Chapter 16: The Nine Luminaries Mysterious Abyss Ring

Chu Huaizhou felt his flawless Golden Core, shattered and reformed, and his mind short-circuited.
So… he’d used an ultra-rare elixir for a one-second Tribulation Crossing experience card?
Wait, no—checking again, his cultivation had stabilized at late Golden Core. Not a total loss…
Who was he kidding? This was a massive loss!

The Nine-Revolving Rosy Essence Dew was practically an eighth-grade elixir.
In the current Tianxing Continent, with no Tribulation Crossing alchemists, eighth-grade was the pinnacle.
If one bottle only boosted him from early to late Golden Core, restoring to Tribulation Crossing would require an absurd amount.
Even slaughtering every Body Integration beast for elixirs wouldn’t suffice.
Scouring the world for rare medicines? Feasible short-term, but long-term, it’d draw suspicion from other sects.
That’d be a mess to handle.

Sigh, forget it.
He hadn’t expected the elixir to fix his bizarre condition anyway.
Qingqiu had said his injuries weren’t from the tribulation. Now, it seemed someone was plotting something in the shadows.
He’d take it one step at a time.

Bai Li circled him, marveling.
“So weird! That immense Dao aura was almost like before. I thought you’d recovered, human. Why’d it turn out like this, meow?”

Chu Huaizhou shrugged. “No clue, but I’m sure my amnesia and cultivation regression aren’t tied to the tribulation.”

Bai Li nodded, then leapt gracefully into his lap, nuzzling him.
“Don’t be sad, human. As they say, when the cart reaches the mountain, a path appears. Rest for now, meow.”
“At least you jumped from early to late Golden Core, so the dew wasn’t totally wasted, meow.”

He nodded. After that rollercoaster of cultivation surges, he felt drained, like his body had been hollowed out.
Exhausted, he decided sleep was the answer when in doubt.
As for asking sect elders about the Great Vehicle demon, that could wait until tomorrow. No rush.
With that thought, he slumped in the chair, dozing off in moments.

Seeing him asleep, Bai Li worried his lowered cultivation might make him catch a cold on the chilly Heavenly Sword Peak.
She thoughtfully enlarged her nine tails, draping them over him like a blanket.
Then she quietly pondered how to help him recover his memories and strength.

The Next Morning

“Wake up! Human, wake up, meow!”
Chu Huaizhou felt something tapping his stomach and opened his sleepy eyes.
Sure enough, it was Bai Li, her face anxious, her four paws kneading his belly like a cat.
“Listen, meow! If you use the treasures in your storage ring, you’ll definitely recover some strength, meow! Try it, meow!”

Chu Huaizhou blinked, then jolted awake, shocked.
Right! His storage ring!
In this world, only cultivators skilled in advanced spatial techniques could craft storage rings.
In his memories, he hadn’t reached that level, so he’d completely forgotten about it.
If Bai Li hadn’t mentioned it, his jumbled mind wouldn’t have thought of it anytime soon.
His hope of recovering via elixirs had dimmed yesterday, but her words reignited it.

“Uh, Bai Li, do you know what’s in my storage ring?”

She propped a paw under her chin, thinking hard, then gave a useful answer.
“Hm, I don’t remember exactly, but there’s definitely tons of healing pills and all sorts of stuff, meow.”
“After all, you always stashed a copy of everything in your ring, meow.”

Lao Zhou—no, pre-amnesia me, you did great!
In high spirits, Chu Huaizhou vigorously ruffled Bai Li’s back fur, postponing his plan to scold her for her improper thoughts.
“Bai Li, are you actually a genius?!”

Her ears twitched, and her nine tails swayed unconsciously.
“Hmph, you only now realize, human? I’ve always been super smart, meow!”
She raised a paw, sending a pink ribbon of spiritual power to open a cabinet, retrieving the storage ring inside.

The ring was black-gold, its surface shimmering with dark golden star sand, faintly revealing flowing starry patterns.
Black and white qi swirled around it, clearly no ordinary item.
The Nine Luminaries Mysterious Abyss Ring!

Seeing it, Chu Huaizhou’s breath caught, then quickened.
No way—how powerful was he before amnesia to own this?!

Meanwhile, at the Heavenly Origin Sword Sect’s Gate

As the top sect in Tianxing Continent and the premier swordsmanship holy land, the Heavenly Origin Sword Sect drew countless cultivators daily.
Yet many failed to ascend the thousand-zhang white jade staircase before the gate, known as the “Ascension Ladder.”
With 9,999 steps, each etched with ancient sword runes, it felt like treading on blades. Only those with resolute hearts could advance.

Today, the base of the Ascension Ladder was packed with countless young talents.
Why? It was the Heavenly Origin Sword Sect’s once-in-thirty-years recruitment ceremony, “Sword Knocks at Heaven’s Origin”!
Tens of thousands of young prodigies from across the land gathered, a sea of black stretching into the distance.
Yet only a thousand would join the sect.

There were noble scions in spirit beast carriages, canopies blotting the sky, entourages in tow.
Lone geniuses from humble origins carried iron swords, their eyes blazing.
Even true disciples from other sects stood among them, their auras restrained but exuding sharp intent.

Clang—!!!
A resonant bell tolled from the peak, shaking the surroundings.
Clouds churned above, and a dazzling sword light shot through the sky, forming a white-robed elder standing in the void, overlooking all.
With a wave of his sleeve, his voice boomed:
“Sword Knocks at Heaven’s Origin—Begin!”

The gate opened, countless sword lights soaring like a reversed starry river, illuminating the heavens!
The young talents surged up the ladder, each displaying their skills, creating a lively spectacle.
As expected of those bold enough to challenge the ceremony, they climbed like ants, dense and determined.

Among them, one figure stood out.
A youth with a high ponytail, dressed in plain white, carried a sheathless iron sword, its surface worn but radiating unyielding sharpness.
If Chu Huaizhou saw him, he’d gasp.
This was Ye Feng, the player-controlled protagonist from the game Black Abyss!
But a closer look revealed… his pecs were oddly prominent.