```

Lu Yang felt that it was a good thing Xie An and Qiao’er went to the Qiankun Ziyun Palace. With two more at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, other sects wouldn’t be harmed by these two, creating a win-win situation.

Meng Jingzhou quietly moved next to Lu Yang. Qiao’er, no, now known as Venerable Qianjiao, exuded a chill so intense that it seemed to freeze his very marrow.

"Is the Transcendance Tribulation Stage so common now that you meet a couple whenever you step outside?" Lu Yang muttered softly.

After giving it some thought, Meng Jingzhou spoke seriously of his experience going out with Lu Yang, "It seems like we run into those at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage every time we go out."

Lu Yang: "..."

Indeed that seemed to be the case.

"Wuji, you old fart, stop acting like a kid! And looking so young!" Qiao’er scolded Xie An. Had she known Xie An was Venerable Wuji, why would she have stayed here for half a year?

Such a waste of feelings!

Xie An, refusing to show weakness, spat out a mouthful of phlegm, "You have the nerve to talk? When you were chased by robbers, crying you told me, ’Please, brother, save me, my parents and servants have all been killed by robbers.’ You played the part so well!"

"Not as well as you. You spent all your time loitering around old beggars, playing chess with them, sneaking into a Nascent Soul Stage sect with such twists and turns!"

"You shameless thing!"

"You’re the one without shame!"

As the two at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage quarreled, locking gazes as if in battle, the air seemed to freeze. This left Lu Yang and his companion terrified, fearing they might actually come to blows.

If they did start fighting, the first to suffer would be them.

Lu Yang, when serving as the proxy of the Acting Sect Master, had read intelligence on these two at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage.

The two were contemporaries, having known each other since childhood, were childhood friends, and there were even rumors they had a childhood betrothal. After Venerable Wuji’s family fortunes declined, Venerable Qianjiao’s family called off the marriage, and hence they never wed.

Regardless of whether the rumor was true or false, after joining their respective sects, they rivaled each other from the Qi Cultivation Stage all the way to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, incidentally raising their sects to the status of Super-grade Sects.

In their era, they were the brightest geniuses, their peers witnessed their talents with shame, feeling unworthy of comparison.

No matter the era, anyone who could cultivate to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage was a genius among geniuses.

After becoming characters of the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, the two took on the airs of elders and weren’t as quick to come to blows as before. Moreover, being at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, a mere fight could lead to catastrophic destruction, making the aftermath quite troublesome to restore.

Still, the number of times they secretly competed were not few, such as by cultivating disciples and having their disciples fight each other, or by disguising themselves as disciples to fight.

Seeing this, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou quietly made their exit, fearful of being caught up should they leave too late.

"Wait, don’t go yet. There seems to be a secret realm in this temple," Fairy Eternity called out to Lu Yang.

"A secret realm? Where?"

"Right behind that lotus platform in the temple," Fairy Eternity directed Lu Yang.

Driven by curiosity, Lu Yang sneaked behind the lotus platform in the dilapidated temple.

Behind the lotus platform was covered in dust. Lu Yang brushed away the dust to reveal the entrance to the secret realm, which was a small indentation.

"Old Meng, come over here, there’s a secret realm," Lu Yang called to Meng Jingzhou, who was guarding the entrance to the dilapidated temple.

Meng Jingzhou hurried over at his words.

Hearing that there was a secret realm, the two at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage temporarily ceased their squabble and were also surprised to find the indentation.

The two had been painstakingly disguising themselves as mortals and had failed to notice the entrance to the secret realm nearby.

"Legend has it that there’s a secret realm outside Nine Dragons City; this must be it," Lu Yang surmised.

```

"Who would’ve thought there really is a secret realm?" Xie An exclaimed in surprise. He had already set up a secret realm in the nearby woods, just waiting for the day he would join the Purple Cloud Palace of the universe and become the Eldest Senior Brother. Then, during a chance encounter, he hoped to gain an opportunity.

The opportunity he arranged was enough for him to cultivate to the Body Integration Realm.

"Try dripping blood on it?" Meng Jingzhou suggested.

"Okay." Lu Yang dripped blood into the groove, filling it completely, but there was no reaction.

Xie An analyzed seriously, "This must require some kind of token to fill it. As for what that token is, I have no idea."

"Why does this groove look so familiar?" Lu Yang wondered.

"Right, why don’t you try using the token that old beggar gave you?"

Upon hearing this, Xie An placed the Purple Cloud-shaped token in the groove, and it filled exactly one-third of it.

"Does it mean we need the tokens from the three Great Sects? Shall we go and ask the other two sects for theirs?"

"No need for such trouble."

Qiao’er pressed her hand onto the groove, gently tugging at it, tearing open a spatial rift. She pointed toward the entrance of the secret realm, "Now we can enter."

Lu Yang: "…"

The four of them were curious about what was inside the secret realm and directly jumped in.

The secret realm was not large; its main feature was a luxurious palace.

The four walked into the palace, where a statue was enshrined. Due to the lack of offerings over the years, the statue looked worn and damaged.

It seemed to sense that the secret realm had been opened and someone had entered. The statue trembled slightly, and an old man with a beard of white whiskers appeared. The old man looked at them contentedly.

"It must be you four who, according to the prophecy, have gathered the three tokens and opened the secret realm."

"This is a divine thought I left behind. I know you have many questions. Don’t rush, let me explain slowly."

"I don’t know if you have heard of my name, I am called Zhang Dao. I was once the strongest in Nine Dragons City, at the peak of Spirit Transformation cultivation level, so much so that even the City Lord would pay his respects to me as a junior."

"Unfortunately, despite my carefree life, I ultimately had to face the issue of ’lifespan’."

"Great strength does not mean unlimited lifespan. At that time, I had no hope of reaching the Void Refinement Stage, and my end was near. I wasn’t afraid of death, but I had three disciples who were all excellent. They developed rifts among themselves and established their own sects, creating the three Great Sects.

While I was alive, I could still suppress their disputes, but if I were to die, they would inevitably engage in infighting."

"Thus, on my deathbed, I left a prophecy: ’When the three sects unite, the three tokens converge, under Buddhism there lies Pass Tribulation.’ I left behind a cultivation technique that extends to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. To obtain this technique, one must gather all three tokens which are the personal tokens of my three disciples."

"You were able to gather all three tokens, which must mean they have reconciled. I am very gratified. Knowing that the last sentence of the prophecy refers to this place shows your exceptional wisdom."

The old man opened a small wooden box, which contained a thread-bound cultivation technique.

"This is a technique I obtained in my youth from the Wuji Sect. Although it is incomplete, containing only the first half, it can ensure your cultivation reaches the Divinity Transformation Stage. It is by practicing this that I reached the peak of Spirit Transformation."

"To obtain the latter part of the technique, you have to find a way to join the Wuji Sect."

Xie An looked at the old man, hands behind his back, and asked indifferently, "Do you know who I am?"

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"Who are you?"

Xie An changed his appearance, with his face and body shifting, reverting to his original appearance, and stared coldly at the old man.

"I am called Xie Jiu. You can also call me the Venerable Wuji."

The old man remained silent for two seconds and then knelt down quietly.

"I am sorry, I should not have stolen the cultivation technique."