56: The cage breaks through its walls, blood feud ignites murderous intent.

Chu Yunxi held the flowing frost sword, the tip condensed with light cyan Sword Qi, adjusting the turning arc of the "Azure Luan Double Dance" according to the method Lin Yang pointed out yesterday—when the sword shadow cut through the air, it finally lost its previous sluggishness, and even the dandelion fluff in the corner of the courtyard spun with the Sword Qi.

Chu Yuning stood beside her, the sword tassel of the lightning chasing sword swayed gently, and with the crisp sound of silver bells, the short sword drew fine light marks, intertwining with the Sword Qi of the flowing frost sword into a translucent luan bird phantom, which was more agile than yesterday.

Lin Yang sat on a stone stool under the locust tree, his fingertips pinching a freshly fallen locust leaf, the Chaos True Essence on the tip of the leaf slowly seeping into the pages of the 《Study of Ancient Spatial Formations》.

On the yellowing paper, ancient spatial runes gradually became clear in the gray-gold light, resonating with the star patterns of the space stone in his bosom. The pale purple halo inside the stone flickered, making the chain patterns next to the coordinates of the "Misty Forbidden Land" even clearer.

He was trying to use the chaos star core to deduce a way to break it, when the Five Elements dantian core in his Dantian suddenly trembled in unison—not an ordinary warning, but a tremor full of bone-chilling malice, extremely similar to the aura when Lin Hongfeng ambushed him at the Lin Family ancestral ceremony!

"Watch out!"

Lin Yang jumped up abruptly, and the gray-gold Chaos Domain instantly expanded, wrapping Chu Yunxi and Chu Yuning inside like an invisible shield.

Almost the moment the Domain took shape, with a loud "boom," the wooden door of Wangyue Courtyard was smashed into pieces. Amidst the flying wood chips, three dark shadows rushed in through the dust. The leader's figure was all too familiar to Lin Yang—it was Lin Hongfeng, who should have been imprisoned in the dungeon of the Lin Family ancestral home by his grandfather, Lin Xingnan!

At this moment, Lin Hongfeng had long lost the majesty of the former Grand Elder. His black brocade robe was covered in mud, his left sleeve was empty (the arm broken by Lin Xingnan last time had not fully healed), and his right hand held a blood-stained ring-headed saber. Fresh blood droplets were still dripping from the blade, obviously having just killed someone.

The scar on his face shone with a ferocious light in the sun, and his eyes were as crazy as a beast driven to a desperate situation. Seeing Lin Yang, a strange "ho-ho" sound came from his throat: "Lin Yang! You didn't expect this, did you? That old immortal grandfather of yours couldn't trap me at all!"

Lin Yang pointed directly at Lin Hongfeng: "How are you here? What about the guards in the Lin Family dungeon?"

"Guards?" Lin Hongfeng sneered, wiping the blood off his face with the back of the saber. "I used 'Heart-Controlling Powder' to make them as stupid as fools! The secret medicine I hid in the cracks of the dungeon wall for three years finally came in handy!"

He stepped aside, revealing the two people behind him—on the left was a burly man with a scarred face, eight feet tall, with a blackened skull token hanging from his waist. He was Zhou Meng, the second leader of the Black Wind Stockade, who had luckily escaped when Lin Yang destroyed the Qingmeng Mountain branch of the Black Wind Stockade last time.

On the right was an old man in the gray robe of the White Cloud Sect, with silver Elder patterns embroidered on his cuffs, a sinister face, and a pitch-black short staff in his left hand, with a turbid crystal embedded in the head of the staff. It was Elder Zhao, who was in charge of the outer Sect trials of the White Cloud Sect—Lin Yang had seen him at the Azure Dragon Camp, and at that time, he had glared at Lin Yang because of the death of his son, Zhao Lei.

"Elder Zhao?" Lin Yang's pupils shrank slightly, and the tremor of the chaos star core became more intense. "The White Cloud Sect and the Star Moon Sect have always had an alliance. Aren't you afraid of a war between the two Sects if you break into the inner Sect?"

Elder Zhao's fingers gripped the short staff tightly, his knuckles turning white, and the crystal at the head of the staff emitted a faint black mist: "War? My son Zhao Lei died at your hands, my direct son Zhao Kun was defeated by you and became entangled with Heart Demon, and even the inheritance of my White Cloud Sect's 'Shocking Thunder Technique' was destroyed by you. This hatred is irreconcilable!"

His voice carried a suppressed sobbing, but also revealed madness. "The people from the Misty Immortal Palace said that as long as I kill you, not only can I avenge my son, but I can also be promoted to the Protector of the White Cloud Sect and manage the entire outer Sect trial! Do you think I would be afraid of war?"

Zhou Meng also took a step forward with his broad-backed saber, the scar on his face twisting: "Boy, last time you destroyed our Black Wind Stockade's branch, killed three of my brothers, and snatched our 'Black Wind Token'! This time, I am joining forces with Elder Zhao and Elder Lin to peel your skin and pull out your tendons to avenge my brothers!"

His blade was covered with faint black Qi, obviously quenched with severe poison. "The poison on this 'corroding bone blade' seals the throat upon contact with blood. I want to see if your chaos star core can save you!"

Seeing that the two had stated their stance, Lin Hongfeng pointed his saber at Lin Yang again, the blood droplets on the ring-headed saber dripping onto the bluestone slab, dizzying into dark traces: "I was trapped in the dungeon, thinking every day about how to kill you! The Elder of the Misty Immortal Palace gave me a 'qi gathering pill', which allowed me to break through to the Gang Qi Realm, and said that as long as I snatched your star core, I could become the new head of the Lin Family! Today is your death day!"

"Just relying on the three of you?" Lin Yang sneered, and the Five Elements True Qi flowed slowly in his palm. Crimson flames, ice-blue water droplets, dark yellow soil particles, cyan-green vines, and platinum sharp rays flashed alternately at his fingertips.

"Lin Hongfeng, you relied on the Medicinal Pills of the Misty Immortal Palace to forcefully break through, and your Foundation is very unstable; Elder Zhao, your 'spirit-eroding staff' is only a Yellow Rank High Grade Magic Treasure, and you are not qualified to be presumptuous in front of me; Zhou Meng, your poison-quenched blade cannot even break my thick earth shield."

"Arrogant!" Elder Zhao yelled, waving the short staff. The crystal at the head of the staff suddenly erupted with thick black mist, rushing towards Lin Yang like a tide.

"This is the 'spirit-eroding mist', which can dissolve True Qi, corrode muscles and bones, and can even corrode the protective True Qi of the Gang Qi Realm! I want to see if your Chaos True Essence can stop it!"

The black mist spread extremely fast, instantly wrapping half of the Wangyue Courtyard. Where it passed, the bluestone slabs were corroded with fine pits, the weeds in the corner of the courtyard withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the flowing frost sword in Chu Yunxi's hand rusted.

Chu Yuning hurriedly pulled her sister back, her voice filled with panic: "Senior Brother Lin, there is something wrong with this mist! My True Qi is almost unable to circulate!"

Lin Yang did not retreat but advanced instead. The chaos star core operated violently in his Dantian, and the gray-gold halo overflowed from his body, actually producing a strong suction force towards the black mist.

Those originally fierce black mists, as if encountering a nemesis, were forcibly pulled into thin black threads and poured into his body along Lin Yang's fingertips.

In the Dantian, the moment the gray-gold True Essence contacted the black mist, it made a sizzling sound. The corrosive power in the black mist was quickly disassembled by the star core and turned into strands of pure energy, which merged into the Chaos True Essence—this spirit-eroding mist, although domineering, was also a special Yin-attribute energy, which just happened to make up for the "Yin-soft" shortcoming in the Chaos True Essence!

"Impossible!" Elder Zhao's face changed drastically. His spirit-eroding mist was refined with ten years of hard work, and even the Elders of the Gang Qi Realm in the Sect had to avoid its edge. How could it be swallowed by Lin Yang as a "supplement"?

He waved the short staff frantically, releasing all the remaining black mist, and the entire Wangyue Courtyard was instantly shrouded in black mist, with visibility of less than three feet. "I don't believe you can swallow all the mist! The black mist devours the heart, let's see how long you can hold on!"

Lin Hongfeng took the opportunity to carry the ring-headed saber, circled around to Lin Yang's back from the black mist, and slashed fiercely at Lin Yang's back heart with light cyan Gang Qi wrapped around the blade: "Die!"

"Senior Brother Lin, watch out!" Chu Yunxi's voice came from outside the black mist. The Sword Qi of the flowing frost sword pierced through the black mist and forced towards Lin Hongfeng's wrist.

Chu Yuning also cooperated to wave the short sword, and the sword shadow of the lightning chasing sword crossed like a meteor, entangling Lin Hongfeng's ankle to prevent him from getting close.

Relying on the warning of the star core, Lin Yang dodged the ring-headed saber sideways, and at the same time, punched back with his backhand. The gray-gold True Essence, carrying the energy of the spirit-eroding mist just swallowed, hit Lin Hongfeng's chest solidly.

"Bang!" Lin Hongfeng flew backward like a broken sack hit by a boulder, hit the old locust tree, and spat out a mouthful of blood with black blood streaks—that was a sign of being backlashed by the spirit-eroding mist.

He struggled to climb up, his eyes full of disbelief: "Your True Qi... how can it have the power of the spirit-eroding mist?"

"If you can break through with the pills of the Misty Immortal Palace, can't I become stronger with your 'gift'?" Lin Yang walked towards him step by step, the black mist around him was swallowed up by the star core, revealing clear eyebrows and eyes.

"Lin Hongfeng, do you think the Misty Immortal Palace is helping you sincerely? They are just treating you as a pawn to snatch the star core. When you are useless, you will be the first to die."

"Nonsense! The Elder of the Misty Immortal Palace gave me a 'soul seal' and said it could keep me safe!" Lin Hongfeng roared, subconsciously tearing open his clothes, revealing a pale gold mark on his chest—the mark was in the shape of flowing clouds unique to the Misty Immortal Palace, with the word "Order" carved in the middle, and it was glowing slightly with his breathing.

"Look! This is the soul seal of the Misty Immortal Palace. As long as I crush it, the people of the Misty Immortal Palace will come to save me!"

Lin Yang's gaze fell on the soul seal, and the chaos star core suddenly sent a strong resonance—the aura of this soul seal was of the same Origin as the aura of the Misty Immortal Palace analyzed from Zhao Kun's Gang Qi before, and the True Qi of the Misty Immortal Palace on Shen Shuanghua!

Moreover, deep in the soul seal, a faint Divine Sense was hidden, which was obviously used to monitor Lin Hongfeng. He understood in his heart that Lin Hongfeng was not only here to kill him but was also an eye placed by the Misty Immortal Palace in the Lin Family. This soul seal was a tool for them to pass information and monitor movements.

"soul seal?" Lin Yang hooked the corner of his mouth with a cold arc. "You think this is a life-saving talisman, but it is actually a death-urging talisman! The people of the Misty Immortal Palace have long regarded you as an abandoned piece!"

Just then, Zhou Meng rushed out of the black mist with a broad-backed saber, the poison on the blade shining with eerie green light in the faint light, and slashed at Lin Yang's neck: "Don't talk nonsense with him! Kill him first!"

Chu Yunxi and Chu Yuning immediately stepped forward to intercept. The flowing frost sword and the lightning chasing sword once again wove into the sword shadow of the "Azure Luan Double Dance". This time, the wood-attribute vitality pointed out by Lin Yang was integrated into the sword shadow.

The light cyan Sword Qi carried a trace of emerald green, which not only blocked Zhou Meng's blade momentum but also showed signs of suppressing the poison. "Your blade is poisonous, don't get close to Senior Brother Lin!" Chu Yunxi shouted angrily, and the Sword Qi of the flowing frost sword skyrocketed, forcing Zhou Meng to retreat repeatedly.

Lin Yang ignored Zhou Meng and continued to walk towards Lin Hongfeng, the Chaos True Essence condensing into a fist in his palm: "Lin Hongfeng, you colluded with foreign enemies, betrayed the Lin Family, and helped the Misty Immortal Palace. Today, I will clean up the Sect for my grandfather!"

Looking at Lin Yang getting closer and closer, Lin Hongfeng finally showed fear in his eyes. He reached out to crush the soul seal on his chest, but found that the soul seal seemed to be frozen and could not be crushed at all—that was Lin Yang using the Chaos Domain to suppress the energy of the soul seal!

"No... Elder of the Misty Immortal Palace, save me!" He roared miserably, but it was only exchanged for Lin Yang's cold fist.

"Bang!"

The Chaos True Essence slammed into Lin Hongfeng's chest, and the soul seal instantly collapsed, turning into a strand of golden light trying to escape, but it was forcibly sucked back by the star core and integrated into the Dantian.

Lin Hongfeng's body slumped down like a deflated leather bag, blood gushing out of his mouth, and his eyes gradually became unfocused: "I... I am not reconciled..."

Lin Yang bent down, pressed his hand on Lin Hongfeng's crown, and the chaos star core began to devour his Gang Qi Origin. The light cyan Gang Qi poured into his body along Lin Yang's fingertips, merging with the previously swallowed spirit-eroding mist energy and Zhao Kun's Gang Qi.

The gray-gold True Essence in the Dantian became more and more rich. The barrier of the Innate Sixth Layer Peak cracked with a "click", the Qi Sea expanded by 30% in an instant, and the Five Elements dantian core lit up simultaneously, surrounded by colorful halos, slowly rotating around the chaos star core—he had actually broken through to the Innate Seventh Layer!

The range of the Chaos Domain also expanded accordingly, from the previous 15 meters to 20 meters. The gray-gold light in the Domain was more intense, and even the air carried a faint sense of oppression.

Lin Yang slowly stood up, feeling the surging power in his body, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth—this Lin Hongfeng had become his "stepping stone" for the Breakthrough.

The black mist completely dissipated, the bluestone slabs of the Wangyue Courtyard were full of corrosion marks, and the leaves of the old locust tree fell all over the ground.

Chu Yunxi and Chu Yuning had already subdued Zhou Meng, the tip of the flowing frost sword was pressed against his throat, and the lightning chasing sword entangled his wrist, making him unable to move.

Elder Zhao sat on the ground, the short staff fell aside, the crystal at the head of the staff had been shattered, and his face was full of despair—not only did he fail to kill Lin Yang, but he also let Lin Yang break through the Realm, and he himself became a prisoner.

Lin Yang walked to Elder Zhao and looked down at him: "Do you think the Misty Immortal Palace will help you take revenge? They are just trying to kill me with your hands and test my strength by the way. Your son Zhao Lei and Zhao Kun are just sacrifices in the plan of the Misty Immortal Palace."

Elder Zhao looked up abruptly, his eyes full of madness: "Impossible! The Misty Immortal Palace promised me... promised me..."

"What they promised you is just a reflection of the moon in the water." Lin Yang interrupted him, "You are now an abandoned piece of the Misty Immortal Palace. Even if I let you go, the Misty Immortal Palace will not let you go."

Elder Zhao's eyes dimmed instantly, collapsed on the ground, and could no longer speak.

Chu Yunxi walked to Lin Yang's side, pointed at the corpses of Lin Hongfeng, Zhou Meng, and Elder Zhao on the ground, and asked: "Senior Brother Lin, how should these people be handled?"

Lin Yang looked towards the direction of the Sect's Law Enforcement Hall in the distance, his voice calm: "Lin Hongfeng betrayed the Family, handle it according to the rules of the Lin Family; Elder Zhao colluded with foreign enemies and broke into the inner Sect, hand him over to the Law Enforcement Hall of the Star Moon Sect; Zhou Meng is a remnant of the Black Wind Stockade, send him over as well."

"As for this fragment of the soul seal..." He took out the strand of golden light thread condensed after being swallowed by the star core from his bosom, "It must be given to Shen Shuanghua to see. Perhaps we can follow this aura to find the dark line of the Misty Immortal Palace in the Star Moon Sect."

The afternoon sun spilled over the Wangyue Courtyard again, but it could not disperse the bloody smell in the air.

Lin Yang held the golden light thread in his hand, and the chaos star core rotated slowly in his Dantian—Lin Hongfeng's death exposed the dark line of the Misty Immortal Palace in the Lin Family; Elder Zhao's appearance indicated that the Misty Immortal Palace had begun to unite with the forces of other Sects. The upcoming Trial of the Heavens would probably be more dangerous than he imagined.

But he had broken through to the Innate Seventh Layer, the coordination between the Chaos Domain and the Five Elements True Qi was more proficient, and he finally had some confidence to contend with the Misty Immortal Palace.

He looked up towards the direction of Qingmeng Mountain, which was the entrance to the Trial of the Heavens and the only way for him to find his mother and uncover the conspiracy of the Misty Immortal Palace.

Lin Yang clenched his fists, and a firm light flashed in his eyes—no matter how many dangers were ahead, he would go down, not only for himself and his grandfather, but also for his mother trapped in the Misty Forbidden Land.