Breaking Through to Soul Sage

A gentle breeze swept across the mountainside of Immortal Herbs. Standing amid the sea of flowers, Qian Renxue raised her eyes—raised them again—and fixed her amber-bright gaze on the Spirit Pill in Jiang Baiyu's hand.

The pill glowed with a warm golden sheen. Rich light-aspected power flowed across its surface, mingled with a trace of Ice and Fire Dragon Essence. When Jiang Baiyu had refined it, he had infused it with the Primordial Dragon King's essence alongside the power of this world's origin. As Qian Renxue sensed the pill's aura, her martial soul trembled of its own accord. It yearned for the pill; she could clearly feel its pull.

"Is that... for me?" Qian Renxue asked, uncertain. It was far too precious.

"Of course. I made it especially for you. Who else would I give it to?" Jiang Baiyu handed her the pill. "Go on, take it. I want to see if it can help you break through." He watched her intently.

Qian Renxue lifted her hand. Her slender, pale fingertips trembled as she carefully took the pill. It felt warm against her skin, and at that mere touch, a wisp of pure, sacred energy entered her body, coursing from her fingertips through her meridians and into every limb.

Her red lips parted, and she swallowed the Spirit Pill.

The moment it entered her mouth, the pill became a warm current. Like daylight descending from above, it slowly suffused her limbs, meridians, and soul abode. As the warmth touched them, the barriers within her melted like snow, and her Soul Power rose steadily. Her aura surged with it, releasing a faint pressure.

Soft, milky-white Holy Light radiated from Qian Renxue. An unseen spiritual force stirred her hair, and her skin gleamed like fine white jade. Faint golden Angel Markings flickered at her neck and wrists. Six snow-white wings slowly unfurled from her back, their edges haloed in gentle gold.

Unlike the turbulent blood and energy of an ordinary breakthrough, everything around Qian Renxue remained calm and gentle. It was as though she were not forcing her way past a barrier, but an angel of the Divine Realm gradually shedding mortal shackles. The pill's rich, sacred light filled her body, her sea of consciousness, and even her Martial Soul Origin.

Boom—!!!

Heaven and earth rang together. Dao markings roared!

A vast radiance of pure white erupted from Qian Renxue, piercing the clouds of the grotto-heaven and lighting the Spirit Herbs across the mountainside.

She broke through realm after realm. This was no restless surge of ordinary Soul Power, but an ascension of her very essence into divinity.

With the pill Jiang Baiyu had refined, Qian Renxue used the vitality of Shennong Grotto-Heaven to stabilize her Soul Power and the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' ancient dragon essence to temper her body. The pill, condensed from the Bright Sacred Heart Flower's essential Dao power, fully awakened her dormant god-tier talent!

Qian Renxue could feel every inch of her flesh shedding its mortal nature and becoming divine. Every strand of her Soul Power was transforming into pure, immaculate Angel Power!

The Immortal Herbs across the mountainside stirred without wind and bowed their stems and leaves. Even the two enormous eggs of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings in the distance responded to her aura, sending two faint glimmers drifting over to coil around her.

Then the final barrier shattered.

Level seventy. Soul Sage. The breakthrough came naturally.

Qian Renxue floated above the sea of flowers.

A faint angelic sigil appeared on her brow, its light flowing softly. Her eyes were closed, her face sacred, her expression compassionate. She looked like an angel descended to the mortal world, wreathed in the holy radiance of her angelic Martial Soul Origin.

The Holy Light-filled Angel Divine Domain burst outward from Qian Renxue!

The pure white domain enveloped all of Shennong Grotto-Heaven. Everything within it bowed; all spiritual power fell into harmony. The restless spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the Immortal Herbs became gentle, sacred power. The wings she had kept folded behind her suddenly spread wide. Her six pure white wings gleamed like crystal, golden divine patterns shimmering across their feathers. As they opened, a gentle, sacred angelic aura spread in every direction.

The entire Cauldron World fell silent. The stream flowed softly, and the Immortal Herbs bowed, as though all were congratulating the angelic young woman.

Once her Soul Power settled, she slowly opened her eyes, looking sacred and composed. Holy Light flowed from her shoulders like water. Flecks of gold still clung to her folded wings, while the angelic sigil on her brow glimmered, lending her an elegant dignity.

Breaking through to Soul Sage had never been an insurmountable obstacle for Qian Renxue. But her undercover work in the Heaven Dou Empire had inevitably slowed her cultivation. Jiang Baiyu's pill had hastened the process, replacing years of arduous training. Pure joy filled her heart. She stepped forward and embraced him. Jiang Baiyu, too, had gradually grown up. He was no longer the slightly immature boy he had once been, but tall now, with the pleasant scent of herbs about him.

The soft glow lingering on her wings brushed his back, their divine coolness mingling with the faint fragrance of her clothes.

As Qian Renxue held him, she showed little outward change. But her heart beat harder than usual, like a bell long silent now ringing out.

"I did it," she said softly, her voice as gentle as the fragrance of Immortal Herbs filling the Cauldron World. "Without you, it would have taken me much longer."

Jiang Baiyu raised his arms and held her slender waist securely. The Spirit Herbs all across the mountainside drooped quietly. "It's all right. You and I rise or fall together, don't we?"

At his nearly outright declaration, Qian Renxue reached for the soft flesh at his waist and gave it a hard twist. "Don't think I don't know there's something going on between you and that little junior sister of yours."

Jiang Baiyu felt the pain at his waist and was about to explain, but Qian Renxue's next move stopped the words in his throat.

Qian Renxue tipped her head back slightly, her pale golden eyes shimmering with tenderness. She was an exalted angel, yes, but the one standing here was also a young woman whose heart had been won by the man before her.

Looking into Jiang Baiyu's gentle eyes, she rose on tiptoe and kissed him. It was not a fiercely passionate kiss, but one filled with tender attachment, as though she were holding a treasure she had struggled to find. Faint golden light flowed between them, without any grand spectacle. Some feelings needed no announcement to heaven and earth. They belonged only in this Cauldron Grotto-Heaven, secluded from the world. At last, their lips parted. Her breathing had quickened, a light blush colored her cheeks, and her eyes held a young woman's shyness. But in her heart, she had set aside a tender place for him alone.

"All right. Take us out," she said.

Jiang Baiyu was not about to miss the chance. He spread his arms and pulled her close. "No. One more kiss."

Before long, the Shennong Cauldron's grotto-heaven opened again. Qian Renxue's face was flushed, and her beautiful eyes glared at him in mock anger.

"All right, I have to go." She looked at Jiang Baiyu. "When are you coming back to Spirit Hall?"

"Give me two days," Jiang Baiyu said.

"Mm." Qian Renxue nodded and gave Jiang Baiyu one last long look. Then she beat her wings and gradually vanished into the moonlight.