Immortality Cultivation

Fang Hao had never run this fast in his entire life! His legs were spinning like wheels of fire, and the soles of his shoes were almost sparking! Behind him, the ’whoosh, whoosh, whoosh’ of things piercing the air sounded like a death warrant, nipping at his heels! He didn’t dare turn his head, terrified that if he did, he would see the old zombie that had jumped out of the coffin, or be overtaken by those star-light arrows that could turn a person into a sieve!

’Oh my god! This is going to be the death of me!’ he wailed in his heart, alternating between the Divine Spirit Steps and Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, wishing his parents had given him a pair of wings! He channeled the Ethereal Art for all he was worth, his body as light as a feather, weaving left and right through the narrow, pitch-black secret passage, nearly crashing into the walls several times!

It was fortunate that he had been careful when he came in and had roughly memorized the route; otherwise, in this pitch-black hellhole, he would have surely crashed and broken his head.

Boom! Crack! Deafening sounds of boulders collapsing and Formations shattering came from behind him. The entire secret passage was shaking violently, and gravel rained down, forcing him to scurry away with his head covered. That terrifying aura surged from behind like a tidal wave, crushing him until he couldn’t breathe, his heart thumping so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of his throat!

’Faster! Faster! Faster!’ Fang Hao had only one thought in his mind: rush out of this hellhole! He didn’t know how long he had been running for his life, but finally, a glimmer of light appeared before him! It was the exit!

Fang Hao’s spirits lifted, and he used every ounce of his strength to dive out! He returned to the wide Star Corridor! He dared not stop and continued to run wildly along the corridor toward the outside! As he ran, he looked back and saw that at the exit of the secret passage, light was flashing chaotically and gravel was flying. The destructive aura was still surging out, but it seemed to be contained by some invisible force and had not completely burst forth.

’Huff... huff... finally... finally it didn’t chase me out...’ Fang Hao collapsed on the corridor, gasping for breath. He felt like his lungs were about to explode, his bones felt like they were falling apart, and cold sweat had soaked through his clothes. He had truly taken a stroll in front of the gates of hell and come back!

He quickly checked himself. His back was burning with pain, his protective spiritual light had completely shattered, his clothes were torn with several holes, and there were several bloody scratches on his skin where the light arrows had grazed him. Fortunately, he hadn’t injured his bones or muscles; they were just superficial wounds. His spiritual power was heavily depleted, and his Dantian was almost empty.

’Damn it, I almost ended up here...’ Lingering fear gripped Fang Hao. He quickly took out his best healing Medicinal Pill and qi recovery pill, stuffing them into his mouth like candy, then sat cross-legged and circulated his Cultivation Technique to recover. After regulating his breathing for nearly half an hour, his injuries stabilized and his spiritual power was mostly restored. Only then did Fang Hao look with lingering fear at the entrance of the secret passage, which had returned to calm but still emitted a dangerous aura.

’What exactly was that old monster in the coffin? Even in death, it can’t rest in peace?’ He shivered. This Secret Realm was too sinister; it was not something he could explore right now. Being able to save his life and even swipe a bronze compass was already a stroke of incredible luck!

’This is no place to stay! I must get out of here quickly!’ Fang Hao dared not stay any longer. Who knew if that old monster would suddenly rush out? He stood up, identified the direction, and left quickly along the path he came from, which was the direction of the exit.

This time he was much more careful, keeping his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes open at all times, fearing he might trigger some deadly Restriction again. Fortunately, the road back seemed much safer, and he didn’t encounter any more trouble. Soon, he returned to the platform with nine branching roads he had been to before. The platform was a mess, but the traces of battle and the corpses had long been cleared by the Secret Realm itself, leaving only the empty ground.

Fang Hao didn’t linger and found the space rift exit he had entered through. The halo of the exit was still rotating slowly, but it was much dimmer than when he arrived, and it seemed unstable. ’It seems this Secret Realm is about to close?’ Fang Hao’s heart tightened. Daring not to delay, he plunged into the halo.

There was another sensation of spinning and dizziness from the teleportation. When he landed on solid ground, he had returned to the desolate valley from before. The valley was still silent, but the entrance to the space rift had shrunk significantly, its light flickering, and it was on the verge of disappearing.

’That was close! Any later and I wouldn’t have made it out!’ Fang Hao breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly cast the Shadowless Evasion Technique to conceal his figure and slipped out of the valley silently. He summoned the silver light shuttle and sped toward the Central Plains without looking back!

After flying more than a thousand miles and confirming he was absolutely safe, Fang Hao dared to slow down. He found a desolate mountain to land on, set up a concealment Formation, and completely relaxed.

This trip to the Secret Realm was truly perilous, and he had almost lost his life. However, the gains were also huge! He couldn’t wait to start counting his spoils.

First was the bronze compass that almost cost him his life—the ’star evolution plate’. He took it out and examined it carefully. The compass was the size of a palm, bronze-colored, with its surface covered in dense star markings. In the center was a rotatable pointer. The material was neither metal nor wood, and it felt cool to the touch. When he probed it with his Divine Sense, it felt like he was sinking into a vast sea of stars, profound and mysterious.

’This thing... how do I use it?’ Fang Hao tried to input a trace of spiritual power. The compass lit up slightly, and the pointer in the center began to turn slowly, finally pointing in one direction. At the same time, an extremely blurry, simple map made of starlight appeared in his mind. On the map, there was a light spot that seemed to represent himself, and an arrow pointing into the distance.

’Pointing... in the direction of the Heavenly Capital?’ Fang Hao compared the orientation and understood a little. This compass had the function of guiding direction and even positioning? It was truly a good treasure! From now on, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost when traveling!

He played with it for a while, unable to put it down, before carefully putting it away. This was a good thing for saving his life and finding his way.

Next, he took out the Storage Pouches he had looted from the bodies of Black Fiend, Shadow, Zhao Ting, and others. He opened them and looked; good heavens, as expected of Golden Core Cultivators, their wealth was substantial! There were tens of thousands of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones alone, a huge pile of various Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and Materials, as well as a few decent Spiritual Artifacts. However, most of the Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals were mediocre, and Fang Hao didn’t think much of them. He sorted the useful items and put them away, preparing to sell the useless ones later.

Finally, there were the two’Star Crystal Cores’ he had obtained from the Star Scorpion. These items contained pure Power of the Stars and were of great benefit to his practice of the Starfall Sword Art and tempering his Physical Body. He also carefully put them away.

After finishing the count, Fang Hao was in a great mood. This adventure had been worth it! His cultivation hadn’t improved, but he had obtained the ’star evolution plate’, a rare treasure, along with a large amount of resources, which indirectly boosted his strength significantly.

’It’s time to go to the Heavenly Capital!’ Fang Hao looked toward the Central Plains, his eyes filled with anticipation. Mu Fenghua’s invitation, the prosperity of the Central Plains, and a bigger stage were waiting for him.