【Ye Yu’s heart stirred as he prepared to practice the forbidden technique.】
【At the same time, a voice echoed in his mind.】
【Detected strong side effects from the technique. Do you want to divert the disaster elsewhere?】
【Ye Yu immediately confirmed and locked onto Jiao Feikuang, who was leaving.】
【Alright! I’ll take the benefits, and you take the blame!】
【Hope you have fun tonight!】
【Moments later, Jiao Feikuang brought Xia Mengcai to a secluded cave.】
【Just as the two were about to practice calligraphy together, Jiao Feikuang suddenly felt an intense discomfort!】
【He immediately collapsed onto the ground, wailing in agony.】
【Seeing this, Xia Mengcai panicked immensely.】
【This Jiao Feikuang was the only son of the Jade Void Palace’s leader. That was precisely why she had gotten close to him in the first place.】
【But if something went wrong while they were out secretly? The sect leader would surely take it out on her.】
【He might even take her life!】
【After all, in the sect, disciples without support or talent—whether they lived or died—were often just a matter of a word from the powerful.】
【Thinking of this potential outcome, Xia Mengcai was naturally filled with anxiety.】
【She quickly asked, Jiao Lang, what’s wrong? Where do you feel uncomfortable?】
【Jiao Feikuang’s body suddenly stiffened.】
【He slowly lowered his head to look down. In an incredulous tone, he stammered, M-my bird… it seems to be… gone!】
【Even his voice had taken on a strangely soft tone.】
【Jiao Feikuang, in utter shock, covered his mouth.】
【He couldn’t believe it, but he truly couldn’t feel the presence of his once-proud bird…】
【Xia Mengcai was briefly stunned.】
【How could it be? How could a divine beast just disappear like that? He must be joking, right?】
【So Xia Mengcai smiled seductively and said, Jiao Lang, stop teasing, everything’s fine…】
【Before she could finish speaking, Xia Mengcai couldn’t go on.】
【The bird… was truly gone!】
【In the next second, in this secluded cave, two sharp, piercing screams echoed!】
【Hmm, both voices sounded quite soft, as if they belonged to women.】
【But the pitch was too high… it could shatter glass.】
…
【Half a month later.】
【Ye Yu successfully reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm.】
【Normally, this wouldn’t have been possible so quickly.】
【But because Ye Yu hadn’t suffered any backlash from the forbidden technique, he was able to focus entirely, cultivating day and night, setting a new record.】
【Even the creator of this forbidden technique likely never imagined that advancing from the Golden Core realm to the peak of the Nascent Soul could take only half a month.】
【However, it was at the expense of certain people.】
【From within the Jade Void Palace, the sound of a woman’s wails could frequently be heard.】
【But none of this had anything to do with Ye Yu anymore!】
【During this half month, Ye Yu hadn’t been idle. He arrived at the Great Yong Dynasty, hoping to find Huangfu Baizhi.】
【Based on his previous experience meeting Qingqiu Fox, Yin Feijing, in a dream, Huangfu Baizhi must also exist at this moment.】
【Ye Yu had already made up his mind.】
【With his current cultivation strength, he couldn’t possibly find any forbidden techniques on his own. Besides, one person’s time is ultimately limited.】
【But if Huangfu Baizhi helped, things would be different!】
【As the empress of the Great Yong Dynasty, she could mobilize the power of an entire nation to help him find whatever he wanted.】
【At that point, any pills with backlash, forbidden techniques, artifacts—wouldn’t they all be at his disposal?】
【But soon, Ye Yu realized everything was completely different from what he had imagined.】
【The current emperor of the Great Yong Dynasty was named Ye Haoyuan.】
【A burly middle-aged man!】
【He was definitely not Huangfu Baizhi.】
【What was going on? Why did Ye Haoyuan’s name feel so familiar?】
【Ye Yu pondered for a long time before finally remembering who this emperor was.】
【Ye Haoyuan, father of Ye Kuiliang.】
【The emperor from three reigns ago in the Great Yong Dynasty!】
【Hadn’t he already kicked the bucket long ago? How was he still the emperor?】
【So, Ye Yu started investigating the current time period.】
【It turns out he didn’t know until he checked, and once he did, he was shocked!】
【It was currently the year 879 of the Great Yong Dynasty.】
【By this calculation, Ye Kuiliang was still just a five-year-old child. Huangfu Baizhi hadn’t even been born yet!】
【So, the time in his dream wasn’t fixed!】
【It was random?】
【Upon realizing this, Ye Yu nearly lost his mind!】
【Did this mean his plan for the fastest clear was completely ruined?】
【It was truly an unbearable blow!】
【Ye Yu raised his head and sighed deeply.】
【At 22, Ye Yu broke through to the early stage of the Divine Transformation Realm.】
【The past few years had not been pleasant. He searched far and wide for forbidden techniques, hoping to break through quickly, but he couldn’t find a single one.】
【After all, forbidden techniques are called ‘forbidden’ for a reason—they are secret arts!】
【They were always extremely rare, and all of them were sealed away by major families and sects.】
【If you asked, they’d surely tell you they had none.】
【This greatly hindered Ye Yu’s progress.】
【As for the Xuantian Creation Pill? That was even worse! After reaching the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, it no longer had any effect.】
【All of this was truly frustrating.】
【One day, Ye Yu sat atop a mountain peak.】
【He pondered whether he should join a larger sect, become an elder or something, and slowly search for any powerful forbidden techniques they might have.】
【Ye Yu had considered this idea before, but it was just too time-consuming.】
【However, given the current situation, it seemed like there was no other way!】
【As Ye Yu was contemplating, he suddenly sensed a powerful wave of spiritual energy rapidly approaching.】
【Ye Yu looked ahead.】
【He saw an old man, with white hair and beard, accompanied by a figure in black robes, wearing a veiled hat that concealed their appearance, suddenly appearing before him.】
【The old man gave Ye Yu a once-over, then coldly asked, Kuang’er, are you sure it’s this person?】
【The black-robed figure spoke in a soft female voice, Father, I’m certain, it’s this man!】
【Hearing their conversation, Ye Yu was puzzled.】
【He asked, Who are you two? Have we met before? You must be mistaking me for someone else.】
【Even if you turned to ash, I’d still recognize you!】
【The black-robed person suddenly removed the veil, revealing their soft features.】
【In the sunlight appeared a person with delicate features—yet, despite their softness, there was a noticeable bulge in their throat.】
【Ye Yu furrowed his brow slightly, staring for a long time before realizing.】
【Wasn’t this the unfortunate soul he had run into years ago?】
【Indeed, this oddly androgynous black-robed figure was none other than Jiao Feikuang from the Jade Void Palace.】
【And standing beside him was Jiao Feikuang’s father, the sect leader of the Jade Void Palace, Jiao Mandao!】