After breaking through to the next realm, Ye Liuyun felt the quality of his divine essence surge several-fold, and the speed at which he absorbed heaven-and-earth energy doubled as well

His perception of that energy grew sharper, letting him command far more of it in an instant. The power swirling around him began to spin rapidly, finally giving him the feeling of riding a true macrocosmic tide

The circulation of divine essence inside his body also accelerated, making the shortfall feel even starker. For a moment he couldn’t keep track of all the changes; he could only keep drawing in energy to replenish his reserves

After the breakthrough he spent days on end absorbing power just to stabilize the new realm. Even the Primordial Cauldron couldn’t keep up with the speed of his ascent

Ye Liuyun and his two avatars had no choice but to pull out that source-grade galaxy core and drain another thirty percent of it before barely satisfying the energy demands of their breakthrough. Otherwise, consolidating the realm would have taken several more days

Time was what they needed most right now. Rather than spending it on mere consolidation, they preferred to push their strength even higher. Once the realm was locked in, they immediately stepped out to spar and get used to the stronger divine essence and heaven-and-earth force

By now, however, every Return One Eighth cultivator had already been exhausted as practice partners, so Ye Liuyun could only trade blows with Leng Yuan, He Yunzhang, and the two newly-captured Return One Ninth experts. These four were no pushovers; even with his upgraded divine essence and energy, Ye Liuyun still couldn’t beat them

After familiarizing himself with the new power, they stopped. The first avatar went off to absorb a fiend-beast core laced with demonic qi, while the second began refining some buddha-light crystals

Ye Liuyun himself took the dragon-soul core and drew it into his sea of consciousness. The Myriad God Token instantly flared with golden light, enveloping the dragon soul 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The soul burst out of the core at once, clashing against the token

But the Myriad God Token was far stronger now. After devouring so many ancient demon worlds, the energy it had absorbed made subduing this dragon soul effortless

In moments the dragon soul shrank by a full circle, left with no strength to resist

Ye Liuyun tried to communicate; the dragon breath within him let him understand draconic speech, yet the soul ignored him—likely scorning his low cultivation

With no other option, he had the Myriad God Token keep grinding away at its spirit. A soul this powerful couldn’t be released, and there was no alternative method to deal with it

Only when the dragon’s soul force dropped slightly below his own did Ye Liuyun dare to soul-search it. Yet the moment he did, he discovered the true dragon had perished long ago; its memories were sparse, retaining only fragments of titanic battles

Judging by its current state, it probably remembered nothing except mindless attack. Even its own dragon kin meant nothing to it now

Helpless, Ye Liuyun let the soul be completely dissolved and devoured its spiritual power. The dragon soul proved an immense tonic, nearly doubling his own soul force. With soul power this formidable, he doubted anyone in the Return One realm could rival him

When he next used his Soul-Bewitching Crimson Eyes for illusions, the effect would be even more terrifying

He then had both avatars absorb the souls stored in the Soul-Sealing Orb. The true-dragon core itself he gave to Lei Ming, letting her accelerate her cultivation and catch up to Dragon Girl so she wouldn’t grow anxious

Meanwhile he refined his soul while absorbing that wisp of netherfire. After devouring the cyan flame, his Nether Ghostfire finally caught up in might to the Golden Crow Sacred Flame

Next, while continuing to temper the netherfire, he slipped into the Soul Secret Realm to compress and refine his soul once more

He had just finished these tasks when the appointed time with He Ming arrived

Ye Liuyun left his second avatar behind, transformed into Jin Chengshan’s appearance, and stationed a Return One Ninth guard to wait for Chen Huoyang. He contacted Chen Huoyang to confirm the arrival time—exactly when he himself would reach Void Pill Sect

With the meeting set, Ye Liuyun boarded a flying vessel with the teleportation black pagoda and his first avatar, speeding toward Void Pill Sect

En route he shifted into Jin Chengshan’s likeness once more, had the Devil Vine take human form as his bodyguard—looking exactly as when he first met He Ming—and checked every detail, down to concealing his cultivation at late Return One Fourth. Only then was he satisfied

The moment he arrived at Void Pill Sect, Elder He Ming came out with several disciples to greet him. After all, those vials of life springwater meant some of the older elders could live another generation’s span, train more disciples, and let the sect flourish further

And if future trades of life springwater were possible, this rare resource—scarce across the entire Firemark Galaxy—made Ye Liuyun a most welcome guest

Thus every elder of Void Pill Sect greeted his arrival warmly, and his displayed cultivation put them at ease. Even though the Devil Vine was at Return One Eighth, none of the elders or powerhouses considered them a threat

After exchanging pleasantries, He Ming ushered Ye Liuyun into the inner grounds and led him through a bamboo grove to a small pavilion reserved for honored guests.

Hosting guests in a place like this spared them the stiff formality of the main council hall reserved for major sect affairs; instead, it felt refined and relaxed, easing the pressure on visitors.

Ye Liuyun immediately praised Void Pill Sect’s architectural flair. He had already sensed that the bamboo grove itself was a hidden, natural illusion array. It provided an elegant setting for meetings while keeping guests from wandering off; if anything went wrong, the formation could also lock people inside.

On the ground floor of the small bamboo pavilion, a handful of alchemists and several well-known disciples had gathered for idle chat—exactly the number they had agreed upon.

Upstairs, three martial experts at the mid-stage of the Return-to One Ninth Tier had reined in their auras and were quietly sweeping the floor below with their divine sense, acting as the sect’s hidden guardians.

“We’re going to make a killing this time! Void Pill Sect is not only sending me alchemists but throwing in three top-tier fighters as a bonus.”

Ye Liuyun didn’t dare release his own divine sense; he relied on his golden pupils instead. Seeing that neither the alchemists nor the three guardians wore soul-defense treasures, his worries melted away.

“Heh, just a bunch of alchemists trying to look cultured,” He Ming said modestly.

Yet inwardly he was proud of the scenery’s design. Void Pill Sect’s refined layout never failed to impress outsiders; Ye Liuyun’s reaction was no different from any first-timer’s—practically gawking like a country bumpkin—so He Ming’s guard dropped even further.