A Night of Desperation

Mining Star.

Yu Hong sat cross-legged within the Well of Rebirth, absorbing vitality. The enormous vitality needed for the Nascent Soul Stage had driven him away from his previous base to a deeper area.

His surroundings had transformed into rows of gigantic corn stalks, towering like skyscrapers, with golden ears of corn the size of yachts between them.

Mechanical servants were diligently working on the corn. These dark robots mainly harvested various foods from here to supply the diets of a few people in Wanxue Palace.

With the Well of Life, there was never a shortage of meat or fruits and vegetables.

The robots carefully harvested each golden corn kernel, then extracted the juice to be transported to another Well of Life base to feed the special livestock there.

Hoo.

Yu Hong let out a long breath, opened his eyes, and a purple beam of light shot out over a meter.

’The enhancement of the Chaotic God Heavenly Eye is complete, and the Qingwei Heart Technique is also finished. An attack and a defense, ensuring basic safety.’

Thinking of this, he closed his eyes once more and entered his mind.

Currently, his traits were:

Phantom God, Sacred Tiger Form, Spirit Barrier, Innate Body, Extreme Summoning, Elf Ancient Tree’s Call, Night Breath, Dao Breath Thunder Transfer, Light Body, Cloud Hand.

’I still need two more—stronger aptitude, stronger attack and defense. So enhancing the Sacred Tiger Form and Innate Body are two options.’

Yu Hong pondered. He wanted to strengthen the Innate Body but feared losing this top-tier trait.

Although there had been no failures so far, with effects always directly strengthened, what if the enhancement didn’t affect the Innate Body but the trait it merged with?

So, he needed to wait for another trait that increased aptitude before making a more suitable fusion.

Similarly, for the Sacred Tiger Form, at this level, an unexpected result would be too costly. It was best to enhance a trait with both attack and defense capabilities when it appeared.

After careful consideration, Yu Hong finally focused on Night Breath and Phantom God.

’Night Breath increases recovery effects threefold at night, immune to normal toxins, and has some resistance to extraordinary toxins. This effect is pretty redundant for me now, with the Recovery Necklace making the tripled recovery redundant. However, its resistance is nice. Perfect to merge with Phantom God—no matter which part is strengthened, it won’t be a loss.’

Immediately, Yu Hong grabbed the light spheres of Phantom God and Night Breath with both hands and pulled them together.

Poof.

The two spheres were instantly compressed together, forming a white light sphere the size of a watermelon.

A countdown appeared: 7 hours and 13 minutes.

’Would you like to merge Night Breath and Phantom God?’ The Black Mark’s question arrived on cue.

’Yes.’

The countdown blurred and began to flicker.

Looking at the reformed nine traits in his consciousness space, Yu Hong felt some of his obsessive-compulsive pressure relieved.

Exiting his mind, he turned towards the teleportation portal to leave.

But his steps halted abruptly.

Behind him stood a person, someone he hadn’t noticed before.

A short man with a huge tumor on his back.

"Corrupt Traveler!?" Yu Hong wasn’t startled but delighted. "You’ve finally returned!"

"Yes, I was held up by the Child of the Mother Tree." The Corrupt Traveler sighed.

"Was it that difficult?" Yu Hong frowned.

Seeing Yu Hong’s concern, the Corrupt Traveler shook his head. "Not that I couldn’t defeat them, but the opponent is undying and resurrects infinitely, impacting a large area. If we fought near the Mining Star, the outcome would be undecided before the planet blew up. So, we had to move the battle to other regions."

"I see... But isn’t there an array set up by the Heavenly Venerate?" Yu Hong asked.

"Yes, but... it’s just a rough perimeter and doesn’t care about the planets inside..." The Corrupt Traveler shook his head.

"Understood. Let’s not talk about that. Senior, the item you gave me has been repaired!" Yu Hong said respectfully.

He didn’t mention what it was, just in case he needed the other party to call it by name first.

"I came for the Defense Belt." The Corrupt Traveler gave a peculiar low laugh. "As a trade-off, you still need a strong enough protective magical artifact, so... here, take this."

He extended his hand, palm open.

A dark gold eye-shaped ornament the size of a fist lay in his hand.

"This is the Royal Golden Eye of the Spiritual Formula Empire, also known as the Immortal Eye, extremely rare. But there’s some bad news..." The Corrupt Traveler paused, a smile curling his lips. "It’s broken."

"Senior, you..." Yu Hong was speechless, guessing the other’s intentions.

"The good news is, it’s not heavily damaged, and it’s very powerful. I know you have a particular fondness for eyes, so I’m gifting you this." The Corrupt Traveler laughed.

"What’s its function?" Yu Hong’s heart skipped a beat.

"Its function is simple: it automatically alerts and monitors approaching danger and releases a layer of Immortal Spirit Light to ensure your absolute safety. The light’s intensity is fixed; within ten minutes, no attacks below Golden Immortal level can harm you. But above Golden Immortal level, it’s a different story. So be mindful and evade." The Corrupt Traveler explained.

"That strong!?" Yu Hong’s heart trembled. This level of protection was the best suited for him among all magical artifacts he had encountered.

"Of course, provided you repair it first to regain this function." The Corrupt Traveler smiled.

"I, as the junior, will do my best!"

Yu Hong expressed that he must repair this treasure, even if it costs his life!

With this thing, he would no longer be trapped in the safe house endlessly; at least he could go out for short trips.

Immediately, Yu Hong took out the defense belt and handed it to the corrupt traveler, while also receiving the royal golden eye of the Lingfang Empire.

Both parties were extremely satisfied with this transaction. After putting away the defense belt, the corrupt traveler said,

"By the way, I noticed guests arriving at the mining star when I came back just now?"

"Yes, there is indeed such a matter that requires your attention." Yu Hong immediately began recounting the special circumstances he encountered during this period.

"The Qinghe Mountain main sect? People came??!" Corrupt was stunned. "The main sect has disappeared for many years, where did they come from?"

"According to Senior Sister Qian Rong, back then the Heavenly Venerate severed all connections between the sect and the outside world to avoid a great disaster. Recently, sensing the appearance of the Zhu Tian fruit, they couldn’t resist sending someone to look for it," Yu Hong explained.

"This...." Corrupt hesitated, "If it was the Heavenly Venerate, it is indeed possible."

He pondered for a moment.

"I’ll go check on this Qian Rong. If what she says is true, migrating the Wanxue Palace of the mining star is definitely not something she could do alone. The situation here is quite complicated; under the siege of the Black Disaster, it is impossible to come and go without sufficient strength."

Obviously, Corrupt was also a bit hesitant. Yu Hong could understand; after all, this matter involved the Heavenly Venerate, and the power of the Heavenly Venerate was unimaginable.

"If there is any issue, please notify me in time, senior," Yu Hong quickly added.

"Alright." The next second, Corrupt flickered and disappeared in place.

In the spaceship above the mining star, within Qian Rong’s residence.

Qian Rong, dressed in a bathrobe and preparing for a bath, walked slowly along the corridor covered with a pink carpet. Suddenly, she paused, turned, and looked towards the corrupt traveler who had suddenly appeared behind her.

"So it is the Golden Immortal Fu Bai, Qian Rong greets the senior." She quickly expressed respect, bowing and saluting.

"You..e from the main sect?" Corrupt frowned, his eyes hidden under his long hair, staring at her.

"Yes. My master is the Golden Immortal of Mt. Taichong and was once your junior. He advanced to the rank of Golden Immortal after you left the sect and founded your own," Qian Rong replied. "He instructed me to present this item if I meet you and Senior Feng Xuezi, which would prove our identity."

She raised her right hand, and a white ice pearl appeared in her palm out of thin air.

"...The hidden cold pearl...!" Corrupt seemed to recognize the item. He reached out gently and took the white ice pearl.

In his hand, he treated it as a precious treasure, handling it delicately and meticulously, his hand even trembling slightly.

"How is my junior sister?" Corrupt asked softly.

"The Demon Pride Golden Immortal is still alive, but she suffered some injuries recently while resisting the Source Disaster. You know, because of the Zhu Tian fruit, we unsealed the Heavenly Venerate’s array, attracting many attacks from the Source Disaster. Several Golden Immortals were injured because of it," Qian Rong sighed.

Corrupt remained silent.

His powerful divine sense continuously scanned the woman before him countless times.

But everything seemed fine, even the hidden cold pearl in his hand carried the aura of his junior sister from back then.

"Then, what is the purpose of your visit this time?" he asked in a deep voice. "As for the Zhu Tian fruit, it is impossible for us to hand it over to you; you must know that."

"Senior, don’t you want to return to the main sect with us?" Qian Rong asked softly, "Master and the Demon Pride Golden Immortal are waiting for you."

"Then why didn’t she come in person?" Corrupt retorted.

"The presence of a Golden Immortal is too noticeable. I risked my life to sneak in this time. In fact, I came with a will to die. Fortunately, everything went smoothly," Qian Rong replied. "There are still about three months left. Master and the Demon Pride Golden Immortal will arrive by then, and you’ll see the truth."

"Three months... fine!" Corrupt nodded, "I will wait for these three months!"

Whoosh!

In the next instant, he disappeared instantly with the hidden cold pearl.

Leaving Qian Rong standing alone, sighing.

Actually, the main sect did not plan to take Corrupt and Feng Xuezi with them; they couldn’t leave anyway.

Both Corrupt and she knew this.

So, the earlier conversation was simply rekindling old bonds, hoping Corrupt would let go of the Zhu Tian fruit for the sake of the Demon Pride Golden Immortal...

All that talk about leaving together was mere politeness.

She stood in the corridor for a while before turning around, heading toward an elliptical room instead of continuing to bathe.

With a point of her finger, blue light patterns lit up around the room instantly.

In midair in front of her, a white-haired figure in a cross-legged floating posture appeared simultaneously.

"It seems you’ve made contact with Fu Bai and Feng Xuezi," the elderly voice of the figure echoed in the room.

"Yes, Master. The Golden Immortal Fu Bai seems to be swayed, but whether or not we can take back the Zhu Tian fruit is still uncertain," Qian Rong lowered her head respectfully.

"I hope he understands. He and Feng Xuezi alone cannot protect the Zhu Tian fruit; only within the Void Realm set by the Heavenly Venerate can its effectiveness be maximized," the white-haired figure said in a deep voice.

"Master, if the Golden Immortal Fu Bai still refuses...?" Qian Rong asked hesitantly.

"As disciples of the same sect... we would not resort to force. I and Demon Pride have prepared items for trade. If it still doesn’t work, we will retreat to take other people from the mining star. This time, you’ve done well in discovering two Immortal seedlings, one of which is likely a top-tier seed. In a thousand years, they could be two top-tier Golden Immortals! This will greatly enhance the foundation of our sect. After returning, you will have made a great contribution," the white-haired figure praised.

"Thank you, Master!" Qian Rong’s face lit up with joy, quickly saluting.