"Ah~ you~ you're not going to ask me what my plans are?
You're just going to march straight to Da Ming?"
"Heh heh~ If the Azure Cloud Ancestor is truly at the seventh-tier Body Integration realm, I will definitely slay him!"
Yang Hong dared to say this because his injuries had basically recovered after more than three years of recuperation.
[Yang Hong: Sixth Prince of the Great Sui Dynasty.
Daily灌顶 (Guàn dǐng) Times: 12/12
Lifespan: 59/2000
Cultivation: Million-Year Mana (Nascent Soul Realm): Strength 9.99 million jin, Spiritual Sense 18,000 li]
Techniques: Top-tier Breathing Technique (433rd layer), Super-tier Body Tempering Technique (289th layer)
Martial Skills: Earnest Punch, Casual Saber, Earnest Sword
Spells: Sweet Dew Spell (Perfection), Salvation Demonic Sound (Masterful)...
Intent: Fist Intent: Brave and Fearless, Guardian
Sword Intent: Gentle Breeze
Special Ability: Soul Enhancement]
His severe injuries were gone, his spiritual sense had fully recovered, and only his physical strength had recovered by 1/5.
However, this no longer affected his ability to exert most of his strength. As long as he wasn't caught in close combat, he dared to face even an eighth-tier Tribulation Crossing realm cultivator head-on.
Still, the cautious Yang Hong, before leaving, collected ten stalks of ninth-grade spiritual plants and stored them in his scale space.
The cultivation returned through 灌顶 was his fastest way to restore mana. In the Five Directions Region, there was no cheat tool stronger than this.
"Your storage equipment... is truly powerful."
Seeing the spiritual plants vanish, Li Lizhi's eyes were filled with envy.
Having cultivated to the Nascent Soul realm, she knew that storage equipment capable of preserving living beings were extremely rare treasures.
"Don't you think I just picked a few herbs?"
Yang Hong suddenly grew curious about Li Lizhi's judgment.
"I'm not blind. You were exchanging spiritual plants. The ones you replanted were also taken out from your storage ring, and they were still fresh."
"Uh~ Fine. Next time, I'll avoid you so you won't see."
Yang Hong shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
He found his senior disciple, instructed her to cultivate diligently, and then flew away.
"Husband, what exactly is your cultivation level? Why are you so inhumanly rich?"
In the sky, aboard a seventh-grade flying boat traveling at extreme speed, Li Lizhi felt her eyes were insufficient.
As a reborn individual, her flying artifact was a fourth-grade Cloud Silk, and the best flying artifact she had seen was the Azure Cloud Ancestor's mount, a single-person, sixth-grade cloud artifact.
Truly, comparing oneself to others can lead to death, and comparing goods can lead to despair.
Now, Li Lizhi suspected that her rebirth had been in vain.
"I am at the late Nascent Soul realm. It's just that I've killed many enemies, and my spoils of war are abundant."
Yang Hong piloted the flying boat, its speed nearly reaching instantaneous travel of thousands of miles, though it consumed spirit stones at an alarming rate.
In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, 100 mid-grade spirit stones were depleted.
This consumption rate was 100 times higher than in the Ten Thousand Monster Islands region.
"Li Lizhi, do you know where the seal core of Da Ming is?
Or do you know where the Azure Cloud Ancestor will appear?"
"I know. The seal cores of the Five Directions Dynasties are all in the Imperial Palace's Council Hall."
"Let's go and wait."
He reluctantly stored away the flying boat, but instead of entering the Da Ming Imperial Palace, they found a decent inn in the imperial city and checked in.
Neither of them had considered entering the Imperial Palace; it would be too easy to alert them.
"Husband, should we set up some more formations? Otherwise, with just the two of us at the Nascent Soul realm, we won't be able to directly contend with the Azure Cloud Ancestor."
In the inn, seeing Yang Hong setting up a formation to isolate their auras, Li Lizhi asked again with curiosity.
"This is a spiritual-deprived land. Small formations don't consume much and can be set up, but forget about large formations.
However, I'm more curious, what was your original plan?
What made you confident you could deal with the Azure Cloud Ancestor?"
"That's very simple. As long as Husband breaks my body and injects his supreme yang energy, I will use a secret technique to preserve it within me. When the Azure Cloud Ancestor tries to absorb me, I will transfer that supreme yang energy into him.
Such an invasion of foreign true yang would cause the Azure Cloud Ancestor to suffer qi deviation."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Yang Hong was speechless. Setting aside whether Li Lizhi had the ability to make him ejaculate supreme yang energy,
even if her plan succeeded, wouldn't the Azure Cloud Ancestor be able to expel it with his cultivation?
"I know your doubts, but I know this will work!"
In her previous life, Li Lizhi, who had discovered the secret, was only at the Foundation Establishment realm. She found a Golden Core realm cultivator to implement her plan, which indeed caused the Azure Cloud Ancestor to suffer qi deviation.
It was just that the effect wasn't strong enough.
In this life, she had made many preparations and had greater confidence.
"Alright.
Your plan is now void. Execute mine.
Wait!"
After speaking, Yang Hong directly closed his eyes, his spiritual sense spreading out slightly to cover the entire imperial city of Da Ming.
Sun rose and set, and five days passed.
"He's here!"
Late that night, Yang Hong suddenly stood up.
"This is an eighth-tier Tribulation Crossing realm!"
Just as Yang Hong was about to push open the window and go out, his movements paused, and he exclaimed in shock.
Just moments ago, two fluctuations of spiritual power had come from the direction of the Imperial Palace. One was a late Golden Core fluctuation,
but it only lasted for three breaths before disappearing.
It was killed!
The other was an eighth-tier Tribulation Crossing realm mid-stage fluctuation, which also disappeared quickly.
But it only concealed its spiritual power fluctuations.
"Not good! Run!"
Yang Hong cried out, scooped up Li Lizhi beside him, and vanished from his spot with a teleportation.
"What's wrong?"
When the two reappeared, they were already in a forest 30 li away from the Da Ming imperial city.
"This is still not safe enough,"
Yang Hong said quickly and teleported again.
Teleportation was a spell he had comprehended in the legendary passage before. In the Five Directions Region, where there was no spiritual energy, it was more convenient than escape techniques and allowed him to flee further.
In the Five Directions Region, he could teleport 60 li at once.
However, this distance was merely a step for an eighth-tier Tribulation Crossing realm cultivator.
When Yang Hong reappeared, a figure instantly materialized before him.
"Little friend, where are you going?"
"Heh heh~ The moonlight is nice tonight. I'm taking my wife for a stroll."
Yang Hong responded with a smile to the Azure Cloud Ancestor's smiling inquiry.
"Heh heh~ Little friend and I truly have a fated connection. Your wife happens to be my disciple.
Isn't that a coincidence?"
"Mm, quite a coincidence."
The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence.
Yang Hong enveloped his entire body with spiritual power, and a portion of it was allocated to protect Li Lizhi.
Although he was confident in defeating an early eighth-tier cultivator, a mid-eighth-tier cultivator was several times more powerful than an early eighth-tier one.
As cultivation levels advanced, the gap between minor realms became even greater than the gap between major realms before.
Therefore, Yang Hong had to be cautious.
The Azure Cloud Ancestor looked at Yang Hong's powerful spiritual power aura, yet he appeared like someone without cultivation. This contradiction made him hesitant to act rashly.
Furthermore, someone who could teleport 60 li in a place like the Five Directions Region must be at least at the sixth-tier Soul Splitting cultivation.
"Are you a disciple of the Heavenly Mandate Sect, little friend?"
After the three stood in a tense stalemate for a while, the Azure Cloud Ancestor broke the silence.
"Oh, I'm not. I'm a rogue cultivator."
"I see the sword intent surging around you, little friend, clearly indicating you are a master of swordsmanship. Would you be willing to join my Azure Cloud Sword Sect? I am willing to take you as my personal disciple."
"Moreover, if you cultivate diligently, you can inherit my position as sect leader in the future."
Upon hearing that Yang Hong was a rogue cultivator, the Azure Cloud Ancestor began to entice him.
"Husband..."
Worried that Yang Hong would be deceived, Li Lizhi urgently wanted to remind him, but she could only utter "Husband" before she lost the ability to speak.