Chapter 312 - 311: The Ancient Dongtian and the Secret of the Sacred Grounds (9)

"Master Ku Ming, I would like to examine this region more closely," Lin Yuan said.

The monk nodded.

"Of course. You may use this platform for as long as you wish. I have cultivated here for years, and there is no reason you should not do the same."

He glanced at Bai Qingyue.

"However, I would advise the two of you to begin cultivating only after you have become familiar with the surrounding pressure. The spiritual Qi is dense, but its fluctuations are not entirely stable. It would be unwise to absorb too much before understanding how it interacts with your foundations."

Bai Qingyue nodded.

"I will be careful."

Lin Yuan looked at her.

"Let us begin slowly. You can use this place to strengthen your foundation, while I examine the surrounding laws. If I discover anything unusual, I will inform you immediately."

She smiled.

"Very well. But do not become so absorbed in your discoveries that you forget to eat or rest."

Lin Yuan laughed softly.

"How could I forget? My Dao Companion would never forgive me."

"At least you understand that much."

Ku Ming watched their exchange with a faint smile before stepping toward the far side of the platform.

"I shall leave the two of you to your cultivation for now. I intend to meditate beside the waterfall. If either of you encounters any difficulties, you may call for me."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Thank you, Master Ku Ming."

The monk waved his hand dismissively.

"There is no need to thank me. If anything, I should be thanking you. This poor monk has spent years observing the Sacred Grounds, yet your questions have made me reconsider several assumptions I once regarded as settled."

He glanced at Lin Yuan’s deep purple eyes.

"Perhaps there is a lesson in that. Knowledge allows one to recognize what has been recorded, but comprehension allows one to discover what the records failed to explain."

With those words, Ku Ming sat cross-legged beside the waterfall and closed his eyes.

Bai Qingyue also found a suitable place on the platform and began adjusting her breathing. The dense spiritual Qi slowly gathered around her body, and the Heaven and Earth Luck surrounding her shimmered faintly as she entered meditation.

Lin Yuan remained standing.

He had no intention of rushing into cultivation.

The formation of his Dao Fruit had given him a new foundation, but he was now more interested in understanding the environment surrounding him.

He extended his divine sense once more.

This time, he did not focus on the spiritual Qi alone.

He examined the water, the spatial fluctuations, the temporal disturbances, and the ancient laws that permeated the mountains.

Slowly, the separate phenomena began to form a coherent picture within his mind.

The spiritual Qi circulated through the realm.

The spatial structure connected distant regions.

The temporal laws influenced the rate at which events unfolded.

The ancient formations preserved certain conditions, allowing the realm to continue functioning long after the civilization that had inhabited it had disappeared.

But beneath all of these phenomena lay something deeper.

A foundational structure that governed their relationships.

Lin Yuan’s Dao Fruit trembled again.

A faint colorless radiance appeared at its center, and for a brief moment, his perception seemed to pass beyond the visible world.

He did not see a complete map of the Sacred Grounds.

He did not discover the precise location of every spatial fracture or uncover the full history of the ancient calamity.

Instead, he saw a single, subtle relationship.

The relationship between a world and the laws that allowed it to exist.

A world was not merely a collection of mountains, rivers, and living beings. Nor was it simply a vast space filled with spiritual Qi.

Its existence depended on the relationships between countless principles. Space provided the structure within which things could exist. Time allowed change to unfold. The laws governed the interactions between different forms of existence, while the circulation of energy sustained the countless processes occurring within that structure.

When those relationships remained stable, the world could continue functioning.

But when the foundations were damaged, the consequences would spread.

One fracture might disturb the movement of spiritual Qi.

Another might cause temporal instability.

A third might weaken the boundary separating the world from another realm.

The visible symptoms could differ, but the underlying cause might be the same.

Lin Yuan’s eyes slowly opened.

He finally understood why the Sacred Grounds had felt so unusual from the moment he entered them.

It was not simply because their laws were ancient or their spiritual Qi was dense.

It was because the entire realm seemed to be operating according to a structure that the outside world no longer possessed in its original form.

And that structure was damaged.

Lin Yuan looked toward the mountains, his deep purple pupils reflecting the silver waterfall.

’The Sacred Grounds are more than an accelerated cultivation ground.’

The thought settled within his Dao Heart.

’They may be the remains of an ancient Dongtian Realm, a world that preserved the laws of a civilization that existed before the calamity.’

He glanced toward Ku Ming, who remained seated beside the waterfall.

The monk had spent years cultivating here, studying the ancient laws, and examining the remnants of the past. He possessed knowledge that Lin Yuan did not, and many of the questions surrounding the Sacred Grounds would require information preserved in ancient records.

Yet, knowledge alone was not enough.

The pieces had existed before Lin Yuan arrived.

The strange circulation of spiritual Qi.

The unstable temporal laws.

The spatial fluctuations beneath the waterfall.

The ancient stones scattered throughout the forest.

The monk knew about them, but he had regarded them as separate mysteries.

Lin Yuan had begun to see the relationship between them.

His comprehension allowed him to connect the clues and recognize a pattern that had remained hidden in plain sight.

However, the most important question remained unanswered.

Why had the ancient Dongtian been damaged?

A/N: If you enjoy my rate of Chapter releases, I will appreciate some golden tickets!