Retreat into Seclusion

"Eastern King... I clearly remember sending you to receive that youth named Lu Yun. Why are you here now?"

Baili Yuchen's tone was filled with too many doubts.

He could not wait to find out what exactly had happened deep underground.

At this moment, the others also recognized the person asking the question, and looks of astonishment appeared on their faces.

Baili Yuchen?

Hadn't they said he was in seclusion cultivating? Why had he suddenly appeared here? Could it have been because of the disturbance caused by the demonic beast just now?

The man before them was the strongest expert on Sky Net Star!

Even if all of them joined forces, they probably would not be qualified to stand on equal footing with him.

They were all curious what level of existence that demonic beast they had seen deep underground had been.

It had actually drawn even Baili Yuchen, humanity's strongest expert, here.

Gu Yuanwei finally came to his senses as well.

He hurried forward and clasped his fists toward Baili Yuchen.

"Brother Baili, it is a long story..."

"To put it briefly, there are mainly two matters."

"First, that Lu Yun is absolutely a martial arts prodigy seen only once in several centuries. He reached the very top floor of the Unfixed Pagoda without spending much time at all."

"Second, an abnormal disturbance came from deep underground just now. After Lu Yun left the tower, he used some unknown method to quickly locate the demonic beast."

"Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, he had already vanished without a trace, while that demonic beast had ceased breathing."

Gu Yuanwei succinctly recounted the two most important matters.

Only after hearing their explanation did Baili Yuchen nod in realization.

So that was it!

No wonder he could not sense that demonic beast's aura at the moment.

Long ago, he had already taken Qing Yuanzi as his master. He actually knew far more than the others about the reasons behind this.

Yet when he heard that Lu Yun had actually reached the top floor of the Unfixed Pagoda, he still sucked in a cold breath.

Among these people, no one understood the difficulty of each floor better than he did.

Although he had reached the eighth floor back then, he had ultimately failed to clear it.

The reason he had been able to meet Qing Yuanzi in the end was also because Qing Yuanzi did not have much lifespan left and did not wish to keep wasting time waiting.

What he found most inconceivable was that Lu Yun had actually passed every trial within the Unfixed Pagoda.

Meanwhile.

The ninth floor of the Unfixed Pagoda.

Qing Yuanzi's eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets.

The task he had initially given Lu Yun was merely to reinforce some loosened restrictions on the Thunderclap Venom Xun Python's body. He had never imagined that Lu Yun would completely resolve the matter of this demonic beast.

But...

Not only had Lu Yun exceeded the task he had assigned, but judging from the aura he now radiated, his strength had risen greatly once again since leaving the tower.

He had perhaps even reached the middle stage of the Void Transformation Realm.

Qing Yuanzi felt as though his entire worldview had shattered.

Since when had advancing into the Void Transformation Realm become so easy?

Things that others found as difficult as ascending to heaven—how had they become as ordinary as eating and drinking in this youth's hands?

"Is this guy really human?"

Qing Yuanzi muttered to himself.

This rate of progress was simply too fast.

When he had been young, no matter how much time he spent, he had been unable to so much as step over the threshold of the Void Transformation Realm.

Could the gap between people truly be this enormous?

"Master, then what should I do next?"

Lu Yun humbly scratched his head and asked with a smile.

Only then did Qing Yuanzi recover from his shock.

"My disciple has done well. I am greatly gratified!"

"However..."

"Although your cultivation has now reached Void Transformation, you must still not become proud and complacent."

"You must know that there is always a heaven beyond heaven. Although no Dao-Seeking Realm or even Space-Shattering Realm cultivators have yet appeared on Sky Net Star, I can sense that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has grown denser over these years. The day those people return should not be far off."

"This disciple will heed Master's teachings and will not dare slacken in the slightest!"

After hearing Qing Yuanzi's words, Lu Yun quickly nodded respectfully.

He also understood very clearly that the increasingly dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth not only signified that it was becoming more abundant, but also that experts above the Dao-Seeking Realm would return.

When that day truly came.

Even if his strength increased severalfold again, he might not necessarily be his opponent.

"Mm! Since you have completed the task I assigned, return for now. Rest and recover properly. From now on, remain here and continue cultivating."

"As for everything else, consider it slowly after becoming a Dao-Seeking Realm expert."

Qing Yuanzi said.

"Yes! This disciple takes his leave!"

Lu Yun clasped his fists, then turned and left.

In truth, he also wanted to stay here a while longer.

On one hand, he could take the time to properly absorb those ten Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones.

On the other hand, as Qing Yuanzi had just said, he needed to seize the time to become a Dao-Seeking Realm expert.

Thinking back to his battle with the Thunderclap Venom Xun Python, he still felt lingering fear.

If that demonic beast had been able to unleash its true strength, then even if he could continuously break through during battle, he might not have won so easily.

No matter what.

In this world where martial strength reigned supreme, he needed to keep advancing.

Only by becoming stronger could he protect the things he cherished and avoid being bullied by others.

After seeing Lu Yun leave, Qing Yuanzi steadied himself before transmitting his voice to Baili Yuchen, who was still at Bluestone Square.

He concisely recounted the course of events.

Throughout the process, Baili Yuchen was also so shocked that he could not speak.

He had never imagined that Lu Yun possessed such powerful martial talent and combat strength, to the point that even he, the nominal strongest expert on Sky Net Star, was completely unable to match him.

Worthy indeed of being the only heaven-chosen one in nearly a hundred years to ascend to the ninth floor of the Unfixed Pagoda.

"Master, now that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is gradually beginning to revive, and time is already so pressing, we must make preparations early."

"My junior brother is so young and already a Void Transformation Realm expert, yet he still knows to seize every moment. As his senior brother, this disciple absolutely does not dare slacken."

"From this day onward, this disciple will cultivate bitterly beneath the Unfixed Pagoda. Unless I enter the Void Transformation Realm, I will never emerge from seclusion."

Baili Yuchen had clearly been deeply stimulated by Lu Yun. Upon hearing Qing Yuanzi say that this junior brother intended to continue cultivating, he immediately declared that he too would remain here.

Upon hearing this, a kindly smile appeared on Qing Yuanzi's face.

Over these years, he had also been quite satisfied with Baili Yuchen as his disciple.

Although Baili Yuchen still fell somewhat short of his expectations, he could not blame him for that.

His own demands were simply too strict.

After all...

Not everyone in this world could possess extraordinary talent like Lu Yun.