Chapter 3

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Chapter 3 – The Jade Pillar Piercing the Clouds

Outside the Heavenly Fire Abyss, Luo Yong’s face was filled with grief.
“Fifth Elder… this disciple has failed you. I could not bring Luo Guan back.”
The Fifth Elder’s expression darkened.
“What happened?”
Luo Yong bowed his head. “After entering the Heavenly Fire Abyss, I was too slow to condense my bone, so I simply followed Luo Guan’s trail. But… I can still see it clearly—that moment not long ago when he tossed his waterskin into the lava…” His voice trembled.
“Luo Guan kept heading deeper and deeper, until he reached the middle layer of the Abyss. The heat there is far beyond what ordinary men can bear. I could go no further.”
“A few stubborn ones pushed on,” Luo Yong continued, “but soon collapsed, despairing, too afraid to take another step. Only Luo Guan… I shouted for him to come back, but he just waved me off, drank a few mouthfuls of water, poured the rest over himself, and walked on without ever turning back, until he vanished before my eyes!”
The crowd stirred.
The Fifth Elder took in a long, deep breath. “That boy… he’s a true son of the Luo family! Keep waiting. I’ll stay right here until he comes back!”

The black mist suppressing the curse shrouded Luo Guan like a layer of heat-proof armor. But the further he went down, the more terrifying the heat became.
His flesh had been scorched to charcoal, each blackened inch a testament to unimaginable agony. Worse still, his internal organs had suffered mortal wounds.
His pace slowed. He wavered, swaying as if the next step would see him fall to his death, body shattered beyond recognition.
The Black Profound Turtle finally realized it had miscalculated. Its aura could indeed force the curse to retreat—but to fully remove it, Luo Guan would have to reach the very bottom of the Abyss.
That was impossible.
It glanced at him, breath so faint it could vanish any moment, and sighed.
“A waste of effort. Grandpa Gui will just wash up and take a nap.”
It sank back into the lava, exhaustion from drawing on the laws of the world dragging it quickly into slumber.
When it awoke, sweet dreams and all, a full day had passed.
“…Oops. Slept a bit long. That kid’s probably dust by now.”
The turtle poked its head out of the magma—and saw nothing but empty space.
As expected—not even scraps left.
But then, out of the corner of its eye, it caught a flicker of shadow.
Cough, cough…
Damn it… choked again!
There, barely a hundred meters from the bottom, Luo Guan was dragging himself forward. His breath was nearly gone, his body like a half-burned log, yet he refused to fall.
The turtle’s eyes grew grave.
“This kid… is made of iron bones.”
“If he survives, I’ll toss him a little opportunity. A spare chess piece might come in handy later.”
Ninety meters.
Eighty.
…
Twenty.
Ten.
…
Pa!
One foot finally touched the bottom of the Heavenly Fire Abyss.
That last hundred meters had taken him half a day.
The turtle had expected this outcome, yet still froze for a moment—he had actually done it!
No, no, steady now. Got to keep my majestic image intact.
It cleared its throat, ready to appear as a benevolent savior, when the black mist suppressing the curse suddenly erupted.
A pair of icy eyes opened within it, locking onto Luo Guan, intent on erasing him from existence.
“Presumptuous!”
The turtle’s rage exploded.
Its very first little brother, about to be recruited, was going to be snuffed out before it could even join? If word got out, where would its face be?
Unforgivable!
Hum…
Lines on its shell blazed to life, flooding the Abyss with pure, overwhelming golden light, crashing into the eyes within the mist.
Boom!
The black mist shattered. The eyes vanished.
The turtle screamed as its body was hurled away, golden blood leaking from cracks in its shell. It slammed into Luo Guan, breaking apart his charred outer layer and revealing raw, crimson flesh beneath.
“Tragic… Without seven or eight years of rest, I’m not recovering from this,” the turtle groaned, face twisted with pain.
“But Grandpa Gui’s blood… that’s priceless treasure. Can’t let it go to waste.”
“Boy, consider yourself lucky!”
Golden blood splattered onto Luo Guan’s body. The turtle didn’t notice that in return, Luo Guan’s blood had touched it, nor that the cracks in its shell had begun to draw that blood in.
“…What’s this? My heart feels restless. Could those pests have left some hidden trick?”
It scanned the surroundings. Nothing but the familiar stench of sulfur.
Then, its eyes widened.
“No… impossible. Absolutely impossible!”
“How could someone like me… acknowledge a master?!”
It tried to flee from Luo Guan’s body, but the pull only grew stronger, gripping it tight.
With a flash of gold, the turtle vanished.

Rumble!
The moment it disappeared, the Heavenly Fire Abyss erupted into chaos.
Lava roared, the ground quaked, and screams echoed everywhere.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Several imperial cultivators flew down toward the Abyss, sensing the violent qi flow below. Their faces changed instantly.
“Hurry! The Abyss is closing… get out if you want to live!”
Panic spread like wildfire.
By tradition, the Heavenly Fire Abyss stayed open for at least a month, with clear signs before it closed. This time, it was abrupt.
“Run! If you’re trapped when it shuts, you’re dead!”
“Wait for me!”
Everyone scrambled for the exit.
Half an hour later, with a deafening boom, the Abyss sank back into the earth.
All around, people gasped for breath, faces pale with fear.

At the Luo clan’s encampment, the Fifth Elder kept sending search parties, but every return brought the same answer—no sign of Luo Guan.
“Keep looking! I don’t believe he’d die here!”
He stormed toward a group of imperial cultivators surrounded by onlookers.
“My nephew hasn’t returned—your court has to save him!”
With the Abyss sealed, trouble was brewing. The imperial cultivator’s face was dark.
“Once it’s closed, anyone left inside is as good as dead. What rescue? Move aside, I have other matters to handle.”
The Fifth Elder’s heart sank to the bottom.
An hour later, all the factions began to withdraw. The Luo camp was heavy with gloom.
Twelve juniors had entered the Abyss; six had succeeded in condensing bone—a remarkable fifty percent.
But only eleven had come back.
The Fifth Elder’s booming voice now carried a weight of grief.
“We’re going home!”
As they left, every member of the Luo clan remembered that day. Luo Guan striding away with unshakable resolve.
Pity… that the boy who bet his life could not defy the will of heaven.

Crack–
Crack–
Pieces of charred flesh flaked off Luo Guan’s body, revealing skin as smooth and pale as carved jade.
Suddenly, his fingers twitched. He flipped up with a start.
“I… I’m still alive…”
Looking down at his hands, he saw that the thick calluses from years of stone-lifting had vanished, leaving skin tender as a peeled egg. Yet within those seemingly delicate fingers lay explosive power.
Then his expression froze.
He felt it, deep in his chest and abdomen, a source of endless warmth.
The Tongtian Bone!
His heart leapt, yet disbelief lingered. After checking again and again, he knew it wasn’t an illusion.
“Father! Father!”
“Your son did not fail you—I’ve succeeded in condensing bone!”
“Ahhh!”
With a roar, all the grievances and unwillingness in his heart poured out.
Only after a long while did he calm down.
“…How did I condense my bone? And where am I?”
Above was pitch darkness. Not far away, a magma lake glowed faintly, casting light across the cavern.
He tensed at the unfamiliar surroundings, when a weak voice suddenly rang out.
“This… is Grandpa Gui’s home.”
“Who?!” Luo Guan barked.
The voice was full of bitterness.
“Grandpa Gui—renowned for an entire lifetime, actually fell into the hands of a brat who knows nothing about cultivation. Truly, the heavens love their little jokes.”
“The Tongtian Bone has already formed. Open your inner sight!”
Boom!
Luo Guan’s mind shook. His inner vision opened for the first time, revealing a boundless world.
And there, beneath the vast sky, a colossal turtle bore a white jade pillar upon its back—piercing straight into the clouds.