A Gamble

"What was going on?"

Zhou Tong had still been immersed in the joy of his breakthrough when he suddenly sensed something unusual within his body.

Boom!

The instant he sensed the anomaly, he immediately summoned his Ten Heavenly Caves. At once, he could feel that his Sea of Wheels Realm seemed to be communicating with the Ten Heavenly Caves. The two appeared to have formed some kind of mysterious connection.

"The Ten Heavenly Caves and the Sea of Wheels Realm... are actually resonating?" Zhou Tong's expression turned strange.

He knew that the Sea of Wheels Realm was a realm created by the Desolate Heaven Emperor after merging the Ten Heavenly Caves into one and incorporating that Unique Heavenly Cave into his lower abdomen.

But these clearly belonged to different Cultivation Systems. How could they possibly resonate like this?

Buzzz!

At that moment, the resonance intensified. Cracking sounds rang out one after another, and the nine smaller Heavenly Caves began to emit sounds of unbearable strain.

"The nine Heavenly Caves can't withstand this resonance? No, even my largest Heavenly Cave feels as though it's trembling." Zhou Tong was deeply shaken. What he was seeing had far exceeded his expectations.

Could developing the Sea of Wheels Realm to a certain extent cause his Heavenly Caves to collapse?

Zhou Tong could clearly sense that his nine Heavenly Caves were on the verge of complete collapse. Even the enormous Tenth Heavenly Cave was only barely enduring the resonance.

Zhou Tong examined his Sea of Wheels Realm inwardly and smiled bitterly. "Is this the power of the Unique Heavenly Cave formed after the Ten Heavenly Caves merged? Even my strongest Ten Heavenly Caves are completely incapable of contending against it!"

"Perhaps when my Wheel Sea advances into the Life Spring Realm, only the nine Heavenly Caves will collapse. But once I cultivate to the Divine Bridge or even the Other Shore Realm, even my Tenth Heavenly Cave may be unable to resist this resonance and will collapse as well!"

Zhou Tong understood now that the Chaotic Ancient Method and the Sky Shrouding Method possessed an innate conflict.

During the Chaotic Ancient era, once the Desolate Heaven Emperor opened the Sea of Wheels Realm, it meant that his Unique Heavenly Cave had vanished.

"No wonder cultivators of the Chaotic Ancient Method never appeared again in later generations. The Sky Shrouding Method had already cut off the path of the Chaotic Ancient Method at the most fundamental stage of the Wheel Sea!" Zhou Tong gradually understood why the Chaotic Ancient Method had disappeared.

"What if... I can withstand this conflict?"

At that moment, a strange thought suddenly surfaced in Zhou Tong's mind. If he could endure this conflict, would he be able to possess both the Wheel Sea and Heavenly Caves in the future?

What if he used each Heavenly Cave as a Wheel Sea of his own? Wouldn't that give him ten additional Wheel Seas? Whether it was Dao markings or divine power, he would have ten times as much as anyone else.

"The Desolate Heaven Emperor's Ten Heavenly Caves could grow until every Heavenly Cave was equally large. So can mine!" Zhou Tong forcibly supported eight of the other Heavenly Caves while withdrawing his protection from one of them. Then—

Boom!

At last, the unprotected Heavenly Cave split apart. Rolling magma erupted as it exploded within the void, making the place seem as though the most terrifying heavenly collapse had occurred, destroying heaven and earth.

Zhou Tong immediately coughed up mouthfuls of blood. The destruction of a Heavenly Cave was not something an ordinary person could endure. Fortunately, Zhou Tong's foundation was exceedingly stable, allowing him to steady himself without dying.

Zhou Tong directly plucked another leaf from a Treasure Herb. Its essence gradually surged, and the wounds on his body began to heal slowly. At the same time, he silently recalled the sensation from when he had first opened his Heavenly Caves.

Boom!

However, when Zhou Tong evolved a Heavenly Cave once more and attempted to recreate it, an accident occurred. The Heavenly Cave had only just taken shape when it exploded with a bang.

Yet Zhou Tong refused to accept this. He bit off another leaf, and boundless Life Essence repaired his wounded body before he tried again!

The result was naturally destruction!

But Zhou Tong's stubbornness had been roused. Unless he rebuilt the Heavenly Cave, he absolutely would not stop. After all, he had an abundance of Treasure Herbs on hand, even Immortal Divine Medicine. There was no danger to his life.

If he succeeded, he would carve out an alternative path; if he failed, he would honestly follow the Sky Shrouding Method.

Since his life was not in danger, why not take a gamble?

Again and again, he recreated the Heavenly Cave, only for it to be destroyed again and again.

Recreating his Heavenly Caves was even more difficult for Zhou Tong than it had been for the Desolate Heaven Emperor.

The Desolate Heaven Emperor had faced only the most basic problems, while Zhou Tong also had to endure the resonance and interference of the Sea of Wheels Realm. Zhou Tong had even seen the hazy Great Dao Profound Meaning Fragments that emerged when a Heavenly Cave split apart, yet he still failed to recreate it.

After an entire month, when he had exhausted the five Minor Medicine Kings around him, at last—

Rumble!

A brand-new Heavenly Cave was born. It was no different from the Ten Heavenly Caves, continuously spewing terrifying divine energy. Immortal light and auspicious radiance spread like mist, completely flooding the area.

"Huh?"

Once this Heavenly Cave had fully taken shape, Zhou Tong clearly felt that his Heavenly Caves found it somewhat easier to resist the Wheel Sea. They were no longer struggling as fiercely as before.

"The Ten Heavenly Caves are one body, so after gaining another large Heavenly Cave, has their overall resistance to impact increased?" Zhou Tong was curious as well. He then withdrew the protection from the second Heavenly Cave, and it immediately shattered with a bang.

With the experience from the first time, Zhou Tong quickly reshaped the second Heavenly Cave as well.

"As expected, it has grown a little stronger again!" Zhou Tong silently nodded.

"In that case, let's continue!" Zhou Tong endured the pain throughout his body and continued reshaping the Heavenly Caves.

Finally, three days later, he had opened all the Heavenly Caves anew. The current Ten Heavenly Caves were all incomparably vast, their divine energy fluctuations astonishing, with immortal light and Auspicious Qi flourishing around them.

Moreover, after the Ten Heavenly Caves had been reshaped, they were completely different from before. They no longer resembled volcanic craters, but rather bizarre and dazzling worlds, as though they had entirely transformed into an Immortal Domain.

"Logically speaking, cultivating the Ten Heavenly Caves to this point should mean they are complete. Yet I can sense that further changes await in the future," Zhou Tong murmured inwardly.

Although the Wheel Sea could no longer harm the Ten Heavenly Caves, that strange resonance still remained.

It was foreseeable that once Zhou Tong's cultivation advanced further and reached the Other Shore Realm, the Ten Heavenly Caves would likely face another tribulation!

"However... I feel that my Ten Heavenly Caves can still transform further!" Through the resonance between the Ten Heavenly Caves and the Sea of Wheels Realm, Zhou Tong gradually discovered the mysterious connection among the Ten Heavenly Caves.

"Perhaps... all of this can become a supreme secret technique of mine?" At that thought, an idea flashed through Zhou Tong's mind, and he immediately continued his research.

At the same time, Zhou Tong vaguely sensed that these Ten Heavenly Caves might be the key to his future cultivation—and even to advancing further.