As far as the cats knew, there were four great divine nations within the Desolate Ruins: Tai Bai, Canghai, Canglan, and Biluo. With the fall of the gods, whether it was a divine country or the God Realm, they could do nothing but struggle to survive within the Desolate Ruins.

The void’s corruption of the God Realm was unstoppable, but the worlds created by more powerful divine spirits were more stable. Worlds created by lesser gods had long since perished in countless numbers.

However, even though Tai Bai Divine Kingdom had been impressive in the past, within these Desolate Ruins, how much could it really dominate?

Despite fearing their might, the black cat with white fur on its head still stepped forward and countered, "The spatial barriers of the Desolate Ruins are not something we can break through, and even if we could, should Ancestor Bai appear, no one but a divine spirit could oppose her. What meaning is there in us joining you in your campaign?"

"You don’t need to worry about that. Ancestor Bai has long since fallen, and it’s only her lingering spirit that has been obstructing us. Now, even this lingering spirit will no longer appear. Now is the best time for us to leave this place.

Little kittens, do not try to linger on in this life. Returning to the Ancestral Realm is our only path to survival."

The void storms were becoming more frequent. Without leaving, there was only death.

From this perspective, the stance of the Divine Realm inhabitants was the same. The people from Tai Bai Divine Kingdom might not seem friendly, but they hadn’t come with hostile intent — they had only one common enemy.

"I understand. When the time comes, we will assist in the fight."

"A wise choice."

Seeing the black cats agree, those clad in battle armor flew away.

The world barriers within the Desolate Ruins were relatively weak; no wonder, a passage that saw little traffic would naturally be more secure, but with constant movement in and out, it would inevitably become lax, making it much easier to traverse.

The people from Tai Bai Divine Kingdom still needed to contact other Divine Realm inhabitants. When they allied all the surviving worlds, a storm targeting the Primordial Realm was also brewing.

Fate creates calamities just like this, unless one has the eyes to see into the future; otherwise, nobody knows what will come.

But some people do have premonitions.

After hearing Lin Yun’s words, Lin Yu almost had an epiphany on the spot, not even bothering to spar with Lin Yun, she immediately went back to meditate in seclusion.

Three days passed in this seclusion.

According to what Yuxuan said, the unification of the Three Souls indicates the Defiant Heavenly Realm, with the Heavenly Soul and Earthly Soul both returning to oneself.

At first, Lin Yu thought she had misinterpreted her own premonition about breaking through her boundary. If she was talking about the Heavenly Soul, she might have truly retrieved it all, but as for the Earthly Soul...

She hadn’t entered that kind of half-alive, half-dead state, nor had she felt the fusion with herself that Wang Wanqiu mentioned.

The Earthly Soul should be absent.

However, when she truly pierced through that layer, she realized that what Yuxuan said wasn’t entirely correct.

Perhaps, for some people, the Earthly Soul was already inside them?

Whether she had broken through a realm was something she knew very well.

Not only that, but she also understood the direction to advance to the next realm.

This realm was about merging the Three Souls; the next realm would be the unification of the Five Spirits, balancing Yin and Yang.

By then, she would truly be considered an Earthly Immortal.

Upon breaking through her realm, Lin Yu felt her body lighten, and more than that, she also developed a profound and mysterious connection with the world around her.

She knew this feeling well, yet couldn’t articulate it.

"This must be the Dao!"

When Lin Yu emerged from seclusion, it was a time when the stars shone brilliantly. Involuntarily, her gaze drifted towards the west; she felt that was where she belonged.

The seven mansions of the White Tiger in the west seemed exceptionally bright tonight.

In contrast, the seven mansions of the Azure Dragon in the east were dim, and their full shape was even harder to discern.

The North’s Xuanwu was still fairly bright but not as much as the White Tiger; as for the Vermilion Bird of the South, it couldn’t be seen at all now.

Lin Yu didn’t understand Astrology Art, but at that moment, she had a mysterious feeling.

When the four symbols’ stars were all lit, there would be a catastrophe that could destroy heaven and earth.

For some reason, even though breaking through her realm was a joyous event, Lin Yu had this premonition, and it spoiled all her good mood.

Looking towards the west again, it was as if a shadow had enveloped the region, with the seven mansions of the White Tiger shining, struggling against these shadows.

"Is this implying that I’m about to face this calamity on my own?"

Lin Yu sensed something and unconsciously touched the Qingfeng Sword in her hand.

These successive premonitions brought some pressure, but she was not afraid.

After touching the sword, she decided to look for Lin Yun.

Having been in seclusion for three days, all the trivial matters Lin Yun had should’ve been dealt with by now.

She hadn’t helped him sharpen his sword that day, so today...

As Lin Yu thought this, her cheeks began to feel warm.

"Master, you have come out of seclusion."

Lin Yu had not taken two steps when Wang Wanqiu arrived.

Lin Yu quickly hid her slightly bashful smile. In the presence of her junior, she had to maintain her image.

"Wan Qiu, shouldn’t you go rest?"

"I am waiting here for Master to come out of seclusion."

Wang Wanqiu spoke; then, she carefully sized up Lin Yu again. She was somewhat puzzled whether Lin Yu had managed to make a breakthrough or not.

Whether others were in seclusion or breaking through, there would usually be some signs of activity, but Lin Yu had simply stayed quietly in his room for three days and then came out on his own, very quietly, which made it difficult for Wang Wanqiu to judge.

Lin Yu knew what Wang Wanqiu was looking at. She had no reason to be guarded against her own disciple and directly said, "I have already made a breakthrough; if we encounter Wu Xin again in the future, there’s no need to fear her."

Lin Yu had this confidence that at the same level, she could defeat Wu Xin.

If she hadn’t made the breakthrough, indeed, it would have been difficult for her to defeat Wu Xin.

Only after crossing this threshold did Lin Yu realize the gap between the two realms.

In the Enlightened Realm and below, all combat involved the contest of "force," whether it was in terms of Spiritual Power, physical strength, Divine Soul combat, or even creating domains. To sum it up, it was all just a manifestation of "force."

But in the Defiant Heavenly Realm, it was a contest of "Dao."

The Enlightened Realm already touched upon some thresholds of the "Dao"; for example, Lin Yu’s duel with the Snow Maiden was a contest of force, but also mixed with some contest of Dao, just not purely so.

Below the Defiant Heavenly Realm, water is water, fire is fire, but after breaking through, water can become fire, and fire can turn into water.

Whether it’s "force" or "Dao," during a magical duel, both would manifest as "force," but the lower-level "force" is easily broken down.

Wang Wanqiu, hearing of Lin Yu’s breakthrough, was of course overjoyed.

"Congratulations, Master. That Snow Maiden should no longer be a match for you now."

It was only then that Lin Yu remembered that the first enemy she should have dealt with after her breakthrough was the Snow Maiden; why was she still focused on Wu Xin?

After all, she hadn’t really seen the Snow Maiden as her primary foe.

Though their relationship wasn’t good, they were ultimately from the same camp.

Without taking up Wang Wanqiu’s previous comment, Lin Yu instead asked, "Has anything significant happened in the past few days?"

"Nothing much in the north, but the only anomaly is that the defensive line of the Southern Demon Race has been breached. The Demon Tribe seems to be poised for a resurgence. Because of this, the people of Taiqing Daoist Temple have left Ziyang City and have gone south to prepare against the Demon Tribe."

Failing to eliminate all the Demon Kings back then, it was predictable that such a situation would arise today.

However, both the Demon Tribe and the Grassland People were somewhat shameless. They called it an invasion war. If they lost, they would just retreat back to their own territories.

When on their own turf, the Central Plains Cultivators found it difficult to exert their full strength.

On the other hand, when invading the Central Plains, there were no barriers to them, like the Snow Maiden who had fought all the way to Ziyang City, and the Grassland People who were still formidable.

When Wang Wanqiu mentioned the Taiqing Daoist Temple, Lin Yu’s mood also became somewhat complicated. The Taiqing Daoist Temple had indeed been striving to save the world, but in the process of saving some people, they were also allowing others to sacrifice.

Lin Yu found it difficult to judge them and said with a serious tone, "It’s about time to end the entanglement with the Snow Maiden."

She had gained clarity the moment she made the breakthrough.

Now that she had grown stronger, she could face greater calamities; there was no need to let the lower and middle-level cultivators continue to sacrifice themselves.

Once she ended the entanglement with the Snow Maiden, she could concentrate on confronting the Demon Tribe. This time, she was determined to instill fear in the Demon Tribe, ensuring they would not dare to invade the borders of the Central Plains ever again.

Full of ambition in her heart, yet pretending not to care much, Lin Yu asked, "Oh, by the way, have you heard any news about Lin Yun?"

"Yes, he just left yesterday."

"Left? Where did he go?"

"He said he was going to seek a place to cultivate and break through to the Celestial Knowing Realm."

Wang Wanqiu also spoke with some admiration, "I didn’t see him have any great fortuitous encounters, but his cultivation level increased so fast."

Lin Yu: "..."

If Lin Yun was said to have no fortuitous encounters, then who in the world could be said to have had any?

Lin Yu found this news somewhat unexpected, but not entirely so.

She had always felt Lin Yun was a bit out of the ordinary. To view him with the eyes of an ordinary person was definitely inappropriate. So, for him to level up from having no cultivation to reaching the Celestial Knowing Realm within a year, that was quite reasonable, wasn’t it?

"Where did he go for his seclusion?"

Although Lin Yu asked casually, Wang Wanqiu answered seriously, "I don’t know where he went, but in any case, he left with a girl named Bai Jiaojiao."

Lin Yu’s originally calm expression suddenly changed.

In seclusion with Bai Jiaojiao?

Were you going for seclusion to break through a realm, or to break through something else?

"Just the two of them? Dongfang Hongyue didn’t say anything?"

Lin Yu felt that Dongfang Hongyue, the jealous type, would definitely not let Lin Yun off easily. Wang Wanqiu shook her head and said, "There was also a lady in green. She is Bai Jiaojiao’s sister. The three of them left together, and the Lord Dongfang did not say anything."

Lin Yu immediately understood; it must be because Green Snake was there that Lin Yun was indeed going to break through his cultivation level.

Since that was the case, there was no need to pay too much attention. Once he made the breakthrough and further strengthened his abilities, he would be better prepared to face the world’s changing circumstances.

What Lin Yu didn’t know was that Lin Yun was indeed going for a breakthrough, but he needed the help of the Little Dragon Girl.

And Bai Jiaojiao too had been waiting a long time for this day...