Night of Despair

After finishing this, Yu Hong felt refreshed and began to sense the impact of his enhanced spiritual power on himself.

First, he entered meditation rapidly, cultivating the Qingyuan Heavenly River Miao Technique, and immediately felt that the speed of Dan Qi generation was much faster than before.

'Based on the speed of Dan Qi flow, my cultivation speed has roughly doubled. However, the surrounding vitality is still too sparse to verify accurately; I'll have to go back to the Life Well and check carefully. It seems that spiritual power dictates the speed of cultivation, as long as the body can withstand it.'

He had the recovery necklace, so there was no need to worry about his body; he could push himself to the limit without issue.

Only now did Yu Hong truly realize that the greatest use of the recovery necklace was not for combat, but for cultivation.

It allowed him to not worry about any injuries, continuously pushing forward with overload. As long as he didn't die, everything would fully recover in ten seconds. It was simply terrifying.

Next, he checked the subtle changes throughout his body to ensure there were no issues after leaving the City of No Light, finally easing his heart.

Buzz!

Not long after, there was a buzz outside, and the Black Black Spirit burst through the colorful threads, returning once again to the dense forest above the mining star.

The dark green sea of trees below swayed with the wind, emitting faint rustling sounds.

Flocks of birds spotted the Black Black Spirit, flying closer and chirping around the safe house.

Seeing this peaceful scene, Yu Hong's heart quickly relaxed.

Controlling the slowly descending safe house, he stood up, changed his clothes, opened the door, and closed it behind him. Then, with a thought—

Whoosh.

The scenery before his eyes changed rapidly, and the next second, the grand and towering buildings of Wanxue Palace appeared before him.

The cold wind howled around, and dense snowflakes fell, landing on Yu Hong's hair and neck.

He adjusted his hairstyle and strode forward.

Upon entering the palace gates, Yu Hong's figure flickered again, teleporting into various palaces, searching for his teacher's trace.

Soon, he saw the figure of his master, Yu Xuezi, in a pavilion in the back garden.

Yu Xuezi was sitting opposite Quan He, holding a book, seemingly giving a lecture.

"Teacher! I'm back!" Yu Hong walked over quickly, speaking in a loud voice. "You would never guess where I've been and what I've obtained this time."

A smile bloomed on his face, and seeing Yu Xuezi and Quan He, the sense of urgency in his heart quickly faded.

With Yu Xuezi above, Wanxue Palace was absolutely safe.

Not to mention the more mysterious corrupt traveler senior in the dark.

It could be said that the mining star was now the safest place for Yu Hong ever.

"I sensed you coming back just now. So, did you gain a lot this time?" Yu Xuezi turned back with a smile.

"Teacher, have you heard of the City of No Light?" Yu Hong stepped forward and, under Quan He's gaze, sat down on a mat beside them.

"The City of No Light? How did you end up there..." Yu Xuezi's brows furrowed. "That place is very dangerous. Since the Heavenly Venerate disappeared, no one has been able to enter. It is the last relatively safe place at the heart of the Star Disaster. Of course, this applies to immortals; for you, it remains a deathtrap."

"Uh... You know, teacher I have a safe house, and its defense abilities are quite sufficient," Yu Hong argued.

"Alright, that house of yours is indeed a freak; its defensive power has reached a level I can't crush in a short time." Yu Xuezi was speechless. "Did you go into the City of No Light, and then what happened?"

Yu Hong did not hide anything, truthfully describing his subsequent experiences.

"Su Dan? That's clearly an alias. The other party probably doesn't want you to know their real name. But to integrate with the City of No Light, they must be a Chaos Body. That place is at the Black Disaster Extreme, right next to the Night Mother Tree. Without a Chaos Body, one cannot stay there for long," Yu Xuezi said seriously.

"But it seems he meant no harm to you, and even gave you a piece of Black Disaster Source Material."

Yu Hong immediately took out the source stone and handed it to Yu Xuezi along with the box.

"Teacher, this is for you."

"No need, keep it for yourself. It's of no use to us. Indeed, as the person said, it serves no other purpose except to hit people," Yu Xuezi shook his head and declined.

"Then I'll study it myself," Yu Hong planned to fuse the source material with the Black Mark into the safe house but considered that it might take a long time, so he decided to complete the fusion later.

By now, he found that the traits of ordinary martial arts were becoming increasingly ineffective. He now needed much stronger traits.

Additionally, the Cultivation Technique, Outer Eye, and other aspects had shorter strengthening periods and were becoming less useful to him.

Perhaps in the future, he would start to extend the strengthening duration of the Black Mark. After all, he had already broken through to the late Golden Core Stage and was about to enter the Nascent Soul Stage.

"Wait!" Suddenly, Yu Xuezi slapped Yu Hong's shoulder.

"Didn't you just go out for three months? How are you already at the late Golden Core Stage?"

His expression changed, holding onto Yu Hong with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"Teacher, didn't you say that after the Dan Qi is refined, one can freely break through?" Yu Hong was puzzled.

"Yes, I did say that, but you need to nurture it, wait for the refined Dan Qi to feed back into yourself, strengthen yourself, and then start the breakthrough. This nurturing time should be at least six months. What happened!? Could there be some kind of mistake?" a hint of concern flashed in Yu Xuezi's eyes.

"It shouldn't be a mistake.... I have a superpower that allows my body to heal and repair itself, so perhaps this caused the rapid progress..." Yu Hong hesitated.

He had promised not to reveal the recovery necklace to the senior corrupt traveler.

So he just attributed it to a superpower.

"....." Yu Xuezi carefully examined Yu Hong's cultivation, then turned to look at Quan He.

Quan He sat upright, his face solemn, his hands gripping the hem of his Daoist robe on his thighs.

"Master rest assured, I have long forgotten about Senior Brother Zheng Rou. As long as I disregard him, he cannot disturb my Dao Heart!"

Quan He raised his head, looking resolute.

"....." Yu Hong was left speechless.

Yu Xuezi was also at a loss for words and turned his eyes back to Yu Hong.

"Then, with your speedy breakthrough, have you felt any discomfort?"

"Disciple is completely fine, no issues at all," Yu Hong replied.

"Hmm... Now that you're in the late Golden Core stage, one more tempering of your Dan Qi and you can break the pill to form a Nascent Soul. You could use this opportunity to spar with your senior sisters." Yu Xuezi paused, planning to use another method to gauge Yu Hong's condition, "Recently, some Black Disaster Monsters have started to appear around the mining star's surrounding airspace, just the right chance for you to practice."

He waved his right hand.

Whoosh.

Hei Ying, dressed in black tight-fitting clothes, suddenly appeared on the open ground outside the pavilion.

"Master, did you call for me?" Hei Ying quickly adjusted her clothing around her hips with a slightly peculiar expression.

"Greetings, Master. Junior brother, you're back?" Bai Sheng also appeared beside her through instantaneous movement.

He naturally took a step forward, positioning himself in front of Hei Ying.

"You two..." Yu Xuezi's face darkened, "Go back and change your clothes immediately! What a disgrace!"

"Yes!"

The two replied and quickly left through instantaneous movement.

Short Distance Instantaneous Movement was merely a small trick for them. At their level, most strong cultivators would always have the ability to use instantaneous movement frequently; without it, they would be at a disadvantage in a fight.

However, their usage of instantaneous movement was different from Yu Hong's, as it consumed more True Yuan and using it continuously for a short period would lead to a significant increase in energy consumption.

Therefore, most of the time, they still preferred to use flying swords or other transportation tools to travel.

Yu Hong and Quan He could sense why Yu Xuezi's face darkened. Just now, when Hei Ying was teleported over, there was a tear in her tight-fitting clothes.

"Senior brother and sister are still too lax," Quan He sighed.

"You two, on the other hand, are too conservative," Yu Xuezi glanced at them.

Yu Hong was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.

Quan He's expression was unchanged; at over a hundred years old, she was not one to blush over such matters.

"Mainly because Senior Brother Zheng Rou is too small, can't make a move on him," she teased upon seeing Yu Hong's thin-skinned demeanor.

"Heh, you didn't see when I got bigger," Yu Hong immediately retorted.

"Alright, that's enough," Yu Xuezi, single for a long time, could not handle their explicit banter and interrupted directly.

"Now that Zheng Rou is back, spar with your senior sister to determine your current situation, and I will prepare a magic treasure tailored for you before you go out for real combat training."

"Understood."

Yu Hong stood up and walked to the open space outside.

Soon, Hei Ying and Bai Sheng reappeared, having changed into standard white Daoist robes of the sect. They bowed respectfully to Yu Xuezi.

Yu Xuezi repeated the instructions.

Hei Ying readily agreed. After both she and Yu Hong meditated to adjust their states,

The Taoist Palace's sealing formation immediately activated. Layers of intricate, lavish Taoist patterns formed a light shield enveloping the ground where the two stood.

"Junior brother, the main focus this time is on assessing your defense abilities and escape skills..."

"Ahem." Bai Sheng coughed twice outside the shield.

Hei Ying quickly snapped back to her senses and corrected herself.

"Uh... I mean escape skills. Attack abilities are secondary. Surviving is the priority, as everything else follows if you live."

"Understood," Yu Hong nodded. He quickly scanned his current traits.

After ensuring there was nothing that could cause misunderstanding, he bowed to his opponent.

Hei Ying returned the salute.

The two stood still, not moving.

"Be careful. The sword technique I practice is the Seven-Time Sword Technique, known for its piercing power. It's one of the only nineteen sword techniques in the sect that directly reach the Immortal Realm. It's incredibly fast and powerful," Hei Ying said, twirling her single hand.

"You are in the late Golden Core stage... Hmm!? Wait, weren't you in the middle Golden Core stage just recently!?"

Suddenly, her expression changed.

She had only been out on an adventure with senior brother on a foreign star for three months... and on return, she found...

Weren't they told that the progression slows down once in the Golden Core stage!?

Hei Ying's face subtly twisted with a hint of envy.

Late Golden Core stage, in just three months!!?

Junior brother is already about to reach the Nascent Soul stage!?

A profound sense of urgency made her body tense up.

'No, I can't waste my time like this anymore! I must strive harder! I need to cultivate! Let Bai Sheng go to hell!! He's always dragging me around recklessly!'

With a hard resolve in her heart, Hei Ying's grip on her mana tightened unconsciously.

"Fine, since you're in the late Golden Core stage, I will suppress my cultivation to your level to make the spar fairer and to better assess if your foundation is solid. So, be vigilant," she said.

"I understand, senior sister," Yu Hong said seriously. He had no weapon, so he stood with one foot in front and the other behind, adopting a Tiger Form Boxing stance.

He had cultivated numerous martial arts and dabbled in many. Basic martial arts like Tiger Form Boxing were still within his skills.

Hiss!

In the next instant, a long black sword shot out from behind Hei Ying.

Before the sound even reached, the sword was already before Yu Hong's chest.