"It's still too soon for me to be thinking about these things. Just the peak of the palace realm is already quite some distance, let alone the soul formation realm.."

Yang Qing quickly extinguished his excitable thoughts as he guided his attention back to the scarlet crystal grove tree.

The soul formation realm might as well be some outlandish prospect to him at the moment. Him fantasizing about it was no different than his dreaming about one day stumbling across a mysterious realm made entirely of delicacies of all kinds.

He could think about it all he wanted, but it remained to be seen if he would ever reach such heights. Some argued that the core formation realm was the first watershed in cultivation that separated the mediocre from the rest.

Those who made it to the core formation realm showed they at least had a modicum of ability to cultivate and from within that group those who managed to reach the palace realm showed that their abilities were standouts from the rest.

With great comprehension and talent, one could reach the realms of the palace realm and below, but when it came to the domain realm, things were vastly different. Talent and comprehension weren't enough. Luck and resolve came into play.

Everyone who was able to survive the tribulation of the domain realm showed that they were geniuses amongst geniuses, a one-of-a-kind talent who appeared in 100,000 years, and it wasn't only just that, it also showed they had an unshakeable resolve and indomitable will capable of weathering through any and all tribulations. The world would end, and they would remain calm.

It was widely accepted that the tribulation leading to the domain realm was the deadliest, and such a statement was supported even by figures who had reached the soul formation realm. They all agreed on that one fact, beneath the tribulation of the domain realm, it didn't matter whether you were from a prestigious background, or lacking of, you were all equal beneath that death-reaping lightning.

Every domain expert was special, it didn't matter whether they were at the first stage or the peak,being a domain expert made them stand out, not because of the monstrous abilities they had, but because they survived that treacherous tribulation.

But as huge as that achievement is, those monstrously gifted and resolved domain experts, not many of them reach the soul formation realm. Resolve and talent are not enough. Yang Qing heard that every breakthrough to the soul formation realm was unique to the person, you could never be trained or prepared for it, and when the moment was ripe, you would just know.

Yang Qing knew he was a long way away from the domain realm let alone the soul formation realm. He had only begun taking the step to scale up that peak, and he wasn't sure he would be able to reach it. No one could guarantee that he would reach the soul formation. There were already members of the Order who had stagnated in that realm.

The members of the judicial review committee were prime examples of it. Other than Long Enlai, none of the other members had reached the soul formation realm, despite all being from the same era. Maybe Yang Qing and his group of friends may end up the same way, with only just one of them reaching the soul-formation realm while the rest forever languished in the domain realm.

He had already made some sort of peace with it, well a bit of it. He would only be at peace with it if Kang Huilang wasn't the person who reached the soul formation realm, because if it happened, he was sure he would develop heart demons from Kang Huilang mocking him endlessly for thousands and thousands of years without pause.

"I can't let that bastard show me up, I must reach the soul formation realm. I can't risk it.." muttered Yang Qing as he clenched his teeth with staunch conviction.

He liked pulling down Kang Huilang a peg or two, but Yang Qing couldn't deny, among their group, the one person he thought had high odds of reaching it was that yellow-haired bastard.

Zhang Qinggee may be one of the youngest palace realm cultivators at the Order and has terrifying combat abilities, but Yang Qing and even their circle knew, Kang Huilang was something. He would have broken through to the palace realm much much earlier than even Yang Qing, had he wanted to. He only delayed for so long because he was playing around with different types of intents to try and find out how many he could blend without risking a backlash.

Cultivators could spend thousands and thousands of years and never catch a whiff of any type of intent. They could sacrifice everything to the last drop including even their lives, and never achieve it, but when it came to Kang Huilang, he had been playing around with it since he was 12 and it wasn't just one type of intent.

Yang Qing didn't know what the special requirements for triggering a breakthrough to the soul formation were, but he felt a bastard who was able to blend three different types of intent together had a high chance of triggering them eventually.

Yang Qing felt stifled at the thought before he said,

"At least I'll reach the domain realm earlier than him and my chances of survival are higher.."He could feel the resplendent power of the vitality dao coursing through every corner of his body from his essence, his qi, his spirit, his tendons, organs, and blood, everything within him had been coated by a sliver of power of the vitality dao which brought numerous benefits to him a few of which were resilience and regeneration.

While he couldn't reform his body from a single drop of blood yet, he faintly felt the deeper he understood the vitality dao, the closer to realization such a feat would be, but even without regeneration from a drop of blood, his body's ability to reform had increased astronomically.

Anybody below the domain realm could forget about killing him in one blow. With the changes in his body, his ability to heal, reform, and restore was likely higher than the destructive power contained in a single attack from a late-stage palace realm expert. Provided they didn't use an artifact that was at the ascendant grade and above, they could forget killing him in one strike.

The vitality dao had not only strengthened his ability to heal but other aspects too. His immunity to poisons, curses, and soul attacks had increased too. He was already immune to over 10,000 poisons because of his yin-yang jade bones physique, the deepening of his understanding of the vitality dao and the changes it had brought had only added more to that.The speed with which his spiritual qi was restored also increased along with his qi capacity, and the purity of his soul had experienced an elevation too.

He had experienced a wholesome transformation and he knew the deeper his understanding grew, the more perverted those benefits would become.

Yang Qing couldn't help but sigh in gratification as he realized one of his life's ambitions was slowly being realized. Other than food, lazying around, people who mattered to him, pulling one over the Lei Weiyuan and the Order, one of the things he cared about most since he was a kid, was his life and ensuring he could increase his ability to safeguard it. With the vitality dao, that life's ambition was slowly being realized.

Filled with emotions of gratitude, Yang Qing turned toward the scarlet crystals. He solemnly cupped his fists as he said,

"Junior Yang Qing would like to thank you seniors for the help you have provided.."

The scarlet crystals flickered with a soft glow while gently swaying to the sides.

Yang Qing smiled with a soft nod as he turned to find Gu Xing staring intensely at him.

"Thank you for hosting me and for the urn, Miss Gu Xing.." said Yang Qing with a polite smile.

"Who are you?" Gu Xing muttered in a daze.

"A human called Yang Qing, just Yang Qing.." Yang Qing answered with a cheeky smile.

Gu Xing froze from the reply before she joined with a smile of her own as she replied,

"Well, just Yang Qing, thank you truly. Thank you for what you have done. I owe you a favor, and should you ever need my assistance, I would gladly offer it.."

"It's okay, I too benefited from the interaction. Though if you want to, it's more of a request really, visit Meifeng when you can.."

"I was already meaning to, even without you asking.."

"I am sure she'd appreciate it. At least I won't have to worry about her constantly calling me every minute... That reminds me, do you have a communication talisman?" asked Yang Qing.

"The senior who took care of me gave me one, but I have never used it.." Gu Xing said as she went over beneath the scarlet crystal grove tree and took out a talisman from a covered opening in its trunk.

"Your senior has good connections.." said Yang Qing as he eyed the communication talisman in Gu Xing's hands.

The quality was the same as his which he was given by the Order. Hers could cover communication around the entire continent just like his.

Yang Qing once tried to buy one out of pocket at White Rose Pavilion. He had assumed it wasn't that expensive and would likely cost maybe 10 high-grade spirit stones at most only to find it was five hundred times that figure. The high-grade communication talisman came at a whooping 5,000 high-

grade spirit stones and that was with him getting a 35% discount.

Since that day occasionally he would get nightmares about losing his communication talisman and the Order, asking him to replace it with his funds. Since then every time he wakes up he has to confirm it is there. He even had it inscribed with a tracking and camouflaging rune just in case.

Yang Qing quickly exchanged contact with Gu Xing.

"If you happen to detect that aura again please inform me, or you can come to this place and tell the person in charge..." Yang Qing said as he projected the location of the branch through a spell.

"I figured you're from there... so you are from the Order.." Gu Xing said as she recognized the area shown by Yang Qing.

Suddenly she frowned as she said,

"Wait, I thought you were close with the Deer Mountain Kingdom. Earlier when I said the eerie figure may have ties with the Kingdom though you seemed shocked, you didn't seem surprised by the guess, and you didn't challenge it either..Is there something wrong with them?"

Yang Qing went silent for a brief moment debating whether to tell her of his guesses or not before ultimately deciding to inform her of it.

"You have to promise, you won't spread it as I haven't confirmed it myself, and is just a case now.." Yang Qing solemnly said.

"I promise.."

Yang Qing sighed as he went on to explain his guess and the foundation of his guess stemming from the fight with the blue soul flame crow syndicate and the obsidian serpents to the leaked information about the graveyard torch and how it might potentially be tied to something that required a lot of lives as a prerequisite and the identity of that person being from the Deer Mountain Kingdom.

Gu Xing's expression turned grim from the flood of information. Everything Yang Qing said supported her worries, especially that foreboding feeling she felt from the moment she stepped onto the range.

"Why don't you attack them? If you wait, won't it be too late?"

"Like I said at the moment it's just a guess. A few of my seniors had investigated the kingdom when they came but they couldn't find anything. If we attack them with impunity, we will draw attention that the Order doesn't need at the moment.

All we can do is pull at the thread and follow it wherever it leads, trying to uncover as much as we can which hopefully will lead us to the right place before the worst happens..." Yang Qing said with a sigh.

"But don't worry, I already informed my seniors of my suspicions. They are more powerful and experienced than I am in digging up things.

If something is going on with the kingdom, they will surely find it, and the urn you've shared with me could help with that.." he added.

"I hope so," said Gu Xing with a grim expression.

"I really hope so.." she added.

"Me too.." added Yang Qing.

He exchanged a few pleasantries with Gu Xing before he left. He made a point of warning her against investigating the Deer Mountain Kingdom on her own lest something happen to her. Turns out his warning wasn't needed as Gu Xing was abundantly cautious of her life just as he was. She had no intention of leaving the graveyard torch. Other than visiting Meifeng, she would stay put where she was. The environment strengthened her ability to sense danger and with the evolution brought by Yang Qing's involvement, it was even more so now.

Yang Qing told her, that if worse came to worst, she could flee to the branch which was about the safest place in the entire range, even more so, once the array covering the entire range was completed.

Once he was done, Yang Qing made a beeline to another location. With his period as the branch chief almost coming to a close, there were a few arrangements he wanted to make before he left.