Southern Region, Tianqiong Plain.
This name has been passed down from generation to generation among the Cultivators of the Southern Region in the Canlan Continent for an unknown number of years.
Looking as far as the eye can see, this is a "forbidden land" in the truest sense.
A thousand miles of scorched earth, where not a single blade of grass grows.
The ground is not ordinary soil or sand, but a dark substance that looks as if it has been repeatedly scorched by intense fire and lightning.
The air is filled with a dry, scorching heat, yet it is also laced with traces of a strange "dao rhyme."
The Spiritual Qi here is extremely thin, one could even say it is nearly non-existent, but there is a faint flow of something more ancient and obscure through the space.
Legends about the Tianqiong Plain are widely circulated in the Southern Region.
It is said that sixty thousand years ago, this place was not like this.
Back then, it was a mountain range where Spiritual Veins converged, a place of exceptional beauty and spiritual grace.
However, everything changed completely one day.
An Ascension Realm Great Expert named Venerable Tian Qiong chose this place for secluded cultivation to break through to the illusory realm of "Ascension."
No one knows exactly what happened that day.
All they know is that on that day, the very sky of the entire Southern Region was torn asunder!
Endless Heavenly Tribulation lightning poured down like wrathful dragons of world-ending destruction, completely enveloping this mountain range!
That Heavenly Tribulation lasted for seven full days and nights!
The terrifying Lightning Tribulation not only destroyed the mountain range but also completely incinerated and annihilated the Spiritual Veins here!
Once the tribulation clouds dispersed, Venerable Tian Qiong, along with his Immortal Cave and the entire mountain range, had vanished without a trace.
All that remained was this vast, boundless scorched earth, stripped of all life.
Later generations named it the Tianqiong Plain.
Since then, every hundred years, a strange spatial fluctuation appears deep within this deathly silent scorched earth.
A special place formed from the shattered Dao rules and residual tribulation power of Venerable Tian Qiong—
The Rules Secret Realm—will open on its own.
Within the Secret Realm, not only are various Heaven And Earth Treasures and strange creatures born from the fusion of tribulation power and Dao rules...
But it is also possible that parts of that Ascension Realm Great Expert's Legacy and insights remain.
Therefore, every opening of the Rules Secret Realm is like a giant boulder thrown into the deep waters of the Southern Region.
It draws all Sects, noble families, and even some hidden orthodoxies to send their most outstanding young Disciples to fight for opportunities and temper themselves.
This has long since become the highest-specification grand event for the younger generation of the Southern Region, as well as a stage for various forces to display their strength and engage in secret competition.
Today is the day the new session of the Rules Secret Realm opens!
Deep within the Tianqiong Plain, in a relatively flat area with an open view.
At this moment, the place is already bustling with people, and banners are fluttering in the wind!
Various forces, large and small, from all over the Southern Region have already arrived several days in advance.
Some are piloting flying ships suspended in the air, some have set up temporary camps on the ground, and some are gathered in small groups, talking in low voices, their eyes frequently scanning the direction of the Secret Realm entrance.
At a rough glance, there are tens of thousands of Cultivators gathered here!
These people are the most outstanding young geniuses of this generation in the Southern Region, the future hope of major forces.
The air is filled with an atmosphere of tension, expectation, and an undercurrent of competition.
"Look! That's the 'Qingyun Boat' of the Azure Cloud Holy Land! How grand!"
"Look over there, those are the flying ships of the Lingxu Holy Land and the Tianyuan Holy Land. As expected of Holy Lands!"
"The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect has arrived too! Each of them has Sword Qi piercing the heavens; they truly live up to their reputation!"
"The Red Flame Flying Chariot of the Heavenly Fire Valley! It's said that the Valley Master's youngest son is personally leading the team this time. He possesses the 'Fire Spirit Body' and is a once-in-a-lifetime Genius!"
"The Fairies of the Miaoyin Pavilion are here... Hiss, as expected, every one of them is a heavenly beauty..."
"Are those the people from the Profound Nether Sect over there? They actually came too? That bunch is not to be trifled with..."
"There's also 'Hundred Beast Mountain', 'Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge'... This Secret Realm is going to be lively."
Discussions broke out everywhere as people identified those iconic flying Magic Treasures, clothing, and auras.
Azure Cloud Holy Land, Lingxu Holy Land, Tianyuan Holy Land, Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, Heavenly Fire Valley, Miaoyin Pavilion, Profound Nether Sect, Hundred Beast Mountain, Ten Thousand Poisons Ridge... almost all the top-tier first-rate forces of the Southern Region were present.
Their Disciples naturally became the focus of the crowd.
On the flying ship of the Azure Cloud Holy Land, Holy Lord Chu Tianchen personally presided, with several Elders and dozens of extraordinary young Disciples standing beside him.
At the head were Gu Luoli's "old acquaintances"—the former Saint Mu Bai and the new Saintess Su Waner.
The Lingxu Holy Land's team was also on a magnificent flying ship. On the ship, an old man in an Eight Trigrams Daoist robe sat with his eyes closed, resting his mind; it was Holy Lord Xuan Yangzi.
The Disciples behind him mostly had an ethereal temperament and were skilled in techniques and Formations.
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