Tongtian: Why Was Lu Chen's Voice Ringing in My Heart!?

"Brother, is this Kunlun Mountain? The spiritual energy is so dense!"

Duobao looked down at the towering mountains below, like Gods and Devils standing between heaven and earth. The spiritual energy in the mountains was so rich it nearly condensed into substance, turning into a faint mist that drifted through the peaks. Spirit beasts ran and leaped through the mountains, playing amid the slopes.

His eyes brimmed with irrepressible excitement and agitation, along with a trace of envy hidden deep within them.

"Brother, if only we had been born here."

Lu Chen was likewise stunned by the sight before him.

If he had been born in a place like this, then used the Heaven-Devouring Treasure Vase to refine the essence and mountain-vein power of the entire mountain, who knew how high his cultivation would be by now.

But it was merely a thought. Kunlun Mountain was an Ancestral Mountain, and its standing in the Primordial World was plain to see. If he refined the whole of Kunlun, the Heavenly Dao's lightning tribulation would probably descend upon his head first and strike him dead.

"This is the cultivation ground of your two senior uncles and me. From now on, you shall cultivate here with me."

At the summit of Kunlun Mountain, where spiritual energy was most concentrated, the clouds and mist seemed to be formed entirely from spiritual energy. Under the sunlight, they shimmered and rippled. Immortal cranes circled overhead, and through the mist, a resplendent Immortal Palace could be seen.

After landing atop the mountain, the Immortal Palace looked even more magnificent up close, splendid as jade and glorious in gold.

"This is the cultivation ground of us three brothers. You two brothers should first find a place to establish your own cave dwellings. Your master and senior uncles will digest the insights gained from this journey."

"Yes."

Duobao and Lu Chen jumped from Tongtian's sleeve and landed on the ground.

Immortal aura rose, and Tongtian's figure vanished.

"Brother, there are so many immortal herbs on Kunlun Mountain! Every single one is more than a hundred times better than the Spirit-Raising Grass we found!"

At the sight of the wondrous flowers and immortal herbs everywhere, Duobao drooled uncontrollably.

"Kunlun Mountain is a land of gathered spiritual beauty and deep blessings. Its spiritual energy is abundant, so the immortal herbs it nurtures naturally cannot compare to those from immortal mountains with thinner spiritual energy."

"Come on, Duobao. Let's find a place and establish our cave dwelling first."

"Alright."

The two did not establish a large residence. They merely dug a hole beside the Pure-High Immortal Palace and moved into it.

He was a rat now. As for cave dwellings and such, nothing was more comfortable than an actual burrow.

"Third Brother, what fine disciples you have taken in. You had him build a residence, yet he casually dug a hole and called it done. He truly is a crude, barbaric creature of fur and hide, beyond all teaching."

Inside the Immortal Palace, Yuanshi sat upon a meditation cushion and watched the scene outside, letting out a cold snort.

At the same time, he silently comforted himself. Fortunately, Lu Chen had not become his disciple. Otherwise, taking such a barbaric fellow out would only disgrace him.

Tongtian did not mind and said with a smile, "Second Brother, a cave dwelling need only suit its owner. Lu Chen and Duobao are both still in rat form and have yet to transform. Even if they established grand residences, they might not find them as comfortable as this hole."

"As you wish."

After hearing this, Yuanshi flicked his sleeve.

"Enough. Since the disciples were taken in by Tongtian, let Tongtian instruct them. This journey through the Primordial World has broadened our horizons greatly. Let us discuss the Dao."

As Laozi spoke, Tongtian and Yuanshi closed their eyes and recounted everything they had seen, heard, and realized, verifying one another's insights.

For a time, languid Dao sounds filled the Immortal Palace.

"Big Brother, isn't this a little improper?"

"There is nothing improper about it. Immortal herbs grow crop after crop. As long as the spiritual energy does not run dry, new immortal herbs will emerge within a thousand years or so."

"Mhm, mhm."

Duobao spoke, but his paws did not stop moving. Dig, dig, dig—he dug down to the roots, clutched the herb by its roots with his claws, and yanked it out whole.

Duobao and Lu Chen each held a large bundle of immortal herbs in their arms as they extended their demonic claws toward the other herbs.

Dig, dig, dig...

Dig, dig, dig...

Only when the pits Lu Chen and Duobao had dug were filled with immortal herbs did they finally stop.

After finishing, Lu Chen looked at the mountaintop of Kunlun, once covered in wondrous flowers and immortal herbs blooming in dazzling competition, now turned into pits of dirt and stone. With the beautiful scenery gone, he casually cast a ground-leveling spell and filled all the pits with soil and rocks. Once the summit was smooth again, he twisted his plump body and headed toward his burrow.

"Time to work!"

Lu Chen took out his Heaven-Devouring Treasure Vase and stuffed all the immortal herbs into it at once. The vase looked only as large as Lu Chen's palm, but it contained its own space. Even after swallowing enough immortal herbs to fill both his and Duobao's burrows, it was still not full.

Then Lu Chen opened his mouth slightly. Dark streams of light flowed over his black fur, and faint rune marks appeared across his body. Spiritual energy gathered toward Lu Chen's mouth, and a spiritual-energy vortex vaguely formed above the entrance to his burrow. The surrounding spiritual energy surged over madly before being swallowed into Lu Chen's mouth.

The reason he caused such a commotion was because Lu Chen had used his innate Divine Ability. He had been transformed from a wisp of the Devouring Demon God's origin, so his innate Divine Ability was naturally related to devouring.

It was called Heaven-Devouring!

It took in all things and refined them.

The great disturbance caused by his Heaven-Devouring at this moment was not for refining immortal herbs, but to conceal the existence of the Heaven-Devouring Treasure Vase.

Only he knew the true use of this vase. Even Duobao only knew that it could store objects; he did not know of its devouring and refining effects.

Seeing the spiritual-energy vortex forming beside him, Duobao's eyes revealed a trace of envy.

He closed his eyes and relied on the inheritance within his body to absorb spiritual energy and cultivate.

As Lu Chen gathered the surrounding spiritual energy, Duobao benefited from it as well.

In the Primordial World, years went uncounted.

In the blink of an eye, a hundred years had passed.

Lu Chen had grown somewhat larger, and his fur had become even darker and more lustrous. Holding the Heaven-Devouring Treasure Vase in his paws, he peered into its mouth, his eyes filled with delight.

"Previously, the immortal herbs and spirit medicines from an entire immortal mountain barely condensed two drops of Spirit Liquid essence. Yet on Kunlun Mountain, merely taking a small portion of the immortal herbs yielded so much Spirit Liquid. These hundred years were more than worth it!"

At this moment, there was a small pool inside the vase's space, filled entirely with Spirit Liquid condensed from the immortal herbs he had dug up on Kunlun Mountain.

"Duobao, come here!"

Hearing Lu Chen's summons, Duobao awoke from cultivation. Twisting his plump golden body, he crawled toward Lu Chen's burrow.

After a hundred years of cultivation, Duobao's aura had become even deeper, and he was no longer far from the Golden Immortal realm.

"Duobao, this Spirit Liquid is for you."

Lu Chen took out an oval stone with a hollow in it, poured the Spirit Liquid inside, and handed it to Duobao.

"Thank you, Brother."

Duobao did not stand on ceremony. He took the stone directly and drank it all in one gulp. When he was done, he even stretched out his tongue and licked the hollow in the stone clean.

Then he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and formed hand seals. The Spirit Liquid entered Duobao's stomach and transformed into dense spiritual energy, filling every part of his body. Some of the spiritual energy even leaked from the pores of his body...

Lu Chen immediately acted and sealed the spiritual energy that was about to leak out.

Duobao's cultivation began to soar.

Mid-Stage Mysterious Immortal

Late Stage

Duobao's aura rapidly climbed to the peak of the Late-Stage Mysterious Immortal realm.

"Still a little short!"

Sensing Duobao's aura, Lu Chen frowned slightly.

"Duobao, from now on, you must find more treasures for your brother."

With a sweep of his paw, Lu Chen poured another bowl of Spirit Liquid over Duobao's body.

Boom!

Duobao's aura surged, and the pressure belonging to a Golden Immortal burst forth.

Rumble!

With a deafening roar, the previously clear sky was instantly covered with dark clouds. Divine lightning faintly churned within them. It did not descend yet, but was brewing...

The sound awakened the Three Pure Ones within the Immortal Palace.

The three calculated with their fingers, and in an instant understood the cause of the matter.

"Tongtian, although your second disciple Duobao is not as astonishing as Lu Chen, reaching the Golden Immortal realm from the Mysterious Immortal realm in a mere hundred years still marks him as exceptionally gifted."

Laozi stroked his beard, his tone carrying faint praise.

Even Yuanshi, who had always looked down upon demonkind, kept a cold face as he offered a single remark. "His aptitude is acceptable."

Tongtian wore a smile. His disciple had been praised, and as his master, he too basked in the reflected glory.

Just as he waved his hand, intending to disperse the lightning tribulation, a voice suddenly appeared in the depths of his heart.

Duobao, little brother, is about to transform. If he uses this Transformation Lightning Tribulation to temper his body, the strength of his fleshly body will surely rise greatly.

"Th-this... is Lu Chen's voice?"

"Why was Lu Chen's voice ringing in the depths of my heart?"