Chapter 112: I’ll Protect You

The sun yielded to the moon, and day gave way to night. Time passed quietly, and twenty years went by without a sound.

Deep within the inner sect of the Black Desolation Sect, into an area so thoroughly protected that no one could approach it freely, let alone probe its surroundings with their divine sense. Gu Yuan, one of the few exceptions, found his attention frequently drifting in that direction.

In the back garden, beside the Bodhi Tree that had grown nearly as tall as he was, Gu Yuan was tempering his body with the Heavenly Tyrant Body Art. His movements were steady and practiced, each strike and shift of weight following a well-established rhythm. Beneath his skin, his muscles tightened and relaxed as he circulated his body-tempering technique, gradually refining his internal organs.

As always, his gaze was fixed on the enormous array formation in the distance.

Ji Yue sat motionless at its center, just as she had for the past fifty years. Her appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest, but the formation surrounding her had. What had once been designed to help her absorb starlight had gradually transformed into something far more profound. Gu Yuan had felt those changes taking place over the years, and recently, the fluctuations had grown especially noticeable.

Before Ji Yue floated the Great Dao Fragment and a golden crystal, their auras intertwining as they slowly fused together.

Is she finally reaching the last stage of her physique transformation?

Quiet anticipation stirred in his heart. Looking at her and touching her were two different things, and for fifty years, he had only been allowed the former. Gu Yuan missed holding his wife in his arms.

He looked forward to the day she finally finished.

Should he throw her another birthday party when she was done? Or simply celebrate the fulfillment of one of her goals?

He turned the pleasant thought over for a moment, then shook his head and returned to his training.

After so many years of body cultivation, he had made considerable progress, having tempered most of his internal organs. Unfortunately, he still hadn’t completed the process, which meant he remained in the Inner Palace Realm.

His progress was slow, but that was hardly surprising. Body cultivation was a long and arduous process, especially without a steady supply of suitable heavenly treasures to accelerate it.

He resumed his practice, moving through the familiar sequence of the Heavenly Tyrant Body Art. Every movement placed his body under controlled strain, and every cycle of the technique tempered his organs a little further.

He continued for some time before a melodious voice interrupted his concentration.

"I see you’re working hard as usual."

Gu Yuan turned toward the voice.

Ji Yan sat nearby with one leg crossed over the other, looking as relaxed as ever. The familiar sight brought a faint smile to his face, but he soon noticed the change in her aura.

He blinked.

"Did you break through again?"

"Yes. I’m at the Second Stage of the Void Realm now," she replied calmly.

Ji Yan had entered the Void Realm a few years ago. At the time, Gu Yuan had assumed that her cultivation speed would finally begin to slow after reaching such a level. Instead, her progress had only accelerated.

Perhaps that’s only natural. She’s finally focusing on cultivation instead of spending all her time comprehending the Ascension Stele.

Gu Yuan stopped training and sat down on the ground. After spending so many years with the twins, he had long since grown accustomed to the disparity between their cultivation speeds. Even so, Ji Yan’s rapid progress was still somewhat ridiculous.

"Has something happened in the sect?" he asked casually. "The atmosphere has felt tense lately."

Gu Yuan rarely left his residence, but that didn’t mean he was oblivious to what was happening outside. Lin Hao still visited from time to time, and Gu Yuan’s divine sense had grown considerably stronger as his cultivation advanced. He could now cover the entire inner sect with some leeway to spare. That was how he had noticed the growing tension.

"Yes, it’s..."

Ji Yan had just begun to speak when she suddenly stopped, her gaze snapping toward the outer sect... or rather, beyond it.

A heartbeat later, Gu Yuan extended his own divine sense in the same direction and felt it too: countless presences closing in.

"Demonic beasts?" he muttered, unable to understand where so many had suddenly come from. "No. Could this be the infamous demonic beast tide?"

"Yes. A demonic beast tide, and clearly not an ordinary one," Ji Yan nodded.

"Is it that serious?"

Since joining the Black Desolation Sect, Gu Yuan had witnessed several conflicts, from the war against the Crimson Flame Sect to the internal struggle within the sect, and finally, the invasion by other sects. Even when the situation had appeared dire, the twins had always managed to resolve things with overwhelming strength.

He had hoped this time would be no different.

However, as his divine sense brushed against the aura of the being leading the approaching demonic beasts, his optimism began to waver. That presence alone was enough to tell him that this battle wouldn’t be as straightforward as the previous ones.

"Haha, don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you." Ji Yan grinned at him.

How cool and dependable...

Gu Yuan would have liked to think so, but her words did little to reassure him. They sounded more like an admission that the situation was serious.

After all, Ji Yan was normally the sort of woman who would say, I’ll kill them all. It’ll be easy.

If she’d said that, he would have believed her without hesitation. She was the sort of person who would normally relish a battle like this.

Yet instead of promising to crush their enemies, she had promised to protect him.

That was a rather telling difference.

"Anyway, I’ll go hold the front," Ji Yan said, standing up. "Just know this will be a long battle. The low-grade beasts will probably move first, so focus on breaking through to the Embryo Realm before you join in."

Before Gu Yuan could ask anything else, she had already departed.

Left alone in the garden, Gu Yuan glanced toward the distant horizon and let out a quiet sigh.

A long battle, huh?

He wasn’t particularly eager to participate, but he understood the situation. If the beast tide truly was as dangerous as Ji Yan made it sound, he couldn’t afford to remain complacent.

Fortunately, he wasn’t far from his next breakthrough.

He had reached the Ninth Stage of the Spiritual Core Realm years ago and was already approaching the peak. Judging by his progress, even if he relied solely on the Orb of Creation’s Qi Absorption, he estimated that he would break through within a few months.

But there was no reason to wait.

Gu Yuan began cultivating in earnest, drawing upon the surrounding Spirit Qi while circulating his cultivation technique. He also took out the remaining heavenly treasures Ji Yue had left him before their wedding and began refining them one by one.

If a battle was coming, he would rather be prepared before it reached him.