Ye Tongxuan, in a state of disarray, reached the mountainside. He quickly stopped and looked back. Seeing no sign of the black puppets chasing him, he breathed a sigh of relief, channeled his true energy to seal the wound on his buttocks, and touched the scratches on his face. Suddenly, he felt a surge of anger and annoyance.
How could he be so foolish?
He was a master of the Martial Emperor realm, so why was he so frightened by a few black puppets?
Where had all his previous combat experience gone?
Ye Tongxuan wanted to slap himself. He had been completely stunned by those puppets before, but now he thought, it was just that. If he had fought, he would have been able to completely crush those inanimate creatures.
The Martial Emperor realm possessed the ability to rip through space, but now he thought about it, that puppet was quite fast, and even if he did, he might not be able to escape safely.
"Bah, don't let me see you!"
Ye Tongxuan's mind raced with thoughts, then he turned and spat, then straightened his robe and leisurely descended the mountain.
It wasn't long before he reached the villa's entrance. Ye Tongxuan had become almost the same person he had been when he arrived.
Seeing Ye Tongxuan coming down, the captain of the guards immediately went to meet him.
"God Emperor Tongxuan, have you seen my Lord God Emperor's friend?"
Ye Tongxuan's eyebrows twitched. Looking at the captain's face, he felt the urge to punch him to pieces.
"Well, I guess he's in the middle of a tribulation, so I didn't bother him."
Ye Tongxuan replied calmly, then floated off.
"Farewell, Lord God Emperor!"
The captain of the guards bowed respectfully to see him off.
"Oh, by the way, don't mention my visit today to Bingmei anymore. Just pretend I never came."
"Ah, I wonder if Divine Emperor Tongxuan is planning a surprise for my Lord Divine Emperor?"
The captain of the guards asked cheekily.
A surprise?
What a surprise!
Ye Tongxuan cursed inwardly, his face darkening. "You don't need to know this. Did you take note of what I said?"
"Yes, I did!"
The captain of the guards, seeing Ye Tongxuan's face darken, immediately lost his composure and nodded in agreement.
...
It was midnight when the calamity clouds over Yingxue Villa completely dissipated. Even then, Ming Qi and Bai Bing were still immersed in their own worlds. The immense power brought by their realm advancement required them to slowly digest and absorb, then utilize it. Otherwise, hastily mobilizing this power in battle would most likely cause their realm to fall back to the Martial Emperor realm. Once that realm fell, further advancement would be incredibly difficult, perhaps even impossible.
The room was utterly silent, without even a ray of light.
It wasn't until dawn that Ming Qi slowly opened his eyes. The Martial Emperor realm! The Martial Emperor realm was truly like this!
Ming Qi had always been puzzled as to how the Holy Flame Martial Emperor could find a way into the star field. On the surface, entering the star field was equivalent to traveling across space. If that were true, then anyone who reached the Martial Emperor realm would be fully capable of searching for alien space and establishing a passage. However, this was not the case.
Ming Qi had tried before, but no matter how he tried, he ultimately failed. Only now did he suddenly understand that time and space, though seemingly distinct concepts, were fundamentally inseparable. Independent time and independent space could not exist, just as mastering the power of space alone would be incapable of opening the door to an alien world.
Only by reaching the Martial Emperor realm could one search for and open the door to alien space!
Of course, he had only realized this for now; when he would master it remained an unknown.
Another surprising aspect of Ming Qi's cultivation was his newly condensed fifth spirit. This fifth spirit, in his opinion, had deviated somewhat from his own path of cultivation. His path had always been one of slaughter, starting with his first spirit, Blood Linglong, followed by his second, Heart of Slaughter, his third, Soul of Slaughter, and his fourth, Shadow of Slaughter. It was a pure, unwavering path of slaughter, but this fifth spirit was quite unexpected.
The fifth spirit, Epiphyllum, was a poetic and charming name, instantly reminding him of Bai Bing on his bed. The pure white Epiphyllum resembled that woman, as pure as ice and snow.
Ming Qi couldn't help but smile. Then, with a thought, a faint glow ignited behind him. A spot of pure white light rose up, and quickly blossomed into a white Epiphyllum as large as a wheel.
"Hmm?"
After summoning the Epiphyllum, Ming Qi suddenly realized he couldn't discern the purpose of this spirit. However, he immediately caught a strong scent, clearly emanating from the Epiphyllum.
"Isn't this spirit a virtual form? How could it possibly have a fragrance?"
Ming Qi shook his head. This was truly unbelievable. He reached behind him, trying to grasp it, but his reach was empty. The Epiphyllum was completely invisible.
How bizarre!
Ming Qi was baffled, but ultimately helpless.
This time, his realm advancement was so unexpected that Ming Qi hadn't deliberately guided or condensed his spirit according to his consciousness. Instead, he let his subconscious mind control it and condensed it autonomously. He had expected a pleasant surprise, but the result was far from encouraging.
Feeling his internal energy stabilize, Ming Qi stood up and saw Bai Bing sitting quietly on the bed not far away, her eyes closed. Her breathing was also very steady, and it looked like she would wake up soon.
Looking at the woman, as delicate as fine jade, Ming Qi felt the fire within him begin to burn again. He made a decisive decision not to linger, left the room, put away the God-Slaying Idol, and then quietly descended the mountain path.
It was dawn, and the guards were already drowsy. Ming Qi passed by silently, not even alerting them.
After leaving Yingxue Villa, Ming Qi immediately activated the Golden Bridge of All Heavens to return to Qiankun Mountain. This trip had been delayed for quite some time, and he wondered what changes might have occurred there.
Once he activated the Golden Bridge of All Heavens, Ming Qi was stunned. The bridge's span had nearly doubled!
So, reaching Qiankun Mountain from the Divine Realm took only half a day, at the cost of consuming two-thirds of Ming Qi's Imperial True Essence.
However, considering he had just entered the Martial Emperor realm and his realm had yet to solidify, he opted to use the Golden Bridge of All Heavens intermittently. After three days of effort, he finally reached Xilan Prefecture.