Chapter 442 - 402: Guang Mingzi

Chapter 442: Chapter 402: Guang Mingzi

Vanished? How could he be gone? Did he use a treasure that causes a Spatial Shift, like a Heaven-Transferring Talisman, to flee this place?

Impossible! Using a Heaven-Transferring Talisman would cause spatial fluctuations, but neither of them felt a thing. There were no energy fluctuations, either. The boy just vanished into thin air!

"Where is he?" Elder Yuan Heng scanned the area. The room wasn’t that big, but he couldn’t find him after searching several times. He spun around and barked furiously at Elder Taiyuan.

"I... I was also distracted by the boy’s actions, and I didn’t see..." Elder Taiyuan stammered, trembling at his senior’s rage.

’Right now, Elder Yuan Heng is just like Jiang Feng—this boy has driven them both a little crazy. If I say the wrong thing, there’s no guarantee he won’t just kill me on the spot.’

"Damn it, damn it!"

After looking around and still finding nothing, Elder Yuan Heng let out a roar.

’This is insane! How could he just disappear? Unless...’

Elder Yuan Heng turned to look at the Crystal Ball behind him.

"It must be this thing. A mechanism left behind by that Primordial Qi Master, Guang Mingzi. Otherwise, it’s impossible that even I couldn’t spot him!" Elder Yuan Heng’s eyes were bloodshot.

"Senior, what should we do now?" Elder Taiyuan asked, cautiously approaching.

"What else can we do? We’ll teleport over, too! I’d like to see where he can run!" Gritting his teeth, he snorted, then turned to Elder Taiyuan. "You, get over here and touch the Crystal Ball!"

Remembering how Yi Cheng had vanished the same way when they first entered, Elder Yuan Heng bellowed.

"Me?" Elder Taiyuan jumped in fright.

"That’s right. You or me?" Yuan Heng shot him a murderous glare.

"Yes!" Elder Taiyuan knew if he refused, their bond would be over, and Yuan Heng would almost certainly attack him on the spot. He gritted his teeth, walked over, and grabbed the Crystal Stone.

BUZZ!

The Crystal Stone flashed with light.

SWOOSH!

Elder Taiyuan vanished from sight.

’So it really is a Teleportation Array...’

When Elder Taiyuan was teleported, Elder Yuan Heng had specifically used his Domain to probe the process. He confirmed it was indeed a Teleportation Array and that it posed no danger. Taking a deep breath, he let a thick killing intent emanate from his body.

’Did you really think you could escape...’

Before his voice had even faded, the Crystal Ball flashed once, and he vanished from the room as well.

***

"That was close!"

The moment Elder Yuan Heng vanished, Nie Yun abruptly reappeared in the same spot he had disappeared from, panting heavily.

Elder Yuan Heng had been blocking the Crystal Ball, so he couldn’t reach it and naturally couldn’t use the Teleportation Array to leave. The reason he had vanished was that he had taken advantage of their inattention to slip into the Zihua Cave Mansion!

The Zihua Cave Mansion, the supreme abode left behind by the Zihua Daoist, could change its size at will. It could shrink down to a tiny mote of dust, completely indistinguishable from a grain of sand or dirt and impossible to detect!

Only a supreme expert who had reached the Secret Realm Fifth Layer and comprehended Heaven and Earth Unity, allowing them to sense the changes in the world, might be able to tell this mote of dust apart from any other.

For a Secret Realm Fourth Layer expert to find it was next to impossible!

Of course, there was an exception. If Nie Yun had been enveloped by his opponent’s Domain and then tried to enter the Zihua Cave Mansion from within it, he would have been easily discovered. After all, for a Domain Realm powerhouse, everything within their Domain is under their complete control!

Nie Yun hadn’t been inside Elder Yuan Heng’s Domain, and he had entered the Cave Mansion at the exact moment his opponents were distracted. Therefore, even though Elder Yuan Heng and Elder Taiyuan were exceptionally clever, they never would have guessed that he had a portable Cave Mansion and had already slipped inside!

’I still underestimated how much True Qi being a Flame Master consumes...’

Nie Yun shook his head, recalling the danger he had just been in.

He had only exchanged a single blow with Jiang Feng earlier, and nearly all the True Qi he had painstakingly accumulated had been depleted. Right now, although his Qi Sea was vast, it was like a dry riverbed, completely empty.

’I’ve used up so much True Qi. I really don’t know when I’ll be able to recover fully...’

He had devoured hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones without even filling his Qi Sea, and now that it was nearly empty again, he had no idea how many more he would need.

’I need to recover some strength first. They’ve teleported away too. If they run into Yi Qing, Yi Cheng, and the others, it’ll be a disaster. I have to get over there immediately!’

Slowly getting to his feet, Nie Yun raised his hands. More than half of the Low-Grade and Mid-Grade Spirit Stones he had swindled from Rongtian City flew out, hovering in the air and shimmering with light.

Yuan Heng and his companion had also teleported. If they ended up in the same place as Yi Qing and Yi Cheng, those two would never be able to escape. Therefore, he had to recover his strength immediately and follow them as quickly as possible.

Of course, even with so many Spirit Stones, a full recovery would be difficult. He could only recover as much as possible for now.

"Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water, activate my body! Devour the Spiritual Power!"

With a clench of his hand, the Spirit Stones in the air shattered simultaneously. A massive dragon of Spiritual Qi instantly shot into Nie Yun through the crown of his head.

His fifteen Dantians spun frantically. Nie Yun’s eyes were wide. After a moment, he finally exhaled, feeling that a portion of his strength had returned.

The Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Stones still needed to be refined by his Dantians to be fully converted into True Qi, but there wasn’t enough time. This would have to do.

Looking inward with his spirit, he saw that even with so many Spirit Stones, he had only refilled about a third of his Qi Sea. Nie Yun shook his head, took two steps to the Crystal Ball, and placed his palm lightly upon it.

BUZZ!

He felt a warmth spread through his body. When Nie Yun opened his eyes again, he had arrived in a strange, new space.

’What is this place? Am I still beneath the molten rock?’

Looking up, he saw that he was in a huge cave. Scorching gales blew from all directions, and despite Nie Yun’s considerable strength, he could still feel the searing heat waves wash over him, making his whole body burn.

’To think there’s a cave beneath the molten rock. I have no idea how that Primordial Qi Master named Guang Mingzi ever found this place.’

"Successor, the fact that you were able to come here means we are fated to meet. However, whether you can receive my inheritance will depend on whether you are qualified!"

Suddenly, a tall figure appeared on the stone wall directly in front of Nie Yun.

This figure was tall and imposing, his body a mass of corded muscle. His eyes were bright and spirited, shining with a keen light. One glance was enough to tell that this was a powerful and domineering individual.

"I, Guang Mingzi, have no special criteria for choosing a successor. All that matters is that you have a sufficiently vast Qi Sea! I am a Primordial Qi Master, and the Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts I leave behind all require a foundation of profound True Qi. If your True Qi is insufficient, you are not qualified to learn them!"

Guang Mingzi flicked his sleeve, his tone carrying a natural arrogance and dominance.

"Excellent!" Hearing Guang Mingzi’s straightforward and bold words, which didn’t beat around the bush, Nie Yun found it greatly to his liking and couldn’t help but shout in approval.

"The Qi Sea is where True Qi and Mana gather. A large Qi Sea means more accumulated True Qi, and a person’s strength is greater. But is more True Qi always better? Wrong! If your Qi Sea is huge, but your throughput is insufficient, you can’t use the power. What’s so great about that? How is that any different from those good-for-nothings?" Guang Mingzi was merely a projection and couldn’t hear Nie Yun’s shout, so he continued on his own.

"True Qi throughput?" Nie Yun froze. A flash of insight struck his mind, and he felt as if he had been suddenly enlightened, a shiver running through him.

After being modified multiple times by the Nameless Technique, the vastness of his Qi Sea far exceeded that of ordinary people. However, he had to expend great effort just to fill it, and when it came to his True Qi throughput, there was no significant difference from before.

If it takes you one day to drain a ten-square-meter pool, and ten days to drain a one-hundred-square-meter pool, the throughput hasn’t actually changed at all. You’ve just swapped a small pool for a big one.

Before, he could exhaust all the True Qi in his body with a single Momentum of the Earth. Back then, he had little True Qi. But now, with such a vast Qi Sea, if he could also exhaust it all in a single move, how powerful would that attack be?

The power of draining a ten-square-meter pool in one day versus draining a one-hundred-square-meter pool in one day is completely different!

It was terrifying just to think about!

"True Qi is meant to be squandered! If you have True Qi but are reluctant to use it, and you still expect to be stronger than others in a fight, that’s bullshit! A battle is about using an absolute stance, absolute power, to crush your opponent! Nothing less will do!"

Guang Mingzi declared in a resonant voice.

’Absolute strength, crushing them with absolute True Qi... Truly worthy of a Primordial Qi Master. How incredibly bold!’

Nie Yun’s blood boiled with excitement, and he couldn’t help but clench his fists.

’He was right, of course, but only a Primordial Qi Master could afford to do that. Take me, for example. If I really were to crush someone with absolute True Qi, I could succeed. But afterward, I have no idea how much wealth and effort it would take to recover my True Qi. The gains wouldn’t be worth the losses!’

’That’s why, under normal circumstances, I never dare to unleash my full power. After all, once my True Qi is gone, even escaping is impossible. I’d be nothing but a sitting duck, left to be slaughtered at will.’

"My inheritance consists of six sets of Palm Techniques. Each set possesses world-shaking might that can perfectly unleash the True Qi from one’s Qi Sea, making them infinitely powerful! I had originally hoped to find another Primordial Qi Master for my inheritance, but I know that is the ninth-ranked special talent, a near-divine miracle. It’s impossible to find another one in this world. As for all those other tedious trials and tests, I can’t be bothered. In my eyes, there is only one condition, and I’ll say it again: to receive my inheritance, you must have an exceptionally vast Qi Sea! Only then can you apply the most overwhelming pressure on your opponents and successfully master my six sets of Palm Techniques!"

The figure spoke in a resonant voice, his tone crisp and direct.

"Follow the stone path straight ahead. At the end, there is a large stone chamber. On the left side of the chamber, I have sealed the first move of the Palm Technique with Primordial Qi. Only by successfully cultivating it can you enter the second room and receive my true inheritance and the remaining five sets of Palm Techniques!"

After speaking, Guang Mingzi waved his hand. Light splashed across the wall, and the figure abruptly vanished.

’He sealed the move with Primordial Qi?’ Nie Yun’s fists clenched in excitement, his eyes glowing red.

’I came here hoping to find Primordial Qi. As long as I can just sense it, I’ll be able to form a Primordial Qi Dantian and become a Primordial Qi Master!’

Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his excitement and strode forward. Sure enough, after just a few steps, he once again saw a small Crystal Ball standing before him.

This Crystal Ball was just like the previous one. After a careful inspection, he saw that it was another Teleportation Array. Without further hesitation, he walked over and gently placed his hand on it.

WHOOSH!

Nie Yun vanished on the spot.