Zhu Yu remained in a deep slumber for a full year. Upon awakening, a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.
Gradually, his gaze cleared, then deepened to an unfathomable depth.
"Congratulations to Immortal Lord Hao Yu on your return!"
Seeing Zhu Yu awake, the female cultivator whose skin was softer than silken tofu bowed respectfully.
It was noted that during his year of slumber, she and the little fox had stayed by his side, guarding him.
"What is your name, and from which sect do you hail?"
Facing this Earth Immortal expert, Zhu Yu no longer harbored the same wariness and caution. Instead, he inquired with an air of superiority.
"Junior is named Shui Ling'er, and my master is True Master Leng Yue."
Shui Ling'er, an Earth Immortal expert, addressed Zhu Yu as a junior with utmost respect, daring not to show any disrespect.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yu let out a long sigh.
"Time truly flies. In the blink of an eye, True Master Leng Yue's disciple has grown so much."
Zhu Yu mused, and then his aura suddenly surged, effortlessly breaking through from the Integration stage to the Mahayana stage.
The speed of his breakthrough was far more effortless than Xiao Fei's.
His realm did not stop at the Mahayana stage but continued to advance.
Early Mahayana, Mid Mahayana, Late Mahayana.
"Rumble..."
Zhu Yu's aura spread out, immediately drawing the attention of tribulation lightning.
In an instant, the sky became overcast with dark clouds, filled with thunder and lightning.
Countless golden bolts of lightning crisscrossed within the clouds, accumulating immense power that could obliterate everything in the next moment.
Even Shui Ling'er, who had already ascended to immortality, turned pale and trembled before this heavenly might, nearly fleeing.
The power of the immortal tribulation was too terrifying. Even though she had been an Earth Immortal for many years, recalling her own tribulation experience still made her feel that luck had played a significant role.
At this moment, Zhu Yu raised a hand and casually waved it towards the sky.
"Disperse!"
Shui Ling'er's eyes widened in astonishment as she watched the sky, witnessing the most incredible sight of her life.
The sky, which had been covered in dark clouds and crackling lightning just moments before, was now bathed in bright sunlight, completely clear.
It was as if nothing had happened.
This... was this the legendary 'word becomes law'?
Legend had it that the strongest could utter words that transformed into heavenly laws, causing all things in the universe to operate according to their will.
In simple terms, a powerful being's casual remark could become a universally binding principle.
The world of the powerful was indeed flamboyant, yet brutally simple.
Zhu Yu effortlessly passed his ascension tribulation, becoming a true Earth Immortal expert.
Even the Heavenly Dao of this world was terrified and cowered before him, fearing even a sneeze might be misinterpreted by Zhu Yu.
Offending such a powerful being could lead to the destruction of the entire world.
If the cultivator who often boasted about how easy cultivation was were to witness this scene, his eyeballs might fall out from envy.
Zhu Yu elevated his cultivation to the Earth Immortal realm and then ceased his advancement.
Firstly, the spiritual energy resources of this world were limited. If he advanced further, he might drain all the spiritual energy from this world.
Secondly, having the strength of an Earth Immortal was more than sufficient for traversing the lower realms; any further advancement would be a waste.
Zhu Yu tidied his long hair, cradled the little fox in his arms, and scrutinized it.
"So you've descended as well. However, I can no longer allow you to spread messages indiscriminately."
With a simple sentence, Zhu Yu sealed the little fox, severing its connection with a certain entity in the upper realm.
"Let's go, I need to see it too!"
It was unclear what he intended to see, but he walked into the distance with the little fox in his arms, and Shui Ling'er naturally followed behind him.
...
Ever since losing the divine soul of a clone, Xiao Fei had felt considerably weakened.
For a period, he had remained indoors, focusing entirely on his recovery.
However, repairing soul damage was incredibly difficult, and despite his prolonged seclusion, the results were minimal.
He realized that in the future, he could not be too arrogant when facing experts of this caliber. Dying too many times meant he could not afford the losses.
Furthermore, his clones in the Giant Realm and Demon Realm were dead. If his presence in the Demon Realm were discovered, he would have nowhere to escape.
Finding a passage to other worlds was imperative.
However, he himself did not make a move, allowing Yang Chen and Tian Feng Lang to scout outside.
Previously, many of the Earth Immortal experts who had pursued him were from the demon race. Now that he was in the Demon Realm, he wondered if there was a connection between them.
It was best to be cautious.
Yang Chen's primary objective in coming to Tian Feng City was to sell all his possessions in hopes of finding resources to advance to the Void Refining realm.
However, the resources for advancing to the Void Refining realm were controlled by certain major races.
Races like the Dao Sheep and Tian Feng Lang were already considered weaklings in the Demon Realm, lacking any significant background or influence.
Every step of their cultivation and advancement was incredibly difficult.
Now, the two of them could only place all their hopes on the mysterious expert, Xiao Fei.
Therefore, they worked exceptionally hard for Xiao Fei.
However, lacking background and holding low status in the Demon Realm, they normally had no right to access matters concerning the upper echelons of the Demon Realm.
Many things that were trivial matters for the upper echelons of the Demon Realm were as difficult as climbing to heaven for low-level cultivators like them, and even running themselves ragged might not achieve them.
For this reason, Xiao Fei had specifically given them a large batch of resources to use for bribes and to gain access to upper-class society.
Even so, it took them ten years to confirm that the rumors were true: Tian Feng City indeed controlled a cross-realm passage to the Cang Lei Realm.
The Tian Feng clan used this passage to conduct exclusive business between the two realms, earning immense profits and living lavishly.
Xiao Fei had seen many shops in Tian Feng City selling a type of Thunder Essence Wood.
This wood was an excellent material for refining lightning-attribute treasures, but its growth conditions were harsh, it was rare, and its price was extremely high.
According to the intelligence gathered, this Thunder Essence Wood was trafficked from the Cang Lei Realm.
However, the Tian Feng clan's control over this passage was extremely strict, never allowing outsiders to interfere.
He would need to go through many complications to use this passage to reach the Cang Lei Realm.
It took another twenty years for Yang Chen and Tian Feng Lang to successfully bribe a high-ranking official of the Tian Feng Bamboo clan.
After spending a large sum of spirit stones and resources, this official could provide them with a quota to bring someone to the Cang Lei Realm.
With this, Yang Chen and Tian Feng Lang's mission was finally completed. Xiao Fei did not disappoint them, directly rewarding each of them with resources to advance to the Void Refining realm.
This made the two great demons so overjoyed that they couldn't stop smiling.