Chapter 1478: The Nine Nether Secret Realm

With a dizzying spin, his entire body reeling, Zhang Xuan fell to the ground with a thud.

The process of teleportation felt like a year, yet also like a second; scenes before his eyes shifted endlessly, and space twisted continuously.

Ugh!

He opened his mouth and vomited, only recovering after a long while.

No wonder teleportation arrays aren't widespread... Those slightly weaker simply can't withstand it...

After adjusting for a while, he felt somewhat better and recalled his recent experience with a wry smile.

He had thought, since the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters could establish branches across the continent, why couldn't they set up teleportation arrays? Only after experiencing it did he understand—not everyone could ride one!

His physical body, already comparable to a top-grade saint artifact, had barely endured it. An ordinary person, even if their cultivation reached the eighth level of the Saint Domain, would likely be ground to powder upon sudden entry, dying without knowing how!

Where is this?

His soul and body were still not fully integrated, and he still felt somewhat uncomfortable, but knowing this was not the time to delay, he slowly stood up and looked around.

According to the information on the Palace Master Token, this should be the secret realm left by Saint Li of old, accessible only to successive palace masters of the Saint Son Hall. Even if the first two conditions were not met, one could not enter.

It truly is a folded space!

After observing for a while, he found that the spatial power here was far weaker than outside, indeed a folded space, and the spiritual energy was also much less abundant.

The place he stood on was a circular platform for teleportation, with an extremely sophisticated array laid out on it.

It had managed to teleport him from the Zhang residence, millions of kilometers away, to this place—a testament to its power.

Stepping off the round platform and moving forward, a verdant courtyard soon appeared before him, with dense vegetation and babbling brooks, giving a sense of a paradise beyond the world.

Entering the courtyard, he immediately saw a stone stele standing before him, engraved with four large characters... Nine Nether Divine Pupils!

Looking at the stele, the large characters were covered with tiny runes beneath, detailing the trajectory of this eye technique within the eye, even more detailed than what Kui Sheng had taught before.

"Welcome to the Nine Nether Secret Realm!"

After scanning through and committing its contents to memory, he heard a faint voice speak.

"Kui Sheng?"

Hearing the voice, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but look around.

It was indeed Kui Sheng's voice.

"Don't bother looking. Only a sliver of my will is here, and I can no longer manifest my form."

As if aware of his actions, the voice sounded somewhat desolate: "Being able to come here means you have already broken two seals and possess sufficient strength to cultivate the Nine Nether Divine Pupils!"

"Sufficient strength?"

"Indeed. Although I gave you the cultivation method for the Nine Nether Divine Pupils before, it was not detailed and could not be successfully cultivated. This was not done to deliberately make things difficult, but because to cultivate the Divine Pupils to a certain level, one needs not only the technique but also a special environment to match! Otherwise, relying solely on closed-door practice, it is very difficult to achieve!"

Kui Sheng's voice continued.

"Special environment?" Zhang Xuan found it strange.

It was just cultivating an eye technique; how could the environment help?

"The Nine Nether Divine Pupils: the heavens have nine layers, the earth has nine nethers... To master the Nine Nether Divine Pupils, one must have a hellish environment to stimulate the eyes and unleash greater power. This secret realm was created specifically for this eye technique..."

Knowing his confusion, Kui Sheng explained.

"Hmm!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Having read countless martial arts manuals, he knew that some special techniques yielded better results when cultivated in harmony with the environment.

For instance, some fire-attribute techniques were twice as effective when practiced in lava, while ice-attribute ones progressed better in icy pools.

Since the Netherworld Divine Eye was a peerless secret art no less than the Book of Heaven's Extension, it would certainly not be easy to cultivate; otherwise, it would not have been so difficult for successive hall masters to master it.

"The secret realm contains maze formations, illusion formations, concealment formations... Though harmless, entering without exceptional eyesight makes it impossible to see through the obstacles and find the way out! The Netherworld Divine Eye sharpens your vision, allowing you to spot the flaws in these places!"

Kui Sheng's voice continued: "These are the eye techniques left by the master, along with the insights of successive hall masters. You can study and reference them, but to achieve mastery, you need your own understanding!"

Whoosh!

As the voice finished, several more stone tablets appeared, standing not far away.

Zhang Xuan looked at them and saw them densely covered with cultivation insights and experiences.

"Correct!"

He absorbed them into his mind and let out a low exclamation.

Whoosh!

A book appeared before him. He gently opened it and sighed.

Truly the pinnacle eye technique of its time; even after integrating these insights, it was still far from the Heavenly Dao level.

"Though not at the Heavenly Dao level, with all this knowledge fused, my cultivation speed will be very fast. However... it still causes great harm to the eyes, meaning that to reach the pinnacle, there is still a high chance of going blind!"

The reason he had not cultivated the Netherworld Divine Eye was its major flaw: a slight misstep could lead to blindness.

Even the original creator, the direct disciple of Confucius and ancient sage Bu Shang, had not escaped this fate. He had no desire to follow in his footsteps.

"I have no intention of learning the eye technique for now. May I leave this place first?"

After studying it again and finding no good solution, Zhang Xuan spoke.

"Leave? The Netherworld Secret Realm can only be entered once. If you don't cultivate the eye technique to the fourth realm here, it will be extremely difficult to make progress later..."

Unexpectedly, he wanted to leave as soon as he arrived, without even seeing the secret realm. Kui Sheng's voice carried a note of surprise.

This concerned the position of the Saint Hall Master; the refusal was too hasty.

"My student is in danger. As a teacher, I cannot focus solely on my own cultivation and neglect her safety. Please forgive me!"

Zhang Xuan clasped his fists.

Zhao Ya's life hung in the balance. He had no time to waste here; he must find Chen Le Yao, clarify the situation, and find a way to save her. Learning this eye technique, even without harming his eyes, would likely take a long time, and he truly had no energy to spare.

"A student in danger?" Kui Sheng paused. "Are you sure you want to give up this one and only chance? For your student?"

"Yes!"

Zhang Xuan nodded.

As long as Zhao Ya was safe, he could forgo the Netherworld Divine Eye, and even the position of Saint Hall Master!

Though the identity of Saint Hall Master would greatly benefit his marriage to Luo Ruoxi, he would never sacrifice his student's life for it.

"To give up so much for your student, you are a good teacher!"

After a long silence, Kui Sheng's voice continued: "But the rules cannot be changed. The secret realm can only be entered once; once you leave, you can never return. However, as a teacher who is willing to make sacrifices for a student, you are worthy of respect. If you can comprehend the fourth realm of the eye technique outside, holding the Hall Master's Token, I will grant you a chance to comprehend the fifth realm!"