Translator: CinderTL
Two days later,
Xu Sanyan sat on his bed, gazing at the stern, expressionless young woman before him. He sighed softly,
"Well, since you're already here..."
After a long pause,
Xu Sanyan dressed and glanced at the Ma family woman lying on the bed like a corpse. He felt utterly bored.
In this regard, the Ma family was far inferior to the Yang Family.
Another two days passed.
The group returned to Thousand Autumns City.
Xu Sanyan had been working tirelessly on this trip. As soon as he arrived home, he shut himself in, refusing to see even Wang Zixuan.
He sensed he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
He was just one step away from reaching Soul Refinement Mid-Stage.
In the dimly lit room, Xu Sanyan sat cross-legged, the soul crystal in his hand now dull and lifeless.
A thin layer of crystalline dust covered the surroundings, even clinging to his sleeves.
Xu Sanyan ignored it, closing his eyes to focus his inner soul power. The slight furrow in his brow betrayed the strain he was under.
Breaking through to the Soul Refining Realm differed from advancing in the Dao Seeking Realm. This realm required dual cultivation of both soul and spiritual power, with both aspects progressing in tandem for a breakthrough.
Xu Sanyan had already accumulated sufficient soul power. As for spiritual power, he didn't need to accumulate it at all!
Suddenly, two brilliant beams of light erupted in the dark chamber, illuminating a pair of vividly colored eyes that glowed like fireflies in the darkness, radiating an intense, flickering light.
With a thought, a panel materialized before his eyes:
[ Xu Sanyan ]
[ Age: 23 / 1659 ]
[ Realm: Soul Refining Realm (Initial Stage) ]
[ Cultivation Method: Dao-Seizing Vitality Origin Sutra (Peak Stage) ]
[ Mystical Arts: Subduing the Heart-Ape Method (Peak Stage), Soaring Void Wind-Riding Technique (Peak Stage), Soul Condensation Technique (Peak Stage), Lu Clan's Spirit Refining Force (Peak Stage), Purple Mountain Heart-Planting Art (Peak Stage), Detailed Explanation of the Soul-Gathering Brilliance-Preserving Grand Formation (Entry Level)... ]
[ Techniques: Perfect Circle Stance (Peak Stage), Three Tigers Subduing Dragon Saber (Peak Stage), Horse Appraisal Technique (Peak Stage)... ]
[ Vitality: 1978 ]
"Enhance!" Xu Sanyan hissed.
Instantly, the Vitality count on the panel began to plummet wildly, draining away more than half of his accumulated Vitality in mere moments.
In response, the heaven and earth spiritual energy began to violently surge. The once calm and drifting spiritual energy, as if drawn by some unseen force, grew restless and agitated, swarming toward the meditation chamber.
Chunmei, standing in the courtyard, frowned slightly and exchanged a glance with Xiazhu beside her. "Sister," she hesitated, "do you sense something amiss?"
Xia Zhu nodded slowly. "A chill runs through my heart, as if we're being enveloped by some terrifying presence..."
The two were only at the Celestial Being Realm, their cultivation level too low to clearly perceive the subtle shifts in the world around them. They could only vaguely sense the changes, unable to pinpoint the exact source of the disturbance.
Though they couldn't discern the cause, someone else could.
Swish—
Suddenly, a figure materialized in the once-peaceful courtyard. Chunmei's heart jolted with fright, but after a moment of stunned silence, she hastily bowed in greeting. "Greetings, Third Madam."
The newcomer was indeed the Third Madam.
Neither of them had ever imagined that the seemingly frail Third Madam was actually a deeply concealed great cultivator. Her sudden appearance in the courtyard had gone completely unnoticed by them.
"Hmm, is Young Master Lin inside?" Third Madam asked, sensing the heaven and earth spiritual energy converging toward the meditation chamber.
"Yes, Madam, it's the master," Chunmei replied, her head bowed low.
Third Madam said nothing more, her gaze fixed on the meditation chamber, her thoughts unreadable.
Inside the Wang Family's main residence,
The Wang Clan Head raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze shifting toward Xu Sanyan's estate. "Whose residence is that?" he asked.
The old man beside him glanced in that direction. "Some of the younger generation from the clan, and Young Master Lin. The commotion must be coming from him."
The Wang Clan Head nodded, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "Soul Refinement Mid-Stage already..."
The old man remained silent, bowing slightly as he stood beside the clan head. If he hadn't spoken just now, he would have seemed like a statue.
Inside the meditation chamber,
Xu Sanyan's fists clenched, veins bulging on his bare arms. Vast amounts of spiritual power surged through his body, causing his skin to ripple as if worms were crawling beneath it.
The heaven and earth spiritual energy was so abundant that Xu Sanyan couldn't refine it all in time. Over half of the spiritual energy dissipated within his body, leaving him only able to refine a portion of it.
At this critical moment, Xu Sanyan needed to multitask. He had to frantically refine the spiritual energy, converting it into his own spiritual power, while simultaneously mobilizing his soul power to break through the restraints of his sea of consciousness.
The divine soul, though intangible, possesses substance. The sea of consciousness, while protecting the soul, also limits its growth. When the soul's mass exceeds the sea of consciousness's capacity, the sea of consciousness must expand.
However, the physical body houses the sea of consciousness. Only by strengthening the body can the sea of consciousness expand in tandem. Thus, body and soul must advance in equal measure, neither lagging behind the other.
"Break!" Xu Sanyan roared.
Instantly, the Qi Sea surged like a raging tempest. The gate suspended above it was battered by spiritual power, and cracks began to appear in the once-impregnable dam.
Xu Sanyan's heart leaped with joy. He knew the principle of striking while the iron is hot: one strike gathers momentum, a second strike weakens, and a third strike exhausts.
This breakthrough was no ordinary feat; it required absolute success on the first attempt. Failure would allow the cracks in the Qi Sea dam to heal, making subsequent attempts even more arduous.
Xu Sanyan clenched his fist, channeling every ounce of his spiritual power. He gathered it into a colossal, surging wave and hurled it once more at the invisible dam suspended above his head.
Boom!
Xu Sanyan's mind convulsed. For a split second, he felt as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth was splitting within his skull. It was as if the Thunder God himself had unleashed divine lightning in his brain, while the waters of the Nine Heavens cascaded down, churning ceaselessly through his body.
Pfft...
Xu Sanyan's internal organs were ravaged. He spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood, and two thin trails of blood trickled from his nostrils.
The towering dam was now riddled with cracks, teetering on the brink of collapse. It seemed as if the slightest push would shatter it completely. Yet even as the wave of spiritual power exhausted its force, it still fell just short.
"I refuse to believe it!" Xu Sanyan's face twisted into a ferocious grimace. He swore inwardly, his resolve hardening. A mere barrier like this couldn't possibly hold him back!
The world only saw her ruthlessness towards others, unaware of the even greater cruelty she inflicted upon herself.
"Again!"
Xu Sanyan's pupils dilated, his bloodshot eyes burning with fierce determination. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged even more violently, creating a swirling vortex in the void.
The vortex grew larger and larger, threatening to drain all the spiritual energy from Thousand Autumns City.
Mortals like Chunmei could only sense the oppressive pressure growing heavier, unaware of the true magnitude of the event.
In the courtyard, the Third Madam stood gazing at the void, her lips unconsciously tightening. Shock flashed in her eyes.
Why would breaking through to the Soul Refining Realm create such a colossal spectacle?
She wasn't the only one watching. The Wang Clan Head, First Madam, Second Madam, Fourth Madam, and even the great elder, still recovering from his injuries, sent messengers to inquire about the commotion.
Xu Sanyan remained oblivious to all this, focused solely on his impending success.
Boom!
In a split second, the dam shattered, dissolving into stardust that scattered across the void.
The barrier in his Qi Sea had vanished.
(End of the Chapter)
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