Chapter Sixty-Five: Advancing to the Nascent Soul

Ning Xianyu slept for nearly half a month.

Meanwhile, Xuan Yuan Tunhan sat inside the great cauldron for the same period.

The extremely cold spring water, combined with the spiritual energy of this place, was perfect for enhancing the effects.

If Ning Xianyu were to wake now, she would never recognize that the person sitting in the cauldron was her own body.

Her original body could only be called soft and adorable, with a supple frame; yet her spiritual energy had always been impure, so she lacked that crystalline clarity.

The women of the Jade Immortal Sect and the Blossoming Sound Island all possessed pure spiritual power, their entire beings radiating a refreshing aura that captivated the soul.

But the spiritual energy around her had always seemed muddied—according to the system: "No matter how you look at it, it just seems unwashed."

Now, if she were to open her eyes, she would discover her body had become clear as crystal, as if sculpted from the purest white jade, or shaped from the clearest water atop a snow-capped mountain.

At a glance, it was like glimpsing a secluded spring in a summer valley—clean, transparent, and deeply refreshing.

Even her features had become more delicate, her cheeks smoother and more translucent, her lips red as cherries and dewy with vitality.

From forehead to body, her complexion was uniformly clear and radiant, bearing not the slightest mark of time’s passage.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan opened his eyes again, sensing his spiritual meridians. Realizing they had long since expanded, he knew the time had come.

He rose, stepped out of the cauldron, summoned his robes and dressed, then left the tent.

Climbing to the mountaintop, he found a secluded spot and began to circulate his spiritual power.

Very soon, dark clouds gathered overhead, and thunder brewed in the sky.

Ning Xianyu had just awakened, groggily sitting up and surveying her surroundings.

This time, she was less disoriented; she clearly remembered the great demon wanted to eat her, then gave her wine, and she’d fainted soon after.

“System, are you there?”

The system yawned, “I’m here. What’s wrong?”

Hearing this voice, Ning Xianyu immediately felt something was amiss. “Don’t tell me you were drunk too?”

The last time she drank the great demon’s wine, the system crashed as well. Was it happening again?

The system was just as baffled. “I remember you drank his wine, then I lost all awareness. Good heavens, why does his wine affect me, too?”

Putting aside whatever power the great demon’s wine might possess, Ning Xianyu quickly asked, “Can you check the system’s time? How long have we been unconscious?”

The system replied, “Let me see... No, I can’t. While you were unconscious, all my functions were suspended, even the timekeeping. Besides, time here is different from outside, so I can’t cross-check.”

She had no way to synchronize the time between different worlds, so confusion was unavoidable.

Ning Xianyu glanced around. “Where’s the great demon?”

She steadied herself and stood, walking to the cauldron. Inside, there was a pool of black water—its purpose unclear, but it looked filthy.

“Is this the great demon’s bathwater?”

Too dirty, surely.

The system guessed, “Maybe it’s a medicinal brew, used to cook you?”

What?

Startled, Ning Xianyu quickly backed away, thinking the system might actually be right.

Perhaps the great demon had just gone out to gather more ingredients.

What should she do? She should escape quickly.

Just as she was about to run, there came a sharp crack from outside—a tremendous bolt of lightning seemed to explode from the sky, striking toward their location.

Terrified, Ning Xianyu crouched on the ground, clutching her head and trembling. “What’s happening?”

Another peal of thunder followed—crack after crack—so fierce that the ground itself trembled.

She remained huddled, listening as bolt after bolt raged outside. After what felt like thirty or forty strikes, the world finally returned to calm.

During this time, she thought more than once that she would be struck dead, but though the thunder was terrifying, it never drew closer.

Moreover, the lightning seemed to target a single spot repeatedly.

The system pondered for a moment, then said, “It must be someone transcending a tribulation—most likely advancing from the Golden Core to the Nascent Soul stage.”

Ning Xianyu scoffed, “Who would pick such a godforsaken place to transcend?”

As soon as she said it, she remembered the male lead and rushed out, hastily opening the door to the adjacent room.

Inside, Yi Tianling lay on the bed, wrapped in a barrier, spiritual energy circulating endlessly within him.

His complexion had greatly improved—he was clearly alive, though not yet recovered.

Strange, it wasn’t the male lead—then who?

Could it be...

Ning Xianyu recalled her own body, which had reached the peak of the Golden Core stage. Could it be that the great demon was so generous as to help her directly ascend to the Nascent Soul?

Heavens, had she become a Nascent Soul expert?

She hurried outside to see if it was indeed the great demon cultivating.

What a benevolent villain he was.

Once outside, she realized their tents had been buried by snow; towering snow walls surrounded them, with their camp at the center.

The blizzard still raged. She activated her spiritual energy and flew out.

She hadn’t yet found anyone before she sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth fluctuating wildly once more.

“I think... someone’s advancing again.”

Now keenly perceptive, Ning Xianyu could tell this was the advancement from early to mid Nascent Soul stage.

Wasn’t this a bit too rapid?

It was almost defying the heavens.

The system retorted, “If you can dream of going from Qi Refining to top expert in a blink, then advancing from early to mid Nascent Soul isn’t that outrageous, is it?”

“You have a point.”

Indeed, in a world with cheats, what was impossible?

She now felt the great demon was the world’s biggest cheat; even the male lead seemed weak by comparison.

Spiritual energy in the area churned violently, as if a massive vortex were sucking up all the surrounding energy like a bandit.

Ning Xianyu felt as if even the energy within the great demon himself might be stolen away. She quickly shielded herself and cautiously made her way forward.

As she drew closer, she saw her own body standing within the vortex of spiritual power, energy pouring into her like a surging tide.

Her body swelled, filled near to bursting with spiritual energy, and seemed on the verge of exploding.

Ning Xianyu was terrified, not daring to move closer.

After a while, the torrent of energy gradually subsided, and her body slowly returned to normal.

Yet the figure just stood there, motionless, its purpose unclear.

The world grew quiet again, the snowstorm ceased, and all was left in pristine white, as if the thunder and chaos of moments before had never existed.

Ning Xianyu saw the great demon remain utterly still, a forbidding aura radiating from him, and did not dare approach.

She hugged her arms and cautiously took a step back.

At her movement, the snow beneath her foot crunched.

Suddenly, the great demon raised his head, his gaze black and hollow, staring straight at her.

Those eyes were an abyss of darkness, as if capable of devouring all light and beauty.

Panic-stricken, Ning Xianyu turned to flee, but the great demon shot from the ground, flying toward her almost sideways.

Ahhh! He’s come back from the dead!