After thoroughly exploring the entire mansion without any further discoveries, Dongbo Xueying and his wife stepped outside.
“Whoosh.”
Standing at the entrance of the mansion, deep within the canyon, a brilliant radiance suddenly burst forth from Dongbo Xueying’s body—manifestations of Taihao Force. The energy rapidly spread, enveloping the entire meteorite spanning ten thousand miles in diameter.
“How is it?” Jing Qiu asked.
“The outermost layer of the meteorite has numerous cracks, most of them inconspicuous. There are eight particularly noticeable ones,” Dongbo Xueying replied with a smile. “Let’s go and see if we can extract the Calamity Annihilation Stone Essence from these cracks.”
With a single step, the couple moved at incredible speed, arriving at one of the cracked surfaces in just a few strides. Here, a large section of the stone was nearly completely detached, connected only by the faintest remnants.
“This is the largest crack—almost entirely separated,” Dongbo Xueying remarked. “This meteorite hasn’t been visited by cultivators for an incredibly long time, which is why we were able to find it.”
“Let me try first,” Jing Qiu said, raising a finger.
“Swish!”
Nine slender swords shot forth—her blood-forged divine weapons. The blades struck the critical points of the crack with terrifying precision. At their level of cultivation, both Dongbo Xueying and Jing Qiu possessed an extraordinary mastery of force. However, the Calamity Annihilation Stone Essence was surrounded by protective currents of water. Brute force alone would only achieve a fraction of the desired effect.
Only by harmonizing their techniques with their power could they hope to succeed.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Despite the stone being nearly detached, it stubbornly refused to break free. Even Jing Qiu, a Fourth Heaven World God, found her blood-forged divine weapons insufficient to sever it.
“I refuse to believe this. Let me try again,” Jing Qiu declared, manipulating the nine swords into a sword formation midair.
“Haha, take your time,” Dongbo Xueying chuckled, amused by his wife’s competitive spirit.
“Boom!”
The nine swords erupted into a dazzling sword-light, tracing a brilliant arc before crashing into the stone. This time, the stone trembled violently—and finally, the last remaining threads of connection snapped.
“Success!” Dongbo Xueying praised.
Jing Qiu reached out, and the chunk of Calamity Annihilation Stone Essence landed in her palm. After a brief inspection, she tossed it to her husband. “You keep it.”
“Me?” Dongbo Xueying was surprised.
“This is my greatest trophy. Consider it a gift,” Jing Qiu said with a smile.
Dongbo Xueying weighed the stone in his hand. “Twelve pounds. Indeed, your greatest find yet.”
This single piece was worth seven to eight hundred million divine crystals—equivalent to the entire fortune of a newly ascended Fourth Heaven World God. Even seasoned Third Heaven World Gods would struggle to amass such wealth. Even someone as notoriously greedy as Venomous Ying had never managed to hoard so much.
“Let’s move to the next one,” Jing Qiu said cheerfully, reveling in the thrill of treasure hunting.
—
Despite their combined efforts, the couple only managed to extract stones from two of the cracks. The second required both of them working in unison. The remaining six cracks, though clearly visible, proved impossible to break.
Still, the two pieces they obtained weighed over twenty pounds combined.
“The Heartlake Island Ruins are truly extraordinary. We haven’t even landed on the island yet, and we’ve already obtained such treasures,” Jing Qiu remarked.
“We were fortunate,” Dongbo Xueying replied. “This meteorite had a mansion left behind by a predecessor, revealing its secrets. Otherwise, we might never have discovered them.”
The knowledge of these secrets was exceedingly rare. Few dared to venture into the Heartlake Island Ruins, and even fewer happened upon this specific meteorite.
The colossal silver-white water sphere of Heartlake Island spanned over eighteen trillion miles in diameter, making even a hundred million meteorites within it seem insignificant.
Dongbo Xueying had no intention of publicizing this discovery. He wasn’t foolish enough to defy the natural order—everything in the universe followed its own rules, and rewards required corresponding effort.
—
The two traversed the meteorite’s surface, crossing numerous canyons.
“It’s deep inside,” Dongbo Xueying said, his Taihao Force already detecting the pavilion and the corpse left behind by Emperor Tianyun.
At the heart of a vast canyon lay a massive circular formation, its intricate patterns formed entirely of fissures.
“Let’s go in.”
Dongbo Xueying took his wife’s hand, and they transformed into streaks of light, diving into the fissures. They traveled over three thousand miles along the formation’s cracks before emerging into a massive hollow space.
The cavern stretched a thousand miles wide.
At its center stood a pavilion, within which a figure sat cross-legged, gazing upward at a radiant sphere suspended before him. The sphere, composed of silver and red hues, formed an incredibly profound formation with hundreds of millions of nodes in constant motion.
“Emperor Tianyun,” Dongbo Xueying and Jing Qiu approached.
The seated figure was indeed Emperor Tianyun—or rather, his corpse.
Even in death, the emperor’s imposing frame exuded an indomitable aura. His will had fused with his body, persisting undiminished for over two hundred billion years. The sheer intensity of his presence left Dongbo Xueying and Jing Qiu awestruck.
“This…” Dongbo Xueying froze as he saw Emperor Tianyun’s face.
“How… how could he…”
“Even in death, he never closed his eyes. Never lowered his head?” Dongbo Xueying could scarcely believe what he was seeing.
Seated in meditation, Emperor Tianyun’s gaze remained fixed on the formation before him. His thick brows framed piercing eyes brimming with an unyielding desire. Even as his divine heart crumbled in death, his focus never wavered—still striving, still clinging to that final sliver of hope.
“He never gave up, even in death,” Dongbo Xueying murmured.
A peerless genius.
Even as his divine heart shattered, he kept his eyes open, his head held high. The burning determination in his gaze was unmistakable.
“Such willpower.”
“Such conviction.”
Dongbo Xueying fell silent.
Two hundred billion years after his demise, Emperor Tianyun’s will still permeated this space. Dongbo Xueying had encountered countless Fourth Heaven World Gods, but none had left him so profoundly shaken. Not even the likes of Senior Brother Huiming, Patriarch Redflame, or other mighty figures he had met could compare.
Only beings like the Abyssal Overlords, the Divine Emperor, or the Three Ancestors—figures he had glimpsed during the Ten Thousand Flowers Banquet—had ever exuded such an unfathomable presence.
But ordinary mighty ones? In terms of will and conviction, none could hold a candle to the man before him.
No wonder even the Destruction Monarch had grown fearful, resorting to shamelessly beseeching the Divine Emperor for treasures to ambush Emperor Tianyun.
“Willpower… willpower…” Dongbo Xueying whispered.
He sat cross-legged on the ground nearby and closed his eyes.
“Xueying?” Jing Qiu, still reeling from the overwhelming will radiating from Emperor Tianyun’s corpse, noticed her husband entering meditation. Though puzzled, she dared not disturb him.
—
Dongbo Xueying sat in silence, eyes shut.
He understood now.
Since becoming a disciple of the Divine Emperor, he had shone brilliantly. Yet, he had chosen to bring Jing Qiu to the Heartlake Island Ruins precisely because he felt his will softening in the comfort of his life.
Before, it had only been a vague unease.
But now, witnessing Emperor Tianyun’s unyielding posture—eyes open, head unbowed even in death—Dongbo Xueying was deeply moved.
He saw the chasm between himself and the emperor.
“The heart of the Dao!”
“That indomitable will!”
“From my youth, I fought relentlessly—for my brother, my parents, the Xia Clan, my wife. I charged forward without hesitation, even ascending as a Paragon of the First-Rank True Intent. But after that?”
“After becoming the Divine Emperor’s disciple, my cultivation progressed swiftly, but only because I had already walked the paths of the Extreme Point, the Chaos Hole, and the World—the three Daos I had favored since my mortal days. It came naturally, but my heart for the Dao had dulled.”
“Now, I lack that razor-sharp will.”
“I lack that burning desire for the Dao.”
“Compared to Emperor Tianyun, I still fall far short.”
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