落坡 underestimate the power of the wind, and it sent a message with a crackle—another crisis in the tranquility that had settled over this once sacred spot. Land Yang had chosen this isolated peak with care, establishing a convergence array to nurture his spirituality and an obfuscation array to hide his presence from prying eyes. The obfuscation array, a gift from the repair system that had been restored to him, was as secure as the heart of a tiger.

He was ready to embark on a journey to fully restore his cultivation. Moreover, he aimed to break through the barrier to the eighth realm, the realm of Holographic Rebirth. The last time, his ascension had been thwarted at the eleventh hour by an ambush from the Eight Clans, leaving him with shredded spiritual embryo and a retrogressive cultivation path. Thanks to the intake of ten elixir pills that had followed, he had gradually regained his strength.

Elixir pills were not just potent; they significantly elevated the chances of breaking through to the eighth realm and provided the vast spiritual energy required for such an endeavor. Lucky for him, the misfortune had turned into a stroke of good fortune as now he was closer than ever to achieving his goal. With his innate dao body, the leap to the Holographic Realm would be far more potent than the last.

All set and ready, Land Yang retrieved the elixir pills from his space storage. The pills, smooth as a mirror, enveloped in a faint mist, seemed to pulse with an ethereal essence upon contact. Swallowing them, he felt as though lightning had struck within, and a surge of life force roared through his veins, as if it were trying to break through some invisible barrier between man and dao.

Guiding the life force through his meridians, he repeated the process, pill after pill. Time passed...

“Rebirth of the spiritual essence.”

“A perfect seventh realm of great completion, capable of slaughtering eighth realm cultivators.”

A breath of relief escaped Land Yang’s lips, his expression serene with triumph. Ascending to the eighth realm was just a whisper away, yet it seemed to elude him at the last moment. It was no longer a matter of simply ingesting pills. Cultivation was about opportunity and the will of the cosmos.

【叮，detected the proximity of a female cultivator with the immortal body, beware.】

【叮，random mission triggered, cultivation is about spontaneity. The cultivator can act as desired. Temporary item provided, seal inscription! Mission reward: elixir pills of holographic rebirth x 50!】

Curious, Land Yang looked outside the obfuscation array, and his lips curled into a sinister smile upon recognition.

Since he had left the sect and stopped caring for the fate of his home domain, fortune had smiled upon him. Now, just as he was preparing to ascend to a new realm, he had a female cultivator with the Immortal Body, the perfect cauldron, as an opportunity.

......

“Odd, the aura was definitely here, but now it’s vanished.”

Liu Ryuyan, her long hair cascading like a waterfall, stood there in mid-air, her cold face marred by annoyance. Her spiritual senses scanned the entire Lao Feng Slope, yet she could not locate her renegade disciple.

“This renegade disciple, I never thought he would indulge in the pleasures of the flesh so quickly after leaving the sect, much less dare to kill in public!”

“How could he dare? No one ever mentioned that he had been to such places before!”

“The renegade is indeed out of his mind!”

“How could he ignore the rules? Ever since leaving the sect, he has acted as if he were above the law!”

“No wonder you’ve fallen into the path of darkness!”

“Ah, renegade, truly thinking you could act with impunity after deserting the sect?”

“Liu Ryuyan, what are you going to do to me?”

Without warning, Land Yang appeared at Liu Ryuyan’s back as silently as a ghost.

Liu Ryuyan was startled and turned to look. It was her own apprentice, the one she had been searching for with such fervor.

“You… how did you manage to evade my spiritual senses?”

A moment of panic passed, and Liu Ryuyan’s expression hardened.

“Hmph! Renegade, do you dare to address your teacher by name now?”

“Land Yang, you were once the most promising disciple I had. To see you fall into the path of darkness… I feel a heartache. Now, I give you one more chance. Come with me to the sect and receive your punishment.”

“Punishment? Are you going to strip my cultivation or force me to meditate in seclusion?”

“Land Yang, to know one’s mistakes and improve is the best of all things. My teacher seeks to guide you back to the path of righteousness.”

“The path of righteousness?”

Land Yang’s eyes flickered with disdain.

“The path of righteousness? Do you think anyone in the Xuan Tian Sect is more righteous than me? Yet, this so-called righteousness has only led to this treatment. But all that is in the past. I have no intention of revisiting it. Since you say I have fallen into the darkness, then I shall truly embrace the darkness.”

Land Yang suddenly laughed mockingly.

“Liu Ryuyan, tie up your hair.”

Confusion etched onto Liu Ryuyan’s face. “You… What did you just say?”

Land Yang moved, the seal inscription shot out, binding Liu Ryuyan, and like a ghost, he was now at her side. He struck her bottom with three resounding slaps, leaving ripples.

“You… you’re actually telling me to tie up my hair?”

Another slap followed, and then another.

“Liu Ryuyan, my patience is limited, and my limits are limitless. You had better not provoke me.”

Liu Ryuyan felt a wave of shame and embarrassment flood her. She had always been one to be admired, not to be humbled like this. Not only had he spoken to her in such a disrespectful manner, but he had also ordered her to tie her hair up.

“Renegade!!! You have truly enraged me!”

With a bite of her silver teeth, her spiritual essence erupted, and she was ready to subdue Land Yang. But to her shock, her spiritual essence felt as though it had been sealed, and she could barely move a muscle.

She looked at Land Yang in disbelief.

How could he have sealed her?

This was absurd. An eighth realm cultivator, and yet he seemed to be only at the seventh realm. How could a seventh realm cultivator seal an eighth realm cultivator? There must be some powerful treasure on him.

“What have you done to me?”

Another slap followed, leaving Liu Ryuyan feeling a mix of shock and fear.

“Liu Ryuyan, my patience is running out. My bottom line is non-existent. You had better not provoke me further.”

Liu Ryuyan felt terror in the depths of her soul. She had a feeling that this renegade would truly do anything without limits.

“Land Yang, I am your teacher…”

“Three!”

“The true Dao, I am your teacher…”

“Two!”

“I will… I will tie it up.”

A sense of helplessness and regret surged through her, and tears welled up in her eyes. Trembling, she lifted her hair and gently tied it up.

...

“Ah, so that’s how it is. If you tie up your hair, it does look a bit better. Teacher, you still have a certain allure. Your figure is also excellent; it’s more than enough to be a supermodel.”

“What do you want to do…”

Feeling the intense gaze of Land Yang, Liu Ryuyan was both angry and ashamed, her voice trembling.

“The Immortal Body, what do you want to do with me?”

Land Yang lifted Liu Ryuyan’s chin with one hand, his eyes filled with mischief.

“The Immortal Body, the best cauldron in legend. Liu Ryuyan, you’ve come at just the right time.”

“Good apprentice, please, don’t be stubborn. Spare me, please.”

Liu Ryuyan inwardly groaned. She was here to punish him, but now she had become an unexpected interloper.

The next moment, Land Yang embraced Liu Ryuyan’s slender waist, and he had already appeared within the obfuscation array.

“Take it off yourself, teacher!”