He fell off a cliff but unexpectedly gained a cultivation inheritance.

While the Immortal Sword Sect in the Huashan Secret Realm was filled with excitement due to the mutation of the spiritual spring, the depths of the Xuanqing Secret Realm remained a scene of tranquility.

In the shallows downstream of the Lingxi River, Zhang Bufan squatted on a smooth bluestone, holding a simple knife made from a hard peach branch, methodically processing a silverfish he had just caught from the lake. This silverfish was over three feet long, entirely silvery-white, its scales gleaming delicately in the milky light. Even though it had lost its life, it still exuded an extraordinary aura.

He skillfully sliced ​​open the fish's belly, removed its entrails, and casually tossed them aside—these entrails would be buried at the base of the peach tree as fertilizer, thus achieving a cycle. Then, he repeatedly rinsed the silverfish in the clear stream water; the bright red blood spread with the current, creating pale red ripples in the clear water, flowing slowly downstream. At the end of the stream was a rocky area riddled with tiny cracks; the blood-stained water seeped effortlessly into the cracks and disappeared, its destination unknown.

Zhang Bufan didn't care at all. After cleaning the silver fish, he straightened up, stretched, and watched the stream gradually regain its clarity, a contented smile playing on his lips. To him, this three-foot-long silver fish was just an ordinary lunch, enough to fill his stomach and replenish the energy needed for cultivation—utterly unremarkable. He never imagined that his simple act of cleaning and preparing the fish would cause such a stir in the Huashan Secret Realm outside.

No one knew that the mutation of the spiritual spring, which the Immortal Sword Sect cherished as its lifeblood, stemmed from the stream water stained with the blood of silver fish. And the culprit behind all of this was none other than the Xuanqing Daoist, who had vanished three thousand years ago.

Back then, when Xuanqing Daoist was besieged by his enemies, he self-destructed his dantian, and a wisp of his remnant soul, along with his body, fell into the Pangu World. Upon landing, he used the extraordinary abilities of an immortal's soul to investigate the distribution of spiritual energy throughout the entire Pangu World, ultimately pinpointing the area with the densest spiritual energy—the deepest part of the main peak of the Huashan Secret Realm. What surprised him even more was the obscurity of this core area; even the Immortal Sword Sect, which occupied the Huashan Secret Realm, had not noticed it.

Thus, Xuanqing Daoist exhausted his last remaining immortal essence and set up an even more hidden little secret realm deep within the main peak of the Huashan Secret Realm, encompassing the entire core spiritual vein of the Huashan Mountain—this is the Xuanqing Secret Realm where Zhang Bufan is now.

Nesting another secret realm within another secret realm—such a feat is unheard of in the Pangu World. Even the legendary Tribulation Transcending stage cultivators, standing at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, could never accomplish this. While Tribulation Transcending stage cultivators can create secret realms, they cannot construct an independent and stable secret realm dimension within an existing secret realm space. Yet, for Xuanqing Daoist, a former giant of the Immortal Realm, this was merely a trivial matter. The Immortal Realm cultivators' control over the laws of space far surpassed the imagination of the cultivators of this small world.

The Huashan main spiritual vein, which the Immortal Sword Sect has always been proud of, is actually just a large branch extending from the core main spiritual vein. The true core main vein, which contains endless spiritual energy, has long been completely enveloped by the Xuanqing Secret Realm, so much so that even the Tribulation Transcending stage ancestor who created the Huashan Secret Realm back then never noticed it. It's no wonder that the Immortal Sword Sect's spiritual spring production has been decreasing year by year—without the nourishment of the core main vein, relying solely on a branch vein, it's already fortunate that the spiritual spring can maintain its output.

When Xuanqing Daoist created the secret realm, he did not completely isolate it from the outside world. He left behind hidden energy channels, allowing the spiritual stream within the realm to seep out along the fissures in the earth's veins, nourishing the surrounding spiritual vein nodes. The spiritual spring guarded by the Immortal Sword Sect is precisely the exit of one of these energy channels. The spiritual energy contained in the spiritual stream, along with the special energy brought by the silver fish blood, surged into the spiritual spring, causing this strange mutation in the spring water.

If the people of the Immortal Sword Sect knew the truth, they would probably be so angry that they would vomit blood on the spot, and might even have thoughts of cannibalism. The spiritual spring water that they cherished and were willing to devote all their resources to protecting was actually "sewage" left after someone else slaughtered fish; the heaven-defying energy that they fought to the death for, which could improve the aptitude of low-level cultivators, actually originated from the silver fish that Zhang Bufan could eat in one meal, weighing more than ten kilograms; not to mention the peach blossoms and peach leaves that Zhang Bufan casually scattered into the lake, which were spiritual materials that were hard to come by in the outside world.

The sheer importance the Immortal Sword Sect places on the mutated spiritual spring water reveals just how incredibly valuable the Xuanqing Secret Realm is. The lakes that continuously produce silverfish, and the spiritual streams and peach groves that nourish them, are enough to drive all the cultivation sects in the Pangu World mad. It's important to understand that the silverfish's ability to improve one's aptitude stems from their long-term consumption of the fallen blossoms, leaves, and withered peaches of the immortal peach tree. If even the silverfish are so precious, the thousands of immortal peach trees that bear fruit year-round, their peaches rapidly replenishing magical power and nourishing the body, are of immeasurable value, far exceeding the silverfish by more than a hundredfold.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Xuanqing Secret Realm that Zhang Bufan inherited is valuable enough to buy the entire cultivation world of Pangu World. If the resources within the secret realm were made public, it would inevitably trigger a bloodbath throughout the cultivation world, with countless sects fighting fiercely for control of it, even at the cost of mutual destruction.

Unfortunately, Zhang Bufan was unaware of all this for the time being. After cleaning the silverfish, he carried the fish to the fire beside the wooden house, preparing to roast lunch. Beside the fire were several freshly picked peaches, emitting a rich, sweet aroma. He casually picked up a peach, wiped it, and took a big bite. The sweet juice burst in his mouth, instantly dispelling the slight fishy smell from cleaning the silverfish.

Sunlight filtered through the peach grove, dappling the ground with light and shadow. A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of peach blossoms. Zhang Bufan munched on a peach while tending the fire, his expression relaxed and carefree. He knew only that the resources in this secret realm were extremely helpful for his cultivation, but he never imagined that everything he used so casually was a treasure coveted by cultivators in the outside world.

Meanwhile, the Immortal Sword Sect was still busy distributing the mutated spiritual spring water. Yue Shouren personally supervised the process, re-registering all the collected spiritual spring water and prioritizing its distribution to core disciples who were stuck in the late Qi Refining stage but had the potential to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Yue Ling'er had also returned to her cultivation room, pouring the mutated spiritual spring water into a jade bowl, preparing to use this energy to break through to the Qi Refining Perfection stage.

She sat cross-legged, slowly drinking the spiritual spring water, feeling the warm current surging within her body, her eyes filled with anticipation. Little did she know that the source of this heaven-defying energy that helped her break through her bottleneck was merely a "scrap" from Zhang Bufan's lunch in the Xuanqing Secret Realm.

Two secret realms: one bustling with activity, treasured like precious gems; the other leisurely and readily available. This striking contrast is destined to ignite a storm that transcends the realms in the future. And Zhang Bufan, as he gradually comes to understand the value of these realms, will ultimately realize just how extraordinary his inherited legacy truly is.