Senior, You Wouldn't Want...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. For Ling Xuan, who had been immersed in cheerful conversation with Puff, it felt like he'd only taken a quick nap.

"Master, Master! Look, the Zhulong Secret Realm is right ahead!"

Puff bounced excitedly around the cockpit. Her usually neat high ponytail was now a little messy, and a few stray strands hung playfully beside her rosy cheeks. Her fluffy tail swished rapidly like a propeller, stirring the air around her.

"We're finally here. I hope we find something good this time. The Coming-of-Age Ceremony ended so hurriedly last time that I never got to properly explore," Ling Xuan said.

Just then, the surrounding space seemed to solidify. An immense divine might descended, and the Crimson Flame was restrained by a terrifying force, nearly crushed to pieces.

Thinking he was under attack, Ling Xuan was about to bring out his Emperor Weapon to defend himself when a voice filled with supreme divine might rang out.

"Who goes there? How dare you approach the sacred grounds of the Zhulong Clan without permission? State your name!"

Ling Xuan jolted. So it was one of their own.

"Senior, I'm Ling Xuan from Manlong Planet. I've come to train at our clan's sacred grounds under orders from the Temple Envoy."

"A person from Manlong Planet?" the mysterious voice murmured. Then the force enveloping the entire spacecraft vanished in an instant.

"Meng Yi really should've given me a heads-up. Honestly, he nearly scared the poor kid. Go on in."

"Thank you, Senior."

The Crimson Flame continued onward. This time, nothing blocked its path, and it passed through layers of nebulae into the secret realm without incident.

"Phew, that was close. I'm still too weak. It's awful, having your life in someone else's hands at any moment. But I've been cultivating for such a short time that I can't improve my strength quickly."

Time was the least valuable thing in Swallowed Star. It often took hundreds of thousands of years to become an Immortal, let alone reach the lofty ranks of Universe Master or True God.

Even Luo Feng had spent over a hundred million years—including the time acceleration in the Beast God World—to reach Universe Master-level combat strength.

Even without considering time acceleration, it had still taken him more than a hundred thousand years. It was an unbelievably long time.

"Wait, couldn't I cultivate the Zhetian Method?" Ling Xuan suddenly remembered that when he had reached Star Level, the Heart of the Martial God had given him not only the Void Mirror, an Emperor Weapon, but also the supreme Imperial Sutra, the Void Sutra, which contained the life's work of the Void Emperor.

If he couldn't cultivate it, the Heart of the Martial God wouldn't have given it to him in the first place.

"I'll give it a try." Ling Xuan made up his mind on the spot to cultivate the Void Sutra and increase his combat strength. Of course, his main focus would still be on cultivating the laws of Swallowed Star.

After all, the Void Sutra alone couldn't make him an immortal. His lifespan would still be limited, and even becoming an Emperor would be difficult. The Void Sutra was the Void Emperor's path, and it might not suit Ling Xuan.

Besides, even with combat strength on the level of an Emperor, an Emperor would be in an awkward position in Swallowed Star, comparable to a great cosmic tonic. Just look at what happened to the born Beast God.

If he couldn't find a way forward, the entire universe might hunt him down.

But once he became an Immortal, he could avoid that predicament.

"Puff, scan the secret realm and mark the locations of treasures and monsters. I'm going into seclusion."

"Yes, Master."

Ling Xuan strode toward the cultivation pod. As the hatch closed, he sat cross-legged on the suspended platform, pale golden flames rising around him.

"The Great Dao is unfathomable, the source of all things; blend with the light and dust..."

Deep in his sea of consciousness, golden characters from the Void Sutra slowly emerged. But when he tried to follow the scripture and open his Bitter Sea, he seemed to fall into an endless fog.

The profound characters were plainly visible, yet seemed separated from him by a hazy veil. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't grasp their true meaning. It was as if cultivation really were impossible.

But Ling Xuan was a Star Level powerhouse, after all. His Brain Domain Width was countless times greater than Ye Fan's when he had just begun cultivating, and his processing ability was far stronger, too. Combined with the explanation in the final section of the Void Sutra, he found the real reason.

This wasn't the world of Zhetian, and he wasn't a native of that world. He didn't have the human body's secret realms, cultivated by taking himself as the seed. His dantian had long since opened up nine stars—where was he supposed to open a Bitter Sea?

"I should ask the senior in the Void Mirror. He knows the Void Sutra better than anyone."

Ling Xuan immediately entered his Core World.

A wave of scorching heat washed over him. The Flame Continent, ninety kilometers long and wide, stretched beneath his feet, while scarlet magma flowed across its surface like veins.

Until Ling Xuan broke through to become a World Lord and transformed this place into a true world, it couldn't contain anything else.

But there were always exceptions—things that could break the rules.

For example, the Void Mirror, suspended in the void above this Flame World.

Silver threads draped from its surface and wove together into a web. Threads of spatial power seeped into the sea of fire, carving out a tranquil domain amid the flames.

Ling Xuan cupped his fists respectfully, his voice carrying through the heat. "Senior, I've long admired the methods of the Void Emperor, but I haven't been able to find a way in. Please give me some guidance."

Silence!

Stillness settled over the Flame Continent.

Mist rippled faintly across the surface of the Void Mirror, but it gave no response.

Ling Xuan persisted, repeating his request again and again, but still received no reply.

At last, he could only sigh helplessly. "Senior, you wouldn't want the Void Emperor's legacy to gather dust in my hands, would you?"

"Kid, why are you talking so strangely? I suggest you find another way to speak to me." A deeply authoritative snort suddenly boomed out.

Delighted, Ling Xuan hurriedly rephrased his words. "Senior, wouldn't allowing this Void art to shine in this world also carry on the Emperor's Dao and legacy?"

"So be it. Passing down the Emperor's Dao in this world is an achievement the other ancient Emperors could never hope to match. It would also prove that the Emperor far surpassed them. I'll teach you how to open your Bitter Sea."

The spirit of the Void Mirror let out a long sigh.

The mirror shone brilliantly, and a silver beam as thick as a barrel crashed down.

Everywhere the beam passed, the Flame Continent shook violently, and magma surged into the air like boiling water.

Wrapped in divine power, Ling Xuan floated in midair and watched as the beam swallowed up every flame within a ten-li radius, like a giant whale sucking in water.

The unruly flames rapidly compressed within the divine power, finally condensing into a walnut-sized, reddish-gold seed. Mysterious patterns of intertwined flame and space flowed across its surface.

"Enter!"

With a thunderous shout, the seed shot like a meteor into a point three inches below Ling Xuan's navel.

At the same time, the Heart of the Martial God pulsed in response, sending some kind of substance from his heart meridians toward his dantian.

In an instant, it was as if a sun had been thrown into his dantian. Its searing energy exploded outward in rings.

His sturdy meridians shattered inch by inch amid the agony, then rapidly reformed, nourished by the nine stars above his dantian and replenished by the substance flowing from the Heart of the Martial God.

Ling Xuan's understanding of the Law of Fire gradually flowed into his dantian. A mass of particles gleaming with reddish-gold light slowly took shape, firelike ripples surging across their surface. Each pulse resonated strangely with his heartbeat.

Ling Xuan immediately sat down cross-legged and seized the chance to cultivate. Under the Dao resonance of the Void Mirror, he circulated the Void Sutra. The power of fire flowed ceaselessly from his Internal World into his Bitter Sea, helping it grow.

Rumble—

The particles gradually expanded, taking on the beginnings of a Bitter Sea. But unlike the usual pitch-black color, his Bitter Sea was fiery red. Above it floated nine stars, symbolizing the ninth-tier peak of Star Level, like nine great suns.

"Looks like you're the only one in this world who can inherit the Emperor's art."

The Void Mirror sighed helplessly, and its hopes of establishing the Emperor's legacy vanished.

"Senior, this world allows immortality. As long as I'm here, the Emperor's legacy will endure," Ling Xuan said, immediately trying to make the most of his advantage.

But the Void Mirror ignored him.

Ling Xuan had no choice but to cultivate quietly on his own, striving to open his Bitter Sea.

Please vote, follow the story, invest, and leave a comment.

The earlier cultivation was just to move the plot along quickly, you know? You wouldn't want to see me stuck fighting at Planetary Level forever, would you? There'll be more fights from here on out, brothers. Please show your support!