"The Heart Realm lineage is divided into 152 schools. First of all, you have to understand what the Heart Realm lineage seeks," Valley Goldstone said, his gaze seeming to travel through spacetime as he looked at Xu Jingming and smiled.
Xu Jingming fell into deep thought. Pursuits? The third realm?
"What we're after is the ability to make wishful thinking come true," Valley Goldstone continued. "To turn what's in your mind into reality.
"You wanna create a real universe? Bam. You wanna raise a high-dimensional life form to the 'half-step Third Realm?' Done. You want dead high-dimensional life forms resurrected? No problem."
"The past, the present, the future. Different timelines, different possibilities. In your mind, it's all crystal clear. Whichever possibility you lock onto, you can make it happen."
Xu Jingming's expression changed slightly.
"Of course, there are limits to this 'fulfilling any wish' business," Valley Goldstone warned. "I mean, you can't just wish for another Third Realm to die; that's impossible. The other party has locked onto their future. But the seniors in the Heart Realm lineage, we're pursuing the limits of theory—the perfect fulfillment of any wish."
"If you want a Third Realm to die, even the Third Realm can't stop you.
"If you want a low-dimensional lifeform to reach the Third Realm in one step, you can make it happen.
"That's the ultimate goal of the Heart Realm lineage—perfect wishful thinking," said Valley Goldstone with a grave look.
Xu Jingming was shocked by this revelation. The ultimate goal of the Heart Realm lineage—fulfilling any wish?
"But it's not just us, the Heart Realm lineage," Valley Goldstone added. "The Mother Stream lineage, the Primordial Star lineage, the Abyss lineage, and all those high-dimensional lifeforms who've reached the Third Realm… They're all pursuing the same ultimate theoretical goals."
He paused. "And that's also the cause of their deaths."
"Cause of death?" Xu Jingming understood.
"They won't die if they don't wish to," Valley Goldstone explained, a hint of a smile on his face. "But if they want to pursue the ultimate goal, they have to die before they can be reborn. I only learned these secrets when I was lucky enough to receive pointers from Third Realms."
"Third-realm existences have infinite lifespans and incredible abilities! Nobody can kill them… What do you think a third-realm existence will do as a result?" Valley Goldstone looked at Xu Jingming.
Xu Jingming listened.
"Third-realm existences have different personalities."
"Some seek only entertainment, but their idea of fun could be a disaster for countless lives."
"Others take pity on the weak and rule over vast territories, their word as law and their standard operating procedure being the elimination of hatred for example. It's a rare thing to find a third-realm existence willing to protect the weak, and their territories are always fascinating."
Their word as law; the stripping away of emotions?
Xu Jingming was secretly surprised.
"And then there are those who thrive on destruction," Valley Goldstone continued, his tone grave. "They're the ones you never want to cross paths with. They're immortal, and their love of destruction is truly terrifying."
He shook his head. "Thankfully, third-realm existences are few and far between, and high-dimensional space is vast. It's unlikely that a weak life form would ever encounter one in their lifetime."
Xu Jingming let out a sigh of relief. That's right. It's a relief to know that encountering them is rare. Otherwise, the destructive third-realm existences would bring nothing but despair to the weak.
"However, there are also those who enjoy teaching their juniors," Valley Goldstone said. "They believe that there aren't enough third-realm existences, so they take on countless apprentices and pass on their evolutionary methods."
"I'd lived for 150 Abyssal Eras, and my travels in the Heart Realm allowed me to make many friends. I longed to find third-realm existences who enjoyed teaching, and I was fortunate enough to find two."
Xu Jingming was a little impressed.
Having lived a long life and having easy communications in the Heart Realm, that was how he finally found two third-realm powerhouses who were willing to provide him pointers.
"One is the Feather Fire Lord of our Heart Realm lineage. He took in 28 disciples, but he has countless unofficial disciples. I was an unofficial disciple, number 13,993,830,213," Valley Goldstone said. "As long as you can reach the Feather Fire Lord's Heart Realm territory, you can attend his lectures and be considered an unofficial disciple. I was fortunate enough to receive his personal guidance because I had reached the half-step third realm."
"I've always wanted to call him teacher, but unofficial disciples like us aren't qualified," Valley Goldstone sighed. "Feather Fire Lord was still alive when I died. Perhaps he's still alive in your era."
Xu Jingming was stunned. A third-realm powerhouse who is still alive?
"The other third-realm existence is the Master of the Abyss," Valley Goldstone said.
Master of the Abyss? Xu Jingming was secretly surprised.
The Primordial Star lineage and the Abyss lineage were two of the biggest lineages in high-dimensional space.
"There are many third-realm existences in the Abyss lineage," Valley Goldstone said, "but only he is known as 'Master of the Abyss' because he's stronger than all the others. He's the strongest in the Abyss."
"He's the strongest third-realm existence in the Abyss," Valley Goldstone said. "Before he proceeded to the ultimate end, he accepted anyone and publicly explained the evolutionary path."
"I made the trip and finally arrived after a long journey. I was privileged to attend one of his lectures."
"The Master of the Abyss took the initiative to die ahead of countless of us juniors. He said that one has to undergo 'resurrection' during one's pursuit of the ultimate," Valley Goldstone sighed. "That day, the light that erupted just before the Master of the Abyss died was comparable to the Primordial Star. And then he was gone."
Xu Jingming listened blankly.
Was the strongest third-realm powerhouse of the Abyss dead?
"Thanks to the guidance of the Third Realms, all the schools I studied underwent a transformation," Valley Goldstone said with a hint of pride in his voice. "Let's start with the relatively superficial schools I studied first."
"First, the Heart Realm weapon's Karma Slaying."
As Valley Goldstone began to explain each category in detail, Xu Jingming's horizons were broadened.
Heart Realm weapons alone occupied a total of 108 schools, with subcategories like Karma Slaying, Future Slaying, Corrosion, Royal Blood, and the Book Sword. Each one required a significant amount of effort and dedication to master.
Valley Goldstone touched on each category briefly, but he was smart enough to know when he wasn't talented enough in a particular aspect and didn't waste too much effort on it.
The major category, Creator, only required the creation of high-dimensional beings. The dean's refinement of Secretary General Blacksky was one example. As for the mainstream Creators in the Heart Realm, they relied on the Heart Realm Force to create Heart Realm lifeforms.
This large category was divided into 73 schools, including clones, envoys, guardian beasts, symbiotic beasts, and more. Heart Realm powerhouses pushed their creativity to its limits, with no need to arrange for clones at all. Creating a Heart Realm creature could resolve many problems.
…
"The last three schools are my bread and butter—the ones I've mastered and reached the half-step third realm in.
"First, there's the Heart Harpy school. Harpies are fierce flying beasts in high-dimensional space, and this is the school I've been cultivating for the longest time. I pushed it to the half-step third realm on my own, but after receiving guidance from Feather Fire Lord and Master of the Abyss, I broke through twice in a row. I thought I was just two more breakthroughs from reaching the third realm, but the closer I got, the more I realized the gap."
Valley Goldstone's eyes shone with confidence. "But the Heart Harpy school is the strongest of the three. Not many at the half-step third realm can withstand it; they can only run."
"Second is the Heart Cauldron school. The mind becomes a perfect, indestructible cauldron. With this school, I may not win in a mental battle, but I won't lose either." Valley Goldstone's confidence was palpable.
"And last but not least, the Heart Sword Technique of Heart Realm weaponry. I figured it out the latest, but it has the most potential and is the most difficult to master. I studied many schools and received guidance from Third Realm experts until I had an epiphany and fused all my insights into the psychic weapon, allowing me to figure out the Heart Sword Technique. I was already half a step into the third realm when I discovered it, but I never improved beyond that."
Valley Goldstone sighed.
"Of the three schools, the Heart Cauldron school is the strongest defensively. In terms of combat strength, the Heart Harpy Style is unbeatable. And in terms of potential and difficulty, the Heart Sword Technique takes the cake."
"I've hidden the legacies of each of the 152 schools in my territory.
"These are the detailed locations, and each spot has a test.
"You can obtain a legacy after passing the test, but remember, the legacies are limited. Only the capable and fated will obtain them," Valley Goldstone said, his eyes fixed on Xu Jingming. "All I ask for is one thing—give me a chance to be resurrected when you reach the third realm."
And with that, Valley Goldstone closed his eyes, and the illusion began to collapse.
Three major schools?
Xu Jingming immediately searched for them according to the map left behind by Valley Goldstone.
The ruins of this senior's territory were huge. Without a map, it was really difficult to find them.
Empty? Xu Jingming looked at the alien beast sculpture in front of him. The alien beast's mouth was wide open, and it was no longer guarded. It was empty inside.
Empty?
Xu Jingming arrived deep in a canyon and looked at the trunk of an ancient tree. He failed to find the legacy once again.
One spot after another.
Xu Jingming went from anticipation to numbness.
152 legacies, all gone. Xu Jingming stood in the ruins in a daze, realizing that while Valley Goldstone's explanation had broadened his horizons, the three half-step third-realm legacies he yearned for were gone.
That's right. When others make a discovery, it won't be long before they inform their friends or even sell the information. News spreads like wildfire! It won't be long before all the legacies in the territory ruins are taken away.
While powerful Heart Realm practitioners could explore many ruins and receive guidance from many seniors, a complete legacy was still difficult to obtain!
