In the dim cave.
The sound of dripping water echoed from the depths.
The Tianya Divine Sword gave off a faint azure glow.
By its light,
Ye Changfeng could barely make out his surroundings.
There was no doubt.
This was Blood Dripping Cave.
Earlier, when he and Lu Xueqi had been swallowed by the waves,
he had wondered whether he should go with the flow and see if they could find Blood Dripping Cave.
He hadn't expected they would actually find it.
Ye Changfeng lowered his gaze slightly.
Lu Xueqi was lying in his arms, blinking as she stared at who knew what.
"What are you looking at?"
Ye Changfeng asked with an amused smile.
At his words,
the Cold and Aloof Girl tilted her head and said softly, "I was checking whether you were hurt."
"How could I possibly be hurt?"
"On the contrary, I nearly cut that Blackwater Mysterious Snake in half with one strike."
Ye Changfeng replied.
Although he couldn't match a Primordial Beast like the Blackwater Mysterious Snake in raw strength,
he had magic power...
With his Late Shangqing cultivation, he could easily dispel most of the shock waves.
So, naturally, he was fine.
Lu Xueqi had been well protected too.
She hadn't even lost a single hair.
At his words,
Lu Xueqi gave a small nod.
She looked around curiously.
"Are we..."
"Trapped in this cave?"
"Are you scared?"
Ye Changfeng asked with a smile.
Lu Xueqi shook her head.
She raised her eyes to look at the young man, recalling how Ye Changfeng had saved her. The cool clarity in her gaze seemed to melt away, rippling like autumn water with a faint tenderness.
"With you here, I'm not afraid."
The girl's clear voice made him pause.
Ye Changfeng stared at her in a daze.
Who said Naiqi didn't know how to fall in love?
This...
Wasn't she already very good at it?
He smiled softly, then rose and took Naiqi's small hand, strolling toward the depths of Blood Dripping Cave.
"Come on."
"This must be the Blood Refining Hall's treasure vault."
"Let's go see if we can find anything good."
Ye Changfeng led Lu Xueqi to a pool of water deep in the cave.
Then he picked up a few small stones.
With a flick of his fingers, he sent them straight into the depths of the pool.
"Rumble!"
As Lu Xueqi watched curiously,
a dark passage suddenly opened up nearby.
Ye Changfeng took Lu Xueqi by the hand and led her inside.
Ahead, the passage split into two branches.
A few words were carved into the wall above one of them.
[Heaven and Earth Are Not Benevolent, Treat All Things as Straw Dogs!]
Seeing this,
Ye Changfeng led Lu Xueqi down that passage without hesitation.
The First Volume of the Heavenly Book was almost the most important of the five volumes.
That was because it served as the general outline for the Five Volumes of Heavenly Books.
It contained fragments of the other four volumes, so understanding the First Volume would make comprehending the remaining four much easier...
Ye Changfeng and Lu Xueqi entered the passage.
At the end was nothing but a quiet cultivation chamber.
Ye Changfeng swept his gaze around.
He soon spotted rows of profound characters carved into the wall.
[Heaven and Earth Are Not Benevolent, Treat All Things as Straw Dogs!]
"Boom!"
The moment the contents of the First Volume of the Heavenly Book flooded into his mind,
Ye Changfeng felt his magic power roar.
Lu Xueqi beside him felt the same.
She was highly perceptive too; otherwise, she could never have reached the Peak of Yuqing in just five years.
Now,
after reading this passage from the Heavenly Book,
she felt deeply shaken as well.
Because...
she realized that its profound principles unexpectedly aligned with certain ideas in the Taiji Xuanqing Dao!?
How...
How could that be?!
Wasn't this volume of the Heavenly Book a Demonic Sect treasure?
Lu Xueqi looked at Ye Changfeng in bewilderment.
"Don't worry about that for now."
"Memorize it carefully."
Ye Changfeng reminded her.
"All right."
Lu Xueqi came back to herself.
She knew this was an extraordinary opportunity.
And so,
she stopped thinking about it.
She sat down beside Ye Changfeng and began to carefully comprehend the First Volume of the Heavenly Book.
"Boom!"
Profound principles of Heaven and Earth flooded into his mind.
Ye Changfeng felt his heart enter a state of perfect clarity.
The profound and mysterious—the gateway to all wonders.
Enlightenment?
He had entered that state of Enlightenment once more!
"Boom!"
At that moment,
spiritual energy from Heaven and Earth began gathering around them.
Cultivation in the Upper Purity Realm was primarily about attaining Enlightenment; breathing in spiritual energy was no longer very important.
Because
when you were in the process of attaining Enlightenment,
the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth would naturally gather around you.
"Hum!"
As Ye Changfeng drew in the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth,
he comprehended the Heavenly Tome's profound principles.
With their help, he gradually organized everything he had learned over the years, including his understanding of the Taiji Xuanqing Dao and his insights into the way of the sword...
After a long while,
Ye Changfeng had no idea how much time had passed.
He only felt his mind grow perfectly clear as endless principles of Heaven and Earth washed over him like a tide. It was as if he were immersed in an ocean of knowledge, and the aura around him steadily spread...
"Boom!"
Not long after,
his aura trembled.
Peak of Shangqing?
He had broken through again!
Two breakthroughs in a single day?
If anyone else found out about this,
they would be utterly astonished.
This was the true Upper Purity Realm.
Two breakthroughs in a single day?!
Hiss!
Even Ye Changfeng himself hadn't expected it.
Although cultivation in the Upper Purity Realm was all about Enlightenment, still...
breaking through two levels in a day was a little too fast.
Ye Changfeng glanced inward.
These consecutive breakthroughs hadn't affected him much, nor was there any sign that his cultivation was unstable. After all...
cultivation in the Upper Purity Realm was all about Enlightenment.
If he could break through, that meant he had comprehended all the Dao he needed to understand.
Naturally, his cultivation wouldn't be unstable.
"Whoosh!"
Ye Changfeng slowly opened his eyes.
He exhaled a breath of stale air and turned to look at Lu Xueqi beside him, finding her still cultivating with her eyes closed.
Seeing this,
Ye Changfeng didn't hurry her.
He sat quietly nearby and waited.
In his spare time, he admired the girl's peaceful, lovely face.
Tsk.
He really wanted to steal a kiss.
A rather perverted thought suddenly crossed Ye Changfeng's mind.
"Boom!"
Just then,
the spiritual energy around them suddenly stirred.
It surged toward Lu Xueqi, quickly forming a visible vortex.
"Is this..."
"Has she broken through to the Upper Purity Realm?"
Ye Changfeng was somewhat surprised.
But only somewhat.
After all,
Lu Xueqi's talent had always been exceptional.
Even without the Heavenly Tome giving her a boost, she could still reach the Upper Purity Realm within ten years.
That alone said it all.
Now,
with the help of the First Volume of the Heavenly Book, the general outline...
Lu Xueqi's breakthrough into the Upper Purity Realm was as good as certain.
Boom!
The aura around Lu Xueqi grew stronger and stronger.
Soon,
the spiritual energy between heaven and earth abruptly contracted.
A faint pressure swept through the entire meditation chamber in an instant.
Upper Purity Realm!
Before you continue