Seven Mysterious Spaces: My Rise to Power in the Cultivation World

"I can't swallow this!" Zhuang Yu stared at the direction Li Hei had fled, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

Although he had successfully repelled Li Hei, Zhuang Yu knew that a ruthless and vicious person like Li Hei would never give up easily and might be hiding in some dark corner right now, plotting an even more vicious plan.

"Brother Zhuang, are you really going to Li Hei's lair? That place must be extremely dangerous." Wang Yao frowned slightly, her voice filled with worry.

"Don't worry, Yao'er, I know what I'm doing." Zhuang Yu gently patted Wang Yao's hand, his eyes firm. "Rather than waiting to die, we should take the initiative and nip the danger in the bud."

Having made up his mind, Zhuang Yu took Wang Yao and followed the direction Li Hei had fled.

Along the way, they passed through dense jungles and crossed rugged mountains, finally arriving at a gloomy and terrifying valley.

At the entrance to the valley, a nauseating stench permeated the air, and white bones were scattered on the ground. A chilling wind blew, as if it were the gate to hell.

"Such a heavy aura of malevolence. It seems this is Li Hei's lair." Zhuang Yu took a deep breath, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

"Brother Zhuang, be careful!" Wang Yao gripped Zhuang Yu's sleeve tightly, her face pale.

Zhuang Yu nodded, indicating that Wang Yao didn't need to worry, and then cautiously stepped into the valley.

As soon as he stepped into the valley, a powerful pressure came towards him, as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on him, making it difficult for Zhuang Yu to breathe.

Wang Yao was even paler and staggered, almost falling to the ground.

"A mere restriction, you think you can stop me?" Zhuang Yu sneered, his spiritual power surging wildly within him as he resisted the powerful pressure.

Each step forward seemed to drain all his strength.

Wang Yao followed with difficulty, large beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, but she gritted her teeth and remained silent, unwilling to become a burden to Zhuang Yu.

Seeing Wang Yao's resolute eyes, Zhuang Yu felt a warmth in his heart. He pulled her behind him and said softly, "Yao'er, hold on tight to me. I'll break this restriction."

As he spoke, Zhuang Yu quickly formed hand seals, and golden runes flew from his fingertips, merging into the void in front of him.

As the golden runes merged, the surrounding pressure gradually weakened, and Wang Yao felt much more relaxed.

However, at this moment, a sudden change occurred!

The once calm void suddenly began to fluctuate violently, and streaks of black lightning appeared out of nowhere, carrying an aura of destruction, and bombarded Zhuang Yu and Wang Yao relentlessly.

"Be careful!" Zhuang Yu's expression changed, and he pulled Wang Yao into his arms, releasing a powerful spiritual energy shield to protect the two of them.

Boom boom boom!

The black lightning struck the spiritual energy shield, creating a deafening explosion that seemed to threaten to collapse the entire valley.

Zhuang Yu groaned, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating that he was also suffering under the relentless attacks.

"Haha, you think you can break my Nine Heavens Thunderfire Formation? You're dreaming!"

Just then, a cold voice suddenly came from the depths of the valley, and then a figure dressed in a black robe slowly walked out.

This person is none other than Li Hei!

"Li Hei, you really are here!" Zhuang Yu said coldly, a murderous glint in his eyes.

"Zhuang Yu, you ruined my plans and killed my men. Today, I will tear you to pieces!" Li Hei said through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with resentment.

"You think you can take me?" Zhuang Yu sneered, his eyes full of disdain.

"Hmph, don't be so smug!" Li Hei snorted coldly, then quickly formed hand seals while chanting incantations.

As his incantation rang out, the surrounding void rippled violently once more, and an even more terrifying aura spread out.

"Oh no, he's going to fight desperately!" Zhuang Yu's expression changed, and he thought to himself that something was wrong.

However, at this moment, Wang Yao, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of Zhuang Yu.

"Brother Zhuang, let me do it!" Wang Yao's eyes were firm, and her tone was full of determination.

"Yao'er, you..." Zhuang Yu was shocked and wanted to stop her, but it was too late.

Wang Yao clasped her hands together and silently recited Buddhist scriptures. A golden Buddhist light emanated from her body, enveloping her entirely, making her appear like a Buddha descending to earth.

"Om Mani Padme Hum!"

Wang Yao uttered the six-character mantra softly, her voice not loud, yet it seemed to contain boundless power, resounding throughout the entire valley.

Under the Buddha's light, the surrounding black lightning dissipated, and Li Hei's face turned extremely ugly.

"What the hell is this?" Li Hei exclaimed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

However, before he could react, Wang Yao had already moved.

With a flash, she appeared in front of Li Hei, and with a gentle wave of her slender hand, a golden palm print was sent flying towards him.

"Do not……"

Li Hei was terrified and tried to dodge, but found that he could not move at all and could only watch helplessly as the golden palm print landed on him.

After a loud bang, Li Hei's figure was instantly swallowed up by the golden palm print and disappeared without a trace.

"Brother Zhuang, I..."

After dealing with Li Hei, Wang Yao turned around with a pale smile on her face. However, before she could finish speaking, everything went black and she collapsed to the ground.

"Yao'er!" Zhuang Yu rushed forward, hugged Wang Yao in his arms, and called her name anxiously.

However, Wang Yao showed no reaction, her breath was weak, as if she would die at any moment.

"How could this happen?" Zhuang Yu's expression changed drastically, his heart filled with self-blame and worry.

"I must save you, Yao'er, you must hold on!" Zhuang Yu held Wang Yao tightly, his eyes filled with determination.

He looked around and found a dilapidated palace deep in the valley, where perhaps there were healing pills or elixirs.

"Fight!"

Without further hesitation, Zhuang Yu picked up Wang Yao and ran towards the palace...

Zhuang Yu walked steadily, holding Wang Yao in his arms, his eyes sharp as he scanned every corner of the palace.

Inside the dilapidated palace, dust covered everything, and a musty smell filled the air. The various strange sculptures looked particularly grotesque in the dim light.

“This… must have once been the residence of an alchemist.” Zhuang Yu made this judgment based on the furnishings in the palace and the lingering medicinal fragrance.

He carefully navigated around the scattered debris on the ground, hoping to find something useful.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he discovered a bright green pill among a pile of broken jade bottles.

The elixir exuded a rich spiritual energy, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary product.

Zhuang Yu was overjoyed and quickly fed the pill to Wang Yao.

The elixir melted upon entering her mouth, transforming into a warm current that flowed throughout Wang Yao's entire body.

Wang Yao's pale face gradually regained some color, and her breathing became steady.

"That's great, Yao'er, how are you feeling?" Zhuang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and asked softly.

Wang Yao slowly opened her eyes, smiled weakly, and said, "Brother Zhuang, I'm fine now. I'm sorry to have worried you."

"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright." Zhuang Yu smiled with relief and gently stroked Wang Yao's hair.

Just then, a series of chaotic footsteps came from outside the palace, accompanied by a rough shout: "Brother, I think I can smell that kid's scent, he must be nearby!"

"Search for him! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find that kid for me!"

Upon hearing these sounds, Zhuang Yu's expression changed, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"They're Li Hei's men!"

He gently put Wang Yao down, stood up and said, "Yao'er, wait for me here, I'll be right back."

Wang Yao tugged at Zhuang Yu's sleeve and said worriedly, "Brother Zhuang, be careful!"

"Don't worry, they can't do anything to me."

Zhuang Yu gave Wang Yao a reassuring look, then turned and walked towards the palace gate, his gaze turning cold as he looked outside.

"Hehe, kid, you really are here! Our boss invites you in!" Two burly men with menacing faces appeared at the door; they were Li Hei's henchmen, A-Da and A-Er.

When A-Da and A-Er saw Zhuang Yu arrive, they immediately brandished their spiked clubs and ghost-head knives, charging forward menacingly, shouting that they wanted to avenge Li Hei, as if they wanted to devour Zhuang Yu alive.

"Boy, you killed our big brother, today you'll pay for this in blood!" A'Da roared, his spiked club whistling through the air as he smashed it down on Zhuang Yu's head.

"Die!" Ah Er retorted, his ghost-headed blade slicing a chilling arc as he aimed straight for Zhuang Yu's throat.

Despite being attacked from both sides, Zhuang Yu showed no panic whatsoever; instead, a contemptuous smile appeared on his face.

He swayed and dodged Ah Da's attack like a ghost, then kicked out with lightning speed, hitting Ah Er squarely in the abdomen.

"Ah!" Ah Er screamed, flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

"Second brother!" Upon seeing this, A'da's eyes widened in fury, and his attacks became even more frantic, but without any strategy, revealing more and more flaws.

Zhuang Yu seized the opportunity, silently chanted an incantation, and a golden light flashed. A golden fireball appeared out of thin air, carrying a scorching aura, and shot towards A'da.

"What the hell is this?" Before Ah Da could react, he was hit by the fireball and let out a pig-like scream. He rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames on his body, but to no avail. He was quickly burned to ashes.

"Pathetic!" Zhuang Yu clapped his hands as if he had done something insignificant, then, without even glancing at the ashes on the ground, walked straight into the depths of the palace.

However, he didn't notice that behind him, on the previously empty wall, a pair of cold eyes suddenly appeared, staring intently at his back, a sinister smile playing on their lips...