Heaven Beyond Heaven, Yang Shen Gong, and Another Hidden Master?

"Your Highness, Stone Grotto Great Buddha Temple indeed has another Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert, named Mingxin. He was able to break through to the Celestial Phenomenon Realm because of the Stone Buddha's Sarira.

This Sarira is quite good. Though ninety percent of its power has already dissipated, it is enough to lay Your Highness's foundation.

As for the deal, in the name of Heaven Beyond Heaven, I promised Mingxin that we would help a Peak Ascension Realm expert from Stone Grotto Great Buddha Temple break through to the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.

Stone Grotto Great Buddha Temple, in turn, must act when needed. It may also be considered a subordinate force of Heaven Beyond Heaven."

A place beyond the secular world, a heaven beyond heaven.

I roam free as I please. What can heaven do to me?

Heaven Beyond Heaven was a secret force established when Chu Xuanao, Yuan Tiangang, Zhu Wushi, and the others had made their plans.

On the surface, Chu Xuanao was merely an ordinary Prince, a Prince who kept himself in line.

Naturally, he needed another identity in secret.

Besides, there would only be more and more people summoned in the future. He could not possibly arrange all of them around his side.

Heaven Beyond Heaven would also be the only one dealing with the various major forces.

Yuan Tiangang was the master of Hidden Dragon Hall under Heaven Beyond Heaven.

As for Chu Xuanao himself, he only needed to pretend to be a fish.

At present, he already had enough people under his command in the open: Ghost Servant, his Maternal Grandfather, Zhu Wushi, and the two Ascension Realm guest retainers in his residence.

Five Ascension Realm experts were enough to guard Hanshan Prefecture's little patch of land in the open.

Outside, however, he needed Heaven Beyond Heaven.

"Your Highness, let me merge the Sarira into you first!"

"Alright."

With a flick of his right hand, the Sarira shot directly into Chu Xuanao's chest. Yuan Tiangang suddenly appeared behind Chu Xuanao, golden true qi gathering in his palm.

He struck Chu Xuanao on the crown of his head with one palm, and an indescribable comfort instantly spread throughout Chu Xuanao's entire body.

Although Chu Xuanao had claimed earlier that he did not care much, strength in his own hands was ultimately different.

Moreover, Chu Xuanao cultivated one of the Four Great Secret Arts of the imperial clan, the Yang Shen Gong.

Back in the martial arts treasury, Chu Xuanao had taken one look at this cultivation art and set his sights on it.

It had to be said that the ancestors had some sense. They knew how to consider the bodies of their descendants.

The Yang Shen Gong cultivated the yang energy of heaven and earth for one's own use, refining a Yang God. It followed the path of utmost yang and had much in common with the Marshal's Tiangang Art.

Cultivating the Yang Shen Gong provided considerable enhancement in that regard. As one's cultivation deepened, one's yang energy would grow stronger, and its effects in that regard would become even more powerful.

Ahem, ahem. It was not that there was anything wrong with his body. He was just a man—who would not want to be stronger?

There were rumors that if one cultivated the Yang Shen Gong to the Heavenly Being Realm, refined the utmost yang, and transformed it into a Yang God to forge a Heavenly Being body, one could remain firm forever and never decline, earning the title of the number one divine spear.

Though his cultivation talent was poor, that did not stop him from yearning for the Heavenly Being Realm!

As a member of the imperial clan, he also longed to attain the Heavenly Being Realm and secure the world for the Chu Imperial Clan for another thousand years.

I swear, I absolutely wasn't aiming for that so-called eternal firmness or number one divine spear.

After Yuan Tiangang withdrew his hand from atop Chu Xuanao's head, Chu Xuanao's cultivation had already reached the Grandmaster Realm.

Chu Xuanao could clearly feel a gentle energy continuously flowing from the Shanzhong acupoint in the center of his chest into his limbs and meridians, nourishing his body.

It was not merely his cultivation and true qi. His physical body, the faintly tingling comfort in his mind, and his soul had all been strengthened in every aspect.

"Your Highness, I used a secret art to conceal your cultivation. So long as Your Highness does not actively use true qi to break through the true qi barrier at the Shanzhong acupoint,

even if Your Highness fights someone, no one below the Heavenly Being Realm will be able to discover your cultivation.

This power will also ensure that Your Highness advances without obstruction until the Transcendent Realm."

"You've worked hard."

"I dare not accept such praise. Your Highness possesses peerless talent. This is merely icing on the cake.

With this Sarira and my utmost-yang power, once that Flood Dragon enters the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, I can use all its bones, flesh, and blood essence to cleanse Your Highness's meridians and marrow. Then Your Highness's innate foundation will be complete."

Chu Xuanao knew his own talent well, but praise still made him feel pleased.

But where had this Flood Dragon come from?

And it was about to reach the Celestial Phenomenon Realm?

"Where did this Flood Dragon come from?"

"At Cloud Mist Temple outside Tiandu City, there is a Dragon Gazing Well. A water vein runs beneath it, and a Flood Dragon comparable to the Ascension Realm dwells there. There is also a Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert guarding it. This should be the imperial clan's doing."

"The imperial clan's doing? A Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert? Who is it, the Imperial Clan Ancestor?" Chu Xuanao truly had not expected there to be a Flood Dragon at Cloud Mist Temple.

"Yes, Your Highness. There are traces of Dagan's National Destiny on that Flood Dragon. It has consumed the nation's fortune and should be secretly raised by the imperial clan.

As for the Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert, he is not a member of the imperial clan. He is True Person Yunyin, the temple master of Cloud Mist Temple. His cultivation is at the Early Celestial Phenomenon Realm."

"Who? True Person Yunyin."

Chu Xuanao's eyes abruptly narrowed. That old bastard was in the Celestial Phenomenon Realm?

Chu Xuanao was genuinely shocked.

He could understand Stone Grotto Great Buddha Temple having a Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert.

That was purely because the Stone Buddha had been too extraordinary and had left behind a sufficiently deep foundation.

But how could True Person Yunyin be in the Celestial Phenomenon Realm?

Thinking of that ever-smiling face he usually saw in the palace, that humble expression, the way he acted meek and deferential before everyone, Chu Xuanao simply could not connect that old fellow with an ancestor-level Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert.

That old bastard really knew how to hide!

And had that old bastard not only broken through to the Ascension Realm ten years ago? At the time, Imperial Father had even written him a plaque in congratulations.

Mm, Cloud Mist Temple was basically Imperial Father's personal alchemy workshop.

So the congratulations ten years ago had actually been for that old bastard breaking through to the Celestial Phenomenon Realm?

Once he connected all these clues, the truth was already obvious.

The imperial clan raised a Flood Dragon at Cloud Mist Temple, while True Person Yunyin was like its keeper. That old bastard was good at hiding, and his talent should not be poor either. The imperial clan had helped him break through to the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.

He could be considered one of their hidden forces.

A Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert hidden in the shadows, unknown to the world.

A bunch of scheming old bastards!

As for why it was not the Flood Dragon secretly devouring fortune, with the Mountain River Cauldron suppressing the land, even the Marshal might be discovered if he tried to evade the scrutiny of National Destiny.

A Flood Dragon at the Ascension Realm, with that tiny bit of ability—could it steal Dagan's fortune?

Was that even possible? How many heads did it have?

"Is True Person Yunsong's cultivation at the Ascension Realm?"

Yunsong was Yunyin's junior brother. The cultivation registered with the Town Martial Division was Dharma Aspect Realm Peak, while Yunyin's registered cultivation was Early Ascension Realm.

"Your Highness, Cloud Mist Temple has one Early Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert, one Late Ascension Realm expert, five Manifestation Realm experts, eleven Transcendent Realm experts, and more than a hundred others whose cultivation is not worth mentioning."

"Yuan Tiangang, how many Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts have you seen in Tiandu City?"

Through True Person Yunyin, Chu Xuanao truly wanted to know how many other hidden masters were lurking in Tiandu City.

"Your Highness, there are eight Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts in Tiandu City. Apart from those in the residences of the Four Great Dukes, there is the chief of the Town Martial Division, one in the Fourth Prince's residence, one at Stone Grotto Great Buddha Temple, and then True Person Yunyin of Cloud Mist Temple."

Hearing Yuan Tiangang's answer, Chu Xuanao breathed a sigh of relief. Eight. The gap was not too great; he could accept it.

Based on his previous guess, there should have only been five and a half.

Before the system appeared, apart from the Imperial Palace, he had also made guesses about the Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts in Tiandu City.

There was no need to consider the Imperial Palace. It definitely had them. The imperial clan even had Heavenly Being Realm experts—would it lack Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts?

The Four Great Dukes stood above the feudal lords, holding transcendent status at court.

They also had many powerful experts under their command, intimidating all sides. Without Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts, they likely could not hold down the fort.

The Town Martial Division chief, Jun Zhipou, had shaken the Martial World with his might. That went without saying.

As for the half Chu Xuanao had counted, Stone Grotto Great Buddha Temple had declined after the Stone Buddha's death, but the Stone Buddha had been too stunning. He had not been sure whether it had left behind any foundation.

The facts proved that it had.

The two he had failed to predict were the one in his Fourth Brother's residence who was about to hold a funeral feast, and True Person Yunyin.

One came from the Divine Kingdom, while the other was a hidden master supported by the imperial clan. He truly had no way of knowing.

Celestial Phenomenon Realm experts were not something he could investigate!

It was not as if he could just ask directly!

"Are you in the Celestial Phenomenon Realm?"