"Join forces?" Yuluo, entirely cloaked in green, his voice icy, swept his gaze over the Captain and the seventeen soldiers behind him. "Respected Captain, you think I dare to ally with you? Huh? Back then, when I was just a raw recruit on a perfectly routine mission, I flattered you, stuck close to you, and what was the result? You used me as bait… If it weren't for my strong survival instincts and some treasures my grandfather gave me before I joined the army, I would have died on that first mission. A captain like you? You still want us to join forces?"

Yuluo and the eight soldiers behind him watched the Captain with sneers.

The Captain roared, "Every soldier has different strength and status, thus different standing. You were just a recruit then, ignorant of everything, how can you blame me? This mission is Catastrophe-level. Every Catastrophe-level mission results in the loss of many soldiers. Do you think the nine of you can succeed acting alone?"

"Rest assured, that is not for you to worry about," Yuluo shook his head with a cold laugh. "The nine of us share life and death. We swore an oath the moment we joined together… We trust each other with our lives. As for you? Hmph, we do not trust you with ours."

"Hmph."

"Stop plotting."

"If you pull us in, you’ll probably use us again at the critical moment," roared the beasts accompanying Yuluo.

Yuluo then looked toward Luo Feng and Wu He, his tone chilling, "You two rookies, running straight into a Catastrophe-level mission the moment you arrived, you’re unlucky. However, remember this… if Kufa is willing to take you, that’s one thing. But this Captain? If he takes you, he is definitely using you and will send you to your deaths."

"Furthermore… Captain, to avoid being used by you, we will be taking our leave first." With that, Yuluo led his eight subordinate soldiers directly toward a distorted spatial wormhole near the sinister great hall—a wormhole created by a powerhouse that led directly outside the military camp.

Whoosh!

Nine figures instantly vanished into the wormhole.

The Captain and his contingent of soldiers were furious.

"Kufa," the Captain looked at Kufa. "What about you?"

"No need," Kufa shook her head with a smile, a dazzlingly beautiful smile. She then turned to Luo Feng and Wu He. "You two rookies, this is a Catastrophe-level mission, and I cannot assist you either. However, the journey from here to Jiuyan Marsh is long and fraught with danger. I have a True God-level battleship. Let’s depart together; I can take you as far as Jiuyan Marsh. Once there, we will part ways."

"Good," Wu He readily agreed.

"Good," Luo Feng nodded too.

"Let’s go."

With Kufa's command, her ten soldiers, plus Luo Feng and Wu He, swiftly flew toward the distant spatial wormhole and plunged inside.

Only the Captain’s group of soldiers remained.

"Captain?"

"Captain, don't worry. We can complete the mission assigned by the army without them," the other soldiers spoke up one by one.

The burly Captain gazed at the wormhole and sneered, "How long have Kufa and Yuluo been in the army? How many Catastrophe-level missions have they passed? Do they think every Catastrophe-level mission is the same? This time it's Jiuyan Marsh. As far as I know, Jiuyan Marsh recently fought a massive battle with Xuan Yu Mountain, so security is incredibly tight… Success requires cooperation. Fine, since they are so confident, let’s wait and see… how many of them are left when this mission is over."

"But the Captain survived missions at the Samsara level. How can Yuluo and Kufa compare?"

"Exactly, I doubt they’ll live to see the next epoch."

Those soldiers placed immense trust in their Captain.

Because the Captain’s strength was undeniably the highest in the unit, and the Captain, who had lived for an incredibly long time, possessed treasures of the Mechanical Path. While he might be 'selfish,' on extremely dangerous missions, following such a captain might result in the loss of a few men. But following Kufa or Yuluo could lead to total annihilation.

"Move out!" the Captain ordered.

"Yes," they all responded.

Boom!

This group of soldiers also swiftly departed.

……

Passing through the spatial wormhole, they arrived directly above a vast forest outside the military camp. The beautiful Kufa waved her hand and unleashed a black battleship—a true 'Palace-type Ultimate Treasure.' Immediately, everyone, including Kufa, quickly boarded. Luo Feng and Wu He also entered without hesitation.

"From here to Jiuyan Marsh," Kufa's voice was clear and pleasant, "it will take at least twelve days. Everyone, calm down and prepare."

Luo Feng stood inside the cabin, feeling completely unconcerned.

If they were in the Sea of Universe… one would never casually enter another powerhouse’s palace-level treasure, because once inside, if the owner harbored ill intentions, they could simply flee back to their 'Small Universe' within the treasure and kill them! But in the World of Jin… there was no need to worry about that.

Because in the World of Jin, regardless of whether one was an Immortal, a Venerable of Law, or a Lord of Law, or even a stronger True God or Void True God—

Their 'Divine Kingdoms' and 'Small Universes' were all located within the core space of the entire 'World of Jin.'

At the core of the World of Jin was an incomparably vast space, which could be considered the 'Origin Space' of the World of Jin. It contained countless Divine Kingdoms and countless Small Universes. However, the powerhouses of the World of Jin could never enter the Origin Space; thus, they could never enter their own Divine Kingdoms, nor their own Small Universes.

They could not use their 'Small Universes' to kill enemies!

Not only that!

The World of Jin differed from the Sea of Universe in many other ways.

For example…

Within the World of Jin, absolutely no one possessed clones! All Immortals, Venerables of Law, and Lords of Law possessed only a single divine body!

In fact, the ability to create 'clones' was a gift bestowed by the Original Universe. Beings of the World of Jin, not having received this gift, naturally possessed no clones.

Therefore—

Inside this Ultimate Treasure battleship, even if Kufa turned against them, at most she could only trap them inside. She would have no way to kill them. Moreover, once the next mission cycle arrived (after one epoch), if these soldiers had not returned, and the army investigated, it would be one thing if they were presumed dead. But if it was discovered that Kufa had imprisoned them, Kufa herself would face military tribunal.

When Luo Feng, Wu He, Kufa, and the group of soldiers left the military camp heading for Jiuyan Marsh…

Inside the East Army Camp.

Outside a hall belonging to one of the supply depots.

"This is the supply depot?" A beast with a massive golden shell looked up at the colossal hall.

"Hengxing, you’ve already received your True God-level battle armor, why are you coming to the supply depot?" another serpentine beast transmitted telepathically.

The beast with the golden shell was precisely the Hengxing Demon God.

It had experienced a tragic descent into the World of Jin, immediately provoking a True God-level beast. It deliberately fought that True God-level beast for a long time to learn the 'Ancient Civilization Language,' only to then be hunted by a group of True God-level beasts… Fortunately, its greatest skill was defense, allowing it to narrowly escape death and flee.

It journeyed onward.

True Gods were already considered powerhouses in the World of Jin; Void True Gods were the true supreme overlords, who rarely ventured far from their lairs. So, although Hengxing Demon God experienced much along the way, with caution, it managed to befriend some beast companions and gradually learned about the situation within the World of Jin.

Soon, it understood that the concentration point for countless inheritances and treasures in the entire World of Jin was the army!

So, it joined the army!

Although typically only Lords of Law joined the army, that was just the baseline requirement… Some who cultivated too quickly and became True Gods before joining the army were welcomed later! The screening and elimination rate for True Gods joining the army was much lower; only three out of every ten True Gods were eliminated. Hengxing Demon God, with its strong defense, naturally survived and joined the army, even being bestowed with a standard-issue battle armor.

"Why do you care so much!" Hengxing Demon God immediately retorted. "Wait for me; I’ll go in for a moment."

Hengxing Demon God immediately charged inside.

Inside the supply depot hall.

"Buzz~~~" As soon as it entered, it felt as if time and space shifted, plunging it into another world.

"It feels similar to the human Virtual Universe," Hengxing Demon God muttered inwardly, observing the surroundings. It was an incredibly prosperous expanse of space, teeming with soldiers, each attended by a golden figure. At that moment, another golden figure flew directly before Hengxing Demon God.

"But it’s more marvelous than the human Virtual Universe; the Virtual Universe only lets the consciousness enter, but this brings the entire body in," Hengxing Demon God mused.

"True God Soldier," the golden figure descended. "State your request."

"I want to exchange this treasure for military merit, and then I want to exchange for new treasures," Hengxing Demon God said with some apprehension, holding up its Blood Sea Demon Armor—this was the Ultimate Treasure battle armor it had used to dominate the Sea of Universe, equipped with a powerful will-shock function. However, now it had standard-issue armor, and the effect wasn't drastically different.

The standard-issue armor was impervious to all attacks below the Seventh Order. The Blood Sea Demon Armor was impervious to all attacks below the Eighth Order. The reduction ratios were the same, but the Blood Sea Demon Armor had a higher threshold for maximum endurance. But for the 'Hengxing Demon God,' even the limit of the True God-level standard armor could only be reached by attacks from a Void True God.

In the Sea of Universe, armor that strong was completely unnecessary.

As for the difference between being impervious below the Seventh Order versus the Eighth Order? Which True God-level powerhouse had an attack below the Eighth Order?

"Buzz—" The golden figure's eyes shot out golden light, scanning the Blood Sea Demon Armor. "This is a Void True God-level armor, valued at three hundred thousand military merits! Do you wish to exchange it for merit?"

Hengxing Demon God froze upon hearing 'Void True God-level armor,' its eyes wide with shock.

"Do you wish to exchange for merit?" the golden figure continued.

"Exchange, exchange, exchange," Hengxing Demon God quickly replied, ecstatic inside. It had struck gold, truly struck gold.

"Whoosh!"

The golden figure reached out a hand, and the Blood Sea Demon Armor was collected. It then stated, "You require treasure exchange. Here is the list; you may choose freely." Instantly, a vast light screen appeared before Hengxing Demon God, displaying numerous detailed lists, each section containing a large array of treasures.

……

Moments later.

Hengxing Demon God swaggered out of the supply depot hall, where its soldier friends greeted it.

"We hit the jackpot now."

"I exchanged for an Ultimate Treasure palace in one go, and I also acquired four sets of Ultimate Treasure offensive artifacts. My offense, defense, and escape capabilities are all covered. When I return to the Sea of Universe, I can truly walk sideways." Hengxing Demon God felt incomparably exhilarated. "It's just a pity I'm not in a special legion; otherwise, I could have traded for Mechanical Path treasures."