Dual Cultivation

"Once you go inside the portal, use your spiritual energy to activate these talismans. When the talisman activates seven days later, you will have exactly 60 seconds to stop cultivating and run out of the portal that's only a few meters away from the Celestial Pond, giving you plenty of time to leave." Lord Xie explained as he handed them the talismans.

"I cannot stress this enough but if you do not leave the place in time, you will be stuck in there for 100 years and not even Heaven can save you then."

Liu Lanzhi and the disciples swallowed nervously at his grave warning. They cannot imagine being stuck inside one place for 100 years, and even worse, unable to embrace Su Yang for 100 years.

A few moments later, Lord Xie continued, "Once the seal appears and you can see the portal, immediately jump into it and you will be transported into this empty world where only the Celestial Pond exists. Remember, the portal will remain open for exactly seven days, and you can leave the place at any time during the seven days, but you'll lose valuable time if you do so, so I recommend you stay inside until the very last minute."

"Now for the most important thing about the Celestial Pond… You MUST cultivate inside the Celestial Pond in order to take advantage of the treasure. It will not work if you cultivate outside or around it."

"Do you have any questions or something you don't understand?"

Liu Lanzhi and the others shook their heads.

"Good, then we only have to wait for the Celestial Pond to open in an hour."

However, Su Yang quickly interrupted him and said, "You won't need to wait an hour, since it will be opening in 5 minutes."

"What?" Lord Xie turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"The formation is already activated; it should reveal itself in a few minutes."

"How is that possible? The Celestial Pond has always opened at the same time since ancient times! Why would it open an hour earlier than normal this time?" Lord Xie said to him, clearly doubting his words.

Seeing Lord Xie's frown and doubtful gaze, Su Yang spoke with a smile on his handsome face, "Did you forget what I said yesterday? You don't have to wait 100 years for the formation to open. Since the thing protecting the Celestial Pond is not a natural phenomenon but a formation, as long as one has the ability, they can open or close the formation as they please."

"What!? Does this mean—"

Before Lord Xie could even get his hopes up, Su Yang shook his head and said, "Just because you have the means to open the door does not mean whatever's inside that door will always be available for you. The Celestial Pond is not infinite— once you use up its resources, it will naturally require time to recover itself."

"..."

Lord Xie had nothing to say after hearing Su Yang's words, as what he said made clear sense. If one were to scoop out all of the water in a lake, one must wait for the river to refill the lake with water before it can be used again.

"While that is true, what if the Celestial Pond takes less than 100 years to recover? Even if it takes 90 years to recover, if we can open the portal and enter the Celestial Pond as we please, that's 10 years less that we have to wait every time we want to cultivate in the Celestial Pond." Xie Wang suddenly said.

"That is true," Su Yang nodded after hearing Xie Wang's words, and he continued, "However, who in this world has the capabilities to open the formation when even the top formation experts cannot see the formation itself? You might as well ask mortals to start flying."

"..."

Xie Wang was speechless. Indeed, who could possibly open the formation when only Su Yang can see the thing?

"What about you? You were able to tinker with the formation and make it open an hour earlier than scheduled. Surely you must have the capability to open the formation as you please." Lord Xie said with his gaze locked onto Su Yang, who wore a casual smile on his face.

"Indeed, this level of formation is nothing in my eyes and I can open it as I please. However, do I look like a freaking doorman to you? I don't have the time to open the formation for you every time you feel like going inside."

"It'll only be tedious at first, but once we figure out how long it'll take for the Celestial Pond to recover, you'll only need to open it whenever it recovers, and we'll even pay you for it." Lord Xie said to him.

However, Su Yang shook his head and said, "I won't be able to do it even if you offered me the world, as I will not be around in the future."

"What do you mean by that, Su Yang? Are you going somewhere?" Xie Xingfang suddenly asked him with a small frown between her brows.

He nodded, "Yes, I have a place that I need to be in the future and I don't know when I'll return if I will ever return, but this is not the proper time for the conversation."

He then turned to look at the formation and said, "The formation is opening. Get ready to go inside."

Once Liu Lanzhi and the disciples heard his words, they prepared to move at a moment's notice.

*Crack* *Crack* *Crack*

The empty air suddenly cracked like a broken mirror, and a massive hole appeared in the crack a few moments later, revealing a purple portal that emitted an otherworldly inside.

"Go inside now!" Lord Xie suddenly shouted at them.

Hearing his voice, Liu Lanzhi and the other disciples quickly reacted by approaching the hole in the air before jumping into the portal and disappearing from the Eastern Continent.