Realm of Emptiness

　　In the Gui Yuan Sect at Jiangning County City.

　　After the earlier hustle and bustle was over, it was already past midnight, and the Gui Yuan Sect was covered in complete darkness, save a few stars twinkling in the night sky. It was impossible to tell that it had just faced the threat of obliteration just by looking at such a peaceful scene.

　　In Zhuge Yuanhong’s study.

　　The study was illuminated with the faint glow of a white candle. At this moment, there were four people in the study—Zhuge Yuanhong and the three Law Enforcing Elders!

　　“Why did teacher want to meet us?” Teng Qingshan thought as he felt puzzled.

　　“Today was a day worth remembering.” Elder Yan Motian’s entire face was red, his whole body emanating the thick scent of alcohol as he said, “I would have never imagined that……this Gu Yong would actually lead his Great Army of Qing Hu Island only to flee like a coward in the end. Haha……This feels great! The only thing that makes me unhappy is those craven bastards! Two protectors and one lieutenant actually wanted to escape before the battle even started. Hmph!”

　　The cold-looking middle-aged man at the side nodded and said, “Those people should be executed!”

　　According to the Sovereign’s command, if protectors, lieutenants, or anyone holding a higher position were to ever flee right before a fight, then their punishment would be the destruction of their Dantian, along with imprisonment for a long time. If they were to resist, then they would be sentenced to death! If those of a lower rank were to desert, then they would be imprisoned. If they resisted, then they would be put to death as well!

　　However, the protectors, lieutenants, and elders knew of the obliteration of Tie Yi Hall, and naturally felt some fear.

　　“This could not be avoided,” Zhuge Yuanhong smiled calmly as he said, “It has been long since Gui Yuan Sect faced such a predicament! Many protectors, lieutenants, elders have never experienced such a large crisis! When you have to make a decision between living or protecting your sect to death, choosing to save your own life is not such a strange thing!”

　　Teng Qingshan also nodded and said, “One can only see a person’s true self in times of crisis.”

　　“What you just said is correct,” Zhuge Yuanhong said as he looked at Teng Qingshan and said, “Qingshan, I heard you killed Qing Hu Island’s Tie Wanmao when you were at Yanjiang City! Is this true?”

　　“Yes,” Teng Qingshan nodded.

　　“Qingshan killed Tie Wanmao at the frontlines with only three moves!” Yan Motian praised, “His Spear technique is really powerful.”

　　Zhuge Yuanhong smiled, “It looks like Qing Hu Island already knows that Qingshan reached the Innate Realm! Qingshan…….from now on, you must be wary of the men of Qing Hu Island.”

　　“Be wary of them?” Teng Qingshan felt his heart skip a beat.

　　The men of Qing Hu Island would try to kill him?

　　The cold-looking middle-aged man said apathetically, “Qingshan, Sovereign is right. You must watch out, as Gu Yong of Qing Hu Island is an extremely ruthless person! As of right now, only the Qing Hu Island and the Gui Yuan Sect are left in Yangzhou. As long as Gui Yuan Sect exists, then it would be like a fish bone stuck in their throat! As for you…a seventeen year old Innate expert? In their eyes, you are a much bigger threat than I am.”

　　“Qingshan, Elder Ni is right,” Zhuge Yuanhong said solemnly, “Of course, as you have only just reached the Emptiness Dan of the Innate Realm, they won’t act now. If your improvement in the future is just as astonishing as it is now, the men of Qing Hu Island would probably use some underhanded methods to get rid of you!”

　　Yangzhou, one of the Nine Prefectures.

　　Qing Hu Island and Gui Yuan Sect are the only sects left in Yangzhou. The relationship of these two sect was obvious.

　　Although their relationship was calm and respectable on the outside, both sects would not hesitate to destroy the other.

　　“Teacher. I understand,” Teng Qingshan nodded.

　　Right now, Teng Qingshan didn’t pose a threat to Qing Hu Island. No matter how talented he was, Qingshan was still just an Emptiness Dan Innate Expert. Qing Hu Island could easily kill him just by sending a few innate masters.

　　However, he would definitely a threat after dozen years!

　　“However, Qing Hu Island wouldn’t dare to openly offend Gui Yuan Sect now.” Zhuge Yuanhong said, “Besides, you have just reached the Emptiness Dan of the Innate realm, so they are not in a hurry. They will probably make a move when you reach the True Dan of the Innate Realm. If you ever reach the Golden Dan of the Innate Realm……Qing Hu Island would no longer wait.”

　　Zhuge Yuanhong smiled and said, “Of course, assassinating the talented disciple of other sects is a very embarrassing thing! As one of the eight greatest sects, they usually would not do such a thing. However, if your cultivating speed is still as fast as before, they would have no choice but to do so.”

　　Teng Qingshan also understood this principle.

　　Some people cultivated quickly at first, but slowed down as time went on.

　　If Teng Qingshan were to reach the True Dan of the Innate Realm at the age of fifty and the Golden Dan of the innate realm at the age of one hundred, then Qing Hu Island would not see Teng Qingshan as such a huge threat!

　　Assassinating the talented disciple of another sect was something that people looked down upon.

　　Qing Hu Island’s reputation was very important. They would only shamelessly assassinate Teng Qingshan as a last resort, such as if his cultivation speed maintained its shocking speed. For example, if Qingshan kept cultivating at the same speed and reached the True Dan level at the age of twenty and the Golden Dan level at the age of thirty, then Qing Hu Island would be forced to act.

　　Of course, Gui Yuan Sect would do everything in their power to protect Teng Qingshan!

　　“This is a form of training for you too,” Zhuge Yuanhong smiled and said, “With the protection of Gui Yuan Sect, the occasional assassination attempts would only bring about benefits to your cultivation.”

　　One’s state of mind would only be trained in times of crisis, making breaking through to the next realm much easier.

　　“Teacher, did you say that Qing Hu Island wouldn’t dare to openly offend our Gui Yuan Sect?” Teng Qingshan asked.”

　　“Qingshan, good question. I was also confused. Sovereign?” Yan Motian also looked at Zhuge Yuanhong and asked, “What did you do to terrify them to the extent that they actually fled without even attacking?” The cold-looking middle-aged man at the side also looked at the Sovereign puzzledly. The three Law Enforcing Elders had no idea.

　　“It’s most likely that only the sovereign knows this secret.”

　　Zhuge Yuanhong glanced at the three and said, “You three might have made guesses in your hearts, but do not worry, as I will just tell you guys!”

　　“In our Gui Yuan Sect……” Zhuge Yuanhong said confidently, “is an Emptiness Realm Expert!”

　　“An Emptiness Realm expert!”Elder Yan and Elder Yi both gasped. They both were astonished and happy!

　　“The Emptiness Realm?” Yet, Teng Qingshan was confused.

　　“Teacher, what is the Emptiness Realm?” Teng Qingshan asked.

　　Elder Yan, who was off to the side, said in surprise, “Qingshan, you don’t know?”

　　Teng Qingshan shook his head in response.

　　“Qingshan practices the 《Dark Moon Spear Technique》,” Zhuge Yuanhong explained, “You two practice a Heavenly Ranked Secret Technique. The last pages of the Heavenly Ranked Secret Method techniques describe the Emptiness Realm, while Qingshan’s 《Dark Moon Spear Technique》 is only an Earthly Ranked Secret Method and only explains the Golden Dan of the Innate realm.”

　　Hearing this, Elder Yan and Elder Ni understood.

　　Teng Qingshan then finally understood that the Realm of Emptiness was only described in the Heavenly Ranked Secret Methods.

　　“Qingshan, among the eight greatest sects, the Mani Temple is a buddhist sect that practices the Śarīra, pursues the Arhat, and tries to reach the Realm of Buddha. As for the other seven sects, their disciples train their Vitality into Qi, their Qi into Spirit, and their Spirit into Emptiness! Training one’s Vitality into Qi is what postliminary realm experts do, while Training one’s Qi into Spirit is what innate realm experts do. As for Training Spirit into Emptiness, this is the training of the Emptiness Realm!”

　　Teng Qingshan immediately understood.

　　“Qingshan, didn’t you ask me before what realm that Demonic Monk Xiang Fanchen of six hundred years ago was in? He was an Emptiness Realm Expert!” Zhuge Yuanhong exclaimed.

　　Teng Qingshan still remembered……

　　Teacher said that Xiang Fanchen, the Demonic Monk of Mani Temple, was invincible under the heavens.

　　“An Emptiness Realm Expert who was invincible under the heavens? Teng Qingshan was surprised and said, “Now that Gui Yuan Sect has an Emptiness Realm Expert, wouldn’t that mean……”

　　Elder Ni interrupted and said, “Although Emptiness Realm Experts are quite rare in this world, it’s impossible to have only one or two. Otherwise… a single Emptiness Realm Expert would be able to conquer the entire world. It is rumored that each of the eight greatest sects of the nine areas has an Emptiness Realm Expert!”

　　Zhuge Yuanhong hastily said, “Qingshan, remember that this is just a rumor. The Mani Temple, the Ying Family, and Emperor Yu’s Hall were all created by powerful experts surpassing the Emptiness Realm, while the other five sects were created by Emptiness Realm Experts. However, the Emptiness Realm is just too difficult to attain! Therefore, whether or not each of the eight greatest sects has an Emptiness Realm Expert remains unknown.”

　　Teng Qingshan furrowed, “This is a secret?”

　　“The lifespan of an Innate expert is around two hundred years! As for an Emptiness Realm Expert, their lifespan is usually around five hundred years. No one is immortal.” Zhuge Yuanhong said, “Once a person reaches the Emptiness Realm, he can at most live to be five hundred years old! If the Emptiness Realm Expert of a sect died before the birth of a new Emptiness Realm Expert, then that would leave the sect extremely vulnerable to outside threats! ”

　　Hearing this, Teng Qingshan understood.

　　An Emptiness Realm Expert was similar to the nuclear weapon of Earth.

　　If a country had a nuclear weapon, then it could threaten other countries without fear of any consequences. However, if a country has no nuclear weapon, it will be bullied!

　　“Therefore, the existence of an Emptiness Realm Expert in our sect should be kept a secret! Zhuge Yuanhong smiled and said, “What just happened now is an example! Gu Yong found out that Gui Yuan Sect has an Emptiness Realm Expert, and now they wouldn’t ever dare to touch us for a few hundred years because the revenge of an Emptiness Realm Expert is horrifying!”

　　“Plus, with an Emptiness Realm Expert instructing the sect….then the possibility of another Emptiness Realm Expert in the sect during the next few hundred years would be greater. This is also why the eight greatest sects are deeply rooted in stone.”

　　Teng Qingshan sighed as he listened.

　　The Emptiness Realm……

　　This was the absolute trump card of a sect! If a sect has an Emptiness Realm Expert, others wouldn’t dare to offend it. It’s no wonder that Qing Hu Island fled so cowardly! An Emptiness Realm Expert could live for five hundred years, which was a long time; however, it was rumored that each of the eight greatest sects of the nine areas had a Emptiness Realm Expert. Again, this was just a rumor.

　　“Maybe one of the eight sects is a hollow radish,” Teng Qingshan said with a sigh of relief.

　　TL: Pretending to have something they don’t.

　　So that’s why Teacher was so calm. He had a trump card!

　　The next morning, at the foot of the Great Yan Mountain.

　　The army of Qing Hu Island had advanced overnight and set up a Li wide camp at the foot of the Great Yan Mountain

　　In the big tent where the Island Lord Gu Yong was at.

　　“Island Lord, this Emperor Yu’s map was made a few thousand years ago. The geographical changes after that amount of time are just too great! It is now very difficult to find Emperor Yu’s Treasure.” The thirteen Innate experts stood before the maps as they scrutinized and compared the pieces of the treasure map with a map from two thousand years ago.

　　This was even copied from the stone tablet.

　　Gu Yong said with a deep voice, “According to Emperor Yu’s Treasure Map, the location of the treasure should be in the lake! In addition, according to my research, the Great Yan Mountain used to be two separate mountain ranges separated by a enormous lake a long time ago. Who would have thought that after ten of thousands of years, the lake would disappear and the two mountain range would also became one!”

　　The treasure was in the lake.

　　The location of the lake should be today’s Great Yan Mountain.

　　But now, there is only mountain, and no lake at all.

　　“Everyone, tell me, how should we find Emperor Yu’s Treasure?” Gu Yong questioningly looked at the other twelve innate experts.