Vessel of Worlds

The three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Great Void Sect reacted to the remark in their own ways.

The Chen cultivator's expression remained as cold and detached as ever, without the slightest change. Even Andy's appearance at the exit hadn't so much as made the man shift his gaze.

Scarface Shen Mo glared at the speaker, eyes wide with fury, looking ready to start a fight at the slightest provocation.

The middle-aged woman frowned briefly, then said in an even tone, "That these juniors survived Dragon Descent Valley at all is fortune enough. Why bother quibbling over how they managed it?"

The pale-faced Hundred Spirits Sect cultivator said nothing more.

Before long, a Hundred Crafts Sect cultivator at the absolute peak of the thirteenth layer strolled out through the exit with magnificent ease, as though taking a leisurely walk through a garden. His expression was utterly relaxed—as if he were returning from a scenic outing through mountains and streams rather than a month in the blood-soaked Dragon Descent Valley. The contrast with Andy's disheveled emergence could not have been starker.

After this man appeared, roughly half an hour passed with no more cultivators emerging. Less than an hour remained before the exit would close.

Anyone who failed to appear within that final hour had perished inside Dragon Descent Valley.

Andy surveyed the cultivators around him. Before entering the valley, each of the seven sects had sent about forty Qi Condensation disciples. Now each had only eight or nine. The Pure Brightness Sect had the most at ten. The Heavenly Wanderer Sect had the fewest—not a single Qi Condensation disciple had appeared.

The three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Heavenly Wanderer Sect stood in silence, watching the exit intently, their eyes betraying a growing anxiety.

Half an hour later, a cultivator with fierce brows and bristling hair emerged from the exit at a measured pace. His grey robes were spattered with dark red bloodstains of every size, and his cold eyes sent a chill down the spine of anyone who met them.

It was Sun Ming, the thirteenth-layer Great Void Sect cultivator whom Andy had once defeated in the Foundation Establishment competition.

"Another one like Senior Chen," Andy thought, noting the resemblance between this man's gaze and the leading Chen cultivator's. Having survived Dragon Descent Valley's trial of blood and death, Sun Ming would likely be a changed man.

A simple Fireball Technique would have cleaned his grey beast-hide robes in an instant, restoring them to pristine condition. That Sun Ming deliberately kept the bloodstains spoke of something calculated—a display of ruthlessness and bloodlust.

Sun Ming silently took his place in the Great Void Sect's ranks, bringing their surviving Qi Condensation disciples to ten.

More time passed. The exit was on the verge of closing, and still not a single Heavenly Wanderer Sect disciple had emerged.

Then, just as the exit had already begun to shrink, a wild-haired young man in white robes burst out, seemingly mad, screaming at the top of his lungs in a shrill voice: "Flood dragons—so many flood dragons—flood dragons everywhere—on the ground, in the sky—so many flood dragons—flood dragons everywhere—"

He hadn't gone far before he collapsed.

A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Heavenly Wanderer Sect rushed forward and gathered the young man into his arms. Answering the questioning looks from the other cultivators, he said, "It's nothing—he's merely fainted. Probably overwhelmed by fright."

The exit shrank to a black point and vanished. Before them stretched nothing but vast, empty desert.

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"Fellow cultivators, the Dragon Descent Valley matter is concluded. Our Heavenly Wanderer Sect will take our leave first!" The words were barely spoken before the three Foundation Establishment cultivators, carrying the still-unconscious youth, mounted a snow-white swan three or four zhang long and soared toward the horizon.

The other sects departed the desert in turn. Within half an hour, the sands returned to their usual silence.

The ten Qi Condensation disciples aboard the Great Void Vessel wore expressions as varied as their moods.

Some sat with heads bowed, faces showing neither grief nor joy—Andy among them.

A few spoke quietly of the valley's harrowing moments, relieved to have survived, punctuating their conversation with the occasional wistful sigh—Golden Leaf Fairy and the twelfth-layer junior brother.

Others wore masks of cold indifference, radiating a clear desire to be left alone—Sun Ming, for one.

Most looked dejected and resigned, having clearly come away from the valley empty-handed, their risk all for nothing.

…

The journey back was uneventful. Several days later, the party returned to the Enquiry Hall atop Hanyang Peak in the Kuanglu Mountain Range.

Elder Xiong Yue, the white-bearded sect leader, sat in a grand armchair, beaming at the returning disciples. On the rosewood tea table to his left sat rows of two-cun-long, square red wooden boxes, each solemnly sealed with a talisman paper. Besides the sealing symbols, each bore three small characters: "Foundation Establishment Pill."

These were the pill boxes. At the sight of them, every Qi Condensation disciple's eyes went wide. Everything they had risked and fought for in the valley—all of it had been for the pills inside those boxes.

The rare materials found in Dragon Descent Valley could be exchanged with the sect for spirit stones or other goods at market value. But no disciple had ever chosen that option. In the Golden Flame Kingdom, Foundation Establishment Pills were monopolized by the seven great sects. Any other faction wanting to acquire them had to negotiate under extremely stringent conditions, with quantities severely limited and prices exceeding ten thousand spirit stones apiece.

So without exception, every disciple who brought back rare materials chose to trade for Foundation Establishment Pills. Only those whose finds fell short of the exchange threshold reluctantly settled for spirit stones, or else kept their materials to sell at the market later.

One by one, the disciples stepped forward to present their treasures to Elder Xiong. Those who had nothing stood silently to the side, watching with envy and jealousy as the others carried away box after box.

When Andy's turn came, he first produced three stones covered in white frost. The old man glanced at them and nodded. "Indeed—mid-grade ice-attribute spirit stones unique to Bitter Cold Pool. Only the ice spirit stones from that place retain frost that never melts, quite unlike ordinary transparent ice spirit stones." He swept the three stones away with a flourish of his sleeve and handed Andy a wooden box.

"Hm? It's you—that five-root outer disciple from a few years ago. In less than three years, your cultivation has advanced again—you've reached the twelfth layer of Qi Condensation. Strange, very strange!" Elder Xiong looked up as he passed the box over, recognizing Andy at once.

Andy said nothing. After confirming with his spiritual sense that the pill inside matched the descriptions in the texts exactly, he quickly stowed the box in his storage pouch. Then he produced a fist-sized transparent crystal, its interior laced with spiraling blood-red filaments, and offered it to the elder.

"A Blood Crystal! Yes, indeed—a high-grade Luminous Crystal, a Blood Crystal. I wouldn't have expected a twelfth-layer cultivator to complete two tasks. Remarkable, truly remarkable!" Elder Xiong nodded approvingly. Compared to completing two tasks, advancing to the twelfth layer with five-root aptitude seemed far less extraordinary. Qi Condensation cultivation could be pushed forward readily enough with sufficient pills. But completing two treasure-hunting tasks in the lethal Dragon Descent Valley at just the twelfth layer, and bringing both treasures out alive—that was something that could only be called a miracle.

"What is your name?" Elder Xiong asked as he handed Andy a second wooden box.

"This disciple is Andy. Thank you, Sect Leader, for bestowing these pills," Andy replied, head bowed and manner perfectly deferential.

"Very good. With your aptitude, it should have been difficult to gain a foothold in the cultivation world. But you've worked hard, reaching the twelfth layer of Qi Condensation—no mean feat. And now you've had the extraordinary fortune of earning two Foundation Establishment Pills. Even if you still cannot achieve Foundation Establishment, you should not lose heart. Who knows what better opportunities may lie ahead? We cultivators rely above all on fortune and circumstance—spiritual root aptitude is secondary!" Elder Xiong's impression of Andy was favorable, and he offered generous encouragement. But beneath his words lay a clear lack of confidence in Andy's chances. Five-root aptitude was simply too poor; even with two Foundation Establishment Pills, the probability of success was no better than one in ten.

"Next!" Elder Xiong called to the disciples behind Andy.

"A moment, Sect Leader—this disciple has one more treasure to exchange." Andy's voice was quiet, but it left the old man gaping, momentarily lost for words.