437: Chapter 441 A Gathering of Heroes!

“Calculating the time, it should be about right.”

Lu Ming pinched his fingers to calculate, his brows slightly raised.

From condensing the Bright Venerable Dharma Image to stabilizing the Netherworld Space, the process had been smooth enough that he had lost track of time.

Now, calculating carefully, a full seven days had passed.

He hurriedly exited the Netherworld Space, and with a flash, vanished from the secret chamber at the core of the Pu Family's Spiritual Vein.

The next moment, he was standing in the courtyard, looking up at the firmament.

That enormous rift spanning the sky had expanded significantly compared to seven days ago.

Deep within the rift, the looming phantom of that majestic Dao palace was already faintly visible. Although it was only a phantom, one could already feel the vast, ancient aura rushing towards them.

That was the dao rhyme left behind by the passage of time, a pressure that had not dissipated even after thousands of years.

“Everything is ready; it is time to make a trip.”

Lu Ming stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze deep and distant.

Entering the Xuanling Secret Realm this time, his primary goal was naturally to resolve the hidden danger of his own fortune.

That thing was like a maggot on the bone; it had to be removed.

Secondly, since he had already decided to enter, there was that legendary item for condensing the Nascent Soul—the xuan yin jade marrow.

If there was a chance, he should strive for it!

“Most importantly...”

The corners of Lu Ming's mouth curled slightly upward.

“Let's see if I can harvest Yun Chenzi.”

If he could resolve his own hidden dangers, then he, the mastermind who had single-handedly brought about Yun Chenzi's “Human Tribulation”, could naturally rest assured and collect the other's providence.

By then, with the providence of two Golden Core Perfection Cultivators added to his own, he would surely be able to step into the Dao Realm in one fell swoop.

If he could also obtain the item for condensing the Nascent Soul...

Perhaps he could directly attempt to condense the Nascent Soul!

Although he had yet to condense his own embryonic form of the Law, Lu Ming was not overly anxious.

With the karma golden book in hand, he had countless possibilities for trial and error.

Being a bit rash would not cause any harm.

At worst, after failure, he could transfer the backlash onto someone else.

Perhaps he could even use this to summarize his experience and make full preparations for the next attempt to condense the Nascent Soul.

“Then let's go and take a look first!”

Lu Ming smiled slightly, his figure suddenly blurring, transforming into a streak of light that shot into the sky.

In truth, it was not that he hadn't considered traveling by crossing the Void Realm with his Physical Body like Yun Chenzi.

But unfortunately, he could not reach that level yet.

Although his cultivation had reached Golden Core Perfection, it was ultimately just “borrowed,” and did not truly belong to him.

Regarding his comprehension of the Dao of space, Lu Ming only had some meager insights thus far.

If he were to forcibly tear through the Void Realm, he feared he would end up sending himself into spatial turbulence.

Therefore, he could only travel honestly.

The streak of light cut through the sky, speeding towards the rift that spanned the firmament.

...

Outside the Xuanling Secret Realm, a dense crowd had already gathered.

Looking out, it was a sea of people, a dark mass, with various escape lights rising and falling, and the noise was incessant.

There were Sword Cultivators standing on their swords, robes fluttering, with imposing Sword Qi.

There were Cultivators sitting on the backs of Spirit Beasts, eyes closed and resting, unmoved by external things.

There were disciples of noble families clustered together, in groups of three or five, whispering and discussing.

There were also lone rangers standing alone in corners, with cold expressions, keeping others at a distance.

At a rough estimate, there were at least hundreds of thousands.

These were all Cultivators attracted by the emergence of the Xuanling Secret Realm; they came from all corners of the Profound Spirit Domain, with varying levels of cultivation.

Those at the Qi Refinement Stage were basically nowhere to be seen; Cultivators of that level would only be coming to their deaths.

Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators made up the vast majority, about seventy or eighty percent.

Most of them came with the mentality of “trying their luck and having a sip of soup”; among ten, you couldn't even pick one who truly dared to venture deep inside.

The rest were Golden Core True Persons, estimated to be in the hundreds.

Unlike those low-level Cultivators, they were basically gathered in units of Families or Sects, rarely clustered in groups of three or five to chat.

Occasionally, there were individual Loose Cultivators who traveled alone, merely watching coldly and not getting close to anyone.

However, regardless of their cultivation level, everyone tacitly avoided approaching the central area.

There, only a few dozen people stood, yet they acted like an invisible dividing line, preventing any of the tens of thousands of Cultivators from daring to take even half a step across.

They were none other than the representatives from the Thirty-Six Blessed Lands of the outer domain.

Southern Ridge Tiangang Blessed Land, Yuan Tiangang.

This man was burly, shirtless, with muscles knotted like dragons all over his body; the mere aura of blood and Qi overflowing from him made the Void Realm tremble slightly.

He was the next Sect Master of the Tiangang Blessed Land, having entered the Dao through Body Refining; his Physical Body was so strong that it was rumored he could withstand Magic Treasures without injury.

Western Wilderness White Bone Blessed Land, Elder Gu Ming.

That was an old man with a gloomy expression, leaning on a white bone staff crafted from an unknown skeleton, with faint Death Qi lingering around him.

Standing there, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop a few degrees, making people shudder.

East Sea Loose Cultivator Alliance, Fairy Qinyun.

That was a beautiful woman in a palace dress, holding an ancient zither, her temperament cold as frost.

It was said that this woman came from humble beginnings, yet she had relied on her superb zither Dao to forge a great reputation in the East Sea, where experts were as numerous as clouds; she was a rare Dao Realm expert among Loose Cultivators.

Ten Thousand Beasts Blessed Land, Long Aotian.

That was a youth in golden robes, standing with his hands behind his back, with the faint sound of dragon roars around him.

It was said that this person possessed the True Dragon Bloodline, could control ten thousand beasts, and held a transcendent status in the Ten Thousand Beasts Blessed Land.

There were also Immortal Master Liehuo of the Red Flame Blessed Land, Fairy Bingpo of the Xuanbing Valley, Daoist Mu of the Qingmu Blessed Land...

More than thirty people stood in the central area, each occupying one side.

There was little communication between them, faintly carrying a sense of wariness.

Occasionally, their gazes met, cold and vigilant, like a pack of wolves circling, with no one daring to show a flaw first.

However, everyone knew that this group of people basically represented the top forces of the entire outer domain of the Profound Spirit Domain; they were the true chess players.

And those tens of thousands of ordinary Cultivators could only stand in the distance, looking up at these high and mighty existences.

...

However, among this group, there was still a special existence.

He did not get too close to the central area, but he also did not stand with the outer Cultivators.

He was just one person, sitting alone in a remote corner on the edge of the central area.

He was dressed in a simple Daoist robe; although his aura was strong, it was clearly somewhat withered.

He just sat there quietly, turning a deaf ear to everything around him, as if isolated from the world.

“Who is that? So arrogant!”

In the outer crowd, a naive Foundation Establishment Cultivator looked at that person and asked in confusion.

Before he finished speaking, the back of his head was slapped by the elder accompanying him behind him.

“You little brat, if you want to die, get lost far away; just don't splatter blood all over this old man!”

The elder's face turned livid, and he whispered sternly.

“Let me tell you, that is a big shot with heaven-reaching cultivation! If this old man is not mistaken, that should be Immortal Master Yun Chenzi of the Qingming Immortal Sect!”

“Yun Chenzi? The Yun Chenzi known as the number one in the Northern Territory's fighting?”

The young Cultivator rubbed the back of his head, looking surprised.

“Why does he look so sickly? Could it be that he was beaten by someone?”

It is said that newborn calves are not afraid of tigers; this Foundation Establishment Cultivator had no filter when he spoke, scaring the elder into quickly covering his mouth. Fearing he would say something else, the elder even directly cast a silencing spell on his mouth.

The elder looked around and, finding that no one was paying attention to this side, breathed a sigh of relief.

But come to think of it, what his nephew said did make sense.

This renowned Great True Person certainly looked to be in a very bad state right now.

In any case, it was a far cry from the image of the “number one person in the Northern Territory” in his heart.