I Only Stomp on Weaklings

"Seventh brother, given the situation, from now on, we share the same fate. If we die, we die together; if we live, we live as one."

Xia Shaowen’s voice was solemn, "This was solely my idea. It has nothing to do with my wife or Yan’er. If you want to blame anyone, blame me alone."

Chen Ming quickly replied, "How could I blame uncle? This matter must eventually be resolved. Now we just have to see how the Emperor decides to deal with us."

He directly called him uncle.

Just as Xia Shaowen said, their fates were already tied together. At such times, there was no need for formality.

Xia Shaowen transmitted a message, "Rest assured, if anything unforeseen should happen, even at the cost of my life, I will ensure your escape from this place."

With the assurance of a Divine Treasure Realm expert, Chen Ming felt much more confident.

The long night stretched endlessly, uncertain of when it would end.

Chen Ming seized the opportunity to inquire about the secrets of the "Divine Treasure Realm" from Xia Shaowen, "Uncle, I have always had a question: Why is it that only within Secret Realms can one find the rare treasures required to unlock the Divine Treasures of the body? Could it be that our world lacks such items?"

Xia Shaowen noticed that even in such times, Chen Ming had the mind to inquire about Martial Dao matters, which made him regard Chen Ming more highly. His unwavering dedication to the path explained his remarkable achievements at such a young age.

"Since ancient times, the world has mostly been occupied by cultivators. The great powers of antiquity had almost always followed the path of cultivation, as cultivators required no external aids to achieve Yang Gods, forge Life Palaces, and condense Primordial Embryos.

"However, it was different with Martial Arts. For a long period, martial artists could only reach the peak of First Grade, and there appeared to be no path beyond that.

"It was not until ten thousand years ago that the True Martial Emperor emerged from obscurity, creating a path to open the body’s Divine Treasures through peculiar items. Following this method, they could forge Life Palaces and condense Primordial Embryos, similar to those great cultivators. Only then did Martial Arts begin to flourish.

"Over the past ten thousand years, Martial Dao has increasingly thrived, while the path of cultivation has gradually waned due to its overly stringent requirements on talent and temperament.

"Why can’t such rare treasures that aid First Grade martial artists in unlocking the Divine Treasures be nurtured by the world? Even predecessors found this puzzling. There has never been a convincing explanation. Perhaps this is the deliberate intention of the Creator."

Chen Ming had also heard the name of the True Martial Emperor, who was the first to establish a dynasty ruled by succession, giving rise to emperors in this world.

Before then, human leaders were always the most highly cultivated and reputable individuals.

After all, it was difficult for the offspring of cultivators to achieve the same heights as their predecessors.

However, as long as martial artists are willing to invest resources, reaching the Divine Treasure Realm is not difficult. This meant that certain families could mass-produce Divine Treasure Realm martial artists, equating to the Yang Gods of cultivators.

As long as the base number was sufficient, it would eventually lead to a Life Palace Realm expert. With the army’s support, this would be enough to suppress and rule the world.

The dynasty founded by the True Martial Emperor lasted for a thousand years, but a succession of foolish emperors subsequently led to its collapse.

Following that, the Emperor of Eternal Life swept across the world, establishing an unprecedented and unmatched Longevity Immortal Dynasty, whose influence continues to this day.

The nine mysterious tombs left behind by this emperor alone disrupted the land, eventually leading to the creation of the Longevity Sect.

...

Chen Ming then asked, "How many Secret Realms exist in this world?"

Xia Shaowen replied, "No one knows exactly how many Secret Realms there are. It’s even possible that some have yet to be discovered."

He further inquired, "Do the rare treasures produced by different Secret Realms have varying effects in opening the Divine Treasures?"

Xia Shaowen addressed the crucial point, "Naturally. Secret Realms also differ in levels. Generally speaking, each Secret Realm produces one unique treasure, and each opening yields just one treasure.

"Many years ago, the World’s First Pavilion established a standard for Secret Realm levels, categorizing them into inferior, medium, superior, and supreme grades. Beyond that are the Immortal Abodes.

"The treasures produced by an inferior Secret Realm are inferior grade. By analogy, the higher the grade of the treasures, the better the effect in opening the Divine Treasures. If one wants to advance further in Martial Dao and forge a Life Palace, at least superior grade treasures are needed to open the Divine Treasures."

Chen Ming listened intently; this was privileged knowledge, generally kept secret by families, not freely shared. Gu Haichuan had only hinted at a bit of it to him before, unwilling to divulge more.

He asked further, "Which part of the body do the Divine Treasures pertain to?"

Xia Shaowen explained, "The human body has five Divine Treasures: the Treasure of Blood, the Treasure of Strength, the Treasure of the Primordial Sea, the Treasure of the Heart, and the Treasure of the Purple Mansion. Each corresponds to distinct attribute treasures.

"This means to open all five Divine Treasures, one must gain access to five different Secret Realms. Thus, families and sects often trade and exchange each other’s Secret Realm access rights."

He paused here, sighing, "The Secret Realm I acquired is of superior grade. The rules require gathering at least five martial artists with First Grade Cultivation or higher to enter the Secret Realm. This means five individuals compete for one rare treasure.

"As you can imagine, how difficult it is to open all five Divine Treasures of the human body."

Chen Ming replied, "Uncle, possessing one Secret Realm already allows you to exchange with others. Sooner or later, you will gather five rare treasures and unlock all the Divine Treasures."

Xia Shaowen shook his head, "It’s not that easy."

Suddenly, Chen Ming recalled the Token of the Secret Realm he obtained at Mount Huan Shou, wondering what grade it belonged to.

He asked again, "What about the Immortal Abodes? How are they different from ordinary Secret Realms?"

Xia Shaowen said, "The Immortal Mansion is called the Immortal Mansion because there are immortals inside. However, I’ve never entered the Immortal Mansion myself; it’s just hearsay."

At this moment, Madam Xia spoke, "The biggest difference between the Immortal Mansion and the Secret Realm is that the immortals in the Immortal Mansion possess intelligence akin to ours. Moreover, if one pays a certain price, they can leave the Immortal Mansion and enter the mortal world."

Chen Ming thought to himself, I know this, the Empress Dowager and the Empress of the Great Jin Dynasty are from the Immortal Mansion.

This secret was revealed to him by the Nine Nether Demon Venerable.

He noticed a key point, "Aunt, do you mean the ordinary people of the Secret Realm have low intelligence?"

Xia Shaowen shook his head, "The people of the Secret Realm do not have low intelligence. However, they are constrained by the special laws of the Secret Realm and cannot leave that world, nor can they understand matters of the mortal realm."

Listening to this, Chen Ming felt more puzzled; how come the more he heard, the more the people of the Secret Realm seemed like NPCs?

So far, the only Secret Realm he entered was the Ink Secret Realm, where he encountered its inhabitants, who seemed very much like NPCs.

In the future, when I enter a Secret Realm, I’ll be able to confirm this.

Xia Shaowen specifically advised, "Qilang, if you have the chance, it’s best to use rare treasures from a superior Secret Realm to open the Divine Treasure. It’s said that using rare treasures to open the Divine Treasure can grant people some strange abilities. The top experts of the world all use rare treasures to open the Divine Treasure."

Chen Ming nodded, "Thank you, Uncle, for the reminder."

Xia Shaowen said, "Since you won the trial, you naturally get a quota for a superior Secret Realm. You must not give this quota to other family members. Remember, it’s extremely rare, and you must not be soft-hearted and miss your path in the Martial Dao."

After reminding him, he was still uneasy, "Well, if the Gu Family pressures you too much, just say that I forcibly took the quota as a betrothal gift for your marriage to Yan’er. This way, the Gu Family won’t bother you."

Chen Ming felt warmth in his heart, knowing it was for his good.

This kind of thing is almost bound to happen; Gu Haochuan is at the peak of First Grade, wouldn’t he want a superior Secret Realm quota?

The Gu Family probably has many who are coveting this quota.

But now, it’s still unknown how the Emperor will handle them; it’s too early to say.

...

Unconsciously, a night passed.

Chen Ming had been consulting Xia Shaowen about issues in martial cultivation and various secrets concerning the Divine Treasure Realm all night until dawn. Then he calmed down, sitting cross-legged on the ground to adjust his breath.

He had no doubts left, but something unexpected occurred.

Just a moment ago, he suddenly thought of the purple jade scroll left behind by the Heavenly Master’s death; he reached out to touch it but found the scroll missing. This shock was extraordinary.

Therefore, he sat down to diligently recall when the purple jade scroll disappeared.

After careful recollection, he realized something was off.

"When I left the Merit Tower, the scroll wasn’t there. Could it be left inside the Merit Tower?"

Chen Ming was considering whether to call upon the Nine Nether Demon Venerable when suddenly he decided to probe his own consciousness.

Then, he saw the purple scroll quietly lying in his sea of consciousness.

"Is it really here?"

He was a bit surprised; when did it enter his sea of consciousness?

He hadn’t noticed at all; it seemed to happen naturally.

Chen Ming thought of the sea of consciousness because this purple scroll appeared after extinguishing the Heavenly Master’s Yang spirit. Where could the Heavenly Master have kept it?

Only in the sea of consciousness.

"Can it be taken out?"

Thinking this, he tried to use his mind to "touch" the scroll.

When his consciousness made contact with it, his mind was flooded with numerous texts, precisely the contents recorded in the Purple Mansion Secret Manual.

After a long time, he recovered.

This Purple Mansion Secret Manual records a complete cultivation method, from entry-level to the formation of the Yuan Embryo.

However, he had already cultivated Five Elements True Skill, spending so many experience points to reach Second Grade, soon to reach First Grade; it’s surely impossible for him to change his cultivation method now.

Nonetheless, several secret techniques within the manual made him quite envious, such as the Nine Skies Divine Thunder, the pinnacle lightning technique with the power to destroy heaven and earth. It’s the Heavenly Master Mansion’s signature spell.