An Unexpected Breakthrough and a Family’s Concerns

Yan Yun had by now largely pieced together the relationship between Yan Lingyun and the Evil Emperor.

Though Yan Lingyun refused to acknowledge it, it was evident their bond was exceptionally strong; if not lovers, they were, at the very least, intimate friends and confidantes.

In the cultivation world, a Dao companion occupied a space between a confidante and a lover, a relationship that could remain a close friendship or evolve into romance.

“Very well, since you have achieved your objective, you should depart quickly,” Yan Lingyun said, waving her hand at the Evil Emperor. “Do not make things difficult for my descendant. Otherwise, she will undoubtedly face an interrogation upon her return.”

Upon seeing Yan Lingyun dismiss him, the Evil Emperor instantly appeared crestfallen.

“Lingyun, are you truly sending me away already? We haven’t seen each other in over a thousand years, and I am about to leave this world. There’s a chance I might perish in the ascension passage, making this our last encounter. Can’t you spare a few more words for me?”

Yan Lingyun, however, immediately rolled her eyes at him.

“If even you cannot ascend to the Upper Realm, then no one in this world stands a chance of ascending,” she retorted. “You still have several decades, do you not? It’s not as if we’ll never meet again.”

Yet, the Evil Emperor’s eyes darted about, making him appear rather comical.

“I can leave at any time,” he declared. “Originally, I could have ascended over two hundred years ago, but I couldn’t ascertain your fate. So, I took longevity pills to extend my life by nearly two centuries. Now that I know you are well, I have no more regrets. I plan to ascend to the Upper Realm after a while.”

Hearing the Evil Emperor’s words, Yan Lingyun’s previously haughty expression softened ever so slightly.

“What? Oh! Then go wait for me in the Immortal Realm,” she instructed, a hint of concern in her tone. “Do not die in the ascension passage. Once I arrive in the Immortal Realm, perhaps I will consider becoming your Dao companion.”

These words instantly ignited a surge of excitement within the Evil Emperor.

“Hahahaha, truly? That’s wonderful! I’ve waited years for you to say that. No matter what, your words alone ensure I will ascend to the Upper Realm. You must come find me soon, or with my talent and looks, female cultivators in the Upper Realm will surely flock to me!” the Evil Emperor exclaimed with a wicked grin.

However, the moment these words left his lips, Yan Lingyun, who had just been feeling a touch of sadness, immediately darkened her expression and unleashed another barrage of punches and kicks upon him.

“You scoundrel, give you an inch and you take a mile, don’t you?” Yan Lingyun snarled, gripping the Evil Emperor’s collar and threatening him fiercely. “Let me tell you, once you ascend, you better behave yourself and create a good environment for me and my disciple. If you even think about finding other women, I swear, once I get up there, I’ll poison every single one of them to death. Do you believe me?”

Beside them, Yan Yun watched the Evil Emperor’s utterly shameless grin, a shiver of disgust running down her spine.

‘Huh? Is the number one figure of the Demonic Dao a masochist?’

The Evil Emperor swiftly rose from the ground, casually brushing the dust from his robes, and once again assumed an elegant demeanor.

“Ahem, I understand, Lingyun,” he conceded. “I will certainly carve out a place in the Upper Realm for you and this little lass. Little lass, take this. Consider it a greeting gift from your old ancestor.” With a casual flick of his wrist, the Evil Emperor tossed three purple jade slips to Yan Yun.

Yan Yun quickly caught them, then glanced at the items, finding them somewhat familiar.

“These are Divine Venerable Talismans?”

“Indeed, quite right,” the Evil Emperor affirmed, speaking to himself more than to her. “After I achieved Great Perfection in the Divine Venerable Realm, I condensed a total of nine, but only three of them remained. I had originally intended to find a successor before my ascension and bestow these upon them as a welcoming gift, but now that I have you, there’s no need to search further. Oh, and these are my cultivation insights, along with all the various techniques I’ve practiced throughout my life. If you find them useful, take them. If not, find someone who can make use of them and pass them on.”

Yan Yun was instantly thrilled; this was the inheritance of the current Demonic Dao’s strongest expert, along with Divine Venerable Talismans! It meant she now possessed three means to handle crises.

As for the cultivation techniques, whether she could utilize them remained uncertain.

“You rascal, always taking advantage of me,” Yan Lingyun huffed again. “Fine, since you’re leaving soon, I’ll let it slide. Go on, go. I hope to see signs of your ascension to the Upper Realm before long.”

The Evil Emperor let out a hearty laugh.

“Lingyun, my wife, we shall meet again in the Immortal Realm.” With these words, the Evil Emperor’s energy projection immediately dissipated.

The moment he departed, Yan Lingyun’s previously cheerful expression visibly dimmed.

“Haha, Old Ancestor, I never would have guessed,” Yan Yun chuckled, teasing her. “To think you had a thing with the number one figure of the Demonic Dao!”

“Scram,” Yan Lingyun snapped. “I only said those things to motivate him. Ascending to the Upper Realm is incredibly difficult; even he could fall if he’s not careful.” After offering a strained explanation, she gestured, “Let’s go back.”

Yan Yun promptly put away the items and flew towards the Dao Discussion Platform.

As soon as the Evil Emperor left, everyone immediately pinpointed Yan Yun’s location.

Once Yan Yun returned to the Dao Discussion Platform, Su Muyu and the others rushed to greet her without delay.

“Yun’er, is that truly you? Are you alright?” Su Muyu asked anxiously.

Jiang Yao merely exchanged a glance with Yan Yun, instantly recognizing that the person before them was Yan Yun and not the Evil Emperor.

“Has he already departed?” Jiang Yao inquired.

Yan Yun nodded.

Seeing her nod, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“Little lass, what did you say to that great demon?” A crowd of powerful cultivators immediately gathered around.

“Indeed, Yan Yun,” Fairy Yunxia and others quickly added. “That man is Qi Xuan, the Evil Emperor, the foremost figure of the Demonic Dao. You mustn’t promise him anything lightly.”

Noticing the solemn expressions of the crowd, Yan Yun quickly offered an explanation.

“There’s no need for such tension, seniors,” she clarified. “Senior Evil Emperor has already left. His primary purpose in coming here was to see me. He and my Old Ancestor, Yan Lingyun—who you refer to as the Heavenly Poison Maiden—were once friends.”

This statement, while seemingly explaining the Evil Emperor’s intentions, was in fact an indirect warning: the Evil Emperor’s relationship with her Old Ancestor was extraordinary, and they would be wise not to harbor any ill intentions toward her, lest the consequences be dire.

Chen Yingtian and the others were not so dense as to miss the implication, but they all let out a breath of relief. At least the Evil Emperor had no other agenda.

“Is that so? That’s excellent, then let’s leave it at that. However, little lass, your match with Ji Yunfei cannot stand,” Chen Yingtian declared.

Yan Yun, however, waved her hand dismissively.

“It’s fine, I understand. I won’t be participating in the subsequent matches.”

Her withdrawal from the remaining competition was a relief for Shangguan Jinyang.

“As you wish, then. Let the competition continue,” Shangguan Jinyang announced.

The powerful cultivators of the Righteous Dao Alliance, who had been gathered around, dispersed back to their positions. However, many of their gazes remained covertly fixed on Yan Yun, their eyes growing increasingly hostile.

In their estimation, Yan Yun had already entangled herself with the Demonic Dao Alliance, and being an unstable element to begin with, her danger level had now skyrocketed.

They conversed secretly, debating whether to nip this burgeoning threat in the bud.

Yet, Fairy Yunxia and her companions repeatedly vouched that Yan Yun would neither oppose the Righteous Dao Alliance nor defect to the Demonic Dao.

Yan Yun had, in fact, already shared her intentions with Fairy Yunxia and the others.

Thus, under the guarantee of the Yunhua Sect, they finally abandoned that notion.

Meanwhile, Yan Yun was conversing with Jiang Yao and Su Muyu.

They were naturally asking what exactly the Evil Emperor had told Yan Yun.

Upon learning of the Evil Emperor’s true relationship with Yan Lingyun, they were also greatly astonished.

However, upon reflection, it made sense; it would have been truly odd if a formidable woman like Yan Lingyun hadn’t attracted suitors back then.

As they spoke, Yan Yun suddenly felt a surge of restless energy within her body, a sensation akin to an impending breakthrough.

“This is troublesome,” Yan Yun suddenly announced to Jiang Yao and the others, her expression startled. “I absorbed an excessively potent toxin just now, and it’s causing my cultivation realm to break through.”

“Ah, now? Here? Then quickly find a place to break through!” Jiang Yao exclaimed.

But Yan Yun merely let out a light laugh.

“No need,” she declared. “Today, I shall make a grand statement and break through right here, allowing them to witness how I advance from the Great Perfection of the Cavern Heaven Realm to the Spirit Transformation Realm.”

Having spoken, Yan Yun immediately sat down cross-legged on the spot.

Under normal circumstances, breaking through a realm required the aid of poison essence. However, the toxins she had absorbed from Ji Yunfei’s body today were immensely powerful, sufficient to substitute for any poison essence needed for breakthroughs below the Divine Venerable Realm.

With that, Yan Yun directly unleashed the already turbulent energy within her body.

The moment she released it, a surge of purple energy immediately erupted from within her, a violet stream of light shooting straight into the sky. Throughout the world, spiritual energy from all directions began to surge wildly, converging towards Yan Yun’s location.

This sudden, massive commotion interrupted the cultivators’ battles on the stage and once again drew everyone’s attention.

“What? Is this little lass about to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm? Has she gone mad, attempting a breakthrough here? Advancing from Great Perfection of the Cavern Heaven Realm to the Spirit Transformation Realm is no laughing matter.”

“Indeed,” another added. “Even if her poison cultivation technique and poison spirit root differ from us conventional cultivators, this realm breakthrough certainly won’t be easy. Fellow Daoist Yunxia, this girl is, after all, a disciple of your Yunhua Sect. What do you think of this situation?”

Shangguan Jinyang, too, was utterly exasperated.

In his view, Yan Yun was a genuine troublemaker, constantly stirring up issues and increasing his stress twofold.

“It’s likely due to her absorbing the toxins from that Ji Country disciple just now, which triggered this sudden breakthrough,” Fairy Yunxia speculated. “Since it has come to this, Fellow Daoist Shangguan, please have the people in her viewing stand move to another, and then relocate her entire stand far away.”

Fairy Yunxia suggested.

Shangguan Jinyang nodded and promptly began to act. Jiang Yao and her companions swiftly departed from the viewing stand, moving to other sections, while Yan Yun’s entire platform was moved a thousand meters away by the power of a Divine Venerable expert.

However, Jiang Yao and the others certainly had no mind for the competition. They immediately flew to the edge of Yan Yun’s relocated platform, intently watching her break through her realm.

“Yan Yun, daring to break through here, must be incredibly confident,” Jiang Yao said, trying to reassure her mother. “Mother, you don’t need to worry so much.”

Other Yan family members also flew over immediately.

“You’re even more ruthless than I am, to break through a major realm right here,” Yan Kun commented. “Don’t die, or who will I bully?”

“Second Brother, no one thinks you’re mute if you don’t speak,” Yan Xia immediately retorted to him.

And then Yan Yun entered the breakthrough phase.