"Done!"
Before the words were even finished, the person had already set off.
Lu Guan used both hands and feet, his movements as agile as an old ape climbing a cliff.
In no time at all, they had already passed through the layers of illusory figures and climbed to the upper part of the Martial Tree.
Upon reaching this point, only a few fruits remained hanging on the tree, each as large as a fist, perfectly round, with shimmering light constantly flashing on its skin.
Like several small suns hanging between the branches, so bright that they could not be looked at directly.
Lu Guan narrowed his eyes, and without much hesitation, reached out and picked one of them.
[ The True Spirit Indestructible Dao Scripture ]
Information about the relevant Cultivation Method instantly flooded into my mind.
After a moment of focused thought, Lu Guan finally managed to roughly understand the situation.
Just as he had envisioned, this was an Inner Landscape Realm Cultivation Method used to construct Grotto-Heaven.
The Inner Landscape Domain opened up using this method is called [ True Spirit Grotto-Heaven ], and it comes with two Mystery paths.
'Hmm... Mystery?'
"What the heck is this?!"
Lu Guan was slightly taken aback, a look of confusion on his face. He continued to read the introduction and then it dawned on him.
It turns out that the reason why different grades of Inner Landscape Domain can enable cultivators to fight beyond their realm lies in the so-called " Mystery " word.
The Mystery is the fundamental principle of the self-generated Inner Landscape; it is neither magic nor Divine Ability, but the evidence that allows an inner world to "live" rather than "die."
If the Inner Landscape lacks Mystery, even a vast expanse of mountains and rivers is nothing more than a lifeless painting drawn by the mind.
Without the cultivator's mental support, mountains and rivers would collapse, clouds and mist would dissipate, and in an instant, everything would return to chaos, with not a trace of self-nature remaining.
Once Blessed Land is formed, it possesses an inherent Mystery.
Once Grotto-Heaven is formed, it inherently possesses two Mystery.
As for the Human Contemplation, it is not Mystery at all; it belongs to the lowest level of the Inner Landscape Domain hierarchy and offers no other benefits except to help practitioners break through to the Inner Landscape Realm.
This is precisely why practitioners who use Human Visualization Method to advance to the Inner Landscape Realm are often the ones who are challenged and defeated by those below them.
Even worse, they might be defeated head-on by those monstrous geniuses in the Gang Condensation Realm who have mastered the workings of heaven and earth in advance, becoming a disgrace to cultivators.
A practitioner of the Grotto-Heaven Method once openly declared, "A practitioner who advances through Human Visualization Method is not worthy of being called a practitioner!"
His contempt was palpable in his words.
Through this Mystery existence, Lu Guan gained a glimpse into the hierarchy of contempt within the Inner Landscape Realm.
Those who cultivate in Grotto-Heaven are high above, those who cultivate in Blessed Land are considered human beings, but those who Human Contemplation beings are merely a roadside figure.
"No wonder it's cultivation of immortality; it's so cruel."
Keep in mind that this is just the initial threshold.
Lu Guan gave a wry smile and shook his head.
But then I thought, what? I can cheat?
That's alright then.
Constructing Grotto-Heaven is extremely difficult; even top geniuses must expend a great deal of time and effort.
Tell him all of that through his interface.
Lu Guan placed the fruit containing the True Spirit Indestructible Dao Scripture back into the Martial Tree, and then picked the remaining fruits one by one.
Given a choice, who would choose to hang themselves on one tree?
There is no distinction between high and low among the various Grotto-Heaven, but each has its own Mystery purpose.
Lu Guan wanted to see was the difference in the Mystery associated with each Grotto-Heaven; he would choose the two Mystery that suited his taste better.
He picked them one by one, examined them, and hung them back up, repeating this process several times until Lu Guan fell into deep thought.
In the end, he reached out and picked the fruit that contained the True Spirit Indestructible Dao Scripture.
After looking at them over and over, he still preferred the two Mystery dishes called [ Mountain-Bearing Bones ] and [ Drink the Long River ].
Once chosen, there is no more hesitation.
His figure gradually dissipated, like mist and smoke, and finally disappeared completely from this fantastical space without leaving a trace.
You Province, the Heaven-Character Secret Vault.
Elder Jiang leaned against the dragon-carved pillar, his back slightly hunched, while in front of him stood an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.
Lu Guan also recognized this person; it was Chen Jingchou, the one who had recruited him into the Demon-Slaying Envoys.
"Do you think that kid will choose the Grotto-Heaven Method?" Elder Jiang raised his eyelids slightly.
"Definitely."
Chen Jingchou nodded without hesitation. "Two profound Mystery versus one Mystery —anyone who isn't a fool would choose the Grotto-Heaven Method."
He paused, then added, "Back then, didn't you and I also consider ourselves geniuses and resolutely choose the Grotto-Heaven Method?"
"... However, he eventually gave up when faced with difficulties, and instead accumulated merits again to exchange for a Blessed Land Method, which resulted in the waste of many years of his life, thus preventing him from ever reaching the Divine Treasury Realm." Upon hearing this, Elder Jiang sighed softly.
In fact, despite the fact that one of them is very old and the other is in his prime, they are both Demon-Slaying Envoys from the same era and both cultivators who have lived for hundreds of years.
The reason why Elder Jiang so old and frail is because he was severely injured by demons in his early years. He barely survived, but his lifespan was greatly reduced and his Dao Path was almost completely destroyed.
That's why he found a job guarding the Heaven-Character Secret Vault, as a way to give back to his remaining abilities.
Looking at Chen Jingchou's face, which still retained the features of middle age, Elder Jiang sighed, "Youth is truly wonderful."
Although Chen Jingchou and he both stumbled in the same way when it came to building the Inner Landscape Domain, wasting a lot of time.
However, his opponent did not waste his time like him. After advancing to the Inner Landscape Realm, he had another fortuitous opportunity, and his cultivation level improved by leaps and bounds, leaving him far behind.
They even possess a sliver of potential to break through to the Divine Treasury Realm!
Even if the chances are slim, it's enough for the other person to fight for it their whole life.
Chen Jingchou raised an eyebrow. "Get lost, stop trying to take advantage of me."
"I'm a few years older than you, Chen. I vaguely remember you calling me 'Big Brother' back then, and I called you 'Little Brother' in return."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man and the old man stared at each other, looking extremely strange.
"... cough cough cough."
Chen Jingchou coughed a few times, changing the subject. "Where were we talking about... Oh right, Lu Guan, Lu Guan."
"You know his situation. He mastered a Divine Ability ahead of time with a body at the Gang Condensation Realm, and even used it to defeat a demon at the Inner Landscape Realm..."
Before he could finish speaking, Elder Jiang interrupted him:
"Wait a minute, did he really kill the Inner Landscape Realm demon mentioned on his waist token himself?"
Chen Jingchou nodded. "Of course, I'm an eyewitness."
"This is a talent I personally discovered!"
Of course... they provided a tiny, insignificant amount of help.
After all, even if Lu Guan at the time could kill the old ape, he couldn't have done it so cleanly and efficiently.
However, there's no need to mention this again, lest it prevent him from showing off in front of the other party.
"... hiss."
Elder Jiang gasped, thinking that Lu Guan had a powerful backer.
After all, mastering Divine Ability in advance is a completely different matter from actually killing a demon in the Inner Landscape Realm.
The former represents natural talent, while the latter represents real combat strength.
"Bah! A disgrace to the Inner Landscape Realm!"
Elder Jiang, having recovered his senses, spat and said, "I think that demon's talent is mediocre; at most, it's only at the level of Human Visualization Method the Inner Landscape of magic."
Demons are different from humans, so they naturally do not have any so-called Inner Landscape Domain.
However, the path they take is one of refining their demonic bodies and cultivating their bloodlines, a smooth one indeed.
Within the same realm, those demons with extraordinary bloodlines can even rival or even fight against geniuses who cultivate the Grotto-Heaven Method.
This is also why Elder Jiang deliberately lured Lu Guan to choose the Grotto-Heaven Method.
Only those who have mastered the Inner Landscape cultivation method of the Grotto-Heaven Method have the confidence to compete with those powerful demons of top-tier bloodlines.
In his view, Lu Guan's exaggerated age and cultivation speed meant that not practicing the Grotto-Heaven Method was a waste of his talent.
He feared that the other party, seeking stability, would choose to build Blessed Land, thus needlessly losing such a talented individual.