1483 Flashbacks

"Then I'll activate the formation now."

Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

A moment later, he opened his eyes with a resolute expression and activated the formation.

Immediately after the formation's activation, a profound pressure engulfed the entire world. This pressure made cultivators feel uneasy, their instincts sensing something dreadful. Meanwhile, mortals who did not cultivate remained blissfully unaware, feeling nothing at all.

As the creator of this formation, Yuan wasn't affected by its effects. However, cultivators around the world sensed a change within their bodies—more specifically, in their Dantian. It was an indescribable sensation, almost as if an invisible force had taken hold of it.

Those below the peak of Spirit Grandmaster were unaware of the formation's effects, as it did not impact them. However, those above Spirit Grandmaster were struck with a paralyzing shock, their faces contorted with terror, when their cultivation was suddenly suppressed to the level of Spirit Grandmaster.

Around fifty cultivators around the world have achieved Spirit Lord, and all of them had their cultivation lowered simultaneously.

"W-what the fuck?! What happened to my cultivation?!"

"Did someone poison me?! Why did my cultivation suddenly regress?!"

These Spirit Lords frantically began trying to figure out what had caused their cultivation base to decline, but it would be some time before they realized the truth.

Since there were so few of them, and the concept of a formation capable of restricting everyone's cultivation base was simply ludicrous, it was practically impossible for them to comprehend the situation for the time being.

"It's done…" Yuan sighed after activating the formation.

"The people won't figure out the cause of the restriction, but they will eventually realize that their cultivation is being restricted."

Yu Ning then said, "While the formation forcefully suppresses their cultivation, it won't stop them from increasing their cultivation, so while they can become a Spirit Lord, their cultivation will be suppressed to remain at Spirit Grandmaster until they surpass Spirit Enlightenment, which will probably take decades."

Yuan returned to the mansion shortly after and contacted Yan Xiaoxiao.

"Hello, this is Yuan. This is regarding the interview… Yes, we'll be available for the next few days."

"I'll be there tomorrow morning!" Yan Xiaoxiao declared, her voice shivering from excitement.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

After hanging up, Yuan returned to his room.

Inside, Chu Liuxiang was waiting for him. However, instead of beckoning him from the bed as usual, she sat on the balcony, staring at the dark sky with a profound expression on her beautiful face.

"Lulu?" Yuan called out to her.

She turned to look at him with a gentle smile and asked, "Do you have a moment?"

"Of course. What's wrong?"

He sat right beside her.

After fidgeting around for a bit, clearly nervous about it, she spoke, "I might sound crazy for saying this, but you see… I have been having these weird dreams lately."

"Dreams?" Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, not dreams. They're more like flashbacks—

flashbacks of memories that do not belong to me. It would typically occur when I am deeply immersed in my cultivation."

"When did you start having these flashbacks?" Yuan asked.

"Shortly after you gave me this ring."

Chu Liuxiang retrieved Huang Xiao Li's spatial ring and showed it to him.

"Even though I don't recognize any of these memories, they feel awfully familiar and realistic, almost like I'd actually experienced it before."

"Huang Xiao Li…" Yuan suddenly muttered.

"Huh?" Chu Liuxiang's eyes widened with surprise after hearing this name come out of his mouth.

"T-that's a name that frequently comes up in my flashbacks! How do you know such a thing?!"

Yuan smiled and said, "I don't want to spoil the fun, so I won't say anything. However, these flashbacks are real memories."

"Real memories…?" Chu Liuxiang looked at the ring and muttered, "Could these memories have belonged to the previous owner of this ring?"

"Something like that."

"Then can I ask why you gave this ring to me? You said it belongs to me, but I don't get it."

"You will in due time."

Chu Liuxiang puffed her cheeks and said, "You're teasing me!"

Yuan chuckled, "Is this the cause of your worries?"

"Basically. I thought I was possessed by a ghost or something."

"Don't worry, you're not cursed or possessed."

Chu Liuxiang stood up and suddenly grabbed Yuan's hand.

"It's been a while since we've been together like this. Let's have some fun!"

She quickly dragged him to the bed.

When Yu Ning saw this and realized what they were about to do, she immediately sealed her divine sense to respect their privacy.

'So he already has a partner…' she sighed inwardly.

Several hours later, while Chu Liuxiang slept beside him with a satisfied and peaceful face, Yuan stared at the ceiling with a pondering expression.

'So she's slowly regaining her memories as Huang Xiao Li… Does this mean Li Jinxi is also regaining her memories as Jin Xi?' he wondered inwardly.

Before the sun fully rose, Yuan left his room while Chu Liuxiang continued to sleep peacefully.

"Good morning, Young Master." Meifeng greeted him in the hallway as she mopped the floor.

"You're up early."

"I always wake up this early," she calmly said.

"Yan Xiaoxiao should be arriving soon. I'll do some warm-up on the training grounds. Can you call me when she arrives?"

"Certainly."

When he arrived at the training ground, he could see that someone had arrived before him, and she was swinging a large sword twice her size around like it was a feather.

Upon noticing Yuan's presence, Li Jinxi stopped her training to look at him.

"It's been a while. Spar with me," she immediately said to him.

"Sure."

As Yuan approached her, Li Jinxi stored away her large sword and retrieved a different sword.

"That's…" Yuan did not expect Li Jinxi to pull out the Golden Empress suddenly.

"You're going to spar with that?" he chuckled.

"You can't handle it?"

In response to her words, Yuan retrieved the Empyrean Overlord.

"I see that you've gotten better at provoking me, but let's see if anything else has improved."