Chapter 690: Heaven, Earth, Man
"If I'm not mistaken," the old servant analyzed meticulously for the silver-robed girl, "this should be a place of legacy, and the mighty cultivator who left it behind was extremely focused on cultivation techniques related to fire and high temperatures. Nearly every cultivator who gained something from here obtained fire-attribute abilities. To receive his ultimate legacy, one must have sufficiently high achievements in this aspect."
"Perfect, luck is on my side. Our family's bloodline ability is thunder-fire attribute. As long as I can seize this treasure, the patriarch will surely grant me the opportunity to undergo internal training within the Divine Court. The rumored Divine Court Secret Realm offers a cultivation speed at least ten times faster than the outside world; it's a true sacred land for cultivation. With this, I'll even have a chance to break through to the late Second Tier before I turn twenty, and who knows, I might even make it onto the Human Ranking!"
No one knew which mischievous individual was responsible, but both the Federation and the Manghuang Realm, ruled by the Ark, had created rankings like the Human Ranking, Earth Ranking, and Heaven Ranking. The Human Ranking listed the top fifty cultivators under the Third Tier in terms of combat power. The Earth Ranking listed the top fifty in combat power among those from the Third to Fourth Tier. Finally, the Heaven Ranking listed the top fifty in the Fifth Tier, with no rankings for those above the Fifth Tier.
Each ranking featured fifty individuals, offering no rewards—purely for showing off.
According to certain insiders, this was the malicious intent of a certain mighty cultivator who simply enjoyed watching a bunch of self-proclaimed geniuses fight tooth and nail, like hungry dogs scrambling for a bone, to snatch at this ephemeral fame, even going so far as to kill each other for it.
Of course, these rumors had no evidence and were urban legend-level stories that no one would admit to, but the three great rankings undeniably existed.
As for the Divine Court, after decades of change, the hardliners who originally aimed to establish the Ark to resist Bai Mo had long since faded away. What remained were mostly individuals who wished to establish an empire ruling countless planes and heavens. They had intricate ties with the Federation, almost to the point of being a part of it, yet they nominally maintained their independence.
After all, they were all Earthlings back then, and they all shared a common enemy, naturally inclining them towards alliance.
The only difference was that the Ark chose to develop the fourth dimension of space, attempting to occupy other spatial layers (planes) and venture into the myriad heavens and worlds, while the Federation opted to expand within the original three-dimensional space, journeying towards the stars and the sea.
"How can there be an ice mountain here!"
In the deepest part of the secret realm stood an extremely abrupt ice mountain. A colossal block of ice had appeared before them without any warning.
Moreover, their experiments showed that only by crossing a certain boundary could one clearly perceive its existence. Standing outside, it was completely invisible.
Qing Zixin, who had first ventured into this area, and the young girl Hu'er, whom she had been chasing, had both forced themselves to resist looking at anything on the ground ever since being startled awake by the man, lest they succumb to madness again.
For this purpose, both of them had even taken out small knives. Whenever they felt themselves relax, they would lightly cut their forearms, using the pain to stimulate themselves.
Four bloody tally marks, each in the shape of the character "Positive," adorned their forearms, bearing witness to their struggle.
Honestly, they had rushed into the deepest part of the secret realm, almost at the cost of their lives, purely for treasure hunting. Yet, before they could even get their hands on any treasure, they had gained several more tally marks on themselves.
...
"Or, should we touch it?"
This ice mountain was very abnormal. The chilling aura emanating from its surface was not much different from that of a few small ice cubes.
They suspected that the ice mountain's material itself was some kind of special spiritual material.
Trapped in such a bizarre place, with the constant possibility of turning into madwomen, the two girls temporarily put aside their prejudices under the pressure of life and death and began discussing their options.
"Let me do it." Hu'er reached her hand behind her back and unzipped a deeply hidden zipper on her skirt. Several fluffy, large tails then "flowed" out from the opening.
Two nimble beast ears also sprouted atop her head at this moment, making her practically a living fox.
"Never thought she'd actually be a real fox spirit..." Qing Zixin couldn't help but quip.
Her words had truly come to pass.
As Hu'er reverted to her demonic form, one of her tails began to continuously stretch and extend, quickly reaching the base of the ice mountain.
Her nimble long tail carefully touched it. Then, her entire being vanished.
"?" The young woman beside her hadn't yet reacted.
"Someone's gotten ahead over there, hurry up and catch up! Otherwise, the treasures will be taken!"
From a distance came a clamor, mixed with numerous power fluctuations that startled even her. In such a dangerous secret realm, she certainly didn't want to be used as cannon fodder by other masters.
So Qing Zixin steeled her heart and directly reached out, pouncing towards the ice mountain as well.
"Huh, how is there a door inside the mountain?"
"You came too?"
They had both been teleported to the same place. This appeared to be a cave, and inside the cave was only an altar. In the middle of the altar was a circular door, adorned with incredibly intricate patterns.
Most peculiar was that this circular door seemed to float above the altar, completely unaided by external forces.
"Why is it so hot in here..." In less than two minutes, Qing Zixin, still clad in her mink coat, was already flushed and dripping with sweat from the heat.
Yet, she was still unwilling to take off her outer coat, for it was a piece of spirit gear, a high-grade spirit gear that provided comprehensive protection.
Whether it was a blade's cleave or a sword's slash, Spirit Arts or demonic arts, it offered a certain degree of damage reduction. Moreover, it came with its own mental defense, mind-calming and spirit-soothing effects, and minor healing capabilities. One could say wearing it was akin to carrying over a dozen buffs at all times.
"Just take off that turtle shell of yours."
As for Hu'er beside her, she had no qualms whatsoever. She practically discarded all the fabric on her body, revealing her lithe figure, and completely transformed into her half-human, half-fox state.
"Shameless!" Qing Zixin muttered, wiping away sweat while secretly comparing the differences in her figure with the fox spirit's.
...
The heat was clearly radiating from behind the door. The closer they got to the floating door, the hotter it felt.
"Is it a Scorching Hell behind that door?"
"I think it's the Sun."
By now, they were starting to regret entering this cursed place.
Unlike the outside, this cave, into which they had been teleported from beyond the ice mountain, seemed to be a one-way path, offering no way to get out.
Countless spirit runes were indeed carved onto the cave walls, but they didn't dare to even glance at them; the blood from the "positive" tally marks on their forearms hadn't even drifted yet. R/ANOB*es
While the legacy of divine techniques was enticing, if they succumbed to madness within this cave, where calling on heaven got no response and calling on earth brought no help, they would likely exhaust their strength and die right there.
They weren't super-powerhouses capable of moving mountains and filling seas; being buried inside the mountain would mean game over for them.
The two dared not look at any other part of the cave. They could only sit facing each other, staring blankly, with one looking at the other, and the atmosphere instantly turned a little awkward.
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