Another session of cultivation came to an end. Mo Tiange opened her eyes.
A month had passed within the Void Heaven Realm, yet the scene outside remained unchanged.
Ren Yufeng was still cultivating his Divine Dragon Secret Method, and Qiu Zhiming remained alive.
Jiang Shanghang and Tang Fang had presumably escaped, but no one had entered the Underground Palace since. Perhaps, once this palace sealed shut, even Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't open its entrance—which explained Ren Yufeng's utter confidence.
Being trapped alone in the Underground Palace was likely tedious for Ren Yufeng as well. Not only had he refrained from killing Qiu Zhiming, he had even created a Water-Proof Barrier to keep him alive.
Seeing that Ren Yufeng's killing intent had gradually faded, Qiu Zhiming relaxed considerably and slowly resumed his own cultivation.
From Mo Tiange's perspective as an observer, Qiu Zhiming was probably safe from death for the time being. No one knew how long they would be trapped in this palace. As long as Ren Yufeng wanted company, Qiu Zhiming would live. In fact, Ren Yufeng might even feel he needed a servant and might grant Qiu Zhiming some benefits later.
Of course, these matters currently had little to do with her. Her most important task now was to cultivate as quickly as possible. She would compete with Ren Yufeng to see whose cultivation progressed faster.
Mo Tiange knew that secluded cultivation here brought more harm than good for her. Her recent travels had allowed growth in both mind and body, so advancing to late-stage Foundation Establishment wouldn't be a problem. However, attempting to break through to Core Formation was still far too early. Forcing a breakthrough now would likely make the inner demon tribulation insurmountable.
But doing nothing was clearly not an option. Realizing this, Mo Tiange began searching through the books within the Void Heaven Realm for a solution.
Among the texts, she found some elixirs that could aid advancement, some of which had calming and mind-protecting effects. From then on, Mo Tiange split her time between cultivation and refining these pills. While this couldn't solve the root problem, having them was still better than nothing.
Just like that, eight months passed in the blink of an eye.
Holding onto her Primordial One, her spiritual platform clear and empty, the Yin-attributed Five-Element Spiritual Qi filled her entire body, circulating wildly through her meridians.
Mo Tiange knew she was about to advance to late-stage Foundation Establishment.
She remained completely calm, methodically regulating her breathing while gently guiding the Spiritual Qi's flow through her meridians.
For these minor realm advancements, innate talent had a huge impact. If she still possessed her former Five-Spiritual-Root constitution, every minor advancement after Foundation Establishment would have required immense effort. But now, having switched to cultivating the Primordial Chaos Pure Maiden Art, minor advancements presented no bottlenecks. With careful attention, it wouldn't be a problem.
Spiritual Qi continuously accumulated in her dantian, while the surrounding Spiritual Qi surged toward her in a frenzy. Mo Tiange quietly absorbed this energy, storing it in her dantian, repeating the cycle.
Finally, her dantian was packed full, unable to accommodate another speck of Spiritual Qi. Mo Tiange immediately stopped absorbing energy and instead began circulating the nearly clogged Spiritual Qi within her dantian.
Under her deliberate guidance, the Spiritual Qi began to move, circulating from her dantian through her meridians for a full cycle before returning to the dantian.
The Spiritual Qi moved faster and faster, almost forming a vortex. It was as if her body had become a universe, with countless stars swirling and orbiting around a central point.
Suddenly, the stars reached their limit. With a thunderous *rumble*, they collided with each other, scrambling to seize broader territory. The universe expanded explosively under this pressure.
Mo Tiange opened her eyes, her face covered in sweat. Without bothering to wipe it away, she first checked her own condition, feeling a surge of joy.
She had indeed advanced to late-stage Foundation Establishment!
Minor advancements weren't as difficult as major ones. The density of Spiritual Qi didn't change; only the dantian expanded slightly.
Mo Tiange circulated her energy once, feeling completely refreshed throughout her body with no lingering issues from the advancement, before finally stopping.
Having reached late-stage Foundation Establishment didn't bring her much joy. Late-stage Foundation Establishment was nothing remarkable. Ren Yufeng had long been at this stage, and judging by his actions, his strength had surely reached the Core Formation level after using the so-called Divine Dragon Secret Method. She still couldn't do anything to him.
To be fair, Mo Tiange didn't believe Ren Yufeng would quickly become a high-level cultivator just because he obtained this Divine Dragon Secret Method. Leaving aside how bizarre this secret method seemed—he possessed no Breath of the Divine Dragon, instead being shrouded in Demonic Qi—just considering herself, with her Primordial Chaos Spiritual Root and Pure Yin constitution, aided by the Primordial Chaos Pure Maiden Art, she didn't believe her full-speed cultivation would be much slower than Ren Yufeng's.
So, this was essentially a race against time. Would Ren Yufeng cultivate faster relying on the Divine Dragon Secret Method, or would her Primordial Chaos Pure Maiden Art allow her to advance quicker? As long as her cultivation speed surpassed Ren Yufeng's, then one day she could emerge openly and cut him down.
Letting out a soft sigh, Mo Tiange tore open a rift in the Void Heaven Realm's sky to observe the outside scene.
Ren Yufeng and Qiu Zhiming were still cultivating. Over the past few months, she occasionally overheard their conversations. Qiu Zhiming had completely fallen. Under Ren Yufeng's oppression and for the sake of survival, he had become a pathetic creature dependent on Ren Yufeng, capable only of obsequious agreement.
Coincidentally, just as she successfully advanced to late-stage Foundation Establishment, Ren Yufeng outside also stopped his cultivation.
Earlier, while Ren Yufeng was still cultivating, Mo Tiange observed that the black energy surrounding him had grown increasingly dense, almost engulfing his entire person. However, if one speculated this black energy as Spiritual Qi, Ren Yufeng remained at a level equivalent to early-stage Core Formation, without advancing further.
Observing this, Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief. This indicated that even with the Divine Dragon Secret Method, Ren Yufeng couldn't instantly become a supremely powerful cultivator; he still had to cultivate step by step. In that case, she felt somewhat confident that her cultivation speed wouldn't lag far behind his.
Ren Yufeng, having stopped cultivating, seemed somewhat perplexed. Perhaps he had also encountered a cultivation bottleneck. After pondering for a moment, he retrieved an object from his Qiankun Bag.
Seeing his action, Mo Tiange's eyes widened.
What Ren Yufeng took out was none other than a thick Stone Stele!
Qiu Zhiming had once said that Ren Yufeng obtained a Stone Stele during his first entry into the Underground Palace, which recorded the Divine Dragon Secret Method for obtaining the Breath of the Divine Dragon. That was why Ren Yufeng fabricated lies, making them believe the palace held many treasures, in order to use them to re-enter this Underground Palace.
Taking out this stele, Ren Yufeng seemed sentimental, stroking its surface while sighing. Then, he placed the stele upright and stared intently at it, as if studying.
From her position, Mo Tiange couldn't clearly see the contents on the stele, but she could make out the general content.
Just as Qiu Zhiming said, it was covered in lines resembling drawings. In ancient times when writing first emerged, murals were still the primary method of record-keeping. This stele came from the ancient sacrificial temple of the Underground Palace, so using drawings for recording wasn't wrong.
The drawings carved on it were simple: a person stood before Dragon Bones, seemingly performing some secret technique. Beside it were many human figures in various postures, with several types of lines drawn inside their bodies, likely representing Spiritual Qi circulation methods. Presumably, this was Ren Yufeng's so-called Divine Dragon Secret Method. Additionally, some postures seemed to have simple characters carved beside them, but Mo Tiange couldn't recognize these ancient words.
The term "ancient" here was from the perspective of mortal history. For cultivators, it was generally categorized into the Primordial Era, Age of Divine Extinction, and High Antiquity. The Primordial Era lineage spanned millions of years since the beginning of heaven and earth. The Primordial Era that cultivators generally referred to and knew more about was the hundreds of thousands of years after the deities established the ascension rules.
During those hundreds of thousands of years, great supernatural powers emerged one after another. Everyone yearned for ascension, and many succeeded in becoming immortals. Many writings and cultivation techniques from that period survived, with lucky individuals still obtaining them today. Their writings had been studied extensively by many cultivators, and their meanings were understood.
Not to mention others, Mo Tiange's own Void Heaven Realm was a relic from that time, and its writings posed no barrier to her.
But these ancient words from millions of years ago were completely unrecognizable in today's cultivation world.
Presumably, Ren Yufeng didn't recognize them either. He frowned now, cross-referencing the pictures and words on the stele, pondering bit by bit, occasionally making some movements.
A thought flashed through Mo Tiange's mind: Since Ren Yufeng didn't recognize the words, could it be that his so-called comprehension of the Divine Dragon Secret Method was completely wrong? Or perhaps it wasn't the Divine Dragon Secret Method at all, but some evil technique?
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Otherwise, how could absorbing the Breath of the Divine Dragon result in being shrouded in Demonic Qi? Could it be that Ren Yufeng himself hadn't noticed anything amiss?
Outside the Void Heaven Realm, Ren Yufeng also seemed full of doubt, unable to figure something out.
At this moment, Qiu Zhiming also stopped cultivating, looking at Ren Yufeng with a mix of fear and curiosity.
He no longer worried about Ren Yufeng killing him, but facing Ren Yufeng now made him even more afraid. A year of oppression had ingrained this fear deep in his heart. Seeing Ren Yufeng's appearance triggered habitual obedience.
Ren Yufeng sighed, seemingly talking to himself. "The Breath of the Divine Dragon, the Breath of the Divine Dragon..."
Qiu Zhiming hesitated, then cautiously asked, "Senior Brother Ren, is there a problem?"
Ren Yufeng glanced at him, setting aside his contemplation, and said indifferently, "Nothing. It's just that comprehending this technique presents some difficulties."
"...Oh." Qiu Zhiming didn't dare ask further and sat silently to the side.
Perhaps having pondered for too long without success, Ren Yufeng felt the need to talk. After a moment of thought, he said, "The Breath of the Divine Dragon... why does absorbing it result in this..."
Mo Tiange's expression stiffened. So Ren Yufeng also found it strange?
Sure enough, Ren Yufeng continued, "According to this stele, absorbing the Breath of the Divine Dragon turns one into a child of the Divine Dragon, with majestic aura and holy presence. But..."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange was eighty percent certain: This Ren Yufeng had definitely cultivated the wrong technique!
But Ren Yufeng didn't seem to realize it, still murmuring, "Perhaps this technique was originally like this?"
As he spoke, Qiu Zhiming timidly interjected, "Senior Brother Ren, is it possible... you misunderstood the technique?"
The moment Qiu Zhiming said this, Ren Yufeng's expression changed drastically. He snarled viciously, "Impossible! I've already obtained the Breath of the Divine Dragon, how could I be wrong? If I were wrong, could I possess such power?"
"Yes, yes." Qiu Zhiming didn't dare contradict him, agreeing repeatedly.
"It must be that my cultivation hasn't reached mastery yet! Once I succeed, I'll definitely be able to transform into a Divine Dragon's body!" Ren Yufeng declared firmly, putting away the stele and sitting down to resume cultivation.
Mo Tiange inside the Void Heaven Realm shook her head. Ren Yufeng was already deluded. This technique was definitely wrong, even if it granted him power. How could the sacred, pure Breath of the Divine Dragon give rise to black Demonic Qi?
However, it would be best if something went wrong with Ren Yufeng's cultivation. Demonic cultivation techniques were most prone to mishaps. If he suffered a Qi Deviation, killing him would be effortless.
Just as she was about to close her eyes and continue her own cultivation, Mo Tiange suddenly realized something and opened her eyes again.
Inside the Void Heaven Realm, everything was calm. But outside, it seemed to be shaking.
Ren Yufeng stopped cultivating, and Qiu Zhiming also opened his eyes. Both looked around, bewildered and astonished.
Qiu Zhiming cried out, "Senior Brother Ren, wh-what's happening?"
Ren Yufeng frowned, also filled with confusion.
The vast indoor plaza was shaking. From within the Void Heaven Realm, Mo Tiange could clearly see the Dragon Bones on the plaza also began to shake!
Ren Yufeng's expression changed several times. He closed his eyes and released his divine sense. Gradually, his face grew paler and paler. "August 15th... it's August 15th!"
Mo Tiange was stunned, and then her own expression changed slightly.
August 15th—the Land of Hidden Dragons underwent drastic changes on this day, its scenes completely transforming, entirely different from the previous year. Disciples remaining in the Land of Hidden Dragons after August 15th would never appear again!
This was something Jiang Shanghang had specifically emphasized before entering the Land of Hidden Dragons.
They had been trapped in this Underground Palace for over eight months. When they entered, it was mentioned that they had discovered this palace three months after August 15th, when the Land of Hidden Dragons had just changed. Now, exactly one year had passed. The scenes of the Land of Hidden Dragons were about to change again!
This matter had been vaguely on Mo Tiange's mind, but she always felt that being inside the Void Heaven Realm should protect her from any effects. And indeed, it seemed unaffected now—everything outside was shaking, but the Void Heaven Realm remained peaceful. However, facing the moment, she still felt some worry. If the Underground Palace disappeared, where would the Void Heaven Realm appear? Would it vanish along with the palace, or remain in place?
Outside, Ren Yufeng and Qiu Zhiming were now panicking. Although Ren Yufeng was no longer a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was still helpless against such unknown phenomena.
"Senior Brother Ren, what should we do? What should we do?" Qiu Zhiming's voice carried a sob. The Underground Palace was shaking more and more violently, the Dragon skeleton seeming ready to collapse at any moment.
Ren Yufeng, in a foul mood, roared harshly, "Quiet!"
Qiu Zhiming didn't dare argue, swallowing his words, but his entire body went limp, looking at Ren Yufeng in a daze.
Ren Yufeng thought for a while but seemed to have no ideas. The power gained from the Breath of the Divine Dragon had made him forget the Land of Hidden Dragons' annual transformation rule.
Why the Land of Hidden Dragons' scenes changed yearly, where last year's scenes went—these questions had remained unanswered for thousands of years. Those disciples who lingered in the Land of Hidden Dragons without leaving never returned after disappearing.
The ground shook more and more violently. They floated in the water, unable to stand steadily.
"No, I can't let this happen." Ren Yufeng muttered to himself, then forcefully assumed a cross-legged posture and activated his Spiritual Qi.
Mo Tiange didn't know what he intended, but he clearly had a plan.
She saw Ren Yufeng activate his spiritual aura, gathering Spiritual Qi. The black energy around him grew denser and denser. The Breath of the Divine Dragon above the Dragon Bones began surging toward him in a frenzy!
He wanted to forcibly absorb the Breath of the Divine Dragon to elevate his cultivation!
Mo Tiange's expression changed. She didn't know the consequences. In principle, demonic techniques were prone to Qi Deviation, especially when forcing a realm breakthrough. But this so-called Divine Dragon Secret Method was millions of years old—who knew if it was special? Besides, if Ren Yufeng succeeded and reached a higher realm, killing him would become difficult, and even her own escape would be harder!
Of course, it would be best if he failed, or if the Land of Hidden Dragons transported him to an unknown location. At the very least, she could escape safely.
The Breath of the Divine Dragon surged madly toward Ren Yufeng. The black energy on his body churned, gradually covering him completely.
Now the Underground Palace shook even more violently. The Dragon Bones, which had rested here for millions of years, finally emitted a *crack* and collapsed with a thunderous roar from an unknown starting point.
First, the skull rolled down, followed by the massive spine. Ribs were swept up by the water, the tailbone slowly separating...
The colossal and majestic Divine Dragon skeleton instantly turned into a pile of white bones, scattering with the water.
Qiu Zhiming, floating in the water, was struck by a huge Dragon Bone. His head went numb, and he lost consciousness.
Ren Yufeng continued his technique, now completely enveloped in black energy, his form invisible.
Mo Tiange watched this scene nervously. She hoped Ren Yufeng wouldn't succeed. She hoped the Void Heaven Realm would remain unaffected.
An unknown amount of time passed. The Underground Palace still shook. Ren Yufeng suddenly opened his eyes and let out a loud "Ah—" cry.
The black energy on his body gradually dissipated, revealing his true appearance.
A deathly pale face, a withered, emaciated body—thin as a skeleton, like a living corpse. Yet his eyes glowed with a pitch-black light.
Mo Tiange was greatly shocked. Over the past months, Ren Yufeng had been shrouded in black energy, so she hadn't seen his true face. She never imagined that the relatively clean, handsome man from months ago could become like this! Even calling him a desiccated corpse would be believable.
But Ren Yufeng clasped his palms together again. Black energy emerged from his palms, circling out like silkworms spinning silk to form a cocoon, wrapping around him. The black threads multiplied rapidly, starting from his feet and quickly winding upward.
By now, the Underground Palace was completely upside down.
Mo Tiange stared intently at Ren Yufeng. The black threads on his body continued unabated, winding past his waist and abdomen, upward to his head, finally tightening there, firmly encasing his entire body.
Outside the palace, a deafening roar finally erupted. From within the Void Heaven Realm, Mo Tiange saw countless giant stones begin to collapse.
This ancient structure was built from massive stones twice a person's height, each weighing a thousand jin. But now, the Underground Palace's stones began disintegrating. Walls on all sides, the ceiling—stone after stone was swept up by water and fell downward.
The water surged violently. Dragon Bones floated everywhere. Giant stones crashed down chaotically.
Mo Tiange watched with regret as these massive stones struck Ren Yufeng, only to be blocked by the giant black cocoon enveloping him. Qiu Zhiming had long been buried beneath stones somewhere.
An unknown amount of time passed before everything gradually calmed. The water flow ceased its ferocity, the giant stones settled, and even the water slowly began to recede.
Mo Tiange, safe and sound within the Void Heaven Realm, saw a beam of light projecting from an unknown source.