In the Palace of the Medicine King, everyone was gathered together, the gazes of several women entirely captivated by the small, adorable little thing. To be the focus of attention, the little fellow was exceptionally pleased with himself, dragging his two root-like little legs across the floor, his comical movements drawing peals of laughter from everyone.

Xiangxiang, this little creature, was definitely hamming it up!

Lou Kong chuckled inwardly but didn't expose him; instead, a thread of spiritual thought extended from his Lingfu, instantly traversing vast distances to hover above Jiyang City.

Every situation within the city unfolded clearly in Nie Kong's mind.

On the top floor of the Alchemy Hall, Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin were fiercely debating over a copy of the Compendium of Materia Medica, faces flushed red, spittle flying. Both Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin had now advanced their cultivation to the Dan Ling realm, and their alchemy skills had grown tremendously from poring over the Compendium compiled by Nie Kong day after day.

In a small apothecary within the city, Nie Shengong cultivated in stillness. Blessed with extraordinary natural talent, he had only been held back from breaking through to the Tian Ling realm by the affliction of the "Yin Xu Blood Toxin." Now that the toxin was gone, his cultivation speed was astonishing; he had already reached the seventh rank of Tian Ling and would soon advance to the eighth.

In the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, Nie Fenghua, guided by Mo Xingtu, was selecting spiritual herbs. In the Nie Family training grounds, a large group of Nie Kong's descendants were diligently practicing.

Nie Kong did not alert these familiar faces. Wu Nian slipped directly into the Hall of Life and Death, his form coalescing before the cone-shaped vessel of the illusionary world.

"Greetings, Elder Xutuo."

Facing the pure white vessel of the illusionary world, Nie Kong bowed slightly. In an instant, a flash of white light shimmered, and the figure of an old man stepped out from within.

That man was none other than Xutuo!

In less than a minute, Nie Kong’s spiritual thought departed Jiyang City.

Immediately afterward, a world-shattering roar echoed from the Hall of Life and Death; Xutuo and the "Life and Death Illusionary Realm" completely separated. The "Returning Spirit Jade Block" in his palm erupted with dazzling light.

A moment later, Nie Kong's spiritual thought arrived at Lingyu City.

After greeting Ancestor Xuba, City Lord Meng Feiyang, and Mu Qingyi, who was suppressing the Yin Xu spirit meridian there in the inner city, Nie Kong departed again, journeying to the Heaven and Earth Sect.

Following this, the Moruo Sacred Mountain, Mo Xue Sect, Flower Spirit Clan, Dragon Spirit Clan, Feather Spirit Clan, and Fish Spirit Clan of the Tianling Continent...

In the Underworld, the Spirit Venerable Hall, War Clan, Escaping Heaven Sect, Killing Island, and Void Cloud Sect—in an extremely short period, Nie Kong's spiritual thought had visited over a dozen major powers across both the Tianling Continent and the Underworld. All these forces shared one characteristic without exception: they possessed powerhouses whose strength was extremely close to the Spirit God realm, or those who had already ascended to the Spirit God realm.

The Tianling Continent, Southwest Region.

"Roar! Roar..."

In the deep, narrow ravine, figures of spirit beasts darted swiftly among the trees, their roars rising and falling, piercing straight into the high heavens, as if all the spirit beasts within a thousand miles had converged.

"Hiss!"

A graceful figure weaved between these spirit beasts, her greatsword dancing in her hand, emitting a piercing whistle.

Wherever the sword light passed, rain of blood filled the sky, and the mournful cries of the spirit beasts sounded in a strangely rhythmic chorus. A thick stench of blood saturated the space for thousands of meters around. Yet, no matter how much she slaughtered, not a speck of bloodstain adhered to her; she remained cloaked in white as snow. Any blood or flesh that approached her instantly crystallized into ice.

Suddenly, the surrounding bloodthirsty spirit beasts, which had been aggressive moments before, retreated like a tidal wave.

"Thump!"

After cleaving the last spirit beast in half, the woman heavily planted her greatsword into the ground. Her slender eyebrows furrowed slightly, a hint of surprise coloring her exquisitely beautiful face.

"Sister Bai."

Nie Kong's spiritual thought, materialized into his figure, suddenly appeared before the woman. Looking at that familiar face, Nie Kong couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

The woman before him was Bai Yuqing, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Nie Kong, it's you!"

Bai Yuqing's eyes flickered slightly, her tone turning cold. As she spoke, her greatsword trembled almost imperceptibly, and the residual bloodstains instantly turned into ice shards that fell to the ground, the blade glowing with a stark white light.

"I hadn't expected that in just a few years, you would have advanced to the ninth rank of Dong Ling, barely half a step away from Tian Ling." Nie Kong's admiration was unconcealed.

Due to an extremely rare encounter, Mu Hongling's strength had surpassed Bai Yuqing, but in terms of diligence in cultivation, Mu Hongling couldn't hold a candle to Bai Yuqing, the cultivation fanatic. Bai Yuqing had reached this realm entirely through her own hard work, step by step.

Bai Yuqing snorted, seemingly unimpressed by Nie Kong's praise: "Nie Kong, the disturbance a while ago, you caused that, didn't you?"

"That's right."

Nie Kong nodded. Due to the barrier of the realm gate and space, the disturbance he caused upon ascending to the Tai Zun realm could not be sensed by ordinary Spirit Gods in the Tai Zun Spiritual Realm. However, on the Tianling Continent and in the Underworld, even the most common Spirit Masters could detect that overwhelming, terrifying aura.

"As I thought."

Bai Yuqing stated calmly, "Above Tian Ling is Spirit God, and above Spirit God, it is rumored, is Tai Zun. You are very formidable, stepping onto the path of Tai Zun so quickly."

After achieving Tai Zun, Nie Kong's perception became incredibly sharp. Her words were as level as ever, yet Nie Kong still sensed the undercurrent of emotion in her tone: a genuine congratulation for his Tai Zun ascension, coupled with a subtle, hard-to-detect sense of disappointment.

When two friends started at the same age and with comparable cultivation levels, and one's strength accelerated ever faster, while the other's also grew rapidly, only to find the gap between them widening relentlessly, seeming impossible to bridge—this could easily breed a sense of loss.

However, while this emotion was common, when it surfaced within Bai Yuqing, Nie Kong couldn't help but feel a slight headache coming on. Setting aside the intimate nature of their relationship, even if they hadn't shared that connection, he absolutely did not wish for a rift to form between him and Bai Yuqing due to disparities in power.

"Want to catch up to me?" Nie Kong’s eyes darted.

"Yes!"

Bai Yuqing blurted out the word without hesitation.

Nie Kong laughed, "Then come with me. I'll take you to a much better cultivation ground, where your speed will absolutely be dozens of times faster than now."

"Where?" Nie Kong's words struck Bai Yuqing’s core vulnerability. Her eyes lit up, an eager anxiety showing in those cool, beautiful eyes.

"You'll know when we get there."

Nie Kong's body dissolved into a mass of white mist, enveloping Bai Yuqing’s form, and they shot off into the distance with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, they were hundreds of miles away. In just a few minutes, Nie Kong brought Bai Yuqing above the "Forbidden Spirit Swamp."

With a flash, the two entered the Lingfu.

"This is the Lingfu?" Bai Yuqing muttered.

"Precisely."

Nie Kong's thread of spiritual thought solidified into a figure again, and he suddenly grinned mischievously, "Sister Bai, your inner demon... how is it doing now?"

"I never had an inner demon," Bai Yuqing stated calmly.

"Huh?" Nie Kong paused, then, unwilling to accept it, examined her expression closely, only to find her completely self-assured, showing no sign of guilt.

"Nie Kong, what I called an 'inner demon' back then wasn't a true inner demon; it was merely that I had wandered onto a wrong path. Of course, the method you used to resolve my 'inner demon' was quite enjoyable. When I get tired of cultivating sometime, we can certainly try it again."

"Oh, oh..."

Looking at the fluent, self-possessed Bai Yuqing, not only was the figure manifested by Nie Kong's spiritual thought stunned, but even Nie Kong's original body, waiting in the Palace of the Medicine King, was frozen in shock.