A week has passed since Zhao Lusi three the two of them out of the sect. Fang Lian and Leng Yue stood atop a lonely mountain peak overlooking a vast stretch of land.
A bustling city could be seen in the distance.
Fang Lian stared at the scenery before tilting her head and asked.
"Is this Hallowfall City?"
Leng Yue glanced at it before shaking her head.
"I don’t know."
Fang Lian slowly lowered the map.
"This is the fourth place we’ve checked. Are you sure you’re a local?"
"I told you," Leng Yue replied with an annoyed sigh. "I’m local to the Higher Realm, not the Mortal Realm. I have no idea where Hallowfall City is."
"Tsk, tsk."
Fang Lian clicked her tongue.
"So much for being the local."
She looked at Leng Yue with mock disappointment.
"Do you ever look at maps?"
Leng Yue’s eyebrow twitched.
"...Are you picking a fight?"
Fang Lian smiled sweetly.
"So what if I am. What are you going to do about it?"
"..."
And that... The result arrived three weeks later in the form of a letter.
In the private chambers of the sect leader of flying crane sect.
"So... the two of them ended up fighting, and it happened right in the middle of the Phantom Vile Sect’s territory? They deserve a medal," Zhao Lusi said excitedly.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Do you know how difficult it is to fight in the Phantom Vile Sect’s backyard?"
Zhao Mei stared at her elder sister.
This was definitely your plan...
She was certain of it, she just couldn’t prove it.
Letting out a long sigh, Zhao Mei spoke again.
"The Phantom Vile Sect is demanding compensation for the damage."
"How bad could it possibly be?" Zhao Lusi asked.
Not intending to read the contents aloud, Zhao Mei handed the letter to her elder sister.
Zhao Lusi scanned it briefly before freezing.
"Oh my God... What is this?" She blinked twice before joking, "Are they secretly in the Transcending Tribulation Realm?"
"This is no joking matter." Zhao Mei frowned. "Did you even see the scale of the damage?"
Zhao Lusi simply patted her younger sister’s head.
"Calm down, Sister. No one was harmed. At least that’s something to be thankful for."
Zhao Mei sighed again.
"Yeah... I can’t even imagine how much worse it would have been if they hadn’t been holding back for the sake of the people nearby."
Zhao Lusi burst into laughter once more.
"I know!"
She folded the letter and grinned.
"Those two really are geniuses. I’m definitely going to have a blast teaching those weird geniuses!"
Zhao Mei immediately frowned.
"Fang Lian isn’t a disciple of our sect."
She glanced at her elder sister before continuing,
"And Leng Yue is free to choose her own master. Stop meddling in other people’s affairs."
"Yeah, yeah."
Zhao Lusi waved her hand dismissively.
"By the way, I should probably go get those two out of the Phantom Vile Sect’s prison."
"You?"
Zhao Mei looked at her in surprise.
"I thought you hated that sect."
"I do."
Zhao Lusi shrugged.
"But my disciple is in their hands so I have to go."
Before Zhao Mei could say another word, space rippled and Zhao Lusi disappeared.
"..."
Zhao Mei frowned.
"She’s getting carried away just because she has that spatial artifact."
She clenched her fist.
"Just wait. I’ll whoop your ass and remind you exactly how scary your younger sister is—"
Her voice suddenly stopped.
Outside the window, Xiao Bai gracefully soared across the sky, his nine snowy tails drifting behind him like flowing clouds.
Zhao Mei watched him in silence.
A moment later, she let out a wistful sigh.
"Ah... I really wish I could teach you the Beast Transformation Technique."
At the same time, far from the commotion outside...
Fang Yuan had already entered the most critical stage of his breakthrough.
Within the secluded cultivation chamber, spiritual qi surged toward him from every direction, pouring into his body like countless rivers returning to the sea.
The Peak Heaven-Grade Realm Breakthrough Pill had completely dissolved.
Its immense medicinal power flowed through every meridian, continuously tempering his cultivation.
His aura climbed steadily.
The bottleneck that had kept him at the peak of the Hollow Spirit Realm for so long was beginning to crack.
Fang Yuan remained completely focused.
Every strand of his consciousness was devoted to guiding the vast spiritual energy through his body as he steadily advanced toward the Spirit Severing Realm.
Breaking through to the Spirit Severing Realm was unlike every previous realm.
An overwhelming amount of spiritual qi was only the foundation.
A cultivator also had to completely comprehend and manifest a Dao Rule into a true Domain.
Only then could one truly step into the Spirit Severing Realm.
For countless cultivators, this was the greatest obstacle of their lives.
Some possessed more than enough spiritual qi yet remained trapped for centuries, unable to grasp a Dao Rule.
Others comprehended a Dao Rule but failed to stabilize it into a Domain, causing their breakthrough to collapse.
Fang Yuan, however...
Had already accomplished that long ago.
Within his sea of consciousness, a boundless Spatial World silently revolved.
This was his Domain, the Spatial World.
A Domain born from the Dao of Space itself.
He had comprehended it far ahead of his cultivation realm, making it impossible for it to become a bottleneck.
As the medicinal power of the Peak Heaven-Grade Realm Breakthrough Pill surged through his body, the Spatial World naturally emerged.
Crack.
A crisp sound echoed from deep within his body.
The bottleneck that had confined him to the peak of the Hollow Spirit Realm finally shattered.
An immense torrent of spiritual qi flooded into him.
His flesh transformed, meridians widened and his soul became incomparably clearer.
At the center of the Spatial World, the Dao Rule of Space radiated with dazzling brilliance.
The Domain and its master resonated as one.
Boom!
An invisible wave spread out from the cultivation chamber before disappearing just as quickly as it had come.
Fang Yuan slowly opened his eyes and the world before him had changed.
Space itself seemed clearer than ever, as though every fold and ripple lay exposed before his gaze.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
At last... He had officially stepped into the Spirit Severing Realm.