Henry Carter ignored the increasing pressure on his body, and didn’t care that it was getting even harder to approach the continent. Standing atop the clouds, he raised both hands high, shouting and jumping with excitement.

Excitement! Henry Carter had never felt so thrilled! Ever since he left last time, he’d been afraid he’d never return to this place. The vast Heavenly Court—just a random explosion had produced a pill furnace so astonishing, so what other treasures might be hidden deep within the palaces? And what about those peaches that looked unimaginably huge?

And then…

Henry Carter gazed at the distant horizon. A gigantic iron staff floated there, radiating multicolored light, seemingly even more dazzling than the sun of the Origin Continent!

Strange characters were carved along the staff’s shaft. Henry Carter had gotten used to seeing these unfamiliar words in the Heavenly Court; he only needed to ask the stone gate within his body to at least learn what those odd characters were called.

“Ruyi Jingu Bang…”

That same ancient, deep voice echoed once again in Henry Carter’s mind.

Ruyi Jingu Bang? Henry Carter eyed the iron staff from afar. This thing was so thick and massive—how could it be “as you wish”? Whatever, it certainly looked like a treasure! But it seemed even farther away than the Peach Orchard, and so huge that even if he got close, he probably couldn’t lift it. If only he could wield that staff—the power…

Henry Carter clicked his tongue twice, pulling himself out of his wild imaginings, and began circling the pill furnace. The silver pill was just ahead; if he could just take it and swallow it, the true energy would probably surge into his body like a tsunami, right? How much would the toughness and width of his meridians increase then?

Chapter 11: The Demon Wolf

Henry Carter swallowed a few times, moving his slightly heavy steps toward the pill furnace. Waves of scorching heat rolled over him, and a blast of hot air knocked him backward. When the heat hit his cheek, it felt like someone had splashed boiling water on his face.

“Am I going to be disfigured?”

Henry Carter sat on the clouds, raising a hand to touch his cheek, secretly relieved! Luckily, he’d reacted quickly enough. The blast of heat had only reached the edge here, and the temperature had dropped a lot. Otherwise, even with the protective battle shield qi from the Blade-Shield Iron Scroll, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand that wave of heat.

“I can’t get through!” Henry Carter circled the pill furnace anxiously, feeling like a tiger trying to eat the sky—nowhere to start. The treasure was right in front of him, but he just couldn’t get it!

“Pure Water Cold Spring, I need Pure Water Cold Spring!” Henry Carter resolved silently that as soon as he left the confinement room, the first thing he’d do would be to grab a few bags of ice water, come back to this so-called Heavenly Court, and douse these flames!

But these flames were really strange! Henry Carter studied the still-burning fire inside the pill furnace. Normal flames should be red, and hotter flames should be blue, but this fire was so pure and clear that if you didn’t look closely, you could barely see it at all. It was nearly transparent, yet the temperature was astonishingly high. What kind of strange fire was this?

“Samadhi True Fire…”

“Thanks!” Henry Carter responded absentmindedly to the stone gate’s answer, “So what exactly is Samadhi True Fire?”

The stone gate floated quietly above Henry Carter’s dantian, offering no further explanation.

Henry Carter shrugged, realizing that getting close to the pill furnace and taking out the silver pill was simply impossible for now. He might as well use the time to look around and see if there were any other benefits to be found.

In such a vast Heavenly Court, there had to be more than just a pill furnace and a single pill, right? Henry Carter walked atop the clouds, curiously surveying his surroundings, pondering in his heart: what kind of power could have turned such a grand, seemingly mighty Heavenly Court into ruins?

“The deeper I go, the greater the pressure!” Henry Carter trudged forward, feeling as if he was carrying not just one, but two of himself on his back!

In just a few hundred meters, the pressure had doubled again? Henry Carter had to muster what little true energy he had left to help, or else his movements would become sluggish. If some monster suddenly appeared and attacked…

Awooo…

A wild, primal howl suddenly rang out from the endless distance, echoing throughout the entire Heavenly Court.

Henry Carter looked around warily. Was there really something alive here? No way, right? Suddenly, a patch of grass taller than two men nearby rustled, and two green, menacing lights shot out from within.

“What is that?”

Henry Carter tensed up, channeling the Blade-Shield Iron Scroll’s great qi into his arms, turning them into weapons as sharp as blades for a short time.

The grass suddenly parted to both sides, and a gray wolf, still half as tall as a man even crouched low, leapt out!

The gray wolf didn’t pause for a second after bursting from the grass. Its four paws struck the clouds, its powerful hind legs kicked off with force, and it opened its jaws to reveal rows of sharp fangs, aiming straight for Henry Carter’s throat!

A wolf? Henry Carter gasped, true energy whirling inside him as he stepped back half a pace! All ten toes dug in and twisted, driving his ankles to spin rapidly, his waist following the momentum to retreat. His right arm, transformed into a blade, slashed down at the gray wolf’s neck! The Blade-Shield Iron Scroll’s “Diving Dragon Cuts the Sea” waist-level slash!