Chapter 484: The Portal Opens

Chen Mobai, however, did not rashly approach to build connections in such a public setting. After all, he had never interacted with Grandmaster Qingping before, and with the realm gate about to open, it was better not to cause any complications at such a crucial moment. Chen Mobai's plan was to wait until he had successfully established his Golden Core domain before finding a way to converse with Grandmaster Qingping.

Just then, the three Golden Core Perfected Ones who had escorted them took out several talismans. After activating them, wooden cabins appeared out of thin air on the open ground of the Five Peaks Immortal Mountains. The number of cabins precisely matched the number of participants.

"Each of you select a cabin. Once the realm gate is open, you must not interfere with each other."

Grandmaster Qingping addressed everyone, then waved his hand towards the sky. A massive rift opened in the void, resembling a silver gate spanning heaven and earth, appearing before everyone's eyes.

"I have opened the realm gate!"

Grandmaster Qingping spoke kindly to the group just as Chen Mobai and the others were still processing what had happened.

"It's open already?"

Everyone stared blankly at the realm gate opened in the sky. Inside the gate was pitch black, seemingly containing an infinitely mysterious, chaotic void. Not a single ray of light could penetrate or escape; darkness coiled and enveloped the interior. The more they focused their gaze, the more a chill ran down their spines.

"Your cultivation is insufficient; you cannot stare directly at the true void for long. All of you, enter your wooden cabins for secluded cultivation. Inside, there are formations and restrictions we've set up, which will dilute the concentration of void power to one percent. If your spiritual sense is strong, you should barely be able to grasp it, or even use it to establish your Golden Core domain."

At this point, Grandmaster Qingping spoke again, gently reminding them that time had begun and they needed to make every second count. Instantly, Foundation Establishment Ninth-level cultivators, one by one, turned and flew towards the nearest wooden cabins.

With a series of thuds as doors closed, only a handful of people remained standing. Chen Mobai was among them. He looked at the silver gate in the sky, his expression slightly strange, as if he had seen something beyond his comprehension. However, at that moment, Zhongli Tianyu called out to him, then quickly found an empty cabin and went inside. When Chen Mobai came to his senses, he was the only one left.

Grandmaster Qingping and the three Golden Core Perfected Ones from the Realm Gate Management Bureau all turned their gaze towards him. Chen Mobai's heart skipped a beat, but he turned expressionlessly and flew towards the last remaining wooden cabin.

"Who is this person?"

With a thud, the cabin door closed.

Chen Mobai, however, did not immediately sit cross-legged on the meditation cushion to sense the power of the void. He walked a circle, and after confirming there were no surveillance restrictions in the cabin, he took out his mobile phone. On the screen, Guibao was already flooded with two pop-up messages.

"Gate of Grand Void detected. Absorb and refine?""Host's cultivation level insufficient. Unable to refine.""Gate of Grand Void detected. Absorb and refine?""Host's cultivation level insufficient. Unable to refine."...

Even so, he remained puzzled. Ever since he acquired Guibao, he had never seen it exhibit such unusual activity or functions.

"What does 'absorb and refine' mean?" And it was even related to his cultivation level. What benefits could there be after absorbing and refining? Or were there drawbacks? And what exactly was this 'Gate of Grand Void'?

Chen Mobai pondered for a moment, concluding that, based on the situation outside, it must refer to the realm gate. Could this be the true name of the Immortal Sect's paramount treasure? Does the Immortal Sect know this name, 'Gate of Grand Void'? Furthermore, why did Guibao react so strongly to the realm gate, even triggering new functions it had never displayed before?

As he thought, Chen Mobai recalled something else that was deeply etched in his memory. Originally, Guibao was obtained by Liu Lingpei from the Heavenly River Realm, from a Temple of Grand Void on an unnamed barren mountain. The names happened to match. Was there a connection? Furthermore, his mother Tang Pancui's hometown, Qingshan Village, also had a Temple of Grand Void and a Grand Void Mountain Range. Was this merely a coincidence of names, or was there some hidden destiny?

Sitting upright in the wooden cabin, Chen Mobai's mind raced. Guibao, the realm gate, Grand Void Mountain, the Temple of Grand Void, the Gate of Grand Void—all intertwined, making him feel overwhelmed.

With a clang! He struck the morning bell within his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness. Amidst the deep, resonant tolling, his mind gradually cleared, and he stopped dwelling on these questions. He decided to put those thoughts aside. The most crucial task now was to establish his Golden Core domain.

Chen Mobai didn't forget the main task. Although he was highly confident, he still needed to succeed in establishing his domain to solidify his reputation as the foremost Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Immortal Sect.

He sat cross-legged for a while, confirming that his mind was free of distractions, then projected his spiritual sense to perceive the power of the void. Since he had already absorbed and refined void power through Void-Empty Stones in the Heavenly River Realm, this step was easily accomplished. While others were still projecting their spiritual sense, struggling to perceive the existence of void power, Chen Mobai already felt as if he were immersed in an ocean of void.

However, the void power within Void-Empty Stones had been nurtured by the earth for tens of millions of years, becoming very gentle and controllable, like fine beach sand, and thus easily absorbed and refined. But the void power manifested by the realm gate was completely different; it was purely space crushed by the powerful force of a paramount treasure, transforming into scattered void fragments. However, this also had an advantage: it was easier for Foundation Establishment cultivators to perceive. After all, a broken stone would certainly be easier to find than a single grain of fine sand. Even so, only the elite among perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators could achieve this. The last time the realm gate opened, those who could perceive void power were Xiahou Weihuan, Tao Mingqing, Lou Fengcheng, and others who were second only to Chen Mobai during the sparring at Jumang Daoist Academy.

After Chen Mobai projected his spiritual sense, he immediately sensed the void fragments seeping into the wooden cabin, thanks to his extensive experience. After perceiving the void, the next step was to crush these void fragments into their most primal spatial power, then reshape and establish them with one's own spiritual sense into a unique Golden Core domain.

After mentally reviewing these steps and processes, Chen Mobai began to attempt to crush the void. He actually still had some Void-Empty Stones in his storage bag. If he couldn't complete this step, he would use the void power from the Void-Empty Stones to bypass it entirely. Anyway, the realm gate would provide the main power when establishing and condensing the Golden Core domain. After all, establishing a Golden Core domain was actually a fourth-tier spell in the Immortal Sect; it would be too challenging for these Foundation Establishment cultivators to accomplish on their own. As long as their spiritual sense controlled the minimum amount of void power required to activate the realm gate during this process, they could draw upon the power of this paramount treasure of the Immortal Sect to help them condense and establish their domain. It was precisely for this day that Chen Mobai had only condensed three vertebrae of the Myriad Law Body, specifically to save enough Void-Empty Stones. Like good steel should be used on the blade's edge, Void-Empty Stones were meant for crucial moments.

However, Chen Mobai still wanted to try it himself first, to see if he could crush the void fragments and grasp enough void power using his own strength. He unleashed his Ninth-level Foundation Establishment spiritual sense, transforming it into the phantom image of a blooming jasper phoenix tree. Extending its branches, he captured the void fragment closest to him within the cabin. Then, relying on the method taught by the Realm Gate Management Bureau, he began to vibrate his spiritual sense at various frequencies.

Although the void was mysterious, each fragment possessed its own unique frequency. If spiritual sense could resonate with it, then at the moment of resonance, it would be crushed into a void of nothingness. This 'Void Crushing Art' had a high threshold in the Immortal Sect; it could only be downloaded after the Realm Gate Management Bureau granted permission. However, even if ordinary cultivators obtained it, they generally couldn't master it. This was because even the void fragments after the realm gate shattered might not necessarily be successfully crushed by perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators, let alone the complete, unified void of heaven and earth.

After Chen Mobai obtained this Void Crushing Art, he had studied it for a long time and understood it thoroughly. Now that he had captured a void fragment, he unleashed his spiritual sense with full force, expecting it to be effortless. To his surprise, stimulating his spiritual sense to vibrate took a full half hour before he barely managed to completely crush the first void fragment into controllable void power. Moreover, after crushing this void fragment, Chen Mobai felt that his spiritual sense had been depleted by as much as thirty percent.

Spiritual sense was not like spiritual energy, which could be quickly restored using spirit stones, spiritual qi, spiritual water, and other resources. Although the Immortal Sect also possessed some miraculous elixirs that could restore spiritual sense, they were all extremely precious; the value of a single one was probably no less than that of a Minor Barrier-Breaking Pill. Moreover, such elixirs were rarely used; even Golden Core Perfected Ones, after expending spiritual sense, would prefer to slowly recover through meditation rather than consuming elixirs. This was because the Immortal Sect had published papers stating that consuming too many spiritual sense-related elixirs could easily affect the Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness, potentially leaving hidden dangers such as future breakthroughs becoming more difficult and bottlenecks becoming more rigid.

In other words, with Chen Mobai's amount of spiritual sense, he could at most crush three void fragments a day. And if his spiritual sense was fully depleted, even meditating for a day and a night would likely only restore about twenty to thirty percent. The realm gate opening, however, would only last for one month. Within this month, the most crucial thing was whether one could perceive and capture enough void fragments and crush them into controllable spatial power.

Chen Mobai estimated that he would probably be able to crush fifteen void fragments within this month. He didn't know if that would be enough. He had once asked the Realm Gate Management Bureau about this, but the teacher at the time told him to just crush and condense as much as possible, the more the better. For Foundation Establishment cultivators—even for Golden Core Perfected One Wenren Xuewei—it was enough to simply do their best. Because in the history of the Immortal Sect, many who successfully established Golden Core domains had merely just crossed the threshold.

Chen Mobai was naturally not satisfied with this answer, but he was also deeply afraid of exposing himself by asking too many questions. Fortunately, he now had a reference point.

He drew the pure spatial power left after his crushing before his eyes. Then, he activated his Myriad Law Body and carefully refined this spatial power into one of the silver transparent vertebrae. After a long while, he opened his eyes, stood up with a relaxed expression, and stretched. This mass of spatial power was roughly equivalent to one-seventh of a Void-Empty Stone. He currently had 23 more in his storage bag.

Using 13 pieces, plus pretending to crush some void fragments himself to total an amount equivalent to crushing a hundred fragments, he thought it would definitely be enough to trigger the realm gate to establish his Golden Core domain. While making this plan, Chen Mobai wondered if crushing a hundred void fragments might be a bit too much. However, he immediately remembered his persona in the Immortal Sect as having the potential for God Transformation, so such an achievement wouldn't be an exaggeration for him. This would not only reinforce his persona but also lay the groundwork, so that in the future, when he forms his Golden Core without the aid of Golden Core elixirs, the Immortal Sect would consider it perfectly natural.

With his worries set aside, Chen Mobai once again captured two void fragments. Just as his spiritual sense was about to be depleted, he barely managed to crush them successfully, transforming them into two small masses of pure spatial power.

Subsequently, Chen Mobai did not diligently meditate like the others to recover his spiritual sense as much as possible. He simply took a pillow out of his storage bag, lit a calming incense stick, and immediately fell asleep. He slept for three days and three nights. When he woke up, he felt that his spiritual sense had largely recovered. After yawning, Chen Mobai resumed capturing void fragments in a leisurely manner.

***

"That's about enough. According to Senior Brother Lan Haitian, he successfully triggered the realm gate by crushing forty-nine void fragments using primordial magnetic force. However, he felt that around thirty-six masses of spatial power would be enough to successfully establish a Golden Core domain."

Taishi Shu felt the thirty-eight masses of spatial power controlled by her spiritual sense, and a rare smile appeared on her pale face. The primordial magnetic force of the Six Emperors Scripture offered an exceptional bonus for crushing the void. Although she had only cultivated one of the Six Emperors, unlike Lan Haitian who had assimilated both polar primordial magnetic forces, she still far surpassed other cultivators of the same rank in this process. According to Taishi Shu's estimation, her achievement would not be far off even when compared to Golden Core Perfected One Wenren Xuewei.

"Once I successfully establish and integrate my Golden Core domain, I can elevate the primordial magnetic force of the Six Emperors Scripture to the next level. Then, I'll go challenge Chen Mobai and help Kunpeng Daoist Academy reclaim its top spot."

Taishi Shu wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, but in her heart, she was already envisioning challenging and defeating Chen Mobai. A faint, satisfied smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.