In Jiangning County City, within the Guiyuan Sect. The clamor gave way to silence. The Guiyuan Sect, deep into the latter half of the night, was shrouded in darkness, pierced only by a few scattered lights. Such tranquility settled over the sect... betraying no hint that it had so recently faced annihilation.
Inside Zhuge Yuanhong’s study. A single white candle cast a faint glow, bathing the room in a soft halo. Four figures were gathered within—Zhuge Yuanhong and the three Law Enforcement Elders!
“Why did Master summon us?” Teng Qingshan wondered internally.
“Today was truly exhilarating,” Elder Yan Motian declared, his body heavy with the strong scent of wine, his face flushed crimson. “I never dreamed... that Gu Yong would bring his entire Azure Lake Island army and retreat in such haste without even launching an attack. Ha! How satisfying! The only disappointment today was those spineless wretches! We still had two Guardians and a Commander who, before the fighting even began, were plotting to flee. Hmph!”
The stern middle-aged man beside him nodded curtly. “These people deserve death!”
Following the Sect Master’s orders, any Guardian, Commander, or higher rank caught fleeing from battle would have their Dantian destroyed and be imprisoned. Resistance meant execution! Those below the rank of Guardian or Commander who fled would merely be imprisoned, though resistance still meant death! However, many figures, including Guardians, Commanders, and Elders, knew that the Iron Cloth Gate had been annihilated, and fear gripped their hearts.
“This was unavoidable,” Zhuge Yuanhong chuckled calmly. “My Guiyuan Sect has not faced such peril in a very long time! Many Guardians, Commanders, and Elders have never experienced a major crisis! When forced to choose between death and shared destiny with the sect, it is hardly surprising that some chose to save their own skins.”
Teng Qingshan nodded as well. “It is only in times of crisis that one truly sees a person’s heart.”
“That is well said,” Zhuge Yuanhong turned his gaze to Teng Qingshan. “Qingshan, back in Yanjiang City, you killed Tie Wanmao of Azure Lake Island?”
“Yes,” Teng Qingshan confirmed.
“Qingshan, that was right before the formation, and you felled Tie Wanmao in just three moves!” Yan Motian praised, admiration ringing in his voice. “Qingshan’s spear technique... it is truly formidable.”
Zhuge Yuanhong smiled slightly. “It seems Azure Lake Island is now fully aware. Qingshan has reached the Innate Realm! Qingshan... from this day forward, you must be vigilant regarding the people of Azure Lake Island.”
“Vigilant against them?” A flicker of alarm crossed Teng Qingshan’s mind.
Did that mean the Azure Lake Island contingent might try to kill him?
The stern middle-aged man added in a cold voice, “Qingshan, the Sect Master is correct. You must be wary! Gu Yong of Azure Lake Island is a man who respects no means! Now, with only Azure Lake Island and my Guiyuan Sect remaining in Yangzhou, our very existence is a thorn in their side! And you... a seventeen-year-old Innate master—in their eyes, your threat is even greater than mine.”
“Qingshan, Elder Ni speaks wisely,” Zhuge Yuanhong stated solemnly. “Of course, for now, you are only at the Innate Void Core stage. They are in no hurry. But if your progress remains this astonishing in the future, the people of Azure Lake Island will likely resort to underhanded tactics!”
In Yangzhou, one of the Nine Provinces. Now that only Azure Lake Island and the Guiyuan Sect remained, their relationship was easily imagined. Even if peace reigned on the surface, beneath it boiled the mutual desire: you want to destroy me, and I want to destroy you.
“Master, I understand,” Teng Qingshan acknowledged.
As he stood now, he posed no immediate threat to Azure Lake Island. No matter how much of a prodigy he was, he was merely an Innate Void Core. Any random Innate expert they sent could kill him. But the Teng Qingshan of decades hence... that would be a threat!
“However, the current Azure Lake Island dares not openly tear up their relationship with my Guiyuan Sect,” Zhuge Yuanhong continued. “And since you are only at the Innate Void Core now, they are patient. They might begin to act when you reach the Innate Solid Core, and if you advance to the Innate Golden Core... Azure Lake Island probably won’t be able to resist intervening.”
Zhuge Yuanhong allowed a faint smile to surface. “Of course, assassinating the genius disciples of a rival is a shameful act! As one of the Eight Great Sects, they generally avoid it. But if your cultivation speed remains equally shocking in the years to come, it will force their hand.”
Teng Qingshan grasped the logic. Some people begin their cultivation quickly but slow down later. If Teng Qingshan only reached the Innate Solid Core at fifty, and the Innate Golden Core past one hundred, Azure Lake Island likely wouldn’t view him as a top-tier threat! Assassinating a rival’s genius disciple was disgraceful. And the ‘face’ of Azure Lake Island was paramount. To push them into such shamelessness... Teng Qingshan’s cultivation speed would have to be truly astonishing. For instance, reaching the Innate Solid Core at twenty, and the Innate Golden Core at thirty! If his progress was that terrifying, Azure Lake Island would stoop to assassination, regardless of propriety. Naturally... the Guiyuan Sect would also protect Teng Qingshan!
“This will also serve as tempering for you,” Zhuge Yuanhong mused with a smile. “With the protection of my Guiyuan Sect, occasional assassination attempts might actually benefit your cultivation.” It was only in life-or-death combat that one’s state of mind could be forged, making breakthroughs in one’s realm easier!
“Master, you said Azure Lake Island wouldn’t dare openly sever ties with the Guiyuan Sect?” Teng Qingshan asked.
“A good question, Qingshan. I am utterly mystified myself, Sect Master,” Elder Yan Motian chimed in, turning to Zhuge Yuanhong. “What means did you employ today that so terrified them into fleeing without a fight?” Elder Ni, the stern middle-aged man, also looked at the Sect Master with equal curiosity. None of the three Law Enforcement Elders knew.
“This secret, by rights, should only be known by the Sect Master.”
Zhuge Yuanhong’s gaze swept over the three of them. “You have likely already guessed some of it; I will tell you now!” “My Guiyuan Sect...” Zhuge Yuanhong stated confidently, “has an existence in the Void Realm!”
“The Void Realm!”
Elder Yan and Elder Ni both gasped, a mix of shock and elation on their faces!
“The Void Realm?” Teng Qingshan was bewildered.
“Master, what is the Void Realm?” Teng Qingshan inquired.
Elder Yan on the side expressed surprise. “Qingshan, you don’t know?”
Teng Qingshan shook his head.
“Qingshan practices the Nether Moon Spear Canon,” Zhuge Yuanhong explained. “You two, however, cultivate Heavenly-grade Secret Manuals. The end of a Heavenly-grade Manual always contains descriptions of the Void Realm. But Qingshan’s Nether Moon Spear Canon is an Earth-grade Manual; it only details up to the ‘Innate Golden Core’ stage.”
Elder Yan and Elder Ni suddenly understood. Teng Qingshan now realized... the Heavenly-grade manuals described the Void Realm.
“Qingshan, remember you asked me about that demonic monk from six hundred years ago, Xiang Fanchen? He was in the Void Realm!” Zhuge Yuanhong said.
Teng Qingshan recalled... Master had once said that the demonic monk from Mani Temple, ‘Xiang Fanchen,’ was once unrivaled under heaven.
“The Void Realm grants invincibility under heaven?” Teng Qingshan asked in surprise. “Then if my Guiyuan Sect possesses a Void Realm expert, doesn’t that mean...”
Elder Ni interjected. “While Void Realm experts are exceedingly rare in this world, there cannot only be one or two. Otherwise, couldn't a Void Realm expert simply unify the world? Legend has it that among the Eight Great Sects of the Nine Provinces, each sect should possess at least one Void Realm expert!”
Zhuge Yuanhong quickly added, “Qingshan, remember, this is only rumored! Because, among the Eight Great Sects, only Mani Temple, the Ying Clan, and the Yu Emperor Gate were founded by three supreme powerhouses. The other five great sects were founded by Void Realm experts. And reaching the Void Realm is incredibly, agonizingly difficult! Therefore, whether all eight sects currently have a Void Realm expert is uncertain.”
Teng Qingshan frowned. “This is a secret?”
“Innate experts have a lifespan limit of two hundred years! Void Realm experts, however, have a limit of five hundred years. No one can achieve true immortality,” Zhuge Yuanhong explained. “Once one reaches the Void Realm, they can live to a maximum of five hundred years! For the Eight Great Sects, the most dangerous time is when the current Void Realm expert in the sect dies of old age before a new one has emerged!”
Teng Qingshan suddenly grasped the concept. A Void Realm expert was essentially the ‘nuclear weapon’ of this world. If a nation possessed nuclear weapons, it could deter others from attacking. But without them, one faced subjugation!
“That is why the existence of a Void Realm expert is best kept secret and undisclosed!” Zhuge Yuanhong smiled wryly. “Look at the current situation! Gu Yong discovered that my Guiyuan Sect has a Void Realm expert! This means, for at least several hundred years, they will not dare to move against us lightly. Because the retribution from a single Void Realm expert is terrifying!”
“Furthermore, with a Void Realm expert as a guide... the probability of another Void Realm expert emerging within the sect over several centuries becomes much higher. This is also the reason why the Eight Great Sects have such deep-rooted stability.”
Teng Qingshan sighed internally as he listened. The Void Realm... it was the absolute trump card of a sect! Possessing one meant others dared not provoke them. No wonder Azure Lake Island fled in such a hurry. However, if Void Realm experts lived for five centuries, and there were supposedly only eight such experts across the Nine Provinces... and only rumored at that.
“Perhaps some of the Eight Great Sects are just hollow shells,” Teng Qingshan breathed out in relief.
No wonder the Master was so unhurried; they possessed such a killing move!
** The next morning, at the foot of Mount Dayan in Yicheng. The Azure Lake Island army, having marched all night, was encamped at the base of Mount Dayan, their camp stretching for several miles. Inside the main tent where the Island Master, ‘Gu Yong,’ resided.
“Island Master, this Yu Emperor Map dates back thousands of years. After so many ages, the terrain has changed too drastically! Finding the Yu Emperor’s Treasure will be difficult,” thirteen Innate experts were currently studying several maps, meticulously comparing them. The oldest map among them was merely a copy made two thousand years ago. This was a tracing taken from a stone tablet.
Gu Yong stated in a low voice, “The treasure location marked on the Yu Emperor’s Treasure Map should be within the lake! Furthermore, research indicates that Mount Dayan, long, long ago, was actually two separate mountain ranges divided by a massive lake. Unexpectedly, after thousands of years, the great lake vanished, and the two ranges merged into one.”
The treasure was in the lakebed. And the location of the lake should correspond to the present-day Mount Dayan! But now, there was only mountain here; the great lake was gone.
“Everyone, how do we search for the Yu Emperor’s Treasure?” Gu Yong surveyed the other twelve Innate experts.