Chapter 39: The Mysterious Blessed Land
Memories of his past life not only endowed Yu Qiye with the ability to foresee events before they unfolded, but also granted him a certain level of understanding regarding various powers.
Thinking about it, this was quite understandable.
His past life had been an era of unrestrained imagination and boundless ideas.
Countless anime and novels described various abilities so vividly that they seemed utterly real.
Although the Macaque King's "Elusive" ability was bizarre and eerie, once Yu Qiye associated it with the concept of "grotto-heavens"—which is to say, "space"—prevalent in this world, a vague hypothesis began to form in his mind.
It was very likely that the Macaque King slipped into a certain grotto-heaven in the blink of an eye, meaning he stepped into another dimension of space.
This grotto-heaven partially overlapped with reality.
By shifting his position within the grotto-heaven, the Macaque King achieved the equivalent of covering a vast distance in reality.
This explained why the Macaque King was so elusive.
Of course, this was merely a hypothesis on Yu Qiye's part.
The specifics would have to be verified through the subsequent battle.
...
The battle continued.
Bizarre and matchless as the Macaque King might be, Yu Qiye did not seem inferior in the slightest.
Especially since Yu Qiye, aided by his Blood-Moon Golden Eyes, was always able to lock onto the Macaque King's location.
"I have never felt so aggrieved in all my life."
Just as the Macaque King poked his head out from a ripple in space, he was greeted by a barrage of razor-sharp black feathers shooting toward him.
As for engaging in direct combat...
Bang, bang, bang...
Clash after clash rang out, claw-light and staff-shadows endlessly intertwining, shaking the entire firmament.
Yet Yu Qiye acted as if he had taken some divine stimulant, fighting with increasing ferocity.
Mighty as the Macaque King was, the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
In particular, Yu Qiye's physical body and raw strength were terrifyingly formidable.
In a purely physical showdown, the Macaque King's relatively smaller frame truly struggled to hold its ground.
"Listen, brother, I don't harbor a mortal grudge against you, do I?"
The Macaque King desperately wanted to blurt this out, but considering they were still in the middle of a fierce battle, he held his tongue.
Even so, he simply could not comprehend it.
Why on earth was Yu Qiye fighting with such desperate, life-or-death intensity over a mere sparring match?
What he did not know, however, was that while he viewed this as a simple friendly spar, Yu Qiye saw it as a golden trait waiting to be reaped.
Lately, his luck had been rather poor.
He had successively harvested several blue traits, and even a white one.
Thinking about it, it was high time his luck turned around so he could bag a top-tier trait.
Besides, the Macaque King possessed two golden traits.
The probability of plundering a golden trait was exceptionally high.
Therefore...
"Screech..."
A sudden, piercing shriek burst forth like a thunderclap, shaking the vast skies and causing the Macaque King's expression to shift drastically.
"Not good!"
With a cry of alarm, the Macaque King's body and soul trembled violently.
By the time he recovered his wits, he already felt a chilling sensation graze the back of his neck.
It was the edge of a blade.
...
The willow-leaf flying knife spun continuously, pointing straight at the Macaque King's neck.
And this was just during a spar.
Had this been a life-or-death struggle, that willow-leaf flying knife would likely have accelerated in an instant...
"I concede."
Seeing this, the Macaque King decisively admitted defeat.
He genuinely could not win.
This Sky-Crow King was far more terrifying than he had ever imagined.
"Exceptionally proficient in combat, and utterly fierce to the extreme."
Reflecting on his spar with the Sky-Crow King, the Macaque King made up his mind never to make an enemy of this fellow.
This guy was undoubtedly a ruthless entity.
"Well-fought."
Yu Qiye recalled the willow-leaf flying knife, a trace of a smile appearing on his face.
He smiled.
A smile born from the depths of his heart.
It was as natural and pure as the smile of a carefree youth next door.
At that moment, the Macaque King could not help but wonder whether this fellow was truly the same Sky-Crow King he had just been sparring with.
Yet, unbeknownst to him, a flash of golden radiance had just materialized before Yu Qiye's eyes.
That golden light was resplendent and dazzling, enough to accelerate anyone's heartbeat.
[Ding! You have defeated the Macaque King. Randomly plundering the trait: Elusive (Gold). Do you wish to fuse?]
[Elusive (Gold)—Allows you to forge a miniature grotto-heaven within your body. This grotto-heaven can store items, and you can also slip into it to evade damage, though it can only be maintained for a few breaths of time.]
Gold.
Gold once again.
And it was the Macaque King's greatest reliance.
"Just as I surmised, the elusive ability is indeed related to space."
Space was a terrifyingly formidable power.
However, in this world, space was exceedingly solid.
Ordinary powerhouses found it exceptionally difficult to tear space apart, let alone carve out a spatial domain and stabilize it into a grotto-heaven.
Yet now, the Macaque King's trait enabled Yu Qiye, even at the True Immortal realm, to carve out a miniature grotto-heaven and wield its power.
"With such an ability, no wonder you are the most mysterious entity among the Seven Great Sages."
Sighing inwardly, Yu Qiye did not choose to fuse with it immediately.
After all, this was a golden trait.
The commotion caused by the fusion would likely be substantial.
It was not a suitable place for fusion.
...
Following the conclusion of the brief sparring match, the Macaque King looked at Yu Qiye in a completely different light.
His gaze was extremely complex.
There was respect, apprehension, and above all, bewilderment.
Though they had exchanged blows for quite some time, until now, he still could not discern where the Sky-Crow King had learned his martial arts.
No Daoist secret techniques were used; no Buddhist esoteric arts were employed.
It relied purely on physical prowess and innate talent.
"Could it be that he is truly self-taught?"
The Macaque King found it somewhat hard to believe.
Time flowed like a white horse passing a crevice, and in the blink of an eye, a short half-day had elapsed.
The Macaque King and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven were still drinking and making merry.
Both belonged to the simian race.
Furthermore, both were demon kings.
They had endless topics of conversation.
As for Yu Qiye, he found an excuse and quietly left the Macaque King's dwelling.
He intended to fuse his new trait—Elusive.
Not long after, atop the summit of a towering mountain, Yu Qiye sat cross-legged upon a boulder.
"Let the fusion begin."
Yu Qiye appeared quite calm.
Right at that moment,
Boom!
His entire body trembled violently.
An inexplicable faint light bloomed deep within his flesh and blood.
No,
That was not merely a faint light.
It looked more like a glowing vortex.
It expanded from nothingness, growing continuously.
In just a short moment, it had already reached the size of a fist.
"Rumble, rumble..."
Vaguely, Yu Qiye even heard an inexplicable roaring sound.
"Is this the embryonic form of a grotto-heaven?"
Yu Qiye felt a sense of astonishment.
This embryonic grotto-heaven was still expanding.
It resembled a miniature black hole, emitting a faint suction force.
With every rotation, with every absorption,
it would expand by a fraction.
However, this expansion was invisible to the naked eye.
It seemed to exist on the reverse side of the world.
It existed on the other side of space.
"This is a growing grotto-heaven, one that can absorb my demonic power and other energies to grow continuously."
Yu Qiye perceived the crucial point.
His current strength was not considered formidable.
At most, he could allow this grotto-heaven to expand to a size of a hundred or a thousand zhang.
What if he advanced further in the future?
Would he be able to let this grotto-heaven expand dozens or even hundreds of times over?
When that time came, wouldn't this grotto-heaven become a small world of its own?
At this thought, Yu Qiye was utterly shocked.
Carving out a small world—that was a supreme divine power possessed only by heaven-defying almighty beings.
And he was actually able to touch upon it.
This...
Well, for now at least.
"Hoo..."
Exhaling a long breath to suppress the shock in his heart, Yu Qiye drew his attention back to the miniature grotto-heaven.
At present, the miniature grotto-heaven was illusory and hazy.
It did not exist in reality, yet it intertwined with reality.
Possessing an indescribable, bizarre nature.