Evan Yang and King Haiten exchanged a smile, then relaxed and began chatting openly. During the conversation, Ember Yang's identity was also confirmed—she was indeed a descendant of the Fire Phoenix.
"How are things outside now?" Once their conversation wound down, King Haiten asked.
"Time here flows fifty times faster. Outside, they're still searching," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"Looks like we'll have to wait a while longer," King Haiten said with a smile.
"It's fine, senior. You can use this time to rest and recover. Once they're done searching, I'll find a chance for us to leave," Evan Yang said.
"Alright." King Haiten nodded, then found a spot to cultivate. Lynn Lin and the others, bored, also went off to train. Meanwhile, Evan Yang extended his Divine Sense outward to check the situation.
At this moment, the space sealed by the six Gods was airtight—no one and nothing could escape. The God using blood tracking to hunt King Haiten frowned, for once King Haiten entered Evan Yang's Strange Spiral Shell, all traces were lost and he couldn't find a thing.
"Still haven't found them?" one God asked the one using the blood-tracking art.
"No. It's as if they've vanished—it's too strange," the God replied.
"Really bizarre. Did they actually leave this space?" another God wondered aloud.
"Impossible. No matter how fast, no one could escape our six-layer spatial barrier that quickly," a God said.
"That just makes it even stranger," another God said, furrowing his brow.
"If there's really no way, let's just crush this place to powder," said a particularly ugly God.
"No. There's a spot here that's connected to the Immortal-Fate Grotto. If we destroy this area, it'll definitely anger the Gods inside the grotto. Let's not do that," another God said after thinking it over.
The six Gods all frowned. This plan wouldn't work, neither would that one—what were they supposed to do?
Meanwhile, the people trapped on the island cursed Evan Yang and his group for provoking these Gods. Now the Gods refused to leave, always watching them. Anyone who acted up was instantly erased by a single God’s thought.
And so, a whole day passed outside with no progress. In the end, the six Gods concluded that King Haiten and the others had already left.
"Alright, since we can't find them, there's nothing we can do. Let's return to the Immortal-Fate Grotto," one God said helplessly.
The other Gods were unwilling. After all their effort chasing, their target had just vanished.
With no choice, they went to the Immortal-Fate Grotto. Evan Yang, of course, overheard their conversation and realized they hadn't actually lifted the spatial blockade—they'd simply walked to a certain spot on the island and disappeared there.
"Could that spot be the entrance to the Immortal-Fate Grotto?" Evan Yang muttered.
The people on the island were overjoyed to see the Gods gone, but soon realized a problem—the surrounding space was still blocked, like an enormous barrier. They couldn't leave at all. After all, it was created by six Gods; only someone at the God realm could possibly break through. For everyone else, it was impossible.
Seeing this, Evan Yang muttered to himself, "They went to the Immortal-Fate Grotto. Looks like this trip could be risky, but if I don't check it out, coming here would be a waste."
Evan Yang withdrew his Divine Sense from outside and found King Haiten, who had been cultivating inside the tower for over fifty days. After Evan explained, King Haiten asked, "You want to go to the Immortal-Fate Grotto?"
"Yeah, I want to check it out," Evan Yang replied.
"Alright, but I can't leave. They can track me by my blood, which is a real headache," King Haiten said.
"Then keep resting here. I'll go take a look," Evan Yang said.
"Alright." King Haiten nodded. Evan Yang then gave a few instructions to Lynn Lin and the others before leaving the Strange Spiral Shell and heading to a certain spot on the island.
"This must be the passageway," Evan Yang muttered.
He stepped onto it, feeling his whole body become light as a feather.
In the blink of an eye, his surroundings turned gray and dim. There were many tunnels here, and Evan Yang could sense that the aura in these tunnels was extremely dense.
"Is this what a dense aura feels like?" Evan Yang muttered.
Carefully, Evan Yang walked along the tunnel. Suddenly, several powerful Divine Senses swept over him. Evan was startled, but fortunately, they only scanned him briefly before disappearing.
"What were those? Gods?" Evan Yang wondered, shocked.
At this moment, Evan Yang was full of curiosity about the Immortal-Fate Grotto. Perhaps it truly was the residence of Gods. Evan released his Divine Sense and began searching the grotto.
He discovered the grotto was incredibly deep, and every time he tried to inspect a place, a strange Divine Sense would block him, as if someone was already there.
Seeing this, Evan Yang could only choose other areas, but he found that many regions seemed to be occupied by a God.
"So many Gods?" Evan Yang estimated there were at least dozens here.
At this moment, Evan Yang only hoped those six Gods hadn't noticed him. In fact, the six Gods never imagined Evan Yang would come in, so they didn't scan for him. As soon as they entered, they just found their old spots and began cultivating.
Carefully, Evan Yang walked along the tunnel. Although he couldn't see the Gods, he could sense their terrifying presence. When the Gods noticed someone who hadn't even reached the God realm wandering in, they secretly sneered, even mocking that someone like him dared come here—wasn't he afraid of dying?
For Evan Yang, he came to the Immortal-Fate Grotto for two reasons: to explore, and to find a place to cultivate. The source energy here was the densest he'd ever seen—perhaps hundreds of times richer than anywhere in the Immortal Realm. It truly was an ideal place for cultivation.
So Evan Yang wandered the grotto for quite a while, discovering it was incredibly deep. The further he went, the denser the energy. What puzzled Evan was why so many Gods gathered near the entrance, while the depths had far fewer. He couldn't figure out the reason.
The Gods who saw Evan Yang heading deeper were all suspicious—did he have a screw loose? Going to the depths? Wasn't he afraid of the daily Source Surge?
(This chapter isn't finished yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
Of course, Evan Yang had no idea what a Source Surge was, nor what lay in the depths—until a deep voice spoke: "Young man, don't be greedy. Going deeper won't do you any good."
Evan Yang realized the voice came from a cave to his left. He turned and respectfully asked, "Senior, why can't I go deeper?"
"You don't even know what's in the depths, so why keep heading down?" the voice asked curiously.
"I'm just curious and wanted to see for myself. I really don't know what's here," Evan Yang replied, puzzled.
"Since I'm clear-headed right now, I'll explain. Every day there's a Source Surge here, when the aura grows thickest. The deeper you go, the denser it gets. You've probably seen many Gods along the way—some don't dare get too close because they can't handle the intensity, so they cultivate near the entrance instead," the voice explained.
Hearing this, Evan Yang was shocked. "Thank you, Senior."
"You're welcome. You'd better hurry back—the Source Surge is coming soon," the voice said.
Evan Yang had never seen a Source Surge, but figured it must be terrifying. Otherwise, so many Gods wouldn't linger at the entrance, afraid to go deeper.
So, hearing the warning, Evan Yang immediately turned back. But he was still too late—a roaring sound like rushing water suddenly came from behind. Evan's Divine Sense saw a wind-like aura surging toward him, slamming into him and sending him sprawling forward. He could feel the aura's overwhelming power, hundreds of times stronger than anything in the cave. Instantly, his whole body was wrapped in this force, leaving him unable to move.
"Ah, am I really going to die from this surge?" Evan Yang thought, shocked. His hand gripped a wall—thankfully it was solid and didn't give way. Evan's body was exposed to the aura, undergoing a wild baptism.
If an ordinary God encountered this, they'd have fainted immediately. But Evan Yang didn't. Instead, his Heaven-Cold Seed began spinning rapidly, reaching an unprecedented state. It quickly converted all the invading aura into energy Evan could absorb.
In this way, the surge lasted for half an hour before finally receding.
When it was over, Evan Yang felt a chill all over and collapsed to the ground. He was conscious, but completely drained—his Heaven-Cold Seed was still absorbing the lingering energy.
After the Source Surge, everyone hurried to cultivate. This was the only time each day when the aura was at its peak, so nobody wanted to waste it. No one paid attention to whether Evan Yang lived or died.
The elder who had spoken to Evan Yang earlier noticed he was still alive—and even recovering quickly. The elder was shocked, muttering, "You actually survived."
"Yeah, but I'm half dead," Evan Yang said bitterly.
"It's a miracle. You have no idea how many Gods avoid this place because they can't handle the power. Yet you're still alive," the elder said, unable to hide his astonishment.
Evan Yang gave a bitter smile. "Maybe I'm just lucky."
"It's not luck—it's a miracle. Why don't you find a spot nearby and stay here? Let's see if you can survive tomorrow's surge too," the elder suggested, eager to see if Evan could really endure without being a God.
Evan Yang thought so too. He didn't dare go any deeper—if his Heaven-Cold Seed couldn't keep up, he might not be killed by anyone, but by the overwhelming aura itself.
"Yeah, that's my plan anyway," Evan Yang said bitterly. For now, he still couldn't move. It took a full hour before he could finally get up, muttering, "Whew, that was dangerous."
After that Source Surge, Evan Yang really thought he was going to die. Now he realized his body was at its limit—any deeper and he wouldn't survive. So he found an empty cave near the elder, entered it, and sat down to meditate.