The Bronze Gate

As the talismans carved into the walls of the Cultivation Room lit up one by one, the spiritual energy within gathered like a swarm of bees around the meditation cushion on the green jade tiles, transforming into wisps of barely perceptible spiritual light that continually burrowed into Chen Beiwu's body.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!

After transforming the Spirit Power in his Dantian, boiling like quicksilver, into Ten Thousand Beasts Art Magic Power, Chen Beiwu opened his eyes and exhaled a wisp of visible air.

The stream of air made a sound like silk tearing. It lingered in the air for two breaths before slowly dissipating.

My cultivation speed is a full thirty percent faster than before, but the spiritual energy in the Cultivation Room is a little insufficient. Chen Beiwu looked at the talismans around him, their colors dimmed.

The higher a cultivator's realm, the more spiritual energy they needed to draw in and release while cultivating.

The amount of spiritual energy supplied each day by a Middle-Grade First Tier Cultivation Room was limited. It could sustain the daily cultivation of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, but it could not meet his needs.

Unless he was willing to spend a large number of Spirit Stones upgrading the Cultivation Room at home to First-Tier Superior-Grade.

At the thought, Chen Beiwu couldn't help shaking his head.

No wonder it was hard for those of Humble Origins to produce powerful cultivators.

The children of Cultivation Lineages could pave a path to immortality with vast quantities of Spirit Stones, while ordinary people could only pinch and scrape, splitting up the Low-Grade Spirit Stones in their hands to chase that unreachable dream of ascension.

Of course, some cultivators chose to seek other shortcuts.

As Chen Beiwu understood it, some of the powerful figures in the Immortal Alliance's Three Major Institutions had risen thanks to the start-up funds provided by their wives' families.

If he hadn't possessed a Divine Ability treasure, then with no resources, if he wanted to cultivate toward immortality, he probably would have had no choice but to cling to-or even marry into-a Cultivation Lineage, just as Liu Yan had said.

It's a pity my strength is too weak, and my Nine-Breath Qi Ingestion Divine Ability is only at the entry level. I can't bring out the power of Nine-Breath Chaos at all, Chen Beiwu thought to himself.

Every time he entered the Nine-Breath Chaos Land, he could sense the supreme power contained within this treasure.

But his strength was low, and his Fortune was not strong enough. He could only use the Nine-Breath Qi Ingestion Divine Ability to barely pry loose a trace of the Chaos Land's power.

At the thought, Chen Beiwu took a deep breath, extinguished the distracting thoughts in his mind, took out the Jade Slip Chen Qin had given him, pressed it to his forehead, and channeled his Magic Power.

Buzz! A faint light blossomed across the Jade Slip's surface. The information it contained resonated with his Magic Power and surged into his mind.

After a long while, Chen Beiwu opened his eyes, a trace of surprise in them.

The information Sister Qin had given him was more or less the same as what he had looked up earlier, but it included two more water-type Spirit Beasts with exceptionally powerful evolution paths.

[Species]: Azure-Wave Spirit Carp

[Attribute]: Water

[Bloodline]: Second-Tier Upper Grade (Spirit Beast)

[Innate Talent]: Water Affinity (Naturally drawn to water-attributed spiritual energy; can control water to create illusions and confuse opponents)

[Can Evolve Into]: Azure-Scaled Treasure Flood Dragon (Third-Tier Mid-Grade Treasure Beast), Purple-Scaled Dragon Chi (Third-Tier Upper-Grade Treasure Beast)...

[Evaluation]: Azure-Wave Spirit Carp often appear in spiritual springs and enjoy eating the essence of moonlight. They are outstanding members of the Spirit Carp clan, and possess a trace of Flood Dragon Bloodline within their bodies. If they can survive the Heaven's Tribulation, they can transform into Flood Dragons and command the power of rivers.

The more Chen Beiwu read, the more delighted he became.

Compared with the Azure Spirit Newt he had shortlisted, the Azure-Wave Spirit Carp undoubtedly had greater potential and a brighter future.

Its only drawback was that the Azure-Wave Spirit Carp's combat strength was far too weak in its early stages, not even a tenth of the other's.

But if he could raise the Azure-Wave Spirit Carp to adulthood, its combat strength would far exceed that of the Azure Spirit Newt, and it would even have a chance to transform into a Flood Dragon.

After placing the Azure-Wave Spirit Carp at the top of his shortlist, Chen Beiwu recalled the information on another Spirit Beast with decent potential.

[Species]: Darkwater Spirit Turtle

[Attribute]: Water, Yin-Yang (latent)

[Bloodline]: Second-Tier Upper Grade (Spirit Beast)

[Innate Talent]: Dual-Colored Two Poles (Carries a Yin-Yang shell on its back and can bear an entire water realm)

[Can Evolve Into]: Mysterious-Water Nether Turtle (Third-Tier Upper-Grade Treasure Beast), Great Nether Mysterious Turtle (Fourth-Tier Mysterious Beast)...

[Evaluation]: Darkwater Spirit Turtles often appear in rivers and seas, and enjoy swallowing the waters of the surrounding oceans. They must encounter a Thunder Tribulation to awaken their Innate Talent, drawing the waters of the four seas within their bodies to form a miniature water realm of their own, capable of suppressing rivers and seas. They are the exclusive Spirit Beast of the Cavern Mystery Immortal Sect, one of the Thirteen Immortal Sects.

Those who successfully Contract a Mysterious-Water Nether Turtle can enter the Cavern Mystery Immortal Sect without an exam and directly study the Supreme Cavern Mystery Numinous Treasure Scripture.

Cultivators who successfully cultivate the True through Borrowed Beasts using the "Supreme Cavern Mystery Numinous Treasure Scripture" have a chance to raise the Darkwater Spirit Turtle into the legendary Northern Nether Black Tortoise, said to be capable of suppressing the Celestial River.

The more Chen Beiwu thought about it, the more surprised he became.

The Darkwater Spirit Turtle was the exclusive Spirit Beast of the Cavern Mystery Immortal Sect and was never released to outsiders. How had it suddenly appeared in the Spirit Beast Pavilion of Fallen Dragon Prefecture?

But more than any of that, what surprised him was where Sister Qin had gotten such firsthand information.

Bang, bang, bang!

Just then, Chen Beiwu's expression changed. His heart began to pound wildly, and thin, dark golden lines appeared across the surface of the Magic Power flowing through his body, forming an abstruse, obscure talisman.

What's going on!!!

Before he could react, a dazzling golden light burst forth with a roar. Soon, as the light faded, the Cultivation Room stood empty.

When Chen Beiwu regained consciousness, he had already appeared in the Nine-Breath Chaos Land.

Unlike before, when he tried to move his arm, he found he couldn't move at all. His body seemed to have merged with this Chaos Heaven and Earth.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

As a blinding seven-colored light swept past the right side of Chen Beiwu's body, this domain where heaven and earth had yet to divide, this region where Yin and Yang had yet to be distinguished, began to transform amid deafening roars.

The seven-colored light traced a series of fine cracks. The cracks then spread rapidly, forming a gigantic fissure.

And within that fissure, an immense Bronze Gate, impossible to describe in words, slowly emerged.

It was about a thousand zhang wide and its height was impossible to fathom. It seemed to prop up the heavens, its doors engraved with countless ancient, magnificent symbols.

The symbols sometimes transformed into stars filling the sky, sometimes into a vast Star River, and sometimes into mountains and rivers. They radiated an ancient aura that made the heart tremble.

"What is this...!"

As Chen Beiwu watched, the Bronze Gate let out a world-shaking rumble and then slowly opened, revealing the twisted space within.

It was a bottomless black hole, like the starting point of heaven and earth and also the destination of all things.

No one knew how much time had passed. Perhaps a minute, perhaps a day, or perhaps a year.

When the ancient radiance blooming from the Bronze Gate filled Chen Beiwu's vision, his head drooped, and his consciousness vanished once more.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, scattering dappled shadows across the ground.

Drip!

A crystal-clear dewdrop fell from a verdant branch and landed on the forehead of the sleeping man, jolting him awake from his dream.

The spiritual energy is so rich! Breathing in the fragrance of plants and trees that filled the air, Chen Beiwu opened his eyes in surprise.

But in the next instant, a flash of green at the edge of his vision made his body tense. He didn't dare move at all.