“Sect Uncle, the time is nearly upon us to select disciples for the inner gate. My master asks that you make preparations.” Li Xiaoman bowed, her appearance ethereal and pure, her dark hair drifting gently in the breeze, her robes white as snow, untouched by even a speck of dust.

“Understood.” The hill master of the Eastern Branch gave a nod.

Ye Fan’s heart stirred. Would entering the inner gate bring him closer to the Nine Secrets? He had to seize the opportunity — and surely everyone else was thinking the same.

Recently, he had been keeping close watch on Li Xiaoman, yet he had not seen her make contact with anyone particularly notable. He had found no trace of Hua Yunfei’s whereabouts through her.

He was certain that Hua Yunfei was somewhere within the Qin Sect — he simply did not know who that person was. He had hoped to track the man down through Li Xiaoman, but so far not a single flaw or clue had presented itself.

“Sect Uncle, I shall take my leave.” Li Xiaoman offered a bow, her sleeves and robes spreading wide as she flew off like an immortal exiled to the mortal realm, soaring away into the distant sky.

The dust in the underground cavity gradually settled. A large crimson coffin lay sprawled within the hollow below. Three snotty children wailed and sobbed down there, while chickens and ducks flapped and squawked all around them.

The hill master looked down at the three bawling little brats and burst out laughing in spite of his irritation. “Look at you — the lot of you are good for nothing. Sneaking around stealing chickens and causing trouble every single day. If you don’t behave, I’ll leave you locked in that underground hole.”

“Hill master, please save us! We’ll only do it this once — we swear we’ll never do it again!” The three snotty children sobbed and whimpered, huddled up against the great coffin, scared half out of their wits.

The master of Immortal Platform realm swept his sleeve, lifting all three of them — along with the coffin — up from below, setting it down on the ground with a heavy thud. A damp, musty smell wafted from it.

This wooden coffin had been buried underground for over ten thousand years, yet it showed not the slightest sign of decay. It remained perfectly preserved, carved from red silkworm dragon wood — an extraordinarily rare and precious material.

“Crack!”

The moment the coffin lid was forced open, a green ray of light shot out. A centipede — nearly two meters long, translucent as jade — came surging forth. It spat a torrent of emerald mist from its mouth, and every chicken and goose it touched dissolved instantly into a pool of pus and blood.

The hill master, a peak-level expert of the first tier of the Immortal Platform — a half-step great master — possessed power that was naturally far beyond ordinary. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he gathered all the children to safety.

“A Celestial Centipede Demon!”

Many people cried out. This centipede had clearly reached a considerable level of cultivation. Though it was not nightmarishly thick and massive, it was terrifying enough.

“Bang!”

The hill master personally stepped forward to confront it, unleashing boundless divine power, attempting to refine and suppress it. But the jade-green centipede pierced through the void and escaped.

Everyone was stunned. This creature had been cultivating for over eight hundred years. Though it had not transformed into human form, it had already attained the strength of a half-step great master.

It had chosen the path of the Insect King — rather than evolving into human form, it continued to cultivate in its insect body, making it all the more terrifying.

“Spit!”

A sheet of jade light sprayed forth. Its venom bored clean through one of the small hills — entering from one side and exiting the other, fully transparent. One could only imagine the devastating power behind it.

The hill master let out a long cry. From his mouth shot a small green gourd, from which surged an endless torrent of golden water vapor. The vapor neutralized the venom, then surged forward to engulf the jade-green centipede.

“True Solar Water!”

Many voices cried out at once. Even Ye Fan was startled. True Solar Water and True Lunar Water were counterparts to each other. Though it took the form of water, it contained the essence of supreme Yang — and was the bane of dark insects and beasts.

“Spit!”

The jade centipede opened its jaws and expelled a stream of emerald mist that coalesced into a short jade-green sword in the shape of a centipede. It sliced through the void, hurtling toward the True Solar Water and the gourd.

“Not good — this centipede’s cultivation runs very deep. Everyone fall back, now!” the hill master shouted.

He and the jade centipede shot upward into the sky, exchanging blow after blow. Below, one of the elders transformed into a streak of light and raced toward the main gate to report the crisis.

Meanwhile, the people below were tense with fear and unease. Within the crimson coffin lay a set of remains — flesh and blood not yet rotted, but as black as ink.

“This is red silkworm dragon wood. It can preserve a body incorruptibly for up to twenty thousand years, keeping it intact in this world — a peerless rarity. This person in life must have been an Imperial-level figure. There is no other explanation for such a coffin.”

“How terrifying. That centipede has been feeding on the source essence of this corpse. No wonder it became so powerful.”

Everyone who saw what was inside the coffin felt deeply unsettled. An Emperor — reduced to food for a poisonous insect after death, unable to rest in peace.

The snotty children went pale as sheets, trembling uncontrollably. Just moments ago, they had brushed past death itself. Had the centipede not been indifferent to their flesh and blood, they would long since have been dead.

“Boom!”

High in the sky, the centipede shuddered violently. Green light blazed brilliantly, and in an instant it expanded to over a dozen zhang in length — like a great sea serpent — its body enormous and segmented, all hundred legs churning through the air, tearing rifts in the void.

“A Celestial Centipede at peak first-tier Immortal Platform — nothing short of a great master could subdue it. Its venom is far too potent.”

“Spit!”

The jade centipede, now over a dozen zhang long, spat a torrent of emerald liquid that dissolved the entire summit of one of the small hills — making it vanish entirely into nothing. That level of supreme poison sent chills running through everyone present.

“Come to your death, demon vermin!”

A thunderous cry rang out from the distant sky. A great master came riding clouds, and from far away he extended an enormous hand — vast as the heavens — and reached down to seize the jade centipede.

“A supreme great master!” Ye Fan was startled. As expected, a terrifyingly powerful figure was stationed at the main peak. And this one, who had arrived in an instant, was no less than an Imperial-level being.

“Spit!”

The Celestial Centipede rampaged across the sky, jade light streaming like ribbons. Its venom sprayed in a single breath, dissolving five small hills into dust, leaving nothing behind. It broke left and right, trying to flee.

But the supreme great master’s abilities reached the heavens. He sealed off space entirely, then reached down and — with a sharp snap — pinched the creature in his grip, unleashing a burst of radiant light to begin refining it.

“This is what it means to be a supreme Sacred Lord-level figure. Suppressing a half-step great master-level Celestial Centipede King — it’s truly no different from pinching an ordinary bug.” Ye Fan was deeply shaken.

The jade centipede’s body was laced with deadly toxins. It spat green mist continuously, but could not break through the veil of light. Refined by divine power, it rapidly shrank. At last, it reduced to the size of a palm — jade green as gemstone, utterly motionless — resting in the great master’s hand.

“Wretched creature. As one of the Five Elemental Toxic Insects, you’ll do perfectly for cultivating a Gu King.” The great figure from the main gate gave a cold snort and sealed the centipede within a small cauldron, then departed.

This was what it meant to be a supreme great master — in an era without Saints or those who had perfected the King Body, they represented the most formidable combat strength beneath the heavens, the true rulers upon the earth.

“That insect was no simple creature. It actually fed on the remnant source essence of the corpse.”

“It had almost ceased being a centipede entirely. It had long since turned into a Gu — consuming its own kind and other living beings, growing stronger and stronger.”

A Gu was a divine insect cultivated by sealing various insect kings together, forcing them to devour one another until only one remained. It originated in the Southern Ridge of the Five Great Domains, where the people there were skilled in Gu cultivation.

At that moment, hearing their words, Ye Fan felt a chill run through him. He thought of the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art — was it not exactly the same principle? Those who cultivated that demonic technique devoured the King Bodies among humanity to strengthen themselves, ultimately becoming the Gu King of humankind. The parallel was uncanny.

“When the ancient Heavenly Emperor created that supreme demonic art, he was almost certainly inspired by the Gu King.” The thought struck Ye Fan, and his heart lurched. “That’s bad.”

The Qin Mountains were a mysterious ancient land filled with mausoleums. Even in the most ancient of eras, those from divine dynasties chose to be buried here. Heaven knew how many ancient graves lay hidden within these mountain ranges.

For Hua Yunfei, coming here was like a fish taking to water. If he happened to discover some incorruptible physical remains, it would be nothing short of a feast for him.

A well-preserved corpse of a supreme figure would still retain residual source essence. If it fell into Hua Yunfei’s hands, the mere thought was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

“In no more than ten years, he could roam the world unchecked!”

For the first time, Ye Fan felt that Hua Yunfei’s future was even more terrifying than he had imagined. If he could not be kept in check now, once the man grew into his full power, perhaps no one would be able to stop him.

Several days later, the hill master of the Eastern Branch announced a piece of news: in two months, disciples would be selected to advance to the inner gate. A stir ran through everyone on the mountain.

“The top performer across the four branches will enter the inner gate. There is only one place.” The hill master made this declaration.

Everyone froze. Only the top person from all four branches could enter the main peak — the condition was too harsh. After one great battle, everyone else would have fought for nothing.

Ye Fan’s heart tightened. From what he knew, even within this single branch, there were three or four disciples who had reached the Dragon Transformation realm, every one of whom clearly had a remarkable background.

And the other three branches were no weaker. To contend for first place would be nothing short of a fierce battle among dragons and tigers. This was clearly the Qin Sect’s intention — they had long since seen through the impure motives of their disciples.

“They’ve come seeking the Nine Secrets. I came only for you, Princess Moonspirit — but who have you become, and in which branch are you?” muttered the scholar from the Eastern Branch, who went by the name Qin Yue.

This was the only piece of intelligence Ye Fan had gathered from observing the scholar and the sickly old man in recent days. He had used his Origin Celestial Arts to tap into the veins of the earth and overheard those particular words.

“Princess Moonspirit of the Nine Lí Divine Dynasty — the second most beautiful woman in the Central State — is also in the Qin Sect?!” Ye Fan was utterly stunned. In this tiny patch of land, with this little sect of barely a hundred people, there were hidden dragons and crouching phoenixes at every turn. Heaven only knew what other formidable figures might be lurking here.

Without even needing to think, it was clear that the refined-looking scholar was a prince from one of the divine dynasties — nothing less could explain why he had dared follow the celestial lady Moonspirit all the way here. He was a coiled dragon waiting to rise.

“East, west, south, north — how many people like Princess Moonspirit and Hua Yunfei are hiding across the four branches? How did they all manage to find their way here?” Ye Fan could not make sense of it. It was obvious that some of them had been here for one or two years already — perhaps even longer.

Two days later, the Eastern Branch hill master issued another announcement: anyone who made a great contribution to the Qin Sect could also enter the main peak to cultivate the highest secret teachings.

“What would count as a great contribution?” a disciple asked.

“Finding dragon marrow to extend the life of the main peak’s elders, or presenting rare materials for forging a divine weapon of King quality…”

Everyone was dumbstruck. Each of those treasures was worth millions of jin in source stones — these were supreme rarities. What the sect was asking for was truly an extraordinary level of contribution.

Ye Fan suspected that the Qin Sect had long seen through the intentions of these disciples. This was nothing less than opening their mouths wide — asking powerful factions like the divine dynasties to pay tuition.

“Old friend, do you intend to enter the main peak?” Ye Fan asked the sickly old man after the crowd had dispersed.

“Better not to enter the inner gate.” The sickly old man shook his head.

“Why not?” Ye Fan was puzzled.

“Some brilliantly gifted figures who enter… never leave.” The sickly old man said.

“Which people, exactly?” Ye Fan was shaken.

“The Jade Azure King, for one.”

“What?!” Ye Fan gave a start. He immediately thought of the Nine Heavens Jade Azure Bell — the relic left behind by an undefeated King from twenty thousand years ago.

This Jade Azure King naturally could not be that same figure from twenty thousand years ago. The sickly old man, with no apparent concern, revealed several secrets.

Thirty years ago, someone had found their way to this place. The Jade Azure King at the time was still in his prime. Within less than a year, he had entered the main peak — and from then on, he had remained, never departing again.

“It isn’t that he chose not to leave. It’s that…” the sickly old man trailed off and shook his head.

“Is there something more to it?” Ye Fan asked.

“There is.” The sickly old man then relayed a shocking secret.

The main peak of the Qin Sect harbored extraordinary masters — none weaker than those of the great sacred grounds — and the most terrifying thing was that they possessed a secret art known as the Rite of Divine Transcendence.

This art could transform a great King into a true devotee. If the Buddha could deliver all living beings, then this art could transcend and redeem every King in the world — and the higher a person’s innate talent, the greater its effect upon them.

The Jade Azure King had entered the main peak and become a guardian of the sect within fewer than three years — one could only imagine what his inner journey must have been like. Today, thirty years on, he had become the Supreme Guardian of the Qin Sect.

Three decades had passed, and he had never left — not once. He had taken root in the Qin Sect and become a true member of it.

The Rite of Divine Transcendence did not seize control of one’s divine sense. Rather, it worked from the source itself, causing a person to sincerely and wholeheartedly submit. It was almost demonic in its nature.

“The Qin Sect may be small, but the main peak is hardly short of powerful figures. The Jade Azure King is only one of them. After thirty years, he must now be capable of fighting even a supreme Sacred Lord.”

“The main peak is unfathomably deep…” Ye Fan murmured, dazed.

“Naturally. The origin of the Rite of Divine Transcendence is enough to make one’s hair stand on end. It is said to be a peerless divine art left behind by the Heavenly Emperor of the Southern Ridge — one capable of transcending every King in the world.”

“This…” Ye Fan stared wide-eyed, speechless. There was a saying in the world that the Heavenly Emperor of the Southern Ridge was a ruthless and terrifying figure. And here, in this place, lay one of his matchless sacred arts.