Opportunities and Crisis

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a thousand years had passed.

On this day, a vast and mighty pressure suddenly erupted from the depths of the Fire Region. The roars of dragons and cries of phoenixes intertwined and echoed, resounding throughout the entire Fire Region.

The Dragon-Phoenix Flute floated in midair, its five innate restrictions lighting up at once. Brilliant radiance enveloped Bi Xiao completely.

Bi Xiao sat cross-legged, Dao resonance circulating around her as her aura steadily rose. At last, it broke through its shackles in an instant.

Mid-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal.

She had succeeded.

Bi Xiao slowly opened her eyes, golden light flowing through her beautiful gaze before swiftly receding. She gently exhaled a breath of stale air, lowered her head to look at the Dragon-Phoenix Flute in her hand, whose five restrictions had already been refined, and the corners of her lips curved upward slightly.

"Just as I thought."

Bi Xiao murmured softly, a trace of delight in her voice. "Refining the Great Dao laws contained within this innate spiritual treasure is countless times faster than cultivating in seclusion."

"Congratulations, Third Sister, on your breakthrough," Lei Xiao said from nearby.

Bi Xiao nodded. Her gaze fell upon Lei Xiao, and her beautiful eyes suddenly widened.

"You... you broke through again."

Earlier, all her attention had been focused on refining the innate restrictions of the Dragon-Phoenix Flute. She had not noticed at all when Lei Xiao had broken through.

"I broke through while cultivating," Lei Xiao said blandly.

Bi Xiao: "..."

"Little Four, your cultivation speed is far too fast. At this rate, you'll probably catch up to me before long." Bi Xiao's voice carried both astonishment and excitement.

Her assessment was entirely well-founded. When Lei Xiao had first taken form, he had only been at the early stage of the Profound Immortal realm. Now, he was already at the late stage of the Golden Immortal realm—a whole major realm and five minor stages apart.

Over the same period, she had merely advanced from the early stage of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm to the middle stage.

"The further one progresses in cultivation, the more terrifying the accumulation required for each minor breakthrough becomes. Though I have reached the late stage of the Golden Immortal realm, it will likely still take some time to catch up to Third Sister."

Lei Xiao did not say that he could not catch up to Bi Xiao. Catching up to her cultivation realm was merely a matter of time.

If he could find a place containing the origin of lightning and accelerate the fusion of the Purple Firmament Origin Divine Thunder within his body, he was confident he could catch up to Bi Xiao in a very short time, perhaps even surpass her.

"That's true."

Bi Xiao nodded slightly. "Your cultivation speed may be fast, but catching up to me will not be easy."

After a pause, Bi Xiao frowned slightly. "Little Four, let's return to the Three Immortal Isles and check on Eldest Sister and Second Sister!"

"Third Sister, your fortunes are linked with Eldest Sister and Second Sister's. Did you sense something?" Noticing Bi Xiao's unusual expression, Lei Xiao's face also became solemn.

"Yes."

Bi Xiao nodded slightly. "At the instant I broke through, I saw both Eldest Sister and Second Sister shrouded in blood baleful aura."

"Alright, let's return to the Three Immortal Isles immediately."

Bi Xiao was a Taiyi Golden Immortal. Her intuition could not be baseless. For her to receive such a feeling, Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao had most likely truly encountered danger.

"I'm faster. I'll take you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Bi Xiao did not wait for Lei Xiao to respond. She used Taiyi Escape Light, taking Lei Xiao out of the Fire Region and flying toward the Three Immortal Isles.

At this moment, neither Lei Xiao nor Bi Xiao knew that Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao had long since left the Three Immortal Isles.

Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao had originally planned to travel to Purple Abode Island to listen to King of the East expound the Dao, but their luck had been too good. They had accidentally stumbled into an innate grand formation.

Qiong Xiao's luck had been even more extraordinary, and she had obtained a high-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Dragon-Binding Rope, from within the innate grand formation.

However, Qiong Xiao had not expected that the Dragon-Binding Rope was the core of a seal, sealing away the fierce beast known as the Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi Flood Dragon.

Although Qiong Xiao had placed the Dragon-Binding Rope back where it belonged, the Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi spread throughout the entire innate grand formation, trapping Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao inside.

At this moment, neither of them was in a good situation.

The Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi seemed alive, continuously eroding their protective divine light. Though it could not breach it in the short term, maintaining the protective divine light consumed their magical power.

Moreover, the innate grand formation was now filled with Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi, without the slightest trace of innate spiritual qi. The magical power they expended could not be replenished.

If this continued, they would eventually be worn to death.

"Eldest Sister, it's my fault." Qiong Xiao stood beside her, tightly gripping the Dragon-Binding Rope in her hand, her face full of self-reproach. "I shouldn't have taken the Dragon-Binding Rope."

Yun Xiao calmly swept her gaze across their surroundings. "Innate spiritual treasures are incomparably precious. Even if it had been me, I would have taken it. This is not your fault. We need to find a way out first."

"Getting out is simple. As long as you take the Dragon-Binding Rope away, I will let you leave. After all, I'll even give the Dragon-Binding Rope to you." The Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi Flood Dragon spoke, its voice full of temptation.

However, Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao gave no response at all. They did not believe the Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi Flood Dragon in the slightest.

"The innate grand formation is now filled with Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi and has fallen under the control of that Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi Flood Dragon. It is nearly impossible for us to break the formation and escape.

However, the Dragon-Binding Rope is not only the core of the seal trapping the Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi Flood Dragon, but also the core of this innate grand formation. If I take away the Dragon-Binding Rope, the formation will surely lose its foundation and collapse. Then, Eldest Sister can take the opportunity to escape," Qiong Xiao transmitted.

Yun Xiao's pupils suddenly contracted.

How could she fail to hear the resolve behind Qiong Xiao's words? Once the Dragon-Binding Rope was pulled out, the formation would indeed collapse, but the Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi Flood Dragon, no longer suppressed by its core, would completely break free.

Qiong Xiao wanted her to flee while she remained behind to hold off the Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi Flood Dragon and buy her time to escape.

That was tantamount to trading her own life for Yun Xiao's.

Yun Xiao took a deep breath and firmly rejected her through voice transmission. "No."

"Eldest Sister—"

Yun Xiao interrupted her, her voice calm yet resolute. "You are only at the early stage of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, while the Innate Yin-Yang Baleful Qi Flood Dragon is a Great Luo Golden Immortal."

"Even with the Dragon-Binding Rope in hand, you cannot withstand a single strike from that flood dragon. If you stay behind, you will not be buying me time. You will be throwing your life away for nothing."

Qiong Xiao bit her lip, her eyes reddening.

She knew Eldest Sister was telling the truth. The gap between a Taiyi Golden Immortal and a Great Luo Golden Immortal was as vast as a heavenly chasm. Even with a high-grade innate spiritual treasure in hand, it could not be bridged.

But there was no better solution now.

If they did nothing, both she and Yun Xiao would certainly be trapped to death here.

"Eldest Sister, I caused this disaster..."

"I said no."

Three Immortal Isles.

A figure suddenly appeared atop the highest peak of the Three Immortal Isles, gazing eastward.

"My future disciple has finally appeared."

Three thousand years ago, Tongtian had left Kunlun Mountain to search for that "unlucky" disciple, intending to take him as a disciple in advance.

However, after arriving at the East Sea, Tongtian discovered that things were not as simple as he had imagined.