306: Surprised

No one knew how much time had passed; it might have been a mere instant or several hours.

The astral winds outside the cave stopped and started again, and the cold air on the stone bed gathered and dispersed, yet the spiritual light within the Immortal Cave only grew more brilliant.

Situ Jun watched as the icy mist in the depths of Luo Yu's eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a shimmering watery light; his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

He slowed the circulation of his spiritual power, allowing Luo Yu's Primordial Yin energy to flow through his body; with every cycle, he could feel her aura becoming more in tune with his own.

When that spiritual power, fused with Luo Yu's Primordial Yin energy, returned once more to Situ Jun's Dantian...

"Boom!!!"

A massive roar that only Situ Jun himself could hear suddenly exploded from the depths of his Divine Soul! The sound left his Divine Soul slightly numb, yet it carried an unprecedented sense of liberation.

Under the continuous impact of the vast Yin and Yang power, that sturdy Soul Transformation barrier finally shattered with a bang!

A majestic aura far exceeding anything before, like the awakening of a primeval behemoth that had slumbered for eons, suddenly erupted from within Situ Jun!

The Restrictions within the Immortal Cave shook violently under the impact of this aura, ripples appearing on their surface as they nearly collapsed and shattered!

An unprecedented sense of clarity swept through his entire body!

The System notification, silent for a long time, rang out:

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for becoming Dao Companions with Luo Yu. Rewarding the Host with 50 years of Cultivation experience. The Host may claim this to advance to Soul Transformation Elementary.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for performing Dual Cultivation with his Dao Companion once. Obtained second-order formation insights from the Dao Companion.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the ice-type spiritual body Spiritual Root for his Dao Companion, Luo Yu. Rewarding the Host with a thousand-zhang space fragment, which can be refined into a space Magical Artifact or integrated into a space secret treasure to increase its internal size.]

With a thought, Situ Jun checked all the information. While surprised, he looked at Luo Yu in his arms with a touch of tender affection.

Outside the valley, the weather in this originally gray and vast Secret Realm space suddenly underwent a drastic change!

Endless Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi converged toward the valley from all directions, forming a massive Spiritual Qi vortex that surged frantically into Situ Jun's body!

Above the sky, the gray mist rolled even more violently, like boiling ink.

Faintly, golden chains of light emerged from the Chaos; those were the phantoms of Law chains!

They intertwined and tangled like a net woven by heaven and earth, or like runes carved by a deity, circling and dancing above the Spiritual Qi vortex.

A faint but clear "Great Dao Voice" echoed from within. The sound did not seem to belong to the mortal Realm, appearing to contain the ultimate truths of the Universe's birth and death and the Reincarnation of all things. Every syllable made the Laws of this space tremble and sent a massive shock through the hearts of hidden creatures!

This earth-shattering phenomenon was like a bright lamp in the dark night, instantly alerting all the Cultivators lurking within the space fragment!

"This is... someone breaking through to Soul Transformation?!"

Deep within the swamp, beside a pool strictly concealed by dark green miasma, Mysterious Clarity Master was jolted awake from his meditation.

He had been circulating his Cultivation Technique to suppress internal injuries left from his healing process, but now, ignoring the risk of meridian backlash, he abruptly looked up at the celestial phenomenon. His face instantly turned pale as paper, his eyes filled with unbelievable horror.

The compass floating before him spun frantically, its needle rotating non-stop as if intimidated by an invisible force.

"Who on earth is it?! How is it possible to break through to the Soul Transformation Stage? And I can't even tell where the Breakthrough is happening..."

Mysterious Clarity Master's voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling. He stared fixedly at the sky shrouded in Spiritual Qi and Laws, his fingers involuntarily tightening around the xuantian tortoise shell in his sleeve.

In this Secret Realm, the spiritual power was being consumed and destroyed by this group of Nascent Soul Cultivators who had suddenly intruded. Let alone breaking through to Soul Transformation, even maintaining a Cultivation at the Peak of the Nascent Soul stage was as difficult as reaching the heavens. Now, for someone to trigger such a terrifying celestial phenomenon was completely beyond his understanding.

After a moment, as if he had made some sort of decision, he took out a palm-sized xuantian tortoise shell from his Storage Pouch.

This tortoise shell was pitch black all over, its surface covered in ancient runes. It was his trump card treasure, capable of deducing heavenly secrets and peering into Karma.

Without hesitation, Mysterious Clarity Master bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the tortoise shell; the essence blood instantly seeped into the runes.

His hands formed seals as he chanted incantations. The tortoise shell erupted with a dazzling green light, and countless profound runes flowed across its surface as if attempting to pierce through the Chaos and peer into heavenly secrets.

However, after only a moment, Mysterious Clarity Master's face grew even paler. His body, which had just begun to recover, trembled violently, and his aura instantly withered.

Deducing the heavenly secrets of a Soul Transformation powerhouse was no different from an egg striking a stone for him. Even a vague glimpse had forced him to pay a heavy price.

Meanwhile, atop a lonely Peak, Mo Chenggui stood with his hands behind his back.

His black robes flapped loudly in the fierce wind, but his gaze pierced through layers of clouds, locking onto the Spiritual Qi vortex in the sky.

When the phantoms of the Law chains appeared, a complex light flashed in his deep eyes as he murmured to himself:

"A Soul Transformation celestial phenomenon... a Soul Transformation celestial phenomenon that has triggered the entire Secret Realm..."

He had long known that there were variables hidden within this space fragment, but he hadn't expected the variable to be an existence capable of breaking through to Soul Transformation.

"This person actually used the Secret Realm space to deceive the Heavenly Tribulation. What truly great luck! What brilliant methods! I miscalculated. I just wonder who exactly possesses such Heaven-Defying fortune and strength to sneak into this space and break through."

As his voice fell, an irrepressible hint of envy naturally surfaced in Mo Chenggui's eyes.

The Soul Transformation Stage was a Realm that countless Cultivators could not reach in their entire lives. Once one broke through, they could enjoy a thousand-year Lifespan, and every gesture could trigger the Laws of heaven and earth. In this space fragment, they would be an invincible existence.

He had consulted ancient records and knew that Daoist Ming Ya possessed a heavy treasure; he had come to the Tianqi Dynasty under the guise of an inspection specifically to obtain it, but he hadn't expected to inexplicably enter this Secret Realm space. The feeling in his heart was beyond words.

Additionally, the Withered Bone Ascetic, the white-clothed cultivator, Village Elder Gongsun, Elder Yin Bone, and others were also alerted by the phenomenon.

The Withered Bone Ascetic was currently perched in an abandoned Yao Beast cave, refining a Yao Beast inner core he had painstakingly hunted. Sensing the massive Spiritual Qi fluctuations and the pressure of the Laws, he snapped his large, bell-like eyes open, a fierce glint appearing in them:

"Soul Transformation?! Which bastard dares to ruin my good business!"

He had intended to gather Materials to refine an evil pill and break through to the Middle Stage Nascent Soul, but now that a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator had emerged, his plans were completely ruined. Rage instantly clouded his mind, and he grabbed the skull prayer beads beside him, intending to rush out, only to stop dead in his tracks under the pressure of the Laws.

That aura was too terrifying; he didn't even have the courage to leave the cave.

Village Elder Gongsun stood within a valley thick with Yin Qi, waving his ten thousand souls banner. Countless vicious souls on the banner's surface shrieked and struggled as he prepared to absorb the power of the dead for his Cultivation.

But when the Soul Transformation Divine Might swept over, the vicious souls on the ten thousand souls banner instantly fell silent, letting out terrified shrieks, and several weak soul bodies even shattered directly.

Village Elder Gongsun's blood-red eyes were full of madness and wariness. He stared fixedly at the Spiritual Qi vortex in the sky, his teeth grinding audibly:

"Soul Transformation... So what if it's Soul Transformation! As long as I gather ten thousand souls, I might not be unable to fight them!"

Despite his words, he subconsciously took several steps back, hiding his figure in the shadows of the cliff...