84: Chapter 84 Breakthrough

Late summer at Emerald Bamboo Peak; the edges of the bamboo leaves were already tinged with a faint, barely perceptible yellow.

The morning dew hung on the leaf tips, made crystal clear by the rising sun.

Lin Xuan pushed open the door to his Quiet Room and took a deep breath of the cool air—the season was quietly shifting from the sweltering heat of midsummer to the crispness of early autumn.

He felt the surging Thunder Spiritual Energy within his body.

Qi Refining Level 3 Perfection, he had reached the limit.

Inside his Dantian, the Spiritual Qi was as dense as mercury, circulating in an orderly fashion within the vortex, each cycle carrying a heavy sense of substance.

At the core of the vortex, the prototype of that purple "thunder seed" was already clear and stable, like a miniature star, flickering with his breathing.

This state had lasted for half a month.

Cultivating the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art every day, the growth of his Spiritual Qi was negligible; it was like dripping water into a full jar—it would only overflow.

The Bottleneck leading to Qi Refining Level 4, though seemingly thin, was as solid as an invisible wall; no matter how his Spiritual Qi crashed against it, it remained unmoved.

"It is time."

Lin Xuan turned back into the Quiet Room and set up a soundproofing array.

Sitting cross-legged, he first adjusted his breathing to the most stable state, then ran the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art for three cycles, letting the Spiritual Qi in his body flow like a rushing river, ready to strike.

Everything was ready.

He took out the small white jade bottle and pulled out the stopper.

With a soft "pop," a refreshing medicinal fragrance filled the air.

The barrier-breaking pill lay in his palm, pale gold throughout, with three clear and smooth cloud patterns on its surface, glowing with a warm luster in the morning light.

Lin Xuan did not hesitate and swallowed it.

The Medicinal Pill melted upon entering his mouth, turning into a gentle yet mighty heat flow that went straight down his throat into his Dantian.

This heat was not violent; instead, it was like an invisible hand, steadily supporting his already brimming Spiritual Qi and guiding them to launch an assault against that solid wall.

"Boom—"

The Spiritual Qi, driven by the medicinal power, surged and roared through his Meridians like floodwaters from a broken dam!

Lin Xuan kept his mind focused, concentrating fully on guiding this force.

He could clearly feel that every strand of Spiritual Qi was like a sharpened awl, striking the Bottleneck precisely and powerfully.

Once, twice, three times...

Time passed in silence. Sweat seeped from his forehead, rolled down his cheeks, and dripped onto his collar, leaving dark marks.

But Lin Xuan's body was as steady as a rock, his breathing long and rhythmic.

The solid foundation laid by the Thunder Body Refining Technique now revealed its irreplaceable value.

His Meridians, tough as steel wire, calmly withstood the violent pressure of the Spiritual Qi Breakthrough without the slightest obstruction or damage.

His Physical Body, tempered to the state of "muscles and bones like jade," was like the sturdiest dam, steadily constraining the torrent of energy within him.

An hour passed.

Inside the Dantian, that solid wall finally developed a crack under the continuous impact.

Immediately after—

"Crack."

A soft sound that only Lin Xuan could hear came from the depths of his Dantian.

It was as if spring ice had shattered, or an eggshell had broken.

The barrier was shattered!

In an instant, the Dantian space expanded with a boom!

The originally brimming Spiritual Qi found a new world, instantly pouring into a wider space, the total amount increasing by nearly double!

The vortex's rotation speed increased sharply, and the purple thunder seed at its core flared, its purple light shining brightly!

The newly born Thunder Spiritual Energy sprang up like bamboo shoots after a rain, continuously generated from the vortex, pure and active.

His five senses became unprecedentedly sharp at this moment.

The rustling of bamboo leaves rubbing against each other in the wind, the noisy chatter of Disciples at Emerald Bamboo Peak in the distance, and even the faint sounds of insects and ants crawling under the soil were clearly audible.

Sight, smell, touch... all perceptions jumped to a new level.

More importantly, his sensing and control of the surrounding Thunder Spiritual Qi had greatly improved.

Lin Xuan could "see" the free-roaming thunder-attribute particles in the air and "feel" their resonance with his own Spiritual Qi.

With a slight movement of his mind, a wisp of tiny thunder light jumped from his fingertips, winding and moving like a spirit snake, under his complete control.

Qi Refining Level 4, success!

He opened his eyes, purple electricity flashing and disappearing in his pupils, then immediately restrained. Under the control of the Origin Returning Qi Concealment Formula, his aura quickly fell back to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining Level 3.

But the surging sense of power within his body was real.

For the next three days, Lin Xuan stayed indoors, focusing on consolidating his new Realm.

On the morning of the fourth day, he tested the power of his Spells in the Beast Taming Space.

First, he tested the Thunder Flash Step.

With a thought, his figure turned into a pale purple afterimage, instantly crossing a distance of five zhang and appearing at the other end of the courtyard wall.

The distance had increased by nearly half compared to before the Breakthrough, and the speed was thirty percent faster, with no obstruction in the turns.

"Good." Lin Xuan nodded.

Next, he tested the Palm Thunder.

He held his right hand in a void grip, and the Thunder Spiritual Energy rapidly compressed and condensed in his palm.

The thunder ball, which previously required one and a half breaths to form, now only needed one breath.

The thunder ball, entwined with purple electricity, hummed and vibrated, and the destructive energy contained within it made the air slightly distort.

He pressed his hand towards a waist-high blue stone in the space.

"Whoosh—"

The thunder ball turned into a streak of purple lightning and shot out, hitting the center of the blue stone precisely.

"Boom!"

Stone chips flew. A millstone-sized gap was blasted into the blue stone, the edges of the gap scorched black and cracked, and dense electric sparks were still crackling. The power had increased by at least several percent.

Next was the Thunder Net Technique.

He formed seals with both hands, and a blue-purple thunder net appeared out of thin air, two zhang in diameter, with fine meshes and low humming sounds as electricity flowed.

Lin Xuan controlled the thunder net to cover the wild jasmine in the courtyard. When the electric net fell, the jasmine branches instantly stiffened, and the leaves curled—both the binding force and the paralyzing effect were greatly enhanced.

Then came the Thunder Whip Technique.

He took the startling thunder whip, and the thunder patterns on the whip body lit up. Lin Xuan flicked his wrist, and the long whip struck out like a venomous snake. The moment the whip tip hit another blue stone in the corner of the courtyard, the Thunder Spiritual Energy erupted!

"Snap! Boom!"

First came the crisp sound of the whip strike, followed immediately by the dull thud of thunder exploding. A whip mark nearly an inch deep appeared on the surface of the blue stone, with spiderweb-like cracks radiating from the mark, and tiny electric lights jumping within the cracks.

"The power has increased by about seventy percent." Lin Xuan retracted the whip, estimating in his heart.

But that was not all.

He sank his consciousness into the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

The space range had indeed expanded, from nearly seven li before to over ten li.

The concentration of Thunder Spiritual Qi in the central area had further increased, and the growth rate of the spiritual plants had visibly accelerated.

The thunder essence fruit tree had grown to seven feet tall, and its canopy was even more lush.

Just yesterday, Lin Xuan discovered a rice-grain-sized pale purple bud at the tip of the thickest side branch—this was a sign that it was about to sprout a flower bud!

Once it bloomed and bore fruit, it would be of great value.

The blue-purple fruit on the thunder-attracting vine was already the size of a walnut, and electric sparks jumped on its surface more frequently. The aura it emitted was such that even the Thunder-Light Bug flew around it, not daring to approach easily.

Under the nourishment of the rich Thunder Spiritual Qi in the space, the auras of the Pangolin and the Herb-Seeking Mouse had both grown significantly.

The thunder patterns on the Pangolin's scales were deeper, and the Herb-Seeking Mouse had finally successfully broken through to Qi Refining Level 2 the night before, its Spirit Energy Tracking range expanded to fifty zhang, and its sensitivity to thunder attributes had also improved.

"Cultivation improvement is truly a win-win for everyone." Lin Xuan exited the space, feeling relaxed.

In the afternoon, Lin Xuan put on a plain grey Outer Sect Disciple robe, put on that leather mask, and ran the Origin Returning Qi Concealment Formula to the extreme, steadily controlling his external cultivation at Qi Refining Level 3.

He was becoming increasingly proficient with this Qi Concealment Formula, almost reaching Major Achievement.

In a normal state, he could easily maintain his cultivation at Qi Refining Level 2 for a whole day without pressure.

If he converged it with all his might, he could even briefly simulate the aura of Level 1 Qi Refining—although it could only last for a few hours, it was enough to confuse opponents at critical moments.

As for his true cultivation of Qi Refining Level 4, he chose to hide it as the Middle Stage of Qi Refining Level 3. He intended to go buy cultivation pills for the Middle Stage, and suppressing his Realm too low was not appropriate.

The market was still bustling.

But looking closely, one could detect an atmosphere different from the past.

There were more patrolling enforcement Disciples, and some shops had hung up "limited purchase" and "pre-order" signs.

The Medicinal Pill shops and Talisman shops had the most people, and the numbers on the price tags were generally ten to twenty percent higher than three months ago.

Lin Xuan first went to the Danding Pavilion.

The old shopkeeper recognized his mask—this was one of the identities Lin Xuan often used after disguising himself.

"peiyuan pill, the kind for the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, give me five bottles." Lin Xuan lowered his voice.

"Eighty contribution points per bottle, four hundred for five." The old shopkeeper took out five green jade bottles from behind the counter, "Medicinal Pills are in short supply now. peiyuan pill is still okay; the prices of those healing and Qi-restoring pills have almost doubled."

Lin Xuan paid, then went to Fuyuan Pavilion to buy a batch of purple-patterned paper and special cinnabar.

The price had indeed risen; a stack of purple-patterned paper cost one hundred and sixty-five points.

Lin Xuan bought a few stacks and returned to Emerald Bamboo Peak.