Echoes of a Forgotten Pact

In the Star Sword Sect, after seeing the Law Origin Stones appear in his system space, Xu Tianran was overjoyed—he felt like a worker receiving their salary with a hefty bonus before the month even ended.

After calming down, he couldn't wait to start cultivating using the Law Origin Stones and the system's devouring points.

He opened the system window.

System Devouring Points:

Talent: 5.3 Billion (5 Billion already remained)

Cultivation: 40.4 Billion (40 Billion already remained)

Skill: 280 million

Law: 30 million

After checking his devouring points, Xu Tianran was delighted. "Catching a small number of big fish might give fewer points, but they sell for a much higher price. Especially these Law Points—these alone can make my cultivation soar."

He chuckled softly, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "More than 3000 demons lost their lives today… rest in peace. Your sacrifice won't be wasted."

It seemed he couldn't improve his Talent, Body, or Cultivation Techniques for now. The next upgrade would probably require more than 15 billion points. For now, his only option was to directly raise his cultivation level using Cultivation Points and Law Points.

To step into the Golden Immortal Realm, one must comprehend at least one law to 51 percent. The strength of a Golden Immortal varies based on which laws—and how many—they have comprehended. Xu Tianran glanced at his Law Points and smiled. "This should be more than enough to push all my laws past 51 percent."

Laws Comprehended:

Technology: 100%

Chaos: 45%+

Thunder: 40%+

Space: 25%+

Time: 10%+

Reincarnation: 10%+

Karma: 15%+

Life: 10%+

Death: 10%+

Devour: 25%+

Conceal: 25%+

Clone: 25%+

Morphing: 25%+

Escape: 25%+

Five Elements: 6%+

Without hesitation, Xu Tianran tapped the + symbol next to each law, raising them all exactly to 51 percent. His Law Points and Cultivation Points drained at astonishing speed, the system window flickering wildly.

At the same time, countless insights regarding the laws poured into his mind like a broken dam releasing a flood. His body flickered with a black, gold, and purple glow, thunder crackling ominously around him. He looked like a thunder god descending from the abyss, his hair swaying wildly in the surge of power.

Time flowed like drifting clouds—three years passed in a flash. When Xu Tianran opened his eyes again, they were as deep and mysterious as the abyss itself. A smile tugged at his lips—he had successfully broken through to 1st Golden Immortal Realm, with all his laws comprehended to 51 percent.

Laws Comprehended:

Technology: 100%

Chaos: 51%

Thunder: 51%

Space: 51%

Time: 51%

Reincarnation: 51%

Karma: 51%

Life: 51%

Death: 51%

Devour: 51%

Conceal: 51%

Clone: 51%

Morphing: 51%

Escape: 51%

Five Elements: 51%

True Cultivation: 1st Golden Immortal Realm

Combat Level: Equivalent to Peak Golden Immortal Realm

After calming down, Xu Tianran had the sudden urge to go and smash mountains or split the sea. "The stronger I get, the more my heart demon stirs…" Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he reminded himself of his real plan. "It's been three years since my beautiful clone Ji Yunxi last visited the tower. Now, I'll cultivate—and let her handle the farming."

With a single thought, his clone formed, the same cold goddess aura enveloping her. Without pause, she slipped into the void, re-entered the Myriad Dao Ascension Tower, and resumed her ruthless farming cycle.

Currently, Xu Tianran could create up to 300 clones at once, each one controlled perfectly through his parallel minds. His primary mind would remain focused on cultivation using the Law Origin Stones stored in his system space.

Cultivation Points: 35 Billion

Law Points: 10 million

After checking the remaining points, he no longer hesitated and entered deep seclusion, while his cold goddess clone worked tirelessly—like a corporate employee devoid of emotion, only focused on efficiency. Collect Law Origin Stones, transfer them back to the system space, and escape in the opposite side of the sect to avoid suspicion.

Ten years passed like fleeting clouds.

Inside the tower, the cold goddess clone had already cleared up to the 99th floor, securing 1st place on the Golden Immortal Realm ranking stele. Yet, she deliberately avoided stepping onto the 100th floor.

She had her suspicions.

First possibility: After clearing the 100th floor, the artificial spirit Yuna would appear and reveal her master's tragic story. Whoever cleared the floor would be forced to inherit the tower—and swear a Dao Oath to avenge its original owner.

Second possibility: The tower's creator was some ancient old bastard clinging to life, hiding in a slumbering state within the 100th floor. His real purpose? To possess the most talented challenger who reached the final floor.

"Either way, I have no interest in dealing with revenge plots or possession schemes," Ji Yunxi thought coldly. So, for the last decade, she repeated the same cycle—clearing the 99th floor with inhuman efficiency, dazzling the crowd each time, only to stop right before the 100th floor.

Outside the tower, cultivators believed the 100th floor was simply too difficult, and they assumed even the cold goddess lacked confidence to challenge it. They had no idea her true reason for stopping.

Meanwhile, within a hidden pocket dimension inside the tower, an ancient, sinister presence grew restless. This decrepit old bastard, the true creator of the tower, had been waiting for several epochs to possess a worthy talent. Ji Yunxi's arrival had caught his attention from the very first visit.

Watching her ascend from 8th Earth Immortal Realm to Golden Immortal Realm in just three short years had left him trembling with greed.

"I must possess her!"

Yet, to his despair, Ji Yunxi never stepped onto the 100th floor—the only place where his possession formation could activate. Each year, she cleared up to the 99th floor and left, only to return again the next year to repeat the process.

This endless torment continued for 10 full years, leaving the ancient spirit both obsessed and helpless, like a fisherman watching a legendary fish swim by his hook over and over—never biting.

Meanwhile in the Star Sword Sect, Xu Tianran slowly opened his eyes after his long seclusion—13 years had passed since his clone Ji Yunxi first entered the Myriad Dao Ascension Tower, and 10 years had passed since his breakthrough into the 1st Golden Immortal Realm. Now, he had already reached the Peak Golden Immortal Realm. All his comprehended laws had reached 100%, making him even more powerful than in his previous life. With absolute confidence, he knew he could break through to the Heaven Immortal Realm at any time. Overwhelmed with joy, a rare smile crept across his face.

All thanks to his clone's tireless work and the countless demons sacrificed along the way, his law points had soared to the heavens, drastically shortening his cultivation time.

He asked the system to show his remaining devouring points:

Devouring points:

Talent: 13 Billion

Cultivation: 36 Billion

Skill: 7 Billion

Law: 0

He felt a slight pang of regret—these points were nowhere near enough for the next upgrade, and without Law Points, the Cultivation Points were little more than empty numbers.

But before he could start sulking, an ancient voice echoed directly into his mind through soul telepathy—

"My disciple, why have you still not found any of the treasure sites I marked on the soul map?"

Xu Tianran froze on the spot. It had been so long since he last heard this voice—the voice of that old bastard, Tian Mozi, who shamelessly proclaimed himself as his master.

Xu Tianran quickly adjusted his mindset and put on a respectful tone. "Master, it's been so long—how have you been? I've been in deep seclusion all this time, and I haven't even ascended from the Heavenly Dao World to the Immortal Dao World yet. How could I possibly search for the treasure sites you marked on the soul map when they are all located in the Immortal Dao?"

Hearing this, Tian Mozi suddenly realized his own oversight.

"Ah… that's right."

This brat is only at most 65 to 70 years old. How could I forget something so obvious? When I first noticed his reincarnation cycle, even I was shocked—this lunatic actually managed to climb from the mortal world to the Heavenly Dao World purely through reincarnation.

After clearing his thoughts, Tian Mozi's voice softened slightly.

"Well, disciple, work hard. I'm waiting for you."

With that, his voice faded from Xu Tianran's mind.

Xu Tianran immediately activated the Brainstorming function in his system, scanning his soul for any hidden traps left behind by the old bastard. Only after confirming that everything was clean did his tense expression ease.

Just as he was about to plan his next move, the system's cold mechanical voice rang out:

(Ding! Host has met the power level requirement to upgrade World Transverse 2.0 to Immortal World Transverse.)