"It's actually a mid-grade Houtian Spiritual Treasure. Little Mage really is impressive."
Watching the Pill Cauldron stir the Star Dou Great Array inside the Cavern Heaven, the Taiji Diagram instantly fled from the Cavern Heaven, then transformed into a gigantic Yin-Yang Golden Bridge that suppressed the surrounding space and time while concealing the secrets of heaven.
Inside the Cavern Heaven, after the Pill Cauldron's birth vanished, it quickly connected with the Grand Formation of Celestial Stars. In that moment, the array's power surged more than a hundred thousandfold.
In an instant, the Cavern Heaven transformed into a vortex, sweeping away the surrounding void power and Chaos Qi.
Yet even that vast amount of energy wasn't enough. The vortex continued to expand, drawing in void power and Chaos Qi from farther away.
At the same time, the Core Planet inside the Cavern Heaven swelled again, reaching a diameter of 6,000 kilometers. With every passing breath, its diameter increased by at least another kilometer.
The largest of the Circulating Stars now exceeded a thousand meters in diameter, growing by at least a meter with every passing breath. Even the smallest were more than twenty meters across, increasing by at least three centimeters with every passing breath.
At that moment, all the Origin Immortal Stage "Golden Pill" Avatars advanced to the True Immortal Stage, those at the Return to Dao stage advanced to the Origin Immortal Stage, and all those below Return to Dao advanced to the Return to Dao stage.
The Cavern Heaven's space expanded as well, swelling continuously like a balloon.
In that moment, even Li Yang benefited enormously. Most of his injuries were suppressed, and some of his shallow wounds even healed.
It was a tremendous transformation. Everything connected to Li Yang was undergoing immense change.
Outside the Cavern Heaven, the vortex grew larger and larger. Though the Taiji Diagram could conceal the secrets of heaven, such a commotion could easily draw the attention of those in the void.
"This is bad. The disturbance is getting bigger and bigger. Little Mage, hurry—control the Cavern Heaven and ascend. We have to get closer to Chaos."
The Cavern Heaven wasn't that large. Compared to a Small World, the commotion it caused was insignificant.
But for that very reason, if someone noticed it, they could easily mistake it for a treasure appearing.
Although the treasures in the void couldn't compare to an Innate Spiritual Treasure or an Innate Spiritual Root, some top-grade materials were hardly inferior. Some could even be used as ingredients for refining an Houtian Supreme Treasure.
Countless immortals eagerly sought such things.
So the Cavern Heaven had to "ascend"—that is, it had to try to escape the void between the Primordial Wilderness and the many Great Thousand Worlds, and head for the Inner Chaos.
The Chaos Qi in Chaos contained tremendous energy, which could suppress the commotion caused by the Cavern Heaven absorbing energy.
Li Yang understood this, too. He knew there was no time to lose.
"Okay."
The Taiji Diagram added, "Just control the Cavern Heaven and ascend. Don't worry about anything else. I'll suppress the void along the way."
The Taiji Diagram transformed into a Golden Bridge, cleaving through the void and suppressing the violent energy around it.
Meanwhile, Li Yang controlled the Shelter Grotto-Heaven, connected it to the Golden Bridge, and moved the enormous Cavern Heaven at incredible speed.
The Taiji Diagram truly lived up to its reputation as an Innate Supreme Treasure. Before Li Yang had even exhausted his mana, the Cavern Heaven had already been moved into the Inner Chaos.
"Boom!"
The Inner Chaos was completely different from the void. As soon as the Taiji Diagram released its suppressive power, violent Chaos Qi battered the Cavern Heaven's spatial barriers, making them creak.
The Grand Formation of Celestial Stars operated at full force, but even so, the void inside the Cavern Heaven continued to shrink. The stars in the array drew ever closer to the Core Planet.
As Li Yang watched the Cavern Heaven with concern, the Taiji Diagram's voice rang in his ear.
"Not bad. It can hold on even in this little Chaos Storm. You really are a genius."
Li Yang whipped around to look at the Taiji Diagram, which had returned to his side at some point. His eyes were full of disbelief.
"Wait, weren't we supposed to get close to Chaos? You dragged me straight into Chaos—into a Chaos Storm, no less?"
"It's fine," the Taiji Diagram said nonchalantly. "This counts as getting close to Chaos, doesn't it? It's not the Outer Chaos, just the Inner Chaos. It's nothing to worry about.
"Besides, you're more likely to be discovered at the boundary between the void and Chaos. You'd be better off staying in the void—but hiding in Chaos is another matter.
"Although this is only the Inner Chaos, the influence of Heavenly Dao Power is greatly weakened here. Combined with your techniques for concealing yourself and deceiving heaven, you'll basically be fine as long as you don't do anything reckless.
"And this little Chaos Storm is the best hiding place. It's constantly moving, which makes it even harder for anyone to find you."
Li Yang thought it over carefully and realized it really was right, so he nodded earnestly.
"Great!
"Then I have a question: how am I supposed to get back?"
The Taiji Diagram: ...
After a brief silence, the Taiji Diagram stammered, "Ah... well... um... I've got an idea."
The Taiji Diagram spat out two balls. Li Yang could keenly sense the immense space contained within them.
"These are two Void Bubbles, the sturdiest ones I found along the way. With good enough materials and a Dao, they can be refined into top-grade Houtian Spiritual Treasures."
Void Bubbles were things born in the void when energy grew chaotic. Most were fragile, destroyed as soon as they came into being.
But the ones that survived would evolve into secret realms in the void. Some Small Worlds even evolved from Void Bubbles.
In a sense, Void Bubbles were seeds of worlds.
If a Void Bubble on the verge of forming a Small World—or with enough potential to form one—were refined into a top-grade Houtian Spiritual Treasure, a Small World could be opened and developed inside it. It would even be a Small World that could be carried around.
Li Yang remained unmoved by the Taiji Diagram's boast. He simply stared at it until it grew uncomfortable and deflated.
"Fine. You really can't refine these into top-grade Houtian Spiritual Treasures. But you have exceptional comprehension and are good at refining treasures, don't you?
"So I came up with a brilliant plan.
"I'll teach you the Two Forms Dust Array. Then you can refine these Void Bubbles into small spaces and set them at the boundary between Chaos and the void.
"After that, I'll use my abilities to anchor the Void Bubbles to Lesser Qiong Peak. That way, you can take a detour through the small spaces and return to Lesser Qiong Peak."
Li Yang wasn't excited. His face expressionless, he said, "So I'm turning a spatial anchor that can be moved anywhere into a fixed anchor. If something happens to Lesser Qiong Peak, I'll be trapped between Chaos and the void, right?"
"Um... that would be pretty serious, but it's fine. I'll stay by your side until you transcend your tribulation and become a Golden Immortal. By then, you'll be able to move the anchor yourself.
"And this place is only at the edge of the Inner Chaos. A Golden Immortal can survive here for a short time. Even if the small space is destroyed, you'll still be able to get out."
Li Yang gently rubbed his forehead. But he knew the Taiji Diagram meant well; its perspective was simply too far-reaching. It had managed to land someone with only an Origin Immortal's cultivation in trouble.
"Forget it. I don't like going out anyway. It shouldn't be a problem."
Lesser Qiong Peak wouldn't be in any danger anytime soon, so he didn't need to worry too much.
With that thought, Li Yang calmed down, took the two Void Bubbles, and began another journey of treasure refining.
A year later...
Before you continue