Chapter 34

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Chapter 34

On the high mountain, the Hu family’s carriage finally came to a stop.

Throughout the journey, the carriage moved effortlessly, so steadily that she didn’t even realize they had reached the mountain peak.

This place was the heart of the Central Plains, and they had not yet entered the Northern Pass.

However, even from here, one could see the traces of the Celestial Stairs in the distance.

As Gong Wu stepped down from the carriage, she felt a surge of excitement and took a deep breath.

She slowly walked down the steps, finding herself surrounded by a dense apricot grove. In the distance, she saw shimmering golden light at the end of the horizon.

Without spiritual vision, even as a native of the North, she would never have noticed any trace in the blue sky.

But she truly saw it.

From the depths of the clouds in the true North, a long staircase rose toward the sky, like a sunset melting gold.

She was still too far from the North to see the distinct outlines of the steps, but she could clearly see the bright golden silhouette, stretching through the clouds up to the thirty-sixth layer of heaven.

That staircase was the pathway to immortality for all beings, and it was the ultimate aspiration of countless cultivators.

Ascending to immortality.

The golden streaks of the stairway could even be seen from the Central Plains; how shocking it would be to stand right before it!

Just a glimpse set her blood ablaze, making her hold her breath in awe.

Countless desires surged from her heart, filling her with an unprecedented reverence.

That was the Celestial Stairs.

That was the Celestial Stairs that everyone dreamed of ascending step by step!

At some point, Hu Fengyu was helped into a wheelchair by the coachman and sat quietly behind her, watching.

After a long time, Gong Wu turned around and looked at him. “Rainbow Ridge is right next to the Qianyun Celestial Stairs. Those people there must be desperate to reach immortality.”

Hu Fengyu smiled lightly.

“There will always be a process.”

“Cultivators live for hundreds of years, and every year they watch the sky without being able to ascend.”

“From desire, resentment, hope, despair, to complete acceptance, it all comes step by step.”

Gong Wu immediately thought of her mindset when her Spiritual Orifice had not yet opened, and she nodded gently.

“I have not yet fulfilled the reward for your correct guess.”

He slightly turned and called to the coachman, “Bring it here.”

The coachman promptly retrieved an item from the back of the carriage, lifted the red cloth covering it, and respectfully presented it.

It was her silver crane ink-dipping umbrella!

As soon as Gong Wu caught a glimpse of the red cloth being lifted, she covered her mouth with both hands and hurried over.

The umbrella! The umbrella that her master had given her!

“Don’t blame me for sending it late,” Hu Fengyu said slowly, nestled in a soft blanket. “I only sent a disciple to transform it into stone and secretly retrieve it just before I was set to leave, traveling along hidden paths to avoid being seen by outsiders.”

“This counts as returning what belongs to its rightful owner; those two children were impolite in abducting you, so it’s not considered a gift.”

Gong Wu held the umbrella tightly in her arms, caressing the familiar patterns, her eyes red as she said thank you.

“So there’s another item.”

Hu Fengyu took out a pair of half shells from his sleeve and handed them to her.

“Here, take good care of them.”

Gong Wu had never seen shells shaped like this before; she curiously opened them, faintly feeling the spiritual energy swirling around.

“What are these?”

“Calling Shells, sent to me overnight by an old friend from the South Sea.”

Hu Fengyu smiled and said, “With these, you can hear your master’s voice even if you travel further north.”

Gong Wu was momentarily speechless with joy and immediately held one shell to her ear.

Hu Fengyu shook his head.

“The items only arrived halfway; I just sent the little fox to carry them over, so they haven’t reached you yet.”

“I’ve listened to you talk about your Sect’s past for over half a year and know you have a deep bond with your master and brothers, so I specially sent you two sets.”

“With the shells for you and your master, you’ll be able to exchange sounds tonight at midnight. You’ll hear each other’s messages every night.”

“As for your brother… I hope you can see him soon; you can give him his shell then.”

Gong Wu carefully cleaned the shells and tucked them close, saying thank you once more.

Hu Fengyu only looked at her gently.

“There’s no need for that.”

“I owe you so much.”

In the Deep Cave, the young man had dedicated himself to cultivation for several months, and spring had arrived without him noticing the passage of time.

He transformed the tyrannical greed of the worm core with power, bringing his Cultivation to nearly eighty percent.

At the same time, the black phoenix feasted on the insect’s corpse, drinking blood and tearing flesh, gradually growing stronger and more capable of self-defense.

As Ji Yang emerged from the Spiritual Sea, he confirmed his cultivation level; he had reached the edge of the Opening Sun Realm, with Moonlight Energy swirling around him once again.

For ordinary talents, reaching such power might require hundreds of years of cultivation, along with the aid of spiritual herbs and elixirs.

But with the Thousand-Year Worm Core, he had achieved it in just a few months.

—Once he broke through, he would stand on equal footing with his master, their powers comparable.

Ji Yang had no time to think about the future; at this moment, he couldn’t even find a clue to the exit of the Demon Realm.

But… he absolutely could not step outside the cave.

No matter how brave and skilled in battle he was, it was impossible to single-handedly cut through the entire Demon Realm’s armies.

Moreover, being bloodthirsty would likely increase the Demonic Energy within him, just as it had when he was in Jin Yan Tuo, putting him in danger.

Ji Yang pondered, then turned to look deeper into the cave.

Long ago, he had heard his master say that the Demon Realm, though vast, was divided into Northern and Southern Demon Realms.

He had personally confirmed during his escape that further south lay a boundless abyss threading through the mountains.

This end was perilously deep, not something to be crossed easily.

So… could there be other routes between the Northern and Southern Demon Realms?

What lay deeper?

He got up, brushed away the dust, called Little Orange to rest on his shoulder, and whispered, “Let’s explore deeper.”

The black phoenix let out a soft call, its bright chirping seeming to scare off the various ancient insects lurking in the cave. Soon, the sounds faded entirely.

When the chick called a few more times and all noise had vanished, Ji Yang summoned spiritual fire, illuminating the dark cave as he moved forward.

Though he could see in the dark thanks to his current level, the overflowing power granted by the worm core was too much to contain; it was better to burn it into spiritual fire.

As the flames spread out in all directions, a winding path appeared before him.

Even though the cave was filled with rocky walls and chaotic stones, it surprisingly had a perilous path.

The black phoenix suddenly flew ahead, letting out a cry in the distance, confirming its surroundings clearly.

Ji Yang followed the light, delving deeper underground, and when he reached a hole, he leaped down, continuously searching for where the lower levels led.

After about four or five hours, they finally approached the deepest level.

Sliding down, his vision suddenly expanded, and the sound of rushing water clearly reached his ears.

The light from the spiritual fire illuminated the area, making the young man’s eyes shine brightly.

He not only found the dark river at the very bottom of the Demon Realm but also discovered many footprints along its banks.

Indeed, although the Demon Realm appeared divided into Northern and Southern Demon Realms with no interaction, there were actually already secret paths connecting them, just hidden from outsiders!

He took off his outer robe, transforming it into a flat boat, and began to drift downstream, heading south along the dark river.

Throughout his explorations, Ji Yang had pieced together that he was currently in the Soul Cliff, that legendary forbidden place, and heading downstream would lead him to the Bone Abyss!

It was the Bone Abyss that had sent a troop to raid Moonfire Valley and had been chasing after Gong Wu’s whereabouts with images!

Ji Yang’s heart tightened; he infused spiritual energy into the boat, picking up speed as he let it glide over the waves.

The black phoenix had not felt such a refreshing breeze in a long time; standing at the bow of the boat, it spread its wings wide and let its long tail flutter high.

About half an hour later, the bird suddenly tucked its wings in and cautiously stretched its neck to look around.

Ji Yang sensed something unusual and stopped the boat to investigate carefully.

At that moment, the flat boat was still heading south along the dark current, but there was a hidden, inconspicuous cave nearby.

Should he enter the cave now or continue toward the Bone Abyss?

Ji Yang signaled to Little Orange to remain silent, suppressing his breath as he approached the cave, faintly feeling a gentle breeze on his face, with minimal noise.

He closed his eyes and concentrated his spiritual energy into his ears, finally able to hear very faint sounds.

—It oddly resembled the sound of dice being rolled.

There was chaotic foot traffic outside the cave, but he had not seen any trace of people along the shore; there were likely many hidden paths unknown to outsiders.

Ji Yang raised his hand, changed back into his clean outer robe, and shrank the black phoenix down to hide it in his sleeve before bending down to enter the cave.

After taking the worm core, his Demonic Energy was faint, which would normally attract the attention of external demons.

However, the black phoenix had consumed a lot of insect flesh, making its Demonic Energy dense enough to mask his human scent.

The noise of chatter and laughter grew clearer, with sounds of someone pouring wine, someone singing, and others playing games, creating a lively atmosphere.

A dim light flickered faintly from deeper inside, prompting Ji Yang to extinguish his spiritual fire and crawl forward, almost colliding with a wooden barrier.

Outside the barrier, a Dog Demon, noticing the commotion, perked up its ears and bent down to look.

"Hey, brother, how did you get in here?"

"This path has been sealed for decades; just a moment, I’ll clear it for you."

Ji Yang was stunned for a moment as the Dog Demon skillfully pried open the nails and pulled the wooden barrier out of the wall, allowing him to squeeze through.

"Look at you, covered in dust," the Dog Demon said as it helped the young man out, laughing, "The venue is about to open over there. I’ll go pour some wine; you should stick to the main path next time."

"Uh, thank you."

In the distance, a guest called out for wine, and the Dog Demon responded, wagging its tail as it hurried off.

He… seemed to be in a hidden chamber.

Ji Yang hid in a corner, looking around, and finally spotted several unique guests with strange shapes among the crowd.

“Cai Yan Cave.”

The cave bustled with activity and was filled with the sounds of voices, resembling a multi-layered structure of large and small caverns.

He was now on the outer edge, watching as many guests crawled out in various ways, eagerly diving toward places filled with wine and revelry.

There was an old madam strutting about with male and female performers, casually pulling in guests to show off.

There were also deep holes resembling taverns carved into the rock walls, seemingly featuring hidden ventilation shafts.

All sorts of demons from the Northern and Southern Demon Realms gathered here, enjoying an endless indulgence as if money were mere dirt.

Ji Yang’s expression darkened slightly as he found a tea house and feigned rest, not daring to touch any of the various foods around him.

His association with the demonic world was still very shallow; engaging with these things would lead him down an irreversible path.

Though he turned away from them, the thick spiritual energy still resonated in his ears, allowing him to hear countless conversations of passersby and patrons inside the tavern.

“Whoa, that sheep girl is really something! Her little hooves are already on my back!”

“Brother, you southern folks aren’t planning to attack, are you?”

“Bring me some wine!! Good wine!! Is there any for three hundred gold a pot?!”

…

Amid the chaotic noise, he suddenly caught a laughing question.

“Hey, I think this place doesn’t have enough excitement. Is there anything stronger?”

“Of course there is!” another demon laughed loudly, “I’m afraid you can’t handle it!”

“What treasure could I not handle? I’ve already drunk a whole pot of deer blood wine!”

“Hey, what’s deer blood?”

“I’m telling you… if you go deeper, to the deepest cave…”

“There’s a fierce girl tied up there. Have you tasted her blood?”