Xuanyin, Tongming

After the Star-Chart Disk was formed, Yang Tianyou and his Seven Bonded Spirit Beasts Shared Destiny, greatly enhancing his ability to protect himself, making him incomparable to before.

The excitement lasted for a long time before it gradually subsided.

Next, it's time to get down to business.

From the moment he arrived at the Spirit Beast Hall, his attention had been focused on the old monkey, and he hadn't left its side even when the latter was unconscious.

The reason for this is, of course, what the Phoenix-Tailed Heavenly-Sound Chicken mentioned: this monkey suddenly appeared on Spirit Beast Peak a year ago.

What was said in jest was taken seriously by Yang Tianyou, who was quite curious about it and asked the old monkey directly.

Just before he could speak, he suddenly paused, unsure how to address the guy. Calling him "Old Monkey" seemed inappropriate.

"Do you have a name?" Yang Tianyou asked.

"You can just pretend you don't have a name!" The old monkey hesitated for a moment, then didn't reveal his name.

Yang Tianyou turned to look at the Phoenix-Tailed Heavenly-Sound Chicken, "And you?"

"No!" The rooster shook its head as well.

"Alright, since that's the case, I'll take the liberty of giving each of you a name!" Yang Tianyou rubbed his hands together, quite interested in the matter of naming you.

Upon hearing this, the Phoenix-Tailed Heavenly-Sound Chicken raised its head, its golden eyes filled with anticipation. The old monkey, however, was somewhat indifferent. "Go ahead and name it," he said, "After all, a name is just a label!"

"How about you name Xuanyin? Take the meaning of 'the myriad wonders and the wisps of heavenly sound'!" Yang Tianyou pointed at the Phoenix-Tailed Heavenly-Sound Chicken, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said.

"Xuanyin? Okay, I'll be called Xuanyin from now on!" The Phoenix-Tailed Heavenly-Sound Chicken, now known Xuanyin, seemed quite excited, nodding repeatedly, its wings fluttering slightly, its emotions running high.

"As for you, I just heard you say that you have a pair of Netherworld-Seeing Divine Eyes that can see into the netherworld, able to search the heavens and the earth, and observe all living beings in the six realms. Such a great ability can be called 'reaching the heavens'!"

"Thump!"

The old monkey was quite pleased with the first half of Yang Tianyou's sentence, but the last few words terrified it so much that it collapsed to the ground.

"..."

Yang Tianyou raised his finger, expressionless, and remained silent.

Xuanyin also looked puzzled, not understanding why Brother Monkey was behaving this way.

"Ahem... well... let's forget about 'Tongtian' (通天), let's change the name to 'Tongming)!"

The old monkey, Tongming, stood up, somewhat embarrassed, patted his snow-white fur, and said awkwardly.

"Alright, it's settled then. Xuanyin and Tongming, those will be your names from now on!"

Yang Tianyou didn't dwell on why Tongming had reacted so strongly just now, and nodded indifferently.

Seeing this, Tongming breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing so many ancient secrets, how could it not understand the meaning of the two words "Tongtian"? That was the name of the Dao Ancestor of Shangqing, how could it dare to overstep its bounds?

"Tongming, let me ask you something. Xuanyin said you suddenly appeared at Spirit Beast Peak a year ago. Does that mean there's a second passage to this Secret Realm?" Yang Tianyou's face showed a hint of suppressed excitement.

"I guess so!" Tongming nodded, but then shook his head, a helpless look on his monkey-like face.

"Tell me more specifically!"

Seeing its expression, Yang Tianyou's heart skipped a beat, realizing that his plan had probably failed.

"Master, I've roughly guessed what you're thinking. You simply want to use this passage to freely enter and exit the Secret Realm," Tongming said first.

Then, it raised its hand, its five fingers spread, and a pale silver worm crawled in its palm.

This tiny insect was no bigger than a little finger, its entire body translucent. It had four pairs of legs on its abdomen and a pair of antennae on its head. Its two bright eyes held a hint of timidity and cowardice, yet the glint of intelligence within them suggested that this little creature possessed considerable Wisdom.

"This is... Void Worm!"

Yang Tianyou stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with inexplicable joy, his previous gloom vanishing completely.

The Void Worm, ranked seventh on the [Exotic Insect Ranking], is a spatial-attribute spirit insect. Its greatest hobby is drilling Space Wormholes into the Void Surface. If these wormholes are large enough, they can be used directly as Spatial Passages.

Of course, it would take a long time to carve out a Spatial Passage, and it would require at least Fifth Tier or higher Void Worm. But this little worm in front of us looks to be only around the Tier 2.

Yang Tianyou quickly realized, "This Void Worm is only at the Tier 2, how could it possibly have carved out a Spatial Passage large enough for you to pass through?"

"The passage that led me to the Secret Realm wasn't made by it..."

Tongming began to explain what had happened.

According to it, it happened to use its Netherworld-Seeing Divine Eye to detect the aura of this Void Worm while it was traveling.

The seventh-ranked spirit insect on the [Exotic Insect Ranking] was a tremendous fortuitous opportunity. Tongming was overjoyed and followed the trail.

Finally, it came to a stop in a Perilous Land, where a Spatial Rift in the Void Surface stood.

Given the Spatial Power of the Lu Wu Realm, Tongming, with his Fourth Tier Nascent Soul Power, could barely pass through. So he ventured deep into the rift to search for the Void Worm.

Persistence pays off. Tongming spent several days finally capturing the little guy, but he himself got lost in the Spatial Rift.

Tongming remained calm, for with its Netherworld-Seeing Divine Eye of the underworld, finding a way out was quite easy.

With a casual glance, it discovered many signs of life in a certain direction. Following the signs, Tongming arrived at the Spirit Beast Peak.

Later, it met the Phoenix-Tailed Heavenly-Sound Chicken. Since Tongming was a rather easy-going person, the difference in their cultivation levels did not affect the friendship between the monkey and the chicken.

He stayed there for a year, until he met Yang Tianyou...

"But, Master, my cultivation level has fallen, and I no longer have that kind of strength. I simply cannot pass through the Spatial Rift. Moreover, according to my observation, this Spatial Rift will probably close in a few years!" Tongming helplessly spread his hands.

"Is it only those at the Nascent Soul Realm who can pass through? Also, what happened with the Spatial Rift closing? Can we use Formation to stabilize this rift?" Yang Tianyou asked.

"Spatial Rifts are natural phenomena that occasionally occur in the operation of the world in the Lu Wu Realm. Although rare, they are not surprising!"

"The closure of Spatial Rifts is a natural adjustment by the will of the Lu Wu Realm. If one rift closes here, a completely new one may appear in another place. You can think of it as a kind of variable. Space is never constant; it is constantly changing!"

"As for what you said about stabilizing it with Formation, that is feasible. This is a common method used by many powerful forces, transforming void rifts into Spatial Passages. However, such passages generally don't last long, at most a thousand years, before being forcibly closed by the world's will!"