389: What were you doing all this time?

After entering the Time Layer, Xiuyuan immediately took out two cosmic cores—one Time-type and one Dark-type—produced by the System, and began to fuse them simultaneously.

This was almost unimaginable for other Saint Kings; after all, no one had ever heard of someone being able to fuse two cosmic cores at the same time.

But Xiuyuan did it; for him, it was at most just a matter of consuming two portions of exotic beast value.

Following the instantaneous success of the Fusion, Xiuyuan once again fell into that wondrous state of rapid strength growth, entering a deep level of meditative stillness.

Xiuyuan's return to seclusion left Qing Hui somewhat puzzled.

Generally speaking, when others went into seclusion, it would last for decades or centuries, but Xiuyuan was different; his longest seclusion had only been the one-year stint last time.

Filled with doubts, Qing Hui went to the South Fortress and found Grand Elder Hong Chen sitting on the city wall drinking wine. He asked, "Why has he gone back into seclusion? Didn't he just come out?"

Grand Elder Hong Chen gave a light chuckle and replied, "He didn't say he was going into seclusion, just that he was going to make some preparations. He'll probably be out very soon."

"Then did you ask him about the specific location where Jiu You is trapped?" Qing Hui pressed further.

Grand Elder Hong Chen maintained his indifferent attitude. "If he wanted to say, he would naturally tell me. Since he didn't, he likely wants to explore it himself."

Grand Elder Hong Chen's answer revealed a calm composure that suggested he had seen through everything.

After saying this, Grand Elder Hong Chen turned to look at Qing Hui and said slowly, "Xiuyuan is now the highest combat power in the Yuan Ling Universe. He doesn't actually need to explain his actions to us, don't you think?"

Hearing this, Qing Hui was slightly stunned, then realized that Grand Elder Hong Chen's words indeed made a lot of sense.

It was just that in his subconscious, he still treated Xiuyuan as his own Disciple.

Thinking of this, Qing Hui nodded and said with a smile, "You're right, I'm overthinking it. He is already the leader of the Yuan Ling Universe."

Grand Elder Hong Chen chuckled and continued, "When the Sect Master was here, he used to say that we were all acting independently, and no one would submit to another. Now that someone even more powerful has arrived, I think it's a good thing."

After being enlightened by Grand Elder Hong Chen, the burden in Qing Hui's heart lightened considerably. He relaxed his mindset, called for a jar of wine for himself, and sat on the city wall to drink with Grand Elder Hong Chen.

Ever since True Person Yuan Ling was ambushed and his Soul was corroded, followed by his departure to find a cure alone, the burden on Qing Hui's shoulders had indeed been incredibly heavy over the past ten thousand years. Managing every detail had caused him to develop a habit of acting with rigorous precision.

However, at this moment, under Grand Elder Hong Chen's guidance, Qing Hui seemed to have a sudden epiphany, and his entire being became relaxed and at ease.

A month later, while Qing Hui and Grand Elder Hong Chen were still drinking on the wall, they suddenly turned to look toward the secret chamber where Xiuyuan was in seclusion.

Qing Hui took a sip of wine and said softly, "He's out."

Grand Elder Hong Chen only took a glance at first, then ignored it and continued to savor his wine.

While one month had passed in the outside world, for Xiuyuan in the Time Layer, it was equivalent to a long period of eight or nine years.

The integration of the two cosmic cores took longer than he had originally anticipated.

Now that all five-element cosmic cores had been integrated into his body, Xiuyuan felt that his strength had reached an unprecedented Peak state.

Facing a powerful enemy like the Phantom Poison King again, he was confident he could resolve the fight within a few moves, without needing to slowly wear them down with a Soul Secret Skill as he had before.

From three elements to five, Xiuyuan's strength had undergone a qualitative leap; he was no longer an existence that an ordinary six-System Saint King could contend with.

In almost the blink of an eye, Xiuyuan appeared on the city wall where Qing Hui and Grand Elder Hong Chen were drinking.

He simply stood there quietly, yet he seemed like a towering mountain Peak, bringing a powerful sense of shock to Qing Hui and Grand Elder Hong Chen.

Even the usually unflappable Grand Elder Hong Chen couldn't help but have his expression change slightly the moment Xiuyuan appeared, revealing a look of disbelief.

"Did you eat some kind of miraculous Spirit Pill? We haven't seen you for such a short time, yet your strength has increased so rapidly!"

Grand Elder Hong Chen couldn't help but ask.

Qing Hui was also full of incredulity and asked in confusion, "Are you the Reincarnation of some great expert? Have you suddenly recovered your cultivation from a past life?"

It was no wonder they were so shocked; at this moment, Xiuyuan's mere presence gave them an indescribable sense of pressure, as if even breathing had become difficult.

Even the Phantom Poison King or the former True Person Yuan Ling could hardly bring them such a powerful shock.

Facing their shock and confusion, Xiuyuan simply restrained his aura, scratched his head, and said with a smile, "Just good luck. I had some new insights, so my strength improved a bit."

Qing Hui knew that from Xiuyuan's mouth, the explanation would always be this understated.

In the end, he could only helplessly say, "Do as you see fit. From now on, you don't need to report your actions to us. When you need our cooperation, just let us know."

Xiuyuan was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then quickly understood Qing Hui's meaning.

In this world where the strong are respected, strength is everything; this is an eternal and unchanging law.

With the massive increase in his strength, he now had the right to act autonomously, and the future of the Yuan Ling Universe could move according to his will.

Xiuyuan dissipated the Clone that was far away in the Heavenly Palace and sent a message to Ling Baoer, who was stationed there.

Qing Hui and Hong Chen were a bit surprised to see a Clone suddenly appear beside Xiuyuan.

They almost all knew the Clone Technique, but those Clones usually only possessed a small fraction of their own cultivation Realm, consumed a lot of energy, and were very impractical.

Therefore, the higher the Realm of the great experts, the less they would separate into Clones, because the recovery time for themselves was too long and the losses outweighed the gains.

But the Clone of Xiuyuan before them was completely different; it still brought them an immense sense of pressure.

Xiuyuan chuckled. "This Clone has combat power equal to mine, it just lacks some of my talents. I'll leave him here in the base."

Qing Hui and Hong Chen didn't speak, their mouths just hung wide open. Combat power equal to the original? Is this even a fucking Clone?

Seeing their dumbfounded looks, Xiuyuan gave a soft laugh and left the base.

Just as Qing Hui wanted to say something else, Xiuyuan had already disappeared.

Hong Chen looked at Qing Hui in surprise. "What's wrong?"

Qing Hui said, "The location of those coordinates is in an extremely distant land. I have a Teleportation Array here that could have greatly shortened the journey."

Hong Chen was speechless. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"