1504 Leaving the Shadow Realm
After returning to the Shadow Realm, Yuan summoned his Soul Weapons and asked the immortals, "Do you know the way out of here? Last time, I was teleported out of here by the Great One. I doubt he'd be willing to do it again since I refused to be his disciple."
"Huh? The Great One wanted you to be his disciple?" Yu Ning's voice was filled with a profound, almost incredulous, shock.
"That's the Supreme Being who stood at the apex of the cultivation world even during the Primordial Realm! It was an existence that not even the Celestial Emperor dared to approach, much less covet!"
"For such a great existence to take an interest in you… I guess you're even more talented than I had ever dared to imagine." Ji Ran spoke, his voice tinged with awe.
"You're awake. Are you okay? How do you feel right now?" Yuan asked after hearing Ji Ran's voice.
"Besides feeling a little tired, I feel perfectly fine. The spiritual energy in your world is much worse than I'd anticipated. I could barely breathe there." Ji Ran sighed.
Yu Ning then said, "Our Young Master's potential is beyond even your imagination, Ji Ran."
"Huh? Young Master? Since when did you start addressing him that?" Ji Ran asked.
"His identity is also far beyond your wildest imaginations. It's only natural for someone as lowly in comparison to show this level of respect."
Since Ji Ran was slumbering when Yuan revealed his identity as the Immortal Monarch's reincarnation, he had no clue why Yu Ning was being so respectful. Additionally, unless he possessed Yuan's body like Yu Ning, Ji Ran would have no idea how heaven-defying Yuan's body was.
Moreover, unless Yuan summoned the Soul Weapon they were occupying on Earth, neither Ji Ran nor Yu Ning would be able to see or hear anything from Earth. After Ji Ran fell asleep from exhaustion, Yuan sent him back to Cultivation Online to recover.
As for Yu Ning, while Yuan has kept the Empyrean Overlord summoned for his entire stay on Earth, Yu Ning sealed her senses within the Soul Weapon when Yuan entered Meixiu's room for their privacy, so she also wasn't aware of their conversation last night.
"Anyways… several exits could be found in the Shadow Realm, but they are not in a fixed position and always move around. The closest one I can sense is about ten thousand miles to the south." Ji Ran said.
"Alright."
Yuan immediately flew toward the south.
"How long do I have before it moves?" he asked as he traveled.
"The time each exit moves varies."
Sometime later, Yuan arrived at his destination, where a massive black portal was surrounded by a massive sea of Banished Souls.
He didn't immediately leave the Shadow Realm since he still had to prepare for the sword spirit waiting for him outside.
As he spectated the situation before him from a safe distance, Yuan watched as the Banished Souls attempted to enter the black portal, only to be bounced off it, almost as though they had run into an invisible wall right before the exit.
"Only those with a physical body may leave through that exit, hence why we've been stuck in here since the Primordial Realm." Yu Ning sighed when she saw this familiar scene. Once upon a time, she had been among the Banished Souls in this place, relentlessly attempting to escape the Shadow Realm. She mindlessly bashed against the invisible wall for hundreds—
even thousands of years before she finally gave up and accepted her fate to rot within the Shadow Realm.
Ji Ran suffered a similar fate. In fact, every Banished Soul within the Shadow Realm had attempted to escape at least once. Though none had succeeded on their own, it didn't deter the others from trying.
"Um... What are you waiting for?" Ji Ran asked when Yuan hadn't tried to leave for many minutes.
Yuan explained the situation to them.
"There is a formidable spirit waiting for me outside. I am just taking a moment to prepare myself."
"By the way, this exit will take me to the Vanishing Valley, where I originally entered the Shadow Realm, correct? I know there are multiple entrances to the Shadow Realm throughout the Nine Heavens, so how can I be sure this exit will lead me back to the Vanishing Valley and not somewhere else?" he asked.
"I don't think you need to worry about that, Young Master. The Shadow Realm tracks where you entered from and will automatically take you back there." Yu Ning said.
"Is that so?"
Yuan remained still for a few more minutes before making a move.
He unleashed his cultivation to the maximum, causing the surroundings to tremble. Then, he flew toward the black portal.
The Banished Souls were immediately alerted by Yuan's presence. Upon seeing that he had a physical body, they rushed at him like a group of starving beasts.
"HUMAN!!!"
"PHYSICAL BODY!!!"
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The strength of the Banished Souls varied greatly. Some were weak, while others were as powerful as Immortals.
Yuan didn't dare to underestimate them and unleashed his Soul Strength. Unlike before, he wasn't just trying to scare them; he was determined to destroy them.
"Scram!"
He activated Dragon's Gaze at its full power.
When the Banished Souls were struck by Dragon's Gaze, most were destroyed before they could even utter a sound. The stronger Banished Souls were momentarily stunned, overwhelmed by the fear of their souls being shattered.
Yuan didn't pause for a split second and continued shooting toward the black portal, disappearing from the Shadow Realm a second later.
After exiting the Shadow Realm, Yuan didn't stop moving and even accelerated his movement technique.
Meanwhile, before Yuan could even leave the Shadow Realm fully, the sword spirit resting above the Giant's Sword immediately sensed the change in the atmosphere and turned to look at the location that was causing the disturbance.
'He's back!'
The sword spirit clenched her fists in anticipation and prepared to seize him the moment he appeared.