73: Chapter 73 Half-Step to Qi Condensation

Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this month, the Ye Family managed to maintain a rare surface-level peace.

The Black Cloud Stronghold had ceased its activities and showed no movement. Clearly, the Chief was still in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Ningyuan Realm Third Stage, which gave the Ye Family a much-needed breathing spell.

Although the Lin Family occasionally sent sneaky scouts to operate around the perimeter of the Ye Family, they limited themselves to spying and took no substantial action.

Meanwhile, everyone within the Ye Family was racing against time to increase their strength and repair the city defenses to deal with the disaster that could strike at any moment.

Inside Ye Tian's courtyard, a powerful aura slowly receded.

Ye Tian slowly opened his eyes. The aura around him was heavy and concentrated, more than several times stronger than it had been a month ago!

After a full month of tireless, sleepless cultivation, he had finally completely refined and absorbed the massive amount of pure Spiritual Qi from the pale green ring!

His cultivation had also jumped from the initial entry into the Tenth Level of Qi Gathering, past the Peak of the Tenth Level of Qi Gathering, and reached the Half-step Condensation Realm!

This speed of advancement was simply unheard of!

If word of this got out, it would be enough to shake the entire Luo City and even draw the attention of much more powerful forces!

However, Ye Tian's face did not show much joy; instead, it carried a hint of solemnity.

"Strange... I clearly feel that the Spiritual Qi is still abundant, so why can't I take another step forward?"

He looked inward at his Dantian. Within his Qi Sea, the True Qi was thick and surging relentlessly, having already reached the limit of the Qi Gathering Realm, even showing faint signs of solidification—the hallmark of the Half-step Condensation Realm.

But just as he tried to impact that final barrier to completely condense his Qi into Ningyuan, he felt an invisible wall blocking his path!

No matter how he drove his True Qi to strike it, the barrier remained completely unmoved!

"Sigh..."

Ye Tian sighed softly and stood up, stretching his somewhat stiff muscles. "It seems that this Ningyuan Realm truly cannot be easily broken through just by accumulating Spiritual Qi.

If it were really that simple, the Grand Elder wouldn't have been stuck at the Half-step Condensation Realm for over twenty years without making any progress."

He thought of the Ye Family's vast foundation; though there were many clansmen, the only person who had truly stepped into the Ningyuan Realm was Clan Chief Ye Qingtian!

From this, one could see just how difficult a step it was to go from Qi Gathering to Ningyuan!

This was not just an accumulation of quantity, but a qualitative transformation that required a deeper level of insight into power and oneself.

"Working behind closed doors will likely yield no progress."

Ye Tian realized he had hit a Bottleneck.

Continuing to sit in seclusion to refine Qi would likely be a waste of time.

He needed someone to point him in the right direction.

"The Clan Chief is the only Ningyuan Realm expert in the clan; he must have insights and experiences regarding the Breakthrough."

Thinking of this, Ye Tian decided to go pay a visit to Clan Chief Ye Qingtian, hoping to gain some inspiration.

He straightened his clothes, walked out of the quiet room, and headed straight toward the core courtyard where the Clan Chief resided.

However, when he arrived outside the Clan Chief's courtyard, he was stopped by a Ye Family Elder on guard duty.

"Young Master Ye Tian, please stop."

The Elder recognized Ye Tian and spoke in a polite tone.

"Elder, this Junior wishes to see the Clan Chief to ask some questions about cultivation," Ye Tian said, cupping his hands.

The Elder shook his head and lowered his voice. "Young Master Ye Tian, you've come too late.

The Clan Chief began a closed-door seclusion three days ago and is putting all his effort into breaking through the Bottleneck of the Ningyuan Realm Third Stage!

Before his seclusion, he gave strict orders that unless the Family faces a crisis of life and death, he must not be disturbed!"

"What? The Clan Chief is attempting to reach Ningyuan Stage Three?"

Ye Tian was shocked to hear this!

He felt happy for the Clan Chief, but also a bit disappointed.

Since the Clan Chief was in seclusion, he naturally couldn't ask for guidance.

"Indeed," the Elder sighed, his face filled with worry. "The Black Cloud Stronghold Chief, Tu Qianshan, is also in seclusion to break through to the Third Stage. The Clan Chief's move is out of necessity, an attempt to fight for a glimmer of hope for our Ye Family!

I only hope the Clan Chief can succeed in his Breakthrough..."

Ye Tian nodded silently in understanding.

The pressure on the Clan Chief's shoulders was even greater than his own.

"In that case, this Junior will not disturb him. I wish the Clan Chief a successful and early exit from seclusion!"

Ye Tian bowed to the Elder and turned to leave.

Walking back, Ye Tian's mood was somewhat complicated.

It was a good thing that the Clan Chief was in seclusion to reach a higher Realm.

But how was he to solve his own Bottleneck in breaking through to the Ningyuan Realm?

"It seems I can only rely on my own exploration."

Ye Tian looked toward the distance. "Perhaps I need a true struggle between life and death!

I need to find that Opportunity for Breakthrough under extreme pressure..."

He thought of the Black Cloud Mountains and those powerful Vicious Beasts.

"Blindly cultivating in isolation won't work. It definitely won't work.

Perhaps it's time to head out once again."

He knew this was risky, especially during this sensitive period.

But if he couldn't break through to the Ningyuan Realm, once the Black Cloud Stronghold came knocking again, he would die just the same without strength. He might as well take the risk and fight for it!

After leaving the courtyard where the Clan Chief was in seclusion, Ye Tian did not go directly back to his own courtyard, but instead detoured to the Grand Elder's residence.

Just as he stepped into the elegant little courtyard, he heard a sharp sound of air being sliced.

He saw a red silhouette dancing with a sword in the open space of the yard; it was Ye Ruyi.

She was clearly immersed in it and didn't notice Ye Tian's arrival.

After finishing a set of sword techniques, she came to a halt, breathing slightly, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Excellent swordplay!" Ye Tian couldn't help but clap in praise as he walked over with a smile.

Ye Ruyi turned her head at the sound. Seeing it was Ye Tian, a bright smile immediately blossomed on her face. "Brother Ye Tian? Why are you here so early today?"

She spoke while gently wiping away her sweat with her sleeve.

Ye Tian approached, carefully checked her complexion, and nodded with a smile. "It seems Sister Ruyi is recovering well.

I might have to go out to handle some business later, so I came early to heal you and expel the poison."

"Going out?" Ye Ruyi's face showed a hint of worry upon hearing this. "The situation outside is so tense right now. People from the Lin Family and the Black Cloud Stronghold are likely lurking in the shadows. Won't it be too dangerous for you to go out alone?"

Feeling the genuine concern in her words, Ye Tian felt a warmth in his heart and said, "Don't worry, Sister Ruyi.

Unless a Ningyuan Realm expert like Lin Batian or Yan She personally takes action, it won't be that easy for anyone else to keep me there."

To put Ye Ruyi's mind at ease, he shifted his intent and stopped deliberately concealing his aura.

A powerful aura far exceeding the Qi Gathering Realm radiated from his body.

Ye Ruyi was the closest and felt it most clearly!

She was stunned at first, then her beautiful eyes instantly widened, and she cried out in shock, "You... you've broken through to the Half-step Condensation Realm?!

How long has it been?!"

She clearly remembered that a month ago, when Ye Tian fought Yan She, he was only at the Peak of the Ninth Level of Qi Gathering Realm!

In just one short month, he had actually broken through consecutive Bottlenecks to reach the Half-step Condensation Realm, the same cultivation level as her father?!

This cultivation speed was practically a legend!

Ye Tian nodded slightly as a silent confirmation, then withdrew his aura and smiled. "So, Sister, there's no need to worry.

I'm just going to the outskirts of the Black Cloud Mountains to look for some medicinal herbs needed for cultivation and see if I can find an Opportunity for a Breakthrough.

I won't go deep into dangerous areas."

Looking into Ye Tian's steady and confident eyes, Ye Ruyi knew he had already made up his mind and further persuasion would be useless.

She bit her lip lightly, the worry in her eyes not yet dissipated, but she could only softly urge him, "Then... then be careful in everything. You must not push yourself too hard.

Come back early."

"Yes, I know," Ye Tian nodded. "Let's go, let's go inside first. I'll expel the cold energy for you."

Half an hour later, Ye Tian walked out of Ye Ruyi's room.

After this month of continuous treatment, the yin cold qi near Ye Ruyi's heart meridians had been mostly dissipated, and the remaining portion had stabilized, no longer affecting her much.

She just needed to recuperate for a while longer to fully recover.

Returning to his own courtyard, Ye Tian briefly explained his plan to go out for a few days of tempering to his mother, Lady Liu.

Although Lady Liu was worried, she knew the Ye Family had reached a moment of life and death, so she could only repeatedly urge him to be absolutely careful.

Once everything was arranged, Ye Tian changed into black clothes suitable for movement and quietly left the Ye Family without alerting too many people, heading toward the familiar Black Cloud Mountains.

His objectives for this trip were: first, to find any existing Heaven And Earth Treasures or opportunities that could help break through to the Ningyuan Realm.

Second, to temper himself in life-and-death combat to seek the chance for a Breakthrough.

Third, to scout the movements of the Black Cloud Stronghold as much as possible, especially news regarding the Chief's seclusion.

The mountain forest was dense, with ancient trees reaching for the sky.

Ye Tian concealed his aura as he moved through it.

His perception was now far beyond what it used to be, allowing him to clearly sense the specific conditions within the mountain range.

"That barrier to the Ningyuan Realm... how exactly should it be broken..."

As he hurried along, Ye Tian pondered.