The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 179: The White And Black Heaven

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After checking on Nicholas and picking up Aiyana who had been a week inside a jungle, we moved towards our next destination, the skies. The Heavens above my Inner Realm were another whole world to explore, one as big as the Inner Realm, and divided into Nine Layers as the Nine Heavens they are.

Each color represents an element as well, and each Heaven has its own unique biomes, floating islands, or even a solid cloud to stand over. Alongside unique, Martial Beasts of even greater power than down here.

“John should have gone to the White Heaven, so it’s around there,” I said. “Can you fly? I’m sure all of you can by now come with me.”

I jumped into the skies and flew higher and higher, propelling myself using my sheer Immortal Aura as the only form of flight, easy enough.

Meanwhile, I observed that each person had their own unique method of flight. Aiyana summoned the Totem of a Hawk, gaining its enormous wings and growing over her shoulders to fly higher and higher.

Nicholas covered his body with a layer of metal, using his Magnetism to lift himself up through it. And Peperina flew using her flames, propelling her as she released them through her foot with each step upwards.

Eventually, we passed through a sea of white clouds. The air in here was thick and cold; it was quite refreshing from the heat down below. We stepped into the fluffy white clouds and started moving quickly across the cloudy plains.

“Over there,” I said.

I noticed a tall, blonde young man above the skies, floating above the clouds, while rays of light bathed his body. He was constantly constructing formations made of light around him.

His white skin had become rather tanned after having been bathing in the strong sunlight all this time, but he looked fine.

“Hahh…”

He sighed in frustration as he felt the light encompassing him; he had almost formed a perfect pagoda-shaped construction, but it ended shattering apart.

“Not yet…”

I had given him special training; by letting him absorb the purest form of light within my Inner Realm and then wielding it, he had been trying to make shapes with light.

This was the first step towards learning Photon Essence Arts, although I doubt he’ll be able to use the exact form I have, he seems to have some talent.

His control was already surprising after just a week, honestly.

“Well done, John,” I said. “It seems you’ve been able to create multiple shapes now, all at the same time too.”

“B-Bing Xue?!” He gasped, surprised. “I swear I didn’t sense your presence here… Oh, you’re with everyone else?”

“Yeah, you’ve been here for almost a week; don’t you feel tired? Let’s go down to take a rest,” I explained. “You’ve advanced by leaps and bounds, so it might be about time I give you a new training regime and guide you better.”

“O-Oh, but I… well, you saw that, right? I was unable to create a solid, big construction yet,” he sighed. “I have yet to even prove I’ve progressed enough.”

“You’ve already done so in my opinion,” I said. “Shaping light is no easy feat either, and you’ve learned to do this in a week; it’s surprising. You also seem stronger; your body harbors a large quantity of the Essence of Light; you have officially begun your journey through this Path.”

“I-Is that so…” he wondered, feeling like nothing much had changed with him whatsoever. “It really doesn’t feel like that to me… Huh.”

“Well, did you have a dream?” I asked him.

“No…” he said. “I mean, what dream?”

“One where you became light maybe?” I asked. “Or something similar.”

“I haven’t, not that I remember…” he said.

“I suppose you have yet to attain enlightenment…” I said. “But your body already feels radiant, as if you’ve already done so; how interesting.”

It seemed he was a sleeping talent all along; I should have noticed this earlier.

Could it be that he had already gained enlightenment in the past before, without even realizing it?

Perhaps…

“Don’t tell me this whole time you’ve been just floating in the air!” said Aiyana. “Wow, talk about being a lazy ass.”

“L-Lazy ass?!” asked John. “I’ve been working really hard, Aiyana! A-And why are you covered in so much blood? What’s gotten into you? And you’re huge!”

“Heheheh! I got stronger,” Aiyana laughed. “But you’re still just the same; you’re so lame, John. Get real for once.”

“I’ve been training diligently this entire time; I’ll show you the fruit of my labor eventually,” John sighed. “I honestly don’t get the time to be discussing or making a fuss with you, Aiyana.”

“Heh, always talking like you’re above others. This is why I don’t like this guy,” said Aiyana angrily.

"Well, you kind of started it,” said Peperina. “Let’s just get along…”

“I agree, no need to be fighting like this,” nodded Nicholas. “We are all allies here. John and Aiyana, you’re part of the guild masters of New York; you’re my closest allies and friends as well. So I wouldn’t want to see you fighting like this.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” I nodded. “Come on, we’re not done here yet. Let’s move to the Black Heaven now.”

While the White Heaven was a near-endless land made of white clouds, the Black Heaven was made of black clouds. There was barely any light there, and the element of Darkness thrived the most within these divine skies.

We saw storms of purple and black lighting, tornadoes of abyssal flames, and countless monstrous creatures that lived in here. Each one more scary-looking and grotesque than the previous one.

“Is this where Jackes went to?” wondered John. “I thought his punishment had ended already, but did he get reprimanded again?”

“No, this is not his punishment; it’s the optimal way for him to grow stronger and develop his element,” I explained. “Jackes’ element of darkness and shadows can only expand and grow within this environment and-”

RUMBLE!

Interrupting my words, a loud tremor reverberated across the nearby clouds as we looked down, noticing a gigantic mass of darkness and shadows, taking the form of some humanoid being, fighting against the creatures that lived in here.

Its gigantic shadow claws tore through the tentacled abominations that lived here; each time they were killed, particles of darkness would come from their bodies and be absorbed by the titan of shadows.

“W-What is that thing?!” John gasped, covering his mouth in disbelief. “I-Is it some monster?!”

“No, that’s Jackes,” I smiled. “Looks like he’s doing well.”

I descended to greet him the moment his giant red eyes glared at me; however, he swung his claws against me, trying to attack me.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

Explosions of black thunder erupted as these gigantic claws made of black clouds attempted to tear me to shreds, but to no avail; it dealt no damage against me.

But yes, I had to recognize they were quite strong.

“That’s enough, Jackes,” I said. “Don’t let your power control you.”

I waved my hand, touching the giant shadow claws and injecting Photon Essence inside.

Until the entire being erupted, with beams of light coming from holes through its body.

BOOOM!

As the darkness was defeated and disappeared, the body of Jackes appeared, falling from the skies. I rushed down, grabbing him before he was to fall from the skies.

His short black hair had grown a bit longer, and his slender body was as light-weighed as I remember him being.

“Ugh…!” he groaned, slowly opening his eyes. “W-Wha…? Bing Xue?!”

He gasped in disbelief as he found me carrying him around like a kitten.

“Hello Jackes, I can see your cultivation went decently well, though you’ve lost yourself in the power of darkness,” I said. “It is a scary thing, isn’t it?”

“I-I lost myself?” he gasped. “I-I… I’m sorry… I couldn’t fight back… It was so powerful and all-encompassing. I don’t know how long it has been, perhaps a couple of days.”

“I see, did you achieve enlightenment in the Dao of Darkness then?” I wondered.

“I-I saw a dream where I became a monster born from shadows, and this dream continued until now,” he sighed.

“Interesting how that went, so you dreamed about being a monster of shadows, and there you were, being one! Haha, alright, we’ll work on helping you out control that monster inside of you,” I giggled. “You’ve got great potential, nevertheless.”

“I-I apologize…” He felt rather humiliated. “To think I would dare attack you…”

“It’s fine,” I shrugged. “I’m so strong that it doesn’t really matter that much. But don’t do that again, alright? We’ll work on that.”

“Y-Yes, thank you,” he nodded.

After that, we regrouped back, and the rest of the disciples started to bark at him.

“Hey Jackes, what the hell is wrong with you?!” Aiyana cried.

“This was seriously dangerous; what was happening inside of your head?” John asked.

“Hm, well, Bing Xue is very strong, so I doubt she went through serious harm or a threat,” said Nicholas. “But yes, I agree; you need to work on your control.”

“I will,” nodded Jackes, feeling slightly annoyed. “I must.”

I smiled, nodding.

“Let’s go; almost the last stop now.”

We move to the Blue Heavens, where ice and water are concentrated. But that wasn’t because the disciple there desired such elements.

No, it was because in the Blue Heavens, there was a huge Heavenly Storm going on, a phenomenon when every Heavenly Layer gathers too much energy and it explodes.

This explosion generates a storm that unleashes a huge tornado between all nine layers, concentrating into a beautiful yet lethal rainbow-colored tornado.

This tornado, containing all nine elemental heavens clouds within them, was the ideal place for someone to cultivate and absorb its chaotic, elemental energies.

And it was a young man, Francisco, the strongest magician of New York and amongst the strongest of North America so far.

He was only a boy in his late teens, with red brown hair and sharp emerald eyes; he had a childish personality and was obsessed with magic itself.

Cultivation had also become one of his new hobbies, and after learning that through it, he could actually make his delicate body stronger, making it possible for him to not get too exhausted from using his extensive quantities of Mana, he had grown obsessed with it.

To combine Ki with his boundless Mana together into something stronger, and he had been growing by leaps and bounds.

I might sound a bit biased here, but amongst my disciples, he’s the most promising of the bunch due to his incredible potential.

A master of magic capable of mastering any element; for example, he is able to create magic circles out of thin air through his Skills, modify them, transform them, and combine them.

This, fused with Cultivation, Dao Marks, and the power of Martial Arts, Spiritual Arts, and Ki, has been rapidly growing him into something not even I can predict he could become.

He’s my biggest wild card, the one with a future that might be the brightest amongst my disciples.

And right now, in front of everyone, he was proving why he was so unique and talented.

FLUOSH!

In the middle of this elemental tornado of destruction, which could easily crush everyone here within a matter of minutes.

He was there, floating in midair.

He was sitting cross-legged, floating amidst the skies.

The elements, instead of harming him, bended to his Arcane Arts, warping around his body.

Slowly, his Aura of Mana and Ki grew bigger, exuding the brilliance of the nine heavens as he absorbed their elements directly.

Around his body, there were dozens of enormous Magic Circles with rainbow colors and thousands of tiny runes inscribed in them.

His eyes were glowing; we couldn’t even see their pupils anymore.

“There, this, and that too… Ah! I think I made a breakthrough again!”

He smiled childishly, giggling as he waved his fingers, modifying the magic circles and making them even more efficient at warping elemental energies and assimilating them.

I noticed that he was now using Spiritual Arts, specifically Feng Shui, into his Magic Circles, adding its unique marks and runes into them.

Technically, despite looking so small, each magic circle was actually a formation of its own with several layers stacked together through runes.

Their power amplified his growth, development, and thought process; he was constantly breaking through many walls at the same time as he learned more about the elements, his powers, magic, and cultivation.

Even his Martial Core was different from the rest—a powerful crystallization of Mana, he created a unique method of Mana Cultivation, a Mana Core.

He didn’t have just one though; he had already figured out how to add more, so his body currently had three of them.

The first one was in his chest, the second inside his head, and the third was in his stomach; each one enhanced his body’s growth and powers.

I have given him guidance and training regimes, but all of this? He figured it out on his own.

He had been mostly overlooked by everyone else, so I can tell they were very surprised.

“I-Is that Francisco?!” Nicholas gasped.

“W-What in the world is going on…” John muttered.

“Hahaha! That kid’s pretty strong, isn’t he?! I think we’ve been sleeping on him!” Aiyana laughed.

“S-So many Elemental Apertures,” said Peperina. “He’s absorbing all of that?! How is he not dying…?”

“He’s an Arcane Cultivator,” I explained. “Perhaps the first of his kind, he has discovered a new Path, the Path of the Arcanist, and even a new Dao, the Arcane Dao.”

“Hmm… Oh? Ah! Master!”

With a cute giggle, Francisco greeted me.

He waved his hands as his magic circles exploded into pieces, and the entire tornado suddenly dissipated.

Oh, so he was keeping the tornado in place? Interesting!

“Francisco! It seems you’ve grown a lot in just a week!” I said. “I am quite proud of you.”

“You praise me too much; I am barely scratching the surface so far!” he descended, greeting everyone. “Oh wow! Everyone looks so strong now, I can’t compare, haha!”

As he acted humbly, everyone else glared at him with faces full of disbelief.

“This guy…” John muttered.

“That humility only hurts me more…” Jackes sighed.

“A-Ahaha, nice to meet you again, Francisco…” muttered Nicholas. “W-Well done!”

“Now let’s get going,” I said. “We have to quickly. Oh right, Yanisse! She must be… even higher than this. Let’s go!”

I flew into the skies as everyone followed.

Although they rapidly started to get nervous the more cloud layers we pierced.

Yes, Yanisse was all the way up in the stars.

“Um, where’s Yanisse at?” asked Peperina. “This is already… We’re going to outer space! I didn’t know your Inner Realm had such a thing!”

“She’s in the Starry Sky,” I explained. “It’s not completely an Outer Space like everyone knows it, but it's an incredibly expansive, empty space of pure darkness, where stars of all colors, meteors, and asteroids exist. Of course, there’s also lots of Spatial and Void Singularities! This is an imitation of the “Starry Ocean” that Murim had!”

“WHAT?!”

My entire group of disciples was shocked for some reason! Well, they get shocked all the time anyways, so I moved on.

“Hmm… She should’ve been around there, oh!”

I looked into the very far distance. A beautiful blonde Russian girl was floating in front of a spiraling Void Singularity, absorbing its all-destructive essence.

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