Against Lu Changsheng's surge of heart force, the door burst open.

Boom!

In an instant, everything lay bare before him. His consciousness had entered a dark space—empty and barren, devoid of anything.

Light...

As the thought stirred in his mind, a light emerged within the darkness, illuminating everything.

Saber, sword, flame, ice, sea...

Lu Changsheng proceeded to experiment with Mind Space and quickly lost himself in it. After testing various things, he came to a startling conclusion: within this space, he could do almost anything! So long as he thought of it, whatever he wanted could appear in the Mind Space. For example, if he imagined a person, that very person could take form within the space....

Of course, all of it was illusory. In essence, the Mind Space was a person's own mindscape. And what was the nature of the mind? It was limitless. Even something as vast as the universe was but a single thought.

After exploring further, Lu Changsheng gauged the size of his Mind Space. It spanned only one li, which was basically the standard size for someone who had just stepped into the Divine Treasury. Nearly every newly advanced Divine Treasury martial artist began with a Mind Space of that size. As time passed and more Domains were nurtured within it, that space would continue to expand.

A Divine Treasury martial artist's strength lay in the Domains nurtured within the Mind

Space. Remembering that, Lu Changsheng no longer hesitated. He proceeded to place his Domains within the Mind Space for nurturing.

Sense Domain!

At once, the Mind Space shook violently and rapidly expanded, reaching two li.

Huh... So a Domain can expand the Mind Space by one li?

With that, he placed his other Domains in the Mind Space: the Storm Domain, Wave Domain, Starry Sky Domain, and Waterfall Domain. With each new Domain, the Mind Space expanded.

From two li to three, then four, then five...

Ultimately, Lu Changsheng's Mind Space reached six li in diameter.

Six li, huh?

He still did not fully understand the function of the Mind Space, nor the benefits of its expansion—but he soon felt one of them for himself. His heart force was surging, and more importantly, his mental strength rose with it. And as his mental strength increased, so did the power of his Heart Sword.

I wonder if the Heart Sword can be nurtured within the Mind Space as well.

It was a bold idea, and after thinking it over, he decided to give it a try. With a shift of thought, he diverted the Heart Sword toward the Mind Space.

Voosh!

Lu Changsheng's Mind Space trembled slightly. That much was normal, as anything brought into the space would cause a faint disturbance. In fact, he was pleasantly surprised when he managed to bring the Heart Sword into his Mind Space.

Wait... I can feel the Heart Sword improving rapidly...

His progress in the Heart Sword had been at eighty-six percent before, already a remarkable level. But now, under the influence of the mysterious power of the Mind Space, the Heart Sword was being enhanced at an astonishing speed.

Eighty-eight percent, ninety percent, ninety-two percent, ninety-five percent, ninety-eight percent...

Rumble!

The Mind Space shook again.

In a short span of time, the Heart Sword's progress surged all the way to one hundred percent, which meant it was aout to transform. Originally, the Heart Sword was a technique from the Heart Sword Sect, and later he had fused it with the Nine-Character Mantra. Though the Heart Sword had undergone changes since then, its essence had remained much the same. Now, it was transforming again.

The Heart Sword's original white sheen gradually turned to a crystal-clear jade hue, luminous and flawless. It looked exquisitely refined, almost breathtaking in its beauty.

Of course, Lu Changsheng was not fooled by its glamour; he knew well how deadly the power of the sword was. As the transformation unfolded, he made an even more startling discovery: his Mind Space began expanding again. From its previous six li, it rapidly expanded to seven li.

Seven li of Mind Space!

He was startled. The Mind Space was not supposed to expand just like that. There were many things one couldn't bring into the Mind Space, and even those that could be brought would not cause the space to expand.

If the Mind Space did expand, it meant whatever had entered it shared a profound connection with it. Domains and the Mind Space were just like that, seemingly strengthening each other. Could the Heart Sword be the same?

More importantly, could the Heart Sword also be materialized?

At that thought, he quietly waited for the transformation to finish. After two hours, the White Heart Sword had finally taken a new form: the Jade Heart Sword.

"Th-This is..."

Lu Changsheng tried to sense the Jade Heart Sword slightly. Inspiration struck him instantly, and he immediately understood the function of this new Heart Sword.

Yes, it can actually materialize! And compared to the white one, this one is even more effective against mental strength! Not only that, it can also shatter all illusions! Now, with this new Jade Heart Sword, no one will be able to deceive me with illusions.

A sharp gleam flashed through Lu Changsheng's eyes. The ability to break illusions was not only powerful but immensely practical. This was the Ancient Region; beyond martial artists, there were demons and Qi Refiners. And demons possessed far more than brute strength or demonic transformations. Some wielded strange and unpredictable techniques like bewitchment, illusion, shapeshifting, and more.

Qi Refiners were no different. Those Immortal Masters had many techniques that targeted mental strength, and illusion arts were among the most common. There were all kinds of such illusions; some were so convincing they could make falsehood indistinguishable from reality.

There were even illusion formations built upon such techniques, and those were even more fearsome. They could even make an entire mortal city live within an illusion formation without anyone ever realizing it.

In this regard, Lu Changsheng's Heart Sword had become considerably more powerful against mental attacks. This new Jade Heart Sword might even shake the mental strength of Divine Treasury experts!

Right. I wonder what changes will occur when the Sense Domain materializes.

Lu Changsheng was indeed very curious about that. The Sense Domain was a support-type Domain, and now that he had elevated it to Perfection and moved it into the Mind Space, it would not require much nurturing before it could materialize directly. In fact, any Domain that reached Perfection could do the same after entering the Mind Space, drawing on its power to become real.

Well... I guess there's only one way to find out!

At once, the Sense Domain spread out and filled the entire chamber.

"Materialize!" Lu Changsheng gave a low shout, and sure enough, the Sense Domain rapidly transformed and materialized.

This feels different.

If before he used to forcefully materialize a Domain through sheer heart force, now the Domain was being directly sustained by the Mind Space.

The power within the Mind Space was inexhaustible. In theory, the larger the Mind Space was, the greater its power became. In Lu Changsheng's case, with a Mind Space spanning seven li in diameter, sustaining a materialized Sense Domain was effortless.

At first glance, the Sense Domain seemed unchanged, but when Lu Changsheng examined it within the Mind Space, understanding quickly dawned on him. He soon grasped insights into its abilities.

Within the space, nothing could be hidden from him. Anything that existed there held no secrets before his awareness. Naturally, he came to understand the true capabilities of the Sense Domain.

Once the Sense Domain is materialized, it can perceive everything outside, and it can also block others from sensing within. As long as I remain inside the Domain, unless someone forces their way into it, no one will be able to see what's happening inside.

Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. This was also very practical. As for the other Domains, he tested them one by one as well. All were offensive Domains, and their power was naturally formidable.

However, the fused Domain stood above the rest. Once it took material form, its might became truly scary.

This time, his Domains no longer had any real shortcomings. With a Mind Space this broad, he could sustain it in battle for a long time.

Divine Treasury...

He had now truly stepped into the Divine Treasury Realm, and only now did he fully understand why those below this realm were considered ants. It was not arrogance; it was the truth.

Now that he had successfully opened the Mind Space, its mysterious power would continue to transform his body little by little. More precisely, it was extending his lifespan. Reaching the Divine Treasury Realm granted an extra hundred years of life.

Lu Changsheng, however, was still young, and so for him this did not feel especially significant. Whether he would be granted another hundred years or just fifty, there were other things more important to him.

The leap from the Divine Fortification Realm to the Divine Treasury Realm was like a carp's leap through the Dragon Gate. It was the elevation of life itself, the transformation of life.

He was savouring this achievement, this mysterious Divine Treasury Realm he had just stepped into. He knew very clearly that after today, he was no longer mortal. He was now one of the lofty Divine Treasury experts!

Eventually, he rose and left the chamber.

How should I go about cultivating now?

The kind of knowledge he required now was the secret inheritance of every sect, reserved for true inheritor disciples alone. Therefore, the techniques above the Divine Treasury could not be transmitted to anyone who was not a true inheritor. Even elders who advanced to this realm required the sect's approval to be taught such techniques.

Lu Changsheng headed straight for the Inner Sect Steward Hall. He first had to be promoted as a true inheritor disciple, and only then would he be qualified to enter the Transmission Hall to choose martial arts and learn about the cultivation of this realm or anything beyond.

Before long, he was there. The Inner Sect Steward Hall was busy as ever, with disciples coming and going. In truth, Lu Changsheng had not been to the inner sect for a long time. Yet the moment he appeared, the inner disciples noticed him immediately.

"It's Senior Brother Lu."

"Senior Brother Lu has finally come back to the inner sect."

"It really has been a while since he's been here."

"But from the look of it, Senior Brother Lu is heading to the Steward Hall. But what business would he have there?"

"Wait, news just spread earlier that Senior Brother Lu's heart scale reached one hundred. Could it be..."

Many disciples were puzzled. The Steward Hall was not especially important; it usually only dealt with trivial affairs of the inner sect. Very few disciples would go there of their own accord.

However, an incredible idea surfaced in some of the disciples' minds. Pushing the heart scale to one hundred was already shocking enough, but there was something else that stunned them.

"Wait, doesn't this mean that Lu Changsheng can open the Mind Space and step into the Divine Treasury Realm?"

"Oh, you're right! Maybe that's why he came here?"

Indeed, only the Steward Hall could formally register a disciple's status and process their advancement to true inheritor.

Lu Changsheng walked straight up to an elder of the Steward Hall. "Elder, I've advanced to the Divine Treasury Realm and have come to complete the procedure for true inheritor disciple status!"

He cupped his hands as he made his request, but the moment he finished speaking, the elder froze. In fact, the entire Steward Hall fell silent.