The three disciples received Qin Yun"s heritage, while far away in the Cloud Ink Sect, Elder Qian was hosting a banquet.In the hall, there were dancers performing.
Elder Qian sat at the seat of honor with several immortals sitting beside him. They were all chatting while drinking immortal brew.
"Uh—" Elder Qian, who was holding a wine cup while chuckling, suddenly widened his eyes before collapsing in his seat. He was no longer breathing.
"Daoist Qian."
"Junior Brother Qian."
A commotion stirred as everyone surged over. However, Elder Qian"s soul had already dissipated. He was completely dead.
Elder Qian had died without any warning in front of so many immortals while still inside the Cloud Ink Sect! It naturally caused a stir in the Cloud Ink Sect. Just as the sect was about to investigate the matter, the Cloud Ink Sect Master and the sect"s Dao Protector suppressed the matter. It left many disciples puzzled. As such, Elder Qian"s death became a mystery.
…
After Qin Yun killed Elder Qian across the void, he left the Heavenly realm and came to the Green Touring Palace.
At the entrance of the Green Touring Palace"s main hall was a Dao Child.
"Senior Brother Qin." The Dao Child smiled as he receive him.
"Please inform my master that I wish to meet him," said Qin Yun.
"Alright." The Dao Child smiled reverently as he faced the hall and transmitted the news. "Master, Senior Brother Qin Yun wishes to seek an audience."
And inside the main hall.
It was empty, but a figure suddenly descended on a bed of clouds. He was none other than the Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasure.
"Let him in," said Numinous Treasure.
He was somewhat puzzled. "I wonder why this disciple of mine is suddenly seeking me out. Speaking of which, it has been more than seven thousand years since he became an Itinerant Immortal. There"s little time left for him. Only by attaining a perfected Great Dao will he have the chance to fight the tribulation. If he fails to obtain a perfected Great Dao, there will no hope. He will be doomed. Unfortunately, he can only rely on himself. No one can help him."
So what if others were anxious? All they could do was watch from the side.
Qin Yun"s Sword Dao was pointed towards the perfected Great Dao the moment it was attained; it garnered the envy of others and the appreciation of the Dao Ancestor. But Numinous Treasure also knew that to attain a perfected Great Dao in about ten thousand years was very difficult.
And at that moment, Qin Yun had walked in.
"Master." Qin Yun bowed.
"Is there a reason you"ve come to me?" asked Numinous Treasure with a smile.
Qin Yun reverently reported, "Master, I"ve broken through!"
The smiling Numinous Treasure"s expression froze. He was stupefied for an instant before his smile turned brilliant! Even as a member of the Three Pure Ones, he only ever had two disciples cultivate a perfected Great Dao to date. One of them was Daoist Myriad Treasure and the other was the Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain. Furthermore, Daoist Myriad Treasure had become a Buddhist because of his cultivation. It weakened the Green Touring Palace"s foundations greatly.
After all, as Heavenly Dao realm existences, they were forced to leave the Three Realms in the future. If Green Touring Palace only had the Old Mother of Blackfoal Mountain to back it, it would drastically lose its standing in the Three Realms.
Now that Qin Yun had broken through, it left Numinous Treasure a lot more excited.
"Broken through?" Numinous Treasure"s smile was radiant and extremely kind. "You have attained a perfected Great Dao?"
"It happened minutes ago," said Qin Yun respectfully. "I figured out the Sword Dao of Heaven, Earth, and Man, so I immediately came to Green Touring Palace to meet you, Master."
"Hahaha…"
Numinous Treasure laughed rapturously. "Good! You have attained a perfected Great Dao and have an Intrinsic Connate Cardinal treasure. As long as you solidify your progress, your strength will be at the half-step Heavenly Dao realm! You will be stronger than Bai Ze"s former incarnation. Then, you will have a chance of surviving the twelfth Itinerant Immortal tribulation!"
"However… I can tell that your Dharmic powers are still stuck at the pinnacle mighty figure level." Numinous Treasure frowned slightly.
"A breakthrough causes too much a stir. If I were to break through in the Heavenly realm, I"m afraid all of the Three Realms would learn of it quickly," said Qin Yun with a smile. "I think it"s better I break through in Green Touring Palace."
Numinous Treasure"s eyes lit up when he heard that. He said with a smiling nod, "You thought right. This should not be made public! Now, the one who wishes to kill you the most in the Three Realms is Black Lotus. He wishes to s.n.a.t.c.h your Misty Rain Sword to refine it. He similarly wants to s.n.a.t.c.h the Qingping Sword. If he misses this chance, he probably will no longer have any other chance. As long as your breakthrough isn"t divulged, we can set up a trap… causing the fiend experts to fall into our grasp."
"Even if you are still a pinnacle mighty figure, killing you would not be easy since you possess an Intrinsic Connate Cardinal treasure." Numinous Treasure aired his thoughts. "The ones sent out would likely be at the perfected Great Dao level, ones who will be strong against you."
Qin Yun said respectfully, "I share the same thoughts!"
Numinous Treasure smiled.
By making a secret breakthrough without telling anyone, they could ensnare the fiends! Both of them shared the same idea.
This was a rare opportunity!
"Hmm."
Numinous Treasure nodded. "We can take the opportunity to eliminate the fiends at the perfected Great Dao. You can also gain greater merit. Your Misty Rain Sword will also come closer to becoming a Merit Cardinal treasure."
"Qin Yun, no one knows the might of the twelfth Itinerant Immortal tribulation. After all, Bai Ze failed in his previous incarnation and died. Your Misty Rain Sword is an Intrinsic Connate Cardinal treasure. If it becomes a Merit Cardinal treasure, your strength will be elevated again, so your chances of transcending the tribulation will increase," said Numinous Treasure. "And to have a Merit Cardinal treasure, the merit required is immense. You once killed Star Destruction that wreaked havoc in countless Small Worlds. He was the strongest in Small Worlds, so the Heavenly Courts and Buddhists could not stop him. He was ranked in the top five when it came to sin in the Three Realms. By killing him, you gained copious amounts of merit.
"Later, you became the strongest in a Small World and could penetrate the void without array formations stopping you. You swept through the twenty-six fiendish dominions and caused numerous Small Worlds in the twenty-six dominions to be taken back. The merit involved was even higher; after all, there are only sixty dominions in the Three Realms.
"With the great merit from these two deeds, if you were to destroy a perfected Great Dao of the fiends, there is hope of you attaining a Merit Cardinal treasure." The Dao Ancestor looked forward to it.
Attaining a Merit Cardinal treasure was too difficult.
For example, when it came to killing fiends.
A Chaos G.o.dfiend like Wu Zhiqi was stronger than Star Destruction, but the merit gained from killing him was relatively smaller.
The merit gained did not depend on the fiend"s strength and reputation, but on their sins! Star Destruction"s sins far exceeded most perfected Great Dao existences.
The merit Qin Yun accrued from his two deeds… was because he became invincible in a Small World. He could sweep through everything and kill Star Destruction. It resulted in him influencing the situation in countless Small Worlds.
"I will naturally try my best," said Qin Yun.
"By the way, you did not tell anyone about your breakthrough, right?" asked Numinous Treasure.
"Master, you and I are the only ones who know of my breakthrough," said Qin Yun.
"Very good. Continue keeping it a secret. Since we are scheming against the fiends, we have to be careful. You cannot even tell your family," said Numinous Treasure.
"Yes, Master." Qin Yun answered.
"As for how we should set up the trap, I will have to think carefully about it," said Numinous Treasure. "Begin your cultivation to complete the breakthrough first."
"Will the Fiend Ancestor discover the breakthrough in my Dharmic powers?" Qin Yun was somewhat worried.
"Don"t worry. No one can spy on you while you"re inside Green Touring Palace. Before you leave, I will make the necessary arrangements," said Numinous Treasure with a smile. "I"ll definitely make Black Lotus suffer a setback. Alright, quickly make your breakthrough. You cannot relax when it comes to cultivation. Every increase in strength will increase the hopes of you surviving the Itinerant Immortal tribulations."
"Yes. I shall take my leave then." Qin Yun immediately left.
Numinous Treasure watched this scene as his eyes flickered with a strange glow.
"I really did not make a mistake. This disciple of mine is truly talented. Now, his strength is above his senior sister and he is ranked first among my disciples," said Numinous Treasure inwardly. "The biggest trouble now is his transcending of the Itinerant Immortal tribulations. As long as he survives it, he will be the next lord of my Green Touring Palace.
"Even if I were to leave the Three Realms, my Green Touring Palace"s standing will remain immovable with this disciple of mine." Numinous Treasure was in an extremely good mood.
It was truly news that comforted him.
…
Green Touring Palace. In the chamber of Qin Yun"s tiny compound.
Qin Yun sat cross-legged on a mat.
"Time for the breakthrough!" Qin Yun closed his eyes. With a thought, his Essence Soul Dharmic powers immediately fused with the Sword Dao of Heaven, Earth, and Man. Every wisp of Essence Soul Dharmic powers immediately transformed quant.i.tatively after using the Sword Dao of Heaven, Earth, and Man as their foundation. His Dharmic powers turned purer as his strength increased rapidly. Wisps of even stronger Dharmic powers arose in him as his Essence Soul, which was comprised of boundless Essence Soul Dharmic powers, also transformed. He was molting into a perfected Great Dao expert.