Immortality Cultivation

Fang Hao lay on the platform of the eleventh floor like a dead dog for a long time before he could recover from the sensation that his head was about to explode.

That Formation deduction just now was simply not something a human could do; it nearly fried his brain.

However, the harvest was truly huge!

That energy carrying the comprehension of the Star Law poured in, not only healing his injuries but also significantly deepening his understanding of things like Formations and energy circulation; he felt he would be much more formidable at setting up and breaking Formations in the future.

He climbed up and stretched his muscles and bones; his state was actually even better than before he entered, though his mind was still a bit fatigued.

He looked up at the final stretch of stairs, which were pitch black, like the mouth of a monster waiting for him to crawl inside.

"The twelfth floor... the final push."

Fang Hao licked his lips, his heart pounding like a drum.

The previous eleven floors were each more perverted than the last, and he had nearly lost his life several times.

This final floor, even with his eyes closed, he knew it must be the most deadly one.

That old man with the white beard had said that the twelfth floor was the threshold of the "Inhuman Path," and if he couldn’t pass it, he would face Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Afraid? A little.

But more than that, there was curiosity and an unyielding spirit.

He had already come this far, just one last step away; if he chickened out now, wouldn’t all the suffering he endured before be in vain?

Besides, he, Fang Hao, a Seven Spiritual Roots "Trash," had managed to break through to the final floor of the heaven-reaching pagoda; who would believe it if he told them?

This brag was enough to last him a lifetime!

Even if he didn’t pass in the end, it was worth it!

"Damn it, worst case is death; if I make it, I’ll soar! I’ll risk it!"

He hardened his heart, had nothing to hesitate about, and stepped onto the stairs leading to the twelfth floor.

His vision blurred for a moment; there was no spinning or dizzying sensation, no terrifying commotion, just an ordinary change of location.

Fang Hao focused his eyes and was stunned.

This twelfth floor was completely different from what he had imagined!

It wasn’t some mountain of blades or sea of fire, nor was it some complex maze, but just a small, square stone room.

In the center of the room, there was a meditation cushion.

In front of the cushion was a small tea table, and on the table... was a cup of tea.

The tea was still steaming, and a faint, pleasant tea fragrance wafted over.

Apart from these, there was nothing at all.

It was empty and quiet.

"This... what does this mean?" Fang Hao was a bit confused.

It was the final floor, and they pull this? Drinking tea? What kind of trick is this?

He swept his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes around, but there were no Formations, no Restrictions, no ambushes, not even a ghost in sight.

Just a cup of tea.

He cautiously walked to the center of the room, circled the tea table twice, but didn’t dare to touch the cup of tea.

Where there is something abnormal, there must be a demon!

This final level of the heaven-reaching pagoda, placing a cup of tea for you to drink? Who are you trying to fool!

It must be a trap!

He waited for a while, but nothing happened.

He tried using the empty clarity mirror to examine the tea again; in the mirror’s light, the tea was just tea, clear and bright, with no poison or any special energy fluctuations.

How strange!

Just as he was scratching his head, wondering what the pagoda spirit was up to, the voice of that old man with the white beard suddenly rang out in his mind, still as calm as ever: "Sit down, drink the tea."

Fang Hao was startled and looked around, but there wasn’t even a ghost in sight.

"Senior? Is that you? This... this final level is just drinking tea?" he couldn’t help but ask.

"Sit down, drink the tea." The old man’s voice repeated, without any extra words.

Fang Hao had no choice.

The other party was the pagoda spirit, the master of this place; he had to do as he was told.

He hesitated, walked to the meditation cushion, and sat down cross-legged.

Looking at the steaming cup of tea in front of him, his heart was pounding.

Drink it? What if he was finished once he drank it?

Don’t drink it? He probably wouldn’t pass this level either.

"Damn it, drink it is! If it’s a blessing, it’s not a disaster; if it’s a disaster, it can’t be avoided!" He gritted his teeth and picked up the teacup.

The tea was warm, and the fragrance was intoxicating.

He steeled his heart, tilted his head back, and downed it in a few gulps!

Once the tea hit his stomach, there was no special feeling, just a warm current, quite comfortable.

He smacked his lips; the taste was not bad, with a bit of a sweet aftertaste.

"And then?" Fang Hao put down the teacup, muttering to himself.

Waiting for the medicine to take effect? Or waiting for divine lightning to strike from the sky?

He waited for quite a while, and still, nothing happened.

Just as he was about to lose patience, the scene before his eyes began to change slowly.

The walls and roof of the stone room rippled like water waves, then gradually became transparent, and finally... disappeared!

He discovered that he was not sitting in a stone room, but sitting in a... void.

Above, below, left, right, front, back, there was nothing.

No light, no darkness, no sound, no feeling of time passing, and he couldn’t even feel the existence of his own body; only a sliver of consciousness remained, floating in this absolute "Nothingness."

An indescribable, immense loneliness and fear instantly engulfed him!

This was not the fear of being hunted or facing death, but a more fundamental, more thorough fear!

It was the fear of existence itself being denied!

Here, everything about him—his cultivation, Physical Body, memories, emotions—seemed to have lost their meaning, becoming ethereal, ready to dissipate into this "Emptiness" at any moment.

"Who... am I?"

"Where am I?"

"Why am I here?"

Questions popped up uncontrollably.

There were no answers.

Only the boundless emptiness devoured his weak consciousness.

He tried to recall, to recall that he was Fang Hao, to recall his experiences, to recall those joys and sorrows... but those memories, in the face of this "Emptiness," became so distant, so unreal, like words on a beach being slowly wiped away by the tide.

Panic! Extreme panic!

He felt that he was about to be assimilated by this "Emptiness" and disappear completely!

"No! I cannot disappear!" Deep in his consciousness, a faint spark struggled!

"I am Fang Hao! I have Seven Spiritual Roots! I want to cultivate immortality! I want to live!"

He desperately gathered that sliver of consciousness, resisting the surrounding devouring.

But the power of the "Emptiness" was too strong; his struggle was like a firefly trying to illuminate the night, insignificant.

His consciousness became increasingly blurry, increasingly faint...

Just when he was about to be unable to hold on and his consciousness was about to completely dissipate, an extremely faint, greyish light lit up at the core of his consciousness.

It was that sliver of... Chaos Qi produced by the autonomous operation of the Chaos Derivation Art!

This Chaos Qi seemed to have some innate connection with this "Emptiness"; it was not dissolved like other things, but instead, it tenaciously existed in this absolute "Nothingness," and even... was slowly absorbing the surrounding "Emptiness"!

Although the speed of absorption was negligibly slow, it was indeed absorbing!

It was using this "Emptiness" as nutrients to strengthen itself!

This discovery was like lighting a faint lamp in the endless darkness!

Fang Hao’s consciousness, which was about to dissipate, suddenly grasped this straw of hope!

"Emptiness... Chaos... Creating something from nothing..." Some fragmented insights about the Great Dao of Chaos surfaced in his mind.

Chaos was the state before the birth of the Universe; it was "Nothingness," but it was also the source of all "Existence"!

The "Emptiness" of this trial perhaps was not meant to completely annihilate him, but... to make him comprehend the essence of this "Emptiness"?

To find his own Foundation of "existence" within this "Emptiness"?

His consciousness no longer futilely resisted the devouring of the "Emptiness," but instead tried to get close to it, to understand it, and even... to merge with it!

He let go of his tight grip on his self-consciousness and allowed the power of the "Emptiness" to wash and scour him.

Memories, emotions, obsessions... all external, attached things gradually faded and stripped away in the "Emptiness."

Finally, what remained was only that most fundamental "True Self," guarded by the Chaos Qi.

This "True Self" was pure and ethereal, yet contained infinite vitality and possibilities.

It was like a seed buried in the soil of "Emptiness."

He did not know how long had passed; perhaps it was an instant, perhaps it was eternity.

That "True Self" moved slightly.

It began to actively absorb the surrounding "Emptiness," using that sliver of Chaos Qi as the core, slowly and arduously... reconstructing!

First, his consciousness became more solid, then his perception of his body slowly recovered, and then his memories rushed back like a tide...

Hum—!

Fang Hao opened his eyes abruptly!

He was still in that stone room, still sitting on the meditation cushion.

On the tea table in front of him sat that empty teacup.

It seemed as if... nothing had happened.

But he knew, it was different.

His eyes had become unprecedentedly clear and profound.

It was as if they could reflect the entire Universe, and yet it also seemed as if they were empty.

His aura was more restrained, more harmonious.

An indescribable sense of tranquility and clarity filled his entire body.

He understood.

This twelfth floor did not test strength, technique, Formations, or Dao... but "Heart," "Self," and existence itself.

That cup of tea was perhaps just a trigger to let him drop all defenses and face his original heart directly.

And that "Emptiness" was the ultimate trial, questioning the most fundamental thing of a cultivator—why do you exist?

Where does your Dao’s Foundation lie?

By passing this level, his Dao Heart had undergone a thorough baptism and remodeling, becoming indestructible.

This had immeasurable benefits for his future cultivation!

Above the dome, starlight gathered into the final line of text: "heaven-reaching pagoda, twelfth floor, all passed. Bestowed, ’Chaos Derivation Art: Second Volume’, and ’Chaos Pagoda’ mark."

A stream of Chaos Qi and a tiny pagoda-shaped mark fell into the center of Fang Hao’s eyebrows.

A massive amount of information flooded into his mind; it was precisely the subsequent Cultivation Technique he had dreamed of!

And that pagoda-shaped mark seemed to have some mysterious connection with this heaven-reaching pagoda.

On one side of the stone room, a light gate slowly opened.

Outside the door was the familiar scene of the Secret Realm.

He had cleared the level!

Fang Hao stood up tall, feeling the surging power within his body and his more firm Dao Heart, and a curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

It was time to go out.

In the Secret Realm, there was still the final Opportunity waiting for him.