Chapter 41: The Healing Power

As the sole surviving Grandmaster of the Soul Dao in the contemporary world, she knew very well that this was the girl's first time fusing with a soul seed, which was why she could not control the release of her soul power.

She knew even better that while soul power turbulence caused by soul seed fusion was normal, soul power this powerful, capable of permeating the entire formation realm...

This glazed moon seed was extraordinary, and the girl even more so.

The woman slowly closed her eyes, the aura of the Great Dao surrounding her growing extremely dense, to the point that even the void seemed unable to bear its weight, faint cracks appearing within it. A moment later, she opened her eyes again, as if having made a certain decision. Her eyes flickered with starlight, captivating and mesmerizing, as she looked at Mu Qinglan once more.

She turned around, her gaze piercing through countless obstacles to reach the depths of the Formation Core City. A paper-folded sparrow danced at her fingertips, then spread its wings and soared high into the sky.

The sparrow, draped in a faint azure glow and flapping its wings, crossed the sea of clouds and successive layers of city walls all the way, finally plunging into the city.

Simultaneously, her figure vanished from the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion, leaving only a single candle burning quietly, as if it had been thus for a thousand or ten thousand years...

...

The sparrow arrived at a deep blue barrier and came to a halt. It landed slowly upon the glazed tiles, its posture imbued with a sense of humility and obedience, quietly waiting in line as if orderly awaiting permission to enter.

Sensing its arrival, the master of the deep blue barrier caused ripples to spread outward. The barrier opened, and the paper sparrow rose and flew inside.

As it entered, countless shards of faint light flashed across the dim passage. Upon closer inspection, each and every one of those specks of light turned out to be a Fifth-Order Grand Formation!

Unaware of this entirely, the paper sparrow flew straight ahead until a blue-robed man reached out and caught it.

The man was dressed entirely in blue, resembling the waves of the deep sea—calm and profound. His seemingly ordinary sleeves were actually tailored from Sea Cloud Silk, the most expensive fabric in Tiannan, where a single bolt cost hundreds of top-grade spiritual stones.

Standing upon a floor paved with starry sea stones, with what looked like a galaxy flowing beneath his feet, the man found himself in a space of profound and supreme beauty. He listened to the chirping of the paper sparrow, appearing somewhat surprised. After a moment of contemplation, he made a decision similar to the woman's.

The next generation of the Tiannan ragtag troupe could start preparing.

Even though he still had more than a millennium left, and even though he had only been doing this for a few decades.

...

Within the formation realm, having crossed the beast tide and passed beyond the vortex.

Qinglan and the others arrived at the foot of Mirror Mountain. Here, the sunlight was warm and the surroundings peaceful, contrasting completely with the bloody world of the beast tide they had just left behind.

The ferocious visages of those fierce beasts still seemed fresh in their minds, and to suddenly arrive in such a beautiful and tranquil place left everyone somewhat uncomfortable.

This discomfort was not only psychological but also physical—having fought tangled battles with the fierce beasts for a day and a night, everyone was covered in wounds. Not a single person was unscathed, with blood and injuries staining them everywhere in a state of utter disarray.

Yuedong was still relatively clean. Counting quickly, he found that excluding You Qing, there were seventeen people left on the scene. This meant that in the breakthrough just now, fifteen people had been eliminated.

There was no time to mourn for them, and the conditions of the remaining group were far from optimistic. Several people looked as though they would not survive unless they shattered their life talismans and left.

What, then, was the point of their breakthrough?

As more and more people thought of this, the atmosphere turned gloomy during what should have been a joyful moment of successfully clearing the trial.

The two late-stage First-Realm cultivators, having fought desperately just now, were both heavily injured. Their circulation of spiritual power was sluggish, their robes stained crimson with blood, and they were barely holding on.

Enduring his pain, the male cultivator struggled to stand up and forced a bitter smile at Yuedong and his companion. "It seems I can only go this far. Although there are regrets, I still want to thank you both immensely. Without you, I wouldn't even have made it past the last barrier. Considered this way, this has still been a tempering experience for me, and I have gained from it."

His words were filled with a sense of release, yet a close look deep within his eyes revealed nothing but regret and sorrow.

Indeed, having made it this far—at least securing a chance to become inner sect disciples—only to be eliminated and forced to return empty-handed, how could he not feel regret?

He paused and spoke softly, "Farewell, everyone."

At this moment, besides him, eight others also stood up. None of them could persist any longer, and they too expressed their gratitude, preparing to shatter their life talismans and take their leave.

As for the rest of the group, whose injuries were lighter and who could still persevere, the two red-robed girls were among them. Because they wielded the various spiritual artifacts given to them by Qinglan, they had played a huge role in the battles and were hardly injured at all.

These remaining few expressed their sincerest gratitude to the nine warriors who could not stay. Someone covered their face in sorrow and said, "If not for you all, we wouldn't have been able to break through."

"It's all because we misplaced our trust in You Qing that things turned out like this!"

"The way the Formation Sect set up these trials is completely unreasonable. They were much better than us, so why should they be eliminated!"

"Exactly!"

...

Seeing the conversation veering increasingly off course, Yuedong gave a light cough to signal the crowd—after all, they were still within the formation realm, and it was better for everyone to utter fewer complaints.

Only then did the voices gradually subside. The disciples who were about to leave looked at Yuedong, struggled forward, and bowed lightly to express their thanks.

Strangely, they heard no response. Finding this somewhat odd, as it would be terribly impolite, they raised their heads.

They saw that Yuedong was also looking at Qinglan, his gaze flickering with an emotion difficult for them to fathom.

"Ahem."

Yuedong coughed softly, a trace of awkwardness and discomfort in his voice.

Qinglan remained dazed for quite a while. Ever since emerging from the vortex, she had been sensing the powerful soul power continuously surging between her brows, paying little attention to external events. That glazed moon seed had quietly sprouted, swaying unsteadily at the center of her brows and appearing exceedingly joyful.

Hearing Yuedong's voice, she finally snapped back to her senses. Pulling her consciousness away from the illusory sea of consciousness, she was startled to see a crowd of people staring at her with complex expressions.

"Whoa, what are you all trying to do?"

Yuedong said helplessly, "They are bidding you farewell because their bodies can no longer hold out."

Qinglan was momentarily stunned. She lowered her gaze slightly, and when she lifted it again, the sunlight spilled across her cheeks, casting a dreamlike luster over her facial features and hair.

She smiled faintly. "There's no need for that. I don't think you're going to be leaving."

The group looked bewildered, having no idea what she was talking about.

Yuedong smiled faintly and slowly stepped back.

"Swish, swish..."

Dozens of green rays flashed through the air, intertwining and revolving around one another to form a web of light that enveloped everyone.

"Drip, drop..."

Droplets of water fell from the light web, slowly transforming into wisps of hazy cyan light mist. The mist spread outward, blooming with brilliant splendor under the sunlight like ten thousand strands of rosy clouds interweaving, a breathtaking sight.

Bathed in this gentle ocean of cyan, the crowd kept gasping in amazement as their injuries healed at an astonishing speed.

"My injuries are healing..."

"Mine too. What is going on?"

The eyes of the two late-stage First-Realm cultivators shone brightly. Exchanging glances, they read the same shock in each other's eyes—they had thought they were destined to depart in regret, but the situation had suddenly turned around. Qinglan possessed such powerful healing spiritual power!

Their eyes met, conveying mutual respect, and then they smiled at each other, letting go of their guards to accept the immersion of this healing spiritual power.

The two red-robed girls, whose injuries were moderate, were likewise nourished by this green light mist.

Noticing themselves becoming increasingly radiant, the two girls whispered to one another, "You seem to have gotten prettier."

"You too!"

...