258: Chapter 258 is finished. I think I've messed up again.

"A good thing?"

Hearing the Grand Elder actually say such words, the Grand Mage let out a rare sneer.

"Do you know what it means for an Innate Artifact Spirit to fully awaken and break free from its shackles?"

She pointed at the well mouth, where the churning was becoming increasingly violent, the color deepening, and the energy fluctuations already causing the surrounding space to slightly distort: "It means it will no longer be a 'Spirit of the Magical Artifact' at our clan's beck and call to assist in cultivation, but an independent 'Innate Spirit' with its own self-will and a complete spiritual persona!

Its power will far exceed what it is now, but its thoughts will also be hard to fathom, and it will no longer be possible to fully control it as before!"

"Right now, it is frantically absorbing the Illusory Power and Moonlight Essence accumulated over ten thousand years in the Tianyin Mountains to undergo a critical transformation!

Look at this commotion!"

The Grand Mage's tone grew heavy: "If this continues, not only might the Illusory Moon Well itself collapse from being unable to withstand the transformative power, but the erupting energy tide might even affect the entire outskirts of the Tianyin Mountains, attracting prying eyes from the outside world!"

As if to prove her words, the vibrations of the Illusory Moon Well became more intense. The Illusory Mist gushing from the well mouth had turned into a rich pink-gold color, letting out a roar like wind and thunder!

The surrounding ancient trees began to move without wind, their leaves rustling and falling, ground into powder by the escaping Illusory Power before they even hit the ground! Tiny cracks began to appear on the surface!

Another half-hour passed, and the energy fluctuations in the well had reached a heart-palpitating critical point!

A pink-gold pillar of light was faintly about to burst from the well mouth, and a destructive aura permeated the air!

The Grand Mage finally could no longer maintain her complete composure.

She suddenly turned around and barked at the still-dazed Grand Elder: "What are you standing there for?!

Quickly go and invite the Clan Chief to come out of seclusion!

And gather all Elders at the Late Nascent Soul Stage or above to activate the core nodes of the Mountain Protection Array!

We must join forces immediately to forcibly calm the energy in the well and terminate this transformation!

Otherwise, the Illusory Moon Well will surely be destroyed!

The outskirts of Tianyin Mountain will also be exposed!"

The Grand Elder shuddered, finally realizing the severity of the problem, his face turning pale: "Ter... terminate? Then the Lord Spirit..."

"We can't worry about that anymore!" the Grand Mage's tone was decisive. "If we don't stop it now, the Illusory Moon Well is going to 'become a spirit'!

An uncontrolled Innate Spirit with rampaging power being born in our clan's core territory—the consequences are unthinkable!

Do you want our Taihu Clan to have one more uncontrollable 'ancestor', or do you want to save the Illusory Moon Well and this foundation?!"

"Become a spirit..." the Grand Elder murmured, then suddenly snapped out of it, turning into a streak of light and racing toward the depths of the mountains, his voice echoing from afar: "I'll go invite the Clan Chief right away!!"

The Grand Mage stood alone at the edge of the increasingly violent energy field of the well mouth, her hazy figure swaying slightly in the raging storm of Illusory Power.

She looked deep into the well mouth, her gaze seemingly piercing through the boiling Illusory Mist to see the even more chaotic and intense scene inside, and those two entangled entities of spirit and Physical Body...

"This kid... he's truly a bane, and also a... miracle."

She whispered to herself, her tone complex and hard to decipher.

Ultimately, after the Taihu Clan Chief personally came out of seclusion, joining forces with the Grand Mage, the Grand Elder, and seven or eight hurriedly arriving Grand Elders at the Nascent Soul Peak and Soul Transformation Stage—totaling over ten of the Taihu Clan's top experts—they jointly laid down the "Nine Heavens Spirit-Suppressing Array" and mobilized part of the Mountain Protection Array's Origin power. After a full hour of all-out effort, they finally managed to suppress the transformative energy tide in the Illusory Moon Well that was about to run wild.

The pink-gold pillar of light slowly retracted into the well, the violent vibrations subsided, and the gushing Illusory Mist gradually returned to a milky white, though its concentration seemed several times purer than before, with faint golden specks of light flowing within.

When everything had temporarily stabilized, the various experts had all consumed a significant amount of energy. They looked at the "calm" Illusory Moon Well with grave expressions and extremely complex feelings.

Meanwhile, inside the illusory realm of the well.

The space, filled with chaotic energy and the lingering scent of passion, also gradually stabilized.

The strange energy and desire boiling within Xu Ruyu's body slowly receded like a tide.

Extreme exhaustion and an indescribable sense of clarity, as if both his spirit and body had been washed clean, hit him simultaneously, leaving him nearly collapsed.

He shook his still somewhat groggy head, and his eyes gradually regained their clarity.

Then, he saw the scene beneath him.

A woman who was no longer semi-transparent but as solid as an Immortal Master lay softly on the "ground" beneath him.

She had an incomparably beautiful face that defied description, with eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like autumn waters, skin whiter than snow, and lips of a natural crimson, currently slightly parted as she panted from the exertion.

She was covered in a layer of thin, cicada-wing-like gauze dress condensed from pure moonlight and illusory light, outlining her breathtakingly perfect curves.

Most strikingly, behind her, three fluffy, soft snow-white fox tails, glowing with a gentle moonlight-like radiance, were unconsciously curled up.

Her eyes were closed, her long eyelashes trembling like butterfly wings, a trace of blush remaining on her exquisite face, her brow showing extreme exhaustion, yet seemingly containing some new spiritual light.

Xu Ruyu froze completely.

Memories flooded back like a tide.

The illusion... the temptation... losing control... grabbing that figure... pinning her down... then... the chaotic and intense entanglement of spirit and flesh, and the exchange of energy...

He, he seemed to have... slept with... the Artifact Spirit of the Illusory Moon Well?!

Not an illusion, but the actual body of the Artifact Spirit?!

Looking at this real and tangible beautiful spirit body beneath him, Xu Ruyu only felt his scalp tingle, and cold sweat instantly drenched his back.

It's over...

The trouble caused this time... seems to be much bigger than breaking the spirit testing stone...