Star Trace Gate

Chapter 923 The Gray-Swallowed Immortal Palace, A Signal in Desperate Circumstances

"Alas, I originally intended to take this Void Limitless Mirror and persuade it to recognize my second uncle as its master, and then use the wisp of the Great Dao aura of the old master contained within the mirror to heal my second uncle's hidden ailment." Li Xiaopang sat on the ground of the Undying Hall, shaking his head and sighing, "But who would have thought... after all this, the mirror spirit has recognized me as its master, and that wisp of Devouring Dao intent has completely merged into my body, once again enhancing my cultivation aptitude."

"Damn it, this is such a twist of fate, things didn't go as planned."

If someone else had obtained this incredible opportunity and truly become a divinely chosen one, they would have been overjoyed. But Little Fatty was filled with resentment and melancholy, and couldn't be happy at all.

He had intended to fulfill his filial duty and help his second uncle pass away peacefully, but in the end, he personally ruined all of his second uncle's chances of survival.

All the Li family members cultivate the Dao of Void, and only the "Dao Intent of Void" left behind by the former master of the Divine Path can completely cure Second Uncle's hidden ailment. But now this opportunity has gone entirely to Little Fatty. In this era where people of the Divine Path have long since disappeared, where can one find a person of divine rank who specializes in cultivating the Dao Intent of Void to cure the illness?

It's impossible to find it now, there's no chance anymore... This made Little Fatty extremely sad.

Not far away, the storyteller saw the silly boy looking dejected and pathetic, and couldn't help but ask, "Little fatty, do you know what the most important thing in life is?"

"What?" Li Xiaopang responded blankly.

"It is the reason to live, the belief that one burns oneself out for a goal and runs forward relentlessly." The storyteller said gently, "In this world, how many people live their lives in a daze, yet can never find even a little bit of joy in living?"

"Is it that they don't want to change? No, it's not that. It's that they've realized they can't change anything no matter how hard they try. The environment, external forces, pressure, low spirits, and the lack of any hope for the future have all made it hard for them to breathe. So, their goals are all short-term, either for three meals a day or for a moment of comfort in the dead of night when they can unload their burdens, and they struggle to move forward."

"But you are much luckier than them. You don't have to worry about these things, and you have very wonderful goals. So, I really don't understand you. Why are you acting like a stupid pig, so resentful just because you got this opportunity?"

The storyteller's voice was warm and pleasant as he succinctly stated, "Since you can't find anyone who possesses the Dao of Void, why don't you transform yourself into that kind of person?!"

Li Xiaopang was stunned upon hearing this, his eyes looking adorably foolish.

"You seek the Dao not to attain immortality, but to prolong the lives of your loved ones. Isn't that a noble goal?" The storyteller sighed softly, "No, it's too noble. Even Ben Zhongdeng... is far inferior to you."

"Can I do it? Will my second uncle even live to see that moment?!" Li Xiaopang had some self-doubt.

“Do what you can, and you will have a clear conscience, without regrets or unease. For your second uncle, even in death, he would have preferred to see a descendant who could shoulder the responsibility of the family's prosperity, who was both loyal and righteous, and who could continue the glory of the former divine master, rather than a useless person who, because of failing to be filial, became utterly despondent and wasted his talent.” The storyteller said calmly, “Living forever is not about inheritance… but about each generation of descendants being outstanding individuals; that is true inheritance.”

"Moreover... you obtained the void Dao intent within the realm, and the divine Dao is now completely complete. If you had touched the Dao earlier, it might not have been impossible to extend your second uncle's life."

Zhong Deng's words were very gentle, like a spring breeze that could revive life, slowly blowing into the depths of Xiao Pang's heart.

The young, chubby boy suddenly realized that what the other person said made perfect sense, and then he stood up and said, "That's right, if I can reach the Dao soon, I can definitely extend my second uncle's life and give him more time to ask the Dao. Yes, yes, I can't be discouraged, I need to work hard! I want to become a Li family heir who is steadfast and unyielding, whose mind is not disturbed by any thoughts!"

“Zhongdeng, you not only cured my illness, but also saved my ‘life’.” Li Xiaopang was not a pedantic person to begin with. Once he figured it out, his thoughts immediately became clear: “I’ve decided that when I come of age, I will select sixty beautiful women, thirty for you and thirty for me, half for each of us, and take them all as concubines. This money will be spent by my sixth grandfather…!”

The storyteller looked pleased upon hearing this: "As long as your sixth grandmother agrees, then I have no objections...!"

Ren, standing nearby, chimed in at the opportune moment: "I'm a bit henpecked, so I won't take these thirty beautiful women... Brother Li, you'd better give me something more substantial, like stealing thirty kinds of sixth-grade divine pills from home, or even higher ones...!"

Li Xiaopang glanced at him sideways and asked suspiciously, "Brother, you don't want any of these thirty beautiful women? You're not impotent, are you?"

Upon hearing those two words, Ren Ye reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "Bullshit! I'm longer than your legs if you say I'm not good enough, you must be blind!"

Seeing his reaction, Li Xiaopang remained silent for several seconds before solemnly patting his shoulder: "Brother, as long as I have a say in the Li family in the future, then... then there will definitely be enough aphrodisiac powder."

"Damn it...!"

Someone broke through the defense and went up to kick them.

Amidst laughter and banter, the three dispelled the negative emotions in Little Fatty's heart, and then walked together out of the Hall of Immortality.

Ren Ye's face showed a thoughtful expression as he said softly, "Little Fatty got the Wuji Mirror, and I also regained my original eyes. As for Zhong Deng, he also proved that what he was looking for was not here at all... The three of us have achieved our goals. The current dilemma is to figure out how to leave the Immortal Palace safely."

“Yes, according to your aunt…!” The storyteller nodded in agreement and was about to offer his opinion.

"Boom! Boom!"

Just then, the entire Undying Palace began to shake without warning, the ground trembled and dust billowed up in an instant.

"Um?!"

Ren was greatly surprised and suddenly turned around to look into the depths of the hall, quickly spreading his senses.

A moment later, his face turned deathly pale, and he said in a trembling voice, "Wanla, something terrible is about to happen, run!"

"Run?! What happened?" Li Xiaopang looked completely puzzled.

"Run! The gray mist that just receded from the Undying Hall has returned, and it's incredibly fierce. It can't be drawn or controlled by my Origin Eyes...!" Ren Ye explained as he took off running. "I felt an extremely strong pressure from the Great Dao within that gray mist. We can't withstand it. Let's go!"

"Whoosh...!"

He had barely finished speaking when the very righteous Li Xiaopang had already run almost two miles away.

"brush!"

The storyteller raised his arms, suddenly channeled his spiritual power, and enveloped the two young friends. Then, together they flew towards the place of the hanging coffins.

The three had already fled extremely fast, but the gray mist surging from the depths of the Immortal Palace, after covering the Undying Hall, showed no sign of stopping, but instead slowly rushed towards the Hanging Coffin Land.

About half an hour later, Ren Ye and the other two escaped to the outermost edge of the hanging coffin land and saw the dark tomb passage that led directly to the main gate of the Immortal Palace.

From here, they can simply keep walking forward to see the main gate of the palace and leave from there.

My aunt had previously mentioned that it was extremely difficult for outsiders to enter this Divine Tomb and Immortal Palace; only those with the Dragon Keys controlled by the four clans could do so. However, it was very simple for outsiders to leave the Divine Tomb and Immortal Palace. They only needed to move the tomb-guarding divine beast sculpture behind the palace gate from inside, and they could leave safely.

This is why Zhou Taozhi was trapped in the Undying Hall and everyone thought he was dead, but he was able to walk out of the Divine Tomb on his own.

Leaving wouldn't be difficult, but given their current situation, the three of them certainly wouldn't dare open the tomb door. Before they even entered, Sun Michen had already mobilized the people from the three main halls to seal off the outer perimeter of the divine tomb. So, if they rashly went out now, they would face an encirclement and attack by hundreds, or even thousands, of experts from the Void Village—it would be tantamount to suicide.

Outside the Hanging Coffin Land, Ren Ye hid in the tomb passage, sweat beading on his forehead and his face pale as he sensed the direction of the gray mist. Then, with an extremely gloomy expression, he said, "...That's right. This surging gray mist didn't stop at the Undying Hall, but is slowly flowing towards the Hanging Coffin Land...I...I've made a rough estimate. At this rate, the gray mist will fill the Hanging Coffin Land in less than three hours. At that time...the three of us will be drained into dried-up husks by the devouring power of the gray mist, and our physical bodies and souls will inevitably be annihilated by the pressure of the Great Dao."

Li Xiaopang asked in a frightened tone, "Didn't you already obtain the Origin Eyes? Then why can't you unleash the same devouring aura as the gray mist, preventing it from contaminating the three of us?"

“I tried to guide the gray mist when I was spreading my senses just now, but I didn’t get any response from the same source.” Little Bad King said, puzzled, “To put it bluntly, the gray mist is now in a state of complete indifference… It suddenly went berserk for some reason, and the pressure of the Great Dao within it… is much stronger than before. In short, it’s not something we can fight against.”

Upon hearing this answer, the storyteller lowered his head and pondered for a while before frowning and saying, "I do understand now."

"What do you understand?"

"The devouring power of this gray mist not only helped your aunt nurture her 'eyes,' but also continuously nourished that wisp of primordial chaos energy. Over countless years, the primordial chaos energy and the gray mist have become intertwined. Now that you have suddenly taken away the primordial chaos energy, the gray mist's power will inevitably weaken. It's like a person having half their blood and energy drained; their physical body will inevitably be damaged. In addition, your previous manipulation of the gray mist to help Little Fatty withstand the pressure of the void's power... also caused him to consume a lot. Now that the gray mist has sharply decreased and its devouring power is weak... it naturally needs to be replenished."

"Therefore, the resurgence of the gray fog, sweeping across the entire Immortal Palace... may be a sign that it is about to frantically devour external energy."

The storyteller lowered his head and said repeatedly, "This is troublesome, this is troublesome. I might just become the fattest piece of nourishment in this divine tomb and immortal palace."

Li Xiaopang stamped his feet in frustration: "Damn it, why don't we take a gamble and leave the Immortal Palace directly through the main gate!"

“No.” Ren Ye shook his head decisively: “My aunt… my aunt had a theory before she died that the reason why the four clans in this village did not chase into the Immortal Palace was probably because they were fighting each other and in a stalemate. Either your second uncle made his move, or Old Master Qian argued his case and did not hand over the Dragon Key, so that Sun Michen could only stare helplessly at the Divine Tomb and could not enter to search for us.”

"But now... there must be many experts outside the tomb. If we go out rashly, it will be like walking into a trap and courting death."

"I've cursed Sun Michen's whole family!" Li Xiaopang cursed through gritted teeth. "The gray mist in this tomb is consuming people, we can't stay here long, but we can't get out now, what the hell are we going to do?!"

Ren blinked his bright eyes, and after thinking for a long time, he suddenly said to Zhongdeng, "The Void Limitless Mirror is definitely of a higher rank than Sixth Grandfather's Heavenly Dragon Four Directions Mirror. If Little Fatty were to hand this treasure to you now, could you unleash your spiritual power to fully revive it, then shatter the void and send us directly to the Void Village?!"

Upon hearing this, the storyteller frowned and said, "I'll give it a try."

"Hurry, hurry, let's try it now." Li Xiaopang knew very well that the sudden changes in the Divine Tomb Immortal Palace had pushed the three of them to the brink of life and death, so he didn't dare to dawdle and immediately summoned the Void Limitless Mirror, making it float in mid-air.

Then, Li Xiaopang reversed the flow of spiritual energy within his abdomen and actually forced out a drop of his heart's essence blood, which he flicked into the mirror.