"What is it?"

Gu Ruoyun was taken aback for a moment before she furrowed her brows and asked.

Zixie raised his hand. There was a vermillion-colored pearl which glowed with a radiant light like an intimidating, fiery sun in the palm of his hand.

"Ten thousand years ago, something had gone wrong when you had attempted to break through from the late-stage of the Ninth Transformation State to the Full Circle State. You had nearly exploded from too much power! Therefore, you had sealed a portion of your power into this pearl. At that time, you were very powerful and this pearl contains the power you had at your peak. Hence, if you absorbed the power in this pearl now, you can break through to the mid-stage of the Ninth Transformation State."

How powerful was a cultivator at the late-stage of the Ninth Transformation State?

Even a hundred mid-stage Ninth Transformation State cultivators could not be compared to a single late-stage Ninth Transformation State cultivator! The power that she had sealed away that year was incomparably potent. She would be able to smoothly complete her breakthrough with the help of this power.

"Zixie." Gu Ruoyun clutched the pearl that Zixie had given to her as her eyes lit up with a smile, "Thank you."

Zixie smiled in return. "My task in this lifetime is to support you in your growth. Nothing is more important to me than your power so I'm only doing what's expected of me."

Gu Ruoyun did not say anything else. She lifted her head to look at the man's handsome demonic features and said, "Zixie, I'm going to start absorbing the power in this pearl. I shall leave the other matters in the Cloudy Wind Empire in your hands. No matter what, do not disturb me!"

"Alright, you can rest assured in your closed-door cultivation. No matter what happens, Qianbei Ye and I will take care of things for you."

Zixie smiled gently as his demonic eyes filled with indulgence.

Gu Ruoyun looked gratefully at Zixie before turning towards Qianbei Ye. She fell silent for a moment and said, "Xiao Ye, take care of my family for me."

"I will."

Even though it was a short reply, it fully expressed his determination.

He would never let anyone hurt her family!

"Xiao Ye, you can leave with Zixie. I will ask the Azure Dragon and the Four Divine Beasts to stand guard outside my room and make sure no one disturbs me."

Gu Ruoyun then released the Four Divine Beasts from the Ancient Divine Pagoda and calmly instructed, "You four, stand guard outside the door. Don't allow anyone to disturb me."

This was the only way for her to quickly achieve her breakthrough.

Hence, she would not see anyone during this period of time!

"Let's go."

Qianbei Ye took one last look at Gu Ruoyun before he turned around and walked out the door...

As the door slowly closed, the man's figure disappeared from Gu Ruoyun's view. She then took a deep breath and sat cross-legged on the bed, placing the pearl in front of her.

She began to inhale and exhale deeply. The pearl began to exude a little bit of energy which gradually entered her body through her breath...

At the same time, the room was enveloped in a red glow, casting her surroundings into an uncanny appearance when seen from afar...

Time passed.

The months passed quickly as she was cultivating.

Soon, two years have gone by and Gu Ruoyun's door had remained tightly shut during these two years. The entire Cloudy Wind Empire was so quiet that it felt unusual...

"Father, when's Mother coming out?"

Xiao Xun'er, who was in a rock garden near Gu Ruoyun's room, propped his chin on his hand and blinked at the locked door. His large eyes were filled with a dispirited look.