Chapter 1 Silence

In moments of silence, it was as if one had suddenly fallen into Avici.

Avici: a place without time, without space.

Within such silence, external noise and interference seemed to vanish completely.

It was a direct confrontation with one's own heart.

Whether those aspects were lofty, innocent, and kind, or dark, furtive, and insidious, they were all 'me.' And it was precisely these positive and negative qualities that constituted a complete 'me.'

In being honest with oneself, there was no need to deny one's baseness or nobility.

Baseness was not shameful, and nobility need not be ridiculed.

All people were like this; even the executioner with bloodstained hands might shed tears over a touching love story.

Complexity was the essence of human nature, and the 'me' that each person played was merely a choice of one aspect of themselves to continue the continuation of life.

Even those who indulged themselves the most still wore thin masks, unable to revert to their truest state, unable to see their true 'self.'

However, in this silent Avici, the shackles of thought and morality, good and evil, were nonexistent at this moment.

And it was in this silent Avici that Ye Chuxiao seemed to understand the meaning of 'Mystic Realm.'

The Dao De Jing said: Profound and recondite, the gate of all mysteries.

Its mysteries could not be explained to those who had not experienced them personally.

Yet, even for those who had personally experienced it, it was impossible to fully record the feelings of this moment in writing.

Even the most skillful pen could only describe two or three tenths of it.

Moreover, in this state, at this time, different people had different feelings.

At the moment of life and death, in the realm of Avici, some saw the deepest fears of their hearts, others saw their desires, or unfinished business, unfulfilled responsibilities, and so on.

A strong desire to survive would break through the barriers of Avici in an instant, allowing one to be reborn from death, as if the soul were renewed.

Entering the Mystic Realm from the Competent Realm was a cleansing rebirth of the soul.

Only with the rebirth of the soul could the life of the soul be extended, allowing it to continue to ride the treasure ship of the physical body, continue to sail the sea of suffering, and pursue the other shore.

At this moment, Ye Chuxiao also clearly understood why only those who had entered the Competent Realm, and pushed it to an extremely high level, could attempt to sit in the Death Pass, seeking a breakthrough to the Mystic Realm.

Because, in this state of near-death, the body might instinctively assume death, and begin to shut down various organ functions.

Only a powerful spiritual root, combined with the energy of heaven and earth to supplement and support it, could allow the body to survive in another state similar to 'vegetation.'

And in this process, it was also a deeper level of 'transformation' of the body by the spiritual root.

When breaking through and awakening, the physical body would be more adapted to the energy of heaven and earth, and the amount of heaven and earth energy borrowed and mobilized in an instant would be greater, and the command would be smoother.

"The Mystic Realm is also the Minute Realm, where chaos is undivided and heaven and earth are in turmoil, vast and boundless, unseen by anyone... Compared to the vast universe, how minute is the human soul. From the Foolish Realm, to the Suffering Realm, the Competent Realm, and then to the Mystic Realm, this seems to be the fourth level, but in reality, it is still minute and invisible in the eyes of heaven and earth, and there is no reason for the slightest complacency or self-satisfaction.” The realization fell on Ye Chuxiao’s heart like a grain of dust.

Then, this dust blossomed like a seed in his heart and on his soul.

When the flower bloomed, it illuminated the self, and also illuminated what was called longevity.

The lifespan of Avici, and the lifespan of the human world, unfolded before Ye Chuxiao's eyes at the same time.

"From today onwards, if my physical body is undamaged and unadvanced, then the combination of flesh and soul should have 329 years of yang life. But if I die and the soul endures, there will be 1,817 years of Avici lifespan, which should be considered yin life."

"In terms of yang life, I have not exceeded ordinary monks of the same level by too much, which shows that there are still realm restrictions, and even with abundant accumulation, it is impossible to break the upper limit in large quantities. However, the yin life is as long as more than 1,800 years, which is about three times that of ordinary monks of the same level, which can be said to exceed by a lot."

"This also means that if I am really unlucky enough to exhaust my yang life and lose my physical body, and turn to the path of ghost cultivation, I will still have many more opportunities than ordinary ghost cultivators."

"Of course, there is nothing to be proud of. The union of spirit and flesh, carrying the Great Dao together, is the right path. Otherwise, whether one cultivates the physical body alone, or the soul alone, it is an isolated yin that does not produce, and an isolated yang that does not grow."

Thoughts streaked across the petals like shooting stars.

The translucent, hazy white light shimmered on the petals.

The night ended and the day dawned!

The sunlight streamed through the window, gently striking Ye Chuxiao's face.

He lazily opened his eyes, and then stretched out a tendon-loosening stretch as if he had slept a long, deep sleep.

His whole body felt comfortable, as if he had unloaded dozens of pounds of burden.

This feeling was ten or a hundred times more comfortable than Ye Chuxiao's previous life's regular massage costing more than two thousand.

That was just the ultimate relaxation of the muscles, which led to the rest of the brain.

And this breakthrough was indeed a self-awareness and cleansing of the soul.

"Wait! When I broke through last night... what did I think of?"

"Why don't I remember it very well?" Ye Chuxiao pushed open the window, staring absentmindedly at the vast river and low clouds outside the window.

"Forget it! Don't think about it!" With a rub of his hands, clusters of crystal-clear energy flowers bloomed, opened, and closed in Ye Chuxiao's palms.

Before entering the Mystic Realm, the use of heaven and earth energy was rigid and old-fashioned.

Even with the blessing of the 'Energy Shaping' talent, it only made the energy of heaven and earth more tamed in his hands.

But now, Ye Chuxiao was injecting his own thoughts into the energy of heaven and earth, giving them spirituality.

"No wonder sword intent, saber intent, spell intent, soul curses, and other abilities beyond ordinary imagination can only be used after reaching the Mystic Realm."

"Only after entering the Mystic Realm can a cultivator's individual thoughts be carried by energy, instead of crudely and rigidly pushing the energy of heaven and earth, moving their positions, or distorting their forms. Using more effortless methods to exert more powerful and effective means of controlling the energy of heaven and earth, this is the difference between the Mystic Realm and the Competent Realm in practical application. Prolonging life is only part of the characteristics of the Mystic Realm." At this time, Ye Chuxiao's inspiration exploded, and he even had many saber moves, sword techniques, and talisman and formation methods that he wanted to try to use.

"You're awake!"

"Oh? You've broken through!" Jin Sanniang passed by Ye Chuxiao's window, and the golden light洒 from the river in the morning shone on her body, bringing a soft halo.

And Ye Chuxiao saw a thin, not-so-obvious 'light wave' on Jin Sanniang's body, as if she herself was a signal tower, constantly emitting strong mental signals to the outside.

Looking out through the window again.

Those passing silver badges and gold badges all had similar 'light waves' on their bodies, only the strength was different.

Some silver badges actually had a much stronger intensity of light waves than gold badges.

As for those bronze badges, they were basically dim and murky. In Ye Chuxiao's current vision, these people were like gray, without any spirituality, as if they were blurred background boards in his vision, and rigid NPCs without a few lines.

"Interesting, isn't it! This is Mystic Sight Seeing Law. When you see 'yourself' in the depths of your heart, you will also begin to see heaven and earth, and see all living beings."

"This is also the cultivation of the Mystic Realm."

"When will you be able to accurately judge what color the 'light' revealed by a person is, what it represents, and hide your own 'light,' then your Mystic Realm cultivation will be considered complete, and you can comprehend the Transformation Realm." Jin Sanniang said to Ye Chuxiao, while starting to demonstrate.

In an instant, the 'light wave' that was originally thinly surrounding her body became violent and even intense.

They burned like raging flames, emitting dazzling golden and scarlet lights.

At this moment, Jin Sanniang was so dazzling that Ye Chuxiao almost shed tears.

The light waves dimmed again, and Jin Sanniang almost completely collected all the 'light,' and then she seemed ordinary again, not even as good as some of the silver badges.

Jin Sanniang had been in the Transformation Realm for several years, and was now at the peak of the Transformation Realm. Of course, her control over her own 'light waves' was at a subtle level.

The 'light waves' surrounding her were also like finer and smaller tentacles.

They were constantly interfering, influencing, and transforming the surrounding energy of heaven and earth, accumulating and preparing for a burst at a certain moment.

"You just broke through, so I won't disturb you. You can feel it carefully... We will arrive at Yunmeng Daze at noon at the latest!"

"Remember to familiarize yourself with the realm first, and then upgrade some life-saving and defensive methods first. Life-saving methods are always more important than attacking methods." After Jin Sanniang gave a few instructions, she waved her hand and turned to leave.

Ye Chuxiao sat by the window and began to condense energy with his fingers, constantly drawing and playing with some basic talisman patterns.

Trying to inject passionate and excited emotions into the fire talisman, the temperature emitted by the basic fire talisman far exceeded the original height.

If Ye Chuxiao injected cold and desperate emotions, the fire talisman would even change its properties. In addition to retaining some of the characteristics of fire, it actually appeared cold and Yin.

"Sure enough, the Mystic Realm is the beginning of subverting 'common sense.' Starting from the Mystic Realm, those conventional so-called impossibilities and unscientific things in terms of force, qi, energy, and natural attributes will be changed and distorted. Energy is the carrier, and the mind is in charge."

After playing for about an hour or two, Ye Chuxiao began to feel tired.

This was due to the exhaustion of spirit and mental strength.

"I can't hold on for less than two hours! I don't know how long other Mystic Realm cultivators can continue to support using mysterious methods." Ye Chuxiao temporarily had no reference to compare, and reserved a question mark about whether his own endurance was average.

When the sun was in the middle of the sky, the Six Fan School's official ship had sailed out of the main stream of the Langya River and entered a tributary called 'Jinshui.'

After sailing along the tributary for about half an hour, entering from Huizhou, they arrived at Yunmeng Daze.

Yunmeng Daze was nearly ten thousand miles in circumference, but it was not all lakes. Instead, it was a large area of ​​low-lying wetlands formed by a large area of ​​interconnected lakes, islands, swamps, aquatic forests, mountains, etc.

There were also many rivers and rivers converging with it.

It could be called the hub of the world's water veins.

Yunmeng Daze stretched for thousands of miles, and at the same time connected the lands of seven states.

In Yunmeng Daze, those islands, forests, and wilderness mountains, large and small, also hid a large number of demons and monsters, as well as barbarians from outside the world.

They did not respect the king's transformation, did not know there was the Great Heng Dynasty, and might not even give face to the Dragon King of Yunmeng Daze.

They just lived in peace and did not interfere with each other.

Of course, the Dragon King of Yunmeng Daze was also equivalent to the leader of the world's river masters, at least nominally, he still controlled this ten thousand miles of Yunmeng Daze, and could also be called the 'Master of Demons.'

When the Six Fan School's official ship arrived near Yunmeng Daze, it could no longer drive straight in.

Instead, it had to wait for the local Water Ze Dragon Lord to bestow a pass token before it could continue to enter.

Ordinary fishermen could naturally enter at will, but after entering Yunmeng Daze, whether they lived or died, whether they returned fully loaded, or the boat capsized and the people died, it all depended on luck and ability.

Even if the Six Fan School's constables came to Yunmeng Daze with the old Dragon King in the name of 'voluntary,' they still had a certain official nature... There was no way to argue with this.

Therefore, entry still required permission.

General Xie, still half-cooked and exuding a fresh fragrance, walked out of the cabin with the support of the Clam Spirit, looking at the distant sparkling waves, as well as the mountains stretching over the water waves, and the islands scattered like stars, he couldn't help showing an excited expression.

Yao Mountain was good, but it was not his hometown.

Although his old home had changed, it was still the place where his dreams returned.

"Where is the old Dragon King?" Jin Buyi stood at the bow of the boat, raised his hand and shot out a golden light, which contained his letter of 'visiting' the door.

Although his ass had been skewed by greed, at least it was unbiased, but the attitude of solving the problem still had to be put out.

It would be unreasonable to enter uninvited without permission.

It was equal to provoking and declaring war.

"He said he had a headache and was hiding in the cabin and wouldn't come out." Behind Jin Buyi, a Golden Badge constable said helplessly.

Jin Buyi's face darkened: "Waste!"

Such straightforward words made General Xie and Clam Spirit, who were also standing on the deck, hesitate to speak, their faces changing for a while, as if they wanted to turn their faces, but were afraid of ruining things.

Although a minister dies for his lord's humiliation, it is difficult for subordinates to be tough if their own master is not up to par.

General Xie and Clam Spirit probably also knew that without the help of this group of Six Fan School constables, this return to Yunmeng Daze... Relying on the useless old Dragon King was probably unreliable.

"Go! Drag him out. If he, the protagonist, is not here for this trip to Yunmeng Daze, we will not be justified, and are we really going in to eat river delicacies and go home?" Jin Buyi said, frowning tightly.

Before long, two Golden Badge constables brought the old Dragon King out of the cabin and stood on the deck together.

The short old Dragon King looked at the boundless waves of Yunmeng Daze, revealing a nostalgic and excited expression.

But accompanied by阵阵 dark clouds, thunder and lightning, his nostalgic expression completely turned into resentment... and a trace of fear.

The figure of a white dragon was faintly visible in the clouds.

A white dragon more than a hundred feet long, with white scales and black mane, and a pair of dragon horns growing on its head, like buffalo horns, flew down from mid-air.

Then, in the water waves, a diffuse water smoke涌.

Within the water smoke, there were a large number of shrimp soldiers and crab generals, setting up their formation, drumming the drums and敲锣s, and arranging their honor guards, as if welcoming a group of Six Fan School constables.

"Hey! This is setting up a show of force!" Zhao Sibai muttered to himself, standing aside.

"Shut up! Don't talk too much at this time!" Jin Sanniang said.

Then, she added: "I will stand at the front later, Lao Zhao will be responsible for the second position, Cui Yu and Xiao Ye will be responsible for forming formations and洒talismans, and be prepared for emergencies at any time."

The four of them stood in position with great tacit understanding, vigilant about their surroundings.

Of course, Ye Chuxiao did not explain that there was no death energy spreading around at this time, which showed that although it looked like two armies were facing each other, in reality, they could not fight at all.

The Six Fan School constables on the deck and in the cabin were all on guard.

The middle-aged man transformed by the White Dragon, however, was already stepping on the water waves, standing at the same height as the deck, and facing Jin Buyi face to face.

Compared with the old Dragon King's wretched and crude image, the human form transformed by Dragon King Yuan Jia was obviously much better-looking.

Although he was not very handsome, he was tall and burly, with a dignified appearance and full of majesty. At a glance, he was a great man.

The reason why the two brothers' transformed forms were so different was of course not because the previous Yunmengze Dragon King had a green hat on his head.

Whenever demons and spirits transformed and cultivated a human body, it was related to their state of交感天地 at that moment.

If one's mind was浮躁, thoughts杂乱, and there were many鬼祟 and阴邪 things when transforming, then all kinds of mental images would be reflected in the state of the human body after transforming. It could also be said that the appearance was born from the heart.

This was also why many fox spirits and精灵 of plants and trees who had just entered cultivation would try their best to select some scholars from ordinary people to teach courses and learn etiquette, because this was helpful for obtaining a good皮囊 in the future.

As for those妖怪 who didn't care about the quality of their皮囊, they wouldn't bother.

Similarly, the transformed appearance was a 'real skin bag,' and the internal and external structure was almost the same as humans. The transformed 妖怪 were equivalent to having two forms.

And some small妖 who only knew幻术 could幻化 handsome men and beautiful women, but they were all fake. In reality, their physical bodies were still妖物.

The simplest summary was that transformed 妖怪 could marry mortals... and could also have children. If they didn't reveal their original form, they were no different from ordinary people.

妖怪 who had not transformed, but only used幻术 to幻化, would poison mortals even if they didn't have malice, affecting their survival, health, and there was also reproductive isolation, so they would not bear fruit.

When happy, looking at a千娇百媚 beauty, accidentally touching a tail, tentacle, scale, etc., was all basic operation.

"Thank you, Divine Constable Jin, for bringing my useless elder brother back to Yunmeng Daze. Please come in and drink and eat, but please stay for a few more days so that I, the little king, can do my best to be a host!" Dragon King Yuan Jia said, his attitude sincere and genuine, making people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"To be honest, this Dragon King is much more decent. If I were a water tribe in Yunmengze... I would follow this kind of Dragon King." Zhao Sibai mumbled.

Jin Sanniang glanced at him, and Zhao Sibai immediately stopped talking.

At this moment, Ye Chuxiao was watching Dragon King Yuan Jia's 'light wave.'

At first glance, the strands of 'light wave' that emerged from his body presented three colors: purple, green, and white. It was not easy to directly judge what they specifically represented.

The 'light waves' emitted by monks above the Mystic Realm were not determined by their personal attributes.

It was not to say that those bright, dazzling, or bright and堂皇 light waves represented good emotional states, and those dark and gloomy colors represented bad emotions.

Just like red light waves could be a sign of enthusiasm and excitement, or a symbol of cruelty and血腥, and black light waves could be阴暗 and狡诈, or quiet and沉稳. It was still necessary to analyze specific issues and specific situations.

Monks above the Transformation Realm could collect all of their 'light waves,' but most monks would not do this.

Because these 'light waves' were their tentacles, and they were the levers for them to perceive and pry the outside world. Collecting them was equivalent to cutting off their own arms.

Probably not many people would cut off their own hands and feet first in order to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger!

"Dragon King Yuan Jia is too polite!"

"We are here to disturb you, and I hope Dragon King Yuan Jia will not嫌弃 us." Jin Buyi said.

At this time, the light waves presented by Jin Buyi were simple red and black.

Ye Chuxiao still could not judge his true state and mentality based on this, and could only combine the existing information to make certain inferences.

The gongs and drums were noisy and lively.

Dragon King Yuan Jia led a group of water tribes to lead the way.

The Six Fan School's official ship was包裹 in the water tribe team. At this time, looking at the whole, it was a huge mass of water vapor, spreading and stretching on the lake.

At the same time, the water waves涛涛ed and spread out to both sides.

Between the sky and the lake, it seemed that a space was生出ing in the夹缝, and more secrets were in the夹缝 between the sky and the lake.

The old Dragon King贼兮兮 looked around, as if he was watching the secret formation nodes arranged in Yunmeng Daze, whether there were any major changes compared to the past.

After discovering that several originally important nodes had been abandoned and vacant, he revealed a discouraged expression, and his emotions dropped a bit, but he seemed to have thought of something, and quickly cheered up again.

After passing through the夹缝 between the sky and the lake.

The large group of people entered the secret realm.

The surrounding landscape suddenly became luxurious and瑰丽.

Rainbows flowing in the sky like long rivers took turns passing over the湛蓝 sky.

Palaces built of white jade were scattered among the lakes, hilltops, forests, and swamps, connected to each other by rainbows.

Huge pearl clams were lined on both sides of the avenue, all opening their pink and white shells, revealing huge pearls inside.

These pearls could actually凝聚 the energy of heaven and earth into thin spiritual mist. After the spiritual mist gathered in large numbers, it formed a milky white spiritual spring composed purely of灵浆 on both sides of the road.

Some Bronze Badge and Silver Badge constables revealed贪婪 and longing expressions when they looked at these spiritual springs.

Not everyone was Ye Chuxiao. With a sweep of the Divine Tree Spiritual Root, he did not lack the infusion of the energy of heaven and earth at all.

For most monks, it was very difficult to cultivate their spiritual roots well, meet the basic 'evolution' of the body, and reach the threshold of the Mystic Realm.

It required the consumption of a lot of resources to refine and cultivate.

This was also a relatively long process.

And spiritual objects such as灵浆 could shorten this process very effectively.

What was flowing on both sides of this road was not just灵浆... it was clearly golden wealth.

Monks who were in the stage of physical transformation and accumulation could not help but want to possess them when they saw them.

Even monks who had already completed their transformation, didn't they want to acquire these 'wealth'?

"As expected, it is said that the Dragon King has no treasures. Such spiritual objects are actually洒 on the roadside like this, as if they can be taken at will."

"In such an environment, even a stupid pig should become精化妖 and achieve something after a long time." The constables discussed in low voices, and unknowingly, they had a little less worry and more expectation for this trip to Yunmeng Daze.

"Where is the Crystal Palace on Dragon Head Peak?"

"Why can't I see the Crystal Palace on Dragon Head Peak?"

"That is the palace I built with decades of painstaking effort by collecting natural crystals of five different先天 attributes of heaven and earth, standing on Dragon Head Peak, and receiving the purest essence灌溉 between heaven and earth day and night. It is as dreamy as it can be... She also always liked it the most."

"Why can't I see the Crystal Palace?" The old Dragon King asked Dragon King Yuan Jia, looking at a巍峨 towering mountain head that almost傲立d the entire secret realm.

This seemed to be the first time he dared to face his own younger brother directly and question him after returning to this secret realm.

Those old subordinates who returned with the old Dragon King showed confused expressions when they heard the words.

They thought that their master would say something more appropriate.

Even if he scolded Yuan Jia, it would be better than asking where his Crystal Palace was.

Yuan Jia said when he heard the words: "Dragon Head Peak is an important node of the secret realm and has long been封锁ed. The Crystal Palace has also been moved elsewhere."

The old Dragon King was stunned, and then angrily said: "Only at midnight every night, when the starry sky shines on Dragon Head Peak, reflecting on the穹顶 of the Crystal Palace, is it the most beautiful... and the most worthy of her. You焚琴煮鹤, an unromantic fellow, actually destroyed it, it's simply shameful!"

Yuan Jia smiled disdainfully, and was even unwilling to argue with the old dragon.

After saying two sentences, the old dragon seemed to have offset some of his fear of his own younger brother, and asked again: "Where is she? Why doesn't she come out to see me?"

"Could it be that she was imprisoned by you?"

Yuan Jia said: "She just doesn't want to see you, she still feels indebted to you after all."

When the old Dragon King heard the words, he actually laughed heartily for the first time since returning to Yunmengze: "Sure enough! She has me in her heart, Yuan Jia... you just used卑鄙 means to夺走 my throne and queen, wait for me to夺回 everything, naturally..."

Yuan Jia glanced across, and the戾气 in his eyes flashed away.

The subsequent words of the old Dragon King were blocked in his throat and were not uttered after all.

"Waste!" Ye Chuxiao looked at the old Dragon King, who was not up to par at all, and could see that the light waves emitted by the old Dragon King's body were a pure green.

Ye Chuxiao was very sure that this must be the color of cowardice.

"With such a不堪 Dragon King, Jin Buyi still wants to help this old Dragon King复辟, could it be that he intends to drag this old Dragon King in his hands as a puppet?" Ye Chuxiao suddenly thought with a leap of mind.

Then he suddenly felt that it was very possible.

Jin Buyi was greatly affected by the Heart Pill, and his seven emotions and six desires were much stronger than ordinary people. It was reasonable for him to want to control the Yunmengze Dragon King and control this place.

"I just don't know what attitude this Dragon King Yuan Jia has now."

"If he is not brainless, he should naturally know that this is simply引狼入室 at this moment!"

"What kind of trump card does he have waiting for Jin Buyi to let Jin Buyi知难而退 and leave the old Dragon King and the Yunmeng Great Cauldron in his hands?" Ye Chuxiao thought.