Chapter 88: Heavenly Passage

If Cheng Lingyu kept cultivating according to Thousand Layers of Snow’s standards, he wondered how many years it would take to reach the Blood Martial Realm.

With a sigh, he pulled out an alchemy manual he’d neglected earlier. Pausing his cultivation, he immersed himself in studying its contents. The text outlined core alchemical principles and revealed truths unknown to ordinary cultivators.

Though not a rare treasure, this manual held exactly what Cheng Lingyu needed.

Alchemy demanded meticulous preparation—herb ratios, furnace flames, and material types all proved critical. Cheng Lingyu focused on herb combinations, realizing ordinary ingredients could produce extraordinary pills through synergistic interactions.

He possessed many pills, yet taking them individually yielded limited results. By consuming multiple types together, their combined effects amplified dramatically, maximizing potency.

After two hours of study, Cheng Lingyu memorized the manual’s teachings. He gathered pills and herbs, preparing to test a radical method: using his own body as the crucible.

This reckless approach didn’t deter him. His unique Constitution repelled blades and poisons, while his calculative mind and technique of origins fueled his confidence.

Over the next two days, Cheng Lingyu balanced cultivation with manual studies, even grasping fragments of forging techniques.

Information swirled through his mind, triggering bodily reactions that accelerated his growth. By consuming eighty monster cores, nine low-grade spiritual herbs, two Heavenly Holy Pills, five Three Yang Transformation Pills, four Ruyi Pills, twenty-four Xuan Yang Pills, and assorted spiritual grasses, he expanded his second True Essence Sea tenfold—matching his first True Essence Sea’s capacity.

This breakthrough conserved resources: without combining pill effects, he’d have needed eightfold more materials.

“Halfway through the River Stage after ten days… Senior Sister must be searching. Time to leave.”

Rising, Cheng Lingyu inventoried his remaining cultivation resources: fourteen manuals from the stone room. He’d destroyed the Xuanhuo Sect’s alchemy and forging manuals after mastering them.

The stone room’s collection included two alchemy manuals, three forging guides, four combat techniques (Purple Blood Golden Flame, Thousand Strikes, Thunder Palm, Heart-Burning Needle), a Poison Scripture, two spiritual array texts, a spirit beast manual, and a martial soul manual.

Cheng Lingyu mastered everything except the spiritual arrays, which paled against the Heavenly Spirit Diagram. He considered destroying the manuals but opted to auction or gift them instead.

The spirit beast manual’s Lightning Weasel taming methods held value. The Poison Scripture’s twelve advanced techniques bored him—he shelved it in his Spirit Cloak Ring. The martial soul manual intrigued him most, detailing Beast Souls and plant souls for future Soul Martial Realm advancement.

Purple Blood Golden Flame hailed from the Heavenly Fire Sect (Three Saints and Four Peerless). Thunder Palm belonged to Tianlei Sacred Church. Thousand Strikes, a peerless leg technique, originated from Divine Martial Sect. Heart-Burning Needle’s eerie lethality made its origins mysterious.

These manuals hinted at Three Saints experts dying here long ago—proof of the stone room’s hidden secrets.

Determined, Cheng Lingyu examined the spiritual array. As he pondered, his left hand lifted. A vortex formed in his palm while Fang Tian Bao Yin bobbed in his True Essence Sea, waves coalescing into a radiant flame that shaped a tiny human figure.

This was the Burning Sky Technique cultivated by Cheng Lingyu, originating from the Fang Tian Bao Yin—a supreme divine art he had only begun to grasp.

The flame-formed figure bore vivid expressions, resembling Cheng Lingyu’s avatar. After observing the Spiritual Array in the stone room, it shot out and began darting across the array in a precise rhythm.

Cheng Lingyu possessed two True Essence Seas, both at their peak limits, yet he chose his left hand to dismantle the array—a clever trick. The magic knife in his right hand had its first seal unlocked, wielding terrifying power. But fearing backlash from this eerie place, he switched to his left hand.

As a novice in the Burning Sky Technique, his control over the Burning Sky flames remained fragile, requiring cautious reliance on the Fang Tian Bao Yin’s power. Thanks to the Heavenly Spirit Diagram, he knew the method to break the formation—what he lacked was sufficient strength.

The Burning Sky flames, carrying the aura of fiery sprites, darted across the array under immense resistance. The stone room’s formation was profoundly intricate, excelling in sealing and suppression. Even with the solution, insufficient power rendered it unbreakable.

Focusing entirely, Cheng Lingyu channeled his mid-River Stage cultivation, enduring mountainous pressure that nearly crushed him. After an hour, his first attempt failed—he lacked the final surge of strength.

Undaunted, he adjusted his state, floating in the void until sleep overtook him. Flickering lights coalesced into a light cloud, cushioning his exhausted body.

After a night’s rest, he awoke refreshed and launched a second attempt. Sharper control and heightened strength let him unravel the array in ninety minutes.

As the Spiritual Light faded, the stone room dimmed. The stone door creaked open, freeing him—yet the room’s secrets remained hidden.

Cheng Lingyu stood motionless, vortex-like eyes scanning every corner. Something lingered here—invisible, intangible, yet faintly perceptible.

Using the Magic Eyes technique, he entered a dreamless state. A silver-white line materialized from the void, shifting endlessly. Cheng Lingyu observed unmoved as it morphed into a complex mark.

The mark sharpened. His eyes brightened. In his mysterious space, the pyramid hummed, emitting chaotic light. The silver line trembled violently, dissolving into a serpent that burrowed into his brow. Moments later, the mark reappeared on his forehead—a profound, cryptic sigil exuding ancient mystery.

Startled awake, Cheng Lingyu felt the plant in his mind quiver. Its leaves parted, spiritual patterns swirling as a special mark blazed above it. Light showered the leaves, forming runes steeped in the Great Path’s truths and heavenly essence.

The mark on his forehead pulsed warmly before vanishing. “Heavenly Passage?” The name echoed in his mind, bestowed by the plant. Though he practiced the technique of origins, the sigil’s secrets eluded him.

“Did they come here for this?” he wondered. A deafening boom shook the underground palace.

He darted into tunnels, chasing the noise. The sprawling palace rattled with indecipherable echoes. After futile searching, he consulted the Source Pearl and headed toward the Spirit Pool’s cavern.

There, cultivators swarmed the site.

“Junior apprentice!” Caiyun spotted him, smiling as she tugged him aside.