I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 300 The truth of the world

In an instant, Chen Ming appeared in front of a magnificent hall. He looked up at the plaque above the gate, which had three ancient seal characters: Heavenly Punishment Hall!
"The Hall of Heavenly Punishment? Could it be..."

A thought struck him as he recalled what the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall of the Six Doors had said: the Demon Suppression Division of the previous dynasty originally had six halls. Later, one of them was transferred to the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Could this be the place they're talking about?
As Chen Ming was pondering this, a majestic voice suddenly echoed from the main hall, "Who dares to trespass into the Heavenly Punishment Hall?"

The sound actually triggered a celestial phenomenon, with streaks of lightning flashing across the sky.

The majestic palace seemed to come alive, emitting a faint purple electric light.

From the perspective of the "Yin God," the purple lightning was clearly two completely different forces: one was the power of thunder, and the other was an eerie purple.

That voice sounds familiar.

The moment Chen Ming had this thought, the palace doors suddenly opened by themselves, and a figure appeared in the doorway, surrounded by lightning, exuding divine might.

Heavenly Master?

He was startled when he saw the Taoist priest inside carrying a long sword on his back.

This Taoist priest is clearly the Celestial Master he killed in the Nine Nether Tower!

"Isn't he dead?"

"How would it appear here?"

Chen Ming felt a chill run down his spine.

"A first-grade Yin spirit? Where did you learn the 'Nine Heavens Divine Control Technique'? No, wait—" The "Celestial Master" was overjoyed. "Is the Purple Mansion Jade Scroll on your person? Quick, hand it over!"

The last sentence was delivered with a thunderous roar.

With a deafening roar, an extremely terrifying bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating the entire sky as bright as day. The lightning struck the top of the Heavenly Punishment Hall directly, causing the entire hall to crackle with fine electric light, making it look extremely frightening.

What the hell!

Without a second thought, Chen Ming immediately communicated with the purple jade book and vanished from the spot.

"stop--"

The next second, he was back in the same spot, the roar of the "Celestial Master" still ringing in his ears.

He felt his heart still pounding.

"so close!"

If the one in the Heavenly Punishment Hall is indeed a Celestial Master, then he is a level 120 being, equivalent to someone who has unlocked two divine treasures.

……

After a while, Chen Ming thought about it carefully and felt that something was wrong.

Why didn't the "Celestial Master" chase after them?

Given Yang Shen's speed, if the "Celestial Master" really wanted to chase him, he could catch him before he left the Heavenly Punishment Hall.

After all, he wasn't far from the gate of the Heavenly Punishment Hall at the time.

However, even after he left, the "celestial master" showed no intention of pursuing him.

"Could it be that he doesn't want to, but simply can't?"

Chen Ming's heart stirred, and he thought of more details.

The Celestial Master is definitely dead; it's been verified by the system.

In addition, there was that strange purple aura on that person's body.

The identity of this person is already obvious—a demigod of the Undying Demon Lord.

"Perhaps it was suppressed by the Celestial Master in the Heavenly Punishment Hall."

He made his own guesses.

Perhaps this is why the Undying Demon Lord's divided spirit manifested the image of a Celestial Master, hoping to deceive the "Heavenly Punishment Hall." However, even so, he could not leave that palace.

"It was so frantic when it mentioned the Purple Palace Jade Book earlier. It seems that this purple book is the key to its escape from the Heavenly Punishment Hall."

Chen Ming felt he had probably guessed the truth; as for whether it was true, he could ask others.

So he closed his eyes and silently chanted, "Master Wangchenzi, Master Wangchenzi, Master Wangchenzi..."

……

"A first-grade Yin God?"

When Chen Ming's consciousness arrived at that mysterious cave, the old Taoist priest's jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he saw him, and he was so shocked that he broke the whisk in his hand.

He exclaimed in astonishment, "Am I getting senile? I've been meditating for three years, not just one month?"

Chen Ming smiled and said, "Senior is not mistaken. The last time we met was exactly one month ago."

"Is it really a month?"

The old Taoist priest kept tugging at his beard, making one worry that he might pull out all the remaining hairs. "Your Yin Spirit has reached the first rank? How is that possible?"

Chen Ming coughed lightly and said, "It was just some insignificant fortuitous encounter. Senior, you don't need to worry about it. Actually, I came here today because I have something I'd like to ask you."

A trivial adventure?

The old Taoist priest felt like cursing.

Back then, it took him a full thirty years to cultivate from a third-grade Yin Spirit to a first-grade one.

This kid only took thirty days.

What kind of extraordinary encounter could allow a person to cross two realms in a short period of time?
Such rare and precious materials may have existed in ancient times, but those things have long since disappeared.

The old Taoist priest remained silent for a moment before calming himself down. "What is it?"

Chen Ming asked, "Senior, have you ever heard of the Heavenly Punishment Hall?"

The old Taoist priest said, "It seems you've already been inside the Heavenly Punishment Hall. Indeed, since you've already cultivated the Nine Heavens Divine Control Technique to the first rank, you're qualified to become the master of the Heavenly Punishment Hall."

Chen Ming inquired, "What is the origin of this Heavenly Punishment Hall? What are the benefits of becoming the master of this palace?"

The old Taoist priest said, "Eight thousand years ago, the Longevity Emperor founded the Longevity Immortal Dynasty and established six palaces to suppress many secret realms. This Heavenly Punishment Palace is one of them."

"The Heavenly Punishment Hall is specifically responsible for suppressing the Demon Realm, the Monster Realm, and Hell. This is the duty of the Lord of the Heavenly Punishment Hall. The reason why a Celestial Master is a Celestial Master is because he is in charge of the Heavenly Punishment Hall."

"Once you become the Lord of the Heavenly Punishment Hall, as long as you are in the hall, you can borrow the power of the Heavenly Punishment Hall and possess a realm and power far exceeding your own. At the same time, you will also bear the responsibilities of the Heavenly Punishment Hall. You should think it over carefully."

Chen Ming then asked, "Where exactly are those Demon Realm, Monster Realm, and Hell?"

The old Taoist priest said, "The entrances to the Three Realms are all beneath the Heavenly Punishment Hall. Every hundred years or so, the Celestial Master's Mansion gathers its forces to enter the Three Realms and kill the demons and monsters inside, thereby weakening the power of the Three Realms. Calculating the time, the hundred-year period has now arrived, and the strongmen of the Celestial Master's Mansion are probably all in the Three Realms. This is both a responsibility and a training."

Chen Ming suddenly realized why only a few juniors from the Celestial Master's Mansion had come after the Celestial Master's accident.

The Celestial Master's Mansion is renowned throughout the land, its power alone capable of dominating the Three Realms; its strength must be considerable. So that's why none of its masters are here.

He asked, "Senior, what do you think the Celestial Master's Mansion's reaction would be if I became the master of the Heavenly Punishment Hall?"

The old Taoist priest said, "That's hard to say. The Heavenly Punishment Hall is the foundation of the Celestial Master's Mansion, and you are, after all, an outsider. No one knows what the people of the Celestial Master's Mansion might be thinking. They might accept it reluctantly, or they might fight tooth and nail to reclaim the position of Hall Master."

"But do you really want to become the Lord of the Heavenly Punishment Hall?"

Chen Ming said, "I'm still considering it."

Perhaps, for others, becoming the Lord of the Heavenly Punishment Palace, responsible for suppressing the Three Realms and bearing the duty of slaying all kinds of demons and monsters, is a bitter task.

But for him, this was a dream job, which meant that once he became the Lord of the Heavenly Punishment Palace, he would have countless monsters to grind experience on.

Just thinking about it is awesome!

After returning to reality, Chen Ming left the underground river space and went back to Huan Shou Mountain.

He took out an object from his bosom, which was the jade tablet he had obtained after killing Xie Jianqiu.

This jade tablet is very likely the "key" to unlocking that secret realm.

He has now broken through to the first rank. Although he is still a bit far from the peak of the first rank, he is very curious about the so-called secret realm. Since he has come here, he naturally wants to go into the secret realm to take a look.

Chen Ming held the token in his hand, letting a wisp of his mind seep in.

You have gained access to the instance "The Tragedy of the Star Moon Sect". Note that this is a solo instance, with a minimum level requirement of LV90.

[Please select your action: 1. Enter the instance directly. 2. Create a temporary token to enter the instance.]

He took a deep breath as he looked at the several notifications that popped up in front of him.

It really is a dungeon!
Therefore, this world is actually a game world, which explains why you can gain experience points by killing enemies and monsters.

Those so-called secret realms are actually just dungeons. Moreover, this game is most likely based on dungeon gameplay.

The highest level you can reach in the main world is 99. To change your class, you must complete a quest in a dungeon.

Thinking about it this way, many of the strange things about this world become reasonable.

"It looks like I'm the only player."

Chen Ming was filled with mixed emotions. Although he had some suspicions, he still felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex feeling of mixed emotions) after confirming it.

"I choose option one: enter the instance directly."

With a thought, he felt the jade pendant in his hand light up, and that familiar feeling returned, as if space had been torn apart and he had been sucked into another world.

[You have entered the instance map, Star Moon Sect.]

Another notification appeared before my eyes.

Chen Ming looked around and found the place extremely desolate, a world of yellow sand devoid of any life. The sky was dark and gloomy, giving off a lifeless feeling.

This instance reminded him of "Qingwei Heaven".

"Could it be that this world has also died?"

Chen Ming had some doubts.

At the same time, it also resolved a doubt.

No wonder Du Rusong came out so quickly after entering this instance, and didn't obtain any rare treasures or break through to the Divine Treasure Realm.

So this is ah.

A dead world will naturally no longer produce "rare treasures of heaven and earth".

"I don't know what level this dungeon is."

He didn't leave immediately, but instead searched the surroundings. Having come this far, he couldn't just leave like that.

He still has many questions about this "copy".

This map is huge, bigger than several secret realms he's been to before, so it must be of a high level.

Unfortunately, there isn't a single living creature here, not even an inanimate object.

Chen Ming looked around but didn't find anything of value before leaving.

Inside Huanshou Mountain, Chen Ming was still pondering matters concerning this instance.

He found it strange that when he became the master of "Qingwei Heaven" and entered Qingwei Heaven, there was no similar prompt.

Could it be because "Qingwei Heaven" was reforged by those ancient powerful beings and is no longer considered a dungeon?
I thought and thought, but couldn't figure it out.

"It seems that this world still holds many secrets."

Chen Ming stopped thinking about it and left the place.

……

Several days later, in Qingfeng City.

Several months later, returning to the place where the dream began, Chen Ming felt a little different. In the blink of an eye, he had already reached the first level.

Unfortunately, even at this level, he could not openly and honestly reclaim his original identity.

As his understanding of the world deepened, he discovered that the waters of this world were also becoming increasingly complex.

After the first rank, there are the Divine Treasury Realm, Life Palace Realm, Primordial Embryo Realm, and Dao Transformation Realm.

After all that, Yipin is only just getting started.

Fortunately, he had a cheat code; now that he knew the secret of the secret realm, the path ahead suddenly became clear. He needed to find a way to get access to more dungeons and grind experience inside.

Once you reach the Divine Treasury Realm, go to the Heavenly Punishment Hall and destroy the avatar of the Undying Demon Lord there. After taking control of the Heavenly Punishment Hall, you'll have three worlds to continuously farm experience.

Chen Ming strolled through Qingfeng City, planning his future path.

Unbeknownst to him, he passed by the Chen residence. He scanned the residence with his divine sense and saw that everything was fine, so he was finally relieved.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked at an inconspicuous corner of the wall where there was a faint mark. It was four circles connected together.

A smile appeared on Chen Ming's face. He raised his finger and erased the mark from a distance before quietly leaving.

Deng Mansion.

Since Deng Ziyang resigned from his position at the Six Doors, this place has been vacant. Later, Deng Ziyang became a member of the Blood Demon Sect, and the Six Doors sealed off this place as well.

Chen Ming scaled the wall and entered the Deng residence, arriving at the courtyard where he had sparred with Deng Ziyang and the others. There, he saw Deng Ziyang, dressed in a black robe, sitting.

"You're here."

He raised his head, a faint crimson tinge appearing in his eyes.

Chen Ming walked over and sat down opposite him, just like he had done a few years ago, and said, "Congratulations on successfully advancing to the first rank."

At this moment, Deng Ziyang's cultivation level had reached the first rank, and at the peak of the first rank, only one step away from the Divine Treasure Realm.

It must be said that there's a reason why the Longevity Cult always manages to rise again after being wiped out. Their evil arts are incredibly fast to learn.

His breakthrough to the first rank was phenomenal, achieved at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, which was already astonishing enough.

Deng Ziyang practiced a demonic art, and his cultivation speed was almost as fast as his. It was simply outrageous.

This rate of progress is enough to make countless children from poor families flock to it.

Deng Ziyang's expression was unusually complicated. "Same to you."

He was even more shocked than Chen Ming.

Although he knew that his friend's talent was exceptional and rarely seen in the world, he still found it hard to believe that Chen Ming had reached the first rank so quickly.

Chen Ming asked, "When did you emerge from seclusion?"

"it's been a while."

As Deng Ziyang poured him tea, he said, "After I left the pass, I returned here and, as promised, marked the spot on the wall of your house. I've been waiting for you here ever since."

Chen Ming asked him, "What are your plans for the future?"

"Since we've come this far, we can only take it one step at a time. And you? Your situation isn't much better than mine right now."

(End of this chapter)