Chapter 557: Receiving Disciples

Upon reaching the Myriad-Horn Galaxy, Meng Chuan's perception grew clearer.

"Two causal links originate from here: one is closer to me, and the other is in Pang Ming World," Meng Chuan thought, having fully pinpointed the locations of the two cultivators linked to him by causality. Pang Ming World, being a living world, was inaccessible to him. Meng Chuan walked through the River of Spacetime, unhesitatingly heading for the closer location. Within roughly fifteen minutes, he arrived at his destination. No longer resisting the River of Spacetime's repulsion, he returned to normal void space.

"Hm?"In a dark, extra-territorial void, Meng Chuan instantly spotted a faint solar star in the distance. The light from lunar stars was completely obscured, though other stars were visible around them. "It's over there," Meng Chuan murmured, his speed skyrocketing, easily reaching near-light speed. The flow of time around him accelerated a hundredfold. Traveling in this state was effortless. To fully achieve light speed, transcend time's constraints, and maintain temporal stasis would impose too great a burden on himself. Even traveling with ease, his speed was terrifying; a single flash covered tens of millions of miles. In just a few dozen breaths, he reached the lunar star's location.

"A lunar star," Meng Chuan said, a smile appearing on his face as he gazed at the colossal lunar star before him. The cultivator linked to him by causality was located on this lunar star. Unlike the scorching and violent solar stars, lunar stars were much more reserved and gentle. Although their deepest cores were no less formidable than solar stars, their surfaces posed little danger, making them ideal for cultivators to build their cave dwellings. Cultivators knew that many ancient cave dwellings and ruins were found on lunar stars. However, in a single galaxy, there were billions of lunar stars! Finding an ancient cave dwelling among them was truly like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Watch out!""Get away!""Move!"Within a cave dwelling on this lunar star, enveloped by a formation, a team of cultivators was frantically dodging. Whizz, whizz, whizz! Streams of blade-like light swept wildly across the area. A grey-robed female Venerable, who was a step too slow, was instantly shredded to dust. The other seven Venerables used various techniques, narrowly avoiding the onslaught of blade-like energy.

"Venerable Kui," a red-haired elder cried out in agony upon seeing the grey-robed woman turn to dust. Their companions continued to cautiously survey the surroundings. Only after the blade-like lights subsided and calmness returned did they finally sigh in relief.

"Brother Zhang, since we came to explore this cave dwelling, we all prepared for death. Please, restrain your grief," said the brawny leader with two curved horns. With a gesture, he swept up the treasures left behind by the deceased grey-robed Venerable and brought them to the red-haired elder. The red-haired elder and the grey-robed Venerable had been a married couple, and none of their companions would attempt to seize Venerable Kui's belongings.

The red-haired elder's eyes were red, and he nodded slightly. "I understand. If this cave dwelling truly holds the treasures described in the map, then it's already a stroke of luck for us. To find it but lack the ability to obtain its treasures, to die inside—that can only be blamed on our insufficient strength." The other companions' emotions were also complex.

"Twelve of us united to challenge this, and now only seven remain," the curved-horned leader said, sweeping his gaze around. "We're getting closer to the core of the dwelling. Everyone, be careful.""Either we rise to glory, or we die here.""We must seize this opportunity."These cultivators were all resolute. Venerables were the lowest-tier cultivators in the vast outer realms. They had no 'true bodies' back in their homeworlds; the body they used for their ventures in the outer realms was their only one. If they died, they died completely. They were weak, and most of them originated from 'low-tier worlds,' often being the sole Venerable from their homeworld. Did they wish to follow powerful cultivators? The powerful looked down on them. Did they want to find ancient ruins or cave dwellings? The outer realms were vast; where would they even begin to look? This exploration team was already quite lucky to have found a cave dwelling. But even after discovering an ancient dwelling, many Venerable explorers often died inside. Only those strong enough or fortunate enough could fully acquire the treasures of such a place.

"I, Gao Fang, was invincible in my generation, unifying the lands, establishing a dynasty, and even mastering the supreme art passed down by Patriarch Pang Ming," thought a tall, robust man among the seven cultivators, who was cautiously walking with a long spear in hand. "Yet, upon arriving in the outer realms, I am merely one of the lowest-tier cultivators—a Venerable. My homeworld is also a low-tier world."

"As a Venerable, from Senior Pang Ming's treasure, I could at most obtain one Three-Tribulation Realm secret treasure." It was only when Gao Fang reached the outer realms that he truly felt the vastness of the world. Senior Pang Ming, a Five-Tribulation Realm grandmaster, had indeed left behind treasures. However, each generation of Venerables from their homeworld could at most acquire twenty units of outer-realm primal crystals. After all, Senior Pang Ming didn't leave much for his homeworld, only a total of just over twenty thousand units, some of which were prepared for Emperor-level or Tribulation Realm cultivators. Naturally, less was set aside for Venerables.

Twenty units of outer-realm primal crystals? While seemingly a considerable amount for a Venerable, it still meant poverty. From Senior Pang Ming's treasure, Gao Fang primarily gained this long spear, a Three-Tribulation Realm spear perfectly suited to his path. With this long spear and his mastered supreme art, Gao Fang, though considered a 'Venerable' at the bottom tier of the outer realms, possessed strength equivalent to the threshold of an Emperor-level cultivator. At least within this team, he ranked among the top three.

"I arrived in the outer realms with grand ambitions, but after struggling for three hundred years, my greatest resource remains what Senior Pang Ming bestowed. And this cave dwelling's treasure... this is my opportunity. I must seize it," Gao Fang mused. He had struggled for too long; he would cling tightly to any glimmer of hope, even if it meant wagering his life.

The exploration team continued their advance. They encountered two more perilous situations, which were indeed dangerous, but no one died.

"We've reached the core area of the cave dwelling; the surrounding formations are clearly much more intricate," a green-haired woman remarked. She carefully observed the formations, being the most skilled in this art within the team.

"What should we do next?" the curved-horned brawny man asked. The other companions, including Gao Fang, all looked at the green-haired woman. The green-haired woman meticulously investigated. After a moment of probing, she delicately moved her fingers, sending strands of energy to permeate the formation. Even as she painstakingly explored, she still inadvertently touched a hidden node within the formation. After all, for a Venerable, probing a Tribulation Realm cave dwelling's formation was ultimately too difficult. Meng Chuan himself had only managed to break through the cave dwelling's formation relying on his seventh-level Primordial Spirit and the restorative power of the 'Primordial Spirit Star' legacy.

"Oh no!" The green-haired woman's face paled.

Boom! The formation erupted, and a colossal hand materialized in the sky, completely engulfing the area. The seven cultivators in the team looked up in terror at the giant hand.

"No, the surrounding void is sealed!""We can't escape!""We'll be utterly crushed into paste!"Their companions, ignoring any urge to blame the green-haired woman, desperately tried to break out of the area. Gao Fang also wielded his long spear, thrusting it forcefully forward. However, the void restraint was like a cage, completely trapping the intruders. The combined strength of these Venerables was insufficient to break through the sealed void, and they watched helplessly as the colossal hand descended.

"We won't even become paste; we'll probably turn to dust, leaving nothing behind," someone muttered."It's over.""So be it," Gao Fang said, dropping his spear and calmly facing his inevitable end—death within this ancient cave dwelling.

It was at this moment.

Rumble! A vast, scroll-like world descended, completely engulfing the cave dwelling. The ancient ruins seemed to become merely a tiny part of this immense scroll world. The colossal hand, formed by the activated formation's power, instantly shattered into pieces. At the center of this scroll world, a white-haired man appeared, standing mid-air and gazing down. He had arrived roughly fifteen minutes earlier and observed Gao Fang for a while, wanting to gauge his prospective disciple's character. Only when Gao Fang and his companions faced certain doom did he intervene.

"Huh?" Gao Fang and the other seven cultivators stared in astonishment at the scene. Witnessing the descent of the boundless world and the white-haired man in the sky, they felt an instinctive fear from his mere presence, even though he simply stood there. This was the most terrifying powerhouse they had ever encountered in their lives.

Boom! The entire cave dwelling ruins lifted from the ground and rapidly shrunk, ultimately settling into the palm of the white-haired man.

"It should be the cave dwelling of a Three-Tribulation Realm or perhaps a Four-Tribulation Realm grandmaster," Meng Chuan speculated, then put it away.

"Thank you, Senior!""Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives!"The seven cultivators prostrated themselves, showing immense respect and even a hint of eagerness. To be able to follow such a Tribulation Realm grandmaster, even as a mere errand runner, would be an immense stroke of fortune.

Meng Chuan's gaze, however, rested on Gao Fang. Gao Fang felt the powerful Senior's gaze and became nervous yet excited.

Whoosh! Gao Fang felt the scenery around him shift. He now stood on a vast, boundless grassland, with the white-haired man standing before him. In this world, there were only Meng Chuan and Gao Fang. Gao Fang stared in astonishment. Where was this place?

"What is your name?" Meng Chuan asked with a smile.

"Junior Gao Fang," Gao Fang immediately replied, bowing respectfully.

"You are from Pang Ming World, correct?" Meng Chuan inquired.

Gao Fang was startled. He had received strict orders that for two hundred thousand years after Patriarch Pang Ming's death, Venerables from Pang Ming World were to conceal their identities when outside.

"Does Senior have a grievance with my Patriarch?" Gao Fang's heart trembled slightly. Patriarch Pang Ming had a formidable enemy, which was why they needed to hide their identities. Now that he had been caught, and the other party directly asked about 'Pang Ming World,' it was clear they were confident.

"No," Meng Chuan shook his head. "I owe your Patriarch a favor, which is why I have specifically come to take you as my disciple."

"Take me as your disciple?" Gao Fang's mind buzzed. He had struggled in the outer realms for three hundred years. Was he, Gao Fang, finally about to soar to greatness?