’Calm down. I need to calm down right now.’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He suppressed his excitement and patiently read the *Mystic Sky Eating Secret Technique* word for word:

"Essence of a hundred herbs to nourish the flesh. Jade nectar and ambrosia to moisten the five organs.

With metal, nurture the yang; consume cinnabar and realgar. Essence of sun and moon to harmonize the Yin Yang."

...

During this process, he gradually sensed with great clarity a residual Mental Realm within the stele.

A figure with an obscured face absorbed the essence of the sun and moon and consumed Treasures of Heaven and Earth. It ultimately completed the Refinement of the three treasures—Essence, Qi, and Spirit—and could move mountains with a lift of its hand and fill seas with a single step.

Xiao Chen was captivated, remaining motionless for three straight days.

Of the other Loose Cultivators beside him, some only watched for two hours before giving up and leaving.

Some lasted a day before giving up in frustration.

Others held on for two days, but ultimately went to study the other steles with great reluctance.

After three days, he was the only one still immersed in the Mental Realm within the stele, comprehending the Secret Techniques.

During a break in her own comprehension, Wen Ruoxi glanced over at Xiao Chen and couldn’t help but shake her head slightly.

Unwavering determination is a fine quality, as is perseverance. When two such wonderful traits combine, they should yield a wonderful result.

But when effort is applied in the wrong direction, no amount of persistence can keep it from being a waste.

Lin Ping’an also noticed what was happening. He cast a curious glance over but didn’t pay it too much mind, instead focusing on comprehending the Fire Character Stele.

To him, it didn’t matter whether there was a hidden Secret Technique or not.

’As long as I can get what I came for, that’s all that matters.’

’If I need something else in the future, I’ll just find another Secret Realm.’

But while Lin Ping’an was unconcerned, Zhao Yangming, on the other hand, was starting to get ideas.

Although he had previously leaked rumors to trick the Loose Cultivators into wasting their time at the Inscriptionless Stele, now that he actually saw a Loose Cultivator comprehending something before it—and seemingly on the verge of enlightenment—Zhao Yangming was growing restless.

If he remembered correctly, that Loose Cultivator had emerged from the leftmost passage.

This meant he was the one who had placed first in the initial three trials.

The water mist might obscure a person’s face, but it couldn’t hide their height or build.

Thus, he had paid special attention to Xiao Chen’s figure, originally planning to identify him properly after they left.

Now everyone else had given up, but this first-place winner remained before the Inscriptionless Stele.

’Don’t tell me an exceptionally gifted prodigy has actually appeared, just like I flippantly suggested?’

So, taking advantage of a break in his own comprehension, Zhao Yangming left the Thunder Character Stele and walked straight toward Xiao Chen.

He intended to go over and see if there was really something going on.

But no matter how he looked, left and right, the stele remained completely blank, without a single mark.

"Huh, that’s strange."

Unable to spot anything unusual, Zhao Yangming walked right up to the stele and touched it.

.

Of course, this was useless. Otherwise, the True Skill on the stele would have been discovered long ago.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen was currently comprehending the Mental Realm contained within the stele and wouldn’t be interrupted just because Zhao Yangming was blocking his view.

However, after touching the stele and finding nothing, he turned and looked directly at Xiao Chen.

Zhao Yangming’s reasoning was simple.

’Since I can’t see anything unusual, why not just ask him?’

"Hey! You..."

But before he could finish his sentence, a burst of Array Power erupted, and he vanished from the spot without a trace.

Outside the Jingkong Sea, Zhao Yangming’s figure suddenly appeared.

He plummeted from the sky, falling directly into the seawater below.

The several thousand Cultivators gathered around the Immortal Palace immediately turned to look at him.

Several Golden Core True Men also cast their gazes down from the clouds.

After getting a clear look at his face, the other Daoists lost interest.

Only Zhao Pengze waved his hand, pulling Zhao Yangming into the air. "Yangming," he asked, "the time in the Immortal Palace isn’t up. Why did you come out early, and in such a sorry state?"

Zhao Yangming’s face was pale, and the intense dizziness left him speechless for a moment.

Zhao Pengze knew his great-grandson fairly well; he was always picking fights.

’He must have started a fight inside the Immortal Palace again and gotten himself expelled.’

Exasperated, he scolded, "You useless brat! Get yourself home and go into seclusion! Don’t stay here and embarrass yourself!"

For great clans like theirs, the contents of the Immortal Palace were no secret.

Zhao Pengze had also visited the Immortal Palace once in his youth, so unlike the Loose Cultivators, he didn’t need to hear about the situation inside from Zhao Yangming.

However, Zhao Yangming took the initiative to defend himself, "Ancestor, I really didn’t fight anyone this time! I was at the Enlightenment Steles and saw someone comprehending the Inscriptionless Stele."

"I was just about to ask him a question when the Array expelled me."

"What did you say?!"

Zhao Pengze was stunned. His expression turned grave as he demanded, "Is that true?"

If Zhao Yangming wasn’t lying, then according to the second rule of the Immortal Palace, it meant the person he was about to question was in a state of Meditation.

’Entering Meditation before the Inscriptionless Stele... could someone really have comprehended the ninth True Skill?’

Zhao Yangming nodded. "Of course, it’s true. Your grandson wouldn’t dare lie about something so important."

Although the other Daoists had looked away, they had all overheard the conversation between the grandfather and grandson.

Now, they all moved closer, clearly taking the matter very seriously.

One of the more impatient Daoists even cut in, asking, "Did you get a clear look at his face and build?"

Zhao Yangming shook his head. "He concealed his face with water mist, but I remember he came out of the leftmost passage."