A voice echoed as if from the very fabric of existence, ethereal and elusive. It seemed near, then distant, yet upon closer listening, it resonated within Sun Yun’s very soul.

A simple word, a tranquil sound, yet its arrival within Sun Yun’s heart sent tremors through her being. It felt as though the cosmos itself fractured around her, weaving strands of unimaginable power that bound her. Her flesh, her spirit, even the nascent strength within her, stilled in that instant.

Even her thoughts, which had been racing moments before, ground to a halt, trapped in the remnants of a forgotten world.

Then, before her, stood Wang Lin.

Sun Yun knelt, the elegant curves of her body subtly outlined beneath her robes, now all the more striking amidst the quiet stillness of the chamber. A delicate fragrance emanated from her, a scent both pure and enticing.

Her face remained fixed in its earlier resolve, utterly unmoving.

From her fingers, Wang Lin gently lifted a dark pill. The hue of the elixir was like the source of all earthly shadows, so that a single glance seemed to draw away one’s vital essence.

“A curious draught indeed,” Wang Lin murmured. His divine sense swept over the pill, a calculating gleam in his eyes. His understanding of alchemy paled beside his mastery of arcane seals, yet his cultivation was boundless. His spirit burrowed into the pill, dissecting the structure of its ingredients.

Most were unknown to him, veiled in mystery. More importantly, he sensed within the pill a faint ripple, the echo of a soul.

“Intriguing!” Wang Lin’s eyes sparked with curiosity. He gazed upon the pill again, confirming his suspicions. It was a soul, faint yet incredibly resilient, bound within the concoction.

Closing his eyes, a strange vision washed over Wang Lin. He no longer held a mere pill, but the contained spirit of a raging beast! An ape, perhaps, its fury barely contained by countless layers of intricate seals that held it captive.

He opened his eyes, the phantom dissipated. Wang Lin carefully returned the pill to Sun Yun’s grasp, then stepped back. With a wave of his hand, he released the unseen strands that bound her.

Sun Yun gasped, the spell broken. To her, it was as if only an instant had passed, a fleeting echo of a past life.

Wang Lin’s power surpassed her own by an immeasurable degree. Entrapped by his magic, Sun Yun had been entirely unaware of the intrusion. Keeping to her original action, she swallowed the dark draught. Wang Lin quietly observed the scene.

Unaware of the figure behind her, Sun Yun’s face flushed. A hint of pain flickered across her features as beads of sweat surfaced on her brow. Soon her robes were soaked, clinging to her form.

From behind, Wang Lin saw the delicate curve of her back as she sat in meditation. Her face grew ever redder, her eyes squeezed shut, as she felt a fire ignite within her.

The flames consumed her spirit. A golden-eyed black ape materialized in her mind, its form vast, its aura dripping with ferocity. With a savage roar, it lunged at her soul.

Sun Yun’s mind was now a battlefield, awash in flames. Her spirit, already wounded, writhed in agony, yet it did not yield. It grappled with the ape, a life-or-death struggle in the theater of her mind. The ape, driven by primal instinct, sought to tear her spirit apart, to shatter her mortal vessel and escape the burning prison that confined it. But Sun Yun’s spirit clung to the beast, enduring the flames and relentlessly trying to purify the black essence.

Yet the ape proved too powerful, and the rate at which it purified was slower than the flames were at burning Sun Yun’s spirit. Slowly, but surely, Sun Yun’s spiritual power dwindled, and her face turned red and trembled violently.

The Life-Leaving Pill promised a sliver of chance amidst a sea of death. Sun Yun understood the risk. Only her desire to break through her cultivation bottleneck, to aid her master, would have driven her to swallow such a dangerous draught. Her master had shown her great kindness and in return, she would do anything.

As her spirit was pushed to the brink, with the ape now only half-purified, about to tear her asunder, Wang Lin intervened. He had sought to observe the pill’s effects, but now, it was time to act. “Alas, I will grant you this boon,” Wang Lin murmured and placed a finger on Sun Yun’s forehead. His spirit surged into her mind.

Trapped in the depths of her consciousness, her spirit retreated, succumbing to despair. The black ape lunged, but a figure dressed in white appeared, its face hidden, with long white hair waving.

Sun Yun’s spirit froze in disbelief and stared, wordless. In a flick of the wrist, the white-haired figure shattered the ape, which exploded into nothingness and was engulfed by the flames.

Sun Yun was still. The ease of the spell was shocking and caused her to shudder. It was as if time and space stood still. It was a power that would shake the heavens and collapse the earth.

She had seen her teacher, Lu Yanfei, cast her spells, but that was nothing compared to the being before her. Even her teacher would be forced to yield.

She had even witnessed her deceased ancestor practice his crafts, but even he could not achieve such feats.

The man in white glanced back at Sun Yun, then left her mind. All that remained was his white hair seared into her memory.

The destruction of the black ape was complete, but a strong force still lingered in her mind. She had no time to think of the white-haired man. The destruction of the beast gave way to a unique force that brought Sun Yun to a state of enlightenment.

In that state, she understood what it meant to be one with the Dao. The black ape was no ordinary beast, but it had lived in the Cloud Sea Starfield. These beasts, like men, possessed an affinity with the Dao.

They lived a long life and were more in tune with the land compared to regular cultivators. This black ape had lived for 3,000 years, so it was an excellent choice for making the Life-Leaving Pill!

Finally, Sun Yun opened her eyes. A beam of light radiated from her. An aura of Yang Spirit surrounded her. Although not yet in the Yang realm, she had now broken the door and entered it. With time, she would be able to enter and harness the power of the Yang Spirit realm.

“You!” Turning to look behind her, she could not find anyone. No one occupied the room, save for her. Still, she could not forget the prowess of the white-haired man.

With that realization, her face sunk with sadness. The man in white had a unique presence. There was a sense that she had seen him before. “Is that an illusion? The white hair… the white hair…” A spark ignited inside her. She remembered her teacher, Lu Yanfei, speaking about their ancestors before his ascension. “The North… and White Hair…” Her chest rose and fell. She rushed out the door and headed south.

Wang Lin watched from the window as the light dissipated, and his eyes lit up with realization.

“I never thought that pills like this exist… does that mean that powerful spirits contain an enlightened aura? This world is different from that of the Lei Yu Realm.” Wang Lin was deep in thought as he recalled Mo Zhi’s spirit.

At the same moment, five stars away in the Cloud Sea, there was a monstrous being with a body like a tadpole slowly flying through the sky.

The beast had a giant head and a scarred mouth. It was eating everything in its path and showed its bloody teeth as it moved.

On top of the creature, there were two men. The leader was a purple-robed man. He was handsome and powerful, but was filled with maliciousness. Behind him was an old man. He stood humbly with his eyes looking on with love.

“I want that Lu Yanfei to be my concubine. The Gui Yuan Sect will be my palace! Song Shuyou, how confident are you?”

“If the old Taoist had not died, I would not be confident at all. But now, I am!”

“The young master cackled and licked his lips. He thought of something and a sinister smile washed over his face.