Dongbo Xueying glanced around. The entire capital of the Xuhuang Kingdom was in chaos. Although the residual shockwaves from the battle high in the sky had been weakened by the rules and further resisted by the capital’s defensive formations, countless cultivators within the city had witnessed with their own eyes the seemingly invincible ‘Venerable Xuhuang’ being slain by a black-clad youth wielding a sword!
“The five of them are all quite far from here,” Dongbo Xueying sensed through karma. The nearest of the five Venerables was over three trillion miles away. Given their travel speed, none of them could interfere with him in a short time.
Whoosh.
Dongbo Xueying immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew into the Ancient God Hall, soon entering the inner sanctum.
He looked up at the highest point of the staircase. The black gourd still faintly glowed with a dark red hue, its emanations distorting the surrounding void, with white mist churning at its periphery. Such a display of power had likely persisted for several epochs.
“There are no Venerables nearby now. Although there are still powerful figures in the Xuhuang Kingdom, none of them would likely be able to stand upright in this inner sanctum.” Dongbo Xueying was certain. Even the Chong Clan’s ancestor could only kneel at the threshold of the outer hall. The mightiest in the Xuhuang Kingdom had their limits.
“Haa…”
Dongbo Xueying exhaled deeply.
He steadied his True God Heart, preparing himself for the ascent up the staircase. His previous attempt had been interrupted, but even if it hadn’t been, could he have reached the top? And even if he had, could he have taken the black gourd? He wasn’t confident.
With a brief scan, he sensed that among the five Venerables, the ‘Shadow Demon Mansion Master’ was rapidly teleporting toward the direction of the Heavenly Fire Palace, not heading directly for the Xuhuang Kingdom. “Knowing they lack the strength, they plan to join forces one by one?”
Dongbo Xueying chuckled softly, not considering them a threat.
He took a step forward.
Thud!
As his left foot landed on the staircase, it felt as though it had also stepped upon his soul, sending tremors through his True God Heart. But Dongbo Xueying, experienced by now, remained unfazed. After steadying the vibrations in his heart, he took the second step.
Step after step…
He continued upward.
Indeed, no powerful figure dared to interfere—none even dared to enter the Ancient God Hall. The deaths of the two Venerables of the Xuhuang Kingdom had left them utterly terrified.
…
As he climbed higher, nearing the black gourd, the distorted void fluctuations battered his body. The heat grew more intense, the soul impacts fiercer, yet Dongbo Xueying gritted his teeth and pressed on. Gradually, he felt as though everything around him was roaring. He knew, in truth, the surroundings were quiet—it was his soul that was in turmoil.
Unbearable heat! Unceasing roars!
Dongbo Xueying’s steps began to waver, but he clenched his jaw and endured. His will, sharp as a blade, permeated his entire True God Heart. Even as he swayed, he advanced. Pausing briefly between steps, he inched forward.
Finally, he reached the closest point to the black gourd.
Suddenly—
The faint dark red glow on the gourd’s surface vanished abruptly. The terrifying heat and fluctuations it emitted also disappeared. Then, it floated up and nestled into Dongbo Xueying’s arms.
“This…?” Dongbo Xueying, dazed, caught the gourd as it flew toward him. “Just like that?”
He had imagined countless difficulties.
Would the gourd be too scorching to touch, requiring him to retrieve it through the void?
Would there be even more terrifying impacts?
Yet, the moment he stood before it, it flew into his embrace.
“This black gourd…” Dongbo Xueying held it, attempting to channel a wisp of Taihao energy into it. But the instant the energy made contact, it was met with an unfathomable heat, instantly incinerated into nothingness.
“Kid, this gourd is beyond your control,” a sharp yet melodious voice rang out, as pleasant as beautiful music.
Simultaneously—
A hazy silhouette materialized in midair before Dongbo Xueying.
Clutching the gourd, Dongbo Xueying stared in astonishment at the figure before him. It was a being of peculiar appearance and attire, exuding an aura unlike any he had encountered. Humanoid in shape, its robe clung to its body like a second skin, woven in silver and gold.
Its face and hands were green.
Its hair cascaded in silver-white strands, braided into thin locks. Its eyebrows, also silver-white, resembled twin swords. Three golden horns protruded from its head, and its eyes gleamed gold.
Clearly, this was a form Dongbo Xueying had never seen before. But appearance alone was trivial—what race hadn’t he encountered?
What struck him was the figure’s aura. Even as a mere projection, it exuded a presence unlike any other—neither the oppressive might of a supreme being, nor the subduing majesty of Qing Jun, nor the comforting warmth of Pang Yi. Instead, it was a sense of ‘void,’ as though it were an intrinsic part of the cosmos, vast and utterly formless.
It was as if it were the heavens—or something even higher, more boundless.
“The fireball within this gourd is akin to the sun of your universe—you could say it contains a miniature sun,” the silver-haired, golden-horned being said with a smile. “And you thought you could control it? Even the Rulers of your world would fail.”
Dongbo Xueying was stunned.
What?
The gourd’s previous heat had been terrifying, but the ‘fireball’ inside was on par with a sun?
The sun was an entity that existed anew each epoch, its core lethal even to Rulers. In terms of sheer power, the sun and moon far surpassed any Ruler.
“It… it…” Dongbo Xueying looked down at the gourd in his arms, scarcely believing it housed something comparable to a sun.
“You can’t even manage basic control, let alone refine it,” the silver-haired being remarked.
Dongbo Xueying listened intently.
His master’s travels to other universes paled in comparison—he had just encountered a being who had sealed a sun-like entity inside a gourd!
“Driven from my homeland, I wandered through countless universes,” the being said. “One day, I realized I had no disciples. So I resolved to take students. I painstakingly forged six gourds and scattered them across six universes, each guarded by trials. Only those who overcome them may become my disciples—members of the Voidwalkers.”
“Voidwalkers?” Dongbo Xueying was brimming with questions.
“The Voidwalker path is a unique cultivation system, distinct from yours—though the two can coexist. Its demands are extreme, hence the trials. Our numbers are few, so I left six gourds as ‘Path-Guarding Treasures’ to protect the weak.” The being sighed. “But I doubt even one of my six disciples will reach my level.”
“Don’t rejoice yet—you’re not my disciple.”
“In the fifth epoch of your universe, I arrived and discovered it was created by that old fool ‘Tianyu.’ It also birthed a prodigy who breached Tianyu’s Primordial Land. Seeing potential here, I left a legacy.”
“In the ‘Demon Ancestor’s’ Six Paths Heavenly Wheel, I hid star maps. Only those who pass his Three Demon Hall trials and are young enough may claim one. I left twelve in total.” The being continued, “Only with a star map may one enter this world.”
Dongbo Xueying finally understood.
He had wondered why the legacies in this world far surpassed those left by the Demon Ancestor or the Island Master in the Divine Realm and Abyss.
Turns out, the star maps weren’t the Demon Ancestor’s work.
This ‘Voidwalker’ had placed them in the Demon Ancestor’s vault. One of his six gourds was already this formidable. Yet, he had been exiled from his homeland? And he knew Tianyu, the creator of this universe?
The revelations left Dongbo Xueying reeling.
“Obtaining the gourd is merely the first trial,” the being said. “I now impart you a technique to wield it. Master it within five years—that is the second trial. The third? You must refine the gourd within a million years, unaided.”
“Pass all three, and the legacy site will reveal itself.”
“Fail, and the gourd returns here, awaiting the next worthy soul. Remember—twelve star maps remain.”
The silver-haired figure smiled.
Then, his form dissolved into countless characters, all streaming into Dongbo Xueying’s brow.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage