In the cultivation chamber of the Luoyun Hall, within the Sacred Palace of the Sacred Domain.
Ling Luoyi sat cross-legged on a futon, circulating her spiritual energy to impact a barrier. Tremendous spiritual energy fluctuations emanated from her body.
A mountain of spirit crystals was piled up in the cultivation chamber. As Ling Luoyi absorbed them, vast amounts of spiritual energy flowed out of the crystals, swirling above her head and entering her body, guided into her dantian. Misty spiritual energy slowly condensed into water droplets, then into spirit crystals. Ling Luoyi's dantian already contained three spirit crystals emitting a golden light, and upon careful sensing, a faint divine power could be felt within them.
Time trickled by, and Ling Luoyi finally broke through the first layer of the barrier, then the second, the third…
After an unknown duration, the cultivation chamber finally fell silent. Ling Luoyi opened her eyes, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and assessed her current strength.
Before Ling Luoyi could rejoice, her body suddenly felt as if it were about to shatter. The immense pain caused her to collapse onto the ground, unable to move. Her mind was filled with nothing but pain.
Ling Luoyi knew the reason for this, but she could do nothing, forced to endure the pain that could claim her life.
The cultivation chamber was utterly silent, save for Ling Luoyi's rapid breaths. Ling Luoyi wished to faint, but the pain prevented her from doing so. She did not want to die; no matter how difficult life was, she did not want to die!
With this resolve, Ling Luoyi gritted her teeth and persevered.
In this silence, Ling Luoyi seemed to hear the sound of her own bones being ground into powder, then the sound of them being reshaped bit by bit, only to be ground again, and reshaped again.
After an indeterminate time, Ling Luoyi suddenly felt the pain vanish instantly. However, she had become accustomed to the suffering, and her mind did not react immediately. She remained lying on the ground.
Ling Luoyi's eyes were unfocused, as if she were blind. Therefore, she did not see the golden light emanating from her heart, a gentle light that healed Ling Luoyi's physical and mental exhaustion. Ling Luoyi was not injured; she was merely exhausted from enduring immense pain and unable to move, thus preventing self-harm.
"Master, Master."
Who? Who was it?
Ling Luoyi's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her fingers twitched. Had she come back to life?
"Master, are you alright?" The voice was soft, as if speaking to a fragile porcelain doll, so soft that any louder sound might shatter it.
Ling Luoyi felt the numbness in her body gradually disappear, finally regaining control of her body. However, she did not sit up, maintaining her position on the ground.
"Master, your second divine bone has grown. Because you were not transformed from an immortal bone, you suffered such pain."
Ling Luoyi finally recognized the voice. She said wearily, "Xiao Fengxi, I know. You told me before."
"Master, I'm sorry. I didn't know your divine bone would grow the second one so quickly, causing you to endure this pain unprepared." Xiao Fengxi's voice was tinged with tears.
"Xiao Fengxi, it's no use even if you knew. This kind of pain cannot be relied upon by anything else; one can only endure it oneself." Ling Luoyi did not blame Xiao Fengxi. She had known this since her first divine bone grew: this pain could not be relieved by external forces, only by enduring it oneself. If you could withstand it, you would live; if not, you would vanish into dust.
"Master, now that your second divine bone has grown, the last divine bone should also be close. However, your body is still a human body, and it cannot withstand the pain of the third divine bone. Also, the power of your first divine bone is about to become uncontrollable. If it is not properly handled, you will perish!"
"Xiao Fengxi, don't worry about me. I know." Xiao Fengxi's voice was slightly cracking due to her urgency, but Ling Luoyi remained unhurried, as if it were not her own life at stake.
"Master~" Ling Luoyi was dying, and how could Xiao Fengxi not be anxious?
Ling Luoyi finally mustered some strength and looked down at her heart. The golden light was still there, indicating that this divine bone was still healing her.
Ling Luoyi sighed and got up, sitting cross-legged. She circulated her spiritual energy to stabilize these two divine bones. With the addition of two divine bones, the divine power within her spiritual energy had increased severalfold.
As Ling Luoyi utilized her divine bones, the divine bone in her dantian also emitted a faint golden light, establishing a connection with the divine bone in her heart, casting a reciprocal glow.
After a while, the golden light in both her heart and dantian disappeared. Ling Luoyi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Both the divine bones and her current cultivation realm had stabilized, and they would not have any significant impact on her in the short term.
As Ling Luoyi's cultivation stabilized, the Sacred Domain outside the cultivation chamber was filled with the sound of bells. Everyone looked towards the source of the ringing, wondering which Saintess or Saint had advanced. Among them, a middle-aged man and an elder guessed the reason and sped towards Ling Luoyi's Luoyun Hall.
Inside the cultivation chamber, Xiao Fengxi was stunned. After a long while, she finally found her voice, "Master, why did you recover so quickly this time? Last time you were unconscious for a whole month. I thought you would be the same this time, which is why I was worried that your first divine bone was not suppressed and would explode your body."
When Ling Luoyi grew her first divine bone, the situation was special, and an additional month was added to her original unconscious period. Xiao Fengxi attributed this to the growth of her first divine bone.
Upon hearing this, Ling Luoyi stroked her heart and then her dantian, saying, "Perhaps it's the interaction between the two divine bones that allowed me to recover from this state of exhaustion so quickly this time."
Xiao Fengxi softly hummed an "oh" and then said worriedly, "Master, although it's fine now, your physical problems still exist. You cannot unleash the full power of the divine bones, and the divine bones will still affect you."
"I know," Ling Luoyi sighed, then said with feigned casualness, "Xiao Fengxi, we can only take things one step at a time. There are no such cases in human history, so I have no idea what to do."
The divine bones had benefits and drawbacks for her, and they were also like a bomb waiting to detonate. Ling Luoyi could do nothing about this. She did not want to die, but she did not know how to achieve it.
Xiao Fengxi said nothing more, and Ling Luoyi remained silent as well. The cultivation chamber fell quiet.
Just then, the door of the cultivation chamber suddenly flashed. Ling Luoyi frowned; someone had arrived.
Ling Luoyi had not informed anyone of her seclusion except the Grand Elder and the Domain Lord. Therefore, the outside world assumed she was in seclusion, which was common as she often went into seclusion after arriving in the Sacred Domain. They were accustomed to it and knew that seclusion required peace, so under normal circumstances, unless the person in seclusion came out voluntarily, others were not allowed to disturb them. Especially since they all knew that Ling Luoyi had a bad temper and would lash out at anyone when agitated!
But she had not come out yet, so why would someone be here?
Before Ling Luoyi could ponder for too long, a clear, cold female voice came from outside the cultivation chamber.
"Your Highness, the Grand Elder has arrived."
The voice was cold and arrogant. There was only one person in Luoyun Hall who would speak to her in this manner. As for the Grand Elder, had he guessed she had returned?
Ling Luoyi composed herself and said, "Commander Mu, please escort the Grand Elder to the reception hall. This殿下 will be there shortly."
"Yes, your subordinate shall take leave."
A moment later, the flashing on the cultivation chamber door ceased, indicating that the person called 'Commander Mu' had departed.