Chapter 582

Chapter 582

I Can See Through Everything

"You’re saying that the Secret Realm forming atop Sacred Tianxu Mountain has shown signs of change?"

"That's right. Just now, a fellow cultivator returned from exploring Sacred Tianxu Mountain and reported that the fluctuations from the forming Secret Realm suddenly surged today. The intensity is still increasing. It could fully emerge within the next few days!"

"But didn’t the Nascent Soul experts predict that it wouldn’t appear for at least another half a month?"

"This Secret Realm is no ordinary place. You can tell from the power of the emanations—it’s clearly a large-scale Secret Realm that appears only once in hundreds of years.

Otherwise, those sects and aristocratic families wouldn’t have traveled thousands of miles to get here.

With such a divine and extraordinary Secret Realm, it’s no surprise that even the experts’ predictions might be off."

"If that’s the case, then it really might emerge early! We should prepare to head for Sacred Tianxu Mountain!"

"But I just returned from the mountain not long ago. The ‘mountain qi’ in my body hasn’t fully dissipated yet. I probably won’t be able to enter again anytime soon. What am I supposed to do?"

"You’re still better off than I am. You’ve been back for seven days—wait a few more and you’ll be fine. I only returned yesterday. By the time the ‘mountain qi’ is gone, all the opportunities in the Secret Realm might have already been snatched up!"

"No need to panic just yet. It could just be a natural fluctuation. The predictions of the Nascent Soul experts might still hold true."

…

All throughout Tianxu City, cultivators were abuzz with speculation.

The fluctuations from the forming Secret Realm on Sacred Tianxu Mountain were so powerful they couldn’t be concealed.

Any change would be immediately reported to the cities below the mountain.

This time was no exception.

The surge was so intense that many cultivators believed the Secret Realm’s emergence was imminent.

Many of them departed at once, heading for Sacred Tianxu Mountain.

"The Secret Realm is about to appear?"

Daoist Wubao, who scouted for news daily, was startled when he overheard the chatter.

He rushed back to the mountain peak where he lived, wanting to inform Lu Qing right away.

But when he arrived at Lu Qing’s cave dwelling, he found a plaque hanging outside that read “No Visitors.”

He called out a few times but got no response.

Realizing the situation, he figured Lu Qing was likely deep in meditation.

Unwilling to interrupt, Daoist Wubao dared not disturb him, fearing he might be at a critical point in his cultivation.

If he disrupted Lu Qing’s enlightenment, it could lead to enmity between them.

Left with no choice, Daoist Wubao could only continue to monitor the news in the city while anxiously awaiting Lu Qing’s emergence.

And he wasn’t wrong—Lu Qing was indeed at a pivotal moment in his cultivation.

At this very moment, an extraordinary domain had spread out around him.

Countless sword qi wove through the space, circulating along intricate, mysterious trajectories.

The aura of sword intent permeated the air, brimming with terrifying power that had yet to be unleashed, making the very space around him tremble.

After several days, Lu Qing finally opened his eyes. Sword light flickered in them before gradually settling down.

He retracted the domain, and calm returned to the cave dwelling.

"As expected, the Sword Qi Domain pairs remarkably well with the Seven-Star Sword Formation. The cultivation inheritance from the Small World isn’t without merit—it definitely has its strengths."

Thoughtful, Lu Qing flipped his hand, revealing a small domain of sword qi hovering above his palm.

Within it, sword qi surged and danced, circulating along an esoteric formation path.

If a powerhouse from Tianxu City were present, they would be utterly stunned by the sight.

Because the formation pattern operating in the miniature Sword Qi Domain was unmistakably one of the transformations from the Seven-Star Sword Formation.

Indeed, Lu Qing had not only refined the Seven-Star Sword Intent,

but had also completely mastered the first three transformations of the Seven-Star Sword Formation.

The Seven-Star Sword Formation had a total of seven formation variations.

The first three were at the Golden Core level, while the remaining four could only be executed by Nascent Soul cultivators.

Lu Qing had already fully mastered the first three Golden Core formations.

More impressively, he had gone further—he had merged the formation into his Sword Qi Domain, gaining an even deeper level of control.

This had always been his goal.

The concept of martial domains came from his homeland, a world where spiritual energy had long since dried up.

Generation after generation of martial geniuses had developed this unique power in pursuit of greater control over their abilities.

Their aim was a state of unity between man and nature, mastering the forces of the world with unmatched precision.

In contrast, the Tianyuan Great World had never experienced spiritual energy depletion.

Overflowing with spiritual energy since time immemorial, its cultivators followed powerful cultivation methods focused on ascending realms and deepening their cultivation.

They never had to worry about running out of spiritual energy.

But in his homeland, where the upper limits of cultivation had long been capped due to spiritual decline,

generation after generation of martial artists were forced to devise countless techniques to amplify their strength.

Among them, one critical approach was to perfectly control every shred of power they possessed, unleashing force that surpassed their own limits.

And the pinnacle of that path was the domain.

By attuning the soul to the laws of heaven and earth, one could fuse with the world and gain command of the surrounding natural forces—creating a domain.

With it, a martial artist could use their own strength as a fulcrum to leverage the power of heaven and earth, producing force far beyond their natural capability.

Though originally developed by martial artists with a ceiling at the Precelestial Realm,

this system of cultivation was in fact an exceptionally advanced path.

Lu Qing only came to realize this after studying numerous cultivation techniques in the Tianyuan Great World.

This taught him that every world’s cultivation system had its own unique strengths.

The techniques of a Small World weren’t necessarily inferior to those of a Great World.

It was merely that the world’s ceiling limited how far those techniques could evolve.

That was the only reason the Small World’s cultivation methods seemed lacking in comparison.

"My foundation in the Sword Dao came from the Sword Qi Domain that my master developed.

This domain-based path actually has a very high potential. Its underlying philosophy is in no way inferior to the profound inheritances of the Great World.

Perhaps, in the future, I can try to integrate both the Seven-Star Sword Formation and the Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi into my domain,

and forge a unique Sword Dao Domain that belongs solely to me."

As Lu Qing toyed with the miniature Sword Qi Domain in his palm, his heart surged with excitement.

If others knew what he was thinking now, they would be shocked—and then ridicule him for his arrogance.

After all, both the Seven-Star Sword Formation and the Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi were supreme sword inheritances left behind by Five-Tribulation Nascent Soul powerhouses.

Even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators would consider themselves incredibly fortunate to obtain just one of them, treating it as a peerless treasure.

They would devote themselves wholeheartedly to understanding it, never daring to think of anything beyond that.

And yet, Lu Qing was only a lowly Golden Core cultivator—

yet he dared to dream of fusing these two top-tier Nascent Soul inheritances into his own cultivation path.

How brazen. How utterly reckless.

But Lu Qing had never cared about that.

Even the inheritances left behind by top-tier Nascent Soul cultivators, in Lu Qing’s eyes, were not necessarily flawless.

Otherwise, those cultivators would not have remained at the level of Five-Tribulation Nascent Soul—they would have reached even greater heights.

What he had refined was a Perfect Golden Core, and the foundational techniques of his cultivation path were entirely self-developed.

His Dao Techniques and Divine Abilities could follow the same path.

His goal was to extract the essence and discard the dross from all the techniques he encountered, to deduce a path most suitable for himself.

With his unique ability, he had every right to be confident.

After toying with the miniature Sword Qi Domain in his palm for a while, Lu Qing finally dispersed it.

He then prepared to step out of the cave dwelling.

He had, of course, sensed the commotion outside caused by Daoist Wubao a few days earlier.

But at the time, he had been at a critical stage in his comprehension of the Seven-Star Sword Formation and chose not to respond.

Now that his enlightenment had reached a temporary conclusion, it was a good time to go out and find out if anything important had happened.

Holding Xiaoli in his arms, Lu Qing stepped out of his cave dwelling and made his way to the dwelling where Daoist Wubao resided.

Just as he was about to send a voice transmission, he suddenly sensed Daoist Wubao’s presence hurrying back from outside.

Turning his gaze, he saw Daoist Wubao at the same moment.

Daoist Wubao's face lit up with joy. “Fellow Daoist Chen, you’ve emerged from seclusion?”

“Just did,” Lu Qing replied with a slight apologetic tone. “A few days ago, I reached a critical point in cultivation and couldn’t respond. I hope the Daoist won’t take offense.”

“No need at all,” Daoist Wubao waved it off. “Cultivation comes first. I was more worried about disturbing you at a crucial moment.”

Hearing that Lu Qing had indeed been at a pivotal stage, Daoist Wubao felt fortunate.

It was a good thing he hadn’t insisted on calling Lu Qing out that day—otherwise, he might have ruined something important.

“By the way, Daoist, why did you come looking for me that day?”

“It was something very important!” Daoist Wubao’s expression grew serious. “Fellow Daoist Chen, did you know that the Secret Realm being formed by Sacred Tianxu Mountain has already emerged?”

“What? It’s already emerged?” Lu Qing was truly shocked. “When did this happen? Wasn’t it predicted to take at least another half month?”

“It happened just yesterday,” Daoist Wubao replied. “As for the reason, I don’t know. A few days ago, news from the mountain said the Secret Realm—still in its formative stage—suddenly underwent a mutation.

Its internal fluctuations surged dramatically, dozens of times stronger.

Rumors in the city quickly spread, saying it was about to appear.

That’s when I came to inform you.

But since you were still in seclusion, I continued gathering news in the city.

Sure enough, after that surge, the fluctuations kept intensifying over the next few days.

Then just yesterday, the Secret Realm truly appeared.

Now, all the major powers, along with countless rogue cultivators, have already made their way to the mountain and entered the Secret Realm to fight for opportunities.

I remained in the city only because I was waiting for you.”

“I see…” Lu Qing said with deep regret. “I’m sorry, Daoist. This is entirely my fault. I chose to go into seclusion at such a critical moment and caused you to miss the best opportunity to enter the Secret Realm.”

“Please don’t say that,” Daoist Wubao quickly responded. “We agreed to enter the Secret Realm together—how could I break that promise?

Besides, entering on the first day isn’t always the best option.

The competition must be brutal—there could’ve even been casualties.

By going in a bit later, we might avoid the worst of the bloodshed.”

“True enough, but it’s still my fault.”

Lu Qing knew that Daoist Wubao wasn’t wrong, but everyone understood that those who entered a Secret Realm early had the best chances to secure its treasures.

Those who went in later might not even get scraps.

“Daoist, let’s not delay any further. Let’s head to the mountain now.”

“Agreed. A day has already passed, and the outskirts of the Secret Realm likely aren’t as crowded now. Entering now should be relatively safe,” Daoist Wubao nodded.

Without further delay, the two transformed into streaks of light and flew toward Sacred Tianxu Mountain.

Along the way, Lu Qing extended his senses over the city below.

He discovered that the spiritual signatures of cultivators moving through Tianxu City had become scarce.

It was a stark contrast to the bustling activity of a few days earlier.

Clearly, the city’s cultivators had all rushed off to the mountain to seek opportunities within the Secret Realm.

“Daoist, since the Secret Realm has been open for a day already, has any news come out about its interior?” Lu Qing asked via voice transmission as they traveled.

“Not a word,” Daoist Wubao shook his head. “Any cultivator in the city with real ability has already gone to the mountain. None of them have returned, much less brought back any information.”

Lu Qing nodded. It made sense. The Secret Realm formed by Sacred Tianxu Mountain was taken seriously even by top-tier sects—it had to be extraordinary.

Anyone lucky enough to enter wouldn’t want to leave it quickly.

Sacred Tianxu Mountain wasn’t far from Tianxu City. With their light-speed travel, the two soon arrived at the foot of the mountain.

As soon as they approached, Lu Qing felt an invisible energy enter his body, spreading into his dantian and brow acupoint.

Surprisingly, his life-bound artifact and items like the Five Elements Treasure Pearl didn’t react at all—they didn’t block the energy, allowing it to flow freely into him.

“This is the mountain qi.”

Daoist Wubao noticed Lu Qing’s frown and offered an explanation.

“Legend says this ‘mountain qi’ is a derivative of the mountain’s very essence—profound beyond measure.

Neither spiritual artifacts nor even Nascent Soul cultivators can block its entry.

As it accumulates in your body, it gradually causes your divine soul to stiffen and your spiritual power to slow.

At that point, a cultivator must leave the mountain.

If they don’t, the excessive buildup of mountain qi could cause petrification—turning them into stone and making them part of the mountain itself.

But the mountain qi is also very peculiar. As long as you leave the mountain’s range, it slowly dissipates.

That’s why cultivators who venture here must periodically leave to recover.

It’s also the reason cities like Tianxu City were first built at the mountain’s base.”

“So it really is the mountain qi… Even spiritual artifacts can’t block it.”

Lu Qing’s heart tightened at the thought.

As Daoist Wubao explained, the two streaks of light continued circling the mountain.

Suddenly, the view ahead lit up brightly.