Master, You've Been Here All Along, Haven't You?

Who knew how much time had passed.

When the battle ended, most of the cultivators lingering in the fourth layer dispersed. A cultivator whose robes bore patterns of flowers, birds, fish, and insects silently emerged from a corner.

He had also witnessed the battle between Tyrant Blood and the Indestructible Golden Body. He saw Cang Yuhang become controlled by the demonic art and ultimately die a miserable death.

"What nonsense about devouring the Origin of Myriad Dao to forge the foundation of the Emperor's Road? Even a genius like Heavenly Tyrant Blood showed signs of losing control after cultivating it for only a few months... Among hundreds of millions of cultivators, could even one possibly cultivate it to the end?"

The cultivator sneered and pulled a booklet from a purple feather tucked inside his robes.

The cover of the booklet was emblazoned with four ancient characters: "Devouring Source Scripture."

He had obtained this booklet over half a year ago at a Feathered Immortal Dynasty outpost within Ancient Yan Kingdom.

At the time, he had led a team from the Central Plains to investigate the strange annihilation of the Imperial Lord's grandnephew and all the soldiers stationed at the outpost. While gathering the deceased's belongings, he unexpectedly discovered this "Devouring Source Scripture" atop a coffin in the cellar.

When he first flipped through it, he had been drawn in by its contents just like everyone else.

Yet he guessed that this booklet had most likely been left behind by the mastermind who had wiped out the people at the outpost, so he had remained vigilant. As a Saint who had cultivated for many years, he possessed at least a basic degree of self-control.

Still, the temptation gnawed at him. So, he slightly altered the latter half of its contents and distributed copied versions far and wide to observe the results.

And over these past few months, he had seen the results.

Cultivators either suffered cultivation deviation, died suddenly on the very day they began cultivating, or gradually became addicted to slaughter, bringing calamity upon themselves and dying before they got far.

What had initially surprised him was that Cang Yuhang had somehow obtained a copied version as well. He had actually cultivated it for more than half a year without incident, and the bloodline within his body truly seemed to have been purified considerably.

From time to time, he had followed and observed different subjects, ruling out traps and flaws while drawing conclusions from experience.

Unfortunately, Cang Yuhang's good fortune did not last. He clearly lost control and eventually died miserably.

"If someone truly could use this to lay the foundation of the Emperor's Road, I really wouldn't be jealous... But now, you damned... bastard..."

With a cold snort, the cultivator in purple feathers tossed the booklet into the ten-thousand-foot magma below.

In a desolate, lonely corner of the first layer of the Drill Tower.

Li Qingjue sat cross-legged beside several corpses that had only just lost their vitality, meditating to regulate her aura and restore her divine power.

These corpses belonged to rogue cultivators who had attacked her earlier, only to be killed in return. The strongest among them had been in the Divine Bridge Realm.

Several days had passed since she had separated from her master.

It was only the day before yesterday, when someone far away in the Northern Region released [Inverted All-Causes Vision] and the converged Causal Lines reappeared, that she recovered some of her memories.

The moment those memories returned, an empty, hollow loneliness swept over her, nearly making her heart clench.

Her mood had been terrible these past two days, because the divine power foundation of the Yin-Yang Mill Scripture that her master had taught her had been erased by a hateful Cloud Leopard!

Even though that Cloud Leopard had saved her...

Over the past few days, depression and loss had tangled within her mind. Even the vicious flood dragon in her state of mind surfaced from the water, while the ruthlessness and killing intent in her bones intensified.

In short, she had been overcome with killing intent these past few days.

Any exotic beast or cultivator that crossed her path had not survived.

She guessed that she had been somewhat affected by blindly and repeatedly using the Devouring Source Scripture to devour the Origin of others a few days ago.

Yet the effects of this cultivation were immediate. Her Mortal Body underwent another transformation, and she could now attempt to erect a Divine Bridge over the spring eye of the Sea of Bitterness.

Rustle... rustle...

A moment later, after Li Qingjue finished regulating herself, she once again took out the Bronze Ring she kept close to her body and gently spread it across her palm, stroking it.

Only after she had rubbed the bronze surface until it nearly shone did she finally stop.

Her gaze rested on the ring, where her still-thin little face seemed to be reflected.

She knew that her eyes had become far deeper and colder than they had been months ago. Yet only when she looked at this ring did her gaze remain clear.

Pure.

This ring was no longer merely the sole keepsake her brother had left her. It was also the only object that made her feel as though her master were still by her side whenever she picked it up.

With the two meanings combined, the Bronze Ring had become increasingly important to her.

Even if she lost her life, she could not abandon it!

"So, Master... how long will you be gone before you return? Your disciple... misses you..."

Thoughts surged through her mind.

After a long while, she silently gathered her thoughts. Then she formed hand seals with both hands and circulated the foundational section of the Devouring Source Scripture, which had been improved by both her and Tan Lin.

For the time being, she had no intention of cultivating the Yin-Yang Mill Scripture again.

She was not stupid. Looking back afterward, the timing of that Cloud Leopard's appearance had been far too coincidental. Not long after it resolved a crisis for her, she forgot everything about her master, and even the divine power foundation of the scripture she had cultivated during that period had been erased.

By connecting these clues, she could easily infer certain things.

Perhaps the gray-robed Daoist from that night at the outpost had come looking for her again?

Whoosh!

The technique of the Devouring Source Scripture slowly circulated. Strands of faint, mixed Origin power peeled away from those corpses and finally flowed into her body as if drawn by the earth's core.

The process remained painful. Exotic Origin continuously assaulted the channels throughout her body and her Sea of Reincarnation.

But she had long grown used to this pain. Usually, she merely gritted her teeth and endured it.

This time, she did even better. Her brows only furrowed slightly as she faced it calmly.

Sometimes, she actually wished that the pain could be more intense, enough to overwhelm the anguish of losing her loved one and the loneliness of being alone.

Unfortunately, the affairs of this world rarely went as one wished...

Buzz...

When the Origins of those people had completely entered her body, Li Qingjue carefully guided those strands of Origin as though walking a tightrope. Only then did she refine them, purify them, and finally merge them into herself.

At the end of it, the aura emanating from her body rose by a small measure. She had reached the critical point for constructing a Divine Bridge.

But the improvement brought by those meager Origins had reached its limit.

After sitting in meditation and regulating her breath to consolidate her cultivation, Li Qingjue opened her eyes, neither joy nor sorrow visible within them.

Then she rose and skillfully dealt with the corpses, erasing every trace.

She had devoured the Origins of dozens of rogue cultivators like these in total. The gains were actually very low, since they were not King Bodies or Divine Bodies.

But at her current realm, this was the level of Physique Origin she could come into contact with.

Anything higher was beyond her reach. Besides, among the followers and protectors accompanying those geniuses, which one would not be able to kill her as easily as chopping vegetables?

"This still isn't enough. It's far from enough..."

Li Qingjue looked deeper into this world. There were stronger exotic beasts there, as well as descendants of great clans tempering themselves under the protection of their elders.

She wanted revenge. She wanted to grow strong enough to wait in the mortal world for her brother's return. She wanted a word of approval from the master who was strict with her, yet kind to her.

Even if he only said indifferently:

"Mm, not bad..."

She would still be happy to herself for a long time.

Tap... tap...

Another day passed. Her master still had not returned, and the melancholy in her heart deepened further.

Yet before she could even take a few steps from where she stood.

Boom...

A mangled corpse radiating a surging, powerful aura crashed down from one of the tower's upper layers.

"This is..."

Li Qingjue's gaze fell upon the mangled corpse and abruptly froze.

Chapter 30: Master, You've Been Here All Along, Haven't You? (3.1K)

Whoosh...

Li Qingjue stood where she was, allowing the wind and sand to buffet her. Without blinking, she stared fixedly at the mangled corpse before her.

Although the corpse, which emitted a faint purple glow, had been completely disfigured, with most of its organs, flesh, and blood forcibly blasted apart, she recognized its identity at a glance for some reason.

The Tyrant Blood cultivator who had bought her brother's remains!

But what she had never expected was that so little time had passed. That powerful cultivator who had once stood so high above her was already dead...

Now, like a heap of scrap, he had fallen from the upper layers.

A tremendous wave of shock and disbelief immediately swept through Li Qingjue's heart.

But right afterward, an even stronger, almost instinctive urge drove her toward the corpse.

It was not because she had lost control from cultivating the Devouring Source Scripture. Though she desperately desired the Tyrant Blood Origin remaining within this corpse, she could still restrain herself.

At that moment, there was only one thought in her mind.

Search!

Search this corpse!

See whether the coffin containing her brother's remains was on him.

Bang...

Her idea was sound, but before she could rush close to the mangled corpse, the tyrannical aura it radiated sent her flying.

In truth, if Cang Yuhang's body had not been nearly blown apart by the Bronze Puppet, then given the special nature of Tyrant Blood, even though he was already dead, Li Qingjue, a Sea of Suffering Realm cultivator, would have been reduced to dust the instant she drew near.

After all, Cang Yuhang had already touched the threshold of the Immortal Fourth Realm. The gap between them was beyond comparison.

Fortunately, the Bronze Puppet, which should have been an enforcer manifested from the will of this world.

Seemed to have deliberately considered her circumstances. While blasting Cang Yuhang apart, it had also crushed away nearly all the violent divine laws and aura within him.

Now, the corpse's organs and Immortal Platform were gone. Even part of its Origin had vanished along with them.

Yet for the current Li Qingjue, it still far exceeded what she could digest. It would be enough for her to refine for a long time.

An ant gnawing on an elephant...

Li Qingjue climbed to her feet in the distance and approached once more. At that moment, she had no time to think about what the Origin within this corpse meant to her.

She only wanted to find her brother's remains!

Whoosh!

Step by step, she moved closer. This time, dozens of Divine Marks emerged from her Sea of Reincarnation and formed a barrier around her body, resisting the oppressive aura of a high-realm cultivator. Only then did she successfully approach Cang Yuhang's mangled corpse.

Even so, the closer she got, the more bloody wounds opened across her body, growing larger and larger.

Drip...

Blood flowed from one wound after another.

Her little hands trembled as she searched through the corpse.

Cang Yuhang was dead, yet she felt little pleasure at the sight. A deeper anxiety and hope filled her heart instead.

Were her brother's remains still on this man?

The corpse had been shattered so badly. If it truly carried an object containing a coffin and remains, could it really have survived?

And just as that thought surfaced, her fingertips touched a jade object beneath the corpse, shaped like the feather of a divine bird.

The jade feather had not been damaged by its owner's death. Its spiritual glow remained undimmed and untainted, while faint spatial fluctuations emanated from it.

At the sight, Li Qingjue was overjoyed.

Most importantly, she discovered that the spatial restrictions, aura imprints, and the like on the jade feather had already been shattered by some external force, yet the spatial artifact itself, like a mustard seed containing an entire world, had not been harmed in the slightest?

"This... is far too coincidental, isn't it?"

She murmured, beginning to understand.