67: Chapter 67 Enlightenment Along the Way, First Test of Imprinting, Entrance to the Secret Realm

The journey to Cuiping Mountain was still long.

Ye Qing was not in a hurry; he navigated the Wind Spirit Wings and flew leisurely, dedicating the majority of his focus to immersing himself in the incomplete text of the newly acquired "Void Imprint."

The concepts of this technique were profound and every word was a gem; although incomplete, the core methods of Imprint condensation, Void Realm anchoring, and Divine Thought entrustment were recorded quite fully.

Using the "Void Dao Seed" as his Foundation, Ye Qing repeatedly studied, deduced, and verified these methods against his own insights into spatial fluctuations.

Imprint condensation required extracting a wisp of one's own pure Divine Soul power, supplemented by unique insights into the Dao of the Void Realm, to outline a specific and stable rune structure within the Sea of Consciousness.

This structure needed to possess characteristics such as being "stable," "concealed," and "capable of resonance," much like leaving a unique personal mark within the Void Realm.

Void Realm anchoring involved using a special technique to "project" or "inscribe" this Divine Soul Imprint onto a target.

The target could be a fixed location, an object, or even a living being.

The anchoring process required deep resonance with the space where the target was located, ensuring the Imprint could exist for a long time without being easily erased or interfered with.

Divine Thought entrustment meant that after the Imprint was successful, the caster could use the faint connection between their own Divine Soul and the Imprint to sense the Imprint's location and status within a certain distance, and even transmit extremely short messages one-way.

If a wisp of power or Divine Thought had been pre-sealed within the Imprint, it could also be triggered under specific conditions.

"The principle is clear, but practical operation is not easy."

"First, outlining that core rune structure requires extremely strong control over one's own Divine Soul and a profound understanding of the power of the Void Realm; otherwise, the rune structure will be unstable, leading to failure in the best case, or damage to the Divine Soul in the worst case."

"Secondly, the anchoring process has extremely high requirements for spatial perception; one must accurately grasp the spatial 'rhythm' at the target. If there is even a slight disharmony, the Imprint will be like duckweed without roots, making it difficult to sustain."

Ye Qing's thoughts raced as he simulated it countless times in his mind.

His Divine Soul was now condensed, and with the assistance of the Void Dao Seed, his understanding of the power of the Void Realm far surpassed that of his peers, satisfying the prerequisites for Cultivation.

"I can first try to condense the most basic 'Void Beacon' Imprint."

"This Imprint does not have other added functions; it is only used for sensing direction from a long distance, its structure is relatively simple, and the consumption is also low."

He made up his mind; while flying, he divided his attention and attempted to outline that basic Imprint rune in his Sea of Consciousness.

The process was like walking on thin ice.

The Divine Soul power needed to be highly condensed, and the wisp that was separated had to be sufficiently pure and tenacious.

The integration of the power of the Void Realm needed to be just right; one part too much would cause the rune to fluctuate, and one part too little would make the Imprint floaty.

The first few attempts all ended in failure.

As soon as the outlined rune structure took shape, it would dissipate due to unstable Divine Soul control or an imbalance in the power of the Void Realm.

But Ye Qing was not discouraged; after every failure, he carefully reviewed and adjusted the details.

He possessed extraordinary Comprehension Ability granted by space, a profound Foundation at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage Perfection, and, more importantly, sufficient patience.

After flying for several days, while passing through a sea of clouds, he felt a sense of inspiration and tried again.

His Divine Soul power responded like an extension of his own arm, and the Void Dao Seed vibrated slightly, providing the most original reference for the rhythm of the Void Realm.

A basic rune, the size of a grain of rice, woven from pure Divine Soul silver threads and pale silver Void Realm light spots, with a complex and profound structure, finally slowly condensed and took shape deep within his Sea of Consciousness!

The rune was stable, emitting a faint spatial fluctuation that belonged uniquely to Ye Qing, and it established a clear connection with his Divine Soul and the Void Dao Seed.

"Success! The first 'Void Beacon' Imprint!"

Ye Qing felt a surge of joy in his heart and slowly opened his eyes; a trace of fatigue flashed in his eyes, but it was mostly excitement.

Condensing an Imprint consumed a significant amount of his Divine Soul, but this first step had finally been taken.

Next was testing the anchoring.

His gaze swept over the area below, and finding a desolate valley, he descended from his flight.

He chose an inconspicuous, dark green-black mountain rock half-buried in the soil.

He touched the rock and probed with his Divine Sense, feeling the structure and weight of the rock itself, as well as the spatial "rhythm" of the place where it was located—a kind of extremely faint, unique fluctuation formed by the earth's veins, Spiritual Qi, gravity, and even the existence of all things, almost like "background noise."

A moment later, he was confident.

With a thought, the newly condensed "Void Beacon" Imprint rune in his Sea of Consciousness lit up slightly.

He held his fingers together like a sword, his fingertips condensing the phantom of the rune and a wisp of Void Dao rhyme, and gently tapped the surface of the rock.

"Void Realm anchoring, go."

The moment his fingertips touched the rock, the rune phantom and the Void Dao rhyme quietly merged into it; they did not stay on the surface of the rock, but followed the rock's own "rhythm," deeply branding themselves into the finest structural crevices inside, and established a stable resonance with the space within a few feet.

The rock vibrated slightly, and no changes could be seen on the surface.

But Ye Qing could clearly feel that a faint yet clear connection, transcending space, had been established between himself and this rock.

As long as the distance was not too far (with his current Cultivation and Imprint strength, roughly within a hundred miles), he could close his eyes and focus, and he would be able to faintly sense the location and approximate distance of this rock.

"Success!"

Ye Qing withdrew his finger and nodded in satisfaction.

Although it was only the most basic sensing function, and the distance was limited, it was of great significance.

This meant that he had initially mastered this ancient wonder technique.

In the future, as his Cultivation improved and his insights into the Void Realm deepened, the strength, distance, and functions of the Imprint could be continuously enhanced.

He could even try to condense more complex Imprints with functions like messaging, early warning, and even sealing power.

He noted the location and made inconspicuous marks nearby to verify the sensing accuracy in the future.

After doing all this, he continued on his journey.

On the way, he tried to condense several more "Void Beacon" Imprints, anchoring them on several distinctive terrains or objects he passed by, to practice the technique and also to serve as road signs that might be used later.

Several days later, on the horizon ahead, a range of undulating mountains, like a jade-green screen, came into view.

Cuiping Mountain had arrived.

Before even getting close, he could already feel the clamor of the place.

In the sky, various lights of flight were shuttling back and forth; there were lone Cultivators, as well as small squads of three or five, mostly heading towards a certain place deep in the mountains.

On the ground, one could also see many figures of Cultivators moving rapidly through the dense forest mountain paths.

The air was filled with a strange atmosphere mixed with anticipation, tension, greed, and bloodthirst.

Ye Qing descended from his flight and landed on a high ridge on the outskirts of the mountains, looking out from afar.

He saw that deep in the mountains, above a valley between two peaks, the Spiritual Qi was abnormally chaotic, forming a huge, slowly rotating Five Elements Spiritual Qi vortex, and ripples of spatial distortion were vaguely visible in the center of the vortex.

Below the vortex, at the entrance of the valley, hundreds of Cultivators had already gathered, the crowd surging and the noise deafening.

Further away, even more Cultivators were arriving from all directions.

"It seems that is the entrance to the newly discovered Secret Realm."

"With such a big commotion, it's no wonder it attracts so many people."

"However, the entrance seems to be blocked by some kind of natural Restriction or spatial barrier, and it hasn't been fully opened yet; these people are all waiting for the right moment."

Ye Qing observed for a moment and did not immediately approach the crowd.

He first found a secluded corner, changed into a set of the most ordinary gray cloth Daoist robes, slightly adjusted his face with magic power to appear more mature and weathered, and restrained his aura to the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage.

Then, he walked unhurriedly toward the outer periphery of the crowd at the valley entrance.

The closer he got, the more he could feel the chaos and restlessness.

The Cultivators were in groups of three or five, discussing heatedly and being wary of each other.

"I heard from those who went in yesterday and fled that the space inside is extremely unstable, filled with broken Void Realm cracks and chaotic Five Elements storms—it's extremely dangerous!"

"But there are indeed many ruins; some people picked up fragments of ancient Magical Artifacts, and some dug up several rare Spirit Medicines!"

"That's not all! It is said that there is an intact ancient Cultivator Immortal Cave deep inside, with powerful Restrictions on the outside that no one has broken yet."

"If one could get in, they would be rich!"

"Don't dream! The entrance is currently controlled by the 'Black Fiend Society,' 'Green Wolf Group,' and 'Hundred Flowers Alliance.' If you want to get in, you have to pay a 'road fee,' or have enough strength."

"Us Loose Cultivators can only wait for them to finish looting and pick up some leftovers."

"Hmph, they are too overbearing! The Secret Realm is ownerless land, why should they…"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you not want your life? Do you see that One-eyed Hunk over there?"

"He is the Third Leader of the Black Fiend Society, with Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation and a terrifying reputation. Yesterday, a Loose Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage refused to submit, and he tore him apart in three moves!"

"The corpse is still hanging on the tree over there as a warning!"

Ye Qing followed the gaze and saw that at the very front of the crowd, near the bottom of the Spiritual Qi vortex, there were several groups of people standing clearly separated from each other.

One group was all dressed in black martial outfits, with ferocious ghost heads embroidered on their chests, and their auras were fierce. The One-eyed Hunk at the lead stood with his arms crossed, looking down on everyone—it was the Black Fiend Society.

Another group was dressed messily, but all had green wolf patterns on their cuffs, and everyone had fierce eyes, like wolves and tigers—this was the Green Wolf Group.

There was another group that was relatively neat, mostly female Cultivators, dressed brightly, but with cold eyes and various flower pouches hanging from their waists—this was the Hundred Flowers Alliance.

These three groups were the strongest, each with several Foundation Establishment Cultivators in command, vaguely controlling the area closest to the entrance.

Other Loose Cultivators could only gather a little further away, daring to be angry but not daring to speak.

At this moment, the rotation speed of the Spiritual Qi vortex seemed to be accelerating, and the spatial distortion ripples in the center were becoming more and more obvious.

"The Secret Realm entrance is about to fully open!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd suddenly became restless.

The One-eyed Hunk of the Black Fiend Society suddenly stepped forward, his voice like a booming bell: "The Secret Realm is about to open! The old rules: if you want to enter from here, you must pay five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones or equivalent Materials! Otherwise, get lost!"

The leaders of the Green Wolf Group and the Hundred Flowers Alliance also stepped forward simultaneously, their auras erupting to intimidate everyone.

"Five hundred Spirit Stones? Why don't you go rob someone!"

"This is too much!"

A chorus of angry clamor arose among the Loose Cultivators, but under the threat of the three groups' overwhelming Spiritual Pressure and bloody methods, no one dared to truly step forward.

Ye Qing stood on the edge of the crowd, watching coldly.

Five hundred Spirit Stones were nothing to him, but he did not want to be a sucker, and even less did he want to expose his wealth and become a target for everyone.

"The Secret Realm entrance is not just this one."

He sneered in his heart, his gaze quietly sweeping over the steep mountain walls on both sides of the valley, as well as other areas further away where the Spiritual Qi was chaotic.

With his keen perception of spatial fluctuations, he could detect that although the Spiritual Qi vortex was the most obvious entrance, the spatial barriers around it were not uniform because of the intertwining of the Secret Realm and reality, and there were several relatively weak nodes.

It was just that those nodes were hidden or located in dangerous places, making them difficult for ordinary Cultivators to discover; even if they were discovered, without special means or sufficient strength, it would be difficult to break through.

"Perhaps I can find a quieter 'back door' to enter."

He made up his mind and stopped paying attention to the standoff in front; his figure quietly retreated into the crowd and headed toward a steep cliff on the flank of the valley where the forest was dense and rarely visited.

Inside his body, the two hundred and eighty zhang Grotto-Heaven was quiet, and the phantom of the stars rotated slowly, as if it too were looking forward to this new world about to be explored.