He was invincible from the beginning of the Heaven-Covering Era.

Facing a formidable foe, defeat is not shameful. Even immortal emperors died in battle when they were young. Only those who are neither arrogant in victory nor discouraged in defeat, and who can remain calm despite inner turmoil, can go further on the path of cultivation.

"All spirits transform into the Dao," he said calmly.

Instantly, all kinds of forces, both visible and invisible, in the world transformed into the rules of the Dao.

All spiritual entities and all forms of power—whether it be the essence of plants and trees, the radiance of the blazing sun, the white clouds in the sky, the mountains on the ground, or even the vines that Dao Qingling conjured with her divine power—collapsed at this moment.

When Zhou Qing unleashed this imperial technique, it was far more terrifying than the move Wang Teng had used, as it could even transform the opponent's attacks into Dao principles.

The brilliance of the "Transformation of All Spirits into the Dao" technique lies in its ability to invoke the established Dao of Heaven and Earth, returning it to its origin and transforming it back into the Dao principles.

Everything is composed of the Dao, which is the underlying logic of things and the countless rules that constitute the universe.

If one reaches a high level of cultivation, even a star field can be returned to its origin and transformed into the Great Dao flowing between heaven and earth.

Therefore, this move can take many different forms and does not necessarily have to be woven into a net. It is called the transformation of all spirits into the Dao, not the transformation of all spirits into the net.

At this moment, when this move was unleashed, large swathes of mountains collapsed, turning into streaks and patterns, which condensed into countless divine weapons that traversed the void.

Ancient bells, divine cauldrons, Dao swords, sacred towers, heavenly blades, ancient diagrams, divine bells—countless weapons composed of Dao principles floated between heaven and earth, ringing out, creating a veritable world of weapons.

"What's wrong with this guy? Why is he using such a high-level secret technique without holding back at all?"

Xiaoyu was both angry and anxious, but she couldn't stop it. Feeling very frustrated, she casually slapped the clouds around her, scattering them and leaving only the one where she was sitting.

Suddenly, a colossal divine tree appeared with a thunderous roar, taking root in the void. It stood hundreds of feet tall, with dozens or even hundreds of branches hanging down, each covered with dense Dao patterns and emitting a crystalline Dao light.

"Bang", "Bang"

The sky collapsed and the earth cracked, as if the world was being created. Branches lashed out in the void, colliding with countless divine weapons. Various lights danced on this battlefield, and mountains, as if made of paper, turned into dust under the collision of these forces.

However, although the battle appeared to be intense, it actually ended very quickly, lasting less than fifteen minutes.

From a distance, Xiaoyu saw bursts of light and a few rumbling sounds, and then the battle was over—so fast that she couldn't believe it.

In the past, Dao Qingling had always defeated others in a few moves; this was the first time he had been defeated by someone else in a few moves.

Although the outcome of a battle cannot be determined solely by combat strength—for example, if a person's mentality is flawed, even the highest combat strength may be rendered useless—Zhou Qing does not have such a problem.

When both individuals are at the Eighth Forbidden Realm, without the use of external forces such as weapon source techniques, the difference in their realms is like an abyss. Although it is possible to win through combat talent, this situation only exists in theory, and those who can truly achieve it are few and far between throughout history.

Although Dao Qingling was not injured, a Dao sword was held across her neck. With just a flick of Zhou Qing's finger, her beautiful head would fly off instantly.

"I lost," Dao Qingling sighed.

Sparks of light danced in the air, and all the weapons in the world turned into a rain of light and vanished.

Several days later, at the gates of the imperial capital.

"There are many training grounds in Zhongzhou. Do you have a choice?" Dao Qingling asked.

Over the past few days, she had already adjusted her mindset. This was also the first time she had gone out in years, and she had not chosen a training ground in advance.

Zhou Qing laughed and said, "Of course! Our first stop is western Zhongzhou!"

Chapter 94 Qinling Mountains

Two hundred thousand years ago, there existed an incredibly powerful divine dynasty in Zhongzhou, the Feathered Divine Dynasty. It was truly the number one in Zhongzhou, and its commands were obeyed by all.

Strictly speaking, half of the Central Plains was once their territory, a vast and boundless domain, far larger than the four immortal dynasties of today.

However, as time passed and the world changed, the former number one in Zhongzhou was lost to history and replaced by the four immortal dynasties of today.

The four immortal dynasties of Daxia, Jiuli, Guhua, and Shenzhou are located in the four directions of Zhongzhou, close to the center, and their territories are not adjacent.

The various schools of thought in Zhongzhou were either outside the controlled areas of the four great immortal dynasties or within their territories, and were ruled as sects within those dynasties.

The southern part of Zhongzhou is the region where the Shenzhou Dynasty is located. In this area, the Shenzhou Dynasty is the absolute hegemon, and the various schools of thought in this region implicitly regard the Shenzhou Dynasty as the leader. The same situation exists in the other three regions.

After leaving the capital of Shenzhou, Zhou Qing and the others began their journey westward. There were only three of them on the road: Zhou Qing, Dao Qingling, and Xiao Yu.

This wasn't Dao Qingling's first time going out to train, but she had never left the Divine Continent Dynasty before, nor had she ever strayed more than a million miles from the capital. Although she had a good reputation, very few people had actually seen her.

Xiaoyu, on the other hand, had been in the capital since she was very young, accompanying Dao Qingling. Her talent was comparable to that of the holy maidens of ordinary major sects, but she rarely left the capital.

Meanwhile, the three of them traveled westward, cultivating their Tao in the mortal world. As they passed through region after region, they witnessed countless loves and hates, joys and sorrows, which deeply moved the straightforward young woman.

"If my talent for cultivation hadn't been discovered when I was a child, I'd probably be no different from these villagers now."

Along the way, we saw many different scenes. The weather had turned cold and many places had begun to freeze, but there were still fishermen sitting by the river fishing and woodcutters going into the mountains to chop firewood.

Their clothes are thin, yet they still strive to make a living, even if it's just an insignificant corner of this world, even if not many people care about them, they care about themselves, and that's enough.

In the eyes of the world, fishermen and woodcutters seem to be the most detached and carefree people in the world. They have seen through the vanity of fame and fortune, and sing with joy and openness.

White-haired fishermen and woodcutters on the riverbank are accustomed to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze. A pot of turbid wine brings joyful encounters. So many things, past and present, are all consigned to laughter and conversation.

But who knows that fishing in the cold river is not for carefree enjoyment, but simply to catch more fish to make a living; chopping firewood in the cold mountains is not for wandering among the forests, but simply to sell more firewood to supplement the family income.

A load of firewood at the ancient ferry crossing, enough for a leisurely day's journey—this is merely a beautiful imagination of the woodcutter's life by the world.

A foot of snow fell outside the city last night, and at dawn, the woodcutter drove his charcoal cart over the icy ruts. This is the true story of the woodcutter's arduous life.

At this moment, countless insights were colliding in Zhou Qing's mind, and his heart fell into a state of emptiness, as if he were standing in a void, where men, women, young and old, emperors and generals, and countless lives flowed through his heart.

"Um

"Is this... enlightenment?" As soon as Zhou Qing stopped, Dao Qingling immediately noticed something was wrong. Her brows furrowed slightly, and after careful observation, she discovered a surprising fact.

"Is this his level of enlightenment? He can gain enlightenment anytime, anywhere?" She found it somewhat unbelievable.

Indeed, this was the case. After traveling west for two months, he became increasingly adept at controlling the aura of all living beings, integrating it into every inch of his skin. Only now did he truly master this aura.

It was only at this moment that he truly mastered the power of the Jambudvipa waters, able to control their appearance and disappearance at will, no longer a power that could only appear occasionally with the presence of the Pure Land of the Gods.

Although limited by its cultivation level, the summoned Yamafu Ti Calamity Water cannot currently possess the power to destroy the world, it still possesses the power of the Five Elements True Fire, and its power can continue to increase as its cultivation level improves.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Qing moved again, a smile appearing on his face, and said, "Thank you both for protecting me."

"It's alright. Now that you've finished your enlightenment, we should continue on our way," Dao Qingling said calmly.

"Don't you consider the situation when you're trying to comprehend the Dao? If it weren't for the two of us with you, wouldn't you be unaware of the danger you might encounter?" Xiaoyu mocked.

“With a wisp of your mind outside, you can naturally wake up at any time,” Zhou Qing said with a smile.

One month later, in the Qinling Mountains, in western Zhongzhou.

This is an extremely mysterious place, spanning no less than a million miles, vast and boundless, where many terrifyingly powerful beings reside.

This region was not originally so extraordinary; it all stemmed from the destruction of the Feathered Divine Dynasty more than two hundred thousand years ago.

At that time, the first dragon vein of Zhongzhou was still intact, located in the heart of Zhongzhou, and was controlled by the Feathered Divine Dynasty.

However, after the ruthless man attained enlightenment, he pressed down from countless miles away, leaving five finger marks, which severed the ancestral dragon vein into several segments, causing the area within a million miles to sink.

In the end, the most ancient dragon vein was blasted apart by a ruthless person. The dragon energy dissipated, and the severed segments were reborn separately, transforming into several ancestral dragons in other places.

The Qinling Mountains are one of the places where a section of the dragon vein was reborn, and it can now compete for the title of the strongest dragon vein in the Central Plains.

"It is said that the Azure Emperor came from here 30,000 years ago?" Xiaoyu stared wide-eyed, looking curiously at the surrounding mountains and ancient veins.

"To be precise, it emerged from the Immortal Transformation Pool in the Qinling Mountains," Zhou Qing nodded, then added.

This land contains countless ancient tombs, burying countless powerful figures. And in the true ancient dragon's lair, there exists a holy spirit who is nearing the Great Perfection.

Even more miraculously, the killing intent of the Azure Emperor—or more precisely, the killing intent unleashed by the Demon Emperor's boundless divine power, the Demon Emperor's Nine Slashes—transformed into a blue lotus, taking root on a piece of green copper in the Immortal Transformation Pool, becoming a neighbor to this Holy Spirit who was nearing the Great Perfection.

The reason for this is that the ancestors of the Cai clan lived in the ancient dragon's lair, which is the home of this holy spirit who is about to reach the Great Perfection.

Meanwhile, the Azure Emperor's murderous intent remained at this entrance, nurturing his killing intent with the Immortal Transformation Pool to prevent the power from dissipating, while keeping a close watch on the entrance, ready to kill the Cai clan ancestor as soon as he saw him come out.

As for why they insisted on waiting for the Cai clan ancestor to leave before taking action, that was beyond Zhou Qing's comprehension; perhaps the Azure Emperor had his own considerations.

However, Zhou Qing did not come here for these two things; he came here only to find the secret of the character "兵".

However, the Qin Clan is too deceptive. It only has a few dozen disciples and recruits disciples only in a few nearby villages. In addition, there are too many small sects with this name in the Qinling Mountains, making it very difficult to find.

Fortunately, Zhou Qing deduced and eliminated possibilities as he went, and finally found this small sect a month later.

Chapter 95 All Things Are Soldiers

This is a sect that is very good at hiding itself. Forget about building a city that gathers dragon energy, this sect didn't even choose some beautiful mountains, but built itself on a few very ordinary low hills.

The Qin Clan is divided into the Outer Clan and the Main Clan. The Outer Clan consists of four branches: east, south, west, and north. The Main Clan is located in the center of this mountainous region. The Outer Clan and the Main Clan together have only a little over a hundred disciples.

However, although the sect has few disciples, it is by no means weak. Each outer sect has an Elder of Immortal One in charge, and each has one or two disciples who have transformed into dragons.

The main sect is even more powerful, with several powerful figures overseeing it. Some of the geniuses from outside who entered the main sect were converted by the Divine Transformation Technique and became their own people.

"Zhou Qing, are you sure the Nine Secrets exist here?" Xiao Yu asked skeptically, feeling that he was exaggerating.

“It’s true, the people of Beidou don’t lie to each other, there really are nine secrets here!” Zhou Qing said with certainty.

However, Xiaoyu still didn't quite believe it. She felt that this was too easy. Shouldn't one of the Nine Secrets be obtained through bloodshed and countless killings? How could it be so easy?

At this moment, the three of them had quietly approached the main peak using a secret treasure and arrived at the gate of the main gate.

"That person has a very high level of cultivation, and is suspected to be a powerful being."

Dao Qingling's expression was very solemn. She saw a person meditating in front of the mountain gate. He looked very ordinary on the surface, but she sensed that there was a terrifying power hidden in his body, like a dragon lurking in the shadows.

Fortunately, she brought a top-tier concealment treasure with her before coming out; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to sneak up on the main peak.

“It’s still daytime now. Let’s wait here until nightfall. That will be the real opportunity to obtain the Nine Secrets,” Zhou Qing said to the two.

In the dead of night, the moon was full in the sky, and its bright light shone down, covering the earth with a thin veil of silver.

"Let's go."

Zhou Qing controlled the secret treasure, enveloping the three of them, and quietly bypassed the main peak, arriving at the back mountain.

There is a stone wall here, with many weapon-like patterns carved on it. They are quite crude, as if a disciple carved them casually when he was bored.

However, under the moonlight, these patterns exuded an ancient and weathered aura, and the originally clumsy marks became mysterious.

"There really is something strange about this!" Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise.

At this moment, the engravings on these weapons emitted a bright light under the moonlight, and these engravings were constantly flowing, clearly indicating that there was something wrong with them.

Dao Qingling's heart was also unsettled. These were the Nine Secrets, each with infinite wonders. Obtaining any one of them would be an immense opportunity.

"Xiaoyu, don't extend your divine sense to comprehend it. I will pass on the secret of the character '兵' to you directly after I comprehend it. This kind of comprehension is very dangerous." Dao Qingling's expression changed, and she stopped Xiaoyu from releasing her divine sense.

As soon as she scanned the stone wall with her divine sense, she immediately felt a sharp weapon pressing against her body. The sharpness of the weapon shook her divine sense, as if it were about to cleave her sea of ​​consciousness, which was very dangerous.