Ye Xuan was speechless!
He genuinely wanted to study the White Realm. With the Qingxuan Sword, he could ignore its time-drain. If he cracked it, wouldn’t that mean he’d rival a Boundary-Breaker’s power?
Then Ling Tian spoke from afar, “Sword cultivator, why are you so set on protecting that woman?”
Ye Xuan looked at her. “It’s not me—it’s the Spirit Ancestor who wants her protected.”
Ling Tian shook her head. “The Spirit Ancestor is kind-hearted, blind to the evils of spirits… No, in her eyes, all spirits are good. But that’s not the truth!”
Ye Xuan frowned. “What do you mean?”
Ling Tian met his gaze. “Do you know why I want her dead?”
Ye Xuan said, “Aren’t you after her throne?”
Ling Tian’s face was expressionless. “She told you that?”
Ye Xuan shook his head. “I heard it from others.”
Ling Tian pressed, “And you believed them?”
Ye Xuan: “…”
She continued, “You don’t know the full story.”
Ye Xuan’s brow furrowed. “So there’s another reason?”
Ling Tian said calmly, “You know spirits are naturally kind. Why would I kill her, and why do Spirit Realm spirits not stop me but help me?”
Ye Xuan fell silent. He hadn’t considered that angle.
Ling Tian was about to speak when chaos erupted. Ye Xuan’s face changed—a terrifying force exploded from within him!
*Boom!*
He was hurled back tens of thousands of feet!
When he stopped, a hole gaped in his chest!
His immortal bloodline surged frantically to heal him.
Dazed, Ye Xuan looked up. The Spirit Realm Princess stood there, holding Little Tower.
Little Tower said, “Young master, I’ve been kidnapped! Should I panic?”
Ye Xuan stared at her. “This is… unexpected.”
The princess smiled faintly. “Young Master Ye, *you* surprised me.”
Ye Xuan gave a wry smile. “My mistake.”
She chuckled, “Young Master Ye, to survive such a wound… Oh, two special bloodlines!”
Ye Xuan’s left thumb grazed the Qingxuan Sword. She shook her head, “Don’t bother. You can’t kill me.”
Glancing at Little Tower, her lips curved. “This tower is remarkable. Without it, I wouldn’t have risked crossing you.”
Ye Xuan thought, then said, “If you like it, it’s yours.”
Little Tower: “…”
The princess glanced at him, then turned to Ling Tian. “Ling Tian, this isn’t over.”
Her form flickered, becoming ethereal.
Ling Tian’s eyes narrowed. She pressed her right hand forward, twisting the princess’s space-time. Yet the princess vanished.
Ling Tian frowned, then punched the air.
*Rip!*
The space tore open, her fist seal plunging in. Moments later, a distant explosion echoed, and the space healed.
Her face darkened.
She turned to Ye Xuan. “Her wounds fully healed. Did you help her?”
Ye Xuan hesitated, then said, “She probably healed herself.”
Ling Tian said gravely, “Impossible. She couldn’t recover that fast.”
Ye Xuan smiled, shaking his head. “She did… because ten years in that tower is one day outside.”
Ling Tian froze, then said, “That’s how you survived the White Realm?”
Ye Xuan nodded.
Her face sank. “Sword cultivator, you’ve doomed the Spirit Realm!”
She turned and vanished into the horizon.
Ye Xuan hesitated, then chased after her.
On the way, he glanced at Ling Tian’s grim face. “Elder Ling Tian, what happened?”
She said flatly, “She killed the Upper Spirit Realm’s Lord and devoured the previous one.”
Ye Xuan froze.
Ling Tian looked at him. “She’s a Devouring Spirit, capable of consuming her kind. She was adopted by the former Lord… No one expected this. Nor did we suspect she’d hidden her strength, already reaching Boundary-Breaker…”
She shook her head. “That’s not the worst. After devouring the former Lord, she hasn’t fully absorbed that power. Once she does, she’ll be far stronger. She fled the Spirit Realm wounded. But now, with your tower, she can digest that power in no time… Ugh!”
Ye Xuan paused, then said, “Sorry. She summoned the Spirit Ancestor, so I thought she was good. I didn’t expect a white lotus…”
Ling Tian’s expression was complex, sighing softly.
Then the distant space quaked. Spirits appeared before them.
Their leader, a woman, bowed slightly. “Elder, we couldn’t stop her. She’s at the Spirit Palace Temple.”
Ling Tian nodded. “I understand.”
She paused, then turned to leave.
Ye Xuan blinked, then blocked her. “Not going to the temple?”
Ling Tian looked at him. “Do you know what it is?”
Ye Xuan hesitated, then said, “She told me it’s the Spirit Ancestor’s place, where she lived, right?”
Ling Tian nodded. “If she’s inside, we’re helpless. The Spirit Ancestor’s ban forbids fighting or harming spirits there, or all spirits can strike you down.”
Ye Xuan said, “Gather all the Spirit Realm’s Realm of Freedom fighters to the temple.”
Ling Tian frowned. “What do you mean?”
Ye Xuan said softly, “I’ll handle the Spirit Ancestor.”
She stared. “You sure?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
Ling Tian turned to the woman nearby. “Summon all Realm of Freedom spirits to the temple!”
The woman hesitated. “Elder, it’s the Spirit Ancestor’s…”
Ling Tian pointed at Ye Xuan. “He’ll deal with her.”
The woman glanced at Ye Xuan, hesitated, then left.
Ling Tian said to Ye Xuan, “Let’s go.”
She vanished into the distance.
Ye Xuan hurried after.
Soon, they reached the Spirit Palace Temple, joined by twelve spirits—ten at peak Realm of Freedom, two Boundary-Breakers like Ling Tian.
Ye Xuan eyed the temple, a pure white hall radiating pristine spiritual energy.
Before it stood a statue.
Seeing it, Ye Xuan’s expression turned odd.
It was his father, with Little White on his shoulder!
Then the Spirit Realm Princess appeared at the hall’s entrance, smiling at Ye Xuan and Ling Tian. “Ling Tian, planning to fight here?”
Ling Tian paused, then asked, “Why?”
The princess blinked. “Why what?”
Ling Tian said gravely, “She was so good to you. Why do this?”
The princess smiled faintly. “To grow stronger.”
Ling Tian frowned. “That’s it?”
She nodded. “That’s it.”
Ling Tian shook her head. “She didn’t deserve this.”
The princess laughed, “Ling Tian, I won’t just absorb her—I’ll consume the entire Spirit Realm. Just wait!”
She turned to leave.
Ye Xuan called, “Elder Ling Tian, strike!”
Ling Tian looked at him. “Sure?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
Ling Tian vanished, charging the princess. Her power shook the entire temple!
The princess watched, smiling, unmoving.
As Ling Tian entered, a terrifying spiritual force locked onto her.
*Boom!*
Ling Tian was flung back tens of thousands of feet!
When she stopped, a massive white light circle spun above the temple, brimming with dreadful spiritual power.
Little White’s array!
Ling Tian stared, her face grave.
The Spirit Ancestor’s work!
The other spirits looked equally solemn.
One said, “Elder Ling Tian, we can’t fight here.”
Others nodded. They revered this place.
Ling Tian glanced at Ye Xuan, who was silent. He hadn’t expected Little White to leave an array!
At the temple’s entrance, the princess smirked at them. “Come on, keep fighting!”
Ye Xuan looked at her, then up at the array. He appeared before it, opened his palm, and released a surge of bloodline power. The array quivered, then vanished.
Everyone froze.
The princess stared at Ye Xuan, incredulous. “Impossible!”
Ye Xuan glanced at her. “Didn’t I tell you? Little White’s with my family. You thought she’d protect you? Are you brainless?”
The princess glared. “Your family? You’re joking!”
She opened her palm, revealing a wisp of sword qi.
The moment it appeared, every spirit’s face changed.
Ling Tian shouted, “Careful! That’s the Spirit Ancestor’s guardian’s sword qi—insanely powerful, it can kill a Boundary-Breaker instantly…”
Ye Xuan: “…”
…
