My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Mountain god temples should be given more importance than earth god temples.

But how come this mountain god temple is overshadowed by a local earth god temple?

Ye Qingfeng thought for a moment, then stepped inside.

The temple was in a mess.

Gravel, weeds, and rotten wood were piled up everywhere.

The roof was long gone, and moonlight shone down from above, illuminating the desolate landscape.

In the very center of the temple stands a stone statue.

The stone statue was small, only about half a person's height, and it was lying on the ground.

Judging from the posture, he should have been sitting upright on the pedestal, but he fell down at some point and no one has helped him up since.

The stone statue was completely black.

The black color wasn't from the stone itself, but rather something was pasted on it, a thick layer that covered the entire statue.

It looked like mud, like ash, and like some kind of dried stain.

Only one place was clean—

eye.

The statue's eyes were still intact.

The two eyeballs, made of some unknown material, gleamed faintly in the moonlight.

Through the thick layer of black grime, they silently gazed ahead, as if looking at someone, or perhaps in some direction.

Ye Qingfeng walked over and squatted down in front of the stone statue.

He reached out and rubbed his fingers on the black grime.

The grime was hard and stubborn.

He rubbed it a few times, but only a little bit of black ash came off, revealing the grayish-white stone underneath.

He rubbed it harder again.

It's still the same; it only rubs off a thin layer.

Ye Qingfeng was somewhat skeptical.

He changed his posture, using both hands together to scrub the grime vigorously.

After rubbing for a while, he finally managed to remove a small piece of the grime, revealing a palm-sized patch of stone surface.

But there was an even more stubborn layer on the stone surface that couldn't be rubbed off no matter how hard you tried.

Ye Qingfeng stopped and looked at his hands.

His fingers were covered in black ash, but the grime remained firmly attached to the stone statue.

He thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his sleeve.

The grayish-blue Taoist robe had wide sleeves and was made of the finest fabric.

He turned his sleeves inside out and gently wiped the dirt with the fabric inside.

a bit.

A large chunk of the grime actually came off.

Ye Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, then wiped it again.

Another big piece.

The stubborn grime was as soft as tofu in front of his sleeve, and could be wiped away with a gentle touch.

Ye Qingfeng didn't think much of it and continued wiping.

He wiped it very carefully, bit by bit, removing all the dirt from the stone statue's face.

The face gradually came into view.

That was an old man's face.

He had a kind face, a long beard that reached his chest, and a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, carrying a gentle smile.

That smile was completely different from the clay statue with gold leaf in the earth god temple in front of it—one was feigned kindness, the other was genuine compassion.

As he was thinking, a loud roar suddenly came from the sky.

"Boom—!"

The sound was not thunder, but something much grander and deeper.

It was as if the sky was shaking, as if it was trembling.

Ye Qingfeng suddenly looked up.

But I didn't see anything.

Located in the void beyond the heavens.

A massive crack stretched from one end of the river to the other.

The crack was transparent, yet visible to the naked eye. It was like an invisible barrier that had been torn open by something.

Golden light shone through the crack, a light so intense and majestic that it was impossible to look directly at it.

An insurmountable barrier.

That is the insurmountable barrier that has always bound this land.

Countless gazes were cast toward the crack from all directions.

Deep within the Ten Thousand Mountains, those slumbering old monsters opened their eyes.

In the distant mountains and rivers, the patriarchs who had been in seclusion raised their heads.

Those beings hidden in the shadows, those ancient beings who have lived for thousands of years, all looked in the same direction.

They stared at the crack in the chasm, their eyes filled with disbelief.

An insurmountable barrier has appeared?

How is that possible?

This land has been bound by the natural barrier for countless years.

As far back as they can remember, that chasm has been there, like a threshold they can never cross.

Countless exceptionally talented individuals have been kept out by this threshold, unable to make any progress in their entire lives.

But now, how did it suddenly appear?

Before they could even react, something even more terrifying happened.

Suddenly, a hand appeared in the sky.

It was a huge hand, hidden by wide sleeves, so its exact shape was not visible.

Only the outline of the sleeves could be seen, appearing and disappearing in the golden light.

That hand reached out, toward that insurmountable chasm.

Then, it wiped it gently.

Just like Ye Qingfeng wiped the stone statue with his sleeve.

That enormous chasm was wiped away by the sleeve with a gentle swipe, and a section of it was actually erased!

Those who were secretly watching were all dumbfounded.

They stared wide-eyed as the sleeve brushed away a section of the chasm, then slowly retracted and disappeared into the golden light.

The crack in the sky was still there, but it was much smaller than before.

The natural barrier has indeed been partially erased.

"Who...who is this big shot?"

"That's...that's..."

"Impossible! How could such a thing possibly exist in this world?!"

"Perhaps only a few... only those..."

The voices echoed in the void, but no one could answer.

Ye Qingfeng stood there, stunned.

He could feel a tremendous force surging into his body.

The insurmountable barrier that had always bound him suddenly vanished.

It's like the mountain that was pressing down on your head has been moved away.

His cultivation level began to increase rapidly.

One thousand years, one thousand one hundred years, one thousand two hundred years—

It's still rising.

Fifteen hundred years, eighteen hundred years, two thousand years—

It's still rising.

That force is still surging in.

Ye Qingfeng closed his eyes, letting the vast power of heaven and earth wash over his body.

He could feel the meridians in his body expanding wildly.

What were once just small streams have now become a rushing river.

His consciousness was also changing.

What was once just a lake has now become a boundless sea.

The illusory bright moon rose from the sea, casting its cool light and illuminating the entire sea of ​​consciousness.

Countless insights flooded in, and those truths that I couldn't understand before are now all clear.

The power is still flowing in.

Two thousand one hundred years.

Two thousand two hundred years.

Two thousand three hundred years.

Ye Qingfeng frowned slightly.

He sensed it.

That power was gathering within his body, showing a faint tendency to solidify and take shape.

In an instant, some information appeared in his mind, as if he were born with it.

That was the prototype of the Dao Fruit, something that all cultivators dreamed of.

But that fruit is still just a vague outline.

The fruits of enlightenment are divided into three grades.

A thousand years of cultivation can condense the Dao Fruit of a Human Immortal.

That's the lowest level of immortal. Although it can be considered as becoming an immortal, it's only the beginning.

Lifespan has its limits, and supernatural powers are also limited; what one cultivates is a minor path.