"That's right, it was the creator of the Giant Axe Chaos Stele, the Giant Axe Founder! After the Giant Axe Founder took me away, he directly accepted me as his disciple."
Luo Feng was completely stunned.
Zhang Junbao often told them that crises are accompanied by opportunities, and this time, Hong really made a magnificent turnaround!
A tremendous opportunity!
This is an incredible stroke of luck!
Back during the Genius Battle, Rong Jun and Bolan were already the envy of countless people for being able to become disciples of the Universe Venerable. Even his becoming a disciple of True Yan King aroused intense jealousy among other geniuses.
As beings from time immemorial, the Universe Venerable are all extremely arrogant. No matter how monstrous these Universe Level geniuses may be, they will not bother to even glance at them. Only the most outstanding super geniuses among them can catch the Venerable ' eye.
Hong, however, ascended directly to the top, becoming a disciple of the strongest human being, the ' Giant Axe Founder '. Luo Feng knew that Zhang Junbao's 'teacher', the Chaos City Lord, was Universe Master, while the Giant Axe Founder was a top-tier powerhouse even stronger than the Chaos City Lord. Even in the entire universe, the Giant Axe Founder was definitely one of the top powerhouses.
"Why were you able to suddenly unleash your power and pass through the Twelfth level of the Heavenly Bridge, Brother Hong?"
"You, I always tell you to cultivate your mind, but you only want to solidify your consciousness, making it as firm as a rock, unmoving." Hong smiled, revealing a helpless expression. Luo Feng was really too stubborn.
Faced with overwhelming Consciousness Pressure, you only know to solidify your consciousness like a rock, like a blade, to shatter everything.
But there are some things in this world that you simply cannot break. Like trying to cut water with a knife, the water will only flow more; being too rigid leads to breakage!
"But all things are mutually generating and mutually restraining, and the Dao arises from the harmony of Yin and Yang. This is what Junbao often says, and it is also part of the True Meaning of Taiji that he cultivates."
Faced with overwhelming pressure, one must combine yin and yang, hardness and softness, to withstand it head-on when necessary, and skillfully deflect its force when possible, neutralizing or even harnessing it for one's own use. By using the opponent's own methods against them, one can significantly increase one's ability to withstand pressure.
"This is the Second Layer of the cultivation realm, ' Unity of Heaven and Man and Childlike Heart, Great Perfection of Mind,' which is roughly where Thunder God is at."
"But this alone is still not enough to withstand the illusions cast by the guardians after the Tenth Layer. These illusions are not entirely illusory; they are also accompanied by the guardians' immense Spiritual Force eroding the defenses."
"At this point, one needs the Third Layer of mindset: ' Infinite Heart and all-encompassing.' No matter how overwhelming the pressure or how ever-changing the illusions may be, everything is what my heart feels and understands. So where is the confusion or pressure?"
The Consciousness Pressure, like illusions, is a form of mental oppression. It is precisely because you feel inadequate that this pressure can exert its full effect.
If you can understand the essence of illusion and embrace it, then my heart is nature itself, and everything in the universe is part of nature. Unless you reach the level of the Universe Supreme Master, you cannot break through the universe. Since everything is within the universe, and my heart is the universe, what does it matter?"
Hong smiled faintly and explained his insights to Luo Feng and Thunder God.
"Unfortunately, I had only just entered the Third Layer, and my attack techniques were still too weak to break through the defenses of the Thirteenth Floor guardian, so I failed on the Thirteenth Floor."
Hong's description of the three states of mind left Luo Feng stunned. Zhang Junbao had also explained the differences between the three states of mind to them, but Luo Feng still insisted on his own path.
Although the three levels of mental cultivation seem to progress step by step, they are actually three different paths to mental cultivation. Each path, when taken to its extreme, will yield different results. Luo Feng could not understand the second and Third Layer, but he insisted on pushing the First Layer mental state to its extreme, which also made his will extremely firm, like a blade that could cut through anything and shatter all obstacles in the world.
"Only now can I truly understand how powerful Junbao's mindset is. He reached the Third Layer level a long time ago. I'm afraid he held back when he crossed the Heavenly Bridge before leaving Chaos City, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have only reached the Tenth Layer," Hong said, shaking his head.
" Junbao defeated the Tenth Layer; was it because he deliberately concealed his strength?" Luo Feng was shocked. Back then, Zhang Junbao's feat of reaching the Tenth Layer the Heavenly Bridge had already astonished countless people, even prompting the Chaos City Lord to directly take him as a disciple.
But now Hong tells him that Zhang Junbao didn't use his full strength at all, which shocks Luo Feng.
"That's right, and that's why I've attracted the attention of the Giant Axe Founder."
"Remember, we all guessed that Earth is different from other planets. Even you, Luo Feng, have a mental cultivation level far exceeding that of other cultivators in the universe. That's why Junbao told us not to venture into the Illusion Sea. If we go all out to try and enter the Illusion Sea, it might alert the Human Race's powerful figures to Earth's anomalies."
This is a rather contradictory situation. If they manage to cross the Illusion Sea, they will inevitably attract the attention of the human leadership, and then the fate of Earth will no longer be in their hands.
On the other hand, once they break through the Illusion Sea, it also means that their talents are outstanding, and they will inevitably receive more resources to nurture them and accelerate their growth.
Whether to preserve their home planet Earth or sell it to accelerate their own growth, it's a choice between two mutually exclusive options.
Originally, the four of them planned to reveal Earth's secrets only after they had gained sufficient strength and influence.
"However, my choice to attempt the challenge Illusionist has attracted the attention of the highest beings, including the Giant Axe Founder. You, Junbao, and I all come from Earth. Although Thunder God hasn't yet demonstrated his true talent, the fact that he was able to obtain the inheritance left behind in Chaos City by the lineage of the Mysterious Firmament Chaos Stele is enough to prove his extraordinary talent."
"Four geniuses, hailing from the same inhabited planet, and from the same era."
"This is simply unbelievable!" Hong exclaimed.
Luo Feng nodded. Everything they had tried so hard to hide was ultimately exposed due to the Yanzhu King's invasion.
Even in the Genius Battle, which selects 1,000 top geniuses from 1,008 Universe Country, the average is less than one genius per Universe Country, making the probability extremely low.
But the fact that geniuses like Zhang Junbao and Luo Feng, whom we haven't seen in millions of epochs, have appeared on Earth is even less likely than the Virtual Universe Company Headquarters being hit by a meteorite.
Moreover, the emergence of an incredible genius like Hong is even rarer, and given his Earth origins, how could it not attract the attention of higher-ups?
"Therefore, the Giant Axe Founder believed that Earth might be special, so he went to Earth to explore it. This exploration led him to discover Earth's secrets," Hong said.
Luo Feng Thunder God held their breath. Although they knew that Earth was indeed somewhat special, they didn't know exactly what the situation was.
" The Giant Axe Founder told me that the Earth was transformed by a powerful Alien Race billions of years ago. Any life born on Earth, especially those embryos nurtured during their development, will undergo a unique evolution in their souls."
"Soul evolution?"
Hong continued, "One aspect of the human soul born on Earth has evolved, the effect being in terms of mindset... making it easier to perceive and improve."
"Therefore, throughout Earth's history, the history of Huaxia Country alone has produced many saints with extremely high levels of spiritual cultivation."
" Alien Race powerhouse modification? Soul evolution?"
Luo Feng and Thunder God couldn't believe it. Someone who could be considered a powerful being by the Universe Supreme Master, the Giant Axe Founder, must be at least on par with the Giant Axe Founder. It was simply unbelievable that Earth had any connection with such a being.
"In other words, Yanzhu King's unintentional provocation has actually uncovered a huge secret that Earth has kept hidden for so many years. Could the Giant Axe Founder be thinking of rewarding Yanzhu King?" Luo Feng said with a wry smile.
From another perspective, Zhang Junbao, Luo Feng, and the others have been covering up Earth's secrets all along. The Yanzhu King is actually the 'hero' who discovered Earth's secrets this time. Without his pressure, Hong would not have risked choosing the Illusionist to cross the Heavenly Bridge, and thus would not have attracted the attention of the Giant Axe Founder.
In this sense, the Yanzhu King truly deserves to be called a 'hero' for revealing Earth's secrets.
"That's impossible. How could the Giant Axe Founder not understand this connection? It's just that he sent Shi Huo Venerable to Earth to discuss the issue of Earth's handling with Junbao."
In principle, Junbao is the ruler of Earth; how to deal with Earth needs to be discussed with him.
"However, this matter involves far too much. That powerful Alien Race being is a great being on par with the Giant Axe Founder. He even created a race known as the Yan God Race, renowned for their physical evolution and formidable physical strength. However, the Yan God Race is relatively weak in terms of mental fortitude."
" The Giant Axe Founder speculated that the powerful Alien Race might have modified Earth for this reason, turning it into a cradle that gave birth to another race with exceptionally strong and abnormal mental abilities."
Luo Feng and Thunder God were completely shocked.
"This powerful Alien Race spent countless efforts to create Earth, this cradle of civilization. Tell me, how much is Earth worth?" Hong asked.
"Priceless treasure!" Luo Feng exclaimed.
"If that's the case, our chances of staying on Earth are practically zero!" Thunder God said with a wry smile.
The once ordinary Earth suddenly became a treasure land transformed by powerful Alien Race. However, whether it was Zhang Junbao, Luo Feng, Hong, or Thunder God, they all had only one thought in their minds: no matter whether Earth was an ordinary planet or a treasure land, it was their home, the mother planet that nurtured them and helped them grow into adults.
They were naturally happy that Earth had become the only treasure in the universe, but this also meant that they would completely lose control of Earth. It was even possible that all Earthling would be driven off Earth, and Earth would be taken over by the Human Race and become a secret realm used to cultivate geniuses.
If so, they will become sinners against Earth Humans.
" Brother Hong, can you ask the Giant Axe Founder to return Earth to us?" Luo Feng asked anxiously.
"This... I can only do my best, but I'm afraid it will be difficult. This matter has already alarmed the higher-ups of the Human Race, and even the Giant Axe Founder cannot make the decision alone, after all, it involves the probability of the birth of future geniuses for the entire Human Race."
Indeed, the cultivation of geniuses is something that every race absolutely values. Just look at the four people who came from Earth: Zhang Junbao, Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God. Even Thunder God, whose achievements are the least, is no weaker than the top geniuses selected from the 1008 Universe Country in the Genius Battle. In fact, if Thunder God had chosen to be Illusionist like Hong to cross the Heavenly Bridge, he might not have been inferior to the top geniuses in the Primal Secret Region now.
Moreover, there are three other individuals, any one of whom is capable of overwhelming any genius of their time. With such a terrifying rate of geniuses being born, how could the Human Race easily give up?
" Junbao is currently negotiating with Shi Huo Venerable. Does he know about all this?"
"I know. When I met Junbao, I told him everything. Now we can only watch how Junbao creates a miracle." Hong's expression turned serious.
After learning the secrets of Earth, Luo Feng and the others also understood that Earth was a cradle created by powerful Alien Race with countless efforts, and its value was immeasurable. For them to want to control Earth was simply wishful thinking.
It's like a priceless Supreme Treasure valued by two deities falling into the hands of a child. "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime!" Our ancestors on Earth have already clearly explained this principle.
The gods wouldn't care about the life or death of a child. Compared to behemoths like the Giant Axe Arena or the Virtual Universe Company, Zhang Junbao and his companions were nothing more than ants.
" Junbao, you have emerged from the Purgatory Abyss and shown us a miracle once again. Will the fate of Earth bring about another miracle this time?" Luo Feng's heart was filled with hope.
If there is any glimmer of hope for Earth's fate, it lies with Zhang Junbao.
P. S.: I felt really handsome updating during the day, didn't I?