Chapter 306 - 305: The Ancient Dongtian and the Secret of the Sacred Grounds (3)

"We have arrived."

Ku Ming pointed toward a narrow path winding between two mountains.

"My usual cultivation spot lies beyond that ridge. There is a natural stone platform beside a waterfall, and the spiritual Qi there is considerably denser than it is in the surrounding territory. I discovered it several years ago and have been using it whenever I wish to meditate without being disturbed."

He looked at Lin Yuan.

"The pressure will increase as we approach, but I believe the two of you can withstand it."

Lin Yuan nodded, then turned toward Bai Qingyue.

"How do you feel?"

Bai Qingyue took a moment to examine the surrounding environment.

"The spiritual Qi is much denser here, but it also feels heavier. It is as though the energy itself carries a certain weight."

She looked toward the mountains.

"Even the laws seem more tangible. I can sense them more clearly than before, although I cannot understand most of what I am feeling."

"That is normal," Ku Ming explained. "The spiritual Qi within the Sacred Grounds is not merely abundant. It has been exposed to ancient laws for countless years. In certain regions, the energy has become so closely intertwined with those laws that absorbing it without sufficient preparation can be dangerous."

He looked at Bai Qingyue with a serious expression.

"Do not attempt to absorb too much at once. A cultivator’s body and Spirit must be capable of withstanding the principles contained within the energy. Otherwise, what appears to be an opportunity for advancement may become a source of internal injury."

Bai Qingyue nodded.

"Thank you for the warning, Master Ku Ming."

The monk smiled.

"There is no need to thank me. Cultivation is a journey that requires both courage and caution. A reckless cultivator may advance quickly for a time, but the price of a single mistake can outweigh a hundred years of progress."

Lin Yuan glanced at him.

"That is a principle worth remembering."

He then turned his attention toward the mountains once more.

The Dao Fruit within his Primordial Spirit had not stopped trembling.

Its reaction was not particularly strong, but Lin Yuan could clearly feel that the ancient laws in this region were resonating with the three principles contained within the fruit.

Thunder.

Rain.

Three Rebirths.

It was as though the environment itself contained traces of the same underlying principles.

Yet, that was not what interested him most.

The spiritual Qi was circulating through the mountains, the valleys, and the forest in a pattern that resembled an immense network. The pale stones they had encountered earlier appeared to mark certain points along that network, while the mountains served as natural barriers that redirected the flow.

Lin Yuan’s gaze moved from one peak to another.

For a brief moment, he felt as though he were looking at something much larger than a forest or a mountain range.

He was looking at the structure of an entire region.

And the region was only a small part of the Sacred Grounds.

"Master Ku Ming," he asked, "have you ever wondered why the spiritual Qi in the Sacred Grounds behaves differently from that of the outside world?"

Ku Ming considered the question.

"Naturally. The difference is obvious to anyone who has spent sufficient time here. However, the exact reason remains difficult to determine. The ancient formations undoubtedly play a role, but I suspect they are not the only cause."

"What do you suspect?"

The monk looked toward the mountains.

"I believe the Sacred Grounds possess an underlying structure that is fundamentally different from the ordinary world. The ancient formations are merely working within that structure, drawing upon its properties and preserving certain conditions that would otherwise have disappeared."

Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"An underlying structure?"

"Yes."

Ku Ming folded his hands behind his back.

"Think about it carefully, Almsgiver Lin. In the outside world, spiritual Qi generally gathers around spiritual veins, spirit stone deposits, and natural formations. The surrounding environment influences its density, but the energy ultimately disperses according to the ordinary laws governing Heaven and Earth."

He gestured toward the mountains.

"Here, however, the situation is different. Spiritual Qi circulates through the land in a manner that resembles the flow of blood through a living body. Certain regions act as gathering points, others serve as channels, and some appear to regulate the movement of energy across vast distances."

He paused.

"At first, I believed this was the result of an extraordinarily complex formation. However, the more time I spend here, the more I suspect that the formations are merely responding to the nature of the place itself."

Bai Qingyue looked at him.

"Are you saying that the Sacred Grounds naturally produce and circulate spiritual Qi?"

"Not exactly."

Ku Ming shook his head.

"Producing spiritual Qi and circulating it are two different matters. A spiritual vein can gather energy from its surroundings and release it into the environment, while a formation can direct that energy toward a particular location. But the Sacred Grounds appear to do something more complicated. Even in places where there are no obvious spiritual veins, the Qi continues to flow through the land. When one region becomes depleted, energy gradually returns to it from elsewhere."

He turned toward Lin Yuan.

"It is as though the entire realm possesses a circulation system of its own."

Lin Yuan’s pupils contracted.

A circulation system.

The phrase immediately reminded him of his own True Elemental Body.

His five Great Secret Realms, corresponding to the Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, Qilin, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise, formed a self-sustaining cycle within his body. Rather than relying entirely on the spiritual Qi of the outside world, he could circulate and transform the energy within his own foundation.

The relationship between the five elements was not merely a convenient cultivation method. It was a complete cycle that allowed the different principles to support one another.

The Sacred Grounds appeared to possess something similar, although on a vastly greater scale.

Lin Yuan looked toward the mountains.

’Could this place be operating according to a comparable principle?’

The thought was only a hypothesis, but it explained several things he had noticed since entering the Sacred Grounds.

The dense spiritual Qi.

The strange temporal dilation.

The ancient laws that seemed to permeate the entire environment.

The tremendous pressure that ordinary cultivators struggled to withstand.

Perhaps these were not independent characteristics.

Perhaps they were all consequences of the same underlying structure.

"Master Ku Ming," Lin Yuan asked, "have you ever heard of a Dongtian Realm?"