The Tianqing Goddess did not leave as Ye Tianling had suggested.
"Tianling, I’m not turning back. If it were you, would you?"
Tianqing asked Ye Tianling directly, her voice soft.
Ye Tianling was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.
Truthfully, he wasn’t disappointed, as he’d never held much hope for his fellow travelers in the first place.
Besides, many of the Cultivators were not masters of their own fate.
Everyone had their own burdens to bear. As geniuses of the Divine Son and Divine Daughter Level, they couldn’t just blindly follow him, Ye Tianling, without any thought of their own.
"Tianqing, why must you be like this?"
Ye Tianling said with a wry smile.
"Tianling, I’m not like them. I don’t have all those complicated thoughts. Just like I said before... I just want to be with you."
Tianqing blushed again as she said this.
Her tone was even a little bit petulant, as if she had made up her mind and would stick to it no matter what.
This left Ye Tianling a little dumbfounded.
’Could it be that a petulant streak is also a hidden trait of this gentle, well-behaved girl?’
"Alright, you can come along."
Ye Tianling felt a little sheepish.
Tianqing’s eyes immediately curved into lovely, beautiful crescents.
Her eyes filled with mirth, as if this was the happiest she had ever been.
Ye Tianling sensed that the Tianqing Goddess wasn’t asking for much; she seemed perfectly content just to be accepted and not misunderstood.
The more Tianqing acted this way, the more deeply Ye Tianling felt her affection.
"Okay, Tianling, let’s go... I’ll protect myself. You don’t have to worry about me."
Tianqing blinked her large, beautiful eyes, which shimmered with an alluring glint.
She took a few more glances at Ye Tianling, as if she could never get her fill of looking at him.
A rare, gratified smile touched Li Xuyao’s lips. Watching the scene unfold, he felt as if he was seeing the Li Xuting of the past.
Back then, when Ye Tianling was fighting the Cyan Dragon Race, his sister had often worn the same expression.
It all felt like it was just yesterday.
"We can’t leave just yet. Let me break some of the hidden Array variations here. This cave is far from simple. Here, you all watch. I’ll explain as I go."
Ye Tianling didn’t hold anything back. Those still with him at this point were truly and sincerely on his side. Imparting some transmissible knowledge would be no loss for him.
In fact, it would even improve the chances of survival for those around him.
"Here, look. There seems to be an invisible Energy barrier in this Space that contorts from time to time... This is a continuation of the changes between light and dark represented in the Runes. It’s like the transition as the darkness before dawn is about to fade..."
As Ye Tianling spoke, he explained some of the variations of the Primordial Runes, teaching Li Xuyao, Li Xushan, and Tianqing.
The future would undoubtedly be dominated by Primordial Runes. Mastering their language was an absolute necessity.
The three of them listened intently, making mental notes of anything they didn’t understand to ask about after Ye Tianling finished a particular section of his explanation.
Some of their questions overlapped, while others did not. By cross-referencing with one another, the trio’s understanding of the Runes began to advance by leaps and bounds.
Primordial Runes were an extremely ancient and complex type of Rune, the most profound in all of Heaven and Earth. They were the foundation upon which all General Rules were applied.
The New World was changing, ultimately evolving into a larger domain. The inevitable result was that Primordial Runes would become the universal language.
Consequently, all Arrays, rules, and the like that corresponded to Runes lesser than the Primordial Runes would become obsolete.
This change was bound to happen. Ye Tianling had already completed a reset of all rules, which was equivalent to having fully assimilated and solidified his comprehension of the Primordial Runes.
This was the real reason he could face the Upper Ranks, people like Ji Kun, without being forced to his knees.
And after experiencing the kneeling incident, all the Cultivators present would likely come to understand this point as well.
...
Half a day later, Ye Tianling had broken through all the hidden Talisman Arrays in the cave.
Li Xuyao and the other two had also gained immensely. Although they had not mastered the Array variations corresponding to the Primordial Runes, with their Talent and Ability, they could now understand about fifty percent of the Runes themselves.
Simply mastering the language itself wasn’t that difficult.
The difficulty lay in the deeper meanings represented when these Primordial Rune languages were combined to form actual Runes.
"Brother Tianling, with this new foundation in Primordial Runes, once we consolidate our own understanding, our strength will see a massive improvement. Conservatively, I estimate we can unleash more than double our previous Battle Power."
After making this precise judgment, Li Xuyao gave Ye Tianling a deep bow.
Li Xushan and Tianqing did the same.
Ye Tianling smiled coolly. "There’s no need for that. You all know how dangerous it is to stand on my side at a time like this. Compared to that, what is this small contribution from me? We’re friends, so let’s not worry about these things. Once we pass through these Talisman Arrays, the cave’s true opportunities will begin."
As he spoke, Ye Tianling entered an area filled with puddles.
The cave path continued to extend underground. They had been traveling for half a day, and while the distance they covered wasn’t exceptionally long, it was still over a thousand li.
Descending this far meant they were now very deep underground.
Seeing that Ye Tianling no longer spoke of the Primordial Runes, Li Xuyao and the others remained deeply grateful, silently committing his kindness to memory.
"This water is highly Spiritual! It might not be a Spiritual Spring, but the Energy within is so abundant it could be absorbed and put through Refinement just like a Top Grade Spirit Crystal!"
Li Xushan casually swept his gaze over the puddle at his feet. His pupils contracted, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Don’t touch it. There are Exotic Beasts inside."
Ye Tianling warned him at once.
Li Xushan shuddered and immediately put away the Jade Bottle he had just taken out, one that contained a small pocket Space.
"Walk around it."
Ye Tianling sidestepped the puddle, which was about half a meter wide.
Li Xuyao and Li Xushan stayed on high alert, carefully skirting around it.
Tianqing glanced at the puddle, lost in thought. It seemed she had realized something. Instead of moving on, she spoke up, "Tianling, the Exotic Beasts inside... are they the thumb-sized ones that look like Merfolk? These are Yin Yang Soul Fish!"
Ye Tianling stopped in his tracks. "Yes, they do indeed have some Life Soul Spring Energy in their bodies, but don’t even think about it. All of you, look up."
As soon as Ye Tianling spoke, the three of them instinctively looked up.
The cave ceiling was about ten meters high at this point. They had never paid it any mind before—or rather, with Ye Tianling explaining Primordial Runes the entire way and nothing unusual happening overhead, they had simply overlooked this crucial area.
As the three looked up, they saw that the puddle on the ceiling stretched far into the distance.
The water was filled with thumb-sized Merfolk, like countless tiny, lifelike humans.
But each of these Merfolk had the face of an Evil Ghost.
When the three of them looked, all those ghastly faces seemed to twist into sinister, wretched smiles, their tiny, bead-like eyes glinting with a particularly chilling light.
"Ah—!"
Faced with this sight, even with their courage, the three of them froze, a chill running straight to their souls.
It was terrifying. The sheer density of the Yin Yang Soul Fish overhead, combined with the wretched scene, was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
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