A Place in the Youyuan Secret Realm

"I wonder if the secret techniques related to the Origin Law on Yulu Island can help raise Xu Yuan Opening to the second stage."

Jiang Yao felt unusually uneasy.

Bajie shook his head. "Hard to say. But in my estimation, each of the ten Origin Laws needs to be analyzed in considerable depth. That means the secret techniques left behind would have to be at least Peak World Lord level."

"Peak World Lord?" Jiang Yao frowned. "Then they should be able to earn recognition from the Origin Laws. Still, quite a few World Lords have appeared throughout the Lingtong Race's history, so some of them must have gained recognition from the Origin Laws."

But he knew the real difficulty in upgrading Xu Yuan Space lay in collecting insights into all ten laws for analysis. Of course, he wouldn't have to do the analysis himself; the wondrous Xu Yuan Space would automatically analyze the laws and couple itself with this world.

The eight lower laws shouldn't be a problem. The challenge lay in the two higher laws. The vast majority of World Lords comprehended lower laws. Only a tiny fraction attained peak-level comprehension of the Law of Space or the Law of Time. After all, most people could only touch upon the higher law corresponding to a lower law after advancing their comprehension of that lower law to a certain level.

Who would choose the harder path when an easier one was available?

If things went wrong, he could end up like Time World Lord Luo in the original story: a peerless genius, yet trapped outside the gates of immortality.

Bajie said solemnly, "The highest level of law comprehension alone won't be enough. You'll also need a vast amount of analysis of the Origin Laws from different angles. After all, even two people comprehending the same Origin Law can understand it differently and produce different results.

"Your Lingtong Race may not have had many Peak World Lords throughout its history, but it must have had plenty of Domain Lords. Didn't every Domain Lord study secret techniques and ultimate arts on Yulu Island, leaving behind their insights into the Origin Laws?

"With insights left behind by tens of thousands of Domain Lords, and even a handful of Universe-level geniuses, you'll probably have no shortage of material in that regard. If anything is lacking, it'll most likely be the two higher laws."

Jiang Yao nodded silently. There were countless things he needed to do, and finding treasures of the Origin Laws of Fire and Light to practice Desolate God Bizhang's Origin Secret Technique would have to wait. Improving Xu Yuan Space was more urgent, and if he succeeded, the benefits would be even greater.

If Xu Yuan Space advanced to the second stage, he would not only temporarily escape the danger of being possessed by Desolate God Bizhang, but might even be able to try transforming into a Desolate Beast.

Although occasionally releasing a sliver of Bizhang's will during the combat game could temper his will, strengthen his body, and raise his Gene Level, a hundred combat games couldn't compare to transforming into Bizhang even once—provided, of course, that he could transform back into himself.

While Jiang Yao was thinking about how to divide his time for cultivation on Yulu Island over the next seventeen years, Meng Yi had already brought a young man in white to Jiang Yao's residence in the Virtual Universe.

Meng Yi laughed heartily. "Jiang Yao, this is Beiqiong, an Elder from our Yanhe Branch. He's Nawen's personal disciple. I was able to kill that Domain Lord from Yinhu Island this time thanks to the Wushen Thorn. Without Beiqiong, Nawen would never have lent it to me so readily."

"I'm from the Yanhe Lineage too. Of course I should help where I can." The young man in white looked warmly at Jiang Yao as he bowed to him, then smiled. "Meng Yi has told me about you several times. Your Bloodline Divine Ability collapsed, yet you stayed calm and composed. No wonder your will is so exceptional."

Jiang Yao was a little embarrassed. That was only an excuse for why he couldn't use his Bloodline Divine Ability in the Virtual Universe. He hadn't lost anything in the ambush—in fact, he'd come out of it having crossed the threshold of the Origin Law of Fire.

Beiqiong offered some warm encouragement. "The Main Sect has agreed that you can stay on Yulu Island to cultivate until the selection in seventeen years. They've also designated you a core disciple of the Sacred Land, a status you'll keep until you become a Domain Lord.

"As a core disciple the Sacred Land is focusing on, you can use a D-Grade Nutrient Pod provided by the clan to advance straight to Star Level Nine. You already have a Domain. Once you reach the Universe level, the clan will also help you advance to Universe Level 9 for free.

"Besides that, the Sacred Land will provide Longyu Fruit Essence to strengthen your body. Even a Controller mustn't neglect physical training.

"As for techniques for training your Mental Power Amplitude and improving your Domain, since you're about to cultivate on Yulu Island, you can choose what you need there.

"The Main Sect has high hopes for you. Improving your Domain is your top priority, and you mustn't slack off at all."

Meng Yi was unimpressed by Beiqiong's rather Main Sect-centered remarks and gave a soft snort.

Beiqiong smiled helplessly. "You don't know how many people on the Main Sect's side have their eyes on the reward in the Old Ancestor's hands."

Meng Yi was startled. He asked hesitantly, "Could the rumor be true—that the reward is a place in the Youyuan Secret Realm?"

"I don't know." Beiqiong shook his head. "I asked my teacher, and he said the Old Ancestor hasn't revealed anything. But quite a few people are speculating that."

Seeing Jiang Yao's curious look, the young man in white smiled. "Do you know about the three great secret realms of the Xuanshang Universe Country?"

Jiang Yao nodded. "Yes. The Tianxuan Secret Realm, the Youyuan Secret Realm, and the Guluo Secret Realm?"

"Correct. Those three secret realms are the most famous. Legend has it that anyone who enters one of them can receive the guidance of an Immortal."

Beiqiong wore a strange expression. "That legend is true. Someone in the history of my Lingtong Race entered the Guluo Secret Realm, the most exclusive of the three, with the highest entry requirements. Not only did he receive guidance from an Immortal God, but it was from an exceptionally powerful one—a being at the very pinnacle of the Immortal Gods."

Even Meng Yi looked yearning.

"Of the three secret realms, the Tianxuan Secret Realm selects talented members of the Xuanshang Royal Clan. No one outside the royal clan can enter, so I won't say more about it.

"The Guluo Secret Realm I just mentioned is open to geniuses from the entire Universe Country, but not just any genius. Usually, only the very best—those who rank among the top thousand in the entire Universe Country in the Peak Battle—can enter.

"Our Jiuyuan Holy Land once had such a super-genius, named Yanchen. After cultivating for eight hundred years at the Star level, he reached the eighth level of Domain. Then, in just fifty years, he crossed the threshold of the Origin Laws. He was a peerless talent, ranking 271st in the Xuanshang Universe Country's Genius Tournament—the best result in the history of the six Sacred Lands.

"He was later accepted into the Guluo Secret Realm. When he went to the Outer-Region Battlefield as a World Lord to gain experience, he was killed by an Immortal God of an Alien Race. The Old Ancestor went to the Outer-Region Battlefield precisely to avenge Yanchen.

"The path to immortality..."

Beiqiong's face was filled with emotion. "Even among peerless geniuses, most meet their end along the way. The other Sacred Lands have produced countless geniuses throughout their histories, yet only a handful ever became Immortal Gods."

Jiang Yao felt much the same. He knew it wasn't just the Guluo Secret Realm of the Xuanshang Universe Country—even among the geniuses who entered top Human Race powers like the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Coliseum, most would perish on the path to immortality.

No wonder everyone regarded Immortal Gods as their ultimate goal, a summit so high and difficult to reach. The road to immortality truly was a place of sacrifice.

The young man in white came back to himself and continued, "The Tianxuan Secret Realm is restricted to the royal clan, and the Guluo Secret Realm has the highest entry requirements. The last of the three, the Youyuan Secret Realm, is much more accessible. The Xuanshang Universe Lord generally gives places in it as rewards to those who have distinguished themselves. For example, he might grant someone several places in the Youyuan Secret Realm, allowing the recipient to recommend talented younger relatives or outstanding disciples to fill them.

"Although the people admitted may vary in quality, the Youyuan Secret Realm, like the other two, offers guidance from Immortal Experts, as well as access to the Xuanshang Universe Country's finest cultivation legacies and secret techniques. Its other resources are top-tier too, and its training conditions surpass those of most powers within the Universe Country."

Jiang Yao nodded. It was like how, in ancient times in his previous life, high-ranking officials could secure places for their children in the Imperial Academy through privilege.

"The Old Ancestor has never taken the Genius Tournament this seriously before. The last time was when Yanchen first made a name for himself. But this time, our clan doesn't have a single Star-level cultivator who's trained their Domain to the eighth level or beyond.

"Without reaching the eighth level of Domain, how can someone at our Human Race's Gene Level sense the fluctuations of the Origin Laws—unless they have some other stroke of fortune?

"Without sensing those fluctuations, even the most peerless talent and the greatest comprehension are useless. Yanchen, too, spent eight hundred years raising his Domain to the eighth level, where he could faintly sense the fluctuations of the Origin Laws. Only then did he reveal his astonishing comprehension of them.

"That's why so many people suspect the Old Ancestor earned merit on the Outer-Region Battlefield and was rewarded with places in the Youyuan Secret Realm. This time, he plans to select talented clan members based on their actual performance in the Genius Tournament.

"And there are no hard requirements this time. No one has said they must rank in the top one hundred thousand or the top ten thousand in their World Zone during the preliminary elimination round.

"If the reward really is a place in the Youyuan Secret Realm, who in the Main Sect wouldn't be envious?

"My teacher has taken on three Star-level disciples in recent years, and the clan's World Lord Elders have all invested in geniuses they believe in."

At this, Beiqiong looked at Jiang Yao with some regret. "You were born at the wrong time."