124: Chapter 123 Breakthrough to the Void Return Realm, First Time Taking a Bite (a Chinese idiom for initiating

"High Grade Immortal Artifact, not bad. It was worth all this Karma and world Origin."

He fed all his remaining Karma and world Origin to this pagoda. Coupled with rare Materials like Chaos stones, if he had only refined a Spiritual Artifact, Ye Qingxuan might as well go find a piece of tofu and bash his head against it.

Actually, Ye Qingxuan wanted to integrate the Canghaishi Drop Bottle into the pagoda even more. The undying spiritual light of an Innate Spirit Treasure could elevate the power of the heavens pagoda to a higher level.

Unfortunately, a Medium Grade Innate Spirit Treasure was not something a Cultivator who had yet to achieve Immortal Ascension could smelt. He could only wait until after achieving Immortal Ascension to talk about it.

Ye Qingxuan gazed at the Dao-proclaiming treasure flowing with seven-colored rosy light, his mind stirring slightly as he immediately operated his Divine Ability.

"Open!"

Taking his own Dao as the source, he continuously poured in magic power, frantically expanding the Immortal Cave inside the pagoda. The pagoda body began to tremble, constantly emitting seven-colored light.

The nine-tiered pagoda body corresponded to nine layers of space. The interior was expanded infinitely, layer upon layer independent yet completely integrated, as vast as a complete world, perfectly matching the characteristics of the Xiaoyao Great Dao encompassing the heavens and standing supreme in freedom.

Looking at the nine-tiered, eight-sided precious pagoda entwined with seven-colored floating rosy clouds before him, Ye Qingxuan began to inscribe the Time Divine Ability into the pagoda.

The Time Divine Ability was specialized in tampering with spacetime within a square inch, and could not be cast by anyone below the Body Integration Stage. However, tampering with time was a Heaven-Defying act, and a slight carelessness would result in being struck heavily by heavenly lightning, or even falling directly in severe cases.

However, for Ye Qingxuan now, it was very easy.

As strand after strand of Dao patterns covered the pagoda body, the spacetime inside the pagoda was forcibly pulled and reshaped.

The flow of time within the pagoda's Immortal Cave was completely rewritten: one day outside equaled ten days inside, which could be called a cultivation cheat device.

Relying on the Chaos stone Foundation, the three great divine Materials of the sun, moon, and stars, coupled with Heavenly Dao Karma and world Origin, plus top-tier Artifact Refining methods.

Moreover, this was a Dao-proclaiming artifact bearing Ye Qingxuan's exclusive Dao, and a deity was bred within the pagoda.

The appearance and figure of this deity's phantom were completely identical to Ye Qingxuan. It sat cross-legged amidst the seven-colored Dao light at the top of the pagoda, hazy and condensing into form, quietly dormant.

It was born with the precious pagoda and existed with the Dao. It shared the same Origin as Ye Qingxuan's Dao Foundation and interchanged minds. With accumulated nourishment over time, it could completely take shape to accompany him in battles and Dao proclamation.

After the Dao inscription was completed, the heavens pagoda was considered finished. He then stored the pagoda into his body, continuously nourishing and tempering it with the Primordial Spirit fire and Xiaoyao Dao rhyme.

Ye Qingxuan's Divine Sense glanced at the Floating Platform and found that they still needed some time to comprehend the Dao, so he continued his seclusion to hone the heavens pagoda.

On the fifth day of Ye Qingxuan's seclusion, the Cultivators on the Floating Dao Platform had already awakened from Reincarnation.

The first to wake up was a Disciple of Tianshi Mansion.

Ye Qingxuan's Incarnation sitting cross-legged in the Void Realm quietly observed and casually pinched his fingers to calculate, "Thirty-six lives. After all, his Foundation was a bit lacking, but his comprehension is not shallow, and his Foundation is polished very solidly."

Following closely behind, more than 170 Disciples, Elders, and Sect Heads from various Sects on the Floating Platform woke up successively.

No one stood up to walk around. Everyone sat cross-legged on the spot, frantically digesting the massive comprehension brought by Reincarnation and precipitating their own Foundation.

There were still more than a dozen people immersed in Reincarnation, continuously comprehending. Among them were Master Yuanxin, Li Qiye, Qingming, Qingyun, Qingling, Qingmo, Yun Huan, Zhang Yuzhuo, Zhou Wei, and so on.

They were all the ones with the highest talent and the deepest Foundation.

"Thirty-six to forty-nine? Why so few? Is the gap this big?"

Ye Qingxuan had easily undergone a hundred lives of Reincarnation and went straight into Body Integration. In his view, wasn't comprehending Reincarnation a very simple matter? Why did these people have so few Reincarnation cycles?

As time pushed forward, on the seventh day of Ye Qingxuan's Artifact Refining, everyone woke up.

"Master and Senior Brother's Foundation are still a bit stronger than Duyuan's, experiencing fifty-five lives of Reincarnation. However, lacking the extra reward from the National Destiny Space, they should be able to reach the Late Stage of Void Return."

On the Floating Platform, some people began to break through Realm shackles, breaking through Realms continuously. Dao sounds began to permeate. Compared to Ye Qingxuan's silent and traceless Breakthrough, these Cultivators wished the whole world knew they had broken through to Void Return.

Large batches of Cultivators broke through one after another, stepping into the Void Return Realm.

This time, over 170 people successfully broke through by comprehending the Dao with the help of the samsara bell, and all of them stepped into the ranks of Void Return.

It's just that everyone's Foundations varied. The vast majority of young Disciples and geniuses from various Sects broke through smoothly by borrowing the blessing of national destiny rewards and Reincarnation opportunities. Their Foundations were slightly shallow, basically staying in the Early Stage of Void Return.

Qingyun and Qingmo both broke through to the Middle Stage of Void Return. Senior Brother Qingming was newly entered into the Late Stage of Void Return. Qingling was also in the Late Stage of Void Return, just walking a few steps further than Qingming.

Elders such as Yuanhui, Yuanqing, Yuanxing, and Yuandan directly rushed to the Middle Stage of Void Return this time by borrowing Reincarnation to comprehend the Dao.

Among them, Master Yuanxin had the highest cultivation, reaching the Late Stage of Void Return, close to Perfection.

At this point, the Reincarnation Dao comprehension ended, and everyone successively awakened from their cultivation state.

The Cultivators opened their eyes one after another, looking at each other in a circle, all with bewildered expressions on their faces. Good lord, everyone broke through to Void Return?!

Wudang Sect Head Wang Songxi had broken through to the Middle Stage of Void Return. He subconsciously scanned the audience, and all Sect Heads were similar to him. When his gaze fell on Master Yuanxin, he was slightly startled.

Master Yuanxin's cultivation was completely blurry, and he couldn't see through its depth at all. Needless to think, it definitely far exceeded his. There were also Qingming and Qingling, who were the same and couldn't be seen clearly.

Wang Songxi was full of shock and doubt, and couldn't help asking.

"Old Daoist Yuanxin, what Realm is your cultivation at now?"

All the Sect Heads turned their heads upon hearing this, looking at Master Yuanxin's Aura with uncertainty and shock.

Master Yuanxin laughed heartily without any concealment at all.

"Late Stage of Void Return."

As these words fell, the audience instantly quieted down, and everyone stared at Master Yuanxin with incredulous faces.

Speaking of Foundation, Master Yuanxin could not compare with the Old Ancestors of various major Sects. Even adding his Karma, logically speaking, the magnitude of the Breakthrough should never be this exaggerated.

Li Qiye: "What the heck, kid Qingming, your cultivation? And Qingyun and you guys..."

Master Yuanyi: "This is... the Late Stage of Void Return??!!"

Hearing the words of Li Qiye and Master Yuanyi, everyone's gaze concentrated on Qingming and the others. What was this situation? Did Ye Qingxuan give them special private tutoring?

Zhang Yuzhuo had a bewildered look on his face. "Are you kidding me, bro? I just reached the Middle Stage of Void Return, and you guys have already surpassed me? Did you all use cheats?"

Zhou Wei didn't speak and only silently recited the Heart-Clearing Mantra. Yun Huan looked at Qingling with a look of unwillingness—she had lost again. In the Age of Dharma Ending, she could still suppress Qingling by a head, but ever since the Spiritual Qi revival, she could never catch up to Qingling again.

Lin Yao still had a carefree appearance, skipping over to Qingling's side and chattering away with questions.

It's just that Qingling still had a blank face, not having recovered her senses yet.

Qingming sensed his own cultivation, his expression also moved somewhat. Late Stage of Void Return?

Qingling, Qingyun, and Qingmo were equally puzzled, completely exceeding their Foundation limits. Logically speaking, they should at most be in the early entry of the Middle Stage of Void Return.

Everyone was full of doubts, staring at the few of them, wanting to know the reason.

Qingming spoke first, his tone full of puzzlement: "This poor Daoist originally broke through to the Middle Stage of Void Return, which should have ended there. Just now, a strange force suddenly pushed me, forcefully helping me break through to the Late Stage."

As soon as his voice fell, Master Yuanxin nodded; his experience was exactly the same.

Senior Brother Yuanhui and the others also exchanged glances. Their Breakthrough this time should have stopped at the Early Stage of Void Return, but instead they were pushed up.

Just when everyone in the audience was scratching their heads in bafflement, Ye Qingxuan's Dao body Incarnation quietly emerged.

There were no extra emotions, only an absolutely rational voice slowly sounding.

"It is the main body's Luck."

Everyone instantly turned their heads, looking uniformly at Ye Qingxuan's Incarnation, quietly waiting for the subsequent explanation.

The Sect Heads suddenly realized, while the Disciples were still confused and uncomprehending.

Qingling looked at Ye Qingxuan's Incarnation, knowing that this was only a Dao body and not the main body itself, but she still couldn't help asking: "Qingxuan, what on earth is going on here?"

Ye Qingxuan's Incarnation swept his gaze calmly across the crowd, his tone calm and waveless: "You and the main body come from the same lineage, and our Luck is intertwined. The main body's own Luck circulated and smoothly pushed you all forward by a step."

"The same goes for all Junior and Senior Martial Uncles, only that they didn't get as many benefits as Master and Senior Brothers."

As the words fell, everyone suddenly understood. Ye Qingxuan was the first person to Cultivate a Golden Core after the Age of Dharma Ending, favored by the Heavenly Dao. Calling him a son of the Heavenly Dao was no exaggeration.

Yuanhui and the others belonged to Shangqing Sect, and Master Yuanxin, Qingming, and others were even more Master and Senior Brother of the same lineage as Ye Qingxuan. Sharing a portion of his Luck was indeed reasonable.

Cultivators from various Sects present looked at the group from Shangqing Sect, their eyes full of envy mixed with a bit of jealousy—jealous of Master Yuanxin's sheer blind Luck, and envious that he had such a monstrously talented Disciple like Ye Qingxuan.

Xuan Yang of Chunyang Palace said in a sour tone: "Old Daoist Yuanxin, aren't you just relying on your Disciple? What's there to be so cocky about?"

Sun Qi, the Master of Yaowang Valley: "Exactly, exactly! It's just that Celestial Master Zhang is not here, otherwise you'd get what's coming to you."

Several other Sect Heads also echoed upon hearing this.

Master Yuanxin had an expression of stroking his beard and smiling. What's wrong with relying on a Disciple? If you have the ability, go take one in yourself?

Even Ye Qingxuan's Junior and Senior Martial Uncles were filled with remorse, hating that they hadn't been able to take Ye Qingxuan as a Disciple first back then.

Only Qingling was deep in thought. Ye Qingxuan was of the Innate Human Race; besides his own Luck, he could also enjoy a portion of the Luck of the entire Human Race.

She scanned the people present, intending to keep her mouth shut for the time being and talk it over in detail with Master Yuanxin, Qingming, and others when no one else was around, lest everyone in the Sect worry in vain if Ye Qingxuan encountered danger in the National Destiny Space in the future.

Although Ye Qingxuan did not ask for secrecy, the fewer people who knew about this matter, the better.

A moment later, Qingling raised her eyes and asked the Incarnation again: "Where is your main body? We have all come out of seclusion, why is he nowhere to be seen?"

The Incarnation was expressionless: "The main body is in seclusion refining his Dao-proclaiming artifact."

Hearing this, everyone was startled. Only Body Integration Cultivators who merged with the Great Dao would have the ability to refine Dao-proving artifacts.

But everyone present still felt a sense of unreality.

Wang Songxi sighed, "Sigh, it has been less than half a year since the Spiritual Qi recovery, and the likes of us have broken through all the way from Foundation Establishment to the Return to Void stage. It can be called a miracle;"

Master Yuanxin didn't indulge him and directly retorted, "Old Daoist Wang, why don't you think about what kind of opportunities these were? The World Origin, Heavenly Dao Karma, and Reincarnation enlightenment—isn't it normal to have this cultivation Realm?"

Sect Heads like Zhao Wangwang from Qingcheng Mountain and Li Qiye from the Heavenly Demon Palace all nodded in agreement. Indeed, with these resources, how normal was that.

Look at Ye Qingxuan, who skyrocketed all the way to the Body Integration Stage. Such speed was so illusory that it was hard to believe, but his profound cultivation could not be fake.

Everyone knew in their hearts that right now was a golden age that was hard to encounter in tens of thousands of years in the cultivation world.

Seeing that the goal of this Reincarnation enlightenment and collective Breakthrough had been achieved, the Sect Heads and their Disciples of various factions stepped forward one after another, cupping their hands in farewell to everyone from the Shangqing lineage.

Wudang Sect Head Wang Songxi took the lead to speak, bowing to Master Yuanxin: "Fellow Daoist Yuanxin, our trip here has already reached Perfection, so we won't disturb you any longer. In the future, whenever the Shangqing Sect has any needs, our Wudang will definitely not hesitate."

Following closely by Wang Songxi's side, Li Qiye stepped forward and chimed in: "The same goes for my Heavenly Demon Palace."

The Sect Heads of major Sects such as Luohan Temple, the Shenxiao Sect, and Baiyun Temple also led their respective Disciples to take turns expressing their stances to Master Yuanxin.

Today, they entirely relied on Ye Qingxuan's assistance and owed Shangqing a huge favor, so they openly stated that from now on, whenever Shangqing had any requests, all Sects would definitely assist with all their might.

Master Yuanxin pondered to himself that everyone had successfully broken through, and nothing more could be done by staying. It couldn't possibly be that he had to keep this group of people around to host a banquet for them.

This bunch of Sect Heads were old friends of many years, and he was crystal clear about each of their thoughts—they simply loved taking advantage of things.

He simply waved his hand impatiently: "Go stay wherever it's cool, hurry up and leave. I'm not feeding you guys here."

The group of Sect Heads looked at each other, burst into loud laughter together, called upon their own Disciples, raised their escaping lights together, and dispersed to return home in an instant.

Only the people of the Shangqing lineage remained in the arena. Qingling turned to look at Ye Qingxuan's Incarnation and asked, "How much longer will Qingxuan take to come out of seclusion?"

The Incarnation replied with a blank face and straightforwardness, "Unknown."

Hearing this, Qingming looked at Qingling with a smile: "Seeing you like this, you really can't wait."

Qingyun stood aside and stared at her with a half-smile: "Mhm, you've broken through to the Return to Void stage. Work harder, Qingling, and strive to let us hold a little nephew next year!"

Qingmo simply pretended not to hear, while several other Qing-generation members either looked at the sky or the ground, simply not daring to look at Qingling.

Master Yuanxin, Yuanhui, Yuandan, Yuanxing, and Yuanqing all looked at Qingling with somewhat teasing smiles.

Qingling's cheeks instantly turned crimson with anger, and she stomped her foot. Her entire body's magical power erupted violently, draped in a five-colored immortal robe. Raising her hand, she sacrificed her natal Spirit Treasure, causing the Qingling Cauldron to hover above her head, putting on an appearance as if she was about to defy her Masters and ancestors.

Seeing this, everyone dared not tease her any further and scattered like birds and beasts in an instant. In less than a second, only Qingling and the Incarnation were left in place.

Qingling glanced at the Incarnation, her figure flashed, and she instantly arrived in front of the door of Ye Qingxuan's seclusion Immortal Cave, sitting cross-legged on the spot to quietly wait for Ye Qingxuan to come out of seclusion.

One day passed. Suddenly, large swaths of colorful divine light burst across the entire sky, and a heavy Aura filled the heaven and earth.

The Cultivators of the Shangqing looked up at the rosy clouds filling the sky, their hearts full of shock.

"What kind of phenomenon is this! The pressure is simply too strong!"

"This is Senior Brother Qingxuan's Dao-proving artifact. It seems it has been successfully refined."

"Judging by this Aura, it's another Immortal Artifact."

"How normal is that. A Dao-proving artifact carries a Cultivator's Dao, and in itself, it is already another Senior Brother Qingxuan."

In the main hall, Master Yuanxin was discussing with his fellow apprentice-brothers about passing the position of Sect Head to Senior Brother Qingcang. He had already had enough of being the Sect Head; if he didn't work hard to Cultivate, all his Disciples would surpass him as their Master.

The suddenly arriving phenomenon startled them into instantly standing up. Then, thinking of something, they sat back down. Ye Qingxuan was about to come out of seclusion, so what would happen next?

Go disturb them at a time like this? Stop joking around; they certainly didn't want to experience the might of a Body Integration Cultivator.

——Seclusion Ground

The heavens pagoda had completed its initial refinement, and Ye Qingxuan woke up from his meditative state. Just as he was preparing to get up, with a boom, the door of the Immortal Cave was kicked open by someone.

Sister Qingling ran in hastily and without a word, pulled Ye Qingxuan toward her small courtyard.

"Senior Sister, slow down. I'm not going to run away!"

Ye Qingxuan looked at Qingling, crying and laughing inwardly. How could this older sister be even more anxious than himself?

Arriving at Qingling's small courtyard, Ye Qingxuan looked around and waved his hand to set up a barrier. With a thought, the heavens pagoda flew out from his body, suspended in mid-air and radiating colorful divine light.

"Is this your Dao-proving artifact? What did you take this out for? Hurry up and get down to business!" Qingling looked at the heavens pagoda, puzzled.

Ye Qingxuan didn't speak, pulled Qingling into an embrace, and turned into a stream of light, plunging into the pagoda.

Qingling's vision blurred, and she arrived in a completely blank world.

"This is? Inside the tower? Why did you bring me here?" Qingling looked around, perplexed.

"In another three days, the National Destiny Space will open. In this pagoda, I have set up a time Formation—one day outside is ten days inside."

Ye Qingxuan explained briefly. With Ye Qingxuan's thought, the world inside the pagoda slowly transformed into the small courtyard familiar to Qingling.

Everything was very familiar, except that the whole world had only this single courtyard, while the rest was a vast expanse of white, just like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

Ye Qingxuan pulled Qingling inside, and she asked curiously, "It's identical! How did you do that?"

"You'll find out in a moment!" Ye Qingxuan scooped up Qingling in his arms and headed straight for the bed.

"Aiya! Wait a moment, wait a moment! Let me take a bath first!" Qingling slapped Ye Qingxuan.

Daoist Ye was speechless, "No, Sister, both of us are Cultivators with ice-skin and jade-bones, not Mortals who eat grains and cereals. Is there any need?"

"It seems so? But isn't it always like this in TV dramas?"

Qingling dazed for a moment, then directly turned the tables, pouncing and pinning Ye Qingxuan down on the bed, her fingers rubbing against Ye Qingxuan's face.

"Little brother, obediently wait for Sister, oh!"

Qingling leaned over, lowering her gaze. Her eyes were filled with sly smiles, and her once detached and ethereal immortal eyes were now shimmering with moisture. The dignity of a Daoist Sect Disciple faded away, leaving only spirited, charming, and seductive allure.

Several strands of her hair fell, gently brushing against Ye Qingxuan's neck, ticklish and carrying a faint, lingering fragrance.

Ye Qingxuan's Adam's apple rolled slightly. His originally calm and collected state of mind was completely thrown out of rhythm by her intimate actions.

He raised his hand to gently caress Qingling's exquisitely beautiful face, his gaze sinking as he stared intently at the person before him.

The young girl in front of him wore a plain and elegant immortal dress, her brows and eyes as picturesque as a painting. Gone was the liveliness from when she bantered with her fellow apprentice-brothers on ordinary days; at this moment, her brows and eyes were filled with gentleness. Her face close at hand was so breathtakingly beautiful that it made one's heart palpitate.

"Wait obediently!" With that, Qingling stood up and walked toward the bathroom, swaying her slender waist.

Looking at Qingling's back, Ye Qingxuan only felt his mouth go dry.

...

Qingling wiped away the water droplets on her body, a large bathrobe covering her exquisite and graceful figure.

Looking at her blushing self in the mirror, she couldn't help patting her cheeks twice gently. Goodness knew how much courage she had mustered just now.

She didn't know whether she was feeling this way because of shyness or heat, or perhaps both. Would a Return to Void Cultivator still feel hot? They probably would!

Taking a deep breath, Qingling stepped into slippers with her fair, jade-like feet and pulled open the bathroom door.

Inside the room, Ye Qingxuan sat in a chair, propping his face with one hand, his eyes filled with anticipation as he stared straight at the door.

At this moment, the door was pulled open, and a pair of slender, straight, tender white legs first appeared in Ye Qingxuan's line of sight.

"Senior Sister..." Before he could finish his words, Qingling flashed over and covered his mouth.

She covered it with her lips, and after a long time, their lips parted.

"Remember, call me Ningshuang." Sister Qingling's tone was incomparably serious.

"Alright, Ningshuang!" Ye Qingxuan brought his fingers together and tapped the center of Qingling's brow, transmitting a Cultivation Technique over.

"Yin-Yang Manual? You've prepared quite thoroughly, even having a dual Cultivation Technique..."

Qingling looked at the Cultivation Technique in her mind with a blushing face. These postures, this... could it even be done like this?

"Come on, Ningshuang!"

Finishing his sentence, Ye Qingxuan reached out and pulled down Qingling's bath towel.

At that instant, Qingling was completely exposed.

"Ah!"

Qingling was startled, feeling a chill on her body. Opening her eyes, she saw Ye Qingxuan staring at her fixedly and saw that she was completely unclothed. Without time to think further, she lunged straight onto the bed and pulled up the quilt to cover herself.

"Ah!! You, you, you..."

Qingling was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say anymore, and in the end, she could only bury herself in the quilt and play dead. No matter how fierce she used to be, she was still a maiden after all.

Ye Qingxuan stood in place holding the bath towel. Qingling's movement just now hadn't been slow, but she had still been seen clearly by him.

Apart from her pitch-black hair, her entire body was pink, tender, and flawless.

She was still... a star of slaughter!

Ye Qingxuan didn't think much more and crawled under the covers, the two of them curling into a small bundle. After some time passed, two voices rang out one after another, only with different tones.

"Ningshuang, snap out of it, circulate the Cultivation Technique!"

"You beast!! Do you want to kill this lady!! I'll bite you to death!"