How come the celestial technique I stole is so powerful?!-Chapter 182: The Shackles of Kun Cang

The Lord hovered in the sky, her feet moving as if stepping on air, and she departed. Ahead of her was an even busier and more prosperous place — the headquarters of Tianyan Palace!

At this moment, countless shadows tore through the sky. The Lord’s palm transformed into a Heavenly Supporting Palm, and with a downward swipe through the void, numerous figures fell from the sky. Just as this palm was about to strike the highest palace, a colossal palm rose from below to meet it.

Boom!

The earth shook, and countless houses in Tianyan Palace collapsed.

"Hua Miaoyi, do you truly wish for a fight to the death?" a True Essence Transformation phantom rose through the halls, mirage-like as a towering edifice, resembling a scholar in his forties or fifties.

"Yes!" coldly declared the Lord. "Zheng Tianyan, when you blockaded Shenghua Valley, you should have known that once I would break free, it would end in either your death or mine!"

Her figure suddenly spun, and her True Essence phantom became all-encompassing.

With another palm, it descended from the skies.

The might of this palm was twice as strong as the previous one.

From below, a great roar erupted, and the previously dissipated colossal palm reformed, with lines of detail that were vividly lifelike.

Boom!

The two palms collided, a row of palaces was reduced to dust, and the mountains ahead collapsed thunderously.

The third palm strike!

The Lord clasped both palms together above and swung them heavily, the cloud layer in front of her vanished without a trace in an instant.

She appeared as a goddess of mercy, her left palm retracting and her right palm extending...

The sky was filled with extraordinary lights...

The entire Tianyan Palace, under this immense palm, seemed like a candle in a storm...

"Hua Miaoyi, if you are so decisive then..."

"Amitabha!" A Buddha’s chant suddenly resounded, cutting across the sky, filled with compassion for the world.

While the chant echoed, a Buddha statue suddenly appeared between Hua Miaoyi and Zheng Tianyan’s True Essence Transformations.

The Buddha stood a kilometer tall, radiating a majestic aura.

It was indeed the rain-freshened Buddha statue Lin Xiaosu had encountered during her past adventures, once dismissed as an illusion...

If Hua Miaoyi’s palm continued descending, it would strike upon this Buddha statue.

Her hand was still ten meters away from the statue when it abruptly stopped: "Master Kong Ru, are you also intervening in this matter?"

The Buddha statue spoke with a chant: "Amitabha, this old monk does not wish to meddle in the conflict between two sects, but having cultivated in Kun Cang for hundreds of years, we are all fellow Daoists. I truly do not wish to witness both of you harming your own Dao foundation, nor do I desire to see the two great sects entangled in endless strife."

Hua Miaoyi’s hair fluttered wildly in the wind, the radiance of her True Essence giant palm gradually faded.

Master Kong Ru said, "Both of you are aware of the life and death struggle that is the Enlightenment Realm, and the consequences are unbearable. Why don’t I mediate between you?"

"Please, Great Master!" Zheng Tianyan from Tianyan Palace promptly replied.

Master Kong Ru suggested, "Tianyan Palace blockaded Shenghua Valley and cut off its path to prosperity, which was indeed a fault. Therefore, I propose that two peaks be ceded to Shenghua Valley to settle past grievances. Does this satisfy both parties?"

With a gentle flick of his finger, two peaks glinted with golden light.

These were two peaks near Shenghua Valley, originally part of Tianyan Palace’s terrain, filled with its subordinates. Moments before, they had been flattened into desolate hills by Hua Miaoyi’s two palm strikes.

The crowd was silent.

Ceding land?

The major forces in Kun Cang each claimed mountains and lands, with every bit of resources precious. Ceding two peaks was a significant price to pay.

But with the Lord of Shenghua Valley showing such a formidable stance, even threatening to obliterate Tianyan Palace, not offering some compensation seemed unavoidable...

Zheng Tianyan exhaled slowly, "What does Elder Hua think?"

Hua Miaoyi said, "If these two peaks are ceded, and all past grievances erased, I agree. But from now on, should your palace disciples offend my sect again, they will be repaid tenfold! This applies to all other sects in Kun Cang!"

"So be it... shall we agree to this?" proposed Zheng Tianyan.

"Agreed!"

Hua Miaoyi stepped back, and behind her, thousands had gathered.

These were the elders and disciples of Shenghua Valley.

With a wave of her hand, Hua Miaoyi declared, "Claim these two peaks!"

"Yes!" The elders shot through the air, claiming the two peaks.

Hua Miaoyi’s glance returned to Lin Xiaosu’s face, and if a moment ago she bore the image of a warlord of troubled times, now she was gentle as water: "Young Master, let’s go home!"

She said they were going home!

The next moment, the wind whispered past Lin Xiaosu’s ear, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself with Hua Miaoyi before a mountain cave.

With a slight smile, Hua Miaoyi said, "Young Master, please take a seat."

Inside the cave was the same exquisite tea from before.

A cup of tea was handed to Lin Xiaosu, who held it as if aloof from worldly affairs...

"You seem preoccupied, Young Master," the Lord Hua Miaoyi said with a gentle smile.

Lin Xiaosu exhaled softly, "I won’t hide it from you, Lord. I’ve heard of Kun Cang even outside, but I never imagined that Kun Cang would be this powerful."

The recent battle had fallen entirely within his view.

Lying on the ground, he gazed up at the sky like an ant watching the Milky Way, the impact on his mind still lingering.

Hua Miaoyi smiled lightly, "You’re wrong! If Kun Cang were as strong as you witnessed, today’s events certainly wouldn’t have concluded so hastily."

Lin Xiaosu’s heart skipped a beat, "What does the Lord mean?"

"Because we, who stand at the pinnacle of Kun Cang, are fatally constrained, it is impossible for Zheng Tianyan and I to fight to the death."

"Why is that?"

Hua Miaoyi explained, "The land of Kun Cang was forcibly carved out of the Ancient Great World, and the Heaven and Earth Essence suitable for our ’Enlightenment Realm’ cultivation has long been divided up. Our Qi diminishes with each use and there’s nowhere to supplement it. Hence, those in the Enlightenment Realm are not suited for life-and-death battles. Forceful combat leads only to mutual destruction; both Zheng Tianyan and I would fall in our cultivation levels, turning my Shenghua Valley and his Tianyan Palace into prey for the other eighty-one peaks."

Lin Xiaosu felt a tumult of thoughts within him.

He understood the implied meaning behind Hua Miaoyi’s words, "If Kun Cang were really that strong, today certainly wouldn’t have concluded so hastily."

Kun Cang originally did not belong to this world; it was a piece forcefully cut from the Ancient Great World.

Inside, the Heaven and Earth Essence was scarce and had already been completely monopolized by those "Enlightenment Realm" giants standing at the top tier.

Each person was like a mobile phone without a power source.

Their own battery life was their lifeline.

If they let loose and battled all-out, the final outcome would be both Hua Miaoyi and Zheng Tianyan, two great experts, drained of their power.

Kun Cang had eighty-three peaks.

Resources were constantly being fought over.

If these two depleted their power, it would present a golden opportunity for other forces; both Hua Miaoyi’s Shenghua Valley and Zheng Tianyan’s Tianyan Palace would be devoured.

Therefore, they are not suited for life-and-death fights.

They are not even well-suited to take action.

Shenghua Valley had been bullied by Tianyan Palace to such an extent that Hua Miaoyi could not bear it anymore, thus she struck only once. But after destroying two of the opponent’s peaks and facing Zheng Tianyan directly, she broke the biggest taboo of Kun Cang.

Therefore, once that old monk appeared and uttered a few words, the battle ended on both sides.

This was less about giving Master Kong Ru face, and more that neither side was foolish; they needed a way out...

Lin Xiaosu’s gaze slowly lifted, "I’ve heard about Kun Cang and the rumors of Kun Cang’s experts outside, but I’ve never heard about the rumors of high-level experts of your tier, Lord Xiang. So, the real reason lies here."

Hua Miaoyi smiled gently, "The true reason why those in the Enlightenment Realm do not leave the mountains is not this."

"Oh?"

Hua Miaoyi asked, "In your opinion, where is the power of an Enlightenment Realm expert strongest?"

"True Essence Transformation!"

"That’s right!" Hua Miaoyi said, "The greatest strength of an Enlightenment Realm expert lies in the ability to transform into a formidable shape, towering thousands of feet at will, and in a single strike, capable of destroying heaven and earth. However, this too is an illusion."

"An illusion?" Lin Xiaosu’s eyes widened, Can what I saw with my own eyes also be false?

"Yes! The True Essence Transformation of an Enlightenment Realm expert also requires the Heaven and Earth Essence for support. Here in Kun Cang, we can transform, but once we leave Kun Cang, in the mortal world where Qi is almost completely absent, True Essence Transformation is unattainable, which means, those of us in the ’Enlightenment Realm’ outside of Kun Cang lose our strongest means, only equivalent to a somewhat stronger ’Observing Realm’. Therefore, leaving Kun Cang is extremely risky for an Enlightenment Realm cultivator; if things go wrong, they might be taken down by a coalition of ’Observing Realm’ forces from other factions."

If entering Kun Cang and witnessing a battle akin to a Xianxia saga had elevated Kun Cang to an unreachable height in Lin Xiaosu’s mind,

Then Hua Miaoyi’s candid words brought his understanding of Kun Cang back onto a level where it could be squarely faced.

The "Enlightenment Realm" of Kun Cang had almost stepped out of the mundane world; they were almost like "immortals," absolutely not something that mortal power could resist.

But the Enlightenment Realm had its limitations.

First, there were no resources in the world for the Enlightenment Realm to cultivate; each one of them was like a mobile phone running low on power. Who would dare to exert themselves recklessly when their phone’s battery is low?

Secondly, Leaving Kun Cang was not an option. Once outside, their strongest ability (summoning a Heavenly Supporting Palm capable of destroying heaven and earth) was unusable. They would regress from their "immortal" level and fall back into the category of superhumans.

Thirdly...

If there were a third limitation, it would relate to the unique power structure of Kun Cang itself.

Kun Cang was riddled with numerous factions and peaks...

It followed the Law of the Dark Forest.

Everyone was prey in someone else’s eyes.

In such an environment, even an Enlightenment Realm giant could not afford a moment of carelessness or they might become a target of other powers. Within the confines of Kun Cang, those in the Enlightenment Realm had the ability to transform with True Essence, making them unkillable.

But once you dared to step out of Kun Cang, you’d open a window of opportunity for other forces.

They need not deploy the Enlightenment Realm; just a few peak Observing Realm combatants with overbearing power could cross borders and kill you outside of Kun Cang in the mortal world...

No super-giant dared to leave Kun Cang.

This was the fundamental reason why Kun Cang, despite thousands of rumors, remained within the "human" scope overall. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

It was also probably the root cause of Kun Cang’s ill repute—everyone said that the people of Kun Cang didn’t care about their country or their people, but they were too preoccupied with their own safety to care...

"Enlightenment Realm... Observing Realm..." Lin Xiaosu murmured, "Lord, you must tell me about the ladder of cultivation."

"Cultivation is generally divided into three realms: ’Observing the Way’ is the first; ’Enlightenment’ is the second; ’Holding the Way’ is the third which I don’t have knowledge of. Let me tell you about the first two... Observing has Three Observations; Enlightenment has Three Realizations..."

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