524: The ancient prince who doubted life

As he stepped into the Secret Realm, the scene before him, despite his mental preparation, caused his mind to tremble and lose focus for a brief moment.

The Azure Cloud Secret Realm, which once spanned a million miles, no longer existed.

Before him was a truly boundless and magnificent world!

The sky was high and the earth was vast, spanning hundreds of millions of miles.

Above the heavens, there were no sun or moon, but a vast star map interwoven with countless brilliant divine chains of Law, flickering and shimmering, casting down clearly visible strands of Great Dao patterns.

The Spiritual Qi was so dense it had transformed into tangible astral winds, whistling past, yet carrying a Dao Rhyme that nourished all things and enlightened wisdom.

With every breath, one's cultivation grew spontaneously and steadily.

“This... this is no longer a Secret Realm; it is clearly an Innate Small World currently being nurtured!”

Xuan Yangzi took a deep breath of the spiritual mist laden with the aura of Dao Laws, suppressing the shock in his heart.

Could this be Changge's doing? This is a bit too grand!

His Divine Thought spread out like a tide, instantly covering the vast area of this newborn world, and he quickly locked onto several familiar auras.

In the center of a massive spirit pool formed by spiritual liquid, atop several giant Dao Law crystals,

Li Xuanfeng, Shi Jingxian, Mu Chenyu, and several other most outstanding True Disciples of the current generation of the Sect were sitting cross-legged.

But unlike the scene Xuan Yangzi had expected—of erupting auras and continuous Breakthroughs—

The Dao Rhyme surrounding these people was majestic and surging like an impending volcanic eruption, yet they were suppressing and containing it within their bodies with powerful willpower.

Beads of sweat even faintly appeared on their foreheads, and their bodies trembled slightly, clearly struggling against the majestic spiritual energy within them that was growing wildly due to the drastic environmental change, almost threatening to burst out of their bodies.

They weren't cultivating; they were desperately suppressing their cultivation and refining their skyrocketing power!

Xuan Yangzi's gaze was like lightning as it swept over them, and he understood instantly.

The environment of this Secret Realm was too Heaven-Defying; Spiritual Qi and Dao Laws were actively pouring into their bodies, causing their cultivation to grow too rapidly.

These boys have decent Heart-Nature; they know what's important.

“Mm, suppressing cultivation and solidifying the Foundation—you are doing the right thing.”

Xuan Yangzi nodded in approval but said no more, having already formed a plan in his mind.

It seemed he needed to find these little fellows, who were about to burst, a target to release and refine their power.

“Mm, it'll be the four of you then.”

Xuan Yangzi's Divine Sense swept over the four Ancient Imperial Princes within his spatial treasure, whispering to himself!

After speaking, his figure flashed as he sped toward the deeper parts of the Secret Realm, in the direction of the Enlightenment Platform.

Before even getting close, he could faintly hear bursts of booming sounds coming from within the tower, mixed with familiar roars and groans of pain.

When Xuan Yangzi's figure appeared near the Tower of Prodigies, he saw the tower door flash with light, and several slightly disheveled figures were 'sent' out—it was the Great Ancestor, the Third Ancestor, and the others.

The several Old Ancestors, who usually appeared transcendent and highly respected, now each had bruised faces, torn Dao robes, and disheveled hair buns.

The Great Ancestor clutched his waist, the Third Ancestor rubbed his face, the Fourth Ancestor bared his teeth while rotating his wrist, and the Fifth Ancestor even sported a pair of black eyes... All dignity was lost; where was the demeanor of a peerless expert?

Xuan Yangzi was stunned and instinctively stopped in his tracks.

The several Old Ancestors also saw Xuan Yangzi, and their old faces immediately turned red. Especially the Great Ancestor, who instinctively tried to straighten his back to maintain his dignity, only to let out an 'Ouch' and clutch his lower back again; the scene was extremely awkward for a moment.

Xuan Yangzi was incredibly sharp; with a glance at the Old Ancestors' 'honorable appearances' and then looking up at that towering Eternal Heavens Pride Tower emitting an ancient Battle Intent that made even him feel heart-palpitations, he understood everything instantly.

The corner of Xuan Yangzi's mouth twitched imperceptibly as he forcibly suppressed the strange urge to laugh, his expression returning to calm.

He cupped his hands toward the several Old Ancestors and said solemnly, “Old Ancestors, you have worked hard. This Disciple will not disturb your continued cultivation.”

Having said that, Xuan Yangzi turned decisively, his body turning into a streak of light as he instantly vanished into the distance. He feared that if he stayed a moment longer, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from laughing out loud.

Watching Xuan Yangzi's back as he practically fled in panic, and sensing their own current disheveled states, the several Old Ancestors looked at each other, their old faces turning even redder.

The Great Ancestor gave two dry coughs, trying to salvage some face: “Ahem, that boy Xuan Yang is quite clever; he knows not to disturb our cultivation.”

The Third Ancestor rubbed his still-aching cheek, his tone carrying a bit of annoyance:

“That Great Emperor phantom's Moves are too sharp, specifically targeting my flaws. This face will probably take a few days to recover its respectability.”

The Fourth Ancestor moved his wrist, but a flash of excitement and refusal to lose flickered in his eyes:

“But it is indeed effective! That battle just now gave me another point of comprehension regarding the Imperial Dao. Refining oneself like this for a day is better than a hundred years of bitter cultivation! Again!”

The Fifth Ancestor, sporting his panda eyes, said in a muffled voice, “A Great Emperor of the same realm truly lives up to their reputation.

But the more it is so, the more we must defeat them and figure out the patterns of Emperor-level Dao Laws! Let's go, back in! This time we must win back a round!”

“Right! Back in!”

“I have lived for ages; can I still be stumped by a mere phantom?”

The several Old Ancestors encouraged each other, a raging battle fire reigniting in their eyes as they took several deep breaths of the dense Spiritual Qi within the Secret Realm.

The blue and purple bruises on their bodies dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye, and their auras became increasingly condensed.

Then, with a grit of their teeth, they once again turned resolutely, transforming into streaks of light and charging into the open gates of the Tower of Prodigies.

The tower doors slammed shut, and faintly, even more intense sounds of collision and shouting seemed to drift from within the tower... Seven days later.

In the restricted space of the back mountain, a deeper, almost solidified despair permeated the air, along with a hint of bewildered doubt about life.

Those four descendants of the Ancient Imperial Princes, who once possessed noble Bloodlines and arrogant attitudes, were now slumped on the ground without any decorum.

In various postures, they all without exception had torn clothes, disheveled hair, and more or less bruises and wounds on their faces and bodies.

With hardly any strength left even to raise a hand, they could only lie powerlessly on the ground, their chests heaving violently, their eyes vacant to the point of numbness. They were completely beaten senseless, their hearts filled with the bewilderment of doubting their own existence.

Crimson Blaze lay sprawled in the shape of a 'da' character, his chest heaving violently, his pupils having lost their former arrogance and rage, leaving only emptiness and blankness.

He stared blankly at the gray sky, as if pondering an eternal, unsolved philosophical question.

Seven days ago, when Xuan Yangzi brought those few young men and women into this restricted space and released their cultivation suppression, a sliver of cruel excitement had even risen in their hearts.

Battle Asura, Sword White Robe, Azure Rakshasa, Wang Zhan... those few monsters were one thing.

They were crushed by those few at the time; though it was humiliating, they could still find a sliver of comfort deep within.

After all, for a few such prodigies to appear in this world, while outrageous, was not entirely unacceptable.

But these few before them?

They were merely True Disciples of the various peaks of the Azure Profound Sect! Juniors whose names they had never even heard of!

Ants! They dare to use us as whetstones as well?

They wanted to ruthlessly humiliate these Cultivators who didn't know the heights of the heavens, defeating them in the sharpest and most humiliating way!

Perhaps they could use this as leverage to gain better treatment, or even a chance to escape.