Liuli, the proprietress of Green Wood Pavilion went to a secret room. Inside the room, was a simple wooden chair and a table, and there was a fist-size crystal ball on top of the table that emitted a dull and dim white light.

She then lit up the lamp inside the room before she took a seat on the only chair inside.

"That woman is merely a 7th-rank Emperor realm cultivator, but that man... I can't detect his cultivation level at all no matter how I look at him. I don't believe that someone with that kind of temperament is merely just a normal man. Let me see who you truly are..." Liuli muttered to herself as she placed her hands on the fist-sized crystal ball while mumbling an incomprehensible mantra.

A moment later, the crystal ball suddenly lit up, and an image can be seen within the crystal ball. If one would look closely, the scene playing within the crystal ball was actually the room of Jiu Shen and Xia Xinyue.

Liuli saw that both Jiu Shen and Xia Xinyue were on top of the bed. The former was seated cross-legged with his eyes shut tight and he looked to be cultivating. On the other hand, Xia Xinyue was sitting on one corner of the bed while looking at Jiu Shen's side profile.

Liuli furrowed her eyebrows when she saw this scene, and just then, she saw that Jiu Shen who was just closing his eyes a few moments ago suddenly opened his eyelids. He then took a glance straight towards a random corner as if he had already realized that somebody was looking at them.

The last scene that Liuli saw was Jiu Shen flicking his right arm before the vision within the crystal ball vanished.

"Hehe. It seems like my guess was right. That man isn't someone ordinary at all, but... Who is he?" She muttered with a contemplating look. There were only a handful of people who could enter her eyes, but she knew almost every one of the experts in the Profound Dragon Continent. However, she had no idea who Jiu Shen was...

* * *

Jiu Shen glanced at the broken crystal ball lying inconspicuously in one corner of their room. Earlier, he felt that someone was watching them through the crystal ball, so he immediately destroyed it without hesitation. He didn't want the feeling of being watched when he was in a vulnerable state, so he felt a bit angered by this. "Proprietress Liuli... that woman actually dared to monitor me? Hm... I will punish you later..." Jiu Shen muttered with a cold smile before he closed his eyes.

Xia Xinyue had also seen Jiu Shen destroying the crystal ball, and when she heard his words, she instantly became incensed. "That seductress! I know she's up to no good! Hmph!"

Jiu Shen was now at the early stage of the Nascent God Realm and he could be considered as one of the strongest beings in Nuar right now. Even those rumored god beasts in the Divine Beast Continent shouldn't be as strong as him, but it was uncertain since there might be god beasts stronger than a Nascent God Realm cultivator living within the Divine Beast Continent.

After eating two Fruits of Cultivation, Jiu Shen's strength experienced a qualitative increase. It was not just his cultivation prowess that improved, even his physical body and spiritual power had also reached the Nascent God Realm! Aside from that, the bolts of lightning produced by the God Exterminating Divine Eye also helped him in strengthening and solidifying his realm. Now, he only needed to consolidate all his gains and he would be good to go.

'This time, I've truly gained a lot. I didn't think that I would actually summon the God Exterminating Divine Eye when I'm only breaking through to the Nascent God Realm, then just what kind of tribulation lightning will I summon if I decide to break through to the Celestial God Realm in the future? Sigh. It's no use thinking about this now since it would still be long before I can recover my past cultivation level.' Jiu Shen thought in his heart.

The cultivation levels after the 9th-rank Saint realm are as follows:

Nascent God Realm

Origin God Realm

Ancestral God Realm

Sovereign God Realm

Heavenly God Realm

Celestial God Realm

In his past life, it took Jiu Shen several billions of years before he reached the Heavenly God Realm, so it was unknown whether how many years it would take him to attain his former level of strength in this life. However, he was optimistic about his cultivation speed with the help of the system.

Jiu Shen sat cross-legged on the bed for several hours as he slowly consolidated his strength. It was not a long process, but it needs his full concentration. That's why he chose to meditate in this inn instead of meditating in the wilderness where there are many variables.

Xia Xinyue was becoming restless as time goes by, but she didn't dare disturb Jiu Shen since she knew that he was at a critical juncture in his cultivation.

"He should be done any time by now. Should I call a servant over to get us some food? Okay, it's decided." Xia Xinyue muttered silently before she stood up to press the alarm. She then told a servant to bring some food to their room.

Not long later, Xia Xinyue heard a series of soft knocks on their door, so she hurriedly stood up to open it since she didn't want to disturb Jiu Shen.

After opening the door, Xia Xinyue saw Liuli, the proprietress of the building holding a pushcart with a tray filled with various delicacies. Xia Xinyue frowned when she saw Liuli and she immediately revealed a hostile expression.

The former stepped out of their room before closing the door.

"Young Miss, this is the food that you ordered. Do you want me to help you place it inside your room?" Liuli asked with a charming smile as she looked at the annoyed look of Xia Xinyue in amusement.

Xia Xinyue exhaled a breath of warm air before she replied in a cold voice. "You don't need to do that, Proprietress Liuli. I will bring it inside on my own."

Liuli smiled as she nodded her head. "If that's the case, then I will leave this cart here. After you guys eat, just press the alarm to call a servant to bring this back after you guys use it."

Xia Xinyue nodded her head impatiently. She then opened the door to their room and grabbed the cart before pushing it inside. "Proprietress Liuli, I advise you not to anger Lord Sect Master. You wouldn't want to become enemies with him." Xia Xinyue's icy voice was full of warning, and just as Liuli was about to reply, the door to Jiu Shen and Xia Xinyue's room was already closed.

Slam!

"This woman's temper is a bit fiery. Hehe! To think that she actually dared to threaten me. It has been long since someone had such guts. What an interesting pair!" Liuli smiled as she looked at the closed door with a mysterious glint in her eyes. It was as if she wanted to poke a hole in it.

Inside the room.

Xia Xinyue pushed the cart near the bed as she looked at Jiu Shen who was still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. It was only around this time that she dared to look at his handsome face with unblinking eyes. "I just hope that my suspicion about Lord Sect Master isn't true, but how would I know about the truth? Should I do that...that..." She muttered in a mosquito-like voice.

Just then, Jiu Shen slowly opened his eyelids, showing a pair of golden pupils. Before he reached the Nascent God Realm, his eyes were still silver in color, but after his breakthrough, it suddenly turned golden. Furthermore, his eyesight had also strengthened and he no longer needed to use his spiritual perception to detect an illusion. He didn't know why his eyes have become like this, but it was most likely related to his Seamless Deity Physique.

Looking at those unfathomable golden eyes, Xia Xinyue was suddenly lost in her own thoughts as if she beguiled by the depths of his eyes.

"Elder Xia." Jiu Shen called out gently as he jumped out of the bed.

Xia Xinyue broke away from her stupor when she heard Jiu Shen's charming voice, and she could not help but put on a meek look. She was actually caught by Jiu Shen when she was still looking at him, how embarrassing!

"Ah... This... L-Lord Sect Master, please eat this. Although you no longer need to eat food with your current strength, the feeling of eating something is still enjoyable. Furthermore, these are the best dishes of Green Wood Pavilion." Xia Xinyue hid her embarrassment as she spoke with a smile.

Jiu Shen didn't want to decline when he saw her eager expression, so he agreed right away. "In that case, join me in eating these delicacies, Elder Xia."

Xia Xinyue's lips curled upwards when she heard his words, and she nodded her head excitedly. She felt over the moon when Jiu Shen invited her to eat with him. Although it was only a minor thing, she still felt happy about it. She was usually a cold and detached woman like most of the elders and disciples of the Ice Cloud Sword Sect, but in front of Jiu Shen, she was like a young woman in her teens.

The two sat down side by side as they ate the food on the tray. They revealed satisfied looks as they stuffed food after food in their mouths.