81: Qi takes form, realm breaks through.

Inside the starship's main control room, the brilliant star map rotated slowly, marking that they had left the Blazing Fire Realm and were sailing within the void of the Celestial Passage.

Lin Yang sat cross-legged in the center, eyes tightly closed, his Aura rising and falling like the tide.

The massive energy brought by devouring nearly half the Origin of the Blazing Fire Realm had not completely subsided due to the subjugation of the Realm Spirit; instead, it was accumulating and compressing within him, brewing an earth-shattering transformation.

The liquid Chaos True Essence, interwoven with silver-white and pale gold, surged and roared within his Meridians like boiling lava.

Each circulation brought a tearing, bloated pain, but it was immediately followed by immense comfort as the Star Moon Vein Nurturing Art and the Clear Heart Art worked together to soothe the wounds.

Under the repeated impacts, the barriers of his Meridians became increasingly wider and tougher.

The chaos star core floated in the center of his Dantian, rotating slowly, while the newly added crimson pattern on its surface (derived from the Blazing Fire Realm's heart) shone brilliantly, constantly exhaling pure energy to feed back to its host.

Bai Wanqing, Su Qingyue, Chu Yunxi, and Chu Yuning, The Four Women, stood quietly around him, holding their breath and focusing their minds to act as his Protectors.

They could clearly feel the terrifying power about to erupt from within Lin Yang, and their beautiful eyes were filled with a mixture of worry and anticipation.

"Big Brother Lin Yang's Aura... it's so scary, it's like it's about to explode." Chu Yuning muttered softly, subconsciously gripping the hilt of the sword in her hand.

"He is assaulting the Gang Qi Realm." Su Qingyue's tone was grave, but there was a hint of amazement in her eyes. "Ordinary Martial Artists need a long time to polish their True Essence to condense liquid into Protective Aura when breaking through from Peak Xiantian to the Gang Qi Realm, yet he is forcibly pushing this process by devouring the Origin. The chaos star core is truly Heaven-Defying."

Bai Wanqing held the ice soul pearl in her palm, its pale blue light radiating softly, and she added softly: "Moreover, his Foundation is far thicker than those of the same level. Once this Breakthrough is successful, his strength will surely skyrocket."

Just then, Lin Yang's body shuddered violently!

Hum—!

An invisible wave suddenly spread out with him as the center, and the light in the control room twisted for an instant.

The liquid True Essence surging within his body seemed to reach a certain critical point, emitting a clanging sound like metal striking metal!

Compression! Extreme compression!

Under the powerful restraint of the chaos star core, the massive amount of liquid True Essence frantically collapsed and condensed toward the center of his Dantian.

Severe pain struck; the veins on Lin Yang's forehead bulged, and sweat poured down like rain, but his will was like iron as he firmly maintained the clarity of his Lingtai, fully operating the Chaos Swallowing Heaven Art.

"Condense!"

With a low roar in his heart, a loud sound like the opening of heaven and earth exploded within his Dantian!

All the liquid True Essence disappeared instantly, replaced by a thread of gray-gold airflow, as thin as a hair but condensed to the extreme, shimmering with a metallic luster!

Although this wisp of airflow was thin, it was as heavy as a thousand jun! It flowed slowly, and wherever it passed, his Meridians emitted unbearable buzzing, but they were reinforced in time by the power of the chaos star core.

Protective Aura! The first wisp of Chaos Gang Qi!

With the first wisp, came the second, the third... More and more liquid True Essence completed its qualitative change, turning into a condensed stream of Protective Aura.

The process became faster and faster, and finally, like all rivers running into the sea, all the liquid True Essence was completely transformed into gray-gold Chaos Gang Qi!

Boom!

Lin Yang's Aura erupted violently, like an ancient behemoth awakening from its slumber!

An Aura far sharper, more domineering, and more solid than that of the Xiantian Realm soared into the sky, causing even the starship's shield to ripple slightly!

Early-stage Gang Qi Realm! Success!

He opened his eyes abruptly, and there was a gray-gold divine light about an inch long flickering in his eyes, as if it were substantial!

Every movement he made carried a powerful force field, full of oppression.

"He succeeded!" Chu Yuning called out in surprise.

The Four Women breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously, smiles appearing on their faces.

Lin Yang felt the powerful strength surging within his body, his thoughts moving slightly.

A wisp of gray-gold Chaos Gang Qi surged from his fingertips; it was no longer as illusory as the previous True Qi, but extremely solid, emitting an incomparably sharp Aura.

He tried to control this wisp of Chaos Gang Qi. As his mind changed, the Chaos Gang Qi twisted and deformed, sometimes turning into a miniature war blade an inch long, with a cold light on the blade; sometimes turning into a lifelike fierce tiger's head, emitting a silent roar; and sometimes dispersing into a sturdy small shield.

Protective Aura Manifestation! This is the signature ability of a Cultivator in the Gang Qi Realm, which can condense Protective Aura into various forms for attack and defense at will, and its power is far beyond that of True Qi.

And Lin Yang's Chaos Gang Qi, its degree of condensation, strength, and speed of change, far exceeded that of an ordinary Early-stage Gang Qi Realm!

"Congratulations to the Young Lord (Senior Brother) for the Breakthrough!" The Four Women congratulated in unison.

Lin Yang stood up, stretched his limbs, and a series of crackling sounds came from his body, full of infinite power.

He was confident that if he encountered a Minor Accomplishment of Spirit Sea Realm like Elder Zhou Chen again, even without the help of the starship, he would have the power to fight, and would never be as embarrassed as before.

"Is this the power of the Gang Qi Realm..." He clenched his fists, feeling the power, and cast his gaze toward the next flashing coordinate on the star map—a water-blue light point.

"Azure Water Realm." A curve appeared on the corner of Lin Yang's mouth, "The next target. It's just right to try the taste of this new power."

The starship adjusted its direction and accelerated toward the water-blue world.

And Lin Yang, who had just broken through, needed a short time to stabilize his Realm and familiarize himself with the use of Protective Aura Manifestation.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the distant passage, a subtle sword light quietly disappeared, like a poisonous snake lurking in the dark.

The crisis had not gone away, but instead, with Lin Yang's Breakthrough, it had become more urgent.

The hunter had already smelled the scent of the prey becoming stronger, and the killing intent was even thicker.