Chapter 669: Peak of the Spirit Fusion Realm

Seeing the words on the wall, Zhang Xuan felt a profound sense of loss. The first woman who had stirred his heart turned out to be just a fleeting encounter; he didn’t even know her name. With a wave of his hand, he erased all the writing on the wall, then stepped out of the cave.

Outside, the area was as empty as a wilderness, with no one in sight. It seemed she had long since departed.

“I was unconscious for three days?” After searching around and realizing she was nowhere to be found, he calculated the time and couldn’t help but shake his head. He hadn't expected to have been unconscious for a full three days.

“The unification of spirit and body has allowed my True Qi cultivation to successfully reach the peak of the Harmonious Spirit realm…” Previously, advancements typically required finding the corresponding Heavenly Dao cultivation method before a breakthrough was possible. This time, however, a single period of unconsciousness not only perfectly fused his soul with his body but, more importantly, also led to a massive leap in his True Qi cultivation! He had progressed directly from the peak of the Turbid Clear realm to the peak of the Harmonious Spirit realm! This was an entire major realm advancement.

It wasn’t merely good luck; the very purpose of the Harmonious Spirit realm was to achieve the unification of spirit and body and enhance the soul. His current soul power, needless to say, was perfectly integrated with his body. This alignment with the Heavenly Dao cultivation method’s principle of effortless governance naturally led to a breakthrough in his cultivation.

Surging True Qi circulated rapidly within his body, nourishing his entire being and making his vitality and spirit even more vigorous.

“A typical Harmonious Spirit realm cultivator at the peak has a physical strength of 3.2 million ding, but I… have reached 4 million ding!” He closed his eyes, and his consciousness flowed through his dantian. At this moment, relying on his spirit-body unification ability, he could clearly perceive his full strength even without exerting it. Having reached the peak of the Harmonious Spirit realm, his True Qi alone now commanded a colossal force of 4 million ding, which was in no way inferior to the initial stage of the Bridge Heaven realm.

Adding his physical strength of 2 million ding and soul power of 3.2 million ding, his total power amounted to a formidable 9.2 million ding. With such power, he could potentially strike down a powerful mid-stage Returning One realm cultivator (Transcendence Realm, 7th level) with a single punch!

(Returning One realm: early stage 8 million ding, mid-stage 9 million ding, late stage 10 million ding, peak 11 million ding!)

However, at the Returning One realm, all techniques converge into one, signifying immense progress in True Qi, soul, and physical body. Control over nature also reaches an extremely high level, and the body develops a keen perception of danger, making it far from easy to injure them! Just as before, when he fought Princess Fei-er, despite having far superior power, he could only defeat her by relying on the library's assistance. Higher-level cultivators possess reaction speeds and body control that lower-level cultivators simply cannot match.

Therefore, while his current power was not far from that of a mid-stage Returning One realm cultivator, his actual combat effectiveness might struggle to even defeat an early-stage Returning One realm cultivator with 8 million ding; at best, it would be a draw. As for peak Bridge Heaven realm cultivators, a level below him, they were no match at all; he could easily eliminate a group of them.

“Having reached the Harmonious Spirit realm, my Master Teacher rank is now half-step Five-star…” When he took the Master Teacher examinations, his cultivation had always been a hindering factor. Now that his cultivation had advanced, he was considered half-step Five-star, on par with Luo Xuan and others.

“Three days have passed; I wonder if they’ve left…” Three days had indeed passed, and he was unsure if Master Hong and the others had departed. Normally, after cultivating in the Transformed Clear Pool, they would head to the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. Now that the pool had collapsed and couldn't be used for a while, there was no point in staying. Perhaps they had already set off. It was still a long journey from here to the Hongyuan Empire. If they didn’t leave soon, they might not arrive by the start of the semester and could very likely be disqualified. The Master Teacher Academy admitted new students twice a year, in February and August. They were aiming for the February intake, and with it already being January, the semester was just a month away.

“Time to head back…” Knowing that time waited for no one, he took a deep breath. Just as he was about to fly back to Phantom Plume Imperial City to see if Master Hong and the others had left, he noticed branches swaying not far away, followed by rapid footsteps. Several figures strode into view.

“Xing Yuan, Princess Fei-er? How did they get here?” His figure flickered, and he landed on a large tree, looking down with a moment of surprise.

It was none other than the five individuals who had come from the Master Teacher Academy: Yu Fei-er, Xing Yuan, Luo Qiqi, Wu Zhen, and Crown Prince Ye Qian. Luo Qiqi walked at the forefront, holding a map, seemingly searching for something, while the others followed behind, their expressions grim. All five looked somewhat dishevelled and even bore some injuries, clearly having just been through a fierce battle.

“Qiqi, how much further?” Yu Fei-er's fair face showed impatience.

“According to the map, it should be somewhere nearby…” Luo Qiqi confirmed after checking their surroundings.

“That’s good. We need to hurry. Although I used the formation plate to block those large creatures, they are too powerful and will likely break through the barrier and catch up soon…” Yu Fei-er said.

“Indeed!” Xing Yuan nodded, glancing back with an expression of vigilance, still seemingly fearful of what had just transpired.

“How strange. We’ve encountered many spirit beasts before, and they usually operate alone. But these ones here… why are they working together, searching everywhere as if they’ve gone mad?” Wu Zhen was utterly bewildered.

“I find it strange too,” Xing Yuan chimed in, equally confused. “Leaving aside everything else, just consider the Cyan Lion Spirit Beast and the Bear-Scaled Tiger – these two terrestrial overlords rarely cross paths. Yet now they’re not only united but attacking together like good friends. And the Dragon Eagle Beast… since when have flying spirit beasts become so intimately aligned with the ground-dwelling ones?”

With the Transformed Clear Pool unusable, they had adjusted for nearly three days in the Imperial City before entering Qingji Mountain, intending to complete the trial assigned by the academy. However, before they even reached their destination, they encountered a group of frenzied spirit beasts. These large creatures, all possessing the strength of Transcendence Realm, 5th level, were not only immensely powerful individually but had also banded together, attacking anyone they saw. They nearly died on the way. If it weren’t for Princess Yu Fei-er, who, as a princess, possessed numerous life-saving items, they would never have escaped!

“Ye Qian, didn’t you say Qingji Mountain was very safe? Is this what you call safe?” Recalling the scene where they were pursued by a horde of spirit beasts, with nowhere to go and no escape, Yu Fei-er was seething with rage. In all her life, she had never suffered such humiliation, except perhaps at the hands of that Zhang Xuan!

“I…” Ye Qian, sweat beading on his forehead, his face crestfallen, stammered, “Previously… these spirit beasts weren’t inclined to attack humans. I truly don’t know what’s going on!” While others were bewildered, he was even more utterly clueless. He had visited Qingji Mountain more than once and knew many of its spirit beasts. Under normal circumstances, these formidable creatures rarely attacked humans. Yet today, they had gone mad, uniting and attacking without a word, driving him to distraction. He knew that before coming here, he had sworn Qingji Mountain was perfectly safe! As a result, less than half a day after saying that, he was chased all over the mountain by numerous spirit beasts, nearly spitting blood from exhaustion. The thought of it filled him with frustration.

“Alright, no need to explain. If those creatures come again, you’ll be the one to block them…” Yu Fei-er waved her hand dismissively.

Ye Qian’s mouth twitched. If he, a mere Harmonious Spirit realm cultivator, truly had to block them, he would likely be dead before the first wave of attacks was over. After a moment’s hesitation, he suggested, “How about… I ask my imperial father to send troops to drive these spirit beasts away?” Phantom Plume Imperial City was nearby; if they wished, they could send a large army to encircle and suppress the beasts. Although these dozens of Transcendence Realm, 5th level spirit beasts were powerful, they couldn’t possibly contend with a full army.

“You know what the academy’s assigned mission is, don’t you? Sending troops means you want us to fail the mission and return in disgrace?” Yu Fei-er scoffed coldly.

“This…” Ye Qian scratched his head. The princess was right. Their current mission involved sensitive secrets that could not be leaked. If word got out, failing the mission would be a minor issue; they might even be directly expelled for violating regulations.

“Alright, stop wasting time,” Princess Yu Fei-er snapped, her elegant brows furrowed. “Hurry and help Qiqi figure out where we are, and quickly find the entrance to the underground palace. Once we’re inside, we should be safe. Otherwise, if those large creatures catch up again, I’ll be the first to throw you to them as food, so they can taste a Crown Prince for once!”

“Yes!” Ye Qian’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t dare argue, hurrying to Luo Qiqi’s side. Despite being the Crown Prince of the Phantom Plume Empire, he was utterly helpless against such a spoiled princess. Standing by the map, he studied it for a moment, then pointed forward: “It doesn’t seem far. It should be behind that mountain peak…”

“Good, let’s move quickly!” With a huff, the group swiftly proceeded according to the map’s indication.

As soon as they left, Zhang Xuan revealed himself from his hiding spot.

“They must be heading to complete some trial…” Upon seeing Yu Fei-er and the others, he realized they had taken on a trial mission from the academy. He had expected them to be deeper within Qingji Mountain, not in this area. “From their tone, it seems they ran into… that group of spirit beasts!”

Zhang Xuan scratched his head. Earlier, to save the white-robed girl, he had offended over thirty spirit beasts. Perhaps these creatures were enraged because of that, now attacking any human they encountered, causing this group to suffer an unexpected calamity.

“If they’re still around, it’s best not to fly away, or I’ll be more easily discovered…” He also understood why this group hadn't traveled on flying spirit beasts. Among the thirty-plus spirit beasts, there were some skilled in flight. Once in the sky, they would become easy targets, quickly spotted and then ambushed. Since none of them could fly, they could still escape on the ground by employing various methods. But if attacked in the sky, their only recourse would be to fall and be killed. Furthermore, flying would certainly not allow them to pinpoint an exact location within the dense, leafy mountain forest.

“If they can’t ride flying spirit beasts, then I can’t fly away either…” Since Luo Qiqi and the others couldn't fly, he certainly couldn't either. He didn't want to be surrounded by countless spirit beasts the moment he took flight. Although his strength had greatly increased and he no longer feared these spirit beasts, he still didn't want to engage them and invite trouble.