Firmament Sword

Xu Luo said nothing. He simply handed the Top-Grade Jade Bottle containing the Heaven-Defying Life-Seizing Creation Pill directly to the Old Golden Monkey, saying, "Let's put that matter aside for now. Nun Wanrou's situation is the most important."

A peculiar glint flashed in the Old Golden Monkey's eyes. Over to the side, Xie Wanrou was also a little stunned, murmuring, "Even if that little girl Yu Rou likes you, you don't have to go this far..."

Yuwen Ji looked at Xu Luo with approval and said softly, "Legend has it that the Medicine King Ancestor of old was a man of immense righteousness. The Ancestor's Inheritor... is truly no different!"

The Old Golden Monkey's hand, which was holding the jade bottle, trembled slightly. After a long moment, he gave Xu Luo a deep look and said, "Thank you!"

Xie Wanrou didn't act coy. She glanced at Xu Luo, then at the Old Golden Monkey, and threatened, "You are forbidden from taking him to that ancient ruin!"

The Old Golden Monkey grinned, baring his teeth. "Not only is he the man your niece has her eye on, but he's also my nephew's dear friend. How could I push him into a pit of fire?"

Then, Xie Wanrou took the jade bottle containing the Heaven-Defying Life-Seizing Creation Pill and said to Xu Luo, "Great favors are beyond thanks. In return, I will grant you a fortuitous opportunity!"

With that, Xie Wanrou turned and entered the room.

The three of them stood guard outside, protecting Xie Wanrou while she cultivated.

Before long, the Heavenly Brilliance Sect Master, Xiahou Kaiyuan, arrived with Jiang Botao and a group of Elders. Following closely behind were many senior figures from the Xie Family, including Xie Yurou.

When they heard that Xu Luo had given the Heaven-Defying Life-Seizing Creation Pill to Xie Wanrou, everyone's face showed their astonishment.

Xie Yurou's bright eyes were like limpid pools of water as she looked at Xu Luo, her gaze filled with affection. In her mind, Xu Luo's decision was undoubtedly related to her.

She desperately wanted to go up and thank Xu Luo, but with so many people present, the Little Witch found herself feeling a bit shy.

Xiahou Kaiyuan looked at Xu Luo, nodded, and said, "To make such a sacrifice for a fellow sect member... you have done well!"

Some of the senior figures from the Xie Family also found Xu Luo more and more pleasing to the eye, wishing they could have him marry Xie Yurou immediately and become the Xie Family's son-in-law.

Xu Luo didn't think too much about it. Whether it was for Monkey's sake or Xie Yurou's, this was a favor... he had to grant.

Although that elixir was very important, in Xu Luo's eyes, it was nowhere near as important as the friends by his side!

There were too many things Xu Luo wanted to understand, but for now, he could only wait for Xie Wanrou to come out of seclusion.

Xiahou Kaiyuan immediately gave an order to seal off the area, forbidding anyone else from entering.

Everyone stared at the palace, especially the Old Golden Monkey, whose face was tense and his eyes fixed, barely even blinking.

BOOM!

A vast aura suddenly erupted from the palace, carrying a terrifying pressure that enveloped everyone outside.

Some of the weaker cultivators immediately felt their blood and qi churn, feeling the urge to vomit blood.

Several of the senior figures simultaneously released their own auras to resist the pressure, their faces turning a little pale.

Xu Luo moved quickly. The instant the aura erupted, he used the Shaking Light Step, grabbed Xie Yurou's hand from the crowd, and instantly retreated several hundred zhang, avoiding the pressure.

Xie Yurou, still shaken, didn't even notice Xu Luo holding her hand as she exclaimed, "Heavens... how can it be so terrifying?"

At this point, many people were retreating under the protection of the senior figures.

Yuwen Ji also retreated to their side and said, "Junior Sister Wanrou's strength... has broken through again. This is truly worthy of celebration!"

Even the Sect Leader, Xiahou Kaiyuan, had a look of joy on his face. He stood in place, unmoved. The pressure emanating from the palace couldn't trouble him in the slightest.

The faces of the senior figures from the Xie Family were all beaming with excited smiles. Xie Wanrou breaking through again was good news for Celestial Brilliance, but for the Xie Family... it was fantastic news!

As a Heritage Clan, the Xie Family could only be considered average, still a great distance from the top tier. But if Xie Wanrou could break through to an even higher realm, then... with Xie Wanrou alone, the Xie Family's status within Celestial Brilliance would rise by another level!

Even if they couldn't reach the top tier, at the very least... becoming a high-level Heritage Clan would be no problem at all.

Xie Yurou gazed at Xu Luo, not pulling away the hand he was holding, and whispered, "Thank you!"

Xu Luo smiled and let go of Xie Yurou's hand. "You're welcome."

When her hand was released, Xie Yurou felt a slight sense of loss, but a blush spread across her pretty face. Who knows what she was thinking, but she didn't dare to look up at Xu Luo again.

Everyone was happy, so no one really paid attention to them.

Only Yuwen Ji watched the two of them with a somewhat suggestive smile.

Xu Luo caught his expression and couldn't help but roll his eyes. 'This old man really is unreliable sometimes.'

While everyone was focused on Xie Wanrou's place of seclusion, Xu Luo looked at Yuwen Ji and asked, "Teacher, in the Divine Domain's cultivation realms, what is... above Venerable?"

Yuwen Ji thought for a moment and said softly, "Beyond the Venerable Realm... is the Celestial Venerable. But that realm is illusory and ephemeral. Even in our Celestial Brilliance, those who can step into it are exceedingly rare. Moreover, those who truly reach that realm are unlikely to ever appear before the world again."

"Then Nun Wanrou..." Xu Luo glanced at the palace. The immense pressure was still present. It was obvious that with the miraculous effects of the Heaven-Defying Life-Seizing Creation Pill, Xie Wanrou had not only recovered from her injuries but was also in the process of breaking through!

"Most of the Venerable Realm Elders in Celestial Brilliance are at the Initial Tier Ultimate Venerable stage. The senior figures who form our foundation are generally only Mid-stage Ultimate Venerables. The Sect Leader... is also a powerful Mid-stage Ultimate Venerable."

Yuwen Ji spoke softly, then continued, "Going from Great Saint to the Venerable Realm is an incredibly difficult process. Breaking through is fraught with hardships. Once you reach the Venerable Realm, you possess a nearly immortal lifespan, but continuing to break through... is far too difficult!"

"Every step in the Venerable Realm... requires long years of accumulation, exceptional talent, and the perfection of one's own Dao..."

"Junior Sister Xie Wanrou is hailed as the most talented in a hundred generations of Celestial Brilliance, and it's not an empty reputation. Her strength reached the Mid-stage Ultimate Venerable many years ago. This time, if there are no accidents, she should be able to step into the High Tier Ultimate Venerable."

Xu Luo nodded. He could see that the Venerable Realm was practically the highest realm in the Divine Domain, but above it, there was the even more powerful Celestial Venerable...

It was just that such beings were not something he could come into contact with at his current level.

Xu Luo's heart yearned for it.

"Teacher, how much do you know about this incident?" Xu Luo was very curious about Celestial Brilliance's recent major loss. He had only heard Yuwen Ji mention Blazing Flame Province before the topic was changed.

"You still haven't given up?" Yuwen Ji looked at Xu Luo, his expression turning serious. "Even though the Sect Leader promised you before that you could participate in this matter, you've seen it for yourself now. The seventy or eighty people we lost were almost all Venerable Realm experts! Do you think you're stronger than them? They all fell, and you think you'll be fine?"

Xie Yurou now also knew why Xu Luo was looking for the second half of the Soul Scripture. Her heart was conflicted. On one hand, Su Qianqian was like a sister to her, and she didn't want to just stand by and watch Su Qianqian become a different, unfamiliar person in two years.

On the other hand, Xu Luo was the man she liked. Even her own young aunt had returned severely injured. If Xu Luo, someone not even at the Venerable Realm, went, the outcome was almost too obvious to guess.

So, Xie Yurou could only look at Xu Luo in silence, not saying a word.

Xu Luo said, "I understand everything you're saying. I know you're concerned about me, and I don't want to deceive you. No matter what, I must obtain the second half of the Soul Scripture. In this world, there are many things more important than one's personal safety."

As he spoke, Xu Luo glanced at the distant Old Golden Monkey, whose gaze was still fixed on the palace. "In a time of crisis, Nun Wanrou was willing to risk her life for the man she loves. Uncle Monkey's hair turned white overnight. This is the love between them, their perseverance."

"And I... have my own perseverance."

Xu Luo raised his head, looking at Xie Yurou and Yuwen Ji. His voice was soft, but incomparably firm. "If this perseverance is gone, then my Dao... will also cease to exist."

Yuwen Ji's face was filled with sorrowful contemplation. He couldn't help but think back to his own past, his heart growing dim. 'If... if back then, I could have been as stubborn as this little fellow in holding on to my own Dao, perhaps today... things would have turned out differently.'

Xie Yurou felt a little jealous, because this was the perseverance of the man she liked, all for another woman.

But soon, that emotion was replaced by another: she was moved.

'Sister Su is so lucky to have met a man like you.'

Xie Yurou thought to herself, but didn't say it out loud. She just looked deeply at Xu Luo and said, "If you really must go, I'll try to get information from my aunt later!"

Xu Luo nodded.

Yuwen Ji sighed from the side. "There's nothing to find out. Since you want to know, then I... will tell you."

"Junior Sister Wanrou and the others spent many years to finally determine the approximate location of that ancient ruin. It's located in a forbidden zone on the border between our Xi Hezhou and the Blazing Flame Province."

"That place is filled with dangers. A palm-sized butterfly that you wouldn't give a second thought to can flap its wings and instantly kill a Venerable!"

"A small tadpole in a pond can swing its tail, and the resulting wave can instantly kill a Great Saint!"

"Someone saw a three-chi-long blood-colored centipede drill directly into the head of a High Tier Ultimate Venerable expert, instantly sucking his brains out!"

"In the Divine Domain, any place that can be called a forbidden zone is a land of great terror!" Yuwen Ji said, looking at Xu Luo. "Under such circumstances, Junior Sister Wanrou and the others overcame countless obstacles and finally discovered the entrance to that ancient ruin!"

"However... disaster struck at that moment. There, they encountered several old monsters from the Blazing Flame Province, who had also discovered the place. A conflict broke out between the two sides, and... well, you know the result."

"Of our hundred or so Venerable Realm experts, only a dozen or so made it back alive."

Yuwen Ji continued with a sigh, "Those old monsters have all reached the pinnacle of creation. The weakest among them is at the High Tier Ultimate Venerable Realm. They must be true, reclusive experts who rarely show themselves. With people like that there, unless Celestial Brilliance can also dispatch foundational experts of the same level, no one... will be able to gain any advantage against them."

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