A Great Calamity Loomed

By then, Yun Ying and Yun Xi's spirits had returned to their bodies.

Purple bamboo swayed as Yun Xi looked at her younger sister. "Ying, why did you give him that thing? Don't tell me..."

"No, I was just doing him a convenient favor. A Bronze Book Fragment left in my hands was like chicken ribs-too little meat to eat, yet a shame to discard," Yun Ying said, shaking her head.

"That doesn't mean you should give it away. Didn't you see how dumbfounded Grandpa was?" Yun Xi laughed.

Yun Ying smiled gently. "Chaos is coming to the Desolate Region. What does one Bronze Book Fragment amount to?"

At those words, the smile vanished from Yun Xi's face, replaced by a trace of worry. "Ying, do you think we can escape this great calamity?"

According to Heavenly God Mountain's ancient records, the Desolate Region had suffered mysterious great calamities throughout the ages. Yet after each calamity, every trace was erased, leaving no one knowing what had actually happened.

That was truly terrifying.

"The formation on the mountain behind us is our slender thread of hope. Unfortunately, it's incomplete," Yun Ying said softly.

However, it was said that although the great calamity would sweep across the entire Desolate Region, it would not affect beings below the Venerable Realm. Ordinary mortals would be especially safe.

Hearing Yun Ying's words, Yun Xi's expression turned slightly awkward. After hesitating for a long time, she finally revealed the true purpose of her trip to the Hundred Broken Mountains.

After hearing Yun Xi's account, Yun Ying looked surprised. "Why didn't I know about this?"

"Because you aren't interested in so many things, Ying. Grandpa could only leave it to me. But that fellow ruined it all. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a helpless position," Yun Xi muttered.

"It seems I was right to give him that Bronze Book Fragment. Now we can have him repay the favor," Yun Ying said, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Yun Xi immediately understood what she meant. "That's right! We can make him repay the favor by handing over that peacock. Yun Ying, you're so clever."

"That peacock probably has quite a significant connection to our Heavenly God Mountain. Only Grandpa knows the details of the past. It's still too early to treat the peacock as a criminal," Yun Ying said after some thought.

Yun Xi froze for a moment. Thinking back now, Grandpa did not seem to have ever spoken ill of that peacock. It was their second uncle and the others who said the peacock coveted Heavenly God Mountain's divine treasures and had committed an unforgivable crime.

"Surely not. Could Second Uncle and the others be lying?" Yun Xi found that hard to believe.

"If you listen to only one side, that's what you'll believe. Second Uncle and the others might not be wrong; they may simply know little about what happened back then. Grandpa is still the one who holds the truth," Yun Ying said calmly.

Although Yun Xi felt that her own clansmen would not deceive her, she began to harbor some doubts.

"All right, there's no need to dwell on it. The truth will come to light when the time comes," Yun Ying said.

While Yun Ying and Yun Xi were talking, a major incident occurred in the Void God Realm.

The mysterious young man first attacked Yue Chan, using the commotion to stir up chaos. Then he suddenly turned his spear toward a new target, unleashing an incomplete Chaos Artifact against the Domain Envoy.

His true target had been the Domain Envoy all along. The Void God Realm's Domain Envoy was formed from the imprints of the gods, so slaying him would yield divine spirit imprints.

And he succeeded. He shattered the Domain Envoy into more than a dozen clusters of divine spirit imprints, which the crowd swiftly snatched up.

However, this act also enraged the Void God Realm's order rules. A Domain Lord, more powerful than the Domain Envoy, descended to administer divine punishment.

Countless people were expelled from the Void God Realm and barred for varying lengths of time. The mysterious young man, the chief culprit, dared not linger either and promptly slipped away.

Everyone fled or scattered, and soon not a soul remained in the Void God Realm.

The outside world seethed. Everyone was discussing what had happened in the Void God Realm, and a great battle even broke out.

With Shi Yi defeated and dead, his spirit extinguished, many naturally set their sights on his physical body in Demon Spirit Lake. Countless factions besieged Demon Spirit Lake, seeking to seize Shi Yi's body.

Unfortunately, in the end, a mysterious Gray-Clad Woman appeared. She strode through as though no one stood in her way and carried off Shi Yi's body.

The outcome nearly made those from Demon Spirit Lake and the other factions cough up blood. After fighting tooth and nail for so long, they had merely sewn another person's wedding gown.

With Shi Hao and Shi Yi's duel to the death concluded, a rare peace settled over the Desolate Region. Yet this was only the prelude to the gathering wind and rain. Everyone knew a storm was approaching, one that would sweep across the entire Great Wilderness.

A year quietly slipped by.

The battle in the Void God Realm that day became known not only throughout the Desolate Region, but beyond its borders as well. To duel on the Sky Battlefield was itself an immense honor.

Yun Ying's single sword strike had also set an astonishing record. Her sword intent was unparalleled, standing shoulder to shoulder with the ancient gods.

These two events swiftly stirred up a storm beyond the region, provoking an enormous response and even drawing many beings from other regions across the borders into the Desolate Region.

As for Yun Ying, the record she had set was engraved on a stone stele in the Void God Realm for all to see. Even though beings from other regions had always looked down on those of the Desolate Region, they would not question it.

Moreover, Yun Ying came from a Primordial Sacred Mountain and belonged to the Celestial Clan. It was humans whom beings from other regions had always scorned.

Through his battle with Shi Yi, Shi Hao had earned the title of Young Supreme. Many geniuses from other regions refused to accept it and wanted to test his worth with their own hands.

However, after the battle in the Void God Realm, Shi Hao vanished without a trace and never appeared again.

Some speculated that Shi Hao's injuries had been too severe and had left him crippled, which was why he had not shown himself for so long.

The Purple Bamboo Forest swayed in the breeze, peaceful and still. The sound of boiling water rose, and the fragrance of tea drifted through the air. A woman in purple sat there, her beauty almost dreamlike, her gaze as gentle as water.

Her two purple ponytails trailed onto the ground, tied with pure white ribbons. Her skin was translucent as jade, her figure graceful and shapely. An ethereal air mingled with a faint touch of earthly warmth, the two blending perfectly.

Over the past year, Yun Ying's bearing had changed a little again.

She no longer possessed that aura of unity with heaven and earth. It was as though she had washed away every trace of ornamentation and returned to her unadorned essence, becoming an ordinary mortal.

This did not mean her cultivation had regressed. On the contrary, it had grown ever more profound, advancing to the next level.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded for several breaths, and Yun Ying's older sister, Yun Xi, appeared, just as beautiful and captivating.

"Ying, Shi Hao has appeared in the Fire Kingdom. Time is short. Let's hurry and find him, make him hand over that peacock, and repay the favor he owes you." Yun Xi picked up Yun Ying's tea and took a sip.

Hearing this, Yun Ying nodded. "All right."

She also knew that Heavenly God Mountain's people had recently been studying the formation on the mountain behind them, but had made little progress. No one was proficient in formations, much less an ancient formation.

Furthermore, the formation was incomplete and needed repairs, but they lacked the crucial Formation Diagram. It also required many materials, and they could not even calculate how much they were still missing. Every aspect posed a problem.

This left Heavenly God Mountain's people deeply troubled. Even Yun Canghai found it a headache.