Chapter 22: Three Years

Zhu Bao discovered that a sphere had suddenly appeared in his soul space, and within this sphere, there was a consciousness that threatened to make his soul collapse at any moment.
Alarmed, Zhu Bao realized that the disappearance of Qu Yi’s true form and his clones was related to this sphere—likely, Qu Yi and the others were inside it.
After hearing the instructions from Fire Lord, Zhu Bao wasted no time and immediately flew away to return to the Zhu family’s estate.
After Zhu Bao left, Fire Lord smiled slightly and muttered to himself, “Since my true form and the others have gone to the Zhu family’s estate, it should be possible for Gold Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, and Earth Lord to enter the cultivation space and raise their cultivation level to Six-Star Human Soul Immortals. With the Star Luo Ding, Life Core, and Boundless Stars at my disposal, I can also continue to operate in Tong Zhou Hall.”
Qu Yi’s true form only brought along the Dimension Sphere and the Divine Formula Card; all other treasures were given to Fire Lord.
Soon after, Fire Lord left the void as well and took out the Starry Ship to head toward Tong Zhou Hall.
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The Zhu family’s headquarters was located in the western part of the True Flame Continent.
The most prosperous area on the True Flame Continent was still Yan Hua City, the largest city in the west—a major hub for cultivators from the entire Zhu Yan Star.
Yan Hua City sat along the western coast of the continent, covering a vast area that could easily accommodate 100 million people. Thousands of miles east of Yan Hua City lay a series of twelve large freshwater lakes connected together—these lakes were known as Zhu Qu Lakes.
The Zhu family’s headquarters was situated in Zhu Qu Lakes. In fact, the entire area around Zhu Qu Lakes, spanning thousands of miles, was considered territory of the Zhu family.
Now, Zhu Bao flew alone through the air until he reached above Zhu Qu Lakes.
The lake’s surface stretched as far as the eye could see, with vast waves and clear ripples—truly a sight that broadened one’s mind and refreshed the spirit.
But at that moment, Zhu Bao had no mood to admire such a magnificent view. He continued flying swiftly toward the central island of Zhu Qu Lakes.
The central island was the true heart of the Zhu family.
The family’s other forces were scattered along the lake shores, maintaining the strength of this massive clan.
Above Zhu Qu Lakes, except for the core members of the Zhu family, no one could fly in the air. They could only use flying boats provided by the family to reach the central island.
As a core member, Zhu Bao flew without restraint and soon arrived at the central island.
The central island was enormous, covering hundreds of miles, with countless magnificent pavilions and grand palaces built on it. Besides serving as residences for the Zhu family’s disciples to cultivate, some of these structures were also used to welcome guests from outside.

Zhu Bao fell from the sky and went straight to the “Return Hall” to register his name. The Zhu family had strict rules—every disciple had to register at the “Departure Hall” when leaving and again at the “Return Hall” upon returning, so that the family could keep track of their whereabouts. Just as Zhu Bao came out of the Return Hall, Zhu Ping and Zhu Ding appeared and blocked him. “Haha, Brother Bao, you’re back so early. Have you already defeated Fire Lord?” Zhu Ping joked. “Brother Bao, as a Soul Immortal, you don’t need to go in person. Just send one member of the family guard, and they can take care of Fire Lord,” Zhu Ding said with a calm smile. The two were utterly confident that Zhu Bao, as a Soul Immortal, could easily defeat Fire Lord, a Soul Immortal himself, with ease. Hearing their words, Zhu Bao’s face turned red slightly, and he looked embarrassed, but he didn’t dare reveal the truth. Instead, he said with a smile, “Zhu Ping, Zhu Ding, there’s no need to talk about Fire Lord anymore. While I was outside, I had a feeling that I could break through in my cultivation, so I want to enter the cultivation space to meditate for a few years.” Hearing this, Zhu Ping and Zhu Ding assumed Fire Lord had already been killed. When they heard that Zhu Bao wanted to break through, they both showed envy. “Brother Bao, you’re amazing,” they said. “Brother Bao, you’re my pride,” Zhu Ping and Zhu Ding replied cheerfully. Zhu Bao nodded and ignored them, rushing straight to the Zhu family’s Meditation Hall. Inside the Meditation Hall was where the family stored their cultivation spaces. As soon as Zhu Bao returned to the Zhu family, he headed straight for the Meditation Hall. Though it seemed abrupt, many understood—they thought Zhu Bao might have had some realization and wanted to use the cultivation space to advance his cultivation. Then, Zhu Bao entered the inner hall of the Meditation Hall and went straight to the rectangular structure in the center. The structure was made of white jade, and inside it was a cultivation space. Zhu Bao nodded at a Zhu family disciple stationed in the inner hall, then took out his identity card and inserted it into a slot on the side of the structure. “Cultivation time?” A mental wave from the structure resonated in Zhu Bao’s soul. “Three years!” Zhu Bao’s spiritual consciousness replied. Soon, the communication ended, and the structure deducted the required points for three years of cultivation from Zhu Bao’s identity card. Zhu Bao then entered the cultivation space. ※※※ Inside the cultivation space, there were indeed a hundred Origin Pools—twenty for each of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

As soon as Zhu Bao entered the cultivation space, he glanced around and found that there were three more disciples from the Zhu family in the Origin Pool. However, those three disciples were completely immersed in their cultivation and did not notice Zhu Bao. In the cultivation space, they were completely at ease, so they did not allocate any of their spiritual awareness to monitor their surroundings, focusing instead on cultivating at full strength to achieve rapid progress in their cultivation level. After all, entering the cultivation space required family points, so everyone there was fully committed.

After Zhu Bao landed, the Golden Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, and Earth Lord immediately emerged from the Dimensional Sphere. By then, the four lords had changed their appearances and no longer looked the same. “Zhu Bao, go and cultivate. We’ll keep an eye on things here,” the Golden Lord’s spiritual voice transmitted. Zhu Bao nodded, unconcerned that the three Zhu family disciples inside might notice anything unusual, and confidently headed toward a Water Origin Pool. Soon after, the Golden Lord, Wood Lord, Water Lord, and Earth Lord also entered their respective Origin Pools to harness their own elemental powers.

Using the Divine Formula Cards in turn, the four lords were confident that three years would be enough for them to reach the level of Six-Star Human Soul Immortals. …

The Fire Lord quickly returned to the Purple Volcano Range and headed straight for the Extreme Fire Peak. Zhen Nantian immediately spotted the returning Fire Lord in the sky, laughed heartily, and transformed into a streak of fire to approach him. “Fire Lord, you’re back so fast. Are you reluctant to leave me?” Zhen Nantian called out from the sky, his belly protruding. “Fatso, stop it. That Zhu Bao tricked me. Although there are Ink Cloud Crystal deposits in the Blue Mountain Range, they’ve all been mined by others, wasting my time for nothing,” the Fire Lord said angrily.

Zhen Nantian was momentarily stunned before smiling and saying, “Fire Lord, don’t be angry. Right now, the crafting tasks at our Extreme Fire Peak are increasing rapidly. We’ll have plenty of Origin Stones in the future. We can just buy Ink Cloud Crystals from other planets.” The Fire Lord’s expression softened slightly. He nodded and then ignored Zhen Nantian, flying straight to his own Wind Listening Residence.

Zhen Nantian was stunned again. The Fire Lord’s temper was getting worse. Before, he would at least call him fatso, but now he didn’t even say goodbye and just left right away. Yet, Zhen Nantian wasn’t angry at all and accepted it calmly. “Fire Lord, there are another two thousand tasks for creating Human Soul Immortal artifacts recently. The required formations are quite special. Please help me develop them,” Zhen Nantian called out, landing alongside him with a flattering expression.

Fire Lord immediately turned around, suddenly kicking out a foot strike. Seeing that he hadn’t hit Zhen Nantian, he shouted, “Fat guy, I need to cultivate. Regarding the formation matters, put those artifact-forging tasks aside for now and come to me in three years.”

Of course, Qu Yi’s other four avatars were also cultivating, so Fire Lord certainly couldn’t fall behind. As soon as he returned to Extreme Fire Peak, he wanted to go to the cultivation space to train.

Hearing this, Zhen Nantian uttered a few “ohs” but didn’t dare to argue.

At present, Fire Lord was the guardian deity of Extreme Fire Peak, and all artifact-forging tasks required his help. Zhen Nantian felt that without Fire Lord, the entire Extreme Fire Peak would revert to its former state, and life would once again become unbearable.

Therefore, Zhen Nantian could only cater to Fire Lord, not daring to do anything that might displease him.

“Fire Lord, I understand. I’ll give the orders,” Zhen Nantian said with a smile right away.

Fire Lord’s expression changed slightly before he smiled again, making Zhen Nantian’s hair stand on end. Then he said, “Fat guy, quickly transfer the points I deserve to my identity card. I want to enter the cultivation space.”

For every Immortal Artifact at the Human Soul Immortal level in Extreme Fire Peak, Fire Lord could earn three points. And since Extreme Fire Peak had forged at least three thousand such artifacts in that year, Fire Lord could earn at least ten thousand points.

Ten thousand points allowed him to stay in the cultivation space for a thousand days, which was equivalent to three years.

Fire Lord believed that with three years, he would definitely be able to comprehend the other two primal forces of fire—Force of Violence and Force of Splitting. In other words, in three years, his cultivation level could reach Six-Star Human Soul Immortal.

Hearing this, Zhen Nantian’s face twitched as if in pain. In the past, it would have been impossible for an ordinary disciple of Extreme Fire Peak to earn ten thousand points in just two or three hundred years. Yet now, Fire Lord had already obtained ten thousand points in just one year.

Zhen Nantian couldn’t help but admire how powerful Fire Lord truly was.

“Fire Lord, the points are already ready. As long as you give me your identity card, I can transfer ten thousand points to you right away,” Zhen Nantian said joyfully.

At this moment, Zhen Nantian didn’t dare to show his pain and instead put on a happy expression.

Hearing this, Fire Lord laughed heartily and took out his identity card.

“Fat guy, you’ve done well. From now on, I’ll help you develop all the formations,” Fire Lord promised loudly in his joy.

Zhen Nantian’s smile grew even wider, his chubby body shaking with excitement.

Subsequently, Huozun and Zhennan Tian went to the main peak of Tongzhou Hall, where there were not only cultivation spaces but also name columns belonging to Tongzhou Hall. The name columns allowed points to be transferred to Huozun’s identity card. After obtaining the points, Huozun immediately went to the cave containing the cultivation space and exchanged all ten thousand points he had just received for three years of cultivation time, before entering the cultivation space.