The Heavenly Waterfall is a splendid scene among the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, the water shimmering silver as it cascades from the sky with tremendous force, forming the magnificent spectacle of thousands of lakes and myriad pools in Heavenly Pond Country.

Chen Shi summoned the Taiyi Demon Extinguishing Shuttle, standing inside it with Little Dun Fairy. The Demon Extinguishing Shuttle transformed into a silver streak in the sky, flying closely along the cascade of the Heavenly Waterfall.

The rift in the sky is extremely high, over eighty miles from the ground. Average cultivators can hardly reach that height, and even Mahayana Realm cultivators struggle significantly to get there.

However, for the Demon Extinguishing Shuttle, reaching such heights is a simple task.

The Taiyi Demon Extinguishing Shuttle plunged into the water, heading towards the rift. Despite the rapid and powerful currents, the surface of the Taiyi Demon Extinguishing Shuttle was so smooth that the water seemed not to impact it much.

The shuttle traversed the water, suddenly jostling violently as it entered a colossal vortex. Although a formidable Immortal Artifact, the vortex's turbulence forced the shuttle to begin spinning slowly!

"We can't let ourselves spin, or we'll lose our direction!"

Chen Shi hurriedly grabbed Little Dun Fairy's hand. The two floated within the shuttle, merely moving forward without being spun around by it.

Little Dun Fairy tried to pull her hand away but couldn't, so she let him hold it, thinking, "He's making it sound so serious, but actually, it's not dangerous. With my mana, I can easily maneuver the shuttle through."

She did not use her mana.

"His hand is broad and solid, and very warm," she thought.

The vortex within the Heavenly Rift was terrifying, distorting space and warping the shuttle, upon whose surface various strange Great Dao Textures emerged as if struggling against the external forces.

This Immortal Artifact was a collection of the Thirteen Families, originally brought from the Huaxia Divine Continent as a Demon-breaking Treasure that played a critical role in pacifying the West Bull New Continent. Later, when the True King Sealed Immortal, after several transfers of ownership, it fell into the hands of the Thirteen Families.

Chen Shi couldn't help worrying if this treasure could withstand the vortex's impact, but in the next moment, the Taiyi Demon Extinguishing Shuttle burst out of the vortex, entering a calm water area.

A realm of darkness welcomed them.

The two looked around, striving to adjust to the darkness, and only after some time did the surroundings become visible.

They seemed to be at the bottom of a large river, with a massive skull as formidable as a fortress, emitting a faint glow. The Demon Extinguishing Shuttle was passing through its left eye, halting in its eye socket.

Chen Shi urged the shuttle through its right eye socket, looking back, the true form of the skull unfolded before his eyes.

The skull's surface bore strange patterns—the Witch Sacrificial Dao Patterns of the Great Shang—surpassing in complexity the Witch Sacrificial Dao Patterns Chen Shi encountered among other Ghost Clans, with highly advanced levels.

"It's like the Witch Sacrificial Dao Patterns of an Odd Aspect."

Little Dun Fairy carefully discerned, stating, "The owner of this skull should have been a Divine Officer in charge of water during the Great Shang era. In the Water Department, the Divine Officer Odd Aspect managed the Great Rivers, Bing Yi controlled the larger rivers, and Gonggong managed the floods. Many Divine Officers were responsible for such duties in the Great Shang, each major river would have an Odd Aspect."

Chen Shi, knowing little about Shang Dynasty's witch sacrifices, found it interesting and asked, "How are the Shang gods selected? Is it those with great merit in statecraft, deified posthumously?"

Little Dun Fairy shook her head and said, "No, we inherit through bloodlines. When a previous Divine Officer ages, the young member with the strongest bloodline in the same family passes an assessment to inherit the divine office."

Chen Shi, puzzled, asked, "Why not choose those with great contributions to the state as gods?"

Little Dun Fairy explained, "The Great Shang employs two divine systems: the Ancestor Gods forming the Mysterious Bird Heavenly Court, and the Court, the former with the most potent Divine Power managing the afterlife. The Court involves living beings appointed as gods, serving Divine Offices in the Mortal World. Court officials are Divine Officers, with Witch Sacrificial Dao Patterns inherited along bloodlines, each generation imprinting Dao Patterns onto the bloodline for half the effort yet twice the progress during cultivation."

Chen Shi said, "The Dragon begets dragons, the Phoenix begets phoenixes, the mouse's offspring digs, this world inevitably fosters despair. In the long run, power entangled in the clans' hands leads to clans doing nothing productive, monopolizing resources, leaving the destitute without a place to stand, bound to create chaos. The Great Shang's defeat by the Great Zhou was not unjustified."

Little Dun Fairy wanted to refute but, upon reflection, found his words quite reasonable.

"The Great Shang ruled the world using this method, with Witch Sacrificial Dao Patterns passed down generations, continually developing, enhancing bloodline power, indeed creating the situation you mentioned of concentrated resources."

She softly said, "Those without bloodline inheritance—the ordinary people—gave rise to many geniuses who sought control of power and to challenge the Shang's divine rule, studying the Witch Sacrificial Dao Patterns on Divine Officers, developing various cultivation techniques, hence starting cultivation. They referred to themselves as Qi Refiners, cultivating the Immortal Dao, attempting Tribulation Crossing and Ascension."

Chen Shi controlled the Demon Extinguishing Shuttle, slowly flying around the Odd Aspect skull to examine the Witch Sacrificial Dao Patterns. Hearing this, he became intrigued and asked, "What happened then?"

Little Dun Fairy said, "The Great Shang paid no heed to these people, but later, three of the wisest among them, calling themselves the Three Pure Ones, became quite powerful, accepting numerous disciples. Some of the Great Shang royalty even apprenticed under them. Their power grew ever stronger, surpassing even the Great Shang's Divine, and their influence expanded greatly. It is said that they ascended, establishing the Haotian Heavenly Court. These people allied with the West Qi rebels, instigating rebellion and upheaval, overthrowing the Great Shang."

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