The old caretaker could only lead the young woman away from that place. Once outside, she said, "Keep watching for me. If you see that person come out, let me know right away."
"Yes, Miss, I understand," the old man replied.
The young woman handed the Pass Token back to the caretaker, then left on her own.
Watching her leave, the old man muttered, "He probably died in there." Then he went back to lying down.
Occasionally, people would exit the Underpalace, while others entered to challenge its trials. Yet, no matter how many came and went, Evan Yang’s silhouette never appeared. The formation’s isolation made it impossible to know his fate, heightening the suspense for those waiting outside.
At this moment, Evan Yang had already cleared the Sixth Floor of the Demon-Fiend Underpalace. The pressure was overwhelming—his replica, generated by the Underpalace's formation, constantly suppressed him, forcing him to confront his own limits. Here, the trial wasn't just a battle, but a full test of his cultivation, endurance, and tactical skill.
On the Fifth Floor, Evan had made some progress—his cultivation had advanced to Divine Cauldron Great Perfection, so he managed to defeat his replica at the last moment.
But now, his opponent was a freshly generated replica, meaning he was facing a sixfold Divine Cauldron Great Perfection version of himself.
"Just broke through a realm, and wanting to advance again is really tough," Evan muttered, wrestling with his replica.
In the Demon-Fiend Underpalace, cultivators face only two outcomes: either defeat your opponent, or be defeated yourself. There is no alternative—no escape, no surrender. The Underpalace’s formation is absolute. Most cultivators, sensing they lack the strength to advance, choose to remain rather than risk death, making every floor a crucible for growth or demise.
Evan Yang only had 43,000 contribution points left. To directly enter the Fifth Floor would require 50,000, so instead of leaving, he kept pushing forward to the Sixth Floor.
The Sixth Floor was even scarier than expected. Several times, Evan had to channel soul power into the Fly‑Fire Boots just to keep up with his replica.
"I refuse to believe I can’t beat you!" Evan kept fighting, not even sure how many days he’d battled his replica.
When the replica’s aura started to fade, Evan realized it didn’t have the Heaven‑Cold Seed to rapidly restore spiritual power, nor the Spirit‑Draining Box. He knew he could eventually win if he just kept going.
But Evan chose to pause, letting his opponent recover its spiritual power before resuming the fight.
He knew this was the perfect place to temper himself—only by doing this could he improve faster. If he went straight to the Seventh Floor, the pressure would be even greater.
So Evan continued his relentless training here, year after year, using the replica as a sparring partner to hone every aspect of his cultivation and technique.
Until one day, sensing a breakthrough, Evan finally finished off his replica while it was weak.
Then he saw the two portals appear again.
"I won’t leave yet. Let’s see if I can break through." Evan found a secluded spot within the Underpalace, then entered the Sky-Piercing Tower—a world within his soul—to prepare for deep cultivation. The tower’s accelerated time would allow him to temper his realm far faster than outside.
The two portals outside kept glowing, never disappearing.
Inside the Sky-Piercing Tower, Evan closed his eyes and entered deep cultivation. Over a hundred years passed in the tower’s accelerated time, while only a little more than two years elapsed outside. When he finally opened his eyes, he discovered that his protective Divine Cauldron had vanished, replaced by a flower spinning above his head. Three distinct attributes—ice, fire, and a faint radiance—flowed through the petals, each representing a core element of his foundation. Throughout this century-long retreat, Eldon and Soul-Reaping Water stood silent guard, not daring to disturb him until the flower fully formed.
"A three‑colored flower?" Evan opened his eyes and saw his flower was actually three colors: one white like ice and snow, one flame‑red, and one giving off a faint radiance that blended into a third hue.
Evan realized he had broken through the Divine Cauldron Realm and entered the Three‑Bloom Convergence Realm.
The so-called Three-Bloom Convergence Realm is a unique stage in cultivation. At each minor breakthrough, a new flower—an illusory energy construct—appears above the cultivator’s head, its bud wrapping and protecting the soul. When a cultivator reaches Great Perfection, the three separate blooms fuse into a single, much larger flower, symbolizing the convergence of all their attributes and soul power.
These flowers are not physical, but manifestations of energy. Each bud envelops the cultivator’s soul, granting enhanced survivability and power. The formation of these blooms marks the cultivator’s progress through the realm, and their energy is both protective and transformative.
At this stage, Evan’s soul rested within the bud of a single flower. In later phases of the Three-Bloom Convergence Realm, three flowers will appear, and his soul will simultaneously reside within all three buds. This grants incredible resilience—even if two 'flower cauldrons' are destroyed in battle, the third can still safeguard his core essence, making him far harder to kill.
But that’s for the future. Now that he had reached Three‑Bloom Convergence, his divine sense and overall strength had grown considerably.
"Phew, Three‑Bloom Convergence." Evan smiled—he’d finally advanced again.
Now, Evan had stepped out of the tower and looked at the two tunnels ahead—one leading outside, one to the Seventh Floor.
"Sevenfold? That sounds tough. But with the Fly-Fire Boots and the evolved soul power from my breakthrough, I can stack up to fourfold speed, and now my soul boost gives me a full twofold multiplier. In a pinch, I can regulate it to match sevenfold exactly," Evan calculated, carefully evaluating his options for survival.
The Fly‑Fire Boots could reach up to fourfold. Normally, with soul power, he could stack up to sixfold. But after breaking through to Three‑Bloom Convergence, his soul power had changed—it now gave a twofold boost.
After reassessing his true abilities, Evan decisively chose the Seventh Floor.
On the Seventh Floor, Evan again faced a replica with seven times his strength. Even with just the Fly‑Fire Boots, he couldn’t match it, so he carefully controlled his soul power.
He adjusted his soul power so the Fly‑Fire Boots stacked exactly to sevenfold, matching his opponent, then stopped there.
"Now I’m sevenfold, and you’re sevenfold!" Evan laughed.
The replica laughed too. "Bring it on."
So the two started fighting again. This time, the replica even used a flower.
But its flower was pitch black.
"Why is it black?" Evan wondered aloud, recognizing that the flower’s color reflected the baleful fiendish energy unique to the Demon-Fiend Underpalace.
The flower spewed out a black gas. Evan saw it and laughed, "More baleful qi—this Demon‑Fiend Underpalace really does produce replicas with that nature."
Seeing it was baleful qi, Evan wasn’t afraid at all. He opened his own flower, and the green aura around it blocked the incoming baleful qi.
"That won’t work on me," Evan laughed.
The replica smiled. "Then try this."
With that, the replica’s black flower changed color—a fiery red flower appeared. Evan instantly recognized it as fire attribute, and a burst of flame shot out from the flower.
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The temperature of that fire couldn’t compare to Evan’s Sacred Flame. Evan smiled, "Take this!" He activated the ice‑fire petal of his flower, sending out a cold wave that snuffed out the replica’s fire instantly.
The replica was shocked, so it tried a few more times—switching from black to red, then to blue water attribute. But the result was the same: Evan’s Sacred Flame evaporated the water, leaving only a mist between them.
When the mist cleared, the replica put away its flower and continued battling Evan.
"This replica really is amazing—it can wield so many attribute changes," Evan muttered as he fought.
The replica’s only goal was to kill its opponent, while Evan used it to temper himself, suppressing his own multipliers to stay close to its level.
The replica’s only goal was to kill its opponent, while Evan used it as the perfect opponent to temper himself. He deliberately held back his power, matching the replica’s strength as closely as possible, so he could push his limits without overreliance on his trump cards or multipliers.
He knew this was the fastest way to improve his cultivation. Even now, he didn’t plan to kill it—after all, the Eighth Floor would be even harder, so he’d rather not rush.
Outside, the young woman repeatedly asked the caretaker about Evan Yang, but he always told her he hadn’t seen him.
This made her doubt whether Evan had really met with disaster, since he’d already been inside for ten years.
The old man thought so too. One day, he said, "Miss, stop asking every month. I bet he’s dead."
"I refuse to believe he’d die so quickly," the young woman replied, her face darkening as she turned away.
"Strange—what’s that kid’s background? Why does Miss care so much about him?" the old man wondered as he watched her leave.
Elsewhere, a group had gathered, led by Owen Bing, with many generals below.
"Vice-captain, when do you think Captain Mu will come out?" someone asked anxiously.
"Don’t worry. Captain Mu said he’s fine for now and told us not to worry. We should keep working hard, and if we want to enter the Demon‑Fiend Underpalace again, earn more contribution points," Owen Bing replied.
"Vice-captain, which floor do you think Captain Mu’s reached?" someone asked, noting Evan had been inside for ten years.
"I don’t know—he didn’t tell me," Owen Bing replied.
"I want to go in again, but it’s terrifying. I nearly died on the Second Floor," someone sighed.
"Me too—Second Floor," another said.
Seeing only forty-eight left—one had already died—Owen Bing sighed, "I only made it to the Third Floor."
"Vice-captain, you’re already amazing," someone said, and the others agreed, admiring him.
"Still far behind the captain," Owen Bing said. He didn’t know which floor Evan had reached, but was certain it was at least above the Third—and probably much higher.
Everyone agreed with Owen Bing’s assessment.
Seeing everyone was safe, Owen Bing said, "Go do your tasks. If you earn enough contribution points, head into the Demon‑Fiend Underpalace. Only by doing this can we keep getting stronger."
He was right—the Underpalace really was a place for tempering. Everyone who went in improved, even if only a little.
Some advanced a sub‑realm, others got closer even if they didn’t break through.
So they all went off to work, preparing to enter the Demon‑Fiend Underpalace again.
Watching them, Owen Bing didn’t know how many times they’d gone in. Each time they returned with serious injuries, but no one complained—instead, they actively sought more contribution points for the next entry.
Evan had no idea what was happening outside. He only occasionally found a chance to chat with Owen Bing, then went back to fighting.
"Miss, why are you so gloomy lately?" the maid asked, noticing the young woman’s mood.
"It’s nothing, just thinking," the young woman replied, unconsciously touching her back—the spot where she’d once been wounded by a man.
"Miss, what’s wrong with your back?" the maid asked, worried after seeing her gesture.
The young woman said quietly, "It’s nothing."
"Strange, Miss has been acting weird these past few years," the maid thought to herself.