Cultivation: I Have a Skill Level Panel

The sky was faintly lit as a ray of sun rose in the distance, the nascent dawn radiating with immense brilliance.

Above Guangping City,

WHOOSH!

A White-Plumed Spirit Bird soared across the sky, then dove straight down, its passage marked by the sound of Powerful Qi tearing through the air. It passed through the tall, thick city walls, slowed its descent, and landed gently atop a dark tower. It swayed its body slightly from side to side as it gazed down.

The buildings within the city rose and fell in an endless sprawl. Even in the early morning, streams of people flowed through the streets, and the calls of hawkers selling breakfast could be heard from the roadsides.

At this moment, inside the Library Pavilion of the spacious Wang Family Mansion, Gu Yun was devouring one book after another.

SWISH! Closing an ancient book, a glint of light flashed in Gu Yun’s deep eyes. After a full night of reading, he had gained a preliminary understanding of the layout and territories of the Southern Wilderness Domain. The Southern Wilderness Domain was, generally speaking, divided into three major landmasses: Cang Province, the Sea Continent, and Yun Province.

A single one of these was immeasurably vast, spanning tens of millions of miles. An ordinary person could not cross one even in a lifetime, let alone traverse the distance between great Domains as he had.

The entire Southern Wilderness was home to three supreme powers: the Red Moon Divine Palace, the Celestial Refining Demon Sect, and the Supreme Sword Sect. They were located in Cang Province, the Sea Continent, and Yun Province, respectively. Each Sect housed several Tongxuan True Monarchs.

It was even rumored that Harmonization Giants lived in seclusion within them, but no one knew if this was true. After all, to an ordinary person, the Tongxuan Realm already represented Heaven-Reaching abilities, making one seem like an Immortal. How could they possibly fathom the Harmonization Giants who stood above them?

He was currently in the Land of Cang Province, within the Great Yuan Dynasty, which was under the jurisdiction of the Red Moon Divine Palace.

After a full night of browsing through a vast number of ancient texts, he finally understood where Jue Ding Ridge was.

The Silent Extinction Abyss, which now lay on the border of Cang Province and the Sea Continent, was known as Jue Ding Ridge a thousand years ago.

Back then, that summit was a land of forested cliffs, towering mountains, and lush, fertile grass. Its dense Spiritual Qi made it an extremely suitable place for Cultivation. Later, two supreme experts fought a great battle there—a battle that sundered the heavens and earth, shattered space, and annihilated the Great Dao itself. They forcibly turned the hundreds of thousands of miles of Jue Ding Ridge into an Abyssal Forbidden Land!

’The change was so dramatic. No wonder Wang Zhenlong, Wang Zifan, and the others had never heard of Jue Ding Ridge. Without consulting historical records, who would have thought that the Silent Extinction Abyss, a desolate area stretching for hundreds of thousands of miles on the border of Cang Province and the Sea Continent, was once the world-renowned Jue Ding Ridge a thousand years ago?!’

’Such a well-hidden secret would indeed be difficult for an ordinary person to uncover.’

’But does the Silent Extinction Abyss truly contain the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder, one of the Twelve Divine Thunders?’

’If that tattered old Jade Scroll was deceiving me, then this trip to the Southern Wilderness will have been a total loss.’

SIGH! Gu Yun shook his head helplessly. ’Whether it’s there or not, I have to go.’

Suddenly, Gu Yun’s brows furrowed slightly.

’This Wang Family is no simple matter, to attract such a powerful expert...’

The next moment, Gu Yun’s figure vanished from the Library Pavilion.

...

Meanwhile, atop a misty mountain peak tens of thousands of miles from Guangping City, light flared. Vague figures flickered within, riding streams of Escape Light as they zipped back and forth, forming an Array base point on the summit. Immediately after, six pillars of light shot up from the Array, soaring into the sky to form a Hexagram Array that encompassed the surrounding world.

At the same time, ripples like the surface of a mirror made of water appeared within the Hexagram Array.

"You have been exploring this place for three years. What progress have you made?" From the mountain peak, an immense wave of Telekinesis descended. Boundless Qi intertwined in the void like splashing water creating shimmering ripples. In an instant, a projection of light, like a full moon hanging in the Ninth Heaven, descended from beyond the cosmos.

Below, several figures stood respectfully to the side, not daring to move an inch. Under the pressure of that terrifying Qi—as deep as an abyss and seemingly capable of suppressing the heavens and earth—cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, the Secret Realm’s location is extremely well hidden. It cannot be found in a matter of days. We still need more time." One of them, a tall man wearing a Fierce Ghost Mask and a green robe, braced himself for the Master of All Beings’ potential wrath and stepped forward to speak.

"Hmph?! This is how you handle matters?!" The gaze of the full-moon-like projection hanging in the Ninth Heaven hardened. The surrounding temperature instantly dropped to a freezing point, making one tremble uncontrollably.

In that instant, the man in the Fierce Ghost Mask, who had stepped forward under pressure, felt as if the sky was collapsing and the world was plunging into an abyss of endless, cold darkness.

"Sect Leader, spare me! This disciple has already mobilized all available forces to cover tens of thousands of miles around the Great Yuan Dynasty. I believe we will be able to locate the Secret Realm soon."

"Furthermore, during this time, this disciple has found some of the remaining bloodline relatives of Ouyang Ke, the Master of the Secret Realm of Heaven and Earth."

"I believe we will have results shortly."

"It’s just... it’s just..." The green-robed man wearing the Fierce Ghost Mask trailed off, choking on his words as if he didn’t know where to begin.

"Just what?!" The gaze of the light projection high above turned cold. An immense pressure, as heavy as Mount Tai, crashed down upon the man in the Fierce Ghost Mask.

In that moment, the man in the Fierce Ghost Mask felt a terrifying pressure akin to the might of the heavens. Fear flooded his heart, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. He spoke at once, not daring to hesitate for a second.