Chapter 325: Lock of All Things
Chapter 325: Lock of All Things
Cheng Yun gazed in that direction but saw no “destiny star”—his cultivation level was too low, and his vision too blurry.
“What’s a destiny star?”
Yuxi laughed. “A destiny star hosts living beings. Not life in the star itself, but life nurtured upon it. All stars hold life, just in different forms. We call those with ancient civilizations Life Ancient Stars. They’re the rarest in the cosmos.”
This was Cheng Yun’s first time hearing such things. He felt like he was in a fog.
“This… isn’t a dream?”
Yuxi’s otherworldly eyes locked onto him, snapping him to clarity in an instant.
“All of this is real.”
Cheng Yun swallowed. “Where are we going?”
“Another world. Now tell me—how did you meet Yu Zhen?”
Cheng Yun’s face softened with memory, drifting back to that year, that moment.
“I found her injured in the woods near Yunyang City. Weak, head badly hurt, most memories gone… I took her home. We cared for each other. Fell in love. Those… were my happiest days.”
Yuxi’s gaze turned odd. “And then?”
A foolish grin spread across Cheng Yun’s face. “After healing, she still couldn’t remember her past. I asked her to stay. To marry me. Her smile… so warm. She got pregnant the next year.”
“You claim she died in childbirth?”
Cheng Yun’s face twisted—old grief, older guilt.
“We were happy. Then I left on clan business. While I was gone, she argued with the elders. They punished her—half a month in the Sinkhole. She was three months pregnant. When I returned… I fought them. They pushed us out. Six months later… our son lived. She didn’t.”
Yuxi leaned closer. “What’s special about this Sinkhole?”
“I never thought about it before. Now? It feels… strange. Wrong.”
“Wrong how?”
“We named our boy Lingyu—hoped he’d soar above heaven and earth. But he couldn’t cultivate. No reason. Then… after Ruo Xue’s wedding, they sent Lingyu to the Sinkhole. Three days there. When he came out? Suddenly he could cultivate. Genius-level talent. Still no one knows why.”
Yuxi nodded slowly. “I’ll investigate that Sinkhole.”
“When do I go home?”
“Patience. Another world first. Then yours. Use this time to cultivate. Your current level… it’s pitiful.”
Cheng Yun reddened. “An old injury stunted me. Would’ve reached Blood Martial Realm otherwise.”
“Blood Martial’s still weak. Reach Spirit Martial Realm before we return. Bare minimum.”
“Spirit Martial? You’re mad!”
Yuxi gestured at the starry void beyond the Taixu warship. “Without this ship? You’d die here. Cultivation’s your only armor.”
“Armor? What’s that got to do with—”
“Watch.”
Yuxi leaped. The warship’s defensive barrier parted like water. She stood thousand feet out in the void, ordered divine chains bursting from her—rainbow-lit lotus petals swirling into infinity, wrapping her in glowing cocoon. A fairy walking mortal skies.
Cheng Yun gaped. What Realm could let someone… do that?
The Taixu warship sped forward as Yuxi darted through the vast starry sky with undiminished speed.
After a while, Yuxi returned silently to Cheng Yun’s side, leaving him gaping in shock.
“You… What Realm have you reached to be this strong?”
Yuxi smiled wordlessly and pointed into the distance. “See that?”
Cheng Yun followed Yuxi’s finger and glimpsed a faintly glowing mountain deep within the folds of time and space.
“That’s… a floating mountain in the temporal void?”
“Stars shift and worlds turn – motion is nature’s way,” Yuxi replied. “What you see is a living flame-wreathed demon peak, older than recorded history.”
“It moves freely? Without celestial patterns?”
“Those who dwell there bend star-paths to their will. Such mysteries lie beyond your current grasp. Move along now – attracting its attention would bring grave trouble.”
Yuxi tugged Cheng Yun’s sleeve. They blinked back into the warship’s cabin moments before the vessel tore through dimensions, vanishing into the starry depths.
…
In Fallen God Ridge’s Supreme Spirit Palace, Cheng Lingyu hovered between wakefulness and slumber, his mind empty as polished jade. Submerged in spiritual liquid, his translucent flesh shed impurities like water off lotus leaves.
Strange energies pulsed from his extremities – the Fang Tian Bao Yin in his left palm, Ghostly Magic Blade in his right, Celestial Measurement at his right foot. The mysterious lock fragment on his left foot finally stirred, revealing its nature as the Lock of Universal Energy.
When the third seal on Fang Tian Bao Yin broke, thunder patterns joined its existing fire and wind sigils. Cheng Lingyu’s growing cultivation accelerated his mastery of these treasures.
The Lock of Universal Energy imprinted itself in his consciousness as both magical artifact and unparalleled ultimate skill. Paired with the Celestial Measurement’s binding laws, these divine weapons completed his arsenal.
As Cheng Lingyu slipped into deep sleep, his inner pyramid resonated with self-perfecting vibrations. Observers Han Cang and Wan Fang departed after three silent days of vigil.
…
In Fallen God Seventh Palace, Fang Ruohua focused on breaking through to Blood Weapon Second Level. Her cultivation session broke when Mu Hua arrived beaming.
“Elder Brother Mu! That smile says you’ve reached Blood Martial Third Level!”
“Sharp as ever, Fang junior sister! Closed-door training paid off.”
“Better keep advancing,” she teased, “or I’ll overtake you.”
Mu Hua’s eyes widened. “You’re already Blood Weapon Second Level?”
“Broke through yesterday. Cheng junior apprentice’s high-grade spirit artifact helped.”
“That pretty-faced brat!” Mu Hua snorted. “Where’s my spirit artifact? I’ll demand answers!”
Fang Ruohua’s laughter chimed like windchimes. “Seen Cheng junior apprentice lately?”
“How? He’s no Middle Four Palaces dweller – master’s pet projects don’t mingle with us.”
“Jealous, Elder Brother Mu?”
“Envious and proud,” he admitted. “Fallen God Ridge’s millennia-long dormancy ends with him. He’ll crush Mingmo Ridge and Lou Ri Ridge both.”
“Don’t celebrate yet,” Mu Hua cautioned. “Pan junior sister says Xiling Yue entered Mingmo First Palace – another freakish genius matching Cheng junior apprentice’s pace.”
Fang Ruohua crossed her arms. “Cheng junior apprentice will prevail.”
…
At the city lord’s residence, Mu Bai delivered his report: “Xuanmoon Ridge consents. Mingmo Ridge hesitates. Other ridges propose…”
“What proposal?” the city lord interrupted.