10: Devouring rare metal, breaking through to the next level of explosive power!

The moment the crescent moon vanished into the clouds, Lin Yang placed the tianluo molybdenum gold on the bluestone table. The dark silver metal surface shimmered with water-like luster. As his fingertip touched an edge, a sharp yet not stinging Metal Element energy surged up his finger, causing subtle tremors in his Meridians—this purity was a hundred times more refined than the energy of a sixth-rank demon core, and it carried no trace of brutality.

"No wonder it's a primary forging material." He caressed the cold surface of the metal, and the chaos star core in his Sea of Consciousness was already humming with excitement. Circulating the Chaos Swallowing Heaven Art to its extreme, Lin Yang sat cross-legged before the table, his palms hovering over the tianluo molybdenum gold, a faint golden halo gradually appearing in his palms.

"Absorb!"

With his low shout, countless tiny specks of light suddenly appeared on the surface of the Strange Gold, like iron filings attracted by a magnet, rushing into his palms. The instant the Metal Element energy entered his body, the nascent golden dantian core within his Dantian violently contracted, then rapidly expanded. The originally turbid core became transparent at a visible rate, its edges even shimmering with a glazed luster.

"Ugh..." Lin Yang frowned slightly; this energy was too concentrated, causing a knife-like pain as it scoured his Meridians. He gritted his teeth, his Sea of Consciousness fully activating the chaos star core to decompose the surging Metal Element essence into the finest particles, continuously injecting them into the Metal Element Dantian core.

Three hours passed. As the eastern sky began to lighten, the tianluo molybdenum gold had shrunk by nearly half, its surface luster dimming. Meanwhile, the Metal Element Dantian core within Lin Yang's Dantian had expanded to the same size as his Water Element Dantian core, with countless golden specks of light dancing within it like shattered diamonds, radiating an uncontainable sharpness.

"It's time!"

Lin Yang suddenly opened his eyes, a golden flash passing through them. He guided the saturated Metal Element True Essence, like a tidal wave, to impact the Houtian Seventh Level barrier. That invisible barrier was exceptionally tough; the first impact was like a stone sinking into the sea, the second only caused ripples. It wasn't until the fiftieth impact that spiderweb-like cracks finally appeared on the barrier.

"Break for me!"

He injected the power of the chaos star core into the surging torrent as well, and a dazzling golden light suddenly erupted within his Dantian. With a muffled bang, as if a thunderclap had exploded within his body, the Houtian Seventh Level barrier shattered! The Metal Element Dantian core instantly expanded tenfold, and intricate patterns appeared on its surface. At the same time, the Quyuan, Dazhui, and Yangfu acupoints simultaneously lit up, like three newly added stars, increasing the True Essence circulation speed by another thirty percent!

A profound aura emanated from Lin Yang's body. He subconsciously clenched his fist, and a faint platinum True Essence automatically enveloped his fist, tangible to the touch. As it flowed according to his will, it could even carve delicate golden light traces in the air.

"This is the Explosive Qi Realm... True Essence permeating the body, as if extending my arm!" He lightly struck the table with his fist. Before his fist even touched the wooden table, the emitted Metal Element True Essence had already left a shallow, mirror-smooth dent on the tabletop.

Just then, another anomaly occurred! The aftershock of the Metal Element Breakthrough seemed to trigger a chain reaction. The Fire Element Dantian core in his Dantian, which had already reached the Peak of the sixth layer, suddenly trembled violently. The crimson True Essence boiled like lava, and it rushed through the energy channel opened by the Metal Element, breaking through the Houtian Seventh Level barrier without any obstruction! This was followed by the Water Element Dantian core erupting with ice-blue light, the Earth Element Dantian core surging with dark yellow waves, and the Wood Element dantian core blossoming with green vitality—four types of True Essence successively broke through in almost the same amount of time!

When the last wisp of Wood Element True Essence completed its transformation, five dantian cores floated within Lin Yang's Dantian, like five stars of different colors, slowly rotating around the chaos star core. He stood up tall, his right fist flashing alternately with crimson, ice-blue, dark yellow, green, and platinum lights. Each light emitted a distinctly different aura: the Fire Element was scorching like the blazing sun, the Water Element was chilling like an icy spring, the Earth Element was heavy like a mountain, the Wood Element was resilient like a green vine, and the Metal Element was sharp like a divine weapon.

"Hahaha..." Lin Yang couldn't help but burst into laughter, his laughter making the water bucket in the corner of the courtyard hum. He could clearly feel that the power of a single element's True Essence had now surged threefold compared to before. When all five elements were unleashed, even a simple superposition would be enough to crush an ordinary Houtian Eighth Layer Martial Artist!

The tianluo molybdenum gold on the table was still thumb-sized. Although its energy was greatly reduced, it still emitted a faint golden glow. Lin Yang carefully wrapped it in a deerskin pouch and hid it close to his body—this was a treasure that could continue to refine his Metal Element Dantian core.

He walked to the center of the courtyard, his feet slightly apart, and all five types of True Essence circulated simultaneously within him. Crimson fire fists and ice-blue palm shadows intertwined before him, dark yellow True Essence condensed into a shield protecting his body, green vine-like True Essence coiled around his arms, and finally, platinum True Essence converged into a sharp edge. Although the five powers were not in Fusion, they were orderly under the command of the chaos star core, and the emitted pressure prevented even birds outside the courtyard from approaching.

"Lin Dongping, Shen Yichen..." Lin Yang looked in the direction of the Lin family mansion, his eyes gleaming with confidence, "Your surprise has just begun."

The morning sun leaped above the horizon, golden rays passing through the window lattice, shining on his tall figure, making the halo of the five-colored True Essence even more brilliant. The sky of Qingshi Town was about to change.