After leaving the council hall, Xiao Yan returned straight to his bedroom and took out his Storage Ring.
Suddenly, light flashed from the Storage Ring, and Yao Chen's soul form floated out.
"Teacher, the Xiao Clan is in trouble this time. I hope you can help me."
Looking at Yao Chen floating in midair, Xiao Yan suddenly dropped to his knees and pleaded solemnly.
Yao Chen frowned at the sight. "Little Yanzi, get up."
"Teacher, if you won't agree, I won't get up."
As though afraid Yao Chen might refuse, Xiao Yan also kowtowed heavily to show his resolve.
Seeing this, Yao Chen hurriedly floated down and personally helped Xiao Yan to his feet.
"What are you doing? I never said I wouldn't agree."
"Then, teacher, you agree?"
Xiao Yan looked at Yao Chen in delighted surprise. Seeing the expectation in his eyes, Yao Chen smiled warmly. "Silly boy, your teacher agrees."
Although he did not care whether other people lived or died, Xiao Yan was his disciple, and Yao Chen was quite protective of him. In particular, Xiao Yan was asking for his father's sake. That pleased Yao Chen, who felt that he truly valued his loved ones.
"Thank you, teacher."
Seeing that Yao Chen had agreed to help his clan, Xiao Yan smiled in satisfaction and thanked him earnestly.
Yao Chen smiled and nodded slightly, then added, "When it comes down to it, I bear some responsibility for this too. That fellow might not be targeting only the Xiao Clan. He could be coming after me as well. So even if you hadn't asked, I would still have helped your clan."
Yao Chen was right. Ling Feng did indeed intend to target him as well. Had he not been wary of Yao Chen, Ling Feng would never have let Xiao Yan snatch away his opportunity, sowing the seeds of their feud. Added to the blood feud between the Xiao Clan and Ling Feng, all these things had piled up until his hatred for the Xiao Clan ran bone-deep, leaving him wanting nothing but their destruction.
"Then, teacher, what will you do next?" Xiao Yan asked, looking at Yao Chen.
Yao Chen stroked his white beard thoughtfully. His eyes shifted, and an idea came to him. "Since that fellow has used second-rank pills to blockade your Xiao Clan, we'll sell third-rank pills to break the deadlock and take back the market."
"Third-rank pills?!"
Hearing Yao Chen's casual tone, Xiao Yan could not help giving him a curious look and asking again, "Teacher, what rank of alchemist are you, exactly?"
Yao Chen rolled his eyes at Xiao Yan. "Haven't I told you already? That fellow in your Jia Ma Empire who calls himself the Pill King isn't worth a fart in front of me. Did you think I was joking? As for my exact rank, I can't tell you, lest you lose the drive to improve."
Rather than getting annoyed, Xiao Yan looked at Yao Chen in delighted surprise. "Teacher, you're one mighty thigh!"
"A thigh? What does that mean?"
Yao Chen was baffled, while Xiao Yan kept grinning foolishly. Having taken such a capable master, Xiao Yan felt incredibly lucky.
"Hehe... nothing much. It just means I want to cling to your thigh."
"Cling to my thigh? I truly have no idea what you're talking about."
Early the next morning.
In the western guest quarters of the Jia Lie Residence.
"I broke through!"
Ling Feng, who had been cultivating cross-legged beside the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, delight spreading across his face.
"Finally, this moment has come!"
After several days of waiting, Ling Feng had finally crossed the threshold into Dou Shi. Over the past few days, he had not cultivated as doggedly as before, but he had continued popping pills. When he woke up and cultivated that morning, he had unexpectedly broken through outright.
It truly was like water flowing into a channel once it was ready, without the slightest effort.
"I've broken through to one-star Dou Shi. That means I can now create one-star Dou Ling characters. Hehe, an army of Dou Ling-just thinking about it gets me excited."
The corners of his mouth lifted, and Ling Feng once again felt the urge to create. Just then, however, the system's notification suddenly sounded-
[Ding!] [Congratulations, host, on breaking through to the Dou Shi realm. You have received one lottery draw...]
"System, stop yammering and start the draw."
Ling Feng cut short the system's sudden interruption and got straight to the point.
[Drawing begins...]
An eager expression appeared on Ling Feng's face. Moments later, three treasure boxes appeared before his eyes again.
Without a second thought, Ling Feng tapped "two." It was his lucky number.
After Ling Feng selected a treasure box, light burst forth, and the box opened.
[Congratulations, host, on drawing a Legendary-Tier Treasure Box. You have obtained a Space-Time Gate for random travel through the Three Thousand Worlds...]
The system's voice echoed in his ears, and Ling Feng immediately shouted in delight, "Holy shit! A Legendary-Tier Treasure Box, second only to a Mythical-Tier Treasure Box! My luck is unbeatable!"
At that moment, even the system could not resist jumping in to steal the scene: [Host, are you the Goddess of Luck's husband? Otherwise, why would luck be so enamored with you that you draw such powerful treasure boxes every time?]
"..."
Ling Feng said, "Why don't you just say I'm possessed by the Luck King?"
At those words, the system immediately fell silent. Ling Feng paid it no further attention and instead began examining the special ability granted by the Legendary-Tier Treasure Box.
"A Space-Time Gate for random travel through the Three Thousand Worlds? That's a pretty long name. Interesting. Let's see what exactly it does..."
Ling Feng continued studying the treasure box's instruction manual.
"The cosmos and heavens are vast and boundless; the worlds stretch endlessly without limit. Within the universe lie the Three Thousand Worlds. The Space-Time Gate is a passage between the Three Thousand Worlds, allowing travel to any world... yet all things have their restrictions, and the Space-Time Gate is no exception. After each use, half a year must pass before the Space-Time Gate can be opened again."
After reading the treasure box's description, Ling Feng could no longer keep his composure. "Holy shit, random travel through the Three Thousand Worlds? Am I supposed to start grinding dungeons?"
Ling Feng knew very well that if he could travel to the Dou Qi Continent, other worlds must also exist. Now that he had the Space-Time Gate, he could travel to those other worlds-even worlds of a higher order than the Dou Qi Continent.
The mere thought filled Ling Feng with excitement, and he could not help marveling, "Just what you'd expect from a Legendary-Tier Treasure Box, second only to the mythical tier."
Then Ling Feng took the scroll-like Space-Time Gate out of the treasure box. Its feel told him that the "scroll"-shaped Space-Time Gate was made of metal.
As he opened his hand, the scroll-sized Space-Time Gate suddenly rose from his palm, bursting with dazzling blue light in midair. It kept expanding until it finally became a Void Gate suspended in the void.
The dazzling blue light gradually faded. Ling Feng could see that the space surrounding the Void Gate seemed distorted, and it still gave off a dim blue glow, like stars, like the void. It looked almost like a ring-shaped halo...
Looking at the Void Gate before him, Ling Feng was momentarily stunned. His mouth hung slightly open, and he stared for quite a while before coming back to his senses. But as soon as he thought of the advantages of possessing the Space-Time Gate, his face filled with smiles again.
"Hehe... with this Space-Time Gate, I've got myself a life-saving talisman. I can deal with the Xiao Clan and Yao Chen without any worries!"