109: Rebirth from the Ashes

“Cough... cough cough...” A fishy smelltaste of rust and a nauseating smell of mud rushed into his nostrils. Li Dong leaned against the slippery, cold wall, and with every step he took, he felt as if his internal organs were being fiercely kneaded by an invisible large hand, making his vision flicker black from the pain.

“Damn it... these old dogs, they’re really chasing me closely!”

The faint sounds of air being torn and angry shouts from behind him were like drumbeats of death, pounding on his taut nerves. His Spiritual Qi? It was almost at rock bottom. Now, he was hanging on purely by the thought of “I can’t die here.”

He was now as disheveled as a stray dog—no, worse than a dog, because at least a dog wouldn’t crawl into such a stinky sewer.

“System, is there a more hidden route? If I don’t find a way soon, I’m really going to kick the bucket here!” Li Dong roared in his mind.

“System: Warning! Host’s vital signs are continuously declining, Spiritual Qi reserves are less than 3%. High concentrations of mixed energy and trace amounts of purified ‘spiritual essence’ detected in the surrounding space. Attempting to guide absorption is possible.”

“Absorb? At a time like this?” Li Dong was stunned, then gave a bitter smile. The Jubao Firm’s underground refining workshop had exploded, and indeed, a lot of scattered energy had escaped, but it was impure. Recklessly absorbing it would likely lead to his body exploding. But at this moment, did he have any other choice?

“I’ll treat a dead horse as if it’s alive!”

He gritted his teeth and painstakingly activated the Heavenly Pill Sky-Rending Demon Suppression Seal. As soon as the Cultivation Technique was activated, the surrounding free and violent energy particles, as if finding an outlet, actually began to seep into his body, thread by thread.

Initially, it was a tearing pain; the mixed energy rampaged through his already injured Meridians, almost making him pass out from the agony. But soon, a faint yet pure warm current mixed in—that was the “spiritual essence” that had been partially purified by the explosion’s shockwave.

This warm current was like timely rain after a long drought. Wherever it passed, it caused a faint revival in his depleted Dantian.

“Heh, it actually works?” Li Dong’s spirits lifted, and he found a bit more strength in his legs.

“System: Host’s comprehension of Heavenly Pill Sky-Rending Demon Suppression Seal has deepened.”

“Oh? This Cultivation Technique can be used like this?” He ran while also sensing the changes within his body. This Heavenly Pill Sky-Rending Demon Suppression Seal seemed to have a miraculous effect on the transformation of this chaotic energy.

He didn’t know how long he had been moving through the darkness. After many twists and turns, the sounds of his pursuers seemed to have been shaken off a bit. Li Dong’s eyes lit up; ahead was no longer a narrow dark channel, but a relatively wider abandoned secret passage, and the air seemed a tiny bit fresher.

“Finally, I can catch my breath...” He leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

Just then, a peculiar, faint fragrance wafted from deep within the secret passage, completely out of place with the surrounding filth.

“Hmm? What’s that smell?” Li Dong became alert, forcing himself to gather his strength, and cautiously followed the fragrance.

At the end of the secret passage, it suddenly opened up.

A small pool appeared before his eyes. The water in the pool was crystal clear, glowing faintly, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding darkness. And that refreshing fragrance was indeed emanating from the pool water.

What shocked him even more was that the pool water contained an extremely pure Spiritual Qi, yet with a hint of ancient and vast charm.

“This... this is... Dragon Vein Qi?!” Li Dong could barely believe his senses. So pure, though faint, it was absolutely the Qi of a Dragon Vein! Could this be some forgotten branch of an ancient Dragon Vein?

Underneath the capital, such a place was actually hidden?

At this moment, he was severely injured, his Spiritual Qi was depleted; he was almost at the end of his rope. This spiritual spring was simply a lifesaver in a desperate situation!

“I can’t worry about that much!”

Faint movements seemed to come from behind him again. Li Dong no longer hesitated, and with a splash, he jumped into the spiritual spring.

The spring water was slightly cool upon contact, and then an indescribably gentle power enveloped him. The pure Dragon Vein Qi, like the gentlest Spirit Medicine, slowly permeated his limbs and bones, nourishing his parched Meridians and damaged internal organs. The mixed energy he had forcibly absorbed earlier was gradually tamed and refined under the cleansing of this pure Qi.

And the “spiritual essence” that had been absorbed from the explosion earlier, but not fully refined, was now merging with the Dragon Vein Qi, undergoing a marvelous transformation.

“Comfortable... This is so damn comfortable!” Li Dong groaned in pleasure, his tense body gradually relaxing.

His injuries were recovering at a visible speed, broken bones began to heal under the nourishment of the Dragon Vein Qi, emitting faint “crackling” sounds, and torn Meridians also regained vitality. The Spiritual Qi in his Dantian was filling up at an unprecedented rate, becoming even more condensed and pure.

The energy within his body accumulated more and more, like a surging river, impacting an invisible barrier.

“System: Detecting that host’s internal energy has reached a critical point. Pure Dragon Vein Qi and high-purity spiritual essence are guiding the host to Breakthrough the Bottleneck...”

“Breakthrough?!” Li Dong’s heart skipped a beat, then he was overjoyed.

He could feel that the barrier of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, which had troubled him for so long, was crumbling inch by inch before this overwhelming power!

“Boom!”

As if something exploded within his body, a powerful force, far exceeding anything before, gushed out from the depths of his Dantian, instantly circulating throughout his entire body!

“System: Congratulations to the host. Through adversity, you have successfully broken through the Bottleneck, and your cultivation has advanced to the Early Golden Core Stage!”

“Golden Core... I, I’m at the Golden Core Stage already?!” Li Dong suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them. He could clearly feel that his connection with this world had become unprecedentedly close.

“Hahahaha! Qiankun Zi, that old scoundrel, would never have dreamed of this! Not only did he fail to kill me, but he also gave me an immense stroke of luck!” He couldn’t help but burst into laughter, his laughter echoing in the empty secret passage.

With the Breakthrough in his cultivation, his Physical Body also underwent a world-shaking transformation.

His muscles and bones resonated like rolling thunder, every inch of his bones became tougher, filled with explosive power. His flesh and blood peristalsis, Impurities were continuously expelled from his body, dissolving into the spring water, and then purified by the Dragon Vein Qi. A faint, almost tangible golden halo even appeared on the surface of his skin.

“This body... I feel like I could punch a cow to death! No, I could punch my former self to death!” Li Dong clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him.

What surprised him even more was that his [Spirituality] attribute, under this Breakthrough and the baptism of the Dragon Vein Qi, once again made a qualitative leap.

He closed his eyes, and his [Spirituality] perception spread out like mercury. This time, he no longer vaguely “saw” the form of Spiritual Qi, but could clearly “touch” and “distinguish” the essence of different Spiritual Qi. He could even faintly sense that deep beneath the capital, the main Dragon Vein, like a slumbering giant Dragon, was slowly “breathing” with a specific rhythm.

“So that’s how it is... This is the true wondrous use of [Spirituality]!”

Just then, the [Black Scale Armor], which had been silent, suddenly emitted a faint hum. It had been severely damaged in the explosion, but at this moment, it greedily absorbed the Dragon Vein Qi emanating from the spiritual spring and the spiritual essence overflowing from Li Dong’s body.

On the originally dull scales, intricate Dragon scale-like patterns slowly emerged, shimmering with a deep luster. All the damaged areas were repaired, and the overall texture was also elevated by a notch.

“System: [Black Scale Armor] has absorbed Dragon Vein Qi and host’s spiritual essence, its quality has improved, and its defense has significantly increased.”

“Good heavens, even you’ve gotten an upgrade!” Li Dong touched the [Black Scale Armor], which was now as good as new, even better than before, and nodded in satisfaction. “Now, even when facing an old monster at the Golden Core Stage, I won’t be so helpless.”

Early Golden Core Stage!

Feeling the unprecedented powerful force within his body, Li Dong knew that he now had the confidence to directly challenge a Golden Core grandmaster. At least, he wouldn’t be as powerless as he was when facing Qiankun Zi before.

He leaped out of the spiritual spring, shook off the water droplets from his body, and changed into a clean set of clothes.

“Hoo...” He let out a long breath, and that murky Qi even carried a faint golden hue.

“Qiankun Zi, Shadow Council... you guys just wait for me!”

However, he also knew that the commotion he had caused this time was too great. The Jubao Firm was destroyed, Qiankun Zi’s Clone was annihilated, and those old fellows from the Shadow Council must have gone mad with rage. Going out now would be tantamount to walking into a trap.

“The turmoil in the capital has probably just begun. Now is not the time for a head-on confrontation.” Li Dong’s eyes flickered, and he quickly calmed down.

“The most pressing matter is to first find an absolutely safe place to properly consolidate my Golden Core Stage cultivation and familiarize myself with the surging power.”

“Then... this newly acquired [Spirituality] perception ability would be perfect for investigating the mysterious ‘Vortex Trap Zone’ to see what kind of unspeakable things those old geezers are up to.”

He made up his mind, deciding to temporarily disappear and go deeper underground.

The undercurrents in the capital would only grow more turbulent. And he, the stone unexpectedly thrown into the muddy water, had already stirred up sufficiently large waves.