Ye Ju, spurred by curiosity from Uncle Long San's words, found herself unable to quiet her mind during her evening meditation. A sharp rap on her head from Uncle Long San jolted her back to focus. Tonight, she was set to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. In Long San's words, wasting precious cultivation time by sleeping was simply intolerable. He personally oversaw the island's inhabitants in their training.
Long San gazed at Xiao Ju Jiu, a sense of admiration welling up within him. Truly, a Chaos Body, with unparalleled cultivation speed and astonishing talent. Even before regaining her memories, she had stumbled her way to the Golden Core stage. For anyone else, absorbing all five elements of spiritual energy into their body by accident would have meant ruptured meridians and death.
Long San sat on the rooftop, sipping spiritual wine. The wine was truly excellent.
The next day, Ye Ju emerged from her cultivation as the morning light broke, remembering her plan to explore the seabed. As she stepped out of her room, she saw Long Shan sitting on the roof of the adjacent dwelling, apparently having drunk all night.
"Uncle Long San, how about it, shall we go now?" Ye Ju felt invigorated after a night of meditation, not even a hint of hunger in her stomach.
"Sister, Father, I want to go too," Xiao Bai suddenly appeared from nowhere.
"Count me in," Qi Mo also joined the fray.
"Good, good," Long San smiled at Xiao Bai, finding his own daughter incredibly endearing.
Steward Zhu, A You, and Xiao Wang You remained silent on the side. The ocean depths were profound, and their cultivation was insufficient; they didn't want to be a burden, lest their master have to divide his attention to look after them.
Qi Mo transformed into his dragon form, and Ye Ju stood atop his dragon head. Xiao Bai also rode on Long San's black dragon. Two resonant dragon roars pierced the air, followed by the sight of them soaring through the clouds and mists towards Xiao Mo's cave. They planned to enter the sea from there.
Even though Steward Zhu and the other two were accustomed to it, witnessing the scene of two divine dragons entering the sea still left them awestruck. Who on the entire Tian Chen Continent had ever seen divine dragons? And two of them! He patted his magnificent beard with satisfaction, believing his decision to pledge fealty was the wisest one he had ever made!
As soon as Ye Ju and the others entered the sea, the two dragons dove straight down. The deeper they went, the less visible the water became. Fortunately, it had no impact on them. Ye Ju had long since unleashed her divine sense, and the island's landscape was laid out before her as if in plain sight. There were no creatures nearby; the divine dragons' oppressive aura forced the aquatic life into their caves, trembling. For nearly several thousand meters around, not a single swimming fish could be seen.
"Xiao Mo, you haven't been down here either?" Ye Ju transmitted her voice to Xiao Mo, curious why Xiao Mo hadn't discovered it before.
"Master, no. My cultivation is not enough; I can't dive so deep," Xiao Mo's two large dragon eyes resembled giant light bulbs, acting as lanterns in the dark sea.
"Xiao Ju Jiu, the seabed is affected by a barrier. Those with low cultivation cannot descend. If you had forcibly come down with your previous cultivation, you would have been injured," Long San chimed in.
When they descended to a place where their hands were invisible, Long San spoke. Xiao Bai produced several luminous pearls, illuminating their surroundings. Ye Ju saw that the bottom of the seabed resembled an inverted mountain, thousands of meters deep. So, the island that emerged from the water was merely the tip of the iceberg. They were now at the bottom of the barrier. Ye Ju curiously jumped off Xiao Mo's body, finding herself standing on a transparent barrier. Was this the bottom of the barrier? This barrier had no gateway; no living creature could enter from it. Likewise, no spell could breach it from the outside. Below the bottom lay an unfathomably deep seabed. How deep was this ocean? Ye Ju was astonished.
The group swam along the edge of the barrier, finally understanding the island's complete form. The island was truly encased by a barrier, floating in the sea. It was akin to a glass crystal ball in Huaxia, containing a small world within. And this island was the crystal world enclosed by the barrier!
This barrier was incredible, capable of containing seawater and remaining undissipated for millions of years! It was remarkable! Who could have protected their spiritual essence space with a barrier and then fallen into this world? Was it Father? But Father wasn't skilled in formations! Ye Ju's thoughts churned, finding no immediate answer.
When the group emerged from the sea, the sun was at its zenith. Ye Ju felt she needed a feast to soothe the shock the ocean had brought her. Even Steward Yu knew nothing of this; they didn't know how they arrived here, only that they had to find Ye Ju, and if they couldn't find her, the island would perish.
All the answers could only be found by herself. To leave this world and discover the reason for the Divine Wood Realm's disappearance was Ju Jiu's heart's desire. To leave this world meant ascending. Therefore, Uncle Long San was correct; cultivation was what she needed to do, to quickly regain her strength.
"Master, you're back! I've prepared the meal and am waiting for you!" A You, the clever one, began to set the table.
"A You, that's wonderful! I'm so hungry!" Xiao Bai excitedly rushed in.
"Mm, I'm hungry too. After we eat, we'll have a meeting. I have something important to say later."
Ye Ju felt it necessary to inform everyone. Her cultivation speed was remarkable; Uncle Long San had said that cultivating diligently to break through the void and ascending on the spot was normal.
However, Uncle Long San could not follow this path. He wanted Ye Ju to refine this island and restore it to a spiritual essence space. This meant hiding within the space and ascending with Ye Ju, thus evading the Heavenly Dao. His current power was too small; he had not yet recovered his peak strength. Even if ascension were possible, he would be annihilated by the Heavenly Dao. Furthermore, the spiritual energy of this world was useless to him; what he needed was immortal energy, or without the replenishment of immortal energy, he would soon perish in this world.
Fortunately, he met Ye Ju. This spiritual spring was originally a sacred spring protected by all living beings in the Divine Wood Realm. Otherwise, how could it revive the dead! But even the most abundant spiritual spring would reach its limit, and cultivation could no longer progress.
After the meal, everyone sat at the long table. Even Zhi Meng was called.
"Ahem," Ye Ju cleared her throat, unsure how to begin.
"Our island came from another realm. The barrier on the island encloses the entire island. Today, when we inspected it, we discovered that the entire island is suspended in the sea," Ye Ju paused.
Long San took over the conversation and continued.
"Your Master's cultivation speed is very fast. If nothing unexpected happens, she will be able to ascend within half a year. If your cultivation remains stagnant, then you will have to be left behind in this world. This island will be refined into Xiao Ju Jiu's spiritual space. If your cultivation is too low, you will be expelled from the space at that time."
"Lord Dragon God, by hiding in the space, can Master take us with her when she ascends?" Xiao Wang You was the first to ask. She had always thought ascension was a distant prospect for her.
"Excellent question!" Long San praised Xiao Wang You.
"As I said earlier, the island will become your Master's space. As your Master's cultivation increases, the space will also upgrade. If your cultivation remains stagnant, you will not be recognized by the space. If the Heavenly Dao detects you during the ascension process, you might be expelled from the space, and there will be a risk to your lives!" Long San's expression was solemn.
Steward Zhu and the others gasped. They were all anxious. How could they reach God Transformation and ascend with their current low cultivation? It seemed there were no shortcuts to cultivation! The idea of hiding in the space to ascend with their Master was risky unless recognized by the space.
"I will suppress my cultivation for one year. The outcome depends on all of you within that year. All the spirit plants and fruits on the island are available for you to use. Such resources should be able to help you!" Ye Ju's expression also turned serious.