Opening Cave Heavens in Succession, Visiting Aman

[Transcending the Blood Moving Extreme Realm. Details: take a guess (recorder's note)]

[Wu Gensheng]

[Reward: one bottle of sacred medicine-grade divine liquid, one ■■ fragment, ■■■■■■■■]

"He broke another record! It's sacred medicine! Sacred medicine! And what's that after it?!"

"Heavens, this must be a young prodigy who can contend with the double-pupiled one! A record with such vague wording actually appeared-only the double-pupiled one from the Martial King Manor has ever managed that! Where did this genius come from?"

"This is definitely a formidable enemy for Yi. Monitor every development here, and report immediately if you find him!" An elder of Shi Yi's faction in the Martial King Manor issued the order. They had to uncover his origins. If his background was nothing special, they would erase him immediately!

An old man with a Five-Colored Little Bird perched on his shoulder suddenly appeared near where Chen Yao had logged out. Puzzled, he said, "How strange. I clearly divined that an opportunity would descend here. Why is there nothing?"

Another old man, his hair and beard both white, happened to pass by as well. Toying with the crystal coins in his hand, he bristled his beard and glared at Lord Bird. "Did you scare off my wealthy patron? Speak! Have you already bought something?"

"Trying to fleece me? Take this!"

In a little courtyard in a secluded part of the Stone Kingdom Imperial Capital,

Chen Yao's body shone brilliantly, precious light flowing over him. Immortal furnaces formed from runes flickered one after another within his flesh, refining the bounty of heaven and earth as he made his final preparations to advance.

Cave Heaven was both a cultivation realm and a means of cultivation: drawing in the essence of the greater world, comprehending the true meaning of Dao runes, and understanding this world's order and the changes in its laws, as though reenacting the birth of a minor world. It meant opening an undying passage, a pure land, or even an entire world within or outside the human body.

Boom!

Suddenly, a mighty sound rang out, as though the halls of the gods had come crashing down. A dense expanse of dazzling runes appeared, seemingly cast from immortal gold and branded into heaven and earth. Thick vital essence surged skyward, and a dim black hole manifested three inches above the crown of Chen Yao's head.

The black hole was pitch-black as ink, yet a ring of incandescent light surrounded it-the rapidly spinning essence of heaven and earth. It shone dazzlingly as it was continuously drawn into the black hole, while a pillar of light erupted outward, pouring dense divine power into Chen Yao's body.

Though cave heavens were broadly similar in appearance, they ultimately varied from person to person.

Breaking into the Cave Heaven Realm elevated one's life, and even heaven and earth resonated with it. A cave heaven connected to the power of the natural order of heaven and earth, fusing and communicating with the cultivator. Entering this realm was equivalent to seizing the bounty of creation, continuously and directly absorbing the endless divine essence of the outside world to replenish oneself. At this point, one connected to the boundless void and refined the divine marrow of heaven and earth from it, causing the divine power of the runes within one's body to soar far beyond what it had been before. Naturally, one's strength became immense. From then on, the supply flowed without end, continuously extracted to keep the body brimming with vitality. As long as one did not fight an excessively brutal battle, exhausting one's power was virtually impossible, and one could remain at peak condition.

Two more booms rang out, and black holes appeared to his left and right, like bottomless abysses devouring heaven and earth. Crimson and orange vortices of light spun madly around them, drawing in the essence of heaven and earth. Then another two booms sounded, and cave heavens were born before and behind him as well. Golden-yellow and deep-green accretion disks rotated, while pillars of light streamed from the upper and lower poles of the black holes, nourishing Chen Yao.

Using immortal qi, he had elevated that bottle of sacred medicine considerably toward the level of half-divine medicine. Then he had experimentally used the immortal qi within his spirit to carry the medicinal liquid back with him, successfully bringing it back safely.

Absorbing just a few drops had felt like taking a mouthful of top-grade sacred medicine. Its life essence was extraordinarily pure and rich. Half-divine medicine was a supreme treasure that could help those cultivating immortal qi break through bottlenecks and heal injuries to the Great Dao; it was useful even to sect leaders. Even if this was merely approaching that level rather than the genuine article, using it to break through the Cave Heaven Realm was an utter squandering of heaven's treasures. Before reaching ten cave heavens, cultivation in the Cave Heaven Realm was entirely a matter of slow, steady work; accumulating enough vital essence was all it took to break through. Using something close to half-divine medicine was even more extravagant than paving a road with gold bricks.

With sufficient accumulation, a single spirit medicine plant could let someone open a cave heaven on the spot. Sacred medicine was already outrageously extravagant and enough to open several in succession, let alone something approaching half-divine medicine! Life essence rampaged through Chen Yao's body, its lingering potency so immense it was appalling. If Shi Hao's breakthroughs had been this extravagant, he could likewise have accomplished what Chen Yao was doing now. Even without sacred medicine, he had opened three cave heavens in succession through accumulated cultivation alone.

Still, fearing that pulling up the shoots to help them grow would do harm, Chen Yao did not open all of them in one go. Instead, he rested for half a month, stabilized himself, and only then continued.

During his second round, black-hole cave heavens with sky-blue, deep-blue, bright-purple, and gray-black accretion vortices opened one after another. The enormous remaining vital essence was sealed within his body, where the Three Corpses God, which had merged into him, diligently circulated and refined it little by little, improving his physical constitution.

After absorbing another drop of medicinal liquid and fully stabilizing the instability caused by his forceful breakthroughs, Chen Yao finally nodded in satisfaction.

He had long guessed that transcending the Extreme Realm would earn a reward, but receiving medicine again was still a pleasant surprise. Originally, he had estimated that he could only open two or three cave heavens at once, eventually reaching five or six. Now, thanks to his cheat, he had skipped a huge amount of slow, painstaking cultivation and fully opened nine cave heavens! Only one bottleneck remained to restrain his further breakthrough: the tenth cave heaven, which represented a qualitative transformation.

Unfortunately, the Void God Realm already had a record for opening nine cave heavens in a single day. Perhaps some filthy rich fellow like him had gulped down medicine to farm that record. This cost him another avenue for profit, so he could not be bothered to break through in the Void God Realm-unless he could reach ten cave heavens on the spot.

"There's no rush for ten cave heavens. Next, I'll scout out the Martial King Manor and see whether I can slip inside without anyone being the wiser." Chen Yao put away his nine great cave heavens, stabilized his cultivation realm, and began practicing Grand Luo Insight and Six Treasury Immortal Thief.

Combined, these two skills were absolute gods of infiltration. As long as he stayed out of the inner manor, nobody would discover him.

A month passed in a flash. Chen Yao had thoroughly familiarized himself with the strength of his Eight Extraordinary Skills in his current state. Using Feng Hou's Mystic Gate, he entered his inner landscape and performed a divination, concluding that there was no danger. He also confirmed in passing that Shi Yi was currently away from the Martial King Manor. The lower realm's horizons were still too narrow; its defenses against this sort of thing lacked depth.

Chen Yao's presence vanished in an instant. Only sight could detect him now; spiritual perception, hearing, and even smell could no longer find any trace of his existence. This was Six Treasury Immortal Thief's concealment method. Then his figure flickered and actually dispersed like a bodiless current of air, disappearing from heaven and earth.

In what seemed to be a gap within the void, a figure swept past like a phantom, as though roaming beyond the Grand Luo Heaven. He crossed streets and alleys and passed through the courtyard walls of the Martial King Manor. With Grand Luo Insight, he saw through the outer manor's less-than-rigorous concealed formations, threading his way through the loopholes and backdoors in the elder's memories. Soon, he reached a small courtyard-the very place where Aman lived.

Aman had begun to stand out. His comprehension was excellent, and he would soon receive better training.

Nobody was around, and the small courtyard was quiet. A youth already showing the makings of a beauty sat meditating in his room.

Out of old affection, Shi Ziling's instructions, and Aman's own talent, the elders of Shi Hao's faction treated him very well. With ample resources, he had already cultivated to the peak of the Blood Moving Realm. The elders kept urging him to attempt a breakthrough into the Cave Heaven Realm rather than waste his time or reach for heights beyond his grasp. Yet he remained unwilling to break through. He felt he could still advance, but lacked guidance.

Chen Yao gently stamped his foot. Guided by Grand Luo Insight, he followed the formation's flow and laid down Feng Hou's Mystic Gate, sealing off the room from the outside and blocking the formation's perception. The formation was not alerted, but the energy within the room nevertheless underwent a subtle change.

Just as he raised his hand to knock, intending to wake Aman and make first contact, Aman opened his eyes outright.

"Who's there?" The change in the room's energy had awakened Aman, who was always sensitive to his surroundings thanks to his keen comprehension.

Holy shit, he really is a hidden SSR! Isn't that a little too perceptive?! While Chen Yao stared blankly, his hand had already continued its motion and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock-

The knocking spread through the room. Aman looked toward the empty doorway. The scene was eerie, as though a ghost were knocking.

While he stood dumbfounded, Chen Yao's figure swiftly appeared, and he went straight to the point with his greeting:

"Hello there, young man. Do you crave power?"

An indescribable silence followed. The situation had clearly become awkward.

"Who are you? Which elder are you with?" Aman broke the silence first, but clearly had not been brought onto the same wavelength. He tilted his head and looked at Chen Yao in puzzlement.

Sure enough, the prerequisite for getting straight to the point was that both parties were at least on the same server. Otherwise, it was cross-server chatting. To Aman, a stranger roughly his own age had just barged into his room. He suspected the boy was some elder's descendant; as for what the intruder had just said, he had paid no attention whatsoever.

Clearly, Aman did not have much experience. Perhaps because he was usually looked after, he lacked experience dealing with situations like this and did not trigger the alarm immediately.

Chen Yao understood that his opening move had failed. He had been casting flirtatious glances at a blind man. Aman had not taken in that cringeworthy line at all.

"...Has it occurred to you that I might not be from the Martial King Manor?" Chen Yao could not be bothered to disguise anything. If getting straight to the point had failed, he would just do it again.

Aman studied Chen Yao in the doorway for a moment, then suddenly thrust a hand toward a formation mechanism beside his bed, fast as lightning, about to trigger the alarm. Being inexperienced and being brainless were two different things. In that brief moment of thought, he had made the best judgment and response under normal circumstances.

Ah, now that's more like it. Chen Yao stamped his foot even faster. The energy of the Feng Hou's Mystic Gate formation, perfectly aligned with the room's formation, began flowing. The existing formation sensed nothing at all from this change that followed its own momentum.

Eight Gates Transport!

Whoosh! Space shuddered, and Aman was pulled directly from his position. Chen Yao likewise shifted through space. In the blink of an eye, both were seated beside a table in the center of the room.

Aman's outstretched hand stiffened. He discovered that he had inexplicably ended up beside the tea table, while the other boy sat opposite him with an infuriating smile on his youthful face, as though everything were under control.

However, a jade pendant hanging from Aman's neck beneath his clothes had already lit up. He had actually employed two measures at once; he had another alarm item on his person! He had used the conspicuous movement to distract attention and conceal his activation of the item.

But nothing happened.

Aman froze, then activated the jade pendant again. Still, there was no response.

Chen Yao silently wiped away cold sweat. Fortunately, he had been periodically using Time-Stopping Golden Shutter to freeze Aman and observe the situation. During the stopped time, he had discovered Aman's activation of the jade pendant, located its outgoing message with Grand Luo Insight, and filtered it out through Feng Hou's Mystic Gate, which overlaid the formation.

He had actually nearly crashed and burned. This kid was far too sharp. Had he not been even more cautious, his grand undertaking of stirring up trouble would have perished halfway through.

"Ahem. Fellow Daoist Aman, I harbor no ill intent. I merely wished to avoid dealing with the Martial King Manor, leaving me no choice but to visit you in secret." Chen Yao spoke with the air of an old veteran.

Aman slowly withdrew his right hand. Bone texts lit up across his body, while a rune had already appeared in his hand, flames dancing over it. His Fire-Element Precious Technique was poised to strike.

"Little brother, how old are you? Why pretend to be some seasoned old hand? Once the Martial King Manor's people arrive, leaving won't be so easy." Aman spoke with feigned ease, but his gaze was grave. Rather than erupt into an attack immediately, he negotiated verbally, trying to determine the intruder's purpose.

He had been completely unable to react to that move just now. All he could be certain of was that the other's cultivation realm stood far above his own and that he could not win through force. It was best to negotiate and stall, buying time to think of a countermeasure.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that I can help you." Seeing that Aman was on guard but willing to listen seriously, Chen Yao seized control of the conversation and began his recruitment speech. "There should be someone you're desperate to defeat, right?"

"Huh?" Aman paused, then asked, "Why would you say that?"

"I counted on my fingers and divined that three prodigies have emerged from the Martial King Manor. One is Shi Yi, the double-pupiled one born a sage. One is Shi Hao, the Innate Supreme. And the last is you. You've always wanted to avenge your childhood playmate, your little brother Shi Hao, who was born an Innate Supreme but had his Supreme Bone dug out. You want to defeat Shi Yi and prove that he doesn't deserve Shi Hao's Supreme Bone. Am I right?" Chen Yao revealed an enormous amount of information in a single breath, aiming to pierce straight through Aman's psychological defenses.

The result was exactly as expected. Aman's pupils trembled as he stared in shock at the boy before him, who was roughly his own age. For a moment, he even forgot his guard. Ultimately, he was still just a relatively carefree child within the Martial King Manor; experience had not yet taught him any deep cunning.

"How do you know all this?! The matter of the Innate Supreme should never have spread beyond the Martial King Manor!" Aman asked in shock.

"I have my own methods for divining heaven's secrets." Chen Yao tapped the tabletop lightly and spoke without haste.

"I even know what supreme precious technique was on Shi Hao's Supreme Bone. It's called Heavenly Tribulation Light, a divine light descending from the sky, reputed to be a tribulation sent by the heavens themselves. Nothing can withstand it. And that's only what Shi Yi obtained. Back then, the Supreme Bone was still developing. After it was forcibly transplanted, its precious technique stopped evolving at Heavenly Tribulation Light. Had it been allowed to develop fully, that supreme precious technique would have become the Hand of Heaven, encompassing the mysteries of all the transformations of the heavens and far harder to resist." Chen Yao continued revealing secrets.

Then he saw Aman's gaze turn into What bullshit are you spouting? Clearly, Aman did not believe this flood of revelations. He merely suspected that Chen Yao had learned about the Innate Supreme through some special channel.

"Don't doubt me. I also know the various abilities of Shi Yi's double pupils. First, they inherently possess the functions of the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, letting him slow down and analyze movements, see through falsehoods, and deduce precious techniques. Second, his left eye sees life and his right eye sees death. One nurtures vitality and can create weapons and divine armor, as well as heal injuries. The other harbors death and destruction and can fire destructive beams. He also has methods such as opening a small world with both eyes to refine his enemies. Their ultimate profundity is Chaos World-Opening: uniting yin and yang to unleash World-Opening Sword Qi."

Chen Yao rattled off one elaborate explanation after another, leaving Aman dazed.

"And I've come to help you achieve your goal: defeat Shi Yi, the double-pupiled one, crush him, and make him understand that his character is unworthy of the Supreme Bone." After all his groundwork, Chen Yao finally stated his purpose.

"..." Aman remained silent. Bombarded by all this information, he did not know what to do. Only after a long while did he ask, "Why me? What do you stand to gain?"

"Because your talent is excellent. In my calculations, you're among the very best, and staying in the Martial King Manor would only bury that talent. Helping you fulfill your wish will naturally require a considerable investment from me. That means you'll owe me a very, very big favor, one you must repay. Once it's done, come with me and be my muscle while I roam the world. How does that sound?" Chen Yao answered clearly, without beating around the bush.

Once they reached the Upper Realm and attained the Venerable Realm, he would immediately try the Demon Venerable's grave, to see whether Aman could pass the trial and gain the approval of that suspected Immortal King Giant returning from the Boundary Sea. If it did not work, they would try again at a higher cultivation level. If they succeeded at all, he could immediately swagger through the Upper Realm unchallenged; even Remnant Immortals would have to bow their heads. He would gain the safest possible environment in which to grow. After all, rounding things off, that grave was practically a budget version of the Nine Heavens Flawed Immortal King Restricted Zone.

This was one of the few powerful backers in Perfect World that could be safely obtained for free! Even Shi Zhongtian had received a baptism thanks to his family connection. At the grave, he had even been immune to Heaven's Will Blade, preserving his lifespan in a world in the Age of Dharma's End. Countless people could only dream of finding a backer like that.

All of this depended on Aman. As someone who knew the plot in advance, Chen Yao understood that Aman was the shortcut NPC to an Immortal King backer.

Besides, building a good relationship with Aman came with a Bear Child attached. A tiny investment for an enormous return.

As for his earlier reason for not wanting the front line and only wanting to support from the rear? The pressure on the front line was far too intense. He really did not want to go there.