502: Chapter 519 Breakthrough!

A giant hand descended from the heavens, crushing the leaders, Elders, and Disciples of those three Blessed Land families, along with the very void they occupied, into fine powder.

Not a single ripple was stirred; everything seemed perfectly natural.

Lu Ming, having finished all this, acted as if nothing had happened.

He stepped forward and bent down to pick up the solitary item left behind on the ground.

This was his first time coming into close contact with this Tier Four spiritual object.

It was a cross-legged humanoid figure, its entire body translucent and radiating four-colored light: red, green, gold, and black.

Red like blazing fire, green like emerald bamboo, gold like the scorching sun, and black like a deep abyss.

The four colors intertwined and flickered, slowly flowing across the surface of the humanoid figure.

Lu Ming stared at it for only a moment before feeling his consciousness being drawn by something, sinking into that patch of Chaos as a vast dao rhyme washed over him.

Lu Ming quickly averted his gaze and steadied his mind.

"Just for this thing, so many people have died one after another."

Lu Ming put on an expression of compassionate sorrow.

"Amitabha, it seems that to suppress this most yin and most evil object, only this humble Daoist can sacrifice himself for the greater good!"

After a righteous speech, Lu Ming reached out and held the humanoid figure in his palm.

The spiritual object was cold to the touch but radiated a faint warmth; the four-colored spiritual light reflected off his face.

Lu Ming tried to put the item into his storage ring, but found he couldn't.

In just an instant, fine cracks appeared on the surface of the storage ring.

Lu Ming frowned, but he soon understood why.

Spiritual objects possess spirit; while they might not be living beings, they are indeed unique existences. Furthermore, its status was too high, and the space within the storage ring could not withstand its pressure.

This was likely why Yuan Tu had never put it into a storage space.

However, carrying it like this was truly too conspicuous and inconvenient.

But this didn't stump Lu Ming.

With a thought, he began to circulate the Mila Heaven's Myriad Treasure Bright Venerable Manifestation.

Using the method of Sumeru within a Mustard Seed, he slowly shrank the humanoid spiritual object.

The spiritual object in his palm began to shrink, from several feet to three feet, from three feet to one foot, and from one foot down to the size of a fist.

Finally, when it reached the size of a longan fruit, Lu Ming swept it into his sleeve.

"Now that everything is ready, it is time for the Breakthrough."

Now that the spiritual object was in his hands, Lu Ming didn't want to delay any longer.

After finishing this, Lu Ming did not linger. He stepped forward, crossing into the Void Realm and vanishing.

Less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn after Lu Ming left, two figures emerged from the void.

They were Yue Qingyao and Xuan Zhenzi.

They stood in the area, looking around, but found nothing. For a moment, both of their expressions turned rather unsightly.

They had chased Yuan Tu's trail all the way from the Core Area, but had gained nothing.

Yuan Tu seemed to have evaporated into thin air; they couldn't even sense his aura.

Finally, they heard news of a spiritual object appearing here and thought there might be a chance, so they hurried over.

But as usual, they were too late again!

"Damn it!"

Xuan Zhenzi's voice carried uncontrollable rage, and the hand gripping his Flying Sword had veins bulging.

Beside him, Yue Qingyao didn't speak, but her expression was also grim.

"What should we do next?"

After a moment, Xuan Zhenzi calmed his emotions and asked.

"Search. A battle just took place here, so the other party shouldn't have left long ago."

"As long as we find him, there's still a chance."

Yue Qingyao felt the chaotic mana residue in the area, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

To this, Xuan Zhenzi could only give a bitter smile.

"Easier said than done, but how do we find him?"

The Secret Realm is so large, and since the opponent can teleport through the void, we have no idea where he might be hiding!

Yue Qingyao didn't answer but was the first to turn and step into the void.

Xuan Zhenzi looked at her back, sighed, and could only follow helplessly.

...

Lu Ming intended to find a place for secluded cultivation to Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.

It needed to be rich in Spiritual Qi, hidden in terrain, and far from human habitation.

But the Secret Realm was far too large, and with Cultivators scattered everywhere, finding such a place was truly difficult.

So, he took a compass from his sleeve and began a feng shui survey.

That's right, Lu Ming intended to use the principles of geography to find the dragon and pinpoint the lair!

These belonged to the Daos of Heavenly Secrets, Numerology, and Feng Shui, which were interconnected with the Dao of Karma.

Lu Ming had some skill in these matters.

Following the compass's guidance toward the southeast, Lu Ming walked along, passing through a withered forest until he reached a cliff.

The cliff wasn't high, but there was a crack in the wall so narrow that one could only squeeze through sideways.

He squeezed through the crack, and his vision suddenly opened up.

This was unexpectedly a karst cave hidden within the belly of the mountain.

The internal space wasn't very large, but it was spacious. Glowing Ores were embedded in the cave walls, emitting a cool, faint light.

In the center of the cave was a natural stone platform, perfect for sitting cross-legged.

Lu Ming looked around and nodded in satisfaction.

The Spiritual Vein here was close to Peak Third Tier, which barely met his requirements.

Lu Ming wasn't picky; since this place was acceptable, he decided to settle here.

He then began to set up Formations around the cave.

Formations for isolating aura, obscuring heavenly secrets, monitoring and warning, and defending against external enemies were layered and nested, enveloping the entire cave.

Finally, he took out the taixu ancient bell from his sleeve. The bell hung above him, releasing a void barrier to protect Lu Ming within.

Although Lu Ming had a premonition that the commotion from his attempt to reach the Nascent Soul realm would likely be significant and these measures might be useless, necessary preparations still had to be made.

After completing all this, he sat cross-legged on the stone platform and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

He wasn't starting the Breakthrough to Nascent Soul immediately; rather, he was restoring his mana, blood vitality, Divine Soul, and Dao Heart to their Peak states.

The cave grew quiet, with only the sounds of his own breathing and heartbeat.

Perhaps it was the quiet atmosphere, or the impending attempt at the Nascent Soul realm, that made Lu Ming feel a bit restless for a moment.

To be honest, he hadn't expected to be attempting a Breakthrough to Nascent Soul so soon.

Thinking back on his journey from the Southern Wilderness Region to the Profound Spirit Domain, from Qi Refining to Golden Core, from a minor Cultivator anyone could step on to now standing at the threshold of Golden Core Perfection, just one step away from becoming one of the top figures in the Profound Spirit Domain.

How much hardship had he endured! How much exhaustion had he suffered!

How many times had he escaped death, being hunted until there was no path to heaven and no door into the earth!

"My journey has truly been like walking on thin ice!"

In fact, Lu Ming was trying very hard to recall his bitter past.

However, after thinking it over, he realized he hadn't really experienced much of that.

Since stepping onto the path of immortality, he had relied entirely on the golden book to cheat his way through, overcoming all obstacles and killing all enemies; he hadn't really suffered at all.

"Never mind then."

Lu Ming curled his lips, withdrew these unfounded thoughts, and continued to focus his mind.

Time flowed like water, and years passed like a shuttle; in the blink of an eye, a week had gone by.

When Lu Ming opened his eyes again, a sharp light flashed through them.

He felt his current state: mana, blood vitality, Divine Soul, and Dao Heart were all at their Peak.

"Whew~"

Exhaling lightly, Lu Ming's right hand, hidden under his wide sleeve, quickly performed hand seals.

Before the Breakthrough, he intended to cast a divination for himself to see if this Breakthrough would be auspicious or ominous.

"Qian is three continuous lines, Kun is six broken lines, Zhen is like an upright jar, Gen is like an overturned bowl, Li is hollow in the middle, Kan is full in the middle, Dui is deficient at the top, Xun is broken at the bottom..."

As Lu Ming continued to chant and perform seals, the hexagram appeared in his mind.

The final result was—Half-Auspicious, Half-Ominous!

It meant misfortune followed by good luck, turning ill luck into good, and disaster into a blessing—a neutral hexagram!

However, as Lu Ming looked at the hexagram, his brow furrowed slightly.

As the saying goes, a doctor cannot heal himself, and one cannot divine their own heavenly secrets.

When divining for oneself, the hexagram often has some deviation.

For anyone else, this "half-auspicious, half-ominous" would indeed be a neutral hexagram.

But in his case, it might mean slight misfortune.

Slight misfortune meant there would be twists, obstacles, and injuries, but he wouldn't die.

Reaching this conclusion, Lu Ming fell silent for a moment.

At this point, the arrow was on the string and had to be fired.

He had already reached this stage, and the Secret Realm was about to close.

He hadn't forgotten that he had provoked two Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

Perhaps that old geezer Taishu Yichen was already blocking the entrance to the Secret Realm, waiting for him to walk into the trap.

And the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord; that old devil likely wouldn't let him off either.

So now, taking a step back meant a bottomless abyss.

Taking a step forward might not be a broad, smooth road, but at least there was hope.

This wasn't a desperate gamble; it was a choice made after careful consideration.

Lu Ming's Dao Heart was firm and undisturbed.

"Of all the myriad Daos, only I am true; of all the thousand Spells, all return to the One."

"In that case, let's begin!"

As he spoke, the three Laws within his body were activated simultaneously. A vast amount of mana surged from him, threatening to sweep everything away.

But it was firmly blocked by the layers of Formations and the taixu ancient bell.

Yet in the next moment, a beam of spiritual light shot up from Lu Ming's spiritual terrace, piercing straight into the clouds.

The Formations and taixu ancient bell, which had been resilient just a moment ago, were now like mere decorations, failing to block it for even a second!

Outside the cave, the world instantly changed color.

Although dark clouds blotted out the sun and fierce winds howled across the sky...

The Spiritual Qi particles in the air ceased to flow, freezing in mid-air, and fallen leaves hung suspended from the branches.

Within a hundred-mile radius, all sounds fell silent.

That sense of silence descended from the Nine Heavens, making it hard for people to breathe.

All living creatures in the area fell silent at the same time.

Birds returned to their nests, beasts retreated into their burrows, and fish dove to the bottom of the water.

These creatures didn't know what was happening, but their instincts told them that something terrifying was coming!

Crack!

Just then, the sky suddenly split open.

That crack spanned the horizon, stretching for thousands of miles.

Within the crack, there were no stars, no sun, and no moon—only a patch of deep Chaos.

The Chaos churned, and something was emerging from within.

Then, like an eye that had been closed for billions of years, it finally opened.

The eye of the heavenly dao appeared once more!

The moment it appeared, it began to turn slowly, as if searching for the one undergoing the tribulation.

Soon, it found that restrained aura.

Suddenly, Lu Ming felt a weight of billions of tons descend upon him. Even his Divine Soul was momentarily dazed, nearly causing him to fall asleep.

But he quickly recovered and hurriedly activated his Divine Soul and mana to resist the scrutiny of that gaze.

However, he soon gave up this futile struggle.

For Lu Ming realized that at this moment, tribulation qi had already permeated his surroundings.

Black tribulation qi seeped from his body, coiling around his limbs, torso, and neck like hissing venomous snakes.

This was the Heavenly Dao's reckoning. From the moment he was watched by the eye of the heavenly dao during the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's Breakthrough, he knew he had been exposed.

The Heavenly Dao hadn't settled the score then, not because it had forgotten, but because the time wasn't right.

Now that he had proactively triggered his Heavenly Tribulation, he was walking right into the net.

While others faced ordinary Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulations, his tribulation this time would likely be an enhanced version receiving special attention.

Now that the tribulation count had increased and tribulation qi was pervasive, things were clearly getting serious.

Lu Ming smiled bitterly in his heart.

If you asked him if he was afraid?

Yes, of course he was.

But what use was being afraid!

Could being afraid help him avoid it?

You can hide today, but you can't hide forever. He had to face it sooner or later, and facing it now was better than later.

He took a deep breath, suppressed all distracting thoughts, and looked up directly at the giant eye overlooking all living beings.

"Come!"

...

Meanwhile.

Outside.

Tens of thousands of miles away, in a valley, two Golden Core Loose Cultivators were fighting tooth and nail over a Tier Three Spiritual Plant.

Flying Swords and Talismans flew through the air, while flames and spiritual light danced together.

They had fought in this valley for three days and three nights, neither willing to yield an inch.

Just then, a rumbling sound came from the horizon.

That crack appeared without warning in the sky, and chaotic light poured down from it, illuminating the entire world as if it were broad daylight.

Attracted by the commotion, both of them stopped and looked up at the sky.

They stood there with their heads tilted back and mouths agape, like two petrified statues, staring in shock at the scene before them.

Even the Spiritual Plant they were fighting over was tossed aside, forgotten.

One of them was the first to snap out of it. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, and taking advantage of the other's distraction, he unleashed his Flying Sword, piercing the other's heart in one strike.

The other man looked down at the bloody hole in his chest, then up at his attacker, dying with his eyes wide open.

The attacker retrieved his Flying Sword, bent down to pick up the Spiritual Plant, took one last look at the crack spanning the sky, shuddered, and vanished into the dense forest.

In an Immortal Cave, a Late Stage Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivator was attempting to reach the Golden Core stage.

He had obtained a Grade Three Barrier-Breaking Pill in the Secret Realm and was full of confidence, believing he could finally take that step.

He swallowed the pill and circulated his Cultivation Technique. Mana surged through his Meridians, and the prototype of a Golden Core began to condense in his Dantian.

But at that moment, the world underwent a sudden change, and the earth trembled.

The Spiritual Qi within the Secret Realm also began to riot wildly.

This immediately affected the Cultivator in the midst of his Breakthrough!

He felt the mana within his body, which had been relatively gentle, suddenly begin to flow backward.

The Golden Core prototype that had already been successfully condensed shattered with a bang.

Under the backlash of his mana, his Meridians snapped inch by inch.

"No!"

He let out a miserable scream, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground, his aura becoming withered.

His Golden Core was unformed, and his dao foundation was destroyed. He was so unwilling!

"The heavens are blind! Why are they so unkind to me? Why so unkind!"

Similar scenes were playing out all across the Secret Realm.

Someone was hunting a Yao Beast when the world's upheaval caused them to get distracted, allowing the beast to counterattack and kill them.

Another person was refining Medicinal Pills, but due to the turbulent Spiritual Qi, the Pill Furnace exploded, destroying the Spirit Medicines he had spent years accumulating.

Still others were in seclusion healing their wounds, but were affected, causing new injuries to be added to their unhealed ones.

"What on earth is happening?"

This was the question shared by everyone.