Chen Guan and the Secret Spirits waited in the main hall until the next morning before the Immortal Soldiers came to take them up the mountain.

During this time, six more Secret Spirits were brought in, all of whom had activated the Imperial characters.

The group of Secret Spirits followed the Immortal Soldiers on the mountain path, walking on the stone steps, looking up at the light of the Nine Heavens, feeling increasingly small.

The steps of the sacred mountain were like climbing to the sky; when the group reached the palace at the mountain’s peak, they could overlook everything without obstruction.

Chen Guan observed that while most of the palaces here were ancient, some were very new, evidently built not long ago.

The group of Secret Spirits was led into the vast palace, where a person sat high on a throne.

Those Secret Spirits aware of etiquette immediately paid respects, while those unaware merely stared at the figure on the throne.

Chen Guan also looked at the person on the throne; it was indeed a human, not a metaphor.

Chen Guan had long suspected that the Wuxiang Celestial Master was not a Secret Spirit but a human, and now it seemed that indeed he was not mistaken.

The white-haired elder sitting on the throne was evidently human.

"Can a human live for ten thousand generations?" Chen Guan wondered silently.

The human lifespan increases with the level of cultivation; a Ninth Awakening cultivator living for ten thousand years is not difficult, even tens of thousands are possible.

But ten thousand generations are far more than tens of thousands of years.

Chen Guan was not sure how many years constituted a generation, but in the current era, it might be calculated in millions of years.

Human evolution and development were initially very slow; rapid development has only occurred in the last few millennia.

During that time, although humans developed slowly, they were indeed part of this era.

Even if other eras were faster, ten thousand generations still spanned an unimaginable duration.

The Celestial Master’s gaze was kind, appearing like a benevolent elder, as he looked at the group of Secret Spirits and Chen Guan.

After observing everyone, he casually waved his hand, and an oil lamp appeared out of thin air before each Secret Spirit.

"Listen to my teachings, and if the oil lamp in front of you remains lit by the end, it means you are destined to be my direct disciples. If it extinguishes before then, you are not destined, but can still be disciples of the Wuxiang Divine Palace," the Wuxiang Celestial Master spoke plainly, like any ordinary elder.

"Will the oil in the lamp last until you’ve finished teaching?" the Golden Lion, straightforward by nature, asked bluntly.

"It will," the Wuxiang Celestial Master replied with a smile, unperturbed. "This is a heart lamp; if you listen attentively, it won’t go out. If you let your mind wander, it will extinguish immediately."

"Destiny is walking the same path; if our ways align, we can travel together. If you cannot listen to my teachings, then we cannot travel together, meaning we lack destiny."

Everyone finally understood that it was not as simple as merely guarding the lamp.

"Since you understand, I will begin teaching. Listen carefully, absorbing as much as you can. Even if you don’t hear everything, it will benefit you in the future," the Wuxiang Celestial Master said, becoming solemn as he began his teachings: "The Way of Heaven..."

Chen Guan thought: "The Snake Woman’s talk of destiny probably referred to not finishing the Celestial Master’s teachings."

All the Secret Spirits listened intently to the Wuxiang Celestial Master’s teachings, and Chen Guan wanted to hear what he had to say.

After a while, Chen Guan was somewhat surprised.

The teachings of the Wuxiang Celestial Master truly contained substance.

Contrary to his previous assumptions, the Celestial Master’s teachings were not about vague philosophy but actual cultivation methods.

However, these cultivation methods differed from the Secret Spirits’ Secret Techniques.

These methods resembled exercises for developing one’s potential; if what he taught was true, this method could be a powerful Secret Technique, aiding one’s own Secret Technique cultivation. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The key was its compatibility; according to the Celestial Master, anyone could cultivate it, any Secret Spirit could practice it, and it would bring benefits without harm.

Chen Guan listened to part of it, unable to determine the truth of these teachings, so he continued listening.

Soon, some Secret Spirits were distracted, and their lamps went out, prompting the Immortal Soldiers to lead them away.

As time passed, more and more Secret Spirits were led away.

After the Celestial Master finished teaching, only Chen Guan and another Silver Skeleton-like Secret Spirit remained in the palace.

Chen Guan glanced at the Silver Skeleton Spirit, thinking: "This spirit made the stele reveal the sacred character, clearly not ordinary. If I have the chance, turning it into my pet would be ideal."

But as he thought this, he heard the Celestial Master speaking to the Silver Skeleton: "Your talent is outstanding, your mindset firm; you can be my direct disciple. I name you Silver Bone. Live in Biluoyuan, and cultivate alongside me."

The Silver Skeleton was overjoyed: "Thank you, Master, for naming me. I will cultivate diligently and not disappoint you."

"Go," the Celestial Master said, having the Immortal Soldier escort Silver Bone to Biluoyuan.

His gaze then focused on Chen Guan’s face, and Chen Guan looked back at him.

"I haven’t seen humans in a long while. You, with a Seventh Awakening status, have managed to reach here; it’s curious, as there are no humans within a billion miles of this area. How did you arrive here?" the Celestial Master asked Chen Guan.

"I transmitted into the Great Cave Heaven nearby," Chen Guan replied.

The Celestial Master found this even stranger: "That’s even more unlikely. This sacred mountain area is one of the Great Cave Heaven’s most dangerous forbidden zones. Transmitting into a Secret Realm, you shouldn’t end up here."

"There are many spatial rifts between the Divine Land and the Secret Realm, I came through those," Chen Guan explained.

"Is that so?" the Celestial Master was somewhat moved. "Who has broken these barriers? Has such a powerful figure emerged among humans?"

"I don’t know; I only recently discovered these spatial rifts left behind. Before, they didn’t exist, and I don’t know why they appeared," Chen Guan replied truthfully.

"If that’s the case, many humans will transmit here in the future, which could be troublesome," the Celestial Master said.

Seeing Chen Guan’s furrowed brow, the Celestial Master smiled and said: "You don’t truly believe the human character’s talent is above others, do you?"

"Isn’t it?" Chen Guan asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course not; the human character’s talent is the weakest among all, even less than the soldier character. Human talent is inferior to Secret Spirits; the Secret Spirits’ talent is fixed, while humans have inherent uncertainty," the Celestial Master explained. "I took the stray humans as my disciples to offer shelter, but if many come, I can’t take them all as disciples."