Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, a year passed.
On this day, Fang Yang underwent nine transformations in the Other Shore Realm and saw through the Calamity of Lostness. A Divine Bridge pierced the mist in his Bitter Sea, opening a crack that led to the Other Shore Realm.
A magnificent, imposing Dao Palace stood before him, seeming close enough to touch yet also impossibly far away.
Fang Yang took one step and reached the Other Shore Realm, charging into the next secret realm.
For a moment, the five vital energies within his body connected with the essence of heaven and earth, condensing into clouds of auspicious vapor that transformed his humble cave into an immortal paradise.
"In the Dao Palace Secret Realm, one cultivates the divine beings of the five viscera. Of them, the heart comes first."
Fang Yang looked ahead. All he could see was a vast expanse of mist. He would have to find the divine treasure himself and open the corresponding Dao Palace.
Following his heart, he wandered through the mist, where he couldn't see his own hand before him. He stopped and started, turned left and right, until at last he saw a lotus bud on the verge of blooming.
This was the Heart's Divine Treasure.
Using a method from the Dao Scripture, Fang Yang drew upon a wisp of pure divine power from his Bitter Sea and awakened the lotus.
The lotus bloomed with nine petals, giving birth to blazing Dao power. It burned away the mist until heaven and earth stood clear, revealing how solid his foundation was.
Though he had only the Triple Common Physique, the dual cultivation of the Lesser Brightness Scripture and the Dao Scripture's profound methods—which did not harm his foundation—had brought his body to the limit of what an ordinary physique could achieve.
When he broke through into the Dao Palace Secret Realm, a breakthrough phenomenon appeared—one that normally only accompanied special physiques.
"My comprehension has improved by another great leap."
Fang Yang circulated his Dao power slightly.
Though he had only just come into contact with it, he had already mastered this power. Then, drawing on the profound methods of the Dao Scripture and the Lesser Brightness Scripture, he instantly created a minor technique for wielding Dao power.
He thrust his right palm forward. Dao power condensed into a hand seal as tall as a person and slammed into the stone wall of the cave.
No gale stirred. The Dao Power Great Hand Seal dissipated, and fine stone dust pattered down, leaving behind a palm print exactly three inches deep.
[Opened the Dao Palace Secret Realm]
[Fate Points +300]
Yaoguang Side Hall.
This was the cave dwelling of the Holy Lord of Yaoguang, used for daily cultivation and entertaining friends and family.
The true main hall of Yaoguang was only opened for major festivals or the arrival of honored guests.
Inside the chilly hall,
Holy Lord Li Daoqing wore a gloomy expression as he drank away his sorrows with his junior brother, Li Daoming, over the vast power lurking in the shadows within their sacred land.
"The Ruthless Lineage is too powerful. I can barely hold on."
In front of his junior brother, Li Daoqing had none of the dignity he showed outsiders. He looked more like a pitiable man who had lost his soul.
"In recent years, people from the Ruthless Lineage have held thirty percent of the Holy Son Positions. The current Yaoguang Holy Son is especially exceptional, a hero of his age. Even I was no match for him when I was young."
"If things continue this way, there's a good chance the next Holy Lord of Yaoguang will be the Yaoguang Holy Son from the Ruthless Lineage."
Li Daoqing poured out his grievances.
The position of Holy Lord of the Yao Guang Sacred Land had always been contested by the Yaoguang Holy Sons of each generation.
The Ruthless Lineage had always been small in numbers, yet its members had claimed thirty percent of the Yaoguang Holy Son Positions. That showed just how feeble the Holy Lord Lineage had become.
"On my last trip to the Green Emperor Tomb, I found a girl with the Immortal Spirit Eye, but I didn't dare take her directly as my disciple, lest that band of Remnants of the Ruthless One set their sights on her."
Li Daoming sighed as well.
The reason their Holy Lord Lineage had managed to hold out for so long under the Ruthless Lineage's covetous gaze was the foundation sealed within the Divine Source.
And the pact the two sides had made long ago?
Only a fool would believe the other side would honor it.
"Immortal Spirit Eye? You must mean Weiwei, the disciple you took in recently, right?"
Li Daoqing was busy with affairs, but he still knew about his junior brother taking on a disciple.
"That's right."
Li Daoming had nothing to hide from his senior brother.
In truth, even if Weiwei's Immortal Spirit Eye was exposed, as long as he strictly kept her in the sacred land and didn't let her go out to gain experience, there was no need to worry about the Ruthless Lineage making a covert move against her.
But what true powerhouse had ever emerged from a life spent in seclusion and arduous cultivation?
Only by battling and fighting others could one shake off the dust and let the light shine, illuminating the countless peaks and rivers.
"Actually, besides the Immortal Spirit Eye, I also happened to bring back a little boy on that trip. His comprehension is far better than Weiwei's."
Li Daoming couldn't help thinking of Fang Yang.
A year had passed in a flash. Given how well he understood the Lesser Brightness Scripture, Fang Yang had probably already become a cultivator of the Other Shore Realm. He might even have completed three or four transformations.
"Better than the Immortal Spirit Eye? What kind of physique does he have?"
Li Daoqing asked curiously.
In his view, a special endowment like the Immortal Spirit Eye was rarer than even the Divine Body, the most renowned physique in the Eastern Wasteland, and promised an even brighter future.
Yet his junior brother had come across two such talents on a single outing. What kind of luck was that?
"Just an ordinary Mortal Body."
Li Daoming spoke frankly.
"An ordinary Mortal Body?"
Li Daoqing furrowed his brow.
It wasn't that Mortal Bodies were necessarily inferior to special physiques.
But in the early stages of cultivation, a special physique brought more than just a powerful body and divine power as vast as the sea.
Comprehension beyond that of ordinary cultivators was also a privilege of talented people with special physiques, and one reason they could crush a host of Mortal Bodies.
Mortal Bodies usually only managed to surpass special physiques later on.
"I personally tested his abilities. His comprehension is exceptional, and he's blessed with great fortune. When he was still a mortal, he once wandered into the Desolate Forbidden Zone by accident and ate a Sacred Fruit."
Li Daoming told him everything he knew.
He greatly admired Fang Yang, so he had sent people to investigate the boy's background and origins. That was how he learned so much.
"Seems he has good luck."
Li Daoqing's expression grew complicated.
A Sacred Fruit from the Desolate Forbidden Zone was something that could make the Holy Lords of the various sacred lands fight until their heads were split open.
Yet a mortal had managed to eat the treasure that even he, the Holy Lord of Yaoguang, could only yearn for.
Truly...
Li Daoqing couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"If Fang Yang's comprehension really is as remarkable as you say, then we can nurture him and have him try to compete for the Yaoguang Holy Son Position."
"The Holy Son Position has always gone to the strong, while the weak are cast aside."
"Although Fang Yang started cultivating a little late, in a dozen years he might yet catch up with the current Yaoguang Holy Son."
"I hope so!"
Faced with his senior brother's words, Li Daoming actually had little confidence.
The Yaoguang Holy Son might not seem outstanding now, but Li Daoming knew he cultivated the Ruthless Inheritance. He would only grow stronger with time.
No matter how high Fang Yang's comprehension was, he would probably only reach the level of an ordinary great power one day, never glimpsing the realm of a supreme Holy Lord.
"Fang Yang has opened his Dao Palace?"
The jade pendant at Li Daoming's waist flashed as he received a message. He looked incredulous.
It had only been a year, yet Fang Yang had gone from newly entering the Divine Bridge Realm to becoming a cultivator of the Dao Palace Secret Realm. That was far too fast.
"Oh? He broke through so quickly? Why don't I bring him here so I can have a look?"
Li Daoqing grew interested and made the suggestion.
There was a limit to how quickly an ordinary Mortal Body could absorb the essence of heaven and earth.
To accumulate enough in just a year to go from the Divine Bridge Realm to the Dao Palace Secret Realm was certainly intriguing.
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