Chapter 1042: Western Paradise Secret Realm

That the Honorable Qingyan could attain the Tribulation Stage owed itself not merely to terrifying talent and brilliant calculation, but to an indomitable will and sheer luck.

At critical junctures, he knew precisely when to yield.

"Not bad," Lu Yang murmured, pacing through the small wooden cabin with his hands behind his back, exuding quite an air of refinement.

A work from a Tribulation Stage master was indeed extraordinary; the craftsmanship was exquisite, lacking even a single stray splinter.

Within the cabin, tables, chairs, stools, a bed, and a wardrobe were all perfectly provided.

"Hold on, why is there only one bed?" Lu Yang frowned. If he slept here, where would the Immortal sleep?

The Honorable Qingyan looked astonished. "Given your relationship with the Great Immortal, you still sleep in separate beds?"

"Hmm?"

"Hmm?"

Realizing his mistake, Qingyan knew that a disagreement with the leadership was invariably his own fault, and he quickly amended, "It was my lack of foresight. I shall fashion another bed immediately."

"One bed is fine," the Immortal Immortal floated out, finding the cabin acceptable; though far inferior to Zhutian, it sufficed, as even the Great Xia Imperial Palace was built by those of the Tribulation Stage.

"This..." The Honorable Qingyan's gaze darted back and forth, uncertain whom to obey; rationally he should defer to the Great Immortal, yet offending her favorite did not seem to bode well either.

"Immortal, if there is only one bed, where am I supposed to sleep?"

"Is this bed not large enough to hold both of us?" The Immortal Immortal motioned with her hands; the bed Qingyan had created was even grander than the one in the mental space.

"As the Emperor of the Great Bean Dynasty, yours is a body of supreme nobility. Your servant is filled with trepidation; how could I possess the right to share a bed with Your Majesty? That is a privilege reserved only for male concubines."

"Are you a male concubine?" Never having heard the term, the Immortal Immortal inquired out of curiosity.

Lu Yang adopted a solemn expression. "I am not."

"Very well then, two beds it is."

Witnessing this scene, the Honorable Qingyan resolved that in the future, it would be wiser to listen to Lu Yang.

After a night passed, the elders of the Western Heaven Temple continued their relentless search for clues regarding Ye Zijin, though the entire Western Heaven City had been turned upside down without a trace found.

Xinding's life grew increasingly eventful; due to Yu Youlan's unilateral and ambiguous attentions, no small number of cultivators came to find trouble with him. Those hostile to Xinding were all at the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement, and fighting him at their level would invite accusations of bullying the weak, so they dispatched subordinates of the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, matching Xinding's own rank.

Possessing the Yinglong Visualization Map and having mastered the Arhat Fist and the Lion's Roar, Xinding reigned invincible among those of the same tier.

When the seventh layer was defeated, they sent the eighth; when the eighth fell, they sent the ninth; and when the ninth layer was beaten, those of the Great Perfection took the field themselves.

Xinding advanced with irresistible force, growing braver with every battle and sustaining himself through combat, his martial skills and insights into the Arhat Fist and Lion's Roar sharpening at a breathtaking pace.

"With such talent, he will surely enter the Upper Martial Monks' Cloister in the future and become an Upper Cloister Martial Monk."

"Hard to say. He possesses the lowest grade of five spiritual roots. Though he can fight well during the Qi Refinement stage, that is merely because means are limited at this level, and he happened to learn the Lion's Roar, which he shouldn't have."

"Once he reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, his strength will wane; this is but a fleeting moment of glory."

"True enough. Did he really think a mere chore monk could swagger about indefinitely?"

"Even if he has a Grandmaster Ancestor of the Soul Transformation stage as a backer, so what? With only five spiritual roots, how could his innate talent for cultivation ever match our four spiritual roots?"

Faced with the various discussions of others, Xinding turned a deaf ear, concentrating wholly on his cultivation.

Until two months later, Master Mingyu summoned all monks of the Qi Refinement stage to enter the Western Heaven Secret Realm—from the Chores Cloister, the Martial Monks' Cloister, the Refectory, the Disciplinary Cloister... Master Mingyu gathered them once a year, yet none within the temple knew what lay inside, for even if they questioned the Qi Refinement monks afterward, it was in vain, as all memory of it was forgotten.

As the Qi Refinement monks entered the secret realm, the Western Heaven Temple suddenly felt empty, prompting two deacons from the Martial Monks' Cloister to chat idly.

"Does this Western Heaven Secret Realm have some sort of cultivation restriction? Otherwise, why let only Qi Refinement cultivators enter and bar us?"

"Is it possible that we ourselves entered it back when we were in the Qi Refinement stage?"

"Oh, what you say makes sense."

...

For many, this was their first time beholding Master Mingyu, and the monks could hardly conceal the excitement in their eyes, even though they had absolutely no inkling of where he was leading them.

It was also Lu Yang’s first time seeing this ruler of the Buddhist Kingdom.

Master Mingyu was tall and robust, standing out like a crane among chickens, attired in a kasaya of obvious magnificence to manifest his exalted status.

Of late, Xinding had drawn considerable attention to himself, eliciting looks of both admiration and envy.

Master Mingyu led the assembly to the area behind the Abbot’s quarters, a restricted zone shrouded in chaotic mist that defied all divine sense exploration, which only Master Mingyu possessed the right to enter; the Western Heaven Secret Realm lay hidden somewhere within this chaos, which was why its true location remained a mystery.

"The secret realm has opened, right inside the mouth of a stone lion," the Immortal Immortal remarked. Across the entire restricted chaotic zone, none save Master Mingyu and the Immortal Immortal could perceive what transpired.

Master Mingyu pressed a certain tooth of the stone lion, and the Western Heaven Secret Realm opened, allowing the monks to enter in sequence.

"What dense Buddhist aura." Upon entering the realm, Lu Yang could sense the external Buddhist aura even through the small world of the Azure Peak Sword, leaving him filled with wonder.

This was a Buddhist aura meant for purification and deliverance, yet Lu Yang had never witnessed it in such concentration.

The eyes of all the monks turned vacant as they stood frozen in place.

"Have they entered an illusion under the influence of the Buddhist aura?" The cultivation technique Lu Yang practiced made him exceedingly sensitive to illusions; it appeared this was the manner of trial within the Western Heaven Secret Realm.

"I wonder if any from this batch will pass the trial." Master Mingyu felt entirely uncertain; it had been a very long time since any monk had passed the secret realm's test—even he himself had failed. To find one who succeeded, one would have to look back twelve thousand years, to the time when his own master was still in the Qi Refinement stage.

"Perhaps Xinzhen of the Disciplinary Cloister holds some hope." Master Mingyu glanced toward a monk with large ears and a countenance resembling a Buddha statue. He had heard from the Chief of the Disciplinary Cloister that this Xinzhen was a rare and promising talent, born with a Buddha-like visage, well-versed in Buddhist principles, and of an honest nature; none who knew him spoke of him without praise.

As for Xinding, he had heard rumors as well, though Xinding's fame rested entirely upon his martial prowess rather than his devotion to the Dharma.

To pass the trial of the secret realm, one's cultivation level mattered little; what truly mattered was the Dharma.

"Let us see what choices they make within the illusion." Master Mingyu chanted a Buddhist invocation, dissolved into the Buddhist aura, and entered the illusion.

Within the illusion, Xinzhen was being scorched beneath a blazing sun, stripped to the waist as he bore giant stones to construct a divine statue. He accidentally dropped a boulder, chipping one of its corners, which enraged the overseer, who began to lash him with a whip. Xinzhen pressed his palms together, chanting scriptures as he entered a state of self-transcendence, forgetting the torments of his mortal flesh.

"To endure such agony without a change of expression is indeed commendable," Master Mingyu praised.

"Did those from the Martial Monks' Cloister not say that Xinding was also a promising talent?" Remembering Xinding, Master Mingyu entered Xinding's illusion.

The moment he stepped into the illusion, he heard waves of miserable shrieks, agonizing and pitiful.

Master Mingyu frowned. How could Xinding possess such a weak disposition, unable to bear even a modicum of pain?

Then he saw Xinding, who was currently lashing the overseer with a whip.