CHAPTER 231: END OF THE SECLUSION 3

Chapter 231: End of the Seclusion 3

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In a desolate corner of the secret realm, a vast desertic area stretched out.

The place, normally barren, with few or no creatures in sight and temperatures that made you want to go meet your ancestors before your time, was currently being turned upside down by the battle between two fierce female figures.

One was a girl, with long straight black hair that floated as if it had a will of its own while she hovered in the air, behind her the manifestation of her nascent soul.

A majestic creature, large and pale, with a body extending for several meters, serpentine, but whose features seemed closer to those of a winged dragon and a fox.

On its long body, three pairs of translucent wings glowing with a greenish energy stretched out, while the aura it emitted was more than enough to make any Mortal Realm cultivator take a step back.

Both the girl and the creature behind her stared toward the figure in front of them, a woman with an elegant yet fierce appearance, long white hair and violet eyes that sparkled like precious gems as she looked at the girl with a playful and challenging gaze.

The woman was surrounded by a powerful and majestic aura, while her violet eyes held a pair of vertical pupils that seemed able to pierce through anything with a single glance.

It was obviously Ye Ning and Ling Yuexin.

Mother and daughter were once again lost in one of their countless training sessions which, if seen by outsiders, would appear more like battles to the death.

Watching them from afar, still floating in midair, was an elf, golden hair, emerald eyes, a petite build that gave her a youthful appearance, yet the aura of an entity that seemed to have lived for who knows how long.

Lin Xian had spent this entire closed door training period cultivating and recovering part of her power, as well as occasionally joining the mother daughter duo in their long training sessions.

Having already reached very high levels in her cultivation and possessing a far greater comprehension than most, her progress had been rapid and constant, so much so that she reached the third stage of the Spirit Realm in less than three years.

Her comprehension of the laws was high, and she had already mastered her base law, so for her it had been more a matter of time than effort.

If others were like mules struggling for centuries to barely acquire a minimum level of comprehension and progress, then she was like a cheerful girl taking a simple walk through a forest whose paths and mysteries were as clear to her as the palm of her hand.

She had observed many of this mother and daughter battles and, although each fight ended with Ye Ning’s defeat, the progress she made during this entire period was more than visible,

in fact, so fast that it would have shamed even the current rulers of the three empires, had they ever seen her current level and age.

Honestly, her progress was greater and faster even than hers and her friend’s when they were in their prime, but even so, Ye Ning still wasn’t good enough to surpass another person.

A certain individual she hadn’t seen for quite a while came to mind, and she wondered how his cultivation was progressing.

As she did so, the deafening sounds of battle resumed while Ye Ning, now an adult woman whose charm was becoming more and more apparent, second only to her mother’s, launched her relentless attacks on her mother, hoping to at least leave her a scratch.

The clash had begun for less than ten seconds, yet the intensity of the attacks and the damage caused had already reached catastrophic levels, the kind capable of leveling entire cities in the blink of an eye.

Such a scene only made the elf sigh, for fully understanding her friend’s level of strength, she knew this still wasn’t enough to give her a real challenge, but that wasn’t the point of these battles.

This was training for Ye Ning; whether she won or lost mattered little. What was important was that she improved her control over her strength and refined her combat techniques.

And so, as the battle restarted and the laziness of the ex elven empress resurfaced as she materialized a mattress ready for a nap,

an abrupt pressure fell upon the place, alerting everyone present.

It appeared for only an instant, but was more than enough to bring complete silence.

Mother and daughter froze, Lin Xian woke from her short nap, and the terrified beasts that had taken refuge far from the area fainted from fear, unable to withstand even a second of that sudden, brief pressure.

Ye Ning was confused but also frightened, feeling her instincts flare, sensing as if a powerful being had made its presence known.

Frightened, yes, but more confused, for she could feel a certain familiarity in it.

But unlike her, her mother and Aunt Lin seemed to know exactly what it was, for they both quickly turned their gazes downward, not at the ground itself, but at something deeper.

It didn’t take her long to understand what it meant, and when she did, her expression became similar to that of the other two women.

It was definitely her father.

***

The area of the small garden behind the mountain residence that until recently housed Yuan Lan was now occupied by three other female figures, all of them gazing toward a single empty point.

Though it looked empty, none of them seemed worried or bored, only a visible anticipation could be seen in them.

And that anticipation was justified when the space in that direction twisted for a moment before a figure silently appeared.

A man, tall, with a youthful yet mature appearance, sharp and flawless facial features.

Long black hair falling freely over his back and shoulders, a simple white training robe adorned on the sides with grey linings, and a calm expression as his black eyes, simple yet seemingly able to swallow reality itself with a single command, fell on the four figures before him.

He saw them, and finally an expression appeared on his face as the corners of his lips curved slightly upward, before his mouth opened to speak:

"Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long."

The silence was broken by his simple words, but the reaction they triggered was anything but simple.

Yuan Lan wasted no time, like a bee that had just found her favorite flower, she dissolved into a sphere of light that shot toward the man before entering his chest and slipping directly into his dantian.

Ignoring the actions of the mysterious woman, which by now they had grown used to, Ye Ning and Liang Yuexin also wasted no time and reached him, giving him a welcome back hug.

He welcomed them with open arms, then his gaze shifted to the elven girl still standing in her place, before he said:

"Come on, why don’t you join as well?" he told her, but his invitation earned only a scowl from the elf, who said:

"Hmph, I see you’re as shameless as ever."

"Well, worth a try. In any case, I’m glad to see you’re all doing well," he said, clearly referring to their progress more than anything else.

Since they were in the secret realm, there had been no threats or dangers, especially because everything was under his control, and even though he had been immersed in his cultivation, he would have known if any attack or danger occurred.

With a single glance, he could see everyone’s cultivation levels, and he could only nod in satisfaction at what he saw.

The elf and Liang Yuexin were neck and neck in their progress, both at a very high point in their stage,

and even Ye Ning had not been idle in terms of overall advancement.

Last time he saw her, she was at the peak of the 4th stage of theMortal Realm,

but now her cultivation had reached almost the peak of the first stage of the Spirit Realm, a monstrous achievement considering how little time had passed, not to mention her age.

She was now around 19, and although her appearance resembled the her of some time ago, it was also obvious she had grown a lot.

He was happy to see that his help and his wife’s training had borne fruit.

Now Ye Ning was an adult in every sense, one who not only possessed power but also the experience to face the cruelty this world hid, and to carve her way forward on her cultivation path with her own strength.

He had just finished breaking through successfully and had already taken some time to stabilize his cultivation,

so he took some time to catch up with his family,

and finally, after almost a month, everyone was ready to leave.

Although for them nearly three years had passed, in the outside world a little over six months had gone by, but despite the short period, the number of events that had occurred outside was anything but small.

In fact, after the grand expedition began, true chaos descended upon the entire continent.