Chapter 2989: Chapter 2989
"Whoa there, little brother! You scared me—how did you sneak up on us so quietly?" Lei Ming immediately hopped over, eyeing him up and down with curiosity.
"You seem... different somehow," Long Nü remarked, studying Ye Liuyun intently. Lei Ming nodded in agreement.
"Neither of your divine senses detected me? And how exactly have I changed?" Ye Liuyun asked them in surprise.
Yet, neither Lei Ming nor Long Nü could pinpoint what exactly was different about him.
"You’ve broken through to the Unity Realm—it’s only natural you’d feel more attuned to the heavens and earth. But your mastery of cosmic energy must be exceptionally strong, which is why the change is so pronounced, making you seem even more in harmony with nature," Tang Xin Yao suddenly chimed in, her eyes gleaming with admiration.
Lei Ming and Long Nü both nodded in agreement—that was exactly the feeling they got.
"So that’s it!" Ye Liuyun finally understood why they hadn’t noticed him earlier.
After exchanging a few words with the group, he urged them to keep refining their resources without delay. Meanwhile, he sought out his doppelgänger to compare their progress. As they studied each other, they both confirmed the sensation—that seamless integration with the world, that return to primal simplicity.
Ye Liuyun took a moment to savor his transformation before refocusing and returning to refine the remaining resources.
He still had a primordial essence imbued with flame energy and a spatial-aligned pill left to absorb.
After some consideration, he realized he might not have enough time to fully refine the flame essence. Absorbing its fire energy without the aid of the Elemental Exchange Cauldron would take much longer.
"Guess I’ll try this spatial-enhancing pill instead! The spatial energy within is so potent—it shouldn’t do any harm."
With that, he boldly swallowed the pill, eager to see just how much it could amplify his spatial abilities.
The moment the pill dissolved, the layers of void around him unfolded before his eyes like an open book. Every stratum of space was now his to traverse at will.
Testing his newfound power, he effortlessly shifted through different spatial layers, manipulating them with techniques like Spatial Displacement, Spatial Overlay, Spatial Compression, Spatial Severance, and even Spatial Black Hole. And this time, he could clearly perceive how each layer of the void responded to his commands.
This realization instantly clarified the principles of spatial power for Ye Liuyun.
"Looking back now, it’s astonishing how simple it truly is," Ye Liuyun mused inwardly as he continued to comprehend the workings of spatial energy.
This newfound understanding would pave the way for smoother advancements in his mastery of spatial power in the future.
Yet, this was merely the initial effect of the pill. Soon, the layers of void before his eyes began to shift. What he perceived was no longer just the space around him—it expanded outward in an instant, as if all of existence were contracting.
Vast stretches of the void, spanning thousands of miles, shrank within his vision, as though entirely under his control.
Seizing this insight, he instantly arrived at the boundary of his second clone’s spatial world.
Under the influence of the pill, the barrier of the clone’s spatial realm now seemed like nothing more than a thin, insubstantial veil to him.
Without effort, Ye Liuyun passed through that barrier and emerged outside his second clone.
The same applied to the room and the formations around him—he traversed them just as effortlessly.
"Now’s the perfect chance to explore beyond the city!"
With that thought, he took a single step and appeared outside the eastern city walls, where he could clearly pinpoint the locations of several powerful cultivators.
His gaze locked onto a sixth-level Unity Realm expert, and in the blink of an eye, he stood beside him—though still concealed within the void. The man, deep in meditation, remained oblivious to his presence.
After a brief observation, Ye Liuyun realized his vision could even penetrate the man’s spatial Interspatial Ring.
"So this is how that thieving cat steals things, isn’t it?"
Unable to resist testing the theory, he breached the ring’s spatial barrier and entered its inner space. With a mere wave of his hand, he emptied the contents of the cultivator’s Interspatial Ring.
Without a backward glance, he stepped forward, traversing the void in a loop before returning to his dwelling.
"Ha! Even a sixth-level Guiyi expert couldn’t detect me! This feeling is incredible!"
Yet he didn’t grow greedy. Immediately, he entered the spatial world of his second avatar and continued practicing, refraining from venturing out to confront others. The thrill of stealing left him uneasy—it felt too unnatural.
"This must be what they call ’a guilty conscience.’ This line of work isn’t for me!"
He chuckled and resumed honing his ability to penetrate spatial barriers. He even sought out areas reinforced with formations to test his limits.
Some formations allowed passage, but others—those with overwhelmingly dense defensive energies—remained impervious. Though he could perceive their structure, breaching them was impossible. The sheer power of those formations acted as an impenetrable blockade.
As he practiced, he committed every sensation to memory. His spatial abilities had stagnated for some time, but now, he seized the opportunity to push them to new heights.
Not only could he now traverse spatial barriers at will, but within his second avatar’s spatial world—now encompassing dozens of planets—he could step from one end to the other in an instant.
This spatial traversal was far more convenient than his previous reliance on spatial folding.
Under the influence of spatial power, the entire world of his avatar seemed to shrink. He could now move freely anywhere, covering distances far greater than what spatial folding had once allowed.
Previously, his ability to traverse space had stemmed from his shared consciousness with his avatar—being the master of that realm, he could move as he pleased. But now, he achieved the same without relying on that identity.
Seizing the remaining potency of the elixir, he returned to his spatial world to refine it—expanding its boundaries and reinforcing its barriers.
Both avatars, sensing the same spatial power as the main body, immediately fortified their own spatial worlds before resuming practice.
Regrettably, the elixir’s effects didn’t last long—less than a day before they faded.
Yet, Ye Liuyun had already ingrained the techniques of barrier penetration and spatial traversal into his being. He continued practicing relentlessly, mastering these skills completely.
Even when the agreed departure time arrived, he refused to stop, instructing the others to wait a little longer. He feared that interrupting now would diminish his progress.
Returning to his avatar’s spatial world, he and his avatars trained for another ten days before finally halting.
Only then did he release Tang Xinyao’s nine guards and prepare to set out. From an outsider’s perspective, they had merely delayed by a day—hardly a significant setback.
But the moment they stepped outside, they encountered Liu Yan leading a group toward them.
