The World Within the Well

Under the vast, clear sky, a warm breeze drifted gently.

Sun Bin watched as countless shimmering symbols, like stars, moons, and suns within a brilliant galaxy, flowed along Pang Lin's lotus-white arm and vanished into her heart.

"The Heavenly Phoenix is bestowing its own inheritance."

Sun Bin struggled to sit up, his expression still frozen in a daze as he stared at Pang Lin in disbelief.

"Perhaps, I have been wrong all along."

The blank look on his face shifted into a wry, incredulous smile, and he shook his head softly.

In this moment, he suddenly realized that when they had ascended to the upper realm on the Azure Vulture, the long-vanished Remains of the Heavenly Phoenix suddenly stirring and a shard of glowing Divine Phoenix Bone striking down the Azure Vulture was no accident at all.

It was because the Heavenly Phoenix had sensed Pang Lin!

The Divine Phoenix Bone, carrying a life-inheritance, had merely struck down the Azure Vulture in passing.

Killing the Azure Vulture was never the true purpose of the Divine Phoenix Bone; its true intent was exactly what was happening now—to have Pang Lin receive the inheritance that originated from it!

"This girl's future is boundless!"

Sun Bin's gaze turned intensely fiery, his heart pounding as he realized that this trip to the lower realm had truly led him to a priceless treasure.

"Whoosh!"

Countless light-filled visions flowed through that shard of glowing white bone into Pang Lin's body, slowly converging within her heart.

Pang Lin felt as if a vast treasury of knowledge had appeared within her heart, waiting for her to explore it.

Pang Lin, who had thought she could not escape this calamity and was destined to be pierced by the Phoenix Bone, pointed a finger at the glowing Divine Phoenix Bone floating in the air.

As the colorful, shimmering light within it continued to fade, she suddenly felt a profound sense that the Divine Phoenix Bone was, in fact, a part of her own self.

It was unknown how much time had passed before the numerous branded light-shimmers hidden deep within the Divine Phoenix Bone had all submerged into her heart.

Pang Lin felt no discomfort; she grasped the floating Divine Phoenix Bone in her hand and held it upright to examine it.

As she gripped the Divine Phoenix Bone, she saw dozens of tiny light spots within it, scattered across different areas of the white bone, moving at an almost imperceptible pace.

She brought her palm close to those light spots and suddenly felt that every moving point symbolized a living, breathing life.

A strange term welled up from her heart, which had become as clear as glazed crystal—"Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard."

Her eyes widened in bewilderment, and she couldn't help but scratch her head, wondering what exactly "Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard" represented.

Immediately, more knowledge regarding the "Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard" welled up naturally from the depths of her heart.

She knew instantly that every moving light spot was a "Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard" belonging exclusively to her.

She could perceive the movements of every "Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard" through the Divine Phoenix Bone, issue commands to those scattered across various lands, and even decide their life or death with a single thought!

In the future, the "Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard" would become her eyes and her most loyal retainers, never daring to defy her orders.

To the many "Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard," she was the supreme existence, the one they were destined to protect for their entire lives.

"Pang... Miss Pang, what have you seen through this Divine Phoenix Bone?"

Sun Bin's voice trembled slightly, and he naturally used an honorific, no longer calling her a young girl.

"There is a vast ocean of light and shadow memories flowing into my... heart."

Pang Lin pointed blankly at her chest, then reached out to point at the tiny light-shimmers scattered across different areas of the upright white bone, saying, "The tiny lights inside seem to be called Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard. They are scattered in various places, and it seems they will be loyal to me forever."

"Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard! Those are the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard!"

Sun Bin exclaimed sharply.

He no longer harbored any doubts, a smile of irrepressible joy blooming on his lips as he cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Miss Pang, for receiving the favor of the Heavenly Phoenix and being bestowed with the inheritance of life and secret arts!"

Moving a little closer, Sun Bin pointed at the white bone, which was only the length of an arm and held upright by Pang Lin, and explained earnestly:

"Every light spot you see corresponds to a living Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard. They will be loyal to you forever, because you can decide their life or death!"

"They are currently scattered across various planes, whether in the Third Realm or the Fourth Realm, but in the end, they will all be under your command."

Sun Bin was filled with envy, yet he dared not even harbor the thought of laying a finger on it, fearing he might be struck down by the Divine Phoenix Bone at any moment.

Pang Lin said blankly, "I suddenly have so many subordinates?"

"Yes, that is the truth. Miss Pang, look at the place where you used to live, it is likely around..."

Sun Bin pointed to a spot on the Divine Phoenix Bone.

There were two light spots there.

One was relatively bright, while the other was gradually dimming, as if it were being refined and was about to vanish.

"This should be the Cenji Mountains. One powerful Heavenly Phoenix Divine Guard has formed, and the other... I cannot understand."

Sun Bin said, puzzled.

Pang Lin, her perspective broadened by these words, suddenly understood what the world she lived in looked like through Sun Bin's gestures.

She asked curiously, "Senior Sun, why does our world look like a well?"

"Indeed, it is just like a well."

Sun Bin affirmed immediately.

"At the well walls, Ghost Mist lingers eternally; we call these walls the Boundary Wall."

"We have only explored as far as the fifth layer, a realm of eternal darkness."

"Whether there is a sixth layer beneath the fifth remains unknown to this day. No living person or creature has ever fallen past the fifth layer and returned to the world above."

"As for what lies above us..."

Sun Bin pointed toward the high heavens.

Pang Lin looked up and saw a sun hanging high beyond the sky, and beneath that sun, the clear, bright heavens and four other continents.

"Those four continents are in what is called the First Realm, the place closest to the heavens."

"They are named East Lands, South Abyss, West Soil, and North Ruins, situated at the four cardinal directions of the First Realm. As for you, the sect you are about to join is called the Pure Land, located in West Soil."

"Having received the Divine Phoenix inheritance, you will be able to vie with the most dazzling cultivation geniuses from every faction in the First Realm."

"I, too, shall benefit from you."

Sun Bin said with excitement.

Pang Lin, favored by the Divine Phoenix, looked at the sun above the "well mouth" and the four continents beneath it. Clutching the Divine Phoenix Bone infused with the inheritance, she said, "I want my brother to come up as well."

Sun Bin laughed heartily. "Miss Pang, with the Divine Phoenix's favor, you will surely step into the Dongxuan Realm within a hundred years!"

"The Pure Land will exhaust all resources to cultivate you; you will be the brightest new star of cultivation in this world!"

"Rest assured, as long as you live well, your brother will be able to bask in your glory and be brought up by the Pure Land."

He secretly rejoiced that he had given that Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art, obtained from a forbidden zone, to Pang Jian, and felt fortunate that he had not treated him with malice.

"If my strength can bring blessings to my brother, then I will strive to cultivate."

Pang Lin gripped the Divine Phoenix Bone tightly.

Fourth Realm.

Cenji Mountains.

Pang Jian, who had lost consciousness, did not know that the sister he worried about had already obtained boundless fortune, ascending to the dream sanctuary of all practitioners in this realm without having to lift a finger.

At this moment, he was still struggling bitterly in the lower realm.

The bone-scraping agony caused him to wake in pain within the dark stone passage at the base of the mountain, only to lapse back into unconsciousness from the torment.

It happened over and over again.

Vaguely, he saw blood-colored phoenix birds, burning and soaring deep within his bones, hammering at them.

Each blood-colored phoenix bird was identical to the one that had flown out from the Humanoid Monster; they seemed completely tamed and refined, stripped of their own spiritual consciousness, leaving only pure, scorching energy.

When he woke in pain to perceive it, he felt that this bone tempering was utilizing the blood-colored phoenix birds refined by the copper plaque.

However, the drop of Phoenix Marrow, which had been the first to be absorbed by the copper plaque after devouring the giant python at the bottom of the pool, seemed not yet fully refined, as no miraculous power had leaked out from the plaque.

Yet, the strange energy surging from the smelting of that blood-colored phoenix bird was already enough to make his life a misery.

Waking in pain and fainting again—he did not know how many times this cycle repeated before the terrifying power raging within his bones finally began to fade.

By then, his food supplies had long been exhausted, yet a fierce hunger suddenly arose. He had no desire to properly assess his current state, intent only on finding food to fill his belly.

Wielding the Dragon-Patterned Spear, he continued to move forward through the pitch-black stone passage.

After a long time, he suddenly caught a glimmer of light. He rushed toward the brightness and saw a narrow stone crevice.

He immediately used the Dragon-Patterned Spear to chisel the rock. The formidable divine strength suddenly surging through his hands allowed him to pierce the stones on both sides of the crevice as if they were tofu, causing them to crack and split.

Once the crevice was wide enough, he successfully escaped the dark stone passage and entered another body of water.

He saw many fish swimming in the water, sparse water weeds, and the bottom of the pool was brimming with vitality.

This was a place entirely different from the deathly silent Blackwater Pool.

"Fish!"

Without a second thought, Pang Jian, nearly delirious from hunger, began a frantic hunt for fish underwater with his Dragon-Patterned Spear.

The lake surface.

On the grassy shore, a massive golden carriage lay scattered in pieces.

The people from the He Family and the Su Family surrounded the carriage, examining the situation, but they found no corpses of the Galaxy Alliance cultivators.

"The people from the Galaxy Alliance of the Upper Realm didn't even leave a single body behind. Could their bones have been eaten?"

He Rong, who was always cautious, stayed far away from the shattered chariot that had come from the Galaxy Alliance, leaving the servants of his clan to investigate.

He and Su Yuntian of the Su Family stood by the lake talking, both of them looking quite grave.

Su Yuntian, who was not very tall but had a dashing demeanor, frowned and said, "The Dong Family, the Zhou Family, as well as the Ning Family and the Shangguan Family, have all arranged for teams to come. We have been inside for a while now, yet we haven't encountered anyone from the other families. I wonder if they have discovered anything."

Among the seven great clans, the He Family and the Su Family were at the bottom of the rankings, and these two families had banded together from the start of this trip.

They had searched the Cenji Mountains for a while but had not found much, nor had they encountered any corpses or living people from the Upper Realm.

The journey had been entirely devoid of danger, proceeding with an ease that felt almost absurd.

This golden carriage from the Galaxy Alliance was their latest discovery, yet they had not seen a single soul from the organization.

Keeping watch over the fractured golden carriage, they decided to wait a while longer to see if anyone else would appear.

"Eek!"

As the two men spoke, a young girl suddenly surfaced from the lake, screaming in a panic.

"There's something at the bottom of the lake!"

Su Meng, a girl who always prided herself on cleanliness, hurriedly donned her undergarments beneath the water and swam toward the surface, shouting, "I saw something at the bottom of the lake, it's stabbing the fish down there!"

"Hurry up and get out of there!"

Su Yuntian, who treasured his daughter above all else, waved his arms frantically from the lakeside, urging her to reach the shore at once.

Killing intent flared in his eyes as he quietly drew his spiritual weapon, prepared to strike down any stranger he might encounter.

"Don't be rash, Brother Su, it might be someone from the Galaxy Alliance!"

He Rong suddenly recalled this possibility and hurriedly cautioned, "You must be careful; you absolutely cannot act recklessly!"

"Fine, I understand!"