Chapter 11: Encountering an Old Acquaintance in the Secret Realm

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With a single strike, she slashed open the belly of the beast, revealing a treasure map inside. Judging by its aura and the worn patterns on its surface, it was quite old and did not appear to be a fake. After some thought, she decided to investigate further. Following the directions on the map, she arrived at the Celestial Demon Palace. The name seemed vaguely familiar to her; she must have encountered this faction before, though she couldn’t quite recall which one exactly. As she stepped inside the palace, an uneasy feeling washed over her, as if invisible eyes were watching her every move. However, confident in her own strength, she felt no fear. Cultivation resources were paramount—having more would enable her to swiftly return to her peak. She did not want to be caught unprepared by enemies in the future, only to await death and drag her master down with her. Ahead stretched a long corridor, shrouded in swirling black mist, giving the place a sinister atmosphere. An Miao Ling proceeded cautiously. Suddenly, she sensed that something she needed lay deep within the palace. Along the way, she fought off several demonic creatures formed from dark energy. Eventually, she reached the entrance to the main hall. She could feel the object she sought was inside. She pushed open the door and entered the grand hall, which was empty except for an open jade box in the center, atop which rested a Celestial Phoenix Sacred Fruit. This fruit resonated with her Ice Phoenix bloodline, causing a profound connection. The Celestial Phoenix Sacred Fruit was a low-grade imperial spirit fruit, capable of elevating an ordinary cultivator’s talent and strength as if reborn from the ashes. For her, the effect was even greater because of their shared origin. Though the treasure was right before her eyes, she remained vigilant and advanced slowly. Just as she was about to touch the fruit, she sensed an anomaly beneath her feet and quickly stepped away. At that very moment, a trapping formation sprang up on the ground, and a soul figure began to materialize above it. It was the Sacred Soul! An Miao Ling’s expression grew grave; the Sacred Soul was the spirit of a Saint Realm cultivator. When the soul form of Mu Yihan saw An Miao Ling’s face, her expression twisted with rage. The woman before her was the very one who, in the past, had slaughtered many of the Celestial Demon Palace’s strongest warriors, leading to its decline. Fortunately, Mu Yihan had not been present in the sect at that time, or she might not have survived. “Heartless Empress, you deserve to die,” Mu Yihan roared in fury. An Miao Ling frowned—it was someone who recognized her. Because after reincarnation, her appearance was almost identical to her previous life. “Who are you?” An Miao Ling asked in return. “Don’t you remember the Celestial Demon Palace?” Mu Yihan inquired. An Miao Ling pondered briefly before replying, “I think I have some faint memory.”

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In her previous life, An Miao Ling had offended many factions due to her temperament. Yet, only a few left a deep impression on her, and the Celestial Demon Palace was not among them. “The Empress never took our Celestial Demon Palace seriously,” Mu Yihan sneered. “I suppose only those superpowers could have caught your eye!” An Miao Ling remained silent, waiting for her to continue. “Given your appearance, you must be a reincarnation, right?” Mu Yihan probed cautiously. Though she had confirmed repeatedly that An Miao Ling was only at the third level of Nirvana Realm, she still felt uneasy; after all, the title of Heartless Empress was too renowned. An Miao Ling smiled faintly. “Why don’t you try and find out?” Mu Yihan’s expression flickered, but desire soon overcame reason. She yearned for revenge and wanted to seize An Miao Ling’s body. If she could claim An Miao Ling’s body and consume the Celestial Phoenix Sacred Fruit, it wouldn’t be long before she could return to the Saint Realm—and perhaps even break into the Imperial Realm in the future. Unable to restrain herself any longer, Mu Yihan shouted, “Give me your body!” The Sacred Soul transformed into black mist and charged at An Miao Ling. An Miao Ling immediately drew out her Ice Glass Sword, releasing the full might of her sword intent as she swung. Swish! The black mist was cleaved apart, only to quickly reform into the Sacred Soul again. “Y-You… this is an Imperial Weapon?” Mu Yihan’s face lit up with wild joy. To her knowledge, many Imperial Realm fighters lacked Imperial Weapons. Possessing one allowed a cultivator to challenge opponents beyond their rank. “So what if I have an Imperial Weapon?” An Miao Ling retorted. “At your level, only Nirvana Realm third level, you can’t unleash much power.” Mu Yihan said, then intensified her fierce attacks. After a few moves, An Miao Ling was injured. The Sacred Soul still retained some of the Saint Realm’s combat prowess and techniques. Since An Miao Ling was merely Nirvana Realm third level with undeveloped destiny, she was naturally outmatched. Whoosh! The black mist dodged An Miao Ling’s sword strike and attacked from behind. Caught off guard, An Miao Ling was knocked flying, her sword falling to the ground as she sustained serious injuries. The black mist reformed into the Sacred Soul and advanced step by step. “Ha ha ha!!” Mu Yihan laughed triumphantly. “After all these years, I can finally have my revenge.” “This body will be mine from now on.” She was full of excitement. Just then, An Miao Ling took out her Space-Time Token and began activating it. Whether she would survive now depended entirely on her master’s reliability. Qin Tian, who was en route to Mount Two Realms, sensed the summons and stopped. “Hmm? Who dares harm my disciple?” He formed a golden humanoid spiritual figure, imbued with his consciousness, which miraculously appeared before An Miao Ling’s eyes.

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Qin Tian glanced at the injured An Miao Ling on the ground, then at Mu Yihan. “You dare harm my disciple?” With that, he punched forward, scattering the Sacred Soul into black mist. The mist drifted away and reformed the Sacred Soul again. “Who are you?” Mu Yihan was stunned. The golden figure before her was clearly a spiritual manifestation. If the spirit was this formidable, its true body must be at least a Saint Realm cultivator. Qin Tian wasted no words and launched another attack. It was his first time using this spirit; he wasn’t sure how long it could last and wanted to end the fight quickly. Ancestral Dragon Claw! Ancestral Dragon Ascension! Qin Tian unleashed move after move, gradually weakening Mu Yihan’s Sacred Soul. She realized that if the battle continued, her soul would be utterly destroyed. “You leave me no choice. I’ll fight you to the death!” She cried, transforming into black mist and retreating rapidly to a nearby huge coffin. The coffin lid was lifted, revealing the corpse of a Saint Realm beast. This was her last resort; she did not want to become a beast unless absolutely necessary. She swiftly merged into the body of the beast. Qin Tian, unwilling to waste time, struck with a punch, but Mu Yihan had already possessed the beast. The creature was called the Spirit Violent Sacred Ape, inheriting an ancient bloodline. Once possessed, she raised a massive palm to block Qin Tian’s punch, then fiercely struck back with the other fist. Qin Tian was sent flying, crashing through a stone pillar behind him. The spirit figure dimmed slightly under the powerful blow. Meanwhile, the Sacred Ape surged forward. Qin Tian remained calm, inhaling deeply as surrounding spiritual energy flowed into his spirit. His spirit solidified once more. He skillfully maneuvered his small spirit body to evade attacks, but whenever an opportunity arose, he countered without hesitation. Though every strike hit its mark, he still could not break through the Sacred Ape’s defenses. After all, he was only a spirit body, and the Spirit Violent Sacred Ape’s defense was formidable. Mu Yihan seized the chance to slam Qin Tian’s spirit body hard onto the ground, then stomped on one of its arms, shattering it. Qin Tian rolled and stood up. Mu Yihan launched another punch, but Qin Tian dodged to the side. A large pit suddenly appeared in the ground.