Chapter 1812 — Chapter 1812 Heading to the Hidden Domain

"Huh? My cultivation…" Lan Yingying looked at her palms with a bewildered expression on her face.

Yuan raised an eyebrow at the puzzling results. If Lan Yingying only received a portion of the spiritual energy he absorbed, there was no way her cultivation would've increased so much.

"If your cultivation increased while mine barely moved, there's only one explanation… The Supreme Seal completely ignored the Celestial Emperor's curse!" Yuan exclaimed after coming to this realization.

The Celestial Emperor's curse on Yuan directly reduced the effectiveness of all spiritual energy he absorbed by a staggering 99 percent. If the curse had worked properly, Lan Yingying would've only absorbed a portion of that one percent. Yet, she had a breakthrough while already having a higher cultivation than Yuan—multiple breakthroughs at that.

Wanting to confirm this theory, Yuan consumed another monster core. This time, the monster core belonged to a magical beast at the level of Divine Ancestor.

After consuming the monster core, Yuan's cultivation made a breakthrough, entering the second level of Spirit Enlightenment. Meanwhile, Lan Yingying's cultivation soared all the way to the first level of Divine Master, surpassing Feng Yuxiang and Xi Meili, who were still Divine Warriors.

"Heavens! This speed of cultivation is outrageous! It's heaven-defying! It's unfair!" Xi Meili exclaimed, her voice trembling with a mix of awe and terror. Compared to what Lan Yingying had just experienced, the thousands of years that she had painstakingly spent cultivating now felt utterly insignificant—pointless, even.

"I guess that confirms my suspicions. The Supreme Seal somehow bypasses the Celestial Emperor's curse," Yuan muttered in a daze.

"Well, aren't you lucky, Yingying—" Feng Yuxiang began, turning toward her with a playful tone, but her words caught in her throat mid-sentence.

"Yingying? Are you okay?" Feng Yuxiang asked, her expression shifting to one of concern as she noticed Yingying's pale complexion and unsteady stance.

Lan Yingying nodded slightly, her movements slow and unsteady. "I suddenly feel a little nauseous," she admitted, her voice soft. "I think it's because my cultivation increased so much, so quickly. My body's struggling to adjust."

"Oh, yeah, that's actually quite normal." Feng Yuxiang said.

"Really? I've never experienced anything like that," Yuan casually remarked.

Feng Yuxiang shook her head with a slight smile. "How can you compare yourself to us, Young Master? There's a reason most people take the time to adapt to their new cultivation after a breakthrough. If we rush cultivation like a madman, it would actually harm us instead."

"What about Yingzi?" Xi Meili asked.

"Her body is already adapted since this isn't her first time reaching that level."

"That makes sense…"

"Sorry, Yingying. This is my fault." Yuan apologized to her.

"No, it's fine. I just need some time to adapt."

After saying that, Lan Yingying sat on the ground and began to circulate her Dantian to speed up the process.

"Even though I can increase their cultivation rapidly through the Supreme Seal, I shouldn't be too extreme or hasty," Yuan muttered softly, almost as if he were reminding himself.

Over the next three days, Lan Yingying spent all of her time adjusting to her new cultivation. Meanwhile, Yingzi continued to increase her cultivation, reaching the peak of Spirit King.

After three days had passed, Sect Leader Bao made his long-awaited announcement through the communication jade slip he gave to everyone with a slot.

"The time has come," he declared in a clear voice. "In precisely fourteen days from now, the Hidden Domain to the Immortal Monastery will be open. If you have a slot, please gather at the Hidden Domain with your entry token before then. I will send the location of the Hidden Domain to everyone through the communication jade slip shortly after this announcement."

The announcement was short but straight to the point.

"Fourteen days, huh?" Yuan mumbled.

Shortly after the announcement ended, Yuan received the location of the Hidden Domain.

"It's quite far from here, so we should start making our way there as soon as possible," Yuan said after memorizing the location.

"Okay."

Feng Yuxiang and Lan Yingying entered his Dantian while Yingzi returned to his shadow. When Tan Songyun emerged from her room a few hours later, Yuan asked, "Do you know where to go?"

She nodded, "Are we leaving now?"

"We can."

"Before we leave, I should warn you to be careful." Tan Songyun suddenly said.

"Careful? Of what?" Yuan asked.

"There are only 20,000 slots, nowhere near enough to satisfy everyone. There's a good chance some people will attempt to steal our slots while we make our way to the Hidden Domain," she explained.

"Oh, I can see that happening. Don't worry. Nobody will be able to steal from us."

"Hmph," she coldly snorted, "You say that now, but no matter how talented you are, you'll be helpless once you encounter someone who can use Immortal Qi."

Yuan didn't comment on that remark and merely smiled in silence.

Sometime later, Yuan, Tan Songyun, and Xi Meili departed from the Heavenly Beast Sect, setting off on their journey to the Hidden Domain. As they made their way, they noticed a steady stream of others also leaving the sect and heading in the same direction.

To minimize the risk of encountering thieves, Yuan's group decided to travel with the larger crowd until they reached the nearest city equipped with a teleportation device.

Yuan hoped to remain with the group until they reached the Hidden Domain, but after using the teleportation device to reach the city closest to the Hidden Domain, the group began to disperse. It became clear that the cultivators were purposefully going their separate ways, likely to avoid competition or unnecessary trouble as they approached the Hidden Domain.

"Everyone must be wary of each other since we don't know who has a slot," Tan Songyun said after seeing the group scatter.

"What should we do now?" Xi Meili asked.

"There's nothing we can do except head to the Hidden Domain ourselves." Yuan shrugged.

"That said, we shouldn't head there immediately. Let's wait a few more days before we do so."