70: Chapter 70 A Critical Juncture: Breaking Through to the Tenth Level of Qi Refining!

"The step from Qi Condensation 9th Layer to Qi Refining Tenth Layer is a massive watershed where spiritual energy transitions from gaseous to liquid state. These three drops of jade marrow are my trump cards to cross this formidable chasm!"

Qi Yang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fervor in his heart.

Breaking through such a major barrier allowed for no impatience whatsoever. The Meridians of a Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots were as brittle as paper; if spiritual energy ran amok, his fate would be a hundred times worse than Deacon Pan Ping's.

For the next three full days, Qi Yang did nothing else. He neither ate nor drank, sitting cross-legged on the stone platform with his eyes closed to rest his spirit, gradually adjusting his essence, energy, and spirit to their absolute Peak condition.

Three days later, Qi Yang snapped his eyes open, a gaze of pure clarity and resolve in his eyes.

His hands rapidly formed hand seals, activating the grade 2 isolation defensive Formation surrounding the secret room to its maximum power.

A thick, earthy yellow light barrier completely locked down the secret room. Even if he were to self-detonate inside, the outside world would not perceive the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.

"Success or failure rests on this single attempt! Today, I must step over the threshold into the inner sect!"

The air inside the secret room seemed to freeze.

Qi Yang cautiously took out a drop of earth core jade marrow from the warm jade box, tilted his head back, and swallowed it without hesitation.

Boom!

The earth core jade marrow melted the moment it entered his mouth, transforming into a massive, exceptionally gentle medicinal surge that rushed down Qi Yang's throat and into all four limbs and hundred bones.

This medicinal power acted like a tough film, tightly wrapping around the extraordinarily fragile Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots Meridians within his body.

"Excellent stuff! The toughness of my Meridians has increased by at least double!"

Qi Yang was overjoyed in his heart.

Not daring to slack off in the slightest, he immediately channeled the Five Poisons Nourishing Spirit Art with all his strength.

Inside his Dantian, the massive Five Elements Grindstone—formed from the five spiritual energies of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—began to rotate madly.

"Compress!"

Qi Yang uttered a beast-like low growl deep in his heart.

Mobilizing his entire intent like two invisible giant hands, he violently squeezed the sea-like, dark-green gaseous Poison Wood Spiritual Power within his Dantian toward the center!

Compress! Compress further!

Under the horrifying squeeze, the gaseous spiritual energy grew denser and denser, its color gradually shifting from dark green to deep ink-green.

Just at the moment the Spiritual Qi was compressed to its absolute limit, on the verge of undergoing a qualitative change—

Buzz!

A violent humming sound echoed from within Qi Yang's body.

The desperate repulsive force of the Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots erupted completely at this moment!

This repulsive force was like countless invisible steel needles, madly piercing the Meridians that had just been protected by the earth core jade marrow.

Stimulated by this repulsive force, the Poison Wood Spiritual Power, which had already been compressed to its limit, suddenly ran wild!

Pfft!

Qi Yang shuddered violently as a mouthful of black blood laced with fragments of internal organs spurted out wildly.

Shocking red blood seeped simultaneously from his eyes, nostrils, and ears!

Bleeding from all seven orifices!

"Fuck! How is the repulsive force of these Mixed Spiritual Roots so terrifying?!"

Qi Yang's facial features contorted in excruciating pain, the veins on his forehead bulging and throbbing madly like earthworms.

The rampaging Spiritual Qi thrashed wildly through his Meridians, and the protective film formed by the earth core jade marrow was tearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Once his Meridians crumbled completely, he would detonate into a puddle of flesh and blood right on the spot!

It was a moment of life or death! A single step back meant an unfathomable abyss!

"I've laid low acting like a coward in the herb garden for so many years, and I even killed a demonic cultivator at the Qi Condensation 11th Layer. How could I possibly die to these trashy Spiritual Roots?!"

A streak of ruthlessness flashed in Qi Yang's eyes.

Rather than giving up the compression to save his life, he slapped his thigh violently, knocking the remaining two drops of earth core jade marrow out of the warm jade box and swallowing them both in one gulp!

If anyone had witnessed this action, they would surely think the old man had gone insane!

Although earth core jade marrow was mild, its medicinal potency was immense. Consuming three drops at once carried an extreme risk of bursting his Meridians!

But Qi Yang was determined to seek life in the jaws of death!

"Reverse for me!"

Qi Yang formed a bizarre hand seal, forcibly reversing the operating route of the Five Poisons Nourishing Spirit Art completely!

The Five Elements Grindstone, which originally generated and overcame each other, erupted with a terrifying crushing force the moment it rotated in reverse!

This force was no longer a gentle transformation, but pure fighting poison with poison!

As soon as the medicinal strength of the two drops of earth core jade marrow dissolved, it was swept up by this reversed Five Elements power and slammed violently into the wild Poison Wood Spiritual Power at the center of his Dantian!

"Condense for me!"

Qi Yang gritted his teeth so hard that two of them shattered.

Rumble!

A silent thunderbolt that only Qi Yang could hear detonated deep within his Qi Sea!

Under the terrifying crushing force of the reversed Five Elements power and the steadfast protection of the three drops of earth core jade marrow, the ink-green gaseous spiritual energy—which had rampaged to the absolute limit—finally caved under the pressure, undergoing a complete qualitative transformation!

Drip.

A drop of liquid spiritual energy, viscous as mercury and pitch-black as ink, condensed from the gaseous spiritual cloud and fell heavily onto the bottom of Qi Yang's parched Qi Sea.

This first drop of liquid spiritual power acted like a catalyst, triggering a wild chain reaction!

The vast gaseous spiritual power in his Dantian rushed toward the center as if pulled into a whirlpool, madly gathering, compressing, and liquefying!

Drip! Drip! Drip!

The liquid spiritual power accumulated rapidly, eventually transforming into a deep pool of ink-green toxic liquid about ten feet across in Qi Yang's Qi Sea!

As the spiritual power fully liquefied, Qi Yang's aura began to climb rapidly step by step!

The shackle belonging to the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation was broken directly through!

Qi Refining Tenth Layer!

An incomparably formidable pressure erupted from Qi Yang's emaciated body, causing the secret room's bronze stone platform to hum and vibrate.

"Phew..."

Qi Yang suddenly opened his eyes, two solid beams of ink-green light bursting from his turbid old eyes, piercing the air with a sizzling sound of corrosion.

He succeeded!

At a hundred years old, carrying the trashiest Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots, he forcibly crossed this massive watershed on the path of cultivation and stepped onto the threshold of an Inner Sect Disciple!

Qi Yang slowly tightened his fists, feeling the terrifying qualitative shift brought by the liquid Poison Wood Spiritual Power within his body.

"So strong... The explosive power contained in a single drop of this liquid spiritual power is at least ten times that of the gaseous state before!"

Qi Yang grinned, his blood-filled mouth making him look like an evil ghost that had just crawled out of Hell.

If he were to face Deacon Pan Ping or the Demonic Cultivator Leader again, he wouldn't need to play stealthy with poison Formations at all. Simply firing out a drop of liquid Poison Wood Spiritual Power would dissolve through their Protective Aura!

After breaking through to Qi Refining Tenth Layer, Qi Yang was in no rush to stand up.

A thick layer of foul-smelling black toxic sludge was currently oozing out onto the surface of his body.

This was the marrow-cleansing and tendon-refining transformation his body underwent after his spiritual power liquefied.

Most of the Impurities that had accumulated in his body for a hundred years due to the Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Roots were forcibly expelled at this moment.

Enduring the stench, Qi Yang continued meditating cross-legged for a full day and night until the liquid spiritual power in his Qi Sea was completely stabilized without a ripple, before finally exhaling a long breath of turbid air.

"Although my essence and marrow were cleansed, the skin and bones of this old body still cannot be changed."

Qi Yang stood up and stretched his limbs.

He walked over to the trough in the corner of the secret room and washed off the toxic sludge with clean water.

In the reflection on the water's surface, he was still the same old man with a head of white hair, a face full of wrinkles, looking frail enough to fall at a gust of wind.

The Cultivation Techniques in the Cultivation World were innumerable and bizarre, but to truly rejuvenate and regain youth, one had to at least reshape their Physical Body at the Core Formation stage.

However, Qi Yang didn't care about his appearance in the slightest; this decrepit look of having one foot in the grave was his best disguise.

Who would guard against a handyman who was about to die of old age?

Qi Yang pulled out an improved grade 2 wuxiang pill from his Storage Pouch, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed it.

The pill's power transformed into a grey cocoon, tightly locking down that terrifying pool of liquid Poison Wood Spiritual Power inside his Qi Sea.

The formidable pressure belonging to the Qi Refining Tenth Layer vanished without a trace, and his aura dropped back once again to that of a Qi Condensation Third Layer with decaying vitality.

"Perfect."

Satisfied, Qi Yang patted his tattered linen robes and followed the stone steps back up to the thatched cottage on the surface.

Pushing open the wooden door, the sunlight outside felt somewhat glaring.

Qi Yang took a deep breath of the gloomy, cold air unique to the Nether Grass Field, feeling thoroughly refreshed.