Chapter One: The Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm (Three-in-One) The next morning, Nie Kong brought the two little lolis to the Inner City. As Lan Shang had said, the Inner City was much livelier during the day. Nie Kong followed the route Lan Shang had described yesterday and leisurely made his way to his residence.

Along the way, figures of Inner City disciples were often seen passing by him.

The two little girls followed Nie Kong closely, constantly looking around, their watery eyes filled with astonishment. Clearly, they hadn't expected such steep, towering cliffs north of Spirit Control City, nor had they imagined that the legendary Inner City was hidden in the deep valley between those two cliffs.

The appearance of Long Hun and Long Ting, however, attracted the attention of many passing Inner City disciples, as outsiders were rarely seen in the Inner City. These twin sisters, with their sweet and beautiful looks and blue emblems, were clearly not Inner City disciples, nor were they the children of high-ranking officials in Spirit Control City.

Judging by their attire, they looked more like maids.

Who was this person, that he could bring maids here? Some Inner City disciples looked at Nie Kong with a hint of strangeness in their eyes. However, no one stopped to point fingers at Nie Kong because of this. It proved that those idlers who rushed to the city gate to watch the excitement, like those during yesterday's additional test, were only a small minority among these Inner City disciples.

The residences of the Inner City disciples were in the northern part of the Inner City.

More than five hundred exquisite pavilions were neatly arranged. Currently, there were nearly five hundred Inner City disciples in this city, and one pavilion per person was more than sufficient. Nie Kong looked at the serial number on his waist token and headed directly to the location with the two little girls, Long Yan and Long Ting.

Each pavilion had a courtyard planted with various flowers, grasses, and trees. The living environment here was comparable to that of the Red Mansion.

After finding the place, Nie Kong pushed open the door and entered. The emblems on the chests of the three instantly burst out with dazzling fluorescent light. A bluestone path immediately appeared in the courtyard covered with flowers and grass. At the end of the path, the room door creaked open, and a small figure flashed out—a little girl as delicate as carved jade.

"Gu Shao?"

Nie Kong was surprised that this little girl rushed out of the pavilion. He looked up at the serial number sign on the pavilion and was astonished. "Did I go to the wrong place?"

"You didn't go wrong!"

The little loli zipped to Nie Kong, glared fiercely at him with her two dark, bead-like eyes, and shouted fiercely, baring her tiny fangs and claws, "Big liar, I'm sticking with you! If you don't tell me the method to attract spirit beasts, I’ll live here every day!"

Nie Kong felt speechless. Since the encounter outside the Illusionary Space with her and Bai Yuqing, he hadn't seen her for several days, and Nie Kong thought she had forgotten about it. Unexpectedly, not only had she not forgotten, but her resentment had deepened, and today she had come specifically to wait for him here.

"Master, who is she? She's so fierce!"

Seeing Gu Shao acting like an angry little lioness, Long Yan and Long Ting were startled and asked timidly, instinctively leaning closer to Nie Kong.

"Ignore her, just a little girl who hasn't even grown hair yet."

Nie Kong smiled, led Long Yan and Long Ting past the little loli, and headed toward the pavilion in front.

"I have grown hair!"

The little loli’s face turned red with anger. She darted in front of Nie Kong and threw a small punch fiercely. Immediately, however, she seemed to have discovered some rare treasure, her eyes darting around as she curiously exclaimed to Long Yan and Long Ting, "Oh my, you two look exactly the same!"

Slow reaction, it took her this long to notice!

However, seeing that Gu Shao’s attention was drawn by the almost identical appearances of the two little girls, Nie Kong was happy to relax. He signaled Long Yan and Long Ting to stay outside while he entered the pavilion. Since Gu Shao had appeared, Bai Yuqing must also be here.

Indeed, as soon as Nie Kong crossed the threshold of the pavilion, a tall, standing white figure entered his sight. Nie Kong laughed heartily and strode in.

Behind him, childish and crisp, melodious voices kept sounding—"Hey... right, which one of you is the older sister, and which is the younger? Right, right, what did you call that big liar just now? Master? So, you are both his maids? Oh my, the big liar is too bad, too bad. How could he let you be his maids?..."

"Don't you speak ill of Master!"

"Okay, okay, I won't say it anymore, but the big liar really is so bad, so bad. You certainly don't know, he tricked me twice half a year ago..."

"..."

Not long after, Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing left the pavilion. In the courtyard, the three pretty little lolis of similar age seemed to be getting along better and better, chatting incessantly together. It was unclear what they were talking about; they didn't even notice that Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing had left. Nie Kong chuckled inwardly; this was perfect, saving him from that little girl remembering the method to attract spirit beasts and clinging to him.

"Sister Bai, you entered the Inner City half a year before me. Should I call you Senior Sister Bai from now on?"

Nie Kong appraised Bai Yuqing's cold yet youthful face and teased with a smile.

"I have no opinion!"

Bai

Seeing the direction Bai Yuqing had taken, Nie Kong immediately understood that the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm must be located in the western part of the inner city of Lingyu City. The west side of the city was entirely built upon that steep cliff face, the terrain exceptionally high, with the pathways composed almost entirely of stone steps. Walking alongside Bai Yuqing, Nie Kong lost count of the countless steps he had traversed, until the long-awaited sound finally reached his ears: “This is it!”

“Oh?”

Nie Kong, who had been intently focused on climbing, couldn't help but lift his head in pleasant surprise. He found himself before a stone valley, a towering arched stone gate, tens of meters high, blocking the way ahead. Behind them, however, the view was expansive; standing there, he could take in the entire panorama of the inner city.

Approaching the colossal stone gate, a profound sense of pressure instantly arose. Nie Kong examined it closely and noticed faint dragon patterns etched into the stone surface—it was the same Dragon Stone used for the main doors of the Nie family's Hall of Life and Death.

It had exhausted the Ninth Elder just to push open the doors to the Nie family's Hall of Life and Death. This Dragon Stone gate was even grander, and there was no one around but him and Bai Yuqing. How could they possibly open such a heavy door?

Fortunately, Bai Duanbeng had no intention of letting Nie Kong puzzle over it. She walked directly to the left side of the Dragon Stone massive gate, unclasped a small object—a Jie Gong Zhi Pi ()—and pressed it against the door. Then, she took a step forward, and the seemingly solid Dragon Stone dissolved like smoke, allowing Bai Yuqing’s slender figure to pass through without the slightest resistance.

“Huh?”

Nie Kong breathed out softly, his figure flickering as he moved to the spot where Bai Yuqing had just vanished. Only then did he notice nearly a hundred waist tokens inlaid into the stone wall, and around them, many empty slots matching the size of the tokens!

Nie Kong suddenly realized: this Dragon Gate was similar to the illusionary realm he had experienced yesterday—seemingly real, yet not entirely real; seemingly false, yet not entirely false!

With that thought, Nie Kong unclasped his own waist token and inserted it into an available slot. He then stepped forward and indeed felt no obstruction whatsoever, as if the stone door did not exist. His vision momentarily darkened, and when he looked again, the stone door was behind him, while the space before him shimmered with a brilliant white light, intensely rich yet soft.

Nie Kong gazed intently. He saw that the billions of white rays emanated from a single, massive, oval jade stone. Calling it jade was hard for Nie Kong to confirm; the object resembled a dinosaur egg magnified countless times, resting silently in the center of this broad stone cavern.

The Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm!

Nie Kong’s heart hammered wildly. Every illusory realm had a vessel, and the vessel for this "Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm" was distinctly different from the Nie family's "Hall of Life and Death Illusory Realm"—one was oval, the other conical. In terms of sheer size, the "Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm" far surpassed the "Hall of Life and Death Illusory Realm."

After a long moment, Nie Kong managed to suppress the surging joy in his chest, let out a slow breath, and observed his surroundings.

This stone cavern was clearly man-made, circular in shape, with a diameter of about fifty meters and a height reaching one hundred meters. Numerous rooms had been carved into the surrounding rock walls. As far as Nie Kong could see at a glance, there were at least thirty levels, each containing about thirty stone chambers, arranged neatly like a honeycomb.

At this moment, many of the stone chambers were connected to the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm in the cavern's center by beams of white light that seemed condensed into physical form—a white rainbow.

“Hummm…”

Like the plucking of a taut string, a faint humming sound occasionally drifted into his ears; these were the vibrations of the white rainbows, clearly indicating that people in those rooms were already accessing the illusory realm via their Spirit Illusion Stones.

“Inner city disciples with a score exceeding thirty can enter the ‘Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm’ to cultivate at any time. Cultivation costs three points per day, calculated from noon each day. Nie Kong, I’m going in now; in a little while, three points will be deducted.”

Bai Yuqing’s voice sounded nearby. The moment she finished speaking, she was already leaving, her figure flashing several times as she ascended the stone steps to the second level and entered one of the chambers.

“What a loss!”

Nie Kong slapped his palm and quickly rushed up the stone steps.

Noon marks the start of a new day. Half the morning was already gone. He estimated that after cultivating inside for about two hours, the points in the waist token outside would be deducted by three, which made Nie Kong feel a sting of regret. If he had known, he should have waited until after noon to come to the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm.

There were still empty chambers on the second level above. Nie Kong casually selected one and pushed the door open. The furnishings inside the chamber were extremely spartan.

There was a white jade cushion, a seven-colored Spirit Illusion Stone, and nothing else. Nie Kong sat cross-legged and clasped the Spirit Illusion Stone in his palm.

This was another difference between the “Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm” and the “Hall of Life and Death Illusory Realm.” The Life and Death Illusionary Realm opened only once every few years; upon opening, holding the Spirit Illusion Stone was sufficient, and the realm would automatically draw the minds of surrounding Spirit Masters inside. Here, however, a Spirit Master only needed to sink their consciousness into the Spirit Illusion Stone while infusing a stream of spiritual power to enter the “Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm” for cultivation—it was exceedingly convenient.

“Boom!” Ri Yue Die Wei Qu Zi (—a specific cultivation technique or phase marker).

The instant the emerald spiritual energy flowed in, the Spirit Illusion Stone vibrated violently, and a burst of seven-colored flowing light exploded outwards, rapidly spreading along Nie Kong’s arms like water. In an instant, Nie Kong’s body was completely enveloped by that magnificent, seven-colored neon glow.

“Buzz!”

Almost simultaneously, the illusory realm at the bottom of the stone cavern seemed to experience a powerful attraction. A concentrated, bright white glow shot upwards, piercing straight through the stone door and descending over Nie Kong’s head. Gradually, the seven-colored neon light coating Nie Kong’s body was covered by that diffused white radiance.

The colors were soon replaced by a white cocoon. When the last trace of the seven-colored shimmer vanished, Nie Kong’s consciousness trembled. A formidable suction force surged from the Spirit Illusion Stone. The next moment, Nie Kong felt his soul being violently pulled from his body, soaring away along that white rainbow, “….”

Having experienced entering the Hall of Life and Death Illusory Realm before, Nie Kong remained perfectly composed.

“Whoosh!”

The light before his eyes flashed, and amidst a faint sound of piercing air, his feet landed firmly on solid ground. Nie Kong merely looked up, and a bizarrely shaped mountain peak entered his view.

It looked as if a previous mountain peak had been cleanly sliced in half, and upon that wide base, a smaller mountain peak had been placed. Then, that peak was cut again, and an even smaller peak was placed atop it, “….”

This process repeated continuously, making the mountain resemble a towering pagoda that shrank layer by layer, its tip piercing the white, hazy sky like a sharp sword. Furthermore, it seemed this Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm contained only this solitary peak, standing alone, surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, making visibility difficult.

“What lies beyond the mist?”

Nie Kong pondered secretly, but he soon had to abandon these thoughts as a far more marvelous phenomenon captured all his attention.

The farther he moved forward here, the richer the spiritual energy elements became in the surrounding heaven and earth.

By the time Nie Kong used "Flying Flower Flowing Shadow" (Fei Hua Liu Ying) to reach the foot of the solitary peak, the spiritual energy elements he sensed were almost fifty percent denser than in the outside world.

On the way here, Bai Yuqing hadn't provided Nie Kong with many details about the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm, but she had mentioned one thing: the first level of the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm had spiritual energy elements double that of the outside world; the second level, twice that amount; the third level, three times, the fourth level four times, and so on…

“This mountain peak must have at least eight levels. How swift would cultivation be if I could practice at the very top!”

Nie Kong looked up at the summit, his heart stirred with longing. Although Bai Yuqing hadn't explicitly stated it, he could guess that the higher one went, the stricter the requirements on the Spirit Master's own cultivation would be. If there were no restrictions, Lingyu City would have long since dominated the entire Tianling Continent.

After a while, Nie Kong gathered his thoughts.

The mountain was densely covered with lush, verdant forests. There were no paths winding through the mountainside, which made Nie Kong slightly puzzled. For countless years, inner city disciples of Lingyu City had entered this Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm to practice; even if paths hadn't existed, walking would have eventually worn trails, yet here there were no signs of movement whatsoever.

Moreover, Bai Yuqing and many other inner city disciples were currently inside the illusionary realm, yet Nie Kong had not seen any sign of them. With a thought, Nie Kong continued forward. When his right foot truly stepped within the boundaries of that solitary peak, the scenery before his eyes suddenly shifted at high speed.

The next moment, Nie Kong found himself standing in a vast, vibrant green expanse.

Spanning nearly a thousand meters, the ground was covered in lush turf. Figures sat quietly meditating within this area, their chests adorned with shimmering golden emblems. Various spiritual energy elements detached from the void like silk ribbons, pouring ceaselessly into their bodies. Throughout the space, neon lights crisscrossed and reflected, brilliantly varied. At the edge of this green expanse, emerald steps connected continuously, stretching upward into the sky until they vanished into the hazy clouds—this was presumably the path leading to the second level of the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm. Beside the emerald staircase, a small section of the void rippled slightly like water waves, seemingly the exit from this space.

“The spiritual energy elements are indeed exactly double the density of the outside world!”

Back at the foot of the isolated peak, Nie Kong had assumed he could cultivate simply by entering the mountain. Unexpectedly, the mountain concealed a deeper mystery; the moment he stepped in, the scenery completely transformed.

Nie Kong scanned his surroundings and quickly spotted a snow-white figure several hundred meters away on the grassland. Although he couldn't make out the face clearly, the silhouette suggested it was Bai Yuqing. Nie Kong decided not to disturb her, sat down cross-legged right where he was, and activated the "Spring and Autumn Life Generation Art" (Chun Qiu Sheng Ling Jue). “Whoosh!”

It was as if a gentle breeze swept through from nowhere. Large swathes of emerald green detached from the void and the grassland, swirling and circling around Nie Kong.

As time passed, the vitality around Nie Kong grew increasingly dense, and his figure began to blur beneath the cover of the green energy. Then, more time elapsed…

Nie Kong's blurred figure was completely concealed, enveloped entirely by the mingled Wood Spiritual Energy elements and life force, turning him into a green cocoon…

“Hmm?”

A soft sound of surprise broke the silence of this space. An inner city disciple stared in astonishment at the enormous green cocoon not far away, filled with shock and doubt.

Although the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm could be entered at any time, due to the excessively rapid absorption of spiritual energy elements, Spirit Masters could not cultivate day and night. Generally, after absorbing for a period, they would reach the limit that their Spirit God Apertures could withstand. Forcing cultivation further could potentially harm the Spirit God Apertures.

Therefore, when they reached their limit, inner city disciples would choose to leave the illusionary realm. This disciple was about to do just that, but just as he prepared to rise, he discovered this strange phenomenon.

Among the inner city disciples on the first level of the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm, even the few with the highest cultivation only had their bodies vaguely obscured by the surrounding spiritual energy elements; most could still clearly discern their features beneath the obscuring energy.

But this person, however, couldn't even achieve a vague outline; he was simply wrapped into a ball by the spiritual energy elements. This meant his speed of absorbing spiritual energy elements was at least three to four times that of the average inner city disciple. Otherwise, how could the spiritual energy elements drawn by his Spirit Art be so concentrated?

Even more incredible was the fact that this person was cultivating Wood Spiritual Energy elements!

The inner city disciple frowned, suddenly recalling a rumor he had overheard yesterday.

It was said that among the inner city disciples selected this time, one possessed mutated Wood Spiritual Power and was a Spirit Apothecary, having reportedly become this year's inner city disciple with the top score in the supplementary examination.

Could this be Nie Kong?

He had heard this person gained over a hundred points in the supplementary exam. It wasn't strange for him to appear in the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm today, having just passed the assessment yesterday. But how could Nie Kong’s speed of absorbing spiritual energy elements be this fast? Wood Spirit Masters were always rare, and Nie Kong’s cultivation technique was likely mediocre. A broken Wood Spirit Art achieving cultivation speed far surpassing other inner city disciples—it was utterly baffling!

He continuously speculated but could find no answer. Could it be that this fellow’s body possessed a permeability far exceeding that of an ordinary Spirit Master?

“Whoa, such speed!”

A light exclamation sounded. Another inner city disciple suppressed the urge to immediately leave the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm and stared at the green cocoon with surprise.

Time flew by, and the misty void gradually took on a somber hue, indicating that it was already evening outside the "Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm."

By this point, the vast majority of inner city disciples had finished their cultivation. They stared at the green cocoon that was still absorbing Wood Spiritual Energy elements, feeling quite astonished. They heard this person had been cultivating in the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm for most of the day. The shortest among them had been in the inner city for a year, yet they had never seen any inner city disciple cultivate for so long in one session; for them, half a day was already the limit.

However, the inner city had strict rules regarding cultivation within the illusionary realm. Despite their shock, no one dared approach to disturb Nie Kong.

“Boom!”

The green cocoon suddenly burst open, revealing a dark figure. Nie Kong rose to his full height, shaking his head with slight regret: “Still too slow. If only the speed of absorbing spiritual energy elements were a bit faster, perhaps I could have broken through to the sixth rank of Spirit Fusion today. What a pity! What a pity!”

The cultivation speed here was indeed far superior to the outside world.

Especially since the life force here was abundant, though far less intense than that green pillar of light in the illusionary space, it was still significantly stronger than the forests outside.

After cultivating for this duration, Nie Kong’s sense of the invisible barrier within his apertures had become increasingly distinct. He had intended to push straight through to the sixth rank of Spirit Fusion in one go, but repeated attempts had failed. In the end, Nie Kong had to give up. He understood the meaning of "haste makes waste" after all…

But hearing his self-muttering, the inner city disciples who had stayed behind nearly collapsed to the ground. Not only was his speed of absorbing spiritual energy elements several times that of ordinary people, but the duration he could sustain cultivation in the illusionary realm also far surpassed everyone else—and he still dared to complain it was slow? One should not be so shameless!

“Such heavy resentment?”

Nie Kong looked around in confusion, noticing that quite a few inner city disciples were staring fiercely at him with unfriendly eyes. This baffled him even more. What were these fellows staring at him for instead of cultivating properly? It made him seem as if he had stolen their women!

Grumbling inwardly, seeing that Bai Yuqing seemed to have left long ago, Nie Kong lingered no longer. He walked directly to the emerald staircase and stepped into that rippling void. After a violent dizzy spell, Nie Kong opened his eyes as his soul, guided by the Spirit Illusion Stone, ‘returned to his body in the stone chamber.’

Nie Kong tested himself slightly. Indeed, his body’s spiritual power was full, just as it had been in the Spirit Cultivation Illusory Realm, with the sixth rank of Spirit Fusion seemingly within reach. Nie Kong had always harbored some suspicion about this: logically, it was the soul that cultivated inside the illusionary realm, so why should the external body be able to increase its cultivation simultaneously?

Perhaps, this was the marvelous nature of the illusory realm!