Chapter 150: Rank Two Runemaster

Jiang Yan's spiritual consciousness experienced a sharp jolt. Suppressing the intense vibration within his heart, he forced himself to stand up. Now that the starry passageway had just been successfully linked, he needed to quickly erect the second boundary gate on Mount Hua.

Within his sea of consciousness, the spiritual liquid churned endlessly. According to past experience, this was undoubtedly a sign of a new breakthrough. Jiang Yan worried that if he once again fell into a deep rest lasting several months, he might not be able to awaken in time. Furthermore, the newly refined boundary gate bore specific markings that his rune-master disciples, Ning Qian and Yan Feng, were unfamiliar with; they would be unable to connect the two gates on their own. If he were to sit cross-legged and break through his realm right now, disciples like Yin Ling'er would once again be left guarding him for an unknown length of time.

With a wide sweep of his sleeve, the new boundary gate vanished before everyone's eyes. Then, with a swift turn of his figure, Jiang Yan stepped directly into the boundary gate that had just established the connection to the starry sky.

"Master, Master! Eldest Senior Brother, Senior Brother..."

No sooner had Jiang Yan stepped across the boundary gate than he heard the joyous calls of Tang Wan and the group of disciples. However, Jiang Yan had no time to attend to them. The spiritual liquid in his sea of consciousness was still surging like towering waves, and a momentous event could occur at any second. Securing the boundary gate took precedence.

"Bang..."

A towering boundary gate appeared before the crowd. Jiang Yan said with considerable difficulty, "Ning Qian, sever the connection between the sword token and the trial grounds."

Having given this instruction, Jiang Yan immediately sat down cross-legged. A cyan character representing wood flashed on his forehead. From within his still-churning sea of consciousness, overwhelming spiritual force surged forth, rushing straight toward the boundary gate before him. Seeing the bright glow emanating from his master's forehead, Ning Qian did not dare to delay. The wood character on his own forehead flashed as well, and a cyan bolt of spiritual power shot directly into the sword token, cleanly and decisively severing the starry passageway linked to it.

Having already been through the experience of connecting a boundary gate once before, Jiang Yan navigated the process with familiar ease. Without expending much effort, he successfully linked the starry passageway between the two boundary gates.

"Hum, hum..."

A brilliant flash of cyan light swept across the towering boundary gate. As the light faded, four striking characters materialized upon the plaque above the gate: "Yunlan Demon Realm."

There were neither churning clouds nor blinding smog. Looking inward through the gate bearing the name of the Yunlan Demon Realm, one could see only lush greenery inside. Standing right in front of the gate were several youths in white robes, while an exquisitely carved, doll-like little girl looked anxiously into the realm. At the little girl's feet squatted two spirit beasts—one black, one white—bearing a striking resemblance to the Heavenly Hound and the Soul-Jingering Hound.

"Eldest Senior Brother!" Yuny, the doll-like girl, shrieked at the top of her lungs and rushed forward like a wisp of smoke.

Tang Wan caught Yunying in her arms as she charged over, hushed her gently, and said, "Be a good girl, Ying'er. Eldest Senior Brother is meditating; don't disturb him."

Ning Qian cast a glance at the Mount Hua disciples within the boundary gate. With a flicker of his figure, he stepped through the gate into the Yunlan Demon Realm and issued a few low instructions. Receiving his orders, the disciples filed in one by one, every single one of them moving with the utmost care and lightness, terrified of disturbing Jiang Yan.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yan was experiencing an entirely different scene.

Within his sea of consciousness, green waves surged to the heavens. Spiritual energy resembling robust green dragons tumbled and leapt amidst the emerald waves. The green spiritual power cascading down from his forehead resembled a magnificent waterfall pouring straight from the edge of the sky.

At the very bottom of the sea of consciousness, the core of his spiritual consciousness—emitting a faint green radiance—was absorbing the spiritual energy falling from above. It rapidly transformed this energy into spiritual force, which then surged upward like vigorous green dragons to break the wave-tossed surface of the sea of consciousness.

As more and more spiritual energy poured into the sea of consciousness, the hue of the spiritual liquid gradually shifted. It transitioned from a gentle, pale green into a deep, gloomy emerald, while the churning green waves slowly transformed into dark, shadowy crests.

The radiance emitted by the spiritual consciousness core also changed color. Inside the sea of consciousness, the level of the spiritual liquid rose higher and higher, nearly filling the entire spiritual space...

The green waves grew smaller and smaller, and the spiritual liquid eventually reached the very top of the spiritual domain. Deprived of any remaining space, the green waves could no longer stir up crests...

Although the waves could no longer churn, the spiritual force continued to transform into robust green dragons, leaping and rolling along the boundaries of the sea of consciousness. Upon encountering the inner walls of the spiritual domain—which confined the spiritual liquid—the spiritual force pressed on relentlessly, transforming into a streak of green lightning that vanished directly into the inner walls of the space...

More and more spiritual liquid accumulated until it completely filled the entire spiritual domain. The spiritual energy flowing from Jiang Yan's fingertips finally ceased, stopping the outward stream entirely.

Jiang Yan's entire body was enveloped in a shroud of billowing mist. Because of the expansion of his spiritual space, his entire head was veiled in the vapor, making it impossible for Tang Wan—who faithfully stood guard—for Yunying, who was dozing off against Tang Wan's shoulder, or for Ning Qian, who sat cross-legged nearby with a vigilant gaze—to clearly discern Jiang Yan's expression.

"Hum, hum..."

An eerie, dark green light suddenly radiated from Jiang Yan's body.

As night had already fallen, the deep spiritual radiance emanating from him was particularly striking. Yunying, who had been on the verge of sleep, jolted awake. Staring blankly at the profound glow radiating from Jiang Yan, she asked with considerable astonishment in her voice, "Senior Sister, has Eldest Senior Brother finished cultivating?"

Tang Wan patted Yunying's soft, raven-black hair, pressing the girl's head back against her shoulder, and replied in a voice full of pampering affection, "Eldest Senior Brother will be done very soon. Be a good girl, Ying'er, and rest against Senior Sister's shoulder for a moment."

Yunying's lips twitched a few times, but ultimately unable to fight off the heavy wave of sleepiness, her little head drooped once more onto Tang Wan's shoulder, and she stopped moving.

Tang Wan's gaze was filled with pure joy as she stared at Jiang Yan, who was enveloped in the dark green radiance. Her pretty face beamed with delight; this external manifestation was caused by the overflow of spiritual liquid within the spiritual domain, indicating that her senior brother had already reached the peak of the first-tier rune master and was standing on the threshold of a breakthrough.

Ning Qian, on the other hand, sprang to his feet. The light emanating from his master signaled that the spiritual force within his sea of consciousness had become completely saturated, and in its effort to break through the limitations of the spiritual domain, it was actively expanding the space. The green light was precisely the overflow leaking out of his body after breaking open the spiritual space. At such a critical juncture, his master must not be disturbed under any circumstances. Ning Qian's hawk-like eyes swept back and forth across the surroundings, terrified that something might suddenly appear and disrupt Jiang Yan's breakthrough.

"Hum, hum..."

The light around Jiang Yan grew increasingly brilliant, and the mist hovering above his head grew even denser. Viewed from the front, he resembled a neon sign radiating white vapor and green haze, looking exceptionally conspicuous against the backdrop of the night...

"Crack..."

Right in the midst of his efforts to drive the spiritual energy to transform into spiritual force, a sharp cracking sound rang out beside Jiang Yan's ears. Within his perceptive consciousness, the spiritual core suddenly fractured. Like a shattered walnut, the core broke apart into four or five jagged pieces.

A wave of intense pain abruptly welled up from within his sea of consciousness...

The pain was as heavy as a mountain, instantly flooding Jiang Yan's entire head and stinging every single nerve within him...

Following the shattering of the spiritual core, a visible ripple rapidly formed within his sea of consciousness. Taking the broken core as its center, the shockwave rushed outward toward the inner walls of the spiritual domain...

Jiang Yan's sea of consciousness shuddered violently. As the shockwave generated by the bursting core slammed into the boundaries of the spiritual space, the struck inner walls recoiled sharply, causing the level of the spiritual liquid to drop abruptly for a fraction of a second.

"Hum, hum..."

As the inner walls of the spiritual space shifted outward, the spiritual force—having seemingly found a breakthrough—suddenly surged forward, rushing en masse toward the boundaries...

...

Ning Qian looked at Jiang Yan with a measure of anxiety, turning to Tang Wan with deep unease in his heart. "Master's Aunt, Master has been like this for an entire night. According to the descriptions of breakthroughs Master previously shared with me, advancing from the middle stage of the first tier into the proficiency realm shouldn't take this long, nor should it cause such a massive commotion."

Tang Wan shifted her posture slightly while holding Yunying. Having stood guard all night while cradling the little girl, Tang Wan was also somewhat fatigued. A faint, joyful smile lingering on her lips, she replied to Mount Hua's next-generation senior disciple, "Your master has already been at the proficiency realm of the first tier for quite some time. Right now, he must be crossing the threshold into the second tier."

"The second tier!" Ning Qian stared dumbfounded at Jiang Yan, whose body was flashing with light, his face full of astonishment. Because he had already become a rune master himself, he understood just how difficult it was for rune masters to advance. Even with his master's guidance, it had taken him an entire year just to break through to a first-tier rune master yesterday. Yet his master, who had only recently reached the middle stage of the first tier, was already making another breakthrough so soon.

"Hum, hum..."

The dark green radiance enveloping Jiang Yan dimmed, and the features previously shrouded in the haze gradually reappeared...

"Huu..."

Jiang Yan let out a long breath, then slowly stood up. Although his entire body was covered in a sticky film of sweat, his heart was filled with elation. Having endured a grueling ordeal, he had finally advanced.

Facing the pale rays of the morning sun rising in the east, Jiang Yan slowly rose to his feet. Gazing at Tang Wan, who stood gently in the morning light holding Yunying in her arms, a deep wave of warmth welled up in his heart. He had spent the entire night cultivating, and Wan'er must have kept vigil beside him the entire time. To have a woman like this—what more could a husband ask for?

"Senior Brother, congratulations on scaling even greater heights," Tang Wan said softly, her slightly fatigued face radiant with gentleness as she watched him rise.

"This disciple congratulates Master on advancing to a second-tier rune master. Unifying the Tianyue Realm is now just a matter of time," Ning Qian said respectfully, standing behind Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan waved his hand, half-amused and half-exasperated. "Qian'er, how on earth did you come up with the idea of unifying the Tianyue Realm? You need to secure our position as a fourth-tier sect first before talking about anything else."

A brilliant glow lit up Ning Qian's handsome face. "With Master now advancing to a second-tier rune master, according to the intelligence this disciple has gathered, you are not only the foremost figure in the Eastern Wood District, but across the entire Tianyue Realm as well. Unifying the entire realm requires nothing more than a single word from Master, and this disciple can lead our forces to sweep away every single large and small sect in the Tianyue Realm."

Jiang Yan narrowed his gaze at Ning Qian and frowned. "Qian'er, your thinking is far too naive. Forget about the entire Tianyue Realm; you might not even be able to take down the Eastern Wood District alone. That old fox from the Golden Flame Sect is not someone a brat like you can handle. Prepare yourself over the next few days. I am going to make a trip to Eastern Wood City. Organize the inner-disciple members; after we head to Eastern Wood City this time, a portion of the disciples will remain stationed there."

Giving a final, stern look to the eager Ning Qian, Jiang Yan added in a deep voice, "When we reach Eastern Wood City, I will show you that there are heavens beyond our own..."