Night of Despair

The next morning.

Yu Hong slowly woke up from his meditation and the first thing he did was to check the fused trait in his mind.

Sure enough, a bright and dazzling light sphere was quietly waiting in the corner.

Anticipatingly, Yu Hong stepped forward and lightly placed his hand over it.

Sizzle!

A thread of information immediately surged out from the surface of the light sphere.

'Fusion successful, you have acquired the trait: Super Illusion God.'

'Super Illusion God: Illusion resistance increased by 200%, any illusion-based abilities, magic, or automatically triggered effects are enhanced tenfold.'

'Warning, please be cautious of the coverage area when releasing abilities. This talent once belonged to an ancient being who governed illusions in a certain universe, until it eventually destroyed its own homeland due to a mishap during a magic experiment.'

"....." Just looking at the tenfold enhancement of the automatic effect, Yu Hong couldn't help but draw a deep breath.

Night Breath and Illusion God were obviously entirely used to strengthen the Illusion God. He had anticipated this, but didn't expect it to be strengthened this much.

"Now I have no choice but to practice illusion techniques, it would be a waste otherwise!"

Yu Hong tried hard to calm his emotions. His number of traits returned to nine, and he quickly took out the Royal Golden Eye and pressed his hand on it, silently chanting for enhancement.

The countdown was reasonable; it would take just seventeen days to complete the repair.

After finishing all this, Yu Hong stood up, feeling the progress of the advanced martial arts Three Elements Divine Light. The progress had now smoothly entered the beginner phase and reached the second layer. Because it required closed-eye cultivation, he hadn't met the qualification conditions, so the progress was somewhat slow.

At once, he quickly found a strip of cloth to blindfold both of his eyes. Instantly, he felt the cultivation speed of the Three Elements Divine Light increased significantly. This technique primarily relies on converting a special type of mana to temper the eyes, thereby enhancing their abilities.

After handling these miscellaneous matters, Yu Hong joined Quan He to head to Wanxue Palace, looking for their master to see if they could solve the problem of cultivating vitality.

"Cultivation outside the Well of Life is certainly possible." Yu Xuezi lay leisurely on the jade couch, lazily fanning himself with one hand.

"It is suitable for you to go out on a training trip now because once we leave, it will be difficult to return to this vicinity. Although the Well of Life speeds up your cultivation, you can still absorb vitality outside of it. The three types of vitality - Heaven, Earth, and Human - though Human Vitality is scarce on the Mining Star, Earth's Vitality is abundant," Yu Xuezi explained.

"However, won't that cause a large-scale disaster of extinction?" asked Quan He softly.

"Yes, it might, which is why we spend most of our time cultivating in the Well of Life. But if there is no other way, we cannot let it halt our cultivation progress, can we?" Yu Xuezi smiled.

Knowing that they would soon leave the Mining Star and return to the sect he had longed for, he had been in a very good mood recently, smiling at everything.

"So, our sect's disciples used to go out and hunt down heinously evil individuals to absorb their vitality," Qian Rong said, entering from outside with a smile.

"Besides, our sect's disciples compiled a book named the Book of Life when there was no Well of Life. The book records the images and texts of over seventy thousand types of vitality sources. Unfortunately, I didn't bring it this time, but when you reach the sect, you can get a set from Wanfa Pavilion."

"Greetings, Senior Sister Qian Rong." Yu Hong and Quan He promptly saluted her.

"No need for formalities. Training trips outside do slow down cultivation progress, and that's why many cultivators often stay in seclusion, as it is the fastest way to progress. Think about it: traveling while cultivating, worrying about the environment, limited resources, and unresolved issues; versus having all cultivation resources at hand, instant solutions to problems, undisturbed focus, resulting in rapid advancement. The difference is huge, isn't it?"

Qian Rong's words made Yu Hong and Quan He nod in understanding.

Previously, the two hadn't thought deeply about this, but now they understood immediately.

"However, while out, there are indeed some methods to sustain for a while," Qian Rong changed the topic, smiling, "You can use magic treasures to bring large individual sources of vitality from the Well of Life, enough for your cultivation during training trips."

"I see, thank you, Senior Sister," Yu Hong said, saluting.

"No problem. We'll be leaving in three months, so make sure to explore the surroundings while you can. It will be difficult to come back later. Although there's a Black Disaster encircling, you can still walk around nearby areas," Qian Rong nodded.

"That's what we intend," Yu Hong promptly replied.

"Alright, you may leave now. Your Senior Sister Qian Rong and I have migration-related matters to attend to. Prepare yourselves during this period," Yu Xuezi reminded.

"Understood." Yu Hong and Quan He responded together and saluted him before exiting the palace.

Watching their departing figures, the smile on Yu Xuezi's face slowly faded, and for a moment, he was inexplicably stunned.

He watched them until their figures completely disappeared before snapping back to reality upon hearing Qian Rong calling him from the side.

"It's alright, let's continue with our previous plan...."

*

*

*

More than ten days later.

Within Black Black Spirit Gate, Yu Hong and Quan He had prepared everything they could.

They stocked plenty of supplies and captured two self-growing Taisui from the Well of Life to absorb vitality during cultivation.

The Royal Golden Eye repair would be completed today.

"I want to visit Wanxue Palace one more time, would you like to come?"

In the safe house, Quan He asked softly, looking towards the direction of Wanxue Palace.

"Go..." Yu Hong seemed to have a premonition. He nodded, packed up, and changed into a Daoist robe.

The two left together, Yu Hong grabbed Quan He, and the Eye of Transmission flashed.

In the next instant, they were at the gate of Wanxue Palace.

The two walked straight into the palace, and in the Frost Palace, they found Yu Xuezi sitting at a table, drinking alone.

"You're here?" Yu Xuezi's face immediately lit up with a genuine smile upon seeing them.

"Just in time, you two need vitality for your cultivation, right? I've prepared something for you. It's more than enough for your use while you're out."

"Thank you, Master!" The two immediately bowed, and as they looked up, Yu Xuezi approached and handed each of them an object.

In Yu Hong's hand was a black seal, intricately carved with the character for "mountain."

In Quan He's hand was a golden sachet, emitting a faint fragrance from within.

"Alright, go back now, don't disturb my drinking, I'm also feeling a bit nostalgic as the departure approaches..." After giving them the items, Yu Xuezi waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

"By the way, when are you leaving?"

He suddenly called out to ask.

"These next few days," Yu Hong replied.

"Stay safe. But I have confidence in you two. Even with such weak cultivation back then, you managed to safely reach the Mining Star and navigate those dangerous areas. It'll be even easier now," Yu Xuezi smiled.

"That's true, Master, don't worry," Yu Hong said solemnly.

"Yes... don't worry, go ahead, go ahead..." Yu Xuezi looked at them with a mysterious expression in his eyes.

Not until they completely left the palace did he lower his head and pour himself another glass of wine.

Yu Hong and Quan He left the palace and each examined the treasures they had received.

"This is...!?" Yu Hong was slightly shocked as he realized the space inside the black seal with the mountain character was far larger than he imagined.

Inside was a massive spherical space, about a thousand meters in diameter, with a floating flat metal plate in the center serving as a partition platform.

"This is Master's Thousand Mountain Seal!" Yu Hong quickly realized.

Yu Xuezi often used the Thousand Mountain Seal as his spatial storage treasure, but Yu Hong hadn't expected him to give it to him.

"And this... is the Fengxiang Bag... It's Master's vitality treasure for cultivation, capable of storing ten days' worth of his vitality!" Quan He also recognized his treasure.

Ten days!?

Yu Hong was slightly shocked. Yu Xuezi was in the Immortal Realm, and his ten days of cultivation vitality far exceeded what he and Quan He needed.

If Master could use it for ten days, it would last them at least ten months, maybe even more!

Realizing the preciousness of their treasures, the two fell silent for a moment.

"Let's head back first," Yu Hong sighed, grabbed Quan He, and with a flicker, they returned to the Black Black Spirit Gate.

They opened the door to find a short figure with a large tumor on his back standing silently in the center of the room.

"The security of your safe house is quite lacking," the Corrupt Traveler said as he turned to Yu Hong.

"I've upgraded it a bit, added some reinforcements. With my mana and my undying magical power, it's much safer now," the Corrupt Traveler explained softly.

"Thank you, Senior!" Yu Hong's heart leapt with joy. With the Corrupt Traveler's help, their safe house had transformed greatly, and its safety significantly improved.

"No need to thank me. Your safe house was already strong; I just made some enhancements. The key is..." The Corrupt Traveler paused, glancing at Quan He.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes, we plan to leave today," Yu Hong nodded.

"I guessed as much. I thought you might stay longer, but leaving now is good too," the Corrupt Traveler smiled. "No time to waste. Do you have everything ready? I'll send you off now."

"We're fully prepared. Just need to absorb some vitality," Yu Hong replied quickly.

"Go ahead then, I'll wait here," the Corrupt Traveler smiled.

Immediately, Yu Hong grabbed Quan He and quickly left the safe house, using instantaneous movement to enter the Well of Life.

After more than ten minutes, they returned and opened the door.

The Corrupt Traveler had just lifted his shimmering golden finger from the wall.

"Your place couldn't block someone of my realm from coming and going freely, so I put in some restrictions. Hope you don't mind," he smiled at Yu Hong.

"Of course not. I'm grateful for your help, Senior!" Yu Hong said sincerely.

"Since you're leaving, take this." The Corrupt Traveler suddenly tossed an object to Yu Hong.

Yu Hong caught it and found it was a black and red dagger with a sheath.

"This is...!?"