Chapter 1026 - Third-Level of the Spirit Profound Realm

The moment Liu Wuxie spoke, Miao Jianying shot to his feet.

"Brother Liu, you're finally awake!" he cried, tears streaming down his face.

They had started as strangers but had become brothers-in-arms, forging a deep bond through life and death.

"I'm fine now. Thank you for watching over me," Liu Wuxie said as he struggled to sit up. His face remained pale, but the worst of his injuries had passed.

He had only survived his contact with the bone-chilling water because of the combined power of the True Dragon Physique, the Divine Thunder Physique, and the divine avatar's power that he had absorbed. The combination of these forces had kept him alive.

"I'll go tell the others!" Miao Jianying said, rubbing his beard. Half a month of sleepless worry had left him gaunt and worn.

He bolted from the tent to spread the word.

As soon as they heard he was awake, Xu Lingxue and Murong Yi burst into the tent and threw themselves into his arms.

"I've made you two worry..." Liu Wuxie gave them a soft, apologetic smile. He could see in their eyes how badly they'd feared for him during the days he lay unconscious.

"No more reckless stunts from now on!" Xu Lingxue snapped her voice firm and brooking no argument.

"Alright, I promise," Liu Wuxie said with a gentle laugh as he reached out to caress their hair. In that quiet moment, he wished time would stop, that this fleeting warmth and companionship could last forever.

The two didn't stay long. They knew he needed time to recover, and with reluctant steps, they exited the tent.

Once alone, Liu Wuxie told Miao Jianying not to let anyone disturb him.

He prepared to refine the Frost Bead, planning to use its power to break through to the third level of the Spirit Profound Realm.

The ring that held the Frost Bead had neared its limit. If the bead's cold energy burst free, everyone nearby, including Xu Lingxue, Murong Yi, and even the others outside, would freeze to death in an instant.

Time pressed down on Liu Wuxie, and he knew he had to refine the Frost Bead before the interspatial ring shattered.

He summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and began circulating the Desolate Devouring Art.

But he didn't dare throw the Frost Bead into the cauldron outright. The energy sealed inside it was far too terrifying. One reckless move could damage the cauldron. Instead, he chose the only safe route of extracting the energy slowly and carefully.

In the extreme north, spiritual energy thickened and oppressed the air, smothering most attempts at cultivation.

But Liu Wuxie wasn't like most.

For him and the Desolate Devouring Art, the harsh conditions became a catalyst. Here, the dense spiritual energy wasn't an obstacle but a source of power. They turned his cultivation into a raging inferno, like grafting wings onto a tiger.

With the mountain still unstable and the Half-Moon Nunnery unreachable, the nuns had remained in their tents. However, the overwhelming spiritual energy pouring into Liu Wuxie's location forced them to look up, their eyes wide with alarm.

Gasps rippled through the camp.

"What terrifying absorption speed... How could anyone possibly draw in that much spiritual energy?"

Everyone stared in disbelief at the torrent of spiritual energy surging into Liu Wuxie's tent. Even Master Yi, usually unshakable, looked stunned.

Not even she could summon such spiritual power on a scale like this. The energy emanating from Liu Wuxie's cultivation had already reached a level comparable to that of a mid-stage Earth Profound Realm expert.

Miao Jianying stood nearby, momentarily stunned by the commotion. But then a proud smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Brother Liu is truly extraordinary," he muttered under his breath before letting out a low chuckle.

Earlier that day, the Renowned Sword Manor had sent word that they had resolved their crisis.

Thanks to Ji Qiu's timely return and warning, the Renowned Sword Manor had successfully avoided the disaster aimed at them. Without him, the calamity would have dealt a heavy blow to the manor. This only deepened Miao Jianying's admiration for Liu Wuxie.

"Look! The whole tent has frozen!" someone cried out.

Ice rapidly spread and sealed Liu Wuxie's tent in crystal-like layers.

"The Frost Bead!" Master Yi exclaimed, her expression shifting into one of alarm.

The temperature dropped so rapidly that it took everyone by surprise.

Tents pitched nearby offered little protection as the frigid air swept through the camp. Several younger disciples began to shiver violently from the cold.

"Quick! Move the tents as far away as possible!" Master Yi ordered. Her voice cut through the chaos like a blade as she directed everyone to retreat, as this place was no longer safe.

Meanwhile, the Frost Bead's power slowly froze the massive crater left by the Azure Nether Crocodile. Under the Frost Bead's influence, the land started to heal. Bit by bit, the extreme north began to revert to its original appearance.

"Master, is this the Frost Bead's power?" someone asked, their voice trembling as they watched the transformation unfold.

Everyone knew about the wager Master Yi had made with Liu Wuxie, and now, he had succeeded in retrieving the Frost Bead.

"What a reckless fool," Master Yi snapped, flicking her sleeve with a cold huff. In her opinion, Liu Wuxie was courting death to refine the Frost Bead.

The Frost Bead radiated unimaginable ice laws. Even though Liu Wuxie had mastered the Frost Dao Art, refining something of this scale was nearly impossible.

Everyone stared in awe as the ice slowly consumed Liu Wuxie's tent.

"What is Big Brother Liu doing?" Xu Lingxue asked, stunned. She couldn't believe he was stirring up such a huge commotion right after recovering.

"He's cultivating," Murong Yi said.

The intensity and purity of the spiritual energy surging toward Liu Wuxie's tent left no doubt that he was refining the Frost Bead's power while cultivating.

"What a terrifying aura!" one of the nuns muttered. Even from a thousand meters away, they could feel the pressure of the energy storm gathering within Liu Wuxie's tent.

The energy gathered with such violent force that it could explode at any moment, destroying heaven and earth.

Meanwhile, the Frost Bead's power slowly erased the crater left by the Azure Nether Crocodile, restoring the glacier to how it looked before Liu Wuxie's arrival.

The Half-Moon Nunnery finally stabilized, though the mountain beneath it still leaned slightly.

Inside the tent, Liu Wuxie absorbed the Frost Bead's icy laws at an astonishing rate, his aura growing more profound with each breath.

Though he didn't dare to refine the Frost Bead directly with the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, he slowly extracted its energy and fed it into the cauldron. Ordinary cultivators would need months or even longer to refine the Frost Bead, but Liu Wuxie drastically shortened that time by using the cauldron.

The desolate world began to undergo drastic changes. The calm sea instantly froze into a vast ice plain while snowflakes drifted from the sky, blanketing the world in white.

Three days flew by as Liu Wuxie refined the Frost Bead's laws without rest. His cultivation drew in spiritual energy so dense that it transformed the surroundings into a paradise for cultivators.

The disciples of the Half-Moon Nunnery sat a hundred meters from Liu Wuxie's tent, absorbing the liquified spiritual energy that filled the air. Even Xu Lingxue, Murong Yi, and Miao Jianying broke through in their cultivation.

Miao Jianying broke through to the Earth Profound Realm, while Xu Lingxue and Murong Yi advanced together to the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm. The spiritual energy Liu Wuxie drew in also greatly benefited the nuns of the Half-Moon Nunnery. Even those who failed to break through still felt their cultivation rise significantly.

Vast streams of spiritual energy continued to pour into Liu Wuxie's tent and seep into the beast pouch. The woman lying within it finally stirred slightly. Fiery lifted its head upon sensing her movement but yawned and curled back into its nap.

"Master, look at the Half-Moon Nunnery!" a nun stammered, pointing toward the mountain.

The others rushed to the foot of the mountain and watched in awe as the Half-Moon Nunnery began to transform.

"The spiritual array is active! Our sect's protective array has finally awakened!" Master Yi's eyes filled with tears at the sight.

The other nuns glanced at her in confusion, not understanding why their master was crying.

An invisible barrier surged from the ground and wrapped around the entire Half-Moon Nunnery. The spiritual array expanded outward and shimmered faintly, eventually enveloping even Liu Wuxie's tent.

"There's a change in the laws and the temperature, too!" someone exclaimed. Everyone could feel it. The temperature within the barrier had changed, and at the same time, the spiritual energy thickened.

"Master, did you ask him to retrieve the Frost Bead to reactivate the protective spiritual array and restore the Half-Moon Nunnery?" a middle-aged nun asked, her voice filled with awe.

"That's right," Master Yi replied, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She had proposed that wager with an ulterior motive. But she had never truly believed he would succeed.

Over the years, she had tried countless times. She had even hired cultivators at the peak of the Earth Profound Realm, but all had failed.

Now, Liu Wuxie had accomplished what no one else could. With the protective spiritual array fully restored, the Half-Moon Nunnery stood on the verge of revival. Soon, the sect would reclaim its former glory.

Thanks to the array's stabilizing effect, the environment around the Half-Moon Nunnery had grown noticeably warmer. Recruitment would soon become easier, drawing in new disciples who once feared the bitter cold. Though the nunnery's territory stretched across the entire mountain, they had long lacked the numbers to reclaim it. That would change soon.

......

Five days later, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from Liu Wuxie's tent.

The shockwave tore through the camp like a tempest, wrenching everyone from their meditative states.

Though Liu Wuxie had restored the Half-Moon Nunnery's spiritual array, none of the nuns had returned to the mountain. Instead, they chose to remain by Liu Wuxie's side. Without him, the sect wouldn't have recovered, nor would they have gained such immense benefits—any resentment they once held toward him had long since faded into gratitude.

Cracks spiderwebbed through the thick ice encasing Liu Wuxie's tent. The frozen cocoon trembled, groaning under the mounting pressure.

Then—

"Now!" Liu Wuxie shouted, his eyes snapping open with determination.

A deafening boom followed as a surge of power exploded from within. The breakthrough's force blasted his tent into the sky and shattered the ice in every direction.

A sweeping aura surged outward, reverberating through the heavens.

He had broken through to the third-level Spirit Profound Realm.

Yet, the commotion far exceeded what anyone had expected.

"How can this be? He's only at the third-level Spirit Profound Realm!" Several middle-aged nuns cried out, their faces pale with disbelief that Liu Wuxie's aura was even more terrifying than someone advancing to the Earth Profound Realm.

It made no sense until they remembered the truth.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Liu Wuxie had already defeated Earth Profound Realm experts while only at the second level.

Now, they could only shake their heads and smile wryly.

Some people defied logic.

......

Liu Wuxie had consumed five hundred supreme-grade spirit stones during his breakthrough.

Anyone would consider that amount a staggering fortune. But for Liu Wuxie, it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

The Frost Bead still held lingering energy, though it no longer brimmed with its previous overwhelming force. Liu Wuxie decided to preserve what remained, storing it for future cultivation.

Three days later, he stabilized his breakthrough. The whirlpools of spiritual energy gradually dispersed. Calm returned to the surrounding land.

As Liu Wuxie stepped out, he immediately noticed the strange expressions on everyone's faces. Even Xu Lingxue and Murong Yi looked at him with mixed emotions—part joy, part exasperation.

"Brother Liu, congratulations on your breakthrough!" Miao Jianying said warmly as he stepped forward and smiled brightly.

"You too," Liu Wuxie replied with a nod, noting the shift in Miao Jianying's aura.

The latter had also reached the Earth Profound Realm.

"All thanks to you," Miao Jianying said, his voice filled with sincere gratitude.

Everyone had gained something from this ordeal.

Master Yi approached Liu Wuxie. Her expression had softened, and the once-harsh edge in her voice had vanished.

"You've retrieved the Frost Bead. You may take it with you now," she said, her tone warm and genuine. Gratitude flickered in her eyes.

When Xu Lingxue and Murong Yi heard that they could finally leave with him, they embraced each other with relief and joy.

"Master Yi," Liu Wuxie added, "I found some corpses underground. They seem to be Half-Moon Nunnery disciples from their clothing. I'll hand them over to you."

But just as he reached for the beast pouch to retrieve the corpses, a sharp commotion broke out nearby.

He instantly recognized the sound: it was Fiery, engaged in a fight with someone.