Mu Yan looked at the regretful Ning Canghai, but he didnât care about any of that.
Now that Ye Xiaofan had broken through to the Profound Sea Realm and survived, he had an explanation for Sword Saint Dugu Nan and at least wouldnât bring trouble upon himself.
With that thought, Mu Yan forgot about any Sect rules, and once Ye Xiaofan stabilized, he immediately appeared and flew towards Ye Xiaofan.
In that world, Ye Xiaofan slowly opened his eyes, full of shock.
He introspected, observing his current Profound Sea, discovering that where his Sea of Qi once was, an endless Profound Sea had now taken its place.
To be precise, it was a dry sea without any âsea water,â with no end in sight.
At the center of that dry sea, a tiny âwater poolâ shimmered like a deep well in an endless desert. It seemed small, yet emitted a terrifying wave of Spiritual Power.
Moreover, his Martial Soul at the center of his brow now changed position, moving to be within the Profound Sea, rooted above the âwater poolâ in the void, slowly rotating.
Even Ye Xiaofan, with his limited understanding of Cultivation Realms, knew that the liquid in the pool was the legendary Spiritual Liquid, representing a higher level of Spiritual Power.
In the future, the Spiritual Power he cultivated would run through one or several large cycles within him and temper his body, then enter the Profound Sea to be concentrated infinitely into Spiritual Essence, removing impurities and transforming, finally appearing in liquid form in the Profound Sea.
As his cultivation improved in the future, the amount of Spiritual Liquid in the Profound Sea would increase, growing more terrifying, until it eventually became a vast ocean, the sound of waves reverberating like thunder.
"What terrifying power, is this the strength of the Profound Sea Realm?" Feeling the terrifying power fluctuations within, Ye Xiaofan mobilized just a sliver of power from the âwater poolâ of Spiritual Liquid, and instantly, a terrifying force he had never felt exploded forth.
Ye Xiaofan had a feeling that even if dozens or even hundreds of Peak Profound Spirit Realm cultivators attacked him together, he could easily suppress them with a wave of his hand. The terrifying gap from a Great Realm was not something any Cultivation or Martial Technique could make up for.
Just as Ye Xiaofan was feeling immense shock.
"FanâEr, congratulations, FanâEr, youâve broken through to the Profound Sea Realm, truly astounding this old man." Mu Yan approached and congratulated repeatedly, seemingly more excited than if he himself had broken through to a Great Realm.
"Elder Mu." Ye Xiaofan stood up upon seeing this, bowing slightly towards Mu Yan.
Mu Yan waved his hand continuously, almost unable to close his smiling mouth, "FanâEr, do you know what you just did? You have shattered the myth of no breakthrough without a Profound Sea Pill; even your master will feel proud of you when he finds out, but..."
"But what?" Ye Xiaofan asked.
Mu Yan, with a face full of lingering fear, said, "Just donât be so reckless in the future. Breaking through a Great Realm requires adequate preparation. This time you succeeded by sheer luck, but that doesnât mean youâll have such good luck next time."
Mu Yan then explained the matters of breaking through a Great Realm one by one, listening to which made Ye Xiaofanâs scalp tingle. He had no idea that breaking through to the Profound Sea Realm required a Profound Sea Pill, countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, a large amount of Spirit Stones, and a Superior Cultivation Technique.
Recalling his own ordeal just now, Ye Xiaofan felt a chill down his spine. If not for the Martial Soul providing assistance at the cost of its own damage, he might have indeed, as Mu Yan said, perished in this forest.
"Thank you, Elder Mu." Ye Xiaofan sincerely thanked him, admitting his inadequacies in the path of cultivation. During this period, he had been recklessly and aimlessly striving forward.
At this moment, Ning Canghai also arrived, approaching with a face full of concern, "Child, let this old man check if youâve damaged your foundation. If youâve harmed your foundation, it would truly be a loss."
Ye Xiaofanâs expression changed slightly upon hearing this. Whether due to Ning Xianyi or not, he felt a slight repulsion towards Elder Ning.
However, Ning Canghai had no intention of negotiating. He didnât even ask Ye Xiaofanâs permission, immediately releasing his Divine Sense to lock onto Ye Xiaofan, probing cautiously.
Ye Xiaofan initially wanted to resist but found that Ning Canghaiâs Divine Sense was so terrifying that, once it locked onto him, he couldnât move an inch.
On the Martial Soul Continent, forcibly probing othersâ secrets without consent is taboo and is seen by countless cultivators as a humiliation.
This caused Mu Yan to furrow his brow slightly as well.
Soon, Ning Canghai finished his probe.
"Good, good, good! No damage at all, demon fiend, an absolute demon fiend, hahaha."
After confirming his checks, Elder Ning laughed heartily, looking at Ye Xiaofan, "Child, YiâEr is young and immature; donât take the public annulment to heart. When I return to Divine Sword Peak, Iâll have her personally apologize to you."
Having said that, Ning Canghai pondered slightly but did not withdraw his Divine Sense; instead, he continued probing Ye Xiaofanâs Profound Sea.
This scene made Ye Xiaofan instantly furious.
But just as Ning Canghaiâs Divine Sense was about to enter the Profound Sea.
Suddenly.
The Martial Soul within Ye Xiaofan erupted with terrifying Soul Power, shocking Ning Canghai, who quickly withdrew his Divine Sense.
âWhat a terrifying aura, is this...?â Ning Canghai was deeply startled but did not suspect anything. He assumed that the aura was a restriction laid by Sword Saint Dugu Nan within Ye Xiaofan; otherwise, the child wouldnât have escaped the Divine Sword Sectâs Star Array Pattern check.
"Elder Ning, youâve crossed the line. Arenât you afraid of the Sword Saint questioning you?"
Seeing Ye Xiaofanâs changing expression, Mu Yan guessed what had happened and immediately frowned, voicing his objection.
Only then did Ning Canghai realize he might have crossed a boundary, hurriedly retracting all his Divine Sense, apologetically saying, "This old man got carried away in the heat of the moment, lost my composure; it wasnât intentional, child."
Whether it was due to excitement or something else, everyone was aware, but Ye Xiaofan, despite feeling intensely humiliated, dared not get angry for the time being, having to secretly remember this disgrace in his heart.
Only he knew that the Sword Saint hadnât placed any restrictions within him.
If the Martial Soul hadnât reacted just now, all his secrets might indeed have been discovered by Ning Canghai.
Powerful, I must become powerful quickly, Ye Xiaofan silently clenched his fist, gritting his teeth.
"Alright, itâs getting late, FanâEr, you only have eleven days to reach the rendezvous point. Youâve wasted too much time in the Soul Beast Mountain Range, itâs time to journey on." To break the increasingly frigid atmosphere, Mu Yan switched topics.
Ye Xiaofan nodded at his words, and Mu Yan, seeing this, departed with Ning Canghai, concealing their presence once more.
"Elder Ning, you went too far just now. How could you forcibly probe FanâEr without his permission?"
Once hidden, Mu Yan locked his brow again, clearly displeased with Ning Canghaiâs actions.
"This old man was just too excited, momentarily confused, momentarily confused." Ning Canghaiâs face was full of feigned remorse, though his eyes showed no hint of emotionâconfusion was a lie; his true intent was in uncovering Ye Xiaofanâs secrets.
Mu Yan, naturally understanding Ning Canghaiâs intentions, sighed. In terms of status, rank, and strength, he was far below Ning Canghai in Divine Sword Sect, and thus, though angered, didnât dare to express it directly.