When Lu Ning came to her senses, she found that her consciousness had returned to her physical body.
She had exited that pitch-black space and was still inside the Sovereign Hall.
She stared blankly at the black blade in her hand.
That mountain of corpses and sea of blood, along with that peerless figure who had cut the galaxy with a single strike, continued to echo in her mind, refusing to fade.
The final words spoken by that figure resonated in her ears.
Lu Ning was bewildered as to what kind of relationship she shared with that being.
She tried once more to extend her Divine Sense into the black blade, hoping to find more answers.
However, this time, no matter how hard she tried, she could no longer enter that mysterious dark space.
The black blade was like a door that had been completely bolted shut, sealing all its secrets on the other side.
Looking at the still rusty and unremarkable-looking black blade in her hand, Lu Ning’s eyes filled with helplessness.
She knew that the origin of this blade was absolutely not simple.
That man, that mountain of corpses and sea of blood, and that world-shaking strike โ all of it suggested that behind this blade lay a shocking secret capable of overturning everything she knew.
However, now was not the time to investigate such matters.
Her current strength was simply insufficient to touch that level.
Lu Ning took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing all the distracting thoughts in her heart.
Only when she possessed sufficiently powerful strength in the future would she be qualified to unravel all the mysteries and take control of her own destiny.
While she could not currently investigate the blade’s true secrets, judging from the brief, breathtaking glimpse she had seen, it was undoubtedly a divine weapon of infinite power.
In the future, she would use it as her primary weapon.
Thinking of this, Lu Ning’s mood calmed slightly.
She carefully stored the black blade, “Nameless,” into her system space.
Then, she began to meticulously check her cultivation.
Peak of the Spirit Severing Stage.
Under the personal guidance of her Master, Liu Ningshuang โ a process that could be described as “forceful acceleration” โ her cultivation had skyrocketed from the middle stage of the Nascent Soul to the Peak of the Spirit Severing Stage in a single day.
That gray-white Essence, a fusion of her Heavenly Demon bloodline and various complex powers, had become even more condensed and overbearing after being purified by Liu Ningshuang’s pure origin energy.
Lu Ning even felt that with her current strength, she could hold her own even against a powerhouse at the Peak of the Void Refinement Stage.
Of course, this was still far from enough.
Her goal was to return to the Mahayana Stage, and even surpass it to reach the legendary Tribulation Transcendence Stage.
Just then, a familiar mechanical voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
[Ding! System upgrade complete!]
[System Version 2.0 has officially launched!]
Hearing this voice, Lu Ning’s body trembled violently, and her eyes instantly filled with unavoidable surprise.
It was here!
It was finally here!
She had been waiting for too long.
[Ding! It has been detected that the Host’s cultivation has reached the Peak of the Spirit Severing Stage, meeting the criteria for the system upgrade reward.]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: 1,000 System Points.]
[Ding! The System Store function has been officially unlocked.]
[The Host can earn points by completing Main Missions, Side Missions, or by collecting special items in this world to exchange for various treasures in the Store.]
[Ding! The Mission System has been updated.]
[Main Missions will be triggered randomly based on the Host’s current environment and the crises faced. Upon completion, rich rewards will be granted.]
[Side Missions will be released irregularly. Upon completion, points and various minor props will be granted.]
[Ding! System Sprite, Xiao Hei, is now online and will serve the Host wholeheartedly.]
A series of system notifications chimed in Lu Ning’s mind, leaving her a bit overwhelmed.
She quickly calmed down and began to carefully study the upgraded system.
First were those 1,000 System Points.
This was essentially the currency of the game, which could be used to buy things in the System Store.
Lu Ning’s consciousness immediately sank into the newly unlocked System Store.
A virtual interface, similar to a game’s shop, appeared before her.
At the top of the interface were several prominent category tabs: [Cultivation Techniques], [Divine Weapons], [Spirit Pills], [Rare Treasures], and [Special Props].
Lu Ning first clicked on the [Cultivation Techniques] column.
The section was filled with a dazzling array of techniques that looked incredibly powerful.
[Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique]: Price: 10,000,000 points.
[Primal Chaos Dao Scripture]: Price: 8,000,000 points.
[Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art]: Price: 3,000,000 points.
Lu Ning merely glanced at the long string of zeros behind those techniques and felt as though her eyes were being blinded.
She silently closed that interface.
She knew that these things had nothing to do with her for the time being.
Then, she clicked on the [Special Props] column.
The items here were much more affordable.
[“Mahayana Perfection” 3-second Experience Card]: Price: 100,000 points. (Note: Side effects are smaller than the previous 10-second version.)
[“Fifty-Fifty” 1-minute Experience Card]: Price: 50,000 points.
[“Seamless” Disguise Mask (7-day Trial Version)]: Price: 1,000 points.
[“Absolute Deterrence” 3-minute Experience Card]: Price: 500 points.
Looking at these familiar “old friends,” Lu Ning felt a surge of emotion.
Once upon a time, these things were the life-saving straws she relied on for survival.
But now, they had become clearly priced commodities.
Furthermore, the prices were not cheap.
With her current net worth of 1,000 points, she could only afford one 7-day trial version of the disguise mask or two 3-minute deterrence cards.
‘It seems I’m still just a pauper,’ Lu Ning sighed silently.
She knew her top priority was to earn points and increase her strength as quickly as possible.
However, before closing the System Store, her gaze was drawn to a peculiar item.
It was an inconspicuous gray bottle.
[“True Feelings” Potion]: Price: 500 points.
[Item Description: After consumption, it allows the user to involuntarily speak their truest inner thoughts for a short period of time.]
[Note: This potion is colorless and odorless. It can be mixed into any food or drink and is effective on cultivators at or below the Mahayana Stage.]
Upon seeing the description of this potion, Lu Ning’s eyes instantly lit up.
Speaking one’s truest inner thoughts?
This thing seemed like it could be quite useful.
Buy!
Without any hesitation, Lu Ning spent 500 points to exchange for this bottle of “True Feelings” Potion.
With the remaining 500 points, Lu Ning bought one Absolute Deterrence Experience Card as a precaution.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away in the Dahuang Dynasty.
Palace, Zichen Palace.
Dressed in a black imperial robe, Ji Liuyun was looking at the “invitation letter” sent jointly by the major righteous sects with a massive headache.
The content of the letter was simple.
They hoped the Dahuang Dynasty could send powerhouses to join them in heading to the Tianmo Sect to crusade against the great demon who had reappeared in the world โ Lu Ning.
Logically, the Dahuang Dynasty had always been on good terms with the righteous forces of the Northern Region.
Faced with such a situation, they should have been at the forefront, doing their duty without hesitation.
But as soon as she thought of that terrifying figure outside Heavenly Capital City, who was like a deity and had heavily injured a Mahayana Perfection expert with a single palm strike, Ji Liuyun felt a chill run through her entire body.
Crusade against her?
What a joke!
Ji Liuyun had no doubt that with that “rabble” from the Xuantiฤn Holy Land, even if they brought ten times as many people, it probably wouldn’t be enough for that great demon to kill alone.
When the time came, the people she sent would probably just be offering their heads on a silver platter.
But if she didn’t goโฆ the Dahuang Dynasty would surely become the laughingstock of the entire Northern Region’s righteous path.
They might even be isolated or secretly resented by those sects.
This left Ji Liuyun in a dilemma.
She paced back and forth in the grand hall, her face written with conflict and irritation.
Just as she was feeling an immense headache over the matter, a golden figure appeared silently before her.
The newcomer wore a magnificent golden palace dress, and her smooth golden hair hung loosely behind her.
No aura emanated from her body, yet she seemed to have merged with the heavens and earth, giving off a sense of unattainable distance.
The person was the Eldest Princess, Jing Linglong, who had returned from her trial in the Phoenix ancestral land.
The moment Ji Liuyun saw her, she was stunned.
She stared blankly at this elder sister who was both familiar and strange, her deep phoenix eyes filled with disbelief.
She completely could not see through Jing Linglong’s current cultivation.
However, she could sense a faint, indistinct pressure radiating from her that was even more terrifying than that of Yun Nanny, who was at Mahayana Perfection!
‘Imperial Sisterโฆ just what did she experience in the ancestral land?’
“Liuyun,” Jing Linglong spoke slowly, her voice still cold and pleasant.
“Imperialโฆ Imperial Sister, you’ve come out of seclusion?”
Ji Liuyun snapped back to her senses and stepped quickly toward Jing Linglong.
“Yes.”
Jing Linglong nodded.
Her gaze swept over Ji Liuyun, and a flash of complex emotion crossed her golden eyes.
“Regarding her matters, I have remembered everything.”
“Imperial Sister, you โ “
“There is no need to say more,” Jing Linglong interrupted her.
“Let what happened in the past remain in the past.”
‘From now on, I am Jing Linglong.’
“I came this time to tell you that concerning the righteous alliance’s crusade against the Tianmo Sect, I will go personally.”
“What?”
Ji Liuyun was shocked once again.
“Imperial Sister, youโฆ you’re really going in person?”
“Yes.”
Jing Linglong nodded again, her golden phoenix eyes now filled with nothing but determination.
“The accounts between me and that little liar should be properly settled.”
As her voice fell, a domineering and peerless aura covered the entire palace.
The entire Zichen Palace trembled violently under the influence of this aura.
Ji Liuyun looked blankly at her elder sister, who seemed to have undergone a complete transformation and become stronger than ever before.
Her heart was filled with shock.
She knew that a great war, one that would sweep through all the forces of the Northern Region, was about to begin.
And the center of this storm remained that name which everyone both hated and feared.
Lu Ning.