Chapter 1241: Treasure Appears

The moment the Meteorite Palace doors closed completely, a soft, pale purple light suddenly illuminated the interior—the light did not come from candlelight, but from countless "star-patterned stones" embedded in the ceiling. The patterns on the stones resembled a galaxy in the night sky, slowly flowing and illuminating the entire palace as if it were a dream.

Liu Yang and his two companions stood inside the hall, their gazes fixed on the scene before them. The hall was approximately a hundred feet long and wide, its floor paved with gleaming black jade. Faint immortal energy seeped from the cracks in the jade, and stepping on it, one could clearly feel a warm energy flowing into the body from the soles of one's feet, nourishing the meridians. In the center of the hall, a pure white jade pillar rose from the ground, and atop the pillar floated a fist-sized crystal—a pale blue crystal covered with fine star patterns, from which a dense immortal energy emanated like mist; it was the "Meteorite Immortal Crystal" they had sensed earlier.

"This is the Meteorite Immortal Crystal?" Li Qingyue subconsciously held her breath, her eyes filled with shock. She had seen descriptions of immortal crystals in ancient books, but she never thought she would see one with her own eyes—the immortal power emanating from this immortal crystal was purer than any pill she had ever refined. Just standing a hundred meters away, the spiritual power in her dantian began to resonate uncontrollably.

Bai Jingjing's fox ears perked up slightly, her fox tail swayed unconsciously, and a hint of awe flashed in her eyes: "The ancient fox clan books say that the Meteorite Immortal Crystal is the core of an ancient meteorite, containing the power of stars and immortal realms, and can help people break through to the immortal realm. I just didn't expect that it actually exists."

Liu Yang remained silent, his gaze already passing over the Meteorite Crystal and landing on the three artifacts surrounding the jade pillar. On the left side of the ground, a long sword was diagonally embedded in the jade, its scabbard a mixture of ice and fire colors, with faint lightning patterns flowing across its blade—this was the "Ice and Fire Immortal Slaying Sword." On the right side lay a suit of silver armor, its surface covered with defensive runes, and a pale purple crystal embedded in its chest, radiating a stable spiritual energy fluctuation—this was the "Lightning Pattern Defensive Armor." Behind the jade pillar, a circular mirror floated in the air, its surface rippling with faint spatial ripples, its edges engraved with ancient runes—this was the "Space Teleportation Mirror," capable of teleporting across worlds.

Each of these three artifacts exudes the unique aura of a divine weapon, clearly indicating that they are treasures left over from ancient times.

"Let's get closer to the Immortal Crystal first." Liu Yang took the lead and walked towards the jade pillar. As soon as he moved, the immortal energy in the hall surged in as if it were alive, surrounding him as if welcoming his arrival. Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing quickly followed, and their bodies were also enveloped by immortal energy. The spiritual energy they had consumed in the forbidden area was slowly recovering.

As Liu Yang approached the jade pillar, the aura of the meteorite crystal grew even stronger. He extended his right hand, and the moment his fingertips touched the crystal, it suddenly erupted with a blinding blue light, then transformed into a stream of light that flowed into his body through his fingertips!

"Fellow Daoist!" Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing exclaimed at the same time, instinctively wanting to step forward, but were blocked by an invisible barrier of immortal power.

Liu Yang remained completely calm—the immortal crystals flowing into his body caused no discomfort; instead, they carried a gentle power that traveled along his meridians straight to his dantian. The golden core within his dantian sensed the immortal power and instantly became active, frantically absorbing the energy of the immortal crystals. He could clearly feel the surface of his golden core gradually peeling away, revealing a new life form slowly taking shape inside—the nascent form of a "celestial infant."

At the same time, a massive flow of information suddenly flooded into Liu Yang's mind, containing an ancient ascension technique—"Meteorite Immortal Art." The technique's contents were obscure and difficult to understand, yet it contained the laws governing the movement of stars and the methods for controlling immortal power. The cultivation path from Foundation Establishment to Immortal Rank was clearly presented in his consciousness.

"So that's how it is. The Meteorite Immortal Technique uses the power of stars to drive immortal power. No wonder it requires the assistance of Meteorite Immortal Crystals to break through." Liu Yang understood and quickly circulated his cultivation technique to guide the power of the immortal crystals into star immortal power, accelerating the formation of the immortal infant in his dantian.

Outside the hall, Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing anxiously watched Liu Yang, who was enveloped in immortal power, but dared not disturb him. Bai Jingjing tried to touch the immortal power barrier, but it remained unmoved. She could only say helplessly, "This barrier must have been formed automatically by immortal crystals to protect you and prevent outsiders from interfering with your breakthrough. Let's look around for treasures first; perhaps we can find something to help you break through."

Li Qingyue nodded, and the two began searching the hall. On the walls on both sides of the hall were many ancient murals depicting scenes of meteorites falling, cultivators practicing, and ascending to the immortal realm. Below the murals were some broken jade boxes, most of which were empty, obviously the treasures inside had long been lost.

"There's something here!" Bai Jingjing suddenly discovered two bottles of pale golden liquid in a jade box on the left side of the jade pillar. The liquid shimmered with a faint spiritual glow. "This is 'Immortal Marrow Liquid'! Ancient fox clan texts record that Immortal Marrow Liquid can enhance the purity of the spiritual body and greatly help cultivators break through realms, especially when condensing an Immortal Infant, it can reduce the risk of the Immortal Infant taking shape."

Li Qingyue took the jade bottle, opened the stopper, and a refreshing fragrance wafted out. The immortal energy fluctuations were even gentler than those of the meteorite immortal crystal: "Excellent! Fellow Daoist is currently condensing his immortal infant, and the immortal marrow liquid can help stabilize his immortal infant form. I previously saw the method for refining immortal marrow liquid in the Hundred Herbs Classic. Let's refine it now and inject it into his body when he needs it."

Having said that, Li Qingyue sat down cross-legged, poured the Immortal Marrow Liquid into her palm, and slowly refined it by circulating her spiritual power. Upon contact with her spiritual power, the Immortal Marrow Liquid instantly transformed into wisps of pale golden energy, hovering in her palm and radiating a gentle light.

Bai Jingjing continued her search and found three pale purple pills in a jade box to the right of the jade pillar. The pills were covered with star patterns and emitted a rich immortal energy; they were indeed "Gathering Immortal Pills." She picked up one of the pills and examined it carefully: "This is a Gathering Immortal Pill, a pill that helps with breaking through to the Immortal Rank. It can quickly replenish immortal energy and prevent failure due to insufficient immortal energy during the breakthrough. With Immortal Marrow Liquid and Gathering Immortal Pills, Fellow Daoist's chances of breaking through to the Immortal Rank are much greater."

The two carefully put away the Immortal Marrow Liquid and the Immortal Gathering Pill, then looked at Liu Yang again—at this moment, Liu Yang was enveloped in pale blue immortal power, forming a huge cocoon-shaped barrier. Star patterns flowed across the surface of the barrier, echoing the star-patterned stones on the roof of the palace. Occasionally, a wisp of immortal power would overflow from the barrier and land on the jade stones on the ground, causing the jade stones to tremble slightly, clearly unable to withstand the pressure of the immortal power.

“Fellow Daoist’s breakthrough will likely take some time. We will take turns protecting you to prevent any accidents,” Li Qingyue said. She then carefully put away the refined immortal marrow liquid and began to set up a defensive array around Liu Yang. Using her own spiritual power as a guide, combined with the immortal power in the hall, she set up a “Hundred Herbs Defense Array.” The array could automatically resist external attacks and slowly absorb immortal power to provide assistance to Liu Yang.

Bai Jingjing walked to the spatial teleportation mirror and began studying the ancient runes on its edge. She took out an ancient book of the fox clan from her storage bag, carefully examining the runes, and occasionally gathering spiritual energy with her fingertips to gently touch the mirror. With each touch, the spatial ripples on the mirror became more pronounced, occasionally reflecting blurry images—mountains and rivers of the cultivation world, as well as some unfamiliar worlds. One of these images was the post-apocalyptic world where Liu Yang had previously been.

"So this teleportation mirror can locate coordinates across worlds!" A hint of surprise flashed in Bai Jingjing's eyes, and she quickly noted this discovery down. "Once you break through, we can use the teleportation mirror to return to the post-apocalyptic world."

Time flowed slowly in the quiet, protective atmosphere. The immortal energy within the hall grew increasingly dense, and the cocoon-like barrier surrounding Liu Yang shone brighter, its star patterns swirling faster and faster. Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing could clearly sense the growing intensity of the immortal energy fluctuations within the barrier, indicating that Liu Yang's immortal infant was rapidly taking shape.

During this time, Li Qingyue repeatedly injected the refined Immortal Marrow Liquid into the barrier. The liquid was instantly absorbed upon contact with the barrier, and the barrier's light intensified accordingly. Bai Jingjing, on the other hand, frequently brought the aura of the Gathering Immortal Pill close to the barrier, allowing Liu Yang to absorb the pill's energy at any time to prevent his immortal power from becoming insufficient.

About three hours later, the cocoon-like barrier around Liu Yang suddenly trembled violently, the pale blue light instantly became dazzling, the star-patterned stones on the roof of the hall also flickered, and the entire hall began to shake slightly.

"They're about to break through!" Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing stood up simultaneously, watching the barrier nervously. They could feel a powerful immortal force gathering within the barrier, a force far exceeding that of the Golden Core stage, even stronger than that of the Nascent Soul stage—it was the unique immortal force fluctuation of the Ascension Realm.

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Just then, the cocoon-like barrier suddenly shattered, and a pale blue stream of light shot into the sky, forming a huge star pattern on the top of the hall. The pattern spun, radiating rich immortal power, before slowly descending and merging into Liu Yang's body.

Liu Yang slowly opened his eyes, a faint blue light flashing within them. His immortal power receded, yet an invisible pressure emanated from him, causing Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing to instinctively hold their breath. He sensed the immortal infant within his dantian—the infant looked exactly like him, its body a pale blue, with a pair of small wings on its back, sitting cross-legged in the center of his dantian, absorbing and releasing immortal power.

"I've finally broken through to the early stage of the Ascension Realm," Liu Yang said softly, a hint of relief in his voice. The breakthrough was smoother than he had imagined, thanks to the assistance of the Meteorite Immortal Crystal, as well as the timely provision of Immortal Marrow Liquid and Gathering Immortal Pills by Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing.

He stood up, walked to Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing, and smiled slightly: "Thank you for protecting me. If it weren't for you, my breakthrough wouldn't have been so smooth."

"Fellow Daoist, you're too kind. This is what we should do." Li Qingyue smiled with relief. "Now that we've broken through to the Ascension Realm, we can return to the Apocalypse World smoothly."

Bai Jingjing nodded and pointed to the space teleportation mirror, saying, "Fellow Daoist, this teleportation mirror can locate coordinates across worlds. I have just found the coordinates of the apocalyptic world. As long as enough immortal power is injected, the teleportation can be activated."

Liu Yang looked at the spatial teleportation mirror, its surface rippling with spatial ripples, vaguely revealing scenes of the apocalyptic world. He then looked at the Ice and Fire Immortal-Slaying Sword and the Thunder Pattern Armor; these two divine artifacts would be of great help to his upcoming journey, and he had to bring them along.

"Collect the treasures first, then prepare for teleportation," Liu Yang said, before walking to the Ice and Fire Immortal-Slaying Sword and grasping its hilt. The hilt felt slightly warm to the touch, and a surge of spiritual energy from both ice and fire elements instantly flowed into his body, perfectly merging with his immortal power. With a gentle pull, the longsword was drawn, emitting a crisp sword cry. The lightning patterns on the blade instantly lit up, radiating a powerful aura.

Then, he walked to the lightning-patterned defensive armor and put it on. As soon as the armor touched his body, it automatically adjusted its size to fit his body perfectly. The crystal on his chest lit up, releasing a pale purple defensive barrier that could easily withstand attacks from Golden Core cultivators.

...............................

Finally, he walked to the space teleportation mirror, felt the spatial fluctuations on the mirror, and said, "Activating teleportation requires a lot of immortal power. If the three of us work together to inject immortal power, we should be able to activate teleportation."

Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing nodded, and the three of them simultaneously channeled their immortal power into the teleportation mirror. As the immortal power was poured in, the spatial ripples on the mirror became more and more pronounced, and the scene of the apocalyptic world became clearer and clearer. The ancient runes on the mirror began to flicker, emitting a pale purple light, clearly indicating that the teleportation was about to begin.

Just then, Liu Yang suddenly sensed a familiar aura coming from outside the hall—it was the aura of the Valley Master of Burning Heaven. He could feel that the Valley Master of Burning Heaven was trying to break into the Meteor Palace, but was being repelled by the restrictions outside the hall, and was obviously unable to enter for the time being.

“The Valley Master of Burning Heaven has already noticed the unusual activity here. We must activate the teleportation as soon as possible, otherwise it will be troublesome once he breaks through the restriction,” Liu Yang said, and hurriedly increased the amount of immortal power injected.

Li Qingyue and Bai Jingjing also accelerated the output of their immortal power, and the spatial ripples on the mirror became stronger and stronger, gradually forming a light purple spatial passage.

"The teleportation channel is open, let's go in quickly!" Bai Jingjing said, taking the lead in stepping into the channel. Li Qingyue followed closely behind, and Liu Yang was the last to enter. The moment he entered, the spatial channel slowly closed, and the aura of the Valley Master of Burning Heaven outside the hall also disappeared.

Inside the spatial passage, all was pitch black, with only a pale purple light guiding their way. Liu Yang and his companions could feel themselves rapidly traversing space, flying towards the post-apocalyptic world of reality. Unbeknownst to them, after their departure, Burning Heaven City outside the Meteor Palace was in complete chaos—the ascension phenomenon triggered by Liu Yang's breakthrough had shaken the entire cultivation world, with various sects sending people to Burning Heaven Valley to search for traces of the Meteor Forbidden Land.

All of this was now irrelevant to Liu Yang. His mind was now solely focused on returning to the post-apocalyptic world, seeing the women who awaited him again, and the impending crisis posed by the Zerg. He knew that breaking through to the Ascension Realm was just the beginning; the challenges ahead would be far greater than those in the cultivation world.