"Fellow Daoist Meng, it is only natural that you do not recognize him after a century of secluded cultivation. This Fellow Daoist Qi is a newly risen powerhouse of the Southern Border; he has made his name only recently."
Heavenly Master Li spoke with a beaming smile and a kindly countenance, as though introducing a junior of his own family.
Such a posture almost led Meng Shentong to overlook Luo Chen instinctively.
Yet how could one ignore that towering, imposing figure that stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens?
"Surnamed Qi?"
Meng Shentong raised an eyebrow as if recalling something, and scrutinized Luo Chen intently.
"Could Fellow Daoist be..."
As he spoke, his eyes turned dark and bottomless, and boundless illusions seemed to spawn from their depths.
Marquis Ziyi's purple robes billowed loudly in the wind.
Behind Fan Wujiu, Tower Master of the Hidden Sword Tower, the sword casket faintly hummed, sounding an active warning.
Only Heavenly Master Li and Granny Hongye remained completely unaffected.
Luo Chen kept his eyelids lowered, equally unmoved. Instead, he calmly opened his mouth: "This seat is the Baxiu, Qi Tian!"
The moment the words left his mouth, they sounded like the crack of spring thunder.
The illusions that had left the others in a daze vanished abruptly.
Heavenly Master Li and Granny Hongye exchanged a glance. Then, Li furrowed his brows and chided, "Fellow Daoist Meng, why be so discourteous?"
Just now, Meng Shentong had unmistakably employed an exquisite technique of the Luo Cult to overpower their minds.
Without a foundation of divine soul comparable to his own, one would inevitably fall under its sway.
Both Marquis Ziyi and Fan Wujiu fell into that category.
Yet Luo Chen's reaction had been peculiar.
He had visibly released no divine sense to resist, yet in that single breath and utterance lay an undeniable will, dispersing the probe through a voice that blossomed with thunder.
Meng Shentong waved his hand dismissively. "No harm done, just a slight test. After all, I know the backgrounds of everyone else on this journey like the back of my hand, but Fellow Daoist Qi is an unfamiliar face. If he were to drag us down when the time comes, that would be unfortunate. Fellow Daoist Qi, you wouldn't mind, would you?"
Would Qi Tian mind?
Of course he would!
Ever since he emerged in the Southern Border, every action he took had been overbearing and disdainful of all.
For someone to test him so blatantly was tantamount to questioning his capability. It would be strange if he weren't furious.
Yet contrary to expectations, Luo Chen kept his eyelids lowered, completely unruffled.
"Testing one another is utterly meaningless. Let us discuss the journey ahead instead! Once this matter is resolved, this seat will owe Heavenly Master nothing, and I intend to depart the Southern Border at that time. Hence, the sooner it is settled, the better."
Leaving already?
Heavenly Master Li's expression tautened slightly.
Meng Shentong chuckled. "Indeed, tell us the true location of that secret realm. Heavenly Master Li, you have kept us in suspense long enough."
Heavenly Master Li forced a smile and proceeded to introduce the secret realm they were about to explore in detail.
"As the world knows, the sacred land of the Southern Border alone possessed the three great Tier 5 Divine Gu, namely the pair of Fortune and Disaster, and Life-and-Death. With these three Gu, the mighty figures of the Gate of Life and Death could maintain an unbroken line of succession throughout antiquity."
"However, two thousand years ago, the mighty figure Yin-Yang Zi—who held the Life-and-Death Gu—perished alongside his bonded ancient Great Desolate Beast when both exhausted their lifespans. As a result, the Life-and-Death Gu shattered and was destroyed. From then on, the Southern Border's sacred land lost one pillar of its foundation."
"A thousand years ago, another mighty figure of the Gate of Life and Death broke away from the sacred land for reasons unknown and journeyed far to the Central Plains, ultimately ascending to the immortal realm from the Tianyuan Dao Sect. Before his departure, he left behind the Disaster Gu. But that Disaster Gu was far too perilous; ordinary disciples could not inherit or refine it. Five hundred years ago, during an inheritance trial, it was seized by a peerless genius from an outside province, carried out of the Southern Border, and never seen again."
"One Gu destroyed, one Gu lost. Thus, the lineage of great cultivators of the Gate of Life and Death was severed, leaving only Divine Lord Youli to hold the fort alone today."
"The current state of chaos across the Southern Border is closely tied to the fact that two of the sacred land's three Divine Gu are missing."
On the flying vessel, all who listened sighed with deep emotion.
There were many paths for a cultivator to advance to Soul Formation, but for cultivators of the Southern Border, their success was owed to Gu worms, and their downfall was equally owed to them.
At the final threshold of Soul Formation, accustomed as they were to relying on Gu worms, they lacked the crucial Tier 5 Divine Gu!
Consequently, countless brilliant and peerless figures quietly reached the end of their lifespans and passed away in meditation.
Who would have thought that even a grand sacred land would be constrained by Tier 5 Divine Gu?
Luo Chen felt little emotional resonance with this. After all, he had only recently begun using Gu worms to aid his cultivation, so he could not fathom that feeling of being completely paralyzed without them.
Instead, he was intrigued by certain details in Heavenly Master Li's explanation.
The left-behind Disaster Gu had been seized by an outside genius and taken out of the Southern Border?
Could it be the very Tribulation Gu that Valley Immortal Feng Jiang of the Mingyuan Sect had suppressed within himself?
And right now, that thing was inside his own natal magic treasure!
Disaster Gu? Tribulation Gu?
Different names, but identical in meaning.
Heavenly tribulations and earthly disasters, calamities ever accompanied by misfortune.
As the flying vessel raced forward, Heavenly Master Li's introduction proceeded in an orderly fashion.
"The Yin-Yang Fragmented Realm we are heading to this time is precisely the place where the mighty Yin-Yang Zi passed away in meditation!"
"Perhaps you do not know, but in ancient times, this Yin-Yang Zi was an illustrious prodigy of his generation. Relying on the Life-and-Death Gu, he formed a contract with a top-tier Great Desolate Beast through a stroke of fortune in the desolate wilds, advancing his cultivation all the way to Soul Formation."
Luo Chen and the others could not help but marvel inwardly.
The Life-and-Death Gu truly defied common sense. Regardless of any disparity in cultivation realm, once bound, the two shared life and death!
Moreover, they could share cultivation insights and advance together.
It was virtually a cheat for cultivation!
"Yet success and failure were both tied to the Life-and-Death Gu. That top-tier Great Desolate Beast had little lifespan left to begin with. After antiquity, having endured a millennium with great difficulty, it finally reached the end of its days and disintegrated. Yin-Yang Zi, bound to it, had plenty of lifespan remaining, yet could only perish in bitter resentment."
"Upon his demise, due to his lingering resentment, his law true intent refused to disperse and wrought havoc upon the mortal world. To prevent their disciples from being harmed, the experts of the Gate of Life and Death paid an immense price to seal it away, creating what became known as the Yin-Yang Realm!"
Bai Xuanjun, Cult Master of the White Bone Cult, who had remained silent until now, suddenly chimed in, "A secret realm left behind by a Soul Formation great cultivator is permeated with law true intent. We True Persons have yet to comprehend law true intent; once we enter, will we not suffer tremendous interference?"
Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, worry showing on their faces. Any True Person who had cultivated in the Nascent Soul realm for several decades or a century would know such common cultivation knowledge.
Only Luo Chen remained completely calm.
Possessing dual true intents, he had long carved out his own path and had no fear of being influenced by the residual law true intent of a deceased mighty figure.
Heavenly Master Li's gentle gaze swept over the crowd, pausing slightly when it met Luo Chen's calm expression.
Yet thinking that this man was dedicated entirely to body refinement without cultivating Qi techniques, he assumed Qi Tian must have his own reliance.
He smiled and said, "Such a concern is only natural. But the reason I call it the Yin-Yang Fragmented Realm is for good reason."
He proceeded to explain.
Presently, the heaven-and-earth changes in the Southern Border not only affected the spiritual veins across the land, but also heavily impacted relatively independent spaces.
Mount Mijie had emerged because of this, seized by Perfected Songyang as a base to establish the Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance.
The Yin-Yang Realm was no different!
The law true intent, having eroded over two thousand years, was already nearly spent.
As the once-independent space became intertwined with reality, that residual law true intent gradually began to merge into the heaven and earth of the Southern Border.
"Perhaps some lingering influence remains, but so long as we resolve things swiftly and do not linger inside for too long, nothing will go wrong."
"Is there truly so little left?" Bai Xuanjun pressed.
Heavenly Master Li glanced at him, his tone turning somewhat abrasive.
After all, this man had not been personally invited by him, but was an assistant brought along by Meng Shentong, Supreme Elder of the Luo Cult.
He said coldly, "Could it be that you all do not trust this old man?"
Meng Shentong chuckled and said, "It is not that we do not trust you, but that all of this is merely your personal claim. It is only natural for us to harbor doubts."
Heavenly Master Li snorted. "I am a Grandmaster of Gu refinement in the Southern Border, and in my earlier years, I was a guest of honor at the Gate of Life and Death. This information was gathered directly from within the Gate of Life and Death; its authenticity is beyond doubt."
Meng Shentong laughed. "Yet by the time the changes in the Southern Border began to affect our cultivation, the Gate of Life and Death had already sealed its mountain gates. Fellow Daoist, you were likely not inside at that time, were you?"
Granny Hongye, who had remained silent all along, rasped in a hoarse voice, "Heavenly Master Li, could the latter half of your words be made up?"
Heavenly Master Li's face darkened, and he let out a dejected sigh.
"How could it be made up? This comes from my own personal experience!"
Personal experience?
At these words, everyone was taken aback.
Heavenly Master Li sighed, concealing nothing further.
"In its early days, the Moon Worship Cult was merely a declining sect within the Golden Lion Empire. How do you think I managed to attain the late Nascent Soul realm from such meager inheritances? How did I acquire this Gu refinement mastery that the world envies?"
"To tell you the truth!"
"Back when I was in the Golden Core realm, I inadvertently strayed into the Yin-Yang Realm and obtained some fortunate encounters within, which enabled my rapid rise thereafter."
"Regrettably, once I emerged, returning was easier said than done."
"Why did I accept the recruitment of the Gate of Life and Death all those years ago to refine Gu for them? In truth, it was to glean the method of entering and exiting the Yin-Yang Realm from them. Droplet by droplet, through roundabout inquiries, I assembled these conclusions."
"Especially after the heaven-and-earth anomalies, I deduced that changes had definitely occurred within the Yin-Yang Realm!"
"Even so, I still dared not enter rashly. After all, I am now in the Nascent Soul realm; entering and leaving a Soul Formation secret realm is not so simple."
"That is why I took the initiative to aid Perfected Songyang and join hands with him to establish the Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance. My true purpose was to observe the changes of Mount Mijie, using them as an analogy to deduce the state of the Yin-Yang Realm."
Hearing such secrets out of nowhere, everyone was left flabbergasted.
Yet Heavenly Master Li's tone was thoroughly sincere, showing no sign of falsehood, and his narrative held no glaring loopholes.
Luo Chen found it entirely plausible as well.
Back when the Bai Ye Cave Dwelling had opened, ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators dared not enter rashly, whereas large numbers of Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators were completely unaffected.
If not for the fact that the Bai Ye Cave Dwelling had later been seized by the Mingyuan Sect, and the Jade Cauldron Domain had turned into a ghost domain during the Great Eastern Desolation War, he would have loved to personally return and explore it again to make up for his past regret of not daring to venture deeper.
"Heaven rewards the diligent!"
"Over these two hundred years, by observing Mount Mijie's changes and drawing wisdom from another's stone, I finally figured out a method to enter and exit the Yin-Yang Realm."
"Perhaps some Soul Formation law residue remains within, but it will not impact us heavily. Moreover, I have refined some magic treasures for everyone's self-defense."
As he spoke, he produced several sachets.
"These are Hundred Thoughts Sachets, refined from a hundred refined soul-clearing spiritual herbs and complemented by Little Thought Gu."
"If your minds begin to sink under the influence of the true intent, this will help awaken your thoughts."
The cultivators took the sachets from his hands and examined them closely.
Luo Chen pursed his lips, his expression remaining placid, though ripples stirred in his heart.
*This Heavenly Master Li, famed for so many years, is truly remarkable!*
With his extensive knowledge, he could naturally tell that although this small Hundred Thoughts Sachet appeared to be only of magic treasure grade, its ingenuity surpassed that of most True Artifacts!
It blended medicinal principles, formations, and weapon-crafting methods, with the Southern Border's distinctive Little Thought Gu at its core, achieving such astonishing efficacy.
Its power was nearly one or two tenths of an actively stimulated Dust-Karma Immortal Mirror!
Meng Shentong, who had been chuckling moments ago, now clutched the Hundred Thoughts Sachet tightly, his expression flickering between light and dark.
Having dabbled in the most fields, Luo Chen finished examining his sachet earliest and had the leisure to glance at Meng.
Seeing this, he had an epiphany.
Rumor had it that the Luo Cult specialized in soul-attack arts; earlier, Meng Shentong had revealed a touch of that when testing him.
And this Hundred Thoughts Sachet happened to counter the arts of the Luo Cult perfectly!
Suddenly, Meng Shentong looked up, his gaze locking with Luo Chen's.
No sparks flew between them. Meng Shentong turned back and asked bluntly, "Having said all that, where exactly is the Yin-Yang Fragmented Realm?"
Seeing that the crowd had fully bought his explanation, Heavenly Master Li was in much better spirits.
"Fellow Daoist Meng is so sharp-witted; could you not deduce the location of the Yin-Yang Fragmented Realm from my words?"
"The Golden Lion Empire!"
"The Golden Lion Empire!"
"The Golden Lion Empire!"
Simultaneously, realization dawned on everyone.
Heavenly Master Li stroked his beard and smiled. "Indeed, it is the Golden Lion Empire, where my Moon Worship Cult resides!"
"Back then, I was merely a fledgling Golden Core cultivator; how far could my footsteps have wandered? I only circled around that small patch of turf in the Golden Lion Empire. My accidental entry into the Yin-Yang Realm took place right within the empire's borders."
"Besides, have none of you ever wondered? Why would the dignified sacred land permit a massive empire—home to five Nascent Souls at once, and nine at its peak—to straddle the cultivation world of the Southern Border for over a millennium?"
"Why would such a top-tier power remain fiercely loyal to the Gate of Life and Death from start to finish, harboring no rebellious thoughts, not even an ambition for independence?"
"They are the descendants left behind two thousand years ago by cultivators of the Gate of Life and Death to guard, stabilize, and suppress the Yin-Yang Realm!"
Everyone swallowed hard, finally understanding the true purpose of the Golden Lion Empire's existence.
If the Imperial Sword Villa was a lapdog of the sacred land, the Jinchan and Xuanhua Cults handled its worldly affairs, and Single Horn Mountain guarded its gateway, then this ostensibly independent Golden Lion Empire was nothing less than a part of the Gate of Life and Death itself!
Had the Gate of Life and Death not sealed its mountain and severed ties with the outside, causing these factions to scatter like loose sand, the Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance would never have uprooted them so easily.
Only now did everyone realize why, when Zhan Bingtao came to pay his respects, he had placed the Golden Lion Empire alongside Single Horn Mountain as prime targets slated for extermination by the allied forces of Fierce Peak and Tianyuan.
Their ties to the sacred land were simply too deep.
Heavenly Master Li offered a self-satisfied smile. "Perhaps you do not know, but a century ago, I became the Imperial Preceptor of the Golden Lion Empire. Now, with the allied armies of Fierce Peak and Tianyuan bearing down on their borders, our coordination from inside and outside will ensure our entry into the Yin-Yang Fragmented Realm faces no obstacle!"
Then, his expression turned fierce. "However, we must make haste. We must enter the Yin-Yang Fragmented Realm before they realize that I, too, have joined the Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance!"
Just how fast was fast?
The flying vessel sped southward. Long before the main army bore down on the border, the Golden Lion Empire was already in the sights of Luo Chen and his companions.
Chapter 955