Starting My Cultivation With Time Management-Chapter 948 - 88 Law of Heaven and Earth
To enter the Heavenly Gate Hall Secret Realm from the Kunlun Jade Void Palace, one must traverse the suspended "Heavenly Bridge" to reach the mountain where the Heavenly Gate Hall is located.
However, at this moment, the Heavenly Gate Hall Secret Realm—or, more precisely, the ancient-era Heavenly Gate Hall Secret Realm—only features a barren mountain peak, without any suspended Heavenly Bridge in sight.
Xu Yinglian controlled her sword and circled for quite some time, but could not locate the entrance.
Moreover, she recalled that the entrance to the Secret Realm was situated within the Kunlun Heavenly Pillar’s Jade Void Palace. In this world, however, the Kunlun Heavenly Pillar had already collapsed, and the Jade Void Palace had never been constructed, so naturally, there was no entrance to be found.
Thus, she returned in disinterest, only to catch sight of Qiu Changtian standing in front of a local shrine, carefully examining the entry point they had used to enter.
The two of them had crawled out from a tree hollow within a cypress, but from the perspective of the Heavenly Gate Hall Secret Realm, the knot on the cypress appeared only the size of a fist, seemingly impossible for anyone to pass through.
With the Kunlun Mirror conducting a detailed scan, they discovered that the knot bore the effects of the "Law of Heaven and Earth" Divine Skill. Upon entering from the Fenbao Rock side, traveling through the long corridor, they had unknowingly been subjected to the Law of Heaven and Earth’s restrictions, causing their bodies to shrink steadily until they crawled out from the hollow at the core of the knot, where they instantly returned to their original size.
The most intricate aspect was that, even as their bodies were shrunk and expanded by the Law of Heaven and Earth, the two had not felt anything amiss until the Kunlun Mirror’s scan revealed the peculiarity.
"This is truly..." Xu Yinglian exclaimed in amazement as she listened to Qiu Changtian’s explanation of the arcane principles, "The Law of Heaven and Earth, a long-lost ancient Divine Skill. Who would have thought we’d witness it here?"
"It’s said that when this Divine Skill is cultivated to its peak, one could not only shrink or enlarge one’s body at will but also transform freely into birds and beasts, mosquitoes and ants, and traverse the heavens and earth unchecked."
As she extended her hand toward the cypress knot, it indeed began to contract in an unnatural fashion, as though reflected in a funhouse mirror, the closer it approached the knot.
"Junior Sister." Qiu Changtian suddenly spoke. "If the seawater outside were to flood to the location of Fenbao Rock, could it flow into this Secret Realm through the passageway?"
Xu Yinglian pondered for a moment before responding:
"Initially, it might not have been possible... But now, it should be."
"Why?" Qiu Changtian asked in confusion, then quickly realized the answer himself.
The two of them had broken through the outer rock walls to gain entry into the Secret Realm.
The original Fenbao Rock, if completely submerged by seawater, might have withstood the pressure for some time. But now that the rock had been shattered, it would definitely fail.
However, speaking of the Law of Heaven and Earth...
"Ah Jing," Qiu Changtian suddenly asked, "is the Law of Heaven and Earth a formation?"
"No," the Kunlun Mirror answered. "It should be part of the Secret Realm’s restrictions, merely fixing the exit at this cypress knot."
"The cypress, the mountain peak, and the ancient statue of the Taiqing Heavenly Venerable are all components of the Secret Realm, not items brought in from the outside."
"In that case," Qiu Changtian had a sudden inspiration, "is it possible to make minor adjustments to the mechanism of the Law of Heaven and Earth?"
"Adjustments?" The Kunlun Mirror asked in surprise. "You mean..."
"When someone enters from the outer corridor, their body is first shrunk, and upon passing through the knot, it is then enlarged." Qiu Changtian quickly elaborated. "Can we disable the enlargement step?"
"You mean to only shrink and not enlarge?" The Kunlun Mirror frowned and replied, "The Law of Heaven and Earth serves as the passageway connecting the Secret Realm to the outside, likely for safety considerations."
"The Law of Heaven and Earth is an esoteric and challenging spell to master. Without control of it, stepping into the Law of Heaven and Earth passageway would essentially place one’s life in the hands of the array’s internal controller."
"If it identifies an external invader, the Secret Realm’s controller could disable the ’enlargement’ step, causing the intruder to remain miniaturized to the size of the knot’s hollow and preventing them from restoring themselves."
"There are many risks associated with miniaturization. The most affected would be Daoist Magic. For instance, Junior Sister Xu’s Great Bright Fire, powerful enough to incinerate mountains and boil seas, could shroud the heavens and earth. But if she were reduced to thumb-sized proportions, how large could the flames she produced be? Such magical combat techniques would become entirely useless."
"This is why external adversaries, upon realizing the effects of the Law of Heaven and Earth upon entering such a passage, would never dare to proceed recklessly."
"Overall, its purpose as a deterrent outweighs its function for defense. If there are no intruders, removing just the enlargement step seems to serve little purpose."
"Ah Jing," Qiu Changtian sighed, "don’t forget the requirement of this Secret Realm."
"Isn’t it to maximize survival?" The Kunlun Mirror responded instinctively, but then gradually caught on. "You’re saying..."
"A thousand fathoms of seawater flooding in could be reduced to a single cubic fathom of water by the Law of Heaven and Earth." Qiu Changtian chuckled. "In this way, the Heavenly Gate Hall Secret Realm should be able to accommodate quite a lot of seawater, yes?"
"I see now," the Kunlun Mirror said, suddenly enlightened. "I can’t guarantee it, but let’s give it a try."
So, Qiu Changtian crouched beside the cypress knot and began studying it closely with the Kunlun Mirror.
Xu Yinglian, unaware of Qiu Changtian’s plan, simply observed him lingering near the cypress and speculated that he intended to use the Secret Realm as a refuge to escape the apocalyptic cataclysm outside. Resolving to stay composed, she found an open area in front of the shrine and calmly sat down to meditate. freёnovelkiss.com
After completing their study of the cypress knot, Qiu Changtian rose into the air on his sword and circled the entire Secret Realm several times.
"This Secret Realm may appear boundless, but like the Golden Cicada Temple Secret Realm, it actually has its own boundaries," Qiu Changtian mused. "Without the Law of Heaven and Earth’s restrictions, hiding here wouldn’t be a bad choice. Even if the Secret Realm were filled with seawater, it wouldn’t face the random celestial bombardments or surging undercurrents that plague the outside."
"However, the boundaries of the Secret Realm have their own resilience," the Kunlun Mirror reminded him. "If the entrance were struck directly by a falling celestial body, it could cause severe deformation of the Secret Realm, ultimately leading to its collapse—like what happened with the Golden Cicada Temple. You can think of the relationship between a Secret Realm and the Cultivation Realm as akin to a pocket and the garment it’s attached to."
"If the garment gets splashed with dirty water, it may not soak into the pocket. But if the garment catches fire, the pocket certainly won’t escape unscathed."
"So, according to your explanation, if Fenbao Rock were struck directly by a celestial body, this Secret Realm would also be destroyed?" Qiu Changtian frowned. "Moreover, while we’re in the Secret Realm, we have no way to constantly monitor whether celestial bodies are falling outside. If a crisis does arise, wouldn’t we remain completely oblivious?"
"Correct," the Kunlun Mirror replied. "It’s just that the probability is relatively low."
"Unless struck directly, the resilience of Fenbao Rock should prevent it from being damaged by any secondary impacts from celestial collisions—I just examined it myself. Fenbao Rock is not formed naturally but is instead a massive Magical Treasure that has been refined."
