Fallen

Zhou Hao put on that luxurious, somewhat pretentious outfit.

Sigh~ not to mention, once he had it on, he really did have a bit of a noble young master's bearing. But it would have been better if he could wear a pair of underwear.

Next time Murong came, he would have her bring him a pair!

Good heavens, he was treating Murong like a servant outright. If Murong learned what he was thinking, would she give him another two slaps?

Zhou Hao pressed the Jade Slip containing the "Myriad Transformations Divine Ability" to his forehead. The Jade Slip immediately turned into a streak of light and entered his mind, where an obscure cultivation method was stored.

"Ugh, ah..."

Zhou Hao shook his head repeatedly. He had nearly fainted from the pain.

After a while, he finally recovered. Shaking his head, he complained, "Damn, this thing is practically a heavenly book. It nearly blew my brain apart."

Yet although the martial skill was obscure and difficult to understand, that also proved its value.

From what he understood, the "Myriad Transformations Divine Ability" had three levels. The first was Form Resemblance. As the name implied, it resembled the form but not the spirit. Simply put, it could only imitate superficial things.

The second level, spiritually similar, naturally meant imitating the very essence of the martial skill one wished to copy.

The third level, Same Ancestor, Same Origin, meant that the copied thing would be no different from the authentic one. It could be regarded as something of the same ancestor and same origin.

Of course, this martial skill could only imitate ordinary martial skills. As for what counted as an ordinary martial skill, Zhou Hao did not yet have any precise standard for judging it.

Still, those three levels alone were already incredible. As long as he cultivated to the third level, Same Ancestor, Same Origin, he truly could roam the world.

"That woman really only gives good stuff." Zhou Hao muttered. Then inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind—he seemed to have forgotten something.

"Where did I throw that divine crystal? That was good stuff!"

He recalled that when he had first done "business" with Murong, she had given him a divine crystal. He had thrown it away afterward, but now he had to find it again, or the loss would be too painful.

Zhou Hao thought back, then raised his head to look at the ceiling. He had fallen from up there. There was no trace of the divine crystal here, so it should be above.

But how to get up there was a problem. Du Tianhong had left him an explanation as well: it was simply a secret chamber. So long as someone appeared within it, they would automatically fall down after a certain amount of time. It was a little game Du Tianhong had wanted to play with the owner of the Spirit-Womb Ring.

"So that means the groove isn't some kind of switch. It's just a groove."

Zhou Hao curled his lip. The problem now was that he did not know how to get back up, and Du Tianhong had not said.

He sighed. "Am I really unable to get that divine crystal back? Sigh, what a pity."

That had to be good stuff too. Anything Murong produced was bound to be top-quality. It was a pity that he had been ignorant back then and actually thrown it away. Thinking about it now, his intestines turned green with regret.

Although Zhou Hao was not very willing to take Murong's things, he had to admit that what she gave him was simply too good. He could not refuse.

"I've fallen, I've fallen." Zhou Hao sighed helplessly.

He had actually fallen to the point of living off a woman. Though this soft rice was quite fragrant, he still dreamed of the day he could turn over and become the master.

Ice and Snow Divine Realm

"Sigh~" Murong also let out a sigh. "The time is still too short."

She shook her head, then softly called, "Rakshasa."

Her voice was calm and faint, yet it reached Rakshasa's ears with perfect precision.

Upon hearing it, Rakshasa immediately hurried over, dropping to one knee before Murong and respectfully saying, "Your Majesty."

"How is the investigation going?" Murong asked with imposing authority.

Rakshasa clasped his hands and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant has not found anything yet. We have already spread our people out to search a million li away."

Murong nodded slightly. "Send more people, but do not make too great a disturbance."

"Understood." Rakshasa accepted the order.

If the Ice and Snow Divine Realm made any major move, the surrounding factions would grow suspicious. What might happen then would be beyond control.

Murong waved her hand. "You may leave!"

"Yes."

Rakshasa respectfully withdrew.

Murong pondered for a moment, then her figure flashed. In the next instant, she appeared above a volcano.

There were ten craters on the volcano, each erupting from time to time and spewing out massive streams of lava.

"Heavenly Fire, it is time to pay your rent." Murong's red lips parted slightly, her voice spreading across the entire volcano.

At that moment, a cluster of golden flames flew out from the central crater. With a whoosh, it arrived before Murong and called out ingratiatingly, "Auntie, you're here! Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"

"Are you trying to melt me?" Murong asked.

Inviting her into a volcanic crater to sit for a while—was that not trying to harm her?

Heavenly Fire panicked and hurriedly explained, "No! How would I dare? Even if you gave me a hundred million guts, I wouldn't dare! Haha..."

Murong nodded gently and said, "You have been here for five thousand years now, right? Shouldn't you pay the rent?"

"Five thousand seven hundred and thirty-one years," Heavenly Fire added ingratiatingly.

It paused before cautiously asking, "What would you like? It seems I do not have anything here that you could use."

"Give me two fire crystals first. You can owe me the rest for now." Murong held out her hand.

Heavenly Fire froze for a moment, then immediately said with delight, "Right away, right away! I'll get them for you."

The reason it had been stunned was that it had never expected Murong to ask for only two fire crystals.

Murong waved her hand.

Heavenly Fire understood and immediately flew back into the crater. Before long, it returned, followed by two crystal-clear red fire crystals.

It handed the fire crystals to Murong and said cheerfully, "These are the highest-quality fire crystals I have. I hope you are satisfied."

Murong put the fire crystals into her Ring of Holding and casually asked, "Has your berserk disorder improved?"

At the mention of "berserk disorder," the ever-cheerful Heavenly Fire suddenly fell silent. Then it bobbed up and down, indicating a nod.

"Fortunately, I have your Land of Extreme Cold. Otherwise, I would have long since been nothing but an empty shell."

Heavenly Fire's words were filled with gratitude.

Back when it advanced into Heavenly Fire, it should have been an occasion worth celebrating. But Heavenly Fire was not so easily controlled.

Its spiritual consciousness had nearly been destroyed by the Heavenly Fire, turning it into a mindless mass of Heavenly Fire that would ravage everywhere.

Luckily, Murong happened to pass by. She froze it and brought it back to the Ice and Snow Divine Realm, allowing it to escape disaster.

Though it still occasionally lost control now, with the help of the Land of Extreme Cold, it was already much better.

"Mm. Work hard and strive to emerge from seclusion soon." Murong encouraged it expressionlessly.

After saying that, she left without caring what reaction Heavenly Fire might have.

"I can definitely do it." Heavenly Fire answered the air with absolute conviction, then flew back into the volcano to continue its secluded cultivation.

Murong returned to the palace and muttered softly, "What else does he need?"

The person she meant was naturally Zhou Hao.

Murong thought for a while but could not think of anything else Zhou Hao needed. So she simply stopped thinking about it and quietly waited for three days later to arrive.