Rong Jiaojiao looked at the characters dancing on the jade tablet, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. She tapped her finger lightly and replied: [Encountered some minor troubles during the breakthrough, and spent more time consolidating.]

The moment the message was sent, the jade pendant began to vibrate again.

Mo Bai replied almost instantly: [I've mastered a new sword technique! Now I can cleave ocean waves in one stroke, do you want to come and see?] His words were filled with undisguised pride.

Rong Jiaojiao couldn't help but laugh out loud. Just as she was about to reply, the jade tablet vibrated again—this time it was a message from Jun Yuangui: [Was the breakthrough going smoothly? If you have any doubts, feel free to ask me.]

Rong Jiaojiao replied: [Successfully, I have consolidated my cultivation and emerged from seclusion.]

Jun Yuan replied with three words, "That's good," and then said nothing more.

His tone remained calm, and as always, it carried a subtle concern.

Rong Jiaojiao felt a warmth in her heart. Just as she was thinking about how to reply, another message came in. It was from Lin Xiaoman, whose reply was filled with longing and regret: "I'm so curious about what the Immortal Mountain is like, but I can't go there anytime soon."

Rong Jiaojiao replied: 【When are you free to come? I'll pick you up.】

Lin Xiaoman replied with an "okay," and the two ended their chat.

When Mo Bai saw that Rong Jiaojiao hadn't replied, he sent a few more messages. Rong Jiaojiao chatted with him for a while and agreed to train together when they had the chance before stopping.

Rong Jiaojiao looked around the courtyard and didn't see her master. She sent him a message and found out that he had taken the Hidden Spirit Grass to the guild for auction.

Rong Jiaojiao sent a message to Leng Tianyou and the others, but to her surprise, apart from He Xingzhu and Leng Zelang who were at the Immortal Mountain, the others were not there. The three of them were not lively enough, and they had become estranged after not seeing each other for several years. They were not interested in having a meal together, so they talked about their recent situations and then stopped chatting.

With nowhere else to go, Rong Jiaojiao prepared to enter the small secret realm to continue her cultivation. However, as soon as she entered the small secret realm, she felt a shock of spiritual energy.

The moon spirit's voice came, "Master, come quickly, Zi Ling is about to break through to the fourth rank."

Rong Jiaojiao was pleasantly surprised. With a thought, she appeared at the edge of the small secret realm in the next instant.

At this moment, where the sable was, dense spiritual energy was frantically gathering, forming a huge purple vortex. Lightning flashed faintly within the vortex, emitting crackling and popping sounds.

The sable's fur stood on end, gleaming with an eerie purple light. It lay on the ground, its body trembling, emitting low whimpers.

The surrounding flowers, plants, and trees collapsed under the powerful pressure of spiritual energy, and the water in the spiritual spring was also stirred by an invisible force, forming rapidly spinning vortexes.

"Yueling, quickly set up a protective formation!" Rong Jiaojiao shouted solemnly.

As soon as she finished speaking, Yue Ling had already manipulated the formation in the secret realm. Twelve golden light shields floated around Zi Ling, forming a solid protective barrier.

During the breakthrough, the sable's aura continued to rise. Suddenly, it raised its head and let out a sharp cry. A purple beam of light shot into the sky and pierced through the vortex.

Immediately afterwards, dark clouds filled the sky, and bolts of purple lightning as thick as bowls crashed down.

The first bolt of heavenly lightning slammed into the golden light shield, causing ripples to spread across its surface and causing it to tremble violently. Rong Jiaojiao formed hand seals, channeling her spiritual power into the formation, and shouted, "Ziling, calm your mind and use the heavenly lightning to temper your muscles and bones!"

The sable understood her words, forced itself to stand up, its body radiating purple light as it charged towards the heavenly lightning.

The lightning struck it, sending up countless sparks and scorching large patches of its fur, but it gritted its teeth and withstood the blow.

As the lightning continued to strike, the sable's body underwent an astonishing transformation.

Its body began to grow larger, its already enormous body became even larger, and its thunder wings were several feet wider than before.

Its fur became thicker and smoother, with a silky sheen, and its eyes became brighter and sharper, as if they could see through all illusions at a glance.

As the seventh bolt of heavenly lightning struck, the sable's aura suddenly surged, and mysterious runes appeared within the purple light surrounding its body.

It leaped up suddenly, opened its mouth and inhaled, swallowing the heavenly lightning directly into its belly.

Immediately afterwards, Zi Ling roared to the sky, her voice deafening, causing the spiritual energy of the entire secret realm to boil.

The last bolt of lightning was the most terrifying, resembling a giant purple dragon, roaring down with a destructive force.

The sable gathered all its strength and let out a deafening roar. A beam of purple light shot out from its mouth and collided violently with the heavenly lightning.

"Boom!" A huge explosion rang out, and a strong shockwave swept in all directions. The golden light shield shattered inch by inch, and Rong Jiaojiao was forced to retreat repeatedly, but her eyes were fixed on the sable.

As the smoke cleared, a majestic fourth-tier sable appeared before Rong Jiaojiao.

It exuded a powerful aura, and the ground trembled slightly with every step it took.

It slowly walked up to Rong Jiaojiao, lowered its head, and gently rubbed its head against her palm, its eyes full of affection.

Rong Jiaojiao stroked the sable's soft fur, a relieved smile on her face: "Ziling, congratulations on breaking through to the fourth rank! Are you injured?"

The sable raised its head and let out a joyful cry that echoed throughout the entire secret realm.

The next second, it transformed back into its ferret form and jumped into Rong Jiaojiao's arms: "Master, I'm not injured, but I need to go into seclusion for a while."

"That's good. You continue to consolidate your cultivation. I'll have Yue Ling speed up your time tenfold."

Zi Ling snuggled closer to her and said, "Thank you, Master."

Rong Jiaojiao gently rubbed Ziling's little head and said with a smile, "Go ahead, when you come out of seclusion, I'll take you to the sea to find Mo Bai and have a match."

Zi Ling's eyes lit up, and her tail wagged happily: "I'll definitely turn all his sword flashes into fireworks!"

After saying that, it transformed into a streak of purple light and returned to the place where it originally cultivated.

Rong Jiaojiao also returned to the Taiyin Soul Fruit Tree to begin her seclusion.

Not long after Rong Jiaojiao went into seclusion to cultivate, Qing Xuanzi returned. Seeing that Rong Jiaojiao's room was sealed off again, he did not disturb her.

Within the secret realm, Rong Jiaojiao went to the place that Yue Ling had specially left for her to practice her magic.

She first took out the Spirit Abyss Sword and began with the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique, then gave a soft shout: "Nine Revolutions of Demon Subduing, First Form: Sword Transforms into a Swimming Dragon!"

The Lingyuan Sword in Rong Jiaojiao's hands suddenly burst forth with a dazzling cold light, and as the sword trembled, it even emitted a clear and melodious dragon's roar.

As she flipped her wrist, the sword light transformed into a silver dragon, meandering through the space of the small secret realm, cutting fine black cracks in the air wherever it passed.

With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed the second move: "Sword Pierces the Sky!"

"Third move - Sword Locks the Netherworld!"

Fourth Form - Sword Sweep Across the Eight Desolations

"Fifth move - Upside-down Milky Way!"

"Sixth Form - Ten Thousand Swords Return to Ruins!"

As Rong Jiaojiao shouted, spiritual energy surged forth from her body like a tidal wave, and the Lingyuan Sword hovered in mid-air, instantly splitting into thousands of sword shadows.