Traveling Between Two Worlds: From Bread for Maids to Fantasy Overlord

News of the approaching demon army spread throughout the Trade Alliance, plunging the entire eastern part of the Central Xuan Realm into a tense atmosphere. Huang Yiming knew that relying solely on their current fighting strength was far from enough to resist the demon army's invasion. They had to quickly improve their own and the five women's cultivation levels, while simultaneously subduing the demon beast tribes in the eastern part of the Central Xuan Realm to strengthen the combined forces of the two realms.

Early the next morning, Huang Yiming led the five women to the cultivation chamber behind the Tongshang Alliance mountain. The chamber was rich in spiritual energy. Huang Yiming placed the Boundary Origin Jade Pendant and two core fragments on a stone platform. The pendant and fragments instantly resonated, releasing a dense ancient spiritual energy that permeated the entire chamber. "The ancient spiritual energy contained in this pendant and fragments is enough to assist us in breaking through our cultivation levels, especially Yu Ling and Zi Yao. You two have the strongest combat power and are expected to break through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm," Huang Yiming said in a deep voice.

The five women nodded and each found a place to sit, circulating their cultivation techniques to absorb the ancient spiritual energy. Huang Yiming sat in the center, absorbing spiritual energy while studying the World Origin Jade Pendant and its fragments, attempting to unlock more secrets. System notifications sounded in succession: [Absorbing ancient spiritual energy, cultivation is improving, currently in the early stage of Nascent Soul, progress 30%.] [Detected that the host is studying core components, unlocking a secret from a thousand years ago: A thousand years ago, the Dragon Clan and the Spirit Clan joined forces to fight against the invasion of evil forces from all realms and the Demon Clan, ultimately sealing the Demon Clan. Afterwards, the Dragon Clan went to all realms, while the Spirit Clan went into seclusion in the Azure Netherworld. The World Origin Jade Pendant is an item left behind by the Dragon Clan, used to open the passage between all realms, connecting the Azure Netherworld and all realms.]

"The Dragon Clan went to the myriad realms, while the Spirit Clan secluded themselves in the Azure Netherworld..." Huang Yiming's heart trembled. In the first eight volumes, Ling Xi had mentioned the ancient secrets of the Spirit Clan, but had never spoken of the Dragon Clan's whereabouts. Now, the truth had finally come to light. He continued his research and discovered that the Boundary Origin Jade Pendant could not only open passages between myriad realms, but also assist cultivators in their cultivation and enhance their combat power. Especially after fusing with the ancient time-traveling fragments, its power was even greater.

Time passed quietly, and the spiritual energy in the secret chamber grew increasingly dense, while the auras of the five women continued to rise. Qin Yuling's body was surrounded by flowing sword light, and her aura as a beginner-stage Golden Core cultivator surged continuously. Spiritual energy condensed into sword shadows that surrounded her, clearly indicating that she was attempting to break through to the middle stage of the Golden Core realm. Zi Yao's body was also surrounded by a mixture of evil and spiritual energy, and her aura was rapidly increasing, getting closer and closer to the middle stage of the Golden Core realm. Su Qingyue, Yang Xiu, and Ling Xi's spiritual energy was stable, and they were steadily advancing towards the peak of the early stage of the Golden Core realm.

Suddenly, Qin Yuling let out a soft shout, and the sword light around her surged. The pressure of the mid-stage Golden Core realm spread instantly, and she successfully broke through her realm. Immediately afterward, Zi Yao also snorted coldly, and her evil aura surged. She also advanced to the mid-stage Golden Core realm. Su Qingyue, Yang Xiu, and Ling Xi also broke through to the peak of the early stage of the Golden Core realm, only one step away from the mid-stage Golden Core realm.

The five women slowly opened their eyes, a look of joy flashing within them. Qin Yuling stood up, flexing her wrists and feeling the surge of battle power within her body. She smiled and said, "Excellent! Breaking through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm means I can better protect Yiming and safeguard the Twin Realms!" Zi Yao nodded, her tone carrying a hint of coldness: "The demon army is coming. This is a perfect opportunity for me to test my mid-stage Golden Core strength and slay even more demon cultivators!"

Huang Yiming looked at the five women with a gratified smile on his face: "Very good, you have all broken through your cultivation levels, and our combat strength has increased significantly. Next, we will head to the Monster Forest in the eastern part of the Central Profound Realm to subdue the monster tribes there. The monster tribes are powerful, and if we can subdue them, they will become an important force for us to resist the demon army."

The group immediately set off for the Monster Forest. Located on the eastern edge of the Central Profound Realm, the Monster Forest is rich in spiritual energy and teeming with monsters. Among them, the most powerful is the Monster King, whose cultivation has reached the late Golden Core stage. It rules over all the monsters in the forest, is brutal in nature, and never associates with human cultivators. In the first eight volumes, it attacked the disciples of Yiming Village and the Trade Alliance on several occasions.

Upon reaching the outskirts of the Monster Forest, they heard the roars of monsters, and the air was thick with their monstrous aura. Huang Yiming gestured for everyone to stop and said in a deep voice, "The Monster King is powerful and ruthless. We can't fight it head-on; we have to outsmart it—play dumb to lure it into attacking, and then subdue it."

Everyone nodded and proceeded according to Huang Yiming's plan: Qin Yuling and Zi Yao deliberately concealed their cultivation levels, pretending to be at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, and went deep into the forest to provoke others; Huang Yiming hid in the shadows, waiting for the best opportunity to strike; Su Qingyue, Yang Xiu, and Ling Xi set up defenses on the outskirts of the forest to guard against other demonic beasts' sneak attacks.

Qin Yuling and Ziyao ventured deep into the forest, deliberately killing several low-level demonic beasts to attract a large horde of them. "Who dares to run wild on my territory!" A furious roar rang out, and the Demonic Beast King appeared before them in a flash. It was enormous, covered in black scales, with fierce eyes, radiating the oppressive aura of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, its presence intimidating.

"You're just two lowly cultivators in the early stages of the Golden Core realm, yet you dare to provoke me?" The Demon King sneered, raising his hand to strike Qin Yuling and Zi Yao. The two feigned weakness, staggering backward and pretending to have surging blood and qi, luring the Demon King closer.

Seeing this, the Demon King, convinced the two were weak, became even more arrogant. He flashed forward again, intending to kill them in one fell swoop. Just then, Huang Yiming emerged from the shadows, his early Nascent Soul stage aura erupting suddenly. He struck the Demon King in the back with a palm. The Demon King's expression changed drastically. He tried to dodge but it was too late. With a "bang," he was struck, staggering back several steps, spitting out blood. His eyes were filled with shock: "A Nascent Soul stage cultivator? You actually concealed your cultivation!"

"King of the Beasts, I have come here today not to be your enemy, but to ask you to lead your beast tribe to surrender to me and join me in resisting the invasion of the demon army." Huang Yiming said calmly, "The demon army is about to invade the eastern part of the Azure Netherworld. If you surrender, I will help you break through to the Nascent Soul stage and share the opportunities of the two realms; if you resist, I will kill you and subdue the entire beast tribe."

The King of Demon Beasts sneered, his eyes full of disdain: "So what if you're in the Nascent Soul stage? My demon beast tribe has always been independent. How could we submit to human cultivators? Today, I will kill you and let you know my power!" With that, he circulated his beastly energy, his body swelled up, and he charged forward again to fight Huang Yiming.

Huang Yiming deliberately feigned weakness, engaging the Demon King in a fierce battle while secretly observing its weaknesses. Qin Yuling and Zi Yao took the opportunity to clear out the surrounding demons, preventing them from interfering with the battle. After a while, the Demon King gradually became exhausted, sustaining multiple wounds, its beastly energy leaking out, and its aura weakening. Huang Yiming seized the opportunity, striking its dantian with a palm, suppressing its cultivation, and coldly said, "Now, are you still willing to surrender?"

The King of Demon Beasts looked at Huang Yiming, its eyes filled with resentment and awe—it knew it was no match for Huang Yiming, and further resistance would only lead to its demise. It slowly lowered its head and said in a deep voice, "I am willing to surrender! I am willing to lead the demon beast tribe to await the Lord's command and fight alongside the Lord against the invasion of the demon army!"

Huang Yiming nodded in satisfaction, withdrew his spiritual energy, and took out a high-grade spiritual herb from the system's storage space, handing it to the Demon Beast King: "This spiritual herb can help you recover from your injuries and improve your cultivation. From now on, you will lead the Demon Beast tribe into the Two Realms Legion, under the unified command of Qin Yuling."

The King of Demons accepted the spiritual herb and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will certainly do my utmost to live up to your expectations!"

After subduing the demon beast tribe, Huang Yiming led the five women and the demon beast king back to the outskirts of the demon beast forest, where Su Qingyue, Yang Xiu, and Ling Xi were waiting. Ling Xi stepped forward and whispered, "Yiming, I sensed an ancient ruin deep within the demon beast forest. The spiritual energy is exceptionally dense, seemingly a battlefield from a thousand years ago where the Spirit Clan and Dragon Clan joined forces against the Demon Clan. Moreover, the Boundary Origin Jade Pendant resonated strongly with the ruin, perhaps containing a fourth ancient time-traveling fragment, and even more secrets about the myriad realms."

A hint of joy flashed in Huang Yiming's eyes: "Ancient ruins? Great! We can head to the ruins to find the fourth fragment of the ancient time travel and unlock more secrets. In addition, the demon army is getting closer and closer, so we must find the fragments as soon as possible, improve our combat power, and prepare our defenses."

Just then, Yang Xiu's system notification sounded: "Yiming, something bad has happened! The Trade Alliance has sent word that the demon army has reached the eastern edge of the Central Profound Realm. The leading Nascent Soul stage demon cultivators are attacking our defensive stronghold, causing heavy casualties among the disciples. We request reinforcements!"

Huang Yiming's expression changed drastically, and he said in a deep voice, "I didn't expect the demon army to arrive so quickly! Yu Ling, Zi Yao, you lead the demon beast tribe and the two-realm legion to the support base immediately to resist the demon army's attack; Qing Yue, Ling Xi, Yang Xiu, you come with me to the ancient ruins to find the fourth ancient time-travel fragment, and return to provide support as soon as possible!"

The group bowed and accepted the order, immediately splitting up to carry out their tasks. Huang Yiming, leading Su Qingyue, Ling Xi, and Yang Xiu, sped towards the ancient ruins deep within the Demon Beast Forest—he knew that the ancient ruins not only contained the fourth fragment of the ancient time travel, but perhaps also a secret weapon capable of withstanding the demon army. And this battle against the demons had officially begun. What he didn't know was that the ancient ruins contained not only fragments and treasures, but also a trap hidden for millennia, waiting for them to step into.