Myriad Daos of the Heaven

The 8th Layer courtyard of the Hua Mansion was the cultivation ground of the Hua Family’s ancestor. It had been silent for several years.

As Jiang Jichen and Hua Xiaoling passed through, they found a single path flanked by just a few houses made of giant stones.

Jiang Jichen activated his Divine Thought to scan the 8th Layer courtyard, but he found it completely devoid of any presence, as if no one was there at all.

However, just as Jiang Jichen and Hua Xiaoling reached the end of the 8th Layer courtyard and were about to step into the Hua Mansion’s forbidden area—the final courtyard—a voice suddenly called out, "Who goes there? Do you have the Black Token?"

Without a word, Jiang Jichen quickly took out the Black Token and held it up.

The Black Token actually looked quite ordinary, like a simple lump of black iron. However, upon closer inspection, one could see that it was engraved with ancient, secret patterns.

"You may enter."

The voice spoke, having apparently verified the token.

Jiang Jichen and Hua Xiaoling bowed in thanks before stepping into the Hua Family’s forbidden land.

To their surprise, the Hua Family’s forbidden land was a valley. A thick mist drifted through the air, the world was dim and dark, and there wasn’t the slightest trace of vitality.

This was truly a land of extinction where death qi and Ancient Spiritual Power coexisted. No wonder it was impossible to cultivate here for long.

Stay too long, and the death qi would invade, extinguishing all life, leaving only death!

But aside from the death qi, the mysterious Spiritual Power was immensely beneficial to one’s Cultivation. It seemed to be an Ancient Spiritual Power that had survived from antiquity, containing the complete Heaven and Earth Rules. Refining it offered boundless benefits.

It could not only raise one’s Cultivation but also elevate one’s comprehension to a whole new Realm.

Jiang Jichen saw through the nature of this forbidden land at a glance. It was a precious cultivation ground, a remnant from ancient times. It was now damaged, which was why life force and death qi each existed in equal measure.

In ancient times, cultivation grounds like this had complete rules and a perfect Celestial Dao. The Spiritual Power was High Level, allowing one to achieve twice the results with half the effort. The current environment of the world couldn’t even compare.

But now, without an Ancient Secret Artifact for protection, the death qi would invade the body. Once it completely eroded one’s life force, death was the only outcome.

The Black Token was clearly a Secret Treasure that could resist the death qi. However, it couldn’t block it completely, and a small amount would still seep into the body. Therefore, the length of time one could stay in the restricted area depended on their own reserves of life force.

Furthermore, the Black Token had a limited number of uses. Jiang Jichen could now see fine cracks on its surface, a clear sign that it was nearing its limit.

Once that limit was exceeded, the Black Token would shatter on its own and turn to nothing.

Jiang Jichen was naturally very familiar with such ancient, remnant cultivation grounds. With his Undying Scripture and Source Character Qi Condensing Technique, he wouldn’t have any problem cultivating on the outskirts, even without the Black Token.

So, Jiang Jichen handed the Black Token to Hua Xiaoling and said, "This Black Token can protect you from the invading death qi. But if you want to stay here longer, first drip a few drops of your blood onto it. That way, you’ll be able to fully utilize its power."

Hua Xiaoling was startled. "You gave the Black Token to me, so what will you do?"

In her excessive worry, Hua Xiaoling didn’t even stop to wonder how Jiang Jichen knew so much. Moreover, this method of dripping blood on the Black Token was something that generations of Hua Clan Leaders had either never used or were completely unaware of.

Jiang Jichen smiled confidently. "I don’t need it. If you don’t believe me, just watch."

As he spoke, Jiang Jichen stepped into the valley.

Sure enough, the dense fog contained death qi that tried to surge into Jiang Jichen’s body. But when he circulated the Undying Scripture, the death qi was repelled, and he began to refine the Ancient Spiritual Qi into his body instead.

However, the Restriction Residual Force drifting in the air struck his body, causing a faint sensation of pain.

’This is just the Restriction Residual Force on the outskirts, and I can already feel pain. If I go deeper, it will definitely be able to injure me!’

Jiang Jichen thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Hua Xiaoling was utterly astonished. She had never imagined that someone could withstand the death qi here with their physical body alone.

"Little Chen, you... what kind of monster are you?"

Hua Xiaoling asked, her beautiful eyes wide.

Jiang Jichen just smiled. "My Cultivation Technique is simply profound. But don’t tell anyone about this; it should stay between us. You should hurry up and come in to cultivate, too!"

Hearing Jiang Jichen’s words, Hua Xiaoling felt a surge of joy. The fact that he was willing to share such a secret with her meant that he already considered her one of his own people.

"Okay!"

Hua Xiaoling also stepped into the valley.

Her body shuddered as she felt a trace of death qi enter her, erasing a tiny bit of her life force.

"Quick, drip your blood onto the Black Token! That’s how you’ll be able to stay here longer!"

Jiang Jichen took Hua Xiaoling’s hand and transferred a stream of the Power of Vitality into her, protecting her from the effects of the death qi.

Hearing Jiang Jichen’s words, Hua Xiaoling readily complied. She bit her finger and dripped a few drops of blood onto the Black Token.

BUZZ!

As Hua Xiaoling’s blood landed on the Black Token, a pattern of black light rose up and enveloped her entire body.

"So this is the real way to use the Black Token! I can barely sense the death qi invading at all now!"

Hua Xiaoling exclaimed in delight.

"Yes. But the deeper you go, the denser the death qi becomes. If you reach your limit, you must retreat. Don’t push any further."

Jiang Jichen warned.

"What about you?" Hua Xiaoling asked.

"This place is very suitable for my cultivation, so I’m going to head deeper. This outer area is useless to me. Don’t worry, I never do things I’m not confident about," Jiang Jichen reassured Hua Xiaoling, then continued alone toward the depths of the valley.

The valley was very deep, with no end in sight.

Moreover, it was a land of extinction, a ruined Ancient Land for cultivation, filled with a Restriction Residual Force that grew stronger the deeper one went.

Jiang Jichen advanced, simultaneously circulating the Undying Scripture and the Source Character Qi Condensing Technique to refine the Ancient Spiritual Power.

Here, the Restriction Residual Force was already strong enough to injure him, leaving deep, bloody gashes on his body.

But this was not his limit. He could go further still!

Soon, Jiang Jichen reached the middle of the valley.

Here, the residual force of the Ancient Prohibition danced in the Void like countless knives, filled with terrifying killing power. Even with his Innate Fourth Realm Physical Body Realm, Jiang Jichen was nearly being torn to pieces.

But Jiang Jichen gritted his teeth, sat down cross-legged, and circulated the Undying Scripture. He simultaneously fought to keep his body from being destroyed while continuously absorbing Ancient Spiritual Power from the Void to repair it.

In this repeating cycle of destruction and repair, Jiang Jichen’s flesh was undergoing constant tempering.

’This is an excellent treasure ground for Body Refining. The deeper I go, the more thoroughly my physical body will be tempered. Perhaps here, with the help of the Ancient Prohibition’s residual force and the Ancient Spiritual Power, I can break through to the Innate Body Refining Fifth Realm!’

Jiang Jichen thought to himself.