CHAPTER 437

“No!!!”

As the Abbot of Xuankong Mountain let out a despairing howl, the enormous floating mountain began to plummet even faster.

“Self-destructing the hidden realm? No!!”

On the ground, the Tower Master of Wujian Tower heard the exchange between Lu Qing and the Abbot of Xuankong Mountain, and his expression changed dramatically.

Elder You was equally panic-stricken. “Tower Master, what should we do? If Xuankong Mountain is destroyed, won’t we also be buried here?”

The Tower Master’s face turned ashen.

What could he do?

He was utterly powerless!

He stared at the gigantic floating mountain, still descending, and the surrounding space that was beginning to tremble and distort. A profound despair appeared on his face.

He knew it was over—everything was over.

The exit of the hidden realm was destroyed, and they didn’t have the ability to break through its barriers.

It was inevitable that they would perish alongside Xuankong Mountain, obliterated in this hidden realm.

“Our ancestors, in their desperation to survive, agreed to become Xuankong Mountain’s blade. For a thousand years, we’ve done countless wicked deeds in secret for them.

Now... is this retribution? Are we destined to perish alongside the monks of Xuankong Mountain, completely annihilated in this hidden realm?”

The Tower Master watched as the gigantic floating mountain crashed into the ground.

An immensely powerful shockwave radiated outward, hurtling toward their position.

A thought suddenly rose in his mind.

Then, the next moment, the shockwave enveloped him, and he lost consciousness completely.

…

In the Western State, near the massive Portal formed by the convergence of two mountain peaks within the Ling Mountain Range, a spatial ripple suddenly appeared in mid-air.

Moments later, a somewhat battered yet ancient silver Void Flying Boat emerged from it.

Lu Qing stepped out of the Void Flying Boat and stored it away.

“So, young lord, you had this hidden trump card. This silver flying boat can traverse the void and pierce through hidden realm barriers! No wonder that gray-robed man was desperate to charge into it that day.”

Yan appeared beside Lu Qing, his face full of amazement.

When Lu Qing had refined the Void Flying Boat earlier, he hadn’t revealed its capabilities. Even Yan hadn’t known it could traverse the void.

“This ability to traverse the void isn’t all-powerful. Precise travel requires pre-determined spatial coordinates,” Lu Qing explained.

“That’s why you intentionally kept Elder Jinchong alive earlier, waiting for him to open the hidden realm’s entrance?” Yan suddenly realized.

“Xuankong Mountain’s hidden realm is concealed within spatial layers and is difficult to locate. If I recklessly used the Void Flying Boat, I could have been lost in spatial turbulence,” Lu Qing nodded.

It mostly stemmed from his current cultivation level. He had yet to fully comprehend the laws of space and couldn’t pinpoint the hidden realm of Xuankong Mountain amidst the numerous spatial layers.

Entering directly through the hidden realm’s entrance was the safest approach.

Once inside, things became much simpler.

He had already left a mark of his divine soul outside, allowing him to easily locate the external space and charge out from within.

As the man and artifact spirit were chatting, a spatial fluctuation suddenly emanated from the [Portal] nearby.

A destructive aura that seemed capable of annihilating everything surged forth, making both of them shudder.

Fortunately, the fluctuation didn’t spread outward and gradually dissipated.

“It seems Xuankong Mountain’s hidden realm has truly been destroyed,” Yan remarked with a trace of emotion.

“The old bald monk of Xuankong Mountain was ruthless enough. A hidden realm with a legacy of tens of thousands of years, and he destroyed it without hesitation.”

What moved Yan even more was that this destruction marked the severance of one of the top sects of the ancient cultivation era that had lingered in this world.

Lu Qing remained silent. From the moment Xuankong Mountain attempted to convert his master, the conflict between him and that sect had become irreconcilable.

Had he not grown stronger quickly enough, he was certain that, given Xuankong Mountain’s domineering ways, everyone connected to him would have met a tragic end long ago.

“Young lord, earlier in the hidden realm, did you sense that besides the monks of Xuankong Mountain, there seemed to be others living there?” Yan asked suddenly.

“Yes, there were others. Judging by their aura, they should have been the Wujian Tower clan,” Lu Qing replied.

Since stepping into the Golden Core Realm, Lu Qing’s divine soul had undergone a qualitative transformation. His sensing range had expanded significantly.

Though the Xuankong Mountain hidden realm was vast, he could sense nearly half of it. He had long detected the people on the ground and identified them by their aura.

Originally, he had intended to deal with those scum after eradicating Xuankong Mountain. However, the Abbot’s decision to self-destruct the hidden realm had saved him the trouble of doing it himself.

“Well, now that Xuankong Mountain has been dealt with, let’s return,” Lu Qing said, his mood rather good.

Though there had been minor complications on this trip, overall, it had gone smoothly.

The only regret was that the Abbot of Xuankong Mountain had been too insane. When he couldn’t kill Lu Qing, he self-destructed the hidden realm.

This left Lu Qing with no time to collect treasures, resulting in the loss of Xuankong Mountain’s tens of thousands of years of accumulated resources.

Still, it wasn’t a major issue.

Xuankong Mountain’s resources, accumulated during an era of spiritual energy depletion, likely wouldn’t have held much value to him.

After consoling himself, Lu Qing summoned a golden flying boat, transformed into a stream of light, and headed toward Cangzhou.

Behind him, the [Portal] formed by the converging mountain peaks remained standing, seemingly unchanged.

No one knew that one of the Four Great Secret Realms, Xuankong Mountain, which had covertly influenced the world’s affairs for tens of thousands of years, had been quietly obliterated.

Its lair had completely dissolved into spatial turbulence.

Upon reaching the Golden Core Realm, Lu Qing’s speed in controlling the golden flying boat had greatly increased.

In less than half a day, he had returned to Cangzhou.

While passing over the county town, his divine soul swept downward, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Halting his flight, he put away the golden flying boat and descended.

Soon, Lu Qing landed at a corner of a street in the city.

Remarkably, none of the bustling townsfolk seemed to notice his descent from the sky, acting as if nothing had happened.

With Lu Qing’s current cultivation level, concealing himself before ordinary mortals was effortless.

By subtly twisting the surrounding light with his divine soul, he easily rendered himself invisible.

This technique had been inspired by Xiao Li’s innate stealth ability back then.

Removing the ghost-faced mask from his face and dispersing the surrounding twisted light, Lu Qing emerged from the corner.

As he stepped onto the street, a shrill voice echoed in the air:

“Fourth Brother, is this the county town you’re in charge of? It’s far too shabby!”