Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1476 - 798: Pangu Splits Heaven and Earth (Part 2)

Upon hearing those words, Zhao Sheng's grin softened a touch, and he replied with a trace of sorrow, "In the end, we failed to pull off total victory this round. The Five Emotions Demon Fire stems from a Tribulation Crossing Venerable's creation, drawing power from feelings themselves. So long as emotions endure, the flames keep burning; it's truly peculiar. Someday it could flare up again from nothing, bringing no end of headaches."

"No cause for alarm. After I head back to the sect and pore over the texts in the archive, I'll absolutely uncover a means to banish the Five Emotions Demon Fire," Zhao Xuanjing assured him.

Zhao Sheng gave a nod, then abruptly shifted gears, "Truth be told, Jing Ancestor, I've hit the peak of Returning to Void, with no path forward left. I'm gearing up now to forge my own Grotto Heaven. That said, I've got plenty of uncertainties about the process. I'd be grateful if Jing Ancestor could offer some generous pointers."

Hearing that, Zhao Xuanjing felt a mix of shock and elation, promptly pulling out a Jade Scroll and flinging it through the air straight into Zhao Sheng's grasp.

"This Jade Scroll holds every bit of my understanding, which ought to prove immensely useful for you. And... rather than just chatting vaguely, nothing beats diving in personally."

With those words, a vivid golden-yellow halo began to emerge slowly behind Zhao Xuanjing's head.

The halo rotated without cease, silently forming a round "portal" roughly a foot wide, its edge glowing with radiant beams that unveiled a fresh realm beyond.

Zhao Sheng's gaze shifted subtly. He nodded calmly next, letting a ray of light wrap around him, hoisting him upward, and hurling him toward the Grotto Heaven's glowing ring.

His sight swam for a moment, and when he blinked it clear, a grand, sky-piercing colossal mountain thrust upward into the mist, bursting into view right before him.

This mountain stretched incredibly wide, spanning thousands of miles across, rising like a massive column upholding the heavens, claiming the bulk of the Grotto Heaven's domain.

The instant his eyes fell on this peak, Zhao Sheng betrayed a spark of wonder, blurting out, "Could this be... Heavenly Pillar Mountain?!"

He knew Heavenly Pillar Mountain inside out, and the peak now looming matched it by over seventy percent, looking at first blush like someone had transplanted the whole thing right here.

Still, the enormous ridge ahead lay mostly bare, dotted thinly with plants, its rocks and dirt laid open to the air, giving off a barren, lonely vibe.

"Spot on, I deliberately shaped this mountain after Heavenly Pillar Mountain when I formed it. For millennia back then, I ruled over Heavenly Pillar Mountain and scouted every inch, so replicating this peak came naturally.

And that's the key advice I have for you; for crafting a Grotto Heaven, pick a spot you know like the back of your hand and 'duplicate' it inside. It slashes the challenge of Heaven and Earth Creation tremendously, while unlocking all sorts of advantages..."

Zhao Sheng unleashed his Divine Thought, sweeping over a million miles in a flash, absorbing the full scene into his awareness.

Beneath the Divine Thought's reach, buried Earth Veins and Spirit Veins surfaced gradually from the depths, myriad lines of them twisting and layering to sketch a huge dragon form that snaked for thousands of miles.

The dragon's form coiled clear to the central giant peak, spiraling higher and higher, its head vanishing into the clouds with no trace of an end.

As the Divine Thought delved into those clouds, a host of stars filled his view, each one tracing paths that wove together into an enormous canopy spanning the skies.

Zhao Sheng's core shook, as he quickly saw that this array of stars was plainly a stripped-down take on the Celestial Star Battle Formation. The web of stars it formed could anchor the Grotto Heaven against threats from outside, blending shield and strike in one seamless whole.

This Grotto Heaven stood freshly born, its elements of earth, water, wind, and fire barely settled, the governing Cave Heaven Law still thin and flawed in spots, often sparking chaotic disasters from clashing rules.

Life forces inside the Grotto Heaven remained scarce, yet the few that thrived pulsed with fierce vitality, carrying True Spirit Bloodline in their veins. True Dragon lineage dominated among them.

Even with that, Zhao Sheng's thoughts raced wildly, flashes of inspiration flooding in waves, spawning endless realizations on the spot.

No doubt about it, a thousand words fall short of a single firsthand glimpse!

Having witnessed this Grotto Heaven up close, his resolve surged unexpectedly, boosting his certainty in forging his own by leaps and bounds.

Zhao Xuanjing stayed quiet, swiftly baring his spirit to blend with the world, commanding earth, water, wind, and fire to mimic the Grotto Heaven's workings, unveiling the step-by-step enactment for Zhao Sheng's eyes.

Heavy mists rolled in, gales, downpours, bolts, and flashes cracked the air, the ground quaked hard, terrains crumbled while streams burst forth, beings sprouted and faded... The grand cycle of eons accelerated wildly inside the Grotto Heaven...

No telling how long it dragged on, Zhao Xuanjing slumped in utter fatigue, the halo at his back faded to a dull glow.

He drew back his spirit gradually, right as the endless mists fell eerily still, crackles of thunder died away in a snap, and raging gales hushed to nothing.

Taking it in, Zhao Sheng reined in his Divine Thought steadily, a light grin easing across his features unbidden.

...

Twenty years flew by like a blink.

In one corner of Divine Palace Heaven, a sharp, enormous purple palm materialized from nowhere and slammed down hard on a floating isle thirty miles wide.

A deafening crash rang out, the isle shuddered fiercely, then shattered apart, spilling see-through Crystal Stones from its core.

Before long, a swarm of Thunder Light sparked into being, shaping into a horde of thunder palms that snatched up every Principle Crystal, then zipped back to some hidden spot.

Zhao Sheng flicked his wide sleeves, drawing in seventeen or eighteen Principle Crystals right into them.

"Not quite enough yet; on to the next spot," Zhao Sheng muttered under his breath, sparing a quick look at his Jade Scroll before his form blinked away millions of miles distant.

This spot was a Grotto Heaven remnant, cluttered with Void-scattered meteor chunks, many bearing traces of old structures, while fine Tao Spirit Mechanisms like dust filled the emptiness, now and then fusing by like natures to slowly harden into Law Crystals across the ages.

Zhao Sheng touched down on a meteor deep in the Meteor Sea; his mighty Divine Thought rushed outward, blanketing tens of thousands of miles in an instant.

With a mere thought, a flood of Law Crystals rushed straight toward Zhao Sheng all at once.

In short order, the long-hoarded Law Crystals of this Meteor Sea vanished clean.

Zhao Sheng wasted no time, vanishing via teleport right away.

...

Another decade slipped past.

High over a fractured skeleton the size of a range in Divine Palace Heaven, a sea of millions of thunderbolts churned, bursting with blinding brilliance.

A colossal loop, dozens of miles across, bobbed and dipped in the profound thunder depths, radiating an aura of sheer dread beyond words.

Right then, Zhao Sheng perched in lotus position at the Five Thunder Ring's heart, turmoil roiling behind his skull, as if something brewed within.

And beyond the thunder sea, Zhao Xuanjing coiled with a True Dragon, gripping a Mystic Yellow Giant Axe, even swelling to a thousand-zhang titan.

He poured out his Divine Thought fully, cloaking millions of miles around, eyes sharp for any odd stirrings nearby, poised to smash intruders with an Integration Realm Great Power's might.

Without warning, the boundless thunder sea halted dead; moments later, the Five Thunder Ring let out a soft chime, echoing through the mighty Void.

In that instant, spirit radiance shot skyward from Zhao Sheng's crown; a perfect "Zhao Sheng" duplicate took form, flashed a subtle smile, then strode into the turmoil astern, fading from view.

All at once, the immense thunder sea detonated in a frenzy of millions of bolts, pouring endlessly into the turmoil...

Watching it unfold, Zhao Xuanjing's face twisted in layered feelings, anxiety, fear, thrill, hope, and more all tangled up.

...

"... The cosmos churned murky as a yolk, birthing Pangu inside. After eighteen thousand years, skies and lands parted, Yang Qing forming the firmament, Yin Zhuo the foundation... Sun climbing a zhang each day, earth swelling a zhang daily, Pangu stretching a zhang daily. In eighteen thousand years, heavens soared beyond measure, earth plunged past fathoming, Pangu loomed immense..."

Across All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds, the legend of Pangu's world-forging endures. Its roots lost to time, yet its depths stretch endlessly.

Forming a Grotto Heaven mirrors Pangu's grand "Creation of Heaven and Earth"!

Once Zhao Sheng crossed into the chaos, he found himself squeezed in a tight void, where crushing force welled up from all sides, eager to smash the outsider flat.

"Open!"

Zhao Sheng came ready, voicing a steady call, his Primordial Spirit stirring at once, Will Heart Light fusing with Divine Thought to birth boundless might, abruptly tearing wide a swath of realm.

"Rise, rise, rise..."

Strangely, each cry made Zhao Sheng swell bigger, the encircling realm bloating right with him.

At the same time, Power of Primordial Spirit and Will Heart Light drained away fast, his once-firm, lifelike Primordial Spirit starting to fade and haze.