Chapter 1024: Astonishment

“With these ancient texts, my chances of becoming a Cosmic Deity have grown significantly!”

Dongbo Xueying’s eyes gleamed as he gazed at the countless tomes floating within the vast space.

The scriptures listed on the Celestial Pillar?

For now, he didn’t need to consider them at all—those required an immense amount of merit to exchange for. Currently, he could only accept tasks at the Unity Realm level from the Southern Heaven Sacred Sect, and even completing those would earn him merely a hundred or so merits. Moreover, these tasks were extremely complex; the simpler ones had long been snatched up by other disciples!

The disciples here were almost all at the Chaos Realm, capable of projecting avatars across vast distances to swiftly complete missions.

“If I want to earn merits, I’ll have to wait until I can openly display my strength—revealing the ninth or even tenth-tier power. Then, the speed at which I accumulate merits will be much faster,” Dongbo Xueying mused silently.

“As for now?”

“Best to lay a solid foundation.” Dongbo Xueying began rapidly flipping through the countless texts.

…

The Southern Cloud Sacred Sect’s collection of scriptures was astonishingly vast. Only a select few—less than a hundred—were listed on the Celestial Pillar. The rest were all free to access, some even containing supreme techniques that led directly to the Cosmic Deity level.

“Absorbing the wisdom of others will only broaden my path of cultivation.” Dongbo Xueying had no qualms about learning from others, for doing so expanded his horizons. His innate talent in the Void Path, for instance, had originally paled in comparison to his mastery of the Illusory Realm. Yet, through inheriting the legacies of the Void Primogenitor and the Ninecloud Emperor, studying the scales of General Mo Gu—who possessed the ‘Shadowless’ talent—and observing the Maze Corridor for trillions of years, his achievements in the Void Path had steadily risen, even surpassing his prowess in the Path of Slaughter and the Path of Fluctuation, now rivaling his Illusory Realm mastery.

In this life, he had joined the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, which excelled in the Void Path, possessing techniques like ‘Doppelganger Art,’ ‘Great Void Shattering Teleportation,’ and ‘Intangible Immortality Art.’

Perhaps, in this life, his accomplishments in the Void Path might even surpass those in the Illusory Realm. Such a possibility was not out of reach!

With the accumulated experience of countless predecessors…

Compared to groping in the dark alone, the difference was night and day.

“So many texts.”

Dongbo Xueying first spent two days swiftly scanning all the scriptures.

Given his current high achievements in the Void Path, few texts could catch his eye. Among the Void-related scriptures, only 195 stood out to him. As for the pointers left by predecessors on mastering the ‘Twelve Forms of Southern Cloud Sacred,’ he dismissed them outright—few of those elders had ever reached the tenth-tier combat power at the Chaos Realm.

Naturally, Dongbo Xueying saw no reason to waste his time.

“One hundred and ninety-five.” He nodded slightly. Over thirty of these texts were written by the ‘Southern Cloud Monarch’ himself! The rest either led directly to the Cosmic Deity level or were rather peculiar works.

“There are quite a few texts on the Illusory Realm as well.” Dongbo Xueying was in high spirits.

The number of Illusory Realm scriptures that impressed him was far fewer, primarily because the entire Heart Realm Continent had a limited collection of such texts to begin with, and the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect’s repository was even scarcer. Only eighteen caught his attention, with a mere two capable of guiding one to the Cosmic Deity level. None, however, detailed how to unleash tenth-tier combat power at the Chaos Realm.

This was to be expected. Tenth-tier combat power at the Chaos Realm meant being able to contend with a Cosmic Deity head-on—such secrets were rarely divulged by any school.

Even the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect reserved such knowledge for its core disciples. Outsiders would have to pay a steep price to learn them.

“Enough.”

“More than enough.” Dongbo Xueying was delighted. The eighteen Illusory Realm texts had broadened his horizons immensely. After all, he was a master of the Illusory Realm within the Rule-Oriented Mystic System, capable of creating ninth-tier techniques himself.

“These texts represent different cultivation paths, greatly increasing my chances of breaking through to the Cosmic Deity level.”

Joining a sect?

Treasures meant little to him! So did powerful backers!

What Dongbo Xueying truly valued were the supreme techniques left behind by generations of powerhouses throughout the Heart Realm Continent’s long history. Yet, as the saying went, ‘The Dao is not lightly transmitted.’ Even with the Southern Cloud Monarch’s status and power, amassing such a collection had not been easy. Without complete allegiance, one could never freely peruse these texts. And even if one wished to pledge loyalty, lacking the requisite talent and strength would render the offer futile in the Southern Cloud Monarch’s eyes.

…

After obtaining these scriptures, Dongbo Xueying first committed them all to memory.

Then, he began cultivating in low profile within the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, occasionally flipping through miscellaneous books to broaden his knowledge. Time flowed swiftly, and before he knew it, over thirty thousand years had passed since his entry into the sect.

Amidst a desert.

A white-robed youth streaked across the sky, charging toward nine armored warriors in the distance. These soldiers wielded varied weapons—some held sabers, others shields, and some bows…

“Whoosh.”

The white-robed youth’s figure flickered, leaving behind a series of phantom afterimages as if eight or nine versions of him had appeared simultaneously.

His speed was so terrifying, his movements so elusive, that distinguishing the real from the illusory became impossible.

“Pfft.”

Dongbo Xueying’s finger tapped lightly on a warrior’s back. With a muffled explosion, a bloody hole burst open, splattering gore. The warrior swung his axe backward in a flash, but Dongbo Xueying had already vanished. Over a dozen ghostly figures pounced from different directions toward the shield-bearing warrior.

…

With his terrifying movement technique, he toyed with the warriors effortlessly. After a brief skirmish, the nine armored soldiers exhausted their energy and dissipated into nothingness.

“Cleared.”

Dongbo Xueying allowed himself a faint smile. In the distance, a pagoda-like staircase emerged, leading to the seventh level of the Divine Soul Palace.

Naturally, he ‘lost’ on the seventh level.

“What?”

“That Ying Shan Xueying has only just joined the sect, yet he’s already cleared the sixth level of the Divine Soul Palace?”

“So quickly?”

The elders of the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect were astounded upon receiving the news. Rapid breakthroughs weren’t uncommon among new disciples, but considering Dongbo Xueying’s age—a mere five million years—it was nothing short of astounding.

“Did he cultivate within the ‘Time-Space Realm’? These thirty thousand years might have been accelerated a hundred or a thousandfold.”

“No.”

“He didn’t use time acceleration. His soul aura still indicates just over five million years.”

“I inquired with the formation spirit. Aside from secluded cultivation in his abode, Ying Shan Xueying spent most of his time in the Scripture Repository, perusing texts without temporal acceleration.”

“Reading texts? Ah, that makes sense. The Scripture Repository holds countless texts, including many predecessors’ insights on the ‘Twelve Forms of Southern Cloud Sacred.’ This little fellow likely never had a proper master, having trained in obscurity in a backwater like Flaming Fire City. Now, with access to so much accumulated wisdom, it’s no surprise he had an epiphany and reached sixth-tier combat power.”

“Yes, that must be it.”

The elders debated among themselves.

Though they understood how a peerless genius, previously lacking proper guidance, could break through after studying the experiences of past masters, the fact that he was only five million years old remained staggering.

…

Southern Cloud Capital.

Within an extravagant estate, inside a bamboo hut encircled by flowing water, a beautiful woman in a long violet robe sat cross-legged. Her garments sprawled across half the hut’s floor as she meticulously embroidered a design with a needle.

“Master.” A man stood respectfully outside the bamboo curtain. “News from the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect.”

“What is it?” The woman’s voice was ethereal, piercing straight into the soul.

The man outside tensed, well aware of his master’s terrifying power. “The newest disciple of the Southern Cloud Sacred Sect, Ying Shan Xueying, cleared the sixth level of the Divine Soul Palace today. He is only five hundred and five thousand years old.”

“Oh? Send my invitation. I wish to host him at a banquet.” A hint of amusement colored her voice.

…