My Arts Evolve When Perfected

When the Dusk Holy Ruins opened, Jiang Qiu and Snow were still in the midst of their Cultivation, attempting to fuse their Great Paths—the process known as Unity. Unfortunately, they were unable to complete this step, as if something was still inexplicably missing.

Failing to achieve Unity before entering the Dusk Holy Ruins had a significant impact on Jiang Qiu. However, he hadn’t really expected to complete it in such a short time. The difficulty of achieving Unity was well-known; unless one had a special path like Shangguan Yue’s Path of Returning to Simplicity, it required a heaven-sent opportunity.

But as they continued to merge with each other, the combat power between Jiang Qiu and Snow had also faintly increased. Their efforts had not been in vain.

If the two of them willed it, they could initiate a grand, unreserved, and true great fusion. Their power would absolutely break through the bottleneck of the Harmonization Realm, even erupting with a force that would make even higher-level experts wary.

However, his subconscious warned him that doing so would be irrational and could lead to irreversible changes. Once done, it might affect their future development.

He was not prepared to do so unless it was absolutely necessary.

And now, Shangguan Yue, who was already at the Peak of Fusion Realm, accompanied the two of them. She looked like a three or four-year-old baby girl, with plump, tender cheeks and large, sparkling eyes.

Yes, the current Shangguan Yue had already cultivated to the Fusion Realm, but she rarely spoke anymore. Or rather, she was becoming more and more like a child, constantly observing the world with a curious gaze.

The Path of Returning to Simplicity was just that special. It was only over the past two months that Jiang Qiu had gradually come to understand that one could advance so quickly on the Path of Returning to Simplicity!

Of course, to Jiang Qiu, the current Shangguan Yue evoked a feeling of deep affection, much like one would feel for their own daughter. He didn’t want her to suffer even the slightest harm.

Moreover, Shangguan Yue’s current mastery of the Path of Returning to Simplicity was certainly much stronger than before. If she were to go to the core area of the Eight-direction Reversing Ship again, she might now be able to open the room that she couldn’t open back then.

Overall, however, Shangguan Yue’s aggressiveness wasn’t as high as one might hope. In her current state, she might not even pose as much of a threat to an enemy as a Dao Entry Realm expert, because she seemed to have truly regressed to an infant-like state, both in body and Soul.

Even Snow, whose gaze had always been piercing enough to seemingly see through a person’s past and present lives, could not discern Shangguan Yue’s inner thoughts. In other words, she could no longer see through her as a person.

Jiang Qiu, for his part, had been more than happy to give one of his Dusk Tokens to her. Yes, Jiang Qiu gave one to her. Such an act was simply unheard of; if Yang Lei were to find out, he would probably tremble from head to toe.

However, Yang Lei never would have guessed that Jiang Qiu already had a Dusk Token. He had assumed Jiang Qiu was planning to share a token with Snow, which is why he had painfully parted with his Dusk Token, selling it to Jiang Qiu at a garbage price.

Now, it was perfect. Three Tokens for three people. Jiang Qiu, Snow, and Shangguan Yue were each enveloped by a white Holy Light that suddenly burst forth from within them, effortlessly severing their connection to the Great Realm they were in.

Indeed, the so-called spatiotemporal lockdown of the Thunder Great Realm, when faced with the Holy Light of the Dusk Token, was like a paper wall that could be poked through with ease. They passed through it in an instant. Their bodies then entered the void, fading within it as their Souls also melted away, continuously passing into another world.

That world seemed to seep out of the very air, like two sides of existence—the world of the living and the world of the dead. Jiang Qiu and the others were now crossing from the world of the living into the never-before-trodden world of the dead.

The process could have been an instant or it could have been ten million years. When Jiang Qiu’s consciousness gradually returned, he realized that one of the Dusk Tokens in his possession had not activated for him.

In other words, he had three Dusk Tokens—one for himself, one for Snow, and one for Shangguan Yue. But now the situation was different. The one that was supposed to be for Snow had not activated for Snow!

He and Snow were considered a single person; only one Dusk Token was needed. The extra Token was not for the two of them!

The Dusk Token was an extremely rare key, and the Dusk Holy Ruins was a massive relic from a previous epoch—a super Treasure Vault that countless people flocked to. It was impossible that resources and the power of the Great Dao would be wasted to forge a superfluous Dusk Token.

Therefore, a Dusk Token would surely transport one person. But Jiang Qiu had an extra one in his hand. This one couldn’t possibly be wasted; it must have also transported someone.

But when that extra Dusk Token activated, Jiang Qiu didn’t sense anyone else nearby following him into the Dusk Holy Ruins. This meant the Dusk Token didn’t activate on a being in close proximity.

"Who in the world followed me into the Dusk Holy Ruins?"

A soft murmur of confusion escaped Jiang Qiu’s lips. He felt a primeval, mysterious power follow his Soul and probe into its depths. It seemed to have detected a person whose aura was very close to his, or rather, whose destiny was deeply intertwined with his own, and had bound to them, bringing them into the Dusk Holy Ruins as well!

’That person... Liu Zili?!’