257: Confused? No Spiritual Energy!

A month's time, like oil on the soles of one's feet, slipped away in the blink of an eye.

Lu Yuchen wasn't idle either; he changed his attire, carried a small satchel, and, like a wandering scholar, explored most of the Seven Warring States.

He met who knows how many generations of Mencius's descendants, constantly debating "human nature is inherently good" with him.

He then went to the Chu State, wanting to see if Qu Yuan was still there, but upon inquiring, he learned that he had long since drowned himself in the river. He only saw a group of people rowing Dragon boats by the river, throwing rice dumplings into the water. Lu Yuchen casually fished out two, one with red dates and one with meat, and they tasted quite authentic.

After this month, he had seen many of the impressive names from history books. But every single one of these people was a genuine Mortal, without even a trace of Spiritual Qi on them.

The entire era was like a stagnant pool, so clean that there wasn't even a single hair.

This puzzled Lu Yuchen.

That girl, Ying Yinman, Princess of Great Qin, had confidently declared that the Warring States period had experienced a Spiritual Qi resurgence. Yet, he had conducted Divine Sense scans and on-site investigations, and found absolutely nothing.

"Could it be... that girl was pulling my leg?"

Lu Yuchen stroked his chin, muttering to himself. But on second thought, he felt it wasn't right. The way that girl looked at him didn't seem fake.

"Strange."

That day, he wandered into a deserted mountain forest. Just as he was about to find a place to rest, a faint whimper reached his ears.

Following the sound, he saw a fluffy little creature lying under an old pine tree.

It was pure white, palm-sized, with a faint 'King' character on its forehead.

It was a small white tiger.

One of the little fellow's hind legs was caught in a beast trap, bloody and mangled, on the verge of dying.

Lu Yuchen looked at its large, wet eyes, filled with fear and a desperate will to live, and his heart inexplicably softened.

"Alright, consider yourself lucky, kid, to have run into me."

He stepped forward and pointed a finger. The steel beast trap snapped with a 'crack'.

A wisp of green light was injected into the white tiger's body by the protagonist.

Having done all this, he clapped his hands and turned to leave. A chance encounter, a small favor, that was all.

But he had barely taken two steps when he felt a tug on his pant leg.

Turning back, he saw that the little white tiger had somehow gotten up and was constantly rubbing its fluffy little head against his leg, making affectionate 'woo woo' sounds.

Its large eyes were filled with a pleading "Don't go, take me with you."

"Hey, you little thing, you're clinging to me now?"

Lu Yuchen didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He squatted down and poked the little white tiger's forehead, "You're quite good at climbing."

The little white tiger seemed to understand, shaking its head like a rattle drum, and directly stuck out its tongue to lick his finger.

"Alright, alright," Lu Yuchen was completely at a loss. "Seeing as you're quite intelligent, from now on, you'll follow me."

He gave the little fellow an extremely perfunctory name—Xiao Bai.

In the following days, Lu Yuchen tried to guide the little fellow to Cultivate.

But the result greatly disappointed him.

This world truly didn't have even a trace of Spiritual Qi.

Let alone Xiao Bai, even his own internal magical power was diminishing with each use, like a deflated ball, unable to get any replenishment.

"System, get out here."

That night, Lu Yuchen lay on the grass, looking at the stars in the sky, calling out in his mind.

【What can I do for you, Host?】

"I ask you, does this Earth truly have a Heavenly Dao?"

【Yes.】 The System's answer was concise and to the point.

"Then it..."

【It is not the Heavenly Dao of a single Earth, but the Heavenly Dao will of this Universe.】 The System seemed to know what he wanted to ask and added directly.

Lu Yuchen's heart suddenly sank.

"Then in this Universe, besides me, are there any other Cultivators?"

【No.】

The two cold words plunged Lu Yuchen into complete silence.

No Spiritual Qi, no Cultivators... But what about that girl, Ying Yinman, Princess of Great Qin? And that Bronze Immortal Palace, wasn't he her Revered Master? Wasn't the Warring States period a Spiritual Qi resurgence... Things seemed to be getting more and more contradictory.

He felt his head was like a tangled mess, unable to sort things out.

"The System can't be wrong, and my feelings can't be wrong either."

"So where exactly is the problem?"

Lu Yuchen thought for a long time without a clue, so he simply stopped thinking.

"Let's go to Kunlun Mountain and see."

With a thought, he directly embraced Xiao Bai, who was still sound asleep, and transformed into a streak of light, speeding towards the ancestor of all mountains—Kunlun Mountain.

Lu Yuchen stood atop the mountain, his Divine Sense surging out like a tide, enveloping an area of a thousand li.

The result greatly disappointed him.

Let alone the Bronze Immortal Palace, he didn't even see a single hair.

"Damn it, a wasted trip."

Lu Yuchen pouted, feeling incrediblydepressed.

He looked at the vast expanse of white, then at Xiao Bai, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, and a very bold idea suddenly popped into his mind.

"Since there isn't one, then I'll build one myself!"

Anyway, he was idle, he couldn't just lead a tiger cub around in these desolate mountains and wilderness like a savage, could he?

No sooner said than done!

"Open!"

A soft shout!

Immediately after, under Xiao Bai's stunned gaze, the space in front was forcibly torn open by a great force, creating a rift.

Inside the rift, it was a chaotic expanse, filled with an unknown Aura.

"This, then, is the Secret Realm."

Lu Yuchen nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to the majestic snow mountain beneath his feet.

"Rise!"

Another soft shout!

Rumble—!

The entire Kunlun Mountain trembled violently and groaned at this instant!

Countless massive rocks and profound ice actually broke free from the earth and flew out on their own, as if drawn by some mysterious force, all converging towards the dark Secret Realm entrance!

Lu Yuchen pointed his fingers like a sword, using heaven and earth as paper and magical power as ink, outlining the silhouette of a magnificent palace in the Void Realm!

Those flying massive rocks and profound ice seemed to have a life of their own, self-cutting, polishing, and stacking!

In just half an hour.

A celestial palace, entirely cast from bronze, ancient, vast, and filled with supreme Daorhyme, had already risen from the ground within that Chaos Secret Realm!

Its Aura was even three points more magnificent than the one Ying Yinman, Princess of Great Qin had taken him to before!

"Done, time to knock off."

Lu Yuchen clapped away the nonexistent dust from his hands, embraced the already dumbfounded Xiao Bai, and with a single step, entered the brand new... Bronze Immortal Palace.

"From today onwards, this will be our home."

He looked at the empty hall, a very showy smile on his face.

"It's just... a bit desolate."