Chapter Twenty-Three: The Celestial Abode Region

On the Celestial Path, the waning sunlight of dusk quietly draped the earth in a shimmering veil, as delicate as cicada wings. The clouds wore a golden radiance, drifting gracefully like maidens, gradually enveloping the inner sanctum of the Heaven's Evolution Sect. It was as if vivid, magnificent ribbons adorned the red and blue sky, and a resplendent seven-colored rainbow spanned the heavens, shining with dazzling brilliance, transforming the entire sect into a palace of immortals.

At that moment, Tianming and Chu Qingchen had halted their steps.

"Roar!" Noticing that the two had stopped, Little Black quickly turned around and leapt into Tianming's arms.

"This little fellow..." Paying no heed to Chu Qingchen's murderous gaze, Tianming grinned cheekily.

"He eats my food, drinks my water, and now..." Chu Qingchen broke off, too vexed to continue.

"Haha, it's because I have good character that the little one likes me." Stroking Little Black, Tianming replied smugly.

"I think we should call him Little Gray instead, right, Little Gray?" Tianming continued.

"Roar!"

Chu Qingchen...

Why did she feel such an urge to hit someone? Chu Qingchen thought it best to restrain herself. After all, there was no point in forcing things.

"Tianming, let me show you to your lodgings," Chu Qingchen said, awkwardly shifting the topic.

"Ah, what did you say?" Hearing his name, Tianming turned, looking at Chu Qingchen with a puzzled expression.

Chu Qingchen...

So he’d just been ignoring her, had he? Chu Qingchen felt thoroughly exasperated, as if she were entirely superfluous.

"Just kidding, don't mind me! Brother, you’re in charge here—I don’t know my way around," Tianming said, scratching his head a little sheepishly.

As for how to address each other, Tianming and Chu Qingchen had discussed it and agreed that calling each other "Senior Brother" all the time was a bit awkward, so Tianming simply addressed her as "Brother Chu"—after all, she was older than he was.

"Alright then," Chu Qingchen nodded.

"By the way, Tianming, up ahead is the Celestial Dormitory area. The disciples’ lodgings are two tall buildings—males on the left, females on the right. But first, we need to check in on the ground floor. They’ll assign you a room, but if you have any Primal Stones, you can pay a thousand to rent a private room for a month," Chu Qingchen explained.

Tianming...

He nodded, looking toward the area Chu Qingchen indicated.

There stood two towering skyscrapers that seemed to touch the sky itself. By Tianming’s estimate, each building had at least fifty floors, each floor about ten meters high.

Between the two buildings was a wide, cross-shaped road, with a vast grassy expanse at its center where many disciples, dressed in similar attire to Chu Qingchen, were cultivating.

Their white robes were reminiscent of the Daoist garments from Tianming’s own world—elegant, ethereal, and embodying the profound principles of the Great Way.

"Brother, aren’t those buildings a bit too tall? They won’t collapse, will they? And what are they made of?" Tianming asked with curiosity.

On Earth, buildings were made of cement and bricks. But what of this world? Tianming had always wondered.

Collapse?

"You really dare to ask such things! If anyone heard you, they’d laugh themselves silly. Do you know how much material it takes to build those two towers? The materials have to be purified, melted, array formations established, and they’re reinforced by the supreme laws of heaven and earth, using substances you’ve never even heard of. Just the raw materials alone weigh tens of billions of tons," Chu Qingchen said, falling silent for a moment.

Her face was a mix of excitement and disbelief as she spoke.

"Why do you ask such pointless questions? Honestly, you’re the first person I’ve met who’s curious about this sort of thing," she added, casting Tianming a disdainful look.

"Haha, I just joined Heaven’s Evolution Sect, Brother, bear with me!" Tianming replied with a laugh.

Of course, Tianming couldn’t reveal he’d come from another planet—or even another universe. That would be far too shocking; some secrets were better kept in the heart.

"By the way, Brother, do you have room in your dormitory? I was thinking..." Tianming began.

"What, after stealing Little Black, you want free room and board as well? I’ll tell you now, that’s not happening," Chu Qingchen interrupted sharply, glancing at the little black creature sleeping soundly in Tianming’s arms.

She had paid a thousand Primal Stones for her private room, which only had one bed. If Tianming moved in, it would be a waste of her resources. She had chosen a private room for peace and quiet, to focus on cultivation. Now, with a pet and possibly Tianming, the prospect of sharing such a small space was somewhat mortifying.

Of course, if the request had come from a female disciple, Chu Qingchen wouldn’t have minded.

"Brother, you didn’t rent a private room, did you?" Tianming asked, pausing and eyeing Chu Qingchen with a knowing smile.

Chu Qingchen’s refusal left Tianming momentarily at a loss, but this seemed to be the only reasonable explanation.

Chu Qingchen...

She looked at Tianming in frustration, not expecting him to have guessed.

"If you’re worried about space, Brother, I can always sleep on a rope," Tianming pressed on, not giving Chu Qingchen a chance to refuse. He’d just thought of hammocks—after all, he was out of Primal Stones for now, so it was best to impose on Chu Qingchen a little longer.

"You’re relentless," Chu Qingchen muttered, biting her lip and nodding heavily.

Though she was reluctant, she knew Tianming was penniless, and so she let it go.

"Brother, I won’t let you suffer a loss. Take this one-use artifact as repayment," Tianming offered, producing a bottle covered in black dots.

"What’s this?" Chu Qingchen frowned. Since when did artifacts look like this? Wasn’t this just a bottle of bugs? Was Tianming fobbing her off? Still, she curbed her irritation.

"This is a real treasure!" Tianming replied with a grin.

"A treasure? Isn’t this just a bottle of insects?" Chu Qingchen asked, unconvinced.

Tianming smiled patiently; after all, Chu Qingchen hadn’t seen it in action, so he explained carefully.

"Take a closer look, Brother. There are billions of fleas inside, each one with the power equivalent to a first-grade Foundation Establishment cultivator. Just imagine—if you threw this at your opponent’s feet in battle, what do you think would happen?" Tianming said.

Tianming had once used this very item to incapacitate several squads of well-trained city guards, so its power was not to be underestimated.

"Good heavens... That’s simply inhuman. Just the thought makes my skin crawl," Chu Qingchen shook her head, her expression wary.

Each flea was at the Foundation Establishment level, and there were billions of them. Chu Qingchen now truly realized what kind of person Tianming was—thankfully, this wasn’t meant for her.

"As long as you like it, Brother, I’ll be sticking with you from now on!" Tianming said triumphantly.

Though he’d already used up nine bottles, he still had one left. With Brother Chu around, he felt perfectly safe.

"Hmph! If you think you can freeload for this little trinket, think again. This rare item is useless to me—you’d best keep it for your own protection," Chu Qingchen said, hurriedly shoving the bottle back with a look of disdain.

She was a third-rank Spirit Void cultivator; this thing might tickle her at best—utterly inconsequential.

"Even if it’s not much use to you, Brother, it can at least disrupt your opponents. Why not keep it, just in case?" Tianming insisted, pushing the bottle toward her again, his bright eyes pleading.

With a flick of her hand, Chu Qingchen sent the bottle straight into Tianming’s pocket with perfect accuracy.

"Want to see what happens if I toss it at your feet?" Chu Qingchen said, her lips twitching as she looked at Tianming with stern warning.

She realized Tianming could be quite thick-skinned; if she didn’t assert herself, he’d never take her seriously.

"No, no! I’ll put it away, alright?" Tianming replied quickly, gently setting Little Black down and taking several steps back with a nervous laugh.

He had no intention of finding out what those fleas felt like—he’d suffered enough from them in the past.

"Enough fooling around. You may be staying with me, but you still need to register," Chu Qingchen said.

Tianming nodded.

Without registration, it would be impossible to manage so many disciples. Tianming understood—after all, it was only common sense.

"Also, the outer disciples stay on floors two to twenty, the inner disciples from twenty-one to forty. No one is allowed above the fortieth floor unless assigned. Don’t wander into others’ rooms, don’t enter the other building, and try to speak less and cultivate more...understand?" After a moment’s thought, Chu Qingchen went over the rules again, fixing Tianming with a stern gaze as if worried he would get into trouble.

"Alright, I get it—honestly, you..." Tianming waved her off, a little impatient.

Rules were necessary, but Tianming preferred a life of freedom.

Seeing this, Chu Qingchen said no more. As long as Tianming knew the basics, the rest hardly mattered.