Gu Family, Yunfeng City, Tianhuo Country.
The dazzling crimson light radiating from Gu Qingqing gradually receded as a vast aura spread outward.
She suddenly opened her eyes. "The sixth-grade profound fire spirit flower is truly extraordinary! I've actually broken through directly from the seventh layer of the Earth Spirit Realm to the second layer of the Spirit Sea Realm!"
The martial arts realms of the Qingyun Continent are divided into the Body Tempering Realm, Qi Condensation Realm, Earth Spirit Realm, Heaven Spirit Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Spirit Pill Realm, Human Emperor Realm, Transcendence Realm, Heavenly Human Realm...
And every realm is further divided into nine layers!
Having continuously crossed two major realms, how could Gu Qingqing not be excited?
"Congratulations, Qingqing. Right now, you are undoubtedly the undisputed number one among the younger generation in our Yunfeng City!"
A flash of joy crossed Ye Xiaoyao's eyes, but it immediately turned bitter. He fumbled a marriage agreement for the two of them from his robes and tore it to pieces.
"Qingqing, this is our marriage agreement. Let's end your and my engagement right here!"
Gu Qingqing seemed somewhat unable to believe it. "Xiaoyao, why are you..."
"You fought the protecting fifth-grade spirit beast, the Flame Leopard, specifically to win the profound fire spirit flower for me, which resulted in your dantian shattering..."
A wave of deep gratification washed over Ye Xiaoyao, as if all his sacrifices had been worth it, but he still hardened his heart and said, "Qingqing, the me of today is already a good-for-nothing who can no longer cultivate. In the future, you and I will belong to different worlds! If we marry, I will only become your burden."
Gu Qingqing said, "Xiaoyao, you've misunderstood me! What I meant was, since your dantian is already shattered, why not give the Supreme Bone to me as well? Anyway, you can't cultivate anymore; keeping the Supreme Bone on a good-for-nothing like you is just a waste!"
"What did you say? Extract the Supreme Bone? I'll die!" Ye Xiaoyao looked at Gu Qingqing in shock.
Gu Qingqing offered a disdainful laugh. "When you went to fight the Flame Leopard for the profound fire spirit flower, didn't you say you were willing to die for me? Now that you're already a cripple, giving me your Supreme Bone—wouldn't that be dying for a worthy cause? Why are you hesitating? Could it all be a lie—everything you said about loving me and being willing to give everything for me? If that's the case, I used to feel a bit indebted to you, but since you've been deceiving my feelings all along, you deserve to die!"
Ye Xiaoyao said in disbelief, "All these years, I exhausted every ounce of my strength to help you grow. Is this how you repay me?"
Yet, as a cold flash crossed the air, a dagger had already plunged into his chest.
Along with the downward slash of the dagger came boundless agony. Ye Xiaoyao clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to let himself scream—this was his last shred of dignity.
Instantly, a golden light burst forth from Ye Xiaoyao's chest cavity.
Watching the Supreme Bone—with its countless golden runes constantly shifting amidst the flesh and blood—emanating an immensely profound aura, Gu Qingqing's eyes were filled with greed.
Gu Qingqing reached her hand toward the Supreme Bone and sneered, "A good-for-nothing should have the self-awareness of a good-for-nothing! Being used by me for scraps is your glory!"
Crack...
With a crisp snap, Gu Qingqing's blood-soaked hands forcibly wrenched out the Supreme Bone.
Ah... The agony of having one's bones excavated while fully conscious struck him, and Ye Xiaoyao could no longer hold back. He let out a heart-rending scream and collapsed headfirst.
Then, the sound of footsteps approached.
"Is it done?" In a daze, Ye Xiaoyao recognized this as the voice of Gu Qingqing's father, the head of the Gu Family, Gu Han.
"Thanks to Father's reminder, otherwise I would have just broken off the engagement with this useless wretch and chased him out of the Gu Family, almost wasting this Supreme Bone..." Gu Qingqing said, full of joy.
"Good, hurry and fuse with it..."
Only then did Ye Xiaoyao realize that the Gu Family had plotted this long in advance. The injuries to his body coupled with the immense psychological blow caused his vision to go pitch black, and he completely passed out.
Seeing this, Gu Han gave a slight wave of his hand, and two servants immediately dragged Ye Xiaoyao away, rushing out of the city to throw him into the pauper's graveyard outside.
The moment the two left, a fierce gale immediately arose, accompanied by a raging rainstorm, as bolts of earth-shaking thunder continuously hammered the earth.
Suddenly, amidst a roll of thunder, an illusory female figure seemed to emerge as the void was torn apart.
Boom... Boom...
And at this moment, the thunder seemed to have found a target for its catharsis, violently crashing down toward the illusory figure.
Amidst the endless thunder, the illusory figure, flickering like a lonely boat, kept growing fainter, as if it might shatter at any moment.
Suddenly, the illusory figure vanished into thin air, and the surrounding thunder instantly smashed down toward Ye Xiaoyao.
A needle-like stabbing pain pierced his entire body, and Ye Xiaoyao opened his eyes. "I... I'm not dead!"
Just as Ye Xiaoyao was reeling in shock, a delicate voice suddenly echoed in his mind. "Kid, hurry up and circulate your cultivation method to absorb these thunder powers, or both of us will die here!"
Immediately after, a flood of information surged into Ye Xiaoyao's mind.
The Myriad-Phases Heaven-Swallowing Sword: Sword Dao is Heavenly Dao, all phases in the world can be swallowed and incorporated into the sword; Sword Dao connects all phases, capable of piercing the void and shattering river-stars...
As the cultivation formula began to operate on its own within Ye Xiaoyao's body, the thunder striking him was processed by the technique, transforming into wisps of purplish-cyan spiritual energy that flowed along his meridians and converged into his dantian.
Just as Ye Xiaoyao was astonished that his dantian had somehow recovered, he discovered that there was also a young woman in white robes residing within it.
Beneath the young woman was a seed, seemingly just sprouted, sword-like yet not a sword.
"Wasn't my dantian shattered? Who are you? Why are you in my dantian?" Such a bizarre turn of events left Ye Xiaoyao utterly shocked.
The illusory figure said, "This deity is the Linglong Immortal Emperor, imprisoned in the Immemorial Forbidden Realm after being backstabbed by my disciple! It took me several thousand years to finally escape with a sliver of an avatar to this realm! Yet upon crossing boundaries, I triggered the world laws of the Qingyun Continent, and unable to endure the pressure, I had to hide in your dantian. Who would have thought that your dantian was already shattered, forcing this deity to expend power to reshape your dantian for you! Right now, this deity's power is exhausted and I need to sleep. Any other questions will have to wait until I wake up to explain! Also, do not shatter your dantian again, or the world laws will sense this deity's presence inside your body and once again summon the heavenly tribulation thunder, and both of us will die!"
Before a bewildered Ye Xiaoyao could ask anything more, the young woman had already fallen asleep, and Ye Xiaoyao could even clearly hear her snoring.
Both of them victims of betrayal, sharing the same miserable fate?
Although the young woman's words were vague, they reminded Ye Xiaoyao of his own ordeal, and intense hatred instantly ignited in his eyes.
Gu Qingqing! The Gu Family!
If the heavens refuse to finish me off, then your doom has come!
The relentless pounding of the thunder brought immense pain, but compared to the agony in Ye Xiaoyao's heart, these were entirely endurable!
Before long, Ye Xiaoyao noticed that a leaf of purple thunder had already sprouted upon the sword seed in his dantian.
The core of the Myriad-Phases Heaven-Swallowing Sword lies in swallowing all forms in the world to transform them into a sword for one's own sword dao.
The thunder power he had just swallowed was both spiritual energy to raise his realm and nourishment for the sword dao seed.
With the formation of this purple thunder leaf, he would be able to summon the Sword of Thunder, and in the future, swallowing different powers would also grant him different insights into the Sword Dao.
When all phases of the heavens transform into Sword Dao, he will reach the supreme realm of the Myriad-Phases Heaven-Swallowing Sword: a single thought pierces the void, a single sword shatters the river of stars...