“Remember your promise!” A voice called from behind. The woman stood up and sat back on the stone slab, her beauty unparalleled, enveloped in a radiant shower of light. At the same time, the laws of the heavens surged once more, swirling around her, elevating her presence like a peerless celestial maiden.
Shi Hao nodded, understanding her meaning. He felt gratitude toward her—had she chosen to attack him, he wouldn’t have gained such rewards and might have perished inside. Before entering, he had never imagined encountering a living being within.
“Rest assured!” Those were the only three words he spoke, casting a deep glance at her, his eyes filled with gratitude.
The strange seed cracked open, revealing a sliver of light from the outside world. The dense spiritual essence of the greater cosmos rushed in, overwhelming in its intensity.
Shi Hao was stunned. What kind of place had the Grand Elder found? The spiritual energy here was nearly as abundant as inside the seed, surging like waves.
With a *whoosh*, he emerged into the outside world.
But along with it came scorching heat—blinding, searing flames licked at him, sending waves of agony through his flesh.
He found himself amidst a sea of fire, surrounded by the essence of the sun. The inferno raged so fiercely that Shi Hao wondered if he had stepped into the heart of a star.
*Where is this place?*
He recalled the Grand Elder mentioning that the first stop should be an earth-aligned location, where thick soil would bury him to nurture the seed. So why had he ended up in a fiery cavern?
The heat was unbearable. His hair nearly caught fire, and his skin threatened to split. This shocked him—despite now standing among the ranks of sect masters, he was still being scorched by the flames.
Soon, he realized where he was: an ancient cave, vast and deep, filled with dazzling flames.
Shi Hao had no doubt that, had he still been at the Heavenly Deity Realm, he would have been reduced to ashes instantly. Even now, he barely withstood the heat.
This was terrifying. Any ordinary sect master who entered would undoubtedly perish, reduced to nothing but remnants of calamity.
Within Shi Hao’s body, a seed glowed, its pure light suffusing his limbs and bones—his inner gates unleashing their power, manifesting his internal dao.
A cooling sensation spread through him. His flesh and bones resonated with metallic clangs, and the pain vanished as he fully resisted the flames.
The ancient cave loomed eerily, its fires flickering.
Upon closer inspection, the terrain was complex, with numerous branching paths resembling a spider’s web leading in all directions—a subterranean palace lay hidden within.
This single cave held another world inside.
“Grand Elder!” Shi Hao called out, urgency in his voice. He had promised the woman within the celestial womb not to fail her.
“Here.” A response came from deep within the cave.
On a meditation cushion, a blurred figure opened its eyes. Even amidst the flames, its gaze was sharp as lightning, repelling the inferno. It was the Grand Elder.
“Child… you… succeeded?!”
The usually composed Grand Elder, unshaken even by mountains collapsing before him, now moved like a ghost, instantly gripping Shi Hao’s arm. His voice trembled with excitement, as if he could barely contain himself from roaring to the heavens.
“I succeeded!” Shi Hao declared loudly, sharing his joy without restraint.
“Hahaha—” The Grand Elder’s laughter shook the entire cave, causing massive boulders to crumble. The flames surged brighter, turning the walls molten red.
Shi Hao was astonished. He recognized the stone—it was a rare divine material, said to withstand even the sun’s core without damage.
No wonder this cave remained intact despite the raging flames.
“Someone truly succeeded! This day shall be recorded in history!” The Grand Elder’s chest heaved, his face flushed with emotion.
In his youth, he had been a prodigy, but pursuing this path had left him half-crippled, nearly dead. Only later miracles had saved him. Countless geniuses before and after him had perished attempting the same.
This path was treacherous, a road of despair that devoured the most brilliant talents. The stronger one’s innate gifts, the more unbearable it was to lack a perfect dao seed—leading only to bitter defeat and death.
Now, even the Immortal Academy had abandoned this path, deeming it a dead end. Yet the Grand Elder’s chosen had succeeded.
“Roar—!”
He let out a long cry, his hair writhing like serpents, tearing through the void. He laughed until he bent over, tears glistening in his eyes.
“Good, good, good!” He repeated thrice. Shi Hao had fulfilled the dream of his youth.
“Elder, I need your help!” Shi Hao, though elated, knew time was pressing.
“What’s wrong? Did your cultivation go awry?” The Grand Elder tensed, knowing how perilous the path was.
“No. I need Heaven-Mending Elixir to heal the wound on this seed!” Shi Hao explained quickly.
The Grand Elder was stunned, then alarmed, attempting to peer inside.
“Don’t!” Shi Hao stopped him, asking directly if he still had the elixir.
The Grand Elder winced—such treasures were priceless, comparable to longevity medicines. Even celestial scriptures couldn’t buy them. For beings of his level, they could revive the dead and regrow flesh.
“There’s a living being inside!” Shi Hao confessed.
“What?!” The Grand Elder was thunderstruck, just as Shi Hao had been initially.
“This is truly…” The Grand Elder was speechless, frozen in shock.
*Gulong!*
A strange sound echoed from the cave’s depths, accompanied by unbearable heat that melted even the indestructible stone.
Scarlet liquid flowed across the ground, and faint avian cries resonated from within.
The Grand Elder’s expression changed. Abandoning Shi Hao—even forgetting his success—he rushed deeper inside, showing how dire the situation was.
“Grand Elder!” Shi Hao called.
“Take this!” The Grand Elder tossed him a jade vial containing the Heaven-Mending Elixir, its glow faint.
Earlier, he had hesitated over its value, but now he didn’t care—his focus was solely on the cave’s mystery.
Even the revelation of a living being inside the seed couldn’t distract him. The anomaly in the cave was too terrifying.
With a *whoosh*, the Grand Elder vanished.
Shi Hao wasted no time. He applied the elixir—lustrous as jade marrow—to the seed’s wound. Instantly, the seed sealed itself.
It worked!
The celestial womb, once cracked, should have shattered irreparably upon the birth of its inhabitant. Yet the elixir reversed this inevitability.
Shi Hao stored the seed, vowing to bury it where none would find it, ensuring the woman’s emergence in the next era.
“Aooo—”
A chilling howl echoed from the depths. Was it the Grand Elder’s or another creature’s? Shi Hao’s hair stood on end.
*What kind of cursed place is this?*
Uneasy, he drew the Great Luo Immortal Sword and charged deeper.
The ancient cave loomed, flames dancing.
Bones littered the ground—remnants of beings far surpassing sect masters in power, their skeletal luster still gleaming.
Soon, Shi Hao found the Grand Elder digging frantically in a pit filled with ashes and fragmented bones—some resembling dragon claws and qilin skulls.
Shi Hao shuddered, his blood running cold. *What kind of demonic lair is this?*
“This fire cave holds immense flame essence. I brought the seed here to replenish its energy, fearing you’d exhaust its vitality during cultivation,” the Grand Elder explained.
Then, gravely, he added, “This was once the dwelling of an Emperor. Too many have died here—even True Immortals perished.”
*An Emperor of the flame path?* Shi Hao’s heart pounded. Only the strongest of a race could bear that title!
Suddenly, the Grand Elder trembled, disbelieving what he unearthed from the ashes.
Shi Hao gasped, recoiling in horror.
It was a humanoid figure—skin stretched over bones, desiccated and charred, nearly skeletal.
It had wings, partially golden despite the scorching.
*What creature is this?*
Its sunken eye sockets were hollow, yet its jaw creaked open, uttering feeble, grating words.
The scene was horrifying—a being, buried for eons, still clinging to life!
“A miracle… an unfathomable being still lives in this cave!” the Grand Elder whispered, awestruck.
“Elder!” Shi Hao called.
*Boom!*
The frail-looking creature, devoid of vitality, gave its wings the faintest tremble—and the entire cave quaked as if heaven and earth were splitting apart!
Shi Hao was aghast. *How powerful is this thing?*
“Could it be… the Emperor?” he wondered aloud.
“Return to the Heavenly Deity Academy at once! This is no place for you—you’ll only be in danger!” the Grand Elder urged, wary of the wings.
“What about you?” Shi Hao asked.
“Don’t worry about me. Go, and speak of this to no one!”
He assured Shi Hao they were back in Boundless Heaven, so finding the way back wouldn’t be an issue.
Reluctantly, Shi Hao left the cave.
*Whoosh!*
A gale howled as he soared toward the Heavenly Deity Academy.
Outside, two and a half years had passed. During this time, the Nine Heavens had witnessed the rise of dazzling talents—unrivaled geniuses fusing with perfect seeds, shaking the ages with their brilliance!
In these few years, legends were born, their auras shaking all realms!
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