I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 286 "Nine Heavens Divine Thunder"

"Qilang, things have come to this point. From now on, we're all in this together. We'll die together, and we'll live together."

Xia Shaowen's voice was solemn, "This was my idea alone. It has nothing to do with my wife and Yan'er. If you want to blame someone, blame me alone."

Chen Ming quickly replied, "How could I blame my uncle? This matter must be resolved eventually. Now it's up to the Emperor to decide how to deal with us."

He immediately started calling him "uncle".

Just as Xia Shaowen said, their fates were already intertwined. At this point, there was no need to be too formal.

Xia Shaowen transmitted his voice, "Don't worry, if anything unexpected happens, I will risk my old life to get you out of here."

With such a powerful expert at the Divine Realm giving him this assurance, Chen Ming felt much more confident.

The night is long, and I don't know when it will end.

Taking the opportunity, Chen Ming asked Xia Shaowen about the secrets of the "Divine Treasure Realm," "Uncle, I've always had a question: why can we only find the rare treasures of heaven and earth that unlock the Divine Treasure Realm in secret realms? Don't we have such things in our world?"

Seeing that he still had the mind to ask about martial arts at a time like this, Xia Shaowen couldn't help but look at him with higher regard. This young man's heart was so firm in pursuing the Dao, no wonder he had achieved so much at such a young age.

"Since ancient times, the human world has been dominated by cultivators. The great powers of ancient times almost all followed the path of cultivation. This is because cultivators do not need to rely on external objects to achieve Yang Spirit, rebuild their Life Palace, and form the Primordial Embryo."

"But martial arts are different. For a long time, the highest a martial artist could reach was the first rank. There was no way to go beyond that."

"Until ten thousand years ago, the True Martial Emperor appeared out of nowhere and pioneered the path of unlocking the body's divine treasures with wondrous objects. Then, like those great cultivators, he forged his life palace and formed his primordial embryo. Only then did martial arts flourish."

"Over the past ten thousand years, martial arts have flourished, while cultivation has gradually declined due to its overly demanding requirements on aptitude and temperament."

"Why can't the mortal realm cultivate rare treasures that can help a first-rank martial artist unlock the divine treasure? This question has been raised by sages throughout history, but there is no convincing explanation for the specific reason. Perhaps, this is the deliberate act of the Creator."

Chen Ming had also heard of the name of the True Martial Emperor. He was the first person to establish the system of hereditary rule, and from him, the world had dynasties.

Before this, the leaders of the human race were all those with the highest cultivation level and the greatest prestige.

After all, it is difficult for the descendants of cultivators to reach the heights of their predecessors.

However, for martial artists, reaching the Divine Treasure Realm is not difficult as long as they are willing to invest resources. This means that some families can mass-produce Divine Treasure Realm cultivators, which is equivalent to the Yang Spirit of a cultivator.

Given enough resources, a cultivator at the Life Palace Realm will eventually emerge. Combined with an army, that will be sufficient to suppress the world.

The dynasty founded by Zhenwu the Great lasted for a thousand years, but several incompetent emperors later brought it to its knees.

Then, the Immortal Emperor swept across the world and established an unprecedented and unparalleled Immortal Dynasty. Its influence continues to this day.

The nine suspected tombs left behind by this emperor alone caused unrest throughout the world, eventually leading to the emergence of the Longevity Cult.

……

Chen Ming then asked, "How many secret realms are there in this world?"

Xia Shaowen said, "No one knows exactly how many secret realms there are. In fact, there may even be secret realms that have not been discovered yet."

He then asked, "Do the rare items produced in different secret realms have different effects when used to open the divine treasure?"

Xia Shaowen got to the most crucial point, "That's natural. Secret realms are also divided into different levels. Generally speaking, each secret realm will only produce one type of rare item. And each time it opens, it will only produce one rare item."

"Many years ago, the Number One Pavilion Under Heaven established a standard for the level of secret realms, dividing them into low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. Above that is the Immortal Abode."

“Low-grade secret realms produce low-grade artifacts. And so on. The higher the grade of the artifact, the better the effect of opening the divine treasure. If you want to advance further in martial arts and forge your life palace, you must at least use a high-grade artifact to open the divine treasure.”

Chen Ming listened intently. This kind of knowledge was a family secret, not something anyone would readily share. Gu Haochuan had only revealed a little to him before, and was unwilling to tell him more.

He then asked, "Which part of the body is this divine treasure?"

Xia Shaowen said, "The human body has five divine treasures: the Blood Divine Treasure, the Power Divine Treasure, the Primordial Sea Divine Treasure, the Heart Divine Treasure, and the Purple Mansion Divine Treasure. Each corresponds to a unique object with a different attribute."

"This means that to unlock all five divine treasures of the human body, one must obtain at least five slots in different secret realms. Therefore, various families and sects often exchange their own slots in secret realms."

He paused for a moment, then sighed, "The secret realm I obtained was a top-grade one. The rule was that at least five martial artists with a cultivation level of rank one or higher were required to enter. This meant that five people were competing for a rare item."

"It is conceivable how difficult it is to unlock the five great treasures of the human body."

Chen Ming said, "Uncle has a secret realm in his possession, which he can exchange with others. Sooner or later he will be able to collect all five rare items and unlock the entire divine treasure."

Xia Shaowen shook his head, "It's not that easy."

Chen Ming suddenly realized that he didn't know the level of the token he obtained from the secret realm in Huanshou Mountain. He then asked, "What about the Immortal Abode? How is it different from an ordinary secret realm?"

Xia Shaowen said, "The reason why the Immortal Abode is called the Immortal Abode is naturally because there are immortals inside. However, I have never entered the Immortal Abode; I have only heard about it from others."

At this moment, Madam Xia said, "The biggest difference between the Immortal Abode and the Secret Realm is that the immortals in the Immortal Abode have extremely high intelligence, no different from us. Moreover, if a certain price is paid, one can leave the Immortal Abode and come to the mortal world."

Chen Ming thought to himself, "I know this. The Empress Dowager and Empress of the Great Jin Dynasty are both from the Immortal Abode."

This secret was revealed to him by the Nine Nether Demon Lord.

He noticed a key point: "Does Aunt mean that ordinary people in secret realms don't have high intelligence?"

Xia Shaowen shook his head, "The people of the secret realm are not unintelligent. It's just that they are limited by the special laws of the secret realm, unable to leave that world, and even less able to understand human affairs."

Chen Ming began to have doubts. The more he listened, the more he felt that the people in this so-called secret realm seemed like NPCs.
So far, among all the secret realms he has entered, he has only encountered the creatures in the Ink Painting Secret Realm. At that time, he felt that the people painted in ink paintings looked particularly like NPCs.

Once we enter the secret realm, we can confirm it.

Xia Shaowen specifically reminded him, "Seventh Brother, if you have the chance, it would be best to use a rare item from a top-grade secret realm to open the divine treasure. It is said that opening the divine treasure with a top-grade item can grant one some strange abilities. The world's top experts all use top-grade items to open the divine treasure."

Chen Ming nodded, "Thank you for the reminder, Uncle."

Xia Shaowen said, "Since you won first place in the trial, you will naturally receive a spot in a top-grade secret realm. You must not let anyone else in your family have this spot. You must know that spots in top-grade secret realms are extremely rare, and you must not be soft-hearted and ruin your path in martial arts."

Even after reminding him, he was still worried. "Fine, if the Gu family pressures you too much, just say that I forcibly took that spot as a dowry for your marriage to Yan'er. That way, the Gu family won't cause you any trouble."

Chen Ming felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that he was doing it for his own good.

This kind of thing is almost certain to happen. Gu Haochuan is at the peak of the first rank. Doesn't he want a spot in a top-grade secret realm?
This spot is probably coveted by many in the Gu family.

However, it's too early to say how the emperor will deal with them, as we don't yet know.

……

Before I knew it, the night passed.

Chen Ming had been asking Xia Shaowen for advice on martial arts cultivation and the various secrets of the Divine Treasure Realm. They didn't quiet down until dawn. He sat cross-legged on the ground and began to regulate his breathing.

It wasn't that he had no doubts, but rather that something unexpected happened.

Just now, he suddenly remembered the purple jade book left behind by the Celestial Master after his death. He reached out and touched it, only to find that the jade book was nowhere to be found. This greatly alarmed him.

So he sat up cross-legged and began to try to recall when the purple jade book had disappeared.

After thinking it over carefully, he realized something was wrong.

"The booklet was gone when I left the Pagoda of Merit. Could it have been left inside the pagoda?"

As Chen Ming was considering whether to call upon the Nine Nether Demon Lord, a thought suddenly struck him, and he immersed his consciousness into his own sea of ​​consciousness.

Then, he saw the purple booklet lying quietly in his sea of ​​consciousness.

"It's really here?"

He was somewhat surprised. When did this enter his sea of ​​consciousness?

He didn't notice at all; it seemed to happen naturally.

Chen Ming thought of the Sea of ​​Consciousness because this purple booklet was left behind after the Celestial Master's Yang Spirit was destroyed. Where could the Celestial Master have kept it at that time?
Only the sea of ​​consciousness remains.

"Can it be removed?"

He thought to himself, trying to "touch" the booklet with his mind.

When consciousness encountered it, a loud boom filled the mind, and countless words were poured in—the very contents recorded in the "Secret Book of the Purple Mansion."

It took him a while to recover.

This "Secret Book of the Purple Mansion" records a complete cultivation method, from the initial entry to the formation of the primordial embryo.

However, he had already cultivated the "Five Elements True Skill" and spent so many experience points to reach the second rank, and was about to reach the first rank, so naturally he couldn't switch to any other cultivation method.

However, there were several secret techniques that he coveted, such as the "Nine Heavens Divine Thunder," the most powerful thunder technique in the world, possessing earth-shattering power. It was the signature technique of the Celestial Master's Mansion, its most representative spell.

(End of this chapter)