34: Star Core Refining, First Glimpse of the Divine Realm

The high walls of the Lin Family were already close at hand. The vermilion-lacquered main gate was tightly shut, and the two characters "Lin Mansion" above the lintel exuded a heavy sense of twilight under the setting sun. Lin Yang did not step forward to knock, however, but instead led the Liu sisters into a long-abandoned dead-end alley beside the manor.

"Young Master, aren't we going in?" Liu Hóngluán asked softly, curiously watching Lin Yang arrange a few casually picked up stones in the corner of the wall. A simple Illusion Formation to isolate aura instantly took shape.

"No rush." Lin Yang sat down cross-legged, his face still pale. "I forcibly swallowed that old guy's Protective Aura Baleful Qi just now. I must refine it immediately, or the consequences will be endless."

The brief exchange with Zhu Ming earlier was far more dangerous than facing the Black Wind Stockade Master. Although the malicious energy that locks the Meridians, the Protective Aura Baleful Qi, was forcibly absorbed by the chaos star core, it was like a maggot clinging to bone, still surging wildly within his Meridians, emitting a freezing, malevolent aura that continuously eroded his True Essence Foundation. If the ice soul pearl hadn't spontaneously protected its master at the crucial moment, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind, fully activating the Chaos Swallowing Heaven Art. In his Sea of Consciousness, the chaos star core slowly rotated. The profound patterns on its surface lit up with gray-gold light, acting like a miniature furnace, stripping away, swallowing, and refining the faint black Protective Aura Baleful Qi that had invaded his body, thread by thread.

This process was extremely slow and painful. The Protective Aura Baleful Qi was of extremely high quality and contained Zhu Ming's vicious mental will, constantly fighting back. Veins bulged on Lin Yang's forehead, cold sweat poured down, and his body was sometimes cold as if plunged into an ice cave, and sometimes unbearably hot due to the star core's refinement.

Liu Qīngluán and Liu Hóngluán nervously stood guard nearby, not even daring to breathe heavily.

Time passed bit by bit, and the setting sun completely sank behind West Mountain. When the last trace of stubborn Protective Aura Baleful Qi was crushed by the star core and converted into a pure, slightly cold, special energy, Lin Yang suddenly opened his eyes!

"Buzz—"

An aura, far more condensed than Innate True Essence yet different from Zhu Ming's malicious Protective Aura Baleful Qi, spread out from within him. This aura was faint gray, exuding a heavy and domineering presence of primordial Chaos. It vaguely formed an extremely faint force field, surrounding his body within a foot's radius. Inside the force field, the air stagnated, dust settled, and even the light seemed slightly distorted.

He subconsciously raised his hand, attempting to guide this nascent power. At his fingertip, a wisp of faint gray airflow slowly seeped out. Although it was not as condensed and substantial as Zhu Ming's Protective Aura Baleful Qi, it was no longer gaseous True Essence, but displayed an almost liquid viscosity, faintly shimmering with gray-gold starlight.

Protective Aura!

Although it was only the most rudimentary prototype, a Fusion of Chaos characteristics and the essence of Protective Aura Baleful Qi, this was truly the sign of stepping toward the Gang Qi Realm!

A realization dawned in Lin Yang's heart. The Heaven-Defying nature of the chaos star core was revealed once again: it could actually swallow and convert high-level energy of different attributes, extracting the essence while discarding the dross, transforming it into resources for his own advancement. Zhu Ming's revenge had, by a strange twist of fate, delivered the "key" that allowed him to glimpse the threshold of the Gang Qi Realm.

With a shift of thought, the faint gray Protective Aura prototype slowly retracted back into his body. Although the quantity was small, making it impossible to project outwards to harm enemies or sustain protection like a true Gang Qi Realm expert, its tempering of his Meridians and enhancement of his True Essence quality were tangible. At this moment, although his Realm remained at the Innate Fifth-Layer Peak, his actual combat strength, especially his defense and endurance, had skyrocketed once again.

"Young Master, you succeeded?" Liu Qīngluán asked cautiously. She felt Lin Yang's aura had become even more unfathomable.

"Mhm." Lin Yang stood up, stretching his limbs. Power surged within him, sweeping away the previous fatigue, and his eyes were sharp as lightning. "Let's go. It's time to go home and see. Some people are probably getting impatient waiting."

He waved his hand, removing the Illusion Formation, and looked toward the tightly shut Lin Family main gate. In the shadows behind the door, who knows how many clashes of blades and unpredictable intentions lay hidden.

Zhu Ming's appearance confirmed that Lin Hongfeng had colluded with a certain Deacon of the Misty Immortal Palace. This Family internal strife was absolutely not just a struggle for power; it also involved external forces coveting the "Chaos Supreme Treasure" on his person.