Rong Yueshan decided to hide in the Rong manor and not make a move until Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo were gone. Daily, she would disguise herself as a beggar or peddler wandering around the streets in front of the Yun manor or the Slaughtering King’s manor, waiting for her opportunity to strike.

Li Mo had greatly increased the number of guards around the Slaughtering King’s manor and instructed his guards to begin searching for Rong Yueshan’s whereabouts. However, Rong Yueshan was sly and sneaky. Her time in the Mingyuan continent, coupled with the silver dragon elder’s guidance, had raised her to the level of a ninth-rank blademaster, and the Mo guards were no match for her. She easily evaded their detection.

Because the demonic dragon forefather, Yun Ruoyan, and Yun Moxiao were busy with preparations for their impending breakthrough, they didn’t have time to worry about Rong Yueshan either.

However, Yun Ruoyan was still a little concerned. Although the demonic dragon forefather had promised that Rong Yueshan would be badly injured and unable to pull off anything, what if the silver dragon elder had given her some holy water? Yun Ruoyan had seen for herself how potent it was, and Rong Yueshan would easily recover from the wounds that the demonic dragon forefather had inflicted on her.

As a result, when the demonic dragon forefather proposed to have the breakthrough at Kongming Academy, Yun Ruoyan refused him. Instead, she asked to have it happen at the Slaughtering King’s manor itself.

While Yun Ruoyan was in closed cultivation, Li Mo had to guard her and the demonic dragon forefather. If both of them were to leave, Yun Ruoyan was worried about what would happen to Li Yan alone in the capital. If the breakthrough were to happen at the Slaughtering King’s manor itself, then they would be able to protect Li Yan no matter what.

The demonic dragon forefather agreed to Yun Ruoyan’s request. Although the Slaughtering King’s manor was no match for Kongming Academy in terms of spiritual energy density, it was still the best place for cultivation in the capital, and it would be sufficient for his expenditure.

“Lass, you’re heading to the Jiyuan continent in just a few days. If you’re already so worried about Li Yan, what will you do then?” the demonic dragon forefather asked.

“Elder, would it be possible to bring Li Yan to the Jiyuan continent as well?” Yun Moxiao asked. He had never been to the otherworld, and he didn’t know what the situation was like.

“No, Brother,” Yun Ruoyan replied.

“Why not?”

“The Jiyuan continent will be extremely dangerous, and even the spatial portal to the Jiyuan continent is filled with all sorts of eddies and currents. It’s not something a child like Li Yan can handle,” Yun Ruoyan explained.

“In that case, it seems like there’s only one method that can reassure both you and Li Mo,” the demonic dragon forefather murmured.”

“What method?” Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao asked together.

“Soul divination,” the demonic dragon forefather replied. “If Rong Yueshan’s still alive, and if she’s still on the Chenyuan continent, then I’ll be able to pinpoint her location.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner?” Yun Ruoyan cried out.

What the demonic dragon forefather hadn’t informed them was that this technique was particularly taxing on the mind and spirit. He was already close to expiring, and he had sacrificed a considerable part of his vitality to destroy the heaven-transcending mirror. If he were to expend his spirit as well, he would immediately disappear.

“I have my own reasons, of course.” The demonic dragon forefather pretended to be stern. “At any rate, I’ll take care of that once I help you two break through.”

“Ruoyan, Elder, we need to begin closed cultivation immediately,” Yun Moxiao added. It seemed as though the two of them would start quarrelling, so he quickly jumped in and reminded them of their current objective.

Reflecting on her own behavior, Yun Ruoyan bowed to the demonic dragon forefather and entered the cultivation chamber in the Slaughtering King’s manor that was usually for Li Mo’s personal use.

Li Mo guarded Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao from the side, whereas Su Nan kept guard outside the chamber.

The demonic dragon forefather, using his spiritual flame, inscribed an array within the chamber that would help with the breakthrough. Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao sat cross-legged at the foci of the array, and the demonic dragon forefather floated on the Feilai Blade on top of the array.

“Breaking through simply requires amassing an extraordinary amount of spiritual energy to suffuse your veins and augment your spiritual vortex. After each stage of cultivation, your veins will be more resilient than before, so each breakthrough is harder than the last, and the necessary spiritual energy is several times greater as well. Using this array, I’ll infuse my own spiritual energy into the two of you. Refine it, absorb it, and use it to break through.”

The demonic dragon forefather made a series of gestures with his hands, and runes of fire seemed to pass from his body onto Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao. Huge quantities of spiritual energy poured out of his body and into theirs.

Both Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao focused entirely on absorbing the spiritual energy, not daring to waste even the slightest sliver. Li Mo sat by the corner of the room, focused mostly on Yun Ruoyan and diverting a little of his attention to Yun Moxiao.

Converting others’ spiritual energy to one’s own possessed a certain amount of danger. If the external source of spiritual energy couldn’t be controlled or was overwhelming, it was possible for the cultivators absorbing the spiritual energy to enter a state of madness. Li Mo’s responsibility was to help them clear whatever blockades lay in their body and prevented them from absorbing more of the demonic dragon forefather’s energy.

Yun Ruoyan’s constitution was unique, and she could easily absorb large quantities of spiritual energy at a surprisingly rapid rate. She absorbed more than two-thirds of the spiritual energy that the demonic dragon forefather released. Although Yun Moxiao only absorbed about a third, he still exhibited signs of being unable to deal with the influx after two days.

When Li Mo saw his face suddenly turn red and white, he immediately stepped forward and helped clear his spiritual energy pathways of any blockades using his own spiritual energy. 

On the other hand, Yun Ruoyan didn’t need any help at all during the process. On the third day after the closed cultivation began, she successfully broke through the peak of ninth rank and became a sword saint in her own right. At that moment, she felt her spirit leave her body. In her spiritual form, she glanced down at her physical body, Yun Moxiao, and Li Mo.

That sensation was fleeting, but sublime. When she looked down at the demonic dragon forefather, he seemed to sense her spirit and smiled. Near-instantly, she returned to her physical body, and two voices spoke in her mind—one belonging to the demonic dragon forefather, and the other to Qiuqiu.

“Congratulations on breaking through, Mistress!”

“Congratulations, lass.”

Yun Ruoyan replied excitedly to Qiuqiu, “Ah, you’re out of closed cultivation too!”

“Yes, Mistress. I managed to break through at the same moment you did.” Qiuqiu was also very excited.

“Does that mean that you’ll be able to break the seal on the silver bracelet now?”

“In principle, Mistress, but I’ll need your help.”

“Let me know what to do. I’ll help you immediately,” Yun Ruoyan replied.

“No!” The demonic dragon forefather interrupted their conversation. “Lass, based on the current situation, you’re able to absorb far more spiritual energy. At this rate, it’s very likely that you may break through again!”

Yun Ruoyan and Qiuqiu were both shocked. Yun Ruoyan was about to stop absorbing the demonic dragon forefather’s spiritual energy, thinking that she was at her limit, but if she could continue…

“Mistress, keep cultivating! The higher your cultivation, the more help you’ll be when breaking the bracelet’s seal,” Qiuqiu urged.

Yun Ruoyan flung herself into cultivation once more.

After another three days and three nights, Yun Moxiao had reached the peak of ninth rank, and he was at his current limit. The only one still cultivating was Yun Ruoyan, who felt that the spiritual energy in her veins had reached another breaking point. This sort of feeling was something innately familiar to her—after all, she had just experienced it three days ago.

Yun Moxiao and Li Mo sat by the side of the room, their attentions focused on Yun Ruoyan. A red sheen of spiritual energy appeared on Yun Ruoyan’s body, becoming more and more concentrated until it dispersed into infinitesimally small flames that bloomed all over her skin.

“Li Mo, what’s happening to Ruoyan?” Yun Moxiao asked in shock.

“She’s about to break through to a second-rank sword saint,” Li Mo replied.

“A… second-rank sword saint?!” Yun Moxiao repeated in disbelief. Those who were able to break through to a first-rank sword saint were already at the peak of the Chenyuan continent, let alone a second-rank sword saint!

Furthermore, not a few days ago, Yun Ruoyan was still a peak ninth-rank blademaster. To have broken through to a second-rank sword saint in a matter of days—almost nobody, in the past or in the future, would be able to eclipse her accomplishment.

By the time Yun Moxiao digested this piece of information, Yun Ruoyan finally finished her breakthrough. The fire-attuned spiritual energy that seeped out of her body was fully absorbed into her spiritual vortex.

When Yun Ruoyan glanced at the ocean of fire-attuned spiritual energy frothing in her spiritual vortex, she couldn’t help but think back to the beginning of her new life. When she had first begun cultivating again, her spiritual vortex had been like a small river, one almost about to dry up. Now, however, it had developed into a brilliant ocean.

“You still haven’t reached the peak of cultivation. There’s a long way to go yet.” The demonic dragon forefather’s voice seemed to reverberate around her mental space.