"This matter is a long story," Elder Qin sighed. "I've been obsessed with artifact refining my entire life. I spent a thousand years of effort and countless precious refining materials to forge the divine artifact, the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda. However, the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda only had its form and lacked a soul, making it merely a semi-divine artifact, a flawed product."
Xiao Man's expression changed slightly. "You didn't refine yourself into the artifact spirit of this Heaven-Piercing Pagoda, did you?"
Elder Qin slowly nodded. "Yes, I sacrificed myself for refining. I merged with the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda and became its artifact spirit. However, I fell into a deep slumber until you awakened me. That's why the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda is empty inside. The Heaven-Piercing Pagoda grows with its master. The stronger the master, the stronger the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda. As for you… you're an insult to the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda!"
Xiao Man felt Elder Qin's blatant disdain. It was no wonder, as she was merely a beginner cultivator at Qi Condensation stage seven. Let alone making the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda grow, she felt like she was dragging it into the ground.
"Ancestor, I am weak now, but one day, I will become the supreme powerhouse of this Cang Xuan Continent!" Xiao Man declared with immense ambition. "At that time, I will make those who treated the Qin family as medicinal puppets pay a price a thousand times more tragic than what the Qin family suffered."
"Ambitious. Come back and speak to me after you've reached Foundation Establishment," Elder Qin grumbled. Then, with a wave of his hand, Xiao Man was cast out of the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda.
Zhu Qing was searching for Xiao Man when she saw Xiao Man, who had vanished into thin air, reappear just as abruptly and fall to the ground headfirst, looking rather disheveled. Zhu Qing quickly swam over.
"Master, are you alright?"
Xiao Man got up from the ground. "What a disgrace! You all look down on me. Is it just about reaching Foundation Establishment? Just you wait. Once I reach Foundation Establishment, I'll blind all of you with my brilliance!"
"Master, I am Snake Eye," Zhu Qing corrected her.
Xiao Man stretched her limbs. "What time is it?"
"It's not dawn yet."
"I've been missing for a day and a night?" Xiao Man exclaimed in surprise. Had she really spent that much time in the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda's space?
"Master, you were only missing for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea," Zhu Qing explained.
"A cup of tea?" Xiao Man was bewildered. She had definitely been gone for longer than that, and she had chatted with the Qin family's ancestor for quite some time. How could it only be the time for a cup of tea? Could it be that the flow of time inside the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda was different from the outside?
"Zhu Qing, calculate the time and see how long it took me to return."
"Yes, Master." Zhu Qing watched Xiao Man disappear, her eyes darting to where Xiao Man had vanished. My goodness, this is truly a treasure, capable of containing living people! If outsiders knew their master possessed a spatial artifact that could hold living beings, they would go mad trying to hunt her down!
Xiao Man re-entered the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda's space but did not see Elder Qin again. She walked around inside the pagoda, wanting to see how vast its internal space was. However, no matter how far she walked, she couldn't reach an end, nor could she find a way up. She remembered the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda had nine levels, and she was likely on the first level. This level, apart from newly grown flora, contained nothing else. It was a boundless plain.
Xiao Man sat down on the ground and began to cultivate. Although the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda was chaotic and empty, it was filled with abundant spiritual energy. Cultivating here meant she didn't have to worry about being disturbed. She wanted to see if she could advance to Qi Condensation stage nine in one go and break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Xiao Man didn't know how long she had been cultivating inside. When she opened her eyes again, a trace of confusion was in her gaze. She had successfully advanced to Qi Condensation stage nine, but no matter how hard she cultivated, she couldn't touch the threshold of Foundation Establishment.
"Fine, I'll go out first. I wonder what's happening outside."
Xiao Man emerged from the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda again. The sky was just beginning to brighten. Zhu Qing, seeing her appear, quickly swam over and perched on her shoulder. "Master, you've been gone for three hours this time. It is now the third quarter of the hour of Chen."
"Only three hours?" Xiao Man was a little shocked. She should have stayed in the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda for about ten days. She had eaten all the dry rations in her Qiankun Bag. How could it only be three hours!
Indeed, the flow of time inside the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda was different from the outside. The time flow within the pagoda was several times faster than outside.
"Let's go, I need to find something to eat. I'm hungry." Xiao Man rapidly weaved through the forest, searching for edible things. Zhu Qing sat on Xiao Man's shoulder, feeling the strong wind blowing against its face, making it sway unsteadily. It had to hook onto Xiao Man's shoulder with its tail to avoid falling off.
Xiao Man found plenty of spirit fruits and picked some herbs. After killing a demonic rabbit, she then followed the marks left by Xiang Jian.
"This demonic wolf was hunted by us." A quarrel could be heard ahead, and the voice sounded somewhat familiar, like Qi Hong's.
"Hunted by you?" someone sneered. "A few rookies who just entered Qi Condensation, the highest being at stage four, dare to claim you hunted a demonic wolf? Do you even have the ability to hunt a demonic wolf? Your cultivation is low, and you still dare to claim the spoils of war. Are you not afraid of death!"
"Is it so wrong to have high cultivation! This demonic wolf was killed by us. You suddenly appeared and snatched my prey. Isn't that too despicable?" Yu Da chimed in. Although demonic wolves were ferocious, a lone demonic wolf wasn't that terrifying. They had exerted great effort to kill this demonic wolf, only for someone to come and steal the credit.
"Having high cultivation is indeed important!" The leader of the group stepped forward and stomped on the demonic wolf's head. "Don't you know that whoever's fist is harder dictates the truth?"
"You're going too far!" Qi Hong stepped forward angrily but was kicked to the ground by the other party. He had been injured while fighting the demonic wolf, and this kick made him spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Qi Hong, are you alright?" Shan Yun helped him up. "Vice-captain, forget it. Let's go."
Xiang Jian gave the opponent a deep look and turned to pull Yu Da away. Their cultivation was too low. In this Roland Mountain Range, the law of the jungle prevailed. They deserved to be bullied because they were weak, not just by humans, but also by the demonic beasts here!
"Vice-captain, that was the prey we painstakingly hunted..."
"Let's go. We're no match for them!" Xiang Jian gritted his teeth. Demonic wolves could be hunted again, but they couldn't be injured. Danger could lurk at any moment in the Roland Mountain Range, and they needed to conserve their energy to face various threats.
Qi Hong wanted to say more, but Shan Yun pinched him, making him swallow all his words. He could only follow them away with resentment.
The group who had stolen Xiang Jian's prey saw them wisely retreat and all smiled knowingly. They decided to follow this group and rob them of any good items they obtained. After all, who wouldn't want to gain without working for it, rather than fighting fierce beasts?