"There really aren’t many old-timers who survived from the last Cold Energy era."

"What is this junk we’ve been catching lately? Its quality as fuel is just abysmal."

Qi Suian looked at the recent evolution energy report, and it wasn’t quite meeting his expectations.

[Perhaps your plot armor is attempting to help you find Venerable-level Cold Energy Monsters, while simultaneously assisting your research into the Low-level Poison Element Attachment Magic. This has split its focus.]

[This is the cause of your recent low returns.]

In other words, it was building up to something big for Qi Suian.

"That’s a real possibility. Maybe a Venerable is on its way right now." Qi Suian wasn’t dissatisfied.

’Just because it didn’t meet my expectations doesn’t mean there were no gains.’

He wasn’t the type of person to think that not making a huge profit was the same as taking a loss.

There were still gains to be had; it was just that the Tai Sui God’s evolution was progressing slowly.

Fortunately, the Tai Sui God’s evolution had never been fast, so Qi Suian was already used to it.

"Find a place to rest for a couple of days. I’m going to start experimenting with the Low-level Poison Element Attachment Magic."

"Once I’m not making any more progress, you can go out hunting again."

"At the current rate, the Tai Sui God should be able to evolve just from idling for these two days," Qi Suian said after checking the armor value.

Of course, it would evolve faster if they went hunting for fuel.

But the Tai Sui God was meant to serve him, not the other way around.

[Planning complete. Executing now...]

The Tai Sui God quickly changed its route. After flying for about fifteen minutes, it found a safe location it had previously recorded.

Before it even landed, it hovered in the air and used its Floating Cannons to scour the area, eliminating all the survivors still alive inside. Only then did it let Qi Suian move in.

’A safe house doesn’t have to be one you build yourself. Isn’t it better to just take someone else’s? They’ve already put in the work to set it up; using it directly saves me a lot of trouble.’

And then, the looting began.

’They were survivors, after all. It wasn’t impossible that a lucky one or a wolf in sheep’s clothing was mixed in among them.’

[Special item detected. Analyzing...]

The AI’s sudden alert drew Qi Suian’s gaze to a piece of parchment in the Tai Sui God’s hand.

It appeared to be made of sheepskin, and the parchment was covered in dense text.

The translation was completed quickly, and the content appeared before Qi Suian.

The first half was a final letter and an epitaph. It told the story of a man named the Dragon Roar Daoist who, after much difficulty, had mastered the *Cyan Dragon Refining Technique*. However, because the Cold Energy was receding, he ultimately faced his demise.

At the end, he lamented how unfair the world was. Why could Cold Energy Monsters survive into a new Cold Energy era by hibernating, while humans, even those who practiced a Qi Cultivation Method, could not?

They would only die from the lack of Cold Energy to replenish themselves.

The latter half was a map, recording the location of the Cold Beast Ancestral Court—the Ice Continent.

In the Dragon Roar Daoist’s era, the Ice Continent, home to the Cold Beast Ancestral Court, was indeed extremely remote, even requiring a detailed map to reach.

It was nothing like the new era, before the frozen apocalypse had fully descended, where modern vehicles like planes and cruise ships could reach it. As long as you had the money, you could make a trip there once a month.

The reason this map was left behind was that the Ice Continent was rumored to be the Cold Energy Source. If one could reach it, they might not have to worry about dying from a lack of Cold Energy.

"This parchment indirectly confirms my previous suspicions."

"But there’s a problem here. Humans who practice a Qi Cultivation Method can’t survive in an environment without Cold Energy."

"Yet, according to intelligence from the Celestial Traveler Venerable and cryptic records in ancient texts, quite a few humans have survived across eras by hibernating."

Qi Suian’s previous data had indicated the same, which also aligned with the final letter on the parchment.

But because there was now testimonial and physical evidence, Qi Suian had simply assumed his calculations were wrong.

It was a good thing this error had no impact on him; otherwise, it would have been a huge problem.

"So which is true, and which is false?" Qi Suian had no way to determine the actual situation.

Judging from the contents of the parchment, that Dragon Roar Daoist must have been one of the top human experts of his time.

He even seemed to be a contemporary of the Taiyin Celestial Monarch.

’Otherwise, how could an ordinary person have had the ability to draw a map of the Ice Continent?’

’Only someone with sufficient strength could have accomplished it. Otherwise, with motivation alone, they probably would have been swallowed whole by a Cold Energy Monster the moment they left the county town.’

’Ancient times weren’t like the present.’

Today, the various nations are still fighting amongst themselves, both openly and secretly, but they have also begun to gradually clear out the Cold Energy Monsters.

Most thermal weapons have become ineffective due to the low temperatures, but as long as they don’t encounter a Beast King-level Cold Energy Monster, ordinary Cold Energy Monsters are no match for a regular army.

But how many Beast King-level ones could there be? Spread across an entire planet, there were certainly many, and even within the various nations, the number wasn’t small.

But if you went down to the city level, there was probably only one, maybe even none at all.

In ancient times, however, due to factors like the lack of widespread knowledge, the feudal system, and limited productivity, Cold Energy Monsters posed a much greater threat to the common people.

[Based on your research findings and the data report from the parchment, there is certain to be a hidden secret within the Qi Cultivation Method.]

[It may be related to the Cold Energy Source. You can follow this clue to continue your investigation.]

"The only clue here points to the Ice Continent, right? We can’t just stick to the outer areas; we’d definitely have to enter the inner circle. That place is known as the Cold Beast Ancestral Court."

"Even with the Dragon and Tiger Primordial Divine Force, you might not be able to win. And we can’t just blast our way through with the Floating Cannons—that would be too wasteful."

"Besides, if we end up provoking another Blood Moon or a Golden Light Man, escaping would be a close call." Of course, Qi Suian wanted to go, but he wasn’t prepared.

’Rushing a boss head-on like that is never that easy.’

’He had plot armor, but at most, it would only ensure he made some gains and escaped with his life.’

’The price paid, however, might not offset the rewards.’

’If the Cold Energy Source was also X-grade quality, then not even his plot armor could guarantee his survival.’

As long as the source of the apocalypse wasn’t involved, most things posed no threat to Qi Suian.

But the moment it was, the difficulty would skyrocket, and even surviving would become a struggle.

[You do not have to go personally. You can leak this information to the various nations and have them explore for you. You need only sit back and reap the rewards.]

[The upper echelons of the nations are all infatuated with the power of special abilities and the Qi Cultivation Method, and they all dream of immortality.]

[When they learn that their power and lifespan are both dependent on Cold Energy, they certainly won’t be able to sit still.]

The AI was suggesting the "mantis stalking the cicada" stratagem, with Qi Suian playing the role of the oriole waiting in the wings.

At that time, no matter what the nations discovered, Qi Suian could go and snatch it.

’Robbing the nations is a lot easier than venturing into the Ice Continent.’

’Ideally, the nations would be able to research something, which would also save Qi Suian a lot of resources.’

"It’s a good plan, but you’re underestimating humanity’s talent for self-destruction."

"Also, for this kind of exploration, the ’Doomsday Game’ will give out rewards. Never mind whether they can find anything or not; just for the rewards from the game, the nations will probably beat each other’s brains out."

The AI’s plan was quite good, but it had overlooked the issue of conflicting interests.

[This has little to do with you. On the contrary, you would be a vested beneficiary.]

[If they truly have some kind of effect on the Cold Energy Source, it would prove that the Cold Energy Source can indeed bring about world-ending events.]

[As long as you maneuver correctly, it would be even better if you could cause the entire third batch of survivors to die as a result.]

[The only price you have to pay is this piece of parchment, which contains some outdated information.]

[And you would be able to reap the fisherman’s profit.]

"No. In fact, we can just make a fake. We don’t even need to give them the real one." Qi Suian rolled up the parchment and put it into his Subspace Pocket.

"We’ll keep the real one and use the fake as bait."

"I recall you have the relevant knowledge for that, right?"

Qi Suian was convinced by the AI. ’It’s already the apocalypse. How much worse can things get? The worst that could happen is the entire planet blowing up.’

’It’s not like he hadn’t experienced that kind of thing before.’

[Yes, a forgery can be created. However, collecting the materials will take time.]

In the end, it all came down to a lack of time.

There was only one Tai Sui God. Qi Suian needed to use it, and the AI needed to use it. They were truly unable to be in two places at once.

As for Qi Suian not using it? That was impossible. Without the Tai Sui God, his combat effectiveness would be utterly crippled.

"After the Tai Sui God evolves in two days, we’ll make our move. For now, I’ll experiment with the Low-level Poison Element Attachment Magic."

"If it succeeds, our energy technology will make a qualitative leap!"

-----------------

Tang Qing successfully became the Taiyin Celestial Monarch’s disciple. With his master’s guidance, his personal growth progressed by leaps and bounds.

However, the growth of his actual strength was much slower.

The *Taiyin Refining Technique* required a vast amount of resources, and the Taiyin Celestial Monarch didn’t have any stockpiled.

Therefore, what grew was his understanding of the *Taiyin Refining Technique*.

This was not a waste of time. Instead, it was an indirect way to increase his strength, and it would further reduce his resource requirements and increase his cultivation speed.

The Tiger Roar Daoist left the day after he became a disciple, even giving him a gift as compensation.

It was a Qi Cultivation Secret Technique. He hadn’t started practicing it yet, as he was still focused mainly on his studies.

But during his time with the Taiyin Celestial Monarch, Tang Qing always felt a sense of unease.

The Taiyin Celestial Monarch treated him very well. He didn’t know what his master had discussed with the Tiger Roar Daoist, but he was truly being treated as a disciple.

Aside from hard limitations like the inability to provide resources, basically anything he wanted was granted.

It gave him the... distinct feeling of being a pig being fattened up.

However, he attributed this unease and the strange feeling to it being an illusion caused by the sudden relaxation after a long period of intense stress and tension.

’After all, he was no match for even the Tiger Roar Daoist, let alone the Taiyin Celestial Monarch.’

’If his master truly had designs on him, why go through so much trouble? He could have just made a move directly.’

’Why insist on nurturing him and letting him grow stronger?’

’What was his master after? If he had malicious intentions, he should have acted when I was still weak, not wait until my strength had actually increased, right?’

’Wouldn’t that just be making things unnecessarily difficult?’