Section Eighty-Seven: The Sadness of the Goddess Statue! Why Has My Brother Not Come Back? [4.4K words, please subscribe!]

Seeing Lin Qiye leap into the passage without fear, Chen Fan approached the opening and looked down into the pitch-black abyss below.

Far beneath it, the golden radiance dwindled smaller and smaller until it vanished from sight.

“With Big Brother Ye’s meticulous mind, even if he runs into danger, he should still be able to turn it around, right?”

“Mm—Big Brother Ye won’t be in any trouble. When he gets to Star City, I’m definitely going to fleece him properly.”

Chen Fan smiled with easy confidence.

He still remembered that Big Brother Ye was absurdly wealthy, the kind of man who could casually pull out a million walking points without even blinking.

Once they met up in Star City, he had to make Big Brother Ye treat him to the full experience of high society.

Chen Fan nodded slightly.

Beside him, Jiang Nian also leaned forward, peering into the subterranean passage that seemed to have no bottom.

“Hey!”

“Lin Qiye~”

“You just jumped down like that?”

A flicker of astonishment crossed Jiang Nian’s delicate features.

“Not afraid at all of some dangerous evil demon down there? And... how did he get those wings? Are they some kind of magic artifact? Or a martial technique?”

“But it doesn’t feel like either. It seems more like some special kind of constitution.”

Jiang Nian’s eyes were full of puzzlement.

“Such a curious person... right, sister?”

Jiang Qingxue gave no reply.

Jiang Nian pouted.

“Sis, did you notice? Lin Qiye’s real destination from the very beginning was the deepest part underground, wasn’t it?”

With her slender hand, Jiang Nian tapped thoughtfully at her chin.

“Whether dealing with the neck-twisting demon or facing the temple demon, he always looked completely at ease, as though he had foreseen everything...”

“Is he really just bold and careful? Or can he truly see the future? Or is it both?”

“Does a person who can truly foresee things even exist in this world?”

The more Jiang Nian thought about it, the more Lin Qiye seemed wrapped in layers of impenetrable fog.

But after much effort yielded nothing, she simply gave up.

She let out a soft breath.

“Forget it. Everyone has secrets. Being too curious can kill the cat...”

Jiang Nian smiled sweetly.

She clasped her hands behind her back and stretched her graceful figure.

“Sis, let’s hurry to Star City, shall we? It’s already three in the afternoon. We only have two hours to reach Star City and avoid the black mist and the evil demons. We can’t waste any time!”

Jiang Qingxue nodded.

“That was exactly my thought.”

The two sisters reached the same conclusion.

They quickly slipped into the passage.

Before entering, Jiang Nian glanced back coldly at Chen Fan.

“Didn’t you say you were going to Star City to prepare a welcome banquet for Lin Qiye? Why aren’t you moving?”

Jiang Nian’s attitude toward Chen Fan was entirely different from the way she treated Lin Qiye.

Toward Lin Qiye, she was bright-eyed and playful, full of life.

But toward Chen Fan, she was icy-cold, no different from Jiang Qingxue.

Chen Fan felt terribly stifled.

“My luck with women is like fireflies compared to the bright moon when stacked against Big Brother Ye. Sigh...”

He let out a long, mournful sigh.

Then hurried after the two women, his expression full of misery.

As for Lin Qiye, he was plummeting headfirst through the passage that led straight to the earth below, falling at tremendous speed, like a hawk diving to strike, like a meteor crashing to the ground.

After falling more than a hundred and fifty miles, he finally saw a speck of light below.

It was tiny at first, like a grain of sand.

But gradually, that grain became a pearl, then a gem, and in the end, it became the faintly discernible ruins of a temple.

“The fluctuation of immortal aura is below!”

Lin Qiye’s spirit lifted.

His wings flapped.

He accelerated his descent!

The temple’s full outline became clearer and clearer.

On the ruins, spread over an area the size of dozens of football fields, there lay a smooth, glossy protective formation inverted like a bowl.

At the center of the formation, stones had been stacked to form a temple.

The temple was already in ruins, worn down by time until only a pitted stone frame remained.

Yet at the very center of the temple stood a towering white-jade statue of a goddess, five hundred meters high, still radiating splendor in every direction, completely intact, her whole body shining with divine light.

The goddess’s features were exquisite. Her eyes were like jewels, shimmering with rippling light, tender and affectionate, full of deep feeling.

And yet the sorrow in those eyes was so dense it could not be dispelled.

Those beautiful eyes gazed far into the distance, as if waiting for someone important to return victorious.

In her hand, half-raised, she held a lamp.

The lamp had gone out millions of years ago.

But from the goddess’s expression and posture, it was clear she still wished to raise it and light the road home for the one who returned.

Even though the flame had long since died, she still wanted to illuminate the path back.

Only...

The story seemed to be a tragedy.

Lin Qiye looked silently at the statue.

A thread of sorrow that had crossed endless ages and immeasurable stretches of time spread through his heart.

“The lamp of destiny, may you shine forever and light the road home for my brother.”

“It’s already been ten years. Why has my brother still not cut through the black mist? My invincible brother must be uprooting the weeds and eliminating them at the root, right?”

“Where is my brother?”

“The lamp of destiny, how much longer until he comes back? Will he return to make me the roast chicken legs I love most?”

“The lamp of destiny, can you answer me? Can my brother see the light you give off?”

“Wuwu... Brother, I cried today. Didn’t you say that as long as I sniffled, you would definitely come back to comfort me? You liar. You lied.”

“But since this was your first lie, I forgive you.”

“Brother... do you still remember that flower sea of creamy-white blossoms by the little lake next to the village? The wind there was very gentle. If you come back, it would be best in spring. We can go there to see the flowers, and I’ll weave you a wreath.”

“Brother, I’ve always been afraid to cry. I’m afraid that if I cry too many times, it won’t work anymore. But... when will you come back?”

“My brother will come back tomorrow, hehe.”

...

Soft murmurs drifted through Lin Qiye’s heart.

In those whispers, it was as if there were a frail little girl holding a lamp, gazing from afar toward the brother who had vanished into the black mist.

She waited with boundless hope, waited ten years, a hundred years, until stone could wear away and seas dry to fields...

Later, she disappeared without a trace, leaving only a statue behind.

The feeling of sorrow flowed out from the goddess statue.

It seeped into Lin Qiye’s heart.

And made him feel a pang of desolation.

“What a tearful story.”

Lin Qiye shook his head.

His gaze shifted from the goddess’s face.

It fell upon the female corpse lying at the statue’s feet.

The body had already been reduced to a skeleton.

Her leg bones and ribs had suffered grave injuries, severed by weapons.

Clearly, she had been badly wounded.

She had fled to the base of the goddess statue for refuge.

The goddess statue had sheltered her for a time.

But her injuries were too severe.

She lasted only a short while before perishing beneath the statue’s feet.

On the bones of her fingers was a storage ring.

Unfortunately, the ring had already weathered and crumbled away.

With the slightest touch, it dissolved into nothing.

Only the bones of her chest remained intact: a small section of bone, smooth as jade, still flowing with light.

“The thing that kept the bones from decay for ten thousand years was a strand of immortal aura! A single thread of immortal aura hidden within the bones!”

Realizing this, Lin Qiye’s spirits surged, his eyes burning with intensity.

Still, he did not seize the immortal aura by force. Instead, he bowed to the female corpse.

“This junior needs a thread of immortal aura for cultivation. If I am being disrespectful, please forgive me.”

Though he knew full well that the owner of these bones had long been dead beyond death, and even the soul had been erased by the passage of time, Lin Qiye still made his bow with sincerity.

Only then did he take the immortal aura into his hands.

He used his golden Clear Void Divine Thunder to melt the bone.

A trace of pure immortal aura drifted up from within, and Lin Qiye guided it into his body.

His fleshly body had long since become flawless and immaculate, purified by Clear Void Divine Thunder, and further perfected by the true bones of the Violet Star.

Thus, when that thread of immortal aura entered his body, it was like a fish entering a lake.

It instantly trembled with delight and exhilaration.

Then the immortal aura blazed into life!

Milky-white flames ignited Lin Qiye’s Violet Star true bones;
ignited the innate true qi within his body;
ignited his Clear Void Divine Thunder root bones;
ignited the Violet Star true qi surging in his body!

In short, every organ, every limb, every meridian and dantian, every inch of flesh, and even his nascent soul were seared by that strange flame.

The pain was so searing it felt as if Lin Qiye had been sliced open a thousand times and doused with fierce chili water.

Or as though he had been skinned alive and plunged into the depths of magma.

The agony was so overwhelming it seemed ready to burn his soul to ashes!

Lin Qiye clenched his teeth.

He would not let himself faint from the pain.

Because once he lost consciousness, he would surely die.

So he gritted his teeth, preserving the last sliver of clarity, and forcibly endured the tearing agony.

Amid the raging blaze, one hour passed.

Two hours passed.

Five hours passed.

Lin Qiye was engulfed in golden flames, and the depths of the cave were completely engulfed as well!

Even the goddess statue was wrapped in golden fire.

Five hours of extreme torment failed to kill him.

Instead, they made him calmer and calmer.

He had endured it!

Threads of cool energy surged from every cell in his body, gathering into rushing rivers that circulated through his meridians in a full heavenly cycle.

With each circulation, the injuries within him recovered visibly, ring by ring.

With each circulation, his soul’s resilience and willpower rose to a terrifying level.

With each circulation, it was as if Lin Qiye was reborn through nirvana, his aura and status climbing by leaps and bounds!

Originally, Lin Qiye had only been at the fifth level of Nascent Soul cultivation.

Inside his dantian, there had only been the Divine Turtle image, but under the burning and tempering of immortal aura, stars in his dantian lit up one after another at terrifying speed.

In the end, the Divine Turtle image rose high in the northern starry sky of his dantian.

The White Tiger image rose high in the western starry sky of his dantian.

The Vermilion Bird image rose high in the southern starry sky of his dantian.

The Azure Dragon image rose high in the eastern starry sky of his dantian.

The four divine images stood within the dantian space, gazing down upon heaven and earth.

Boundless power from the four divine images poured out from their bodies, transforming into a heavenly river that crashed down upon the Nascent Soul’s body.

Boom!

Boom!

Earth-shaking detonations erupted within Lin Qiye’s dantian.

In an instant, Lin Qiye’s Nascent Soul blazed with brilliant radiance!

A fierce devouring force surged from the Nascent Soul, condensing into a massive black hole that frantically swallowed the power of the four divine images!

At this moment, Lin Qiye’s Nascent Soul visibly grew taller.

In almost the blink of an eye, it transformed from a tiny, delicate jade figurine into a golden divine idol mighty enough to survey three mountains at a glance and five lakes in a cup.

Even the four divine images became slightly smaller than the “Nascent Soul.”

And at the very instant that golden divine form took shape, a beam of golden light burst forth from Lin Qiye’s body.

Then the golden pillar shot skyward, piercing through the earth and straight into the heavens, shaking the stars!

The beam was blindingly bright.

In the region where the temple demon lay, within a radius of five hundred miles, a pillar of light shimmering in gold and purple could be seen.

The beam was terrifying.

It radiated a divine and strange power.

Far away, three hundred miles off in the black mist swamp, one demonic statue after another suddenly turned its head toward the pillar of light.

They wanted to know what had happened.

However, the purple-gold radiance within the pillar was far too overpowering.

They had only looked once before their eyes burst apart with popping cracks, and two lines of blood tears streamed from the sockets of each statue.

Then the statues’ heads shattered, and their bodies all turned to dust.

Even farther away, the evil demons in the diamond-grade lairs howled and shook with fear.

Even diamond-grade evil demons did not dare look directly at the pillar of light.

Of course, Lin Qiye did not know what was happening outside.

All his attention was fixed on the “Nascent Soul” within his dantian.

At this moment, it had undergone a complete transformation, no longer a Nascent Soul but a “golden divine body.”

“A golden body?”

Lin Qiye was startled.

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Possessing a golden body is the sign of stepping into the Dao-Integration realm... Five hours ago, I was only at the fifth level of Nascent Soul, and in just five hours I’ve actually become a Dao-Integration expert? Even though I haven’t fused with the Divine Turtle, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Azure Dragon yet—”

“I’ve still broken through Nascent Soul and become a true Dao-Integration expert, a true platinum traveler!”

Lin Qiye was stunned.

“Though... the main world can be cultivated in. Isn’t my progress a little too fierce?”

“Normally, travelers go walk in the myriad worlds, earn walking points, and then use those points to raise their strength. But because of a thread of immortal aura, I’ve directly leaped from fifth level Nascent Soul to peak Nascent Soul, and even charged into the early Dao-Integration stage!”

“Terrifying!”

Even Lin Qiye himself felt a chill.

“No wonder it’s immortal aura!”

He drew in a deep breath.

“No, that’s not right.”

“The reason immortal aura could make my cultivation soar is also partly because I used the Dao Canon Manual to condense an innate divine body; because I used my Clear Void Divine Thunder root bones to lay an unparalleled foundation; because I used Violet Star true qi to condense Violet Star true bones; and because my fleshly body is immaculate and flawless...”

“All these reasons together sent me soaring to the heavens!”

Lin Qiye laughed brightly.

“Good! Not only have I stepped into platinum, I’ve also laid an incomparably supreme foundation! I can keep advancing toward even greater strength!”

Joy surged wildly in Lin Qiye’s heart.

Feeling the cultivation within him now dozens, even hundreds of times greater than before, his features were full of uncontrollable delight.

“With my current strength, I can kill Li You!”

“If there’s a chance, I must eliminate that guy.”

Lin Qiye’s gaze turned cold.

He quietly opened the traveler forum and checked the time.

“So it’s night already...”

“When night falls, the black mist descends. I’ll just stay here.”

“Besides, it seems the black mist is being blocked outside the goddess statue. The safety here is pretty good. And I can also unfold the suspended island here.”

Lin Qiye took out the suspended island.

He placed it upon the old temple site.

Golden light spread outward.

“To think it costs ten thousand walking points? And if five thousand people live here, it would cost a hundred thousand walking points every day...”

Lin Qiye shook his head, feeling a touch of pain.

Still, spending ten thousand walking points for one night, to buy an extra layer of insurance, was something he was very willing to do.

He entered the suspended island.

He activated the protective shield.

With two layers of protection, the safety level was raised straight to one hundred percent!

Thus, Lin Qiye closed his eyes and slept peacefully.

...

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

Sunlight bathed everything, and the black mist retreated.

With his strength soaring to the heavens, Lin Qiye swiftly shot out of the underground passage.

From the exit where Chen Fan and the others had left, he arrived at the outskirts of Star City.

And just as Lin Qiye was leaving the passage...

Behind him, a familiar figure entered his sight.

At the sight of that familiar figure, a fierce killing intent suddenly surged in Lin Qiye’s eyes.