Xia Xinyan had made her intentions perfectly clear; she had delineated the Three Divine Cult and the Xia family as opposing forces. Knowing that the Pseudo Heavenly Gate in the Jueyin Valley was Ouyang Zhi’s doing, and that she had waited there specifically, her objective was self-evident.

After leaving Jueyin Valley, Xia Xinyan had calculated his likely path and was already waiting, clearly unwilling to let him depart easily.

Perhaps, this plan had been forming in Xia Xinyan's mind since their time in Jueyin Valley.

For Shi Yan, as long as he remained alive, infinite opportunities would present themselves.

He paid little heed to Xia Xinyan’s talk of poisoning him; he was confident that the Undying Martial Soul within his body was more than capable of countering any venom she might plant on him in the future.

Besides, the journey to the Endless Sea from here was dauntingly far, and he might even encounter pursuit from Bei Ming Shang and his cohorts along the way. Escape chances were abundant, and as long as Xia Xinyan didn't strike immediately, Shi Yan was happy to agree for now.

Future matters could wait. As long as he stayed alive, he would have the chance to fight back.

Once Xia Xinyan revealed her true intentions, the two towering, iron-clad brutes ceased making things difficult for Shi Yan. Their eyes held a flicker of admiration; they conceded that Xia Xinyan was the superior strategist, knowing how to utilize resources to their maximum extent.

If Shi Yan truly became a member of the Xia family first, and later ascended to become a Divine Son of the Three Divine Cult, then every single movement of the Three Divine Cult would be entirely transparent to the Xia family's eyes.

Even the two thick-headed brutes understood the massive implications of this.

If Shi Yan could truly survive under these conditions, he would be far more valuable to the Xia family than if he were dead.

Over the next two days, Shi Yan followed Xia Xinyan and the other two, traveling steadily eastward.

After receiving Shi Yan’s firm affirmation, Xia Xinyan was quite pleased, and along the journey, she continuously elaborated on the secrets of the Three Divine Cult, sharing every piece of intelligence she possessed about them with Shi Yan.

The Three Divine Cult was an immensely powerful faction in the Endless Sea, boasting countless followers. Their core disciples all possessed the martial soul ability to absorb the light of the sun, moon, and stars.

The Three Divine Cult’s martial souls were categorized into three types: the Blazing Sun Martial Soul, the Silver Moon Martial Soul, and the Star Martial Soul.

These three souls enabled the absorption of light from the sun, moon, and stars, respectively. Among the three, the Star Martial Soul was the rarest, and it was universally recognized as the most potent.

After all, the Firmament of the Divine Grace Continent possessed only one sun and one moon, whereas the stars were countless. While the stellar light from a single star was vastly inferior to the light of the sun or moon, the combined radiance of the entire starry sky surpassed the combined power of the sun and moon.

The Three Divine Cult was shrouded in profound mystery. Their core disciples were not born with these martial souls; they only acquired them after being immersed in the Sun, Moon, and Star Divine Pools for three years.

The Sun Pool, the Moon Pool, and the Star Pool were the most guarded secrets of the Three Divine Cult. No one knew their exact whereabouts, not even many of the cult's own followers.

Every ten years or so, the Elders of the Three Divine Cult would traverse the innumerable islands of the Endless Sea, gathering male and female infants possessing exceptionally gifted roots. These infants would then be taken to the mysterious Sun, Moon, and Star Divine Pools and immersed for three years.

The Divine Pools held a strange, potent energy; many infants perished quickly within them. Typically, out of a thousand infants placed in the pools, fewer than twenty would survive the three years.

The infants who survived the Divine Pools often manifested the ability to absorb the essence of the sun, moon, and stars, thus qualifying to become core members of the Three Divine Cult. They would then be assigned to the various islands governed by the Cult, where specialized instructors would teach them the martial arts and cultivation methods.

Although the infants surviving the Divine Pools would all possess a martial soul capable of absorbing celestial light, there were still degrees of strength and weakness even within the same type of martial soul.

For instance, regarding the Blazing Sun Martial Soul, some infants absorbed solar energy at a rate dozens of times faster than others on the same day of immersion.

These infants’ martial souls could evolve multiple times as they matured, with the speed of solar energy absorption continually increasing, potentially leading to the condensation of True Solar Fire within their bodies later on.

Conversely, some infants absorbed solar energy too slowly, and even as their martial realm progressed, their martial souls showed little advancement.

The Blazing Sun, Silver Moon, and Star Martial Souls, while all being Saint-Grade Martial Souls, could not truly unleash their ultimate mysteries without continuous evolution.

The vast majority of infants emerging from the Divine Pools were incapable of evolving their respective martial souls to their absolute peak; even if their martial cultivation reached high realms, their souls would stagnate.

But there were exceptions. Roughly once a century, a few infants would display astonishing, peak-level talent within the Divine Pools. The exact nature of this phenomenon remained unknown, but the Elders of the Three Divine Cult recognized that these specific infants possessed the potential to develop their martial souls to the very limits.

These favored infants were revered by the Cult as Divine Sons. A Divine Son held the opportunity to become one of the future Three Deities of the Sun, Moon, and Stars.

Divine Sons were exceedingly rare, the most precious treasures of the Three Divine Cult. Their emergence warranted personal tutelage by the core Elders. Within a batch of Divine Sons, three would ultimately become the supreme Sun, Moon, and Star Deities, while the remainder would be groomed to become the next generation of core Elders, managing the vast, complex affairs of the Three Divine Cult under the direction of the Three Deities.

The overwhelming majority of Divine Sons originated from the emergence of supreme talent within the Divine Pools. However, there existed another category of individual who could also be called a Divine Son.

Those who obtained a Martial Soul Origin Seal left behind by one of the Three Deities were also acknowledged by the Three Divine Cult and treated as Divine Sons.

This class of Divine Sons, having directly received the Martial Soul Origin Seal of one of the Three Deities, actually possessed an even greater probability of becoming one of the future Three Deities.

Consequently, among those considered Divine Sons, this group who obtained the Origin Seal was regarded as the absolute ultimate treasure by the Cult.

—Shi Yan was one such fortunate individual.

As Xia Xinyan intended to embed Shi Yan within the Three Divine Cult, she provided an extremely detailed account of the organization.

She painted the Three Divine Cult as an evil, inscrutable religion wielding mysterious power, enumerating all their known atrocities within the Endless Sea, hoping to instill a deep-seated revulsion for the Cult in Shi Yan.

Shi Yan offered no comment or opinion regarding Xia Xinyan’s subjective narrative; he merely listened, keeping his guard up internally.

That day, Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan arrived at the center of a vast swamp, cautiously searching for stable ground among the scattered patches of dry earth.

Suddenly, a figure slowly surfaced from the mire, chuckling menacingly: "We meet again."

"Zhua Qi?" A sliver of cold light flashed in Xia Xinyan’s pupils. She spoke calmly, "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't come for you." Zhua Qi grinned hideously, fixing his gaze on Shi Yan. "Kid, hand over what you acquired from that strange dimension. I promised Chi Xiao that if you give me the item willingly, I won't make things difficult for you, and I'll let you leave the Deathly Still Swamp alive."

"Zhua Qi, you’re here to steal treasure?" Xia Xinyan inhaled sharply, secretly signaling the two iron-clad brutes.

"Miss Xia, I suggest you don't try anything foolish," Zhua Qi sneered coldly. "I've been tracking you for a full day, choosing this moment when you entered the swamp to strike. You should know my capabilities within this mire. If you don't want to be entirely swallowed by the sludge, then everyone remain still, or don't blame me for starting a massacre!"

"Zhua Qi, you cannot harm me," Xia Xinyan stated placidly.

"I know Miss Xia can briefly enter the Celestial Position realm, but what of it?" Zhua Qi’s expression grew severe, tinged with impatience. "The moment Miss Xia enters the Celestial Position, I will submerge into the mud. When you are weakened, I will emerge again. I know you cannot re-enter the Celestial Position quickly. By then, I can deal with you all as I please."

Xia Xinyan's eyes hardened.

"You eliminated the Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent for me, so I don't wish to trouble you. Just stay out of this kid's business, and you can leave right now," Zhua Qi said coldly to Xia Xinyan, extending a hand toward Shi Yan. "Give me the item, and you can leave now too, or don't blame me for showing no mercy."

"Zhua Qi, you are courting death," Xia Xinyan scoffed coldly. "I’ll give you one last chance: retreat back into the mire now and stop showing your face. Otherwise, you will certainly regret it."

"Regret? Hahahahahaha!" Zhua Qi burst into manic laughter. "Let's see how you can make me regret it!"

Filaments of sickly green vital essence seeped out from Zhua Qi’s body, flowing out across the center of the swamp.

The sludge in the marsh began to heave like waves. In an instant, ten Mud Dragons, condensed from the mire, soared out, jaws agape, lunging toward Xia Xinyan.

Xia Xinyan’s gaze was detached as she raised both hands toward the heavens.

Within the River of Time, surging Reincarnation Power violently tore through the firmament and poured into the palms of her hands.

Xia Xinyan, who was only at the Hundred Tribulations Realm, suddenly ascended, looking down coldly at the charging Mud Dragons, her hands forming a Lotus Seal.

Water-blue lotuses erupted from her palms, radiating a fresh aura, and beams of light shot out from within them.

Each lotus was the size of a millstone, and soon, they filled the space around Xia Xinyan.

"Break!"

Xia Xinyan pointed a finger, and a single lotus blasted toward a Mud Dragon.

With a tremendous roar, the power Zhua Qi had imbued the dragon with was instantly annihilated. The Mud Dragon disintegrated into clods of earth, falling back into the swamp.

"Break!"

Xia Xinyan pointed again, and ten lotuses flew out, hurtling toward Zhua Qi.

"Heh heh, enjoy it while you can. We’ll see what you use to fight me later," Zhua Qi retracted his head, his body vanishing entirely into the sludge.

"Return."

Xia Xinyan seemed to know she couldn't harm Zhua Qi, so she beckoned, and all the lotuses surged back toward her, being reabsorbed into her palms.

"Let's go." Xia Xinyan reached out, grabbed Shi Yan, who was standing on the dry ground, and leaped into the air, swiftly soaring out of the swamp.

The two brutes from the Xia family roared, stomping the ground, and shot out like cannonballs, landing on the solid ground behind Xia Xinyan.

"Shi Yan! Shi Yan! Shi Yan!"

Just then, Bei Ming Shang's furious roar echoed from the far distance. The sound carried an infinite malice, and it grew louder as he seemingly approached at speed.

Xia Xinyan’s expression abruptly changed. Muttering a curse, she urgently seized Shi Yan and, while her Celestial Position power still held, sped eastward at the fastest possible pace.

"You can't escape!" Bei Ming Shang’s divine sense washed over the area like a tidal wave, screaming maniacally.

...X