Steady Cultivation: Starting With the Perk “Work Hard, Rest Hard”
Chapter 60: The Secret of the Secret Realm

A rainbow light swiftly descended from the main peak.

Gu Qingzhu appeared before the gathered peak masters.

"Who sent the message? What happened?" Sect Leader Gu asked suspiciously as he glanced at the peak masters.

None of the peak masters met Gu Qingzhu's gaze—some were reading books, others admiring the scenery.

Su Yuan's lips twitched—someone had snitched.

Gu Qingzhu observed the eight supreme spiritual root disciples behind Su Yuan, then glanced at the empty spaces behind the other peak masters.

Sect Leader Gu raised an eyebrow. "Su Yuan, these disciples behind you... have they all joined Three Extremes Peak?"

"They made their own choices! I didn't do anything!" Su Yuan immediately defended himself.

Rubbing his temples, Sect Leader Gu said, "Alright, I understand the situation now. I realize now that making you Immortal Seed Valley's valley master was ill-considered. Since you're already a peak master, the valley master position no longer suits you. We'll appoint someone else later."

The peak masters collectively sighed in relief—this time was an exception, but at least future supreme spiritual root disciples wouldn't all be snatched away by Three Extremes Peak!

Only Wang Siming pondered deeper—this incident wasn't accidental. It wasn't just about the valley master position; Su Yuan's inheritance was simply too attractive. Future supreme spiritual root disciples would likely still choose Three Extremes Peak!

But then he reconsidered—why should he worry? He was preparing to advance to Nascent Soul anyway. Let the next peak master deal with this headache!

The valley exit tests continued, though with less spectacle. The peak masters and sect leader lingered for a while before departing midway.

Su Yuan oversaw the remaining tests, recorded all disciples' results, and had the stewards and outer sect disciples archive the data. Then he led the eight supreme spiritual root disciples to a silver portal deep in the valley.

"This trial secret realm was established by our founding ancestor," Su Yuan explained. "It offers you a rare opportunity for early trials. Consider it valuable experience—go explore inside!"

One disciple asked, "Peak Master, I heard there are supreme inheritances in the trials. Can we still obtain them now?"

"Gone!" Su Yuan shook his head. "All inheritances have been claimed. However, there's a natural wonder called the Silver Spirit Waterfall where those with exceptional comprehension might gain insights into heavenly truths. It's worth seeing so your trip isn't wasted."

"Thank you for the guidance, Peak Master!" Gu You immediately responded.

Su Yuan waved them forward, and the disciples entered one by one—except for Nangong Xianweng, who remained outside.

Su Yuan looked curiously at Nangong Xianweng. "Aren't you going?"

Nangong Xianweng's face darkened. "I'm not actually a new disciple—I can't enter."

"Oh, I thought Divine Transformation cultivators could enter. Shall I go in first then?" Su Yuan said.

After cupping his hands in salute, Su Yuan stepped into the secret realm.

Nangong Xianweng fell silent.

"That brat... hmph!"

Pulling out a scripture titled "Big Dipper Formation Diagrams - Volume 7," Nangong Xianweng began reading while frowning contemplatively.

"Conceptualization? By the seventh volume, one must use conceptualization for comprehension? Such an outrageous supreme technique—and it's meant for Qi Refining Stage? There are 69 equally difficult scriptures in this series..."

Nangong Xianweng's sudden reluctance to leave wasn't due to foolish romantic notions—he'd realized how poor his foundational Dao base was!

His cultivation progress had stagnated for years without explanation—until he saw Su Yuan's inheritance. Only then did he understand how crude his so-called supreme Dao foundation truly was. Compared to Su Yuan's "perfect" foundation, his wasn't even fit to carry its shoes!

Thus, Nangong Xianweng conceived a bold plan: reforging his Dao foundation. The problem? He already had a Nascent Soul—how could he rebuild his foundation?

His solution: transform his existing Nascent Soul into a secondary soul, then cultivate a new primary Nascent Soul. Perfect!

The Seven Extremes Sect possessed secondary soul techniques he'd previously disregarded—the materials were too precious. But now, using his original Nascent Soul as the secondary would eliminate most material requirements!

This method was rare and required immense courage—a secondary soul couldn't surpass the primary, meaning his cultivation would stagnate for a long time. And if the reforging failed...

"Decision made—I'll do it!" Nangong Xianweng resolved. "Though Su Yuan's current realm is low, he's at least at founding ancestor-level potential. Following his path might give me future guidance, unlike my current bottlenecked state with no mentors. Ah, lacking guidance is true suffering!"

Having witnessed Su Yuan's astonishing progress over two years, Nangong Xianweng was thoroughly impressed. Other Divine Transformation cultivators wouldn't believe Su Yuan's freakish talents without seeing them firsthand!

Whoosh!

Transforming into a streak of light, Nangong Xianweng returned to his cave abode to begin converting his Nascent Soul.

Unaware of Nangong Xianweng's thoughts, Su Yuan observed the disciples inside the secret realm.

Gu You chose martial trials, demonstrating exceptional combat skills by clearing eight stages before narrowly failing the ninth after fifteen minutes of intense battle.

This performance approached founding ancestor-level standards—astonishing Su Yuan.

While Su Yuan's inheritance contributed, Gu You's innate talent and diligence were undeniable.

After his trial, Gu You proceeded to the Silver Spirit Waterfall at the realm's center—where Su Yuan already stood.

"Peak Master!" Gu You bowed upon seeing him.

"Mm. Try comprehending the waterfall—it contains eighteen heavenly truths. See if you can perceive one," Su Yuan instructed.

"Yes!" Gu You nodded solemnly, standing by the lake to meditate on the distant waterfall.

Little Li appeared beside Su Yuan. "Your disciple?"

"Essentially," Su Yuan replied.

"He's quite good—nearly cleared the martial trial," Little Li wagged her tail. "But comprehending heavenly truths? Impossible!"

"Not necessarily," Su Yuan disagreed. "He has potential."

Changing topics, he asked, "Little Li, do you want to leave?"

"What?" She gasped. "Of course! But I'm the realm spirit—I can't leave!"

Su Yuan's eyes gleamed strangely.

"After careful observation, I've realized this entire realm is actually a treasure! You're not a realm spirit—you're a treasure spirit!" he revealed.

"What? Impossible!" Little Li's eyes widened.

"At first I doubted too," Su Yuan nodded. "But months of studying the realm's rhythms revealed inconsistencies—like artificial construction. Except for the waterfall, the entire realm is one complete object!"

"Essentially, it's a colossal storage treasure designed to house the Silver Spirit Waterfall," he concluded.

"I thought you were just playing with me! Instead you were researching while humoring my antics!" Little Li's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Su Yuan, you're amazing!"

Su Yuan coughed—he wouldn't admit he'd been playing around and only noticed the anomalies accidentally due to his passive [Dao Follows Nature] ability and improved cultivation.

"So what now?" Little Li asked nervously.

"If it's a treasure, it can be refined—but not easily," Su Yuan mused.

Little Li blinked expectantly.

"First, you'd need complete cooperation. As a sentient being, being refined means becoming part of another—something all intelligent life instinctively resists. That's the first hurdle," Su Yuan sighed.

"If it's you... maybe I could try!" Little Li hesitated.

Su Yuan patted her fur. "This resistance isn't voluntary—it's fundamental to your existence. Your instincts and your true form would rebel."

Gritting her teeth, Little Li declared, "If my true form resists, I'll fight it! Let's try!"

Her eyes shone with longing for the outside world.

Su Yuan waved his hand. "Additionally, the treasure's core must contain complex array patterns and restrictions. Refining requires understanding these—difficulty unknown. Tell me—are there places in the realm you've never visited or can't enter?"

Little Li scratched her head in thought, then brightened. "Yes! The small palace where the founding ancestor stored treasures and inheritances! He forbade me from entering to prevent mischief, so I never did—not even now!"

Su Yuan nodded understandingly. "That must be the core. Since the entire realm is your body, nowhere should be inaccessible—the ancestor only used rules to stop you. Let's investigate!"

"Okay!" Little Li cheered, floating eagerly as she led Su Yuan toward the small palace.