Chapter 4: The Departure

Because he had consumed the spirit beast meat and spirit wine, Li Yao’s body was now filled with an immense vitality. This vitality circulated through his body, strengthening his physique before gradually being absorbed by the Heavenly Book.

With this replenishment, the Heavenly Book itself underwent some changes; its rate of absorbing vitality nearly doubled. At this moment, the second page of the book emitted a faint glow.

Although it was still far from the dazzling brilliance of the first page, this was unquestionably much faster than the book’s natural absorption of the world’s essence.

The Heavenly Book possessed immense power, but since it was bound to Li Yao, its strength naturally fluctuated with that of its master.

Li Yao had not truly begun cultivation yet, so the amount of vitality his body could contain was extremely limited. He was like a valve; how much vitality the Heavenly Book could absorb on its own depended entirely on the size of that valve.

If the book’s natural absorption speed was one, then with Li Yao’s assistance, it had now doubled to two.

Li Yao felt a surge of joy. The Heavenly Book was the key to his rise in this world. He was about to join the Yao Guang Sanctuary, where he would surely cultivate the sanctuary’s scriptures.

The more energy the Heavenly Book accumulated, the more scriptures it could inscribe, which was of utmost importance.

Opening his eyes, Li Yao reached out and swiftly devoured the spirit beast meat and spirit wine on the table once more, unfazed by the risk of overwhelming his body with too much vitality.

Yang, the steward from the Four Extremes Secret Realm, who had been watching, was slightly surprised. As a powerful figure himself, the effects of spirit beast meat and spirit wine were negligible to him—he could consume as much as he wanted without consequence.

Yet Li Yao was merely a mortal. Though he had an innate ability to awaken his bitter sea, he had not cultivated and therefore could not yet control the vast vitality to open that bitter sea. Logically, he should have been overwhelmed by the sheer influx.

But upon careful observation, Yang saw no sign that Li Yao was overburdened. This was astonishing, as other disciples would have their vitality leak out through their pores once they reached their limit, unable to consume more.

Li Yao, however, was completely unaffected. His body seemed like a bottomless pit, locking the vitality firmly inside as if it were a mythical beast that only took in and never let out.

Yang pondered this, having examined Li Yao’s physique. Though he possessed excellent talent, he was not of any special constitution. How could his body possibly withstand such an amount of vitality?

Generally, the stronger one’s constitution, the more vitality their body could contain, because such individuals could open more gates of potential. Each gate required a vast amount of vitality to unlock.

Opening a gate would enhance the body in all aspects. This explained the true source of power behind divine or royal bodies.

Thus, sometimes the more resources one used in cultivation, the better it was, as it indicated greater potential. The Yao Guang Sanctuary lacked no resources and invested heavily in such individuals.

Even for saintly bodies, factions once spent millions of pounds of resources cultivating them without hesitation. The only reason they later abandoned them was due to heavenly curses preventing them from crossing the Four Extreme Chasms.

Seeing Li Yao’s body absorb vitality like a bottomless pit, Yang’s first reaction was not worry but delight. He suddenly felt he had underestimated Li Yao’s talent.

At first, he had thought Li Yao would be at best comparable to the weaker candidates for the saintly son selection. Now, it seemed he might rival the top three.

Li Yao was unaware that his efforts to empower the Heavenly Book had inadvertently raised Yang’s estimation of his talent.

In truth, when Li Yao first paused, he was already eight-tenths full. If the Heavenly Book had not been absorbing vitality, he would have been unable to continue.

Another half-quarter of an hour passed before Li Yao finally finished all the spirit beast meat and spirit wine before him and stopped.

Since he had confirmed his acceptance into the Yao Guang Sanctuary, the food and wine on the table were prepared to the sanctuary’s standards—far more lavish than even those of the elders of the Hengyang Cave Heaven.

The disciples of Hengyang Cave Heaven watched with envy, and even the more discerning elders could see Li Yao’s limitless potential. Even after joining the Yao Guang Sanctuary, he would not fade into obscurity.

Four years ago, a disciple from Hengyang entered the Yao Guang Sanctuary, but even now remained among the lowest ranks. His future potential was clear at a glance.

Li Yao, however, even to the naked eye, showed promise to one day stand at the pinnacle of the Eastern Wilderness.

Today’s protagonist was Li Yao. Having seen him eat continuously, no one disturbed him. Now, as he finished, the head of Hengyang quickly approached to speak with him.

Their conversation centered on earnest cultivation once he arrived at Yao Guang, and inviting him to visit Hengyang Cave Heaven whenever he had time, reminding him that it would always be his home.

In short, this was to build ties and leave a legacy, hoping that once Li Yao’s cultivation was complete, he might occasionally remember Hengyang and bestow some favor upon it.

Finally, the Hengyang leader did not treat Li Yao as a fool. He gifted him two hundred pounds of essence—a fortune for an organization like Hengyang Cave Heaven.

One cannot catch a wolf without baiting it. The leader was betting on Li Yao’s future growth and was the first to invest heavily.

The next day, beneath the resplendent glow of myriad golden rays, the knights of Yao Guang Sanctuary soared grandly into the skies, Li Yao among them.

To be honest, experiencing flight for the first time as a cultivator, Li Yao found everything utterly novel.

Throughout history, flight was humanity’s greatest aspiration. From ancient times to the present, all humans shared a common dream: to soar among the clouds and experience boundless freedom.

“Filled with lofty ambitions and bold thoughts, I long to ascend to the azure heavens and grasp the bright moon,” “Riding the wind, traversing ten thousand miles of sky, gazing down upon mountains and rivers.”

Countless sages had penned essays, all imagining themselves roaming the vast seas, accompanied by the gentle breeze, embracing the moon.

Li Yao stood on the war chariot as clouds and mist swirled past him. Reaching out his hand, he could almost touch the once unreachable clouds.

His heart swelled with heroic passion. This journey marked the start of his path to cultivation, and he vowed to ascend step by step to the very summit of the mortal world.

“With your talent, once you begin cultivation, you should soon reach the Life Spring Realm. Then, the divine rainbow will surge forth from within you, allowing you to freely roam the heavens and earth,” Yang said softly.

He recalled his own first flight through the heavens—equally exhilarating—riding the divine rainbow in endless aerial excursions until nearly all his divine power was spent before returning to the ground.

Conquering the sky was humanity’s instinct; no one was exempt. The ancient Northern Dipper people embodied this, and Li Yao’s yearning was even stronger.

“Thank you, Steward Yang, for your confidence. I have just entered the sanctuary and do not know how long it will be before I receive the supreme cultivation methods. For now, enjoying flight in the heavens is still premature,” Li Yao replied softly.

Divine power enveloped the war chariot, enabling flawless communication. Even the fierce, endless winds of the skies turned into gentle breezes near the chariot.

“No need to worry. You are a disciple of Hengyang Cave Heaven. Once inside the sanctuary, as long as the artifacts confirm you are not a spy from another faction, you will receive cultivation scriptures,” Yang explained to Li Yao.

Eager to understand everything, Li Yao had only just familiarized himself with Hengyang Cave Heaven. Now, as he was about to join one of the strongest forces in the Eastern Wilderness, he was utterly in the dark about the sanctuary.

Most importantly, he did not know when he would receive cultivation scriptures. The first page of the Heavenly Book was already ready for use; all he lacked was a single scripture to begin his cultivation journey.

This was the most critical matter at present.

“Heh heh,” Yang chuckled lightly before saying, “The journey is long. Yao Guang Sanctuary lies some three hundred thousand miles away. Rather than waste time, let us chat and I will answer your questions.”

He was eager to befriend Li Yao, and after yesterday’s display, his confidence in Li Yao’s future had only grown stronger. He naturally would not refuse such a small favor.