Now that he was no longer in the Lower Realm, he could only rely on Wu Qingfeng and the others, which made him feel utterly stifled. Yet if she ascended to the Immortal Realm, he feared Mo Yang Xiānzūn would protect that girl. By then, he would truly have no chance to act. As for whether Wu Qingfeng would die, he did not care in the slightest.
At this moment, Wu Qingfeng remained oblivious to Mu Zixu's plans, his heart pounding fiercely. "A true disciple of Wuji Sect?"
His eyes lit up, brimming with longing. "But this matter… I'm afraid Ancestor will side with the sect master…" Wu Qingfeng still hesitated.
Medicine King Sect still had an Ancestor in the Mahayana stage overseeing it. If the sect master lodged a complaint, his days ahead would be miserable.
"No matter. You only need to deal with Song Wanníng. Leave the rest to me." Mu Zixu narrowed his eyes, a strange glint flashing within them.
That Ancestor of Medicine King Sect clearly lacked discernment, even daring to ignore him. Otherwise, he would not have been forced to settle for Wu Qingfeng. But no matter what, that Ancestor would not involve himself in this matter.
"Understood. I will not disappoint Ancestor!" Wu Qingfeng agreed with joy. He still thought Song Wanníng was only a little girl in the Void Refinement stage, someone he could easily kill. He had no idea Mu Zixu had deliberately withheld the truth from him. Anyone capable of standing against a Mahayana cultivator was far beyond his ability to handle.
After accepting Mu Zixu's new inheritance, Wu Qingfeng happily returned to his cultivation. Once their connection was severed, Mu Zixu's expression darkened, and he spat under his breath, "Fool!"
Wu Qingfeng was no match for Song Wanníng, so Mu Zixu had planted a few tricks within the inheritance.
What he wanted was for Wu Qingfeng to trade his life for hers.
A true disciple position?
Let's see if he even lives long enough to claim it.
Time slipped by quietly. Two years passed in the blink of an eye. After tireless journeys and calculations, Song Wanníng had finally located all the formation nodes and pinpointed the formation's core.
During these two years, the Central Region had been anything but peaceful. Ghost cultivators appeared one after another, bringing endless "surprises" to everyone.
People speculated endlessly about their origin, and more and more cultivators began seeking the entrance to the Underworld.
Song Wanníng encountered numerous ghost cultivators herself, but each one would bow and greet her with utmost respect. They all thanked her for opening the passage. This warmed her heart. At least most of them were not ungrateful.
Now, facing the last formation core, her expression was solemn as she recalculated over and over again.
After two years of effort, she could not afford a mistake at this final moment. Once she confirmed the exact location, she drew out a top-grade spirit stone and hurled it toward the final node.
Boom!
A deafening rumble split the sky. The surrounding mountains trembled violently.
The entire Central Region quaked as though it were about to collapse, striking terror into every cultivator's heart. Even Mahayana-stage old monsters emerged from seclusion, searching for the source of the anomaly.
Rumble—
The deep rumbling echoed throughout the entire Spirit Realm.
Suddenly, glowing formation lines appeared around the Central Region.
"Hiss… That… that's the Central Region barrier!"
"The barrier is collapsing?"
"This is bad! The barrier is collapsing!!!"
The disciples stationed near the border were thrown into a complete panic. For as long as they could remember, the Central Region's barrier kept its dense spiritual energy sealed within, allowing them to pass freely while outsiders were barred from entry.
This imbalance was precisely why the Central Region flourished to such an enviable state.
But now, the barrier was crumbling!
At the same time, cultivators from the Four Regions noticed the disturbance, gathering near the barrier with curiosity etched on their faces.
No one knew what was happening.
Song Wanníng frowned deeply at the unstable barrier, uncertain of her success. She had merely followed the patterns she observed, unsure if she had made an error. The barrier's hesitation to collapse gnawed at her nerves. Had she made a mistake?
While she pondered, a thunderous explosion shattered the barrier before her eyes. A massive cyclone burst outward, sweeping nearby cultivators off their feet.
The barrier's obstruction vanished, and spiritual energy surged outward, slowly flooding the outside world. The long-standing problem of the Spirit Realm was finally resolved!
Relief washed over Song Wanníng, and a faint smile curved her lips. The scene before her seemed to foretell the future merging of the Lower Realm and the Spirit Realm. What changes would that bring?
Standing in the center of the collapsing barrier, her robes and hair whipping wildly in the wind, she looked like a goddess descending to the mortal realm, awe-inspiring and untouchable.
Someone recognized Song Wanníng, their pupils shrinking in shock. Yet no one dared speak. Her reputation was too fearsome. Only cultivators from the Four Regions whispered among themselves.
"She looks familiar!"
"Wait, isn't she the one who topped the Dan Dao Competition, the one taken in by the Huo Clan?"
"Tsk tsk, so she's the one the Huo Clan valued? What luck!"
"No kidding. She's only been gone a few years, and her cultivation has soared! The Central Region truly lives up to its name!"
"If only the Huo Clan had chosen me…"
"Shh!"
"Did she just open the barrier?"
"Looks like it. Can't you feel the spiritual energy spreading toward us?"
"What is she planning? Won't the Central Region come after her for this?"
Many were puzzled, expecting the Central Region's cultivators to besiege Song Wanníng.
But oddly, none of them dared make a move. They only watched in silence, some flushed with anger but not daring to utter a word.
The entire situation felt eerily strange.
With the barrier destroyed, Song Wanníng finally crossed a major concern off her list. She swept her gaze across the crowd.
She spotted members of the demon and beast clans, but none of the tokens she carried reacted. That meant her target was not among them. It seemed she would have to visit the Demon Realm and confront the intruder.
But before that, she needed to return to her sect to greet her master and reassure him.
Then she would deal with Jiang Cen.
After all, the situation in the Demon Realm was uncertain. If it consumed too much time, Jiang Cen's matter would drag on. It would be quicker to settle Jiang Cen first.
Decision made, Song Wanníng's figure flickered and vanished from everyone's sight.
The entire Spirit Realm trembled with the removal of the barrier.
The cultivators of the Four Regions rejoiced, while those of the Central Region were left crestfallen, cursing in secret. Now that spiritual energy was flowing outward, who knew how it would affect their cultivation?