"Congratulations," Ruan Biting said, turning her gaze toward Su Yan.
Her disciple had reached the same cultivation level as herself, and all Ruan Biting felt was delight—it proved that her judgment years ago had been correct.
Su Yan said, "It's all thanks to Master's protection over the years." Without Ruan Biting occasionally providing for her and secretly delivering pills and elixirs during the past decade, Su Yan's cultivation would have been at risk of declining. She would never have been able to maintain her realm in this place so rich with fire energy.
"Thank you, Elder Ruan!" Yang Kai bowed respectfully, his expression sincere. Ruan Biting had been nothing but good to Su Yan. Over the past few days of conversation, Yang Kai had learned a fair amount about Ruan Biting from Su Yan, and he was naturally deeply grateful.
Ruan Biting waved her hand. "There's no need for that. Su Yan is my disciple—it's only right that I look after her. I only regret being indecisive back then and not taking her away from the Yunxia Sect, which cost her ten wasted years. Things have finally turned around, or else my guilt would have been unbearable." She turned to look at Yang Kai. "Treat her well. My cultivation may not compare to yours, but if you ever let her down, I won't let it slide."
Yang Kai grinned and made a cutting gesture across his own neck. "If that day ever comes, this junior will happily offer up his head—no need for you to lift a finger, Senior." Although his cultivation surpassed hers, she was still Su Yan's master, so addressing her as "Senior" was only natural.
Ruan Biting laughed. "I'll hold you to that."
Su Yan seemed to sense something. "Master, where will you go?"
Ruan Biting took her hand and sighed. "The Yunxia Sect is gone. Before that, I was even expelled from the sect by Han Zhengyuan. Now the world is wide—I should go out and see it. I've been stuck in one place for a hundred years and practically grown moldy. Besides, you've already caught up to me in cultivation. If I don't push myself harder, how can I still call myself your master?"
Su Yan said, "Why don't you come with me?"
Ruan Biting smiled. "You two have been reunited after a long separation—what would I be doing, hovering around? Let's leave it at this. When fate wills it, we'll meet again."
Yang Kai shook his head. "If you leave now, I'm afraid we may never have another chance to meet in this life."
Ruan Biting said, "The Ancestral Domain is vast, but when there's a will to meet, one can always find a way."
"We'll be leaving the Ancestral Domain soon."
Ruan Biting froze, looking at Su Yan. "You're leaving the Ancestral Domain? Where are you going?"
"Star Boundary!" Su Yan replied.
"Star Boundary?" Ruan Biting was stunned for a moment, and then surprise flooded her eyes. "You have a way to reach the Star Boundary?" Her expression made it clear she knew of its existence.
This was hardly surprising. The Ancestral Domain connected to countless star domains, and scattered throughout those domains were always some rumors about the Star Boundary. Ordinary warriors in the Ancestral Domain might not be aware of it, but once one's cultivation reached a certain level, one would naturally come into contact with deeper, more elevated information.
The Star Boundary was the stuff of legends—it was said that there lay a vaster world, richer spiritual energy, a more complete heaven and earth, and far more profound martial arts!
It was the ultimate destination on the path of martial arts. Even Dao Source Stage Three powerhouses were nothing special there.
"I do!" Yang Kai nodded solemnly.
"Master, please come with me," Su Yan pleaded. She owed Ruan Biting so many kindnesses. If they parted now, she might never have the chance to repay her.
Ruan Biting's expression shifted. She had originally planned to wander the world freely, but who could have imagined that a great door was being opened before her—and the vista beyond was filled with boundless temptation.
Taking a slow breath, Ruan Biting looked at Yang Kai and asked, "What realm are you at now?"
"Emperor Sovereign Stage One!" Yang Kai said with a faint smile.
"Emperor Sovereign Realm!" A look of longing crossed Ruan Biting's face. "Above the Dao Source Realm... lies the Emperor Sovereign Realm?" She brushed back a strand of her hair and smiled softly. "If I came along with you, I wouldn't be in the way, would I?"
"Not at all, not at all—we've had our fill long ago... er..."
Su Yan drove her elbow into Yang Kai's stomach.
Ruan Biting smiled at her. "Then I suppose your master will have to rely on you in her old age."
……
The Yunxia Sect—its scenery remained the same, but the clamor of voices was gone.
The vast grounds of the sect were completely silent. Not a single soul could be seen in the plazas or palaces. The place had become a dead zone—even the birds and beasts of the surrounding mountains had retreated into their dens, unwilling to show themselves, as though they had sensed some danger.
On the steps before the great hall, Liu Yan sat with her chin propped in both hands, staring straight ahead. Her gaze was vacant and hollow, as if nothing and no one in the world mattered to her—and yet it seemed capable of containing the entire world.
He Yunxiang strolled over and glanced at her, a chill settling in her heart.
Who could have imagined that this adorable-looking little girl could slaughter people so swiftly and ruthlessly? Everything that had happened in the great hall ten days ago was still vivid in her mind. Liu Yan had merely unleashed a single fire-serpentine attack and incinerated the sect master and all the elders of the Yunxia Sect in barely ten breaths. Those Dao Source Realm cultivators who had seemed untouchably powerful had not possessed even the slightest ability to fight back.
"Find anything good?" Liu Yan suddenly looked up at her. With a beckoning gesture, the palm-sized firebird that had been hovering behind He Yunxiang flew into her palm with a chirp, merged into her skin, and vanished without a trace.
He Yunxiang blinked. "I emptied their treasury."
As a notable power in the Ancestral Domain, the Yunxia Sect naturally had its own treasury, which only the sect master and a few elders were normally authorized to open. But with Sect Master Han Zhengyuan and the elders dying so suddenly and the disciples scattering so quickly, the treasury had been left behind—unclaimed and unnoticed.