Chapter 583

Chapter 583

I Can See Through Everything

"That is—!"

Seeing the scene ahead, both of them were taken aback.

A massive spatial vortex hovered there, as if embedded in the Sacred Tianxu Mountain itself, rotating slowly.

The vortex was extraordinarily vast, sending out waves of immense force that made humans appear as insignificant as ants in comparison.

"This must be the newly-emerged entrance to the Secret Realm. I didn’t expect it to be this enormous."

Feeling the fluctuations emanating from the vortex, Lu Qing finally understood why the factions that discovered the Secret Realm's impending emergence hadn't bothered to keep it a secret.

Because this level of spatial disturbance simply couldn't be hidden by human means.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator would seem insignificant before such overwhelming spatial power.

Let alone masking the fluctuations of the Sacred Tianxu Mountain’s Secret Realm—no top-tier Nascent Soul cultivator could do that.

Lu Qing tried activating his ability to peer into the vortex.

But after a long while, no information tag emerged from it.

Whether it was because the time was too short, or because the Secret Realm’s level was too high, akin to the Sacred Tianxu Mountain itself, his current strength was still insufficient to read any information from it.

As the two of them drew closer to the vortex, they also saw numerous figures floating in mid-air in front of the massive spatial rift.

Some were seated cross-legged atop auspicious clouds, some rode flying boats and other artifacts, and some simply stood suspended in the air.

Some were in groups, others stood alone, proud and aloof.

But without exception, all of these figures exuded powerful auras that made one’s heart tremble.

They were all Nascent Soul experts!

It was only the overwhelming spatial fluctuations of the vortex that made them seem relatively inconspicuous.

Sensing the might of these figures, Lu Qing and Daoist Wubao immediately slowed their flight.

"Daoist, do you think these experts will stop us from entering the Secret Realm?" Lu Qing asked.

"They shouldn’t… I think," Daoist Wubao replied uncertainly. "According to what I gathered back in Tianxu City, this Secret Realm atop the Sacred Tianxu Mountain is open to all cultivators.

It’s an unwritten rule that's been silently acknowledged by various factions for tens of thousands of years.

It’s said that long ago, some factions tried to monopolize the opportunities within the Sacred Mountain.

They joined forces to block others from entering.

But this enraged a massive number of rogue cultivators, and a brutal war broke out.

That battle was so intense that countless rogue cultivators, led by Nascent Soul experts among them, banded together and nearly crushed those factions.

If the Righteous Path Alliance hadn’t intervened in the end, those factions might have been wiped out entirely.

Ever since then, no force has dared to openly seal off the Sacred Tianxu Mountain.

Rogue cultivators are free to enter and explore the mountain in search of fortune and breakthroughs.

Those experts up ahead likely won’t break that rule lightly.

Notice how, aside from those Nascent Soul cultivators, there’s no one else here.

The rogue cultivators from Tianxu City are nowhere to be seen.

They’ve probably already gone into the Secret Realm."

"I see," Lu Qing said, realization dawning.

That made sense. If those factions had truly wanted to stop rogue cultivators from entering, the news of the Secret Realm’s emergence wouldn’t have spread so widely, nor would so many have come flocking.

"Let’s try moving a little closer and see how the experts react."

The two of them slowly flew toward the spatial vortex. As they neared, they could feel several powerful gazes locking onto them.

Daoist Wubao stiffened immediately, his expression turning nervous.

Lu Qing appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was equally tense.

He had already secretly clutched a Teleportation Jade Platform, ready to flee the moment things went south.

Fortunately, once the Nascent Soul cultivators saw that it was only two Golden Core early-stage juniors, they lost interest. Their gazes withdrew almost instantly, returning to the vortex.

Seeing this, Lu Qing and Daoist Wubao breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

They quickly put on respectful expressions, circled around the experts at a distance, and carefully approached the vortex.

Their cautious approach drew a faint chuckle from one of the Nascent Soul experts.

But no one stopped them from getting closer.

Eventually, as the two of them vanished into the vortex, one of the experts shook his head with a chuckle.

"Two little guys… must’ve heard the news and rushed here in a hurry. Entering this late, they’ll be lucky to find even a single Spirit Herb."

Another expert snorted coldly. "Two ignorant brats. Just Golden Core early-stage and they dare poke their heads in here? They’re as good as dead in there."

"Now, now, don’t say that. Maybe those two have exceptional luck and manage to stumble upon a great opportunity.

You know how mysterious fortune can be—even we can’t fully grasp it.

Take this Secret Realm, for instance. Despite our strength, we’re barred from entry. That’s fate."

"Hmph, are we really to be compared with a couple of Golden Core juniors? Kongmingzi, don’t belittle yourself so."

…

As the Nascent Soul cultivators bantered, Qian Lingxiao of the Qiankun Sect stood silent, gazing thoughtfully in the direction of the vortex.

"Lingxiao, what are you looking at?" asked Gongshu Zheng beside him.

"I was just wondering if those two just now are the ones Xiaojing and the others mentioned."

"You mean the cultivator who rescued Junior Sister Xiaojing and the others from Li Motian?" Gongshu Zheng paused. "But didn’t they say that Li Motian, after turning to the Demonic Path, had reached late-stage Golden Core?

To defeat him, that cultivator would’ve had to be at least late-stage Golden Core too.

But those two just now were both clearly early-stage Golden Core."

"Perhaps they used some rare artifact to conceal their true cultivation," Qian Lingxiao said calmly. "Yesterday, Junior Sister Xiaojing and Junior Sister Qingzhu waited for hours, but the one who saved them never showed.

They also mentioned he was traveling with a fat Daoist lately.

Those two we just saw match that description perfectly."

"Then it’s probably them," Gongshu Zheng nodded in agreement.

Then he smiled with interest. "Still, to conceal their cultivation even from us… that artifact must be quite extraordinary."

"Anyone who’s reached late-stage Golden Core is bound to have secrets," Qian Lingxiao replied nonchalantly. "If you’re curious, you can always investigate when they come out."

"You say that, but he’s your sect’s benefactor. I wouldn’t want to offend him," Gongshu Zheng said with a smile.

"To be honest, I do have doubts about his background. Though he saved Xiaojing and the others, the timing was too convenient.

And he’s been extremely secretive about where he comes from. I can’t help but question his intentions.

But just as you said—he’s currently our Qiankun Sect’s benefactor, and I don’t wish to offend him.

If you’re willing to help probe a little, that would be ideal."

"It’s no trouble at all. If they survive the Secret Realm, I’ll look into it for you."

Gongshu Zheng didn’t refuse.

He was intrigued by the item that had eluded even his spiritual perception.

Unaware that he had already drawn the attention of two Nascent Soul experts without doing anything, Lu Qing had already entered the Secret Realm with Daoist Wubao.

"So this is the inside of the Secret Realm?"

The two of them steadied their minds and dispersed the discomfort brought on by the teleportation before quickly beginning to survey their surroundings.

They soon realized they were now in an extremely vast space.

At first glance, it didn’t seem much different from the outside world.

There were flowers, trees, mountains, and grassy plains—full of vibrant life.

They happened to be standing in a sparse forest.

But it didn’t take long before their expressions shifted.

"The spiritual energy in this Secret Realm… it’s so thin?" Daoist Wubao exclaimed in shock.

Lu Qing’s expression also turned serious.

In his perception, the surrounding spiritual energy was incomparably sparse.

It was faintly reminiscent of how his home world had been right after the first Heavenly Dao Resonance—before spiritual revival truly began.

Yet, in contrast to the lack of spiritual energy, the surrounding spatial laws were extremely firm, giving off a heavy, oppressive sensation.

Lu Qing lightly swept his arm through the air. As he broke the flow of wind, a heavy whoosh rang out.

He immediately confirmed—it wasn’t just an illusion.

The space around them was indeed far more stagnant and heavy than the outside world.

This meant that not only would their flying speed be severely impacted, but casting movement Techniques like Stream-of-Light Technique would also require far more spiritual power.

"This isn’t looking good," Lu Qing said after testing it out. "The spiritual energy here is so thin, and the space so dense…

Whether it’s traveling or using Techniques, the spiritual power we consume will be several times the norm.

This means not only will the power of our Techniques be reduced,

but the spiritual power consumed can only be replenished with spirit stones."

When cultivators used Techniques and divine abilities, they not only relied on their own spiritual power but often resonated with the ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth, amplifying their force dramatically.

But in this Secret Realm, with spiritual energy so scarce, there was no resonance.

That meant cultivators had to rely solely on their own power to fuel Techniques. This would massively increase spiritual power consumption and greatly reduce their potency.

What was more concerning—they still had no idea why the environment of this Secret Realm was so strange.

"Strange… for a new Secret Realm born from the Sacred Mountain to be like this—such thin spiritual energy… this has never happened before," Daoist Wubao muttered in disbelief.

Lu Qing’s eyes lit up slightly. "Daoist, you’re saying this has never happened before?"

"Never." Daoist Wubao shook his head. "These past few days, I gathered quite a lot of information about past Secret Realms birthed by the Sacred Mountain, and not once has any of them had spiritual energy this sparse.

Most of those Secret Realms were terrifyingly saturated with spiritual energy.

It made them treasure troves—any random weed pulled from the ground could turn out to be a precious spirit herb outside.

But now, look at this."

Daoist Wubao plucked a patch of grass from the ground and sensed it.

"This is nothing more than the most ordinary weed, without the slightest trace of spiritual essence. It’s even worse than the weeds outside."

Lu Qing looked at the weed as well and sensed the same thing.

Even using his innate ability to inspect it yielded the same result.

"That’s not all," Lu Qing said with a grave tone. "Daoist, you’ve overlooked one thing."

"What is it?" Daoist Wubao blinked.

"Look behind you."

Daoist Wubao turned around and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Just as he frowned in confusion, Lu Qing said, "We entered through the spatial vortex—so where is that vortex now?"

Daoist Wubao’s body jolted violently.

At that moment, Lu Qing’s words echoed in his ears: "Without the vortex, how do we leave?"

"You're right!" Daoist Wubao’s face showed alarm. "If the vortex is gone, doesn't that mean we can’t get out?

But how can that be? According to the records from Tianxu City, the entrance to the Secret Realm doesn’t disappear!"

"There are only two possible explanations," Lu Qing said calmly.

"One, we were randomly teleported to another location within the Secret Realm, far from the exit."

"Or two, the spatial vortex only allows entry, not exit. If we want to leave, we’ll have to find another way."

"But regardless of which is true, clearly we won’t find any answers just by standing around here."

"Fellow Daoist Chen speaks wisely." Daoist Wubao gradually regained his composure as Lu Qing analyzed the situation.

"Whatever the reason, we’ll have to explore if we want answers."

"Then let’s first fly up and see what the overall situation looks like," Lu Qing suggested.

"Sounds good."

The two of them transformed into streaks of light and ascended into the sky.

But they had barely risen a hundred zhang when their expressions changed again.

They discovered that, just as expected, flying required far more spiritual power than it did outside.

What shocked them even more was that the higher they flew, the more “heavy” the surrounding space became.

The spiritual power required to maintain flight increased exponentially.

Just flying up a hundred zhang already cost ten times more spiritual power than remaining on the ground.

By the time they reached a thousand zhang, every single breath consumed over a hundred times more spiritual power than normal!

"This won’t do. It seems this Secret Realm prohibits long-duration flight—we have to get back down," Lu Qing said, his face paling as he felt his spiritual power being rapidly drained, like snow melting under a scorching sun.

Even with his Perfect Golden Core as a foundation—far more robust than a Superior Golden Core—this rate of depletion was unsustainable.

"Agreed!"

As for Daoist Wubao, he fared even worse.

Though he had plenty of hidden trump cards, such massive consumption had already worn him down.

He immediately agreed to Lu Qing’s suggestion and descended swiftly.

As soon as their feet touched the ground, the crushing pressure around them eased considerably, and they both let out a breath of relief.

When they first entered, they had felt uncomfortable with the weight of the space.

But compared to being in the air, the ground now felt much more tolerable.

Up in the sky at a thousand zhang, it had felt as though the entire firmament was pressing down on them.

"It seems this Secret Realm was intentionally designed to suppress the means of cultivators," Lu Qing murmured insightfully after a brief rest.