Chapter 356 - 355: Sacred Ground Collapsing?

Bai Qingyue sat cross-legged upon a smooth jade boulder, her eyes closed as she silently circulated her cultivation technique. Crystalline blue light flowed around her body, rising and falling with each breath as the aura of a Middle Stage Core Formation cultivator spread through the surrounding space.

The Heaven and Earth luck that perpetually enveloped her skin shimmered like a protective cocoon, filtering the ancient Dao laws of the Sacred Grounds before allowing their essence to enter her body. Under its influence, even the spiritual Qi that would have been difficult for an ordinary cultivator to absorb became gentle and easy to refine.

After completing another cycle, Bai Qingyue slowly opened her eyes. A radiant smile appeared on her face as she released a breath of spiritual mist, feeling the improvement within her Golden Core and the growing stability of her cultivation.

She then turned toward the man sitting a short distance away, her eyes filled with genuine delight. "The Dao laws and spiritual Qi here are truly remarkable, Yuan. In the outside world, consolidating my Middle Stage Core Formation cultivation would have required years of painstaking accumulation, but here, I can feel my cultivation improving with every cycle. It almost feels as though the environment itself wishes to help us ascend."

Lin Yuan opened his deep purple eyes, and the faint, multicolored light within his pupils gradually faded. His newly formed Dao Fruit had been silently analyzing the surrounding laws throughout his cultivation, allowing him to perceive subtle changes that ordinary cultivators would never notice.

He glanced at Bai Qingyue, noticing the stable circulation of spiritual Qi within her body and the faint golden radiance surrounding her Golden Core. Seeing that her foundation was growing stronger rather than merely accumulating power, he nodded with satisfaction.

"This Dongtian preserves something close to the ancient era," Lin Yuan noted. "This place is a crucible that weeds out those lacking in foundation, but it also rewards those whose foundations are strong enough to bear its pressure. For someone like you, whose natural fortune is already extraordinary, the benefits are naturally greater."

Beneath the nearby waterfall, Ku Ming sat with his legs crossed, his red-skinned body surrounded by a warm golden Buddhist radiance. The water descended upon his shaved head and shoulders, yet it flowed around him without disturbing his meditative posture.

His Indestructible Karmic Wheel rotated slowly behind his head, and each rotation caused faint golden ripples to spread through the waterfall. Having listened to their conversation, the monk opened his eyes and nodded in agreement, his expression carrying the peaceful understanding of someone who had spent countless years contemplating the nature of the world.

"Amitabha Buddha, Lady Bai has spoken correctly," Ku Ming said. "The Sacred Grounds offers clarity. In the outside world, the Great Dao is obscured by countless conflicting and damaged laws, the lingering traces of ancient battles, and the interference of cultivators who have attempted to impose their own understanding upon Heaven and Earth.

Here, those obstructions are greatly reduced. For a cultivator blessed with heaven and earth luck, this place is practically a paradise."

Bai Qingyue smiled at the monk’s explanation, while Lin Yuan considered his words. He had already discovered that the ancient Dongtian possessed far more value than its abundant spiritual Qi alone could explain. The Dao laws preserved within it were unusually complete, and even a casual glance could reveal principles that would otherwise require years of study to understand.

With his Dao Fruit, Lin Yuan could examine those principles in considerable depth, but he understood that comprehension still required a stable environment in which to test his discoveries.

He was about to share another thought when the entire universe suddenly trembled.

RUUUUUMBLE!

The sound did not come from the mountains, the earth, or the distant heavens. It seemed to emerge from somewhere deeper, resonating through the very foundations of existence and shaking the conceptual fabric of the Sacred Grounds.

The silver waterfall instantly reversed its flow, with countless streams of water shooting upward into the sky as though an invisible force had seized them. The violet leaves of the ancient trees withered before their eyes, disintegrating into ash while the surrounding spiritual Qi abruptly lost its previous stability and erupted into a chaotic hurricane.

Bai Qingyue’s expression changed as the jade boulder beneath her suddenly cracked. She barely had time to stand before the ground lurched violently, throwing her balance into disarray.

The Heaven and Earth luck surrounding her flared automatically, forming several overlapping layers of protection against the sudden increase in atmospheric pressure. Even so, she felt an oppressive force bearing down upon her shoulders, as though the entire Sacred Grounds had suddenly become several times heavier.

"What is happening?" Bai Qingyue exclaimed, her eyes widening as the jade boulder split apart beneath her feet. She tried to stabilize herself, but another violent tremor swept through the area before she could properly adjust her stance. The surrounding trees bent at impossible angles, and several enormous boulders rose from the ground before being crushed into powder by the shifting spatial pressure.

Lin Yuan was already moving. He appeared beside Bai Qingyue in an instant, caught her around the waist, and pulled her firmly against his chest before the collapsing boulder could throw her into the air.

At the same time, his True Elemental Body began circulating at full capacity, activating the Five Great Secret Realms in rapid succession. The Vermilion Bird strengthened his vitality, the Qilin reinforced his physical foundation, and the remaining secret realms worked together to stabilize his body against the increasingly unstable laws surrounding them.

However, even after activating his physical cultivation to its limits, Lin Yuan could feel the environment changing beneath his feet. The gravity of the region fluctuated without warning, while the spiritual Qi alternated between violent surges and sudden periods of near-total suppression.

These were not the ordinary fluctuations produced by a collapsing formation. Something was interfering with the underlying principles that allowed the Sacred Grounds to maintain their existence.

High above them, the once-tranquil sky began to tear apart.