Breakthrough to Refining Void

(I thought it over and changed the previous incarnation setting. It might be better to keep Ye Xuan as himself in this life.)

The yin-cold miasma of Nether Ravine had blown for ten whole years.

On the massive green stone outside the cave dwelling, Wu Lingfeng sat cross-legged like a withered stone statue. A decade of sun and rain, frost and snow had covered this once supremely noble body with the grey decay of time.

Wrapped in a coarse, faded robe, her shoulders thick with dust, she was fused with this desolate hell.

For ten years, the million-pound stone gate hadn't opened a crack.

She was a soul imprisoned in her own circle, day after day, year after year, keeping her deathwatch.

Inside that door was the man she had spent her life trying to touch—and the devil who had trampled her dignity without mercy.

Even through the thick stone door, she could sometimes catch the faint fluctuations of spiritual energy merging within. She knew it well. That was the union of dual cultivation.

Whenever that happened, she could only be like the lowliest watchdog, digging her nails into her palms, letting them pierce flesh and blood, swallowing her heart-wrenching jealousy, regret, and bitterness.

"How much longer… must I wait?"

Wu Lingfeng slowly opened her eyes. Those once proud and aloof eyes were now threaded with spiderweb-like red veins, intertwined with a despair that threatened to burn away her reason.

Just then, the world's spiritual energy began to surge madly toward Nether Ravine. At first, it was a trickling stream, but in an instant, it became a spirit storm tearing through the sky.

"A breakthrough?"

Wu Lingfeng's expression sharpened. She rose abruptly, shaking a layer of dust from her body.

Her ten fingers danced, forming dozens of complex seals to lock this fluctuation of power—enough to shake the world—inside Nether Ravine, not letting a single trace escape.

Inside the cave, signs of the extraordinary began to emerge.

What first emanated was a breath of pure, gentle, and endless vitality.

That belonged to Ying'er.

For ten years of arduous cultivation, with ye Xuan's almost reckless resource support and the constant tempering of dual cultivation methods, Ying'er—this girl with a chaotic five-element spiritual root, once said to have no future in cultivation—had truly shattered the iron laws of heaven. In this age of withered spiritual energy, she had condensed a golden core against fate!

Not only that, but through the heavy stone door, Wu Lingfeng could clearly sense that it was a "Heavenly Dao Golden Core," untouched by the slightest mortal taint, perfectly flawless.

"Such a fortunate girl…"

Wu Lingfeng clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, a thick, bitter ache pooling in her eyes.

For a mortal to cultivate immortality was like an ant trying to topple a tree. Without ye Xuan's reckless fortune-altering efforts, Ying'er would likely have turned to dust at the Foundation Establishment stage long ago.

What kind of stubborn favoritism this took—to forge such a miracle?

But before the bitterness could spread across her tongue, a surge of pressure a hundred, a thousand times more terrifying than the first suddenly exploded from the deepest depths of the cave!

If Ying'er's golden core formation was a babbling brook, ye Xuan's breakthrough was a raging tsunami, a starlit cataclysm!

The poison mist that had lingered over Nether Ravine for centuries evaporated in an instant under that aura.

The so-called Void Refinement stage meant refining the void, branding one's soul into the laws of heaven and earth.

For an ordinary prodigy, spending a lifetime touching a single law was already the limit. But at this moment, in the void above the cave dwelling, six massive devouring vortexes slowly emerged. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth… and, surpassing the five elements, the law of reincarnation, emitting a faint, ghostly aura.

"Cultivating six laws simultaneously..."

Wu Lingfeng's teeth chattered, her body trembling uncontrollably from the instinctual fear deep within her soul.

"What kind of monster is he trying to become?"

She knew all too well how powerful Ye Xuan had been in his past life. But for a mighty figure to re-cultivate, the greatest dangers were heart demons and bottlenecks.

Yet in these ten years, Ye Xuan had not only suffered no stagnation but had instead, with a force of destruction, reshaped an even more terrifying foundation. He was flaw by flaw mending all the regrets of his past life.

This shocking, world-stunning phenomenon lasted for three whole days and nights.

Ye Xuan did not rush to break through. Instead, within the cave dwelling, he polished his aura again and again like a supreme blade. Only when the oppressive might that could crush the heavens had been fully internalized into a state of supreme simplicity did he stop.

The Sealed Dragon Stone, untouched for ten years, groaned and slowly rose at last.

The first ray of morning light, just right, crossed the mountain ridge and spilled into the dark cave entrance.

Two figures stepped out side by side.

The woman on the left wore a light green silk dress, her hair coiled up with only a peach wood hairpin carved by Ye Xian himself inserted askew.

Ying'er was utterly transformed.

Ten years had not left a single trace on her face; instead, the baptism of the Heavenly Dao Golden Core had reshaped her from the inside out.

Her skin was as luminous and smooth as white jade, her eyes as clear and bright as autumn water. All the naivety of the rural village girl was gone, replaced by an ethereal, unworldly grace and warmth.

If she were to walk into the Central Divine Land now, anyone would bow to her as a holy maiden from some hidden, sacred land.

And the man on the right…

The moment she saw Ye Xuan, Wu Lingfeng's breath caught.

He wore only the plainest white robe, with not a shred of spiritual energy leaking from his body—he looked like a weak scholar who had just failed the imperial exams.

But when Wu Lingfeng met his eyes, her soul shuddered abruptly.

In those playful, smiling peach blossom eyes were no reflections—only the birth and death of countless stars and eons of reincarnation.

He was simply standing there, yet he seemed to be the very fabric of this world. The wind passed without stirring his robe; fallen leaves did not dare to touch his clothes.

"Husband, is this what it feels like to be at the Golden Core realm? I can hear the sound of morning dew rolling down the grass blades!" Ying'er excitedly shook Ye Xuan's arm, like a joyful lark, her brows and eyes brimming with pure delight.

"That's nothing yet." Ye Xuan lowered his gaze, lovingly pinching her nose, his voice warm enough to melt butter. "When we reach the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation stages, I'll take you to watch the clouds rise above the sea and the stars hang upside down from the Milky Way."

With that, he slowly lifted his eyes, his gaze passing over Ying'er's hair and landing on Wu Nianxuan who stood frozen on a nearby large green stone.

In just a split second, all gentleness in Ye Xuan's gaze vanished, replaced by a searingly indifferent mockery.

"Oh, Brother Wu."

A folding fan had somehow appeared in Ye Xuan's hand; he snapped it open with a sharp "pa," portraying himself perfectly as an idle, pampered aristocrat.

"Ten years no see. How come you've withered away into this wreck?"

Wu Lingfeng's entire body stiffened.

Looking at the man before her, radiant and dazzling, yet only ever gentle with others, the regret, jealousy, and mad love that had been suppressed in her chest for ten years nearly burned away her reason.

But she bit down hard on her tongue.

Humbling herself, she lowered her head, letting her long hair hide the bloodshot eyes beneath, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Congratulations... Benefactor, on achieving mastery in your divine skill and ascending to the Law Manifestation realm."

"Congratulations... Madam, on forming your Golden Core and treading the path of the Great Way."

Ye Xuan looked down at her from on high, watching her grovel as if she were wallowing in the mud. His heart remained as still as an ancient well.

Compassion?

Absolutely not. He understood the true nature of this she-wolf all too well.

She was only crawling on the ground, feigning weakness, because her claws and fangs were not yet sharp enough. If she ever caught the slightest hint of a flaw, she would not hesitate to pounce and tear everything apart.

"Enough. Wipe that hypocritical look off your face."

Ye Xuan let out a jeering laugh and stepped down the stone steps.

The moment he brushed past Wu Lingfeng, he paused for half a step.

He didn’t use a soundproof barrier or telepathic transmission. Instead, he tilted his head slightly and, with a tone both frivolous and as insidious as a devil’s whisper, nonchalantly sent his words into her ears:

"These past ten years, listening outside the door... did you enjoy it?"