Chapter 369 - 364: Golden Jade Flying Scripture of the Eight Realms of Truth

After the auction ended, Du Youqian didn’t immediately lead his team back to the Zouma Gang’s base in the Western Domain.

Because the opening of Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion was just around the corner.

Moreover, Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion was located in the eastern part of the Northern Domain, making it closer to depart from here.

If they returned to the Zouma Gang first, they would have to take a long detour.

So, he simply decided to stay and wait for the day Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion would open.

According to the intelligence provided by the Qingxu Commerce Association, Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion would automatically emerge from the Desert Sea in ten days. At that time, anyone holding a key would be drawn into the cave mansion.

Inside the cave mansion, Su Miao Master had set up various trials. Those who passed them could obtain the corresponding Inheritances.

The same Inheritance could be obtained by multiple people.

As for why the Qingxu Commerce Association knew all this... it was naturally because the association’s upper echelons had once entered Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion and obtained all the Inheritances. However, they hadn’t destroyed the trials set by Su Miao Master, allowing others to come and acquire the Inheritances as well.

Du Youqian didn’t mind sharing the Inheritances, but some people disliked the feeling of not having exclusive ownership. In the following days, several keys changed hands.

It was unknown whether these changes in ownership were the result of trades or Magical Combat.

But overall, the auction hosted by the Qingxu Commerce Association was relatively safe. As long as one didn’t brazenly reveal their true appearance, there was little risk.

As for the Cultivators Du Youqian had seen at the auction without any disguise, they were either formidable in Magical Combat themselves or came from major powers and had no fear of being targeted.

You see someone who looks like a mere Core Formation Master, yet they spend lavishly and act ostentatiously. So you decide to teach them a lesson about how harsh the world can be, only for a Nascent Soul Level Guardian to pop out from behind them... Of course, you can never be sure. Perhaps their Sect’s foundation is so profound that a Divinity Transformation expert might emerge.

Although Du Youqian had received guidance from the bearded Cultivator and gotten to know many Core Formation and Nascent Soul Masters, he had no intention of provoking anyone.

He didn’t plan to rob them, nor did he intend to go and get acquainted.

During this waiting period, he simply cultivated quietly on his own, taking the opportunity to study the newly acquired *Golden Jade Flying Scripture of the Eight Realms of Truth*.

The bearded man was either careless or had done it intentionally.

When he handed the Jade Scroll for the *Golden Jade Flying Scripture of the Eight Realms of Truth* to Du Youqian, it unexpectedly contained some insights and speculations about the technique.

It was unclear if they were his own views or someone else’s.

However, Du Youqian was inclined to believe the bearded man was just careless.

Because the notes and insights were very few and lacked any systematic structure.

They were just like annotations and notes jotted down casually while reading a book.

Moreover, these views probably didn’t belong to the bearded man, as the Cultivation Technique he practiced was clearly not this one.

Du Youqian guessed that the bearded man had probably copied the original owner’s thoughts and understanding of the technique when he had secretly duplicated it.

’For now, let’s call the original owner of this Cultivation Technique Nameless.’

The Eight Realms were the Primordial Realm, Origin Realm, Mystic Realm, Spiritual Realm, True Realm, Bright Realm, Cave Realm, and Clear Realm.

Regardless of how profound those names sounded, the Eight Realms actually just referred to eight periods when it was easy to sense the changes in the world’s Spiritual Qi.

According to Nameless’s understanding, these periods could be eight different times within a single day, or they could be eight different times within a single year.

Cultivating with this understanding would yield special benefits.

Nameless then engaged in some divergent thinking. If these Eight Realms referred to eight different times in a day and also eight different times in a year...

...then at different times, even in the same location, is the scenery one sees the same?

Are the feelings one perceives the same?

At different times, is one truly standing in the same location?

Even if I don’t move, haven’t heaven and earth moved?

So, are these Eight Realms really just eight points in time?

Could they also refer to eight different spatial locations?

Du Youqian was stunned by this line of thought.

If he had to come up with it himself, he probably wouldn’t have thought in this direction for centuries, even though he actually had a foundation in this kind of philosophical speculation.

Concepts from Earth like "a man cannot step into the same river twice," "if all the parts of the Ship of Theseus are replaced, is it still the same ship?" and "sitting on the ground, one travels eighty thousand li a day; touring the sky, one looks upon a thousand rivers" all contained similar philosophical inquiries.

By the time Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion was about to open, Du Youqian was still pondering this question.

If Nameless’s conjecture was true, then this Cultivation Technique was by no means just a Cultivation Technique for a Cosmic Spirit Root of Time. Instead, it required Dual Spirit Roots of Space and Time. During Cultivation, one could not only focus on time, but must also pay attention to insights regarding space to have any chance of truly mastering it.

Of course, "truly mastering it" meant at least reaching Core Formation using this technique.

Merely Introducing Qi into the Body didn’t count as mastery.

Two days before the opening of Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion, all the Cultivators who possessed a key had already arrived in the Northern Domain.

Although the exact location where Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion would appear was uncertain, there was a general area, and the Cultivators waited nearby.

Du Youqian felt that, including himself, there were probably more than forty-three groups of people present.

’I wonder if some people are here to fish in troubled waters, or if other members of the Qingxu Commerce Association besides the bearded Cultivator have been selling keys privately.’

Du Youqian didn’t care. In any case, once inside, it would be every man for himself.

If a Nascent Soul Elder Monster really tried to rob him, the worst that could happen was he’d flee. At worst, he would use his self-created "Quick Passage" Secret Technique, burn through his lifespan, and reincarnate. He refused to believe that a Nascent Soul Elder Monster could send out their Nascent Soul to chase his soul.

’But if it’s a Core Formation Master... I have a Sword. I wonder if you can take it?’

While they waited, instances of Magical Combat occurred occasionally.

But everyone was relatively restrained, feeling it was unnecessary to go on a killing spree for treasures that hadn’t even appeared yet.

After all, even if you thought you could easily handle someone, if you fought fiercely here, wouldn’t it make the other Cultivators feel a sense of shared peril?

Wouldn’t it make others wary of you, ganging up to eliminate you at the first opportunity?

Core Formation Masters were, for the most part, sharp as tacks.

Although naive, air-headed Core Formation Masters who focused solely on ascetic cultivation without a care for worldly affairs—the "greenhouse flower" type—did exist, they would never appear in the Endless Desert Sea.

So, everyone was basically amicable.

While some were sharp-tongued and sarcastic, others fanned the flames of conflict, and still others were secretly plotting something, at least no large-scale battles had broken out.

Du Youqian had only brought Kang Yinghe with him, who was to act as his backup.

Sha You and the sand badger were hiding in the distance, out of sight, but ready to move in and provide support at any moment.

Du Youqian didn’t stir up trouble or talk to anyone. He quietly guarded the small area he had claimed for himself. For a time, no one came to provoke him.

Of course, people pointed at him from a distance, some with mocking smiles, and even made sarcastic remarks like "some pauper from the Western Domain" or "that country bumpkin from over in the Western Domain." In Du Youqian’s eyes, this didn’t count as provocation. It was just people politely greeting him.

’Once inside, if I run into them, I’ll just return the favor with my sword. It’s only proper to reciprocate a courtesy, after all.’

’After returning the courtesy, I can also loot their corpses. Looked at it that way, these people are actually quite nice, aren’t they? So polite. They knew I spent all my Spiritual Jade at the Qingxu Commerce Association and came all this way to give me gifts.’

However, one group of people broke this tacit understanding of leaving each other alone.

Just as the time for the opening of Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion drew nearer, a pair of long legs appeared before him. The owner stood with hands on her hips and said arrogantly, "What are you looking at, country bumpkin?"

Du Youqian raised his head and met a pair of phoenix eyes, filled with anger and contempt, and calmly asked, "Fellow Daoist, what are you talking about?"

The other party said angrily, "You were staring at my thighs, weren’t you? Have you never seen a woman’s legs before!"

Du Youqian glanced down. This Core Formation Realm Kun Cultivator was not only beautiful but also dressed in a very bold and revealing manner. Her lower half was clad in something like a hip-hugging miniskirt worn by girl groups, which was considered shockingly unconventional in this world.

The key was that people in this world, both male and female, did not have the habit of wearing underwear.

Therefore, many people were probably wondering: was she wearing anything underneath, or not?

But Du Youqian was not one of them.

Du Youqian was worldly and had seen it all. He’d even seen... videos of Crazy Horse shows. What was there to see in a little hip-hugging miniskirt?

After taking another look, Du Youqian raised his head. "Yes, I looked. They’re not fair enough."

The Kun Cultivator was about to go mad with rage. Her nostrils flared and she breathed heavily, her full chest, covered only by a light gauze, heaving violently. "Country bumpkin, are you looking to die?"

Du Youqian thought for a moment.

’A lot of people are watching us right now.’

’If I kill this Kun Cultivator with a single sword strike, it will probably put everyone on guard. Once we’re inside the cave mansion, I’m afraid everyone will be wary of me.’

’But if I show weakness, I estimate that inside Su Miao Master’s Cave Mansion, many people will think they can take me down. Some might even rush over to deliver a ’big gift package’.’

So, Du Youqian shook his head. "No."

Then he turned and walked away.

’Arguing is out of the question. I never argue with women, because you can’t win.’

’It’s better not to argue at all.’

’If it’s a situation where a winner must be decided, then I’ll just physically eliminate the opponent. In any case, I’m not going to argue.’

Kang Yinghe was a little confused, but since Du Youqian hadn’t said anything, he just silently followed him away.