After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

Ruoshui watched as the figure pierced by the lightning spear crashed into the mountain wall.

He sensed Jiang Yan's aura and fell all the way to the Nascent Soul stage.

My mind went blank, leaving only those closed eyes and the blood constantly seeping from the corner of their mouths.

She raised her hand and placed it on the array's light barrier, her fingertips touching the cold barrier.

Why is it that I can only watch him get hurt every time, and can't do anything about it?

This was the case when I was a child by the lake in the suburbs, it was the case outside Chang'an City, and it is still the case now.

A cold sensation came from my fingertips, and something inside me suddenly shattered.

The bottleneck of the peak of the Void Refinement stage was shattered by a violent demonic force, and nine phantom fox tails soared into the sky, more dazzling than ever before.

Combined, mid-stage of combined.

Suddenly, the words left by the ancestors during the inheritance of the ancestral land flashed through my mind.

"The power of the fox demon originates from deep emotions. When emotions reach their peak, cultivation crumbles on its own."

Ruoshui opened her eyes, and a deep blue light burned like a raging flame in the depths of her fox-like eyes.

This is the second time she has achieved a breakthrough because of Jiang Yan.

But Ruoshui had no time to think about these things.

Without a moment's hesitation.

He raised his hand and pressed it against his chest. A dark golden pattern lit up his palm. The secret technique reversed, his essence blood burned, and the temporarily acquired late-stage Mahayana cultivation surged through his body like a tsunami.

Nine phantom fox tails spread out, and the barrier light curtain shattered inch by inch from the inside.

She took a step forward, transforming into a streak of light, and swept to Jiang Yan's side.

Jiang Yan was leaning against the pile of rubble, her white hair disheveled, and blood still seeping from the wound on her chest.

Ruoshui squatted down and carefully pulled him into her arms.

He took out a healing pill from his storage bag, pried open his mouth, put the pill in, and then used his spiritual power to transfer it into his body to help the medicine dissolve.

This time, her hands didn't tremble, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"You promised me," she said through gritted teeth, her voice thick with nasal tone, "that you would kiss me every year on my birthday. If you dare to die, I'll chase you to the underworld to collect my debt."

Jiang Yan opened his eyes, looked at Ruoshui's tear-streaked face, and forced a smile, "Don't cry, I'm not dead yet."

"You're still laughing." Ruoshui's voice trembled violently as she hugged him even tighter.

A figure landed beside the two.

Su Lian squatted down, placing his right hand lightly on Jiang Yan's chest, and his gentle, righteous energy transformed into pale golden threads of light that seeped into the wound.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes held a complex look.

Jiang Yan nodded to him, feeling the shattered bones slowly returning to their original positions under the guidance of righteous energy, and his complexion regained some color.

Jiang Yan stood up, supporting herself on Ruoshui's arm.

Su Lian remained silent, turned around and stood in front of the three of them, facing Yu Sheng and Su Zhengxing.

Above the clouds, Cang Yao and Ao Tianxin simultaneously sensed the recovering aura below, and the huge weight that had been pressing on their hearts finally lifted.

Then they looked at each other.

A fierce killing intent ignited simultaneously in both of their golden and dark blue vertical pupils.

Deep within the clouds, the remaining Daoist essence of the three founders converged into this single strike, its oppressive force tearing apart the clouds within a radius of hundreds of miles.

Yu Sheng glanced at Su Lian's figure blocking Jiang Yan's path, snorted coldly, and knew that there was no chance to finish him off.

He appeared beside Su Zhengxing in a flash, the two exchanged a glance, and then simultaneously began to gather their strength.

Yu Sheng clenched his right palm, and a golden lightning spear condensed in his palm, with the lightning arcs wrapped around the spear shaft becoming denser than before.

Su Zhengxing unfurled a yellowed bamboo scroll, and the ancient characters on the bamboo strips lit up one by one. Righteous energy poured into it like a river, condensing into an ancient and simple sword shadow.

The overwhelming pressure of a peak Mahayana cultivator was unleashed without reservation.

They planned to strike the moment the final lightning bolt struck, at which point Cang Yao and Ao Tianxin would be fully engaged in fighting the lightning bolt and would have no energy left to defend themselves.

With the lightning tribulation combined with the full force of two peak Mahayana cultivators, Cang Yao and Ao Tianxin are doomed.

Just then, a sigh echoed throughout the entire valley.

"Ugh."

The sound was exceptionally clear.

It seemed to drift in from a very far place, and it seemed to ring in everyone's ears.

Yu Sheng's charging motion froze for a moment.

The bamboo slip in Su Zhengxing's hand also swayed.

All eyes turned to the entrance of the valley at the same time.

At the entrance, an elderly man in a long robe was slowly walking towards them.

He had no aura whatsoever, just like an ordinary person.

The steps were very small, but with each step, the ground beneath their feet seemed to shrink out of thin air, and they were already dozens of feet away with each step.

In just a few steps, he had walked from outside the valley to in front of everyone.

The old man had a thin face and half-white hair and beard, but his eyes were so bright that they seemed to see into a person's soul.

He wore a Taoist robe with a moon-white base and flowing blue patterns, the hem of which fluttered slightly in the wind.

Jiang Yan stared at that face, her pupils suddenly contracting.

The face before me gradually overlapped completely with the old man in my memory who sat on the veranda holding a teapot.

"Mr. Chen..." Jiang Yan still subconsciously uttered the name.

But he soon realized something was wrong.

Although they look exactly alike, the look in their eyes is different.

When Mr. Chen looked at him, his eyes were always filled with kindness and satisfaction, as if he were looking at his own younger generation.

The old man before me had a gaze as calm as a still pond, undisturbed, with only a hint of indescribable complexity hidden deep within his eyes.

Upon hearing these three words, the old man in the long robe paused on Jiang Yan as he looked away.

He then nodded.

Then he looked at Yu Sheng and Su Zhengxing.

For the first time, Yu Sheng's face turned pale.

He still held the golden lightning spear, brimming with power, in his hand, but his fingers unconsciously tightened a little.

Su Zhengxing, standing beside him, also dropped his indifference and tightened his grip on the bamboo slip.

"Chen Jingyuan." Yu Sheng put down the thunder spear, his voice somewhat stiff, "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Yan was stunned when she heard the name.

He knew Chen Jingyuan; he was the current lord of the Shangqing Domain and was also recognized by the entire Xuantian Realm as the person closest to ascension.

This person had already reached the peak of Mahayana Buddhism thousands of years ago, but he had never taken that step.

This old man, who looked almost exactly like Mr. Chen, was actually the elusive Lord of the Shangqing Domain.