Chapter 398 - 374: Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch and Disciple Benefits

Chapter 398: Chapter 374: Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch and Disciple Benefits

’Forget it. If I’m in, I’m in. Since it’s already happened, I can only accept it.’

’The good thing is, my disguise probably won’t be seen through, even by the three Palace Masters. And even if it is, it doesn’t matter. Worst case scenario, I’ll just reveal my real name, appearance, and Cultivation.’

’As long as the Heaven-Reaching Tree sapling, the Jade Pendant, and the three Spiritual Treasures aren’t discovered, I’ll be fine!’

Zhang Chi was quite helpless, but he could only accept the result. He quickly began to shore up his defenses, preparing to face the three Palace Masters.

"Is that... Chen Bufan?"

"Heavens, he actually became a Palace Master’s Disciple too?"

"It seems like he found a lot of Spatial Nodes, so even though he turned in few materials, he barely managed to squeeze into the top twenty."

At this moment, the Cultivators were all crying out in alarm when they saw the alias Zhang Chi was using. Many were even quite jealous.

They knew that Zhang Chi had a good relationship with the first-place winner, Qin Yuyan. They had been companions during the trial, and they had even entered the Demon Abyss holding hands.

Therefore, they immediately "guessed" that Zhang Chi had benefited from his association with Qin Yuyan, which was how he obtained information on so many Spatial Nodes.

If it had been them, they could have made it into the top twenty as well. They might have even done better than Zhang Chi.

But even if they were jealous, there was nothing they could do.

After all, this was the result announced by the Desert Divine Palace. The fact that Zhang Chi could benefit from his connection was a testament to his own means and good fortune.

"Congratulations, Third Brother."

The Qin Family Siblings immediately congratulated Zhang Chi. However, Qin Yuyan’s smile held a trace of helplessness and sympathy.

She had known for a long time that Zhang Chi didn’t intend to become a Palace Master’s Disciple, which was why he had hidden his true abilities.

But now, it seemed he had clearly failed.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Chen."

At that, Xie and Cheng were stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but look at Zhang Chi in a new light.

Although they also suspected Zhang Chi had benefited from his association with Qin Yuyan, they understood that good luck was a form of strength in itself.

"Haha, thank you."

Zhang Chi had already adjusted his mindset and immediately responded with a smile to the Cultivators who came forward to congratulate him.

Seeing a female Cultivator in a white robe with extraordinary looks among those offering congratulations, he couldn’t help but give her a second glance.

This was because the Female Cultivator was none other than the Saintess of the Hundred Flowers Palace.

She only had a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivation, yet she was also among the top twenty in this trial, ranking nineteenth, just one spot above Zhang Chi.

However, she hadn’t made it into the top twenty by killing enough Demons, but by turning in enough materials—most of which she had spent Spirit Stones to purchase.

In fact, a small portion of those materials had been sold to her by Qin Yuyan and Zhang Chi while they were waiting near the Demon Abyss.

’Having a major power as a backer really makes a difference,’ Zhang Chi couldn’t help but reflect.

At this moment, however, the Hundred Flowers Palace Saintess was completely unaware that the Chen Bufan before her was an "old acquaintance" of hers.

"Alright, the top twenty will follow me to see the three Palace Masters. The rest of you will report to the Central Immortal City to register on your own."

After the Cultivators had had enough time to look, the Elder from the Desert Divine Palace appeared again and announced the next step.

After that, Zhang Chi and the other nineteen Trial Cultivators flew out and followed the Elder into the Desert Divine Palace.

This was the first time Zhang Chi had entered. He immediately felt an incomparably rich Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi wash over him.

This Spiritual Qi wasn’t just abundant, but also high in quality. The deeper they flew into the Desert Divine Palace, the denser the Spiritual Qi became.

Zhang Chi knew at once that the legendary Tier Five Spiritual Vein truly did exist within the Desert Divine Palace.

If one were to practice Cultivation here, they would not lack Spiritual Qi all the way up to the Divinity Transformation Early Stage.

Unfortunately, that was completely impossible.

Unless one became a servant, it was impossible to stay within the Desert Divine Palace for long.

Even as a servant, one could only remain in the outer areas of the Desert Divine Palace and could not enter the true core region.

The core region was the truly good place, and it was also where the three Palace Masters practiced their Cultivation in Seclusion.

Zhang Chi also discovered that the servants here all had Nascent Soul Cultivation, which was simply unbelievable.

Furthermore, the Divine Palace was enormous—a world unto itself. Even though the group flew continuously, it took them a long time before they arrived at the Inner Hall and finally saw the three Palace Masters.

The three were seated high above, shrouded in a bright yet gentle light that allowed people to see only their silhouettes, making it impossible to discern their true faces.

Even Zhang Chi couldn’t see them clearly. If he were to forcibly probe them with his powerful Divine Thought, he might have a chance.

But if he did that, he would definitely be detected, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

At the same time, Zhang Chi also noticed that the Spiritual Power fluctuations emanating from the three were incredibly powerful. Even though they had clearly restrained them, he still felt immense pressure.

’That humanoid monster from before was indeed a Tier Five existence. The feeling he gave me is the same as these three Palace Masters. The only difference is that he was more savage, while they are relatively peaceful,’ Zhang Chi thought to himself.

His Divine Soul was extremely powerful, yet even he felt pressure, to say nothing of the other Cultivators.

Even the Nascent Soul Peak Elder was currently bowing, not daring to lift his head and look directly at the three Palace Masters.

"Reporting to the three Palace Masters, everyone has been brought here," the Elder said with the utmost respect.

"Mm, we know. You may leave."

The one in the lowest-ranking seat among the three Palace Masters nodded slightly. With a gentle wave of her hand in the air, the Elder immediately vanished, having been teleported outside by her.

When the Cultivators saw a Nascent Soul Peak expert treated like an ant before these figures, they couldn’t help but feel even more awestruck.

’A Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch is truly no match for a Nascent Soul. Even a Nascent Soul Peak is not worth mentioning in front of a Divinity Transformation expert!’

Zhang Chi grew inwardly vigilant, but he was also filled with yearning. He secretly resolved to one day become a Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch himself.

"Disciples greet the three Palace Masters."

At this time, all the Cultivators felt three gazes fall upon them.

In that instant, they felt as if they were naked, all their secrets seen through with a single glance.

Then, the Cultivators bowed in unison to offer their greetings. Zhang Chi blended in with them, not doing anything to stand out.

"Very good. You all performed well this time. From now on, you will be the disciples of the three of us. However, for now, you are only our Named Disciples. Only when your Cultivation reaches Nascent Soul Peak can you become our True Disciples."

"At that time, your treatment will improve significantly, and we will also give you some extra rewards. So, work hard."

"As for the rest, a Divine Palace Elder will explain the details to you. We won’t waste any more of your time," the Third Palace Master continued.

"We pay our respects to our three Masters."

Even though the Cultivators had anticipated this, they were still overjoyed and quickly performed the ceremony to acknowledge their masters.

"Very good!"

The Third Palace Master nodded slightly. With a wave of her hand, twenty palm-sized, specially made metal Tokens flew into the hands of Zhang Chi and the others, one for each of them.

SWOOSH!

After that, the Palace Master waved her hand again. The group was instantly enveloped by an invisible and powerful force. The world spun around them, and when they recovered, they were already in the Outer Hall.

The Elder was already waiting for them there.

Next, he began to explain some relevant matters to the group.

For instance, the Token was proof of their status as a Palace Master’s Disciple. After Refinement, it would be bound to them.

If a disciple were to die, the Token would shatter on its own and simultaneously erupt with powerful energy, directly killing the one responsible for the disciple’s death, regardless of whether they were a human Cultivator or a Demon Beast.

The damage unleashed in that instant couldn’t threaten a Divinity Transformation expert, but it was more than enough to kill any existence below the Divinity Transformation Realm.

Additionally, the Token could emit a Protective Golden Light at critical moments to block a fatal attack for the Cultivator. Even a Nascent Soul Peak enemy wouldn’t be able to break through it right away.

However, this Protective Golden Light had its limits. For example, it could only be activated once per year.

This was because it contained a powerful energy that had to slowly recover on its own after being depleted.

Furthermore, activating the Protective Golden Light also consumed energy, so its duration was limited.

Especially when enduring powerful attacks—the stronger the attack, the faster the golden light would dissipate.

On the other hand, if the golden light was never used, the duration would become relatively longer as more energy accumulated within the Token.

It could be said that this Token was one of the protective measures the Desert Divine Palace provided for its Palace Master’s Disciples.

Beyond that, the Token also served as a pass for entering and exiting their cave mansions and recorded the number of Merit Points each Cultivator had.

After that, the Elder also gave each of them a Zouwu Spirit Talisman, which would allow them to rescue one another at critical moments.

Finally, he took out a Scroll. When unfurled, it revealed a map.

Marked on it were the locations of the Spirit Vein Cave Mansions, which the Cultivators could choose from freely.

These cave mansions were all located on the lone peaks beneath the Desert Divine Palace, relatively close to the summits, where the Spiritual Qi was clearly extremely abundant.

However, many of the cave mansions were already occupied, indicated by their dim glow, which meant they were unavailable for selection.

Then, the twenty Cultivators began to step forward one by one in order of their ranking to make their choices.

Soon, it was Zhang Chi’s turn. He was stunned to find that he could directly choose a cave mansion with a Tier Four Upper Grade Spiritual Vein.

A cave mansion of this level was sufficient for him to raise his Cultivation to the Nascent Soul Peak Realm.

Thus, Zhang Chi chose a relatively secluded cave mansion without hesitation.

After Zhang Chi, the last one, had chosen his cave mansion, the Elder gave a few more instructions, handed each Cultivator a Jade Scroll, and then departed.

From the Elder’s words, Zhang Chi learned one piece of news: they had one hundred years to do nothing but focus on their Cultivation in Seclusion.

After one hundred years, they would be required to accept missions issued by the Desert Divine Palace and make contributions.

Of course, these missions would not be for nothing. Upon completion, the disciples would be rewarded with Merit Points.

These Merit Points were equivalent to the Contribution Points of a normal Sect. They could be used to trade directly for resources from the Divine Palace or used in conjunction with Spirit Stones to exchange for them.

Additionally, the three Palace Masters might also issue missions directly to them to complete.

For example, the mission years ago where Qin Yushan led a group to explore the Oasis Ruins was a direct order from the three Palace Masters.

And now, in one hundred years, it was highly likely they would be sent to the north to participate in a pioneering operation.

As for the Jade Scroll left by the Elder, it contained detailed information about the Desert Divine Palace and even the Endless Desert Sea, as well as content related to the rights and obligations of the Palace Master’s Disciples.