Chapter 74

Awakening from his memories, his eyes were still moist with tears.

The lonely peak had already emerged from the endless darkness.

A sliver of morning sunlight rose from the horizon, casting its glow on his face.

He looked so incredibly ordinary—without even a trace of immortal aura—like a completely forgettable nobody, the kind of background character in a novel who doesn’t even deserve a name and exists only to marvel at how powerful the protagonist is.

The tenth spirit tempering was complete.

His thoughts returned to the present.

Inside Safe House No. 1, Han Luo stared at his reflection in the mirror. There were no noticeable changes—if anything, he looked even more unremarkable than before.

But of course, Han Luo didn’t think of himself as ordinary.

He raised his hand. A wisp of colorless spiritual energy floated in his palm. It looked completely normal, no different from any common spiritual energy.

With a thought, the colorless aura shifted—one color, then three, five, nine—and finally returned to being colorless once more.

Fascinating. Truly fascinating.

He could actually control the degree of spirit tempering at will—an ability that was utterly absurd by any standard.

After playing around for a while, he settled on five refinements. Five was about average in Luoxian Sect—not too high, not too low, just right to avoid attracting attention. Combined with his ordinary appearance, it would be difficult for anyone to take special notice of him.

He didn’t leave Safe House No. 1 right away. Instead, he pulled out a little notebook and began reflecting on the insights he had gained from this round of spirit tempering.

Spirit tempering was, after all, one of the most important stages in a cultivator's path. It didn’t just refine spiritual energy—it strengthened the soul, toughened one’s will, and polished one’s character. It was a true baptism.

After this process, one could finally let go of past burdens and truly step into the path of cultivation.

All valuable knowledge.

Han Luo carefully recorded each point in his notebook. When he finished, he glanced at the time—and froze.

What the hell?

Only ten minutes had passed?

Even counting the time he spent writing, the actual spirit tempering couldn’t have lasted more than a minute.

Impossible.

He looked around suspiciously, trying to find anything unusual.

Could he still be trapped in an illusion?

Han Luo seriously began to doubt whether he had really completed the process. After all, it had felt like he had experienced an entire year—but in reality, not even a minute had passed.

To test this theory, he stood up straight and started moving his hands—forward, backward, left, right, drawing circles, squares… even attempting to sketch the legendary "Eight Steeds Painting"—though that failed due to the lack of brush and ink.

Still uneasy, he took out his ancient bronze mirror to double-check everything.

Ten minutes later, he was finally certain—he had truly completed the spirit tempering.

Leaving Safe House No. 1, he returned to the peak of Luoxian Mountain.

Standing at the summit, gazing down at the land that belonged to him, everything seemed unchanged, as though nothing had happened.

He sat down on a stone bench, sipping tea and enjoying the view.

“Seems like I gained something interesting,” he murmured.

In that moment, a misty fog appeared behind him. Within the fog, a vast world floated in and out of existence. At first glance, it seemed far away and unreachable—but then it felt as though it was right in front of him, as if he were already within it. It was nothing short of miraculous.

“Tenfold World.”

That was the name he gave to his domain.

As for what kind of power it held or what made it special—those were things to be explored later. There was no need to rush. Time, after all, was the least of his concerns.

He put away the Tenfold World and once again disguised himself as an average disciple with five spirit temperings. With the colorless aura, he didn’t even need the ancient bronze mirror to conceal his cultivation—no one would be able to detect his true level. The purity of the aura was real, not fake—it was simply capable of changing forms at will.

Now that the spirit tempering was done, his Qi Refining stage was complete.

Next up was Foundation Establishment.

Foundation Establishment was just as important as spirit tempering—perhaps even more so. He would need to be extremely careful, planning every step, and under no circumstances could he let the success of ten temperings make him complacent.

As he mentally laid out his plan for Foundation Establishment, a ripple of energy came from the Immortal Trapping Formation.

Inside the formation—

“Junior sister, are you sure we’re in the right place?”

Du Ming, tall and fair-skinned, held a folding fan and exuded the air of a refined nobleman.

“I don’t think it’s wrong. This is where junior brother Han Luo lives. Why would Master lie to us?” Lan Caicai frowned at the maze-like formation before her, uncertain if she had misheard the instructions.

“No need to worry,” Du Ming said gently, placing an arm around Lan Caicai’s shoulders, his gaze filled with warmth.

“With you here, I’m not afraid of anything,” she replied, eyes full of admiration as she looked up at her senior brother.

Du Ming nodded, surveying the surroundings.

“This little junior brother of ours truly is gifted—he actually set up a third-grade formation on Luoxian Mountain. That’s more advanced than even some of our senior uncles.”

He praised Han Luo as he flicked open his fan. Several glowing stars shimmered across it, forming a faint star map.

And though it was bright daytime with clear skies, under Du Ming’s mystical technique, actual stars began to appear overhead—twinkling vividly despite the sun.

“Open the path,” he murmured, connecting with a specific star.

The star blinked, then shifted direction slightly.

“Let’s go, junior sister.”

With his arm around her, Du Ming followed the guidance of the star as they strolled through the formation like a leisurely walk in the park, admiring the scenery—until they calmly emerged from the Immortal Trapping Formation.

Divine Art: Star-Gazing

Star-Gazing was a unique divine ability developed specifically to prevent losing one’s way.

Cultivators generally relied on two things to establish themselves—magical treasures and divine arts.

Magical treasures, second only to the cultivator themselves, were indispensable tools for both attack and defense.

Divine arts, however, were mysterious and powerful techniques that allowed cultivators to push their potential to the limit and unleash world-altering strength. But mastering a divine art wasn’t about picking the most impressive one—it was about choosing the right one.

Take Star-Gazing, for example. Though incredibly difficult to learn, its only function was directional guidance—making it a high-effort, low-reward technique in most eyes.

That Du Ming had chosen to cultivate such an ability meant he likely possessed immense talent in divine arts—a fact that hinted at just how powerful he truly was.

And this powerful senior brother had never visited him once in five years.

Now, of all times, he suddenly appeared.

This could only mean trouble.