Deep within the sprawling mountains lay a secret realm.

The clear and melodious call of a phoenix pierced the heavens, shattering the silence of dawn. A blazing sun descended slowly from the clouds, its crimson rays painting the vast sky red, tracing a beautiful arc as it circled several times before finally coming to rest atop a steep and perilous peak.

Within the sun was an enormous, multicolored phoenix, carrying a handsome young man in purple robes and a golden crown, his face as exquisite as jade. Upon landing, the young man rose to his feet and surveyed the surroundings, while the phoenix transformed into a fiery and stunning girl. Clad in a bright red outfit that accentuated her explosive and seductive curves, her wild and beautiful eyes smiled at the young man.

Another jewel-blue radiance fell from the sky, heralding the arrival of a magnificent peacock, ten zhang in length. Upon landing, it turned into a tall and strikingly beautiful woman in a lavish sea-blue palace dress, with a low-cut neckline revealing a deep and flawless cleavage. Her demeanor was proud and aloof, softening only when her gaze fell upon the young man in purple robes, to whom she showed a tender and charming smile.

She had been carrying the Dragon Ritual Princess, who was still dressed in her figure-hugging purple and gold armor, her black hair cascading over her shoulders. The sinuous curves of her body were unmistakable, and the lower half was covered by a luxurious deep purple skirt, concealing her shapely and perfect legs. Her ice-cold skin and flawless face bore a cold yet enchanting and mysterious smile.

High above the clouds, a massive floating battleship followed at a distance, hidden within were thousands of elders, undoubtedly there to ensure the safety of Qing Muling.

The three women surrounded Qing Muling, their powerful divine senses sweeping across the area, easily scouting the surrounding hundreds of thousands of miles.

“Master, the mountains below are full of Xuan Guang Star Nebula Gold. If we transport it all back, it would bring endless benefits to our sect!” Fengxia’s crisp and sweet voice rang out.

Qing Muling replied, “Indeed, mark this place as one of the potential mining sites.”

Xuan Guang Star Nebula Gold was a key material for forging top-tier spatial artifacts, and any high-level artifact, formation, talisman, or puppet related to spatial laws required this strategic resource.

Although the Great Void was rich in Xuan Guang Star Nebula Gold, high-quality mines were extremely rare. Most of the gold was found with other spirit ores, making purification a cumbersome process and keeping costs perpetually high.

In the Misty Illusion Secret Realm, however, high-grade veins of Xuan Guang Star Nebula Gold were commonplace, like the mountain range beneath Qing Muling’s feet. If one were to remove the hundred-zhang-thick layer of rock and soil, they would find it almost entirely composed of this material.

After a brief estimation, the Dragon Ritual Princess smiled and said, “Junior Brother, this place is indeed wonderful, but it seems quite far from the main mining area we’ve established. Should any unforeseen incidents occur, I’m afraid it might be difficult to manage.”

The protective range of Junior Brother’s fortune was limited. If the distance between them was too great, the effectiveness would inevitably weaken, hence her concern.

Qing Muling pondered and said, “Then let’s not rush to mine it. Just record its location and range for now. In the future, we can arrange for everyone to stay here for a few days, and we’ll be able to empty this place.”

“That could work,” the Dragon Ritual Princess agreed, taking out a Liuying Star Disk to record the terrain and features of the mountain area.

Months passed, and the total number of high-level female cultivators who had entered the secret realm now exceeded three hundred thousand. The scale of Dao weapon puppets surpassed six million, scattered across tens of millions of miles and over ten thousand mining sites. The resources they gathered daily were equivalent to the profits of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace from hundreds of years.

Even after sharing a portion with the Qinghuan Emperor, the resources and wealth obtained by Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace continued to surge at an astonishing rate. The Main Altar’s worlds for storing resources were no longer sufficient, forcing Mu Yinghua to mobilize a large group of Supreme Elders to work day and night, creating more such worlds.

At the same time, plans for repairing damaged treasures, upgrading the Mountain Protection Array, optimizing the defense formations of various territories, and selecting and training new disciples were all underway. After all, with resources, everything became easier.

“Alright, let’s move on to the next location,” Qing Muling said, taking out a Heavenly Secret Formation Disk. It was crafted from a large snow-white turtle shell, with dense Dao Rhyme enveloping its surface and countless magnificent starlights flickering ceaselessly, emitting a profound and ancient aura.

This was a treasure obtained from the Mysterious Dao Venerable’s Treasure Tempering Pool during the assembly of immortals: the Yunluo Star Destiny Disk, a postnatal Spirit Treasure of the Heavenly Secret Art domain.

Using this treasure to deduce the Heavenly Secret could increase accuracy by at least forty percent, reduce the inevitable loss of vitality by more than twenty percent, and lessen the backlash of the Heavenly Secret on the user. It was highly effective for cultivating the Heavenly Secret Art, with numerous benefits too extensive to list.

Qing Muling was only at the Feather Transformation Realm, and using this treasure was somewhat strenuous. However, with the aid of the Harmony Spirit Seed, he could withstand the immense consumption.

After dripping a drop of blood on the formation disk and infusing it with mana, he silently operated the Heavenly Secret Art.

As a vast amount of mana rapidly depleted, surpassing the replenishment speed of the Harmony Spirit Seed, Qing Muling’s complexion gradually paled, and his color drained. Seeing this, the Dragon Ritual Princess quickly supported him from behind, transferring her mana to replenish his.

After a moment, when even the Dragon Ritual Princess’s mana was more than half depleted, Qing Muling finally obtained the information he sought.

Ceasing the spell, the Harmony Spirit Seed in his sea of consciousness vibrated slightly. A vast essence of spiritual energy descended from the depths of the void, flowing into his nearly depleted meridians and quickly restoring his mana. His pale complexion swiftly returned to normal.

The Dragon Ritual Princess and the other women were no longer surprised by the extraordinary abilities of their Junior Brother, having witnessed them on many occasions.

“Flying southeast from here for about fifty-seven million miles should lead us to an incredibly vast spirit vein, or rather, a group of spirit veins,” Qing Muling mused, analyzing the star patterns revealed on the Heavenly Secret Formation Disk. “It’s hard to estimate the grade, but it should be at least first-class superior, perhaps even beyond. The various treasures and rare spirit ores it contains are likely to be abundant.”

The Dragon Ritual Princess’s eyes lit up with joy. “That would be wonderful. We haven’t discovered a spirit vein of this level since entering the secret realm. If we could cultivate there for a while, the benefits would be countless!”

In the Great Void, spirit veins were graded from one to nine, with each grade divided into superior, middle, and inferior. Above these were the legendary beyond-grade spirit veins, which were elusive. Even the core territories of the Dao Court only had two quasi-beyond-grade spirit veins, not to mention the powers of other Supreme Dao Lineages.

Spirit veins below the fifth grade were relatively common and could sustain the cultivation needs of True Person Realm cultivators and below. True One Realm cultivators could also use them, albeit with some difficulty.

Finding spirit veins above the fifth grade was not so easy. They were usually found on floating lands with a radius of over a million miles, where the environment was beautiful and the spiritual energy abundant. These lands were typically occupied by sects and powers of the second tier and above.

The higher the grade of the spirit vein, the more abundant the spiritual energy, which could give rise to better worlds and meet the daily cultivation needs of high-level cultivators. This was also a key indicator of the hard power of a Dao Lineage sect.

“Master, how about riding me this time?” Kong Yuhuan approached, wrapping her arms around Qing Muling and pressing her magnificent chest against him, almost hanging onto his body.

Feeling the grandeur of the peacock’s bosom, Qing Muling hesitated. Fengxia, not to be outdone, wrapped her arm around Qing Muling’s other arm. “I am Master’s only mount. What business does this little peacock have meddling in our affairs?”

In the eyes of the little phoenix, she was clearly the first one there. This Wind Fire Peacock had just joined them and was already trying to vie for their little master’s favor, constantly challenging her, which was quite unseemly.

Kong Yuhuan smiled. “Master has ridden you plenty of times. It’s nice to change mounts occasionally, don’t you think, Master?”

Her implication was clear: no matter how beautiful the phoenix, the master would tire of riding it too often, unlike a fresh and pretty new mount like herself.

Fengxia was infuriated. The peacock might look cold and aloof, but she was even more wanton than the most flamboyant women, shamelessly uttering such indecent words…

“Enough, no need to argue. I’ll still ride the phoenix,” Qing Muling interjected, seeing the potential for a fight and regretting his earlier decision.

The Dragon Ritual Princess, due to her status, refrained from competing with her sisters for favor, allowing her mount, Kong Yuhuan, to stir up trouble. Fengxia, of course, would not back down from a challenge and would respond fiercely. This was not the first time such a scene had occurred.

Fengxia gave Kong Yuhuan a defiant glance, her light shimmering as she transformed back into her multicolored phoenix form. She allowed Qing Muling to mount her, then took to the skies, accelerating away with the wind under her wings.

Although they could only exert the power of the Ascending to Immortality realm in the Misty Illusion Secret Realm, their divine abilities allowed them to travel at incredible speed. In less than an hour, they approached their destination.

From afar, the vast land was suffused with purple, and the spiritual energy was so abundant that it condensed into a visible white fog, naturally forming a tremendous tide of spiritual power. Ordinary people, let alone cultivators below the Divine Soul Realm, would not be able to withstand the pressure and were at great risk of exploding and dying.

The Dragon Ritual Princess sensed with her divine mind that deep within the thick layers of the earth, six enormous spirit veins, each tens of thousands of miles wide and of unknown length, lay dormant. It was unclear how many eons had passed for such natural wonders to form.

Around the six main spirit veins, countless large and small tributaries branched out, forming an unimaginably vast underground network of spirit veins.

Every region where the spirit veins extended was a picturesque landscape with lush vegetation and soil so fertile it was the epitome of richness. With just a glance, Qing Muling spotted hundreds of ancient spiritual and sacred herbs, their bright halos shimmering. Even divine herbs were not hard to find.

Due to the constant nourishment of the massive spiritual energy, even the most ordinary rocks on the surface shone with a faint luster, as if they had turned into jade.

Any super clan, top sect, or Supreme Dao Lineage’s Main Altar, in terms of environmental beauty, the number of worlds, and the grade of spirit veins, could not compare to this place, not even the Dao Court.

“What a wonderful place! If only we could move it all back,” Kong Yuhuan sighed, then shook her head. This was an area spanning at least several billion miles. Even the Qinghuan Emperor would find it challenging to handle, let alone three Emperors working together. However, that would surely alarm the higher echelons of the Heavenly Human Clan, and what would happen next was unpredictable.

The Dragon Ritual Princess smiled. “Moving it back is impossible. We can only scavenge some treasures that can be taken away and then arrange for some disciples to cultivate here for a while. The many worlds born from this top-grade spirit vein can make cultivation here more than ten times more efficient than at the Main Altar of the Sect. If we add the help of a time-accelerating formation array, it would be even more ideal!”

Qing Muling thought for a moment and said, “We could try that. Of course… we’ll have to wait until after this Misty Illusion Secret Realm closes. If it’s feasible, this place might become a shared Dao Court branch for both our families.”

Considering the growth rate of the Harmony Spirit Seed, as long as he recorded the spatiotemporal coordinates of the Misty Illusion Secret Realm, Qing Muling could eventually traverse time and space to return here. By then, not only this spirit vein treasure land but all the resources in the entire secret realm could be at his disposal.

The Dragon Ritual Princess smiled lightly. “That would be great. Of course, I trust you, Junior Brother.”

Immediately, the three women began to explore the details of the spirit vein and recorded them with the Liuying Star Disk. They collected ancient sacred and divine herbs directly into their Space Bracelets, which were considered private income and did not need to be handed over to the sect.

During this process, Qing Muling’s extraordinary abilities once again amazed the three women. No matter the herb, even those never seen in the Great Void, he could touch it and within moments, understand its effects, characteristics, growth years, and other key information.

Although seasoned herbalists above the Golden Immortal realm could also do this, it required some time for research and analysis to obtain accurate results. Qing Muling could easily accomplish this, of course, thanks to the Harmony Spirit Seed’s incredible power, which gave him near-absolute dominion over all plants and living beings.

“I find it a bit strange,” the Dragon Ritual Princess said. “Any sacred herb that has grown for over ten thousand years has the potential to awaken its spirit and cultivate on its own, even transforming into human form, not to mention divine and heavenly herbs. Why are there so many dense sacred and divine herbs here, yet not one has transformed?”

In the sect’s medicinal gardens, targeted spirit-restricting formations were set up around the herbs. As soon as even a hint of spirit emerged, it would be detected and eradicated, ensuring they would never have the chance to transform.

However, wild sacred and divine herbs had no such restrictions. If the opportunity arose, they could transform and escape, finding a place to cultivate in secret, ensuring they would not be captured by cultivators for use in medicine.

Qing Muling calmly said, “The reason is simple. This place already has an owner, so none of the treasures here can escape such restrictive shackles. They will never be able to transform in their lifetimes.”

“Already has an owner?” The Dragon Ritual Princess’s expression changed slightly. She looked back at the distant floating battleship and sent out a spiritual command. The battleship responded immediately, and Yu Lingzhou and Su Yuanzhen appeared with thousands of Supreme Elders, converging in a flash of light.