Chapter 1052: Stone Egg

Although Meng Zhang had accepted the mission assigned by Han Yao to investigate Demonic Cultivation in Jiuqu Province, he didn't take this task very seriously, nor did he have any intention of wholeheartedly serving the Five Punishments Guard.

For Meng Zhang, aligning with Han Yao and joining the Five Punishments Guard was merely a strategic move; his true focus remained on Taiyi Sect.

Of course, he couldn't do nothing at all.

At the very least, he needed to make a show of effort to prepare for potential future inspections.

In case Han Yao inquired later, Meng Zhang should be able to provide a plausible explanation.

In his capacity as Taiyi Sect's Sect Master, Meng Zhang openly declared that one of Taiyi Sect's major future tasks was to investigate the various forms of Demonic Cultivation hidden in Jiuqu Province.

Not only Taiyi Sect but also cultivators from the entire Hanhai Alliance were mobilized by Meng Zhang to conduct thorough searches for Demonic Cultivation.

Meng Zhang also offered substantial rewards for the capture of Demonic Cultivation practitioners, attracting not only cultivators from the Hanhai Alliance but also many other cultivators from Jiuqu Province, enticed by the generous bounties he offered.

The provincial government of Jiuqu Province remained silent about this matter. They neither expressed support nor opposition, allowing Meng Zhang to proceed as he pleased.

Back within Taiyi Sect's mountain gate on his own territory, Meng Zhang finally dared to carefully examine the golden stone egg he had obtained unintentionally.

With Meng Zhang's current Cultivation Base and knowledge, after repeated inspections using Divine Sense and the Deception Breaking Eye, along with several identification techniques, he managed to piece together the origin of this stone egg.

The innate Ghost Deity had condensed its life essence into this golden stone egg before its self-destruction.

Had this stone egg not fallen into Meng Zhang's hands but ended up somewhere else in the Netherworld, nurtured by the power of the Netherworld's heaven and earth and over time, it could have likely developed sentience, potentially growing into another innate Ghost Deity.

Although this newly formed innate Ghost Deity might not possess the memories and emotions of its predecessor, it would be a completely new being.

In a sense, the self-destructed innate Ghost Deity had undergone a type of rebirth.

Beings like innate Ghost Deities had a fundamentally different perspective on life compared to cultivators and humans.

No wonder the explosion caused by the self-destructing innate Ghost Deity had been less powerful than Meng Zhang had expected.

According to the information Mo Qing True Monarch had given Meng Zhang, the innate Ghost Deity had the strength of a Human Clan Yang God True Monarch when uninjured.

Given this, even with injuries, if it had chosen to self-destruct its divine body, it could have severely wounded those present. Even Meng Zhang, who had the quickest reactions, might not have been able to completely evade the destructive force of the explosion.

However, to condense its life essence into this stone egg, the innate Ghost Deity had expended too much divine power and even depleted its source, resulting in insufficient power for the self-destruction. This allowed everyone present to escape unscathed.

If it weren't for this, even if they didn't lose their lives, severe injuries would have been unavoidable.

Meng Zhang gently stroked the golden stone egg, carefully sensing the divine essence contained within.

The last legacy of the innate Ghost Deity held within it a divine essence that leaned towards the yin attribute, permeated with a strong Netherworld aura.

The stone egg ended up in Meng Zhang's possession not entirely by chance.

While the stone egg hadn't yet developed sentience, it already exhibited some biological instincts.

Among those present at the time, Shou Zheng was a postnatal Ghost Deity. In theory, considering their attributes, he was the closest to this golden stone egg.

However, precisely due to this similarity, the golden stone egg instinctively avoided Shou Zheng.

If the golden stone egg had fallen into Shou Zheng's hands, it might have been devoured by him.

Meng Zhang's main cultivation path was the Yin Yang Grand Dao. When divided, the Yin and Yang aspects were complementary.Upon entering the Netherworld, due to its unique environment, Meng Zhang spent a considerable effort to sense and comprehend the yin aspect of the Yin Yang Grand Dao.

Under these circumstances, the faint Grand Dao aura emanating from him held a certain attraction for the golden stone egg.

During the self-destruction of the innate Ghost Deity, the golden stone egg should have been swept away by the explosion's shockwaves, randomly ending up in any direction.

However, due to Meng Zhang's attraction, the golden stone egg instinctively moved closer to him and was captured by his intervention.

The final legacy of the innate Ghost Deity, a treasure formed from its life essence, surpassed everything Meng Zhang had possessed or seen before in terms of heavenly materials.

Acquiring such a precious treasure naturally brought immense joy to Meng Zhang.

Originally, he thought this trip to the Netherworld was fruitless and had needlessly left behind many potential troubles.

Unexpectedly, Meng Zhang, an outsider to the situation, had become the biggest winner, obtaining the most valuable spoils.

Although he had obtained this treasure, Meng Zhang hadn't yet figured out how to use it.

Logically, handing it over to the senior Ghost Deity, Shou Zheng, would fully unleash the treasure's potential.

However, Meng Zhang had become wary of Shou Zheng, and he wasn't inclined to simply hand over such a valuable item.

During its heyday, Taiyi Sect had supported Shou Zheng's development in the Netherworld and left behind some contingency plans.

Moreover, the Dali Dynasty had established a foothold in the Netherworld, using it as a foundation to counter the Purple Yang Holy Sect.

As far as Meng Zhang knew, any capable sect in the Cultivation World seemed to hold significant interest in the Netherworld.

With Taiyi Sect's growing strength and its ability to join in the excitement, it now had the capability to explore this avenue.

The layout of the mortal world in the Grand Dust World had mostly solidified, with prosperous regions like the Middle-Earth Continent being entirely controlled by various Holy Land Sects.

Only the remote and undeveloped areas remained for other sects to expand into.

For Taiyi Sect, while taking refuge under the governance of the Dali Dynasty provided a certain degree of security, it also limited its room for growth.

On the other hand, the Netherworld within the Grand Dust World remained largely unexplored territory.

Meng Zhang had an intuition that if Taiyi Sect wanted to make a true comeback, its main path lay within the Netherworld.

Having the living example of the Dali Dynasty, Meng Zhang naturally placed great importance on the Netherworld.

After much contemplation, he began to formulate a preliminary plan for the golden stone egg in his possession.

However, the timing wasn't right yet; it wasn't time to unleash the power of this treasure.

He carefully stored the golden stone egg away, reserving it for future use.

Next, Meng Zhang began meticulously collecting various pieces of information related to the Netherworld.

In addition to reading various relevant texts within the sect, he repeatedly cast spells to contact the Ghost Deity Shou Zheng in the Netherworld, seeking answers to many questions.

The previous failure to capture the divine body of the innate Ghost Deity and return empty-handed had left Shou Zheng quite frustrated.

On top of that, he had lost a divine power avatar, a classic case of losing the bird and the bean in one fell swoop.

Of course, his true form hadn't suffered any substantial harm. If this attempt failed, he could seek another opportunity in the future.