"You got a sweet deal, so stop playing innocent. Get back to the secret chamber!" Little One shouted.
Hong Yu rubbed his nose. Just as he was about to lift the wooden box, his nose twitched. He caught a faint, fragrant scent.
'Hmm? What slls so good?' Hong Yu paused, then followed the scent to its source.
He followed it all the way to the kitchen. Through the ajar door, he saw Yun ngyao's petite figure bustling about inside. The faint, pleasant aroma was the sll of cooking coming from a pot.
'Yaoyao? Didn't I tell her not to do any work? Why is she still cooking?' Hong Yu frowned.
He was about to push the door open when he heard the young woman's cheerful muttering from inside. "Hee hee, this is Brother Hongyu's favorite spicy fish and sweet and sour ribs. I finally finished! Mmm, it slls so good!" Placing the dishes on the table, Yun ngyao blinked her big, dark eyes and sighed softly. "I just don't know when Brother will co out of the secret chamber... Oh well, I'll just wait a little longer!"
Gazing at the solitary young woman sitting by the table, Hong Yu froze, a lump forming in his throat.
'He was suddenly reminded of his past life—of the two people who would always wait for him, no matter how late he ca ho from school. A patient, uncomplaining wait. It wasn't always about grand gestures or sacrifices. Sotis, it was just quietly waiting for you to co ho to eat together. Even if the al was simple, just watching you wolf it down would fill them with imnse comfort and joy.'
'This was family. This was love!'
Hong Yu suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
'Lately, I've been too focused on cultivating and increasing my strength. Even though joining the Cyan Nether Sword Sect was to find Master Zhu to cure Yun ngyao's illness, I've unintentionally neglected spending ti with her.'
HUFF!
Hong Yu let out a soft breath, composed himself, and put a gentle smile back on his face. He pushed the door open and walked in. "Wow, what great chef has co to cook in my ho? Tsk tsk, these dishes sll incredible!"
"Huh?"
Yun ngyao froze, then snapped back to her senses.
Her star-like eyes sparkled brightly. With a cry of "Wah!" she leaped into Hong Yu's arms. Her fair, soft arms wrapped around his neck, her entire petite body hanging off him as she shouted joyfully, "Brother, you're finally out of seclusion!"
"Silly girl, you're so grown up, yet you still act like a child!"
Hong Yu tapped the girl's delicate nose and smiled wryly.
Yun ngyao stuck out her pink tongue and giggled. "As long as I have you, Brother, what's wrong with being a child forever?"
"Alright, you win. I'm helpless against you!" Hong Yu shrugged and laughed. "Yaoyao, your cooking is getting better and better. Co on, let's have a good al!"
"Mhm, mhm!"
The little girl nodded eagerly.
At the dinner table, the little girl kept piling food onto Hong Yu's plate. "Brother, this spicy fish is your favorite... And you taught how to make these sweet and sour ribs, try them... Brother, eat so more. You must be tired from cultivating recently, so eat up..."
Hong Yu looked at the food piled as high as two bowls and his eye twitched. "Yaoyao," he said mournfully, "are you trying to fatten up like a pig?"
"Hee hee, Brother is the best. I'm sure you can finish it all!" Yun ngyao brandished a small fist, the corners of her lips turning up to reveal two small, white canine teeth.
Hong Yu had no strength left to resist. Steeling himself, he declared, "Fine, I'll eat!"
The al was filled with warmth and joy...
...
「Midnight.」
「In the secret chamber of Rain Listening Pavilion.」
Hong Yu summoned the Profound Celestial Tower again. After communicating with Little One, the tower shot out a dark beam of light, pulling all the highly toxic Spirit dicines and Poison Pills on the ground into it.
"Little One, what should I do next?" Hong Yu asked.
Little One said, "Now, completely open your Lower Dantian. Activate all Five Vortices and pour all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into the Profound Celestial Tower!"
"Alright!"
Hong Yu closed his eyes.
As his Profound Skill circulated, a faint red glow appeared around his body—the gathering of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. The red glow swirled and condensed, forming a long, red stream of light that shot out from Hong Yu's body and into the Profound Celestial Tower. At the sa ti, under Little One's guidance, Hong Yu's consciousness also entered the Profound Celestial Tower.
This was the second ti Hong Yu had entered the Profound Celestial Tower. Unlike the first ti, when it was empty, the First Layer now contained a massive Stone Gate.
The Stone Gate was carved with dragons and phoenixes, inscribed with various ancient, indecipherable characters, and depicted many unheard-of rare birds and Exotic Beasts.
A ripple that seed to affect space itself emanated from the Stone Gate.
"This is the passage to open the First Layer. See that Hexagram in the center of the Stone Gate? The reason you need to be in the Earth Soul Realm to open it is because activating the Hexagram requires a sufficient amount of the Power of Primordial Spirit. However, since you're cultivating the Nine Refinents of the Primordial Spirit, even though you haven't condensed a true Primordial Spirit, you have enough power to open it!"
Little One, holding his Big Smoking Pipe, had appeared beside Hong Yu at so point and began to explain.
"So that's how it is."
Hong Yu nodded and looked at Little One beside him. "Little One, what's inside?"
"The Treasure in this First Layer is called the Star River Spirit Bone!" Little One said.
Hong Yu was taken aback. "What's the Star River Spirit Bone?"
Little One took a deep drag from his Big Smoking Pipe and slowly exhaled a puff of white smoke. The smoke was strange; it drifted in the void, condensed and un-dispersing, constantly shifting into different shapes. An image of outer space appeared—a vast, boundless cosmos dotted with innurable stars.
The illusion ford by the smoke grew smaller, as if from a god's perspective looking down upon a starry sky.
The countless stars gradually converged to form a Star River spanning an unknown number of light-years. Hong Yu noticed nine particularly bright stars within this Star River, emitting a blinding light. These nine stars were scattered throughout the river, seemingly arranged in an ancient, vicissitudinous Array that suppressed a corner of the Cosmos.
'Coming from Earth, Hong Yu naturally understood that such a Star River was even more terrifying and imnse than the Milky Way Galaxy!'
'Those nine brightest stars must be celestial bodies of a higher level than stars like the sun.'
'So this is the Cosmos? Legend says that after reaching the Venerable Realm, one can enter the Cosmos and roam outer space...' A feeling of surging excitent filled his body and soul. 'To travel the Cosmos—how many generations have strived for this dream?'
Suddenly...
The Star River trembled. A giant hand suddenly tore through the fabric of the Cosmos, reaching out from so profound depth. The massive hand moved toward the majestic, sprawling Star River—and it was even larger than the river itself. With a single motion, it seized the Star River, which was far vaster than the Milky Way Galaxy.
SWOOSH!
The giant hand yanked the Star River straight out of the Cosmos.
HUFF!
At this point in the scene, the illusion transford from the white smoke dissipated, ceasing to exist.
"Little One, what in the world was that giant hand?" Hong Yu's voice trembled as he asked in disbelief.
Even though he knew it was an illusion, and though the giant hand and the Star River were gone, Hong Yu still felt a chill run down his spine.
'Imagine, a single hand snatching away a Star River larger than the Milky Way Galaxy. How terrifying was that?'
'A single hair on that hand was probably bigger than the entire Earth, wasn't it?'
The devil-may-care look on Little One's face suddenly faded, replaced by an expression of longing and sorrow. In a low voice, he said, "That hand belonged to my old master, the one who created . Back then, to forge the Profound Celestial Tower, he searched the heavens and the earth for all sorts of precious materials. The Star River Spirit Bone in the First Layer was forged by my old master by dividing that Star River into nine parts and slting each part into the Spirit Bones of nine Peak Powerhouses of the Cosmos..."
...
Hong Yu's face twitched slightly.
'Holy hell!'
'To refine the Profound Celestial Tower, he used a Star River larger than the Milky Way Galaxy as just one of the materials?'
'Just what kind of titan was the being who forged the Profound Celestial Tower?!'
Little One said faintly, "My old master's realm is fundantally beyond your comprehension. In short, he was a being who stood at the very peak of this heaven and earth. It's just that..." Little One sighed sorrowfully, then looked up at Hong Yu, his gaze surprisingly solemn. "Hong Yu, can you promise one thing?"
"Na it!"
Hong Yu said.
Little One looked at Hong Yu earnestly. "If one day, you have the power to enter the Cosmos, can you help find my old master?"
Hong Yu nodded firmly. "If that day cos and I have enough strength, I will definitely go with you to find your master!"
"Good!"
Little One's tears turned to laughter, and he reverted to his usual roguish deanor.
He puffed a cloud of white smoke from his Big Smoking Pipe, which converged into tens of thousands of strange Runes that surged onto the Stone Gate. Hong Yu imdiately felt the carved Inscriptions on the Stone Gate begin to shift and change. At the sa ti, a powerful Devouring Power emanated from the gate, forcibly consuming the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in his Dantian.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
Inside his Lower Dantian, the five Qi Vortices began to spin frantically.
Hong Yu felt his Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi being frantically devoured and drained away, a wave of weakness washing over him.
Little One said, "Don't be nervous. Just maintain your focus. Hong Yu, the Treasure hidden behind this First Layer is extraordinary, but I can't help you with it. You can only rely on your own effort to gain its recognition. As for the Execution Corpse, I will personally handle Refining it for you. Consider it a reward for opening the First Layer!"
"Alright!"
Hong Yu's reply was concise.
It wasn't that he didn't want to say more, but the Devouring Power from the Stone Gate was simply too strong, leaving him exhausted just trying to cope with it.
anwhile...
Little One gazed at Hong Yu, who was sitting cross-legged inside the Profound Celestial Tower, frantically circulating his Profound Skill to supply a surging stream of Elental Power to the Stone Gate. An inscrutable look filled his eyes. 'Old master, this successor you've chosen... perhaps he really can make it that far! But if he really does reach that point, are we truly going to make him do... that?'
As he thought of the secret hidden in the deepest part of his Soul, a distant look ca over Little One's eyes.
After a long mont, it turned into a helpless sigh.
With a wave of his Smoking Pipe, Little One made a Crystal Coffin appear out of thin air. Lying inside was a pale-faced youth—the very sa innocent boy who had been torn apart by Hong Tiande. Little One's gaze sharpened, and the wooden box appeared beside him, filled with a large pile of highly toxic Spirit dicines and Spirit Pills.
'I was originally just going to refine a normal Execution Corpse, but now... it seems I can improve upon it and refine it into a Calamity Xing Corpse!' A flicker of excitent glinted in Little One's eyes. 'First, I'll return the boy's Soul to his body. Then, when Hong Yu opens the First Layer's gate, I'll use the energy fluctuations from the Star River Spirit Bone to awaken the Execution Corpse!'
With this in mind, Little One began the process of Refining the corpse.
This Refining process was a considerable burden for him in his current state. It lasted for a full day and night before the youth's Soul finally returned to his body.
At the sa ti...
The gate to the First Layer, having finally received enough Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power, slowly swung open. The heavy sound of the opening gate was sowhat oppressive, and a faint sense of ancient desolation filled Hong Yu's heart. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the open Stone Gate.
After the Stone Gate opened completely, a faint starlight filled the space inside the tower. Once the starlight dimd, a purple-gold Spirit Bone, about the size of a palm, slowly floated out from within.
A sharp, keen glint, tinged with a hint of curiosity, suddenly shone in Hong Yu's eyes...
'This is the Star River Spirit Bone?!'
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