Night of Despair

Holding the potion for the Heavenly Thunder Palm, Yu Hong returned to the Black Black Spirit without stopping along the way.

Sparring with his senior brother gave him a vague insight into the path he should take in the future.

Previously, he was driven forward step by step by the Source Disaster, but now, he finally had the leisure to calm his mind and consider his future plans.

Yu Hong walked alone slowly from Wanxue Palace back to his residence at Black Black Spirit.

The pavilion where he lived was conveniently named White Tiger Tower by Bai Sheng.

Yu Hong found this name quite fitting, primarily because the outline formed by his primary cultivation of the Chaotic God Sky Eye Skill appeared as a giant, bizarre white tiger.

Centered around White Tiger Tower, an approximately two-kilometer radius was designated as his personal area by Yu Xuezi.

'What a pity... If only Ku Chan and the others could hold on a bit longer and make it here, perhaps they could also become disciples under Yu Xuezi...' A sense of regret filled Yu Hong's heart, as the information suggested that Qinghe Mountain here was far more formidable than the Floating City.

Moreover, one was located deeper within the Source Disaster after the Phoenix Eye, while the other guarded outside the central hub of the Phoenix Eye, unable to delve deeper.

The gap in strength was immediately apparent.

Hehe...

Just as Yu Hong was pondering cultivation techniques and the future while walking, suddenly, from the dark underground mining path, a low laugh echoed.

Yu Hong looked in the direction of the voice.

He saw a small figure on the right side of the mining path ahead, carrying a large pack, standing quietly by the wall, facing him.

"Who are you?" Yu Hong halted and focused his eyesight to see, immediately discerning the figure's appearance.

It was a dwarf-like figure, less than a meter tall, dressed in black-gray filthy clothing, layered and somewhat tattered, with all sorts of small pouches hanging from the outside of the clothes.

Apart from these, the most noticeable was the large black and red tumor growing on the dwarf's back.

This tumor was over two meters in diameter, resembling a small mountain pressing on the dwarf's back, causing the figure to hunch over, hiding their face.

"Hehehe...." The dwarf continued laughing. "Customer, need anything? Very cheap...."

"Are you a merchant? A peddler?" Yu Hong realized this was a wandering trader selling in the underground mine.

He paused and asked, "What do you have? What currency do you use?"

"I don't have much, but everything is useful, especially for you now...." The dwarf smiled.

Yu Hong squinted his eyes and stepped closer.

As he got closer, he saw more clearly the large tumor on the trader's back that occasionally had unknown bulges inside, not protrusions, but sometimes indentations, which seemed quite eerie.

"Have a look." The dwarf merchant spread his hands, each palm holding an elixir.

The left hand was black, and the right hand was white.

"What are these?" Yu Hong frowned and asked.

"The black one is a Heart Protecting Pill; it can protect your spiritual awareness from unknown assault and contamination, but it only lasts for a month and requires continuous consumption," the dwarf replied.

The white one is a Body Protection Pill; it protects your body from unknown contamination. It also has a one-month effect and requires continuous consumption."

"Do you think I need this?" Yu Hong asked.

"Then how about these?" The dwarf merchant retracted his hand and rummaged through his pockets, pulling out two items.

In his left hand was a faint purple dagger made of an unknown material.

In his right hand was an old, tattered piece of thin paper.

"Now, the left hand is a bone weapon; I don't know what it does, it depends on your luck. The right hand is a fragment of an unknown scripture, suspected to be part of a powerful cultivation technique," the dwarf described with a smile. "All transactions here are priced in crystal coins."

Yu Hong didn't have any crystal coins, but he was more curious about where this guy came from than buying anything.

"Senior brother clearly told me that there are only four of us on the whole planet," Yu Hong said.

"Seems like you don't want to buy?" The dwarf smiled and retracted his hand. "Then I won't disturb you. Looking forward to your next visit.... if there is a next time...."

Whoosh!

Yu Hong wanted to say something in the next instant, but his vision blurred, and he couldn't see anything.

The figure disappeared right before his eyes.

It wasn't instantaneous movement, as his powerful eyesight could tell; instantaneous movement required strong spatial fluctuations and a burst of intense internal energy, regardless of the nature of this energy.

But the way the dwarf left seemed more like a traceless, spontaneous disappearance.

Yu Hong walked closer and checked the ground, finding no trace at all of where the dwarf had stood.

'What did that guy mean by his last words?'

After a slight sense of alertness rose in his heart, he turned and accelerated his pace, quickly returning.

Whoosh.

Just a few minutes after returning home, a torrential downpour began outside.

The black-gray raindrops struck the ground, faintly dyeing the earth in dark shades.

Yu Hong stood by the window, staying inside the warm, spring-like safe house, gazing out at this slightly mysterious and peculiar planet.

Recalling the words of the dwarf merchant, he remembered again the abnormal things he had discovered these days.

"Perhaps that guy was right. There is a deep secret and a profound danger hidden here. If I had the choice, I wouldn't stay, but unfortunately.... For now, only Yu Xuezi can help me suppress the Tai Ling Skill for some time. If I leave now, I don't know when I can encounter someone else with goodwill and strength like Teacher Yu Xuezi again."

This was also why Yu Hong, aware of something wrong, had to stay, as he had no other choice.

Early the next morning, Yu Hong began to ponder and read the Heavenly Thunder Palm while preparing the potion for the medicine bath.

The heavy rain still continued, but he was unaffected within the safety of the house.

Quickly placing the herbs into a large tub, once he soaked himself, Yu Hong tidied up and then hurriedly left to pay respect to his teacher at Wanxue Palace.

Yu Xuezi was someone who placed great emphasis on daily salutations. Except when retreating for long periods, he didn't allow disciples to slack off excessively, so daily salutations were necessary for assessing their daily state of life.

After paying his respects, Yu Hong quickly left Wanxue Palace and entered the underground mining path for his return.

Woo...

A slight breeze blew from the side of the mine entrance, where a familiar black hole was.

Yu Hong had passed by here many times. But only the first time did he encounter this broken hole; for a very long time, it was never seen again.

Until now.

This broken hole appeared again.

He had thought that it was patched up by his senior brothers and sisters, but today, he saw a broken hole exactly the same as before in the original spot.

Slap.

Yu Hong stood still.

He tried hard to peer into the broken hole, but could only see an abyss of darkness within.

After hesitating, he waved his hand, summoning a Speed Man to emerge and head towards the broken hole.

Poof.

Silently and without a trace, the broken hole vanished.

The Speed Man seemed to have triggered its disappearance as it went inside.

'Again with this. Sudden appearance, sudden disappearance.'

Yu Hong tried to connect with the Speed Man, but unfortunately, there was no response. Their connection was completely severed.

Without uttering a sound, he turned and quickened his pace back to the safety of Black Black Spirit.

On this Mining Star, the only place where she could rest assured was at Black Black Spirit.

As time went by day by day.

Yu Hong began transitioning from Shoushan Eight Skills to learning the Heavenly Thunder Palm.

This hand skill had six layers, each named with four characters incorporating the word 'Thunder.'

It was reputed that when fully mastered, one could draw Heavenly Thunder to the body barehanded, stacking immense personal strength to strike down foes.

This hand skill also trained one's physical strength.

Yu Hong used the Black Mark to enhance the effectiveness of the potion and continued to immerse himself in frenzied cultivation.

After a week, he successfully reached the entry stage of the Heavenly Thunder Palm.

With a splash of water.

Yu Hong got up from the large tub, drying the water off himself.

It was time again to visit Wanxue Palace and greet the master.

He changed clothes, quickly left, and entered the underground mining path.

Accelerating all the way.

Soon, just as he was nearing Wanxue Palace, his steps suddenly halted.

The broken hole in the wall appeared again.

Not only that, but a rotten black-yellow arm extended from the broken hole, groping and scratching on the ground outside.

The arm was quite thick, two circles thicker than Yu Hong's arm now.

It fumbled aimlessly around the outside, as if searching for something.

After searching for a while and finding nothing, the arm slowly retracted, ceasing movement.

Only after the arm had completely disappeared did Yu Hong's mind stir, summoning the figure of a Cai Jing Taoist.

'Go in and see.' He commanded.

The Cai Jing Taoist, with a head of colored light, quickly flashed, appearing before the broken hole, then plunged in.

Not broken!

This time Yu Hong sensed that his connection with the Cai Jing wasn't severed.

He stood at the hole's entrance, waiting briefly until the Cai Jing came back out. Only then did he slowly approach and reach out into the hole.

It felt as if passing through a cold water curtain.

Yu Hong confirmed there was no issue and stepped forward.

Poof.

In an instant, the world spun around him.

The next moment, he found himself again in front of the broken hole, seemingly having never entered at all.

But soon, Yu Hong realized something was different.

The red value in the air here was too high!!!

With one breath, the red value concentration he sensed far exceeded the intensity from before.

In the air, at least over ten thousand red value radiation energy, unrestrainedly spread around.

Yu Hong looked around. He noticed a thin mist filling the underground mining path.

Considering it for a moment, he waved his hand, summoning nine more Cai Jing Taoists, instructing them to rapidly spread out and investigate.

The investigation lasted a few minutes. Soon, Yu Hong seemed to discover something and turned towards the Wanxue Palace's exit.

Passing through the exit.

Yu Hong's pupils shrank abruptly. He stood still.

Little did he expect the sight before him to be like this.

Woo woo...

The cold wind softly blew, lifting the tails of Yu Hong's long hair.

He stood quietly in front of Wanxue Palace's gate, gazing at the complex he had entered and exited many times.

At this time, lost in thought.

The entire Wanxue Palace, before him, had long been reduced to ruins.

Only sporadic remains of broken walls still stood.

Yu Hong slowly walked inside, checking the situation along the way.

"Not right!" Suddenly, he furrowed his brows, picking up a bit of debris from the ground.

"This mark, its state, suggests it hasn't collapsed recently. It should've been completely destroyed a long, long time ago."

Yu Hong quickly surveyed and first went to the Taoist Palaces where his teacher often stayed but found nothing. No traces of human activity were left on the palace grounds either.

He became more certain that no one had visited this place in ages.