Chapter 1036: Fast Clearance

Yu Youlan closely followed Xinding, her fascination with the little monk growing by the moment.

"This is the place."

Xinding stood before a massive stone portal dozens of chang high, surrounded by ancient foundation-building herbs of immense value—the very secret that had drawn him to this primordial realm. Bending down, he harvested ten stalks, anticipating the ten foundation-building pills they would yield upon his return; even one of the poorest aptitude would find the path to the Foundation Establishment stage cleared.

The outer rim of the Chixiao Ancient Realm was a dense, primeval forest of antiquity, while its inner sanctum housed a magnificent palace carved entirely from a single asteroid—a monumental feat achievable only in ancient times, far beyond the capabilities of the current cultivation world.

"So this is the ancient stone palace of the inner realm," Yu Youlan murmured with awe. It was her first time in the Chixiao Ancient Realm, and she had never imagined the ancient stone palace would be so vast; even the palace of their Holy Land's patriarch could not match this grand magnificence.

"But is an ancient stone palace of this scale truly meant only for testing the Qi Condensation stage?" A question flickered through Yu Youlan's mind; were mere Qi Condensation cultivators worthy of such a secret realm?

Xinding shared her doubts and decided to consult the Tofu Heavenly Venerable, for it was the Venerable who had revealed to him how to enter the inner circle and harness the hidden power of the ancient realm.

"Venerable, do you know why this ancient realm was originally built?"

There was no secret in the world unknown to the Tofu Heavenly Venerable: "Hoho, the origin of this secret realm is hardly worth mentioning—merely a creation by a few juniors of the Tribulation Transmutation stage to pass the trials of the immortals."

Juniors of the Tribulation Transmutation stage, trials of the immortals!

Xinding was deeply shaken; the Venerable's casual remarks always hinted at a glorious past.

Lu Yang spoke no lie; as the prominent second-in-command of the immortal lineage, his status was exceedingly noble, and by generational hierarchy, the two Tribulation Transmutation masters of the Heavenly Firmament Holy Land were indeed juniors before him.

The dust-laden stone doors groaned open, and the two stepped into the ancient stone palace.

With every opening of the ancient realm, only ten percent of the Qi Condensation cultivators ever managed to enter the ancient stone palace, typically arriving on the third day; the progress of these two had far outstripped all others.

Yu Youlan blinked, looking at Xinding. "The interior of this ancient stone palace is divided into eight sub-halls, each possessing its own trial. Only by passing every single trial can one enter the inner sanctum and claim the inheritance!"

"It will be difficult for you to brave all the gates alone; why don't we cooperate?"

Xinding calmly shook his head. "Benefactor Yu, your words are mistaken."

"Mistaken?" Yu Youlan found it impossible to believe; this was a pattern deduced by generations of Qi Condensation cultivators from her Holy Land who had undertaken the trials. How could it be wrong?

"The eight sub-halls of this ancient stone palace are arranged according to the Primordial Eight Trigrams. One only needs to pass through the sub-halls of the Kan, Li, and Gen positions in sequence to enter the inner sanctum."

"Is there such a rule?" Yu Youlan instinctively doubted it, yet Xinding spoke with absolute certainty, and recalling his prior displays, she suspected he spoke the truth.

Xinding did not force Yu Youlan to believe him; it was enough that he believed in himself.

Paying no further heed to her, he walked resolutely toward the Kan sub-hall.

"Hey, little monk, wait for me, let's go together." Yu Youlan decided to trust him.

They arrived at the Kan sub-hall, where various dharma treasures floated in the air, each encased in a bubble. Every single treasure was a precious prize even for those of the Golden Core stage, posing an immense temptation to anyone in the Qi Condensation stage.

Seeing Xinding walk straight toward the bubbles, Yu Youlan hastily called out a warning, "Do not touch them! Only by resisting temptation and leaving every treasure untouched can one safely cross this trial!"

As if deaf to her words, Xinding popped a bubble and took a gourd-shaped dharma treasure.

Yet nothing happened.

"What is going on?" Yu Youlan was bewildered; this completely contradicted the accumulated experience of her Holy Land.

Putting the gourd away, Xinding explained softly, "This stage is indeed a test of willpower, and touching any bubble triggers a punishment. However, among the many traps, there lies a single treasure free of any snare—and it is this very gourd."

Braving past the Kan sub-hall, they reached the Li sub-hall.

The moment they stepped inside, countless phantoms and layers of ghosts emerged from both sides of the walls, letting out piercing wails as a terrifying, yin aura filled the air.

"Be careful! This sub-hall spawns endless phantoms, far more powerful than those in the outer layers. They can only be restrained using pure yang spells!"

"I have a pure yang dharma treasure here. Little monk, since you hail from the Western Heaven Temple, you must know some scriptures for deliverance. It would be best if you knew the Lion's Roar—that technique has a miraculous effect on souls. But the Lion's Roar is extremely difficult to master, so you probably don't know it. How about this: I will use the treasure while you chant the scriptures, and we shall force our way through together..."

Yu Youlan rapidly analyzed the situation, assigning tasks to them both.

Xinding pressed his palms together and chanted an obscure phrase that sounded like an ancient tongue. To her astonishment, the endless phantoms automatically retreated to both sides, forming a neat queue and parting to reveal a clear path!

"This..."

Yu Youlan stared at the scene in utter disbelief. How had Xinding accomplished this?

"Benefactor Yu, let us proceed."

They successfully reached the Gen sub-hall.

"We must be careful, no one has ever made it to this sub-hall!" Yu Youlan held her dharma treasure warily, prepared for any attack that might manifest at any moment.

Suddenly, her face turned pale. Coiled within the Gen sub-hall was a massive puppet serpent, radiating the unmistakable aura of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!

With their current strength, it would likely be a near-certain death sentence!

"Since it is a puppet, there must be a mechanism somewhere on its body. If we keep it distracted, with a bit of luck, we might find the switch."

Sensing their arrival, the great puppet serpent opened its bloody maw and lunged at them!

"It is a venomous serpent too!"

Yu Youlan gasped as she saw the venomous fangs exposed by the puppet serpent; it belonged to an ancient, exotic species, its toxicity entirely unknown!

Facing the lunging serpent, Xinding remained unperturbed. Extending a single finger, he tapped a specific scale on the beast, and with a heavy thud, the puppet serpent collapsed helplessly onto the ground.

"How do you know everything... fine, I know the Buddha says it cannot be spoken, so save your breath." Yu Youlan cut him off beforehand and ran excitedly toward the great puppet serpent.

This was a rare specimen of ancient puppetry; if she could bring it back to study, she might unravel a fragment of the ancient craft.

"Benefactor Yu, it would be best if you stayed clear of that serpent. In the span of a single stick of incense, its venom sac will self-detonate. The venom possesses an aphrodisiac effect, and I imagine you would not wish to be afflicted by such a toxin."

"What?" Terrified, Yu Youlan scrambled a safe distance away.

"Let us go."

Xinding led Yu Youlan into the inner sanctum. It was built with magnificent opulence, yet retained the rugged and uninhibited style of the ancient era, possessing immense artistic value.

"This is the inner sanctum?" Yu Youlan was thrilled. She had expected to endure numerous perilous battles, contend with the schemes of fellow cultivators, and survive an ordeal of wits and blood just to stand here.

She had never imagined reaching this untouched inner sanctum so effortlessly.

Yu Youlan stole a glance at Xinding; it was all thanks to this little monk.

Through their journey together, her desire to uncover the secrets he harbored only deepened.

Upon entering, the rules of the inner sanctum naturally manifested within their minds.

Resting inside were eight spheres of shifting matter enveloped in chaotic qi, looking profoundly mysterious; each sphere contained the inheritance of a different orthodox lineage.

"Which means we can each choose one sphere of chaotic qi, but we have no way of knowing what inheritance lies within?" Yu Youlan was at a loss; the inheritance of her Holy Land was right before her eyes, yet she could only rely on blind luck.

Xinding pointed toward one of the spheres. "Benefactor Yu, that wooden box holds the inheritance your Heavenly Firmament Holy Land seeks."

"Really?"

Knowing Xinding's character, Yu Youlan did not hesitate for a second and chose that specific sphere of chaotic qi. Within it lay indeed a wooden box, and inside the box rested the sacred inheritance of the Heavenly Firmament Holy Land!

"Little monk, you are wonderful!"

In her excitement, Yu Youlan threw her arms around Xinding before quickly letting go, moving so fast that he had absolutely no time to react.

Xinding stared at her in utter bewilderment.

Yu Youlan's face flushed crimson, and she turned her back to him, unwilling to let him see her expression.

She remembered the vow she had taken: whoever could help her recover the Holy Land's inheritance would become her husband!

Xinding had found the inheritance for her, and according to her promise, she was to become his wife!

Yet this block of wood seemed to have no interest in her at all; was she lacking in charm?

"By the way, little monk, do you know what is contained inside the other chaotic mists?"

"I do. This one holds the inheritance of the Green Bamboo Sacred Ground, and this one holds the inheritance of the Longhan Sacred Ground..."

Xinding introduced the contents within the chaotic mists one by one, echoing exactly whatever the Tofu Heavenly Venerable said, all the way down to the very last one.

"This mass of chaotic mist contains a coffin, and within that coffin lies the Sacred Lord of the Firmament."

"Ah?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Xinding froze, instantly turning to the Tofu Heavenly Venerable for help.

"Heavenly Venerable, is the Sacred Lord of the Firmament truly inside here?"

"Fairy, is the Sacred Lord of the Firmament truly inside here?"

"Indeed."

As they spoke, the chaotic mist holding the Sacred Lord of the Firmament began to tremble, leaking the aura of Tribulation Transcendence, shaking the entirety of the ancient stone palace!