Chapter 1 Auction and Breakthrough

The auction was a great success. Through the auction of a large number of captured magical artifacts, some nascent divine artifacts, and two unused idle divine artifacts, Ye Chu Luo accumulated a large amount of capital. He successfully converted the original single source of magical artifacts into various spiritual materials, spiritual objects, elixirs, secret techniques, and even human resources. And these resources, like a gushing spring, were injected into the increasingly structured Cold Mountain Flower Society, gradually transforming this special organization, which was originally formed by a burst of enthusiasm, into a truly cohesive force. Those members who had previously struggled to make ends meet were freed from the complexities of life with Ye Chu Luo's capital injection, giving them more time and energy to handle matters for the Flower Society. To put it bluntly, this was a transition from part-time to full-time. Most importantly, through this auction, Ye Chu Luo made a name for himself and polished his brand. Many worlds knew of his existence. His reputation as the 'Many Treasures Hermit' spread far and wide, with people saying that he possessed many treasures. People often crossed worlds to seek treasures from Ye Chu Luo, and Ye Chu Luo always satisfied those who had traveled from afar... as long as they could come up with enough bargaining chips. Ye Chu Luo was not just living off his old capital; he himself was a composite of multiple divine craftsmen. He could casually forge top-grade spiritual treasures. He never lacked various types of magical artifacts. In Daheng, he was already considered a unique figure, detached from the circles of Daheng, yet no one dared to provoke or underestimate him.

In a way, Ye Chu Luo seemed to have lost out. He exchanged some fleeting fame and interpersonal relationships for his original foundation in Daheng. However, from Ye Chu Luo's perspective, those 'foundations' in Daheng had gradually become useless to him. As his true cultivation was revealed, what followed, besides the so-called rights, was more restraint. Just like the five Divine Envoys of the Six Fan Gates, except for Shi Yao, the Duke who cultivated with the country and held great power and considerable initiative, most of the others were only famous in name, with little actual power and a lot of responsibility. Of course, Daheng was not stingy, and the benefits offered were extremely considerable. It was just that Ye Chu Luo didn't care for them.

Time flew by, and five years passed in a flash. Today, Ye Chu Luo often resides in Cold Mountain, and his external activities in Daheng have gradually decreased. Those newcomers to the martial world who had just emerged have already regarded him as a legend. On the Daheng court, there was one less bickering voice who was reorganizing the Ministry of Justice's prison system, but in the mountains and fields of Daheng, there was one more 'Many Treasures Hermit,' rumored to have a heaven-reaching cultivation and countless rare and exotic treasures.

By the small Mirror Lake, Ye Chu Luo was chatting and laughing with Mu Rong Ling, who had come to visit again, bringing with him a promising junior to seek magical artifacts. "I already know your intention, Senior Mu Rong."

"Why not let your esteemed grandson try his luck in this small Mirror Lake?" Ye Chu Luo handed a verdant bamboo fishing rod to the young man behind Mu Rong Ling. This fishing rod used thousand-year emerald bamboo as the pole and the main tendon of a demon python as the line, supplemented with various precious materials. It was already an extremely rare top-grade magical artifact.

The young man obviously knew the rules here at Ye Chu Luo's place. He respectfully took it and then looked at the colorful Mirror Lake with excitement, his face full of eagerness to try.

Years ago, Ye Chu Luo had改造 (gai zao - remodeled) the small Mirror Lake, making it like the Washing Sword Pond of the Divine Weapon Mountain Manor, with the effect of nurturing spirituality. Due to the unlimited investment, the current washing and tempering effect was no different from the original Washing Sword Pond. And in the lake of the small Mirror Lake, there were many spiritual treasures, even nascent divine artifacts. Legend has it that the best batch of magical artifacts in Ye Chu Luo's hands, with sufficient spirituality, all had the potential of divine artifacts. Those who came to seek treasures and were able to obtain the opportunity to fish in the Mirror Lake would return full of rewards.

Mu Rong Ling smiled and said, "Xiao Zhuo! Your Uncle Ye's small Mirror Lake is not simple. It looks ordinary, but in reality, the mountains and waters are connected, and the mountains and waters are in the painting. The painting is integrated with the natural scenery, forming a natural formation, interlocking, and exquisitely unparalleled."

"This lake doesn't look big, but it connects to various small spaces, containing the universe within. When you explore it, you should be more careful and not be impatient."

"You never know which small space hides his treasures at the bottom of the box."

Ye Chu Luo said, "Senior Mu Rong! You're revealing my old secrets!"

"It seems that I'm going to have to bleed heavily today!"

Mu Rong Ling laughed and said, "Everyone knows now that your, Ye Duo Bao’s (Ye Many Treasures), magical artifacts are first-class good and first-class many. To make you bleed heavily, I'd have to call all the children of the Mu Rong family."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the young man called Mu Rong Zhuo happily hugged the fishing rod and went to the lakeside to fish for treasures. Only Ye Chu Luo and Mu Rong Ling were left to talk.

After ensuring no one was around, Mu Rong Ling put away his smile and said seriously, "Xiao Ye! You once asked me if there was any way to break through Wuding (Limitless) if you knew the secrets of Wuding. I went to inquire about it from many Wuding cultivators I know, and I finally found a way out for you."

Ye Chu Luo's expression turned solemn, and his heart beat slightly faster upon hearing this. Needless to say, the answer was obvious. If there really was no way, Mu Rong Ling would not have said this. Since he said it, then there was a way.

"Please tell me!" Ye Chu Luo bowed and clasped his fist.

Mu Rong Ling waved his hand and said, "There's no need to be so polite between you and me."

"I don't know much either. I only heard a saying: 'Even fools have their lucky moments.'"

"I think if you want to break through, you can only focus on the Yu Realm (Fool's Realm)."

"However, from my cultivation until now, I have dealt with various types of Wuding, but I have never seen a cultivator who has broken through the Yu Realm to enter Wuding."

"Although below Wuding, there are seven realms, and in each realm, there are cultivators who can break through and enter Wuding."

"But Yu Realm Wuding is the most difficult."

Mu Rong Ling paused for a moment while speaking. Seeing that Ye Chu Luo's face showed no difference, he continued, "Since you already know the secrets of Wuding, you should know that breaking through Wuding requires you to perform a re-cultivation of a certain realm between unintentional and intentional, without repeating or stacking, but you cannot subjectively guide it. You have such an awareness."

"From Suffering Realm to Yi Realm (Intent Realm), this possibility and probability are not high, but among a thousand Yi Realm cultivators, there will always be a few lucky ones who happen to encounter it and facilitate a certain契机 (qi ji - opportunity), completing the breakthrough."

"Only Yu Realm's foundation is to temper the physical body, which is a foundation that can be tempered by anyone of low intelligence. Even if it is unintentional, what it stacks is only the physical body, making it difficult to achieve integration."

Ye Chu Luo's eyes lit up, "In other words, the Yu Realm is not counted, so it is not a loss."

Mu Rong Ling said, "That's right!"

"Some people have also tried to use external incarnations to temper the physical body at the same time, 重修 (chong xiu -re-cultivating) the Yu Realm, and then combine the physical bodies, but they have gained nothing."

"However, I am very sure that this is a path, and perhaps it is your only hope to break through Wuding."

Through years of communication and getting along, Ye Chu Luo and this amiable Wuding cultivator, Mu Rong Ling, had long become close friends. Mu Rong Ling was also extremely concerned about Ye Chu Luo's accidental knowledge of the secrets of Wuding, which had formed an obstacle and prevented him from breaking through to Wuding.

Mu Rong Ling was speaking, and Ye Chu Luo was also thinking. "The Yu Realm is said to temper the physical body, but in reality, it is biased. Its meaning is to accumulate the foundation."

"The foundation includes the physical body, but it is not just the physical body."

"Speaking of it this way, the Stairway to Heaven Secret Technique fits the expectations well, but the result of the Stairway to Heaven Secret Technique's cultivation is still stacking on the original foundation. If I have unlimited time and accumulate indefinitely, perhaps one day I can break through by accumulating infinite amounts."

"This style of blindly piling up the foundation is also in line with the definition of the Yu Realm."

"Unfortunately, I don't have so much time to waste. Without breaking through Wuding, my lifespan is locked, and I only have the lifespan of an ordinary person, even inferior to ordinary cultivators."

Ye Chu Luo thought in his heart, but he was not flustered. He hadn't wasted these five years. On the surface, he was living a simple life in the depths of Cold Mountain, but in reality, he was constantly laying out plans and谋划 (mou hua - scheming), never stopping.

Outside of the world, he constantly communicated with the cultivators of the Academy World, asking them to help cultivate another him, providing resources and guidance from afar, allowing the other him to take fewer detours. Now, the other him is not only an Yi Realm cultivator but also an Yi Realm overlord along with Duanmu Qiu. The Aurora Underworld is even more热闹至极 (re nao zhi ji - extremely lively), even more superior than Ye Chu Luo's thriving state when he first returned.

It was a pity that Ye Chu Luo could not drill through the voids of the Ark of Creation. To come up with a 重复堆叠 (chong fu dui die - repetitive stacking) and create another 'Ye Chu Luo.' Buying time-space anchors with Daoyun (Dao Rhyme) could only be done once in a short period. Perhaps this was not the limit of Daoyun, but it was definitely the limit of the Ark of Creation. Two Ye Chu Luos existing at the same time had already been enough to bear the time-space cause and effect. If there were more, the Ark of Creation wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Besides the efforts outside the world, within this world of Daheng, Ye Chu Luo was also showing a bit of weakness in the hands of the nascent infant, unintentionally. In terms of 心丹 (xin dan - heart elixir) exchange, Ye Chu Luo was making two preparations. Under the guise of defeat, he constantly laid out plans, secretly harboring the possibility of reversal. When the time came, he would make the nascent infant's mind instantly disturbed and collapse in an instant. In the end, would he untie the heart elixir, entrust the 'intent' to the nascent infant, and start over? Or would he try to support the nascent infant and then stage a coup? Ye Chu Luo had not made a final decision.

"Xiao Ye!"

"I hope you don't be discouraged."

"The path of cultivation is to seek perfection against the heavens."

"The true meaning of Wuding cannot be known, it may not be a flaw, and we are constantly fighting with our own flaws." Mu Rong Ling was still speaking.

The world Mu Rong Ling came from saw the flaw in the Heavenly Dao causing every cultivator to fall into social phobia. The higher the cultivation, the more serious the social phobia. Therefore, that world often fell into a population crisis. To solve the problem, the high-level officials of this world created the Immortal Alliance Network, allowing cultivators with social phobia to communicate through virtual, non-face-to-face methods. This gave rise to some very strange families and clan modes. They met, fell in love, and married on the virtual network, and then quickly went offline to create a foundation, solving the problem before returning to 'singlehood', a spiritual exchange. Of course, because of this strange mode of communication, all kinds of rumors emerged endlessly in that world. Because of this, many strange and bizarre magical techniques were created.

The Mu Rong family where Mu Rong Ling belonged was not based on blood ties, but a online 'family group', the group owner naturally being Mu Rong Ling. Family members would add 'Mu Rong' before their original name, or simply change their surname. Mu Rong Ling should have originally been a person with severe social phobia, the kind who would feel uncomfortable seeing sunlight. But after breaking through Wuding, the flaws were eliminated, and he transformed from social phobia into a social cow with logorrhea. Once he became familiar with people, he talked a lot. He didn't always hold the pretense of being a Wuding grand cultivator. Of course, perhaps it was because of these special characteristics that Mu Rong Ling was considered a rare 厚道 (hou dao - kind and generous) person among Wuding cultivators. He was not only willing to associate with cultivators below his realm, but also willing to support his juniors, and the promises he made would not be vague, but rather he would do his best to fulfill them. It can only be said that one side's environment nurtures the people living in it!

Compared to Mu Rong Ling, the two Wuding cultivators who had appeared in the Daheng world were all 深沉 (shen chen - deep and reserved).

"What Senior says is very true!" Ye Chu Luo nodded in agreement.

Then he said, "Since this junior has already learned the secrets of Wuding, why not have Senior tell me more about the intricacies?"

"Also, if there is guidance and support from Wuding cultivators, will the breakthrough probability of Yi Realm cultivators be higher?"

Since someone was willing to teach, Ye Chu Luo naturally seized the opportunity.

Mu Rong Ling said, "The cultivation of the Wuding realm is a choice, and this is absolutely true."

"For example, the world's flaws, you should also know that these flaws can be said to be defects, but also be said to be talents."

"How to specifically define it depends entirely on your own cognition."

"After entering the Wuding realm, you can choose to eliminate the flaws, and of course, you also eliminate the talents, or you can choose to keep them all, or keep some of them. These are all choices. What kind of results you will get after choosing, you will bear it yourself."

"For example, me, I have experienced some worlds, and some flaws have been eliminated, and some have not. These are all related to my own cultivation habits and habits."

"Before two or more Wuding cultivators truly fight, it is difficult to judge each other's strength because the methods and choices of development are different, resulting in many differences, and there is a lack of quantifiable standards."

"It is not like the Energy Realm, where whoever has more energy wins. Nor is it like the Intent Realm, where whoever's domain is stronger and who has more divine artifacts that grant the user additional characteristics, is more powerful. It is not like that!"

After pausing for a moment, Mu Rong Ling continued, "As for the secret guidance of Wuding cultivators, whether it can improve the probability of Yi Realm cultivators breaking through, it is certainly helpful, but the effect will not be too obvious. I remember I told you this a few years ago, but at that time, you didn't reveal to me that you already knew the secrets of Wuding, so I didn't go into detail."

Ye Chu Luo nodded. The questions just now were only鋪垫 (pu dian - foreshadowing). The next thing was the main point.

"Then Senior, do you think there is a cultivator who can abandon the original choice and re-choose, or make multiple choices at the same time?"

Mu Rong Ling became serious upon hearing this.

Nodding, he said, "What you said is the most controversial issue within the Wuding realm."