"Standing at the peak, you say? That’s a good idea. It fits perfectly with what I’m thinking right now." Yi Tianyun smiled faintly. ’To protect the people I care about, the best way is to get stronger. Stronger than anyone and everyone!’

"Tch, give you an inch and you’ll take a mile," Illusory Zither said with a laugh. "By the way, I still don’t know your name." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Yi Tianyun." He didn’t hide his name. As he spoke, he removed his Hundred-Change Mask to reveal his true face. "This is what I really look like. What you saw before was just an illusion."

When Illusory Zither saw Yi Tianyun’s real face, she was stunned. "You... you’re so young?"

Before her was the face of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old. This was simply too young. The face Yi Tianyun had conjured before looked to be at least twenty-four or twenty-five. Reaching the Spirit Pill Stage at that age was already terrifying, but to reveal the face of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old was even more shocking!

Immediately, she grabbed Yi Tianyun’s face and started rubbing it, trying to see if she could pull off another mask. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t peel another one off.

"Have you felt it enough?" Yi Tianyun said resignedly.

"It really is your face..." Illusory Zither was utterly shocked. "To reach the Spirit Pill Stage at such a young age... it’s unbelievable! Are you a genius from some Divine Country Power?"

"I already told you, I’m really just an elder from a small faction, not some genius from a major power," Yi Tianyun said in exasperation.

"To reach such a high cultivation level like this, your talent must be astonishing..." Illusory Zither shook her head. "If things hadn’t turned out this way for the Spirit Race, I would have snatched you up by force and made you an honorary member of our Spirit Race."

"That’s quite the statement." Yi Tianyun laughed. ’This Illusory Zither really is quite domineering.’

"It’s no exaggeration. With your cultivation at this age, your future is bound to be amazing," Illusory Zither said with a smile. "I’m even more excited to see what you’ll do in the future. I hope fate brings us together again... By the way, Illusory Zither is my title in the Spirit Race. My real name is Ye Qingxuan..." After speaking, she flashed a radiant smile, boarded the Feather Vehicle, and urged the Giant Eagle to fly high into the sky.

"You have to survive! I’ll come find you then!" Yi Tianyun shouted loudly.

"If you can find me, and if I’m still alive by then, I’ll marry you!" Ye Qingxuan beamed, turning her head to shout one last thing at him: "But before that, you have to survive too! And keep a low profile, or you’ll get yourself killed!"

And with that, the Feather Vehicle she was piloting vanished from sight.

"Ding! Quest ’Save the Spirit Race Saintess’ completed. Reward: 200,000 Experience, 10,000 Madness Value, and +100 Favorability with Illusory Zither!"

The quest completion message only popped up now. There was no follow-up chain quest; to trigger one, he would have had to leave with her. But he had important matters to attend to right now, so he couldn’t. The Cyan Profound Mansion was his main objective for now.

He then checked his status, and all the information popped up.

Level: 34 (Fourth Layer of the Spirit Pill Stage)

Experience Value: 1,271,529 / 21,500,000

Madness Value: 818,538

Virtue Value: 430

Sin Value: 231

Cultivation Techniques: North Nether Divine Technique, Dragon God Technique, Profound Celestial Divine Technique

Skills: Star Absorption Technique, Blood Evil Ascending to Heaven, Heaven-Transforming Palm x2, Netherworld Step x2

Weapons: Frost Fist, Blood Evil Divine Spear, Sword of Endlessness, Chaotic Celestial Saint Axe, Flowing Cloud Longsword

Armor: Celestial God Armor, Shadow Cloak, Chaotic Heaven Divine Armor, Chaotic Heaven Battle Boots

Divine Skills: Madness Mode, Luck Aura

Bloodline: Dragon God Bloodline

Talent: Celestial Eye

Accessories: Forging Divine Hammer, Power Bracelet, Power Ring, Power Belt, Blood Evil Bracelet

Inventory: Recovery Elixir x10, Level 41 Gift Pack, Life x1, Bad Luck Divine Pill, Gale Divine Pill, Twentyfold Experience Card, 3x Madness Value Card, 4x Skill Mastery Card, Walrus Hide x8, Octopus Tentacle x6, Sea Bull Horn x8, Luminous Pearl x6, etc.

Treasure: Purple Fire Divine Furnace

Titles: Guardian, Savior

Flame: Immortal Fire

’Over 800,000 Madness Value! I just need another 200,000 to upgrade Madness Mode!’

Yi Tianyun’s eyes lit up. He had gained a lot of Madness Value from frantically slaying all those Demon Beasts earlier. He could now use it to upgrade his Dragon God Bloodline or his Eye of Investigation, as either would only cost 500,000 Madness Value.

However, he didn’t want to upgrade either of those. ’Madness Mode is the top priority! By my calculations, the next level will have an eightfold effect. That means I’ll get an 8x experience multiplier, which is almost as good as a Tenfold Experience Card. How could I not be thrilled about that?’

’Time to clean out my inventory and sell everything off!’

Yi Tianyun sold off Netherworld Step and other similar items. There was no point in keeping them, as he didn’t really want them anyway. He cleared them all out in exchange for Madness Value. His goal now was simple: save up another 200,000 Madness Value.

After he cleared everything out, his Madness Value displayed a new total: 870,000! After selling practically everything, he still needed another 130,000 Madness Value to upgrade.

’The Luminous Pearls fetched a decent price. To think one of these things is worth five thousand Madness Value.’ Yi Tianyun smiled, then mounted the Black Dragon and swiftly departed, planning to return to Celestial Heart City to turn in his quest.

’There are still a few Fire Dragon Stones left to absorb in the cage, but I’m not going to stay here for them. If Thundercloud sends someone and they happen to run into me, it’ll be a huge pain. I don’t want that kind of trouble right now.’

Not long after he left, a sharp gleam of light flew over from the distance and landed heavily on the mountaintop.

BOOM!

A huge crater was blasted into the mountaintop. A burly man emerged from it, a greatsword slung over his shoulder and his gaze icy. He was powerfully built, standing two and a half meters tall, and walked like a moving mountain, each step leaving a deep footprint.

He quickly arrived at the place where the Spirit Race’s message had been. After muttering a phrase, he vanished from the area. Not long after, he reappeared, his face grim. ’How is this possible? Both layers of the great array Lord Thundercloud set up have been broken. Could a Spirit Race elder have come in person? It seems I must return at once and report this to Lord Thundercloud!’

He then threw his greatsword into the air. A colossal beam of sword light shot toward the sky, towering dozens of meters high, before viciously cleaving downward. With a deafening roar, the entire mountaintop was obliterated, and a terrifying force swept through the surrounding area. All that remained was a deep crater; nothing else was left.

The man then leaped up and landed on the greatsword. Dense Divine Runes flickered across the giant blade, which then transformed into a streak of light and vanished over the horizon. The speed was simply incredible.

It was several times faster than Yi Tianyun’s Black Dragon; it could have caught up to him in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, Yi Tianyun was no longer here. Otherwise, even if he fought with his life on the line, he would have been no match for this man.