478: Chapter 494 This is the first time I've ever seen someone so arrogant!

For the major Grotto-Heavens, bickering with a Loose Cultivator would only lower their own status.

Rather than wasting breath, it is better to remember this face. Once inside the core Secret Realm, if they meet again, they can just deal with him conveniently.

Arrogant as they are, they despise people who do not understand the rules even more.

As for the black-robed person who was the focus of the entire crowd's gaze, he seemed completely unaware and continued to act as he pleased.

He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the Dao Palace gate, his gaze fixed on the two tightly closed stone doors, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, saying nothing.

This person was none other than the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord, who had descended into the Secret Realm using a Clone.

He completely ignored the gazes cast from all directions, which were filled with various meanings.

To him, a Nascent Soul Late Stage Great True Lord, these people were not even worth considering as ants, so naturally, they were not worth his concern.

Yet, returning to this old place, he could not help but feel some emotion.

The last time he came here was thousands of years ago.

And this towering Dao Palace was even more dilapidated than it was back then.

This was not the erosion of time in the ordinary sense, but rather the constant depletion of the Secret Realm's Origin, which could no longer support that hypocritical facade.

That's right, this Dao Palace, and even the entire Secret Realm, was essentially carefully packaged.

If one thinks about it carefully, the Xuanling Secret Realm, tracing back to its source, was the ancestral land of the Asura God Race.

Given the violent and cruel behavior of the Asura Clan back then, how could it present such a quiet and peaceful appearance today?

It was merely that someone had deliberately erased the traces of the Asura Clan, attempting to use time to obliterate everything and let the world gradually forget.

Thus, when setting up this Seal for the Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation, they used great Divine Ability and great magic power to change the world, which is why the scene before them appeared as it did.

However, to the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord, these secrets did not hold much meaning.

Fake is fake after all. When the Secret Realm's Origin is exhausted, everything will be exposed to the world.

The world will once again recall the terrifying oppressive rule of the Asura Clan.

Even he dared not imagine who could withstand the fury of that Asura Clan Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation, who had been suppressed for hundreds of thousands of years, once they broke the Seal and emerged.

Clearly, they were the only Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation in the entire Realm, standing above billions of living beings.

Yet, they were calculated against by a group of ants, leading to their suppression for hundreds of thousands of years.

That kind of humiliation could probably only be appeased by destroying the world.

Hmm, I'm afraid destroying the world wouldn't even be enough!

In any case, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord put himself in their shoes and felt that he certainly couldn't do it.

But regardless, this also indirectly shows that the day the Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation breaks the Seal will be a time of turmoil for the world!

However, for a Nascent Soul True Monarch like the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord, he did not actually feel panicked about this.

He only needed to achieve a Breakthrough to Spirit Transformation and Ascend to the Upper Realm before this world-sweeping catastrophe returned.

There was absolutely no need to go head-to-head with that Dao Venerable whose resentment was as great as a ghost's!

He was not one of those ancient Saints, so there was no need to fight to the death for a bunch of irrelevant ants.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord believed that he was likely not the only Nascent Soul True Monarch who held this view.

There was no helping it; they had been trapped in this world for too long.

Under the suppression of the Heavenly Dao, the resentment they had accumulated was likely no less than that of the Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation, and they had no sense of belonging to this world.

In their long life of imprisonment, they had completely turned into pure seekers of the Dao, and everything they did was for the sake of their own path.

As for the Heavenly Dao or the Asura Clan Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation, in their eyes, they were just birds of a feather.

No matter who gained the upper hand, it would not allow them to cultivate in peace.

Since that was the case, they would create conditions and find a way to let them fight each other like dogs.

Therefore, over these many years, the various Nascent Soul True Monarchs had not stopped their Disciples from entering the Secret Realm.

It was through this method that they constantly depleted the Secret Realm's Origin.

As long as a certain threshold was reached, the Seal would loosen. At that time, the Heavenly Dao would have to divert some attention to suppress the Seal, and in contrast, the suppression on them would be greatly reduced.

However, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord felt this was too slow, which was why he sent Bone Underworld to pry open the Seal, wanting to speed up the progress.

He just didn't expect an unexpected surprise: accidentally discovering the Reincarnation hidden by the Heavenly Dao.

This prompted him to risk exposure by the Heavenly Dao and personally cast a wisp of consciousness to inhabit the Clone and come here.

At this moment, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was in a fairly good mood.

Once he obtained the Reincarnation hidden by the Heavenly Dao, his strength would surge again, and he even had hope of directly achieving a Breakthrough to Nascent Soul Great Perfection.

At that time, he would be only one step away from Spirit Transformation, and he was confident that before the Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation completely broke the Seal, he would Ascend to the Upper Realm and get far away from this place of trouble.

As for other Nascent Soul True Monarchs not being able to keep up?

Hehe, irrelevant.

Just as the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was imagining the future, in an inconspicuous corner outside the plaza.

"This is the first time I have seen someone so arrogant."

Lu Ming stood in the crowd, taking it all in.

Looking at the black-robed person standing in front of the Dao Palace gate, he muttered inwardly.

He did not rashly enter the plaza, but instead mingled among the Loose Cultivators on the periphery, preparing to observe the situation before making plans.

At this moment, he was keeping a low profile, like a drop of water blending into the ocean, without attracting anyone's attention.

Compared to his own caution, that black-robed person was simply a hot-headed youth.

I'm afraid the other party doesn't even know how much hatred this behavior of his is attracting.

"However... have I been paying too much attention to him?"

Lu Ming frowned.

Recalling back to when the other party appeared, his attention had been fixed on him.

Although the other party's behavior was outlandish, it shouldn't have made him so attentive.

What he should be concerned about right now is what happens after entering the Dao Palace.

He still knew nothing about what it looked like inside or what precautions to take.

So, clearly he should be doing his best to collect this information right now, so as not to rush in blindly.

Yet, after this person appeared, because he gave Lu Ming a faint, indescribable feeling, he had actually forgotten the most important thing.

"Strange..."

Lu Ming's brows furrowed tightly, and he immediately prepared to use his fingers to divine the situation.

However, just as he made the move, his heart suddenly palpitated.

There seemed to be a vague intuition that if he did this, something bad might happen.

Without time to think about why this premonition appeared, Lu Ming sensibly stopped his actions immediately.

But at that very instant, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord, who was deep in thought, seemed to have sensed something and suddenly turned his head, his gaze sweeping sharply toward the crowd.

Lu Ming's eyelids twitched instantly.

Damn, so sharp!

He subconsciously lowered his gaze, restrained his Qi, and hid himself deeper into the crowd.

"Did I feel wrong?"

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's gaze swept through the crowd, but he didn't find any clues, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Impossible!

He immediately denied this guess, certain that he had not felt wrong.

With his current Realm, it was impossible for him to have a whim.

Moreover, just in that instant, he had clearly felt an invisible thread of Karma attempting to connect to him.

That thread came silently; if his status had not been high enough, he would never have detected it.

Originally, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord intended to let it be and allow that thread of Karma to entangle him.

He could also use this to trace the source and see who was so daring.

However, before he could make a move, that thread suddenly snapped and disappeared cleanly, leaving no traces, not giving him a chance to trace the source.

"Interesting, is someone trying to divine me?"

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord chuckled, though he didn't actually take it to heart.

It was probably just his maverick behavior that attracted the attention of some people.

Sure enough, ants are ants, busy all day with these trivial matters, not knowing that their fate has long been destined.

They think that having a chance to enter the Secret Realm means they can defy the heavens and change their fate, yet they don't know what is actually hidden behind this Dao Palace.

I'm afraid after this group goes in, when they come out, not even one in ten will remain.

There was no need for him to bicker with dead people about this.

However, he still felt speechless about this weak body.

The Divine Sense released couldn't even find the person who was spying; it was simply trash.

If his true body had descended, he could have captured the person the moment they had the thought.

Sure enough, he still needed to get the xuan yin jade marrow and achieve a Breakthrough to Nascent Soul. By then, he would have no more scruples about acting in this Secret Realm, and no one would be able to stop him.

He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the Dao Palace gate, no longer paying attention to the various gazes behind him.

Time passed drop by drop.

After an unknown amount of time, the Dao Palace suddenly changed.

First, a faint sound of the Dao emanated from the depths.

The sound was ethereal and distant, as if coming from above the Nine Heavens, and also as if coming from beneath the Nine Netherworlds.

Every syllable contained profound truths of heaven and earth, striking directly into the depths of the Soul.

Some Cultivators with weaker cultivation were shaken into a trance by the sound of the Dao, and they quickly sat cross-legged to circulate their energy, beginning to listen to this sound of the Great Dao.

Immediately after, the broken stone pillars on the plaza suddenly lit up with a faint light.

The long-dried patterns regained their vitality, and golden immortal flowers bloomed from the cracks in the stone, their petals layered upon each other, emitting a refreshing fragrance.

All these phenomena indicated that the Dao Palace gate was about to open.

Everyone's expression brightened.

But at this very moment, a sudden change occurred.

On the bodies of those carrying the xuanling token, beams of light shooting into the sky suddenly lit up, as if resonating with some kind of power deep within the Dao Palace.

For a time, beams of light stood in the plaza, springing up one after another like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Those Grotto-Heaven Disciples and Blessed Land representatives were long accustomed to this, standing in place with normal expressions, letting the beams of light shoot into the sky.

Then very quickly, everyone's gaze was attracted by a solitary beam of light.

It was not that this beam of light had anything special; the problem was its current location.

That solitary beam of light was standing outside the plaza.

It was among the crowd who had failed to obtain a token and could only look at the plaza with envious eyes.

Like a solitary lamp lit in the wilderness, it was striking to the point of being somewhat comical.

Lu Ming lowered his head, looking at the beam of light that had lit up on his body, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

"What the..."

He was truly speechless; why didn't anyone tell him that the xuanling token would light up when the core Secret Realm opened!

He had thought that by mingling into the outer crowd, he was hiding in plain sight.

It turned out that after all that, he had ended up being the clown.

"It has really caused me great trouble!"

Lu Ming could clearly feel that at this moment, countless gazes were converging from all directions, pinning onto him.

That feeling was just like being a fat sheep targeted by a pack of hungry wolves.

In those gazes, there was surprise, curiosity, mockery, and playfulness, but the most abundant was greed.

After all, the number of xuanling tokens was limited; not everyone had one.

Those people without tokens were now looking at Lu Ming, their eyes turning red.

A lone Loose Cultivator actually had a token? Wasn't this a fat sheep delivered to their door?

"Fellow Daoist."

A middle-aged Cultivator smiled and approached; he had an Early Golden Core Stage cultivation, and the expression on his face was unreasonably kind.

"Are you selling this token? I will pay a high price."

Lu Ming looked at him but didn't speak.

The middle-aged Cultivator's smile remained unchanged, and he took another step forward: "Fellow Daoist, don't misunderstand; I'm not trying to rob you, just discussing..."

Before he finished speaking, several more people gathered around behind him.

Some had already secretly gripped their Magical Artifacts, some had fingers pinching incantations in their sleeves, and others had a mocking smile on their lips, but their eyes were as cold as knives.

Lu Ming sighed.

He actually understood what these people were thinking.

It was well known that once one entered the plaza area, no one would take action to seize tokens anymore.

These people all thought that this Opportunity was not for them, and they had prepared themselves to become bystanders.

But in the blink of an eye, they discovered that there was actually someone beside them carrying a token.

And it just so happened that this person had not yet stepped into the range, so according to the rules, they could seize it.

Cultivators were opportunists by nature; once an Opportunity was placed in front of them, if they didn't take a gamble, they would truly regret it for the rest of their lives.

But understanding was one thing, and Lu Ming would not spoil them.

He raised his hand and clenched his five fingers in a void-grasp.

The few people rushing in the front suddenly froze.

They felt as if an invisible giant hand had grabbed them, tightening from all directions simultaneously.

Their protective spiritual light lit up for an instant and then shattered in that same instant, as if made of paper.

"Bang!"

Several people exploded into blood mist at the same time, not even having time to let out a scream.

Clean and neat, without any hesitation.

In an instant, everyone went quiet.

Those who were still restless had their expressions turn from greed to terror, and their eyes became incredibly clear in that moment.

Immediately, their footsteps halted in unison, and they silently retreated.

This aura is... Golden Core Perfection!

Confirming the look, this was not an existence they could provoke.

Lu Ming withdrew his hand, looking expressionlessly at the corpses of those people turning into blood mist and drifting away, then looked at the remaining people with various expressions, and sneered.

Ignoring these guys, he straightened his robes and calmly walked into the plaza.

His pace was unhurried, his expression normal, as if he had just casually swatted a few flies.

When passing by the middle-aged Cultivator, that person's face was pale, and his legs were trembling.

Lu Ming looked at him, and the man almost fell to his knees.

"Sen... Senior, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding... Ah!!"

This middle-aged man still wanted to say something to beg for mercy, but in the next instant, he screamed, and blood instantly overflowed from his seven orifices.

Immediately, his whole body stiffened, and he fell straight backward, with no breath left in his body.

Clearly, his Divine Soul had already been destroyed!

Lu Ming withdrew his Divine Sense, no longer looking at the pale-faced Cultivators around, and stepped straight into the plaza.

He found a spot and waited quietly for the Dao Palace gate to open.

Although this action was a last resort, since he had already killed the chicken to warn the monkeys, there was no need to hold back.

Anyway, what he revealed was only his cultivation; there was no need to hide it.

And looking at the reaction on the scene, it was indeed as he expected; not many people were paying attention to him.

At most, there was a bit of scrutiny in their eyes when looking at him.

And those people from the major Grotto-Heavens maintained their consistent arrogant style, not casting a single glance in his direction at all.

In their view, it was indeed rare for a Loose Cultivator to have such strength.

But that was all; in the end, Loose Cultivators could not be brought to the table and could only bully lower-level Cultivators to find a sense of existence.