged. "Today, I must make him pay a price!" With a shout, he thrust the enormous fireball in his hand straight forward!
"We'll see who pays the price!" the Great Elder roared back, simultaneously pushing out his Wind Element Forbidden Spell!
The two massive forbidden spells converged directly toward the center. If they truly collided, the resulting explosion's shockwave would be enough to carve a crater hundreds of meters in diameter into the ground!
"Nonsense!" As the voice echoed, a figure cloaked in darkness shot forth like lightning, instantly appearing between the two forbidden spells, both arms extended outward.
"Is he insane? Being positioned between two forbidden spells—even a peak Saint Domain expert would be instantly killed!"
Long Yi and Hu Ben both unleashed their full power; the equivalent of two simultaneous attacks directed at one person possessed unimaginable might. Yet, this figure dared to insert himself right into the center of the spells—did he wish to die?
But before the crowd could finish their shock, they saw a blue light erupt from the center of the figure's palm. He simultaneously slashed upward, and two immense spatial rifts materialized on either side. The two colossal forbidden spells flying toward him were instantly drawn into the spatial rifts and vanished without a trace!
"Ah..."
The surrounding crowd was utterly stunned.
Even Long Yi's eyelid twitched. The fact that this person could nullify his full-power forbidden spell in a single move suggested a terrifying level of cultivation.
"The competition hasn't even begun on stage, and you two are already fighting. Can you not grant your host a little face?" the shadowy figure stated calmly, his voice devoid of anger or emotion, completely level.
"Hmph!" Long Yi knew the conflict could not continue. He said, "Fist Emperor, I will grant you face today, but the match on stage must be canceled immediately; it is unfair. Once the Spindle-Patterned Goldfish artifact is unleashed, even I might not be able to evade it, let alone a youth who is only nineteen!"
Because the competition venue was protected by a special formation that prevented energy leakage both in and out, Chen Feng had ignored the fight between Long Yi and Hu Ben. The Dragon Clan and the Xuanhu Clan had always been at odds; it was natural for conflict to arise when they met. Chen Feng knew Long Yi's cultivation level; as long as Jin Xuanhu wasn't present, he wouldn't worry about Long Yi getting hurt. Hearing his words now, Chen Feng realized Long Yi was interceding on his behalf!
He smiled faintly and shook his head. Did someone of Kassim's cultivation warrant his apprehension? He turned to Long Yi and said, "Great Elder, please do not worry. This person's cultivation is too low to be a concern. You do not need to worry for me!"
Before Chen Feng finished speaking, Kassim on the stage erupted in fury: "Good, since you insist on dying, I shall grant your wish!" With a sinister laugh, he threw the Spindle-Patterned Goldfish into the air and roared, "Open!"
The Spindle-Patterned Goldfish emitted a blinding golden light with a thud, and a massive swarm of golden needles shot toward the nearby Chen Feng like a downpour!
"Lord Dragon God, no..." Long Yi roared as he watched Kassim unleash the Spindle-Patterned Goldfish, preparing to charge onto the stage!
Ding! Ding! Ding!
One thousand three hundred and fifty-four hair needles struck Chen Feng, creating a string of metallic sounds, yet they all bounced off him and fell to the ground!
"What are you doing?" Chen Feng walked forward with an innocent expression, raised his right fist, and punched Kassim directly in the face.
Bang! Kassim's head immediately snapped to the side. His body flew backward, crashing beneath the competition stage, his eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious!
PS: I just checked the backstage; the supporter [Lonely Behemoth] actually gave a tip of ten thousand Origin Stones! I am speechless; I only just saw it. To repay him, I will explode tomorrow! What, how much will I explode? Heh heh, I can reveal that twelve thousand is the guaranteed minimum... Hahaha, everyone wait and see!!
Also, a huge thank you to supporter [Sima Lanfeng]. He tips me every time a chapter is updated, even if it's only 100 or 200 Origin Stones each time. This persistent spirit is the greatest encouragement to me! Thank you. I will explode again the day after tomorrow, for your support!!