Chapter 219: Ten Cave Heavens

Cheng Lingyu gripped the scroll with both hands, curiosity burning as he tried to pull it open. Earlier outside the hall, he’d tested it and knew it would require great strength to unfurl. Yet now, to his surprise, the scroll opened with a light tug.

“Strange. Why did that heaviness vanish?”

Golden light burst forth as the scroll revealed a colorful-clad woman so breathtakingly beautiful it stole his breath. Cheng Lingyu stood frozen, staring at the painting.

The woman seemed otherworldly, not merely painted but imprinted onto the scroll. The white background shimmered with Spiritual Light, golden edges gleaming. At first glance, her beauty dazzled; closer inspection showed her form woven from dao patterns and spiritual marks, flowing seamlessly from head to toe, pulsing with the rhythm of the Dao.

“This… This scroll must be a projection of her spirit! Is she the castle’s master?”

No other details adorned the scroll—no landscapes, no words. Cheng Lingyu tore his gaze away, only to jolt in alarm. The palace doors had shut behind him. Spiritual patterns now glowed on walls and pillars, twisting into cryptic symbols that swirled in the void before vanishing.

Unprepared for this, Cheng Lingyu stared until the patterns faded and the doors reopened. He rolled up the scroll, mind racing.

“Sealing the palace when opened… This could be ideal for cultivation.”

Testing it repeatedly, he confirmed the effect. Yet doubts lingered. The castle stood prominently—how strong were its defenses? If interrupted during a critical moment, his efforts would crumble.

The large blue stone in the grand hall radiated mystery, its boundless energy perfect for forging the Tenth Cave Heaven. Such a treasure would be hard to find elsewhere.

After long hesitation, Cheng Lingyu reopened the scroll and slashed at the doors with the Flying Flower Snow Moon Sword—a flawless high-grade spirit artifact.

Sword light flashed. Ripples spread across the doors as spiritual patterns surged like waves, dissolving his fiercest attack.

“Defensive Strength exceeds expectations. Breaking in from outside would be tough.”

Relieved, he released the scroll. It floated upward, trembling faintly as spiritual patterns and dao markings across the hall converged toward it, as if unlocking a hidden realm.

Cheng Lingyu circled the hall, collecting sixteen storage rings and severed limbs from fallen Blood Martial Realm cultivators. He also gathered three broken spirit artifact fragments—materials for lifting the Ghostly Magic Blade’s second layer seal.

Returning to the large blue stone, he activated the technique of origins to simulate the Ten Cave Heavens’ creation. This demanded absolute precision—every flaw in his dozens of simulations was meticulously corrected.

History held few who’d succeeded in opening Ten Cave Heavens… and countless corpses lining that path.

Cheng Lingyu had gathered many resources. During his deductions, he factored in all these materials to determine the fastest and most efficient way to open the Ten Cave Heavens – his primary focus.

He spent half a day calmly running hundreds of simulations until he fully understood every step. He then laid out all his possessions, selecting necessary items including 108 Green Gemstones and 12 Red Gemstones from ancient ruins, hundreds of monster cores, dozens of spiritual herbs, and enough pills to consume two-thirds of his savings.

Without the palace’s large blue stone aiding him, he’d have needed all his resources for even a slim chance of success. After preparations, Cheng Lingyu stripped naked, stored his clothes in the storage ring, and swallowed the herbs, pills, and cores in one gulp. Sitting on the giant stone with gemstones arranged around him, he began forging the Tenth Cave Heaven.

The grueling process required three conditions: perfected Nine Cave Heavens (which he’d achieved), enormous resources most couldn’t afford, and physical endurance – the deadliest hurdle where countless cultivators had failed.

In the grand hall, the blue stone emitted hazy light containing rolling grand talismans. A scroll hovered above, showering golden rays that steadied his mind. Cheng Lingyu’s physical body transformed from dull to luminous, then transparent as the stone’s boundless energy merged with consumed resources, creating explosive synergy.

Cave Heavens materialized around him like energy-hoarding rings. This buildup alone took a full day. When his body couldn’t hold more power, he forced open the Tenth Cave Heaven through sheer will.

Creating the Ninth had been harder than the first eight, but the Tenth proved a hundredfold more difficult – like trying to lift a mountain with his neck. Roars echoed from his five lakes and four seas as his internal pyramid shook, channeling every ounce of strength.

Using Thousand Layers of Snow as foundation, he fused Burning Sky Technique, Sky Splitting Technique, technique of origins, and Dreamy Magic Eyes. Reality differed from his hundreds of simulations, but seven relentless days finally carved out a foothold in the Tenth Cave Heaven.

Dao patterns flocked to him as the hovering scroll quivered like a watching flower fairy. A spiritual diagram formed beneath him on the stone. Outside the castle, cultivators who’d heard rumors attacked the immovable palace gates while a colossal female figure loomed above the shining fortress – an extraordinary phenomenon ignored by Cheng Lingyu, who kept expanding his Tenth Cave Heaven.

Each inch took ten times the effort of the Ninth. The blue stone’s endless energy supply let him quintuple the space in ten days, yet it still wasn’t enough. The Tenth’s monstrous plasticity amazed him. After five more days of nonstop work, it stabilized at nine times the Ninth’s size – larger than all previous nine combined.

As the Tenth Cave Heaven finalized, the palace quaked. The stone beneath him turned gray, drained of all energy.