Chapter 998 - 448: Opportunity for Transformation
The Opportunity for Transformation!
He needs time to settle, to digest, to merge these insights and information into his own Dao, into his own cultivation.
His cultivation is steadily advancing amidst this settling and insight.
Only a step away from the mid-stage of Enlightenment!
But Yu Kong is not eager to break through, he vaguely feels that his Dao is missing something.
He needs an opportunity, one that can truly transform him!
And perhaps the Celestial Fall Battlefield, a land filled with death and opportunity, conceals the opportunity he needs.
Meanwhile, in various corners of the Southern Celestial Star Cosmos, some unknown and subtle changes are quietly taking place.
In the depths of a forbidden area of a grand sect, an old Nascent Soul ancestor, who has been in seclusion for thousands of years, suddenly opens his eyes, a trace of eerie gray light flickering within them.
He mutters to himself, "The time is near."
In a bustling cultivation city.
A loose cultivator, usually eccentric in behavior, suddenly becomes silent and withdrawn, his gaze turning hollow and cold.
He begins to collect some strange and unusual materials, seemingly preparing for something.
Similar events are unfolding throughout the cosmos.
Those entities planted with "seeds" begin to act like activated chess pieces, following a predetermined trajectory.
Their power is increasing.
Their actions becoming more secretive.
They are scattered in every corner of the cosmos.
Like a net slowly tightening, waiting for the moment to erupt completely!
And the vast majority of beings are unaware of this. They continue to strive and struggle for survival, cultivation, and various desires.
Little do they know, a dark storm capable of overturning the entire cosmic structure is close at hand!
Destiny’s wheel has already begun to turn.
Yet the sound of its turning is masked by the vastness and clamor of the cosmos.
...
"Qinghan Sister." In a valley suffused with Spiritual Qi, a girl in a white dress is staring blankly at the distant horizon.
She is Xu Qinghan, and it has been a while since the destruction of the Kao Mountain Sect.
After experiencing initial grief and confusion, she was rescued by a passing reclusive master, who brought her to this secluded Grotto Heaven Blessed Land.
The master seemed to have some connection with the Kao Mountain Sect and took great care of Xu Qinghan.
Not only did he heal her injuries, but he also taught her profound cultivation techniques and carefully guided her cultivation.
Xu Qinghan’s talent was already exceptional, combined with the stimulus from the sect’s destruction, and her worries about the missing Xu Ran and Yu Kong, whose fate was uncertain.
She turned her grief and anger into motivation, advancing rapidly in her cultivation.
Now, she has faintly touched the threshold of Nascent Soul.
This speed is enough to make any prodigy blush.
Yet Xu Qinghan’s heart remains shrouded in gloom.
The truth behind the Kao Mountain Sect’s destruction is like a thorn, deeply embedded in her heart.
She does not believe that the usually mysterious yet always gentle Xu Ran Brother would be the culprit behind the sect’s destruction; there must be some hidden truth!
And Yu Kong, the boy who always quietly guarded her side, pushed her away in the final moments, facing the terrifying enemy alone.
Is he still alive?
Where is he now?
Whenever the night is quiet, these questions surge in her heart like a tide, making her restless and unable to sleep.
"Master says my heart is troubled and needs calm." Xu Qinghan sighs softly.
She knows her master is right; the path of cultivation most fears a restless heart and deep obsessions, which easily give rise to heart demons.
Yet some things are not so easily let go of.
"Xu Ran Brother."
"Yu Kong."
"You must be safe."
The girl clasps her hands in prayer towards the distance.
Her eyes flickering with worry and hope.
She believes that one day they will meet again.
One day all mysteries will be unraveled.
Then, regardless of the truth, no matter the future, she will face it bravely!
In the void of darkness, a huge gray shadow writhes, its "face" composed of countless twisted features, with hollow eye sockets flickering faintly.
It seems somewhat intrigued by the resistance shown by the "seeds" on the Withered Star, but only slightly.
In its prolonged existence, it has seen such resistance countless times, all eventually dissipating like water into the sea.
However, when that terrifying will descends, utterly crushing the boy’s last struggle, a faint whisper seems to emanate from within the shadow.
"The vessel is ready."
"Begin calibration."
In a moment, deep within the core of the Withered Star, the boy who has lost himself is completely enveloped by a gray glow, as if being extracted by some invisible force from his original place.
The blood pool boils more intensely, the array light shines brilliantly, yet the shell suddenly vanishes without a trace.
He, or rather "it," is sent to a deeper, more hidden dimension.
A trial ground tailored for the "seeds."
...
Xu Ran only sees a flash of gray light before finding himself in a strange space.
Here, there is no sky, no earth, only a cold and pure gray.
The space itself seems constructed of some solidified energy, heavy and oppressive.
All around is silent, as if even time has lost its meaning here.
He stands on a flat gray "ground," with a straight body and hollow eyes.
The gray mark on his brow emits a faint glow, blending with the space’s gray.