Chapter 746 - 531: Elder Mirror
Chongli Heaven.
Where the two Grand Thousand worlds intersect, vast and boundless, layers of fierce winds intertwine, and clouds of immortal mist surge.
In the past, when the immortal mountain descended into the world, Void Refining Cultivators from across the land flocked here, causing this place to fall silent for a time.
Later, as the rules of the immortal mountain changed, this place became noisy once more, attracting millions of cultivators.
At this moment, the void shattered, and chaotic currents surged.
An ancient Secret Mansion slowly manifested from the void, faintly revealing an aura of "Creation and the convergence of all Dao."
"It’s finally coming out!"
A cultivator’s eyes sparkled with keen light.
He wore splendid garments embroidered with the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, surrounded by mysterious light. He was the descendant of a Dharma Master, Qin Cangwu’s grandson—Qin Changkong.
He had been waiting for a full three thousand years.
In his early years, during his travels, he chanced upon a tattered map, upon which the celestial path intertwined, and the runes were obscure and difficult to decipher.
Later, at an auction house, he acquired another similar map. When combined, they vaguely pointed to an as yet undiscovered relic site.
He poured countless efforts into it, scouring the ancient records of the Qin Clan Ancestral Land, comparing mountain and river star maps, seeking out ancient relics, and finally confirmed that this was—suspected to be the ancient Secret Mansion left by a Dharma Master.
"Dharma Master... My Qin Clan, through two million years, has had only Ancestor Yu as a Dharma Master."
"If I can obtain this Secret Mansion, it may be possible to pave the way to becoming a Dharma Master again!"
"Three thousand years of waiting, today shall be the day of success!"
Qin Changkong gazed at the slowly manifesting ancient Secret Mansion, his eyes brimming with ambition as fervent as fire.
Everything was within his calculations; the time, place, and people were all in his hands.
Just as the Secret Mansion’s doors were about to open—
Boom—!
A black fissure suddenly tore through the void, and a flowing light unexpectedly stepped out from the fissure, disregarding all the restrictions, Dao Patterns, and threats outside the Secret Mansion, as though entering an uninhabited realm...
In a single step, it entered the core of the Secret Mansion!
Qin Changkong’s pupils contracted sharply, and his blood almost froze:
"Impossible!! The map is clearly in my hands, how could this person teleport directly to the core?!"
He didn’t even have time to react, before he saw the core area pause slightly, and Treasure Qi soared to the sky, causing the whole Secret Mansion to roar.
In the next moment, with a flash of white light, the cultivator’s figure was directly whisked away by the Secret Mansion’s power, disappearing without a trace.
The entire event barely lasted a moment.
The three thousand years that Qin Changkong had waited for, countless efforts, and the map he had exchanged his entire life’s fortune for, and his meticulously laid plans...
In an instant, they turned to nothing.
"Ah—!!"
Qin Changkong’s eyes bulged, fury nearly incinerating his sanity.
In his extreme anger, he instead calmed down quickly, clenched his palm, and a piece of lustrous white Cold Jade, swirling with mysterious energy, appeared in his hand.
This was a Qin Clan ancestral Treasure—the Tracing Mysterious Jade, capable of detecting the energy of earthly Treasures, and locking onto causal traces.
Early when the Secret Mansion first appeared, he had already captured a wisp of the Secret Mansion’s original energy and stored it in the Mysterious Jade.
Now, as the energy moved, a divine light immediately erupted on the Mysterious Jade, pointing resolutely at the direction the cultivator had fled.
"Do you think you can just leave after taking the Treasure?"
"Even if you escape to the ends of the earth, you cannot escape the lock of the Tracing Mysterious Jade!"
...
Time passed slowly.
Above the sky, clouds were torn apart, with two forces engaged in a relentless chase, like two shooting stars cutting across Jiuxiao.
The person racing ahead was named Du Han.
His long robe of dark cyan was slightly dust-stained, his face stern as Cold Jade, eyes filled with the sharpness and composure of one who has experienced countless life-and-death struggles.
Close behind, giving no breathing room, was Qin Changkong, pressing on relentlessly.
Du Han’s heart was cold as ice, his Divine Thought racing:
"Qin Changkong is the descendant of a Dharma Master, and the Qin Clan wields great power. I originally did not want to face him head-on."
"After acquiring the Treasure from the Secret Mansion, I only wished to escape far to avoid disaster, but who knew the Qin Clan had such a secret Treasure, pressing step by step... Exhausting all means, yet still cannot evade pursuit."
Time flowed on, with void pressures growing ever heavier, as Qin Changkong’s Dao Domain oppression descended like a mountain.
Du Han’s breath quickened, his Divine Thought inward, he spoke in a deep voice:
"Old Mirror, can the Treasure obtained from the Secret Mansion help you recover some strength? Qin Changkong pursues too tightly; I can’t hold on much longer."
Within his sea of awareness, an unadorned, broken Ancient Mirror hovered, its surface plain...
At this moment, the mirror trembled slightly, and a solemn voice emerged:
"Young Du, rest assured."
"This place is Chongli Heaven; with the rule restrictions of the two Grand Thousand worlds, a Dharma Master cannot set foot here..."
"If you can delay for another quarter of an hour, the Treasure of the Secret Mansion will allow me to reconstruct an Ancient Restriction and easily deal with this junior who overestimates themselves!"
"Not to mention a single Qin Changkong; even if the Void Refining’s invincible should confront us, I can ensure your escape with ease."
Upon hearing this, Du Han’s eyes flared with cold light, and his worries vanished in smoke.
He hailed from the Lower Realm and was of average talent, with dim hopes even for Foundation Establishment.
Thanks to Old Mirror’s guidance, he soared, achieving Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, Ascension... eventually becoming a Refining Void Great Power.
Old Mirror’s origins were mysterious, and his intervention during the Secret Mansion’s treasure snatch was what allowed the acquisition of the Treasure.
Resolved in his heart:
"I have absolute faith in what Old Mirror says!"
"One quarter of an hour, even if it costs me all my Dao Power, I will ensure a delay for a quarter of an hour!"
In the next moment, Du Han’s aura suddenly transformed, shedding the previous hasty escape for a desperate ferocity.
He stepped on the void, causing it to shatter, with cold light surging around him, unleashing a profoundly solid Cold Nether Dao Domain, where the shadow of an ancient Cold Nether God loomed faintly.
The bone-chilling cold swept across all directions, freezing even the drifting clouds into crystalline ice sculptures suspended between heaven and earth.