Chapter 1027: Western Heaven Secret Realm

Revered Qingyan's ability to cultivate to the Tribulation Stage wasn't solely due to his terrifying talent, incredible foresight, unwavering perseverance, and luck. He also knew when to back down at critical moments.

"Not bad," Lu Yang murmured, pacing with his hands behind his back as he inspected the small wooden house, exuding an air of sophistication. As expected of a Tribulation Stage Grand Master's work, it was extraordinary. The small wooden house was exquisitely crafted, without a single splinter. Inside the small wooden house, tables, chairs, benches, beds, and wardrobes were all readily available.

"Wait, why is there only one bed?" Lu Yang frowned. If he slept here, where would the Immortal Lady sleep?

Revered Qingyan looked surprised. "Given your relationship with the Grand Immortal, do you still sleep in separate beds?"

"Hmm?""Hmm?"

Revered Qingyan realized his mistake. When there's a disagreement with a leader, it's always one's own fault. He quickly corrected himself: "It was thoughtless of me. I'll build another bed right away."

"One bed is fine then," the Immortal Lady of Immortality said, floating out. She found the small wooden house acceptable. Although far from comparable to Zhutian, it was still decent; even the Great Xia Imperial Palace was built by Tribulation Stage cultivators.

"Well..." Revered Qingyan's gaze darted back and forth. He didn't know whose instructions to follow. Logically, he should listen to the Grand Immortal, but offending the Grand Immortal's favorite didn't seem to end well either.

"Immortal Lady, if there's only one bed, where will I sleep?"

"Isn't this bed big enough for the two of us?" The Immortal Lady of Immortality gestured. The bed Revered Qingyan made was even larger than the one in the spiritual space.

"You are the Emperor of the Great Bean Dynasty, a figure of immense value and power," Lu Yang replied. "Your humble servant is deeply awed and has no right to sleep on the same bed as His Majesty. That is what a male concubine does."

"Are you a male concubine?" the Immortal Lady of Immortality asked, curious since she hadn't heard the term before.

"No," Lu Yang said seriously.

"Alright then, two beds it is."

Seeing this unfold, Revered Qingyan decided it would be best to listen to Lu Yang in the future.

After one night, the elders of Xitian Temple were still tirelessly searching for any trace of Ye Zijin. However, even after turning Xitian City upside down, they found nothing.

Xin Ding's life became more eventful. Due to Yu Youlan's one-sided ambiguous relationship, quite a few cultivators came looking for trouble. The cultivators hostile to Xin Ding were all at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage. If they fought Xin Ding at their level, they would be accused of bullying the weak, so they sent subordinates at Qi Refining Level Seven, who were comparable to Xin Ding.

With the Yinglong Visualization Diagram, and having learned Arhat Fist and Lion's Roar Skill, Xin Ding was invincible among his peers. After the Qi Refining Level Seven cultivators were defeated, Qi Refining Level Eight ones were sent. Then, after the Qi Refining Level Eight ones were defeated, Qi Refining Level Nine ones were sent. Finally, after the Qi Refining Level Nine cultivators were defeated, those at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining stage personally stepped forward.

Xin Ding swept through them with irresistible force, growing stronger with each battle and using combat to refine his skills. His combat techniques and understanding of Arhat Fist and Lion's Roar Skill rapidly improved, which was astonishing.

"With such talent, he will surely enter the Upper Martial Monk Academy and become an Upper Academy Martial Monk in the future!"

"Hard to say," another replied. "He has the lowest-grade Five Spirit Root. Don't just look at his fighting ability in the Qi Refining stage; that's only because there are few techniques available at that stage, and he coincidentally learned the Lion's Roar Skill, which shouldn't be accessible at his level."

"He'll struggle once he reaches the Foundation Establishment stage; he's just enjoying temporary glory."

"True," another chimed in. "Does he really think a mere novice monk can swagger around like that?"

"What if he has a Soul Transformation stage Martial Uncle Grandmaster as a backer?" someone else scoffed. "He's just a Five Spirit Root; can his cultivation talent really surpass our Four Spirit Roots?"

Xin Ding ignored all the comments from others, turning a deaf ear to them and focusing solely on his cultivation.

Two months later, Master Mingyu gathered all Qi Refining stage monks to enter the Xitian Secret Realm. This included monks from the Novice Monk Hall, Martial Monk Academy, Vegetarian Hall, and Disciplinary Hall. Master Mingyu gathered them once a year, but no one in Xitian Temple knew what was inside the Xitian Secret Realm. Even if they asked the Qi Refining monks afterward, it was useless, as they had all forgotten.

As all the Qi Refining stage monks entered the secret realm, Xitian Temple immediately became empty, and two Martial Monk Academy deacons began chatting.

"Does this Xitian Secret Realm have some cultivation level restriction?" one asked. "Otherwise, why would only Qi Refining cultivators be allowed in, and not us?"

"Is it possible we entered when we were at the Qi Refining stage?" the other mused.

"Oh, you have a point."

This was the first time many of them had seen Master Mingyu. The monks couldn't hide their excitement, even though they had no idea where Master Mingyu was taking them. Lu Yang was also seeing this ruler of the Buddhist Kingdom for the first time.

Master Mingyu was tall and stood out from the crowd. He wore a visibly magnificent kasaya, which served to display his status. Recently, Xin Ding had gained significant prominence, also attracting attention and drawing both envious and jealous glances.

Master Mingyu led the group to an area behind the Abbot's courtyard. This was a forbidden zone enveloped in chaotic mist, where all spiritual sense probing was forbidden. Only Master Mingyu was qualified to enter, as the Xitian Secret Realm was hidden somewhere within the chaotic mist, and thus, no one had ever known its true location.

"The secret realm has opened, right inside the mouth of a stone lion," the Immortal Lady of Immortality said. In the entire chaotic forbidden zone, besides Master Mingyu, only she could clearly see what was happening.

Master Mingyu flicked one of the stone lion's teeth, and the Xitian Secret Realm opened. All the monks entered one by one.

"What dense Buddhist energy!" Lu Yang exclaimed. As soon as they entered the secret realm, he could feel the external Buddhist energy even from inside the Qingfeng Sword's small world, which amazed him. This was Buddhist energy used for purification and transcendence, but Lu Yang had never seen such dense Buddhist energy before.

All the monks stood blankly, their eyes unfocused.

"Are they entering an illusion under the influence of this Buddhist energy?" Lu Yang wondered. The cultivation technique he practiced was most sensitive to illusions, so it seemed this was the Xitian Secret Realm's test method.

"I wonder if anyone in this group will pass the test," Master Mingyu murmured, very uncertain. It had been a long time since any monk passed the secret realm test; even he hadn't passed it. Tracing back further, the last one was twelve thousand years ago, when his master was still at the Qi Refining stage.

"Perhaps Xin Zhen from the Disciplinary Hall has hope," Master Mingyu mused, looking at a monk with large ears and a Buddha-like face. According to the Head of the Disciplinary Hall, Xin Zhen was a rare good prospect: he had a natural Buddha-like appearance, was well-versed in Buddhist principles, and was honest and sincere; everyone who knew him praised him. As for Xin Ding, Master Mingyu had also heard about him, but Xin Ding was known for his combat prowess, not his Buddhist dharma. To pass the secret realm test, cultivation level was not important; Buddhist dharma was.

"Let's see their choices in the illusion." Master Mingyu chanted a Buddhist mantra, merged with the Buddhist energy, and entered the illusion.

In the illusion, Xin Zhen was toiling shirtless under the scorching sun, carrying huge rocks to build a statue. Accidentally, a huge rock fell, chipping off a corner. The furious foreman whipped him. Xin Zhen clasped his hands together, chanted scriptures, and entered a state of transcendence, forgetting physical suffering.

"To endure such pain without changing his expression, excellent," Master Mingyu praised.

"I heard the Martial Monk Academy said Xin Ding is also a good prospect?" Master Mingyu pondered, then remembered Xin Ding and entered Xin Ding's illusion.

Immediately upon entering the illusion, he heard piercing screams. Master Mingyu frowned. How could Xin Ding have such a weak character, unable to bear even a little pain?

Then he saw Xin Ding whipping the foreman.