The Demon Locking Prison's colossal gates groaned open, silencing the murmuring crowd. All eyes locked onto the figure emerging—Nan Gongling, her white robes pristine and eyes veiled by black silk.
Murmurs rippled through the disciples. Why was she inside?
Sect Leader Liu Ruyan observed her disciple with a cultivator's piercing gaze. Golden Core Layer 4. Her lips curved faintly. "Well done. Your seclusion bore fruit."
Her words dismissed the crowd's curiosity: No treasure—just a disciple's breakthrough. Most dispersed, but Great Elder Xu Qingyao lingered, her violet eyes sharp. A mere "breakthrough" caused celestial phenomena?
Decades of suspicion crystallized. Liu Ruyan's meteoric rise, the prison's secrecy—something lurked beneath the sect's lotus emblem.
Sect Leader's Hall
"From Foundation Establishment Layer 8 to Golden Core Layer 4 in one night?" Liu Ruyan's voice tightened. How much Yang essence had Ning Chen wasted on her?!
Nan Gongling bowed. "This disciple awakened her innate divine ability—the Sun-Moon Divine Eyes."
Liu Ruyan's composure cracked. A先天神通—an innate divine ability! Her nails dug into her throne. For centuries, she'd used Ning Chen's Yang essence like blunt fuel, ignorant of its true potential. I've been hammering jade with a rock.
"Show me," she demanded.
Nan Gongling untied her blindfold. Twin orbs blazed—left eye a swirling sun, right a shimmering moon. The air thickened, oppressive as a mountain's weight.
Liu Ruyan stiffened. Even as a Spirit Transformation cultivator, she felt the gaze's primal pressure. This could dominate entire realms.
"Its power… is still dormant," Nan Gongling admitted. "Senior Brother warned me not to overuse it."
Senior Brother. The title curdled Liu Ruyan's pride. "And your Heartless Sword Heart?"
Nan Gongling flushed. "It… was pierced by Senior Brother."