One month after Xiao Yao became her disciple.
Gentle morning sunlight spilled into the spacious room, and a handsome young man slowly opened his bleary eyes.
Glancing to his left, he saw the peerless young woman still breathing softly in her sleep.
The sunlight now fell upon her. Her cloudlike hair shimmered, lending her a sacred beauty that could only be admired from afar, never profaned.
Her finely sculpted brows furrowed slightly. A jade-white hand rose to cover her closed eyes, and her alluring red lips parted a little.
"Disciple, go cultivate first. I want to sleep a little longer."
Xiao Yao had no objections. Of course, he wouldn't dare object, either.
Disobeying his master at a time like this would earn him a world of suffering.
But before getting out of bed, Xiao Yao had one more thing to do. He silently thought, "Sign in!"
[Beep! Sign-in successful. Today marks your first sign-in after completing one month of daily sign-ins, so the reward has been upgraded to Emperor Tier.]
[Beep! Congratulations, host. You have obtained an Emperor Tier Nine Marvels Undying Fruit. Consuming it will grant you nine effects.]
"Nine effects? What are they, exactly?" Xiao Yao asked curiously.
[Beep! It can strengthen Spiritual Sense; expand the Sea of Suffering; grant boundless vitality; allow one to unite with heaven and earth; enhance Mana; strengthen the body; regenerate one's bones; renew one's blood; and defy the heavens to improve one's own fortune.]
Incredible!
That was his first, most immediate impression.
But he'd have to consume it to learn exactly how powerful it was.
As it happened, he planned to break through to the Sea Opening Realm today. If he consumed it afterward, he'd be able to see just what it could do.
He stopped lazing in bed, threw off the covers, and got up.
After washing up, he went to his usual cultivation spot and sat down.
Whoosh!
A pill appeared in his hand, blue-green all over with eight black lines running across it.
This was an Eight Purity Pill. It could help a cultivator break through to the Sea Opening Realm and expand the Sea of Suffering they opened by as much as twofold.
Xiao Yao swallowed it in one gulp and began circulating the Primordial Sword Art, guiding the pill's medicinal effects through his eight extraordinary meridians and all four limbs and bones, letting every part of his body benefit.
His aura quickly surged. Almost in an instant, his cultivation advanced to the first level of the Sea Opening Realm.
It had taken him just one month to reach this realm. True, he'd relied on the Flash Time Golden Fruit's tenfold cultivation speed, but even multiplied by ten, he'd only spent 300 days cultivating.
Across the entire Southern Wilderness Domain, there probably wasn't a second cultivator who could match that.
Xiao Yao had every reason to feel proud of himself.
Most importantly, his cultivation was solid, with not the slightest instability in his foundation.
Putting aside his reflections, Xiao Yao began opening his Sea of Suffering. Only after he truly opened it would he be a genuine Sea Opening Realm cultivator.
Otherwise, he'd be nothing but an empty shell with Sea Opening Realm cultivation.
Sizzle!
Xiao Yao kept using Mana to strike at the Sea of Suffering, which was still just a tiny sphere.
Suddenly, with a loud boom, the Sea of Suffering opened completely. The Mana in his body poured into it, and it began to expand without pause.
Looking inward with his Spiritual Sense, Xiao Yao found the process somewhat like the Big Bang theory of his previous life.
Before long, all the Mana in his body had flowed into the Sea of Suffering.
Within it, his Mana formed a boundless golden ocean, its grandeur beyond words.
Only by shrinking his perspective again and again could Xiao Yao make out the whole Sea of Suffering. He also saw that it was still expanding.
A minute later, he found that it had doubled in size. Clearly, this was the Eight Purity Pill's effect.
"System, how big is my Sea of Suffering now?"
[Beep! 100 square kilometers, roughly equivalent to that of a normal cultivator at the peak of the ninth level of the Sea Opening Realm.]
Xiao Yao was stunned!
He'd only just reached the Sea Opening Realm!
He had to admit, the Chaos Body and Heavenly Spirit Eyes, all the wonderful things he'd received from signing in lately, and the cultivation resources his master had given him had made a truly tremendous difference.
How big would his Sea of Suffering become after he consumed the Nine Marvels Undying Fruit?
Without further hesitation, he took it out.
The fruit resembled a small cauldron and shimmered with a crystalline glow. It bore patterns of a divine dragon, a multicolored phoenix, a Vermilion Bird, primordial Dao markings, the sun, and the moon.
He chewed it in great mouthfuls and swallowed it in under ten seconds.
Waves of incredibly pure energy surged into his Sea of Suffering.
In the next instant, the sun and moon hung high above it, a divine dragon surged through its waters, a multicolored phoenix and a Vermilion Bird circled overhead, and bright golden Dao markings spread across the sea.
But that wasn't the main point. After absorbing the fruit, Xiao Yao's cultivation hadn't changed, yet he felt more than twice as powerful.
[Beep! Host, your Sea of Suffering is now 1,000 square kilometers.]
"Tenfold expansion?"
"The Nine Marvels Undying Fruit is incredible!"
"How strong am I now?"
[Beep! Without using No-Self, you can fight evenly with an ordinary cultivator at the sixth level of the Sea Opening Realm.]
[Using No-Self, you'll possess the strength of a cultivator at the first level of the Initial Dao Realm.]
"Not bad! Not bad! Pretty darn good!"
Xiao Yao beamed with delight, but he didn't think that was enough.
He knew that only by giving it everything he had could he avoid regretting it when he faced Wang Teng in two months.
An hour later.
A Spiritual Sense transmission reached Xiao Yao's ears.
"Master, according to the notice from the assembly held by Xuanzhou City's lord, the Giant Spirit Secret Realm will open in three days. Are you going?"
The Giant Spirit Secret Realm?
It was an old secret realm, one that had opened twice before. This would be its third opening.
Logically, it should have been picked clean long ago!
But the secret realms in this world held more than just cultivation resources. They also contained all sorts of unimaginable opportunities that couldn't be carried away.
Of course, once a secret realm closed, its astonishing ability to replenish cultivation resources was another major reason cultivators flocked to them.
Also, anyone entering the Giant Spirit Secret Realm had to be below the Initial Dao Realm.
Even so, cultivators at the peak of the ninth level of the Sea Opening Realm could easily meet their end inside.
And compared with newly discovered secret realms, the Giant Spirit Secret Realm had many places that had already been explored, meaning there was less danger to face.
That was why old secret realms like the Giant Spirit Secret Realm, which had opened many times, naturally became prized destinations in the eyes of countless cultivators.
If Xiao Yao were still at the peak of the ninth level of the Law Condensation Realm, he would hardly have considered going.
But now he was at the first level of the Sea Opening Realm, and when he unleashed his full power, he was as strong as a cultivator at the first level of the Initial Dao Realm.
A trip there wasn't out of the question.
[Beep! System mission issued: Travel to the Giant Spirit Secret Realm. Upon completion, you will receive a reward of 1,000,000 Low-grade spirit stones.]
He could get 1,000,000 Low-grade spirit stones just for going to the Giant Spirit Secret Realm?
That mission was almost too easy!
Only a fool wouldn't go.
Xiao Yao ended his meditation and replied to First Elder Xiao Wei, "I need to discuss it with my master. In the meantime, make preparations for the other members of the Xiao Clan."
"Understood, Master!" Xiao Wei replied.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yao reached the spot where he'd arranged for his master to cultivate.
"Master, the Giant Spirit Secret Realm is opening. I plan to make a trip there."
The next instant, Dongfang Xuetong, who had been sitting demurely, her presence ethereal in the breeze, raised her brows and snapped, "You're not going!"
"Master, I understand your concerns, but I've just reached the first level of the Sea Opening Realm. A trip there shouldn't be a problem."
"Besides, without enough experience, I'm worried that just cultivating won't give me enough practical combat experience."
Xiao Yao knew full well that Dongfang Xuetong had plenty of combat experience. But the gap between their strengths was too great; she couldn't give him enough practical experience right now.
Dongfang Xuetong's beautiful eyes shifted slightly. After thinking it over, she said, "Fine! You can go, but you must wear this Storage Ring."
The next instant, a white ring floated into view.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Yao put it on. When he opened it, he saw all sorts of talismans and life-saving tools inside.
At that moment, he fully understood what his master's care felt like.
Although he likely wouldn't need to use most of them, Xiao Yao still cupped his hands and said, "Master, thank you for your kindness. I'll come back safe and sound."
Before you continue