"No wonder you couldn't distinguish reality from illusion; that illusion was just too real. You've suffered," Fang Xiaoyu said, hugging Wan Lei with concern.

"Wan Lei, do you think that wasn't an illusion, but a prophecy of the future?" Little Yellow Hound asked doubtfully.

"No, it was fake, because there's more to the story," Wan Lei replied.

"More? Didn't you already become the Universe Supreme? What else could happen?"

"If there hadn't been more to the story, I might have truly been lost. I arrived at a restaurant and met a fatty there…"

After the story was told, Fang Xiaoyu and the little yellow dog burst into laughter.

"Hey, can you show me some respect? It was terrifying! Think about the resolve it took for me to kill him. What if, just as he said, killing him meant the end of everyone, including us, including this world?"

"Hahahaha…"

"Hey, stop laughing. It was really scary back then."

"Hahahahaha…"

"You don't know, that grilled fish tasted really good…"

"Hahaha, if you were talking about what happened before, we would believe you were deceived. But the ending? You actually half-believe it. It's too fake. A novel world? And that we were all created by him? He can really talk big. If he was that powerful, why would he be a chef? Wouldn't it be better to just become a god?"

Fang Xiaoyu's eyes were watering from laughter.

"Hmph, you dare to mock me? Watch me administer family punishment."

Wan Lei picked up the little yellow dog and tossed it out, then embraced his wife, undressing her…

After Wan Lei was promoted to Array Master, his control over the Hunyuan Wuji Formation increased greatly. He spent more than half a month completely repairing the Hunyuan Wuji Formation and stabilizing its foundation. While repairing it, he didn't consider for a moment why he, of all people, could repair a Grandmaster-level formation that even the stone tablet couldn't fix…

Once the repair was complete, Wan Lei clapped his hands, admiring his masterpiece with satisfaction, and then entered the Zhuanming Yinyuan Formation to continue his recovery. As for Fang Xiaoyu, she was forbidden from going out to fight monsters anymore. Firstly, it was now the third year, and the timing of the lightning beast tide was uncertain, making it too dangerous for Fang Xiaoyu to go out. Secondly, although Wan Lei had sealed the Mahayana-level lightning beast, no one knew if it could break free from the formation. After all, the two of them had made a name for themselves with that creature. If it broke free, it would undoubtedly come seeking their lives.

Fang Xiaoyu strongly protested being grounded, but with Wan Lei's persistence, she only grumbled for two days before accompanying Wan Lei in his cultivation every day. Of course, given Fang Xiaoyu's personality—cold towards outsiders and gentle yet firm with Young Master Lei—she wouldn't have compromised so easily. The main reason was that Wan Lei promised her they would go monster hunting together once he recovered.

Now, with the Zhuanming Yinyuan Formation and the… enjoyable healing method, Wan Lei's recovery was progressing well. It was much faster than before, when weakness could last half a year or a year. However, his completely ruined cultivation base wouldn't heal quickly even with these two aids. What made Wan Lei extremely pleased was that through their "enjoyable" healing method, both his and Fang Xiaoyu's physical strength had improved significantly. This further fueled his enthusiasm for the practice, after all, cultivating and becoming stronger was nothing to be ashamed of…

"Do you think this formation can withstand the lightning beast tide?" Fang Xiaoyu was still a bit doubtful. Although the formation had been repaired, it had been breached before, and Wan Lei had barely managed to hold it together with his life. Now, Wan Lei's injuries weren't fully healed, and she didn't believe that Wan Lei's repaired formation would be better than the original.

"Don't worry, who do you think your husband is? The formations I create, let alone one wave of lightning beast tide, can handle ten waves without issue."

"Oh, please, you just love to brag." Fang Xiaoyu pouted, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"Hey, don't underestimate me. If you don't believe it, just let the lightning beast tide come now and see if I can withstand it!" Wan Lei patted his chest confidently.

"Pah, pah, pah, don't speak carelessly. The lightning beast tide doesn't necessarily come only once a year; it might come twice and then stop…" As she spoke, Fang Xiaoyu suddenly paused, looking towards the distant horizon.

"You really are a jinx. Your unlucky mouth, it never fails to predict bad things. How many times has this happened!" Fang Xiaoyu punched Wan Lei hard.

"That shouldn't happen. In the illusory life, after I healed, we just happily cultivated together, and when I became a Master, we would have left. There was no lightning beast tide," Wan, the Jinx, Lei scratched his head, utterly perplexed.

"That was all fake. Do you remember what the test for your Master promotion was?"

"I don't remember. That illusion didn't show it to me; it just gave me the memory of successfully becoming a Master. Damn it, if it had given me the insights for becoming an Immortal, Saint, or Venerable, I could have cultivated all the way to Universe Supreme here."

"Hmph, spare me." The little yellow dog scoffed. "In this tiny Thunderwind Realm, producing even one Immortal would be a miracle, requiring an immense amount of Cosmic Origin. It doesn't even have enough resources to support your cultivation to the Taiheng Realm; that's something for high-spirit planes. In the entire Prime Plane, only the Origin Plane can support the birth of Saints."

"I know, I know. Please don't always spoil my boasting," Wan Lei gave the dog a mighty whack on the head.

Soon, the lightning beast tide rushed towards them, and the lightning beasts continued their suicidal charge against the great formation. The formation shook violently, but there were no signs of cracks. This eased their minds slightly, as at Wan Lei's current state, if he had to forcefully prop up the formation again, it was hard to guarantee he wouldn't become crippled once more. As for Wan Lei himself, he wasn't too concerned. He had confidence in his formation. Moreover, even if he truly became crippled, as long as he didn't die, he could recover.

The intensity of the lightning beast tide remained unchanged; the only difference was the direction. The first time, it was from west to east; the second time, it was from east to west; and the third time, it was the same as the first. Wan Lei couldn't understand why these lightning beasts kept moving back and forth.

After the lightning beast tide passed, Wan Lei carefully inspected the Hunyuan Wuji Formation, confirmed there was no damage, and then reinforced it, finally considering it complete. By this time, they had been on Thunder Star Sea for a full three years. The following days were extremely peaceful. The young couple cultivated daily, cooked, slept, "healed," and lived happily ever after, much like the grand finale of a prince and princess story. Two months later, Wan Lei's injuries completely healed. His dantian, Nascent Soul, and lightning essence recovered, and he even advanced directly to the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage. Fang Xiaoyu eagerly pulled Wan Lei out of the formation, beginning their monster-hunting careers.