With a "boom," a storm brewed within her Dantian.
If this storm were in the outside world, it would likely destroy houses.
Zi Linling watched in horror as her Dantian was ravaged and destroyed, yet she was powerless.
Until her Dantian completely vanished, replaced by a vast expanse of space.
Above this space, chaos reigned, with sand and pebbles flying, dust everywhere.
On the ground of the space, a two-meter-tall sapling was growing vigorously.
Beside it were slightly raised mounds of earth, sunken gullies, and flattened areas sectioned off.
Zi Linling was so startled by her Dantian that she didn't even realize she could move again.
What the hell is this?
Her body, like a monster containment facility, had become strange again.
Before she could recover, the spiritual energy from all directions, as if drawn, surged towards her, forming a giant funnel around her.
Seven-colored spiritual energy roughly coursed through her meridians, entering the space within her Dantian.
"Hiss~"
Zi Linling couldn't help but gasp.
Pain! So painful!
It felt as if a mere irrigation ditch was being forced to accommodate a river.
Her meridians, unable to withstand it, shattered directly.
Fortunately, the spiritual energy was abundant, and the shattered meridians were quickly repaired.
But before they could be fully healed, they shattered again.
Shatter, repair, shatter again, repair again...
Repeating endlessly, cycling without cessation.
Simultaneously, her body, which she considered powerful, endured this torment.
If one could see through her, they would find Zi Linling, from the inside out and outside in, a bloody mess.
Zi Linling gritted her teeth and persevered, striving to remain conscious.
Because if she fainted, she could be turned into an idiot by the spiritual energy, or even perish.
As she concentrated on enduring the pain that felt like flesh being gouged and bones being scraped, she failed to notice that as the seven-colored spiritual energy continuously poured into the space, the space became misty with rain.
Of course, this rain was entirely composed of spiritual energy.
After an unknown amount of time, the spiritual energy funnel finally disappeared.
At this moment, Zi Linling's entire body exuded a potent aroma.
The smell was not just of blood but also of the impurities within her body.
Zi Linling wearily opened her eyes, unable to conceal the joy within them.
Her cultivation had directly surged from the late stage of the Hua Yuan realm to beyond the peak of the Hua Yuan realm. With a mere opportunity, she could break through to the Sheng Wang realm.
Her physical body had also become much stronger, its resilience comparable to a King artifact.
It was known that artifacts, from lowest to highest, were divided into Mortal artifacts, Precious artifacts, Spiritual artifacts, King artifacts, Saint artifacts, Emperor artifacts, and Divine artifacts.
Now, Zi Linling's body strength, comparable to a King artifact, meant that she could withstand the full power of a Sheng Wang realm expert's attack without using any spiritual energy or divine sense, simply by standing there.
Even more astonishing to Zi Linling was how incredibly light her body felt. When she employed the Phantom Dragon Step again, it felt as if she were about to lift off the ground.
Furthermore, her spiritual energy seemed inexhaustible.
Her divine sense and spiritual perception had also become significantly sharper.
In essence, although she had endured immense suffering this time, her overall strength had been terrifyingly enhanced.
"Hehe! I've hit the jackpot!"
Zi Linling felt a sense of elation.
She stood up, stretched her limbs, and smiled with great satisfaction.
"You stink!"
A familiar voice called out.
Shi Jian climbed up from the ground, covering his nose, and looked at Zi Linling with disdain.
Zi Linling's joy was abruptly halted, and she took a deep whiff.
The inhale almost made her vomit bile.
"So smelly!"
With a thought, the cleansing spell came to her.
Ideally, she should have taken a bath, but there was almost no water in this place of exile. Therefore, she could only use the cleansing spell for now.
Even so, she felt that she reeked terribly.
She wished she could return to the Zi Mansion immediately and take a comfortable bath.
"Shi Jian, everything is fine here! You go back to the clan first. I have something urgent to attend to and must leave. I'll visit again when I have the chance!"
Zi Linling said, and without waiting for Shi Jian's reply, she unleashed the Phantom Dragon Step and "flew" towards the exit.
She left the giant Shi Jian bewildered in the wind.
Calling Zi Linling's movement a "flight" was no exaggeration.
Her feet were more than three inches off the ground, barely touching it.
The journey that had taken six to seven hours on the way in took less than half an hour to return.
The barrier of the forbidden zone was still in place.
Just as Zi Linling was about to activate the Heaven and Earth Demon Pearl, she noticed that the barrier had opened a portal.
Though surprised, she didn't ponder it further.
She urgently needed to find a place to wash.
She recalled that there was a river a thousand li away from the Liuyun Sect.
So, she fixed her direction and rushed towards the small river.
Three hours later, Zi Linling returned to the Liuyun Sect, feeling refreshed.
She struck the Liuyun Sect's summoning bell with her palm and, guided by her divine sense, arrived at the sect's central plaza, seating herself atop the statue of the Liuyun Sect's founder.
It was known that this summoning bell was only rung during major events.
And once rung, everyone had to rush to the central plaza for assembly.
Even if one were in closed-door cultivation, they had to emerge immediately.
Therefore, the ringing of the bell threw the Liuyun Sect into immediate chaos.
"What happened?"
"Could it be an enemy attack?"
"Who knows! Let's go quickly!"
"Hurry, hurry! Head to the central plaza!"
...
Those in closed-door cultivation emerged, and those not cultivating rushed.
The vast Liuyun Sect was filled with figures hurrying along.
Their destination was singular – the central plaza.
Zi Linling sat casually on the founder's statue in the plaza, mockingly watching the rushing crowd.
The first to arrive were the elders of the Liuyun Sect.
They assumed Fu Liuyun had summoned everyone and hurried over,
but upon seeing the plaza, they found it empty.
Crucially, Zi Linling was positioned in a spot they had instinctively overlooked.
All the elders frowned and began questioning each other.
"Is something major about to happen?"
"I don't know! Didn't the Sect Master ring the summoning bell? We can ask him!"
"Right, where is the Sect Master?"
"Perhaps the Sect Master hasn't arrived yet?"
"How is that possible? Every time the summoning bell rings, the Sect Master is always the first one standing here."
"Perhaps the Sect Master was delayed. Let's wait here!"
"Yes, that makes sense!"
The elders quieted down, patiently awaiting Fu Liuyun's arrival.
Soon, disciples arrived in small groups. Seeing the elders already present, they obediently stood aside.