The Sect Leader Has Taken in a New Female Disciple

These spirit seals slowly circulated in the void, sketching out mysterious trajectories.

What delighted him most was the change in the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree.

Nurtured by such a massive amount of wood attribute spirit stones, the tea tree, originally three feet tall, had grown to about ten feet, with rich Taoist charm flowing between its branches and leaves.

At the center of the crown, a crystal-clear Enlightenment Flower was quietly blooming — its petals warm like mutton fat jade, with veins flowing with a seven-colored glow.

According to the feedback from "Daily Reflection," if carefully tended, this flower has a high probability of eventually bearing an Enlightenment Fruit.

"That would be a supreme treasure even Celestial Venerables go crazy for..."

Zhou Qing sighed softly, cautiously brushing his fingertips over the petals, fearing he might disturb this creation.

Fortunately, since the Void-Backed Tortoise devoured that Giant Crocodile Void Beast, it had fallen into a deep slumber.

Its enormous body remained motionless, with a metallic sheen on its blue-black shell, resembling an ancient giant python sated and quietly lurking in the void.

During the past century, Zhou Qing often thought about leaving.

But everywhere he looked, there was only eternal darkness and void.

No sun, moon, or stars, no mountains or rivers, not even a whisper of wind.

In this chaos, he couldn’t even tell one direction from another.

"Leaving recklessly might lead to eternal loss..." The thought sent chills down his spine.

Without the spirit stone supplies on the tortoise’s back, he would soon run out of spiritual power, ultimately becoming a mummified corpse in the void.

During this period, the "Friendship Sticker" gave him some solace.

Two newly-refreshed posts were rather interesting:

"Know Your Heart Sticker" — allows one to spy on the target’s thoughts for three days, but sadly, here in the depth of the void, it’s useless except perhaps for the old hen.

"You Can Do It Sticker" — encourages others to take risks, sharing half the rewards upon success.

This post left Zhou Qing both amused and helpless, but whom could he encourage in this forlorn place?

The old hen had regained some semblance of reason, no longer as dull as before.

But it seemed to have grown fond of this mellow life, lying on the spirit stones all day, contentedly absorbing pure energy, treating this place as an inexhaustible "buffet restaurant."

"We can’t just remain like two parasites forever on this tortoise’s back, can we?"

Zhou Qing rubbed his aching temples, his voice hoarse.

Though a hundred years is but a fleeting moment for a cultivator, every moment here required vigilance against the unexpected.

With his heart and spirit constantly tense, he began to show faint signs of going astray.

Even with the assistance of the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, it was still difficult to find inner peace.

A fight for release?

Yet deep in this void, not even an opponent could be found.

Even if he encountered a void beast, in his current state, he might not be its match.

More terrifyingly, if combat disturbed the Void-Backed Tortoise, this "mobile supply station" might just vanish into the darkness.

Longing for conversation but left only to speak to himself.

When in a good mood, the old hen might cluck in response, though most of the time, it couldn’t be bothered to lift an eyelid.

"I have to find a way to save myself; this old hen is totally unreliable!" One day, Zhou Qing suddenly stood up, with a growing desire to leave.

He gazed at the tortoise’s mountain-like carapace, feeling a sense of urgent alarm.

Continuing to hold on to the hope of staying here might mean that when this fierce beast awakens again, there might not even be a chance to escape.

"Huh?"

Just when Zhou Qing glanced around aimlessly, a strange howling sound suddenly came from the void.

This sound was completely different from ordinary void turbulence, carrying a metallic resonance.

His pupils contracted, and the blood-colored heavy pupils instantly opened, two scarlet beams piercing through the darkness.

In his vision, a blurred outline was drifting — it was definitely not a meteorite!

"What is this..."

As the distance closed, an ancient, broken portal gradually took shape.

On the two broken pillars, the faded words "Star Gate - Mountain Camp" could vaguely be discerned.

The entire portal was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, with a few shocking claw marks remaining on the frame, as if it had experienced a cataclysmic battle.

"A Star Gate from the Starry Battlefield?!"

Zhou Qing’s heart skipped a beat.

Back when he traveled from the Jiuli Dynasty using the ancient teleportation array to reach Celestial Wave City, Zhao Muye had explained in detail via transmission.

The Starry Battlefield is an ancient battlefield relic, only accessible through special Star Gates.

And the broken Star Gate before him was clearly driven into the depth of the void by some terrifying force!

The golden wings on his back unfolded with a "whoosh," transforming into a stream of light rushing toward the Star Gate.

The storage bag billowed in the wind, its mouth wide open attempting to seize this ancient portal.

However, no matter how much spiritual power he channeled, the Star Gate wouldn’t budge.

"Damn it!"

Zhou Qing tried several more times in disbelief, even daring to inject his spiritual power into the Star Gate.

But the vast power of space rebounded immediately, numbing his palm.

In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the portal to the Starry Battlefield slowly sank into eternal darkness.

"Just as expected..."

He smiled bitterly, remembering his second senior sister’s explanation.

Back in Yaoguang Mansion, Jin Mantang, the shopkeeper of Duobao Trading House, would rather spend a fortune on hiring array masters to escort treasures than risk using storage bags.

The second senior sister once explained: "Storage spaces have their limits; treasures with excessively high energy levels will only cause spatial collapse if forcibly contained."

The power of space contained in this Star Gate before him clearly exceeded the tolerable range of ordinary storage magical treasures.

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several more years passed.

One day, the void suddenly stirred with an unprecedented violent turbulence.