The black-robed man pressed further: "Could he possibly have sensed your natal bone?"

Jiang Wushe shot him a glance. "Holding off the Myriad Ages Reincarnation with one hand while blocking my natal bone with the other—do you take him for a god-tier powerhouse?"

The black-robed man paused, then let out a laugh. "Fair enough."

They had chosen Jiang Wushe in the first place precisely because of his immense strength and boundless prospects; across the entire Open Zone of the Divine Domain, figures of his caliber were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Wei Zhao might have pulled off one astonishing feat after another, but set against Jiang Wushe, he still fell far short.

The two were simply not on the same level.

If Jiang Wushe could be detected by Wei Zhao even so, he might as well buy a block of tofu and dash his brains out against it.

Jiang Wushe said meaningfully, "If you don't believe me, I can take over his primal spirit right now and turn him into a puppet that obeys my every word!"

"No need!"

The black-robed man hurried to dissuade him. "This man has an unusual relationship with the Track Master God. Move against him now, and you very likely alert the Track Master God ahead of time!"

A Master God was no ordinary deity; even one who had already fallen possessed methods far beyond anything they could imagine.

On this point, no amount of caution could be excessive.

Jiang Wushe understood this well enough. The corner of his mouth curved. "Then we'll wait until the time comes."

The black-robed man nodded gravely. "Since everything is going smoothly on your end, I'll go arrange the next step. Wait for my word."

With that, he vanished on the spot.

Jiang Wushe stared at the place where he had disappeared, eyes burning. "Don't let me down, you lot."

As he spoke, he unconsciously pressed a hand to his chest.

With a natal bone missing, his chest had visibly caved in—a permanent loss. No matter what heaven-defying fortune came his way in the future, it could never grow back.

This was bleeding him dry in earnest.

"Just one natal bone. Worth it."

Jiang Wushe murmured to himself. Recalling the plan the black-robed man had disclosed to him, his eyes lit up.

As long as he successfully seized the Master God's fortune, the blood he had paid today would be recouped a thousandfold, ten thousandfold. Compared to that, what was a single natal bone?

In the Open Zone of the Divine Domain, there stood an unremarkable trading company.

At first glance it was nothing more than an ordinary little firm, with a presence about as noteworthy as a roadside mini-mart in the mortal world—no one paid it any mind.

Who would have thought the black-robed man, who had just been conspiring with Jiang Wushe, would turn up in a place like this?

Past the front hall, the back room proved to be another world entirely.

What met the eye was no room at all, but a vast expanse of starry sky.

Countless stars blazed.

Any single one of them, set down in the Open Zone of the Divine Domain, would be an untouchable, towering existence.

The black-robed man bowed low. "My lords, Jiang Wushe has succeeded. Wei Zhao is now under control."

After a moment, a will descended.

"Very good. Begin the next step."

The black-robed man's heart eased, and he hastened to comply with reverence.

Tian Commandery.

Having just finished merging with All Phenomena' End, Wei Zhao immediately set to work merging the Mask of Killing Intent.

In terms of sheer quality, though both were undying divine artifacts, the Mask of Killing Intent still lagged noticeably behind All Phenomena' End. Still, an undying divine artifact was an undying divine artifact, and with the divine artifacts Wei Zhao currently had in reserve, he was in no position to be picky.

The second appraisal complete, Wei Zhao and Zhang Baiyu stared at each other over the fusion ritual's requirements.

"Once the ritual begins, a target within the bounds of Tian Commandery who harbors killing intent toward the host will be selected at random."

"That target's killing intent will be amplified by the mask and converted into tangible influence, causing them to rapidly grow in power."

"The host must find this person and destroy their mind, causing them to collapse."

Wei Zhao rubbed his chin. "So it wants me to break their mind?"

Zhang Baiyu frowned slightly. "Selected at random? Tian Commandery is enormous—finding them for real would be like fishing a needle from the sea."

With Wei Zhao's current grip on Tian Commandery, locating a specific person was not really a problem. The key question was who the randomly selected target was, and whether they had any distinguishing traits.

If there was nothing at all to go on, he would have to screen people one by one by hand—no small difficulty.

Wei Zhao showed no sign of worry. "That part's simple. Since this person's killing intent will be amplified into tangible influence, then whether in faction, territory, or say, their presence is bound to swell rapidly."

"When the time comes, they'll jump out on their own."

Events proved Wei Zhao's judgment sound.

Barely a day later, Zhang Baiyu brought word. "My lord, the Lin family of Tian Commandery has sent word that they intend to help the Academy of Heavenly Beings establish an outpost."

Wei Zhao was taken aback. "The Lin family?"

Zhang Baiyu replied, "Intelligence shows their newly elevated matriarch, Lin Hongchou, has grown very close to the Academy of Heavenly Beings of late."

"She has already informed the Lin family's core elders that she plans to receive the Academy under the Lin name, bypassing your approval authority, my lord."

"She has even stated outright that building the outpost needs no sanction from our New Heavenly Palace—the Lin family can decide for themselves."

Wei Zhao shook his head with a laugh. "This one jumped out faster than I expected."

Zhang Baiyu mused, "The Academy of Heavenly Beings may have lost their entry token to the Master God's Secret Realm, but they're still circling like hungry tigers. Borrowing the Lin family's hand this time, they're likely getting serious."

Wei Zhao shook his head. "Even if they bypass me and deal with the Lin family directly, they can't build an outpost without a breakthrough point—and there's still the matter of the entry token to settle afterward. The difficulty is considerable."

Zhang Baiyu said, "They are, after all, a first-rate academy of the gods, with no shallow foundation. They may well have methods we haven't considered."

Wei Zhao agreed wholeheartedly. "Very likely."

Zhang Baiyu sought instruction. "In that case, the Lin family is a hidden threat. Shall we take preventive measures?"

Wei Zhao waved a hand. "We don't yet know if she's the one the Mask of Killing Intent selected. Let's watch a while longer—let the bullets fly a little more."

After a pause, Wei Zhao added, "Still, a matter this big—it wouldn't be right for us to show no reaction at all. Have Old Cao pay them a visit."

Zhang Baiyu nodded and assented.

The Lin family of Tian Commandery—barely half a year ago, they had been a third-rate minor clan with little presence to speak of.

In just half a year, especially after Lin Hongchou, the matriarch, took the helm, the Lin family of Tian Commandery had flourished as if fortune itself had turned in their favor. Their holdings expanded rapidly, and they vaulted into the ranks of second-rate clans.

Now they were advancing steadily, plainly launching a charge at first-rate status!

The entire Lin estate, inside and out, had been completely renovated, presenting all the luxury of a first-rate clan.

Cao Mang stood before the Lin family's main gate, and at once drew attention from every quarter.