39: Clash with the Spirit Tower, defeating the enemy with a single punch.

When the morning light pierced the sea of clouds of the Star Moon Sect, the spiritual markings of the Spirit Qi Tower had already awakened. The seven-story tower was built entirely of Spiritual Patterned Jade, resembling a jade-green longsword embedded in the mist. The five-colored streams of light wrapped around the tower flowed with the morning breeze—the bottom layer's earthy yellow corresponded to Acquired Foundation Establishment, the middle layers of cyan, azure, and crimson were suited for Innate Core Condensation, and the light gold on the top layer was exclusive to Gang Qi Realm Cultivators. According to the Sect's Cultivation system, the Acquired Twelfth Layer solidifies the Physical Body Foundation, the Tenth Level of the Innate Realm refines the elemental dantian core, the Gang Qi Realm allows one to release Protective Aura to harm enemies, and the Spirit Sea Realm is the crucial major Realm after breaking through Protective Aura—requiring the complete liquefaction of True Essence within the body into a liquid Spirit Sea, activating over a hundred acupuncture points to harness the immense energy that crosses Realms, and is also the entry threshold for the Trial of the Heavens.

As Lin Yang stepped onto the bluestone slab in front of the tower, the chaos star core in his Sea of Consciousness trembled violently. He was currently at the Peak of the Innate Fifth-Layer, and the five dantian cores within his Dantian were full like stars. After refining the Rank Seven Green Elk demon core brought back from Qingmeng Mountain last night, his wood-element dantian core had reached saturation. Coming to the third-floor fire-element Cultivation Chamber today was precisely to use the pure Spiritual Qi from the Blazing Crystal Stone to polish his metal-element dantian core—only by balancing the Five Elements True Essence could he touch the barrier of the Spirit Sea Realm. The Bronze Bell on the tower eaves rang without wind, its sound wrapped in Formation fluctuations. The spiritual markings on the tower secretly aligned with the True Essence inside him, and even the fire-element Spiritual Qi in the air actively surged towards his palm, as if helping him temper his dantian core.

"Oh, isn't this the 'Genius' with the Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root? Finished splitting firewood in the Laborer's Courtyard, so you dare to trespass into the Spirit Qi Tower?"

The mocking voice came from the left, carrying deliberate malice. Lin Yang turned his head and saw a youth of about twenty leaning against a Stone Lion. His crimson, fire-patterned fitted suit was open at the collar, revealing the faint "Zhao" character embroidered inside. The Inner Sect Disciple token hanging from his waist was inlaid with a pale red spiritual crystal—the identifier of a Xiantian Realm Cultivator. The youth's face bore a slight resemblance to Zhao Meier, but his brows held more brutality and aggression. This was Zhao Meier's cousin, Zhao Qian, the distant grand-nephew of Elder Zhao of the White Cloud Sect. He had forcibly Broken Through to the Innate Third-Layer using "pseudo spirit liquid" and had recently been promoted to Inner Sect Disciple. Relying on his Family's influence, he had intentionally used withered "Dead Leaves" a few days prior to swap out the Styptic Grass claimed by Liu Qingluan, causing Liu Hongluan's burn injury to take three days longer to heal.

"Outer Sect laborers should stay in the back mountains splitting firewood!" The Brocade-Robed Disciple behind Zhao Qian stepped forward, his toes grinding the loose gravel. "The third floor of the Spirit Qi Tower is the territory of Xiantian Realm Cultivators. You, a piece of trash with mixed Five Elements, whose dantian core isn't even stable, are just wasting Spiritual Qi by absorbing more, and you're delaying Senior Brother Zhao from charging the Gang Qi Realm!"

Lin Yang ignored him—his goal was the Spirit Sea Realm, and Zhao Qian's petty tricks weren't worth the distraction. He walked straight up the stairs. The wooden steps glistened, soaked in Spiritual Qi. Just as he reached the corner of the third floor, the flame totem on the crimson stone door spontaneously lit up. The scorching Spiritual Qi leaking from the crack in the door carried the scent of Blazing Crystal Stone. The fire-element dantian core inside his Dantian immediately hummed, actively drawing Spiritual Qi into his body, causing even the chaos star core to tremble slightly.

"Stop!"

Zhao Qian suddenly flashed over and blocked the door, his arm resting across the doorframe. A pale red True Essence glow emanated around him—that was the Innate Third-Layer's "True Essence Protection." Although not as solid as Protective Aura, it was several times stronger than the Acquired Realm's protective Protective Aura. "I'm taking this room. You go stay in the earth element room on the bottom floor! Laborers should know their place; don't hog Inner Sect resources and delay me from refining my dantian core to charge the Protective Aura!"

Liu Hongluan peeked out from behind Lin Yang, clutching the corner of her clothes. Her voice was timid yet firm: "The rule is 'first come, first served.' Young Master Lin is also an Outer Sect Disciple, so why can't he use the third floor?"

"Rules?" Zhao Qian sneered, his tongue pressing against his cheek. He flicked a stream of fire wrapped in pale red Protective Aura from his fingertip. The Fire Arrow grazed Liu Hongluan's temple, severing a strand of black hair while causing a burning pain on the skin behind her ear. "Dare to speak again, and next time I'll burn your eyes! Don't think that just because Su Qingyue protects you, you can be presumptuous in front of me!"

Lin Yang protected Liu Hongluan behind him, the warmth of his palm transmitting through his sleeve. The chaos star core had already analyzed Zhao Qian's details: his Innate Third-Layer was artificially boosted by pseudo spirit liquid; the True Essence flow of the Burning Gold Art was sluggish; his metal and fire elements were mixed, and his dantian core was still entangled with residual Banned Substance poison. In the eyes of him, who was at the Peak of the Innate Fifth-Layer, Zhao Qian was like a weapon covered in cracks, lacking even the qualification to charge the Gang Qi Realm, let alone touch the edge of the Spirit Sea Realm.

"If you want to seize the Cultivation Chamber, use real ability. What kind of skill is it to attack a woman?" Lin Yang stepped out of the stone door. His Chaos True Essence subtly fluctuated, pushing away the surging scorching Spiritual Qi. The Disciples inside the tower quickly retreated—everyone was afraid of offending the Zhao Family and the Misty Immortal Palace's influence, only daring to watch from afar. Some quietly discussed, "Lin Yang is definitely going to lose." After all, while the difference between the Innate Fifth-Layer and the Third-Layer seemed small, Zhao Qian was an Inner Sect Disciple.

Seeing that Lin Yang dared to accept the challenge, a ruthless look flashed in Zhao Qian's eyes. He clasped his palms together. Fire-element True Essence surged like molten iron, and a half-foot-long flaming giant hammer took shape. The hammer body was wrapped in metal-element sharpness and pale red Protective Aura—this was the Burning Gold Art's "Burning Gold Armor-Piercing Hammer." "Since you don't know what's good for you, today I'll cripple your Five Elements Spiritual Root and make sure you never even think about charging the Spirit Sea Realm!"

The moment the flaming hammer smashed down, the bluestone slab smoked from the Protective Aura wind, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi condensed into a ring of fire. The observing Disciples exclaimed in shock. Liu Qingluan also clenched her fists—although she knew Lin Yang's strength, she worried that the Banned Substance might allow Zhao Qian to erupt with abnormal power.

But Lin Yang stood still. The chaos star core operated at high speed, and Zhao Qian's flaws were clear as if carved: when True Essence condensed, the metal and fire elements were unbalanced, and the hammer's center of gravity was three points off; the force from his waist and abdomen was sluggish due to the Banned Substance, failing to keep up with his arm speed; the Protective Aura was weak in two places, a flaw caused by obstructed True Essence flow. Just as the flaming hammer was three feet from his chest, Lin Yang's right fist glowed with a gray-gold halo—the flame patterns on his fist were identical to the Burning Gold Armor-Piercing Hammer. The metal-element sharpness was smoother, and the Protective Aura was even more solid. This was the might displayed by the "Martial Skill Simulation" ability enhanced by the Innate Fifth-Layer, not only replicating the Move but also correcting all the sluggishness Zhao Qian suffered due to the Banned Substance.

"Bang!"

The roar of the colliding fist and hammer shook the Bronze Bell on the tower eaves wildly. The fire wave rolled back, and Zhao Qian's ferocious grin froze, replaced by terror—his True Essence was like water encountering a bottomless pit, sucked out by a pulling force and counter-attacking through his Meridians. His chest felt like it had been struck by a heavy hammer, making him breathless. Even more terrifyingly, Lin Yang's gray-gold True Essence possessed a devouring nature. It not only disintegrated the Protective Aura but was also stripping the residual Banned Substance poison from his dantian core, causing his already unstable Innate Third-Layer to begin loosening.

"Pfft!"

Zhao Qian spat blood and flew backward, breaking the stair railing before curling up in a pile of broken wood, coughing up blood. The pale red spiritual crystal on the token at his waist dimmed, clearly indicating his Realm was unstable. As Lin Yang approached, the bluestone slab lit up with a pale blue light screen—the Spirit Qi Tower's protection mechanism activated, judging the victor had been decided.

"You... how do you know my Zhao Family's secret transmission? And how can you condense Protective Aura?" Zhao Qian roared, his eyes full of resentment. He had spent five years mastering the Burning Gold Art, yet Lin Yang, an Outer Sect Disciple, was actually more proficient than him.

Lin Yang picked up Zhao Qian's token, his fingertip brushing the cloud pattern of the Misty Immortal Palace on the back—it was indeed a Double Agent. "Go back and tell Zhao Kun, if you want trouble with me, come yourself next time. An Innate Third-Layer boosted by Banned Substances isn't even as good as the Houtian Ninth Layer. How dare you block my path to charging the Spirit Sea Realm?"

Just then, a crane cry came from the sea of clouds. Su Qingyue arrived riding a Snow Crane, her plain white Daoist robe billowing in the wind. She condensed ice silk on her fingertip, accurately wrapping around a Brocade-Robed Disciple who was secretly condensing True Essence—that Disciple was trying to launch a sneak attack amidst the chaos. "Private Fighting is prohibited in the Spirit Qi Tower. Those involved will have three months of resources deducted." Her gaze swept over the gray-gold True Essence on Lin Yang's fist, and surprise flashed in her eyes—she knew this was a characteristic of the chaos star core, but she hadn't expected Lin Yang to already be at the Peak of the Innate Fifth-Layer, capable of replicating even the Zhao Family's secret transmission. "If it happens again, you will be expelled from the Sect and never readmitted."

Zhang Yuan, hiding behind a tower pillar, crushed a communication talisman. Pale purple talisman ash leaked from between his fingers. He had originally intended for Zhao Qian to test Lin Yang's limits, but he hadn't expected Lin Yang to not only be at the Innate Fifth-Layer but also to have mastered Martial Skill Simulation. The "Spirit Locking Talisman" in his sleeve was meant to seal Lin Yang's True Essence, but now he had to recalculate—it seemed he would need to ask Zhao Kun to personally take action to have the confidence to suppress this young man.

The night deepened, and the lights of the Spirit Qi Tower went out. Lin Yang stood by the window, a wisp of pale red fire-element True Essence struggling within the gray-gold Qi vortex in his palm—it had been devoured from Zhao Qian. The chaos star core had stripped away the residual Banned Substance poison, integrating it into his fire-element dantian core. The patterns on the dantian core became clearer, bringing the balance of the Five Elements one step closer, and the outline of the Spirit Sea Realm gradually emerged in his Sea of Consciousness.

Suddenly, the chaos star core trembled violently. An urgent Spiritual Qi anomaly came from the southeast, more hurried than last night, and carried the aura of a "Spirit Devouring Formation"—someone was intercepting the Spiritual Qi, trying to cut off his path to charging the Realm. Lin Yang looked up out the window. Dark clouds obscured the moon, and dark purple light flickered in the clouds.

The Mountain Storm was truly about to arrive.