Chapter 288: The Upper Realm's Great Dao Sect

[Because the Purgatory Demon Sovereign had deliberately refined it, this section of finger bone was only a few meters long.]

[Without that refinement, given the Purgatory Demon Sovereign's sheer size, even an insignificant piece of finger bone would hardly be any smaller than a mountain.]

["Fellow Daoist, the Demon Sovereign holds you in particularly high regard..."]

[The white-haired demon smiled as he spoke, setting the finger bone down.]

["I won't disappoint the Demon Sovereign."]

[You answered at once, making your stance clear.]

["Mm."]

[The white-haired demon nodded, and his figure faded away.]

[You immediately rose and stepped up to the section of finger bone.]

[Reaching out, you ran your hand over the bone again and again.]

[Directly touching part of the body of a being like a Demon Sovereign certainly carried some risk.]

[Still, for the sake of the gold talent Dead But Not Stiff, it was a risk you were willing to take.]

[Besides, under the suppression of the Human Realm's heaven and earth, even if some measure had been left inside this finger bone, it could not unleash much power.]

[With the boost of your Natural Enemy of Demonic Cultivators talent, merely touching it—rather than refining or absorbing it—should not pose much of a problem.]

['That should count as making contact...' you thought. In truth, your ideal plan for this simulation had been to make contact with the will of the Demon Abyss Realm.]

[If you could possess the Demon Abyss Realm itself for a hundred years, what kind of harvest would that bring?]

[Yet when it came to actually carrying that out, you had no idea where to even begin.]

[For one thing, the will of the Demon Abyss Realm had no physical form. You couldn't even touch the will of the Human Realm, let alone that of the Demon Abyss Realm.]

[After turning it over in your mind, making contact with the Purgatory Demon Sovereign was the more reliable choice.]

['The hallmark of a Void Return being is opening an inner world—whether a Primordial Spirit world or a physical body world—essentially breaking free of a grand realm's constraints to roam the boundless Void...' you mused.]

[If a Deity Transformation Stage Heavenly Monarch merged into heaven and earth to borrow their might,]

[then a Void Return Venerable became a heaven and earth unto themselves, where the world and the self were one.]

[Those who borrowed the might of heaven and earth would inevitably be bound by them. Only by becoming a world unto oneself could one attain true supreme freedom and unfettered ease.]

[Just like the Purgatory Demon Sovereign—if he ever chose to leave the Demon Abyss Realm one day, he would survive all the same.]

[However, the Demon Abyss Realm's foundation was so deep that even a Void Return Stage Demon Sovereign needed the support of its source energy to maintain a relatively fast cultivation speed.]

['I wonder... when I'll be able to cultivate to the Void Return Stage...' you sighed inwardly. Even the Sword Lord of the ancient era had never fully stepped into the Void Return Stage in the end.]

[The Sword Lord had ultimately chosen to ascend, yet without an ascension passage or Upper Realm coordinates, even a Void Return Stage being leaving a grand realm for the boundless Void would be no different from a headless fly. How could one possibly ascend to the Upper Realm?]

[Within the boundless Void lay one grand realm after another—there was the Human Realm, the Demon Abyss Realm, and the so-called Upper Realm.]

[Compared to the boundless Void, those grand realms were like grains of sand in a desert, impossible to find without specific guidance.]

["A path will appear once I reach the mountain. At worst, I'll grind it out with time—if ten simulations aren't enough, then a hundred, or a thousand... And in the worst case, I can always join the Demon Abyss Realm and test the waters..."]

[If it really came to that, you still had the Demon Abyss Realm.]

[True, the Demon Abyss Realm was full of pitfalls, whether from the Purgatory Demon Sovereign or the will of the Demon Abyss Realm itself.]

[As long as you chose not to inherit your cultivation or skills, however, you would be fine.]

[You could spend enough simulations integrating into the Demon Abyss Realm to see just how high you could climb, waiting until you could break free of it completely before choosing to inherit.]

[And if you were unwilling to walk the demonic path in reality, you could wait until you stepped into the Void Return Stage within the Demon Abyss Realm during a simulation, then leave the Demon Abyss Realm to search for other grand realms and gather clues—such as coordinates—before ending the run. In the next simulation, you could simply make those grand realms your target.]

[Still, unless you had no other choice, you wouldn't take that route. It was far too much trouble.]

[A year later, the white-haired demon came to visit again.]

[As agreed, you returned the Purgatory Demon Sovereign's section of finger bone.]

["The Demon Sovereign's strength truly reaches heaven and earth. Even a single section of finger bone like this is enough to tear through anything..." you said.]

[That wasn't flattery, but an honest assessment.]

[Over the past year, as you kept touching the finger bone, you had discovered that it was unimaginably hard, surpassing any natural treasure you had ever encountered.]

[With just a bit of forging and refinement, it would become a top-grade Profound Heaven Spirit Treasure.]

["The Demon Sovereign has dominated for nearly ten thousand years, and his demonic body is undying and indestructible. This is merely a section of finger bone—the frailest part of his frame..." the white-haired demon replied at once.]

[Even among Void Return Demon Sovereigns, the Purgatory Demon Sovereign was far from weak; otherwise, he could not have repelled another Demon Sovereign from a neighboring region not long ago.]

["In that case, I shall take my leave."]

[The white-haired demon inspected the finger bone, and his expression softened. Your timely return of the bone, combined with the fact that you hadn't left any marks on it, put his mind much more at ease.]

[At the very least, it proved your sincerity, and showed that you really had only been studying a piece of the Demon Sovereign's body.]

[Ten years later, Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword died of old age and passed away in meditation.]

[Compared to the previous simulation, Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword had lived over a decade longer, though it made little difference; the next to succeed the title of Heavenly Monarch was still Heavenly Monarch Mingjian.]

[In the 2,100th year, you were 2,117 years old.]

[Inside your cave abode, you sat cross-legged with the Dark Chessboard floating before you.]

[After more than two hundred years of contemplation, you faintly sensed where the flaw in the three-hundredth illusion layer lay.]

[Yet the indistinct murmurs and whispers echoing in your ears scattered a great deal of your mental strength, requiring time to lock onto the flaw in the illusion layer's workings.]

["Chi... lai... she... qin... lian... jiao..."]

[Faint, broken murmurs sounded one after another. Even when you listened closely, you couldn't make out their meaning and could only divert a vast amount of mental energy to ward them off.]

["Where exactly is the flaw..."]

[You observed carefully as the sun rose and the moon set within the three-hundredth illusion layer. Even though you sensed where the flaw was, you couldn't lock onto it right away.]

[Half a day later, you withdrew your divine sense.]

[Remaining immersed for too long while resisting those indistinct whispers took a heavy toll, making it impossible to sustain for extended periods.]

[In the 2,200th year, you were 2,217 years old.]

[You set aside everything else and sat with a solemn expression inside your cave abode.]

["It should be almost time..."]

[You gazed into the distance toward the spatial rift at the end of the Deep Sea.]

[At this point in the previous simulation, a Divination Celestial Master on the Demon Abyss Realm's side had made a move, casting a divination on you across the two realms to determine your true intentions.]

[That had thrown the Purgatory Demon Sovereign into a rage, prompting him to stop waiting and invade the Human Realm ahead of schedule.]

[The course of events in this simulation wasn't identical to the last, but you naturally remained on guard against it.]

[Compared to the previous simulation, you were now a Divination Celestial Master yourself, and being in the Human Realm gave you the home-field advantage. Even if the Divination Celestial Master on the Demon Abyss Realm's side surpassed your realm, reaching Fifth Tier High Grade or even Quasi-Tier 6,]

[under your concealment, they could never pin down your true thoughts and aims unless they chose to burn a massive amount of lifespan.]

[Across the divide between two realms, any method suffered a drastic drop in power, Divination included.]

[Hum—]

[Right at that moment, an obscure thread of heavenly secret power surged into the Human Realm.]

["Here it comes."]

[Closing your eyes, you merged your mind directly into the omnipresent net of heavenly secrets spanning the Human Realm.]

[Only after nearly an hour had passed did that obscure power of heavenly secrets withdraw from the Human Realm.]

[The vast Demon Abyss Realm.]

["Moon Priestess..."]

[The Purgatory Demon Sovereign looked down at the tiny woman of the Demon Moon Clan, a smile surfacing on his face. "Well?"]

[In this simulation, you hadn't strung the Purgatory Demon Sovereign along for nearly as many years, so he seemed to be in a good mood.]

[Still, since the Demon Moon Clan woman happened to be passing by, the Purgatory Demon Sovereign figured there was no harm in asking and had her verify your true stance anyway.]

["Since the Demon Sovereign already has the answer in mind, why ask me?"]

[The Demon Moon Clan woman hadn't divined any real information. "However, this realm's foundation is decent, and its resistance against me was quite strong. Once it is completely occupied, the Mother Goddess's reward will surely be generous."]

[Hearing this, the Purgatory Demon Sovereign's spirits lifted.]

[Why had he gone to such lengths to occupy the Human Realm? Because once the Human Realm was merged into the Demon Abyss Realm, the will of the Demon Abyss Realm would reward him with feedback.]

[Over the long ages, it was precisely by devouring one grand realm after another in this manner that the Demon Abyss Realm had grown so rapidly and reached its current heights.]

[The Human Realm, Heavenly Sword Peak.]

["Is it over?"]

[You opened your eyes. Just moments ago, you had been ready to burn your own lifespan.]

[That Divination Celestial Master from the Demon Abyss Realm had terrifying methods and had come within a hair's breadth of locking onto you.]

[If that had actually happened, you would have had no choice but to burn your lifespan to keep concealing yourself.]

[The path of Divination differed from other inherited arts—so long as enough lifespan was paid, a Rank 5 Divination Celestial Master could still divine information about a Sixth Tier Void Return Demon Sovereign.]

["Everything's fine."]

[Gazing afar toward the end of the Deep Sea, you saw that the spatial rift remained calm and let out a quiet breath of relief.]

[In the 2,300th year, you were 2,317 years old.]

[You lay beside Li Yan, watching the enchanting female Heavenly Monarch sleep soundly, tear tracks still lingering on her flawless face.]

["Ordinary Primordial Yin Qi... isn't of much help to me now."]

[You sensed the Primordial Yin Qi within your dantian.]

[Three hundred years had passed since you last took Li Yan's first wisp of Primordial Yin Qi.]

[You had just claimed the Primordial Yin Qi she had nurtured over those three hundred years.]

[Its effect was modest.]

[Now that you were stuck at the bottleneck between the Deity Transformation Early Stage and the Mid Stage, unless it was a first wisp of Primordial Yin Qi with an unimaginable breakthrough effect, ordinary Primordial Yin Qi wouldn't help you break through no matter how long it was nurtured.]

["What a pity..."]

[Your thoughts turned to Li Xiu.]

[Back before Li Xiu attempted her breakthrough to Deity Transformation, you hadn't taken her first wisp of Primordial Yin Qi.]

[Although her chances of succeeding had been slim, what if she had pulled it off? If you had taken her first wisp of Primordial Yin Qi back then, her value to you would have dropped sharply once she actually stepped into the Deity Transformation Stage without it.]

[To a Deity Transformation Stage Heavenly Monarch like you, the first wisp of Primordial Yin Qi nurtured for nearly a thousand years by a mere Late Nascent Soul Stage Primordial Yin Treasure Physique was of little use.]

[What happened afterward proved that point as well.]

[Even for a Deity Transformation female Heavenly Monarch like Li Yan, who had nurtured her Primordial Yin Qi for two thousand years, her first wisp had only pushed your cultivation progress in the Deity Transformation Early Stage from six-tenths to ten-tenths.]

[How much help could Li Xiu's first wisp of Primordial Yin Qi possibly have given you? Could it even have pushed your progress by a tenth?]

[The gap between the first wisps of Primordial Yin Qi nurtured by Li Yan and Li Xiu wasn't just a matter of time, but of cultivation realm. A single year of Primordial Yin Qi nurtured by a Deity Transformation Stage Primordial Yin Treasure Physique was worth five, ten, or even more years of one at the Nascent Soul Stage.]

[In the 2,400th year, you were 2,417 years old.]

[Inside your cave abode, your expression was solemn as you held a talisman brush, continuously drawing a Talisman in the empty air before you.]

[After an unknown span of time, the power of heaven and earth contracted. You produced a blank Talisman, and all that gathered power converged onto its surface.]

["A Fifth Tier Middle Grade Talisman!"]

[Looking at the work before you, a satisfied smile appeared on your face.]

[Crafting a Fifth Tier Middle Grade Talisman meant you had officially ascended to the ranks of Fifth Tier Middle Grade Talisman Celestial Masters.]

[It was also the very first Fifth Tier Middle Grade art you had mastered.]

["Not bad at all."]

[You gave a slight nod. The greatest benefit of your Talisman Dao stepping into the Fifth Tier Middle Grade was that in future simulations, whenever you nurtured a Dharma Talisman, you could start directly with a Fifth Tier Middle Grade Dharma Talisman.]

[That alone would save you a great deal of time.]

[If your Talisman Dao skill could reach the Fifth Tier High Grade, then after two or three thousand years of nurturing—even if your cultivation realm and mana remained unchanged—you could probably nurture a true Sixth Tier Dharma Talisman.]

[This breakthrough in your Talisman Dao left you in high spirits.]

[After resting briefly, you took out the Dark Chessboard.]

[You sank your divine sense inside and began contemplating it.]

[Another three hundred years passed. Combined with the previous two hundred, you had been stuck on this three-hundredth illusion layer for a full five hundred years.]

[Yet after five hundred years of contemplation—especially these last three hundred—you were only a single step away from locking onto the flaw in this illusion layer and shattering it in one stroke.]

[Hum—]

[Your divine sense plunged into the Dark Chessboard.]

[Before you even began observing, the faint, intermittent murmurs and whispers echoed in your ears once more.]

[Long since used to their presence, you fixed your gaze on the three-hundredth illusion layer.]

[Dozens of breaths later.]

["Break!"]

[Your gaze snapped toward a certain spot in the illusion layer as your vast divine sense swept out.]

[Crash—]

[The three-hundredth illusion layer began to crumble.]

["So the workings of a grand realm cannot run like that..."]

[Having completely seen through the flaw in the three-hundredth illusion layer, you gained a great deal yourself.]

["Hm?"]

[Your expression shifted slightly. The insights from breaking the three-hundredth illusion layer began to merge with what you had gained from breaking the previous two hundred and ninety-nine layers. As quantitative change causes qualitative change, they converged inside your mind into a relatively complete comprehension.]

[Before you could carefully savor it, however,]

[the indistinct, broken murmurs that had been echoing in your ears suddenly grew crystal clear—]

["Three-hundredth illusion layer broken. Prototype of the Grand Pure Heaven comprehended. Automatically inducted as an ordinary disciple of the Great Dao Sect. Spacetime coordinates of the Great Dao Sect obtained."]