447: Chapter 462: Qingxuzi, from a secluded place!

Fortunately, that fluctuation came quickly and left just as fast.

In just a few breaths, the surging Laws gradually calmed, and the chaotic order slowly restored.

A moment later, everything returned to tranquility, as if nothing had ever happened.

But a shadow was cast over everyone's hearts.

Old Ancestor... what happened to him?

...

At this moment, deep within the Dao Domain, inside that simple and ancient Daoist temple.

A figure sat cross-legged upon a prayer mat.

His face was blurred and indistinct, appearing only as a hazy mist, as if shrouded by an endless fog.

That mist was not formed intentionally; it was a natural manifestation of the Laws.

It was as if he himself were a part of the Laws; simply sitting there, he exuded a sense of towering vastness.

He was the Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Qingwei Dao Sect—Venerable Qingxu, Taishu Yichen.

Now, he slowly opened his eyes.

Those eyes were deep and filled with Chaos, within which countless scenes could be seen faintly flowing.

He gazed into the Void Realm, as if piercing through endless distance to see a certain faraway place.

Then, Taishu Yichen raised his hand, his five fingers gently curling inward.

In his palm, an illusory figure emerged—it was the likeness of Yun Chenzi.

However, at this moment, the figure was fragmented and broken, liable to dissipate at any time.

Seeing this, he remained silent for a moment before murmuring to himself.

"Dead... interesting."

His words were calm, his tone betraying no emotion, yet the chaotic, surging Laws around him exposed his true feelings.

He was angry, very angry!

Since attaining the Dao as a Nascent Soul True Monarch, he had not felt such an emotion for a very long time.

But now, that uncontrollable rage threatened to ignite this Dao Domain once again.

Yun Chenzi was dead!

This was the "talent" he had secretly nurtured for centuries for his own sake!

Just as the fruit was about to ripen, he had fallen so inexplicably; how could he not be enraged!

Yet beyond the anger, there was mostly a profound sense of helplessness.

Nascent Soul True Monarchs seem transcendent and aloof, but their situation is not as glorious as outsiders imagine.

At the Nascent Soul Realm, one is no longer limited to inhaling and exhaling Spiritual Qi to Cultivate; instead, one must comprehend the Laws of Heaven and Earth and deeply fuse their own Dao attainment with those Laws.

But this in itself is a struggle for authority against the Heavenly Dao, a plundering of the World's Origin.

Therefore, Nascent Soul True Monarchs receive extra "attention" from the Heavenly Dao.

Not only is their strength suppressed, but more terrifyingly, they are "choked"!

Since the Heavenly Dao refuses to provide further support of the Laws, every time a Nascent Soul True Monarch takes action, they are actually consuming their own Origin.

To compensate for this loss, they must find ways to plunder from the Heavenly Dao again, the difficulty of which can well be imagined.

Thus, in daily life, Nascent Soul True Monarchs rarely take action.

It's not that they don't want to, but that it's not worth the cost.

After all, every action is a depletion of one's own Dao path.

But as the saying goes, for every policy from above, there is a countermeasure from below.

The Inner Domain Grotto-Heavens came into being exactly for this reason.

In fact, during ancient times, the Profound Spirit Domain had no distinction between Inner and Outer Domains.

Simply because the Nascent Soul True Monarchs needed a "private plot" of their own—a Small World that could isolate them from the interference of the Heavenly Dao—they united and used great Divine Abilities to open up the Inner Domain Grotto-Heavens.

In this Small World, they could move about; while they couldn't completely escape the shackles of the Heavenly Dao, the suppression they faced would be greatly reduced.

But in doing so, it was like spinning a cocoon to imprison themselves; they had personally built a jail, trapping themselves within. Those outside wanted to enter, and those inside could not leave.

After all, this only treated the symptoms and not the cause; the fundamental problem remained unsolved.

Their comprehension of the Laws remained difficult, and their cultivation progress remained slow.

Thus, at some unknown point, someone devised an Evil Path.

That was to "borrow a hen to lay eggs."

Simply put, it meant nurturing a new Nascent Soul True Monarch themselves, and once they matured, devouring their Laws to supplement one's own cultivation.

This method sounds cruel, but in the eyes of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it is a viable path.

Of course, there is a key issue: there are conflicts between Laws. They cannot be refined through random devouring; one needs Laws with the same affinity.

Therefore, the chosen Nascent Soul seedlings must condense Law Dao Seeds that are compatible with their own Laws.

And True Lord Qingxu himself was a Nascent Soul True Monarch who broke through using the Yin-Yang Law.

So, those in the know understand that from start to finish, Yun Chenzi was actually the "talent" pre-selected by True Lord Qingxu.

After all, looking across the entire Outer Domain of the Profound Spirit Domain, Yun Chenzi was the only one who could even touch the threshold of the Yin-Yang Law.

You think this was due to his overflowing talent?

Wrong; it was simply because someone wanted this outcome.

Yun Chenzi was able to live until now only because he still had value.

Otherwise, did anyone really think a supreme Law like the Yin-Yang Law could be comprehended by just anyone?

If such a person were allowed to develop and grow in peace, it would not only be of no benefit to those Nascent Soul True Monarchs but would instead be a potential threat.

But Yun Chenzi happened to be living quite well.

The reason was that he was the pre-selected "talent."

True Lord Qingxu needed him to thrive and grow, to reach higher and higher steps until he broke through to the Nascent Soul.

Thus, over the years, True Lord Qingxu allowed Yun Chenzi to roam the Outer Domain and even secretly provided him with some conveniences.

All for the sake of harvesting the fruit when the time was ripe.

Yet now, this nearly ripe Immortal Seedling had been strangled prematurely.

As for why True Lord Qingxu didn't keep Yun Chenzi by his side to nurture him?

It wasn't that he was unwilling, but that he couldn't.

Because doing so would have ruined Yun Chenzi.

After all, flowers in a greenhouse can never grow into towering trees.

Only by letting Yun Chenzi venture out and comprehend for himself could he walk his own Dao.

True Lord Qingxu only needed to be responsible for guiding Yun Chenzi back whenever he was about to go astray, keeping him on the path planned for him.

Of course, another reason for letting him roam free in the Outer Domain was to prevent the covetousness of other Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

After all, although those in the Inner Domain Grotto-Heavens were all brothers in misfortune, they were also constantly on guard against one another.

If any Nascent Soul True Monarch was unwilling to see True Lord Qingxu's cultivation improve, they would surely take action to strangle Yun Chenzi.

But in the Outer Domain, those Nascent Soul True Monarchs would have to consider whether it was worth depleting their own Origin to take action.

Not to mention, this was an extremely taboo act.

If you can strike at my "Immortal Seedling" today, then tomorrow I can naturally strike at your "precious darling."

Under this vicious cycle, a certain tacit understanding was reached among the True Lords.

Under normal circumstances, they would never interfere in the affairs of the Outer Domain.

Thus, True Lord Qingxu had not been overly worried about Yun Chenzi's safety.

With his strength, he essentially had no rivals in the Outer Domain.

Even if he occasionally encountered danger, the mark True Lord Qingxu had left on him was enough to ensure his safety.

As long as Yun Chenzi didn't seek death himself, he absolutely would not die.

But now, of all times, an accident had occurred!

The Xuanling Secret Realm had suddenly descended, throwing all of True Lord Qingxu's plans into disarray.

That Secret Realm was a Small World that was its own heaven and earth, isolated from the outside with independent Laws.

He simply could not pierce through that world barrier to interfere in internal matters.

He could only watch helplessly as Yun Chenzi was refined by someone.

This sense of powerlessness left True Lord Qingxu feeling extremely stifled.

But alongside his anger, he also felt some surprise.

According to the information sent back before the mark shattered, the one who took action was a Golden Core Perfection.

A Golden Core Perfection could not only defeat Yun Chenzi but also withstand his "mark" without being destroyed?

Although this mark was just something he did casually, perhaps not even possessing one-ten-thousandth of his power.

But for a Golden Core Cultivator, this was a flat-out dimensional strike.

Yet even so, the opponent had survived in the end; this was indeed quite unexpected.

However, that was all.

In the eyes of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, no matter how strong a Golden Core Perfection was, they were still ultimately ants.

It was just that this ant was slightly special.

He had already memorized the other party's Qi signature; unless they stayed in the Outer Domain for their entire life, the moment they came to the Inner Domain, they would surely die.

However, True Lord Qingxu's attention was not focused on this ant; this person was at most a pawn. The one truly responsible for Yun Chenzi's fall was someone else.

He looked up, his gaze piercing through the dome of the Dao palace toward the endless Void Realm.

"Heavenly Dao..."

He murmured to himself.

"In this, I fear your hand is at work, isn't it?"

Yun Chenzi didn't die earlier or later, but died shortly after the Xuanling Secret Realm opened.

True Lord Qingxu did not believe this was a mere coincidence.

It must be another Human Tribulation disaster orchestrated by the Heavenly Dao!

Moreover, the Heavenly Dao had seized an extremely clever Opportunity this time, triggering the descent of the Xuanling Secret Realm ahead of time to lure Yun Chenzi inside.

In this way, it not only severed the Karma but also cut off any possibility of True Lord Qingxu taking action to save him.

"Heh, in doing this, have you considered the consequences!"

Thinking of something, True Lord Qingxu let out a cold laugh.

As expected, the Heavenly Dao is just a chaotic and muddled fool, acting only out of its own interests without ever considering whether such actions might hold hidden dangers for Itself.

The Xuanling Secret Realm—is that a normal place?

This brings up a certain past event from the ancient era.

At that time, the Xuanling Secret Realm was not called the Xuanling Secret Realm, but was known as—the Asura Demon Domain!

That was the ancestral land of the Asura Race.

The Asura Race were the true Dominators of this world during the ancient era.

They were born close to the Dao, and cultivation was as simple as eating or drinking for them.

Laws that others required centuries of bitter cultivation to comprehend, they could master the basics of in just a few years.

Their cultivation speed was astonishingly fast, and their Lifespans were far longer than those of the Human Race.

But the Asura Race was naturally cruel and bloodthirsty.

They viewed all living beings as ants and all souls as mere weeds.

In their eyes, the Human Race was nothing more than two-legged sheep—food and livestock to be slaughtered at any time.

During that era, the Human Race lived as if in Hell.

But faced with the might of the Asura Race, the Human Race had no power to resist.

Because within the Asura Race, there were Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformations.

Soul Transformation—that is an existence beyond the Nascent Soul.

A Nascent Soul True Monarch comprehends Laws to borrow the power of Heaven and Earth, but a Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation is the Law itself, a world unto themselves!

That gap is sometimes wider than the gap between a human and a dog; it simply cannot be measured.

However, as the saying goes, "He who commits many injustices is doomed to fail," and "Extreme prosperity is followed by decline" is the Law of nature.

The Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformations of the Asura Race wanted to ascend to the Immortal Realm, and for some reason, they set their sights on the Heavenly Dao.

This completely enraged the Heavenly Dao, and so, one day, the Heavenly Dao finally brought down a Karma Tribulation.

This tribulation swept across the entire Profound Spirit Domain, specifically targeting the Asura Race.

Of course, the Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformations of the Asura Race would naturally not watch idly as their clansmen were swept into the disaster of the tribulation.

Thus, they personally acted to suppress the tribulation, but because of this, they were tied down by the Heavenly Dao.

Meanwhile, dozens of Nascent Soul True Monarchs from the Human Race and other races oppressed and harmed by the Asura Race seized the Opportunity. While the Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformations were unable to attend to others, they united and decisively struck, launching a joint assault into the Asura Demon Domain.

That battle was fought until the heavens tilted and the earth overturned, and the sun and moon lost their light.

Countless great experts fell, and countless Laws were shattered.

Even one of the continents of the Asura Dao Domain was completely destroyed in this great war, leading to broken earth veins and the dissipation of Spiritual Qi, turning it into a Spirit-Severed Land.

In the end, those dozens of Nascent Soul True Monarchs paid a heavy price to wipe out every single Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Asura Race, leaving none alive.

Finally, cooperating with the Heavenly Dao at the cost of self-sacrifice, they turned the entire Asura ancestral land into a sealed land, suppressing and sealing the Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformations of the Asura Race there.

But this war also exhausted the foundations of all the major races.

For a long time afterward, the Cultivation World was listless; while not quite an Age of Dharma Decline, its Origin Qi was severely wounded.

Combined with the destruction of orthodoxies, the loss of Legacies, and the Chaos of Laws between heaven and earth, a gap appeared among Cultivators.

Forget Nascent Soul True Monarchs, even Golden Core True Persons were extremely rare.

But during this process, the Heavenly Dao was the first to recover its Origin Qi.

Perhaps to prevent a recurrence of the Asura Race's "the guest overpowers the host" situation, the Heavenly Dao began to limit the number of Nascent Soul True Monarchs, and Soul Transformation Cultivators were completely forbidden from existing.

This is why later generations of Nascent Soul Cultivators faced layer upon layer of obstacles in their cultivation.

Because the Heavenly Dao does not allow such powerful people to appear again.

But as the saying goes: "Heaven's operations are forty-nine, while man escapes through the one."

No matter how strong the Heavenly Dao is, It is ultimately not a sentient being; Its every action is based on Its own interests. Whoever interferes with the operational rules of heaven and earth, It targets them.

But it is precisely because of this that It cannot interfere in everything.

Thus, the Xuanling Secret Realm became the "one that escaped."

And this was actually the result of the gamble between that Asura Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation and the Heavenly Dao.

Although the Heavenly Dao gained the final victory, It could not completely interfere with the Secret Realm's descent.

Thus, every thousand years, the Secret Realm would appear once, bringing all sorts of Opportunities to Cultivators.

But this was not because that Asura Soul Transformation expert was kind-hearted and wanted to benefit all living beings.

The fundamental reason was that every time the Secret Realm opened, the Opportunities Cultivators obtained from it were actually depleting the Seal's power within the Secret Realm.

After all, all things follow the conservation of energy.

The products within the Secret Realm are not generated out of thin air; they consume the Secret Realm's own Origin.

Given enough time, the Secret Realm's Origin will one day be exhausted.

And at that time, it will be the day that Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation breaks through the Seal.

Of course, these are all just legends.

Even as a Nascent Soul True Monarch, True Lord Qingxu did not know the details.

A million years have passed since ancient times, while the Lifespan of a Nascent Soul True Monarch is only ten thousand years.

Too many secrets have long been buried in the dust of history.

Only the scattered documents left by ancient sages still speak of that history of blood and fire.

But through generations of transmission, some history has been distorted; truth and falsehood are hard to distinguish.

Therefore, many things can only be guessed at.

Besides, True Lord Qingxu didn't care about any of that.

Even if it were true, so what?

The current Heavenly Dao only knows how to blindly suppress Cultivators, yet no one can check and balance It.

These Nascent Soul True Monarchs have suffered under the Heavenly Dao for a long time; if that Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation truly breaks the Seal and emerges, it might even be an Opportunity for them to take a step upward.

Otherwise, it's just a dead loop.

Exerting so much effort to nurture edible "Nascent Soul True Monarchs" is not only laborious but also time-consuming.

By piecing together bits and pieces of accumulation, when would he ever be able to Breakthrough in his cultivation?

And even with a Breakthrough, Soul Transformation would still be hopeless; once his Lifespan was exhausted, he would still return his Dao to the heavens.

So even if what was recorded in ancient history were true, True Lord Qingxu would only clap and cheer.

And encourage Cultivators to go in and plunder, to soon return Xuanling to a bright and clear world.

The current sky is too dark!

"Sigh, forget it, forget it..."

True Lord Qingxu sighed and slowly closed his eyes.

Yun Chenzi was dead; his plan had failed.

Centuries of waiting had gone down the drain.

He would remember this debt.

But for now, there was nothing he could do but wait patiently.