As the pillar of light above Qingyun Peak gradually dissipated, a figure shot out from the mountain into the sky.
His aura was transcendent, as if he could shrink distances with each step. With every stride, his form flickered, instantly closing vast distances and causing ripples to emerge in the surrounding space.
Two breaths later, he appeared above Lin Xueyan and her companions, walking as if in a leisurely stroll.
"Master!"
Lin Xueyan and the others looked up with immense surprise and joy.
The person emerging from Qingyun Peak was Ye Yun, who had just completed his seclusion. In fact, he had sensed the events unfolding outside not long ago but had been unable to disengage.
After all, before completing his breakthrough, even if he had emerged, he wouldn't have been able to turn the tide. It was fortunate that the Sect Master had resisted to the death, and Yu Wenya and Lan Zhaoyue had made suicidal charges, barely buying him this last bit of time.
"There's no need to worry anymore, everything is fine now."
Ye Yun looked at the three women, Lin Xueyan included, and a smile appeared.
Seeing this familiar smile again, for Lin Xueyan and the others, it was the greatest sense of security!
Especially when they felt the aura radiating from their master, which was countless times stronger than before, they were even more at ease!
The three women nodded repeatedly, but Lin Xueyan quickly remembered something important and reminded him,
"Right, Master! The Sect Master..."
"Don't worry, there's no way I'd let him die that easily."
Ye Yun smiled, his gaze sweeping towards a certain spot, and said, "We have the top physician on the continent right here."
Where his peripheral vision landed, it was Gu Lan, the Medicine Immortal Valley's expert, who had rushed over. She had been on her way to the Immortal Palace to retrieve medicine but noticed something amiss with the Ancient Dao Celestial Sect and had rushed back at full speed, subsequently witnessing the brutal battle.
Ye Yun looked at her and said, "The Sect Master is in your hands. You must save him."
Gu Lan nodded in the distance, without further ado, and flew directly towards Gu Chen to examine his injuries.
Seeing this, Ye Yun felt relieved. Not far away, Mu Xuankong was staring at him sharply and asked coldly,
"It seems you are the recently renowned Ye Yun?"
"That's right, it is I."
Ye Yun nodded in admission, and a surge of immense rage erupted in Mu Xuankong's eyes. As the saying goes, enemies meeting with extra hatred. Upon learning that the person before him was the one who had killed his two sons, his anger was about to erupt.
Meanwhile, Ye Yun's gaze swept over the current state of the Ancient Dao Celestial Sect.
All he saw were ruins and remnants of walls, with no trace of the Celestial Sect's former glory.
At this, his gaze turned grim, and he said coldly,
"Did you do all of this within the Celestial Sect?"
"So what?"
"Nothing, it's just that you will not be leaving this place alive today."
Ye Yun's tone was calm, yet his voice contained an undeniable oppressive force.
"Hmph, you truly are as arrogant and dismissive as the legends say. No wonder you dared to kill my son."
Mu Xuankong snorted coldly, staring intently at Ye Yun and saying, "You don't think that by breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm, you can roam the world and be invincible, do you?"
From the commotion that had erupted earlier and the suppressed aura emanating from Ye Yun, it was not difficult to determine that he had entered the Foundation Establishment realm.
To be honest, Mu Xuankong was still a little shocked. Just not long ago, he had been told that Ye Yun was only at the sixth level of the Life and Death realm, and now he had reached the Foundation Establishment realm so quickly. His speed of improvement was truly monstrous.
But even if he broke through to the Foundation Establishment realm, so what? Not to mention that his own cultivation had long been at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, and there was also the Heaven-Covering Demon Sealing Formation around. What kind of great waves could a cultivator who had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm stir up?
Ye Yun also discerned his identity, his expression remaining exceptionally calm.
If it were before, he might have been truly wary of this fellow, but now...
Ye Yun met his gaze and sneered, saying,
"Invincible is certainly not the case, but at least, killing you should be as easy as slaughtering a dog."
Upon hearing this, Mu Xuankong's eyelids twitched violently, and killing intent flared in his eyes.
Ye Yun also beckoned, and the Fenglan Sword not far away trembled and instantly flew into his hand.
Then, Ye Yun glanced at the sky and called out softly.
"Xiao Xue."
As the words fell, Xiao Xue, who had been confronting him from afar, instantly appeared before Ye Yun. Seeing her master emerge from seclusion, she was also very happy and immediately bowed, saying,
"Master, what are your orders?"
Ye Yun looked around and said, "From now on, you just need to protect the people of the Ancient Dao Celestial Sect."
Xiao Xue nodded, then asked,
"Then what about you, Master?"
Ye Yun smiled faintly, his gaze shifting to Mu Xuankong, and said slowly, "As the saying goes, 'If a friend comes from afar, though they be distant, they shall be punished!'"
"Since they have come looking for me, I shall entertain them!"
Xiao Xue didn't think too much about it and nodded.
"As you command."
She then shifted to a defensive stance, and an icy blue barrier completely covered the low-altitude area of the Ancient Dao Celestial Sect, preventing the sect members from being harmed by the aftermath of the battle.
In the distance, the two cultivators from Fulong Immortal Palace who had been confronting Xiao Xue, upon seeing this, did not rejoin Mu Xuankong but quietly retreated.
As for Mu Xuankong and his entourage, their attention was entirely on Ye Yun at this moment, and they didn't notice two teammates disappear.
In mid-air, Ye Yun held the Fenglan Sword, gazing at Mu Xuankong and saying coldly,
"I presume that once you are killed, the Xuanming Immortal Palace will cease to exist?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Xuankong burst into wild laughter as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world.
"Ye Yun, Ye Yun, do you still think you are in the Life and Death realm? Fighting against those at the half-step Foundation Establishment realm while being at the sixth level of the Life and Death realm?"
"I'm not afraid to tell you, the gap between the first level of Foundation Establishment and the sixth level of Foundation Establishment is not something your petty tricks can bridge!"
"And it's not just you who possesses transcendent-level profound intent!"
As the words fell, Mu Xuankong unleashed his full power. The surging profound energy pressure descended like an avalanche, and at the same time, an aura materialized on his long saber.
Instantly, his saber seemed capable of cutting through anything, shattering all things in the world!
Those with knowledge recognized this aura as the renowned attainment of the Xuanming Immortal Palace Master, the transcendent blade intent!
"This doesn't look good. That fellow was powerful before, relying on the power of the Great Dao and transcendent sword intent to fight above his level. But now, under equal conditions..."
Lan Zhaoyue in the distance looked at Ye Yun, who was locked onto by the blade's profound intent, with a worried expression.
Yu Wenya also frowned and said, "Indeed, if he only broke through to the Foundation Establishment realm, no matter how powerful he is, he wouldn't be able to defeat Mu Xuankong by fighting above his level."
The two women were filled with worry, but Ye Yun, who was confronting Mu Xuankong, burst into laughter upon hearing his words.
"You are right. If I were only at the first level of Foundation Establishment, I might not be able to win."
Mu Xuankong sneered.
"So, are you planning to surrender?"
However, Ye Yun shook his head the next second and said, "Did I ever say that I was at the first level of Foundation Establishment?"
"What do you mean?"
Mu Xuankong's gaze narrowed. At that very moment, the profound energy pressure on Ye Yun suddenly erupted, and the pressure that had been surrounding him was instantly pushed back.
Ignoring Mu Xuankong's shocked expression, Ye Yun stood amidst the surging might, looking at him with a smile and saying,
"What a pity. When I broke through, I accidentally also advanced my cultivation to the sixth level of Foundation Establishment. We are now at the same profound energy realm."