Chapter 41: Spatial Storm
Buzz~
The moment Yao Yan crushed the teleportation jade token, darkness swallowed his vision. A sensation of weightlessness overtook his body—but it only lasted a breath before vanishing completely. Then, a strange and void-like world unfolded before him.
A vast, deep darkness. Deathly silent. No sounds. So suffocating it made one's heart clench. It felt like drifting through a black hole.
Yao Yan instinctively touched the small form nestled against his chest. Once he confirmed that Ling'er was still with him, he let out a soft breath of relief. A faint smile formed at the corner of his lips—because he realized Ling'er was even more scared than him. As soon as they'd entered this void, she had curled up into a ball in his arms like a frightened turtle.
At the same time, the shattered teleportation jade token floated above his head and transformed into beams of radiant light, shooting into the void ahead.
"So this is Hun Xuzi's contingency?"
Seeing this, Yao Yan understood that this was the defensive mechanism Hun Xuzi had left behind—to prevent the Yao Clan from tracing him.
In this regard, his teacher truly had been thorough.
All that remained of the jade token was a silver shard, pulsing with dense spatial energy, enveloping Yao Yan and propelling him into the infinite darkness.
…
In this void, time seemed to lose meaning.
No one knew how long had passed.
A wisp of black flame emerged from Yao Yan's storage ring, encasing the jade token. A figure coalesced from invisible soul force—it was the long-absent Hun Xuzi. He hovered silently in the void, and the once-turbulent spatial forces around him instantly settled into calm.
Dark-red flames flickered in his eyes. With a faint smile in his voice, he said, "Little one, congratulations on your revenge."
The moment he appeared—
Yao Yan's face lit up briefly, but it quickly darkened at those words. His voice dropped. "I don't think it's something to celebrate. If not for Teacher, I would never have known the truth about that year. And even if I had… maybe I still wouldn't have been able to change anything."
"On the Dou Qi Continent, strength reigns supreme. All that matters is cultivation."
Dark red light flickered again in Hun Xuzi's eyes. As if reminded of something, he let out a strange laugh. "When your strength is high enough, you'll find that whatever you do… is always right. Jie jie~"
"I understand, Teacher."
Yao Yan nodded. He had already seen this principle at work through Hun Xuzi himself.
But unlike his teacher, he didn't enjoy bullying the weak—especially when they hadn't wronged him. He was willing to offer some measure of respect to the powerless. Hun Xuzi, on the other hand, took amusement in manipulating and crushing them, treating lives as playthings.
To Yao Yan, strength was meant to control his own fate—not to dominate others', and certainly not to torment the helpless. That was meaningless.
"You'll understand what I mean in time," Hun Xuzi said casually with a smile.
After a pause—
He added, "This place is quite far from the Black-Corner Region. You'll need to cross all of Central Plains. At your current physical strength, going too fast would tear you apart from the spatial currents. You'll have to travel slowly. It'll take over a month."
If his main body were here, it wouldn't be such a hassle. But right now, Hun Xuzi's main body was busy—refining a ninth-tier pill. He couldn't spare the time.
As the Hun Clan's premier alchemist—indeed, the only ninth-tier grandmaster—some pills could only be refined by him. With dozens of Dou Saints depending on him, his workload was unimaginable.
It was one reason why he had chosen to train Yao Yan.
As for other alchemists in this era… well, considering the Hun Clan's reputation—better not to mention them.
Yao Yan responded, "A little over a month? I'll wait patiently."
Hun Xuzi seemed at ease, and after a few more reminders, he withdrew his soul force projection, leaving Yao Yan to travel alone through the darkness.
Teacher, aren't you worried I have claustrophobia? Yao Yan joked silently, glancing around at the oppressive void. He crossed his legs and settled into meditation. As for cultivation, this space lacked the natural energy needed to sustain it. All he could do was tease Ling'er, the cowardly little fox in his arms.
…
…
The unchanging, infinite darkness—staring at it too long would drive a weak-willed person mad.
Fortunately, Yao Yan had something to focus on. With Dou Qi and body refinement temporarily off the table, he focused on refining the soul crystal within him—seeking to understand the relationship between soul power, blood energy, and Dou Qi. As for safety? With Hun Xuzi's preparation, he had nothing to worry about.
Time passed quietly.
A month later—
Yao Yan slowly opened his eyes. A sharp light flashed in them for a brief instant. His soul had reached near-saturation; it could no longer absorb additional spirit energy. The overflow had begun to seep into his blood and Dou Qi, strengthening both little by little.
"Spiritual energy really is amazing…"
He couldn't help but marvel. It directly enhanced one's essence, Qi, and spirit with rapid, tangible results—far more efficiently than Dou Qi. Unfortunately, spiritual energy was too scarce on the Dou Qi Continent to sustain regular cultivation. A real shame.
After a moment of reflection, he looked down at Ling'er in his arms.
The little fox was still asleep—deeply so. Curled around her own fluffy tail, she looked like a warm, soft ball of fur. Adorably helpless.
Yao Yan felt strangely soothed. He gently stroked her head, then looked up at the surrounding void and the flickering silver spatial currents. Even from afar, their violent and chaotic nature made them dangerous.
Then he realized—
It wasn't just his imagination. The surrounding space was becoming increasingly unstable. A storm was forming.
"It's not just a feeling—it's real."
Yao Yan's gaze sharpened. He stared ahead at a massive silver tornado forming in the distance. His heart sank.
There, within the dark void, endless spatial energy was spiraling into a vortex. It was directly in his path. The sight alone made his scalp tingle. Instinctively, his eyes turned to the silver shard from the teleportation token still drifting in front of him.
Would this thing avoid the danger on its own?
Apparently not. Yao Yan had overestimated it. The shard had no sentience. As he watched, it charged straight into the heart of the spatial storm.
(END CHAPTER)
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