Dual Cultivation God Returns Chapter 1076: Stealing a fleeting moment

Yuanfen, who had been resting peacefully with a smile, suddenly shifted in her sleep, her brow furrowing slightly. Then, her eyelids snapped open, revealing eyes that held the unfathomable mysteries of the great void.

However, the usual serenity within them was now disrupted. She stirred and looked upwards. Although it appeared she was merely gazing past the canopy of the tree she slept in towards the sky of Fen Baihu’s Dream Realm, her eyes seemed to pierce through that veil into an unknown distance, a clear worry etched upon her features.

The celestial lights—stars, nebulae, and galaxies—within her eyes began to swirl at a rate slightly faster than normal. The impression of naive, simple, childish innocence she usually projected faded somewhat, replaced by a mature and complex look. This was imbued with wisdom, yet did not lose its underlying innocence and inner beauty. Every subtle movement she made now generated formless ripples that would remain undetectable to anyone, even Fen Baihu himself.

For the first time since her appearance before Wu Long, her gaze held a definite intent. She acted not on instinct, as was her custom, but with clear, conscious will. The very instant this happened, however, an intense wave of exhaustion washed over her, mounting with increasing severity. It seemed the mere act of being more awake was exactinga tremendous, crushing toll.

At this precise moment, unbeknownst to any, or rather, the overwhelming majority of cultivators across the entirety of the Seven Boundless Worlds, one of the rarest phenomena in creation was unfolding—the temporary convergence of time throughout all seven of the Boundless Worlds.

While living within any single Boundless World, one could not perceive any difference in the passage of time. Yet, gradually, all events occurring within each of the Seven Boundless Worlds began to align, moving at the same synchronized pace, moment by moment.

Her eyelids fluttered, a minute movement to close. The burden of this brief period of heightened clarity and awareness had grown to truly enormous proportions. Yet, with titanic effort, she fought to keep her eyes open, her expression conveying a sense of anxiety, as if pleading, 'Just a little longer, just a little longer...'.

The look in her eyes transformed as the passage of time in all Seven Boundless Worlds finally became fully synchronized. A flicker of satisfaction crossed her features. The alignment would eventually dissipate, but it would take some time before that occurred. For a day or two, time would flow identically across all worlds.

The immense, unfathomable exhaustion finally overtook the beautiful one, but her anxiety had subsided.

Still, she battled against that overwhelming fatigue, turning her gaze in another direction, stealing one more fleeting moment of wakefulness.

A single man was reflected in her eyes, accompanied by a myriad of emotions. A wry smile touched her lips, as if lamenting that the moment of her awareness had ended so soon, without even a word exchanged with him. A soft whisper escaped her lips, "Wu Long."

It was the exact same utterance she always made, the only phrase she seemed capable of in her less aware state. But this time, calling his name seemed to carry far more emotion, alongside a kind of self-reminder—a plea not to forget, to hold onto that feeling.

The next instant, her eyes reverted to their usual naive and childish innocence, accompanied by a moment of confusion as to why she felt so extraordinarily exhausted and sleepy. Yet, a single name was etched deeply within her mind, even more profoundly than before, as if she had received an imperative reminder.

However, unaware of the reason for her awakening in the first place, she no longer resisted the intense need for sleep. She collapsed back onto the tree, which gently received her as if it were not wood but the softest of cushions.

It was at this precise moment that Wu Long materialized beside her, cautious not to disturb her rest, yet simultaneously gazing at her sleeping face with intense scrutiny.

Only moments before, as he was preparing for the day ahead and listening to Butler Bang’s morning report, he had distinctly felt as though he heard her voice calling him. And though he couldn't quite articulate why, he sensed that this time, there was something different in the manner she had called his name.

Her expression showed a hint of confusion, a trace of a frown marring her features, which surprised him, as she typically wore a smile. But as if sensing his presence, her features relaxed further, and gradually, her expression once again settled into one of peaceful and tranquil delight.

Perceiving nothing overtly unusual, Wu Long departed soon after. Nevertheless, he remained unable to shake the persistent feeling that something significant had transpired.

—

The sun gradually ascended over Silver Wing City, heralding the commencement of the main auction day.

However, the city had been abuzz with activity long before dawn, as news of a audacious theft from the Silverleaf Trade Hall spread like wildfire.

Despite the Silverleaf Trade Hall's attempts to conceal the incident, a theft notice from the renowned thief, Shadowless, surfaced throughout Iron Claw City just before the hall itself even realized the crime had occurred. Members of the Iron Claw Group had already arrived on the scene to relay the information to them.

While the specifics of the stolen items remained undisclosed, and the Trade Hall offered no comment or confirmation, observant individuals likely formed an accurate guess, especially considering the discreet cancellation of their auction under the pressing circumstances.

Whispers also circulated regarding the owner, who was in the Essence Ignition Realm. Despite unleashing the full might of his cultivation pressure briefly, miraculously, no one perished. Instead, even mortals merely lost consciousness, an occurrence previously unheard of. This, combined with rumors of the owner having averted qi deviation, was hailed as a divine intervention by the common folk in both cities.

It was further said that upon waking from his unconsciousness and hearing the city's populace describe the night's events as a fortunate miracle, the owner coughed up a significant amount of blood and consequently fell unconscious once more.

Meanwhile, the Soaring Feather Trading Company was occupied with a different affair, having received an unannounced visitor – the Right Guardian of the Crow King.

Arriving incognito and without prior warning, accompanied by a mere four attendants, he insisted on an audience with Zhao Xieren. He stressed the absolute necessity of maintaining his presence as a complete secret, warning of dire repercussions should this not be adhered to.