After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 7

The night was inky black, all sounds utterly silenced. In the hidden space beneath the stone cliff in the back mountains, the chill seemed more intense than usual.

Ye Li sat cross-legged by the cold spring, her eyes tightly shut, her aura fluctuating erratically. Inside her body, the already significant stream of ice-blue spiritual energy was like a trapped, furious dragon, wildly crashing through her meridians, attempting to break through an invisible barrier.

The bottleneck of the initial stage peak of the Qi Initiation Realm had plagued her for two days.

The dominance of the Profound Nether Emperor Scripture was evident now. The power it brought far surpassed that of her peers, but the accumulation and impact force required for each breakthrough were equally terrifying. An ordinary cultivator might only need natural accumulation and a simple push to go from the initial to the middle stage. Still, what she faced was like an indestructible wall of iron!

The scarcity of spiritual energy in the lower realm was a fatal constraint. Although she had the aid of the cold spring’s Yin-cold energy and simple medicinal liquid for body tempering, the speed of absorbing spiritual energy was still far from keeping up with the terrifying, whale-like demand of the cultivation method during a breakthrough.

She had attempted several times to mobilize all her spiritual energy, like a tide repeatedly crashing against the solid bottleneck wall. Each impact brought agonizing pain, as if her entire body was about to be exploded by the violent force. Yet, the barrier merely trembled slightly, remaining completely intact, and the recoil instead caused her vital energy to churn and her Divine Soul to shake.

Even more dangerously, due to insufficient energy supply, the cultivation method’s operation began to become obscure and difficult. The vast spiritual energy that was mobilized but could not be released began to rush around inside her, showing signs of losing control and causing a backlash! Once control was lost, the slightest result would be damaged meridians and a drop in cultivation; the worst would be the collapse of her Qi Sea, rendering her a complete cripple!

Cold sweat slid down her forehead. Before it could drip, it was frozen into ice crystals by the surrounding chill. Her face was unnaturally flushed amidst the paleness, her body trembled slightly, and her teeth were clenched, clearly enduring immense suffering.

“Not enough… still far from enough!” Ye Li roared in her heart. She could clearly feel that she was only lacking a tiny bit! If only the power was slightly stronger, and the control over spiritual energy was slightly more refined, she could blast open this barrier!

But this one tiny bit was like a chasm!

Her body was nearing its limit. Her meridians were howling, her Qi Sea was shaking, and her soul was fatigued from sustained high-intensity control. That body, already weak in foundation, felt as if it would be completely ripped apart by the Profound Nether Emperor Scripture, a primordial behemoth, in the next moment!

The devastating backlash force had already begun to erode her meridians, bringing needle-like pain. Her consciousness began to blur, and the shadow of failure surged like an icy tide.

Could it be… that she would stop here?

Unwillingness! A fierce sense of refusal burned like a flame in her soul! The grand competition was imminent, her enemies were yet to be avenged, the Grand Dao was yet to be pursued—how could she fall at this initial obstacle!

Right at this crucial moment, where her consciousness was about to be drowned by pain and despair—

In the deepest part of her soul, the Samsara Mirror fragment that had always been dormant and only barely fused with her Divine Soul, as if touched by her extreme unwillingness and near-collapse state, once again… lightly trembled!

This time, it was no longer imperceptible!

A bizarre energy, far clearer and denser than any time before, like an ancient, sleeping dragon awakening, suddenly flowed out from the fragment!

This energy was not spiritual energy, yet it carried an indescribable coolness and ancient essence, as if it could soothe everything and see through everything. It instantly coursed through her limbs and bones. Wherever it passed, the spiritual energy that was about to lose control and rampage was gently smoothed by an invisible large hand, instantly becoming docile and controllable! The tearing sensation in her meridians quickly faded, and the trembling of the Qi Sea was forcefully stabilized!

Even more magically, enveloped by this energy, Ye Li’s consciousness seemed to be instantly elevated and purified!

At that moment, her perception underwent an earth-shattering change!

Everything around her seemed to slow down. The trajectory of the cold mist rising from the spring, the rhythm of the sparse spiritual source particles floating in the air, and even the subtle rhythm of her own blood flow and spiritual energy circulation became incredibly clear, as if slowed down by dozens of times, presented in minute detail before her “eyes”!

She could even “see” the most subtle energy structure on the bottleneck wall, and the location of its weakest point!

The precision of her control over the spiritual energy in her body instantly rose to a level she had previously found unimaginable! Every wisp of spiritual energy was completely at her command, perfectly harmonious!

Now!

Without need for thought, driven entirely by instinct! Ye Li gathered all the power that had been soothed and enhanced by the Samsara Mirror energy and launched a heaven-shattering final impact towards the weakest point of that barrier!

“Boom—!”

A colossal sound, as if of creation itself, seemed to ring out in her mind!

The incredibly solid barrier, under this perfectly precise strike that condensed all her power, shattered instantly like fragile glazed glass!

The obstruction vanished instantly!

The surging spiritual energy, like a burst flood, cheered and rushed into a wider, more resilient riverbed! The circulation speed suddenly accelerated! Her pores spontaneously opened, even more frantically absorbing the scarce spiritual source energy from heaven and earth!

Breakthrough! The Middle Stage of the Qi Initiation Realm!

Moreover, thanks to the nourishment of the Samsara Mirror fragment’s bizarre energy and the divine perception state just now, her Qi Sea was slightly broadened! Her meridians were also tempered to be more resilient!

This meant her foundation was more solid than that of cultivators at the same level, allowing for more spiritual energy capacity and greater potential in the future!

Almost the instant the breakthrough was complete, the extraordinary state of perception—that ability to see through and control everything—receded like a tide, vanishing without a trace. The world returned to normal speed, and the sense of extremely refined control over energy also blurred but didn’t completely disappear, leaving a faint, lingering essence and enlightenment.

Ye Li slowly opened her eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air. This breath was condensed and did not dissipate, carrying a faint grey color—deeper impurities from within her body.

She felt the surging spiritual energy flowing inside her, nearly doubled in strength compared to before, and a brilliant light burst forth from her eyes!

Success! Not only did she break the bottleneck, but she also gained a blessing in disguise, solidifying her foundation!

But what stirred her heart even more was that wondrous experience!

“Samsara Mirror…” she murmured softly, sinking her consciousness deep into her soul. The fragment still floated quietly, dim and lusterless, as if everything that happened was just an illusion.

But Ye Li knew it wasn’t an illusion!

For the first time, she had so clearly sensed its existence and truly experienced its incredible auxiliary effects—stabilizing the foundation, enhancing comprehension, and even boosting the precision of energy and spatial-temporal perception at a critical moment!

“So that’s it… is this your true purpose?” Ye Li understood in her heart. This item didn’t directly provide power; instead, at crucial moments, it elevated the wielder’s “state,” like an unparalleled master guiding them, allowing her to exert two hundred percent of her own strength, and even glimpse higher-level mysteries!

Although this state couldn’t last, even a momentary enlightenment was priceless to her!

The instantaneous boost in energy perception just now gave her a brand-new, deeper understanding of the operation of the Profound Nether Emperor Scripture and her control over her own spiritual energy. Many previously obscure points became clear at once.

She began to realize that perhaps, cultivation was not just about the accumulation of power, but also the deepening of understanding of the nature of energy and the ultimate refinement of self-control. Blindly relying on brute force was inefficient, but with precise control, one could even use a small force to move a great weight!

This thought was like a seed planted in her heart.

She no longer rushed for success. Instead, she closed her eyes, carefully recalling every detail of the breakthrough, especially that mysterious state of perception. She tried to imitate and seek that sense of extremely fine control over energy. Although she could no longer reach the height of before, she had made significant progress compared to before the breakthrough.

New spiritual energy flowed joyfully in her broadened meridians, continuously nourishing her body and repairing hidden injuries. Her aura became increasingly stable and reserved, and a subtle inner glow faintly flowed beneath her skin.

It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that Ye Li opened her eyes again. Her cultivation was now completely stabilized in the Middle Stage of the Qi Initiation Realm, and she had even taken a small step towards the advanced stage.

She stood up, stretched her muscles and bones, and a series of soft popping sounds came from within her body, filled with a sense of power.

Her gaze fell once again upon the cold spring, looking at the Condensation Dew Grass that was about to fully mature.

The Grand Competition was today.

She clenched her fist, feeling the surging power within her and the brand-new cultivation insights in her mind.

On the competition stage, she would shock everyone who had underestimated her.

And the secret of the Samsara Mirror, she would gradually, completely unveil.