103: Chapter 103 Fifth Level of Qi Refining

The sky gradually darkened.

The two separated and returned to their respective places.

Lin Xuan utilized his Wind Control Technique, flying toward Emerald Bamboo Peak amidst the thickening twilight.

He deliberately flew high, keeping away from the forests, while quietly extending his Divine Sense to its limit, alert to any unusual movement in the surroundings.

There was nothing unusual.

However, that oppressive feeling of an impending storm was growing heavier.

Returning to his small courtyard, he did not immediately Cultivate.

Instead, he first carefully inspected the courtyard's defenses—although simple, the few small warning Restrictions were intact.

Then, he entered the room, closed the doors and windows tightly, and activated the simple sound-isolating and Divine Sense-blocking Formation in the Quiet Room.

After doing all this, he moved his mind and entered the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

The space remained quiet and peaceful.

The first flower of the thunder essence fruit tree was still in bloom, its exotic fragrance assaulting his nostrils.

But Lin Xuan keenly noticed that the ovary at the heart of the flower was noticeably larger than yesterday, and the lightning light flowing on its surface was also more solid.

Pollination was successful!

The fruit was developing!

Lin Xuan felt a surge of joy and carefully inspected it with his Divine Sense.

Inside the ovary, a tiny core containing vigorous vitality was forming, slowly and firmly absorbing the pure Thunder Spiritual Energy within the space.

The deep purple fruit of the thunder-attracting vine lay quietly in the core area, its surface containing latent lightning, as if it were sleeping.

He suppressed his excitement and looked at the Herb-Seeking Mouse and the Pangolin.

Both little guys were in good condition. The Herb-Seeking Mouse was darting around in the thunder-pattern grass, seemingly practicing its tracking talent again.

The Pangolin was lying at the entrance of its burrow, its dark golden scales faintly emitting a layer of pale purple halo under the reflection of the lightning light—this was a sign of its Bloodline slightly evolving after being nourished by high-quality Thunder Spiritual Energy for a long time.

"Come, extra training tonight."

Lin Xuan called out, starting a higher-intensity coordination training session.

He was no longer satisfied with simple pit traps combined with surprise attacks.

Instead, he simulated more complex scenarios: assuming the enemy had detection methods, assuming the environment was narrow, assuming an emergency evacuation was needed...

The Pangolin's [Earth Perception] and earth/stone manipulation were used to the extreme, not only to create interference but also to quickly construct simple defensive fortifications or escape routes.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse's [Spirit Energy Tracking] was required to accurately lock onto specific targets in environments where Spiritual Qi of different attributes was mixed.

Lin Xuan himself practiced controlling the Thunder-Striking Thorn and activating Talismans simultaneously while moving at high speed, as well as extreme dodging within the shield of the earth fiend bell.

The training lasted for nearly two hours.

When it ended, the Herb-Seeking Mouse was so tired that it lay directly by the Spirit Field panting, and the Pangolin also conveyed a weary thought.

But the results were significant.

The coordination between the three was more tacit, and their reaction speed to emergencies had improved by at least ten percent.

When he exited the space, it was already late at night outside.

Lin Xuan had no sleepiness.

He walked to the window and pushed it open a crack.

The night wind surged in, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees after the rain, but further away, that majestic and oppressive Spiritual Pressure originating from Rising Sun Peak permeated the world like a physical substance.

The night sky had neither stars nor moon.

But at the top of Rising Sun Peak, in the direction of the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven, circles of pale golden halos faintly emerged, rippling slowly in the night sky like water waves.

At the center of the halo, there seemed to be some kind of heavy heartbeat, resonating with heaven and earth, thump... thump... thump... Each sound made the hearts of Cultivators within a hundred miles tremble slightly.

The precursors of the Golden Core Tribulation were already so obvious.

Lin Xuan stared at that halo for a long time.

Then, he returned to the center of the Quiet Room, did not lie down, but sat cross-legged.

It was tonight.

He could clearly feel that the Spiritual Energy within his Dantian was full and at Perfection, the Qi vortex was rotating smoothly without obstruction, and the core thunder seed was bright and stable.

The Realm of Qi Refining Level 4 Peak had reached its limit.

And the violent fluctuations of Spiritual Qi brought by this heaven and earth pressure from the outside, while seemingly a disturbance, were also a... opportunity.

The Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art operated at full power!

The Dantian Qi vortex suddenly accelerated its rotation, and the core thunder seed shone brightly.

Lin Xuan did not guide his Spiritual Energy to impact the Bottleneck step-by-step as usual.

Instead, he did something extremely bold—he actively guided the Thunder Spiritual Energy within his body to match the frequency of the Spiritual Qi fluctuations brought by the external heaven and earth pressure!

This was an extremely dangerous attempt.

The power of heaven and earth triggered by the Golden Core Tribulation, even if it was just one ten-thousandth of a lingering remnant, was far beyond what a Cultivator in the Qi Refinement Stage could bear.

A slight carelessness would result in Spiritual Energy going berserk and the Meridians being completely destroyed.

But Lin Xuan's will was as tough as iron.

His control over his own Spiritual Energy, under the tempering of long-term Talisman making, Body Refining, and Cultivating the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art, had long reached the Realm of subtlety.

Furthermore, with the "Thunder Gathering" talent and the feedback from the Spirit-Taming Tower Space, his affinity and control over Thunder Spiritual Energy far exceeded those of the same rank.

More importantly—he yearned to become stronger.

In this moment when the storm was about to arrive and crises were lurking everywhere, every bit of strength he gained was another bit of capital to survive.

Thunder Spiritual Energy surged through his Meridians.

At first, they were incompatible with the external heaven and earth fluctuations, just like a stream trying to merge into the ocean, instantly being shattered by the impact.

Lin Xuan let out a muffled groan, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

But he did not stop.

His Divine Sense was fully open, like the most precise Formation, regulating the flow rate, intensity, and frequency of every wisp of Spiritual Energy.

He no longer tried to resist or adapt to that pressure, but instead tried to understand it, finding the rhythm belonging to lightning contained within it.

The fluctuations coming from the direction of the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven, although dominated by fire, were triggering the power of the Origin of heaven and earth, which naturally contained fragments of the Law of lightning.

Lin Xuan immersed himself in it with his whole heart and mind.

Time passed bit by bit.

Sweat soaked his clothes and then evaporated under the high temperature on his skin surface, turning into faint white vapor. His face was pale, and his body trembled slightly, as if he were bearing a thousand jun of weight.

But inside the Dantian, changes were taking place.

The Thunder Spiritual Energy that was originally full and overflowing, under the resonance of that heaven and earth rhythm, began to undergo a marvelous transformation.

They became more solid, more pure, and the connections between them became tighter.

The speed of the Qi vortex's rotation, after reaching a certain critical point, not only did not continue to accelerate but instead began to... slow down.

But with every rotation, the Qi vortex became one part more solid, and the light of the core thunder seed also became one point more restrained.

This was a process of returning to simplicity.

He did not know how much time had passed.

When the first touch of fish-belly white appeared on the horizon outside the window, and the pressure from the direction of the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven reached a certain Peak and then slowly receded—

Inside Lin Xuan's body, some kind of barrier shattered with a bang!

There was no earth-shattering sound, and no strange phenomenon of wild Spiritual Energy.

There was only a feeling of clarity, as if everything had naturally fallen into place, running through his limbs and bones.

The Dantian space expanded silently, and the total amount of Spiritual Energy surged nearly twofold!

The newly generated Spiritual Energy was more pure and condensed, like mercury and paste, flowing endlessly in the widened Meridians.

The Qi vortex rotated stably, and the core thunder seed turned into a tiny purple star, floating quietly in the center of the Dantian, emitting a profound and powerful aura.

His five senses instantly became sharper.

His sense and control over the Thunder Spiritual Energy around him jumped to a whole new level. With a slight movement of his mind, a wisp of lightning as thin as a hair danced at his fingertips, as agile as a living creature.

Qi Refining Stage 5, achieved!

Lin Xuan slowly opened his eyes.

Purple lightning flashed in his eyes and disappeared, then completely restrained, returning to calmness. The aura that had slightly overflowed due to the Breakthrough was quickly gathered and hidden under the operation of the Origin Returning Qi Concealment Formula.

In the end, his externally displayed cultivation stabilized at—Qi Refining Level 3 Peak.

He stood up tall and stretched his muscles and bones.

A light crackling sound came from within his body, which was a sign of full Spiritual Energy and a strong Physical Body.

The Breakthrough brought not only the growth of Spiritual Energy, but the Thunder Body Refining Technique also received feedback, and his already solid Body Refining Realm of Level 4 advanced by half a step, with the sound of wind and thunder faintly audible during the circulation of Qi and blood.

He walked to the window and pushed it open.

The morning light was faint, and the distant mountains were like dark eyebrows.

One night had passed, and the pressure from the direction of the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven had weakened a lot, but that heavy sense of oppression still shrouded the world. Qi Tianyuan's Golden Core Tribulation would likely happen in these next one or two days.

And the undercurrents within the Sect, the missing Disciples, the strict patrols... all of this portended that a greater storm was coming.

Lin Xuan felt the surging power within his body, his eyes calm and sharp.

Qi Refining Stage 5.

At this age, with this time of entry, and with his Low Grade Lightning Spiritual Root Aptitude, being able to reach this Realm, if it were spread, would be enough to make people look sideways.

But he would not let people know.

He would continue to hide, continue to accumulate, and silently become stronger in the shadows.