Chapter 95: Sharing the Harvest

After leaving the chasm, Caiyun appeared in the underground palace. Cultivators were everywhere, fighting and scrambling. Some even attacked her.

With a cold smile, Caiyun unleashed her formidable skills, mercilessly killing anyone who dared strike her.

Once free from the chaos, she found an exit, left the underground palace tunnel, and returned to the secret chamber in the chess academy.

The night was still deep. Yunyang City lay quiet aboveground, but beneath its surface, turmoil raged.

Countless cultivators had perished, sects vanished, and the Holy Emperor’s legacy remained lost. Yet the city itself faced a calamitous aftermath.

…

In the secret chamber, Cheng Lingyu emerged from the scroll, his handsome face awestruck.

“Senior Sister, there’s an entire world inside this scroll! How is that possible?”

Caiyun chuckled. “Worlds vary—Great Thousand Worlds, Small Thousand Worlds, and beneath those, realms like domains and cave heavens. Your cultivation level is too low to grasp this now. When you reach the Soul Martial Realm, the Soul Martial Fourth Realm and Soul Martial Sixth Realm focus on creating spatial domains.”

Cheng Lingyu frowned, eyeing the scroll. “What rank of magical artifact is this after breaking its seal?”

“A space spirit artifact. Only the first seal is undone—two remain. I suspect it’s an exceptional-grade spirit artifact.”

Cheng Lingyu gasped. “An exceptional-grade artifact for six thousand Tianyang Pills? That’s an unbelievable steal!”

Caiyun shook her head. “Hard to say if it’s a blessing or curse. Those seals might trap something deadly. Or perhaps greater secrets lie within. We’ll see.”

“So it’s either a prison for horrors or a vault of fortune?”

Caiyun nodded. “Cultivation is a long path—from flesh to divinity, earth to sky, nothing to everything. When you someday stand atop the Great Thousand World, shaping or shattering realms, you’ll truly understand what cultivation means.”

Cheng Lingyu muttered, “The peak of creation and destruction… feels unreachable.”

Caiyun grinned. “Keep striving, and hope remains. Now, tell me about the palace. What fortune did you find?”

He sighed. “The palace was an illusion, but the Sun God Tablet was real. Inside lay a massive chasm. Stone carvings spoke of four chances: Life and Death Evaporate. Hua Yuehong gained the Illusion Secret, Bai Ruomei the Life Chance. I faced the black death light, nearly died. The silver-haired man entered the Land of Destruction… Then the Tablet flew there, and all three vanished.”

Caiyun mused, “Life, Death, Illusion, Destruction—their interplay intrigues me.”

“Intrigues?”

“Look at the four of you. Life (Bai Ruomei), Illusion (Hua Yuehong), Death (you), Destruction (silver-haired man). Life and Illusion are separated by Death—you stand between Bai Ruomei and Hua Yuehong. Death and Destruction are split by Illusion—Hua Yuehong lies between you and the silver-haired man. Life and Destruction? Divided by both Death and Illusion—Bai Ruomei and the silver-haired man connect through you two. A tangled web, no?”

Cheng Lingyu flushed. “Senior Sister, you’re spinning wild tales!”

“Not at all. Only you four entered that palace. Connections exist—they’re just unclear now.”

Cheng Lingyu frowned, recalling events. “Hua Yuehong and Bai Ruomei reacted strongly to the silver-haired man, as if they knew him. Unmasking him might explain everything.”

“Leave that for later. Hide yourself first. Outsiders don’t know what happened, but experts will investigate. Five Spirit Masters of the Spirit Martial Realm are in Yunyang City now—we can’t oppose them.”

Caiyun had only recently reached the Blood Martial Realm’s Blood Weapon Second Level. While unmatched among peers, Spirit Martial experts far surpassed her.

“You’re right. We must lay low.”

“This chamber is safe. Six spatial nodes nearby let us flee instantly. Train hard here until the storm passes.”

Cheng Lingyu said, “There were three treasures in the underground palace this time. I entered all three chambers, with the first yielding the greatest rewards. I have many things to give you, Senior Sister.”

He looked excited as he first retrieved the Heavenly Spirit Robe and handed it to Caiyun.

“This is… a high-grade spirit artifact…”

Caiyun stared in shock. Though damaged at the chest area, the robe could be fully repaired by someone skilled in engraved formations.

“A high-grade spirit artifact? Can you fix it, Senior Sister?”

“It would’ve been nearly impossible before,” she replied. “But now that I’ve mastered the Heavenly Spirit Diagram, it’s manageable. The chest is a vital point – whoever pierced this robe must’ve been terrifyingly powerful.”

Cheng Lingyu briefly described the first stone room’s carnage, suggesting most victims had killed each other.

“Your reasoning holds. The underground palace beneath Yunyang City remains mysterious. We can’t yet determine whether the stone rooms or main palace hold greater Fortuitous Encounters.”

He then displayed all his spoils – spiritual herbs, pills labeled Nine Suns God Dragon Pills (Earth-level high-grade), eight bottles of spirit blood, manuals, the Silver Jade Battle Armor, and two intact spirit artifacts.

Caiyun’s eyes widened as she inspected them. “This haul is extraordinary! Keep these three spiritual herbs with innate abilities. I’ll take one Nine Suns pill bottle. We’ll analyze the spirit blood later. This exceptional-grade armor requires refinement before use – your current cultivation isn’t sufficient.”

Cheng Lingyu grinned. “Some manuals seem useless to me. Rather than destroy them, let’s auction them.”

Flipping through pages, Caiyun’s breath caught. “Purple Blood Golden Flame! Thousand Strikes! Thunder Palm! Heart-Burning Needle! These ultimate skills could reach Spirit Martial Realm if mastered! The Poison Scripture and these manuals are priceless!”

She interrogated him about the stone room events. Cheng Lingyu recounted everything except the Heavenly Passage matter.

“Unsealing the magic knife’s first seal and awakening your True Essence Sea were unexpected gains. But the resources needed for a second Sea… With your Constitution, advancement will be impossible without vast resources.”

Cheng Lingyu sighed. “Too powerful a Constitution brings its own problems.”

“Leave it to me,” Caiyun said thoughtfully. “I’ll disguise myself to investigate the palace. Many dead cultivators belonged to small Yunyang City forces. We’ll loot their abandoned strongholds for your needs.”

“Wise. Better we use those resources than others.”

“Exactly. Now explain why you took that Dead Tree from the second cave.”

From his Spirit Cloak Ring, Cheng Lingyu produced the withered tree. “Valuable crafting material, but the real prize is here.” After rummaging through roots, he revealed a three-legged jade toad glowing with Spiritual Light and smelling of spiritual dew.

Caiyun instantly understood. “The cave’s dew pool connected to this.”

“Correct. Though most dew transformed into spiritual birds and escaped, this toad contains more – but there’s a special barrier.”

Examining the toad, Caiyun frowned. “This restriction’s different from normal seals. Breaking it won’t be easy.”

“I can manage it with time. But first…” He placed a thumb-sized blue stone in her palm.

“A Spirit Nurturing Stone! You’re truly my lucky star!” She hugged him fiercely, planting a kiss on his cheek. The stone would ease her advancement from Blood Martial Second Level to Third.

Blushing but delighted, Cheng Lingyu changed topics. “What about these two artifacts from the palace?”

Caiyun identified them: “The Cloud Boat, a low-grade flying spirit artifact. The Soul Guide Banner, a mid-grade tool for capturing Beast Souls when you reach Soul Martial Realm.”

As he stored them, Cheng Lingyu continued asking questions, basking in his Senior Sister’s patient guidance.