Chapter 444 - 401: Shangguan Yue’s Shame, Enlightenment, Breaking the Seal, Consecutive Breakthroughs

After suffering so much, she never thought she would survive, let alone suddenly find herself living in such a fine place. The thought that she was being cared for by the most powerful races from all the world-clusters, that she was sharing a building with Fusion Realm experts, filled her heart with an infinite sense of inferiority.

Accompanying this was an endless welling of guilt.

’If I had just died on the Eight-direction Reversing Ship, would I have been able to avoid troubling Jiang Qiu?’

’She really couldn’t figure it out. What value did she even have? Was it her once-prided talent for the Refining System? She hadn’t practiced in so many years; she couldn’t imagine how rusty she’d become.’

’Besides, that little bit of talent was nothing compared to the people she had seen.’

Back in the dungeons of the Eight-direction Reversing Ship, among the countless slaves—even among the native Human Race members from other worlds—there were plenty of people in the Peeping Dao Realm and even the Dao Entry Realm. There were all sorts of Realm experts. The unique races from other regions were a mixed bag, and some of them also specialized in refining.

Compared to them, Shangguan Yue had nothing that stood out. In fact, her Realm was in the lowest tier. Yes, on the Eight-direction Reversing Ship, the Dharma Realm was practically the Low Level tier. Unless they detected exceptional Talent or beauty, captives below that Realm weren’t even kept.

Of course, she suspected her beauty played a significant role in her survival. The way many of the Emperor Blue Lizard People looked at her was rather perverted. Because of this, she had lost almost all confidence in her abilities.

As these complex thoughts swirled in her mind, Shangguan Yue finished her bath. She changed into a colorful dress of fine silk and sheer gauze, an outfit so exquisite and opulent that it was clearly beyond the reach of anyone who wasn’t a high-level figure in their race.

She moved as gracefully as a butterfly. Her already youthful face began to fill out after a hearty meal, and the handmaidens assigned to care for her stared in a daze. "So beautiful..."

Hearing their unconsciously murmured praise, Shangguan Yue trembled slightly and didn’t dare say a word. She truly didn’t understand why she was liked. After all, by the Human Race’s aesthetic standards, she was far too child-like. She looked exactly like a high school student—in fact, she used to look like a middle schooler.

This appearance made her seem cute rather than mature, so most people treated her like a child. They didn’t see her as a grown woman and, consequently, didn’t take her seriously.

This was indeed the truth. Back in the dungeons, when native members of the Human Race from other worlds were imprisoned, they barely noticed her. But people from other races would often stare at her, dazed, for long periods.

’Perhaps the aesthetics of the outside world are just... different.’

At this thought, Shangguan Yue felt a sliver of relief. At least she did possess some value, after all.

Soon, under the care of the Three-Life Race handmaidens, she enjoyed an incredibly sumptuous feast. The meal was full of meats she had never heard of and unique plants. The wonderful flavors swirled over her tongue, slid down her throat into her stomach, and began to digest.

Countless strands of Spirit Charm from the food began to nourish her body. It had been so long since she had tasted something so delicious. With just the first bite, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face; the sensation was overwhelming.

She ate as tears continued to fall, the tracks on her cheeks shimmering faintly. Within her, the aura of her Realm began to stir. The food wasn’t just delicious; it contained a surging Spirit Charm—or at least, it did for her.

Indeed, this was no simple meal. These were, after all, lodgings furnished to the standard of the Fusion Realm. How could the food possibly be ordinary?

What Fusion Realm expert wouldn’t eat highly nourishing foods?

After just this one meal, her long-stagnant Realm suddenly loosened. It was like priming a long-dormant pump; with a great GUSH, an endless stream of clear spring water began to flow.

In this state, Shangguan Yue felt an unprecedented sense of comfort and fullness. Her Realm was actually beginning to transform!

"What rich Vast Water Spirit Charm!"

With a cry of surprise, Shangguan Yue followed the changes occurring deep within her body and began to attempt to comprehend the power of the Peeping Dao Realm.

She was utterly astonished, even overjoyed, to suddenly find herself on the verge of a breakthrough. This meal was of an unbelievably high standard, the likes of which she had never tasted in her life. Even back on Blue Star, the most powerful Grandmasters would have probably begged for a single bite of such a feast. It was just too lavish.

Now, after only a few bites, her stomach already felt bloated. The brewing Spirit Charm spun like a vortex in her Dantian, and an overflowing heat spread through her entire body. The intense feeling of expansion made her dizzy, as if something inside her was growing.

Her forearms tingled, her calves tingled, and even the spaces between her toes seemed to tingle. Her chest tingled most intensely of all. Every corner of her body felt like it was heating up, undergoing a transformation.

She recalled the Cultivation Technique she hadn’t used in years and focused on her current state, attempting to break through to the Peeping Dao Realm. The handmaidens watching her froze for a moment, then began reporting the situation up their chain of command.

This development was completely unexpected. They were, after all, only handmaidens responsible for serving guests. Though they were of the Three-Life Race, there were still ranks within their people. They weren’t part of the top echelon, which is why they had become handmaidens in the first place. When had they ever witnessed something like this?

You see, these quarters were specially prepared for those in the Fusion Realm. In other words, they had previously only ever served Fusion Realm experts, so they had never seen a guest enter a state of breakthrough—advancing in the Fusion Realm was simply too difficult.

Even when they had served particularly distinguished Dao Entry Realm Cultivators, they had never encountered a situation like this. After all, who would have thought it was possible to achieve a breakthrough just by eating a meal?

Faced with such a sudden development, they didn’t dare act on their own and reported it to their supervisor. When the supervisor of the grand residence received the news, he also didn’t dare make a decision and reported it to the Peak of Fusion Realm member of the Three-Life Race who had brought Shangguan Yue back.

Upon learning that it was Shangguan Yue who was breaking through, he made an immediate decision. "Provide her with resources. Help her complete her breakthrough and transformation. She is a friend of the esteemed Jiang Qiu; we cannot afford to treat her poorly. Besides, how many resources does it even take to break through from the Dharma Realm to the Peeping Dao Realm? Just give them to her!"

With permission granted, the subordinates quickly activated special Array devices to gather Spirit Charm. They also lit some high-grade incense to aid with Enlightenment, instantly shrouding Shangguan Yue’s rooms and transforming them into something resembling a Human Immortal Realm.

Shangguan Yue caught a whiff of a faint Fragrance, and her mind instantly cleared. A thread of insight entered her thoughts. It seemed as if the entire world had fallen silent, and even she herself grew still. The sound of her heartbeat was crisper and clearer than a warbler’s song.

An endless stream of Spirit Charm poured into her body. Her legs grew longer and more slender, and the parts of her body that were supposed to be filled out began to gain substance. Her long hair floated around her. In a daze, her consciousness sank into a hazy, dreamlike world.

She had been different since childhood; after developing to the state of a middle schooler, she had stopped growing up. Only now was she finally beginning to fill out. In her mind, her years of understanding regarding the Refining System coalesced into the image of a young girl, like a Mirror Flower Water Moon.

Deep within her consciousness, she reached out and seemed to touch an invisible barrier. With a gentle push, it shattered on contact. A massive torrent of long-sealed memories surged from the depths, flooding into her mind.

At that moment, her aura began to surge, climbing nonstop: breakthrough to the Peeping Dao Realm, Initial Tier of Peeping Dao Realm, Middle Tier of Peeping Dao Realm, High Tier of the Peeping Dao Realm, Peak of Peeping Dao Realm...