When the sound reached the final wall, they stopped walking. Although only a single door separated the two groups, breaking it as Sha Yun had done earlier wasn’t an option—there was a risk of hurting her friends in the process.
Instead, she sat down and began ditating, letting her tail cut through the wall to create a doorway, allowing the two groups to reunite.
The mont Deng Wu saw the group of bandits, his senses were overwheld, and he broke into a radiant smile, quickly assisting Sha Yun in dismantling the wall. Looking at this mismatched group, Hui Yue couldn’t help but think they were slightly unbalanced.
First was Deng Wu, who had embarked on a particularly unconventional path to becoming a wizard. But his skills as an engineer were undeniably remarkable. As long as he had sufficient materials, Hui Yue saw that he could create almost anything. Deng Wu was a master of tal affinity, just like Hui Yue, although Hui Yue hadn’t devoted too much ti to this particular elent.
Sha Yun shared the sa elental affinity as Hui Yue, yet managed to surpass him as she beca one with the Earth. Despite this, Hui Yue believed his future in Earth Elent would be limitless, as he could already feel his strength growing within this stony maze.
Wang Julong was the only one aside from Hui Yue who had a dual elental affinity, though her secondary affinity was quite limited, which had led her to focus solely on the Wood elent for now.
Wang Julong was a girl determined to perfect whatever she set out to accomplish. She had decided to pursue two paths simultaneously. Her first ambition was to be a therapist, her abilities in healing were outstanding. Yet over ti, her healing powers evolved into destructive weapons. Wang Julong was the embodint of both precision and lethality, blending her assassin training with the paths she had chosen.
Her secondary elental affinity was Water, but it was so weak that she had almost no connection with the elent, causing her to focus all her attention on Wood. Once she reached the pinnacle in Wood elent, only then would she begin working diligently on her affinity with Water.
Hui Yue was the closest companion to them all, but his proficiency in both tal and Earth elents lagged behind the mastery demonstrated by Sha Yun and Deng Wu. However, that was rely because they had started earlier; Hui Yue was confidently aware that he would soon catch up.
What he held that none of the others did was a natural affinity for Fire, the most destructive of all affinities.
Deng Wu finally managed to create a flawless entry point where Wang Julong and Sha Yun had appeared, though they both looked utterly filthy, with dirt covering their clothes and skin. Hui Yue couldn’t help laughing, but after glancing at himself, his laughter only grew louder. He realized he looked like a cat dragged through mud, with not a single clean spot on him.
Sha Yun quipped, "We’re almost out of the maze," as Hui Yue let her take the lead. The four friends chatted together, recounting the events of the past several days and reflecting on their expectations for these chaotic dungeons.
"I wonder if it’s close," Deng Wu complained half a day into their walk, then abruptly stopped as his eyes fell on a massive golden door before them.
Unlike the rest of the maze, this door was crafted from gold, intricately carved with dragons. A magnificent, colossal dragon stood in the center, its erald eyes gleaming, its scales intricately detailed with thousands of sapphire carvings.
"Welco to the entrance of the Holy Dungeon," Lan Feng whispered within Hui Yue’s Dantian. The white-haired boy swiftly relayed this information to the others.
"So this is the entrance?" Deng Wu asked in astonishnt. "Does it have anything to do with the Sky Blue Dragon?" Little Dragon and Lan Feng once again refrained from answering, leaving Hui Yue puzzled by their silence.
Noticing Lan Feng’s sudden shift in deanor, Hui Yue approached the heavy door. He slowly exerted all his strength to push it open, allowing the four of them to enter together.
Stepping into the world beyond the door, all four youths froze mid-step, their jaws nearly dropping to the floor. The scene awaiting them was unlike anything they had imagined, even the typically composed Wang Julong was visibly shocked, her amazent apparent in every detail.
High above them, the sun shone brightly, igniting a sense of wonder. However, there was no sky nor clouds—they were instead greeted by a massive stone ceiling.
The ground beneath them was blanketed in lush, vibrant green grass, and just a few hundred ters away lay the outskirts of a forest.
Before the group stretched a lake—though it was no ordinary lake. It wasn’t rely water; its rippling surface shimred with silver, infused with the fluctuation of spiritual energy.
Fixing his gaze on the lake, Hui Yue walked toward it imdiately, sensing how his cultivation techniques were functioning at a speed he had never experienced before. The surrounding essence was being absorbed into his body, and he embraced it eagerly.
Calling out to his friends to join him, Hui Yue quickly stripped off all his clothes before stepping into the water.
Deng Wu and Sha Yun followed quickly after him, diving into the lake to experience the sudden tranquility of their surroundings. They relaxed completely, lying in the water and allowing the spiritual energy derived from their cultivation techniques to perate their bodies.
After so deliberation, Wang Julong also joined them, her face bright red like a lobster’s. She quickly subrged herself in the silver water, yet even she couldn’t resist the allure of such a great treasure.
"This Spiritual Spring stores more spiritual energy than I’ve ever seen," Lan Feng remarked from within Hui Yue’s Dantian, his expression satisfied and joyful. "You four should remain here until the lake holds no more spiritual energy. Afterward, we’ll visit the nearby village."
"A village?" Hui Yue was intrigued by the idea of an actual settlent underground, struggling to fathom what they might discover. Yet before Hui Yue could ponder his curiosity further, the calm waters washed away his confusion, and he turned his focus back to cultivation.
"Welco to a whole new world," Lan Feng murmured with a faint smile, leaning back to observe how the Qi vortex within Hui Yue’s Dantian swirled at an unprecedented pace.
"We will camp here until the pond is devoid of spiritual energy," Hui Yue communicated Lan Feng’s orders to the others, and no one questioned them. Instead, they remained within the Spiritual Spring for an extended period, absorbing energy until their bodies felt completely replenished.
Sha Yun was the first to leave the pond, imdiately entering ditation to refine the spiritual energy into a form usable for Magical Creatures, rging it with the other energies housed within her beast core.
Wang Julong was next to leave the pond, taking a mont to dress before she, too, sat down to ditate, refining the sudden surge of spiritual energy alongside the Qi vortex and spiritual energy sea surrounding her.
An hour later, Hui Yue and Deng Wu erged from the Spirit Pond, seating themselves to refine the energies they had absorbed. While the pond still retained a vast reserve of energy, its color had transitioned to a more transparent hue, visibly lighter than the dense silver it had been before.
That night, no one ventured out to hunt. Instead, they relied on the rations they had packed for their journey. None expended effort setting up tents, as Hui Yue simply used his elental affinity to ignite a small fire.
The four young adventurers were entirely engrossed in refining the spiritual energy they had obtained. On the first day, Hui Yue accumulated enough spiritual energy to reach the fourth Constant Star as a master, while Deng Wu advanced to the ninth Constant Star. Wang Julong achieved a breakthrough to the third star, and Sha Yun reached the third star of her Beast Clan cultivation base.
That evening, they used various Spiritual Arts to rge the newly acquired spiritual energy with their old reserves, striving to balance the abrupt surge in power. By the next morning, the four of them were once again floating naked in the pond, their forms glowing with the lake’s faint silver sheen.
The following events repeated consistently over four days, until the final drop of spiritual energy was absorbed. There were no further breakthroughs, but nevertheless, all except Deng Wu were perched at the peak of their respective stars, ready to break through at any mont.
Once the last trace of spiritual energy was drawn from the pond, Hui Yue lingered for a while, pondering their next move. He was highly intrigued by the village Lan Feng had ntioned, yet aware that his spiritual energy was currently highly unstable after its remarkable surge in such a short ti.
Making his decision, Hui Yue nodded to his friends, and they followed him in silence. On their way toward the Holy Dungeon, they indulged in playful banter and lighthearted conversations during their trek—though it was clear their circumstances had changed.
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