[A:N: I managed to finish this one today. Happy reading! Next Chapter: City of Glory!]
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A week passed in the accelerated rhythm of the Spiritual Ancestral World.
For Long Chen, the cave on the mountainside had become a refuge, a temporary home. He sat in a lotus position on the cold stone floor, his body emitting a soft silver aura.
In his lap, two white balls of fur, now visibly larger and sturdier, were engaged in a playful battle. Xiao Xing, the male, was the embodiment of boldness. With feigned ferocity, he climbed Long Chen's arm as if it were a mountain, nibbling at his fingers with milk teeth that barely tickled.
His tiny growls were more adorable than threatening.
Xiao Ling, the female, had a more delicate and contemplative nature. She preferred to curl up in the warmth of his lap, her intelligent eyes watching her brother with an expression of amused tolerance before letting out a yawn and snuggling deeper.
A few meters away, Xiao Xue, the fox-mother, watched the scene with maternal calm, her blue eyes filled with serene intelligence.
It was then that the peaceful atmosphere was broken.
Long Chen, who was holding tightly in his right hand the demon core of the Flame Dragon—a sphere pulsing with scorching power—suddenly saw it disintegrate without warning, turning into a torrent of liquid light that surged into his palm and up his arm, diving directly into his Soul Realm.
In the next instant, a flaming and tyrannical aura erupted from his body. His soul energy, once stable like a tranquil lake, turned into a stormy sea. Waves of raw power crashed against the walls of his consciousness.
Inside his mind, he entered a fierce battle. The dragon's soul fragment was stubborn, an embodiment of fury and raw power. It roared and thrashed against Long Chen's soul, refusing to be subdued.
The mental struggle was intense.
Long Chen felt the pressure on his consciousness, but just as he was about to dominate the beast's will, the dragon's soul fragment did the unthinkable: it self-destructed.
A wave of chaotic and violent energy exploded within Long Chen's Soul Realm. The pain was immediate and sharp. A trickle of blood escaped his lips and he began to tremble violently, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the cave floor.
"Hrrggh!"
Xiao Xue rose in an instant, a low, worried growl rumbling in her chest. She crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, her massive snout nudging his shoulder with surprising gentleness.
Long Chen opened his eyes, feeling his breath stabilize, and managed to force a smile.
He then reached out and stroked her head and soft ears, feeling the comforting warmth of her fur.
"It's... alright," he murmured, his voice a little weak.
Thankfully, his aura stabilized moments later. He felt the newly acquired power solidify within him. With the help of that core, his cultivation had finally advanced to the Three-Star Silver Rank. But the joy was accompanied by a disappointing realization.
'Advancing is getting harder and harder,' he thought. 'Even with cores being of higher levels than the Three-Star Silver Rank, my cultivation technique can no longer absorb all the energy. Too much is being wasted.' He had also gained no new ability from that core—only a painful and unimpressive breakthrough.
The following days unfolded in a pattern. Long Chen stopped actively hunting; instead, he used the demon beasts that occasionally wandered near the cave as training partners.
Flashback
A Black Armored Boar, a Five-Star Silver Rank beast, charged at him, its body a mass of muscle and bone plates.
Long Chen didn't retreat.
His purple eyes glowed, and the boar stumbled as the gravity around it intensified. Using the Shadow Steps, Long Chen became a ghost, appearing beside the beast and striking with a new bone staff he had fashioned from the Flame Dragon.
The fight was a test of endurance and tactics. He then used the Soul-Paralyzing Eye to create openings, his movements flowing with deadly precision between evasion and attack. In the end, he emerged only slightly injured and a bit exhausted, but victorious.
But the next time was different.
A Two-Star Gold Rank Griffin ambushed him out of nowhere. The difference in power was obvious. The griffin's attacks were swift, and its sonic cries disoriented him.
Long Chen fought bravely, but was quickly overwhelmed. His gravity domain had little effect on the griffin, and their speed was not so far apart. He remained at a disadvantage the entire fight.
Just as one of the claws was about to pierce his chest, a white shadow descended from the sky.
"Swooosh!~"
Xiao Xue, with a speed that defied logic, intercepted the griffin. The battle that followed was completely one-sided and ended within seconds, with Xiao Xue standing over the corpse of her enemy, staring at Long Chen with a look that was a clear display of the gap in strength between them.
In the end, of course, she was the one who took the griffin's core. Long Chen had no say in the matter.
Time continued to pass.
The cores piled up in Long Chen's spatial ring, but he absorbed them far less frequently, disappointed by the lack of new abilities. Even so, his strength continued to grow, fed by constant battles and the pure energy of that world.
One day, he suddenly began having glimpses of Glory City, more precisely, of his own room.
Sometimes, the scent of stone and sulfur from the cave was replaced by the familiar smell of his room. Occasionally, he thought he heard his mother's voice calling him for something, and he quickly understood that this might be because his time in that world was coming to an end.
'When I leave this place, how long will it take to find it again?' he wondered, looking out at the vast mountainous landscape. The Spiritual Ancestral World was immense. Finding that specific cave, that family of foxes, could be impossible.
The thought filled him with unexpected melancholy. He hadn't been with them for long, but had formed a strong bond with them. So the idea of parting like this... left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't ready to leave... unfortunately, not everything could go the way he wanted.
Near the end of his time in that world, his strength had reached the peak of the Five-Star Silver Rank. It was then that he felt the familiar sensation of his consciousness fading, the connection to that world weakening.
"So the time has finally come. Thirty days have passed." Long Chen sighed.
He stood up, sadness visible on his face. Xiao Xing and Xiao Ling, now the size of medium dogs, whimpered and rubbed anxiously against his legs, their bodies tense as if they sensed his imminent departure.
He knelt down and hugged the two cubs tightly, burying his face in their soft, warm fur. "You have to take care of yourselves, okay? Grow strong and powerful. I want to look at you with pride when we meet again." He smiled.
Then, he turned to Xiao Xue. She was quiet, her blue eyes reflecting a silent understanding and a deep reluctance to let him go that hit him harder than any words.
"Kyuuuun..." Her soft whimper was the saddest sound he had ever heard.
Long Chen tried to keep a smile, comforting her. "I have to go," he said, voice thick with emotion. "But I'll find you again. I promise." He looked directly into her eyes, pouring all his conviction into those words. "I don't know how, or when, but I'll definitely search for you someday."
As if she understood, Xiao Xue stepped forward and licked Long Chen's face, a final goodbye—warm and rough.
The pulling sensation grew stronger, and the mountain world began to dissolve into light.
"See you, Xiao Xue!"
His last glimpse was of Xiao Xue's blue eyes, a silent promise passing between them. Then, darkness swallowed him.