Section Seventy-Nine: The Terror of the Black Mist in the Main World!

Within the dantian space, a vast emptiness stretched endlessly, silent as the boundless universe. There, a Nascent Soul sat alone in the void of the dantian, radiating light.

But now, that solitary Nascent Soul was no longer alone.

Behind it, in the northern direction, stars appeared out of thin air—the Dipper, the Ox, the Girl, the Void, the Rooftop, the Room, the Wall—lighting up one after another, connecting in a celestial array. Ultimately, these stars formed into an image of a colossal Black Tortoise entwined with a serpent-dragon, yin and yang fused, embodying both offense and defense.

The divine Black Tortoise image towered between heaven and earth, occupying a quarter of the universe. Its turtle head arched back, gazing into the distance, while the serpent-dragon’s tail, drawn tight as a bow, swept downward. The two seemed to regard each other, yet also merged into a perfect circle, as if revealing the ultimate truth of the unity of yin and yang—the return to the primordial One.

Within the divine Black Tortoise, the stars shimmered brilliantly, shifting and revolving. These celestial movements lent an ethereal aura to the Black Tortoise image, and streams of ancient, azure power cascaded from it, crashing onto the miniature Nascent Soul below. Like rivers polishing jade, these waves of ancient star power honed Lin Qiye’s Nascent Soul, sculpting it again and again.

Under this relentless refining, Lin Qiye’s strength soared to a new level. His vital energy was as molten magma; his spiritual power surged like a heavenly river pouring into the Abyss. The spectacle was grand, awe-inspiring.

Lin Qiye smiled with deep satisfaction.

“I walk the path of the Azure Dragon; before me, the Vermilion Bird; beside me, the White Tiger; behind me, the Black Tortoise—this is the path of immortality! According to the legends of the Prime World: the Four Celestial Beasts—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—once united to create heaven and earth, upholding the cosmos as its sovereigns. Thus, reflected in the world of the dantian, the Four Beasts together support the Nascent Soul stage, continuously bathing the Nascent Soul with the power of the stars until it perfectly fuses with the might of all four and steps into unity with the Dao!”

Lin Qiye inwardly surveyed the Black Tortoise image within his dantian, a broad smile on his lips.

Yet, suddenly, Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow, sensing something unusual.

“It seems… my Black Tortoise image is hundreds of times larger than that of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator?”

He was momentarily stunned, carefully comparing and analyzing.

“Normally, a cultivator’s Black Tortoise image is ten thousand times the size of their Nascent Soul. But mine has reached a hundred thousand times! Even after stepping into the Nascent Soul stage, I remain as monstrous as ever!”

Lin Qiye laughed unconsciously, his eyes shining with unrestrained delight and pride.

“Now, in Li City, I finally have the strength to protect myself. Even if Li You from the Jianghu Sect comes to kill me, I can last at least ten minutes! I won’t be as powerless as before.”

“But merely escaping for ten minutes isn’t my goal! I want to personally kill that man!”

A murderous intent surged in Lin Qiye’s gaze.

There was no doubt—Lin Qiye was a man who held grudges to the extreme, returning every slight, capable of nursing hatred for decades, even centuries.

Li You of the Jianghu Sect was extremely cunning; in just two days, he had devised a plan to ambush a prodigy like Lin Qiye. He was a worthy leader for the Jianghu Sect—Lin Qiye even admired Li You’s decisiveness. But at the same time, Lin Qiye had placed him on his kill list.

Ever since Li You had led the attack against him, Lin Qiye had harbored a pent-up rage—one day, he would crush Li You with his own hands! Until that day, his mind would find no peace.

“However, for now, I’m only at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul. I can escape from Li You, but killing him is out of the question!”

“But I still have seventeen million, eight hundred thousand Walker Points! I can keep spending, keep investing in my strength! Only by increasing my power can I secure my place in this world and put my heart at ease.”

With that thought, Lin Qiye directed his will, entering the Walkers’ Forum and quickly navigating to the marketplace.

After searching for a while, he shook his head.

“There are a few low-grade gold-tier cultivation techniques, but I’ve outgrown them. The high-grade gold-tier techniques are rare treasures—none are for sale!”

Lin Qiye sighed. Now at the fourth stage of the Nascent Soul, he needed a technique to cultivate to the Nascent Soul peak. But neither the marketplace nor the forum had any such techniques available.

He frowned with worry.

Then, suddenly, Lin Qiye paused, as if recalling something.

“If I remember correctly, as long as I have enough Walker Points, I can spend two million to purchase Platinum Walker privileges!”

“With Platinum Walker access, I can search within the platinum range for treasures—even conduct one-on-one trades with other Platinum Walkers! That would greatly increase my chances of finding good items.”

Muttering to himself, Lin Qiye hesitated.

“Two million points… a bit pricey…”

“But I still have a fortune of seventeen million, eight hundred thousand. Spending two million for access isn’t too much—consider it the price of joining an elite circle.”

“In any case, buying a high-grade gold-tier technique to boost my strength is paramount. If I can advance a few more stages, it’ll be more than worth it.”

“What’s more, the Platinum Forum will surely offer much more knowledge. All in all, it’s not a loss.”

After analyzing thoroughly, Lin Qiye went all in and spent two million Walker Points to purchase Platinum Walker forum access.

Now, the Platinum Walker option appeared in his search privileges.

Upon activating the platinum access, two notification boxes instantly popped up:

[Latest research has found that even Supreme-level fiends cannot linger long in the Black Mist; otherwise, they will be killed by it!]

[Latest report: Several families have been targeted by extremely evil killing statues. These sculptures, brought back from the Great Thousand World, have slaughtered multiple super-families—even hidden elders have been killed.]

“Two notifications—both absolute bombshells. In the gold or silver forums, just to read these would cost a fortune. But in the Platinum Forum, they’re pushed directly to Platinum Walkers for free! It seems the main world sees Platinum Walkers as the backbone, so it’s willing to share crucial information with them.”

Lin Qiye clicked his tongue in amazement.

“Indeed… the two million were well spent.”

“But the Black Mist can kill even Supreme-level fiends?”

“Supreme-level fiends are on par with Tribulation Transcendents… If even they can’t withstand the Black Mist, the main world’s mist is truly terrifying.”

Lin Qiye was filled with awe.

He had always known the Black Mist of the main world was dreadful—people spoke of it with dread. But he never imagined that even Supreme-level fiends couldn’t survive it!

Stunned, Lin Qiye’s eyes glimmered with deep thought.

“If the Black Mist can kill fiends, what about the Grand Xia universe?”

“From my observations, the Black Mist of the Golden Era is far less lethal than that of the main world. In fact, those mists aren’t even the genuine article.”

“In the main world, fiends cannot control the Black Mist. But in the Great Thousand World, they can—even swallowing it without harm. Clearly, the Great Thousand’s Black Mist is just a low-grade product.”

He shook his head—not out of contempt for the Great Thousand Mist, but because the main world’s mist was simply too terrifying.

Powerful individuals of the main world could only survive by relying on floating islands or other treasures that could ward off the Black Mist. Otherwise, whether Platinum Walkers, Diamond Walkers, or even Supreme Walkers—if touched by the slightest trace of Black Mist, they would instantly dissolve into pus and blood, their very existence erased.

Realizing the horror of the main world’s Black Mist, Lin Qiye exhaled deeply, his heart unsettled.

“I need to find more treasures—layer up on insurance, so I don’t get killed by the main world’s Black Mist.”

Lin Qiye valued his life greatly.

Thus, he immediately branded this thought into his heart. He would not risk his life lightly. More layers of insurance—everyone wins. It could only be a good thing!

“But what about those evil statues mentioned in the second news item? How could they slaughter several super-families? Aren’t there true immortals among those families? Could they also be killed?”

Intense curiosity shone in Lin Qiye’s eyes.

His thirst for gossip piqued, Lin Qiye quickly searched the forum for news on the statues.

“There aren’t any pictures?”

He searched for a long time, but none of the reports included photographs of the statues—only witness descriptions for the reader’s imagination.

“We found it impossible to photograph the statues. They were too sinister. When a statue appeared, boundless Black Mist would breach the floating island’s defenses and shroud it…”

Reading these accounts, Lin Qiye frowned, his mind a tangled mess. He wanted to unravel the truth, but there was no thread to pull.

“Forget it—this is beyond my reach. Spending millions of Walker Points to investigate is unnecessary.”

Shaking his head, Lin Qiye closed the news flashes, turning instead to the forum’s trade information.

Unfortunately, after a thorough search, he still couldn’t find any high-grade gold-tier cultivation methods.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Qiye anonymously posted a trade offer:

[High price for a gold-tier cultivation technique. Interested sellers, message me with your price.]

After posting, Lin Qiye entered the Knowledge Exchange section under Platinum Walker privileges.

He began a spree of extravagant purchases—clicking and buying anything of interest.

After all, with seventeen million, eight hundred thousand Walker Points, he was a veritable tycoon. Even buying ten thousand pieces of knowledge would only cost three hundred thousand points—a mere trifle.

He couldn’t care less. After all, being wealthy meant acting as he pleased.

After buying ten thousand pieces of information, Lin Qiye’s knowledge soared. He estimated that eighty percent of his future creative simulations would consume ten percent fewer Walker Points.

No doubt, this was another windfall for Lin Qiye. Saving ten percent with each simulation would add up to at least a hundred million over time.

“This is perfect! Both the platinum access and the knowledge purchases were incredible investments!”

Lin Qiye laughed aloud, thoroughly pleased with his decision.

A golden investor—who else but Lin Qiye?

Just then, outside the villa, Chen Fan was frantically pressing the doorbell.

“Brother Ye! Quick, open up! I need to talk to you!”

Chen Fan’s voice was urgent, trembling, tinged with excitement. Clearly, he was in a state of high agitation, as if he had discovered some great treasure in the Great Thousand World.

“Xiao Fan, you need to calm down. I’ve told you many times: ‘When a stag feeds on the left, it never glances aside; when Mount Tai collapses in front, its expression does not change.’ Only by staying calm can you make the right choices.”

Lin Qiye let Chen Fan in, patiently instructing him.

Chen Fan, panting, carefully locked the door, checking it several times to be sure.

“Brother Ye, I can’t calm down! Let’s go to the training room!”

His caution extreme, Chen Fan dashed into the training room, locked the door behind him, and only then, voice quivering, began:

“Brother Ye, can you guess what I did in my second life?”

Lin Qiye’s face was expressionless as he looked at Chen Fan.

“Go on—I’m listening.”

Chen Fan swallowed, gathering his words, and then burst out:

“Brother Ye, in my second life, I was a fighting dog!”

Lin Qiye couldn’t help but laugh.

“Pfft—”

Good heavens, so you’re destined to be at odds with dogs?

Seeing Lin Qiye suddenly laugh, Chen Fan’s train of thought was disrupted, and he could only smile wryly.

“Brother Ye, don’t laugh, listen! This is important, don’t laugh!”

Lin Qiye chuckled.

“Alright, I won’t laugh. I’m actually professionally trained—unless I can’t help it. I won’t laugh again.”

Chen Fan nodded.

“Don’t look down on me for being a fighting dog. Thanks to my ordinary physique card, I reversed my fate and became an undefeated king of fighting dogs!

“In just three months, after a hundred consecutive victories, I received a silver physique card! With that in hand, I crushed all challengers—even tigers feared me!”

Chen Fan’s eyebrows danced as he recounted his glorious exploits, practically one with his canine self.

Lin Qiye couldn’t help but laugh again.

Chen Fan: “…”

“Brother Ye, you keep laughing!”

Lin Qiye apologized.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Alright, I really won’t laugh anymore.”

“I spent five years winning battle after battle. In my fifth year, spiritual energy returned to the world, and I shot straight up! With my innate advantage, I dominated everywhere, devouring herb after herb, becoming the king of beasts.

“After about a month, I came across a boy struggling to survive. For some reason, I saw a terrifying kingly quality in his eyes, so I rescued him and raised him.

“In the end, that boy grew up to be the master of the world! We became both mentor and friend, fighting side by side. Eventually, he took me into an ancient inheritance and we obtained a precious legacy—can you believe it?”

As he spoke, Chen Fan excitedly produced a treasure bone—a massive golden amber.

The pure-white bone shimmered with ethereal light, strange golden runes etched across its surface. Within the giant piece of golden amber was sealed a crimson dragon whelp…

Lin Qiye studied the runes on the bone, his expression slowly shifting to shock and amazement.

…

P.S.: Monthly votes, please! My dear readers, I beg you!