104: Chapter 104 Lucky Guy's Second Visit to the Heavenly Tomb

Deep within the bamboo forest behind Starfall Pavilion, the radiance of four kinds of Heavenly Flames illuminated the entire night sky as if it were day.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the scorched rock that had been burned countless times by Heavenly Flames, the xuan heavy ruler resting across his knees.

Green, white, blue, and colorless flames swirled around his body like four swimming dragons, weaving back and forth through his meridians.

The immense medicinal power of the Grade 9 Profound Pill had lain dormant deep within his dantian for a full year.

Over these past six months, he had used the Burning Technique to refine it day and night, finally integrating that nearly tyrannical energy, bit by bit, into every limb and bone.

Following the transaction with Hun Feng six months ago, Yao Chen had delivered a hundred Grade 9 Soul Origin Pills and a large quantity of ten-thousand-year soul crystals to the cultivation room in batches.

He had devoured and absorbed every single pill and crystal with near-greediness, converting them into the purest source of Dou Qi.

When the final wisp of medicinal power was completely refined, an aura so powerful that it made the entire back mountain tremble slightly exploded from within his body.

The four-colored Heavenly Flames soared into the sky, tearing a massive hole in the clouds above the bamboo forest.

The pressure of a mid-stage Seven-Star Dou Sheng crushed outward like a physical force; bamboo leaves rustled down, turning into fine green smoke from the high temperature before they even hit the ground.

Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, and a piercing, intimidating glint flashed within those eyes that had been tempered by countless battles.

His severed arm had long since healed as if it were new, and his bones and meridians were tougher than before, tempered by the medicinal power of the Grade 9 Profound Pill.

He flexed his right arm, and his joints popped with crisp cracks.

Grasping the xuan heavy ruler, the four Heavenly Flames upon its surface were more condensed than before: the emerald green of the Green Lotus Core Flame, the formlessness of the Fallen Heart Flame, the ghostly white of the Bone Chilling Flame, and the deep blue of the Three Thousand Burning Flame—the four-colored flames intertwined without a hint of hesitation; wherever his mind willed, the flames followed.

He stood up, slung the xuan heavy ruler across his back, and walked out of the cultivation room.

Tang Huo'er was leaning against a pillar by the entrance, dozing off, with a bottle of freshly refined healing pills clutched in her hand.

Upon hearing the door, she snapped her eyes open.

Seeing Xiao Yan standing before her, completely unharmed, a flicker of imperceptible joy flashed in her heroic eyes, though she quickly suppressed it, replacing it with her usual hearty smile: "Did you break through?"

"Mn, mid-stage Seven-Star."

"Hmph, not bad." Tang Huo'er shoved the pill bottle into his hand, brushed the dust from her skirt, and turned to walk toward the main hall.

After a few steps, she turned back and added, "There is soup warming in the kitchen; remember to drink it. Next time you go into seclusion, don't pick the middle of the night; you made my father think you had suffered a cultivation deviation again."

Xiao Yan held the pill bottle, which still retained her body heat, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He did not say anything more, simply placing the pill bottle into his storage ring and heading toward the kitchen.

For the past six months, Tang Huo'er had stayed by his side, guarding him, refining pills for him, and shielding him from the skepticism within the Sky Mansion Alliance during his weakest moments.

She never asked when he would be able to defeat Hun Feng, nor did she compare him to anyone else; she simply did what she could quietly, occasionally pulling him out of his gloom with a few crisp, teasing remarks.

He kept this sentiment in his heart; it was heavier than any pill.

Soul Realm, East Courtyard.

The afternoon sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves of the dark-leaf osmanthus, casting dappled light and shadows that swayed gently with the breeze onto the stone table.

Cao Ying sat on a stone stool, a plate of freshly cut spirit fruits by her hand, leisurely peeling a grape.

Her lower abdomen was visibly rounded, and her movements were a few beats slower than before, but the allure that seeped from her very bones had not diminished; instead, pregnancy had added a layer of languid charm.

Gu Xun'er sat opposite her with a cup of clear tea before her, flipping through a scroll of ancient texts from the Ancient World, her posture dignified and composed.

Her abdomen was only slightly rounded, not very noticeable if one didn't look closely, but occasionally she would unconsciously stroke her belly, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"Sister Xun'er, who do you think Husband will visit tonight?" Cao Ying popped the peeled grape into her mouth and asked indistinctly, a mischievous glint in her phoenix eyes.

"Last night it was Sister Yun Yun, the night before was Sister Yao Yao, and the night before that was Sister Cai Lin—I am pregnant and inconvenienced, you are also with child, and Sister Xiao Yi Xian doesn't like to compete. Do you think he will have a night off tonight?"

Gu Xun'er turned a page, her tone remaining as cool as a spring, but the faint smile at the corner of her lips betrayed her: "You certainly remember clearly. A night off is unlikely; he will probably go to Cai Lin's place. Mu Xiao has been practicing the bone whip recently, pestering Cai Lin with questions every day; she probably wants to discuss their daughter's cultivation progress with Husband."

"Shouldn't the matter of practicing the bone whip be asked of Sister Yao Yao? Sister Yao Yao's bone whip is better than Sister Cai Lin's." Cao Ying peeled another grape.

"Yao Yao's whip technique is too rigid and fierce, not very suitable for Mu Xiao's constitution. Cai Lin's sword technique follows a light and agile route, which complements it perfectly."

Gu Xun'er turned a page and glanced up at her. "Instead of worrying about Husband's whereabouts every day, you should worry about the child in your own belly. Yao Ling says your fetal position is very good; it should be a boy."

Cao Ying's eyes lit up, and just as she was about to ask for details, Yao Yao's crisp laughter came from the other end of the stone table.

She was squatting by the flower bed, holding a flower seedling that had just been snapped by a lash of Hun Muxiao's whip, grimacing in heartache.

She waved the headless seedling in front of Xiao Yi Xian. "Xiao Yi Xian, can this flower seedling still be saved? That girl Mu Xiao is only nine, and she's already wielding the bone whip quite impressively. If this continues, your flower bed will be razed to the ground sooner or later."

Xiao Yi Xian took the seedling and glanced at it. Her slender fingertips gently brushed the break, and a faint wisp of grayish-purple poison mist sealed the wound.

She casually stuck it back into the soil, her tone flat and certain: "It will live. Tell her to change the direction of her whip next time."

Yao Yao sat down on the stone steps by the flower bed, looking at Xiao Yi Xian's cold, frost-like face, and suddenly felt that she actually had a talent for dry humor.

Yun Yun walked over from under the corridor carrying a pot of freshly brewed tea, the hem of her moon-white dress brushing against the bluestone ground, her movements still possessing that unhurried composure.

She placed the teapot on the stone table, poured a cup for everyone, and then sat down beside Cao Ying.

Cao Ying took the opportunity to offer the peeled grape to her lips.

Yun Yun was slightly stunned, but immediately lowered her head and took it.

During this time, she had been living in the side courtyard with Cao Ying, and Cao Ying's natural, easy-going nature had long since worn thin her shell of coldness.

Being fed a grape in public, she swallowed it without changing her expression, only whispering, "I will do it myself."

Gu Xun'er watched this scene, the faint smile at the corner of her lips deepening a little more.

Medusa walked out from the inner room, holding the hand of Hun Muxiao, who had just finished practicing.

The little girl was covered in sweat, a few broken leaves stuck in her braided pigtails.

She sat down on a stone stool, picked up the teacup in front of Cao Ying, and gulped down more than half of it.

A nine-year-old Dou Zun powerhouse; this cultivation speed was unparalleled, let alone among her peers, one could not find a second one in the entire continent.

With Hun Tiandi personally guiding her and several aunts taking turns as sparring partners, plus the fact that she had been a Dou Zong since birth, her Dou Qi foundation was unbelievably solid.

After finishing the water, she picked up the bone whip that Yao Yao had repaired from the table and continued to practice, muttering about the new arrangement of soul runes her great-grandfather had taught her today.

Medusa sat down by the stone table, her gaze pausing for a moment on the slightly rounded bellies of Cao Ying and Gu Xun'er.

She lifted her own teacup, took a sip, and spoke in a flat tone: "Cao Ying, Yao Ling says your due date is in three months. The delivery room and midwives have already been arranged by Hun Qian; if you have any additional requirements, speak up in advance."

Cao Ying replied with a smile, "Thank you, Sister Cai Lin." While polite in her speech, she was calculating something else in her heart.

She noticed that Medusa's gaze had lingered on her and Gu Xun'er a moment longer than usual today—a subtlety that only a woman could understand.

Medusa didn't say anything, but Cao Ying knew that this first wife, watching them get pregnant one by one, had long since had her vinegar jar overturned.

It was just that Medusa maintained the airs of the first wife and would never show it.

Yao Yao sprang up from the edge of the flower bed, took the bone whip from Hun Muxiao's hand, and demonstrated a new move, while not forgetting to chatter: "Mu Xiao, watch closely. This whip move is called 'Dragon Spine Lash.' Back then, in the Corpse Burial Mountain Range, Auntie used this move to snatch your father from Xiao Yan's hands—oh, wait, wrong, it was to snatch your mother from Xiao Yan's hands."

Hun Muxiao tilted her head and asked: "Was it snatching Mother or snatching Father?"

Yao Yao was stumped by the question.

Medusa's hand holding the teacup paused slightly.

Cao Ying laughed so hard she nearly spat out her grape.

Gu Xun'er covered her face with her book, and Xiao Yi Xian, squatting by the flower bed, remained with her back to the group, though the leaves of the flower seedling in her hand swayed slightly.

Yun Yun's tea-drinking action paused for a moment, then she continued to take a composed sip.

Yao Yao cleared her throat, about to change the subject, when she suddenly caught sight of Hun Feng walking over from the direction of the study.

Her peach-blossom eyes rolled, she returned the bone whip to Hun Muxiao, and went to greet Hun Feng: "Husband, have you finished reviewing the battle reports? What would you like to eat tonight? I will have the kitchen prepare it in advance."

When she said this, her tone was unbelievably gentle, like a different person from the demonic woman who had been wielding the whip like the wind just moments ago.

Cao Ying muttered quietly to Gu Xun'er by the stone table: "Look, it's starting again."

Gu Xun'er did not answer, simply turning a page of her book, though she could not hide the smile at the corner of her mouth.

At this moment, Hun Qian hurried in from outside the courtyard, holding a jade slip of intelligence that had just been sent from the secret lines of the Hall of Souls, and bowed to present it to Hun Feng.

Hun Feng took the jade slip and scanned it, his eyebrows raising slightly—Xiao Yan had been in seclusion in the back mountain of Starfall Pavilion for half a year, completely refining the medicinal power of the Grade 9 Profound Pill, and his cultivation had broken through to the mid-stage of Seven-Star Dou Sheng.

His severed arm had healed, and the four Heavenly Flames were as refined as before.

After coming out of seclusion, he comforted Tang Huo'er a few words, then left Starfall Pavilion alone, without any attendants, and even Yao Chen did not know his whereabouts.

Hun Feng put down the jade slip and leaned against a pillar, silent for a moment.

Half a year, mid-stage Seven-Star; this speed was not slow.

As for Xiao Yan leaving Starfall Pavilion alone—he had roughly guessed that person's destination.

There was no one left in the Heavenly Tomb that he was looking for, but he was not in a hurry regarding this matter.

The several wives by the stone table naturally heard Hun Qian's report as well.

Cao Ying spat the grape skin onto the plate and spoke first, her tone carrying an undisguised mockery: "Hmph, he is truly tough. He lost an arm, lay there for half a year, and still didn't die, rising to mid-stage Seven-Star. But compared to Husband, he is still far behind—in my heart, he is not even one-ten-thousandth of Husband."

Gu Xun'er put down her book, lifted her teacup to her lips but did not drink, only saying softly: "His cultivation speed is indeed very fast. But Senior Xiao Xuan is no longer in the Heavenly Tomb; even if he goes in, he won't gain anything. Husband need not worry too much."

She spoke calmly, but Cao Ying noticed that when she put down the teacup, her fingers gently stroked the rim—that was a small habit Gu Xun'er only had when she had something on her mind.

Yao Yao tucked the bone whip into her waist, a flicker of ruthlessness flashing in her peach-blossom eyes: "Do you want me to take people to the entrance of the Heavenly Tomb to block him?"

"No rush." Hun Feng returned the jade slip to Hun Qian. "If he wants to enter, let him. Three years in the Heavenly Tomb is one year in the outside world. By the time he comes out, we will have everything prepared. It will be good to see what kind of waves this trash can stir up in the empty Heavenly Tomb."

Ancient World, entrance of the Heavenly Tomb.

The night was as dark as ink.

Before the hundred-zhang-tall azure stone gate, a pitch-black spatial rift bloomed silently.

Xiao Yan stepped out from the rift, the xuan heavy ruler dragging a long shadow under the moonlight.

The stone gate was carved with restriction runes left by ancient mighty figures, each emitting a faint fluorescent glow under the moonlight, making the entire stone gate look like an entrance to the underworld.

He stood before the stone gate, looking up at it.

The last time he came, it was with Xun'er, but now Xun'er is already...

He raised his right hand, and the four Heavenly Flames intertwined in his palm into a brilliant four-colored light blade, without hesitation, he slashed the light blade toward the stone gate's restriction.

The restriction runes flickered violently, emitting a harsh humming sound.

Before the Ancient World's tomb-guarding elders could arrive, he had already torn open a gap half a person wide and squeezed inside sideways.

The rift slowly closed, and the restriction runes returned to silence.

The moonlight continued to shine quietly on the stone gate, as if nothing had happened.

Only deep within the stone gate, that black-robed figure had vanished into the azure ancient energy.

PS: The pacing might be a bit fast, and some details might not match the original work. Some friends might not be able to accept the adaptation, but that's okay. For those who cannot accept it or can't continue reading, I won't force it! After all, it's hard to please everyone! Please forgive me!