[Perfected Qi Refining], Returning to the [Myriad Beasts Mountain Range], [Rewind]?

[The note contained only a handful of words:]

[“Meet an old acquaintance in the [Myriad Beasts Mountain Range].”]

[You stared at the brief message, somewhat dumbfounded. "That's it?"]

[Chen Qingyan nodded, his tone level. "That's it."]

[You had expected a detailed plan or a powerful legacy, yet all you got was this single cryptic sentence with neither head nor tail?]

[But then, a deeper question rose in your heart.]

[The [Myriad Beasts Mountain Range] was, after all, merely a [Golden Core Secret Realm]. Through all your simulations, when had there ever been an "old acquaintance" there?]

[No, wait! You suddenly realized something!]

[In the previous simulation, hadn't the gray-robed elder who controlled the Chen Qingming Puppet and cultivated the [Spatial Fruit Position] known Chen Qingyan?]

[He had even addressed Chen Qingyan as "Lord Heavenly Venerable"! Could he be the "old acquaintance" mentioned in the note?]

[In other words, had the master behind this Golden Core Secret Realm—that [Golden Core Powerhouse] from the Blazing Fire Sect—merely been putting on an act when he used his Divine Ability to "hook" Chen Qingyan away in the earlier simulations?]

[Was he actually on Chen Qingyan's side?]

[You thought back carefully and found it quite possible. After all, in the previous simulation,]

[your simulated avatar had possessed a rank approaching Nascent Soul thanks to the embryonic Dao-Burying fruit position, yet had explicitly stated that it could not affect Chen Qingyan's thread of Destiny in the slightest.]

[How could the Divine Ability of a mere [Golden Core Powerhouse] truly lock onto him and draw him away?]

[However, the circumstances of the Third Simulation seemed somewhat contradictory.]

[Back then, Chen Qingyan had clearly wanted to warn and help you, yet that [Golden Core Powerhouse]—or the existence behind him—had still chosen to strike, causing you to be killed instantly by the aftermath...]

[The relationship between them did not seem as simple as being allies.]

[Just as your thoughts churned, and you assumed this trip was over and prepared to leave the empty Secret Realm, Chen Qingyan stopped you.]

["Martial Uncle, though there are no external treasures here, the spiritual energy and Dao Resonance accumulated by the secret realm itself remain. You can draw upon this energy to attempt a breakthrough to [perfected Qi Refining]."]

[Joy stirred in your heart. You had not expected the winding mountain path to reveal another vista—there really was a tangible benefit after all!]

[Without further hesitation, you sat cross-legged on the spot and guided the pure energy remaining in this Secret Realm into your body.]

[Though this energy was not a tangible [Heaven and Earth Wonder], it contained a more primordial aura, closer to the Heavenly Dao, which greatly benefited the consolidation of your foundation and your assault on the bottleneck.]

[A month later, under Chen Qingyan's protection, you broke through to [Qi Refining Perfection] as naturally as water flowing into its channel!]

[Not only that, you were delighted to discover that the charging progress of the [Damaged Spacetime Token] tucked against your chest had surged from its original thirteen point five percent to seventy percent!]

["So that's how it works!" You understood at once. Some of this Secret Realm's primordial energy was of an extremely high nature, almost akin to [Heavenly Dao Power].]

[During your breakthrough, this energy had been stirred and refined, and the remaining, even purer portion had actually been absorbed by the [Spacetime Token] of its own accord!]

[Your gains from this single month equaled the total energy provided by more than twenty [jade bones of Foundation Establishment cultivators] used to break through to [Earth-grade Qi Refining]!]

[After having so much of its energy drawn away, this Secret Realm had entered a state of "dormancy." It would require a long time to accumulate energy anew before it could open again.]

[Age 25]: [With your cultivation greatly advanced, you set out alongside Chen Qingyan for the place where winds and clouds converged—the [Myriad Beasts Mountain Range].]

[You knew full well that, having attained Heaven-grade Qi Refining and traveled alongside Chen Qingyan, you must already have entered the sights of many existences.]

[At this moment, staying close to him was instead the safest choice.]

[Along the way, you voiced a question that had puzzled you for a long time:]

["Since so many [Nascent Soul True Lords] are laying plans behind the scenes, why don't they act personally? Why use those [Golden Core Powerhouses] to do their work instead?"]

[Chen Qingyan's answer was concise, yet revealed a startling state of affairs:]

["The Supreme Venerable Fruit Positions are absent, and the Nascent Soul True Lords remain hidden from the world!"]

[He further explained that the so-called [Supreme fruit positions] referred to the [Void-Proven fruit position] and the [Heaven and Earth principal fruit positions], such as the supreme fruit positions of the three paths of heaven, earth, and humanity.]

[In other words, in the current era, these highest Fruit Positions had either yet to be attained by anyone or remained hidden for some reason.]

[Only those True Lords with derivative [Fruit Positions] remained active in the world!]

[You were shocked by the truth of this era. Those standing in the limelight were not, in fact, the pinnacle powers of the Nascent Soul Realm.]

[And so, the two of you arrived at the entrance to the [Myriad Beasts Mountain Range] Secret Realm.]

[After paying the Spirit Stones, you followed the crowd inside.]

[Not long after entering the Secret Realm, Chen Qingyan stopped. His sharp gaze swept in every direction, and his expression grew grave as he murmured something that made your pupils quake:]

["In all four directions... there are auras familiar to me!"]

[According to Chen Qingyan's senses, there were auras "familiar" to him in the east, south, west, and north, confirming your earlier conjecture]

[—there were indeed [Golden Core Powerhouses] belonging to their side lurking in the Secret Realm.]

[At the same time, however, this meant that the Golden Core cultivator who had killed you in the Third Simulation, as well as the gray-robed elder whose attitude had been ambiguous in the previous simulation, were clearly enemies rather than friends.]

[With your experience from multiple simulations, you knew very well that neither the Southern Region, where the Heaven and Earth Wonder was usually located, nor the north, where the eerie White Bone Forest had stood in the previous simulation, was a safe destination.]

[You reworked this information, concealed the Simulator's existence, and told Chen Qingyan about it as a "premonition" or "special perception."]

[After listening to your account, he pondered briefly before deciding, "In that case, let's head west!"]

[The two of you hurried westward, but the destination you ultimately reached took you by surprise]

[—it was neither a perilous valley nor a hidden cave abode, but an ancient, unadorned Temple shrouded in faint Buddhist light.]

[The Temple gates stood open. An Ancient Buddha with a solemn, majestic countenance sat cross-legged upon a meditation cushion, exuding a tranquil and profound aura.]

[He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze settling on you both, and intoned the Buddha's name. His voice carried a weathered quality, as though it had traversed countless ages:]

["Benefactors, I have waited for you... for far too long!"]

[Hearing this, you instinctively assumed you had found the right place, and that this Ancient Buddha was the "old acquaintance" Chen Qingyan had come to meet.]

[However, Chen Qingyan frowned slightly beside you, then sighed softly, his tone tinged with disappointment and understanding. "Wrong. It seems this isn't the right direction either."]

[Your heart jolted! Not here either?]

[Could this Ancient Buddha, who looked so kind and benevolent, actually be an enemy too?!]

["What do we do?" you immediately asked in a low voice. The situation seemed to have taken a sharp turn for the worse.]

[That characteristic expression, carrying a hint of regret, appeared on Chen Qingyan's face again. He said decisively, "Then we can only leave for now!"]

[Before his words had faded, the seated Ancient Buddha struck!]

[He thrust out a palm with seemingly slow movements, and an enormous golden palm, dense with boundless Buddhist power and vast enough to blot out the sky and sun, descended upon your heads. Its terrifying might far exceeded that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator!]

[At this moment when a thousand pounds hung by a single thread, Chen Qingyan remained unhurried. He raised his hand and brought forth a mysterious Dharma Seal that radiated an aura of Chaos, with Dao Resonance flowing through it.]

[The Dharma Seal expanded in the wind, transforming into a solid barrier that firmly blocked the terrifying Buddhist palm,]

[unleashing a deafening roar as ripples of energy blasted outward, yet failed to shake the Dharma Seal in the slightest.]

[Before the Ancient Buddha could strike again, Chen Qingyan seized your arm and barked, "Go!"]

[In an instant, you felt the scenery around you begin to twist and recede rapidly, as though time were flowing backward around you!]

[In a mere dazed moment, the Temple, the Ancient Buddha, and everything within the Secret Realm hurtled away, blurred, and finally vanished completely.]

[When you focused your eyes and could make out your surroundings again, you discovered to your astonishment that you had returned to the hidden Secret Realm from before, which had just exhausted its energy and was now "dormant."]

[You were shocked that Chen Qingyan possessed such unfathomable means, capable of escaping danger in an instant and even crossing space to return directly here.]

[In response to your confusion, Chen Qingyan explained, "This is the Nascent Soul true treasure I relied upon to attain the Dao before my reincarnation—the Supreme Limitless Dharma Seal.]

[Unfortunately, Heaven and Earth have undergone tremendous changes, [Beyond Heaven] no longer manifests, and my own [Supreme] Fruit Position has fallen, greatly diminishing this True Treasure's power and limiting the number of times I can use it."]

[He gestured at your surroundings. "This is one of the Dharma Seal's abilities—[Rewind]."]

[Within this Heaven and Earth, provided no [Nascent Soul True Lord] intervenes directly, it can establish a spacetime anchor.]

[Once activated, it allows me to travel upstream against the long river of time, carrying everything in my current state]

[—including my cultivation, Rank, and belongings... and forcibly return to the time and place of this anchor."]