73: Breakthrough before battle

The scorching red light, carrying an extremely violent Aura, tore through the air, shooting out like an arrow released from a bowstring, heading straight for Yuan Lie.

Yuan Lie felt the terrifying power contained within it; a warning rang in his mind, and his body instinctively wanted to avoid the attack.

However, the move Lu Ming suddenly unleashed was extremely fast. The scorching red light swept past, seemingly boiling the air along its path. Coupled with the close distance, Yuan Lie, unable to evade, could only let out an angry roar. His arm, wreathed in Evil Qi, swung violently, smashing towards the incoming scorching red light.

Bang!

A violent explosion erupted. The moment Yuan Lie's swinging arm heavily struck the scorching red light, a deafening sound broke the silent night. The exploding flames formed a sweeping curtain of fire that enveloped the massive demonic body in the blink of an eye.

The flames, scorching like a blazing sun, dispelled large swaths of darkness, making the surroundings as bright as day. Even from a great distance, this flashing red light could be seen.

The Burning Sun Finger, Cultivated to the ninth level, unleashed a power that even Lu Ming found astonishing!

Although Yuan Lie, this old demon, was extremely fierce, he still found it difficult to break through the blockade of the vast fire curtain and could only be trapped within the sweeping flames.

The power, which enveloped Yuan Lie like a fiery tornado, lasted for several breaths before dissipating.

As the scorching flames transformed into scattered points of light and vanished, large patches of charred marks appeared on Yuan Lie's massive demonic body. All of his black fur had been burned to ashes, leaving behind large areas of scorched flesh that sizzled.

Roar!

That human Martial Artist had actually made him so disheveled, which caused Yuan Lie to let out an angry roar. He pounded his chest, and a drum-like sound echoed.

"Human, I will tear you to pieces," Yuan Lie shrieked, his brutal killing intent overflowing without a hint of concealment.

With an astonishing burst of power from his arms, Yuan Lie shot out like a cannonball. Knowing Lu Ming's lightness skill was excellent, he spat out corrosive crimson Evil Qi from his mouth, and the blood mist instantly enveloped Lu Ming's surroundings.

Knowing there was no retreat, Lu Ming showed no fear in the face of Yuan Lie's furious assault. He suddenly took a step forward, the True Qi in his Dantian circulated wildly, and the spiritual flame suspended above also instantly flared up.

Scorching firelight appeared on Lu Ming's skin. The Flame Spirit Tempering Method itself was a Cultivation Technique focused on body tempering. Although it couldn't allow Lu Ming to refine a Physical Body as powerful as a demon's, it still brought a significant improvement to his Physique.

Lu Ming never intended to defend; rather than waiting to receive an attack, it was better to launch a counterattack.

Protective Aura once again condensed on the gilded long blade in his hand. As he swung the saber, blazing flames appeared on its blade, drawing a stunning fiery arc through the air.

Bang!

The moment they collided, the saber strike landed, leaving a deep bloody gash on Yuan Lie's massive demonic body. Lu Ming's body, too, was sent flying backward upon impact, crashing heavily into a nearby earthen wall, kicking up dust and stones.

"Cough cough, still not enough?" Lu Ming felt as if his bones were about to fall apart. His arms were numb and throbbing with intense pain, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Perhaps he could injure the demon in front of him with the Cultivated Burning Sun Finger, but the gap of one minor Realm was ultimately difficult to bridge. The opponent, relying on his demonic body, withstood a blow from the Burning Sun Finger. The might of the demon's Physical Body was now showing its advantage.

Seeing that Lu Ming was not dead, Yuan Lie was about to launch another attack.

Despite the intense pain throughout his body, Lu Ming gritted his teeth and persevered, mobilizing his True Qi to once again condense scorching energy at his fingertips.

Yuan Lie charged forward, and at the same time, the scorching beam of light shot out, its high-temperature flames seeming to incinerate everything as they enveloped Yuan Lie.

While fending off the sweeping scorching flames, Yuan Lie let out a wild laugh, as if the injuries on his body were nothing at all.

"I'd like to see how many more times you can use such a method. Your True Qi is probably almost exhausted, isn't it?"

Lu Ming watched with cold eyes. His expression was calm, not showing the slightest change due to the opponent's threatening words.

"Indeed, I'm still struggling a bit against this demon right now. It seems the accumulated demon Lifespan must be used up quickly," Lu Ming thought to himself.

He still had one reliance now, which was to use the system panel to Breakthrough to the Limit Realm Late Stage. Only then would he have the strength to fight.

His peripheral vision glanced at the panel, where the data was displayed.

[Usable Demon Lifespan: 114 years]

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Ming directly poured a large amount of demon Lifespan into the "Flame Spirit Tempering Method," hoping to break through the final level of martial arts Realm with it.

[You have fallen into a Bottleneck. You wish to cross the final Realm, but you cannot comprehend its Profound Truth.]

[From initial impatience to later inner tranquility, you can feel that you are just a hair's breadth away from the final step. Although you have studied its Profound Truth countless times, and even memorized the contents of the Cultivation Technique, you still cannot achieve it.]

[Patiently Cultivating, you circulate the Flame Spirit Tempering Method daily, absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi while tempering yourself. Your Physique has received a slight improvement.]

...All the demon Lifespan was used up, and he was still stuck in a Bottleneck. This made Lu Ming somewhat dumbfounded. His prediction had actually been wrong. He had originally thought that over a hundred years of demon Lifespan would be enough to complete the Breakthrough to the final Realm. Now, it seemed his Aptitude was still slightly inferior.

Looking at Yuan Lie, who was about to break free from the fiery entanglement, and then at his own 56 years of Lifespan, Lu Ming couldn't help but show a bitter smile.

Breaking through two major Realms consecutively had just pulled him back from the brink of death, and now, without having used much, he was about to spend more.

"It seems I have no choice," Lu Ming said helplessly.

Since he had made up his mind, Lu Ming naturally wouldn't hesitate in the slightest. Saving his decades of Lifespan to fight for his life against this dangerous demon, or pouring his own Lifespan into completing the final Breakthrough—Lu Ming could still distinguish this difference.

Pour!

Lu Ming didn't hesitate at all; he directly poured his own Lifespan!

[You did not give up and continued to Cultivate. Comprehending the Profound Truth of the Flame Spirit Tempering Method almost consumed your entire day. Even eating and sleeping were replaced by absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.]

[At some point, you felt as if you had reached a new Realm. Heaven and Earth had undergone a different transformation in your eyes.]

[You keenly noticed that your Dantian seemed to be changing. The spiritual flame, as calm as a pond, had unusual fluctuations.]

[Finally, hard work paid off. This day, as you Cultivated as usual, you saw the pond in the courtyard, and an insight arose in your heart. Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was frantically absorbed and refined by you. The spiritual flame condensed in your Dantian was more than ten times more vigorous than before. You broke through the gloom; the Flame Spirit Tempering Method broke through to the ninth level, and your Cultivation reached the Limit Realm Late Stage.]