Kynan

Chapter 367: Is Bad Luck a Form of Cultivation?

Meng Haoran had always considered himself reasonably lucky. Not blessed like those heaven-chosen prodigies who stumbled into ancient inheritances, but decent enough to avoid the worst disasters that befell most cultivators. That optimistic view had been thoroughly shattered over the past few days in this accursed Fallen Realm.

Days. That's what it felt like, though he knew only hours had passed in the outside world. Time moved strangely here, each moment stretching like molten ...

Chapter 366: Seven Slots

"Ten slots remaining," Lin Mei whispered, her voice tight with sudden tension.

Wei Lin's expression grew serious as he extended his spiritual sense outward, probing the boundaries of the realm. "I can sense the exit," he said after a moment. "It's... quite far from here. Maybe two hundred li to the northeast."

"Two hundred li?" I frowned, calculating travel time. "That's at least two hours of hard travel, assuming we don't encounter any more obstacles."

"And we will encounte...

Chapter 365: Tenth Stage VS Pseudo Elemental

The shadow phoenix's burning gaze flicked between Wei Lin and me, its massive form hovering in the air like a nightmare given wings. I could feel the weight of its spiritual pressure pressing down on us, that pseudo-Elemental Realm aura making the very air around us feel thick and oppressive.

"Ke Yin," Wei Lin called out, his voice carrying a new confidence I'd never heard before. "Mind if I take this one? I'd like to see how the tenth stage feels in actual combat."

I paused, cons...

Chapter 364: Dao Of Death

"W-what do you mean?"

"Think about it," Azure continued. "You've experienced multiple deaths: your original death that brought you to this cultivation world, and all those deaths in the Two Suns realm. It would only make sense that beings created from death qi would feel attracted to you. Your soul has developed a comprehension of the Death Dao that these entities crave."

"But I don't understand anything about the Death Dao," I protested.

"Consciously, no," Azure agreed. "Bu...

Chapter 363: The Mythical Tenth Stage

Wei Lin staggered backward from the dissolving pseudo-dragon, wiping sweat from his brow as the last wisps of death essence flowed into his cultivation base. The creature's massive skeletal form crumbled into ordinary sand, leaving behind only scattered fragments of bone that quickly began to fade.

"Is it complete?" I asked, pressing a hand to my still-aching side where the false dragon's tail had caught me earlier. "The death stall?"

Wei Lin closed his eyes for a moment, his spir...

Chapter 362: A Parent's Worry

The creature raised both massive fists, clearly intending to crush me as I approached. At the same time, I palmed a single spirit grass seed, channeling my qi into it before flicking it high into the air in a perfect arc that would carry it directly over the creature's head.

The creature's fists came crashing down with devastating force. I watched the seed reach its apex above the towering sand monster, timing everything perfectly. The massive sandy hammers descended toward me, close en...

Chapter 361: When Strength Becomes Weakness

Three and a half feet.

I raised my hands, qi already flowing through my meridians for a desperate strike, when Wei Lin suddenly pressed his palms against the contracting walls.

"Everyone hold your breath," he commanded, his voice tight with concentration.

Before I could ask why, intense heat erupted from his hands. Fire qi, raw and uncontrolled, poured into the compressed sand around us. The sand began to glow cherry red, then white-hot, as the intense temperature fused the ...

Chapter 360: Insatiable Seed

"Interesting," I murmured, watching the process. "Your marketplace can absorb death essence too?"

"I haven’t come across an essence that it hasn’t been able to absorb," Wei Lin replied, his brow furrowed in concentration as he carefully controlled the flow of energy. "While I don't have a death stall yet, if I can gather enough death essence, I might be able to establish one as my tenth stall. Once that's done, I should be able to sense the natural flow of death energy thro...

Chapter 359: An Immortal Son

Ke Hong gripped the armrests of his cushioned seat, his knuckles white as he watched his son face the writhing shadow that had emerged from the desert sand. The viewing screen before them had expanded at his focused attention, drawing him so deeply into the scene that he felt as though he were standing just yards away from the deadly confrontation.

"What is that thing?" Lixue whispered, one hand pressed protectively over her rounded belly while the other clutched Hong's arm. The creatur...

Chapter 358: A Servant Of Death

The desert stretched endlessly before me, an ocean of pale white sand under the sickly green-black sky of the Fallen Realm. I'd been moving for what felt like hours, following Lin Mei's faint signature through the Mark of Return. Each step sank into the fine powder, making progress maddeningly slow.

"Her signal is growing stronger," I muttered to myself, pausing to wipe sweat from my brow. The desert wasn't hot in the conventional sense, temperature seemed to follow different rules in ...

Chapter 357: A Dangerous Temptation

Wei Lin stood perfectly still, his face a mask of calm concentration despite the tempest of emotions raging within. His fingers wrapped firmly around Meng Jiao's wrist, absorbing the crackling purple lightning that had been meant for Lin Mei's heart.

The energy flowed into him like water down a mountain stream, finding its natural path into the lightning stall of his inner marketplace.

Inside his spiritual domain, the lightning stall glowed brilliantly. Each bolt of energy Meng Ji...

Chapter 356: Eliminated

A subtle shift in the air forced Lin Mei to throw herself sideways, just as a brilliant lance of flame struck the spot where she'd been sitting, scorching the cave wall black.

Heat seared the side of her face as she rolled to her feet, dropping into a defensive stance. The Veiling Mist Array shattered, its tokens crumbling to dust as the intrusion overwhelmed its modest capacity.

"Smart hiding spot," came a male voice from beyond the waterfall.

A figure stepped through the c...

Chapter 355: Everyone's Target

The air in the Fallen Realm tasted wrong.

Lin Mei stood perfectly still among towering trees with bark the color of dried blood and leaves that resembled sharpened blades more than foliage. A heavy mist clung to the forest floor, curling around her ankles like spectral fingers. The light filtering through the canopy cast everything in a sickly greenish glow, making even her own skin appear alien.

Her first instinct was to call out for Ke Yin and Wei Lin, her lips already forming t...

Chapter 354: The Champion's Prize

"Sect Leader Yuan," Wei Lin whispered, awe creeping into his voice. "He rarely attends the outer sect tournament personally."

The murmur that ran through the crowd confirmed the significance of his presence. Something important was happening today, beyond the usual tournament proceedings.

The elder beside Sect Leader Yuan stepped forward, his voice enhanced to carry throughout the arena without shouting.

"Disciples of Azure Peak Sect," he began. "Today marks the commencement...

Chapter 353: The Outer Sect Tournament

The morning sun bathed Azure Peak Sect in golden light as Ke Hong and Ke Lixue followed Liu Chen through the winding pathways toward the tournament arena. Despite their early arrival, streams of people already flowed in the same direction: disciples in sect robes of varying colors, visiting family members in their finest attire, and merchants hawking talismans and snacks from makeshift stalls lining the route.

Lixue rested one hand protectively over her growing belly as she gazed at the...

Chapter 352: The Seven-Year-Old's Prophecy

"Rocky not hurt," the stone giant rumbled as he stopped a respectful distance away. "Rocky friend."

"This is Rocky," I explained to my wide-eyed parents. "He's a stone guardian and Liu Chen's soul-bonded companion. Despite his appearance, he's quite gentle."

"Parents... of Brother Ke?" Rocky asked, his grinding voice somehow conveying curiosity.

Mother, to her immense credit, recovered first. She stepped forward from behind my father and offered a small, nervous bow. "Yes. I...

Chapter 351: When Parents Meet Peers

As we approached the herb gardens, I spotted Lin Mei kneeling among the plants, her hands glowing faintly as she tended to a row of luminous blue flowers. Perfect timing.

"Lin Mei!" I called out.

She looked up, surprise flickering across her face before her expression warmed into a welcoming smile. Setting down her gardening tools, she dusted off her robes and approached us.

"Ke Yin," she greeted, then turned a curious gaze to my companions. "And these must be your parents! ...

Chapter 350: Mortal Pride, Immortal Path

The next morning, a sharp knock on my door yanked me from a deep, dreamless sleep. I bolted upright, instantly alert, my hand instinctively channeling qi. Old habits died hard, even in the relative safety of the sect.

"Who is it?" I called, my voice still rough with sleep as I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

"Ke Yin!" a familiar voice responded, one I hadn't expected to hear yet. "It's Liu Chang. There are some people here who've traveled a long way to see you."

My h...

Chapter 349: A Good Disciple?

Elder Chen Yong stood, only slightly unsteady, and reverently retrieved an elegant jade bottle from the highest shelf. The vessel itself was a work of art, cloudy white jade with blue veins that seemed to shift and flow like actual clouds when the light caught them.

"This," he announced proudly, "is the finest spirit produced in the last millennium. Made from cloud essence berries that grow only on the highest peak of Mount Kunlun, harvested once every century, and fermented in vessels ...

Chapter 348: The Paranoid Master

The journey back to Azure Peak Sect passed without incident. We traveled at a steady pace, conserving energy rather than pushing for speed.

By mid-afternoon on the second day of travel, the familiar silhouette of Azure Peak came into view: the central mountain with its crown of spiritual clouds, surrounded by the smaller auxiliary peaks that housed various sect facilities. The sight still inspired awe, even after months of calling this place home.

"Home sweet home," Wei Lin remark...

Chapter 347: Beyond Normal Cultivation

Wei Lin's expression froze somewhere between disbelief and exasperation. The packages he'd been carrying slipped from his grasp, landing with a dull thud on the courtyard stones. Lin Mei gasped, her eyes widening as she processed my casual admission.

"You..." Wei Lin started, then stopped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "How? When? I was gone for what, six hours?"

I leaned against the wooden pillar supporting the courtyard's covered walkway, enjoying his r...

Chapter 346: Qi Condensation Stage 9

I approached the convergence point of the four valleys first, the Primordial Wellspring cradled carefully in my spiritual hands. The area seemed to respond to the water's presence even before I placed it, the ground subtly reshaping itself to create a perfect receptacle.

"Here goes," I murmured, setting the water cube at the exact center of the convergence.

The reaction was immediate and dramatic. The perfect cube began to dissolve, spreading outward in four distinct streams that ...

Chapter 345: Planting the Future

I placed the final stroke on Ke Jun's cracked blood statue, my finger leaving a trail of glowing energy that quickly sank into the crimson surface. The character for "sleep" pulsed once before settling into a steady, subdued glow.

"Better safe than sorry," I murmured, stepping back to examine my work.

The blood statue remained motionless, its normally intimidating presence diminished by the numerous cracks spreading across its surface. Using Ke Jun as a medium for the Celestial Tr...

Chapter 344: Treasures Acquired, Essence Drained

The transaction proceeded with the formal procedures of the Celestial Trade Nexus.

The blood cultivator presented his offerings first, placing them on a floating disc of Ethereal Light. The golden radiance flared around each item, verifying their nature and authenticity. The Temporal Hourglass, a delicate construct of crystal and what appeared to be solidified time essence, glowed with particular intensity as the light confirmed its genuine time-manipulation properties.

Once all t...

Chapter 343: A Life Realm's Desperate Deal

I decided to play my role with cold indifference. With a dismissive scoff, I glanced down at the bowing Life Realm cultivator as if his existence barely registered.

"Watch where you're going," I said flatly, making my voice deeper and lacing it with contempt.

Without waiting for a response, I turned and began walking away, adopting the unhurried pace of someone who feared nothing in this realm or any other. My shadowy form trailed wisps of blood-red essence behind me, completing...

Chapter 342: Walking Among Elders

"What would you accept in trade?" I asked, maintaining the aloof dignity expected of a Civilization Realm cultivator.

The water being's form rippled slightly, perhaps its version of a thoughtful expression. "I'm afraid I have little interest in resources produced within a blood cultivator's inner world. The... taint tends to disrupt water-element harmony."

I inwardly grimaced. Of course the blood cultivator disguise would create complications. Few wanted to deal directly with prac...

Chapter 341: Primordial Wellspring

The Celestial Trade Nexus stretched before me, a staggering expanse of impossible geometry and structures. This wasn't merely a marketplace, it was an entire dimension dedicated to commerce, existing between realms rather than within any single one.

I drifted forward, my shadowy form trailing wisps of blood-red energy that betrayed my borrowed cultivation method. Thanks to Ke Jun's blood essence, I appeared as a Civilization Realm blood cultivator, far beyond my actual Qi Condensation ...

Chapter 340: When Power Meets Power

The vast, seemingly infinite expanse stretched in all directions, neither dark nor light but somehow both simultaneously. Structures that defied conventional geometry dotted the landscape: some like floating pavilions, others resembling inverted mountains or spiraling towers that bent at impossible angles.

Traders moved among these structures: some appearing as hooded figures of pure light, others as swirling clouds of elemental energy, and still others as shadowy forms. Within the Nexu...

Chapter 339: Inner World, Outer Change

Incense smoke curled through the dim chamber of the Hollow Vein Sect's eastern compound. Blood-red light filtered through stained windows, casting crimson patterns across Xue Mochen's meditation platform.

The infamous Crimson Ghost Monarch, Dawnshade of the Hollow Vein Sect, sat cross-legged atop a dais crafted from black jade, its surface engraved with veins that periodically filled with actual blood, a formation that recycled his essence when he meditated.

He cast a cold glanc...

Chapter 338: Entering The Nexus

Ke Jun's laughter echoed through my inner world, causing ripples across the spiritual landscape. "You think your Life Realm master would know? How amusing." He shook his head, blood-red eyes gleaming with dark humor. "No, a Life Realm cultivator like your Elder Chen Yong likely has no concept of world walking or its significance. That knowledge is carefully guarded, accessible only to those at the highest levels of cultivation sects."

My mind raced. "Then who—"

"Your Sect Master...