King of Creation Chapter 1679: 1664: Scouting the Location

Right now, Ye Zhen departed from Weizhou, bound for his goal Luozhou, both positioned along the northwest border of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Naturally, this isn't the strictest northwest edge in a literal way.

Furthermore, the front line of the northwest territory belongs to the Human-Demon Battlefield, which sets Great Zhou's northwest frontiers entirely apart from borders in other areas.

The northwest lands of Great Zhou abound with fertile soil and abundant minerals, and their position behind and beside the Human-Demon Battlefield grants them immense strategic value.

Half the provisions for the Human-Demon Battlefield originate from this northwest territory.

Typically, areas near battlefronts suffer from very thin populations.

Take Ye Zhen's North Sea County, for example—it borders the Demon Clan westward and the North Sea's Aquatic Race northward, where vast stretches of thousands of miles without a soul are commonplace and bleak.

Yet the northwest border stands apart. To secure supplies for the Human-Demon Battlefield, a rigid household registry forbids residents of the seventeen northwest states from moving away.

Great Zhou also enforces mass relocations to the northwest border, banishing convicted offenders there en masse.

On top of that, enticing policies lure debt-ridden or land-poor folk to migrate northwest, offering them rations, riches, and plots of land.

Thanks to these measures, despite hugging the Human-Demon Battlefield, the northwest frontiers boast dense populations—thriving almost as vibrantly as the south and east.

But when conflict erupts and armies clash, dark and unpredictable events are bound to unfold.

From stray Demon Clan troops escaping the fray, to soldiers breaking ranks, and corrupt officials levying illicit taxes and ruling tyrannically, the once-prosperous seventeen northwest states now seethe with unrest and complaints.

Great Zhou's laws stand firm and unyielding, yet their righteous light doesn't reach every corner.

This darkness, however, delighted the Heavenly Temple.

Folks bitter against fate or the Great Zhou made prime recruits for the Heavenly Temple—quick to convert and fanatically loyal.

Thus, Heavenly Temple branch temples flourished unnaturally across Great Zhou's northwest frontier.

Plentiful indeed!

Some states host just one or two, others up to seven or eight—not counting the ritual sub-altars beneath them.

Amid wartime turmoil, these northwest branch temples of the Heavenly Temple wield greater might than their southern counterparts, such as the Heavenly Temple Shahe City Branch.

In Weizhou, Ye Zhen's starting point, three Heavenly Temple branches operated, and even the weakest was led by a Dao Realm Grand Divine Master.

Yes, Ye Zhen's true aim this journey was yet another Heavenly Temple branch!

Only by orchestrating the destruction of another branch under watchful eyes could Ye Zhen mostly shake off suspicion, paving the way for backup schemes.

His escape strategy hinged on massacring a Heavenly Temple branch while armed with unbreakable alibi proof.

Moreover, Ye Zhen needed to hand the Heavenly Temple a clear target for their fury.

Failing that, two back-to-back branch slaughters left unsolved would corner the Heavenly Temple, potentially unleashing their Dao Ancestor capable of defying heaven and time—sealing Ye Zhen's doom for real.

The scheme was solid, yet perilously bold.

Destroying a Heavenly Temple branch was no simple feat.

Ye Zhen's prior success against the Heavenly Temple Shahe City Branch owed everything to Ming Tang's interference.

Without Ming Tang pulling elite forces from the Shahe City Branch beforehand to chase Ye Zhen—weakening its defenses and letting him divide and conquer—victory would have slipped away entirely.

In plotting this, Ye Zhen spared no effort in groundwork.

Leveraging the Five Immortals Hall's global spy network, he mapped out the layouts and powers of Heavenly Temple branches everywhere.

Truth be told, the Five Immortals Hall trades only in open intel; for deeply hidden secrets, you'd need pros like the Heavenly Patrol Department.

Yet, it was enough.

From a thousand branches spanning various temples, Ye Zhen chose twenty-one viable targets based on his personal strength.

Still, most branches lacking a Grand Divine Master sat in Great Zhou's plague-stricken, thinly populated southern regions, whereas other areas fared much better.

For ideal targets, the northwest direction offered just two Heavenly Temple branches without a Grand Divine Master in charge.

Through careful pondering, Ye Zhen determined the Luozhou Heavenly Temple branch as the prime choice.

Only over three hundred and ten thousand miles from Weizhou State City and its Ancient Teleportation Formation, Luozhou perfectly matched Ye Zhen's escape needs using the expensive medium Teleportation Formation he had acquired.

Moreover, among the northwest's seventeen states, Luozhou counted as one of the poorest, its lands barren and mineral veins scarce, yielding a meager population.

In response, the Heavenly Temple erected a branch there, yet no Dao Realm Grand Divine Master ever arrived to oversee it, easing Ye Zhen's potential attack.

That said, while convenient for Ye Zhen to act, total annihilation depended on his prowess, leaving him without complete certainty.

From Weizhou to Luozhou stretched 3,100,000 li. Even for a typical martial artist at Ninth Stage peak in Realm King Realm, the trip demanded ten days, and weaker ones could require more than fifteen.

Nearly a full day went to Ye Zhen's journey from Luoyi to Weizhou, plus most of the day spent in Luoyi, granting him eighteen days remaining.

With time ticking away, Ye Zhen pushed the Spirit Boat to its maximum speed without holding back, channeling High Grade Spirit Stones into the Spirit Stone Warehouse like a ceaseless stream.

At the same time, he triggered the geomagnetic field unused for ages, accelerating the Spirit Boat even further.

Here, daily spirit stone expenditure hit roughly 150,000 High Grade Spirit Stones, but the gains proved worthwhile—Ye Zhen made it to Luo Prefecture Capital in merely nine days, surpassing peak Ninth Stage Realm King masters.

Nevertheless, running the Spirit Boat nonstop for nine days and nights drained Ye Zhen completely.

Reaching Luozhou, he plunged underground right away, located a secluded spot, and slumbered for five hours.

Awake at last, he found afternoon upon him.

After cleaning up, Ye Zhen vigor renewed, marched toward the Heavenly Temple Branch beyond Luozhou City.

Though the Great Zhou Dynasty recognized the Heavenly Temple's aggressive push for followers across the Northwest Seventeen States, an accord struck with the Heavenly Temple Ancestor at Great Zhou's birth prohibited state powers from meddling in their follower gatherings.

On the flip side, the Heavenly Temple held no right to coerce Great Zhou citizens into joining.

In this setup, despite knowing the Heavenly Temple's schemes, Great Zhou could only issue oblique orders to hinder their rampant recruitment.

Thus, Heavenly Temple branches rose outside cities like state and county hubs—where Great Zhou gripped tightly inside walls, but beyond, control slackened sharply without outright martial law.

Blending into a massive throng of devotees, Ye Zhen stepped into the Heavenly Temple Luozhou Branch.

Far surpassing the Shahe City Branch Temple, the Luozhou Heavenly Temple Branch teemed with prosperous incense, hordes of followers surging in to pray, plead, and express gratitude.

Differing from the Shahe City Branch Temple, where underground Divine Sense Perception provoked Creation Spirit Light's backlash, trailing daytime Heavenly Temple followers let Ye Zhen's Divine Sense roam freely, scouting the temple's secrets risk-free.

During daylight in the branch temple's front courtyard, Heavenly Temple attendants handling followers topped out at Grand Spirit Master of Dark Palace Realm—no Divine Master in sight.

But sweeping Divine Sense into the backyard, Ye Zhen instantly picked up traces of at least fifty Realm King experts.

Shock gripped Ye Zhen. This lineup wasn't mildly superior but overwhelmingly potent versus the Shahe City Branch Temple.

Shahe City Branch Temple held no more than twenty Divine Masters.

Yet this Luozhou Branch Temple's Divine Masters already topped fifty.

Ye Zhen pressed his Divine Sense deeper into the branch temple backyard, “There are as many as 340 Grand Spirit Masters, and Spirit Masters alone exceed 3,000…”

While Ye Zhen admired the might of the Luozhou Branch Temple, a booming cold snort suddenly echoed through his Divine Sense.

“Who dares to spy on my Heavenly Temple? Bold!”

With the cold snort, that divine sense chased after Ye Zhen relentlessly, like a maggot attached to its prey.

Ye Zhen's face showed no change as his Divine Sense scattered into the void right away, and he withdrew his divine aura.

At nearly the same instant, a formidable aura laden with Primordial Spirit Pressure blanketed the whole front courtyard of the temple, then rushed beyond Ye Zhen without halting.

This formidable aura with Primordial Spirit Pressure hovered briefly in the branch temple's front courtyard. Its source, Abbot Jiwei of the Luozhou Branch Temple, brimmed with suspicion.

By reason, anyone who could shake off his divine sense pursuit in a flash must have already formed a Primordial Spirit; yet, the strongest cultivation among Heavenly Temple Luozhou Branch followers reaches only mid Dark Palace Realm.

For martial artists like Ye Zhen at the Fifth Stage of Divine Communication Realm, he pays them no mind; Divine Communication Realm cultivators number far too greatly.

“A passing expert?” As he contemplated, Jiwei, abbot of the Luozhou Branch Temple, pulled back his Divine Sense. Experts sneaking peeks weren't rare, even the inquisitive sort, so he brushed it aside and returned to cultivation.

“Peak of Ninth Stage Realm King Realm?”

This Heavenly Temple Luozhou Branch Temple's power exceeded Ye Zhen's expectations by a wide margin.

Some fifteen minutes later, having fully assessed the Heavenly Temple Luozhou Branch Courtyard's layout, Ye Zhen blended into the masses of Heavenly Temple followers and exited the temple.

Mission accomplished!