Pushing Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden out of the pit, Zhang Ruochen didn’t rush to follow. He stood, his gaze turning to the pit’s bottom.
With his current physical strength, even top-tier Ten Thousand Pattern Divine Weapons could barely scratch him. Yet, when he fell, his back had throbbed with intense pain, as if he’d struck something extraordinary.
Scanning the area, he quickly spotted the source of his pain and reached down to pick it up.
It was a fist-sized, diamond-shaped stone, dark red, as if soaked in blood. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable.
After confirming nothing else was missed, Zhang Ruochen moved, appearing outside the pit.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s eyes lit up upon seeing the stone in his hand, and she immediately reached to grab it.
Zhang Ruochen sidestepped a zhang, dodging her, and smiled, “My dear fiancée, if you want it, just ask. Your husband isn’t so petty. Why snatch?”
“You said it. Hand it over,” she extended her hand.
Playing with the stone, Zhang Ruochen replied, “First, tell me what’s special about it, or I’ll study it myself. And this attitude when asking your husband for something? Not quite right.”
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden seethed inwardly. Since meeting Zhang Ruochen, she’d been repeatedly outmaneuvered, never gaining the upper hand. She longed to give him a thorough beating.
Gritting her teeth, she calmed herself, glaring at him, “That stone is pure origin divine power condensed. It’s only useful for origin path cultivators. It’s useless to you.”
“After ten thousand years, the divine power from that godly battle hasn’t dissipated but formed a solid entity. Remarkable,” Zhang Ruochen said, eyes gleaming.
His gaze shifted to the scattered pits of varying sizes.
Moving swiftly, he appeared beside a nearby small pit, about ten zhang deep, similar to the one he’d fallen into.
The pit was dim, visible only with his Divine Seal Eyes.
Soon, he locked onto an object at the bottom, grabbing it with a gesture—a dark red diamond-shaped stone.
“Another one?” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s eyes showed surprise.
A thought struck her, and she flashed to another pit.
Like Zhang Ruochen, she retrieved an item—a strange silver crystal with intricate patterns.
“A crystal of spatial divine power,” she murmured.
Zhang Ruochen saw her crystal, intrigued, and mused, “The spatial and origin divine powers left here must have been vast. Over time, they didn’t dissipate but settled, forming these unique crystals. These pits are likely tied to that settling.”
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden nodded, “That’s likely it. If these powers hadn’t settled in large amounts, we’d have died the moment we stepped here.”
A faint origin divine power in the air had nearly cost them dearly. Without her origin pearl, a full surge would have been lethal.
“These pits likely hold more crystals. Since we can’t leave yet, let’s collect them. Spatial ones for me, origin ones for you. Deal?” Zhang Ruochen proposed, tossing her the two origin crystals.
She caught them, tossing him the spatial crystal, “As you say.”
Such a rare opportunity wasn’t to be missed.
They began searching the pits, moving cautiously, as the area felt oppressively unusual.
Soon, they checked dozens of edge-area pits, ranging from three feet to three zhang. Not every pit had crystals; only those a zhang or deeper held them at the bottom.
Smaller pits contained dense, gentle divine power, unlike the air’s aggressive energy, possibly close to crystallizing with more time.
Larger pits were deeper, as if unable to withstand the divine power’s pressure.
After clearing the edge, they moved inward, targeting larger, deeper pits.
Using spatial techniques, Zhang Ruochen retrieved a baby-head-sized crystal from a ten-zhang pit.
“Another origin crystal. So many,” he shook his head, tossing it to her.
They’d searched hundreds of pits, finding 236 crystals—174 origin, 62 spatial, the latter just over a quarter.
Storing the large spatial crystal, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s smile widened, “Following you isn’t all bad. Sometimes I get lucky.”
With these crystals, her origin path cultivation could advance more easily, despite its difficulty.
Zhang Ruochen was about to reply when a jolt of unease hit him.
“Buzz.”
The ground trembled, growing more violent.
Both tensed, sensing trouble brewing.
“The space is warping. The source is… the central pit,” Zhang Ruochen said, eyes narrowing.
The central pit was massive, over eighty zhang wide, pitch-black, and impenetrable to mental power, its depth unknown.
“Swoosh.”
A terrifying suction force erupted from it, drawing in the air’s divine power.
Zhang Ruochen and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden were caught, pulled irresistibly toward the pit.
It felt like a slumbering beast awakening, its maw gaping.
They tried to resist but couldn’t, sucked into the pit with the divine power.
Inside was utter darkness, a free fall with no external aid.
“Bang.”
They hit the bottom hard, colliding with the unyielding ground.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t catch her this time, but she still landed on him, making him the cushion.
Despite his robust body, the fall left him dazed, feeling like his body might break.
“Get up! Trying to crush me?” he snapped.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden stood, her eyes flashing oddly. Twice now, they’d had close contact—truly fated foes.
Annihilation Golden Sun flew from Zhang Ruochen, its radiant light dispelling the darkness, illuminating the pit’s bottom.
Unlike other pits, this one was vast, over a thousand zhang wide, with multiple tunnels branching out, leading to unknown destinations.
“Such strong spatial suppression. No flying or shifting, not even jumping high,” Zhang Ruochen said gravely.
Escaping this deep pit would be no easy task.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden frowned, “Mental power is limited to a hundred zhang, and holy energy flows sluggishly.”
One moment, she’d been thrilled with her crystal haul; the next, they were in deep trouble—a fall from heaven to hell.
“Strange. This is the largest pit, yet no crystals?” Zhang Ruochen puzzled.
Annihilation Golden Sun’s light showed the bottom clearly—empty, not even a pebble, let alone crystals.
Logically, this pit should hold the most potent divine power, producing massive crystals if any.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden scanned around, whispering, “Maybe in the tunnels.”
“Hm? A surge of spatial and origin divine power is coming. Move!” Zhang Ruochen’s face shifted.
He darted toward a tunnel at top speed.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden followed without hesitation.
In this unknown danger, sticking with Zhang Ruochen was safer. Alone, she might not cope.
“Rumble.”
As they left, a terrifying wave of divine power crashed down, far stronger than the earlier origin power.
Unlike settled power, this free-floating energy was aggressive, threatening even Great Saints.
“Now what?” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, usually sharp, was at a loss.
Zhang Ruochen thought briefly, “We’re here, so let’s deal. Avoid this danger first. Some tunnels are quiet; we can take shelter.”
With divine power still pouring in, staying in the open was risky.
They chose a quiet tunnel and rushed in.
The tunnel was wide, its walls rough, as if artificially carved.
Upon entering, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s face paled, “Why do I feel so uneasy?”
Zhang Ruochen felt it too, his hairs standing on end.
His gaze pierced the tunnel’s depths, sensing something watching them.
“Swoosh.”
Abruptly, space cracked, forming a zhang-long rift. A transparent claw reached out, slashing at Zhang Ruochen.
“What is that?”
Startled, Zhang Ruochen swiftly urged Annihilation Golden Sun, striking the claw with supreme power.
“Boom.”
The claw shattered, unable to withstand the force.
But no blood or flesh appeared—it dissolved into countless transparent crystals.
Zhang Ruochen stared, his expression shifting, “Spatial divine power crystals.”
These crystals were less durable, easily broken.
The threat didn’t end. From the cracked space, a ferocious beast emerged, leopard-like, covered in spikes, fully transparent, exuding a powerful aura.
Its destroyed claw reformed, showing no damage.
“How can spatial divine power form a beast? Such violent will,” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s face changed.
No time to ponder—the beast launched a fierce attack.
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward, unleashing Annihilation Golden Sun.
Learning from its loss, the beast released strong spatial power, freezing the space ahead.
It opened its maw, unleashing wild spatial energy, forming a terrifying spatial storm.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart sank, unprepared for the beast’s ability to wield spatial techniques.
“Retreat!” he shouted, conjuring his own spatial storm.
“Boom.”
The storms collided, shattering space, fragments flying.
Zhang Ruochen was hit by the spatial force, trembling, grunting, and sliding back.
“Such power, comparable to an Immortal Realm Great Saint skilled in space,” he thought.
Immortal Realm was the first of five Great Saint realms: Immortal, Hundred Shackles, Thousand Questions, Ten Thousand Deaths, and Supreme.
Even within Immortal Realm, power varied vastly. A new Immortal Saint was worlds apart from one with a thousand years’ cultivation.
Hundred Shackles Realm was even harder, requiring countless opportunities to break free.
Great Saint cultivation was far tougher than Saint King.
Zhang Ruochen recalled Annihilation Golden Sun and, with Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, retreated from the tunnel. Before the beast attacked again, he pulled out the Spacetime Codex.
Against a spatial divine power beast, the Codex was more effective.
Opening it, silver divine light formed dozens of multidimensional spaces, trapping the beast.
“Roar.”
The beast roared, its wild spatial power shattering the spaces.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his spatial rules, applying spatial techniques within.
“Boom.”
As space collapsed, the beast’s body shattered, nearly ground to dust.
But Zhang Ruochen didn’t relax. The beast’s fragments were rapidly reforming, as if immortal.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s origin eyes saw through, “Spatial power is secondary. Its core is a violent will. As long as the will persists, it won’t die.”
Zhang Ruochen’s mind clicked. He mobilized time rules, releasing a profound time force onto the Codex.
A time blade formed, slashing into the reformed beast.
“Roar.”
The beast screamed in pain, heavily wounded.
Seeing results, Zhang Ruochen conjured dozens more time blades, striking repeatedly.
Finally, the violent will was erased, and the beast collapsed into pure spatial divine power, spilling from the multidimensional space.
“Roar.”
Before they could relax, deafening roars echoed, shaking the tunnels.
Various grotesque beasts surged out, some tunnels holding multiple, all exuding immense power.
In moments, over a hundred beasts filled the open space, dense and terrifying.
“Spatial divine power beasts, origin divine power beasts, time, and darkness divine power beasts… how many gods fought here?” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s pupils shrank.
Killing one beast had stirred a hornet’s nest, drawing hundreds of varied beasts. They’d fallen into a monster lair.
