"Alright, I'll spare you lot. Swear immediately that after leaving here, should you ever see me again, you'll suffer the wrath of heavenly lightning!" Qin Shou said.

The group rejoiced, not stopping to think about what kind of ridiculous oath this was. They swore repeatedly before fleeing in panic.

Watching the fleeing figures, Qin Shou chuckled darkly. A faint radiance glimmered from his chest as his figure merged into the void.

In no time, the group escaped from the range of the black air shield, too scared to stop and continuing to run for their lives.

Suddenly, golden light flickered in the distance—it seemed like there was a figure ahead.

"Not good! We've been tricked! Quickly, close your eyes..."

The man leading the group immediately reacted and shut his eyes tightly.

"Boom!!"

The heavens flickered with lightning, several muffled roars exploding around them. A violent detonation sent the leading man flying hundreds of meters, smashing into several towering trees before collapsing unconscious.

Qin Shou casually kicked aside the remains at his feet, his cheek twitching.

"Damn... these oaths actually work..."

No wonder so many captives refused to divulge their cultivation techniques.

The cultivation techniques of the Heavenly Artifact Continent were all orally transmitted, with no form of written record whatsoever.

Unless... someone fell down a cliff and stumbled upon a strong expert's inheritance carved into a stone wall.

Qin Shou looked up at the sky, raised his middle finger, and said, "I, Qin Shou, swear: If I ever curse again, let heavenly lightning strike me!"

"Heavenly Artifact Continent, I xxxx (censored)!"

"Sigh... "

A soft breeze carried a drifting leaf past.

After waiting half a day, Qin Shou hadn't seen even the smallest spark of lightning. It seemed oaths only worked for people native to the Heavenly Artifact Continent.

Qin Shou stroked his chin, a contemplative look in his eyes.

According to fantasy or cultivation worldviews, the Heavenly Artifact Continent must have the presence of a Heavenly Dao Consciousness.

It sounded high-end and sophisticated, but Qin Shou always felt this Heavenly Dao Consciousness was somewhat lackluster.

As an outsider, he didn't sense even a hint of suppression on his strength. Other than granting natives of the Heavenly Artifact Continent an inherent ability to sense his foreign identity, its only function seemed to be ensuring oaths delivered guaranteed effects.

Qin Shou shook his head—cultivation techniques couldn't be forcefully taken; he'd have to think of another method.

Stealing?

Deceiving?

Nearly impossible too. They'd sworn not to share them, and before they could even start talking, the Heavenly Dao would strike them down.

If sharing was forbidden… then he'd have to make himself a native of the Heavenly Artifact Continent.

Qin Shou squinted slightly—it wouldn't be easy to fool the Heavenly Dao Consciousness. He'd need to put in some effort.

"Hey, Earth demon, how dare you kill my Ba Dao Sect disciples? Prepare to die!"

Suddenly, from behind, a voice bellowed. A massive wave of energy surged across the skies, and a forty-meter-long red sword energy hacked down angrily, instantly freezing the surrounding air and stirring distorted heat waves.

Qin Shou scratched his head. "It wasn't even me who killed them, why are you avenging them on me?"

With a stroke of his waist's Tai Chi Diagram, a burgundy-colored armor engulfed him.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

Terrifying electric arcs danced along the horn on his forehead.

Pivoting around, he kicked!

"Boom!!!"

With an effortless twist and kick, the red sword energy instantly shattered, the scattering flames reversing and engulfing the assailant.

"Ugh..."

As the red sword plunged into the ground, a figure was blasted into the air, coughing blood, the clothes on their body reduced completely to ash, leaving their skin covered in burn marks—simply unwatchable.

"You… who exactly are you…" The person asked in fear.

Qin Shou slowly walked to the man's side and smirked lightly. "Me? Just a passing Masked Rider. You'd better remember that!"

With a single kick, the person flew off to meet the Heavenly Dao Consciousness, as Qin Shou's figure vanished into the void.

The Heavenly Artifact Continent—a place where strength reigns supreme—if you're weak, your life means nothing.

Justice, evil, morality, human rights… none of these belong to the Heavenly Artifact Continent.

The Ba Dao Sect embodies the principle of "strength above all" to the extreme...

...

On the outskirts of a town a hundred miles away from the Ba Dao Sect.

Qin Shou casually slotted a card into his camera. His figure blurred momentarily before transforming into a disciple of the Ba Dao Sect.

This card was crafted from the corpse of the Ba Dao Sect disciple who died under his foot earlier. Whether or not it could deceive the Heavenly Dao Consciousness would depend on the experiment results.

At this moment, a vendor carrying a pole came into view. Qin Shou immediately stepped forward.

"My lord… humble me..."

The vendor instinctively bowed upon being blocked, but upon seeing Qin Shou's face, his expression suddenly changed to one of terror.

"E-Erth demon…" The vendor's eyes flipped back before fainting on the spot.

Qin Shou smiled in satisfaction, "Excellent! It seems one must now look directly at my true form to identify Earth outsiders. The experiment's results are promising."

Unlike before, where he would be recognized from a long distance away.

Let's continue!

This time, Qin Shou set his sights on the materials used for the Emperor Rider Belt.

If he could rebuild the Emperor Rider Belt using native materials from the Heavenly Artifact Continent, it might better conceal his presence from the Heavenly Dao Consciousness.

Mimicry Gene, Mecha... these Earth-based synthetic materials wouldn't work.

Spine-eating Gu, though? Qin Shou stroked his chin, contemplating heading to the forest in the distance to hunt down one of the so-called Devil Beasts to breed a native Spine-eating Gu.

The Devil Beasts of the Heavenly Artifact Continent weren't much different from Earth's Monsters—just different names.

Using Earth's Beast Cultivation techniques in the Heavenly Artifact Continent would immediately expose him to the natives. So Qin Shou needed to hunt a native Monster to forge the Emperor Rider Belt.

As for how to find a Devil Beast with Mimicry Ability—Qin Shou had no clue. Liquid metal would have to suffice as a substitute.

On the Heavenly Artifact Continent, the only material possessing similar properties to liquid metal would be Living Jade, an essential ingredient for weapon crafting.

Living Jade comes in grades: Low-level Living Jade, Intermediate Living Jade, High-grade Living Jade, and Top-grade Living Jade.

They are used respectively to craft weapons, famed artifacts, spiritual artifacts, and holy artifacts.

Earth's invasion of the Heavenly Artifact Continent did yield a few spoils, though most were only Low-level or Intermediate Living Jade. To achieve the best results, High-grade Living Jade was a must.

Forget Top-grade Living Jade—it would require attacking sects that housed Holy Artifact Masters.

Holy Artifact Masters were comparable to Demigod Realm experts. Qin Shou could manage one or two, but that would likely alarm top-tier forces like the Sword Sect—a price too high to pay.

After some consideration, Qin Shou decided it was necessary to make a trip to the Ba Dao Sect.

The Ba Dao Sect had three Spiritual Artifact Masters—surely they held reserves of High-grade Living Jade.

...

Ba Dao Sect.

"Reporting to Sect Leader: Several disciples patrolling the sect's outskirts encountered Earth people and were massacred; only one disciple narrowly escaped with his life."

Inside the grand hall, a massive giant blade towered prominently.

A man with a full beard, dressed in a Black Gold Robe, listened to the report with a sour expression.

"Earth people appearing here... could they be planning to invade my Ba Dao Sect?"

"No, my Ba Dao Sect is just a minor group—what could be worth Earth coveting?"

"Cultivation techniques? Impossible. Earth should have already given up on that. Could it be my Ba Dao Sect's disciples, being arrogant and unruly, provoked Earth people?"

The man paced back and forth in the hall, thinking aloud.

After a while, he made up his mind and declared, "Summon the two elders to the grand hall. They will accompany me to confront the Earth people."

The subordinate was shocked. "Sect Leader, do you intend to lay accusations? That's absolutely unwise..."

"Shut up!"

The Sect Leader scolded angrily, "Lay accusations? Does my Ba Dao Sect have that kind of strength?"

"Then Sect Leader, why are you going?"

"Of course, for negotiations. Earth is currently governed by Huaxia people. Huaxia values proper etiquette—they treat all guests, friend or foe, with respect.

If I can resolve the misunderstanding, my Ba Dao Sect will safely weather this crisis."

"Sect Leader, instead of risking a journey to Earth, why not seek help from the Sword Sect?"

"Ha, the Sword Sect? The Sword Sect has always looked down on us. They despise those who use blades. To survive in this gap, we can only rely on ourselves!"

The subordinate was enlightened. "So that's it! Sect Leader is brilliant."

"Report!!"

At this moment, someone rushed in from outside, flustered. "Sect Leader, bad news! A fight has broken out!"

"A fight?"

The Sect Leader was alarmed. "Has Earth attacked us?"

"No, it's just one Earth person."

The Sect Leader was furious. "You damned fools! I've already said not to attack Earth people first! Do you take my words as mere noise?"

"But... Sect Leader, we couldn't control ourselves. When we saw the Earth person, we couldn't help but want to attack." The subordinate said, feeling aggrieved.

The Sect Leader sighed helplessly. Not just his disciples—even he couldn't entirely control himself.

These outsiders were too peculiar. When encountering those who seemed weaker, they'd want to kill them. And when encountering those who seemed stronger, they'd still want to kill them—unless the difference in power was too vast, and only then would fear take root.

"What's this Earth person's strength?" He asked.

"At least on par with a Spiritual Artifact Master."

The Sect Leader's face lit up. Spiritual Artifact Master-level strength...

Wait—why is there a restless urge in my heart?

I want to negotiate, not fight!

Damn it… I can't resist...

"Notify the two elders! Follow me out to face the enemy!"

The Sect Leader's face turned bright red from holding back, but after shouting this order, he felt immense relief.

This world is so beautiful—the air, so fresh...

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