Xin Ci looked at her gently, following behind her.
"Wait for me, Qingqing..."
Xin Ci was about to reach out and grab Mu Qingqing, but found his hand grasping at empty air.
It was as if something had been lost from his heart as well. He knew that Mu Qingqing was his second personality.
He couldn't touch her at all.
"Alright, Xin Ci, hurry up and catch up!"
Seeing Xin Ci stop in his tracks, Mu Qingqing couldn't help but call out.
"Mmm."
Xin Ci concealed a trace of loss in his eyes and quickly caught up.
He also secretly vowed that once they reached Zhongzhou, he would definitely find a way to reconstruct the physical bodies for Qingqing and Elder Han.
No matter the cost, he would achieve it.
...
Four Symbols Academy, Demonic Moon Cliff.
This was a forbidden area of the Four Symbols Academy, and no one dared to set foot here.
It was said that the院长 (yuanzhang - dean), Dao Yuanming, had personally ordered it to become a forbidden area, prohibiting anyone from trespassing.
Xin Ci was a little surprised when he arrived here.
Demonic Moon Cliff was extremely desolate, and the spiritual energy was very thin. Even if the dean hadn't issued an order, no one would have wanted to cultivate here.
Under Mu Qingqing's guidance, they passed through a maze of caves and arrived at a giant plaza underground in the Four Symbols Academy.
In the center of the plaza stood an extremely large formation platform, etched with dense ancient patterns.
These patterns flickered with flowing light, exuding a mysterious aura, as if hiding profound secrets.
However, the drawback was that the patterns on this ancient teleportation array were incomplete and seemed damaged.
Moreover, the patterns on the lines were extremely blurry.
Elder Han stood at the edge of the formation platform, carefully examining the patterns on it, and was secretly shocked. He exclaimed, "This is indeed an ancient teleportation array. What you said, little girl, is actually true."
Xin Ci also stood near the formation platform, similarly examining the patterns.
He looked up at Elder Han and asked, "Then Elder Han, can this ancient teleportation array still be used?"
"Not now. The patterns on this ancient teleportation array are incomplete. Only by perfecting it can this ancient teleportation array be activated."
"So, Elder Han, do you have a way to repair this ancient teleportation array?"
"Of course. I was a rare genius of the Northern Cold Sacred Land a hundred years ago. In formations, alchemy, and artifact refining, I have reached extremely high levels. Repairing an ordinary ancient teleportation array is naturally not difficult."
Elder Han said, his tone filled with pride.
Mu Qingqing and Xin Ci looked a bit embarrassed but still clapped.
This Elder Han couldn't help but boast whenever he talked about his past glory.
Mu Qingqing and Xin Ci didn't interrupt him, but stood aside and listened quietly.
"Then Elder Han, how long will it take to repair this ancient teleportation array?"
Xin Ci asked.
"With my abilities, repairing this ancient teleportation array is not difficult. If the materials are ready, it can be repaired in less than a month."
Hearing this, Mu Qingqing and Xin Ci exchanged glances, a look of excitement appearing on their faces.
"That's great."
Xin Ci said, his mind already made up that during the time Elder Han was repairing the ancient teleportation array, he would successfully break through to the King realm.
Only by breaking through to the King realm would he barely be qualified to survive in Zhongzhou.
Soon, a month passed.
On this day, with the assistance of the Four Symbols Academy's resources, Elder Han finally repaired the formation disk and materials of the ancient teleportation array, as well as the formation patterns on the array.
Meanwhile, Xin Ci was in seclusion in the cultivation cave of the Vermilion Bird Courtyard.
After a month of tempering and refinement, Xin Ci had accumulated a very solid foundation in the half-step King realm.
He was just a step away from entering the King realm.
However, this final step was also the most difficult hurdle, so he could not relax before breaking through to the King realm.
The King realm was a watershed and a hurdle for the Upper Realm.
Once this hurdle was crossed, one's lifespan could be increased by about 200 years.
Xin Ci circulated the 《Yong Heng Dao Jing》 (Eternal Dao Scripture), frantically absorbing the spiritual energy from the outside world, constantly impacting the bottleneck.
With a 'crack' sound.
Xin Ci's bottleneck was finally broken, and he entered the King realm in one go.
Xin Ci opened his eyes, and two beams of sharp light shot out from them. He took a deep breath, and a majestic power surged within his body.
He could feel that the spiritual energy vortex in his body had disappeared, replaced by a vast and boundless sea of true essence.
However, his sea of true essence was different from that of other King realm cultivators. Under the influence of the two divine-level cultivation techniques, the 《Yong Heng Dao Jing》 and the 《Wan Xiang Xing Lun Jing》 (Myriad Phenomena Astral Wheel Scripture).
The sea of true essence was a dual-color of gold and blue, looking extremely resplendent, like two stars, brilliant and dazzling.
Seeing that Xin Ci had finally broken through to the King realm, Mu Qingqing emerged from the consciousness space.
Just as she was about to approach, she noticed that Xin Ci's eyes had, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a pair of golden pupils.
The golden pupils flickered with light, as if possessing the power to see through all illusions.
Mu Qingqing was stunned, not expecting Xin Ci to awaken the divine ability of the 《Yong Heng Dao Jing》—the Golden Eyes of Piercing Illusion—so quickly.
In the original work, the male lead Xin Ci didn't awaken the Golden Eyes of Piercing Illusion until the Heavenly Venerate realm.
Now, he had awakened it prematurely in the King realm.
Xin Ci sensed Mu Qingqing's approach and gave her a faint smile, "Qingqing, I have successfully broken through to the King realm. It's time for us to head to Zhongzhou."
"Okay."
Mu Qingqing also responded with a smile and a glance.
They arrived at the ancient teleportation array underground at Demonic Moon Cliff.
Under Elder Han's repair, this formation had been restored to normal.
Just as they were about to activate the ancient teleportation array, the entire underground space began to shake violently.
The bronze bell of the Four Symbols Academy rang out a melodious chime, which spread throughout the entire academy, disturbing many disciples.
Mu Qingqing and Xin Ci were also taken aback. They both knew that this bell sound signified that something big, and very serious, had happened in the academy.
Upon hearing the bell, disciples from the Four Symbols Academy came out to investigate what had happened.
"Huh? What's going on?"
"I think I heard the sound of the bronze bell, how could this be?"
"Could it be that foreign enemies have invaded the Four Symbols Academy?"
The many disciples discussed amongst themselves, feeling worried, as the Four Symbols Academy had not been invaded by external enemies for a long time.
This time, the foreign enemies were fierce, making them feel uneasy and panicked.
The various vice-deans, hall masters, and other leaders of the Four Academies, Six Halls, Three Pavilions, and Two Gardens, all flew into the sky.
A total of fourteen King realm cultivators flew into the sky, staring with solemn expressions at the three people who were also hovering in the air ahead.
Especially the powerful pressure emanating from the man in the lead made several King realm cultivators from the Four Academies and Six Halls tremble.
"Who are you?"
One of the hall masters asked the other three with a solemn expression.
"You are not qualified to know!"
The other two young men snorted coldly and replied arrogantly.