With the Qingyun Grand Tournament approaching, to ensure absolute certainty, she needed to further solidify her cultivation foundation.
Ye Ling then reached into her storage bag and took out the Spirit-Converging Green Grass she had previously acquired when she teamed up with Ye Chen and Little Frog to defeat the Tyrant Spirit Tiger.
This grass was a Profound-grade high-tier herb. Its most precious trait was that it had absolutely no side effects, and consuming it allowed a Xiantian Realm cultivator to break through a minor realm.
Her original plan was to wait until she broke through to the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection before using it, leveraging its medicinal power to break through from the Xiantian Realm to its peak.
But time waited for no one, and now was the perfect opportunity.
A wisp of gentle spiritual energy condensed at Ye Ling's fingertips, slowly wrapping around the entire Spirit-Converging Green Grass.
In just a moment, the entire spiritual herb completely dissolved, turning into a ball of warm, emerald-green, pure medicinal liquid surging with spiritual energy.
She opened her mouth slightly and swallowed the entire glob of medicinal liquid.
In the next instant, an extremely pure, dense, and majestic spiritual energy suddenly exploded in Ye Ling's chest and abdomen.
The medicinal properties were mild yet potent, flowing and circulating through her already widened and resilient meridians.
Wherever the medicinal power passed, any trace of impure spiritual energy remaining in her meridians was completely swept away. The spiritual energy was purified, condensed, and compressed over and over again, making her spiritual energy increasingly pure.
A massive amount of refined spiritual energy surged continuously along her countless meridians, gathering in the depths of Ye Ling's dantian.
The small river of spiritual energy that had formed when she broke through to the late-stage Xiantian Realm was already full and overflowing, and now it was suddenly flooded by the overwhelming medicinal power.
The river's surface rose wildly at a visible rate. The originally gentle flow instantly turned into a raging torrent, with layers of waves surging and roaring within her dantian.
The spiritual river continuously widened and deepened, repeatedly breaking through the capacity limits of her dantian's sea of qi.
The total amount of spiritual energy in Ye Ling's body continued to skyrocket, crossing the accumulation limit of the late-stage Xiantian Realm.
Like water flowing where a channel is formed, Ye Ling's cultivation steadily broke through to the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection.
Inside her dantian, the great river of spiritual energy surged majestically like a wide, endless river, filling the entire sea of qi to the brim with thick, pure spiritual energy.
Ye Ling did not lose herself in the joy of her breakthrough.
She immediately began to consolidate her newly broken-through cultivation, planning to leave the secret realm to welcome the Qingyun Grand Tournament once her realm stabilized.
This period of bitter training in the Bailing Secret Realm had yielded rich rewards for Ye Ling.
Her cultivation had reached the Xiantian Realm Great Perfection, her Sword Force had broken through to Two and a Half Layers, and she had even comprehended two exclusive self-created sword stances on her own: Sword Blanketing a Thousand Mountains and Sword Controlling Ten Thousand Waters.
However, engrossed in adjusting her breathing and organizing her state, Ye Ling was completely unaware that a demon beast had already been quietly waiting outside her secluded cave for a long time.
A slender, snake-like demon beast was floating in midair outside the cave's entrance, using its subtle demonic sense to clearly perceive everything inside.
It knew Ye Ling was about to end her seclusion, yet it had no intention of avoiding her or fleeing. It remained in place, quietly waiting.
...
Qinglan Sword Sect, discussion hall.
At this moment, the discussion hall was solemn and majestic. All the sect's high-level members were gathered together. Sect Master Leng Zhiwei sat on the main seat of the hall, her posture cold and dignified, her aura steady and composed.
The various Peak Masters stood on either side, their expressions solemn and serious. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy, as they were clearly discussing matters of great importance to the sect.
The Peak Master of the Miscellaneous Affairs Peak was the first to cup his hands and rise, reporting solemnly, “Sect Master, the top ten spots for this inner sect selection have all been decided.”
“The ten participating disciples from the inner sect have been finalized. They will gather with the sect's ten True Disciples and depart together in three days to the capital of the Qingyun Kingdom to participate in the Qingyun Grand Tournament.”
Leng Zhiwei nodded slightly, her cool gaze slowly sweeping across the room as she summarized.
“Now, the ten spots for the inner sect to participate in the Qingyun Grand Tournament have been determined, and most of the ten True Disciples have also returned to the sect to rest.”
“Currently, all of our sect's participants are in place, with only Ye Ling remaining in the Bailing Secret Realm to cultivate, having not yet returned.”
Hearing this, Peak Master Wen of the Spirit Medicine Peak showed a look of surprise and quickly spoke.
“Sect Master, is Little Ling'er still in seclusion in the Bailing Secret Realm?”
“There is not much time left before we depart for the tournament. Should we immediately send someone into the secret realm to send a message and urge her to end her seclusion and return as soon as possible?”
Several Peak Masters around her also nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, Sect Master!”
“The Qingyun Grand Tournament is the highest stage for the younger generation of the Qingyun Kingdom, gathering geniuses from the entire realm. If she misses this one, she will have to wait another five years.”
“Although Ye Ling possesses peerless talent, she still needs to attend the Qingyun Grand Tournament to see the geniuses of other sects and broaden her experience.”
“Even if the Five Geniuses of Qingyun dominate this generation, the next one will surely belong to Ye Ling.”
These words drew widespread agreement from everyone. Although they all had absolute confidence in Ye Ling's talent, calculating the time, Ye Ling had only recently turned seventeen.
Meanwhile, among the Five Geniuses of Qingyun, the youngest, Fairy Bai Ling, was already thirty-two years old.
Ye Ling's cultivation time was simply too short.
Hearing this, Leng Zhiwei also agreed with them in her heart. Ye Ling's only disadvantage was her young age.
Yet, she still held a trace of expectation for Ye Ling. After all, Ye Ling truly could not be judged by common sense.
“Alright, that is enough.”
The gazes of everyone in the hall instantly converged on the main seat, quietly waiting for Leng Zhiwei's decision.
Leng Zhiwei lowered her eyes in brief thought, and a moment later, she looked up.
“No matter, we will wait two more days.”
“Ye Ling is of steady character and will definitely not miss the Qingyun Grand Tournament without reason.”
“If she still has not emerged from the secret realm after two days, I will personally lead a team into the secret realm to find her.”
Hearing this, the Peak Masters nodded one after another, no longer raising any objections.
They were also well aware of Ye Ling's temperament and character. She had always been sharp-minded and measured in her actions, and would absolutely not delay without reason and miss the Qingyun Grand Tournament.
...
Inside her Bailing Mountain cave dwelling in the Bailing Secret Realm.
Ye Ling thoroughly polished and stabilized her Xiantian Realm Great Perfection cultivation. The spiritual energy in her dantian was as vast and abundant as a great river, without any instability in her realm.
It was time for her to leave the Bailing Secret Realm and return to the Qinglan Sword Sect.
Ye Ling walked to the stone door of the cave. With a light flick of spiritual energy from her fingertips, she removed the concealing and protective formation she had set up.
The stone door slowly slid open to both sides, but the moment she stepped out, Ye Ling's gaze suddenly sharpened.
Floating quietly in midair outside the cave was a snake-like demon beast about half a meter long. Its scaled body shimmered with a green luster, and its narrow, vertical pupils calmly rested on her.
Ye Ling's mind tensed. She took a large step back, and the Qinglan Sword instantly unsheathed, its piercing cold light shooting straight into the sky as she unleashed her Two and a Half Layers of Sword Force without reservation.
Throughout her seclusion, her Divine Sense had been constantly spread out, covering a hundred-meter radius around the cave without interruption.
Yet, this snake demon had actually managed to quietly wait outside the door, bypassing all of her detection.
To be able to block her Divine Sense, the opponent's cultivation was bound to be unfathomably deep, absolutely incomparable to those ordinary Tongxuan demon beasts in the secret realm.
Alarm bells rang wildly in Ye Ling's heart, but she did not dare to act rashly. Her body's Sword Force was taut as she prepared herself for attack or defense at any moment.
Just as Ye Ling was on full guard, harboring hidden dread, the snake-like demon beast was the first to speak.
It spoke in a soft, tender, and sweet voice, like that of a young girl.
“Human, the scent of spiritual energy on you is so sweet. I want you to be my human pet.”
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