Chapter Seventy-Nine: A Breakthrough in the Embrace

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"Impossible?" Shuiyao Xian revealed an expression of disbelief. She simply could not fathom how a cultivator whose depth surpassed her ability to gauge could be incapable of the most basic skill—projecting true qi outside the body! What kind of technique had he practiced? And what teachings had his master imparted?

"Boom!" Another deafening blast sounded as a thick pillar of light once again pierced the formation, striking Wuyun with immense force. Blood spurted from his lips, and his body swayed unsteadily, on the verge of collapse.

"Damn it!" Watching his brother grit his teeth against the devastating assault, desperately sustaining the formation, and seeing Huang Xiwen lying lifeless beside him, Leidong’s eyes were instantly consumed by a crimson glow. With a fierce bite of his lip, he grasped the slumped Shuiyao Xian by the shoulders and pulled her firmly into his embrace!

Startled and ashamed by the sudden movement, Shuiyao Xian gasped, "You—" But before she could finish, Leidong whispered into her ear, "Forgive me!" Then, his arms circled her from behind, his warm, strong hands enveloping her own. Her body was pressed tightly against his, seated fully within his embrace.

A surge of masculine scent left Shuiyao Xian dizzy and lightheaded.

But this sensation lasted less than two seconds. Like an incoming tide, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged into her body through every limb and bone, so overwhelming it made her meridians ache faintly.

With a soft gasp, Shuiyao Xian instantly understood: Leidong was using himself as a conduit, channeling the spiritual energy she needed to reinforce the formation—something he himself could not do.

Suppressing her shyness, Shuiyao Xian forced her racing heart to calm and quickly circulated her true qi, her hands weaving intricate seals. Boundless spiritual energy, following a mysterious and complex trajectory, swiftly mended the cracks that had begun to appear in the formation.

In barely half a minute, the tottering barrier began visibly to recover, and as more energy poured in, the formation grew ever more stable, its protective dome expanding wider by the moment.

Half an hour later, the formation towered over thirty feet high, its influence stretching more than two kilometers in every direction. James Sharm was once again expelled beyond the barrier, howling with rage, wildly drawing on white light. Enormous beams crashed down like an endless storm, striking the shield with thunderous detonations, but the growing shell held firm against all assaults.

As wave after wave of spiritual energy coursed through her, Shuiyao Xian was stunned to discover that the influx from Leidong was like the sea itself—endless, inexhaustible, surging with unstoppable momentum. Though she expelled as much as she could, her meridians were filled to bursting again and again.

Twice in one day Shuiyao Xian had been gravely wounded; the first injury had not yet fully healed when, in the heat of battle, she had clashed with James Sharm’s pillar of light and spat blood anew, her meridians badly damaged. Yet, as this spiritual energy washed through her repeatedly, she was amazed to find those battered channels healing as if revived by spring rain after a long drought.

The flow of spiritual energy quickened, and Shuiyao Xian felt herself stretched to the brink. Internally, her meridians were awash in limitless power—ever expanding, ever thinning, yet each time they seemed about to rupture, the energy would stabilize and reinforce them, only for the next, stronger surge to arrive.

One cycle. Two cycles. Three...

Never had Shuiyao Xian’s meridians felt so unimpeded, nor so tormented. Never had her qi flowed with such speed. With each cycle, the current grew faster, the channels wider, and her body endured new agony—yet her spirit soared, as though basking in sunlight after a raging storm.

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At last, after eighty-one cycles, the meridians ceased to expand. The swiftly flowing true qi began to condense and solidify, compressing again and again until it became liquid, slowly circulating within her body.

A faint "pop" sounded within her, and Shuiyao Xian was suddenly enveloped in an unprecedented sense of lightness, as if reborn from the inside out. The world around her seemed impossibly fresh and vivid.

"Foundation Establishment! I’ve broken through!" Joy and surprise flooded her. After nearly twenty years of cultivation, she had only reached the middle stage of Qi Refining, but today, after being severely wounded and taking Leidong’s elixir, she had rushed to the late stage of Qi Refining—and now, here on the battlefield, amidst a clash with a powerful enemy, in this unheard-of manner, within Leidong’s arms, she had shattered the greatest barrier of her path and established her foundation.

"So it really is him..." Shuiyao Xian’s thoughts drifted, and she found herself in a daze.

Yet the true wonder was still to come.

After a full cycle of liquid true essence circulating through her meridians, it sped up as if recognizing the route, flowing faster and faster, the essence growing ever more concentrated.

In the span of hundreds of cycles—one every few heartbeats—the speed became astonishing, leaving Shuiyao Xian aghast.

Amidst this whirlwind of shock, joy, and confusion, she realized her cultivation was surging upward—early Foundation Establishment, middle, late... Her true essence grew thicker, its flow quicker, her cultivation racing to the very peak of Foundation Establishment before finally slowing.

Now, her true essence was nearly solid, hinting at an imminent transformation from liquid to solid. Though its flow seemed slower, she discovered that with this reduced speed, she could draw upon far more true essence and absorb much more of the world’s energy than ever before.

This was the qualitative change brought by a breakthrough in realms.

Opening her eyes slowly, Shuiyao Xian saw the world anew—the sky clearer, the air fresher, even the grass and trees seemed to greet her with life. She sensed a profound, mysterious connection with the land itself: the first glimmer of understanding the laws of the universe. With this insight, at the right moment, she might break through again and step onto the fabled Golden Core Path, becoming a true master of cultivation. At that stage, many secret arts of her shamanic sect, once only memorized, would become accessible for true study and mastery...

Countless lost secrets would see the light of day once more, and the resurgence of her sect had never seemed so bright. At this thought, Shuiyao Xian was filled with gratitude toward Leidong. All of this was thanks to him—her first divination had indeed been correct!

Thinking of Leidong, she suddenly became acutely aware of her current position: pressed intimately in his arms, his hands firmly holding hers, his arms wrapped around her waist.

With a soft cry, Shuiyao Xian’s cheeks blossomed with color, and she tried to shift away.

But at that moment, she sensed something terribly wrong.

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Leidong was utterly still—no breath, no heartbeat, even his body was growing cold.

Alarmed, Shuiyao Xian nearly cried out, wrenching her hands free and pressing her palm to Leidong’s pulse point.

No pulse!

"Impossible!" Her expression changed drastically as she checked several more points—inch gate, quchi, lianquan—yet she could not detect any pulse at all. Even more terrifying, Leidong’s spiritual energy was inexplicably draining from his meridians, and his vital force was fading.

How could this be? Had she absorbed too much of the world’s energy, interfering with Leidong’s healing and cultivation?

Her face pale as death, Shuiyao Xian gritted her teeth, her right hand flashing through a series of intricate seals until her palm gleamed like jade, radiating a gentle, dazzling light tinged with a strange aura. With a swift motion, she struck Leidong’s crown acupoint, sending a surge of pure spiritual energy into him.

"The Dewdrop Crown Infusion!"—one of the shamanic sect’s healing secrets, requiring the rescuer to expend their own true essence to force pure energy into the wounded, awakening their deepest potential. Against most injuries, it wielded immediate, miraculous effect.

Though this method would consume much of her strength—especially risky when used on someone of higher cultivation, possibly even harming herself—Shuiyao Xian had no thought for the consequences. Only one conviction filled her heart: "I must not let him die!"

It was the only solution she could think of. She could not imagine what she would do if this failed. Deep down, an unspoken determination arose: "If I cannot save him, I will follow him in death."

Gathering every shred of her strength, she struck Leidong’s crown. Yet the instant her pure energy entered his meridians, it was abruptly rebounded, surging back into her with such force that her own channels felt as though they were being torn apart.

A cry of anguish escaped her lips.

But in the next moment, as if a vast powder keg had just met a rain of sparks, a tremendous aura erupted from Leidong, accompanied by an overwhelming, sky-shaking pressure that surged heavenward.

Shuiyao Xian felt as though she no longer faced a bright-eyed young man, but an ancient, primordial beast of legend!