Yu Zhibo smiled at Xi Yangyan Ji and said, "Who knows when we will meet again after this parting. But I suppose we will. Next time we meet, remember to cover for me."
Xi Yangyan Ji chuckled, her expression exceptionally playful. "That's for sure. Let me tell you, my Dao foundation is fully restored now, and my strength will definitely advance by leaps and bounds. If you look for me, just say my name, and anyone who dares to provoke you, I'll crush them!"
Yu Zhibo was speechless. He heard her words but didn't dare to take them all at face value.
The two found another place to play games. A few days later, as they were playing street fighting games in an arcade, they suddenly felt a connection and looked up simultaneously.
At an altitude of tens of meters, a needle-sized vortex of energy began to appear, and then the vortex started to spread rapidly. The surrounding energy, initially colorless, turned a blazing, brilliant gold.
The golden vortex expanded quickly, and boundless, scorching light surged outwards, eventually forming a golden passage.
At the end of the passage was a luminous illusion, within which golden stars could be vaguely seen. Terrifying supreme yang laws coiled around the stars, and three-legged golden crows cried out as they soared.
In the illusion, the giant Sun Star was supported by a massive Fusang tree, composed of two enormous mulberry trees. Each mulberry tree was lush with branches and leaves, reaching tens of thousands of miles high, with branches extending hundreds of thousands of miles in all directions. Its roots were subtly visible, extending to an astonishing, immeasurable degree.
Yu Zhibo was awestruck by this colossal illusion, murmuring, "Eastern Extreme Fusang, Western Extreme Ruomu. So the legends in the Classic of Mountains and Seas were true..."
This meant that the sun rose from the Eastern Fusang and set beyond the Western Ruomu.
However, he wasn't sure if the sun's rising and setting truly involved the sun goddess pulling the sun across the sky as the myths described, because Yu Zhibo hadn't seen any divine chariots pulling the sun in the illusion.
During their past interactions, to avoid being detected by her parents, Xi Yangyan Ji had never revealed her parents' true names to Yu Zhibo, so Yu Zhibo could only speculate about all of this.
But regardless, the Sun Star provided endless light and heat to the Qingchu Continent, and its life-giving warmth was a reality for countless creatures. The little golden crow and its kin lived on the Sun Star, and their status was undoubtedly supreme.
"You really aren't coming with me?" Xi Yangyan Ji looked at Yu Zhibo with hopeful eyes. She was already peerlessly beautiful, and bathed in the glow of the blazing sun vortex, her skin shimmered as if she were a divine maiden descending.
Yu Zhibo smiled slightly and then firmly shook his head.
The little golden crow did not represent the entire Golden Crow clan. His friendship with the little golden crow did not mean all Golden Crows welcomed him.
Moreover, the little golden crow had left the Sun Star ten thousand years ago, and no one knew if there had been any other changes.
Seeing Yu Zhibo refuse again, Xi Yangyan Ji sighed in disappointment. "Alright, then when you reach the Upper Realm, you must look for me..."
Yu Zhibo nodded very seriously. "I will!"
Finally, Xi Yangyan Ji waved goodbye to him and, with her flowing robes, stepped into the golden vortex, disappearing completely.
"Upper Realm..."
Yu Zhibo watched the golden vortex slowly dissipate, his fists clenched. A longing for the "Great Era of Contention" that others always spoke of arose in his heart.
Then he turned and left, heading to the city in the nexus of realms.
This city was called Sun City, covering about thirty square kilometers. People bustled to and fro, giving it the appearance of an Earth city.
Of course, the residents here had all transformed into human form. Chaos beasts that reached the transformation stage often had bodies spanning hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of meters. If they hadn't taken human form, this small city simply couldn't accommodate them.
Though small, the city was complete, possessing schools, markets, research institutions, and government departments. It was developed by the little golden crow as an Earth civilization base.
As for the city lord, it was a Chaos Bird at the peak of the Void Return stage, loyal to the little golden crow. Having been imprinted with a soul mark, it could perfectly manage the subsequent development plans set by the little golden crow.
Above the city, a giant sun floated. This sun could absorb chaotic energy and dark spiritual energy to transform them into supreme yang energy. It was developed by the little golden crow after reaching the Void Return stage, sharing a similar principle with Yu Zhibo's right eye's ability, but on a much higher level. It could continuously purify the city's residents.
In addition, there were military organizations such as the Sun City Guard, whose function was to maintain peace in the city and defend against invasions by unintelligent beasts from the chaos. Salaries were uniformly distributed by the City Lord's Mansion. The currency in circulation was Sun Coins, produced by the sun above the city. Tens of millions could be produced annually, and the currency contained solar energy.
Possessing Sun Currency allowed chaos beasts to absorb solar energy and prevent the corrosion of dark forces on their bodies, even when not under the sun's illumination. For these chaos beasts, it was a valuable commodity.
Yu Zhibo didn't know how long this civilization, hastily established by Xi Yangyan Ji, would last. The little golden crow had offered him the position of city lord back then, but he had refused. This city was merely a temporary resting place for him.
After resting for a few days in a house within the city, he flew to an underground meditation room outside the city. This meditation room was vast, spanning over a thousand square meters. A small sun floated above it, illuminating the room brightly. In the center of the room sat Bai Yinchen in a cross-legged position, absorbing and merging with the chaotic law energy of heaven and earth. Energy and auras pulsed around her, and her aura was rapidly increasing.
"At this pace, she should reach the Mahayana stage soon!" Yu Zhibo glanced at her and then sat down cross-legged, sensing the changes in Bai Yinchen's aura.
For Bai Yinchen, whose true body possessed the Golden Immortal stage, advancing from Void Return to Mahayana was retracing a path she had already walked. The only obstacle was the accumulation of time. Sitting beside her and sensing her aura allowed him to gain considerable cultivation insights.
Time flew by quickly. Another two years passed. One day, Bai Yinchen suddenly opened her eyes, and an esoteric and profound aura erupted from her.
She simply sat there, but Yu Zhibo felt she was completely different, as if she could merge into the chaos at any moment and ascend.
"Unity of knowledge and action, the mind creates the realm. Is this the Mahayana stage?" Yu Zhibo looked at her, his face filled with shock.
If the characteristic of the Void Return stage was the perfect fusion of laws, a further application of laws after the Divine Transformation stage, then the Mahayana stage transcended laws. The cultivator themselves became a great world, unbound by the laws of the world.
Therefore, beings at this stage could break through world blockades at any time and reach any point in space-time. Moreover, the weight of every hair and cell was equivalent to the weight of a small world, enough to crush mountains and the earth, wielding power akin to that of immortals and gods.
As Bai Yinchen's Mahayana stage aura swept outwards, all residents of Sun City showed shocked expressions, their bodies trembling, and they felt a strong urge to prostrate themselves.
"You've waited long, brother-in-law!" Bai Yinchen smiled charmingly at Yu Zhibo and then looked up at the sky above the meditation room.
Instantly, the ground above the meditation room cracked open, revealing the surging thunderclouds in the sky dome.
Within the tribulation clouds filled with surging lightning snakes, occasional flashes of purple lightning would appear, momentarily collapsing the chaotic void.
"Wait a moment, I'll return after my tribulation!"
Bai Yinchen said again, then her body suddenly vanished from the spot.
Yu Zhibo's body shot up into the sky, soaring ninety thousand miles high. His gaze fixed in a certain direction.
Tens of thousands of miles away, Bai Yinchen's colossal Heavenly Fox true form towered between heaven and earth. Above its head, a pillar of purple lightning descended with a roar.