Chapter 230
[2. Ten years of experience in the Sword Dao Domain.]
Xiao Minghuang thought for a moment and chose the second option.
She has no shortage of magical weapons, but her experience in the Sword Dao Domain is invaluable.
After all, the power of the Sword Dao Domain is extremely formidable.
Having absorbed ten years of experience in the Sword Dao Domain, Xiao Minghuang felt that her Sword Dao Domain was becoming increasingly powerful, and she should have already entered the stage of minor mastery.
This means that having just entered the Nascent Soul Realm, she has already surpassed most Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in her mastery of the domain.
After all, most cultivators in the Nascent Soul Realm spend many years immersed in this realm before they begin to comprehend the domain, and even those who advance to the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm barely achieve minor success.
After using both rewards, Xiao Minghuang's strength increased significantly.
First, her cultivation level advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm, which means that she is no weaker than any of the participants in the Heavenly Dipper Assembly and is now on the same starting line as the geniuses of the various holy lands.
Secondly, there are magical artifacts and the Sword Dao Domain. With two Heavenly Rank Star Charts in hand, he has achieved minor mastery of the Sword Dao Domain.
One word to describe it: Invincible!
Xiao Minghuang couldn't help but smile.
A ray of moonlight shone through the window, illuminating her exquisitely beautiful face.
"Hoo~~" She let out a long breath, opened her eyes, stretched, and jumped off the bed to loosen her muscles.
"The new system features are so convenient. In the past, it would have required a long period of seclusion. Now, by directly absorbing cultivation and experience, it only took a day."
She was in a good mood and went outside.
The night is deep, the stars fill the sky, and a gentle breeze blows.
She stood in the courtyard, gazing at the stars in the night sky, her deep pupils reflecting the myriad of stars.
She heard light footsteps behind her, and she knew who it was.
"Your Highness."
Xiao Minghuang turned around and saw Xu Xiuer walking towards her in a thin nightgown. Her long black hair was draped smoothly over her shoulders, and her skin was as white as snow, which made her exquisite figure even more graceful. A faint smile was on her beautiful face.
"Aren't you cultivating?"
Xiao Minghuang asked.
"Hasn't His Highness been cultivating either?"
Xu Xiuer smiled faintly, her gaze falling on Xiao Minghuang's profile.
"I just broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm and don't want to cultivate for the time being."
Xiao Minghuang explained.
"Your Highness is amazing!"
Xu Xiuer's praise was sincere, after all, her talent was not low, but she still paled in comparison to Xiao Minghuang.
"I was just lucky," Xiao Minghuang said modestly.
Xu Xiuer smiled gently and walked up to Xiao Minghuang.
As the two drew closer, Xiao Minghuang could smell her delicate fragrance.
Xiao Minghuang suddenly realized that Xu Xiuer had not only shed her childishness, but had also matured as a person, no longer the naive little girl she once was.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing her gaze, Xu Xiuer blinked and gave a bright smile.
"It's nothing, I just think you seem to have grown a little taller and more beautiful," Xiao Minghuang said.
Hearing this, Xu Xiuer blushed and said reproachfully, "Your Highness is making fun of me."
Xiao Minghuang shook her head and said seriously, "I'm not making fun of you. In fact, you have indeed grown up."
The two walked and talked until they reached a large rock and sat down.
Xu Xiuer looked up at the starry sky and said naturally, "Speaking of which, since I was taken as a disciple by the sect leader, I haven't really used the fortune-telling techniques she taught me. If Your Highness doesn't mind, may I tell your fortune?"
The art of fortune telling?
Xiao Minghuang was taken aback for a moment, but did not refuse.
No one is not curious about what will happen to them in the future.
"Sure, is there anything I can help you with?"
Xu Xiuer gave a slightly shy smile and gradually moved closer to her, saying, "Master said that when using the art of fortune-telling, one needs to be as close as possible to the person being calculated; the closer the distance, the more accurate the prediction."
Xiao Minghuang nodded.
"Okay, then I'll leave it to you, Xiu'er."
They drew closer, Xiao Minghuang could smell the faint, sweet fragrance emanating from Xu Xiuer, which was refreshing and pleasant.
Xu Xiuer threw herself into Xiao Minghuang's arms, the two of them so close that it seemed they could hear each other's hearts beating.
Immediately, Xiao Minghuang froze, a strange feeling welling up inside her, and a touch of embarrassment. She whispered a reminder:
"Xiu'er, are the steps correct?"
Xu Xiuer raised her head, her watery eyes gazing at Xiao Minghuang, layers of mist swirling around her eyes, making her look exceptionally alluring.
"Your Highness, this is to establish trust between us before the procedure, otherwise there might be adverse rejection reactions."
Xiao Minghuang breathed a sigh of relief. That made some sense, and she chose to trust the professionals.
The two held each other quietly for a while, then Xu Xiuer extended a slender finger and pressed it against Xiao Minghuang's brow.
Her index finger was cool and delicate, like solidified white jade. Xiao Minghuang saw the iridescent light shimmering in Xu Xiuer's eyes.
She trembled, a mysterious and inexplicable feeling welling up inside her, as if her soul had left her body, and she felt as if she had entered a dreamlike and ethereal world.
A star shone brightly, more radiant than the moon, emitting a hazy, dreamlike glow.
"This is... the starry sky?"
279. Tiangang Secret Realm
Xiao Minghuang felt as if she had merged with the starry sky, and an indescribable, peculiar feeling welled up in her heart, as if something was about to be born...
Boom--!
A thunderclap boomed!
She suddenly opened her eyes and found herself on a bed in the cave. Xu Xiuer, as well as Ye and Lin, were standing in front of her, looking at her with concern.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
"Is Your Highness alright?"
Xiao Minghuang rubbed his aching head and asked in confusion, "What exactly happened last night?"
"Your Highness, it wasn't last night, it was twenty-eight days ago."
Xu Xiuer looked haggard and spoke slowly.
The three of them looked at her, hoping to get an explanation.
"Twenty-eight days ago, I attempted to predict His Highness's fate, but I was forcibly stopped as soon as I glimpsed it, and His Highness also fell into a coma."
At this point, Xu Xiuer showed a guilty expression. "It's my lack of skill that caused Your Highness..."
She had originally intended to take advantage of their time alone, under the pretext of deducing their destinies, to find an opportunity to express her feelings to His Highness, but unexpectedly, it backfired.
"It's alright! It's not your fault."
Xiao Minghuang shook her head. She knew her situation. In fact, this wasn't the first time she had been suddenly dragged into the starry sky.
It was already quite clear that her destiny was connected to the starry sky, but she couldn't figure out exactly what the connection was.
Xu Xiuer looked guilty and on the verge of tears, so Xiao Minghuang could only continue to comfort her.
"I'm fine, don't worry about it."
After much comforting, Xu Xiuer finally managed to stop her tears.
At the same time, she also felt strange.
The art of fortune-telling was taught by the Thousand Words Saint King, and is a divine power of a sage king; surely it cannot be so incompetent?
Immediately, Xu Xiuer had a sudden thought and cast a divination for Ye Ruoshui beside her.
Suddenly, a destiny unfolded before her.
On their destiny's path, a golden celestial road stretches across the starry sky, endlessly extending to the unknown.
This means that Ye Ruoshui has a bright future ahead of her, and may even become a saint or emperor, reaching the realm of immortality.
Her strength was insufficient; she could only deduce up to the Saint Realm, and beyond that, she was no longer capable.
Immediately afterwards, she deduced Lin Wanqiu's fate.
The path of destiny is dark gold, with winding lines that resemble the countless branches of a large tree.
This means that her future is full of possibilities, with fortune and misfortune being difficult to predict, and the slightest carelessness could lead to her demise.
In the course of destiny, gold is auspicious, red is inauspicious, white is favorable, and black is unfavorable. Usually, people's destiny is a mixture of black and white, but Lin Wanqiu's destiny is dark gold, indicating that she will encounter a great calamity before she becomes a saint.
"Your Highness, Sister Lin's fate is unusual; she will be in great danger."
Xu Xiuer said seriously.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang quickly asked, "What do you mean?"
When pressed for an explanation, Xu Xiuer was unable to provide a clearer one.
She saw Lin Wanqiu's future, but she couldn't explain it in detail, only stating whether it was good or bad, otherwise she would be punished by heaven.
Seeing this, Xiao Minghuang sighed softly and looked at Lin Wanqiu: "Don't worry, the future is in our own hands."
"Mm!" Lin Wanqiu responded gently, though she didn't actually believe in so-called fate or destiny.
If there truly is a predetermined destiny in this world, then her experiences have been far too arduous.
After experiencing such an event, Xiao Minghuang and the others lost all interest in cultivation.
Moreover, the Heavenly Dipper Assembly was to open the day after tomorrow, so the four of them began to plan how to proceed in the secret realm.
As the person most familiar with the Heavenly Dipper Assembly, Xu Xiuer pointed out that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the rewards for this year's event should be the same as in previous years.
The top ten will be qualified to participate in the selection of Two Halls Disciple and will be granted a Saint-level divine power.
The second and third place winners will receive an additional Saint-level magic weapon as a reward.
The first-place winner will have a direct audience with the two hall masters and receive personal guidance.
Since the Taiyin Hall remains in seclusion, the ultimate winner will be able to meet the Sun Hall Mistress and receive guidance.
Xu Xiuer said, "The Sun Hall Mistress is a quasi-Emperor level expert, and like Your Highness, she has an innate Pure Yang Physique. If Your Highness can receive her guidance, you will surely gain something."
Xiao Minghuang nodded. In fact, her main purpose in participating in the Heavenly Dipper Assembly was to gain the favor of the Sun Hall Mistress and use his power to break free from the control of the Clear Sky Saint King and the Hundred Inquiries Pavilion Master.
However, these two big shots seem to have been busy with something important lately, and I haven't been in contact with them for a long time.
"The Tiangang Secret Realm is a training ground specifically for competition and combat, unlike ordinary secret realms."
"Outside the secret realm, there is a gravity circle formed by primordial magnetic divine light. Once trapped, one will be crushed to death by the terrifying gravity. Furthermore, the gravity circle will gradually shrink over time, eventually becoming only the size of a plaza."
"Participants must fight until only ten remain in the plaza and determine the rankings before they can leave."
"Before entering the secret realm, each disciple will be given a token. If you want to give up, you only need to hand over your token to leave. But if you don't give up your token, you must be responsible for your life."
"The ranking in the small gathering is based on the number of tokens collected, with the disciple who collects the most tokens ultimately taking first place."
After listening to Xu Xiuer's story, Xiao Minghuang reminded her:
"Once you enter the secret realm, if you wish to hone your skills, seek out some disciples to fight. If you encounter a powerful enemy, flee. If you cannot escape, abandon your token and leave. Do not act rashly or recklessly; prioritize your own safety."
"Once we enter the secret realm, let's try to regroup as soon as possible and avoid getting separated."
"Yes," the girls answered in unison.
Xiao Minghuang gave Xu Xiuer several talismans so that she could maintain contact at any time in the secret realm.
Next, Ye Ruoshui began distributing the pills, and after making sufficient preparations, the four set off.