Chapter 152: The Cleft in the Celestial Gate

“What the hell is this thing!?”

Shui Miao was drenched in cold sweat as he watched the dark mist rampaging wildly, disrupting the flow of celestial energy and preventing the Heavenly Gate from opening further. Fortunately, Shui Miao didn’t feel any pain, and a steady stream of celestial energy continued flowing into his spiritual realm. Although the dark, malevolent energy was sharp and fierce, the celestial energy could gradually wear down its power.

Feeling the massive consumption of celestial energy, Shui Miao was deeply distressed.

Eager to uncover what the dark mist was and where it had come from, Shui Miao found no one to give him answers.

The crevice in the rock had been difficult to descend, and climbing back up proved just as challenging.

With Zhang Hanya clinging to him, Shui Miao steadied his mind and regulated his inner energy.

Unaware that Shui Miao was adjusting his inner energy, Zhang Hanya occasionally made small movements, either intentionally or not, but Shui Miao remained completely unmoved and showed no reaction. Gradually, she calmed down.

Ten minutes later, half of the Celestial Energy Pearl in Shui Miao’s mouth had already been consumed.

The dark mist still lingered, though it had significantly diminished in size.

“Damn it! I worked so hard to obtain this Celestial Energy Pearl, and now this dark mist is ruining everything. I must destroy it!” Filled with hatred toward the dark mist, Shui Miao focused his mind, and suddenly the celestial energy within his spiritual realm gathered together, surrounding the dark mist and quickly eliminating it!

He had just realized that he could control the celestial energy within his spiritual realm!

This discovery thrilled Shui Miao. He quickly gathered more celestial energy, shaping it into a giant hand, and pushed forcefully against the Heavenly Gate. With a loud “Boom!” the gate vibrated and slowly began to open again.

“No! The Heavenly Gate must open wider. Otherwise, I don’t know when I’ll ever encounter such a rare opportunity again. I must give it my all!” Clenching his teeth, Shui Miao tried to channel more celestial energy from his dantian into his spiritual realm, but the spiritual realm was intangible, and the energy from his body simply couldn’t reach it.

“Hu!”

“Hu!”

“Hu!”

Just as the Celestial Energy Pearl in his mouth was rapidly depleting, a few gusts of wind blew into his spiritual realm—but this time, they weren’t black. Instead, they were five streams of colorful Celestial Spirit Energy! As soon as they entered the spiritual realm, they began rotating in the order of the Five Elements, spinning faster and faster, and gradually activating all the celestial energy within.

To his astonishment, Shui Miao noticed that the scene within his spiritual realm mirrored the circulation pattern of the energy in his dantian.

Could it be that this Celestial Spirit Energy is about to form a dantian inside my spiritual realm?

Shui Miao was completely baffled but could only go with the flow.

He focused intently on the changes within his spiritual realm until the energy supply was suddenly cut off. Only then did he realize that the Celestial Energy Pearl in his mouth had completely vanished. Without further input of Celestial Spirit Energy, the energy within his spiritual realm immediately began to condense. It rotated rapidly around the five streams of Celestial Spirit Energy, continuously condensing and shrinking until it became small enough to fit through the gap in the Heavenly Gate. Then, with a sudden “Bang!” the highly concentrated energy shot into the gap and exploded!

“Ahh!”

Shui Miao cried out in pain as everything spun around him. His head throbbed violently, and a wave of intense dizziness overwhelmed him, causing him to collapse helplessly into the rock crevice.

“Shui Miao! Shui Miao!”

Startled, Zhang Hanya, who had been clinging to Shui Miao’s back, quickly climbed down and helped him sit up.

Buzzzzzz…

Shui Miao felt like he was still alive, but his head was filled with a continuous buzzing noise, making it impossible to focus.

The little dwarves, who were actually giant salamanders in disguise, rushed back upon hearing the scream. Unfortunately, being non-human, they had no idea what had happened to Shui Miao. In their own way, they tried to help by spitting water into his mouth, as though he were a dehydrated fish!

They had mistakenly assumed Shui Miao needed water.

Despite being drenched in water, Shui Miao showed no improvement.

Not knowing what else to do, Zhang Hanya quickly asked the giant salamanders to help lift Shui Miao out of the crevice.

Surprisingly, without relying on Shui Miao, Zhang Hanya managed to climb out of the crevice herself—and quite quickly too.

By the time Shui Miao gradually regained consciousness and control over his body, they had already reached a spot not far from the roadside.

Seeing that Shui Miao had awakened, the dwarves placed him down gently.

Sitting cross-legged on a rock, Shui Miao slowly began to regulate his celestial energy. As the Celestial Spirit Energy flowed, he once again sensed the situation within his spiritual realm. It was in chaos—the Heavenly Gate had been cracked open in several places from the explosion, allowing some celestial energy to seep through, yet the gate still stood tall and unyielding.

One Celestial Energy Pearl had only managed to widen the gate slightly and create a few cracks!

Shui Miao felt frustrated but helpless.

As time passed, his thoughts gradually cleared.

He noticed that a large amount of Celestial Spirit Energy had gathered in his dantian, forming a mass about the size of a fist.

He also realized that his body had changed—it felt fresher and lighter, as though the celestial energy had purified him, expelling all impurities through a process similar to metabolism. His body felt sticky, dirty, and smelly.

Shui Miao circulated the celestial energy, and with a sudden tremor, all the filth on his body was expelled!

Indeed, with stronger celestial energy, everything was different!

He was now cleaner than someone who had just taken a bath and put on fresh clothes.

However, his appearance had changed!

He looked younger, as if he had turned back two years in age…

But strangely, his hair had turned completely white!

A child who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, with snow-white hair—it was an odd sight indeed.

Under the moonlight, Zhang Hanya stared at him in shock.

Within the spiritual realm, chaos reigned, but slowly, with the continuous infusion of energy from the Heavenly Gate, everything was gradually returning to normal.

Shui Miao opened his eyes, and with a mere thought, he discovered that his sensing range had more than doubled from the original hundred meters or so!

“Let’s go. We’re heading to Sanya.”

As Shui Miao stood up, he looked at Zhang Hanya. She was in a terrible state—barefoot, her clothes torn, her hands and face covered in dirt.

When Shui Miao mentioned going to Sanya, Zhang Hanya quickly shook her head. “Forget it. After everything that’s happened today, I’m exhausted. I just want to go home, take a bath, and sleep.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t be tired anymore.” Shui Miao walked over and patted her shoulder. Instantly, she felt refreshed, no longer sleepy. The dirt on her hands and face vanished, and a pleasant sensation spread through her body, as if every pore was breathing. “We still have a promise to keep—to make sure our friends enjoy this night.”

“No more playing around! Let’s do it another time. We need to leave here as soon as possible—the farther, the better! Once the old witch finishes her cultivation retreat, none of us will be able to escape!” The giant salamander, thinking of the thousand-year-old female ghost, was so frightened that it no longer wanted to play.

As for the thousand-year-old ghost, Shui Miao had his own plans. He smiled faintly. “Come on. I’ll help you conserve your celestial energy and transform you all into handsome and beautiful forms.”

Shui Miao circulated his celestial energy, visualized five figures within his spiritual realm, and waved his hand toward the five little dwarves—actually transformed giant salamanders. A powerful surge of celestial energy flowed out, enveloping them. In an instant, they transformed into five handsome and beautiful young men and women.

“Bro! You—you’ve already become an immortal!?”

Seeing this, Zhang Hanya quickly rubbed her eyes, completely stunned!