After the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination by Palatial Lord Kuis.h.i.+, Qin Yun felt a sense of urgency!

After the fallout with Fiercefire, it was even more imperative for Qin Yun to rapidly raise his strength. Although he had expended the five elemental Connate Wonders to raise his Intrinsic Flying Sword to the Connate Numinous treasure level, the raising of his realm required actual cultivation. It needed the acc.u.mulation of time. Therefore, he planned on finding a good spot to enter proper seclusion!

What he lacked most was time.

Therefore, he wished to find a place where "time flowed fast." It also had to be extremely safe, a place where fiends could not sneak up on him or where other experts in the Three Realms could spy on him! Furthermore, it had to be suitable for his cultivation!

Such a place was hard to find.

And Lightning Beast Manor was no doubt most suited for this.

s.p.a.ce-time had been stirred here, with time flowing at different rates in different zones. The spot where time flowed the fastest was 1200 times that of the Effulgent Great World. The ten years test set by the Lightning Beast Manor… allowed him to cultivate for 12,000 years at that spot! This was a lot of time for Qin Yun, who had only cultivated for about a hundred plus years.

Furthermore, Lightning Beast Manor was extremely safe! No one could enter without the White Jade Token!

Furthermore, the warping of s.p.a.ce-time here was advantageous to Qin Yun"s cultivation of s.p.a.ce-time! After all, any mighty figure would have an extremely profound level of understanding of s.p.a.ce-time.

"My Intrinsic Flying Sword contains a Great Dao and has formed a Misty Rain domain, one that has control over the void. My Sword Dao… was originally about controlling the Heavenly Cycles, so its control over s.p.a.ce is extremely high. In fact, it has even gone further to be able to influence time itself. And if one wants to pry open the secrets of s.p.a.ce-time, the Lightning Beast Manor is no doubt an extremely suitable place." Qin Yun looked at the tranquil cave abode. "I shall be spending the longest period of cultivation of my life to date in here."

"I wish that such a long period of cultivation will benefit me greatly." Qin Yun felt a sense of antic.i.p.ation.

…

"Xiahou, why do you care so much? Junior Brother Qin has already sold five spots. He used one spot to enter himself, so why poke your nose into his affairs?" Ravenhorn was standing there watching the main palace in front of him. He could not help but shoot a glance at Daoist Xiahou. "Regardless of the outcome, he will get at least three Connate Lightning Fruits when he enters. Junior Brother Qin won"t lose out much."

"He will ultimately lose out a little in the end," said Xiahou. "I"m saying this for Junior Brother Qin"s own good."

"Mind yourself first. There"s Senior Brother Sa, Junior Sister Mu, and me here as well. You will probably only get three fruits yourself." Ravenhorn curled his lips.

"Do you think I will be inferior to you?" Daoist Xiahou glared at him.

Ravenhorn scoffed, he could not be bothered to respond.

"A big bird like you…" Daoist Xiahou was just about to enter a contentious argument, when Qin Yun said, "Senior Brother Sa is out."

Everyone immediately looked over.

The first palace on the mountainside in front of them had array swirls that prevented one from seeing what was happening inside. Now, the array halo had dissipated while Sa Xu walked out calmly. He gave his five juniors a look before transforming into a stream of light and heading for the second main palace.

"That was fast. He took only a while to clear the first palace. As expected of Senior Brother Sa," marveled Daoist Xiahou.

"I"ll enter next," the icy-cold Fairy Mu said before flying towards the first palace"s entrance.

"Junior Sister Mu, go ahead," said Daoist Xiahou with a chuckle. Following that, he drank some more alcohol and chatted with Qin Yun. "This first main palace will be very fast. It will probably take half a day for all of us to clear it. By the way, Junior Brother Zhang, you have to be careful. Junior Brother Qin"s strength should be sufficient for him to clear it. As for you, it"s hard to say. Don"t be careless."

"Junior Brother Zhang, his mouth stinks. Ignore him," said Ravenhorn.

Ancestral Master Zhang smiled faintly.

…

As they conversed, Fairy Mu walked out.

"I"ll go in next." Daoist Xiahou immediately flew towards the entrance.

"I won"t vie with you," said Ravenhorn contemptuously.

One followed the other.

The first main palace was the easiest among the three. It only took about ten minutes for a half-step Golden Immortal to clear it.

Soon, there was only Qin Yun and Ancestral Master Zhang left.

"Qin Yun, you go ahead first. I"m afraid I"ll spend a little longer in the first main palace. This is also my only chance of clearing it, so I"m not in a rush," said Ancestral Master Zhang.

"Alright." Qin Yun flew to the palace in front of him.

The moment he entered the palace hall, he fell into the confines of the array formation.

"Oh?" Qin Yun looked at the s.p.a.ce around him which appeared indistinct and boundless. From the horizon, an azure-robed man flew over. He held a sword in one hand as he charged at Qin Yun.

With a thought from Qin Yun, the Misty Rain Sword floated in front of him.

When he powered his Intrinsic Connate Numinous treasure with his Dharmic powers, a faint, hazy drizzle appeared around him. The surroundings were enveloped by the Misty Rain domain. The drizzle that hit the azure-robed man"s body weighed him down!

The Misty Rain domain formed by the Intrinsic Connate Numinous treasure was even stronger than the Heavenly Cycle Stellar Realm which Qin Yun had only gained an initial success in. It was enough to influence those at the strength of half-step Golden Immortals.

"Kill!" The azure-robed man rushed Qin Yun and stabbed as fast as lightning.

Qin Yun commanded with his mind. "Decimate."

"Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!"

Wisps of the scattering drizzle immediately formed into Swords of Rainwater. At that instant, sixteen Swords of Rainwater formed around the azure-robed man and attacked him.

"Bam! Bam! Bam!" Under Qin Yun"s control, the Swords of Rainwater moved in a mystical and unpredictable manner at extremely fast speeds. Although the azure-robed man was brandis.h.i.+ng his sword in an attempt to fend off the attacks, his body was instantly penetrated by the rainwater blades. After his body was riddled with more than ten holes, his body dissipated into nothingness.

"Its strength is quite weak, only at the ordinary ninth firmament Skyimmortal level." Qin Yun made a judgment.

Immediately following that, a red-dressed woman came attacking. After destroying her, another golden-robed strongman attacked. Finally it was a black-robed elder.

After Qin Yun dealt with each of them, the four appeared at the same time. They joined forces to attack Qin Yun in a Four Symbols Formation. Their combined strength was a lot higher, but Qin Yun"s Misty Rain domain formed ninety-nine Swords of Rainwater which had a strength above that of the Swords of Stellar Light. It was still very easy for him to crack the Four Symbols Formation.

"Congratulations on cracking the Four Symbols Formation. You can head to the second palace to continue cracking the array formations." A voice resounded inside the array formation.

Following that, the array formation"s halo dissipated. Qin Yun looked at the door behind him.

He flew out of it.

"You were pretty fast." Ancestral Master Zhang smiled as he flew over. "I"m now the only one left."

"The Four Symbols Formation is just as the intelligence depicts. I believe you will definitely crack it," said Qin Yun.

"Let"s hope so." As Ancestral Master Zhang spoke, he flew in.

Qin Yun watched it all happen quietly.

It was indeed uncertain if Ancestral Master Zhang could clear the array formation.

Sou!

Following that, Qin Yun flew in the direction of the mountain. Soon, he arrived in front of a palace around midway up the mountain. Fairy Mu, Daoist Xiahou, and Demon King Ravenhorn were waiting at a plateau in front of the palace.

"Senior Brother Sa hasn"t exited?" inquired Qin Yun when he landed.

"Not yet. According to past experiences, clearing the second palace at the half-step Golden Immortal realm will roughly take a day," said Daoist Xiahou. "Of course, Senior Brother Sa"s strength far exceeds ours. However, he will probably still take two to four hours."

Ravenhorn added, "The difficulty increases as we proceed. The third palace… can only be attempted by mighty figures. Typically, even they will still take a month to clear it. As for us weaker ones, it"s already quite lucky for us if we can clear the second palace. We will probably be thrown out by the third palace in less than a day."

"That"s right. It"s difficult." Daoist Xiahou sighed.

Fairy Mu stood there waiting silently, giving off vibes that prevented anyone from coming close to her.

After waiting for a while…

Sa Xu walked out of the second palace door. He looked at Qin Yun and company once and, without a word, flew towards the third palace that was situated at a higher spot.

"Whoosh." Fairy Mu flew in directly. Qin Yun, Xiahou, and Ravenhorn did not fight to go before her.

"Let Junior Sister Mu try first. Although we have gathered some intelligence, the records are all quite incomplete," said Xiahou with a smile.

Time slowly pa.s.sed.

While waiting, Ancestral Master Zhang flew over, surprising Xiahou.

But soon, everyone quieted down. Some even sat cross-legged to wait.

This wait lasted for a day.

Inside the second palace, the array formation halo dissipated as Fairy Mu walked out with her face pale.

"She cleared it," said Ravenhorn.

One would be thrown out by the array formation if they failed! It was impossible to casually walk out.

Fairy Mu walked out the palace and looked at Qin Yun, Xiahou, Ravenhorn, and Ancestral Master Zhang on the plateau. With her usual cold demeanor, she said coldly, "It"s very dangerous inside." With that said, she flew off and headed for the third palace.

"Very dangerous? Didn"t you still clear it?" Xiahou mumbled before he strode forward.

Qin Yun, Ravenhorn, and Ancestral Master Zhang waited very patiently.

This wait lasted for more than half a day.

"Boom!"

A tumultuous shockwave blasted out as Xiahou flew out of the palace"s door in a pathetic manner. Seven divine swords and a rope flew out as well.

When he landed, Xiahou stumbled for two steps before getting his footing.

"I failed?" Xiahou found it hardly acceptable.

From the side, Ravenhorn"s expression turned solemn. Regardless, he had to admit that Xiahou"s strength was about equal to his. Furthermore, Xiahou had become a half-step Golden Immortal a long time ago. Perhaps he had certain powerful tricks up his sleeves, but still, he had failed the second palace and was thrown out.

Qin Yun"s heart tightened as well.