Just as Ling Xueyao opened her eyes, the energy wave from her breakthrough realm surged over the surface of the spring.
The spring water was stirred by the two auras, and ripples spread outwards. Just as she was about to circulate her spiritual power to resist, her Flawless Spirit Physique reacted first.
That's not rejection.
It's resonance.
The surge of spiritual energy triggered by Chu Yunfei's breakthrough caused the bottleneck in her dantian, which had been stagnant for a long time, to loosen slightly after it entered the spiritual spring.
Ling Xueyao's expression changed slightly.
She originally only wanted to use the spiritual spring to recover from her injuries, but she didn't expect that the commotion caused by Chu Yunfei's breakthrough would stir up the surrounding spiritual energy into a state most suitable for breaking through.
Opportunities are fleeting.
Ling Xueyao didn't look at Chu Yunfei again and immediately closed her eyes to circulate her internal energy.
The Flawless Spirit Physique displayed an astonishing advantage at this moment. The pure spiritual energy in the milky white spring water continuously flowed into her meridians, and it could be integrated into her dantian with almost no need for much refining.
The barrier of the peak of the Eighth Level of the Heavenly Origin Realm was repeatedly breached.
Born into royalty, she never lacked resources for cultivation.
However Earth Vein Spirit Spring, which are nurtured by heaven and earth, are still far superior to ordinary elixirs and spirit stones.
More importantly, she had previously suffered damage to her meridians from the Blood Fiend and had experienced a brush with death, leaving her mind tense for a long time.
At this moment, with the blood evil cleared and his injuries healed by the spiritual spring, he entered an unprecedented state of clarity.
Chu Yunfei also opened his eyes at this moment.
A dark golden luster flickered in the depths of his eyes for a moment before quickly fading away.
He clenched his fist.
In the dantian, liquid spiritual energy settled at the bottom, like a newly formed small pool.
Its quality and thickness are now incomparable to what they were when it was at the Spirit Martial Realm.
" First Level of the Heavenly Origin Realm, finally reached."
Chu Yunfei said in a low voice.
Xiaoxiao Dragon said lazily, "It's barely watchable."
"Just barely?"
"Otherwise what? You're nowhere near as good as I was when I was alive. Don't be too smug."
Chu Yunfei's heart skipped a beat, and he asked in his mind.
"By the way, what level of cultivation did you reach in your previous life?"
Xiaoxiao Dragon snorted arrogantly, "Want to know? Guess for yourself. In short, I'm much better than you!"
She was clearly unwilling to disclose it.
Chu Yunfei shook his head helplessly, knowing that the other party had a secret, and did not intend to ask any further questions.
After breaking through to the Heavenly Origin Realm, he was finally able to truly fly.
The Abyss-Devouring Sword can also unleash even greater power.
If he were to encounter an ordinary martial artist at the fourth or fifth Heavenly Origin Realm again, he wouldn't need to struggle as much as before.
Just then, a soft sound came from the other side.
Ling Xueyao's spiritual power broke through the last barrier.
The aura of the Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer emanated from her body, but she quickly suppressed it back into her body.
Spring water slid down her wet hair.
She opened her eyes and looked at Chu Yunfei.
You broke through?
"Didn't you break through too?"
Ling Xueyao felt the abundant spiritual energy within her body, and a hint of joy appeared in her eyes.
"If it weren't for this sacred spring, I would have had to remain in seclusion for at least three more months."
Chu Yunfei glanced at the aura surrounding her.
" Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer, as expected of Flawless Spirit Physique. I'm afraid you can't find another one like you among the younger generation of the seven major sects."
Ling Xueyao pursed her lips.
"Then you're mistaken. The younger generation of the seven major sects are not to be underestimated, especially the Holy Son and Holy Daughter of the Heavenly Edict Sect, the Puppet Sect, and the Heavenly Evil Sect; they are very powerful."
"Are they all better than you?"
"I don't know since I haven't competed, but I heard Jiaojiao mention that the holy sons and daughters of these three sects reached the Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer a year ago. I'm just reminding you that the seven major sects are not as simple as they seem, so you don't attract trouble if you show too much power later."
"Don't worry, I naturally won't provoke them first, but if they provoke me first, I won't care what sect they belong to, I'll kill them without hesitation."
Chu Yunfei sneered.
Ling Xueyao glanced at him, seemingly wanting to say something. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke, "I know about your grudges with the Heavenly Sword Sect. You don't need to worry. Once we're in the capital, even if the Heavenly Sword Sect wants to harm you, they'll have to think twice. At least they won't dare to do anything to you openly."
She paused, then added, "On the condition that my father wakes up."
Chu Yunfei naturally understood her meaning, and without explaining, he smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Your Highness."
At this moment, Little Purple raised her head from the stone platform.
A purple-gold lightning arc traveled along its body.
Its originally slender snake body swelled up, and its aura rose from the First Level of the Heavenly Origin Realm Third Level of the Heavenly Origin Realm before stopping.
It transformed into a purple shadow, landed on Chu Yunfei's shoulder, and nuzzled his face against his.
Chu Yunfei raised his hand and pressed it down.
"Alright, I know you've made a breakthrough."
Little Purple flicked its tongue and gently tapped his shoulder with its tail.
Looking at Little Purple, Ling Xueyao couldn't help but say, "Your spirit beast's breakthrough speed is even faster than the Heavenly-level bloodline cubs raised by the royal family."
Chu Yunfei got up and walked out of the spring.
The soaked robes made a splashing sound.
"Its bloodline is special."
"Don't you have anything that isn't special?"
"Have."
"What?"
Chu Yunfei used his spiritual power to evaporate the water from his clothes.
I'm desperately short of spirit stones.
Ling Xueyao was speechless for a moment after being cornered by him.
She looked down at the spring pool. The milky white spiritual spring, which was originally ten feet in length, was now less than 20% full. Her breakthrough did not consume that much energy.
Looking at Chu Yunfei's aura again, she finally understood where the spiritual spring water had gone.
"You used up so much energy to break through to the first level?"
Chu Yunfei did not deny it.
"Due to my physical constitution, I need more energy to break through than the average person."
"Is this considered more?"
Ling Xueyao pointed to the almost dried-up spring.
"If I were to let you cultivate to the Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer, wouldn't you have to devour ten such spiritual springs?"
Chu Yunfei thought about it carefully.
"Maybe more."
Ling Xueyao closed her eyes briefly.
No wonder you're always thinking about spirit stones.
Chu Yunfei looked at the remaining spring water.
"Keep these safe; use them to strengthen your cultivation."
Ling Xueyao looked up. "You don't want it?"
That's enough.
"You just used up seventy or eighty percent of your strength, and now you're being modest?"
"If you can break through to the Divine Sea Realm sooner, you'll have far fewer troubles in the Imperial City."
Chu Yunfei paused.
"Besides, I've used up quite a bit of spiritual spring water in my cultivation, so it's not a loss."
Ling Xueyao did not continue to refuse.
She took out several jade bottles and collected the remaining spiritual spring water.
Chu Yunfei reached out and drew the remaining spring water from the corner, bringing it to her.
Ling Xueyao watched as the jade bottle gradually filled, and whispered, "I will remember this debt."
"Her Highness's account books look quite thick."
"If you utter another word, I'll swallow your half of the spirit crystal."
Chu Yunfei immediately changed his tune.
"Collect spirit crystals first."
After the spring dried up, large patches of spiritual crystals appeared on the stone walls around the cave.
Pale golden crystals are embedded in the rock strata, each containing pure spiritual power.
Chu Yunfei had just chipped off a piece when Xiaoxiao Dragon spoke up.
"These spirit crystals are equivalent to high-grade spirit stones. Now that you've entered the Heavenly Origin Realm, the consumption of spirit crystals during cultivation will be even more terrifying. Take as many as you can."
Chu Yunfei thought to himself, "You make it sound like I'd be polite."
Xiaoxiao Dragon snorted.
"You just gave her the spiritual spring; I thought you'd changed your ways."
"There's not much left; it's not enough to break through to the next realm."
"Stubborn."
Chu Yunfei didn't bother to reply.
The two split up to collect the samples, neither saying a word.
The Abyss-Devouring Sword sliced through the stone wall, and the golden slender sword picked out the spirit crystal.
Occasionally, Little Purple would sweep away the pebbles with its tail and push a few high-quality spirit crystals to Chu Yunfei's feet.
Half an hour later, most of the spirit crystals around the cave had been cleared away.
Chu Yunfei roughly counted them, and the total amount was about 30,000 yuan.
He looked at Ling Xueyao and made a gesture.
"Half for each of us?"
Ling Xueyao nodded.
"You've used up more energy, so you can take more."
"Your Highness is so generous?"
"Fine, then don't take it."
"Want."
Chu Yunfei took half without hesitation and then took an extra three thousand yuan.
Watching his actions, Ling Xueyao couldn't help but say, "You really aren't being polite."
"You told me to take it."
"I was just being polite."
I took it seriously.
Ling Xueyao was amused and laughed, but quickly composed herself.
"Never mind, the stronger you are, the better you'll be at curing Father."
Xiaoxiao Dragon said in his mind's eye, "With these spirit crystals, the Spiritual Qi space inside the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate can maintain a tenfold time flow rate, which is perfect for your cultivation of the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword."
Chu Yunfei's heart skipped a beat.
He hadn't truly activated the time-flow space within the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate before. The reason was simple: it consumed too much energy and required mid-grade or higher spirit stones to sustain it continuously.
Now that we have these spirit crystals, we can give it a try.
However, with Ling Xueyao by his side, Shen Qianyue's fate unknown, and the Emperor's poison still waiting for him in the capital, he couldn't possibly go into seclusion here.
"How's the consumption?"
"A day of cultivation inside is equivalent to only one hour outside, but spirit crystals burn very quickly. With your current amount of spirit crystals, you can only sustain yourself outside for a maximum of three days."
Chu Yunfei clicked his tongue in amazement.
This is incredibly expensive; it's a real money-devouring beast.
But it was worth it. Three days outside is equivalent to a month inside the cauldron, enough time for him to learn the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword and master the life-saving martial art from his previous life.
Previously, his strength was insufficient to cultivate the martial arts techniques from his previous life. Now that he has reached the Heavenly Origin Realm, he can try to cultivate them. Only by mastering that martial art will he truly have a trump card to protect his life.
Even when facing Early Stage of the Divine Sea Realm, I won't need to use forbidden techniques to protect myself. Forbidden techniques are ultimately too dangerous; a slight misstep could lead to endless troubles.
"Keep it for now, we'll talk about it after we get to the capital."
Chu Yunfei put his own spirit crystal into his storage ring, then looked into the depths of the cave.
" Lu Shaoyuan mentioned in his last words that he accidentally triggered the remnant of the array and arrived here. Now that the spiritual spring and spiritual crystals have been collected, it's time to find that array."
Ling Xueyao carefully put away the spirit crystal, her expression turning serious again.
"If the remaining array cannot be used, we can only return to the bottom of the abyss to find another exit. Although the crack above has closed, there may still be a mechanism to reopen it, but that would take quite a while."
Chu Yunfei didn't reply, and continued to check along the edge of the cave one by one.
After the spring dried up, many traces that had been covered by moisture were revealed. In a depression at the deepest part of the cave, the rubble was piled up thickly, but there were several unnatural arc patterns on the surface.
Chu Yunfei swept away the rubble with his sword, revealing a dilapidated array base.
"Found it."
Only 30% of the array base remains intact, the core array eye is shattered, four of the six nodes are ineffective, and there are still very faint spatial fluctuations remaining in the remaining array patterns.
Ling Xueyao frowned as she approached.
"This array base is too badly damaged, can it be repaired?"
Chu Yunfei squatted in front of the array base, his fingertips tracing the remaining patterns.
In his previous life, he wasn't exactly an expert in advanced array formations, but he was familiar with the basic principles of teleportation arrays. The real damage to this broken array wasn't to its overall framework, but rather to the spiritual energy nodes and the pressure-bearing points of its core.
If ordinary array stones are used, forcibly activating them will inevitably cause them to collapse.
But the spirit crystals they just collected were of high enough quality.
"You can try."
Chu Yunfei took out dozens of spirit crystals and embedded them one by one into the failed nodes. Then, using spiritual power as a needle, he painstakingly reconnected the broken array patterns.
Ling Xueyao stood to the side, increasingly alarmed as she watched.
Chu Yunfei understands swordsmanship, detoxification, and even the Flawless Spirit Physique. He also knows how to remove blood evil and can now even repair teleportation arrays.
She suddenly realized that the more she learned about this boy from this remote place, the more questions she had.
"You also understand formations?"
"I know a little."
"Is your little knowledge the same as your ability to use the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword on your first viewing?"
Chu Yunfei pressed his fingers against the broken edge of the array pattern.
"Isn't it too late for Your Highness to ask me about my secret now?"
Ling Xueyao looked away.
"I was just asking casually."
"Then I'll just give a casual answer."
"Okay, you can continue."
Half an hour later, Chu Yunfei pressed the last spirit crystal into the array eye, and more than thirty spirit crystals lit up at the same time, causing the broken array patterns to tremble slightly.
A white light rose from the bottom of the array base.
Spatial fluctuations gradually stabilized.
Chu Yunfei stood up, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Ling Xueyao used her divine sense to perceive for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "The spatial coordinates point towards the Black Wind Mountain Range, but the remnant formation is greatly off-target, and the landing point may not be safe."
Chu Yunfei beckoned, and Little Purple coiled her arms around his wrist.
"It's better than spending your whole life underground, let's go."
"Wait a moment."
Ling Xueyao straightened her clothes and then used her spiritual power to dry her wet hair.
Chu Yunfei watched her actions.
"It's possible that no one will see it when it's sent out."
"Shut up."
Ling Xueyao stepped into the formation.
Chu Yunfei drew his sword and followed.
A white light rose from beneath his feet, and the remaining formation emitted a piercing screeching sound.
Ling Xueyao looked at Chu Yunfei.
Be careful, be prepared.
"That's what I should be saying to you."
"I am now at the Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer."
"I've just entered the Heavenly Origin Realm, but I'm not exactly weak."
You'd better not try to be a hero at a time like this.
A white light engulfed the two figures, and the dilapidated array base cracked open with its final fissure amidst violent tremors.