Chapter 265 : Ninefold Heaven
Chapter 265: Ninefold Heaven
The old Daoist clasped his hands and bowed toward Chen Ming. “This poor Daoist managed to escape from great peril this time, all thanks to you, little friend. I never would have thought that the personal artifact of the Ancient Emperor Xi would actually fall into your hands.”
The personal artifact of the Ancient Emperor Xi?
Chen Ming subconsciously reached toward the tortoiseshell on his chest. When his fingers brushed against its solid surface, he realized with surprise that the tortoiseshell had somehow followed him into this strange space.
Could this be… physical traversal?
But his other belongings were nowhere to be found.
Suppressing his doubts, he said, “This too must be fate, Senior. This junior dares not claim credit.”
The old Daoist smiled. “Be that as it may, this poor Daoist must still owe you a favor. Since that tortoiseshell rests in your hands, you must be a man of great fortune. Allow this poor Daoist to tell you the secret of the tortoiseshell.”
Before Chen Ming could reply, the old Daoist continued, “This tortoiseshell is not only an artifact used for divination—it is also a key. As long as you are within the Capital, you may use it to open a certain Secret Realm. That realm is said to be related to the Ancient Emperor Xi, and legend has it that whoever passes its trials will obtain the Emperor’s legacy.”
He then taught Chen Ming the method to open the Secret Realm.
“Well then, I see that you feel rather uneasy in this place. Let me send you back. Should you ever wish to speak again, just call my name three times in your mind.”
The old Daoist waved his wide sleeve, and Chen Ming felt the world spin around him. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his room.
“What kind of technique was that?”
Chen Ming checked his body and sensed the Taiyue Sword. Confirming he had returned to reality, he finally relaxed, though he remained wary of the old Daoist’s mysterious abilities.
He had been calmly cultivating, yet was forcibly pulled into some strange space. That gave him no sense of security at all.
If such a thing happened in the middle of a sparring match, how dangerous would that be?
He took out the black jade-like tortoiseshell and murmured, “I didn’t expect you to have such a background.”
A Secret Realm key. The Emperor Xi’s legacy.
After several changes of expression, he finally made up his mind.
Even if there was danger, he had to try.
There were only twenty days left. At his current rate, no matter how he calculated, there was no way he could gather fifty million experience points in time.
Although that old Daoist was mysterious, he seemed to harbor no malice for now.
Having made his decision, Chen Ming bit his finger and, following the Daoist’s instructions, drew a pattern on the tortoiseshell with his blood. Then he used his divine sense to fuse the blood with the tortoiseshell.
At once, a wondrous scene occurred.
His blood seemed to seep into the tortoiseshell, and his divine sense formed a mysterious connection with it.
Somewhere unseen, he could faintly sense something in the sky calling to him.
A spark of intuition flashed through his heart as he silently uttered, “Open!”
With a thunderous rumble, his consciousness seemed to soar upward, and before him appeared a grand and towering gate.
The gate slowly opened.
A powerful sense of weightlessness struck him, accompanied by a tearing sensation. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing inside a ruined palace—broken walls, shattered tiles, and toppled pillars everywhere.
The sky was dim and overcast, and the wind howled. The whole world was shrouded in gray mist, and in the distance, dark shadows flickered past.
A chill ran down Chen Ming’s spine.
“So this is the Secret Realm unlocked by the tortoiseshell? Looks like it’s just like the one where Jin Tai hid in Jin Yutang—it’s already on the verge of collapse.”
Judging from the surroundings, there didn’t seem to be any sign of an inheritance here.
He was rather disappointed.
Then again, Emperor Xi was a figure from tens of thousands of years ago. It wasn’t strange that this Secret Realm had fallen into ruin.
Losing interest in exploring further, he turned to leave—when suddenly, a chill ran down his back. He dodged aside just in time to avoid a gust of yin wind.
Turning around, he saw a half-bodied armored guard floating in the air, its body pitch black and semi-transparent, like a ghost.
“Impudent intruder, how dare you trespass into Emperor Xi’s palace!”
The specter shrieked and lunged at him.
He dared not be careless and drew the Taiyue Sword, using the movement technique of Phoenix Dances Through Nine Heavens to engage the ghost in battle.
It was his first time encountering such a creature—better to be cautious.
After a brief exchange, he understood its attack pattern. It only used one type of yin energy assault and seemed to lack intellect, acting purely on instinct—thus, not too difficult to handle.
Then he launched his counterattack.
With a single slash, he cut the ghost’s body in two.
Yet since it had no physical form, that wasn’t enough to kill it.
He kept slicing until it was cut into a dozen pieces before it finally began to dissipate.
【You have defeated a Level 90 Mutated Ghost. Gained 100,000 experience points.】
“?”
Seeing the prompt, Chen Ming froze for a moment, then burst into ecstatic laughter. “Hahaha… Heaven truly helps me!”
Monsters in this Secret Realm actually granted experience when slain!
This place was a perfect leveling dungeon—and entirely his own!
“Come out!”
He soared into the air, intending to summon more ghosts and slaughter them.
Then his laughter froze. Without hesitation, he turned and ran.
Behind him, dozens of identical ghosts shrieked as they swarmed toward him.
……
Half an hour later.
Chen Ming finally shook off that horde of unscrupulous ghosts and reflected ruefully, “That was too loud. I shouldn’t have drawn so much aggro.”
He hadn’t expected one shout to summon dozens of them.
But soon his eyes lit up again—dozens of small monsters, a hundred thousand each—that was several million experience points!
He began experimenting with ways to lure them out one by one—drawing the attention of a single ghost, leading it to an empty spot, killing it, then repeating the process.
After slaying seven ghosts, he left the Secret Realm and returned to reality.
Once again came the intense weightlessness and tearing sensation.
When he opened his eyes, he was back in his room.
Everything was as before; no one had noticed his brief departure.
He sighed with some regret. “What limits my leveling speed now is the recovery rate of my True Qi.”
Gu Haochuan had been generous, giving him plenty of precious pills to accelerate recovery, but those couldn’t be taken too often.
Overuse would reduce the purity of his Qi—too high a cost.
After some thought, Chen Ming decided to visit that old Daoist again.
“Wang Chenzi, Wang Chenzi, Wang Chenzi.”
After chanting the name three times in his mind, his consciousness once more entered the mysterious space, returning to that familiar cave.
The old Daoist was still seated cross-legged upon his mat, exuding an aura of immortal grace.
He smiled. “Little friend, have you entered the Qingwei Heaven?”
“Qingwei Heaven? Senior means the Secret Realm connected to the tortoiseshell? Yes, I’ve already been there.”
“It seems you have gained quite a harvest.”
“Well… I ran into some trouble.”
Chen Ming briefly described the state of the Secret Realm.
Hearing this, the old Daoist sighed. “To think that Emperor Xi’s Qingwei Heaven has also fallen into ruin… no doubt the work of that accursed Eternal Life Emperor.”
Chen Ming, his mind still focused on farming experience, said, “This junior cannot bear to see the Secret Realm overrun by ghosts, so I wish to exterminate them. Yet they are difficult to kill, thus I came to seek your guidance.”
The old Daoist replied, “Those ghosts should be the fallen guards of Emperor Xi’s palace. For a transcendent martial expert, eradicating them would be simple. Your cultivation, however, is still a bit lacking. This poor Daoist does know a secret art specifically for severing such yin spirits—but to master it would take several years of arduous effort.”
Chen Ming’s eyes lit up. “Please, Senior, teach me!”
The old Daoist gazed at him intently. “Are you truly willing to devote several years of bitter cultivation just to destroy those spirits?”
“I am!”
“Good. Then listen carefully…”
……
By dawn, Chen Ming was still comprehending the secret art the Daoist had passed on to him—the God-Smiting Thorn. This art specialized in tempering the divine soul.
The old Daoist mentioned that he once possessed a Visualization Diagram meant to assist cultivation of this art, but after he was captured, his belongings had naturally become spoils of war.
Without the diagram, cultivation would be twice the effort for half the result.
Before they parted, the Daoist advised him not to overexert himself lest he neglect his martial training.
For Chen Ming, however, only the initiation stage required time. Once he reached that point, all he needed was experience.
Cultivating this art was akin to sharpening a blade—it only made the chopping faster later.
As usual, Chen Ming rode his carriage to the Celestial Prison and greeted Tang Shouzheng. “Lord Tang.”
Before others, he naturally addressed him by his official title.
Tang Shouzheng looked elated. “Brother Gu, did you witness the grand spectacle last night?”
“Huh?” Chen Ming was puzzled. “What happened last night?”
Tang Shouzheng said excitedly, “You didn’t see it? What a pity! It was an earth-shaking event—after two thousand years, the Ninefold Heaven has appeared once more! I never imagined I’d live to witness the Ninefold Heaven manifest in our world!”
The Ninefold Heaven?
For some reason, Chen Ming had a bad feeling. “When did this happen?”
“Around the hour of the Ox. It lasted for more than two hours.”
Chen Ming’s heart skipped a beat—that was exactly when he’d been grinding monsters in the Secret Realm.
Could it be… that?
He asked, “What exactly is this Ninefold Heaven? I must admit, I’ve never heard of it before.”
Tang Shouzheng explained, “Secret Realms in this world are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, impossible to count. Among them, the most famous is the Ninefold Heaven. In ancient times, the mightiest of humankind moved nine supreme celestial mansions into the Capital. Thus, the world came to call them the Ninefold Heaven.
“Whenever the Ninefold Heaven opens, a magnificent sight appears in the skies above the Capital—the shadows of immortal palaces manifest. Yet since the fall of the Jing Dynasty two thousand years ago, such a spectacle has never been seen again.”
By now, cold sweat was dripping down Chen Ming’s back.