Not only had the deity arrived, but the entire matter had also been fixed within a few exchanges of words. Then, a time limit had been set to take her away.
Shangguan Lingxiu had no doubt about what was being told to her regarding this realm being unable to take the Empyrean Force and that four hours was already stretching the situation. However, her emotions were still on a rollercoaster ride.
Once she left, she was possibly severing all her mortal concerns in this realm. She did not know how many years must pa.s.s before she could return again to this world. Even when she did come back to Tianxuan then, this world would have long changed, for everything was ephemeral.
As she thought of this, Shangguan Lingxiu could not help feeling lost. It was too fast – too hasty!
She did not have enough time to say goodbye and she had to leave already?
Shangguan Lingxiu was heartbroken; she ran out in a hurry. As she did so, her tears marked her trail.
Four hours! How could such a short time be adequate?
Her nephews were already on the conquest to take Ziyou down; they were fighting for the nation and avenging the family. It was fated that she would not be able to see them anymore.
There were, however, still many people left.
Old Mistress Shangguan issued the commands immediately, "Everyone in the Shangguan Family is to gather at the front hall!"
"Any member of the Shangguan Family who is in the capital must return in two hours. No one must disobey this, no one must be late!"
…
In Shangguan Lingxiu"s yard, Bai Yixue could vaguely feel the indistinct and unusual aura coming from inside. The faint contact caused him to feel like he was thrown into an ice pit, chills erupting from nowhere; his hand went to the grip of his sword while he elevated his cultivation base to its peak in antic.i.p.ation of an attack that could come at any moment. It was evident that his current guard was at its highest point.
Supreme Cloud and Ji Lingxi were cultivating rigorously inside to advance as much as they could. The backlash of their cultivation this time was the combination of both Yin and Yang; it was crucial that they were not interrupted by anyone or anything as they cultivated in unison. If they were disturbed by an external force, it could possibly lead to grave consequences.
In spite of this, Bai Yixue could feel his heart trembling. He was utterly alert, but he could feel an indistinct aura inside. It was unbelievably powerful. Compared to himself, it was not just like an ant versus a dragon or a seed versus an ocean – it was the contrast between a man and the universe. The stark difference was simply incomparable!
Glancing at Fang Mofei who was standing on the other side, it was clear that he was equally nervous, even more so than Bai Yixue.
In truth, Fang Mofei did not feel the rippling power from Shangguan Lingxiu"s yard. His cultivation base was slightly lacking than that of Bai Yixue, so he was not yet qualified to feel the ripples of energy. His nerves were mainly due to his fear as Bai Yixue"s anxiety was on full display. It caused Fang Mofei to act oddly as well and look even more nervous than Bai Yixue did.
Fang Mofei was grumbling inwardly, "Boss oh boss, are you sure you"ve driven Mr. Nian and the Four Seasons Tower"s men away? You"re cultivating here with such grandeur, but we feel really insecure – look at how Bai Yixue is acting right now! We"re very frightened! If enemies of their level were to ambush us, we won"t be able to defend against them, even if we give it our all!"
As the atmosphere remained as tense as ever, Bai Yixue"s unblinking eyes widened suddenly.
A lady dressed in white had emerged out of nowhere not far from him! There was no foretelling sign; she had just materialized abruptly!
It was a piece of s.p.a.cious land in front of them where there was no blind spot and the eyes could see as far as it went. This lady before them, however, had appeared out of the blue and had caused no tremor in the s.p.a.ce.
She had just emerged casually and directly before him. Her clear gaze came to rest on Bai Yixue gently, causing gooseb.u.mps to rack through the latter. With a clang, his sword left its scabbard.
This was the instinctual action of an ace cultivator. At the same time, Bai Yixue wanted to ask who she was, yet he realized in shock that he could not even move.
His sword was gleaming in his grip, but he could not so much as move a muscle or speak a word. He could also clearly feel that he was not being restricted, his meridians were not blocked, and there was no special tactic impeding him.
Why had he suddenly turned into a statue then?
Bai Yixue wanted to call for Fang Mofei, to alert him, but he could not do it. With the corner of his eyes, he saw the man at the edge of the roof. He held his sword in his hand with gritted teeth and was about to pounce, but he was stationary as well!
That pose looked like Fang Mofei could fall at any time, but his body was maintained at a peculiar forty-five-degree angle, frozen with a murderous look of clenched jaws and a wielded sword.
Then, the lady in white walked past them with ease.
Feeling the intense waves of mystical Qi from the room, she smiled softly.
"The ephemera of this world is often due to fated encounters. With this destined chance, let"s not leave this regret behind for all of you. Stopping one session of cultivation to erase a regret; let me compensate you for that."
She lifted her hands and gently gestured in the air. She seemed to have drawn a circle, a rather irregular circle. As her hands dropped, a ball of amethyst energy rose in the far east, where the sun rose.
Then, it seemed to cross the unlimited distance and speed to the upper s.p.a.ce of the yard before it condensed rapidly into two tiny b.a.l.l.s that were glowing a bright purple, yet they were only the size of a grain of corn.
"This is the purest, truest form of amethyst energy. With gain comes loss; only then can it be called cause and effect."
The lady in white smiled and snapped her fingers. The two tiny b.a.l.l.s then turned into two rays of light as they catapulted into the room.
One of the violet b.a.l.l.s shot into Yun Yang"s dantian while another entered Ji Lingxi"s dantian. They disappeared instantly, melting into the duo"s bodies.
Yun Yang and Ji Lingxi who were cultivating, oblivious to their surroundings, felt their dantian bloat in pulses. With a soft band, the spiritual Qi in their bodies flowed at an unprecedented speed that was barely controllable.
In most circ.u.mstances or perhaps, a majority of cultivations, interruptions were strictly prohibited. Just a break in cultivation would be the result for a lucky cultivator who was disturbed in their process while more commonly, one"s Qi and blood would be disrupted, meridians messed up, mystical Qi refluxed, cultivation method damaged and possibly death by an explosion due to the havoc in spiritual energy.
The lady in white"s action, condensing the external force and sending it right into Yun Yang and Ji Lingxi"s bodies was a situation that could never be allowed to happen. The most direct consequence that should happen was the two amethyst light b.a.l.l.s erupting in the dantian of the duo and thus causing both youths to explode, with no remains left to speak of.
The reality, instead, was altogether different. Despite the meridians showing signs of disruption and chaos, the flow was exceptionally stable as they charged through stage after stage with each bloating they felt…
The continuous surge allowed the two of them to break through three levels in just dozens of breaths. They did not even feel any discomfort; the usual grinding and suffering that accompanied the eve of a breakthrough in past cultivation sessions were completely absent.
To this point, not even a tenth of the energy from the seven pieces of crystals set on the floor was absorbed, yet the cultivation session had halted automatically. Did it mean that the cultivation was complete?
The result was ridiculously surprising.
Although Yun Yang had his expectations regarding this cultivation session, he had thought that it was enough if he and Ji Lingxi could ascend one level by combining their Yin and Yang forces. It was beyond his wildest dreams that the ultimate result was a smooth breakthrough of three whole levels!
The outcome far exceeded his expectations and was incredibly hard to come by.
As both Yun Yang and Ji Lingxi awoke from their meditative state, they saw the stunned faces of their partner that mirrored their own. Both of them were utterly shocked!