The gentle breeze swept across the grasslands surrounding the Yafei Kingdom's palace. The supple, long blades of fine grass stirred into a vast, rolling wave. Sunlight bathed the emerald leaves, reflecting a radiance that seemed to imbue the very air with a green hue. Lili, wearing a soft grass crown on her head, suddenly halted her chase after a few butterflies, pausing with surprise as she felt something brush past her.

The divine messenger of Gu Xiacheng merged into the wind, dissolving into that expansive wave of grass. It spread outward in an unbroken stream, meticulously inspecting every inch of the surrounding land.

As the divine messenger swept past Lili, Gu Xiacheng curiously circled her for a moment, eager to see what made her so extraordinary—this being the New Armor called the Innate Wood Spirit Body. Gu Xiacheng vaguely sensed the presence of the divine messenger, confirming that she was indeed worthy of the title Innate Spirit Body; though perhaps not as pure as Gu Xiacheng’s own Innate Body, she possessed her own unique qualities.

“Amusing little girl... Humph! Duke Carter, how could you lay hands on such a delicate and exquisitely formed creature? A true sin!”

After muttering his disdain, the divine messenger continued to expand outwards, instantly covering a radius of several thousand kilometers. This marked the limit of Gu Xiacheng's current range of influence. To be able to cover several thousand kilometers in all directions was the distinct advantage of the Innate Body. Since the divine messenger was integrated with all surrounding matter, it consumed no energy whatsoever.

“That fellow Peng Hua, where has he run off to? I hope he’s not causing trouble! Honestly, why does that man never cease to worry me?”

Under the divine messenger’s shroud, every blade of grass and every single tree within the thousands of kilometers fed information back with crystalline clarity, yet not a single strand of Peng Hua’s hair could be found. Gu Xiacheng frowned. Why did Peng Hua always vanish precisely when he needed him for serious matters? Three thousand Tier One warships—someone had to handle the transfer procedures!

Putting the divine messenger aside, Gu Xiacheng waved Linghu over. “Linghu, you take full responsibility for receiving these three thousand warships. Be careful. Ensure you gain full control over all the fleet commanders; do not leave any backdoors in those ships. You must acquire the highest access passwords for every single vessel.”

Linghu smiled confidently. “Leader, rest assured. Although my 'Jieyu’ Kill power might be somewhat lacking, it is absolutely perfect for handling this kind of task.” After discussing a few details, Linghu hastily rushed out with Huo Mu as backup. Three thousand Tier One warships, each the size of a Primordial-level battleship! Such immense wealth falling from the sky sent a surge of complex emotions through Linghu and Huo Mu. As they stepped out, their excitement was so great that their four legs nearly tangled, causing them to stumble.

The divine messenger slowly contracted inward. Gu Xiacheng luxuriated in the exquisite sensation of the water-like divine power flowing through all things. This feeling of unity with the cosmos, of blending heaven and earth, was something he had never experienced before. For an ordinary person, only upon reaching the Mahayana Realm, on the verge of Ascension, could they attain such a perfect resonance with the natural world, utterly without barrier. However, due to Gu Xiacheng’s Innate Body, his divine messenger had undergone certain mystical transformations. This profound sensation was as mundane to him as eating or drinking. Gradually, the divine messenger shrank back toward the vicinity of the Yafei Palace. Gu Xiacheng was suddenly astonished to find, dozens of meters beneath the palace floor, a secret tunnel.

Dressed in magnificent robes, holding a full-length scepter, and wearing a crown, the Deputy Queen of Yafei was striding forward in a furious rage. Following closely behind her were several elderly officials, dressed in opulent finery, who appeared excessively cautious and seemingly relegated to supporting roles.

About twenty minutes earlier, Gu Xiacheng and Deputy Yafei had just parted ways. They had spent time discussing potential future cooperation. Gu Xiacheng had been guarded in his description of the Earth Federation, while Deputy Yafei had cautiously informed him that while comprehensive cooperation held benefits for all parties, she needed time to consider the proposal fully. No sovereign dared to hastily align with a sudden, unknown power.

“Weren't you supposed to be discussing the details of cooperation with your father’s loyal confidantes? Why do you look like you’re about to eat someone?” Gu Xiacheng murmured in surprise, hastily pulling out an Innate material he had collected from a Subspace Energy Storm: Dark Gold Mystic Pupil Stone. The Taiyin Manifesto erupted outward, instantly refining the Dark Gold Mystic Pupil Stone into a faintly purplish, viscous liquid mass. He extended his divine messenger and extracted a piece about the size of a soybean from this liquid.

Gu Xiacheng searched around the room for a moment, then scraped a handful of antique bronze battle-axes, used for decoration in the Yafei Palace, from the wall.

Weighing the heavy axe, which felt like it weighed over a hundred catties, Gu Xiacheng carved a chunk of bronze alloy, the size of a fist, from the axe head. After refining it with the Taiyin Manifesto, he infused it with the essence extracted from that tiny piece of Dark Gold Mystic Pupil Stone. The Taiyin Manifesto, working in concert with his divine messenger, refined the alloy for a time, forging it into thirteen delicate leaves—six large and seven small—that subtly shimmered with a dark gold sheen.

Biting hard on his tongue tip, Gu Xiacheng forced out twelve drops of vital blood essence. His massive spiritual consciousness poured out without reservation, manipulating these twelve drops of essence blood until they twisted and transformed, sketching a row of tiny runes in the air. All his focus condensed onto these runes. Gu Xiacheng chanted a low, resonant stream of mysterious and ancient incantations.

Mysterious energy converged from all directions, slowly integrating itself into the runes. Gradually, these runes, formed from the essence blood, began to vibrate rapidly. A faint, primordial aura diffused outward. The silver-red runes slowly transformed into a color of ancient, heavy bronze.

Gu Xiacheng, his face pale, slapped his palm onto these runes, forcefully driving them into the thirteen metal leaves. With several crisp metallic chimes, the thirteen shimmering leaves assembled into a beautifully intricate, uniquely shaped spirit tablet. Thirteen pairs of eyes, flashing with cold, distant light, appeared vaguely etched on the tablet's surface. A strange fluctuation, perceptible only to Gu Xiacheng, continuously emanated from the tablet, gradually enveloping his entire body. This artifact was named the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Spirit Obscuring Charm—a miraculous device recorded in the Artifact Chapter of the Great Desolation Scripture, used for concealing one's form and suppressing one's aura. The requirements for crafting this artifact were not complex, save for one essential condition: the primary material must be Dark Gold Mystic Pupil Stone, or success was impossible. Furthermore, the purer and greater the quantity of Dark Gold Mystic Pupil Stone infused, the more potent the talisman’s effect would be.