The Legacy Begins, the Prison Realm Opens!

In the midst of the darkness, an illusory figure slowly paced forward.

It was an old man dressed in simple Daoist robes. His face was thin and gaunt, possessing an immortal air, yet his body was nearly transparent, as if it could be blown away by a gust of wind.

He looked at Ye Qing, his cloudy eyes carrying a hint of gratification and a hint of relief.

There was even a trace of exhaustion from having endured through eternal ages.

"After endless ages, finally... finally someone has come here," the old man sighed softly, his voice filled with endless melancholy.

Ye Qing's sharp gaze swept over the old man, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.

He saw clearly.

The old man before him was not a living being, nor could he even be considered a remnant Soul.

This was merely a pre-programmed projection. It contained no Soul and possessed no power, making it impossible for him to interfere with reality.

In fact, Ye Qing could sense it.

Because the projection itself had awakened, it could no longer continue to exist and was fading away at an extremely rapid pace.

It seemed he hadn't fallen into some trap laid tens of thousands of years ago.

When he heard someone speak just now, Ye Qing thought he had fallen into a trap.

He lowered his guard slightly.

Ye Qing cupped his hands and asked calmly, "Junior Ye Qing greets you. May I ask how to address Senior? Were these three divine towers arranged by Senior?"

"Ye Qing..."

The old man muttered the name, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. "A good name. This old man's Daoist title is Xuan Yang, merely a Spirit Transformation Cultivator."

Deity Transformation Realm!

Ye Qing's heart stirred slightly.

Above Nascent Soul was Deity Transformation.

That was a legendary Realm in the Eastern Region; no one had reached it for thousands of years.

The strongest in the Eastern Region were only at the Late Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Daoist Xuan Yang continued, "As for these three divine towers, they are not this old man's handiwork. This old man... does not have such heaven-reaching ability."

He shook his head, a look of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

"Ages ago, to hunt down a great enemy, this old man pursued him all the way from the distant Middle Region to this place. In the end, that enemy knew he was no match and actually triggered a secret technique to drag me down with him in mutual destruction."

"My Lifespan and Qi and blood were instantly exhausted because of it, leaving only a wisp of a remnant Soul. Before completely dissipating, I used the last of my strength to leave this projection here and fell into a deep sleep until I was awakened by you today."

Daoist Xuan Yang looked at Ye Qing with a complex gaze.

"As for the origin and purpose of these divine towers, this old man only has conjectures. Perhaps... it is a Trial Grounds used by some top-tier great power to select an heir. But as for the specifics, this old man does not know either."

At this point, Daoist Xuan Yang's illusory figure seemed to dim a bit more.

He looked at Ye Qing, a hint of pleading in his tone.

"Little friend, this old man's time is short, and this projection is about to dissipate. I am a member of the Tianyan Sword Sect in the Middle Region. When I pursued my enemy back then, it happened so suddenly that I didn't leave any last words."

"It matters not that my life ends and my Dao vanishes, but in my heart, there are still two regrets that I cannot let go of."

"First is the Tianyan Sword Sect. I wonder how my Sect is developing now, and if its Legacy still remains..."

As Daoist Xuan Yang spoke, a faint light emerged from his hand.

"Here are the core cultivation method scriptures of my Tianyan Sword Sect. If little friend does not mind, you may take them to practice. However... this old man has an audacious request. I hope that if little friend has the chance to pass through the Middle Region in the future, you could take a look at the Tianyan Sword Sect for me."

"If all is well with the Sect, then there is no need to interfere. If... if development is not going well, or if the Legacy has even been broken, I hope little friend will, for the sake of today's fate, find a person worthy of trust to pass down this cultivation method and continue my Sect's lineage."

"As a reward, all the remaining items in this old man's storage ring are gifted to you."

"As for the second..."

Daoist Xuan Yang paused, and a rare look of tenderness and guilt appeared on his aged face.

"It is my fiancée. Back then, I perished here without explanation and failed to return on the day of our wedding. She... she must have felt very disappointed."

"If little friend passes through the Middle Region and has the chance to meet the members of the Hua Family in Tianfeng City, please... please help me bring a message to Miss Hua Yunxi of the Hua Family."

"Just say that it was I, Xuan Yang... who failed her!"

The words had just fallen.

Daoist Xuan Yang suddenly shook his head self-deprecatingly and smiled bitterly.

"Heh, it seems my obsession is too deep. How many tens of thousands of years have passed?"

"Yunxi... she has probably long since turned into a handful of yellow earth. Even whether the Hua Family still exists is a matter of uncertainty."

"So be it, so be it..."

He let out a long sigh, seemingly letting go of all obsessions. With a casual wave, a simple storage ring flew lightly toward Ye Qing.

"Little friend, please do as you see fit with everything."

Ye Qing reached out to take the storage ring and swept his Divine Thought inside.

The space inside the ring was not small, filled with a mountain-like pile of High-Grade Spirit Stones, a quite considerable amount.

Besides that, there were some Medicinal Pills and Spiritual Plant residues that had completely lost their spiritual nature and turned to ash.

Among a pile of ashes, a Jade Slip lay quietly.

Ye Qing took it out and scanned it with his Divine Thought. Recorded in the Jade Slip was a cultivation method called the Heavenly Derivation Sword Canon, its rank reaching the Medium Grade Earth Rank.

A cultivation method of this rank would be enough to serve as a Sect-protecting treasure in any top-tier Sect in the Eastern Region.

However, since Ye Qing possessed the Immortal Rank Cultivation Method Tai Xuan Golden Chapter, he naturally had no use for it.

"Fine."

Ye Qing put away the storage ring and nodded.

For the sake of these Spirit Stones, if he truly had the chance in the future and it wasn't too much trouble, he wouldn't mind helping to deliver the message.

But that was all.

Seeing Ye Qing accept the storage ring, Daoist Xuan Yang seemed to have settled a great matter of the heart. His whole being relaxed, and his illusory figure became even more transparent.

He smiled and suddenly added:

"By the way, little friend. Since you have passed through the three towers and come here, I speculate that the divine tower should give you a great Opportunity as a reward."

"This space was originally empty. But just a while ago, for some reason, a sleeping female Cultivator suddenly fell in from the outside."

"She is wrapped in a strange bubble-like barrier that isolates all probes, making it impossible for ordinary people to approach. This old man guesses that perhaps... this might be where the Legacy Opportunity the divine tower prepared for you lies!"

A sleeping female Cultivator?

Ye Qing's heart suddenly jumped!

He instantly had a strong premonition!

That female Cultivator was very likely Liu Ruyan, whom he had been searching for so hard on this trip!

As for why she fell here... it probably had everything to do with the person behind the Demon Ghost General!

"Senior, please lead the way!" Ye Qing's tone was slightly urgent.

"Hehe, this way."

Daoist Xuan Yang smiled slightly, turned, and floated toward the depths of the darkness.

Ye Qing followed closely behind.

Before long, the person and the shadow arrived at a strange area.

In the Void Realm not far ahead, a huge, crystal-clear 'bubble' was floating quietly.

Through that thin layer of barrier,

One could clearly see a beautiful woman dressed in light purple palace robes, her eyes tightly closed, lying quietly inside.

Her expression was peaceful, as if she had fallen into the deepest sleep.

If it wasn't Liu Ruyan, who else could it be?

"Martial Aunt Liu!"

Ye Qing's heart tightened, and he immediately moved forward.

However, just as Daoist Xuan Yang had said, an invisible barrier blocked his path. No matter how much force he applied, he could not get even a fraction of an inch closer to the barrier.

At that moment, the huge transparent barrier suddenly vibrated slightly.

Hum!

A grain-sized speck of seven-colored spiritual light flashed out from the barrier, like a sentient butterfly, and floated lightly in front of Ye Qing.

Ye Qing frowned slightly, sent out a wisp of Divine Sense, and carefully made contact with it.

Boom!

In an instant, a vast and profound torrent of information surged into his mind through his Divine Sense!

It was not language, nor was it text, but a pure transmission of 'will'.

Ye Qing instantly understood the meaning of this spiritual light.

The three divine towers were a test.

By successfully reaching the top of the three towers, he had gained the qualification to receive the Legacy.

And the original function of this Legacy was to help him condense a world-rare 'Seven-Colored Nascent Soul'!

However, the energy of this Legacy was too massive to be directly infused.

Therefore, after Liu Ruyan accidentally fell into this place,

The divine tower automatically selected her as the 'vessel,' injecting all the essence energy into her body for nurturing and preservation.

Next, Ye Qing only needed to follow the method guided by the spiritual light to absorb and refine everything about the sleeping female Cultivator before him, including her Physical Body, Divine Soul, and cultivation...

Then he could ascend to heaven in a single step and achieve that eternally rare Seven-Colored Nascent Soul!

Of course, this qualification was limited to Ye Qing alone.

As the vessel, after being completely absorbed, all traces of Liu Ruyan's existence would be completely erased from this world, her Soul and body destroyed.

"..."

After receiving this information, Ye Qing's brow instantly furrowed tightly.

He looked at the sleeping Liu Ruyan, then at the seven-colored spiritual light flashing before him. For a moment, he felt... well, it was hard to describe.

Seven-Colored Nascent Soul?

Before leaving the Sect, he was fully confident that he could forge a Five-Colored Perfection Nascent Soul.

Not long after entering this Secret Realm, he had even gained the confidence to strike for a Seven-Colored Nascent Soul!

And after experiencing so much more in the Secret Realm,

At this moment, Ye Qing had a feeling that if he were willing to go into seclusion immediately, the Nascent Soul he could forge would definitely be above seven colors!

This so-called 'great Opportunity' of the divine tower had absolutely no attraction for him.

Moreover, this was ultimately an external force, and Ye Qing disdained letting it merge into his own Foundation.

Furthermore, this power could not be fused or superimposed with his own insights.

In other words, even if he absorbed it, it would be of no help to Ye Qing!

The most important point was that the price of obtaining this power was sacrificing Liu Ruyan.

Therefore, in terms of both emotion and logic, it was impossible for Ye Qing to make such a choice.

Hum... as if sensing Ye Qing's disdain, the seven-colored spiritual light flickered in a human-like way, as if it had also fallen into a degree of 'astonishment'.

It seemed unable to understand why someone would refuse such a supreme creation that allowed one to ascend to heaven in a single step.

After a long silence,

The seven-colored spiritual light shifted again, and finally, the light retracted.

It transformed into a simple token surrounded by seven-colored radiance, which slowly flew into Ye Qing's hand.

At the same time, the huge barrier wrapping Liu Ruyan also shattered with a quiet 'pop'.

Rumble!

At this very moment, the entire independent space began to vibrate violently. The endless darkness around it was like a shattered mirror, cracking inch by inch, nearly revealing the chaotic spatial turbulence of the outside world!

This space was about to collapse!

Ye Qing's eyes narrowed. Without the slightest hesitation, his figure flashed, and he appeared beside Liu Ruyan, reaching out to take the still-unconscious Liu Ruyan's soft waist into his arms.

He glanced back.

He saw Daoist Xuan Yang's wisp of projection standing in the center of the collapsing space, a smile of relief on his face as he slowly waved to him.

Then, the old man closed his eyes, and his illusory figure turned into dots of light in the violent spatial turbulence, completely dissipating.

Ye Qing withdrew his gaze and stayed no longer.

Holding Liu Ruyan, his figure turned into a blue streak of light and charged toward the only exit he sensed!

...Meanwhile, outside the small space, in the Prison Realm.

Divine Tower Plaza.

"Look! There's movement in the divine tower!"

A cry of surprise caused all the Cultivators immersed in disappointment and confusion to suddenly perk up!

King Yuan, King Shi, and King Lei all looked up in unison!

The three towering divine towers that pierced through heaven and earth were all vibrating violently at the same time!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three incredibly thick seven-colored light pillars suddenly shot up from the tops of the three divine towers, tearing through the dim sky and going straight into the clouds!

Under the gaze of countless shocked and horrified eyes,

The three seven-colored light pillars intertwined and merged at the highest point of the sky, finally becoming one and turning into a seven-colored light screen that covered the sky and the sun, enveloping the entire Prison Realm!

Crack—

A cracking sound, as if from ancient times, echoed in the depths of everyone's Soul!

The entire Prison Realm vibrated slightly along with it!

In the midst of it all, all the Cultivators trapped here clearly felt it.

The invisible shackles that had imprisoned them for endless ages, making it impossible for them to leave or break through to Nascent Soul... were completely opened at this moment!

"The... the passage! The exit to the Prison Realm really seems to have opened!"

"My god! The shackles on my cultivation... also seem to have disappeared! I feel... I can achieve Nascent Soul at any time!"

"The legend is true! Reaching the top of the three towers really allows one to regain freedom!!"

After a brief dead silence, deafening cheers and roars, countless times more intense than any before, erupted on the Divine Tower Plaza!

Countless Cultivators were moved to tears, embracing each other and weeping!

And while the Prison Realm was being turned upside down,

Outside the Prison Realm, within the Secret Realm,

Countless Cultivators were exploring for opportunities in various places.

Whether they were prodigies from the Wandao Sect, Jinyan Dynasty, Divine Artifact Sect, Bodhi Secret Land, and other top-tier powers of the Eastern Region, or Disciples and Elders of other large and small Sects.

At this moment, they all stopped in their tracks, looked up, and gazed in the same direction!

Up above,

A dazzling seven-colored divine light pierced through layers of mist and soared into the sky, reflecting half the sky in the color of glazed glass!

An indescribable and profound Dao charm spread along with the divine light, making all the Cultivators who perceived it feel a sense of spiritual swaying!

"What... what is that?!"

"Such an amazing phenomenon! Could it be... that some peerless treasure has appeared?!"

"Go! Quick, let's go see!"

In an instant, the entire Secret Realm was boiling!

Countless streaks of light rose from all directions of the Secret Realm.

Like a school of fish crossing a river, they converged with incomparable heat and greed toward the source where the seven-colored divine light blossomed.

—The place where the Prison Realm was located!