Within Wuxing Peak.
Li Shuang's eyes held a subtle expression.
After returning with her contribution points, her cultivation had unexpectedly increased again in a short period.
Moreover, this time the increase was even more dramatic than before.
She had directly advanced from the initial stage of Foundation Establishment to the middle stage.
One must know that the spiritual energy required for the Foundation Establishment stage is far greater than that for the Qi Refining stage.
The sudden surge of spiritual energy she received this time was more than all the spiritual energy she had gained previously combined.
Yet, this newly cultivated spiritual energy was incredibly solid, and she felt no stagnation when using it, as if it were something she had painstakingly cultivated day and night.
A thought vaguely flickered in Li Shuang's mind.
Every time her cultivation suddenly advanced, it was accompanied by Ye Zhaozhao's cultivation decreasing.
This time...
Her cultivation had increased so much.
What about Ye Zhaozhao's cultivation?
Had it perhaps decreased again?
She could verify this when she had the chance.
After all, although her subconscious told her that the arrival of this spiritual energy was not a bad thing, she would still be somewhat concerned if she couldn't understand the reason behind it.
Temporarily suppressing the doubts in her heart, Li Shuang began to tally her gains from this trip.
With the help of the furnace, her journey to the Langya Secret Realm had been incredibly fruitful.
The items she had presented for exchange within the sect amounted to a total of fifteen thousand three hundred contribution points.
And this was far from everything she had brought back.
In her storage bag, there were still three sixth-tier treasures, and a dozen or so fourth and fifth-tier treasures of various kinds.
Li Shuang did not intend to touch these for now; in times of crisis, these would be her capital for adapting to circumstances.
After all, with the Heaven and Earth Furnace, she could instantly transform resources into something she could use.
Li Shuang had also already decided how to spend her sect contribution points.
She had already advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage.
The upgrade of the Black Abyss Sword would now be put on the agenda.
The current Black Abyss Sword was a first-tier treasure sword, the lowest grade. Li Shuang planned to take Li Li to the sect's treasure vault to see which materials Li Li was more compatible with.
Once the materials were chosen, she could begin the sword's upgrade.
The previous Dragon's Roar Sword had been forged by Li Shuang herself.
While she wouldn't claim to be exceptionally talented in forging, forging the Black Abyss to the fourth tier was not a problem.
After the fourth tier, she would either continue to delve into forging techniques or she would have to ask a master for help.
The Sword Sect was not short of forging masters, and she should be able to persuade one to help by offering some compensation.
As Li Shuang was thinking this, suddenly, she looked at the slowly rotating Heaven and Earth Furnace, and a strange thought flashed in her eyes.
The use of this furnace...
Was it truly just a simple exchange of items?
A thought suddenly struck her, one that urgently needed verification.
Li Shuang, carrying the Black Abyss Sword, was about to head to the sect's treasure vault. Once she had exchanged for the upgrade materials, she planned to verify her conjecture.
If it was truly as she imagined, then this Heaven and Earth Furnace would truly be heaven-defying.
Thinking of this, Li Shuang couldn't sit still.
As she left Wuxing Peak, she unexpectedly ran into Sheng Yuan, whose eyes held a hint of gloom.
Li Shuang couldn't help but frown.
This was... Sheng Yuan?
The Sheng Yuan in her memory could be considered a proper gentleman; after all, he was the junior brother she had personally raised.
However, upon this sudden encounter, Sheng Yuan's demeanor had changed significantly from before. He appeared much more profound, no longer the child who would be startled awake by nightmares in the middle of the night.
"Senior Sister Li," Sheng Yuan said, seeing Li Shuang, and walked towards her.
Li Shuang raised an eyebrow.
Her encounter with Sheng Yuan was no coincidence.
Sheng Yuan was... specifically waiting for her here.
Li Shuang felt she had nothing to say to the people of Lingxu Peak, but then she remembered Yan Xiao's words in the secret realm, and she couldn't help but stop. Lingxu Peak was in chaos now, and she couldn't meddle in its internal affairs, but she was still somewhat worried about the situation of people like Yan Xiao.
Sheng Yuan's gloomy expression was probably related to the withholding of resources, right? She was also curious as to why Sheng Yuan was looking for her. Could he possibly expect her to help manage things?
"Junior Brother Sheng," Li Shuang said indifferently.
Sheng Yuan looked at her icy demeanor, and a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes: "Senior Sister Li, Lingxu Peak is in such a mess now, you must be very happy? Half of the disciples are willing to forgo a month's resources just to leave Lingxu Peak, you must be very pleased, aren't you? Do you think that Lingxu Peak can't function without you?"
Li Shuang calmly looked at Sheng Yuan.
His face was distorted, his eyes filled with emotion, having completely lost his original self.
Li Shuang said expressionlessly, "Junior Brother Sheng, what does the state of Lingxu Peak have to do with me?"
"What does it have to do with you?" Sheng Yuan's voice suddenly became sharp: "Didn't you incite those disciples to cause trouble? Your prestige, Li Shuang, is profound, and you can rally a hundred responses with one call. Now that Lingxu Peak is truly in chaos, aren't you happy? Senior Sister Li! Lingxu Peak has reached its current scale, and you contributed to it. Are you going to destroy your own hard work now?!"
"I admit, we might have wronged you a bit before, but is this your reason for retaliating like this? Don't you think what you're doing is going too far?"
Sheng Yuan accused, but when he looked up, he met a pair of exceptionally indifferent eyes.
Sheng Yuan's heart immediately sank. He gritted his teeth, his voice full of resentment: "I forgot, you've cultivated some Heartless Dao, and you're already a heartless and ungrateful person!"
Li Shuang watched him rage. When Sheng Yuan stopped, she said calmly, "Sheng Yuan, do you truly not know why Lingxu Peak is in chaos?"
Is it that he doesn't know?
Or does he find it easier to accept by shifting the blame to others?
Sheng Yuan's lips trembled slightly.
After a long while, he gritted his teeth and looked at Li Shuang: "Senior Sister Li, I don't want to say much more to you. During this secret realm trip, Zhaozhao and Le'an were naive and were calculated by you from beginning to end, while you yourself gained a lot. I won't take it for free, but lend me some spirit stones or contribution points to make up for this deficit, and I can suppress the matters in the secret realm and not hold it against you."
Li Shuang was stunned.
This Sheng Yuan...
How did he become like this?
She shook her head and said expressionlessly, "I have a clear conscience regarding the matters in the secret realm. Junior Brother Sheng, instead of coming to me with such inexplicable words, you should think carefully about how to appease people's hearts."
Sheng Yuan's eyes were red: "Li Shuang, I'm not asking for it for free, I'm just borrowing some! When I'm financially comfortable, I will naturally return it to you. You just returned with a full harvest, lending me some is not difficult for you. Are you unwilling to even help with such a small matter?"
Sheng Yuan was extremely disappointed in Li Shuang!
Was she still the senior sister who used to care so much for her junior brothers and sisters?