Translator: AnubisTL
This Jade Slip contained a trapped man's diary, recording in fragmented detail the experiences and events of the man surnamed Qin during his imprisonment in the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion.
He remained trapped within the immortal mansion for a full 379 years, facing countless moments of despair. Forced to drain his vital essence, he had to mobilize the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth to escape these dire situations.
In the final decade, he finally succeeded in deciphering all the restrictions within the mansion and mastering their intricate uses.
It was during this time that he finally discovered the Universal Treasure Manual. Only then did he realize, with a belated understanding, that the immortal mansion that had imprisoned him was actually a powerful spirit treasure.
"Hahaha! What a cruel twist of fate! So it wasn't some immortal realm at all, but a peculiar spirit treasure!"
"I was actually deceived by the remnants of ancient times! Hahaha, how laughable!"
"Trapped within this treasure for centuries, my prime years reduced to nothing. With my lifespan dwindling and vital essence severely depleted, I'm probably the most wretched Divine Transformation Great Power in the Human Realm as I approach my twilight years, wouldn't you say?"
From the final entries in the diary, Li Qing could sense the man's despair and madness.
Despite everything, the Surname Qin man, unwilling to give up, managed to refine the Universal Treasure Manual, seize control of the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion, and successfully escape from the immortal mansion.
Looking out at the world outside, where centuries had passed as if a lifetime ago, he ultimately decided to take a desperate gamble. He would use the immortal mansion to set a deadly trap, luring other cultivators into it and thereby raising his cultivation to new heights.
With the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion as his tool, he planned to ascend to the upper realm with his mid-stage Divine Transformation cultivation.
If successful, his nearing-end dao would continue in the upper realm, his lifespan would be greatly extended, and he would usher in a new era of glory.
Alas, he chose the Great Wilderness Domain as his location and ended up crossing paths with Li Qing.
All his grand illusions turned to dust, and the tragic dao of this Divine Transformation Great Power finally came to an end.
After reading the diary, Li Qing felt that the man's fate was truly rather pitiful.
Having reached the Divine Transformation Stage through his extraordinary talent, this individual enjoyed only a few years of reigning supreme in the Human Realm before accidentally stumbling into the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion. Trapped within for centuries, his vital essence was severely depleted, and his lifespan had diminished far beyond the mere centuries he had spent there. In a dazed state, he found himself at the twilight of his life.
"This should serve as a cautionary tale," Li Qing mused. "Even reaching the Divine Transformation Stage doesn't guarantee true invincibility in the Human Realm."
"There are still countless unknowns in heaven and earth. Maintaining a sense of awe and reverence is the only proper approach."
Li Qing sighed and continued sifting through the other items in the storage bag.
He discovered the man's primary cultivation manual—a peculiar demonic path technique called the Chaotic Desire Demon Art!
This demonic art accelerated cultivation by manipulating the Seven Emotions and Six Desires of others. The higher the cultivator's level, the more precious the emotional sustenance they could provide.
This was precisely why he had set up the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion in the Great Wilderness Domain. He knew that this region contained two forbidden lands, each housing a self-sealed Divine Transformation Great Power like himself, cultivating in seclusion.
He had hoped to lure a major catch with this scheme, confident that if a Divine Transformation Great Power took the bait, he could utterly refine them using the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion.
Alas, the reclusive Divine Transformation Great Powers of the Great Wilderness Domain were far too cunning. They remained utterly unmoved, not even deigning to glance at the trap.
In the end, he had to settle for quantity over quality. He focused on trapping more cultivators below the Divine Transformation stage, hoping to extract enough emotional nourishment from them to fuel his own breakthrough to the mid-Divine Transformation stage.
Yet it all ended in failure, his dream of ascension reduced to nothing.
"This demonic art is quite rare," Li Qing mused. "It nourishes oneself by feeding on the Seven Emotions and Six Desires of others—how perverse."
"Once mastered, it can even manipulate others' emotions. No wonder he could destabilize my mind with just a few words. Truly unsettling."
As he spoke, Li Qing quickly recalled his first encounter with the Formless Saint Ancestor's dao body in the subterranean sea of fire within the Fire Cliff Cave. At that time, the sealed demon ancestor had employed a similar technique.
"It seems this kind of demonic art, which manipulates emotions and influences the mind, is quite prevalent in the demon realm," Li Qing murmured to himself.
He had no intention of cultivating this particular demonic art, but some of its techniques, which involved the divine sense, piqued his interest.
Especially the Soul Division Secret Technique, which allowed one's divine soul to split into a fragment. This fragment could then inhabit other objects, and such inhabitation was notoriously difficult to detect.
With the idea that "more skills never hurt," Li Qing decided to practice this Soul Division Secret Technique.
For the next several years, Li Qing temporarily set aside his efforts to break through the bottleneck of his Divine Transformation stage, focusing instead on cultivating the Universal Treasure Manual and the Soul Division Secret Technique.
However, neither the Soul Division Secret Technique nor the second layer of the Universal Treasure Manual proved easy to master.
After several years, Li Qing still hadn't even gained a basic understanding of these two secret techniques.
Seven more years passed.
By now, Li Qing had possessed the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion for eleven years. During this time, the disciples of the Lingyun Sect had grown accustomed to the peculiar immortal mansion situated beside the sect's mountain gate.
Some of the newer disciples even mistook the immortal mansion as a part of the Lingyun Sect, only learning from others that it had been brought back from the outside world by the ancestor and was not yet open to sect members.
This year, a major event occurred in the Lingyun Sect:
Sect Leader Xu Xia successfully achieved core formation!
His aptitude was not particularly outstanding, but after years of struggle, he had finally taken this step!
The addition of another core formation realm cultivator to the Lingyun Sect was a cause for celebration, especially since this person was the sect leader himself.
In honor of this achievement, Xu Xia, at the urging of the other supreme elders, held a grand Core Formation Ceremony. Cultivators from across the Azure Ridge Domain were invited to witness the splendor of a core formation true lord.
After the ceremony, Xu Xia had hoped to relinquish his sect leader duties and devote himself fully to his own cultivation path.
But he soon discovered that if he were to step down, there seemed to be no one within the sect capable of taking his place.
At that moment, Xu Xia finally understood why the other supreme elders had been so insistent on hosting such a lavish Core Formation Ceremony for him.
Reluctantly, Xu Xia, having already formed his Golden Core, had no choice but to continue serving as the sect leader of the Lingyun Sect.
"Sigh, it seems I'll have to find a way to cultivate a successor soon. Let me think... who would be suitable?"
"Perhaps I should set up some trials, secretly testing the character of potential candidates."
As he pondered this, Xu Xia suddenly recalled some of the events he had experienced during his qi refining realm days. A sudden realization struck him, as if something had become clear.
"Ancestor Limitless truly had good intentions," Xu Xia mused with a bitter smile. He resolved to follow suit, selecting several potential successors from within the sect and then personally devising rigorous trials to choose the most suitable one to take his place.
(End of the Chapter)
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