Profound Sky World,
One of the many Middle Worlds within the Great World, Spirit Profound Realm, under the Chaos Profound Yellow World.
At this moment, the Xiao Clan.
A White-Haired Youthful Old Man sat upright in a chair within the Xiao Clan's main hall.
The old man was Xiao Hao, the Xiao Clan's patriarch.
Below him, a thin young man was kneeling respectfully.
The Xiao Clan was now one of the strongest families in the Profound Sky World. It possessed countless experts, and its patriarch was even a mighty Ancestor God Realm expert.
(The cultivation realms of the Profound Sky World were divided into nine stages:
Void God, Spirit Condensation, Spirit Entry, Spirit Division, Spirit Transformation Realm, Spirit Fusion Realm, Spirit Refining Realm, God Emperor Realm, and Ancestor God Realm.
Each realm was further divided into four minor stages: early, middle, late, and peak.)
"Your grandson, Xiao Yan, greets Grandfather!"
Looking at his frail grandson, Xiao Hao let out a sigh.
"Rise!"
Xiao Yan rose and asked again,
"May I ask why Grandfather summoned me?"
"Ah, fate truly toys with people! Do you still remember your fiancée, Murong Xue?"
Xiao Yan frowned slightly and raised his head to look at Xiao Hao.
"Your grandson remembers. Has the Murong Family come to annul the engagement?"
Xiao Hao sighed again, then walked to Xiao Yan's side and patted his shoulder.
"Grandfather wishes to know what you think now."
Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile.
"I am nothing but a useless cripple unable to cultivate now. What else can I do? If the Murong Family wants to annul it, then let them."
"However, if there is to be an annulment, it will be me, Xiao Yan, who annuls it with her!"
Xiao Hao was stunned for a moment before nodding.
"Mm, it is good that you possess such resolve."
"Since that is the case, go and handle it at once!"
"Yes. Your grandson takes his leave!" Xiao Yan bowed once more, then turned and left the main hall.
Xiao Hao watched that frail figure leave and shook his head.
"Ah... Once the greatest genius with limitless prospects, one who had hopes of reaching the Ancestor God Realm—how could he have fallen to such a strange illness? The Heavenly Dao is unjust!"
The reason Xiao Yan could not cultivate had to be traced back to a night ten years ago.
That day, divine light descended upon the Xiao Clan. Upon witnessing such a phenomenon, the clan members had once believed it to be an auspicious sign foretelling the Xiao Clan's enduring fortune.
Because of that phenomenon, the clan had prayed to Heaven and Earth and invited major powers from all directions to a grand feast.
The place where the divine light descended happened to be Xiao Yan's residence.
On the day of the banquet, the patriarch publicly declared Xiao Yan the Xiao Clan's Divine Son, and all parties offered their congratulations.
But fate truly toyed with people!
A month later, Xiao Yan fell gravely ill and remained unconscious. Even Xiao Hao, the Ancestor God Realm patriarch, was helpless and frantic with worry.
That coma lasted for an entire year.
One day, Xiao Yan suddenly opened his eyes. Upon receiving the news, Xiao Hao rushed over without stopping.
The awakened Xiao Yan was skin and bones, and even his cultivation had regressed to the early Void God Realm.
Xiao Hao tried every kind of pill, but all treatment methods proved useless.
In the end, he could only offer enormous rewards and issue a notice across the entire world, seeking physicians!
Although many healers came after hearing the news, none could make sense of his condition.
One year.
Two years.
Three years.
Until Xiao Yan became an ordinary mortal with no cultivation whatsoever, his body also shriveled away.
Now, ten years had passed. Twenty-five-year-old Xiao Yan looked like a child of around ten.
The Murong Family, which had become engaged to the Xiao Clan ten years ago, directly requested the annulment of the marriage.
"Ah, forget it! Let Yan'er live an ordinary life!"
Xiao Hao gazed outside the door and sighed repeatedly.
Soul Control Continent, Subduing Dragon Village.
On this day, powerful experts gathered together, and the village was filled with clamor.
After his consciousness returned from the Three Ancestors Space, Yang Yu immediately began preparing to break through the barrier into the Upper Realm.
He stood in the void, unleashed his full strength, and punched the world barrier.
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
The entire Soul Control Continent shook.
A moment later, cracks of varying sizes appeared upon the world barrier.
Yang Yu threw another punch!
The world barrier shattered completely.
An enormous beam of divine light shone down from the fracture, enveloping all of Subduing Dragon Village.
Everyone below widened their eyes and eagerly basked in the divine light.
"Prepare!"
Yang Yu's voice resounded throughout Subduing Dragon Village and entered everyone's ears.
Everyone began sitting cross-legged on the ground to meditate.
"Boom!"
Another thunderous sound rang out. The entire Subduing Dragon Village swayed from side to side, rose from the ground, and slowly floated into the sky.
Yang Yu nodded, turned, and stepped into the Upper Realm along with the divine light. The entire Subduing Dragon Village followed close behind.
A moment later, the divine light vanished, the world barrier recovered, and the Soul Control Continent returned to normal.
From that moment on, the trials of the Soul Control Continent officially came to an end.
Profound Sky World.
A Barren Land.
Suddenly, the sky split open. A handsome young man with flowing long hair drifted down to the ground. He gazed longingly at this world, closed his eyes to sense his surroundings, then opened them and looked up at the sky, waiting once again.
A moment later, a small piece of land descended here with a thunderous roar, kicking up clouds of dust.
After a while, the disturbance faded, and the young man nodded.
He lifted a leg and walked toward that small landmass.
Subduing Dragon Village, along with the powerful experts of the Soul Control Continent, the Yang Clan, and the resurrected Nether Race, had successfully descended upon the Profound Sky World.
"Brother Yu!"
Ming Wu ran toward Yang Yu with an excited expression, then leaped into his arms.
Yang Yu affectionately stroked her fragrant hair.
"Let's go. We should discuss what comes next with everyone."
"Mm."
Ming Wu nodded.
~
The living room of Yang Yu's former home in Subduing Dragon Village.
Yang San and Ming Di, the patriarch of the Nether Race, sat in the seats of honor. To the left sat several former guardians of the Soul Control Continent, while Yang Yu and the Nether Race's major elders sat to the right.
Because Yang Yu had resurrected and explained everything, the two races had completely put aside their past grievances and turned from enemies into allies.
Naturally, this also had much to do with Ming Wu tirelessly persuading them.
Yang Yu stood and asked,
"Father, what should we do next?"
Yang San pondered carefully.
They could not return to the original family for now. They still needed to rest and build up their strength. Once their power had increased, they could reclaim everything that had once belonged to the Yang Clan.
"We shall establish our foundation here first. We have only just arrived in this world, so our foremost priority is to recuperate and strive to increase our cultivation."
"Besides, I can faintly sense my strength continuously recovering. I believe that before long, I will be able to return to my peak cultivation."
"You have only just arrived in this world and still need time to adapt. Once the adjustment period ends, properly sense the spiritual energy of this world. At that time, our clan is willing to provide suitable cultivation techniques for everyone to cultivate."
"Mm."
"We shall follow Leader Yang's words!"
The Nether Race patriarch nodded in agreement, and those below immediately echoed him.
"We shall follow Leader Yang's words!"
In truth, Yang San had not been the Yang Clan patriarch in the Upper Realm. Back then, he had merely been the leader of a direct-line guard unit.
During the great battle with the Xiao Clan, the Yang Clan's powerful experts had been plotted against by traitors and ultimately perished. What followed was a massive slaughter.
Yang San, his wife Mu Dan, and their subordinates, who had been outside carrying out guard duties, escaped disaster.
However, they were still discovered by the Xiao Clan and immediately hunted down.
Left with no choice, Yang San, whose origin had suffered severe damage, could only lead the remnants of his troops into the Lower Realm's Soul Control Continent.
"Father, your son has an idea, though I do not know whether I should say it."
Yang Yu stood again.
"Oh? Speak."
"Now that we have entered the Upper Realm, why not unite and establish an entirely new family?"
"Your son has just investigated the area. There is not a single person within a hundred li of this place, making it the perfect location for us to recuperate and thrive."
Yang San thought for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Ming Di.
Ming Di nodded.
The people below began discussing among themselves before voicing their agreement.
"We all agree to unite as one family!"
Yang San stood and nodded.
Then they began construction on a grand scale, and new buildings gradually rose one after another.
Several months later, a new family had been established.
It was named the Xuan Clan, carrying the meaning of spreading profundity through the nine heavens.
Over the past several months, everyone had not only contributed to building the clan, but their cultivation had not fallen behind either.
The former elders of the Nether Race and the former guardians of the Soul Control Continent, all now elders of the Xuan Clan, had successfully entered the Void God Realm.
Ming Di improved the fastest. He had already reached the peak of the Void God Realm and could enter the Spirit Condensation Realm at any moment.
As for Yang San, there was no need to mention him. After much recuperation, more than half of his damaged origin had recovered, and his cultivation had also returned to the middle Spirit Refining Realm.
Next was Ming Wu. Perhaps because the spiritual energy of the Upper Realm was so abundant, her strength had soared. She was now at the peak of the ninth-tier, nine-star Soul Controller level and would enter the Void God Realm within a few days.
Yang Yu himself, however, had not improved in the slightest. He was still lingering at the early Void God Realm.
For this reason, Yang San had even specially comforted Yang Yu.
Yang Yu helplessly shook his head.
(I'm afraid that if I improve too quickly, I'll scare you all to death!)
"Father, I am fine. I am only deliberately suppressing it. I plan to temper my cultivation first. Once that is complete, I can break through directly, so please do not worry."
Yang San thought for a moment, then nodded.
~
Before they knew it, another year had passed.
That day, Yang Yu and Ming Wu were training in a forest.
"Brother Yu, where is there any secret realm here? We're practically out of the forest already."
Ming Wu curled her lips and looked at Yang Yu.
Yang Yu smiled mysteriously, then turned and pointed at a dense patch of vegetation not far away.
"There! That place."
Ming Wu followed the direction of Yang Yu's finger with her eyes.
"Isn't that just a few large trees? There's nothing there."
Yang Yu shook his head with a smile.
"Come on. Follow me over."
Ming Wu followed behind Yang Yu with a puzzled expression.
Before long, the two arrived beneath the trees.
Yang Yu took out a token and pressed it into a groove beneath one of the trees.
With a thunderous boom, the two massive trees beside it separated to the left and right, revealing an illusory door.
Ming Wu stared wide-eyed at everything before her.
"This... there really is a secret realm."
Yang Yu had obtained this token by chance from a mountain cave not far from the clan. It had been wrapped in a treasure map marked with a route.
At the time, he had been overjoyed.
"So I actually have such an opportunity!"
When he returned to the family, he invited Ming Wu to follow the map's guidance and search for treasure with him.
Coming back to her senses.
Ming Wu stared at the suddenly appearing illusory door, so shocked that she could barely speak coherently.
"Let's go! Stop standing there—we're going in!"
Yang Yu then took Ming Wu's hand, while she was still stunned, and stepped through the illusory door.
After a bout of spinning dizziness, the two of them appeared before a massive boulder.
Written upon it were:
Demon Subduing Secret Realm
Those fated to do so may claim the opportunities within, but do not recklessly disturb the seal at the center. A great demon is sealed within; should it be released, corpses would cover the land and the world would fall into chaos.
Remember! Remember!
—Floating Life Great Emperor
Yang Yu frowned slightly as he surveyed the surroundings.
"Brother Yu, who is this Floating Life Great Emperor? He sounds incredibly powerful! And there's actually a great demon sealed at the center."
"Floating Life Great Emperor? A great demon? Heh~ Interesting!"
Yang Yu thought disdainfully.
He could reduce even Luo Hou, the Demon Ancestor, to nothing with a wave of his hand. How could he care about some petty demon from a Middle World?
"Let's go! We'll take a look at that seal and this so-called great demon!"
"Ah?"
Ming Wu froze.
"Don't be afraid! I'm here!"
Seeing Yang Yu so confident, Ming Wu found it difficult to say anything else and followed behind him toward the center of the secret realm.