Chapter 559 545: Acupoints Harboring Divine Techniques, Secret Realm Base

"Given how dense the Spiritual Qi is here, there's a high chance a Superior Spirit Vein is hidden nearby. Otherwise, the Spiritual Qi wouldn't be this rich!"

The Black Dragon sensed the density of the Spiritual Qi in the Secret Realm. Even ten thousand years ago, this level would have been considered quite good.

Spirit Veins are the source of Spiritual Qi; any place with one will have a high concentration of it. Furthermore, Spirit Veins are born from Divine Veins.

Back when the Taiyu Divine Continent still had Divine Veins, places with Spirit Veins were numerous and perfect for cultivating Spirit Medicines and Spirit Grass. But as the Divine Veins vanished, these lands also began to slowly dry up. Long-lasting Spirit Veins are becoming rarer and rarer.

Most of the remaining ones are in the Grotto Heavens of those with Sacred Bodies, or within newly emerged Secret Realms. Some Secret Realms even have their Spirit Veins dry up shortly after appearing, turning them into ordinary places.

You could say that when the Taiyu Divine Continent still had Divine Veins, it was a holy land for Martial Arts Cultivation. But after the Divine Veins disappeared, not only did it become difficult to break through to the Divine Acupoint Realm, but even cultivation below that realm was affected.

Fewer and fewer people can complete their cultivation in the Body Tempering Stage. Anyone who can break through to the Blood Exchange Martial Saint Realm is already considered one of the best.

"Can Spirit Veins be extracted?"

Yang Chan asked, looking at the Black Dragon with curiosity.

'The space inside the Profound Yin Hanging Bead is quite large, but it has very little Spiritual Qi. If I could extract a Spirit Vein and put it inside, maybe it could become a place like this Secret Realm. Then I'd be able to carry a Secret Realm around with me.'

'If I could pull that off, the benefits would naturally be immense.'

"Spirit Veins can be extracted, but Master, your current cultivation isn't high enough."

"The Spirit Vein in this Secret Realm was likely extracted by someone above the Divine Acupoint Realm to create this place."

"However, if the Profound Yin Hanging Bead could advance to the Divine Artifact Level, it might be possible to directly refine this entire region, refining the Spirit Vein right into the Profound Yin Hanging Bead!"

The Black Dragon said slowly, glancing at Yang Chan.

At the same time, his words brought up the Profound Yin Hanging Bead's advancement to a Divine Weapon. The condition for this, as he had previously told Yang Chan, was for the Black Dragon's Soul Body to recover to the Divine Acupoint Realm.

Unlike the people of the Taiyu Divine Continent, the Black Dragon was originally in the Divine Acupoint Realm. Therefore, by finding the Dragon Race within the Purple Void Secret Realm and seizing a dragon's physical body, the Black Dragon could, under its nourishment, potentially ascend back to the Divine Acupoint Realm.

This would, in turn, allow the Profound Yin Hanging Bead to advance into a Divine Weapon.

'After all that talk, he still managed to steer the conversation back to his true goal for this trip.'

"The power of the Divine Acupoint Realm is truly immense!"

Yang Chan was just musing aloud; he didn't take the Black Dragon's bait.

'I have my own plans, and among them, seizing a dragon's body is a low priority. I'm not that concerned about whether it succeeds or not.'

"The Divine Acupoint Realm represents a breakthrough past the Human-God Boundary. It's a complete transformation. Naturally, one's strength becomes immense, and you also gain access to all sorts of Divine Techniques."

"In the eyes of ordinary people, those in the Divine Acupoint Realm are like Divine Spirits. Living beings will worship them and build faith in them!"

The Black Dragon became more talkative whenever the Divine Acupoint Realm was mentioned.

In the past, he had been immensely powerful, and the Divine Acupoint Realm was barely worthy of his notice. Now, however, reaching that realm was an arduous challenge. He had devised countless plans to return to the Divine Acupoint Realm, yet success was still not guaranteed.

Although he claimed that seizing a Dragon Body would allow him to return to the Divine Acupoint Realm, he wasn't actually that confident about it.

The Profound Yin Hanging Bead placed immense restrictions on him, constantly draining the power of his Soul Body. Every time his Soul Body showed any improvement, that power would be drained to strengthen the Profound Yin Hanging Bead.

He was like a power generator, providing energy, but little of it was left for him to keep. Nevertheless, this was the best opportunity he could find at the moment, and he had no intention of letting it slip by.

"Divine Techniques? Are those abilities that manifest within the physical body after breaking through to the Divine Acupoint Realm?"

Yang Chan asked.

The Divine Acupoint Realm was extremely mysterious to him. Although he had learned some things about it from the Black Dragon, it wasn't much.

It was still a ways off for him now, but not completely out of reach.

"The Divine Acupoints contain a special power. Once opened, they grant all sorts of different abilities. It's just like how Master's Essence Upper Embryo, once opened, condensed into your Soul Body."

"It's a pity the Taiyu Divine Continent no longer has Divine Veins. Otherwise, if your Essence Upper Embryo could have absorbed the power of a Divine Vein, your Soul Body would be far stronger."

"However, Master is now cultivating the Taiyuan Soul Sword, which in a way, is also a type of Divine Technique. After all, it is incredibly difficult to open the Essence Upper Embryo before reaching the Divine Acupoint Realm."

The Black Dragon sighed with emotion as he said this. After all, he had played a part in Yang Chan's ability to open the Essence Upper Embryo.

If Yang Chan hadn't absorbed the power of his Soul Body, it would have been impossible for him to break through to the Essence Upper Embryo. All of that was essentially the Black Dragon's own Power of Origin, which had been used to enable Yang Chan's breakthrough.

Such a thing was extremely rare in the Cultivation Realm. After all, no one above the Divine Acupoint Realm would ever use their Power of Origin to help someone who hadn't even reached Perfection in the Body Tempering Stage break through their Acupoints. Doing so would be tantamount to sacrificing one's own future—potentially losing the ability to advance and even seeing thousands of years of cultivation destroyed in an instant—all to bring success to a single person.

No one would do such a thing.

The Black Dragon had been tricked by the Profound Celestial Divine Monarch, which was how he ended up as the Artifact Spirit of the Profound Yin Hanging Bead. Then, through a twist of fate, Yang Chan had absorbed the power of his Soul Body, leading to the current situation.

It could be said that everything was a matter of fateful coincidence.

This was what allowed Yang Chan to form his Soul Body ahead of schedule.

The Soul Body's true power was supposed to be far greater than this, but without Divine Veins in the Taiyu Divine Continent, many of its abilities couldn't be used. The only reason Yang Chan could manifest the Taiyuan Sword now was by borrowing the Taiyuan Qi from the Taixuan Realm.

"Someone's coming. You should return to the Profound Yin Hanging Bead."

Suddenly, Yang Chan's brow furrowed slightly, and he spoke slowly.

He could sense someone approaching.

It wasn't a stranger, but someone from the Cyan Yuan Sect—one of the people who had entered with him earlier.

"Pharmacist Yang, night is about to fall. Let's go to the encampment and rest for the night!"

"After nightfall in the Secret Realm, the Exotic Beasts become more active. It's not a good time to keep searching for Spirit Medicine, as you're likely to be attacked. The encampment is guarded by experts from the Merak Sacred Land, so it's relatively safer!"

The one speaking to Yang Chan was the Elite Disciple who had given him directions earlier.

The longer one spent in the Secret Realm, the more one understood its conditions. This allowed them to arrange countermeasures, deal with the various troubles encountered within, and avoid many disasters.

Many people had been killed by nocturnal Exotic Beasts while searching for Spiritual Materials after dark. This served as a cautionary tale that one would be wise to heed.

Many people gathered at the encampment, so the Exotic Beasts generally didn't dare to approach; otherwise, they would only be slain by the guards stationed there.

"Will Sect Leader Gu and the others be coming over as well?"

Yang Chan asked.

"Probably not right now. They're busy trying to break an Array. But they should come over to rest after a while."

The Elite Disciple shook his head. For the Merak Sacred Land, which had several Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters stationed with them, these Exotic Beasts were naturally no threat.

In fact, it was probably even safer up on the mountain with so many experts present!