After being passed down from generation to generation, the cultivators of the Soul-Calming Palace gradually began to interact and intermarry with other soul-cultivating sects, and their skills also began to blend.
During this long process, some disciples also left the Zhenhun Palace and established their own sects or families outside, becoming vassals of the Zhenhun Sect.
In addition to paying tribute every year, they can also pass on ordinary skills, as well as skills that are allowed to be passed down by the Zhenhun Palace, to their own disciples.
But they are often restricted from passing on the secret techniques of the Zhenhun Sect. Once discovered, the entire sect or family will be killed.
Since these people were able to found their own schools, they were basically gifted geniuses, and they often created their own martial arts methods.
After the marriage with the soul cultivators who were not from the Zhenhun Palace, more new techniques were created through exchanges between the strong men from both sides. This was actually repeating what the immortal sects in various realms had done.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many techniques in the world, a few techniques would be enough. It's just that the soul cultivators in the past lived in darkness and didn't dare to really develop.
For a time, the "Earth True Realm" gradually saw the emergence of a hundred schools of thought contending with each other from generation to generation, which made the soul cultivation techniques here increasingly powerful and numerous, making it a holy place for soul cultivation.
In fact, many sects later understood why the Zhenhun Palace leaders did this.
That is, the Zhenhun Palace hopes to try different techniques to see if some unique techniques will emerge and break the shackles of the world here.
If it is discovered that someone can break through to the Fusion Realm after cultivating to the Void Refining Realm without the help of the special place in the Soul-Suppressing Palace that is the only place that can advance to the Fusion Realm.
This means that the other party's martial arts has a unique function, and the Zhenhun Palace will take out that special place and cooperate with the other party.
Maybe, I can open the ban of the "Earth Realm" and break the restriction on leaving here.
This is also one of the reasons why the Soul-Suppressing Palace did not stop its disciples from leaving and establishing their own sects. But at the same time, it also gave them great restrictions, so that they could continue to innovate and improve.
The martial arts were all created by humans, which is why sects appeared one after another. The plan of the Soul-Suppressing Palace is actually very long and may not necessarily yield any results.
But they had no choice but to do so. When a dog is desperate, it can always jump over a high wall that it cannot jump over normally.
Including those foreign soul cultivators, they are not allowed to enter the special area where they can break through to the fusion realm. In addition to consolidating its own power, the Zhenhun Palace is also squeezing their potential.
No cultivator would be willing to stop practicing and die of old age after reaching the realm of refining emptiness, so they are forced to reach the realm of fusion without relying on external forces.
Otherwise, there would be nothing to look forward to.
After the short and strong man appeared, Li Yan's plan was adjusted in various aspects.
The sect that the short and strong man belonged to was founded tens of thousands of years ago by a disciple of the Zhenhun Palace who was at the Lianxu level. He himself created a set of martial arts, which were not very perfect.
Later, in order to quickly solve this problem, the disciple who founded the sect successively accepted two foreign soul cultivators who were drawn into this place.
After providing them with extremely rich resources for cultivation, everyone's cultivation has made rapid progress through mutual communication.
In the end, these two became the sect's supreme elders, and slowly a sect with unique skills was formed.
But now, most of the sect's skills have been obtained by Li Yan for free.
Stealing other people's skills is a taboo in any realm. Once it is known by others, the outcome will be a fight to the death.
However, Li Yan didn't care about it. If he didn't do this, he would only die faster here.
Due to the short and strong man's own realm problem, this person only obtained the final technique of the sect called "Zhanlingmen" to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Li Yan couldn't ask any more questions.
However, Li Yan could also guess that according to the constraints of the heaven and earth here, the skills of this sect could only reach the realm of refining emptiness at most, or even the realm of transformation of spirit.
The only skills that are beyond this realm are the skills brought by the two foreign soul cultivators. I don’t know whether they have been passed down, but after verifying them here, they are of no use.
After he obtained the skills from the short and strong man, he practiced hard day and night, which made his soul power grow rapidly again.
Finally, according to his understanding of the level of soul cultivation, Li Yan assessed the strength of his own soul in addition to his overall strength, and found that he had reached the strength of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
The reason for all this is that his soul foundation is too strong.
He had never practiced soul cultivation techniques before, but it took him less than twenty years to reach such a level of strength, which was truly amazing.
In fact, Li Yan didn't care much about the increase in the strength of his soul over the years. For him, the soul of the Nascent Soul Realm was enough for the time being.
The imbalance between soul techniques and martial arts is the shortcoming that he urgently needs to make up for. He has a powerful soul power but is unable to attack. The most he can do is increase his soul defense.
Therefore, after learning some techniques from the Zhanling Sect, he finally mastered some soul techniques and finally achieved a small level of success.
Once he reached this point, Li Yan immediately left there. He had to enter the Soul-Suppressing Palace as soon as possible.
In addition to inquiring about information, there is another benefit of entering the Zhenhun Palace, which is that you have the greatest status in this world, which makes it convenient to do things in many cases.
While flying, Li Yan kept thinking about the plans in his mind, including various plans if he could not enter the Soul-Suppressing Palace.
At a certain moment, a mountain gate that soared into the sky appeared in Li Yan's sight. The entire mountain gate was dark green, as if it was built with huge and rough bluestones.
At first glance, the entire mountain gate gives people a feeling of being covered by a rich and heavy period of time.
The mountain gate was ten thousand feet high and unknown how wide it was. Flying in the direction of Li Yan, one could only see the gatepost on one side of the mountain gate.
When it was still hundreds of miles away from the mountain gate, the sky here had already become dark, making the towering mountain gate even more surrounded by black clouds.
As the wind blows and the fog moves, the mountain gate gives people a feeling that it is sometimes far away and sometimes near, as if it is constantly drifting.
After Li Yan infused his eyes with magic power, he looked up from high in the sky and could occasionally see a few large words on the mountain gate among the rolling black clouds.
"Zhenhun Palace", these three characters are blue-black in color and can be seen through the bluestone. Each character is a hundred feet in size, like three huge mountains, embedded between the sky and the earth.
The handwriting has been mottled with the passage of time, and is dark blue and heavy. In addition, they are deeply embedded in rough green rocks that look like they are covered with moss.
Anyone who sees these three words will feel a wild and ancient aura coming towards them from the bottom of their heart.
As Li Yan continued to get closer, he felt that no matter how he changed direction, the three large blue-black characters were like three ghost eyes, always staring at him.
The cold air around was getting stronger and stronger. Even with Li Yan's cultivation level, his scalp was getting tighter and tighter as he got closer to the mountain gate, and the coldness in his body was getting stronger and stronger.
Li Yan knew that this was a restriction on the mountain gate, exerting pressure on the covered area.
The pressure that the Soul-Calming Palace can release is aimed at a person's three souls and seven spirits. When the souls and spirits are suppressed, they will naturally feel colder.
There were other monks coming and going around Li Yan, and all of them were walking through the surging black clouds.
At this moment, everyone seemed to be covered with a layer of black ink, like black shadows appearing and disappearing in a piece of ink painting.
Coupled with the boundless cold and dampness around, it was as if a series of ghost shadows flashed past Li Yan.
Naturally, no one came over to talk to Li Yan. Instead, after spotting him, they would deliberately keep a distance from him, which made Li Fang feel as if he was traveling in a silent space.
Li Yan also had a blank expression on his face until he appeared a hundred miles in front of the mountain gate. Then, Li Yan felt himself being pressed directly to the ground by a powerful force.
Li Yan fell to the ground. He knew that this was a no-fly zone, a common tactic used by many sects.
Flying is either not allowed outside the mountain gate or there are warnings. But often after entering the mountain gate, everything returns to normal.
One is to demonstrate and warn the newcomers, and the other is to protect the sect.
Seven or eight black figures appeared around Li Yan at the same time and fell to the ground with him.
But there were still some people in the air. After taking a quick glance at the falling Li Yan and the others, they continued to fly towards the mountain gate.
The looks in these people's eyes were either cold or contained some teasing meaning.
Li Yan understood immediately that those who could continue to fly must be the monks of the Soul-Calming Palace...
After Li Yan walked for a hundred miles, he finally came to a corner of the mountain gate, near a stone pillar on one side of the mountain gate.
Standing on the ground and looking up, this stone pillar extends into the sky for who knows how far, giving people the feeling of a huge green mountain that appears to be straight up and down.
Li Yan walked here with several black shadows in front. They might be walking in groups of three or four, whispering along the way, but Li Yan was alone.
After arriving here, Li Yan saw that there were already twenty or thirty people gathered in front of the mountain gate, being interrogated by five monks in black robes.
On the chests of the five men's black robes, there is a strange red flame logo embroidered on them. Wearing black robes, they give people a cold and mysterious feeling.
Li Yan stood silently behind the team, moving forward little by little with the crowd. After listening to some whispered questions and answers in front, Li Yan also found out why some people came here.
Among them, there were monks who wanted to join the Soul-Suppressing Palace. They seemed to be outstanding disciples of some sects, led by the elders or sect masters of their own sects. More were monks from shops who came to conduct various transactions.
The five men asked very carefully, and after each person registered one by one, the same disciple in a black robe came out from the mountain gate, led those people into the mountain gate and disappeared.
About a cup of tea later, it was finally Li Yan's turn.
A woman in her thirties looked Li Yan up and down. She was also quite good-looking. Li Yan could tell from the fluctuations of her soul power that she was a cultivator in the Golden Core Realm.
Guarding the mountain gate requires Jindan monks, which is only possible in the fairy world.
After sensing the aura emanating from Li Yan, the woman's pretty face showed a slight hint of respect.
"Senior, what are you doing here?"
"I want to join the Soul-Suppressing Palace!"
Li Yan was also straightforward, and there was not much change in his facial expression.
"Oh? Which sect are you from?"
Although the female cultivator expressed surprise, there was no strange expression on her pretty face.
Although there are many sects in the "Earth True Realm", there are many cultivators who eventually want to enter the Soul-Suppressing Palace. Some of them are recommended by the sects, while others come here on their own to pass the assessment.
These people are basically cultivators at the Spirit Transformation stage or below. If a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage comes, that would be extremely rare and would be especially valued by the Soul-Suppressing Palace.
"I am a casual cultivator. My ancestors were cultivators of the Soul-Slaying Sect. After leaving the sect, I have been cultivating in a remote place!"
"Zhanling Sect? That sect is also quite powerful. If you want to join our sect, you have to go through an assessment."
After hearing the name of the sect mentioned by Li Yan, the female cultivator just nodded slightly.
She did not ask why Li Yan did not return to his ancestral home. Since his ancestors had left the Zhanling Sect, he must have had his own reasons.
Li Yan said that he went to a remote place. His ancestors were either excluded by the sect or had "great ambitions". Now that they have fallen to this point, his descendants are too embarrassed to go back...
What Li Yan said was a more detailed plan that he had re-formulated after searching the short and strong man's memory.
The Zhanling Sect has a history of over 100,000 years, and there is no telling how many cultivators have left the sect. He doesn't even need to change his surname. No one will check whether there is any cultivator with the surname Li who has left the sect in the past 100,000 years.
What Li Yan wanted was that he came from a decent family, so that when he performed some magic from the Zhanling Sect, he could explain it away.
"I know all of this, so I'll trouble you, fellow Taoist!"
Li Yan just said it lightly with an expression that showed he already knew everything.
"Then I will register you right away, but I still have to say that once you pass the assessment, you can only enter the 'Yi Que Tang'.
In the future, some of the required cultivation resources may be more difficult to obtain than those in other halls, especially some secret techniques, which still depend on the contributions of the predecessors to the sect.
After that, it will have to be evaluated by the elders before it can be purchased. These are all things that the seniors need to know in advance."
The female cultivator didn't know whether Li Yan had already understood the situation here before coming, so she still explained the restrictions that Li Yan would face after entering with his identity.
"Oh? I wonder what kind of contribution is needed?"
Li Yan certainly already understood a lot of things, but he was still not very clear about some of the specific rules in the Zhenhun Palace.
"For example, if you have improved a pill formula or a certain technique, or killed at least ten evil spirits of the same level, etc., these matters will be reported to you by a special deacon after you pass the assessment."
Half an incense stick later, Li Yan was taken by a disciple to a large stone chamber a hundred miles inside the mountain gate.
Inside the stone chamber, Li Yan looked around. He had clearly heard someone wanting to join the Soul-Suppressing Palace before, but he did not see him here.
He was not flying very fast just now, and he didn't know if the time was deliberately staggered. Li Yan guessed that there was more than one place for the assessment.
Behind a large table, there was a young man with a very gloomy face, who was reading an ancient book.
The disciple who brought Li Yan here immediately placed a "Soul Tablet" in his hand on the table after entering the room, then bowed to the young man, and left without saying a word.
Li Yan looked around, and the disciple who led him here did not tell him what to do.
In fact, there was no need for any instructions. In the whole room, there were only him and the young man sitting behind the long table opposite.
The young man slowly raised his head, without putting down the book in his hand.
Li Yan sensed that the other party was also a cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage, but might be in the late Nascent Soul stage.
"A cultivator in the early stage of Nascent Soul!"
The young man first glanced at Li Yan, and after saying this, without waiting for Li Yan to answer, he picked up the "Soul Tablet" on the table in front of him, and then his soul power penetrated into it.
Soon, the young man looked up.
"Fellow Daoist Li, the test is very simple. You will enter a room on the side, which contains a formation. I will adjust the difficulty of the formation test according to your level.
After you enter, there will be a stick of incense time, and there will be layers of attacks in the formation. You can try your best to break the formation. In the end, the result of the assessment will be determined by how many restrictions you can break!
What I want to say is that this kind of assessment is dangerous and can even cause direct death. Therefore, I can see the entire process of your breaking the ban, please know this.
Because I want to ensure that in a critical moment, I can stop the operation of the formation in time to protect the life of fellow Taoists."
The young man looked at Li Yan and said slowly.
"no problem!"
Li Yan nodded.
The other party saw the process of him breaking the ban, not only to protect the cultivators inside, but also to observe the condition of the skills he was using.
This is also to confirm whether Li Yan lied when registering outside.
After seeing that Li Yan was fine, the young man stood up with a smile.
"Friend Li, please follow me!"
… …
This is a space of ice and snow. In front of you is a vast ice and snow plain. The howling cold wind, sweeping the ice and snow all over the sky, is rolling towards Li Yan.
Li Yan could feel the bone-chilling cold here, as if he had really come to an extremely cold place.
He stood where he was and did not move immediately. The other party just said that after entering here, there would be formation-prohibited attacks, but Li Yan did not know what kind of attacks they were.
Unable to use his spiritual sense, he could only look around vigilantly and be on guard carefully.
After practicing some soul cultivation techniques, Li Yan understood more clearly the viciousness of soul cultivation.
It seems now that the soul attacks he could use before, except for the "Soul Pulling and Killing" which can be regarded as a real technique, the methods he figured out by himself are extremely crude.
To put it nicely, his tactics were an attack. To put it bluntly, he was just a big fool with a lot of strength, who, when facing the enemy, picked up a big stick and swung it around without any rules.
Not only does it waste a lot of energy, but the effect it can have is also extremely limited.
Those true soul cultivation masters, after attacking the enemy, can make a person appear intact, and can even allow that person to speak and walk normally.
But in fact, that person may already be just a walking corpse!
Li Yan just stood here, but after he stood there for more than ten breaths, no attack came. There was only endless wind and snow around him, filling the entire sky and earth, and endless waves of coldness came.
"Hmm? No..."
The protective light shield on Li Yan's body suddenly emitted a faint light, causing the white snow that had fallen on his body to fall off.
In just over ten breaths, Li Yan felt that his consciousness had become a little dull.
Moreover, the coldness here not only did not decrease due to the operation of his magic power, but seemed to be getting more and more intense.
(End of this chapter)