"Hehe, I don't deserve such praise, I don't deserve it; my master was merely stationed there by the Moon Sect to oversee the Black Wind Desert, he can hardly be called the master of any realm," Liu Mao hurriedly waved his hands.

"Fellow Daoist Liu is truly too modest. Who doesn't know of Senior Zhang's great reputation? It is said he started from nothing, originally a slave, until the chaos in the Wuyue Sect unexpectedly brought him an opportunity. From then on, he soared to the heavens, single-handedly conquering most of the Black Wind Desert and even abolishing the local slave trade. Afterwards, having joined the Double Moon Alliance, he went from campaign to campaign, achieving countless victories. Seeing him today, he indeed possesses an extraordinary aura," Fang Shuang said admiringly.

"Hehe, my master was actually just lucky, but... let me tell you quietly, don't spread it around. The opportunity my master received was actually bestowed by Lord Nether Moon God himself. Back then, he even personally encouraged my master to carve out a career, which led to what my master has achieved today," Liu Mao shared, his eyes filled with reverence as he bowed in the direction of the Double Moon Alliance's main temple.

"Really? I had long heard that Lord Nether Moon God had aided many people in the past, but I never expected Senior Zhang to be one of them. He is truly blessed. I wonder if I will ever have the chance to meet Lord Nether Moon God and receive his guidance," Fang Shuang sighed with envy.

"Are you talking about Lord Nether Moon God? I heard from my grandmother that she had once seen..." Mei Xiao also came over, intrigued.

Before she could finish speaking, a sudden thunderclap exploded in the sky. Following that, a mysterious fluctuation burst forth from the Double Moon Alliance's main temple, and countless fist-sized spheres of spiritual energy rapidly emerged from the ground and buildings around, all rushing towards the sky.

Everyone was greatly alarmed and quickly looked up.

They saw all the spiritual energy spheres converging in the sky like shooting stars in reverse, gathering into a vast, multicolored Spirit Cloud. The cloud shimmered and shifted in dazzling patterns.

The colorful cloud spiraled in midair, forming a funnel shape with its narrower end directly above Chaotian Peak at the Double Moon Alliance's main temple.

Endless rosy light completely replaced the daylight, casting Yuhua City in a spectrum of colors.

A deep rumbling continued to emanate from the sky, but if one listened closely, the surroundings seemed eerily quiet. The sounds, like muffled thunder, seemed not to be resonating next to the ear, but rather emanating from within the chest.

"What kind of astronomical phenomenon is this? Could it be that a senior is about to break through to Nascent Soul?" Fang Shuang's eyes widened.

"No, I had the fortune to witness the Nascent Soul Formation Phenomenon with my master, and it was nothing like this grand scale," Liu Mao decisively shook his head.

"If it's not the Nascent Soul, then could it be..." Fang Shuang swallowed hard, unable to believe her own conjecture.

Just then, the Huo Chan'er on Mei Xiao's head seemed to sense something, straightened up, and started squeaking, vigorously waving its forelimbs at the source of the anomaly, as if waving a greeting.

Seeing Huo Chan'er's reaction, everyone was even more astonished.

... Uploa.d*ed by the *+) t@eam.$

As the celestial phenomenon occurred, countless tunneling lights shot out from the mansions within the Double Moon Alliance, all heading straight for Chaotian Peak.

However, at this moment, Chaotian Peak and the nearby mountains were enveloped by a misty great array, blocking all the visitors outside.

When Xu Che arrived, what he saw was a group of people outside the array, scratching their heads as they waited.

He did not wait with them but communicated into the array. Moments later, Yan Si Jing, holding a token, walked out of the mist and led him inside.

Passing through layers of fog, Xu Che's first sight was the Gathering Spirit Tree at the summit of Chaotian Peak.

To aid Yuan Ming in his breakthrough, in addition to this Gathering Spirit Tree, Xi Ying had prepared many Gathering Spirit Objects, like the Gathering Spirit Blood River held by Xi Qian, which were all buried beneath Chaotian Peak, directly causing the spiritual power of the area to multiply several times; in some places, even the spiritual energy was seen liquefying.

Xu Che then looked up at the celestial phenomena again, noting that the gathering point of the Spirit Cloud was right below the Gathering Spirit Tree; realizing that Yuan Ming was at that very spot attempting his breakthrough, he dared not get too close and simply followed Yan Si Jing to a nearby mountain peak.

At that moment, Xi Ying, dressed in a long gown, stood at the mountaintop, her eyes constantly fixed on the distant Chaotian Peak. Her face was expressionless, but the hands hanging by her sides were clenched tightly.

Xu Che's arrival did not draw her attention, but he respectfully bowed to her, and seeing no response, he quietly stood behind her.

Yan Si Yun was also present. Seeing Xu Che's arrival, she nodded silently without speaking.

After a century, both Xu Che and the Yan sisters had broken through to Nascent Soul; however, the latter two, being more talented, had even gained Xi Ying's favor, who personally taught them the Moonlight Technique, and they also cultivated the path of Soul Cultivation.

However, because Yan Si Yun was occupied with many chores, she had only reached the Love Witch Realm, whereas Yan Si Jing devoted herself to cultivation and had stepped into the Sleeping Witch Realm.

The anomaly in the sky continued, and Xi Ying and the others continued to wait. In the meantime, some others close to Yuan Ming arrived nearby, all being led by Yan Si Jing.

As time trickled by, Yuan Ming's breakthrough still did not conclude, and everyone gradually grew slightly anxious.

But just then, a piercing roar suddenly erupted from the peak of Chaotian Peak, resembling the long chant of a heavenly dragon and the roar of a fierce tiger, causing everyone's hearts to tremble.

The spirit clouds in the sky also suddenly trembled and then quickly started to swirl, like the Milky Way pouring down from the Nine Heavens, all pouring onto the summit of Chaotian Peak.

All the spiritual energy within the range of the phenomenon was instantly drained, making everyone feel a sense of suffocation and thirst, as if fish had been taken out of water and exposed to sunlight.

But in the next moment, a pillar of light shot up from Chaotian Peak, countless spirit lights like a fountain shot upwards and then transformed into rain, gently falling onto the ground.

As the raindrops touched them, everyone immediately felt refreshed, and on the ground, countless blades of tender grass and fresh flowers hurriedly sprouted from the soil, and in the blink of an eye, the mountains were verdant and the ridges colorful.

After but a few breaths, the spiritual rain ceased. In the sky, a seven-colored rainbow hung high, and under the sunlight, a figure slowly drifted down, arriving in front of the crowd.

"Congratulations, Lord Nether Moon God on your breakthrough to the Returning Void!" The crowd hurriedly bowed their heads and congratulated in unison.

Even those like Long Chong, who had once been close to Yuan Ming, dared not call out Yuan Ming's real name at this moment. Almost everyone had a look of reverence on their faces, except for one.

"I did it," Yuan Ming said, looking at Xi Ying with a smile in his eyes.

Xi Ying nodded gently, remaining silent, her gaze fixated on Yuan Ming. For some reason, she was reminded of his struggles for survival in the Ten Thousand Mountains years ago.

The once prisoner of the Southern Border was now the co-ruler of Yunhuang.

In the next instant, Xi Ying stepped forward and embraced Yuan Ming, giving him a kiss.

Yuan Ming was initially slightly surprised, but soon his gaze softened, and they embraced and kissed in the light.

Then, he suddenly flicked his sleeve, taking Xi Ying and instantly disappearing from the mountaintop, leaving behind only a divine thought echoing in everyone's minds.

"In six months, the alliance will host a grand festival. Please spread the message and invite cultivators from the Five Domains to attend the ceremony."

Everyone promptly acknowledged, and when they looked up, they found that both Yuan Ming and Xi Ying had vanished. They didn't give it much thought, exchanged a few words among themselves, and then departed.

...

A few days later, at the Cave Mansion on Chaotian Peak.

Xi Ying had already left, giving Yuan Ming time to stabilize his cultivation.

For this breakthrough, Yuan Ming had made extensive preparations. A century of hard practice not only brought his cultivation to the peak of the Late Stage Nascent Soul, but he had also brought three other cultivation techniques to advanced levels.

Even so, his breakthrough had not been entirely smooth sailing.

Perhaps because he was a Spoken Witch, the amount of spiritual power needed during the breakthrough process had far exceeded his expectations. Even though he had brought his Mixed Hole Secret Technique to perfection in advance and his mana inside the Dantian was twice that of cultivators at the same level, it was still insufficient for the needs of the breakthrough, catching him somewhat off guard at the last moment.

Fortunately, he had learned the Chang Chun Temple Secret Technique, turning the Undying Tree into his Lifebound Spiritual Treasure. By leveraging the massive amount of Five Elements Spiritual Power stored within it, he barely managed to meet the requirements for the breakthrough, stepping into the Returning Void Realm.

As a cost, the spiritual energy accumulated in the Undying Tree was almost drained, and its body suffered severe damage, only narrowly avoiding turning into a mundane object. Luckily, its life force was resilient, and it just managed to hang on, but it would likely need a long period of nurturing to recover.

Yet, although the process was somewhat rough and there were losses, Yuan Ming gained even more after his breakthrough to the Returning Void.

Firstly, having completed his Spirit Root, Yuan Ming no longer had any weaknesses in the Five Elements Techniques. By stepping into the Returning Void, he also gained the ability to control the nature's spiritual energy within a certain range, which could enhance the power of magical treasures and allow him to manifest entirely different divine skills from the techniques he had learned before.

Moreover, during the breakthrough, his Lifebound Magical Treasure, the Soul Destroying Sword, melded with his Spirit Root by chance, undergoing an initial transformation and developing a nascent spiritual consciousness.

This was a sign of the birth of an Artifact Spirit.

Although Yuan Ming found it challenging to control the Artifact Spirits of the Shura Blood Devouring Map and Stealing Heaven Tripod, the Soul Destroying Sword had been by his side all along, and its Artifact Spirit was newly forming. Yuan Ming was confident he could keep it under his control, thus he valued and anticipated it highly, for once successfully nurtured, the enhancement to the Soul Destroying Sword would be indescribable.

However, the Soul Destroying Sword itself still required a period of nurturing and refinement. If possible, he also needed to add some more spiritual materials to re-forge it, otherwise, the time required to develop its Artifact Spirit would be exceedingly long.

But the needed materials were likely hard to gather in the Yunhuang region; he would have to travel overseas to possibly find them.

Therefore, as Yuan Ming solidified his realm, he also readied himself.

Now, with Yunhuang unified and the Returning Void achieved, there was no longer any attachment here, and it was time for him to leave.