Gu Longyu stared at Yinian, bewildered. Of course, he recognized who Yinian was. Those eyes were too distinctive.

  No, what puzzled him was Yinian’s cultivation base. The boy was a unity venerable. A few years ago, he wasn’t even a Foundation Establishment disciple. Gu Longyu could believe that he had become a Foundation Establishment disciple in the year between their first meeting and his rescuing his mother, but the vast gulf between the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Unity Realm wasn’t something that could be crossed in a year.

  Sure, there were pills and other items that could forcibly raise one’s cultivation base, but they came at a heavy cost. The most common cost was lifespan, and those who took such pills often did so with the intention of dying in battle or soon after if they survived whatever they set out to do. There were also miraculous treasures that turned an ordinary mortal into a true immortal, so it should not be so shocking for a small Foundation Establishment disciple to transform into a mighty unity venerable.

  But such treasures had only appeared in the primordial era. Even when he was in the Huang Realm, such items were only recorded in history and never actually seen. Even at his height as the Dragon Emperor, Gu Longyu had never encountered such a treasure.

  Crucially, all the treasures and items that could forcibly raise one’s cultivation had telltale signs. Yet Gu Longyu could sense nothing unstable in Yinian’s aura. If anything, his aura resembled that of a seasoned cultivator who had been in the Unity Realm for years, if not a decade.

  He thought all of this in an instant, but before he could ponder further, Yinian had already taken action. The sword’s silver tip pressed toward his head.

  Gu Longyu did not panic. He unsheathed his saber and deflected the sword.

  He blinked in surprise. The power of the sword surprised him. Gu Longyu thought that even if Yinian possessed the same talent for the sword as his fallen clone, he should have only developed the embryonic form of sword qi. Yet what was contained in his silver sword was sword light!

  The sword light was lacking in some aspects, containing only pure sharpness, but it was still sword light. More than that, Yinian’s sword light resembled the moon’s reflection on a lake. Only when you truly clashed would you feel the immense power behind it. Hence why Gu Longyu only sensed it after his saber clashed with the sword.

  Even an experienced cultivator or venerable might suffer considerably because of this subterfuge, but Gu Longyu was beyond experienced. Even though Yinian was one realm higher than him, it did not change the outcome.

  Gu Longyu counterattacked. It was swift and decisive, and Yinian found himself a bit panicked as he rushed to block the attack. Unlike Gu Longyu, he placed the sword in front of him like a barrier, lacking the skill and time to deflect it as easily.

  Yinian couldn’t believe it. He should have been crushing the target of his vengeance, yet it was he who was on the defensive.

  He couldn’t help but suspect that Gu Longyu was the venerable, and he was the grandmaster.

  However, Yinian would not give up because of this. He retreated. Naturally, his hated foe chased after him, determined not to give him any breathing time, but Yinian was still faster. Shock appeared on Gu Longyu’s face.

  Yinian couldn’t help but find it strange. He was still a unity venerable, after all. Why would he be slower than a Soul Nourishing grandmaster?

  He didn’t need much distance; a meter was enough. With enough breathing room, Yinian’s arm blurred. His sword followed suit, and it appeared as if countless swords pierced forth to the naked eye. Coupled with the sword light, the tide of swords resembled cascading moonlight.

  Gu Longyu only snorted. Contrary to Yinian’s speed and infinite strikes, he only slashed once. His saber light took on a dark color, and it tore through the sea of moonlight like splitting the sea.

  “How is this possible?” Yinian asked, eyes wide and mouth open.

  Gu Longyu snorted. “Although I don’t know how your cultivation rose so fast, you’re still inferior to your father. Although you’re a venerable, you’re just flashy with no substance. No more small talk—die!”

  Yinian discovered that Gu Longyu’s offensive had intensified. Although his saber swings seemed slow, Yinian needed eight or more slashes to counter. More importantly, the power contained in that saber dwarfed his.

  Once again, Yinian distanced himself. He had to stab his sword into the ground to stabilize himself as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

  Gu Longyu frowned, not because of the injuries, but because Yinian had once again exited his range. It was the one thing he couldn’t suppress the latter in. This time, he paid more attention and noticed the power of space and even a hint of time. He concluded Yinian must have acquired a powerful movement technique based on the Law of Spacetime.

  His eyes narrowed. No matter what, he was determined to eliminate this threat before it grew any more. He expected Yinian to fly into a rage and fight him to the death, but to his surprise, Yinian actually retreated even further. You think you can just attack me and leave when you fail? Who do you think I am?

  Gu Longyu released saber light after saber light. Hidden among the myriad of saber lights were some infused with saber intent. He did not use the Law of Destruction, only some concepts under the law, as he did not see Yinian as someone worthy enough for him to injure himself.

  Even the ordinary saber lights he shot were only stronger, not weaker. This resulted in Yinian falling into a misconception. When he dealt with a saber intent–infused saber light, he suffered considerably. His sword held strong, but it slammed into his body, and the saber intent–infused saber light almost struck true. Before it could, a gold and silver energy coated Yinian’s body.

  When the attack struck, it weakened by one-tenth. It still ripped through Yinian’s body and ruptured his skin, revealing an abyss that leaked black qi filled with countless motes of light. Because of the attack, countless saber lights homed in, but they were blocked by the gold and silver barrier. He was lucky, because none of those saber lights had been infused with saber intent.

  Yinian heaved as he held his chest, the black qi continuously escaping from the wound. The hand holding the sword trembled from the pain. He glared at Gu Longyu, and with an unwilling look, stored the silver sword.

  Having experienced it many times, Gu Longyu immediately prepared himself. Not long after, a bright sword-shaped energy flew toward him, but just as it neared, it suddenly swerved and struck an empty space. Or at least, what was thought to be empty space.

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  The apparent Gu Longyu vanished into strands of light, while the “empty space” blurred to reveal Gu Longyu holding the Dragonbone Saber to block the sword energy. When all the energy vanished, a humanoid dragon with golden scales stood in the air.

  Gu Longyu did not undo the dragon transformation and flew into the distance to chase after Yinian. He could feel that the brat might grow into an even more dangerous opponent than Tianyi for him. Furthermore, if he wasn’t wrong, he saw that the brat possessed true qi of chaos. According to his knowledge, only the possessor of the dao chaos spiritual roots could form true qi of chaos. “And what cultivation method did he practice? Even someone with the dao chaos spiritual roots would not be able to form true qi of chaos without a suitable method.”

  “Dammit, what a loss,” Yinian said, sorrowful at the loss of three talismans.

  He clutched his wound and took out a token. After infusing his qi into it, a portal opened, which he walked through. After walking in, the portal vanished.

  Once Yinian walked out the other side, he saw a vast palace built out of jade. The sky was neither day nor night, and hanging above were nine celestial bodies. Eight of them exuded a soft light, while the ninth shone brightly. This was the Nine Heavens Immortal Grotto, and the palace was naturally called the Nine Heavens Palace.

  Years ago, after his mother used herself as bait to lure Gu Longyu away, his father found him and told him about the Nine Heavens Immortal Grotto. Unfortunately, the immortal grotto could only have one master, so his father unbound the token and gave it to Yinian.

  Once inside, Yinian was shocked by the sight, and it took him a long time to break out of his daze. The scenery was wondrous, but Yinian could feel the dense spiritual qi that permeated every inch and corner of the immortal grotto. He could even sense something else, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

  Later, his father told him it was the fluctuations of the worldly laws, but he was too weak to comprehend them right now.

  Inside, Yinian felt his cultivation speed increase by a hundred times. He wanted to give the ownership back to his father, since he felt that only when his father was stronger could the chances of rescuing his mother be higher. Unfortunately, his father rejected. In his words, he was already at a bottleneck; entering or not entering was no different for him.

  Yinian regretted it. If he had given his father control over the Nine Heavens Immortal Grotto, he would not have fallen.

  Most immortal grottos were stationary, with a rare few being mobile, most of which were built using the Law of Space. However, the Nine Heavens Immortal Grotto was even more powerful. As long as one held the token, they could enter and exit at any time and from anywhere. In effect, it was similar to those mobile immortal grottos. Even now, Yinian didn’t know the true location of the Nine Heavens Immortal Grotto.

  He could exit only where he had entered. If his enemy camped outside his entrance point, he would still have to face them once he left. It was why Yinian used a second talisman to flee after using the first talisman to distract Gu Longyu.

  However, it had a big advantage. The creator of the immortal grotto was a major power, ranking at the forefront of immortals. Although not present, even a true immortal could not open it up like other immortal grottos. At least, that’s what his father told him.

  Yinian sighed with regret and self-loathing. He had been too hasty in confronting Gu Longyu. With his talent and speed, he could have easily reached the Transcending Mortality Realm, especially with the abundant and dense spiritual qi present.

  He walked into the palace. Once inside, he released a sigh of relief. The palace blessed him with powerful effects that cleared his mind, strengthened his body, hastened his recovery, and many more. The saber intent hindering his wound from closing dissipated under the effect.

  His cultivation base was still too weak, and he was locked out of many areas. One area he could access was the main hall. Hanging at the center was a scroll. Just a single glance at the scroll bestowed Yinian with two heaven-defying methods: the Nine Heavens Visualization Method and the Nine-Five Scripture.

  Before this, he had only cultivated a nameless method taught to him by his mother and father. Unlike the children of cultivators, he was not informed about it. He lived like any other regular mortal child. The only difference was that he had to move a lot, so he couldn’t make any permanent friends.

  It was at five when his parents finally told him that they were cultivators, but it was not all good news. They had enemies, which forced them to hide. He hadn’t comprehended what it meant until Gu Longyu appeared.

  Although Yinian was interested in cultivation—what child wouldn’t be? They all dreamed of looking dashing as they stood atop their flying swords, soaring into the world. At first, he cultivated every day, but found it boring, so he slowed down. His parents didn’t rush him either, so he practiced when he wanted and stopped when he became bored. Even then, his speed skyrocketed, making his parents praise him as a one-in-a-million genius, making him happy for a long time.

  Rather than cultivating himself, he enjoyed watching his father practice his swordplay. Yinian found it beautiful. Because of this, he was more interested in learning swordplay than actual cultivation, making his mother unable to laugh or cry.

  Yinian heard his mother complaining more than once to his father about how he was misleading him. Of course, such halcyon days were short-lived.

  Of the two methods, the Nine Heavens Visualization Method strengthened his soul, while the Nine-Five Scripture was a cultivation method. It was the most complicated method Yinian had ever seen. Granted, he had only seen one other cultivation method before.

  The Nine-Five Scripture had three paths the practitioner could take. One was to focus on cultivating the spiritual path with the martial path as a supplement. The second was the complete opposite, and the third was to cultivate both of them simultaneously, which was the most difficult path.

  At the time, Yinian found it too difficult to follow the third path, so he took the first path. He regretted it. Perhaps if he had taken the third path and worked harder, his father wouldn’t have died to give him a chance to rescue his mother. Logically, he knew that it wouldn’t have really helped except in wasting more time—especially after experiencing Gu Longyu’s might—but he still couldn’t help but feel regret.

  Recalling Gu Longyu’s power, he couldn’t help but wonder how his father did it. He knew his father did not cultivate the Nine-Five Scripture, and his cultivation base was weaker, so how did his father fight with Gu Longyu for so long?

  Was it really the law?

  Although he could sense the fluctuations, Yinian found them incredibly annoying, even more difficult than the third path of the Nine-Five Scripture. He thought the pure power of the Nine-Five Scripture would allow him to kill Gu Longyu, but he was wrong. Oh, so wrong. Had it not been for the life-saving talisman forming a barrier, the saber light would have severely injured him, if not killed him.

  “But why is his saber light so strong?” Yinian thought with a frown. He could think of one big reason, but he found it improbable.

  It wasn’t like he had cultivated to his current realm and had never left the Nine Heavens Immortal Grotto. He had left several times to temper himself and to escape the immortal grotto. It was a vast land, but it was devoid of any other life, not even a hare. Though, he couldn’t find it in his heart to call it tempering. Even in the same realm, he could easily crush his opponents. It was only after meeting Gu Longyu that he suffered such a setback, and at the hands of someone of a lower realm than him.

  After this encounter, Yinian planned to reach the Transcending Mortality Realm before comprehending the concepts and worldly laws. It was not that the encounter changed his mind; this had always been his plan. The Nine-Five Scripture was heaven-defying, and before undergoing the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, one must comprehend a complete law. Otherwise, they would not be able to obtain the greatest benefit of the Nine-Five Scripture—an inner world.

  Before he secluded himself to cultivate, Yinian visited his mother.

  He entered a quiet room where a medicinal scent lingered. Lying on the bed was a woman with her eyes closed. Even bereft of makeup and a healthy rosiness, she was still a calamitous beauty. She was incredibly still, not even a twitch in her eyelashes. Had it not been for her chest heaving up and down, Yinian would have thought his mother had died.

  His mother had never awakened since he rescued her and had been sleeping ever since that day. Yinian couldn’t find a reason for her current state. He found many possible reasons in the palace archives. Now, except for avenging his father, his only other goal was to wake his mother.

  Yinian sat on a stool next to the bed. “Mother, I left to avenge Father, but I failed.”

  Time stretched as Yinian recounted what had happened.

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