Heavenly Desolation Plateau

Upon arriving at the Heavenly Desolation Plateau, the first thing that caught Xiao Yun's eye was an incomparably vast plateau. The terrain here was lofty, shrouded in clouds and mist. Even White Jade Capital in the sky appeared far larger than it had from places like Clear Wind Valley. Legend had it that deep within the Heavenly Desolation Plateau, there had once been a Divine Road leading to the Heaven Realm. Unfortunately, it had been destroyed during the Gods and Demons War thousands of years ago, causing the cities that had risen because of the Divine Road to decline one after another, no longer bearing the grand spectacle of countless people gathering there.

Xiao Yun soon spotted Siming Divine Monarch and the others fighting numerous Demonic Monsters at the entrance to the Heavenly Desolation Plateau.

Seeing how easily they were handling the battle, Xiao Yun was no longer so worried.

As for the war-loving Wangliang, the moment he saw the battle ahead, he immediately petitioned Xiao Yun. "Lord, this general's giant axe has long hungered for battle. Please allow this general to fight!"

Naturally, Xiao Yun would not stop him. With such an excellent worker, wouldn't things be much easier from now on? He gave a slight nod. "Go, but be careful."

Wangliang grabbed the enormous axe resting on his shoulders, stomped the ground, and transformed into a streak of red light. He charged straight into the monster horde, his giant axe whirling through the air. Against ordinary Demonic Monsters, he was utterly crushing.

After noticing that reinforcements had arrived—and that it was a War Spirit they had never seen before—Siming Divine Monarch Chu Yinge and Nine Heavens Profound Maiden Xuan Huaying knew that their lord had returned. Only after eliminating the monsters before them did they turn around and see Xiao Yun and Xi Zhaoyue standing near the teleportation station.

Siming Divine Monarch Chu Yinge clearly knew Rain Master Divine Monarch Xi Zhaoyue. She immediately asked in delighted surprise, "Sister Zhaoyue, have you been awakened by the lord as well?"

Xi Zhaoyue gave Chu Yinge a slight nod and replied with a smile, "Sister Chu, it has been a long time. And it has been a long time for Her Highness the Profound Maiden as well."

Nine Heavens Profound Maiden Xuan Huaying replied with a smile, "Rain Master Divine Monarch, it has indeed been a long time."

Hua Wushuang and Xiangliu, meanwhile, slightly bowed to Xi Zhaoyue. "Greetings, Lord. Greetings, Rain Master Divine Monarch."

Xiao Yun raised a hand and gestured for them to rise. "No need for formalities. Watch the battlefield and take good care of Lord Wangliang."

The two immediately replied, "Understood."

Next, Xiao Yu checked Chu Yinge and the others' levels. Chu Yinge and Xuan Huaying had already broken through to level 80, while Hua Wushuang and Xiangliu had reached level 60, though they had not yet broken through to the next stage.

He directly had Chu Yinge, Xi Zhaoyue, and Xuan Huaying go to the side to catch up first.

Xiao Yun himself headed to the front, preparing to open up more stages together with Wangliang.

It was not that Chu Yinge and the others lacked the strength to open new stages. Rather, that was simply how the Vast Wilderness World worked. Without a lord present, War Spirits alone could not open new stages. Thus, whenever Xiao Yun was absent, the War Spirits could only surround and suppress the Abyss Monsters outside the latest stage. After all, as long as a lord had not defeated a stage, the monsters inside seemed endless, continuously pouring out.

Xiao Yun rode his sword straight into the battlefield. With a grasp of his hand, a blue longsword immediately appeared in his palm. The Sword Lotus in his body stirred, and countless Sword Qi shot out like white crescent moons, instantly slaughtering all the formidable Demonic Monsters before him. He then arrived at the core of the stage, pressed his hand against it, and began purifying the Abyssal Aura.

As the Abyssal Aura within the stage core was dispersed, this stage finally became completely stable.

Without further words, Xiao Yun led Wangliang, Hua Wushuang, and Xiangliu into the second stage ahead of the others.

Using the same method, they advanced without obstruction. The enemies in several consecutive stages were no match for them. Before long, the four had reached the fifth stage. It was a valley, dark on all sides and more suited to assassin-type monsters.

Before Xiao Yun and the others could begin clearing the monsters, a pitch-black figure silently appeared behind Xiao Yun. A green-glowing dagger stabbed straight toward his back.

The Sword Lotus within Xiao Yun's body frantically warned him, allowing him to react in time. He kicked backward, seemingly striking something soft.

When he turned around, he saw a completely black figure sent flying by his kick. Xiao Yun immediately recognized it as an assassin from the Shadow Assassin Clan. His guard instantly rose, and he unleashed his ultimate skill toward the direction in which the figure had flown—Myriad Swords Returning to the Source.

Though the opponent was somewhat strong, her base rank was only Epic, far inferior to the Mythic rank of a Sword Immortal. She was instantly killed in a single move.

At the moment of her death, Xiao Yun received Youyou's notification:

"Congratulations, Lord. You have slain the minor boss Shadow Assassin. You are rewarded with one Mythic-grade Nine Heavens Profound Maiden War Spirit. It has been detected that this War Spirit already exists, so it has been converted into one Legendary Nine Heavens Profound Maiden Life Tablet."

Xiao Yun was quite pleased. With this Legendary Nine Heavens Profound Maiden Life Tablet, once Xuan Huaying reached level 100, she could use it to raise her War Spirit rank.

At that moment, Chu Yinge and the other three women noticed the commotion here and hurried over.

Upon seeing that Xiao Yun was unharmed, they breathed a sigh of relief and immediately joined the pioneering team.

With the Three Women joining them, their progress in opening up the area greatly accelerated. In the blink of an eye, the team had reached the depths of the Heavenly Desolation Plateau and easily defeated the boss monster of the tenth stage.

"You have slain the minor boss Shadow Assassin. You are rewarded with one set of blue one-star Frost Moon Equipment and 30 Epic War Spirit Fragments."

Then, Xiao Yun sensed an immense surge of energy pouring into his body from the void.

After giving a few instructions, Xiao Yun sat down cross-legged and began circulating the Azure Lotus Sword Song, wildly absorbing the energy flooding into his body and guiding it into his Dantian. He then controlled the first-grade Sword Lotus to madly absorb the Spiritual Power, making the Azure Sword Lotus increasingly solid.

Next, a point of light appeared above the Lotus Platform. As Spiritual Power poured into it in a frenzy, that point of light gradually grew larger. Before long, it became the illusory image of an infant sitting cross-legged. At the infant's Dantian, a ball of flame quietly burned.

The appearance of the Nascent Soul and Infant Flame signified that Xiao Yun's cultivation realm had risen another level, officially entering the Refining Spirit Returning to Void realm. However, he was still far inferior to Legendary War Spirits. Those Legendary War Spirits had realms at least at the Heavenly Immortal level; it was merely that most of their cultivation had been sealed away.

Then he heard Youyou's notification. "The lord's cultivation realm has risen again, entering the Refining Spirit Returning to Void realm. Reward: 30 Epic Magic Treasure Divine Phoenix Pearl Fragments. Reward: one Magic Treasure Box for carrying Magic Treasures."