Black Cauldron

The Innate Fire Spirit Pearl's curtain of flame swayed precariously amid the violent astral winds. Lei Xiao gritted his teeth and held on while Yun Xiao precisely patched every gap and breach. The two worked in perfect harmony as they struggled onward through this forbidden zone of life.

The deeper they went, the darker the astral winds became, shifting from blue-gray to deep azure, then to an eerie black that seemed almost solid. Every wind blade was like a divine weapon, crashing against the curtain of flame with dull booms, as though someone were hammering a bronze wall with a colossal mallet.

"Lei Xiao, can your spiritual power still hold out?"

Yun Xiao asked with a frown. She could feel Lei Xiao's aura weakening rapidly.

"I... I'm fine."

Lei Xiao's voice was strained. More than half the mana in his body had already been exhausted, yet he had no idea how far away the Innate Spirit Treasure still was.

Within Wind Abyss, divine sense was completely useless. The moment one's spiritual awareness left the body, it would be shredded by the violent innate astral winds.

He had to admit that he had underestimated the dangers of Wind Abyss.

"Why don't we retreat first?" Yun Xiao said.

This time, Lei Xiao did not immediately argue. After all, if they continued deeper and his mana was completely drained, he and Yun Xiao might very well perish in Wind Abyss.

He looked ahead, but all he could see was endless eerie-black astral wind.

"Right, the Eye of Heavenly Retribution. Divine sense can't be used here, but the Eye of Heavenly Retribution has nothing to do with divine sense, and it can see through falsehood. Perhaps it can see through Wind Abyss."

"Big Sister, give me a little more time."

Lei Xiao closed his eyes. A purple vertical eye slowly opened between his brows.

In an instant, an ancient and boundless aura spread from within him. The surrounding violent innate astral winds actually stalled slightly the moment they touched that aura.

Eye of Heavenly Retribution, open!

As the Eye of Heavenly Retribution opened, the world before Lei Xiao suddenly changed.

Wind Abyss, originally pitch-black and filled with an aura of destruction, instantly shed its violent disguise in his vision.

He saw that Wind Abyss was not a chaotic place devoid of order, but a massive vortex woven from countless laws of innate Xun wind.

And amid those dense, tangled threads of law, a constantly shifting "path of life" that gave off a faint azure glow twisted like a spirit serpent toward the deepest reaches of Wind Abyss.

Lei Xiao silently cursed his own stupidity. He should have used the Eye of Heavenly Retribution long ago. If he had seen this "path" sooner, they would not have struggled so hard before.

"Big Sister, there's no need to retreat!"

As soon as he spoke, the flame curtain of the Innate Fire Spirit Pearl abruptly contracted under his command. It no longer tried to withstand every astral wind, protecting only the area within three feet around them.

Lei Xiao moved with mysterious footwork, precisely weaving through the gaps between the violent astral winds under the guidance of the Eye of Heavenly Retribution.

Yun Xiao followed closely behind, circulating her mana and ready to strike at any moment. Yet she soon discovered—there was no need for her to act at all.

Lei Xiao's footwork appeared completely irregular, but every step landed precisely in a gap between the astral winds.

Though he could not evade every attack, scattered wind blades still continuously bombarded the narrow curtain of flame, bursting into splashing sparks. But compared to the previous barrage of wind blades filling the sky, the pressure had already been reduced by more than half.

They advanced like this for an unknown length of time before Lei Xiao, walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

Yun Xiao had been following very closely, constantly on guard against the outside world. She had never expected Lei Xiao to stop so abruptly, and her body involuntarily tipped forward, nearly pressing against his back.

She instinctively reached out and braced herself against Lei Xiao's shoulder to steady herself. With a slight frown, she was about to ask what was wrong when she saw Lei Xiao standing motionless, the Eye of Heavenly Retribution between his brows fixed firmly ahead, his expression grave.

Yun Xiao followed Lei Xiao's gaze and saw a massive black tornado ahead, standing within Wind Abyss like a pillar holding up the heavens.

The black tornado spun at high speed, grinding space itself to pieces. Countless fragments of space revolved along with it and merged into it, becoming part of the black tornado.

Lei Xiao's gaze pierced through the black tornado. At its center floated a massive black cauldron.

An Innate Spirit Treasure.

A flash of joy appeared on Lei Xiao's face, but he quickly frowned again.

There was no more "path" ahead. If they wanted to obtain the black cauldron, they could only force their way through the black tornado.

That black tornado was far too dense. Wind blades and spatial fragments intertwined within it, leaving almost no gap to slip through.

Just as Lei Xiao hesitated over whether to charge through by force, the black tornado seemed to sense this intruder. In an instant, its rotation suddenly accelerated, and the astral winds that had been raging around its outskirts surged madly toward the center like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

Lei Xiao and Yun Xiao's bodies were involuntarily dragged toward the black tornado as well.

"Not good!"

The pull came too quickly—so quickly that even Yun Xiao, a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, had no time to react.

Their bodies were dragged uncontrollably toward the black tornado. The surrounding astral winds were like countless hands, clutching them tightly and hauling them toward the heart of that destructive vortex.

"Little Fourth!"

Yun Xiao cried out in alarm. She grabbed Lei Xiao's arm, trying to use her own mana to steady them both.

However, that pulling force was simply too tyrannical. Even she, a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, seemed so insignificant before such heavenly and earthly might.

The two were instantly swallowed by the black tornado.

Lei Xiao instinctively tried to activate the Innate Fire Spirit Pearl to defend himself, only to find that its crimson flame curtain was as fragile as thin paper before this force and was torn apart in an instant.

In that moment, endless destructive power surged in from all directions.

Countless spatial fragments intertwined with innate astral winds, transforming into sharp blades that frantically sliced at their flesh.

"Big Sister, lend me your immortal power."

Lei Xiao's voice was nearly inaudible amid the violent howling winds, but Yun Xiao heard him.

She did not hesitate, nor did she ask why.

Without holding anything back, she poured the vast immortal power within her into Lei Xiao's body. The power was too immense, surging into him like a flood battering against a dam.

Yet strangely, Lei Xiao's body showed not the slightest rejection toward Yun Xiao's immortal power. Instead, like fertile earth long parched by drought meeting sweet rain, it instantly accepted and fused all of that vast immortal power.

Lei Xiao's aura began to rise steadily.

Seeing this, Lei Xiao began to activate the Innate Fire Spirit Pearl with all his strength. The pearl spun wildly above his head, its crimson radiance swelling severalfold, like a miniature sun rising in the darkness and keeping the innate astral winds and spatial fragments at bay.

But after only a few breaths, the Innate Fire Spirit Pearl's light began to dim.

Break through.

"Don't resist."

At that moment, a childish voice rang out in Lei Xiao's mind.