Chapter 206: Mysterious Space

I inhale, feeling clear and refreshed, my limbs and every bone warm and cozy, very comfortable, like soaking in a hot spring.

"Where is this? When was the King of Hell Hall renovated, it's so bright?" Zhang Jun mutters inwardly, instinctively reaching for his chest, the jade pendant is gone.

He struggles to sit up, checking his own condition.

Aside from a fatigue that feels like loss of strength, the severe injury previously dealt by Elder Ying, nourished by this dense pure Yang qi, has healed about seventy‑odd percent, and even the broken bones hardly hurt.

At that moment, the light at the center of the space gently gathers, gradually forming a vague human silhouette.

The figure is tall, but its face is hidden in a soft glow, indistinct, and an ancient, boundless, unfathomable aura washes over him.

"You, finally have arrived."

The silhouette speaks, its voice ethereal and distant, emotionless, yet it pierces straight to the heart, echoing in Zhang Jun's mind.

Zhang Jun feels a sudden jolt in his heart; this voice, why does it sound familiar?

He asks warily, "Which senior are you? How did I end up here? Could you be the spirit of that jade pendant… the Stabilizer?"

"Pure Yang Limitless Technique, Nine Yang Divine Needle, I created. This place, the 'Pure Yang Jade Heart', is the core of the jade pendant on your chest. I left a lingering image here, awaiting a destined person." The silhouette's voice is calm, yet it goes straight to the heart.

"Pure Yang Limitless Technique! Nine Yang Divine Needle! The founding master?"

Zhang Jun's mind "boom"-ed, his eyes widened to the point of popping.

His face is full of disbelief.

What a sky‑splitting great destiny!

He quickly gets up, brushes dust off himself, bows his head and says, "Junior Zhang Jun, I pay respects to the Grand Patriarch! Please accept my disciple's bow!"

This bow is sincere and heartfelt.

"Get up," the silhouette nods slightly, pleased with Zhang Jun's reaction, "Since you have accepted my technique, you must undergo my test."

As soon as the words finish, a massive willful pressure suddenly descends, crushing Zhang Jun's mind like a landslide and tsunami.

Within that will lies grandeur and righteousness, as well as a fierce, domineering force to slay demons and eradicate corruption.

Zhang Jun feels like a small boat tossed in a raging storm, about to capsize; his sea of consciousness churns, his head throbs as if about to split.

He clings to his mind and spirit, no matter how the pressure assaults.

Memories flash through his mind: his parents' love, Lin Xue's smiling face, his master's teachings, and a deep‑seated hatred toward those demonic heretics.

An unyielding thought rises from his heart, supporting his soul that teeters on collapse.

After an unknown amount of time, that pressure recedes like a tide, silently.

"Your mind and will are still sound, no disgrace to the words 'Pure Yang'." The silhouette's voice rises again, with a hint of approval.

"Your Pure Yang Limitless Technique has only just brushed its edge. Yang energy is too excessive, lacking harmony; when used, the fire is too intense."

"As for the Nine Yang Divine Needle, you only learned the framework, missing the essence. The nine‑needle transformations you only grasp superficially, the theory of generation and overcoming is unclear, so its use is clumsy and its power never manifests."

The silhouette says this while raising a hand and pointing far away.

A gentle yet information‑laden golden radiance shoots from his fingertip, streaking like a meteor into Zhang Jun's brow.

Zhang Jun feels a "boom" in his mind, and a gate to a new world swings open.

Countless deep insights about how the Pure Yang Limitless Technique balances yin and yang, harmonizing hardness and softness, as well as several long‑lost esoteric needle forms of the Nine Yang Divine Needle, the mutual complement and generation‑overcoming among the nine needles, flood his sea of consciousness like a revelatory torrent.

Many previous cultivation puzzles and incomprehensible nodes suddenly become crystal clear, utterly transparent.

"This is my insight into the techniques and needle methods, as well as several subsequent core teachings of the Nine Yang Needle method; I hope you cultivate earnestly, integrate them, and do not tarnish the reputation of the Pure Yang lineage."

Zhang Jun savors the vast new information in his mind, profound and boundlessly subtle, feeling great joy, and bows again: "Thank you, Grand Patriarch, for your generous bestowal! I shall redouble my effort and not disappoint the Patriarch's expectations!"

What a timely rescue—just when he was fretting how to deal with that old monster, the Grand Patriarch sent a timely rain.

He sits cross‑legged, eager to begin digesting these precious insights.

In this space filled with pure Yang qi, all external disturbances fade away, and time itself slows.

One day outside may correspond to several days here.

He fully immerses in cultivation; the pure Yang true qi in his body circulates according to his new understanding, gradually balancing hardness and softness, becoming ever more refined, and in every movement his use of the Nine Yang Divine Needle gains an extra touch of agility and unpredictable power.

Meanwhile, within the secret passage of Wan Yao Gu.

Lin Xue trudges through utter darkness, her clothes already soaked with sweat and caked in mud.

This secret passage is far more complex than she imagined, with branching paths like a maze, some areas containing simple bewildering formations and subtle poisonous gas traps.

Relying on her knowledge of formation mechanisms inherited from the Medicine Sect, along with extraordinary vigilance and keen sense of medicinal properties, she holds her breath, carefully avoiding several seemingly dead‑end traps and foul‑smelling moss.

From behind, the shouts of pursuers and the wild barking of feral dogs drift faintly, their sounds alternating between distant and near, like a death‑driving drumbeat, preventing her from pausing even for a moment.

"Zhang Jun… you must not get hurt…" Lin Xue's heart races with anxiety, tears already blurring her vision, which she stubbornly wipes away.

She dares not imagine Zhang Jun's fate facing that terrifying old man alone.

That jade pendant, though miraculous, couldn't help Zhang Jun who was too badly injured; meeting the old monster's palm head‑on would lead to unthinkable results.

Beyond worrying about Zhang Jun, a heavier stone presses on her heart.

The Heart of the Earth Vein Stabilizer, though heavily damaged, according to that old fellow's words, its core wasn't completely destroyed, and the root cause of Wan Yao Gu's disaster remains.

Shou Yi's wish remains unfulfilled.

"We must find a way, we must get out, locate reinforcements, and completely destroy that thing!" Lin Xue grits her teeth, wipes the tears and sweat from her face, her gaze in the darkness becoming resolute again.

She pulls a previously refined antidote pill from her bosom, places it in her mouth, then takes out a small packet of stimulant powder, sniffs it, and forces herself to stay alert.

While Zhang Jun is immersed in the mysterious space, his comprehension of the techniques surges, his inner true qi roils, on the verge of reaching a brand‑new realm, and as he vaguely senses the Pure Yang Limitless Technique about to break through to the next level, the entire white‑misty space suddenly shakes violently without warning!

The surrounding pure Yang qi erupts instantly, boiling up to fill the heavens.

The once‑stable walls of the space crack with fine fissures, like porcelain about to shatter.

"Damn! What's happening?" Zhang Jun's mind jolts, forcibly snapping out of deep cultivation.

The ferocious, unparalleled repulsive force suddenly thrusts him outward; Zhang Jun feels a dizzying spin of heaven and earth, his soul ripped violently from a warm shell, battered harshly, then carelessly shoved back, his organs seemingly shifted, causing intense pain.

Whether only a fleeting instant or several hours, his chaotic consciousness gradually clears.

"Cough, cough!" Zhang Jun hacks a few harsh coughs, his chest burning, a familiar damp, cold, earthy stench mingling with a faint herbal fragrance flooding his nostrils. He struggles to lift his heavy eyelids; dim light reveals jagged rock walls, blurry.

"This... this is..." Zhang Jun shook his head, still feeling a bit dazed, forced himself to sit up, looked around, and his heart stirred slightly. This place was actually the hidden cave where he and Lin Xue had previously discovered the inscriptions left by True Person Shouyi.