Restoring the two realms seemed even harder than killing the invaders.
Song Wanníng had no clue where to even start. She let out a soft sigh. For now, all she could do was take things one step at a time. Still, it didn't take long before her fighting spirit burned again.
Once the two realms merged into one, she'd finally be able to see her parents and Li Ruo again.
After all, they cultivated at a steady, ordinary pace. It was possible that she would have already ascended to the Immortal Realm, while they hadn't even reached the Spirit Realm yet. It would be truly difficult to meet then.
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. After finding a quiet spot to heal, she immediately contacted her sect once her injuries recovered, sharing everything she'd learned from Li Qingya with Luo Hantian.
The monster's lair had been located. All that was left was to send cultivators to clean it up. Of course, that wasn't something she herself would handle. It was up to Luo Hantian to spread the word properly.
Within just a few days, the entire realm learned the news: the beast cultivator Gong Ye, who'd been breeding monsters, was personally slain by Song Wanníng!
With that, the monsters' locations were also exposed. Soon, all the major powers joined forces to eradicate the remaining beasts together.
From that day onward, Song Wanníng's name spread across all five regions. Everyone knew her name, and everyone talked about her. Her insane speed of advancement and her terrifying combat power became favorite topics during tea breaks and tavern gossip.
Everyone admired her, envied her talent, and dreamed of one day soaring to the skies just like her.
For a time, peace seemed to return.
Within half a month, all the monsters' lairs were wiped out, and Song Wanníng finally got to enjoy some peace herself. She didn't return to her sect. Instead, she picked a secluded place to focus on her cultivation.
She spent her days either practicing sword techniques or training her body inside the Hundred Beasts Diagram.
Her life was calm yet fulfilling.
But down in the lower realm, things were anything but peaceful.
The monsters' appearance had completely shattered the stability of the mortal world.
The hidden clans suffered first, losing countless disciples to the monsters' attacks. They had no manpower left to keep targeting the Song Clan.
Still, the Song Clan couldn't relax. The monsters were spreading like wildfire. This wasn't just a problem for the hidden families anymore.
Monsters had begun appearing all across the lower realm. They moved incredibly fast, excelled at ambushes, and always went straight for the heart.
For low-level cultivators, they were absolute nightmares.
By now, the Song Clan had already lost more than ten disciples, all dying in the same horrific way. Song Qingyun took the matter very seriously, leading teams to hunt the monsters down again and again.
But the beasts were too cunning. No one could find their nests.
In the end, Song Qingyun and several Divine Transformation Ancestors had to act personally, scouring every corner for traces of the creatures.
Li Ruo joined the group as well. Though her surname was different, everyone had long accepted her as one of the Song Clan. Naturally, she couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
Sometimes she'd think, "If Master were here, they'd probably find the monsters' lair in no time."
Her eyes softened with longing.
"I wonder if Master's doing well right now… I really miss her."
...
Time passed in a flash. In the blink of an eye, a year went by.
That year was fulfilling for Song Wanníng. She spent nearly every day cultivating. Her realm was still at the peak of Unity, but her combat strength had changed completely. If she fought Gong Ye again now, she could probably end the fight much faster.
Letting out a long breath, she opened her eyes. She'd reached a bottleneck, so she decided to take a walk.
The monster crisis had long been resolved, and the Spirit Realm had finally returned to normal. She was grateful she'd discovered it early. If the monsters had spread any further, the Spirit Realm wouldn't have been able to withstand it.
Leaving her cave, she first sought out She Yi and the fox beast Mei Huan to dissolve her contract with She Yi.
The snake clan was completely wiped out, and She Yi was the last survivor. Keeping him bound would only doom his race forever. Before leaving, she handed both of them a pile of beast cores, telling them to cultivate well and strive to ascend as soon as possible.
Both Mei Huan and She Yi were reluctant to part with her, but they knew she couldn't stay in the demon realm forever. They could only smile and see her off.
Too much had happened in that short time.
But Song Wanníng's strength had already left a deep mark in their hearts, becoming the standard they aspired to reach.
Before long, Song Wanníng left the beast realm.
When she returned to the familiar lands of the human race, she took a deep breath, savoring the rich spiritual energy in the air.
She could absorb yin energy, demonic energy, and beast qi, but nothing felt quite as right as pure spiritual energy.
That was something that'd never change, no matter how much time passed. She wandered through a few cities, taking her time exploring.
Ever since killing Gong Ye, the Heavenly Dao seemed to have lost its sense of direction, and she couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy about it.
With a helpless smile, she shook her head. Apparently, she'd gotten so used to chaos that peace now felt uncomfortable. But just as that thought crossed her mind, she suddenly heard loud shouting and chaos erupting outside the city.
The cultivators nearby immediately stood up, taking out their artifacts and preparing for battle. It seemed like they'd been expecting this.
Song Wanníng raised an eyebrow, curious, and released her divine sense.
Outside the city gate, a towering stone man was attacking. He was made entirely of stones of all sizes, and every crack in his body glowed faintly black. What stood out most was his head—it wasn't made of stone at all. It was a human head.
The head looked disturbingly alive, its eyes filled with battle intent. Each time the stone man struck, countless rocks shot out and slammed into the city gates.
The soldiers defending the gate roared in anger and counterattacked. But their spells barely scratched the creature, as if they were just tickling it. A flash of sword light cut across the air and hit the stone man's head.
But instead of splitting it apart, the sword light bounced off something invisible. The stone man let out a thunderous roar and attacked even more violently. Stones and spells flew everywhere, turning the area outside the gate into a chaotic storm of destruction.
Song Wanníng frowned, watching the strange creature, then turned to the nearby cultivators to ask what was going on.
The moment they saw her face, none of them could resist answering.
One of them rushed to explain, "Daoyou might not know, but that stone man's been here before—months ago!
See that head? That's the old city lord's son. They said he died over ten years ago, body never found. Who'd've thought he'd show up like this, stuck to a pile of rocks?
"Yeah, after his son's death, the old lord went mad and fell not long after. Really tragic…"
They all sighed. After all, someone who'd reached the Mahayana stage dying like that was a pity.
"Is that so?"
A thoughtful light flashed through Song Wanníng's eyes. "Then what's he back for now? Trying to take back his father's seat?"
"Not exactly."
A nearby cultivator shook his head, leaning closer with a mysterious grin.