Xu Jingming stared at the massive boulder at the heart of the ruined territory and felt a sense of satisfaction wash over him. This trip has been a huge success. I even stumbled upon information on psychic weaponry.
Exploring the countless ruins of the Heart Realm is a common practice among the high-dimensional lifeforms of my lineage. In fact, it is not uncommon for these beings to explore over a million such ruins in their lifetimes.
He had studied the Heart Realm Exploration Guidelines and knew what to expect. But as a mere flame wisp, his exploration range was limited, relying heavily on his territory to survive.
True high-dimensional lifeforms, however, could roam the Heart Realm as they pleased.
Once one reached the Eternal Realm, their lifespan was practically infinite. And so the number of ruins they could explore was astronomical. It was not uncommon for these beings to uncover millions or even tens of millions of ruins in their lifetime.
After all, the history of high-dimensional space was long, and the number of Heart Realm lineage lifeforms that had perished was staggering.
My first exploration was a success. Call it beginner's luck if you will.
As a newcomer to this, every territory ruin I come across is a potential goldmine. But as I venture deeper into the Heart Realm, the chances of finding something truly valuable dwindles. Xu Jingming knew this very well.
Having seen plenty, Heart Realm powerhouses would find it difficult to find something beneficial.
Territory ruins are a dime a dozen, but legacies are like diamonds in the rough. Xu Jingming frowned slightly, recalling the steep price the dean and the others had paid for the Three Threads of the Heart Realm.
Legacies were truly precious. The powerful ones were usually recorded personally by their creators, and there were only a few originals in existence. Take Monhado for example—it left behind only ten originals before its death.
I've heard that some territory ruins have tests to obtain original legacies, but over the years, those original legacies have been snatched up by generations of powerhouses. Xu Jingming sighed.
But third-realm ruins are the exception to the rule, Xu Jingming thought to himself.
These existences had already gathered all their strength into one and controlled the past, present, and future. If they didn't want to die, they could live on indefinitely.
They were the ultimate end of all powers, and their means were unimaginable.
Ordinary Eternal lifeforms have to put in a lot of effort to leave behind a powerful legacy; that's why there are limited copies. But for the third-realm existences, they can turn a single word or projection into a legacy.
The catch? Their standards and requirements are sky-high. Obtaining one of their legacies is no easy feat, thought Xu Jingming.
The human race had yet to lay claim to a third-realm legacy. Meanwhile, the Void Celestials held a whopping five legacies.
Can I really snag a complete third-realm legacy? The thought lingered in Xu Jingming's mind. Such a legacy would give him a deeper understanding of the third realm.
But he knew, even for high-dimensional lifeforms from the Heart Realm lineage, scavenging through ruins in search of a third-realm legacy was a daunting task.
Time for the next spot! Xu Jingming grinned as he surveyed the crumbling ruins in front of him, then took off into the sky.
He soared through the chaos. After a solid half hour of flying, he came to a stop.
This is as far as I can go from my territory. He felt the Cleansing Lotus Fire flaring up on his skin. It was getting dangerously unstable.
My range is a sphere, centered on my territory. That's the area I can explore as a cosmic legend. He visualized the boundaries in his mind, mapping out the exact extent of his reach.
With a quick mental calculation, he plotted the most efficient path for his exploration. He wanted to cover as much ground as possible, using the least amount of effort.
Xu Jingming zipped through the air like a streak of lightning, his eyes scanning the vast expanse.
These territory ruins are massive, he thought to himself. Plenty of room to spread out my exploration path.
…
Time passed.
Xu Jingming was deep in his studies, trying to figure out how to construct a high-dimensional body. His two clones were also hard at work, delving into the mysteries of the Three Threads of the Heart Realm and the Red Lotus Fire. Meanwhile, his Cleansing Lotus clone continued to search tirelessly, flying through the endless expanse.
"Jingming, tell me about the Heart Realm," Li Miaomiao said, her curiosity piqued. "How's the search going?"
Xu Jingming smiled wryly.
"It's just endless searching," he said. "It's pretty boring, to be honest."
"You've been searching for three years now," Li Miaomiao said, her tone laced with amazement.
"Even if I have to fly for a century, I'll still keep searching," Xu Jingming said, determined. "If I can become a high-dimensional lifeform, I'll be able to contact other Heart Realm powerhouses and buy the coordinates of some territory ruins."
Other powerhouses might have explored more than 10,000 territory ruins, so coordinates could be purchased from them.
Once he knew the coordinates, he wouldn't have to wander blindly in the vast chaos of the Heart Realm. He could head straight to his targets.
Heart Realm powerhouses traveled at lightning speed—even faster than powerhouses of the Mother Stream lineage!
"I'm currently a cosmic legend," Xu Jingming said with a chuckle. "I can only explore the surroundings of my territory."
"I believe there must be other ruins around your territory," Li Miaomiao said.
"I hope so," Xu Jingming replied. "No matter what, I have to investigate my surroundings carefully without missing a single spot."
Suddenly, his expression changed slightly.
"What's wrong?" Li Miaomiao exclaimed in surprise.
Xu Jingming kissed his wife and said happily, "You said that there must be other ruins around, and I just found a second one."
"Second one?" Li Miaomiao said, her voice trembling with excitement.
"Yeah, this second one looks a little extraordinary," Xu Jingming remarked, his excitement growing.
…
Xu Jingming's territory may have seemed small, but he could only sense a distance of 500 kilometers. Thus, he had to methodically search for any signs of a second territory ruin.
And finally, he found it.
This ruin? As Xu Jingming looked at the mountain in front of him, he could feel the intense heat from the flames consuming it. His consciousness began to race with excitement and a hint of madness.
This ruin is extraordinary. As Xu Jingming explored further, he came across a second mountain with over a million swords stabbed into it.
Fire mountain, sword mountain, ice mountain, exotic beasts on land, exotic beasts in the air, guardian beasts, and a destroyed Primordial Star.
Xu Jingming was shocked by what he was seeing.
I wonder how long it has been since the territory's owner died. There are actually exotic beasts in the territory? He looked up and saw a flying beast spreading its wings, its wingspan blotting out half the sky as it quickly flew out of Xu Jingming's sensing range.
This Primordial Star phenomenon.
Xu Jingming looked at the Primordial Star in the sky.
The Primordial Star still emitted light, but it was severely damaged.
Directly below the Primordial Star were eight massive mountain-like guardian beasts that surrounded the center and guarded it.
These eight mountain-like guardian beasts don't seem capable of moving at all, Xu Jingming thought to himself. Otherwise, it wouldn't be that easy to approach the core of this territory ruin.
Xu Jingming flew past the guardian beasts.
And finally, he saw it! What was protected by the eight guardian beasts was a circular tripod cauldron.
Xu Jingming felt the cauldron and triggered the mental imprint within it.
Buzz!
The world around him transformed.
The dilapidated ruins turned into a stunning landscape.
How beautiful.
Xu Jingming saw 15 strange mountains—either blazing with flames or resembling huge sword shadows, and mountains made of blood…
There were also colorful lakes that concealed all kinds of emotions and desires, and all kinds of birds and beasts.
A dazzling Primordial Star shone in the sky.
At the base of the cauldron sat an old figure formed from white rocks. He was born a rock lifeform, and even after becoming a high-dimensional being, he remained dressed the same.
"The One Who Comes After Me," the rock elder said, looking at Xu Jingming. "I have lived for 150 Abyssal Eras. I bet you haven't seen anyone live longer than me, have you?"
150 Abyssal Eras? Xu Jingming was shocked.
High-dimensional Eternal lifeforms had theoretically infinite lifespans, but they faced all kinds of dangers in their long lives. To live for one Abyssal Era was average, and to live for ten Abyssal Eras before dying was considered a long lifespan for high-dimensional lifeforms.
How could he live for so long? 150 Abyssal Eras? Xu Jingming wondered.
"At the very least, I haven't encountered anyone in the Eternal Realm who has lived longer than me," the rock elder said, pleased with himself. "This is also what I'm most proud of."
Xu Jingming listened.
"People want to try something new after living a long life," the rock elder said. "I've explored more than 100 million territorial ruins in my life! It can be said that… I've studied all the different schools of the Heart Realm powerhouses!"
"There are 152 mainstream schools in the Heart Realm lineage! I've studied them all, and 36 of them have reached the Eternal realm," the rock elder continued. "I have even reached the half-step third realm for three of the schools."
Xu Jingming's eyes lit up.
No wonder this territory ruin is so extraordinary—a half-step third-realm ruin? And he had reached half-step third realm for three schools?
"In my life, I explored 12 third-realm ruins! I was even lucky to receive pointers from two third-realm existences." The rock elder sighed. "I once felt that I was inches away from the third realm… But no matter how I pursued it, I was ultimately still a hair's breadth away."
"Later on, I realized that this slight difference was an illusion. I was still far, far inferior," the rock elder added, his voice heavy with sadness. But then, he chuckled. "The One Who Comes After Me, I left behind all my legacies from 152 schools in my territory! There are three legacies for each school! How much you can obtain depends on your ability."
Xu Jingming thought to himself, wondering how long it had been since Valley Goldstone had passed away. These legacies might be gone.
"Of course, as time passes, the legacy will be taken away by generations of juniors. But in order to prevent juniors like you from returning empty-handed, I'll briefly explain all 152 schools. I'll focus on explaining the three schools I'm best at. How much you can learn depends on your ability. Oh right, before I explain… you have to remember that my name is Valley Goldstone! If what I explain is helpful to you, remember to revive me when you reach the third realm in the future. I haven't lived enough even with 150 Abyssal Eras." The rock elder chuckled strangely. "Alright, listen carefully. I'll begin."
Xu Jingming immediately listened attentively.
As a blank slate, he yearned to learn everything. Valley Goldstone's territory ruins were clearly a huge boon that exceeded that of Granddreamer.
