Chapter 248: Return

After returning to the Qingxuan Sect, Yang Yan immediately entered seclusion once more. Although the recent battle had been exceedingly brutal, the benefits he had gained from it were immense.

As Elder Yang put it, Yang Yan’s successive breakthrough through five levels had been astonishingly fast. Yet because those breakthroughs had come one after another, his foundation had become unstable, and the spiritual energy within him had grown extremely restless. His life-and-death battle with Sun Tianyang, however, had fully awakened his latent potential. Under the fierce collisions of that battle, the spiritual energy within him had gradually become denser and more refined.

Ultimately, it came down to one simple truth: only true life-and-death combat could provide the best tempering, and it was also the fastest and most effective way to improve one’s strength.

Yang Yan secluded himself in a secret chamber of the Qingxuan Sect for three days. During that time, he carefully recuperated, further condensing and refining the spiritual energy within his body. Only then did he finally set his mind at ease.

Although his strength had now reached the peak of the Spirit Communion Realm, that feeling of being on the verge of touching the Spirit Sea Realm still failed to arrive.

Yang Yan’s thoughts naturally earned him another round of Elder Yang’s contempt.

Yang Yan was simply too impatient. He had only just broken through to the peak of the Spirit Communion Realm, yet he was already thinking about advancing into the Spirit Sea Realm. If such words reached the ears of old cultivators who had practiced for decades or even centuries without reaching the Spirit Sea Realm, they would probably be so enraged that they would spit blood and die.

Hearing this, Yang Yan awkwardly scratched his head. His thirst for power was simply too great.

He had originally believed that once his strength was sufficient to battle a Spirit Sea Realm expert, he could begin investigating the cause of his father’s death, find the enemy who had destroyed his family, and take his revenge.

But judging from Sun Tianyang’s final words, the road ahead of him seemed to be far longer than he had imagined. If his guess was correct and his enemy was truly a Soul Dominion Realm expert, then it made little difference whether Yang Yan’s current cultivation was at the Spirit-Sensing Realm, the Spirit Communion Realm, or even the Spirit Sea Realm.

In the eyes of a Soul Dominion Realm expert, cultivators of those realms could be killed with scarcely more effort than it took to crush an ant.

Under that invisible pressure, Yang Yan’s longing for strength and power had naturally grown ever more urgent, which was why he had developed such thoughts.

After Elder Yang’s guidance and admonishment, however, he slowly reined them in.

The greatest taboo in cultivation was impatience. The best approach was to build one’s foundation firmly, advancing step by step. Only through such cultivation would one avoid leaving hidden dangers that might hinder future growth.

Having understood this, Yang Yan gradually steadied his mind and tried to maintain himself in a calm and tranquil state.

Three days later, Yang Yan emerged from seclusion and went to the rear mountain of Qingxuan Mountain to visit Xie Xuantian.

The atmosphere throughout the Qingxuan Sect had grown extremely tense. The disciples who remained on Qingxuan Mountain had all chosen to stay indoors, spending their days cultivating on the training grounds. They looked as though they were preparing for war.

Although the disciples did not know what great event was about to occur, the tense and oppressive atmosphere permeating the entire mountain had awakened their vigilance and made them take the situation seriously.

As a result, they devoted all their energy to cultivation.

When Yang Yan arrived before the secret chamber in the rear mountain, he gently knocked on the stone door, fearing that too loud a sound might disturb Xie Xuantian’s cultivation.

The entire Qingxuan Sect was now facing a formidable enemy and enveloped in extreme tension. Others might not know the reason, but Yang Yan understood it perfectly.

For his sake, Xie Xuantian had led the entire Qingxuan Sect in openly resisting the rule of Xuantian Hall. Although Xuantian Hall was currently busy preparing for war against the Wudao Sect and had no spare forces to deal with them, that did not mean they were safe.

With the combined strength of Xuantian Hall and the Sunyun Pavilion, even the mighty Wudao Sect could only hold out for a time. Its defeat was already inevitable. Therefore, the Qingxuan Sect absolutely could not afford to lower its guard. Once the Wudao Sect had been dealt with, Xuantian Hall would certainly turn its attention to them.

For that reason, Xie Xuantian had taken advantage of this brief interval to enter seclusion and attempt to break through to the next realm.

“Come in.”

A moment later, a faint voice drifted out from within the chamber. Yang Yan immediately stepped inside.

“You little rascal. We have been apart for only a few days, yet you have already grown this strong. It seems my choice was not mistaken.”

The instant Yang Yan entered the chamber, Xie Xuantian’s astonished and delighted voice rang out.

Previously, Xie Xuantian had only been able to sense Yang Yan’s strength vaguely. Although Yang Yan was considerably stronger than ordinary cultivators of the same level, at most he had possessed roughly seventy percent of the strength of a Spirit Communion Realm cultivator.

Now, however, Xie Xuantian could clearly sense that Yang Yan had reached the peak of the Spirit Communion Realm. The aura emanating from him was so powerful that even Xie Xuantian dared not treat it lightly.

To make such progress in only a few days was nothing short of monstrous. Even across the entire cultivation world of the Flying Cloud Empire, Xie Xuantian could not find a single person who could compare with Yang Yan.

What astonished him even more was the strange pressure he could faintly sense from Yang Yan. After examining it carefully, he was shocked to discover that it was the pressure of soul power.

Xie Xuantian’s soul had now reached the minor-completion stage of the Spirit Realm, with only one step remaining before major completion. For him to feel pressure from Yang Yan’s soul meant that Yang Yan’s soul power had already broken through to the major-completion stage of the Spirit Realm.

One had to understand that breaking through in soul power was extraordinarily difficult. Xie Xuantian had cultivated for nearly thirty years to reach his current level, and much of that progress had come from the increase in soul power that accompanied the growth of his spiritual cultivation.

He knew better than anyone how slowly soul power grew. Yet in only a few short days, Yang Yan had achieved such astonishing advancement. It was truly monstrous.

“The Sect Master has entrusted the fate of the entire Qingxuan Sect to me. Naturally, I could not afford to disappoint you.”

Yang Yan smiled at Xie Xuantian’s praise, though inwardly he was deeply shocked.

Now that his strength had reached the peak of the Spirit Communion Realm and his soul power had increased, he could sense Xie Xuantian’s strength with exceptional clarity.

A powerful cultivator at roughly the fifth level of the Spirit Sea Realm!

His strength was considerably greater than Sun Tianyang’s. Even with Yang Yan’s current abilities and methods, he had no confidence that he could defeat Xie Xuantian. By a conservative estimate, even if he used every means at his disposal, his chances of victory would not exceed twenty percent.

At this thought, Yang Yan could not help sighing inwardly. No wonder the Qingxuan Sect had been able to dominate the cultivation world of Jinzhou for so long without falling. With an expert like Xie Xuantian guarding it, there was hardly anyone who would dare oppose the sect.

In recent years, however, the Qingxuan Sect had been controlled by Xuantian Hall, while Xie Xuantian had been absorbed in secluded cultivation and attempting to break through. Thus, he had never acted against the other sects beyond Jinzhou.

Had Xie Xuantian wished to do so, a clan such as the Liu Clan of Shangzhou could have been annihilated in an extremely short time. Liu Zong was merely a first-level Spirit Sea Realm cultivator, and the gap between him and Xie Xuantian was not merely a single level.

After all, the Qingxuan Sect was a sect with five hundred years of heritage. It could not possibly be compared with a sect that had developed over only a few decades. There were undoubtedly many secrets hidden within Qingxuan Mountain that Yang Yan knew nothing about.

“You little fellow, you truly bring trouble wherever you go. First there was the Liu Clan of Shangzhou, then even the Kunyang Sect of Qingzhou was thrown into chaos by you. And that old ghost Sun Tianyang was killed by your hand as well.”

The moment they met, Xie Xuantian laughed as he spoke to Yang Yan, though a trace of astonishment still lingered on his face.

Hearing that Xie Xuantian already knew what had happened three days earlier, Yang Yan was puzzled.

“You need not be surprised. Although I remain in seclusion every day, the Qingxuan Sect’s intelligence network continues to gather news from the surrounding prefectures, as well as major developments within the various cultivation sects. They place written reports in the hidden compartment outside this chamber, and after I finish cultivating, I take them out and read them.”

As though he had sensed Yang Yan’s confusion, Xie Xuantian explained.

Yang Yan immediately understood. After nearly five hundred years of development, although the Qingxuan Sect’s sphere of influence had not expanded greatly, its intelligence network and the training of its disciples had long since formed an extremely complete system.

“Why did you summon me here in such a hurry?”

Xie Xuantian brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.

Yang Yan smiled. Without wasting words, he reached down and removed the Cosmos Pouch from his waist. With a thought, dense masses of spirit crystals surged out of it like a rushing flood.

Faced with that endless torrent of spirit crystals, even Xie Xuantian’s composure failed him. His mouth hung open, and he was speechless. Only after a long while did the flow begin to stop. By then, more than half the secret chamber was filled with spirit crystals.

After a rough estimate, Xie Xuantian realized that there were more than three million of them.

The Qingxuan Sect could produce such a vast quantity of spirit crystals, but doing so would severely damage its foundations.

“Little fellow, did you obtain all these as spoils from the Kunyang Sect?”

Only after a long time did Xie Xuantian recover and ask the question.

Yang Yan nodded. Then he swept out his sleeve, and several hundred scrolls of various colors appeared at Xie Xuantian’s feet.

These scrolls had all been left behind by Sun Tianyang. Most contained Yellow Grade cultivation methods or martial arts manuals, while roughly a quarter belonged to the Black Grade. Such techniques held little attraction for Yang Yan now, but to the Qingxuan Sect’s disciples at the Spirit-Sensing Realm or those who had only just entered the Spirit Communion Realm, they were treasures beyond price.

After casually tossing the scrolls onto the ground, Yang Yan flicked his wrist again. A series of crisp clattering sounds rang out as one artifact after another, each gleaming with flowing light, was poured onto the floor with almost careless roughness. A closer look revealed several hundred artifacts in all.

Most of them were Spirit Artifacts. As for the Treasure Artifacts, Yang Yan had kept those for himself, intending to use them in the future when he unleashed the Penetrating Demon Fist.

“Good heavens. It seems your harvest was quite substantial,” Xie Xuantian exclaimed.

This young man was truly no ordinary troublemaker. Relying on his own strength, he had plundered an entire major power. Even the Qingxuan Sect would have needed ten or even several dozen years to accumulate such a harvest, yet Yang Yan had brought it back with effortless ease.

“These things should be enough to support the Qingxuan Sect for some time,” Yang Yan said with a smile.

Xie Xuantian was delighted. Forget merely supporting the sect for a while—these resources would be enough to sustain it for five or six years without difficulty. In particular, the cultivation methods and martial arts manuals would provide an enormous boost to the overall combat strength of the Qingxuan Sect’s disciples.

“As for these things, I will summon the elders shortly and have them stored in the sect’s treasury. Then we can select disciples with sufficient strength and potential, allowing them to enter the treasury and choose suitable cultivation methods, receive spirit-crystal rewards, and obtain artifacts compatible with their abilities.”

Xie Xuantian paused before continuing.

Yang Yan nodded. He was not skilled at handling such matters, nor did he have the time to do so. As Sect Master, Xie Xuantian would naturally be able to arrange everything in the best possible manner.

“Where do you plan to go next?” Xie Xuantian asked after a moment.

“I intend to visit the Artificer Guild in Dalin City first. I have an artifact that needs to be repaired by Master Frank there.”

Yang Yan did not conceal the matter and answered directly.

“Oh? I never expected you to seek out that old fellow. I have some ties with him, but his temper is exceedingly strange. If you want his help, you had best be prepared for him to refuse.”

Xie Xuantian looked at Yang Yan with great interest.

“There is no need for the Sect Master to worry about that. Before returning to the Qingxuan Sect, I happened to pass through Dalin City and took part in the artificers’ tournament held there. I also helped Guild Master Frank considerably behind the scenes, so I believe he will not refuse my request.”

Yang Yan smiled as he spoke.

After hearing this, Xie Xuantian’s expression changed slightly. He had not expected Yang Yan to possess attainments in artificing as well. No wonder someone so young possessed such formidable soul power—and no wonder he had managed to befriend a strange old eccentric like Frank.

“It seems this little fellow’s potential and strength are even greater than I imagined. Perhaps my choice will raise the Qingxuan Sect’s future development to a height never seen before.”

End of Chapter

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