Chapter 113: From Now On, Your Nights Belong to Me

Silver Yao remained unconscious for three days and nights. Although everyone trusted Third Grandpa’s medical skills, the prolonged silence inevitably stirred anxiety. Even Third Grandpa himself was puzzled; by his calculations, Silver Yao should have awakened by now.

Third Grandpa and Bai Ziye examined Silver Yao’s condition meticulously, but they could find no flaw in her body—nothing amiss. Their efforts ended in helplessness.

Ji Xuanyu pondered. If his memory served him right, Silver Yao’s Fifth Grandpa had once mentioned that the Nine-Transformation Pill was no ordinary medicine but a rare elixir for advancement. Could it be that after taking it, Silver Yao had entered another stage of cultivation? After all, she often experienced such phenomena.

“Yao’er, could it be that after taking the Nine-Transformation Pill, she’s advancing again?” Ji Xuanyu asked Third Grandpa and Bai Ziye, convinced this was the case.

Third Grandpa nodded. “That’s likely. I will ask Fifth Brother to retrieve the Nine-Transformation Pill. Honestly, I hope it can help Silver Yao ascend faster. We don’t demand much from her strength, nor will we force her, but I believe she would willingly accept such a result.”

“Indeed,” Ji Xuanyu responded without hesitation, knowing that was exactly the kind of person Silver Yao was.

“All right, don’t worry anymore. I believe that girl will wake soon, probably by tomorrow. Everyone, just wait and see what changes come after Silver Yao awakens,” Third Grandpa said to those gathered in the room, waving them away, reassuring them she would be fine.

Everyone left. Meanwhile, Silver Yao found herself in a strange realm, reaching out but touching nothing. The air was thick with spiritual energy, and she felt comfortable here, yet she knew she could not linger too long. She was unaware of what was happening outside.

Feeling her wounds rapidly healing and her strength reaching the peak bottleneck of mid-Virtual Sect, Silver Yao resolved to leave as soon as she broke through to the Virtual Sect’s pinnacle.

The spiritual energy swirled around her, slowly seeping into her body, transforming into spiritual power and stored in her dantian. After countless cycles, her dantian brimmed with spiritual power, which she began to use for her breakthrough.

Curiously, she found her spiritual power only half as effective as usual, as if the other half had been stolen. Puzzled, she converted more spiritual energy while pushing against the bottleneck, hoping this strange phenomenon would not prevent her advancement.

Though the spiritual power’s effect was halved, the difficulty of breakthrough seemed to lessen accordingly, which pleased her. It felt fair after all.

When she touched the thin barrier of the bottleneck, she knew that surpassing it would usher her into the Virtual Sect’s pinnacle. With a smile, she surged forward, breaking through at once. But then her spiritual power began uncontrollably draining away. No matter how she tried, she could not reclaim it.

White Cloud, who was watching over Silver Yao, suddenly noticed her struggling, her face contorted with pain and anger. Alarmed, White Cloud rushed out to summon Third Grandpa, Bai Ziye, and the others.

Third Grandpa hurried back and was shocked by Silver Yao’s state, but he quickly recovered. Sitting beside her, he placed his hand on her back, channeling his spiritual power to probe within her body, trying to understand what was happening.

Yet, as his spiritual power neared Silver Yao’s dantian, it was uncontrollably absorbed. He tried to withdraw it but found all his spiritual power flowing through his hand into Silver Yao, beyond his control.

Bai Ziye, standing nearby, noticed Third Grandpa’s distress and called out, “Senior, what’s wrong?”

“Stay back!” Third Grandpa waved Bai Ziye away with his free hand. His right hand remained stuck to Silver Yao’s back, completely adhered.

Fifth Grandpa, who had some medical knowledge, saw Third Grandpa’s reaction and sensed something amiss. He stepped forward and placed his hand on Silver Yao’s shoulder—only to find his spiritual power rapidly draining, seemingly all flowing into Silver Yao.

Third Grandpa, shocked by Fifth Grandpa’s sudden action, could only shake his head and scold, “Why did you come over and touch her? Didn’t you hear me tell Bai Ziye to stay away?”

“Third Brother, I didn’t mean to! Please explain what’s going on!” Fifth Grandpa replied, more concerned about understanding the situation than the reprimand.

Shortly after, White Ling, Bai Yong, and the other four grandpas arrived together. Seeing Third and Fifth Grandpa motionless beside Silver Yao, curiosity prompted them to step forward.

Third Grandpa immediately warned, “Don’t come closer! I have no idea what’s wrong, but Silver Yao is absorbing the spiritual power from Fifth Brother and me. Just wait; once I’ve gauged enough, she should release us.”

“Absorbing spiritual power? Could she be practicing some forbidden technique? Third Brother, explain!” Second Grandpa’s face was filled with shock. He had heard of an evil art called the Great Spirit Absorption Technique.

Third Grandpa understood what his brother was thinking but was certain Silver Yao was not dabbling in dark arts. It was an involuntary bodily reaction. He reassured them, “Don’t worry. Although I don’t fully understand the cause, I’m confident Silver Yao is not what you fear.”

Everyone watched helplessly as the spiritual power of Third and Fifth Grandpa gradually drained, their faces growing pale with concern. Yet Third Grandpa insisted they remain patient. Meanwhile, Silver Yao gave no outward sign.

Unbeknownst to them, Silver Yao was fiercely gathering the lost spiritual power. Thanks to the sudden influx from Third and Fifth Grandpa, she replenished her reserves quickly. Yet, the spiritual power was both draining and replenishing simultaneously. The drained energy circled her, unable to re-enter her body.

Silver Yao realized she needed to make another leap—to enter the Virtual Emperor realm. She had to hurry, uncertain how much of the sudden spiritual energy influx she had or how long it would sustain her.

With all her might, she pushed forward, expending every ounce of spiritual power. Just as she was about to collapse from depletion, she stepped into the Virtual Emperor realm. The spiritual power clamored back into her body, nearly bursting her form. Fortunately, having crossed into the Virtual Emperor realm enabled her to better control her energy.

During her struggle, Third and Fifth Grandpa were thrown back, looking battered but supporting each other without falling. Third Grandpa immediately took two pills from his pocket, giving one to Fifth Grandpa and taking one himself, watching over Silver Yao carefully.

However, Silver Yao only pushed them away and remained motionless afterward. Ji Xuanyu sensed something was wrong. He stepped forward, placing his hands on Silver Yao’s shoulders, channeling his spiritual power into her. This time, his energy was not absorbed, allowing him to examine her condition.

Ji Xuanyu frowned, finding nothing abnormal except that Silver Yao’s strength had indeed advanced further—thanks to Third Grandpa’s Nine-Transformation Pill.

“Silver Yao is fine! She should wake soon!” Ji Xuanyu announced seriously to the crowd.

Sure enough, after a while, a faint voice came from Silver Yao.

“Yao’er, you’re awake! How do you feel?” Ji Xuanyu’s concern warmed her heart, but another phrase echoed in her mind.

“From now on, your nights belong to me.”

It was a woman’s voice, melodious yet perplexing. What did it mean for her nights to belong to someone else? A foreboding feeling crept over Silver Yao—her instincts, always uncannily sharp, warned her something ominous was brewing.

Shaking off the thought, she smiled faintly at Ji Xuanyu. “I’m fine now. My strength has improved greatly. It’s ironic that such serious injuries led to my advancement. I’ve entered the Virtual Emperor realm.”

Bai Ziye’s eyes betrayed his astonishment. Silver Yao had only arrived from the Wasteland Continent a few days ago, yet within such a short time, she had ascended to the Virtual Emperor realm. Her talent and comprehension were truly extraordinary.

Hearing her uplifting words, Ji Xuanyu smiled. Yao’er was growing rapidly; if he did not work harder, she would soon surpass him—a thought he found unacceptable.

The elders all smiled with relief. Silver Yao’s growth was remarkable. Though they had anticipated the Nine-Transformation Pill might aid her advancement, given her severe injuries, they assumed most of its power would be spent on healing. They never expected it would propel her directly into the Virtual Emperor realm.

Silver Yao’s keen eyes caught sight of Third and Fifth Grandpa at the back of the crowd, supporting each other with pale faces. She hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong with Third Grandpa and Fifth Grandpa?”

“Don’t you know? When Third and Fifth Brother touched you earlier, they got immobilized. Their spiritual power uncontrollably surged into your body. It scared us all,” Second Grandpa said, eyes questioning.

Silver Yao shook her head, genuinely unaware. However, she realized the mysterious spiritual power must have come from Third and Fifth Grandpa. Yet, she had no idea when she had learned to absorb others’ spiritual power without any conscious effort.

Could it be related to the woman’s voice she heard in her mind before regaining consciousness?