Chapter 273: Twelve Great Overlords

After bidding farewell to the Qingyu Grandmaster, Wang Ping returned to the Ninth Institute.

Inside a cave dwelling on the fourth layer of the Ninth Dao Institute, wrapped in layers of restrictive radiance, it was silent and soundless; only the heaven-and-earth spiritual qi, like a trickling stream, gathered and swirled soundlessly.

Wang Ping sat cross-legged atop the spirit-gathering array's focal point at the center of the quiet chamber, his eyes slightly closed, his breathing long and rhythmic.

Faintly around him, the five-colored spiritual lights—red, yellow, white, black, and cyan—alternately flowed and circulated.

Not ostentatiously bright, but inwardly restrained and profound, as if the five primal forces within his body had achieved some mysterious balance and circulation, adding a heft that was hard to fathom compared to when he had just returned from the Qingyu Palace.

Some time had passed since the battle that shocked the Dao Institute at the Heaven-Reaching Tower; the turmoil had gradually subsided, but its influence remained.

His cultivation had not deliberately sought breakthrough; instead, through constant consolidation and polishing, it became ever more pure and refined, firmly established at the late Golden Core stage.

With the resources currently available to him, attaining Nascent Soul would be easy, but Wang Ping sought the Great Dao, understanding the importance of foundations, so he did not rush for quick success.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, that thread, following the method of the Innate Nurturing Sword Technique, using mind and spirit as the furnace, had preliminarily refined a strand of his own White Tiger Slaughter-Deity Sword Intent and scattered killing qi into an innate sword qi seed, which now hovered silently.

It remained as fine as a newborn infant's hair; if not deliberately sensed, it was hardly detectable.

But if one probed carefully with divine sense, one could feel within it a pure edge that made both soul and spirit tremble; this edge was not ostentatiously exposed but deeply concealed, like a peerless immortal sword hidden within an invisible sword sheath.

The blade's edge remained unseen, yet killing intent was already contained, ready at any moment to sever all falsehood and obstruction.

Merely the faint aura it naturally emitted made Wang Ping's soul perception sharper, granting him an extraordinary sensitivity to the flow of surrounding energy, especially the sharpness of metal.

Suddenly, the identity jade token hanging at his waist emitted successive faint yet urgent vibrations, transmitting two distinct yet equally familiar pulses of spiritual power.

Wang Ping slowly opened his eyes; a point of light sharp as a star flashed and vanished, too quick to be caught.

He scanned the token with his divine sense; the message was simple and direct, from Luo Qingyang and Qin Xue: 'Junior Brother Wang, the old place, urgent matter, come quickly.'

Luo Senior Brother? Qin Senior Sister? Wang Ping's heart stirred slightly.

Perhaps it was for the Spirit Ruins Secret Realm. He rose to his feet, his body merely swaying slightly, as if merging into the surrounding air.

In the next instant, he became like an imperceptible fiery-red long rainbow, silently shooting out of the cave dwelling and racing toward the retreat they often gathered in, hidden amid the verdant bamboo grove—the Listening Spring Cottage.

Inside the elegant chamber of the Listening Spring Cottage.

The fragrant mist of spiritual tea filled the air, brewed from the 'Cloud Mist Spiritual Root' gathered in the deep mountains; though the tea normally calmed the mind and spirit, the room's atmosphere now clashed with its scent, exuding a heaviness as if a mountain rain were imminent.

Luo Qingyang wore a crimson Daoist robe that seemed woven from flames, casually seated on a sandalwood chair.

By the window, Qin Xue stood still, an ice-blue silk satin long skirt tracing her slender, cold figure; her features were exquisitely beautiful, like a moon-palace immortal descending to the mortal realm.

The door was pushed open silently, and Wang Ping's silhouette appeared at the threshold.

"Junior Brother Wang, you've finally come!"

Luo Qingyang immediately spoke, his voice still loud but deliberately lowered a bit, carrying an irrepressible urgency: 'Spirit Void Secret Realm confirmed! In ten days, the Northern Domain Meteor Sea!'

Wang Ping's pupils contracted imperceptibly. Although since returning from the Qingyu Palace he had long anticipated this and had even been secretly preparing for it,

but when the definite and urgent time point of 'ten days' was so clearly thrown out, a pressure as substantial as substance instantly weighed on his heart, accompanied also by a hint of excitement for the opportunity.

Qin Xue said:

"The undulation peak has been confirmed; the opening will be in exactly ten days, without error."

"Nowadays, any faction with any foundation has likely received the news, and covert mobilizations have already begun; the higher-ups of the Dao Institute surely know as well, but by convention they will only make an official announcement in the last few days,"

Luo Qingyang interjected, his speech quickening: 'Ten days! At most we have only ten days! Junior Brother Wang, I and Junior Sister Qin sought you out to discuss preparations for these final ten days, and how we three should act after entering the secret realm, so as to seize that sliver of opportunity in this dragon's pool and tiger's den, and……come out alive!'

His words were blunt and cruel, laying bare the nature of the secret realm journey—opportunity and death coexist.

Wang Ping slowly nodded, indicating full comprehension. He pondered for a moment, organizing his words:

"With ten days, to achieve a major breakthrough in cultivation is unrealistic unless there is a heaven-sent opportunity."

"For now, the priority is to adjust ourselves to peak condition, further familiarize ourselves with our mutual coordination, and stockpile as many life-preserving and anti-enemy supplies as possible."

"Senior Brother Luo, Senior Sister Qin, do you have any concrete plans for these final ten days?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Qingyang clenched his fists tightly, joints emitting a faint crackle; the repressed fighting spirit in his eyes, like dry tinder ignited, blazed up suddenly:

"I intend to immediately re-enter the Poison Fire Ravine at the deepest part of the Blazing Heaven Valley! Last time my body tempering lacked just a final touch of heat; this time I am willing to expend three years of lifespan to draw the core fire of the earth's poisonous flame and temper my golden body once more!"

"I will not leave seclusion until I have pushed the Scarlet Yang Battle Body to its true extreme for my current realm!"

"In terms of attack, I have recently grasped a killing move called Blazing Heaven Slash; its power is sufficient, but its execution still has stiffness; these ten days I must polish it to smoothness, achieving the level where a thought triggers the slash instantly!"

Qin Xue analyzed calmly, with clear logic:

"I need to open the furnace and refine two batches of high-grade Ice Soul Protective Spirit Pills; this pill can greatly enhance resistance to soul-type attacks, possibly saving lives in the secret realm."

"I also need to draw thirty Profound Ice Barrier Talismans, which can instantly deploy powerful ice-defense at critical moments. Furthermore,"

She paused, a flash of determination in her eyes: "My family's secret Ice Domain Dao art—I have touched the threshold for condensing a 'domain seed,' which is the Point Spirit realm. I have always been just one step away."

"These ten days, I will enter closed-door cultivation, using the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart sent by my family to launch a full-force assault!"

"If I can achieve even an initial formation, even if only a rudimentary form, it will greatly benefit field control, entrapping enemies, and even reversing the battle situation."

Having spoken, she turned her gaze toward Wang Ping, her cold eyes holding inquiry and expectation:

"Junior Brother Wang, your Five Elements Dao arts are unpredictable, integrating offense and defense, and you possess the Yin Wood Divine Thunder and Solar True Fire, among other peerless spiritual objects; do you have any special plans?"

Wang Ping had long prepared a plan; he spoke in a deep voice:

"I have newly obtained a Sword Nurturing Technique, profoundly mysterious, currently at the crucial stage of nurturing and laying foundations; these ten days I must devote myself wholly, striving to solidify its base and keep its edge inwardly concealed."

"Furthermore, regarding intelligence about the secret realm—especially the various forces we might encounter, known hazardous zones, and taboos requiring special attention—we need to quickly pool our information, jointly analyze it, and have a clear picture in mind."

"Exactly!" Luo Qingyang nodded heavily, his face showing a complex expression of excitement mixed with gravity.

"I've heard that this opening of the Spirit Void Secret Realm far exceeds previous records in scale and danger!"

"The Twelve Great Overlord clans, those monsters usually only heard of but never seen, will likely dispatch their most monstrous and top-tier Golden Core cultivators!"

"Plus the reclusive powerful clans from all sides, and those terrifying-bloodline demon prodigies… Damn, just imagining that scene makes the blood boil and fighting spirit rise, yet it truly makes one's scalp tingle and pressure mount!"

Qin Xue timely supplemented, her voice still cold but piercing reality like an ice cone:

"According to the information my family gathered at great cost, the Ancient God Clan, Heavenly Azure Clan, Evil Dark Clan, Heavenly Punishment Clan, Nether Clan, Fallen Immortal Clan, Sacred Feather Clan, Demon Clan, Five Elements Clan, Chaos Demon Clan, and even the most enigmatic Nightmare Clan—these Twelve Overlords—are confirmed to send representatives, none absent."

With each name she announced, the intangible pressure in the air seemed to grow heavier by a fraction.

"Besides that, the Mighty Spirit Clan, Thousand Spirit Clan, Void Spirit Clan, Crystal Clan, and other powerful factions, as well as the demon lineage bearing the supreme bloodlines of true dragon, heavenly phoenix, and qilin, will certainly not miss this opportunity and will inevitably appear."

Hearing this series of names, as heavy as an ancient divine mountain and thunderous to the ears, Wang Ping could clearly sense the mix of apprehension and exalted fighting spirit in Luo Qingyang's tone, and also see the lingering solemnity in Qin Xue's eyes.

Competing on the same stage with those heaven‑chosen prodigies of myriad noble‑blooded, powerful‑lineage, fearsome‑inheritance races, vying for the illusory great Dao opportunity, is undoubtedly the greatest peril on the path of cultivation, yet also the supreme stage for testing one's Dao heart, honing one's Dao fruit, and achieving transcendence!

"When soldiers come, block them; when water comes, earth covers it."

Wang Ping's tone remained calm, but beneath that calm lay an unshakeable resolve as firm as a boulder,

"We, the human race, can struggle to survive and secure a foothold in the spirit realm where myriad races stand tall and the weak are devoured by the strong, relying not on innate bloodline advantage.

but rather the indomitable will of our ancestors who endured hardship, and the relentless pursuit of the great Dao by later generations, cutting through thorns and brambles!

"In the secret realm, before the opportunity, each relies on their means, each contends for fortune—"

He swept his gaze over Luo Qingyang and Qin Xue, then said in a deep voice: "In the last ten days, we must prepare separately; how about we regroup after ten days?"

"Good!" Luo Qingyang and Qin Xue replied in unison, resolute and unwavering, and the three wills became highly united at this moment.

Next, the three held a more detailed discussion, listing possible high‑grade pills (restorative, healing, detox, explosive), special talismans (evasion, attack, defense), formation plates (concealment, entrapment, early warning), and some secret means and signals for long‑distance contact, emergency distress, or even mutual destruction in extreme situations.

Only when the moonlight outside waned westward and its cold glow replaced the sunset's afterglow did the three conclude their discussion and rise.

Without further farewell, the three silhouettes slipped away like ghosts from Listening Spring Cottage.

Wang Ping returned to his cave abode; the layers of restrictions shone once more, completely sealing off inside from outside.

He sat cross‑legged on the mat again, his face devoid of any ripple, his eyes calm as an ancient well.

He showed no hesitation, immediately sinking his mind into the sea of consciousness and fully activating the profound method of the Primordial Sword Nurturing Technique.

In the silent cave abode, only the five‑colored spiritual light and that invisible sword intent silently gestated and grew in the stillness.