The next moment, everything changed.
A sudden surge of Qi burst out and swept across the surrounding area. This place was already high on the mountain cliff, where clouds were thick and spiritual energy was naturally dense. But now, the air itself seemed to tremble.
From the exact spot where Luo Zheng had been sitting, his figure suddenly vanished.
In the next moment, clouds began to gather endlessly from all directions. They rolled and overlapped, covering the sky like a vast ocean. The cloud Qi became heavier and heavier, pressing down on the cliff.
The old man's face turned pale.
He had not expected this.
But what happened next shocked him even more.
Sunlight pierced through the sky and merged directly into the clouds. The originally cold and light cloud Qi began to change. It no longer felt gentle—it became scorching.
Burning.
The clouds transformed into blazing energy.
Luo Zheng's voice echoed from within the clouds.
"Old man," he said calmly, "I should thank you."
The old man's eyes widened.
"Because of you," Luo Zheng continued, "I reached the True Qi Stage. And because of your technique, combined with my own understanding, I discovered another method."
His voice grew firmer.
"I call it Cloudy Burning Burst. A completely new creation."
The old man's expression twisted.
"I feared death," Luo Zheng said. "But when my heart became clear, I remembered something… the Great Emperor Stage."
The old man frowned deeply.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" he shouted.
"There is a domain," Luo Zheng continued, ignoring him, "where one can gain endless inspiration, infinite cultivation knowledge, and understanding of world laws."
The old man didn't understand at all.
He was only at the Immortal Ascension Stage, born and raised in this small world. How could he know about such a place?
Luo Zheng's voice echoed again.
"I remembered it only when my fear disappeared."
The clouds suddenly moved.
They shifted and twisted under Luo Zheng's control, forming a massive domain made entirely of burning cloud Qi. The space inside became sealed.
Then, the domain began to shrink.
The old man's pupils contracted.
He roared and launched his strongest flame attack, pouring all his remaining strength into it.
But the moment his flames touched the cloud domain, his face turned ashen.
The clouds absorbed his energy.
Completely.
Not even a trace was left.
Luo Zheng spoke one final time.
"Old man… goodbye."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cloud domain shrank violently.
In the next instant, the old man's body was completely engulfed. His screams didn't last long. His flesh, bones, and soul were burned away, turning into nothing but ashes scattered by the wind.
Silence returned to the cliff.
A voice suddenly appeared from the shadows.
"Don't tell me… you entered the Heavenly Secret Domain without reaching the Emperor Stage."
Luo Zheng stood among the slowly dispersing clouds.
"At first, I wasn't sure," he replied. "But after our conversation yesterday, I suddenly remembered it."
He continued calmly,
"The Heavenly Secret Domain. A place only Emperor Stage cultivators can enter. Even Yang Kai, a Heaven's Chosen with space techniques, couldn't stay there."
The voice paused.
"Then what's the difference?" it asked.
Luo Zheng answered,
"I'm not from this world."
The voice went silent.
"That domain can't attack me," Luo Zheng said. "Because it can't truly sense me."
"That's impossible," the voice replied. "A domain formed by Heaven itself can detect everything."
Luo Zheng shook his head.
"This is a small world," he said. "The spiritual energy is limited. The Heaven's Will is also weak."
He continued,
"No one here even knows about the Heavenly Secret Domain. Its Heavenly secrets are few, but each one is extremely valuable—to me."
The figure hidden in the shadows was completely shocked.
After a long pause, it asked,
"Then tell me… how did you even understand all this?"
Luo Zheng replied honestly,
"I took a risk."
"At first, I didn't know if it would work," he said. "I was confused about how to enter that place. But once I entered, everything became clear."
He paused slightly.
"In the Martial Peak novel, it never mentions how to enter the Heavenly Secret Domain," Luo Zheng continued. "But I discovered something."
"You don't enter it by guessing."
"You must know that it exists."
"If someone only thinks, 'Maybe such a place exists,' they can never enter. But if you truly know of its existence, the domain will open."
The voice fell completely silent.
Above the mountain cliff, the clouds slowly dispersed, as if nothing had ever happened.
But the world had already changed.
The voice spoke again, low and serious.
"What you did was extraordinary," it said. "But it still doesn't make sense. You entered the Heavenly Secret Domain, yet Heaven did not attack you."
Luo Zheng remained silent.
Inside his mind, his thoughts moved calmly.
Of course I won't tell you everything, he thought.
To enter that place, I needed the Heart Harmony Stage… which I reached a few days ago.
And the most important thing is you.
He remembered clearly.
Every time I speak with you, my aura becomes extremely weak. My presence almost disappears from the world.
And that state doesn't vanish immediately. It stays for nearly five minutes after our conversation ends.
His gaze sharpened slightly.
That method you use to talk with me… it hides me.
There was more.
As a True Qi cultivator, my Knowledge Sea hasn't opened yet. Normally, I shouldn't have Divine Sense.
But because of the Cloud Path technique, I awakened Divine Sense early—just like Yang Kai.
And finally—
I'm not from this world.
When I entered the Heavenly Secret Domain using my will, Heaven's detection weakened greatly. At least four times weaker than normal.
Luo Zheng kept all of this to himself.
He would not reveal such secrets.
After taking a deep breath, he finally spoke aloud.
"Since that's the case," Luo Zheng said calmly, "we should talk about the real reason you saved me."
His tone was steady.
"You need me," he continued. "And I also need you."
"So why not make a deal?" Luo Zheng said. "One that benefits both of us."
The voice was silent for a moment.
Then it said,
"Very well. I will speak directly."
"But before that," it continued, "there is something you must know."
Suddenly—
A massive amount of information surged into Luo Zheng's mind.
It was like an endless sea crashing into his consciousness.
His head throbbed violently.
For a brief moment, his vision blurred, and his breath became uneven.
Then his eyes widened.
Shock filled his face.
He saw things far beyond his expectations.
Hidden truths.
Forbidden knowledge.
Secrets that had been erased by time itself.
If he had not learned this—
He would have been dead within days.
The truth had been buried in the long river of time.
And now, it was flowing back into his mind.
To be continued