In the D-Zone, as Evan Yang arrived, his muscles began to creak under the strain—he knew this was the consequence of excessive gravity. So he slowly started adapting, occasionally practicing the 360-move fitness set.
Just like in the B-Zone and C-Zone before, Evan gradually progressed from feeling the pressure to completing the full set, then to mastering it. It took him a full two years, and after that, he sensed a breakthrough was approaching.
Before this, Evan Yang had already absorbed the Tigerlift Herb’s medicinal effects. He hadn’t noticed any bottleneck with the Heaven-Cold Seed, so he planned to find a place to break through.
"Should I go to that mountain, or not?" Evan Yang searched the entire planet, finding only that mountain, but couldn’t locate Elder Marcus Whitebeard. Frustrated, he muttered to himself.
After accidentally entering two years ago, Evan Yang didn’t dare go back, afraid of repeating the mistake. But now, needing to break through and with no suitable place nearby, he finally decided to enter the Sky-Piercing Tower.
The moment Evan Yang entered the Sky-Piercing Tower, he felt light and weightless, free from the oppressive gravity outside. His sense of breakthrough burst forth instantly.
Above Evan Yang’s head, black and white qi gathered and intertwined. Evan closed his eyes and began to concentrate, preparing for his breakthrough.
Elder Marcus Whitebeard watched Evan Yang’s changes closely, muttering to himself, "Is he breaking through again?"
Sure enough, the black and white qi soon began to swirl. Evan Yang’s soul emerged from his body—in broad daylight, for the first time. But with the black qi’s protection, it was as if his soul was shrouded in night. The white qi embedded itself and gradually pressed his soul back in, forming a region above his head. Within this region, a small Primordial Spirit appeared, accompanied by his soul.
Once the white qi faded, the region gradually stabilized. When Evan Yang opened his eyes, the black qi disappeared, and he felt clearer and more lucid than ever.
The Heaven-Cold Seed’s spiritual power now converged not at Evan Yang’s dantian, but above his head. That region had already sunk into his body.
Whenever Evan Yang willed it, that region would appear. "So this is the Soul-Gathering Realm?"
Evan Yang finally confirmed he had stepped into the Soul-Gathering Realm. His whole body's strength felt doubled. "Not bad at all," he thought.
Entering this realm filled Evan Yang with joy. Only after finishing up inside the Sky-Piercing Tower did he calm himself and step outside.
Once outside the Sky-Piercing Tower, the pressure returned. But it was clearly different from before—the oppressive feeling was gone. "Looks like the higher your cultivation, the lighter you feel overall," Evan Yang mused.
Evan Yang knew this was because he had entered the Soul-Gathering Realm; his entire body’s power had changed, and the oppressive feeling from the gravity was now much subtler.
"The E-Zone is two hundredfold. Let’s try it." Evan Yang planned to enter the next region.
But when he reached the E-Zone, he saw Elder Marcus Whitebeard waiting there.
"Senior," Evan Yang greeted respectfully.
"You’ve already finished with the B-Zone, C-Zone, and D-Zone?" Elder Marcus Whitebeard asked in surprise.
"Mm." Evan nodded.
"Less than three years, and you've already adapted to hundredfold gravity—you're truly a genius. But I advise you not to enter the E-Zone right away." The White-Bearded Elder exclaimed, also reminding Evan.
"Why?" Evan was startled.
"The E-Zone is two hundredfold—exactly two hundredfold. Although you’ve progressed steadily, your overall foundation is still comparatively low. Unless you can break into the Sky-Transcending Realm, it’s not suitable to continue. Advancing too quickly won’t do you any good." Elder Marcus Whitebeard explained to Evan Yang.
Evan knew the White-Bearded Elder wouldn't deceive him. Since he couldn't enter the E-Zone now, he'd have to come back later. Meanwhile, Nina Ye had already gotten dressed and walked over from the cave.
Seeing Nina Ye reminded Evan of that awkward incident, so he avoided her gaze, not daring to look at her. Nina Ye, seeing Evan's guilty expression, couldn't help but want to laugh.
"Senior, is there anywhere else here to train? Or..." Evan, unable to enter the E-Zone, wanted to find some other training, not wanting to sit idle.
Nina Ye said nothing, curiously watching Evan and the White-Bearded Elder.
The White-Bearded Elder sized Evan up and down. "People like you are rare. If you're not afraid of hardship, I can guide you to a place."
"What place?" Evan was delighted at the prospect of a training spot.
“First, tell me about your current cultivation. I feel like you’re different from when you first arrived.” Elder Marcus Whitebeard didn’t answer immediately, but asked curiously.
Evan Yang gave an awkward smile when he realized he’d been noticed. “Early-stage Soul-Gathering Realm.”
“What? That fast?” Nina Ye was shocked. Less than three years, and Evan Yang had already entered the Soul-Gathering Realm. Elder Marcus Whitebeard was surprised too, but quickly calmed down and said, “Not bad. Your cultivation speed is impressive, but too fast isn’t always good. I’ll take you to a place where you can improve quickly, but you must keep your cultivation suppressed at early Soul-Gathering. If you break through to mid Soul-Gathering inside, your life will be in even greater danger.”
“Is it related to cultivation?” Evan Yang guessed that the place they were going must depend on cultivation level.
Sure enough, Elder Marcus Whitebeard nodded. “That’s right. The trials there scale with your cultivation. The higher your realm, the harsher the tests—and the greater the risk to your life.”
“Senior, I want to go too!” Nina Ye perked up at the mention of such an interesting place and immediately asked to join.
“You?” Elder Marcus Whitebeard was about to say something, but Nina Ye sent him a message: “Senior, you have to let me go. Otherwise, I won’t talk to you anymore, and I’ll never come looking for you again.”
Elder Marcus Whitebeard swallowed his words and deliberately said, “Hmm, since your cultivation is suppressed at mid Out-of-Body Realm, it’s unlikely you’ll break through. Training there might even help you in other ways.”
Nina Ye was overjoyed. “Thank you, Senior!”
Evan Yang looked at Nina Ye suspiciously, curious why her cultivation hadn’t been unsealed yet. Could it be that even Elder Marcus Whitebeard couldn’t undo it?
Irrelevant passage. Skipped.
But there was no time to ask. Elder Marcus Whitebeard grabbed Evan Yang and Nina Ye, one in each hand, and with a single leap, Evan felt darkness all around. With another leap, Elder Marcus Whitebeard brought them to a mountain surrounded by dense jungle.
Evan Yang immediately realized they were no longer on the original planet. Hearing Nina Ye say Elder Marcus Whitebeard could leave the planet in just a few breaths, he was now convinced—and even more impressed by Elder Marcus Whitebeard.
Elder Marcus Whitebeard set Evan Yang and Nina Ye down, formed a circle with his hands, and muttered something under his breath. Suddenly, a pitch-black tunnel appeared at the foot of the mountain, its entrance covered by a glowing protective membrane.
“You can stay inside for at most three months. Any longer, and it will harm you—even cause qi deviation.” Elder Marcus Whitebeard warned them.
“Senior, what is this place?” Nina Ye asked curiously.
“Brat, if you want to go, hurry up. The entrance will close soon, and you’ll have to wait a whole year to enter again.” Elder Marcus Whitebeard was running out of time, so he left Nina Ye with a final warning.
The warning startled her. She quickly told Evan Yang, “Let’s go!”
Evan Yang nodded. The two stepped inside. Behind them, Elder Marcus Whitebeard’s voice echoed, “Remember, at most three months—don’t stay longer.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the tunnel entrance sealed shut.
Elder Marcus Whitebeard clapped his hands. “My goodness, that cost me a lot of spiritual power.”
Just then, a black-robed, black-faced figure appeared behind Elder Marcus Whitebeard, glaring fiercely. “You’re here again!”
“I’m just bringing the juniors to see what’s interesting in your place.” Elder Marcus Whitebeard said with a smile.
“How dare you! You treat our place as your human world’s training ground!” the black-robed figure shouted angrily.
“Don’t be so fierce. You often send people to our world too, and we just turn a blind eye. If you dare to personally trouble those two, then anyone you send to the human realm will get the same treatment—especially your most important protected one.” Elder Marcus Whitebeard’s smile turned sharp at the end.
The black-robed figure’s expression was hard to read—anger, perhaps—before he snorted coldly. “You’d better pray those two make it out safely!”
With that, the black-robed figure vanished.
“You two had better do well—I’ve just offended another guy for your sake.” Elder Marcus Whitebeard muttered, then disappeared with a flash.
As for Evan Yang and Nina Ye, they had no idea where they were.
All they knew was that there was a tunnel ahead—pitch black.
“Why is it so dark!” Nina Ye grumbled. It was even darker than the starry sky.
“Are you scared?” Evan Yang teased, seeing Nina Ye’s tone.
“You’re the one who’s scared! Kid, don’t forget—even though my cultivation isn’t as high as yours right now, it’s only because it’s suppressed.” Nina Ye retorted after Evan Yang poked fun at her.
“So, what’s up with your cultivation, anyway?” Evan Yang asked curiously as they walked through the tunnel.
Nina Ye wasn’t annoyed by Evan Yang; in fact, she found him interesting. She explained how the Feng Family used the Tyrant Seal Art to suppress her cultivation, recounting the whole process to Evan Yang.
“I’ve heard of sealing cultivation, but suppressing it is a first for me.” Evan Yang was surprised after hearing her story. He could seal someone’s cultivation, but suppressing it directly—he had never done that.
“Sealing cultivation? Is that even possible?” Nina Ye asked, hearing about sealing for the first time.
“Of course. I’ve seen it myself. I wonder what the difference is between suppressing and sealing cultivation. If you don’t mind, once we find a place to rest, I’ll take a look for you.” Evan Yang said with a smile.
“Really? Great, let’s have you check it out later. If you can undo it, that would be amazing.” Nina Ye said happily. Even that strange hot spring hadn’t helped in three years, so hearing Evan Yang might have a way made her very excited.