"I know about divine-grade items, but what is this 'Heart of the Empire'?"
Xiao Mo silently inquired in his mind.
Soon, a familiar prompt sound echoed in his mind, and an information interface appeared before his eyes.
[For a territory's power to establish an empire on the Primordial Continent, it must possess the Heart of the Empire. Otherwise, even if established, it will not be recognized by the world laws here, leading to a joint attack by the local empires and kingdoms!]
Just as he finished reading, a flash of golden light flickered before Xiao Mo's eyes, and simultaneously, a golden rhombus-shaped imprint appeared on his forehead.
[The Heart of the Empire has been automatically integrated into your Sea of Consciousness. It can be directly retrieved and used on the day you establish your empire!]
Xiao Mo closed his eyes and sensed it. He found that indeed, something resembling a golden rhombus-shaped gem, slightly larger than his fist, was floating in his Sea of Consciousness.
To this, Xiao Mo could not help but feel somewhat disappointed.
He, like some other lords, had actually thought he would receive a divinity or even a divine artifact.
He hadn't expected it to be merely a "foundation stone" for establishing an empire.
However, despite his disappointment, Xiao Mo was still quite content.
After all, this item was also extremely precious. Since it was a unique special reward, it was bound to be very difficult to obtain.
Moreover, it was a divine-grade item, its value was self-evident.
In fact, from a certain perspective, it was far more valuable than a divine artifact.
After all, only an empire established with this "foundation stone" could gain the recognition of the Primordial Continent's world laws.
Afterward, Xiao Mo no longer lingered on the thought and turned his attention to the five options.
The scope of the rewards was vast, encompassing almost everything his territory needed.
Unfortunately, he could only choose one out of five.
This directly gave Xiao Mo decision paralysis.
After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Mo still resorted to the most practical method of selection—elimination.
The first thing to be eliminated was naturally the materials for territory upgrades.
Although this was very important to every lord, for him, obtaining these items was not difficult.
Even Immortal-Demon Stones, Soul Crystals, and Spirit Stones could be acquired by hunting demonic beasts, attacking local factions, or conquering some territorial powers.
Most importantly, the current beast tide battle would surely yield enough Immortal-Demon Stones and Soul Crystals.
At the very least, it would be more than enough to upgrade the [Immortal-Demon Reincarnation Pool] to level four.
The second item to be eliminated was naturally the first option, territory upgrade by four levels.
His territory was currently a beginner tribe. Even with four levels of upgrades, it would only become an intermediate small city, which was not of much use.
Instead, it might even attract large-scale attacks from the indigenous forces of the Endless Abyss region due to the surge in popularity and cohesion.
This would be more of a loss than a gain.
What's more, if he wanted to upgrade his territory so quickly, he wouldn't have excluded the territory materials item first.
As for the remaining three options: a random set of leveled equipment, a significant tier advancement for all his subordinate troop types, or six evolution slots for initial tier troops plus a specialized building for initial tier troops.
These three options made Xiao Mo even more conflicted, as all were sufficiently attractive.
Therefore, Xiao Mo gritted his teeth and began to eliminate them based on their attractiveness and practical value.
First, random leveled equipment. This item was entirely dependent on luck.
If he was exceptionally lucky, he might get a set of God-King grade equipment.
But if he was unlucky, it would only be a set of Saint grade equipment.
Saint grade equipment was used by Saint-level powerhouses, and its power was naturally immense.
However, Xiao Mo felt that equipment did not play a significant role for him and was not attractive enough.
As long as his territory's power grew, and he could eventually attack powerful indigenous forces, obtaining Saint grade equipment would be simple.
Most importantly, this was a gamble on luck.
The probability of getting Saint grade, divine grade, or God-King grade equipment was only 33.3%.
Therefore, Xiao Mo set this option aside for the time being.
Then came the other two options.
Xiao Mo first considered whether to advance all his subordinate troop types by a major tier or gain six evolution slots for initial tier troops.
Advancing troop strength by a major tier was not important, as troops could advance by killing enemies.
However, the six evolution slots for initial tier troops were quite appealing to Xiao Mo.
He had at least promised Xian Qing'er the chance to evolve, but he hadn't managed to obtain an evolution blueprint yet.
Moreover, if the other Immortal-Demon Generals could evolve to their initial tier, their strength would undoubtedly become even more terrifying.
After all, the next advancement would be Heavenly-grade Immortal-Demon Commander, whose full true strength was peak Divine-grade, just one step away from God-King tier.
However, after a long period of deep thought, Xiao Mo still set this option aside.
He then focused his gaze on the last option.
Obtaining a specialized building for initial tier troops!
Xiao Mo had no idea what the specialized building for Immortals and Demons would be.
But he knew this building must be very important.
Even the [Immortal-Demon Sacred Hall] was merely a specialized building for Xiao Mo's believers and all beings with Immortal-Demon bloodlines.
The scope of this was vast.
And what would be the specialized building for Immortal-Demon troops?
As for the initial tier evolution of Immortal-Demon troops, it could be compensated for with evolution blueprints later.
But this specialized building might be a one-time opportunity. If missed, it might be very difficult to obtain in the future.
Although he didn't know what this specialized building was, Xiao Mo dearly hoped to obtain another [Immortal-Demon Reincarnation Pool].
That way, he could simultaneously build his Immortal-Demon legions and cultivate full-fledged Immortals and Demons, without hindering either.
This idea had formed in his mind during the beginner phase, but he had never had the chance to realize it, nor had he ever heard of anyone obtaining troop building blueprints.
Even those with heaven-defying luck, like the little kid, had never obtained them.
If his wish were to come true this time, there was no doubt that he could unify the Endless Abyss at an even faster pace and establish his own Immortal-Demon Empire.
Therefore, Xiao Mo decisively chose this reward.
"I choose the fourth reward!"
[Randomly extracting the specialized building for the current territory's initial troop type...]
[Random extraction complete! Reward confirmed!]
[Congratulations, Lord, on obtaining a specialized building shared by the Immortal and Demon races—the Nine Heavens Nine Underworlds City, which integrates both offense and defense!]
[Do you wish to immediately claim the Nine Heavens Nine Underworlds City?]
[Yes] [No]
At this moment, Xiao Mo was completely stunned.
The randomly extracted reward was completely beyond his expectations.
Not an [Immortal-Demon Reincarnation Pool], but a massive city!
And a colossal city that resembled a war fortress!
After being stunned for a full two minutes, Xiao Mo suddenly jolted awake.
Immediately, his face lit up with excitement and joy, and he couldn't stop smiling.
He rubbed his eyes and reconfirmed the reward he had received, along with its brief description.
Xiao Mo took a deep breath and forced his trembling hands to calm down.
But in his heart, he was roaring.
He had struck gold!
This time, he had definitely gained an astronomical amount!