Everyone Was Scheming, and Their Hearts Were Filthy!
After reaching a consensus--
As the two ventured deeper into the world, they encountered more and more spiritual creatures, each of increasingly higher quality, including even Demon King...
Along the way, Qin Lu companion slaughtered no fewer than five Huang Yang sheep!
"Floating Life Earth, Fourth-Tier Mid-Grade Earth Dao spiritual object, can enhance the vitality of a region's land; it's quite a treasure, and it can also increase one's affinity with the Earth Dao..."
With a wave of his hand, Qin Lu unearthed a massive palm of Spiritual Power that ripped out a section of the earth!
A layer of soil three zhang thick was directly dug away.
A while later, Qin Lu blasted another mountain into pieces, extracting a large piece of Bright Stream Jadeite, several tens of feet in size...
"Fourth-Tier Low-Grade Bright Stream Jade, an excellent material for crafting puppets, and can also be used to enhance the Jade Stone's aura. A good item..."
"Earth Lingzhi, Gold Clear Stone, Thick Earth Fruit!"
"All the good stuff is mine!"
Qin Lu's smile never faded as he walked; once the corners of his mouth were turned up, they never left his face...
The treasures they found were all Fourth-Tier Earth Dao spiritual items, more than ten in total, including treasures capable of strengthening a region's swamp...
There are as many as five or six of them!
Any one of these items could artificially create a blessed Earth Dao; if all these treasures were gathered together, they would surely transform an entire region into a sacred ground for Earth Dao...
Observing Qin Lu's behavior, Huang Yang quickly understood Qin Lu's thoughts.
"A steadfast Daoist heart and formidable combat prowess."
"But greedy and profit-driven, such a person is easy to control if the profit is sufficient. If we can completely bind him to the Eastern Wasteland..."
"The future is uncertain; there's even a possibility they might take over the Central Lands!"
Huang Yang pondered in his heart that, in order to curry favor with Qin Lu, he had even ceded several Earth Dao treasures, euphemistically calling it "the wealth of the Eastern Wasteland"...
It's not a big deal to lack these things; giving some to Qin Lu wouldn't hurt.
Qin Lu readily accepted; after all, it was free money. Although it was a secret alliance, Qin Lu had one redeeming quality...
His favorite thing to do is double-cross!
Since the Eastern Wasteland wants to compete, then he'll play along, taking the benefits without doing anything, eating and drinking for free, and cheating out resources. Qin Lu knows this perfectly well...
Not long after--
Using celestial bodies as a reference, the two eventually arrived at the core of the Earth World Domain, where two towering, ancient mountains reached into the clouds...
It is the core of the Earth World Domain, and also the passage to the next level!
Between two giant mountains --
A humanoid puppet made entirely of giant rocks slowly emerged from the mountains, its massive size resembling the majestic Mount Tai...
Its head can reach the sky, and its feet can stand firmly on the ground!
A single finger is as large as a mountain, its size immeasurable, even compared to the Bear King of yesteryear...
They are all better than, but not as good as, each!
Especially the aura, which far exceeded everyone's expectations...
The oppressive aura of Nascent Soul Middle Stage made everyone's hearts sink; the predicted Nascent Soul Early Stage had now become Nascent Soul Middle Stage...
There is clearly something hidden here that is unknown to most people!
Qin Lu swiftly distanced himself from Huang Yang, then arrived beside Gu Xuanzhen and the other two, asking in confusion:
"What happened?"
"Wasn't the prediction that he was in the Nascent Soul Early Stage? How did it become the Nascent Soul Middle Stage?"
Upon hearing this—
True Person Badao stroked his short beard, his expression slightly serious, and replied, "The cause is currently unknown, but the preliminary conclusion is that the Earth World Domain Spirit Ascension..."
"Spirit Ascension?"
Qin Lu frowned; this was the first time he had ever heard this term.
"The so-called Spirit Ascension is actually another name for the ascension of a secret realm. The secret realms we normally open up are actually just larger spaces."
"This space is dependent on the world, but it contains no actual Dao Law..."
"Everything depends on external objects to create a false world; in reality, it's just an enlarged version of the Qiankun Pouch."
"The space is also extremely limited, only a few hundred thousand square kilometers, or perhaps a million square kilometers, and there is no Great Dao within it..."
"But as the secret realm gradually expands, it will gradually resemble a new world."
"And in this new world, entirely new branches of the Great Dao will naturally emerge. Taking the Earth Dao as an example, when the secret realm undergoes its first Spirit Ascension..."
"Then a new Great Earth Road will split off from the Earth Dao of our current world, and this branch will become the long river of Earth Dao in the secret realm after Spirit Ascension."
"And this secret realm after its first Spirit Ascension has become a product somewhere between a new world and a secret realm, requiring continuous replenishment of the Great Dao Long River within it..."
"Only in this way can this secret realm be continuously improved, and the process of transforming into a new world be realized."
"In the past thousand years, only six Great Dao Long River existed in the Earth World Domain; now, a new Great Dao, [Desolate Breath], has emerged!"
"That is to say, over this thousand years..."
"The Earth World Domain has undergone another Spirit Ascension, thus increasing the Earth Spirit Puppet's recovery speed and power to a new level..."
"That's why he's currently at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul Middle Stage realm!"
After listening to the explanation from the True Lord Badao.
Qin Lu was immediately horrified. He quickly thought of the Heart Sea Secret Realm Heart Sea Secret Realm, although he hadn't sensed the aura of the Great Dao Long River within it...
but--
Within the Profound Water Grotto-Heaven, Qin Lu clearly sensed the twelve Water Dao giving rise to the Great Dao, meaning...
Profound Water Grotto-Heaven is a secret realm that has undergone twelve Spirit Ascension?!
No, that's not right!
Qin Lu's thoughts raced, and he sensed something was amiss...
Grotto-Heaven? Secret Realm?
The relationship between these two doesn't seem like a difference between a high-end and a low-end version, but rather more like a complementary one...
Something's fishy; be careful in everything you do.
"What kind of inheritance did the Eight Seas True Lord receive back then?"
Why did they ultimately perish within the Grotto-Heaven?
"Spirit Ascension, New World, Secret Realm, Grotto-Heaven, Mieyang Immortal Palace..."
"After the Nascent Soul perished, the Great Dao was intercepted by the Mieyang Immortal Palace, unable to return to the world normally, thus failing to nourish the Great Dao Long River..."
Through various means, Qin Lu seemed to have gained some understanding.
The image of the Mieyang Immortal Palace in his mind instantly transformed from a blessed land into a ferocious beast that was howling and waiting to devour its prey...
The more I look at these Nascent Soul, the more they seem like rations that have been distributed to them!
Qin Lu suppressed his suspicions and didn't dare to speak frankly to True Lord Badao and the others. From what True Lord Badao had just said, it was clear that they only knew one side of the story and not the other...
Moreover, they seemed to have never heard of any news about the Grotto-Heaven...
Something's not right...
"There's a 90% chance something's wrong!"
Qin Lu grew increasingly silent, while the other eleven Nascent Soul Cultivator present joined forces to attack the Earth Spirit Puppet...
Previously, we were competitors; now, we're all vying to reach the next level.
The cultivators temporarily set aside their grudges, focusing on uniting against the common enemy. They would deal with any further struggles after they had passed the first five levels...
Once we reach the Mieyang Immortal Palace, that will be the time to truly settle the score!
That's when it will truly be a life-or-death struggle!