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

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

Duobao looked at the towering peaks below, like Gods and Devils standing between heaven and earth. The spiritual energy in the mountains was so rich it had almost solidified, turning into a faint mist that spread through the air. Spirit beasts ran and leaped amid the mountains, playing to their hearts' content.

His eyes revealed barely concealed excitement and agitation, along with a trace of envy hidden deep within.

"Brother, it would have been wonderful if we had been born here too."

Lu Chen was equally shocked by the scene before him.

If he had been born in a place like this and used the Heaven-Devouring Treasure Vase to refine all the spiritual 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, its standing in the Primordial World evident for all to see. If he refined the entire Kunlun Mountain, 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, even the clouds and mist seemed to be formed from spiritual energy. Beneath the sunlight, they shimmered and rippled. Immortal cranes circled overhead, and through the clouds, an imposing and resplendent immortal palace could be seen.

After landing atop the mountain, the immortal palace looked even more magnificent up close, glorious as jade and radiant in splendor.

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

"Yes."

Duobao and Lu Chen jumped out of 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! And every single one is more than a hundred times better than the Spirit-Raising Grass we found!"

Seeing the exotic flowers and immortal herbs everywhere, Duobao drooled.

"Kunlun Mountain is a land blessed by heaven and earth, rich in spiritual grace and profound fortune. Its spiritual energy is dense, so naturally the immortal herbs it produces cannot compare with those of immortal mountains where spiritual energy is relatively sparse."

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

"Alright."

The two did not carve out some grand residence. They merely dug a hole beside the Pure-High Immortal Palace and settled inside.

He was currently in the body of a rat. As for cave dwellings and the like, nothing was more comfortable than an actual hole.

"Third Brother, what fine disciple you have taken in. You told him to build a residence, yet he casually dug a hole and called it a day. Truly a crude beast in fur and hide, ignorant of all refinement."

Inside the immortal palace, Yuanshi sat upon a meditation cushion and watched the scene outside, snorting coldly.

At the same time, he silently consoled himself. Fortunately, Lu Chen had not taken him as master. Otherwise, taking such a barbaric fellow outside would only disgrace him.

Tongtian did not mind. Smiling, he said, "Second Brother, as long as a cave dwelling suits its owner, that is enough. Lu Chen and Duobao are both in rat form and have yet to transform. Even if they carved out a grand residence, it might not be as comfortable to live in as this hole."

"As you wish."

After hearing this, Yuanshi flicked his sleeve.

"Enough. Since the disciples were taken in by Tongtian, let Tongtian guide them. We have traveled the Primordial World this time and seen much. Let us discuss the Dao."

As Laozi spoke, Tongtian and Yuanshi closed their eyes and voiced everything they had seen, heard, and felt, confirming each other's insights.

For a time, lingering Dao sounds filled the immortal palace.

"Big Brother, wouldn't this be a little improper?"

"There is nothing improper about it. Immortal herbs grow batch after batch. As long as the spiritual energy does not run dry, new immortal herbs will emerge again within a few hundred years."

"Mhm, mhm."

Duobao spoke, but his paws never stopped moving. Dig, dig, dig—he dug down to the roots, pinched the roots of the spirit herbs with his claws, and pulled them out entirely.

Duobao and Lu Chen each held a large bundle of spirit herbs in their arms while stretching their devilish claws toward the other herbs.

Dig, dig, dig...

Excavate, excavate, excavate...

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 summit of Kunlun Mountain. The sight of exotic flowers and immortal herbs blooming in wild profusion had been turned into pit after pit of dirt and stone, and the beautiful scenery was no more. With a casual earth-leveling spell, he filled all the pits with soil and stones. Once the mountaintop had been restored to flatness, he twisted his plump body and headed toward his own hole.

"Time to work!"

Lu Chen took out his Heaven-Devouring Treasure Vase and stuffed all the immortal herbs inside in one go. The vase looked only as large as Lu Chen's palm, but it contained its own space. It swallowed enough immortal herbs to fill both his and Duobao's holes, yet the vase was still not full.

Then Lu Chen parted his mouth slightly. His dark fur glimmered with dusky radiance, and faint seals appeared across his body. Spiritual energy gathered toward Lu Chen's mouth, and a spiritual-energy vortex vaguely formed above the entrance to his cave. 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 formed from a wisp of the Devouring Demon God's origin, and his innate divine ability was naturally related to devouring.

It was called Heaven-Devouring!

It could contain all things and refine them.

The reason he unleashed Heaven-Devouring and created such a disturbance was not to refine the 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, unaware of its devouring and refining effects.

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

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

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

In the Primordial World, years were not counted.

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

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

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

At this moment, there was a small pool within the vase's inner space. Everything within it had been condensed from the immortal herbs he had dug up from Kunlun Mountain.

"Duobao, come here!"

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

After a hundred years of cultivation, Duobao's aura had become considerably deeper. He was already not 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 in one gulp. When he was done, he even stretched out his tongue and licked the hollow clean.

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

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

Duobao's cultivation surged explosively.

Mid-Stage Mysterious Immortal.

Late-Stage Mysterious Immortal.

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

"Still a little short!"

Sensing Duobao's aura, Lu Chen's brows furrowed slightly.

"Duobao, from now on, you need to find more treasures for your big brother."

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

Boom!

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

Rumble!

With a tremendous crash, the formerly clear sky was instantly covered in dark clouds. Divine lightning faintly rolled within them. It did not descend yet, merely gathering power...

The sound awakened the Three Pure Ones within the immortal palace.

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

"Tongtian, though your second disciple Duobao is not as astonishing as Lu Chen, he has advanced from the Mysterious Immortal realm to the Golden Immortal realm in scarcely a hundred years. His talent can still be called exceptional."

Laozi stroked his beard, a faint note of praise in his voice.

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

Tongtian, meanwhile, wore a smile. His disciple had been praised, and as his master, he shared in the glory.

He raised a hand, intending to disperse the lightning tribulation, when a voice suddenly appeared in the depths of his heart.

"Little Brother Duobao is about to transform. If he uses this Transformation Lightning Tribulation to temper his fleshly body, the strength of his body will surely increase greatly."

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

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