**Whoosh!**
Su Yun soared through the sky atop her sword, cutting through the wind. Her speed was impressive but still fell short compared to cultivators of higher realms. From the ground, she resembled a shooting star, gliding over mountains and valleys below.
After a while, she descended gracefully, sheathing her sword. She now found herself in a forest nestled on the slopes of a mountain. Towering fir and pine trees enclosed her on all sides, and the melodic chirping of birds echoed from the canopy above. The scent of pine and the crisp mountain air filled her lungs.
Extending her spiritual senses as she walked, Su Yun detected the presence of a few demonic beasts nearby. A group of wild boars, their cultivation level low. She dispatched them with ease, swiftly butchered the carcasses, and stored the meat in her spatial ring. Though she'd packed sufficient provisions, the extra meat would be useful or fetch a good price at the sect's market.
Hours passed as Su Yun trekked through the forest, continuing to hunt low-level beasts. Her mission seemed straightforward: to ensure the safety of the mortal roads leading to the sect. Normally, senior outer disciples would handle such routine tasks, but when her father assigned her this mission, Su Yun couldn't help but wonder.
"Either this mission is not as simple as it seems, or something has happened, and Father wants me out of the sect for a while."
The answer wasn't obvious.
The road wound through the dense forest, at times dipping into oak-covered hills and occasionally snaking down into small ravines. Every now and then, Su Yun spotted a dimly glowing spirit lantern along the path. She replaced the spirit stones powering them before continuing his journey.
These lanterns played a crucial role, emitting waves that repelled demonic beasts from the roads, ensuring the safety of travelers. Su Yun continued this task diligently, but as nightfall approached, exhaustion weighed on her.
By the time dusk settled, she had covered considerable ground and was now traversing the northern borders. Fatigue forced her to leave the road and climb a small hill.
She gathered dry twigs, igniting them with a flick of her flint. The crackling of the fire and the soft plume of white smoke rose into the night air. Around her, she set up a defensive formation, whispering, "Now I get why they sent me. Even though I haven't faced many demonic beasts, the distance and constant upkeep of these spirit stones are draining."
"No way outer disciples could cover this ground in a day, not even the senior ones."
Leaning back against a tree, Su Yun retrieved a slab of boar meat and skewered it over the fire. It had been a while since she spent time alone outside the sect. The vast night sky stretched endlessly above her, with the pale crescent moon surrounded by countless twinkling stars. The lonely cry of a blind owl echoed through the forest, adding to the eerie tranquility of the moment.
She exhaled deeply, then settled into a meditative lotus position.
"I might as well use this solitude to cultivate."
Su Yun sat motionless for a while, feeling the flow of spirit energy in the cool night air, the faint golden motes of mana drifting like dust on the breeze. Her spirit aligned with the world around her.
Suddenly, her soul detached from her body, soaring into the sky. Now she saw the world from a different vantage point, tethered to her body by a thin cord. As she rose higher, her spirit floated in the vastness above, where she entered a meditative state. This was the technique known as Soul-Body Dual Cultivation.
---
**Meanwhile, deep in the northern mountains...**
Fang Yuan had been working tirelessly, breaking the array since the night began. Though dismantling an array set by the venerable Elders would be nearly impossible for most cultivators, Fang Yuan was no ordinary soul.
He possessed the will and memories of Bai Mo, an immortal who had lived for thousands of years.
As he studied the shattered fragments of the Titan's stone body, Fang Yuan made a few key deductions.
"If the Titan formed its body using Stone Gu, rather than through cultivation, it must be young—its massive size didn't result from its own power."
"Secondly, a young Titan would be more emotionally volatile. Easier to deceive."
"Third, a younger Titan is far less dangerous than a fully mature one. And lastly…"
Fang Yuan's eyes glinted as he surveyed the battlefield.
"Where there's a Stone Gu, its ancient nemesis can't be far. And that means stone-eating wyrms."
The Stone Gu could generate endless rock, while the stone-eating wyrms devoured it. Stone Gu were numerous but small, while the wyrms were few, but massive.
Fang Yuan's pulse quickened. He had a new concern now. If he took too long, a stone-eating wyrm would surely arrive—and not just one. That would spell doom not only for the Titan's carcass but for him as well.
A fully-grown wyrm could reach five hundred meters in length, and even a juvenile was formidable.
To speed things up, Fang Yuan chained hundreds of Stone Gu together. The Gu, desperate to escape the mounting heat, secreted thick layers of rock as a defense mechanism. With each wave of molten stone, Fang Yuan shattered their shells, sending molten rocks cascading into the lake, cooling almost instantly with a hiss.
The anguished cries of the Stone Gu echoed across the landscape, but Fang Yuan showed no mercy. He sacrificed them in the thousands, driving them to the brink. The extreme fluctuation in temperatures eventually weakened the array, and the wailing of the scorched Gu reverberated through the plain.
At last, Fang Yuan raised his hand. His spell completed, and the remaining Stone Gu, frozen by his spell, shattered in unison.
The chilled chains creaked, finally snapping as Fang Yuan struck them with a powerful blow.
*Boom!*
Though his hand shattered with the impact, it quickly regenerated. He continued the assault, unrelenting, until at last, the chains broke completely. The sound of cracking ice echoed, sending shards flying across the frozen surface of the lake.
A tidal wave surged forward, momentarily swallowing Fang Yuan.
Undeterred, he plunged his hand into the Titan's body, carving out an entrance. The stone carcass loomed above him, now a dark, cold husk.
Inside, Fang Yuan walked through the Titan's hollow chest, the sound of his footsteps crushing clusters of Stone Gu underfoot. He grabbed several and stored them in his Immortal Aperture, pushing deeper through the fragmented stone until he reached the Titan's heart.
There, beneath the shattered remains of the stone core, lay a girl. Naked, unconscious, her body small and fragile beneath the immense stone heart.
"So, that Titan I saw…"
He dressed her in robes he'd taken from bandits and placed her inside his Immortal Aperture.
"I need to leave. The smell of a dead Titan will attract the wyrms soon."
As Fang Yuan prepared to exit, the ground trembled beneath him. His instincts screamed a warning as the earth shook violently.
"Damn! They're here already!"
*Grrrrrrrrr!*
The guttural roars of stone-eating wyrms shook the earth as four of them burst from the ground, each one tearing chunks of the Titan's corpse apart with their seven-ringed jaws. Their teeth, sharp as daggers, could crush anything in their path.
Fang Yuan knew he had no reason to fight. He sprinted for the exit, but as he did, a fifth wyrm exploded from the ground beneath him, swallowing him whole in one massive bite.