Chapter 571: Grotto Heaven

Chapter 571 -247: Grotto Heaven

Master Fan said gravely, “There’s been a major incident within the borders of Jinlan Prefecture.”

“A major incident?” Qin Fang’s gaze hardened.

“The Three Religions?”

Qin Fang’s first thought was of the Three Religions.

“We’re not certain if it’s related to the Three Religions yet, but based on what we’ve seen… it’s likely unrelated.”

Master Fan shook his head after a moment’s thought.

Seeing Qin Fang’s confused expression, Master Fan took a deep breath and said gravely, “The situation is dire… Three days ago, a vast number of Exotic Species suddenly swarmed out of the Red Cloud Mountain Range in Funan County, Jinlan Prefecture. In a single night, they slaughtered everyone in the three surrounding counties.”

That single sentence left Qin Fang utterly dumbfounded.

‘…What did he mean, a vast number of Exotic Species swarmed out of the Red Cloud Mountain Range in a single night?’

‘And they annihilated three counties’ worth of land overnight?’

While Qin Fang was still reeling, Master Fan continued with a solemn expression, “After the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect received the news, our leaders immediately went to investigate… They discovered that these Exotic Species most likely came from a Grotto Heaven World.”

‘Grotto Heaven World?’

Qin Fang immediately thought of the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm!

‘…Could there be a terrifying being like that giant fish inside?’

Seeing the look in Qin Fang’s eyes, Master Fan knew he had misunderstood. “It’s not what you think,” he said. “That Grotto Heaven World isn’t the same as our sect’s Heavenly Gang Secret Realm… The origin of the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm is a mystery, but it certainly wasn’t created by humans. A Grotto Heaven World, on the other hand… is typically man-made.”

“Man-made…?”

Qin Fang froze, his mind instantly flashing to the ‘Void Realm’ beside his Dantian…

‘…If I can create a Void Realm, then it makes sense that other people can create worlds, too…’

As he was thinking, he suddenly felt something was amiss.

‘…But aren’t living things unable to enter the Void Realm?’

Before Qin Fang could sort out his thoughts, Master Fan continued his explanation. “You are now aware of the various realms of Martial Cultivation. The stages of Light and Dark Transformation comprise the first three realms, known as the Mortal Realm. After that comes what we call the Divine Domain… The True Essence Realm is the Fourth Realm. After the Fourth Realm is the Divine Realm, which is the Fifth Realm. And after the Divine Realm comes the Martial Domain, which is the Sixth Realm.”

“And above the Sixth Realm is the Seventh Realm… which is the Grotto Heaven Realm.”

Master Fan paused. Seeing the mix of surprise and confusion in Qin Fang’s eyes, he decided to elaborate. “The Fourth Realm is primarily about condensing True Essence into Gang… As you already know, the resulting True Gang is a Divine Power Seed.”

Qin Fang nodded.

He was, of course, already aware of this.

“As for the Fifth Realm, the Divine Realm, when a Martial Artist has perfected the art of Condensing Gang in the True Gang Realm, Heaven and Earth will use the Heaven and Earth Bridge and the Divine Fire to infuse their body with a sliver of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism.”

“Aided by this Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism, the Divine Power Seed within the Martial Artist’s body will ‘blossom and bear fruit,’ allowing them to acquire Divine Techniques.”

“Divine Techniques are naturally bestowed, born from Heaven and Earth’s perception of a Martial Artist’s foundational Nature. They vary depending on that Nature, but all of their wondrous applications are perfectly suited to the Martial Artist, consuming little energy while unleashing immense power.”

“We often think of Lifebound Divine Techniques as simply a powerful Leaf Skill that’s perfectly suited to us… but that’s the most superficial explanation. In reality, they are fundamentally different from Leaf Skills… because a Divine Technique is a method established by Heaven and Earth, perfectly tailored to a Martial Artist’s foundation. It is through this Divine Technique that a Martial Artist can more clearly understand their ‘path forward’ and their ‘path back.'”

“Furthermore, that sliver of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Light contains a cultivation path that perfectly aligns with their own… Once a Martial Artist fully comprehends that Heaven and Earth Spiritual Light, they gain the initial ability to harness the vast and mighty Power of Heaven and Earth for their own use.”

“Upon doing so, they enter the Sixth Realm: the Martial Domain Realm.”

“The Martial Domain Realm involves using one’s Divine Techniques as a core, fusing them with True Essence Divine Will, and borrowing the Power of Heaven and Earth to establish a ‘Domain’—an area temporarily under one’s complete control.”

“Within this Domain, the might of one’s Divine Techniques is greatly amplified, and it can suppress and repel foreign energies… At this Realm, combat is essentially a battle between Martial Domains… This is when one can be considered to have truly joined the ranks of the powerful.”

“The stronger the Martial Domain, the stronger the individual.”

“A Martial Domain can be further enhanced… By integrating Treasures that contain the Power of Space and one’s own True Gang Essence Power, and by continuing to seek Enlightenment from that initial sliver of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism, the originally ethereal Martial Domain becomes increasingly stable.”

“When it has been stabilized to its absolute limit… one reaches the Seventh Realm: the Grotto Heaven Realm.”

“The Grotto Heaven Realm is the process of transforming a ‘temporary’ Martial Domain into a truly real, small world that can grow and possesses its own nascent Rules. This world is called a Grotto Heaven World.”

“Within this Grotto Heaven, Space-Time is self-contained, the Vitality is attuned to the Martial Artist’s Nature, it can hold all things, nurture Spiritual Mechanisms, and even sustain living beings…”

“Therefore, a Martial Artist at this Realm has transcended the ‘domain of Divine Techniques’ and reached the ‘domain of a World’!”

“An expert at the ‘World’ level seems to have the Power of a World augmenting their every move…”

Having said all this, even Master Fan let out a long breath. “You once told me about that giant hand you saw at True Martial… Now you should understand why I judged it to be the work of a Seventh Realm expert, shouldn’t you?”

Qin Fang was frozen in a daze, listening. ‘So this is what the path of cultivation is like later on?’ he thought, completely stunned.

When he came back to his senses, he asked instinctively, “Then… is there anything above the Seventh Realm?”

Master Fan nodded slightly. “Of course… But that’s basically the stuff of legends… I don’t know much about that Realm…”

Even so, a hint of longing couldn’t help but appear in Master Fan’s eyes.