About to Depart

As Yan Yun commenced her breakthrough, the colossal, singular Cavern Heaven within her body began to exert an extraordinarily fierce gravitational pull.

The already restless spiritual energy of the world, as if finding a perfect outlet, surged from all directions towards that immense Cavern Heaven.

In an instant, winds gathered and clouds converged, coalescing into a colossal vortex of spiritual energy.

The clear sky gradually became shrouded by dark clouds, from which a massive whirlpool emerged.

Within this maestrom, lightning snaked and coiled before heavenly thunder descended, relentlessly bombarding Yan Yun’s formidable Cavern Heaven.

“What in the world is happening? Is this truly the commotion of a Cavern Heaven Realm cultivator breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm? This spectacle is far too grand; it rivals the heavenly thunder experienced by those breaking through to the Divine Soul Realm on this very stage.”

This sight once again drew the gazes of the cultivators at the Dao Discussion Platform towards Yan Yun’s location.

Their attention had completely shifted from the ongoing matches, captivated instead by the far more spectacular breakthrough unfolding with Yan Yun.

This left the two disciples on the arena quite speechless.

“The thunder keeps striking over there. How are we supposed to concentrate on our match?”

“Damn it! With such a huge commotion, Referee, I think we should wait until that woman finishes her breakthrough. There’s no way we can compete like this!” the Ji Country disciple complained to the referee.

The referee immediately glanced at Shangguan Jinyang, who, after a moment’s thought, could only agree to pause the sparring.

“Very well, then. We shall resume after that young girl completes her breakthrough,” Shangguan Jinyang announced.

With this, everyone’s attention shifted to Yan Yun’s breakthrough.

This was a rare live instance of a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Cavern Heaven Realm breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm.

The heavenly lightning struck Yan Yun’s Cavern Heaven with destructive force, as if intent on shattering it.

Yet, instead of succumbing, the Cavern Heaven absorbed the very power of the lightning into its depths.

Simultaneously, the toxins within Yan Yun’s body began to erupt, copious amounts pouring from the poison pearl within her, instantly spreading throughout her entire being.

Yan Yun was assailed by an indescribable agony, a torment far more ferocious than any she had endured before.

It was not merely physical pain; it felt as though her very soul was being ripped asunder.

Even with her high tolerance for pain, after a moment of steadfast endurance, she could not help but let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed across the heavens and earth, piercing the hearts of Su Muyu and the others.

“This? Yun’er?” Su Muyu listened, her mother’s heart feeling every pang of her child’s suffering.

She knew how resilient her child was, and for her to be in such agony meant the pain was surely beyond human endurance.

The spiritual energy between heaven and earth grew even more volatile, and the heavenly thunder intensified.

Under the relentless assault of the heavenly thunder, cracks began to appear in Yan Yun’s singular Cavern Heaven.

“What? Is her Cavern Heaven about to shatter? Could this young girl be on the verge of failure?” Chen Yingtian exclaimed upon seeing a crack radiating white light appear in Yan Yun’s Cavern Heaven.

His first reaction was that Yan Yun was about to fail her breakthrough.

Breaking through from the Great Perfection of the Cavern Heaven Realm to the Spirit Transformation Realm was inherently a perilous endeavor, a trial of nine deaths and one life.

He himself had nearly succumbed during his own breakthrough many years ago.

In this world, the path to perfection in the first three realms was the most arduous, while the latter three realms were comparatively simpler.

This was considered a method by which the Heavenly Dao filtered talent.

Soon, cracks spread across the Cavern Heaven, until it ultimately exploded completely.

That black void had just absorbed such an immense amount of energy; its sudden explosion would be devastating.

Not to mention Yan Yun, even a Divine Mark Realm cultivator might not survive it.

“Boom!” A deafening roar, accompanied by blinding white light that enveloped the entire area, ripped through the air.

“Yan Yun!”

Even Jiang Yao found herself unable to remain calm, for the sheer power of this energy was so overwhelming that she doubted Yan Yun could withstand it.

The fierce explosion deafened and blinded the onlookers, and the platform where Yan Yun stood shattered layer by layer, as if everything was being reduced to nothingness.

The vast majority of onlookers believed Yan Yun’s demise was certain.

Soon, the aftershocks of the explosion gradually subsided, and everyone immediately looked towards Yan Yun’s location.

To their utter astonishment, where Yan Yun had stood, a profoundly solemn and divine silver-haired female phantom now materialized.

This ethereal figure, clad in a white-based purple gown, bore a color scheme somewhat akin to Yan Yun’s own attire, though this version appeared far more regal and formal.

Her silver hair, like willow branches, danced gracefully in the air, and a beautiful pattern adorned her brow.

Overall, she resembled a fully mature and grown-up Yan Yun, yet she was even more beautiful, more sacred, and utterly unlike any mortal being.

This phantom woman seemed to have been born from within Yan Yun’s colossal Cavern Heaven.

Turning their gaze to Yan Yun, they observed that her agony had subsided, her body now radiating a condensed purple luminescence, and her aura had grown even more ethereal and transcendent.

“What… what is that? A Divine Venerable Aspect? How is that possible? Only cultivators in the Divine Venerable Realm can manifest a Divine Venerable Aspect. She is merely breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm; how could she have conjured one? This is utterly abnormal!” The Divine Venerable cultivators present were all bewildered.

“No, this isn’t a Divine Venerable Aspect. This must have originated from within her enormous Cavern Heaven. I surmise it’s a Spirit Transformation Realm spirit body, but shouldn’t such a spirit body only be able to manifest upon reaching the Great Perfection of the Spirit Transformation Realm and forming a Spirit Sea?” Even Chen Yingtian, who had personally experienced the breakthrough from Cavern Heaven Realm Great Perfection to Spirit Transformation Realm, could not comprehend this phenomenon.

Jiang Yao and the others, seeing Yan Yun safe and sound, her aura fluctuating with several times its previous strength, knew that she had successfully broken through to the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Yan Yun raised her hands, and the female phantom behind her mirrored the gesture, once again voraciously drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.

This continued until the dark clouds dispersed and the spiritual energy storm receded, only then did they cease.

“Unbelievable! She actually broke through? This young girl’s talent is terrifyingly monstrous.”

“Indeed, for her to succeed in this, her future is boundless. It’s truly a pity, though; if only she were a normal cultivator. But alas, she is the inheritor of the Heavenly Poison Maiden.”

Shangguan Jinyang and Dou Ke exchanged bitter smiles, speaking in unison.

The more exceptional Yan Yun proved herself to be, the more troubled they felt.

Finally, everything returned to tranquility, and Yan Yun opened her eyes.

Upon opening them, she immediately glanced at the female phantom behind her.

The phantom woman also looked down at her, appearing as if she possessed a life of her own.

“Whew… that went rather smoothly.”

Yan Yun formed a hand seal, and the phantom behind her slowly dissipated, transforming into a stream of purple energy that flowed into her body.

She rose and felt her newfound strength.

“Hahaha… this power is truly exhilarating!” Yan Yun burst into excited laughter.

If she were to face Ji Yunfei in battle now, she believed she would no longer be so disadvantaged; she was confident she could defeat him.

She was, after all, the only cultivator of the new generation present to achieve a perfect breakthrough from two realms into the Spirit Transformation Realm.

“Yan Yun, that’s wonderful! You broke through! You scared me to death just now!” Jiang Yao immediately flew over and embraced Yan Yun.

Yan Yun, in turn, gracefully caught her.

“Yes, I’m sorry to have worried you. Although it was quite painful, the toxic energy I absorbed from Ji Yunfei was more than enough for my breakthrough. In fact, the toxins within my body haven’t been fully assimilated yet. If they were, I might even be able to advance further,” Yan Yun said happily.

“You child, you always make everyone worry,” Su Muyu said, flying over and poking her forehead with a finger.

Yan Kun and the others, meanwhile, breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“Sigh! What a monster, to succeed even with that!” Yan Kun sighed, shaking his head.

While he certainly wished for Yan Yun’s success, her seemingly effortless breakthrough was a significant blow to his own confidence.

Yan Yun was now the only Spirit Transformation Realm poison cultivator in the Purple Abyss Pavilion, and perhaps even the entire Tianchen Continent.

Those who hadn’t cultivated from the initial realms all the way to the Spirit Transformation Realm couldn’t be considered true poison cultivators.

Take Lin Mo, for instance; he was merely a half-poison cultivator, possessing both a poison spirit root and his original spirit root.

Poison cultivation was merely one of his many techniques, not his sole source of power.

All those close to Yan Yun came forward to congratulate her.

She had, it seemed, become the dazzling new star of this assembly.

However, for those from the Azure Nether Sect who had initially intended to target Yan Yun, this was far from good news.

Her new strength meant their sect’s disciples were now completely outmatched.

To be precise, with Yan Yun’s full array of trump cards, their disciples would have no chance of survival if they stepped onto the life-and-death arena against her.

“Alliance Master Shangguan, it appears that life-and-death arena…” Qingxuanzi immediately conveyed his thoughts to Shangguan Jinyang via divine sense.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jinyang scoffed inwardly.

‘It was doomed long ago.’

And so, today’s competition swiftly concluded.

Afterward, Fairy Yunshuang immediately brought Yan Yun good news: the Azure Nether Sect had given up on the life-and-death arena.

Upon hearing this, Yan Yun was overjoyed.

She had been eagerly hoping these people would dare face her in the life-and-death arena.

The life-and-death arena had no restrictions; any means could be employed.

As for those sect disciples from Ji Country, no matter how powerful their techniques, they were still merely at the Divine Mark Realm.

Yan Yun truly had no fear of such opponents.

The conclusion of today’s events, in truth, also marked the end of Yan Yun’s time at Yunhua Sect.

Yan Yun first sought out Fairy Yunxia.

“Senior, my time has come. I believe I must depart from Yunhua Sect. Thank you for your protection over these past years.”

Within the pavilion where Yunhua Sect’s high-ranking members resided, Fairy Yunshuang, Yunyan, and others were seated.

“Child, are you truly leaving?” Yunyan quickly asked.

“Yes, I must. After all that has transpired, I fear the Righteous Dao Alliance will find it even harder to tolerate me. If I don’t leave now, who knows what might happen once the assembly concludes,” Yan Yun replied with a bitter smile.

Fairy Yunxia and Fairy Yunshuang felt a wave of helplessness wash over them.

In truth, they, too, sensed that the Righteous Dao Alliance was likely to take action against Yan Yun very soon.

While such measures might not necessarily involve killing her, they could very well restrict her personal freedom.

As the inheritor of the Heavenly Poison Maiden, she had already offended numerous sects.

Today, she had even become entangled with the Evil Emperor, the foremost figure of the Demonic Dao, all while displaying such exceptional talent.

How could the Righteous Dao Alliance possibly allow her to roam free?

“Are you heading into the territory of the Dao Alliance? Do you require assistance from the sect, child? I know I cannot keep you here, but if you need anything, tell me at once. I will do my utmost to help with whatever is within my power,” Fairy Yunxia said with a bitter smile.

As it happened, Yan Yun did have a request.

“Uh, Senior, there are a few people in Purple Abyss Pavilion. Could I take them with me?”

Yan Yun chuckled mischievously.

Yan Yun intended to make her way in the Dao Alliance, and for that, she certainly needed allies.

She planned to bring along a few trusted confidants from Purple Abyss Pavilion: Wen Meng, Mu Wenjie, Duan Ming, and Zhou Zimo.

Fairy Yunshuang and the others had no objections to this request.

In fact, even if Yan Yun were to take all the disciples of Purple Abyss Pavilion with her, they wouldn’t mind.

Yan Yun had initially wished to take everyone, but for now, it was not the most suitable course of action.