Chapter 109: An Unexpected Turn of Events

Hearing this, Tu Lu looked him up and down. Recognizing the man as the half-step Spirit Severing cultivator who had probed him with divine sense earlier, he gave a curt nod and prepared to leave.

They were complete strangers; there was nothing to say.

However, Xu Bin frowned and stepped sideways, blocking his path.

"Guest Elder Tu is new here and likely unfamiliar with the rules of the Yuan Estate. Shall I enlighten you?"

"That won't be necessary. I dislike trouble." Tu Lu’s brow furrowed slightly as he prepared to walk around him.

Seeing this, Xu Bin’s expression darkened completely.

"Is Guest Elder Tu refusing to show me respect?"

"Fine! To save us both the trouble, just hand over a secret manual. It is the custom for new guest elders to pay tribute to their seniors!"

Tu Lu’s expression sank. He gave him a cold, piercing look. "If that is the case, I shall go ask Yuan Tong myself if such a rule truly exists. If it does, never mind one manual—I will give you two. If it does not, get out of my sight immediately!"

By the end of his sentence, his tone was frigid.

"You!"

Xu Bin’s face changed drastically, and he unleashed his half-step Spirit Severing aura, instantly enveloping Tu Lu.

Alas, even the might of a Spirit Severing expert would only have caused Tu Lu a hint of pressure; this level of coercion was like a mere tickle to him.

Tu Lu ignored him entirely and returned to his guest quarters.

Xu Bin’s face flushed a deep red with rage, but he was helpless. Tu Lu feared nothing of his half-step Spirit Severing cultivation, and he had no real means to act. After all, they were within the Yuan Estate; releasing his spiritual pressure was one thing, but he could not actually resort to violence!

***

Once back in his quarters, Tu Lu took out the *Nature Sutra*.

He was in no rush for secret techniques, but he urgently needed to use the heart method to regulate the vast spiritual power of his Purple Mansion realm.

As for the incident with Xu Bin, it was merely an interlude; he had not taken it to heart at all.

Half a day later, he let out a long breath and finally opened his eyes.

His cultivation at the peak of the early Purple Mansion realm had stabilized completely. Every ounce of his spiritual power now carried an aura of nature. The previously chaotic dao palaces within his Purple Mansion now seemed to form a miniature landscape of mountains and rivers within his body. Though the quantity of his power had not changed, it felt more than twice as potent.

"Using my Sacred Body to practice the *Nature Sutra* is indeed fitting. While I cannot compare to the speed of those other techniques in specific environments, it is far from slow. More importantly, it improves my cultivation every single moment. At this rate, the Spirit Severing realm is no longer a distant dream."

At this moment, caught in a sudden train of thought, Tu Lu sighed.

"Speaking of Spirit Severing… the Mysterious Spirit Island… I wonder how Sister is doing now. With my cultivation now reaching a small measure of success, I should have some capacity for self-preservation in the Tongtian Sea. Once matters here are concluded, I will head to the Western Regions and make for the Tongtian Sea! But first, I must 'resurrect' Ziling..."

He pondered for a moment before placing Ziling’s physical body onto the bed.

He then retrieved a tiny vial from the Heaven Dragon Token and allowed a single drop of crimson blood to fall into Ziling’s body.

But he never expected that, at that very moment, the earth would begin to shake violently!

Above, the sky cracked open like shattered glass, revealing a massive rift. A slender hand reached out from the fissure, clawing directly toward the direction of the blood essence!

In an instant, countless houses collapsed under the terrifying pressure. Under the power of a Spirit Severing expert, even the restrictions of the Yuan Estate proved useless. Tu Lu’s quarters took the brunt of the assault and exploded into fragments!

"Zhen Ling!"

Tu Lu’s face turned deathly pale as he gasped the name in shock.

***

At that moment, a cold snort emanated from the depths of the Yuan Estate.

A single sound was enough to bring the very void to a standstill.

However, the slender hand paused for only a fleeting second before striking down again!

"Audacious!"

The voice seemed incensed, rolling like thunder. Then, everyone in the Yuan Estate witnessed an unforgettable sight.

A massive arm reached out from the courtyard, its skin etched with countless mysterious, arcane scripts, as if it did not belong to this world. It collided with the slender hand, and the entire Yuan Estate shuddered violently from the impact. Countless defensive formations and restrictions flared to life, finally managing to block the aftermath.

Zhen Ling’s arm was blasted back into the rift!

Tu Lu let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was in the Yuan Estate; had he been anywhere else, he would have faced a catastrophe today. After all, he was not yet prepared to clash with a Spirit Severing expert!

At this time, the drop of blood essence had completely merged into Ziling’s body. A snowflake pattern gradually formed on her face, and a hint of vitality returned to her, though for some reason, she still did not wake.

Just then, an aged figure appeared in the sky above the Yuan Estate!

With a wave of his hand, a bolt of thunder was sent hurtling along the void channel toward the other side.

But to everyone’s shock, the space rift, which had been on the verge of vanishing, suddenly expanded violently, as if torn open by force. Immediately following, a figure of peerless elegance stepped out from within.

The moment he saw that figure, Tu Lu felt as if he had been plunged into an icy cellar!