Chapter 10: Elaine Hauk

"If you have an Immortal-grade Life Palace, does that mean you're qualified to become an Immortal Emperor?" Murray Scurr couldn't help asking. This was knowledge he'd never even brushed against before. So many terrifyingly powerful Life Palaces existed. The thought alone shook him. "No." The Mad Immortal Emperor shut him down without hesitation. "No?" Murray's mouth twitched. Even the strongest Immortal-grade Life Palace couldn't make someone an Immortal Emperor? Then what kind of Life Palace did it take? "A Life Palace only proves you have a sliver of a chance. In the Three Thousand Realms, geniuses are as countless as smoke. But from ancient times to the present, how many have actually become Immortal Emperors?" Murray fell silent again. The words stung, but they also lit something in his chest. Cultivation had always been a march against heaven itself, a challenge to the impossible. "But you're different." The Mad Immortal Emperor suddenly changed tack. Murray's lips pulled into a grin before he could stop it. Was that praise? "After what happened, you should already know. A person can have a Twin Life Palace. There are even Triple Life Palace. And some once-in-ten-thousand-years monsters have Multiple Life Palace in all of their Upper, Middle, and Lower Elixir Fields!" "All of their Upper, Middle, and Lower Elixir Fields have Multiple Life Palace…" Murray sucked in a sharp breath. How horrifying was that? The world beyond was far more brutal than he'd imagined. "Then my Life Palace…" "Your Life Palace has already surpassed a Transcendent Life Palace. It's reached a Venerable-grade Life Palace." The Mad Immortal Emperor answered at once, firm and certain. "Venerable-grade Life Palace…" Murray pressed his lips together and drew a slow breath. That was already incredible. Still, if a sixfold Seventh-grade Life Palace only counted as Venerable-grade, then the peak of an Immortal-grade Life Palace was almost beyond imagination. "Kid, you've got a Venerable-grade Life Palace and you're still not satisfied? Back then, I only had a Transcendent Life Palace." "I…" Murray started with a bitter smile, but the Mad Immortal Emperor cut him off immediately. "Plenty of powerhouses didn't start with strong Life Palaces. They forced them to grow through relentless effort." "And the greatest strength of the Chaos Creation Scripture is that it lets you strengthen your Life Palace in the simplest way." "You mean… my Life Palace can rise to an Immortal-grade Life Palace?" A surge of joy crashed over Murray, and he blurted the words out. "That's right. And once you open the Forty‑Nine Hidden Meridians, every Life Palace in each Hidden Meridian can be upgraded into an Immortal-grade Life Palace!" "Open the Forty‑Nine Hidden Meridians, and every Hidden Meridian can become an Immortal-grade Life Palace…" Murray repeated it in his head, over and over, until his blood seemed to roar faster through his veins. "Focus on opening your second Hidden Meridian first. Once you condense a hundred drops of Origin Liquid, you'll be able to open it." The Mad Immortal Emperor's voice faded into stillness, sinking back into sleep. "I will. I'll open the second Hidden Meridian as fast as I can." Murray clenched his fist. Even with the Mad Immortal Emperor's help, even with the Chaos Creation Scripture, he was still worlds behind the freakish prodigies out there. He had to work ten times, a hundred times, even a thousand times harder, or he'd be trampled underfoot again. In this life, he would never be someone else's stepping stone. He buried himself in cultivation. Origin Energy from the Ice Spirit Spring flowed into his Sword Meridian without end, while the spring's Cold Energy tempered his meridians again and again. A day later, five drops of Origin Liquid had formed within his Sword Meridian. "After condensing a Life Palace, condensing Origin Liquid gets way harder." Murray stared at the five drops, thinking grimly. The ten drops he'd gathered before had all been spent on condensing his Life Palace. He had to start over. After reshaping his Life Palace, the requirements had shot up. Even in a cultivation environment this good, he'd only managed five drops. "These five drops are far stronger than before. Origin Liquid doesn't just fill my Sword Meridian. It can give me more power. In a fight, it's enough to keep me from being beaten." He continued cultivating. Once he condensed ten drops, his cultivation would break through to the Second-stage Life Palace Realm. On the other side of the Ice Spirit Spring, two slender figures approached. "Miss, are you really going to bathe here?" "Cultivate. I'm cultivating here." Elaine Hauk's beautiful eyes flashed as she glared at her maid, emphasizing every word. The maid stuck out her tongue. Cultivating, bathing, what was the difference? "Stand guard here. If you dare let anyone in, I'll beat your butt until it's purple!" "Yes, Miss." The maid answered helplessly. They hadn't seen a single soul all the way here. Who would even come? Elaine nodded, stripped off her clothes, and stepped into the Ice Spirit Spring. "Hiss!" The sudden Cold Energy made her shiver hard, but the next moment her expression softened, sinking into the water with clear enjoyment. "Master was right. With the Ice Spirit Spring suppressing me, my cultivation will skyrocket!" As she cultivated, the spring water around Elaine began to release more and more vapor. It wasn't cold mist. It was steaming heat. Her eyes stayed shut. Her snow-white skin turned scorching hot, heat rolling off her in waves. The temperature became frightening, and even the Ice Spirit Spring around her began warming rapidly. "Second-stage Life Palace Realm!" On the other side, Murray surfaced, delight written across his face. He'd finally condensed ten drops of Origin Liquid, and his cultivation successfully broke through to the Second-stage Life Palace Realm. "With this, even Fourth-stage Life Palace Realm won't be my match. I can even fight Fifth-stage Life Palace Realm!" "Hmm? Why's the water getting warmer?" Murray frowned. His senses caught the change immediately. If the spring warmed up, his cultivation efficiency would drop a lot. "The heat is coming from the other side." Feeling a clear heat source across from him, Murray swam over. He pushed aside thick water weeds and saw someone cultivating in the Ice Spirit Spring, fully submerged. The water around her was already steaming. "When did someone get here?" Murray's heart tightened. He'd been so focused that someone had arrived without him noticing. Thank goodness it wasn't Marcus Scurr's people, or he'd be finished. Staring at the flushed, delicate face, Murray's brows drew together. Something about her felt familiar. "Damn, it's Elaine!" The realization hit in the next breath. Wasn't she Jocelyn's little sister, Elaine? Elaine Hauk was only two years younger than Jocelyn Hauk, sixteen this year. By that connection, she was practically his little sister-in-law. "Why is she here?" Embarrassment flooded him. He hurriedly pretended he hadn't seen anything and backed away. Marcus Scurr had already smeared him as a sex fiend. If he got caught here, he'd never wash that stain off. Outside the Ice Spirit Spring, Elaine Hauk's maid wandered around in boredom. She hadn't seen even a Demon Beast's shadow all this time. The silence was suffocating. "Clothes?" She circled the spring again and again, then spotted a pile in an inconspicuous spot. Her gaze sharpened. "Men's clothes!" "How can there be men's clothes here? Don't tell me someone's peeping on Miss while she bathes!" Her face changed instantly. Annoyance flared at herself for noticing so late. She spun around and rushed back, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Miss, something's wrong! Someone's spying on you while you bathe!"