The sunset descends, and the bright moon rises into the sky.

Beneath the moonlight, the East Sea appears enveloped by a mysterious veil.

A gentle breeze stirs, causing the sea surface to glitter, resembling countless diamonds twinkling in the darkness.

The waves gently lap against the shore, emitting a soothing and melodious sound, deep and mysterious.

The Heavenly Punishment Tribulation Cloud arrives swiftly and departs even faster, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Yu Yuan is already accustomed to this.

He lightly sniffs, immediately detecting a faint fragrance.

As he looks up, he sees a streak of rosy light swiftly approaching.

Atop the rosy light rests a Treasure Car, surrounded by colorful curtains that sway gently in the sea breeze, revealing the familiar silhouette of a woman.

The Seven Treasures Fragrant Carriage halts before him, the curtains automatically parting to reveal a supremely elegant figure of a woman.

Yu Yuan carefully examines his master, keenly noticing a slight difference.

In such moments, the Golden Spirit Saint Mother's face is usually expressionless, as cold as an iceberg, her phoenix eyes containing a hidden fury, resembling a serene but active volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.

However, at this moment, the Golden Spirit Saint Mother's mouth bears a smile, her indigo eyebrows lifting with her smile, beautiful as distant mountains stretching across the horizon.

Her jet-black hair hangs down, rich as if dyed with the mist of spring rain, permeated with an enigmatic aura reminiscent of clouds around Mount Wu.

"Not bad at all, I couldn't even withstand the power of this Heavenly Punishment Divine Thunder, yet you managed to resist it unscathed… It seems you have indeed surpassed me, your master!"

While speaking, the Golden Spirit Saint Mother steps out from the Seven Treasures Fragrant Carriage.

Yu Yuan is slightly dazed, staring intently at her.

She is dressed in a light golden gown, her waist cinched with a plain ribbon, highlighting her graceful figure, her hair styled in a Flying Star Chasing Moon Bun, exposing her elegantly lined neck and clearly visible collarbones.

Undoubtedly, this is indeed his master!

But when did she become so open-minded?

Normally, it would be a triple barrage of "Do you realize... how dangerous it is?", "Why...", "Isn't it... better not to?"

Under his gaze, the Golden Spirit Saint Mother's face briefly becomes unnatural, her expression gradually turning stern, her voice growing cold: "Why do you stare at me?"

Hearing this voice, cold and clear as water flowing beneath a glacier, Yu Yuan suddenly shivers.

Right!

That's the demeanor!

It seems his master is still the same, and hasn't drastically changed due to his alterations in the past.

Her prior kindness was likely due to his past rescue, he realizes.

When he incites her, she instantly reverts to her aloof demeanor!

Realizing this, Yu Yuan finally feels at ease, smiling and saying, "How dare I compare with you, you are a true peak Daluo, possibly on the verge of attaining the Quasi-Saint Dao Fruit any moment, whereas I merely rely on my thick skin to endure beatings… Besides, it seems this path is coming to an end."

"Why say so?"

The Golden Spirit Saint Mother looks at him, her bright phoenix eyes showing a trace of concern, "Have you already felt the bottleneck?"

Similar to the cultivation of the Immortal Path, the path of Ancient Body Cultivation is not smooth but fraught with difficulties.

In fact, Yu Yuan's rapid progress to such heights in such a short time is truly unprecedented even among Ancient Body Cultivators!

His physical body's capability of strengthening to a level comparable to that of the Ancestor Witch is also due to the Reverse Action technique, bolstered by his relentless "cultivation" day after day.

In terms of cultivation, he truly spares no pains.

However, this method ultimately has its limits.

As his physical strength continues to increase, less and less can cause him harm.

Even the Profound Black Treasure Arrow now merely inflicts minor single-digit damage, essentially becoming meaningless.

For him, this represents a cultivation bottleneck.

Although the recent Divine Thunder brought significant enhancement, such events are rare and unpredictable!

Following the admonitions of the Sect Hierarch, he now harbors great caution about altering the past.

It's not so much fear of discovery by the Saints, but rather fear that excessive changes may erase himself or those around him...

On the way back to the Penglai Holy Realm, Yu Yuan shares the Seven Treasures Fragrant Carriage with the Golden Spirit Saint Mother, and they delve into many topics revolving around 'returning to the past'.

It is mainly the Golden Spirit Saint Mother asking questions, with Yu Yuan adding elaborations where he can, inevitably looping in the duel at West Kunlun.

Hearing this, the Golden Spirit Saint Mother seems to remember something, solemnly warning, "Make sure your master uncle never learns about you being Xuan Yangzi!"

"Hm?" Yu Yuan blinks, instantly sensing a story behind this, and hurriedly presses, "Why is that?"

"Because…" The Golden Spirit Saint Mother starts to speak, but then seems to think it inappropriate to speak ill of others behind their backs and shakes her head slightly, saying dismissively, "Just make sure he doesn't find out."

Seeing her act this way, Yu Yuan grows even more curious.

Unable to withstand his relentless questioning, the Golden Spirit Saint Mother finally relents and whispers, "After returning from West Kunlun, your master uncle couldn't stop praising you in front of me, even constantly reciting the poem you chanted."

"Afterward, during his travels in the Primordial era, he even learned to mimic your ways..."

"Ah, so that's how it is... Hahaha..." Yu Yuan could not help but laugh and said, "It seems Master Uncle is not as rigid as he appears.

Master, rest assured, I wouldn't dare let him find out about this. Master Uncle has always been displeased with me. If he knew I was Xuan Yangzi, he would probably fly into a rage and fight me to the death!"

Golden Spirit Saint Mother did not refute but just gave him a displeased look, "Now you know fear, why didn't you think of that before?"

"Indeed, it's all my fault!"

Yu Yuan immediately admitted his fault, with a practiced ease that was heart-wrenching.

Golden Spirit Saint Mother's face showed a trace of helplessness.

This disciple was still the same.

Quick to admit fault, polite in manner... other than being unrepentant, he had no other issues!

The Seven Treasures Fragrant Carriage sped through the moonlit night, dispersing a rich fragrance.

The moonlight sprinkled on the sea surface, turning the rippling water into a silver-white shade, like a thin layer of frost spread on the sea.

All was silent except for the gentle lapping of the waves and the laughter and chatter of the master and disciple.

Yu Yuan could clearly feel that after this conversation, any previous barriers between him and his master had completely dissolved.

While the Golden Spirit Saint Mother was still very worried about him, she no longer lectured or rebuked him about his actions; instead, she inquired about them in a relatively equal manner.

Simply put, the Golden Spirit Saint Mother now acknowledged his growth and strength, no longer treating him like a disobedient child as before.

Under such circumstances, Yu Yuan naturally found it easier to continue conversing with her.

Otherwise, if she were full of scolding and dogmas, it really dampened one's desire to speak.

...

After returning to the Penglai Holy Realm, the two went their separate ways.

The Golden Spirit Saint Mother returned to her Tao Palace to meditate, while Yu Yuan headed straight for Tian Yuan Palace.

After being away for two or three days, everything inside Tian Yuan Palace was almost unchanged, and no visitors had come.

He entered the Main Hall and took out the only treasure he had brought back.

It was a crimson fine needle, about as long as his finger but thinner than a strand of hair, and it possessed great flexibility, unable to be broken even coiled several times.

Yu Yuan guessed that this fine needle was forged from the Lifebound Tail Needle of Qin Yuan Demon Saint, thus possessing a deadly poison strong enough to harm a Quasi-Saint.

It was not a Spiritual Treasure nor a Spiritual Weapon, but rather a special Magic Artifact similar to the Nail-Head Book.

"This shouldn't disappoint me, right?"

Yu Yuan muttered as he pricked his left hand with the fine needle in his right.

Under his gaze, a stream of crimson blood instantly penetrated his body.

The next moment, the transparent information panel refreshed.

[Immense Poison Continuously Eroding: Qi-Blood +1024, Mana +2230, Primordial Spirit Strength +8132, Soul Power +211, Spirit +421…]

[Immense Poison Continuously Eroding: Qi-Blood +996, Mana +2195, Primordial Spirit Strength +7921, Muscle and Bone +19, Endurance +66, Essence Qi +111…]

[Immense Poison Continuously

Eroding: Qi-Blood +985, Mana +2048, Primordial Spirit Strength +7982, Strength +22, Speed +31, Bone Foundation +56…]

...

"Comfortable! Truly a treasure potent enough to fell the mighty!"

Feeling the rapid increase in his Primordial Spirit Strength, Yu Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

His guess was right; the immense poison on the needle mainly targeted the Primordial Spirit, directly hitting his weak spot and proving very effective against him.

Compared to this fine needle, the Profound Black Treasure Arrow was just trash, not worth mentioning!

Yu Yuan turned the tail needle into a ring and wore it on his finger, its tip just piercing his skin, continuously attacking his Primordial Spirit.

In this way, even while he slept, the tail needle would continually strengthen his Primordial Spirit.

This is what true cultivation is!

Yu Yuan nodded in satisfaction and then checked on the Chaos Bell.

As expected, having spent three days and two nights in the Ancient Era, although the Chaos Bell had recovered a lot, it had still consumed a significant amount of its Spiritual Energy.

However, recovery was much faster than before, and it would take only about a year to return to its peak.

"Yu Yuan!"

Suddenly, a furious shout came from outside the Tian Yuan Palace, "Come out here, I know you're not in seclusion!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Yu Yuan frowned and quickly stepped to the palace gate, only to see a tall man in a dark Daoist robe standing outside. He was a burly figure with a stern expression, looking quite majestic.

Yu Yuan looked at the visitor in surprise and said, "Master Uncle, what brings you here? Please come in!"

"Stop playing dumb with me!" Duobao Taoist answered angrily, "I thought you were in seclusion and didn't disturb you, but it turns out you were running around using the power of the Chaos Bell, weren't you?

I don't care about that; I just have one question—

Where did you take my disciple?!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.