118: An unexpected journey, Castle in the Sky

Chaos.

Utter chaos.

Space, like a painting torn apart by a god, lost all stable form here.

Countless gray currents, like hungry pythons, strangled everything that dared to enter this Domain.

Lin Gou, who had just completed his reshaping, was at the center of this chaos.

He didn’t even have time to carefully comprehend the new insights brought by the “Void Shuttle Art.” The next moment, his pupils suddenly constricted.

Not far away, Ji Xuan and Su Meier were being dragged by an irresistible, powerful suction, pulling them towards the storm's core where he was located!

Ji Xuan, this Nascent Soul Late Stage Formation Grandmaster, currently exerted all his strength to maintain his protective Spiritual Qi, but in front of that terrifying vortex, it was as fragile as a bubble that could burst at any moment.

Su Meier’s pretty face was even paler, her demonic power already in disarray, she could only watch helplessly as that force mercilessly pulled her.

Lin Gou didn’t think at all.

His body reacted faster than his consciousness.

He charged against the currents that could tear apart a Divine Soul, rushing upwards.

Just a split second before Su Meier was about to be swallowed by a dark spatial crack, he accurately pulled her into his embrace.

“Hold tight!”

A low shout, domineeringly poured into Su Meier’s ears.

The next moment, Lin Gou suddenly turned, using his broad back to completely shield Su Meier in front of him.

He held her tightly, constrained between his chest and arms.

Su Meier’s face was pressed against his chest.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

All the outside noise and destruction seemed to be completely isolated at this moment.

She couldn’t hear the wailing of breaking space, nor could she see those gray currents capable of obliterating everything.

In her ears, only that powerful, drum-like heartbeat remained.

Steady, firm, carrying a strange magic capable of soothing all fear.

She could clearly feel Lin Gou’s body trembling violently with each impact.

That was proof of the spatial tearing force, hitting his back without reservation.

Each impact made Su Meier’s heart clench fiercely.

How those spatial blades, sharp as divine weapons, cut through his robes, sliced his skin, and went deep enough to show bone.

Yet, the arms he used to hold her remained motionless.

Like a mountain that would never collapse, no matter how the storm raged.

Su Meier’s nose suddenly stung.

She had never felt such a strong sensation as she did now.

Safety.

In this spatial storm, which represented absolute destruction, she felt an unprecedented, reassuring warmth.

Subconsciously, she reached out her arms and tightly embraced the man.

As if she wanted to completely meld herself into his body.

After an unknown amount of time.

The frantic tearing force suddenly eased.

A huge throwing force came.

The three of them, like kites with broken strings, were thrown out of the chaotic vortex in disarray… Bang!

A dull thud sounded.

Their bodies landed on a soft and elastic ground, like falling onto some giant meadow.

Lin Gou immediately released his embrace, flipped over, and cautiously looked around.

“Are you alright?”

He looked at Su Meier, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible concern.

Su Meier shook her head. She sat up, supporting herself on the ground; apart from feeling a little short on demonic power, she was not injured.

She looked up at Lin Gou.

When her gaze fell on Lin Gou’s back, she froze.

His green robe had completely turned into shattered rags.

And on his bronze-colored, sturdy back were dozens of crisscrossing, bone-deep wounds, each wound retaining a gray spatial force that prevented the flesh from healing.

The sight was shocking.

Su Meier’s eyes instantly turned red.

She reached out a trembling hand, wanting to touch him, but dared not.

“Madman…”

Her voice carried a hint of a sob.

“You’re always like this.”

Lin Gou, however, smiled nonchalantly, as if those wounds didn’t exist on his body at all.

He turned around and said in a flippant tone, as if evaluating a commodity.

“My golden producer is a rare asset; it didn’t come with scratch insurance when it left the factory.”

“If it gets scratched or bumped, who do I claim compensation from?”

This improper joke dispelled the heavy emotion and gratitude that had just welled up in Su Meier’s heart.

She was both angry and wanted to laugh, ultimately just glaring at him fiercely.

“Bah, you lecher!”

Just then, Ji Xuan, who had been meditating cross-legged nearby, suddenly opened his eyes.

His face showed no relief from surviving a disaster; instead, it was filled with extreme, unbelievable shock.

He stood up, looking around at this unfamiliar world, his lips trembling slightly.

“Here… this is…”

Lin Gou and Su Meier finally had time to observe their surroundings.

This was a continent suspended above a sea of clouds.

Beneath their feet were strange Immortal Plants emitting a misty purple Qi.

In the distance, cranes flew in flocks, emitting clear, melodious calls.

The air was filled with Spiritual Qi so dense it was almost tangible; just breathing it in made their cultivation Bottlenecks subtly loosen.

Magnificent palaces and Daoist temples stood naturally on the floating mountains in the distance, bathed in golden light.

This place was unlike the mortal world.

It was more like the legendary abode of gods.

Ji Xuan took a deep breath and, in a voice almost like a dream, gave the answer.

“Heavenly Vault Fortress!”

“The legendary mobile main city that appears once every three hundred years, drifting in the Void Realm!”

“We… we were actually sent to this place by that spatial storm!”

His voice was filled with ecstasy.

“This is the only venue for the entire cultivation world’s highest-grade ‘Ten-Thousand Treasures Auction’!”

Upon hearing this, Su Meier’s beautiful peach blossom eyes instantly widened.

Heavenly Vault Fortress!

Ten-Thousand Treasures Auction!

These names, which only existed in the oldest legends, were now vividly presented before her.

This was simply an immense Opportunity!

Lin Gou’s eyes also shot out a terrifying gleam.

But what he thought was completely different from Su Meier.

Endless treasures?

That was certainly good.

But more importantly… his Divine Sense quietly spread out.

He could feel that on this continent, there were countless powerful and terrifying auras that made even him feel a throbbing in his heart.

Nascent Soul.

So many, many Nascent Souls.

There were even a few auras, like abysses, like great suns, far beyond the Nascent Soul stage.

What did this mean?

This meant countless, high-quality “death targets.”

It meant a wide variety of “death materials.”

For him, this was not a place of Opportunity.

This was clearly a theme park, tailor-made for him, the Death Artist!

After a series of life-and-death battles, especially the final dual baptism of Divine Soul and space, his Golden Core Middle Stage cultivation had completely stabilized.

Whether it was the density of his spiritual power or the strength of his Divine Soul, both far exceeded the scope of Cultivators at the same stage.

He felt stronger than ever before.

And more than ever, he yearned for a higher-quality death.

Ji Xuan also snapped out of his shock at this moment.

He looked at Lin Gou, his eyes filled with gratitude and admiration.

If Lin Gou hadn't pointed out the maze in his Formation Dao and perfected his Dao Heart, he would never have been able to endure that spatial storm.

He laughed heartily.

“Little friend, this is Dao affinity! A great Dao affinity!”

From his in arms, he solemnly took out a token made entirely of warm jade, engraved with only a simple character “Ji,” and handed it to Lin Gou.

“Keep this well.”

“In this Heavenly Vault Fortress, this old man’s name still holds some face.”

“If you encounter any trouble, feel free to use it.”

Lin Gou didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted the token.

“Thank you, Elder Ji.”

After a brief rest, the three flew towards the most magnificent floating city.

The closer they got, the more they could feel the prosperity and heritage of this sky city.

Wide streets, paved with entire pieces of star stone, shimmered with silver light.

On both sides of the streets, Cultivators moved to and fro like weaving shuttles.

Golden Core cultivators were truly like common peddlers here, seen everywhere.

Occasionally, they could even see several Nascent Soul powerful beings with profound auras, surrounded like stars, walking past them, attracting gazes of reverence.

Su Meier walked beside Lin Gou, her expression a mix of nervousness and novelty, like a fox entering a grand garden for the first time.

Lin Gou, on the other hand, seemed relaxed and at ease, looking around as if strolling through his own backyard.

They soon arrived at the city center.

A colossal, spiral pagoda, seemingly able to pierce the sky, stood there.

The pagoda was entirely cast from an unknown type of glazed crystal, emitting a seven-colored treasure light, and countless profound runes flowed ceaselessly on its body.

“That should be the venue for the Ten-Thousand Treasures Auction,”

Ji Xuan pointed at the pagoda, a hint of yearning in his eyes.

“However, entering this place requires extremely strict qualification review; only an overlord of a region, or someone with astonishing wealth, can enter.”

Just as they were looking up at the pagoda, marveling at its grandeur.

On one side of the pagoda, a VIP passage, protected by powerful Restrictions, slowly opened.

A graceful and capable figure walked out from it.

She was wearing a fitted dark purple outfit that perfectly accentuated her breathtaking curves.

On her face was a commercial, perfect smile.

It was Yan Ziyue from Tianji Pavilion.

She seemed to have just finished an important meeting and was about to leave.

But the moment she stepped out of the passage, as if sensing something, her footsteps suddenly paused.

Her gaze, like the most precise Flying Sword, instantly pierced through the bustling crowd below.

It passed countless Golden Core cultivators.

It swept past several Nascent Soul powerful beings.

Finally, it landed squarely and precisely on Lin Gou and Su Meier.

Across hundreds of feet of distance.

Yan Ziyue’s commercial smile slowly faded.

In its place was a knowing smile, filled with playfulness, surprise, and a hint of “the prey has finally entered the arena.”

She raised the jade cup in her hand towards Lin Gou from afar.

Her eyes seemed to say.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”