“BOOM—”
On Snow Moon Peak, a sealed cave dwelling’s formation slowly opened. A woman in white robes stepped out. Her expression was cold and distant, like an ancient iceberg that would never melt, exuding a sense of complete rejection toward all who approached. She was none other than the master of Snow Moon Peak—Master Xueyue.
The moment the thunder roared, Master Xueyue, who had just emerged from secluded cultivation, furrowed her brows and looked up at the sky.
Though the sky was clear for thousands of kilometers, the endless thunder echoed ominously, without beginning or end. The strange, oppressive feeling within that thunder robbed her of some of the joy she felt from her breakthrough.
“This thunder… is truly strange.”
Not only on Snow Moon Peak—throughout the entire Azure Profound Continent, the hidden old powerhouses stared at the sky in fear.
The stronger one’s cultivation, the more clearly one could sense the bizarre nature of the thunder. That feeling of being utterly out of control made their hearts pound with dread. In an instant, the once calm Azure Profound Continent became turbulent because of Yun Xi’s single sword strike.
“What the hell is this… This is scarier than Heaven’s wrath itself. Which absolute powerhouse stirred up such a commotion? Are they not afraid of death? No—wait—are there still such terrifying beings left in this land?”
In a rundown Taoist temple, a fat Daoist lying on a bamboo chair suddenly leapt up as if his rear had been set on fire. His small squinty eyes widened round, making him look quite comical.
“No, no! This continent is still way too dangerous! I’ve decided—starting now, I won’t leave this temple for the next hundred—no, five hundred years!” the fat Daoist mumbled as he flopped back down on his bamboo chair.
While the outside world was thrown into chaos by Yun Xi’s sword strike, the Spiritual Peak where Ling Yun was located remained tranquil.
Watching Yun Xi slowly descend from the sky, Ling Yun’s expression suddenly turned serious. He noticed that Yun Xi’s body had become extremely ethereal, as if she might vanish at any moment. He leapt up from the stone platform, grabbed Yun Xi’s hand, and brought her into the system space.
The system space was an endless void, with countless stars twinkling far in the distance.
“Yun Xi, what’s happening to you?” Seeing her nearly transparent body, Ling Yun’s voice was tinged with urgency.
He had never seen Yun Xi this weak—it was as if she might fade away in the next instant.
“I’m fine, just overused my origin a little… Yun, I may need to sleep for a while.” Yun Xi gave Ling Yun a faint smile. “From now on, you’re completely free. Even I can no longer bind you.”
“Overused your origin? This is more than just ‘a little’!” Ling Yun growled as he stared at her.
He could tell that Yun Xi’s state was dangerously unstable. If she truly fell into sleep here, the consequences would be beyond imagination.
“Origin…” Ling Yun suddenly looked up at the stars above.
“What are you trying to do?” Yun Xi’s heart skipped a beat as she saw his movement.
“Come!” Ling Yun reached out toward the void, and a massive star fell from the sky before him.
Within the starlight was a radiant crystal, glowing brilliantly with powerful energy—an ultimate treasure even the Heavenly Dao Sect didn’t possess. Without hesitation, Ling Yun grasped it. The treasure let out a mournful wail before shattering into its purest origin, which began to flow into Yun Xi’s body.
As Yun Xi absorbed the origin from the treasure, her faint form slowly became more solid.
“So it really works…” Ling Yun’s eyes lit up. He raised his hand again.
“Wait! This is too wasteful!” Yun Xi’s expression changed dramatically as she saw his action.
These countless stars in the system space were foundations that Ling Yun and Yun Xi had gathered over ninety-nine reincarnations. Ling Yun now intended to destroy them all to replenish Yun Xi’s depleted origin.
“To me, these things can be found again at any time. But you… there’s only one of you! What, are you regretting giving me full system space access now?” Ling Yun formed a seal with one hand, and the stars in the sky began falling toward them one by one.
In the outside world, merely approaching these stars would be enough to turn Ling Yun to ash with their power. But in the system space, Ling Yun possessed the highest authority given by Yun Xi. Now that Yun Xi was in a fully weakened state, Ling Yun could easily control and refine these foundations into the purest origin.
“Forget it. You collected them, after all. How you use them is your choice.” Realizing she could no longer stop him, Yun Xi shut her eyes and let Ling Yun continuously channel the vast origin into her body.
Even Ling Yun didn’t know how many stars the system space held. But the more he consumed to convert into origin, the heavier his expression became. If he hadn’t acted decisively, Yun Xi might have vanished from this world forever. As for her claim of sleeping, that was clearly just to ease his worry.
The surging current of origin roared through the system space, and under Ling Yun’s guidance, was completely absorbed by Yun Xi. When the final trace of origin disappeared, Yun Xi’s body suddenly erupted with dazzling light, blasting Ling Yun several meters back.
“It’s gone. All of it’s gone. You really didn’t leave me a single piece!” No longer weak, Yun Xi looked up at the now empty sky, her entire being deflated.
Ninety-nine lifetimes’ worth of accumulation… completely used up by this reckless man in one go.
“No, there’s still one left!” A porcelain vial fell from the sky and landed gently in Ling Yun’s palm.
“This is…?” Staring at the lone porcelain vial, the last remaining item in the system space, Ling Yun’s eyes revealed surprise.
“Sometimes… you really could call it fate,” Yun Xi murmured as she looked at the vial, clearly aware of what was inside.
Ling Yun looked at the vial with a complex expression. “If this is destiny… then it’s time to settle this karmic debt.”