On the square of the Red Moon Temple, nine radiant vortices, like stars, surrounded Xu Qing, emanating the power of refinement.
The sun, moon, ice, fire, thunder, and heavenly wind erupted at this moment.
There was also a huge treant's figure that vaguely appeared outside the secret repository formed by the nine vortices. His figure was ten thousand feet tall and stood on the square.
His Dao Nurturing aura was completely released.
The color of the sky changed, and the wind and clouds churned. A huge rumbling sound that was like heavenly lightning rang out from all directions.
However, the instant Xu Qing's voice rang out, all of this was shaken by a dragon roar.
The dragon's roar resonated with the sky, causing ripples in the sky.
It shook the ground, causing it to rumble.
A massive mosasaur emerged from within Xu Qing, first revealing its tendrils, followed by its majestic head, and then its awe-inspiring body.
It grew larger and larger and finally leaped out, completely revealing itself in the illusory secret repository.
With its light blue body, sharp teeth, and astonishing dragon scales, it exuded unparalleled majesty, and the aura, unique to the Heavenly Dao, spread from it.
There was a sense of exuberance blended into the dragon's roar, and listening to it, one could feel as though, for the dragon, this moment marked an entry into the vast sea, returning to the most suitable place for its growth.
Its appearance caused the secret repository to tremble even more. The rules and laws contained in it were like a soldier meeting a general and instinctively choosing to obey.
The sky churned and heavenly lightning rumbled.
The expression of the temple cultivator outside the secret repository changed drastically and his eyes revealed disbelief and horror.
"Heavenly Dao?!"
The temple cultivator's mind was in turmoil, unable to fathom why the Heavenly Dao he had sought after for so long, which had eluded him until now, would manifest in a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Moreover, from the fluctuations, it didn't come from a small world but was born in the Wanggu Continent.
This was even more exaggerated.
"A Nascent Soul cultivator possesses the Heavenly Dao? In other words, after this kid reaches the great circle of perfection, he doesn't even need to experience the Dao Nurturing stage. He can directly cross it and form his secret repository!"
Intense uneasiness and horror rose in the temple cultivator's mind.
"The secret treasury of a Dao Nurturing stage cultivator, before they form their own Heavenly Dao, may seem powerful, but what they dread the most is being occupied by someone else's Heavenly Dao…"
"This is originally a place nurtured to form the Heavenly Dao…"
The temple cultivator's body trembled, and his blurred figure immediately used a technique. The nine bright vortices that formed the secret repository within him rapidly dimmed. They were no longer sealed for refinement; instead, they were swiftly changing to open up and expel Xu Qing and the Heavenly Dao from within.
However, it was too late!
The mosasaur had already arrived. It cheered in the secret repository as it began to take over all the rules and laws that submitted.
To it, this was an opportunity that it wouldn't even dream of. After all, no Dao Nurturing cultivator would bring someone else's Heavenly Dao to their home.
Xu Qing's eyes gleamed as he resisted the expelling might.
He didn't want to leave.
He lifted his hands and waved them fiercely.
"Mosasaur, enter!"
As Xu Qing's voice rang out, the mosasaur roared and its entire body spread out in a larger area. One could see with the naked eye that its body emitted countless threads of light that connected to all of the secret repository.
The nine bright spheres of light were its main focus.
Countless threads headed straight for the spheres of light. Although they crumbled as soon as they got close, the threads from the mosasaur's body were endless.
After experiencing the heavy injury before and being hungry for a long time, the mosasaur was still in a state where it wasn't full and was overdrafted. Hence, when it saw such a feast, it went crazy.
Greed appeared in its eyes. It recklessly opened its mouth and ruthlessly bit and devoured. The color of its body also rapidly changed from light blue to dark blue.
Cracking sounds echoed as the secret repository trembled even more intensely.
To the temple cultivator, this sound was as though his heart was being bitten into. Every bite represented years of nourishment.
What made his heart ache even more was that the heavenly mandates he had worked hard to accumulate for many years in this secret repository were also hungrily devoured by the mosasaur. It even looked quite displeased. Its divine aura intensified, its presence surging as its color shifted once again, changing to silver.
Although it wasn't much, this bit of silver gave off the feeling of a Spirit Repository.
The heir observing this scene from the sky wore an expression filled with deep meaning.
However, the cultivation of the temple cultivator surpassed Xu Qing after all. Seeing this, madness also rose in his heart.
"You want to devour my secret repository. This is your chance but at the same time, it's also my chance. If I refine you, refine your Heavenly Dao, and everything changes owners, then today… will be the day I open the first complete secret repository!"
The temple cultivator shouted inwardly and his illusory body suddenly contracted, turning into nine parts. With the enhancement of his natal nine vortices, the might of his secret repository soared again, suppressing the mosasaur's attempt to take control of the rules and laws within his secret repository, allowing him to refine them again.
After all, this was a secret repository that he had nurtured for many years. Although the mosasaur had a huge advantage in this secret repository, due to its cultivation, it was still a little inferior. At that moment, it had only fused 20%.
Now, as the temple cultivator went all out, the fusion was stopped and there was even a reversal.
"There are six breaths of time," the heir calmly said.
Almost at the instant he spoke, Xu Qing cast a deep glance at the Heavenly Dao Mosasaur. He could sense that the mosasaur had fused with 20% of the temple cultivator's secret repository. Moreover, after devouring so many heavenly mandates that the other party had painstakingly accumulated, its strength had increased by a lot.
"It's about time. Even if it self-destructs, it's worth it!"
Xu Qing put away his greed. He understood that there was a high chance that the heir was not joking. If a hundred breaths really passed, what awaited him would be a desperate situation.
With his personality, he wasn't willing to put his safety in the hands of others.
Moreover, as the temple cultivator refined it, it would be very difficult for the mosasaur to continue devouring. Hence, ending the battle quickly was still his first priority.
All these thoughts appeared in Xu Qing's mind in an extremely short period of time. After that, he didn't hesitate at all to give the mosasaur the order to self-destruct.
The mosasaur trembled and let out a helpless cry. After that, its body suddenly swayed. Under the horror of the temple cultivator, terrifying energy fluctuations instantly rose from its body.
This fluctuation grew stronger and stronger. Finally, a huge explosion rang out as the mosasaur self-destructed.
The thundering sounds were deafening.
A piercing, agonized scream erupted, originating from the mosasaur, the temple cultivator, and a pained grunt from Xu Qing.
Not only did the mosasaur self-destruct, but the secret repository of the temple cultivator was also affected. Due to the inextricable connection between this secret repository and the mosasaur, six of the nine bright vortices instantly shattered.
The remaining three also dimmed and rapidly gathered, forming the body of the temple cultivator. He spat out large mouthfuls of blood and withdrew rapidly with a panicked expression.
As for the mosasaur's body, only its head remained, as the rest of its form crumbled and dispersed in all directions.
The remaining head was predominantly silver in color, exuding a sense of weakness. However, compared to its previous state, it had grown significantly. It transformed into a silver radiance amidst its wails and returned to Xu Qing's body.
Xu Qing was also severely injured, both from his previous wounds and the consumption caused by the refinement. The mosasaur was his life essence, and the backlash from its self-detonation surged into Xu Qing's entire body like a tidal wave.
Blood flowed out of his mouth and many parts of his body were broken. He was staggering, but he didn't stop. The Poison Restriction in his body spread throughout his body as he headed straight for the temple cultivator whose secret repository had collapsed.
He instantly caught up and slashed with the dagger in his hand that was enforced with Poison Restriction, sending the temple cultivator's head flying!
This extreme exertion caused Xu Qing to cough up more blood from various parts of his body. He was gasping heavily, and his vision was blurred, but he gritted his teeth and raised his head, looking at the heir in the sky. In a hoarse voice, he spoke.
"The timing is just right!"
Almost in the instant when Xu Qing's words were spoken, the cognitive power enveloping the temple dissipated, and everyone's senses returned to normal. They all seemed to have noticed something and abruptly turned their heads to look at the square.
There was nothing there.
The dead Dao Nurturing cultivator from the temple no longer existed. As for Xu Qing, he also disappeared.
Only the fluctuations in the sky and the broken ground on the surface bore witness to the reality of what had just occurred.
However, in everyone's memories, the ground here was shattered to begin with and they ignored the changes in the sky.
Hence, everything in the temple went on as usual.
In the sky outside the temple, the heir walked ahead with his hands behind his back. Xu Qing's body trembled as he endured it and didn't faint. He was supported by the shadow and the Diamond Sect's ancestor and followed behind.
"This battle exposed many of your issues."
The heir calmly spoke.
Xu Qing remained silent.
"A secret repository with or without the Heavenly Dao is the same as a Foundation Building realm with or without the Mystic Brilliance Form . So, you should know that the person you fought with can be killed with a single slap by a true Spirit Repository."
"However, you used a hundred breaths of time and were also heavily injured."
"So your first issue is a severe lack of experience in battling with Dao Nurturing cultivators. You have not yet adapted to fighting against those who possess control over laws."
"This person's nomological laws are actually ordinary and his usage of it is simple."
"Your second issue is the messy things you have all over your body. You haven't connected them and formed a trump card."
"There's a third issue. You didn't dig out the true effects of those things in your body."
"Overall, your methods are far too one-dimensional."
"You have some combinations, but not many, and you lack truly formidable techniques that can threaten someone a realm higher."
"In the past, you must have fought people of higher cultivation many times, but in reality, you didn't win by being weaker and prevailing. You won through the absolute strength of your abilities."
"This won't do."
As the heir spoke, he glanced at Xu Qing, who was on the verge of collapse. With a wave of his hand, the world spun and their figures appeared outside the earth city's apothecary.
"You have to truly defeat the strong despite being weaker. Only then will you be qualified."
Anticipation appeared in the prince's eyes as he spoke softly. After he finished speaking, he calmly walked into the apothecary.
Xu Qing was behind. The moment he stepped in, he spat out a mouthful of blood. His body couldn't hold on anymore and he fell down, fainting.
Vaguely, he seemed to hear Ling'er's exclamations mixed with the complaint of the parrot.
"Grandpa, grandpa, you're finally back! A few days ago, when I went out to play, I encountered a group of mysterious people. They plucked all the feathers that had just grown on my body…"
