Black Stone Prison, Complete!

This "Thousand-Fold Illusion Heart Realm" was indeed profoundly mysterious. Each layer of illusion struck directly at the heart; some conjured the regrets and pains of his past and present lives, others created terrifying scenes of him perishing in the vast universe, while still others wove the ultimate temptation of ascending to the pinnacle of the cosmos, enjoying all glory and power... Layer upon layer, they ceaselessly assaulted his mind.

Qin Zhao held fast to his original heart, relying on his soul foundation as a transmigrator, his Midgod realm, and his own formidable willpower to break through layer after layer. In this process, he not only felt his will, like steel tempered a thousand times, grow ever tougher and more condensed, but also began to faintly grasp certain patterns of illusion construction—how to use law fluctuations and will guidance to influence and distort others' perceptions.

Time flew by. Another nine years had passed since Qin Zhao began delving into the Illusion Warrior path and tempering his will.

During these nine years, Qin Zhao's life became extremely disciplined and focused. His cultivation residence on the Thick Earth Continent in reality and the "Thousand-Fold Illusion Heart Realm" in the Virtual Universe formed the two cores of his training.

The "Thousand-Fold Illusion Heart Realm" became his daily compulsory lesson. From the early days when he needed to concentrate fully to break through the lower-level illusions, to later being able to maintain a clear mind even when facing the terrifying inner demons and temptations that stacked layer upon layer, directly targeting his Dao heart, Qin Zhao's willpower grew at a visible pace.

Qin Zhao was no longer merely passively "breaking through" the levels. He began to actively analyze the composition of each illusion layer, sensing the law fluctuations and will-application techniques that invisibly affected the mind and distorted perception. King Lanchen would occasionally appear to guide him when he hit a bottleneck, and a few brief words would often clear the clouds and reveal the sun, deepening his understanding of the essence of illusions.

With his willpower enhanced and his understanding of illusions deepened, Qin Zhao formally began cultivating Illusion Warrior techniques. King Lanchen taught him a foundational guidance art called Heart Trace. It was not a specific move, but a method to fuse and resonate his own will, law insights, blade intent, and battle intent.

Using the life rhythm contained in the "Force of Life" Mystery of the Earth-style Laws, and the spatial dislocation brought by the phantom body of the Origin Law of Space as guides, Qin Zhao attempted to integrate the essence of Heart Trace into his blade techniques.

At first, it was extremely difficult. The blade was a material attack, while illusions were a soul influence—the two were like oil and water, hard to merge. The blade light he unleashed either possessed only pure physical destructive power or could only emit faint spiritual fluctuations, unable to form an effective illusion attack.

But after countless failures and feedback from the "Thousand-Fold Illusion Heart Realm," he gradually found the key—not to forcibly blend the two powers, but to use will as a bridge and laws as pigments. At the instant of striking, he transformed his insights into the "Pulse of the Earth" and his understanding of spatial dislocation into an intangible spiritual impact, bursting forth along with his blade intent!

Ten years of bitter cultivation, water dripping through stone.

Qin Zhao's willpower had already surpassed the vast majority of Domain Lords, approaching the threshold of a World Lord. His mastery of the Illusion Warrior path had finally reached a respectable level. Although he could not yet weave complex and ever-changing grand illusions like those experts specializing in this path, he had already achieved—wherever his blade light rose, illusions were born!

And as he grew stronger on the path of the Illusion Warrior, his refinement of the "Black Stone Prison" finally achieved a decisive breakthrough.

Thick Earth Continent, exclusive training ground.

Qin Zhao hovered in midair, his gaze calm. He slowly raised his right hand and pressed it forward into the void.

"Black Stone Prison!"

Without any earth-shattering fanfare, a deep, dark yellow domain silently expanded, instantly enveloping a hard meteorite mountain used for testing below. Within the domain, gravity surged ten-thousand-fold, fluctuating wildly with a bizarre and powerful rhythm. Countless cracks instantly appeared on the meteorite mountain's surface. Immediately after, at the domain's edges, pitch-black crystal walls materialized out of thin air, secret patterns flowing, completely sealing off the internal space.

This was the binding ability honed to perfection over ten years.

However, in the next moment—

An intangible, strange fluctuation, imbued with the rhythm of the Pulse of the Earth and the twisting sensation of space, spread like liquid mercury, instantly filling the entire Black Stone Prison! This fluctuation was not a physical attack but acted directly on the soul! It amplified the trapped target's inner fear, distorted their perception of time and space, and even triggered chaos in their own origin power and spirit!

"Hum..."

At the core of the prison, a metal puppet with Star Level ninth-stage mental resistance had its eye lights flickering violently. Its movements became stiff and chaotic, as if trapped in immense pain and struggle, and the operation of its internal energy core showed obvious stagnation and fluctuation.

Material Binding, Law Suppression, Soul Assault! Trinity!

Qin Zhao could clearly sense that this perfected Black Stone Prison was worlds apart from the mere shell of a prototype from ten years ago. It was no longer just a sturdy cage, but a Death Domain capable of weakening and erasing enemies from material to soul on all fronts!

"It's done..." Qin Zhao let out a long breath, barely concealing the excitement in his eyes.

After nearly twenty years (the first ten for initial creation, the latter ten for refinement), he had finally fully reproduced and innovated his own "Black Stone Prison." This technique perfectly combined his three major Mysteries of the Earth-style Laws, his insights into the Origin Law of Space, and his nascent Illusion Warrior methods. Its potential would continue to evolve and grow stronger as Qin Zhao's cultivation level rose and his law insights deepened!

After perfecting the secret technique, the data on the panel before Qin Zhao's eyes began to update.

[Secret Techniques: 128 Martial Arts Secret Techniques (Perfected), Shockwave (Great Success 78%), Earth Pulse Guard (Great Success 91%), Ten Thousand Line Flow (Proficient 55%), Black Stone Prison (Great Success 55%)]

[Insights: Earth-style Laws (Earth Element 100%, Pulse of the Earth 100%, Gravity Space 100%, Force of Life 12%), Law of Space (Teleportation 4.1%)]

Just as Qin Zhao was immersed in the joy of successfully creating a secret technique, an extremely majestic voice rang out in the ears of all Star Level members:

"Attention, all Star Level members of the Noah Secret Realm!"

"In preparation for the upcoming Universe Human Peak Genius Battle, the Secret Realm has decided to hold a special 'Peak Ranking Battle'—using a pairwise allocation and elimination format to determine everyone's rankings!"

"This ranking battle will last for three days! The final rankings will be determined by your points. Method of earning points: Defeat other participants!"

"Those ranked in the top ten thousand will receive a large number of points rewards, usable for exchanging secret techniques and resources."

"Those ranked in the top one thousand will receive the opportunity for personal guidance from an Immortal of the Secret Realm!"

"Those ranked in the top one hundred will, in addition to the above rewards, receive 1 Hunyuan Unit!"

"Those ranked in the top ten will directly receive the Secret Realm's full cultivation support, with resource supply upgraded to the highest tier, and an additional reward of 10 Hunyuan Units!"

"This ranking will serve as an important basis for the Secret Realm's recommendation to participate in the internal selection for the Genius Battle! All Star Level members are expected to give their full effort!"

The news instantly ignited the entire Noah Secret Realm! Personal guidance from an Immortal! And Hunyuan Units as rewards!

Countless powerful Star Level geniuses rubbed their hands together, blazing battle intent burning in their eyes. This was an opportunity, and also a challenge! To stand out among the human geniuses of the vast universe, one must first prove their strength on the stage of the Noah Secret Realm! And the geniuses absorbed by the Noah Secret Realm were all top-tier talents selected from across the entire Noah Universe Kingdom. Each genius had their own pride, and none believed themselves inferior to anyone else!