Heavenly Void Closes

Only after a long while did Wang Ding come back to himself from that Great Dao of heaven and earth. He opened his eyes, and a flash of brilliance gleamed within them; his black eyes were like a deep, boundless universe.

Wang Ding felt better than ever before. When he had condensed his first strand of magic power, he had inadvertently glimpsed the River of Fate, and his spirit and will had been baptized, becoming crystal-clear and translucent. If his spirit and will before had been a piece of iron, now they were a diamond. This held immeasurable benefits for his future cultivation, the most obvious being the increase in his comprehension.

Wang Ding looked at his hands and thought inwardly, What exactly was that thing? It actually possessed such terrifying might. Before it, I felt as insignificant as a speck of dust.

No matter what it is, it doesn't matter. My goal will forever be only one: to become an eternal, undying existence. Everything in this world is a dream, a bubble, a shadow; only eternal life is the one true thing. Because of the shock brought by the River of Fate, Wang Ding once again established his goal firmly in his heart.

In the time that followed, the four of them cultivated without pause inside the cave, striving to raise their cultivation to the peak of the Innate realm in the shortest time possible. Only after returning to the sect would the four of them use the Mystic Yin Yang-Resolving Flower to break through the final bottleneck.

During this period, Wang Ding consumed the Inner Cores of Formed Bone Demons every day to smelt his magic power. As long as he transformed all his Innate Qi into magic power, it would be time for him to assault the Heavenly Gate. Unexpectedly, however, it took only four days for all the Inner Cores he had obtained to be exhausted. Wang Ding had no choice but to stop cultivating and go out with Dongfang Riyue and the other two to hunt Formed Bone Demons.

This time, all four of them had Spirit Tools in hand, so dealing with Formed Bone Demons was naturally exceptionally easy. Time passed as the four of them hunted and cultivated like this.

More than twenty days later, on the thirtieth day since Heavenly Void had opened, Wang Ding sat cross-legged in meditation, smelting the final strand of Innate Qi in his body. Under Wang Ding's control, the Surging Waves Spirit Forging Method circulated madly. The Innate Qi in Wang Ding's body gradually disappeared, until at last his entire body trembled, and all the Innate Qi transformed into magic power. A full one hundred and eight hair-thin strands of magic power gathered at his dantian, then began to fuse with one another, turning into one complete stream of magic power.

At this moment, Wang Ding sprang up. Magic power flowed through his whole body, and he actually floated briefly in midair three feet above the ground. His entire body radiated golden light like the sun, and even his skin was dyed gold by the light shining through him. The vital energy in the space several zhang around him shook ceaselessly under the illumination of that golden light, letting out peals of rumbling.

At this moment, Long Lingyu and the other two, startled by the commotion, were staring at Wang Ding floating in the air with faces full of shock. Dongfang Riyue could no longer maintain his gentle, refined bearing and cried out in extreme astonishment, "'Vital energy resonance, floating three feet in the air.' This is a realm only peerless geniuses in legend can possibly reach. He actually possesses such powerful potential."

Wang Ding was like an immortal, his arms spread open, his eyes tightly shut, a majestic aura appearing on his face. He was immersed in a wondrous realm. He sensed the vital energy around him, as though he could control it. It was a marvelous experience.

However, this state did not last for long. After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the golden light around Wang Ding's body dispersed, and he slowly drifted down to the ground.

Seeing Wang Ding land, Long Lingyu and the other three immediately gathered around him. Huang Tutian looked at Wang Ding with a shocked expression and said, "Senior Brother Wang Ding, I never thought you actually had peerless talent. It seems another figure who will stir the winds and clouds between heaven and earth is about to appear. From now on, this Old Huang will follow you."

Dongfang Riyue had already recovered his gentle, refined manner. He cupped his hands toward Wang Ding and said with a smile, "Congratulations to Senior Brother Wang Ding for stepping into the ranks of peerless geniuses. In the future, I hope Senior Brother Wang Ding will give me a little support."

A strange light showed on Long Lingyu's face as she said, "With Senior Brother Wang Ding's potential, and now that you've already stepped into the peak of the Innate realm, it seems that once we return to the sect and you take the Mystic Yin Yang-Resolving Flower, you'll be able to step into Qi Gathering in no time."

Listening to Long Lingyu's praise, Wang Ding opened his mouth and laughed loudly. "Aren't all of us the same? Haven't the three of you also reached the peak of the Innate realm? Once we return to the sect, you can immediately assault the Qi Gathering realm. When the four of us advance together, we will surely shake the sect and receive focused cultivation."

Then Wang Ding said, "Today is the final day. Now that everyone has gained the greatest harvest possible, it's time to leave. Let's go."

After saying this, the four of them chatted as they returned toward the passage they had come through. Another hour later, the four arrived at the Starlight Passage. Wang Ding stood at the entrance and said to the other three with a grave expression, "Everyone, we gained a great deal from this trip to Heavenly Void, but there are many things that absolutely cannot be revealed. So I have a few points to tell you. First, the special Magic Tools and scriptures we obtained must all be hidden well and used by ourselves, or disposed of using other identities. Second, before leaving this Starlight Passage, we will deal with the human-skin masks first. Third, I suspect Du Langzi of the White Bone Sect and Jian Tianxia of the One Sword Sect may be outside Heavenly Void looking for us. After we go out, we'll split into groups of two and change into ordinary clothes to prevent them from finding us."

Long Lingyu and the other two also knew that the three of them had done many shameful things; once exposed, the result would be death without a place to bury their bodies. Naturally, they took Wang Ding's words to heart, and each of them put away everything that might reveal their identities.

After Wang Ding and the other three finished tidying up, Wang Ding and Huang Tutian formed one group and jumped into the Starlight Passage first. A moment later, the two appeared inside Heavenly Void. They immediately released countless talismans to open the way and charged toward the huge spatial hole below Heavenly Void. Boom, boom—with the explosions of the talismans, the two smoothly rushed out of Heavenly Void and arrived in the present world outside it.

Wang Ding raised his eyes and looked around. At this moment, cultivators were everywhere across the entire sea island, the ocean, and the sky. The cultivators rushing out from Heavenly Void were not just Wang Ding and his companion; there were dozens of them, and they were still coming in an unending stream, with large batches of cultivators rushing out from time to time.

Wang Ding and Huang Tutian slowly descended onto the sea island along with the crowd, attracting no one's attention. Only after landing on the island did the two temporarily put down the hearts that had been hanging in suspense.

Not long afterward, however, Wang Ding saw Dongfang Riyue and Long Lingyu also return to the sea island. But the four of them did not meet up; each blended into the crowd, drawing not the slightest attention.

Wang Ding raised his head and looked toward Heavenly Void in the sky. He saw people rushing out from time to time, but as time passed, fewer and fewer people emerged. Finally, two hours later, no one came out anymore.

Another hour later, with the sun high at its zenith, Heavenly Void suddenly showed an abnormal change. Thunderous booms rang out in the sky, and countless spatial cracks appeared. The Heavenly Void cavity, which had originally still been stable, instantly became unstable and gradually began to shrink. Fifteen minutes later, the Heavenly Void cavity completely vanished between heaven and earth.

Only the trembling vital energy seemed still to be recounting what had once happened here.