Covering the Sky: A Guide to Proving the Dao Without Cheats

Back at the Holy Son's Hall, Lu Yang was already waiting in the side hall. The middle-aged man, who had been in charge of the Yao Guang Stone Archway for many years, bowed deeply upon seeing Luo Heng, his tone respectful yet tinged with joy: "Holy Son, I have not failed in my mission. The Nine-Aperture Stone Man has been safely delivered."

After saying that, he raised his hand and waved it.

In the center of the main hall, a strange stone, about a foot long, with nine orifices and eight holes, appeared out of thin air. The stone was warm and smooth, and a faint luster flowed between the holes.

Luo Heng glanced at it, nodded in satisfaction, and casually asked while looking it over, "Hmm, it's good that it's delivered. By the way, did the people from Dao Yi Stone Workshop give you any trouble?"

Lu Yang quickly shook his head: "No, Holy Son. The rule that 'source stones cannot be taken out of the stone workshop and can only be cut on the spot' applies to ordinary rogue cultivators."

No matter how precious Originium is, it's just a commodity to our holy lands. We trade and circulate resources when there's an urgent need. Therefore, we can directly buy and sell Originium.

Upon hearing this, Luo Heng simply nodded to indicate that he understood.

Seeing the smile on his face, Lu Yang hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Highness, I took the liberty of bringing Miss Ziyuan and Miss Hongling along as well."

Upon hearing this, Luo Heng paused slightly, turned his head to look Lu Yang up and down, and the smile on his lips deepened.

He reached out and patted Lu Yang on the shoulder, saying with satisfaction, "Elder Lu truly deserves to be a pillar of our Yao Guang Holy Land."

"I remember your contributions." After a moment's thought, "By the way, I just obtained some divine spring water from the Jade Pool Holy Land, so I'll reward you with some."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a stream of crystal-clear, light-like spring water sprayed out, condensing into a water ball the size of a head in mid-air.

Lu Yang only took a breath of the dissipated water vapor, and felt a wave of comfort wash over him, as if even the life wheel in the sea of ​​suffering had been nourished.

Having witnessed such a change, how could he not know the preciousness of this divine spring water? He immediately expressed his gratitude and loyalty once again.

Luo Heng waved his hand dismissively, signaling him to step back.

But Lu Yang added, "Um, Holy Son, my other two juniors..."

Upon hearing this, Luo Heng immediately thought of the two little girls, his face darkened instantly, and he cursed, "Get out of here!"

After Lu Yang scrambled out of the Holy Son's Hall, Luo Heng finally recovered. He paused, then called out:

"Red silk, purple aster."

As soon as he finished speaking, two women stepped lightly into the hall and bowed gracefully to Luo Heng.

Both women wore light-colored satin skirts with cloud patterns, covered with moon-white gauze. Their long hair was tied into buns on one side, each adorned with a red and a purple delicate flower. Their postures were serene and graceful, like twin lotus blossoms.

It was Hongling and Ziyuan, the two women.

Luo Heng waved his hand and laughed, "Alright, no need for formalities. From now on, you will be my personal maids, and all the daily affairs in the palace will be handled by you."

Upon hearing this, Hongling and Ziyuan's eyes flashed with joy, but their posture remained proper as they curtsied again, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. We will certainly do our best."

Luo Heng looked satisfied and then instructed, "Furthermore, I will be going into seclusion for a period of time. If anything comes up, please write it down and report back to me after I emerge from seclusion."

Seeing the two women nod in agreement, he nodded, picked up the nine-aperture stone figure with one hand, and turned to walk into the secluded meditation room deep within the Holy Son's Palace.

With a flicker, the person vanished, leaving only a delicate stone floating slowly in mid-air, swirling with faint chaotic energy.

As soon as he entered the Great Luo Heaven, Luo Heng noticed that the nine-aperture stone figure he was carrying suddenly began to tremble violently!

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying killing intent emanated from inside the stone figure, startling the unprepared Luo Heng.

Without saying a word, he immediately mobilized the power of the Great Luo Heaven to suppress it.

An invisible force descended, instantly suppressing the violently struggling stone man.

Once he had regained control and was examining the stone figure closely, he saw that fine cracks had begun to appear on its surface. "This is... due to the sudden change in the environment, it wants to be born ahead of schedule?" Luo Heng instantly realized.

His actions were tantamount to forcibly detaching an immature fetus from its mother's body and transplanting it into another "mother." Such a brutal method would likely kill the nine-aperture stone man.

In a flash, he no longer hesitated and immediately activated the power of the Great Luo Heaven's transformation.

"laugh--"

Pure white Daoist fire ignited on the surface of the stone figure, with countless Daoist patterns flickering within the flames.

Under the suppression of the power of the Great Luo Heaven World, the stone man could only tremble incessantly, watching helplessly as he was gradually transformed into the most primordial Dao runes in the Dao Fire, dissipating into the world.

The outer stone body appears to be just ordinary stone, but it has been transformed into Taoism very quickly.

In the end, only a dark golden metal cocoon, about the size of a walnut, remained on his forehead, shimmering and radiating an extremely special aura.

Although this cocoon looks mysterious and extraordinary, under the absolute suppression of the Great Luo Heaven, it is nothing more than fish on a chopping board, powerless to resist.

It too slowly melted away in that white Dao fire, and Luo Heng even vaguely seemed to hear a mournful and unwilling scream.

He didn't care at all, and even found the voice somewhat...pleasant? After all, the other party was a Holy Spirit, so killing him was a matter of no psychological burden.

Luo Heng quietly sensed the changes in the Great Luo Heaven—the origin of the world was slowly strengthening, and the rules of heaven and earth were gradually being completed.

He couldn't help but marvel: "The growth brought about by the complete 'transformation' of this one unfinished nine-aperture stone figure is terrifying."

But upon further reflection, I felt relieved.

What is the Holy Spirit?

Those are true children of heaven and earth, beings born with heaven as their father and earth as their mother, whose physique is in no way inferior to peerless physiques such as the Holy Body or the Overlord Body.

Even though this nine-aperture stone figure is not yet fully formed, its essence remains. Absorbing and digesting it completely will naturally result in astonishing growth.

Thinking this, Luo Heng's gaze towards the dissipating stone figure became fervent once more. He muttered to himself, as if offering comfort, yet also teasing.

"My son is so young, he melts in your mouth! Wait, no... I'm not your biological mother, I'm more like a stepmother."

"Don't blame your stepmother for being heartless. It's because she's not as 'rich' as ​​your biological mother. She's malnourished herself, how could she possibly support you?"

"Now that you've fallen into your stepmother's hands... hehe, it's not unreasonable for her to use you to nourish herself, is it? If you have anyone to blame, blame your own bad luck!"

"By the way, we need to find more Holy Spirits in the future... This thing was only this strong before it was born, but it's really nourishing when you 'eat' it, much easier than finding those Holy Bodies or Overlord Bodies."

It's truly an excellent tonic...

Even in the end, Luo Heng couldn't help but set his sights on other Holy Spirits.