Chapter Eighty-Eight: Pinnacle of the Spirit Realm

A few days later, as Muya returned from the altar, she saw Yun Chuxue waiting for her not far away at the foot of the mountain, accompanied by the high priestess.

Muya smiled lightly. "Yun Chuxue, what's going on today?"

Before Yun Chuxue could respond, the high priestess spoke up, "Leader, I heard that you were coming back today, so she prepared a table full of dishes specifically for you."

"Really?"

"Mhmm."

Yun Chuxue nodded like an obedient child.

"Alright, let's go."

Back at Muya's residence, after Muya and Yun Chuxue sat down, Muya gestured for the high priestess to join them for the meal.

Sitting opposite Yun Chuxue, the high priestess removed her mask, revealing a pure and gentle appearance that surprised Yun Chuxue.

"What's wrong? Are you surprised?" the high priestess asked.

"I thought the high priestess should be an elderly person, but I didn't expect her to be so young."

"Her actual age is only in her sixties," Muya explained. "It seems the high priestess possesses exceptional qualities; otherwise, she wouldn't have become the high priestess at such a young age."

"Indeed, her strategies surpass mine. Our tribe survived during the previous onslaught of spirit beasts mainly because of her," Muya added.

"Really?" Yun Chuxue looked at the high priestess in astonishment.

"Leader is just joking. Without Leader's efforts to defend, my strategies would have been useless," the high priestess said modestly.

Feeling uncomfortable sandwiched between the two, Yun Chuxue didn't know what to say as they praised each other.

After the meal, Yun Chuxue began to meditate under a tree in the courtyard, while Muya and the high priestess chatted.

"High Priestess, has she shown any signs of change these days?"

"Leader, in the days you were away, I familiarized her with the tribe. Then she asked me for a sword, so I gave her a spiritual weapon. Since then, she has been meditating on her mental cultivation."

"She has no spiritual power. What's the use of meditating?"

Muya looked puzzled as she glanced at Yun Chuxue nearby, unable to understand why she was doing this.

The high priestess's explanation then clarified why Yun Chuxue was meditating.

"Because her only mental cultivation method was 'Heart as Still Water.' She wants to reshape her meridians through this method. However, after observing her for a few days, I found no changes in her spiritual body and meridians. But her mental state has improved significantly compared to before."

Muya's expression became serious. "Although her meridians are damaged, as a former spirit master, the spiritual body inside her is the source of her spiritual power. After nurturing the spiritual body for decades, it has long become a part of her body. We used a method to seal her spiritual power, allowing her meridians to heal naturally. But if she forcefully uses her spiritual power now, will it cause secondary damage to her meridians?"

"No, it won't," the high priestess affirmed. "The sealing method I used specifically severs the connection between the spiritual body and her. At the Linghai acupoint, I added three seals. Unless a strong expert at the Ling Shen Realm forcibly breaks the seals, it's impossible."

Muya sighed in relief. "Good, then I can rest assured."

Two years passed in the blink of an eye. Yun Chuxue continued to serve Muya diligently and practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard as usual. She excelled in the 'Heart as Still Water' technique.

During the diagnosis of her meridians by the high priestess, Yun Chuxue's behavior surprised her. She smiled and said, "Thank you, High Priestess," before going out to continue her sword practice.

Muya asked, "High Priestess, how is it?"

"Her meridians are completely healed now. The herbs we used over these two years have worked."

"Yes." Joy was evident on Muya's face.

The high priestess sighed inwardly, "Leader's actions are truly admirable. Since her return from the altar, she has been sleeping naked with Yun Chuxue every night, applying a layer of ointment on her skin, and then embracing Yun Chuxue until dawn with the help of her spiritual power. After over two years, she has finally succeeded. Leader must be very happy now."

Muya stood up, her joy indescribable. She said to the high priestess, "When will you lift her seal?"

"I already removed the seal while examining her body just now. She should be feeling the surge of spiritual power by now."

At that moment, a massive surge of spiritual power suddenly emanated from the courtyard, prompting Muya and the high priestess to rush out to investigate.

They saw Yun Chuxue soaring into the air, wielding the Moon Serenade Sword, surrounded by a formidable aura of spiritual power.

"Peak of the Spirit Realm!" Muya exclaimed, her eyes widened in astonishment. Similarly, the high priestess was greatly surprised.

"Is this the strength of the peak of the Spirit Realm?"

Yun Chuxue retracted the Moon Serenade Sword and landed, hurriedly embracing Muya, tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you, Muya. Thank you so much."

In the evening, the three of them sat in the courtyard. Yun Chuxue was the first to speak.

"Muya, did you arrange this? Sealing my spiritual power deliberately to nurture my meridians?"

Muya and the high priestess exchanged smiles, laughing heartily.

"You see, we couldn't hide it from her. Haha."

"Haha, indeed. The girl is indeed extremely clever."

"But I don't understand. We have no personal relationship. Why did you help me?"

Muya sighed lightly. "Because before this, the high priestess observed the celestial phenomena and saw the sudden appearance of the Star of Heavenly Injury. But after you appeared, the Star of Heavenly Opportunity also emerged. After we investigated, we found that these two stars arose because of you."

"Because of me?" Yun Chuxue was taken aback.

"Yes," Muya affirmed.

Yun Chuxue frowned, feeling that it couldn't be because of her, perhaps the interpretation was mistaken.

But Muya was certain. "No, our tribe has stood on this continent for thousands of years. Although we haven't reached our peak, we've never declined either."

Then, Muya began to recount the tribe's history.

She explained that this place was the origin of humanity, with dozens of tribes of varying sizes. One day, people discovered that some individuals could absorb and manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through their unique constitution formed within their bodies. This special constitution was called the spiritual body, and those people were called spirit masters. Gradually, each tribe embarked on the path of cultivating spirit masters.

However, the good times didn't last. Wars broke out one after another among the tribes, resulting in casualties and population decline. Consequently, the spiritual energy here became increasingly scarce.

At this time, a person led his followers to explore the outside world and suddenly discovered a place on the continent where spiritual energy was most abundant, which is now known as the Spirit Master's Mansion. Most tribes began to develop in that direction, but their tribe and a few others were still in competition. Over the millennia, only their tribe remained out of the dozens of tribes that once existed.

As Muya spoke, she looked up at the sky with a sense of regret.

Yun Chuxue was puzzled and asked, "If dozens of tribes were cultivating and causing the spiritual energy to become scarce, why is the spiritual energy still so abundant on the other side of the continent after thousands of years? Isn't the spiritual energy here also scarce?"

To Yun Chuxue's question, Muya just chuckled. "I heard that at the time, a strong individual visited our tribe. He said that there is a flame in the center of the continent called the Spirit Flame. When people cultivate, they serve as vessels to store spiritual power. After death, the stored spiritual power will flow underground and be absorbed by this Spirit Flame, then released into the heavens and earth in the form of pure spiritual power. Therefore, it circulates, which is why the other side of the continent has remained prosperous for so long."

"He suggested that we migrate there, but our ancestors didn't think it was a good idea, so we didn't move."

"Do you know his name?"

"I don't know, because I don't know who he is," Muya said helplessly, smiling.