Chapter Forty-Nine: The Eerie Storage Space (Please Vote for This Month’s Tickets)

Unlike the first round, the competition venue for this stage remained unchanged. Once all participants had identified their opponents, the hundred-mile-wide arena was partitioned into two hundred and fifty individual zones by protective barriers. Each pair of contestants would battle within these confined spaces until one was defeated.

Though the venue seemed vast, once divided into two hundred and fifty sections, the fighting space felt remarkably cramped. Cultivators often possessed the power to move mountains and drain seas; in such a confined area, they were tested not only on their cultivation level but also on their control. Poor execution risked the rebound of their own energy off the protective barriers, potentially resulting in self-inflicted injuries.

Li Chengzhu, however, was more interested in the construction of the venue itself. Given Qiu Feng’s strength, he should not be eliminated in the early rounds. If he were, Li Chengzhu would no longer rely on him and would be better off placing his hopes on his father-in-law. Meanwhile, Xiao Ying was busy scanning the competition for her father while keeping an eye on the battles involving Rainbow City.

Ignoring the unfolding matches, Li Chengzhu held the "Little Thing" and observed the arena. The creature had a natural talent for locating spiritual pressure, which was why Li had specifically retrieved it from Gu Linglong’s embrace.

The semi-circular arena was completely sealed. If it truly functioned as a storage space for living beings, then the main entrance served as the gateway. Li Chengzhu was unconcerned that anyone could open it; if he wished, he could erase the seal on his own Jasper Blood Ring, allowing anyone who obtained it to access the space, provided their strength surpassed his own. What truly intrigued him was how both the Jasper Blood Ring and this arena could store living entities.

The technique of "containing Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed" was no secret in the cultivation world. Li Chengzhu had even learned a bit from the Immortal Envoy. If he had enough materials, he could craft a storage ring himself, though the capacity would likely be modest. However, the one universally accepted truth in the Immortal World was that spaces created via this technique could not harbor living things. It was rumored that such spaces did not belong to the Immortal World but were merely channels connecting it to another, eerie dimension—a realm entirely unsuitable for life.

If the rumors were true, then the nearly one hundred thousand people in the arena were perhaps currently residing in a dimension outside the Immortal World.

After giving the Little Thing instructions, Li Chengzhu carried it around to explore. For living creatures to survive, they required a world complete with the five elements. A spark of inspiration suddenly struck him, and he gently patted the creature’s head. It squeaked twice and flew upward.

The ceiling, which had not seemed particularly high, took a long time to vanish from sight, causing Li to marvel at the prowess of the immortal who had constructed the arena. The venue was not just large; it was immense.

After a long while, the creature returned and chirped incessantly into Li’s ear. Li Chengzhu’s furrowed brows slowly relaxed, revealing a mysterious smile. As he had suspected, the place was filled with the aura of the five elements.

He walked over to Yuan Mu, whispered a request for him to look after his two wives, and then returned to the inn with the Little Thing. Once inside his room, Li Chengzhu could hardly wait; he removed the Jasper Blood Ring and submerged his consciousness into the space within.

After a careful observation of the interior, Li Chengzhu made a bold decision: to enter the Jasper Blood Ring with both his physical body and his consciousness. It was a gamble. If successful, he would verify his theories; if he failed, his physical body might perish. However, seeing the nascent souls of Xia Mai and Ke Ba residing there safely, he decided to risk it. This was the very reason he had not brought his wives back with him.

Li Chengzhu was betting not only on his own safe entry but also on the theory that the arena was a massive storage space. While high-level immortals could easily create spaces filled with the five elements, Li was gambling that this was not a simple void, but one capable of sustaining life. He estimated the probability of success at over seventy percent.

Li had never imagined he would one day enter his own ring. It was a matter of preconceived notions; one naturally expected a ring to carry objects, and no one in the Immortal World had ever considered hiding themselves inside one.

The boss took a deep breath and performed the hand seals. With a faint clink in the room, the Jasper Blood Ring tumbled to the floor. As it bounced, the Little Thing quickly caught it in its mouth and set it down gently, staring at the ring with its small eyes as it crouched before it.

Slowly releasing his mental guard and opening his eyes, Li Chengzhu cautiously waved his hands in front of his face. Finding nothing amiss, he sighed with relief. As expected, his physical body could enter. He turned to look at the two nascent souls, who were still absorbing spiritual energy, and patted them, suppressing his excitement.

The two souls opened their eyes, quickly forming defensive hand seals. Upon seeing Li’s smiling face, Xia Mai sheepishly relaxed. "Fellow Daoist, is there something you need by summoning us?"

"Nothing, just came to see you," Li Chengzhu said, sitting down and surveying the area.

He hadn't paid much attention to this space before, even when he had set up the spirit-gathering array for them using the power of his primordial spirit. Looking at it now, he realized there was ground here, though it was tiny and completely barren, save for the two of them, all enclosed within a faint protective barrier.

"Came inside?" Xia Mai asked, still confused.

"Did you actually enter with your physical body?" Ke Ba, quicker to react, found it inconceivable—or perhaps he simply refused to accept a reality that defied his understanding.

"Yes," Li replied.

The two exchanged glances and gulped. After a long silence, Ke Ba sighed, "The Jasper Blood Ring truly lives up to its reputation to possess such a function."

"But Fellow Daoist, you didn't just come to visit us, did you?" Xia Mai asked tentatively.

Li Chengzhu laughed, "Indeed, I have some questions for you."

"Ask away," Xia Mai replied, ever agreeable.

"I want to know, having stayed here for so long, have you felt any discomfort?" Li Chengzhu asked, staring at them intently.

"Discomfort?" Xia Mai rubbed his chin, pondering.

"Apart from you failing to send Heaven’s Luck Stones in for a long time, there is no discomfort," Ke Ba said coldly.

"I see." Li Chengzhu rested his chin on his elbow, lost in thought, ignoring Ke Ba’s jab. No discomfort meant the space was indeed filled with the five elements.

If that was the case, could certain spells be cast here? Li Chengzhu stood up, shielded the two nascent souls behind him, and performed a hand seal.

"What are you doing?" Ke Ba asked nervously.

"Creating life from wood," Li smiled. As he waved his hands, small trees and patches of tender grass began to sprout from the ground.

"Good heavens!" The two nascent souls widened their eyes, trying to find a flaw in the display. It was incredible—a feat he was witnessing with his own eyes. Could such spells be cast inside a ring? They had lived for hundreds of years, yet they felt less knowledgeable than a novice cultivator. They looked at each other, hanging their heads in shame.

Li continued his demonstration, waving his hands until a small stream appeared on the ground. Though the water was still, the achievement was enough to make him proud. After a while, he exhaled, satisfied. The consumption of spiritual power for such creation was immense, and even with his abnormal reserves and recovery speed, he was beginning to feel the strain. He quickly sat down to meditate.

After some time, he had recovered enough to dispel the emptiness in his meridians. Opening his eyes, he saw Xia Mai and Ke Ba squatting on the ground, carefully examining the trees, grass, and stagnant water.

"Found anything?" Li asked, standing over them.

Xia Mai shook his head slowly. "No. These things are all real. They are exactly as they would be if cast in the outside world."

"And that is precisely what is strange," Ke Ba added, rare for him to speak up.

"Oh?" Li waited for him to continue.

"These are not high-level spells," Ke Ba said, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. "If Xia Mai and I still had our physical bodies, we could have cast them as well."

"Indeed, most cultivators know a few creation spells," Li said, sitting down. Looking down at the little dwarf was exhausting.