Late at night, under the camphor tree, Qin Shi did not sleep at all.
He spent the entire night studying the Three Lives Dhyana Sea.
When he flipped open the ancient book, lines of golden Sanskrit words entered his sea of consciousness. Every word was filled with an awe-inspiring Buddhist seal.
Qin Shi could not help but narrow his eyes. "Hehe, this is really a mystical martial art."
"Of course, no matter if it's the 72 Peerless Divine Powers or the 36 Heavenly Divine Powers, they were all existences that people fought over crazily in my era. Unfortunately, there are very few of them left in the world now. Most of them were either lost along with the fall of our ancestors or were controlled by the great clans and forces. It's already very rare for you to be able to obtain one."
"If I successfully cultivate this martial art, what level can I reach?"
"This martial art is divided into three levels. As long as you can cultivate one level, it won't be difficult for you to deal with a minor World realm expert."
"Minor World realm expert?"
Qin Shi was slightly disappointed. Although he knew that it was not easy to kill a minor World realm expert with this martial art, what about a minor World realm expert?
It would be difficult for him to do so without using the Dazzling Divine Sword. However, he knew that the limit of the Deep Sea Source Pool was definitely not the minor World realm expert. Qing Li from the Azure King Palace could fight to a draw with a major World realm expert, let alone the monstrous genius from the Three Purities Palace.
Qin Shi even had a feeling that the disciples from the Three Purities Palace were likely to reach the major World realm expert.
The major World realm expert was already a domain lord in the human world. Even He Shuhan from the Blue Snow Sect was only at this level.
"Could the palace master of the Three Purities Sea Palace be at the perfect World realm?" thought Qin Shi suddenly.
"This vast sea is indeed much stronger than the human world."
"Hehe, kid, the human world is not what you see." The demon laughed.
"Hmm?" Qin Shi frowned. "You mean there are hidden factions in the human world other than the eight domains?"
Qin Shi had long since suspected this point. The woman he had met in the Serene Court Hall back then and the soul shaped tattoo on the woman's chest was still fresh in his memory.
The woman was at the World realm as well, and he was certain that she was even stronger than the eight Region Lords.
"That's a heavenly mystery. You have to slowly discover it yourself." The fiend demon laughed.
Qin Shi curled his lips. All these years, Qin Shi knew that whatever he could or should know, the demon would definitely tell him everything he knew. However, if it was something that couldn't be said, no matter how much he asked, he wouldn't be able to get it out of him.
Qin Shi decided not to ask any more questions.
Late at night, Qin Shi continued to study the Three Lives Dhyana Sea.
However, even though he was well-versed in martial arts, he still failed to achieve anything. The depth of the Three Lifetimes Dhyana Sea was far deeper than he had imagined. Even though he had memorized the formula and Dharmic Access and could use it according to the formula, he could not release it no matter what he did. There seemed to be an important opportunity missing.
"What is it?"
Qin Shi couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it.
The next day, Li Rui led Qin Shi and the others out of the Serene Forest and headed for the spirit of the Dongxuan.
The spirit of the Dongxuan was located in a strange canyon that was very close to the Western Xuan District. As soon as they entered the canyon, Qin Shi sensed that the spiritual energy around him was in chaos. There should be a strange formation here, but before Qin Shi could figure out what kind of formation it was, Lu Peng suddenly took a step forward and drew his sword through the air. He shouted, "All of you, stand back. Leave this to me!"
Lu Peng's sudden shout startled Qin Shi. Qin Shi tried to compose himself, but he didn't see anything. As for the others, they didn't seem to notice Lu Peng's shout either. At this moment, everyone started to make strange movements. The only ones who remained calm were Qin Shi, Chen Yan, and Li Rui.
Li Rui said, "There's an illusion formation in this canyon."
"An illusory formation?" Qin Shi and Chen Yan were stunned, and they frowned slightly.
Li Rui frowned when he heard that and their relaxed expressions. "Didn't the two of you notice anything?"
Qin Shi and Chen Yan shook their heads in confusion.
Li Rui was completely embarrassed this time. The scene in front of him kept changing even though he was standing in the illusion of the canyon. It was only because the Sky Emperor Palace was protected by the Sky Emperor Palace's Guide that he wasn't affected by the illusion. Otherwise, it was very likely that an ordinary person would never be able to walk out of the canyon if they entered it.
However, as he looked at Qin Shi and Chen Yan, the more he understood the terror of the illusion formation, the more he knew that the two couldn't be faking their relaxed expressions.
"Are they really not affected by the illusion?" Li Rui was shocked.
"Haha, brat, it's normal that this illusion formation doesn't work on you. Your divine sense has reached a high enough level that you can easily distinguish between reality and illusion."
The nefarious devil laughed. "As for that little girl, she's an expert in illusions. Although this illusion formation is very profound, it's nothing compared to her Luosheng World."
"So that's how it is!" Qin Shi nodded. He turned to Li Rui and asked, "Do you have a way to break this illusion formation?"
Li Rui smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I can't. I can only maintain my consciousness in the illusion formation and determine the direction. Who would've thought that their willpower would be so weak? They're completely controlled by the illusion. In my opinion, you shouldn't bring them in. Otherwise, they'll be in danger sooner or later."
Qin Shi hesitated for a moment before decisively shaking his head. "No. I've made countless enemies in the periphery. It's even more dangerous for them to stay outside."
"Then there's nothing I can do."
"You don't need to have a way. I have a way myself. You just need to lead the way."
Said Qin Shi with a smile. Soon after, his illusory figure flashed, transforming into countless afterimages that shuttled through the crowd like a ghost. A divine seal would appear on his large hand every time he passed by someone, and he would gently imprint it on that person's shoulder. Only then did it cause Lu Peng and the rest to suddenly wake up. It was as if they had just woken up from a dream, and they were stunned on the spot.
"W-what just happened?"
"All of you fell into an illusion. I helped you deal with it," Qin Shi said to Chen Yan. "Chen Yan, use the Luosheng World on them!"
"Hm?"
Chen Yan frowned. She immediately understood Qin Shi's intention. "You want to use the Luosheng World to resist the illusion?"
Qin Shi smiled. "Smart."
"Of course. Don't you know whose woman I am?"
Chen Yan revealed a complacent and sweet smile, and then a bright light flickered in her eyes. She didn't modify the original world at all, and she created an illusory world instead. After that, she pulled Lu Peng and the others into her world.
When everything was done, Lu Peng and the others finally woke up from the illusion.
The corner of Li Rui's mouth twitched when he saw this. He originally wanted to rely on his heavenly king to lead the way to negotiate with Qin Shi. But now, it seemed that his heavenly king was the weakest. Apart from the three from the Sky Emperor Palace, the rest of the disciples had broken free from the illusion's control. Only then did Li Rui shamelessly walk up to Chen Yan. "Big Sister Chen Yan … can you use an illusion on me as well?"
"Don't you have your heavenly king to lead the way?
Just make do with it. "
"Don't, don't. Although I have a heavenly king to lead the way, I'm still trapped in an illusion. I have to endure everything created by the illusion. It's too painful."
"Haha, now you're begging me?
Why didn't you notice when you tried to steal my spiritual stones? "Chen Yan said coldly to Li Rui.
Li Rui's face sank. In the end, he said helplessly, "Sis … no, sister-in-law, I was wrong, alright?"
"What did you just call me?" Chen Yan suddenly exclaimed.
"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law," Li Rui repeated, at a loss for words.
Chen Yan's lips curled into a sweet smile like a little girl's. She said happily, "Hehe, that's a good name. You can call me that from now on. Look into my eyes."
Li Rui scratched his head in confusion, but he wanted to break free from the illusion no matter what. He hurriedly looked into Chen Yan's eyes.
Suddenly, the world around Li Rui changed, and the canyon returned to its original appearance.
"This is too magical," Li Rui said in disbelief.
The group was no longer affected by the illusion, so they continued to advance toward the center of the canyon. The deeper they went, the steeper the canyon became. Jagged cliffs surrounded them, and the top of the cliffs was a sliver of sky. Beasts constantly passed by, and the deeper they went, the stronger the beasts were.
In the beginning, Lu Peng and Chen Yan were still able to handle the beasts without Qin Shi's help. But by the time they reached the center of the canyon, the beasts were already close to the Pseudo World Realm, and Qin Shi had to personally take action to kill them. Li Rui said, "These beasts are all pets reared by the Xuanling Beast. In the Dongxuan region, the Blue Dragon Xuanling Beast is like a god. Everything here is under his control."
"Is that so?"
Qin Shi nodded to himself. "To be able to raise a Pseudo World Realm as a pet, it seems like the Dongxuan Beast is much stronger than I imagined."
The journey lasted for three days. During these three nights, Qin Shi spent all his time studying the Three Lifetimes Zen Sea. Unfortunately, he still couldn't see through its secrets.
Seeing that they were about to reach the spirit of Dongxuan, and that the surrounding spiritual Qi was getting thicker, Qin Shi could not help but feel anxious.
He clenched his fists. "Looks like I still have to reveal the Dazzling Light Sword in the end?"
"Palace Lord, can I have a look at the Three Lifetimes Zen Sea?" Qian Xundao walked up to Qin Shi all of a sudden.
Qin Shi frowned slightly as he looked at Qian Xundao. However, he was not stingy. As the saying went, all living things had spirituality. If Qian Xundao could cultivate the Three Lifetimes Zen Sea, it would only mean that he was fated with the Three Lifetimes Zen Sea.
After receiving the Zen Sea of the Three Lifetimes, Qian Xundao seemed to have entered a unique state. In Qin Shi's eyes, that state was even more miraculous than his Selfless Meditation. Even though Qian Xundao was just meditating on the spot, Qin Shi could tell from the Spirit Qi around him that he was using it to develop the Zen Sea of the Three Lifetimes!
Moreover, the speed at which it was evolving was so shocking that even Qin Shi was speechless.
Suddenly, Qian Xundao closed the Three Lifetimes Zen Sea.
"Qian Xundao, you've cultivated it?" Qin Shi asked in shock. He could not believe it. If that was really the case, he would really want to die.
He had been studying it for days without any clue, but a child managed to cultivate it in less than fifteen minutes?