"Did you just say something incredibly significant?"
Ye Yun's eyelids twitched slightly.
Gu Xiaoyue looked pure and innocent.
"No, Xiaoyue didn't say anything. She just said she would ascend to the Celestial Realm to pursue you!"
"..."
Ye Yun found her swift change of demeanor somewhat exasperating.
He decided it was fine; since he was leaving soon, he wouldn't dampen her spirits for now.
Besides, with her cultivation level, she wouldn't reach the Saint realm and ascend anytime soon. Perhaps she would mature by then.
Ye Yun smiled faintly and said, "All these things can wait until you have the strength to ascend to the Celestial Realm."
"One day, Xiaoyue will become your Dao companion!"
Gu Xiaoyue said with determination, gazing at Ye Yun.
"Before that, please remember me!"
As she finished speaking, her delicate and petite body hugged Ye Yun tightly, wanting to imprint his scent on herself one last time.
Sensing Gu Xiaoyue's apprehension, Ye Yun gently stroked her to comfort her.
"Don't worry, I will always remember a cute girl like you."
Gu Xiaoyue held on for a long time.
The maiden's subtle fragrance, her soft skin, her warm body.
For Ye Yun, it was a rather pleasant experience.
"It's been so long, are you feeling any better?"
Ye Yun said helplessly after half an hour.
Gu Xiaoyue said reluctantly, "I wish it could be longer. Elder Ye, I wish you wouldn't leave."
"Don't worry, there will be opportunities another day."
Ye Yun smiled and released Gu Xiaoyue.
"Let's stop here for now. Actually, I came to see you for a serious matter."
Then, Ye Yun took out a spatial ring and placed it directly into her hand.
Gu Xiaoyue looked puzzled.
"This is..."
"Inside are all the Xuan techniques I obtained from the Profound Nether Immortal Palace, most of the heavenly treasures, and three Immortal-grade Xuan techniques."
Ye Yun explained with a smile, "I won't need these things anymore, so I'm passing them on to you."
"With these, the Ancient Dao Immortal Palace can become the true overlord of the continent in time."
"But before that, apart from the Immortal God Transformation, remember not to expose the other two Immortal-grade Xuan techniques, lest you attract unwanted attention."
Since he was about to leave, he naturally had to do his best to leave some trump cards for the Ancient Dao Immortal Palace.
After all, one had to guard against certain things; he was well aware of how human hearts could change.
Gu Xiaoyue's jaw dropped in astonishment upon hearing this.
"Three Immortal-grade Xuan techniques? Where did you get them?"
"That's... a secret."
Ye Yun smiled faintly. "Just remember not to easily spread them around."
"Okay... Xiaoyue understands."
Gu Xiaoyue looked at the spatial ring in her hand and carefully placed it on her ring finger, her heart filled with sweetness.
Then, Ye Yun thought for a moment and said, "Right, there's one more thing I wanted to ask you."
"Even though the Nine Nether Immortal Palace has been destroyed, have all its affiliated forces been brought under control?"
"Of course, they've all been controlled. Do you have any instructions?"
"Nothing much. Just instruct them to investigate which families' children were captured by these affiliated forces not long ago as sacrifices to the Nine Nether Immortal Palace, and then ensure they live lives of glory and wealth."
"That's easy enough, but why are you doing this?"
Seeing Gu Xiaoyue's surprised expression, Ye Yun sighed.
"Consider it a way to atone for some sins on behalf of a certain evil individual."
Although the law of the jungle was the iron rule of this world, as someone born under the red flag, he found it hard to fully accept.
Moreover, the entire situation originated from someone with whom he had quite a bit of karmic entanglement.
Although Gu Xiaoyue was still a bit confused, she didn't press further and nodded.
"No problem, Xiaoyue will definitely handle this for you!"
After that, Ye Yun and Xiaoyue chatted about life and aspirations until late into the night.
As they parted, Ye Yun habitually used his Destiny Eye to check Gu Xiaoyue's information, and was somewhat surprised.
"What's going on... over eight hundred Destiny points?"
...
Finally, Ye Yun took advantage of the remaining time to pay his final respects to Gu Chen.
With that, Ye Yun was free of all worldly ties.
The next day, atop Qianren Mountain Peak.
For thousands of years, no Saints had appeared on the continent, and ascending to the Celestial Realm had become a legend, even a myth.
Yet now, Ye Yun, barely in his early twenties, had not only achieved the Saint realm but was also attempting to ascend to the Celestial Realm.
Without a doubt, this day would be etched into the annals of history for the entire Xuantiān Continent!
On this day, cultivators from the Fallen Feather Immortal Palace, the Exquisite Immortal Palace, the Ancient Dao Immortal Palace, and even prodigies from all over the continent gathered here.
They were there to protect Ye Yun during his tribulation and to witness this historic moment!
"Xueyan, Xiaoxiao, Lingyi, Lingxin, are you all ready?"
Ye Yun looked at the four women before him and smiled, "I let you experience your respective spaces this morning. You'll need to stay in there for a while."
"Once I ascend to the Celestial Realm and am in a safe place, I will come to see you."
Currently, Xiao Xue and Long Yi were in his mount space. The remaining four were these women.
The four women nodded and said, "Yes, we will cultivate diligently inside and strive not to be a burden to Master!"
"Very good. Then go in first. Master needs to prepare to break through the Ascension Path!"
Ye Yun smiled slightly, raised his hand, and said to the system.
"Send Lin Xueyan, Bai Xiaoxiao, Chen Lingyi, and Chen Lingxin into the Master-Disciple Space!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the four of them turned into starlight and vanished, having been teleported into the Master-Disciple Space.
That's right, as their master, he had absolute authority to forcibly send his disciples into or out of the Master-Disciple Space.
If this function fell into the hands of certain individuals who liked to take advantage of their disciples, it would definitely be a divine artifact...
"Alright, everything is ready now."
Ye Yun took a deep breath, cast a final glance at the people around him who were watching him.
There was Gu Xiaoyue, Gu Chen, Lan Zhaoyue, Lan Zhaoye, Lan Aotian, Yu Wenya, Yu Ruofeng, Hong Ling...
Many familiar faces looked at him with admiration, reluctance, or relief, stirring his emotions.
Finally, Ye Yun slowly looked up at the sky, towards the path of ascension connecting the two realms.
"If not now, then when?!"
Ye Yun shouted, his voice seeming to carry the will of heaven, echoing throughout the world.
In an instant, space rippled, and a fierce wind whipped up from the ground. A golden pillar of light erupted from Ye Yun, piercing the sky.
"It's here, the power of reception!"
A majestic and sacred aura descended. Feeling his body grow increasingly ethereal, Ye Yun's spirits were high.
Everyone stared intently at him. However, to everyone's surprise, just as Ye Yun was drawing the power of reception, a shocking anomaly erupted tens of miles away.
A black pillar of light with a similar aura also shot up from a distant mountain stream, drawing down a power of reception.
This caused the onlookers in the distance to erupt.
"What's going on? Someone else is ascending?"
"How is that possible? Are there still Saints on this continent?"
"Who knows! Who is ascending together?!"
...
Everyone was bewildered and couldn't believe it. Only Ye Yun, standing within the power of reception, raised an eyebrow.
He looked at the black pillar of light in the distance and instantly recognized the incredibly familiar aura. His expression became somewhat odd.
"That guy, does he really have to show up while I'm showing off?"
It was clear that besides Xing Wu, no one else could ascend together with him at this moment.
But Ye Yun didn't understand why she would ascend with him. Was it just to steal his spotlight?
She couldn't be that bored, could she?