287: Chapter 287 Boiling Point

Boom!

A dull, massive explosion thundered within his body!

That torrent of spiritual energy was like crashing into a ten-thousand-fathom divine mountain; it was instantly shattered into pieces and sent reeling back!

Gao Feng's face turned pale instantly, a sweet taste rose in his throat, and a trace of fresh blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

With just the first tentative strike, that terrifying counter-shock force caused a slight injury to his Meridians!

"Yaoguang!"

Outside the Formation, Chu Lan, who had been closely monitoring Gao Feng's state, gave a low shout.

"Understood!"

Yaoguang immediately took out a star healing pill, transformed it into the purest medicinal power, and precisely channeled it into Gao Feng's body through the Formation.

A gentle energy filled with the breath of life rapidly repaired his damaged Meridians.

Luo Li's zither music also became softer, like a mother's soothing touch, helping him comb through the somewhat chaotic spiritual energy within his body.

Gao Feng was not discouraged.

He knew the solidity of this barrier far exceeded his imagination.

He no longer rushed for success but slowed down the rhythm of his impact, beginning to grind away at that barrier bit by bit with spiritual energy fused with Meteor Star Power, like slow, meticulous water-grinding work.

He controlled every impact with an extremely exquisite force—enough to wear down the barrier without causing further damage to his Meridians.

At the same time, he began to activate his initial-stage Star Battle Body!

He was no longer simply using spiritual energy to strike the barrier.

Instead, using his incomparably powerful Physical Body as a guide, he perfectly combined every heartbeat and every surge of blood with the impact of his spiritual energy!

This formed a dual-directional impact of "Physical Body + Spiritual Energy"!

Time passed day by day in this tedious and difficult grinding process.

Three days later.

When Gao Feng had completely fused the last trace of meteorite essence crystal energy into his spiritual energy.

He could clearly feel that his spiritual energy had condensed to an unprecedented limit!

And that solid barrier, under his three days of sleepless grinding, finally showed a microscopic hint of loosening!

"Now!"

An unprecedentedly brilliant light erupted from Gao Feng's eyes!

He concentrated all of his essence, energy, and spirit into this one impact!

Spiritual energy and Meteor Star Power fused perfectly!

The power of his Physical Body, channeled through the profound conduction of the Star Battle Body, was superimposed with absolute precision onto the tip of that spiritual energy torrent!

Boom—!

This impact was no longer a dull thud!

Instead, it was a crisp shattering sound, like the creation of heaven and earth!

The barrier that had troubled him for so long, so solid it had nearly driven him to despair, finally shattered under this dual-directional impact that gathered all his strength!

A new spiritual energy—stronger, more terrifying, and filled with the aura of qualitative change than any before—instantly swept through his entire body like a bursting dam!

Foundation Establishment Third Layer Early Stage!

Success!

This Breakthrough, from obtaining the opportunity to the secluded cultivation impact and finally to success, had taken nearly three months in total!

Moreover, it was only through the help of top-tier Cultivation Techniques, massive resources, the full support of his entire team, and two life-or-death combat opportunities that it was finally, arduously completed!

Its difficulty was far beyond any previous Breakthrough!

This also made him deeply realize once again that on the path of cultivation, the higher the Realm, the more difficult every step of improvement becomes.

When Gao Feng slowly opened his eyes and felt the new, explosive spiritual energy within him, a powerful sense of self-confidence arose spontaneously!

He could clearly feel that his current spiritual energy power had increased by at least fifty percent compared to before the Breakthrough!

And his control over spiritual energy had reached a whole new level of effortless precision!

The star patterns on the surface of his body had also become richer and deeper, as if real stars were branded into his skin.

He had absolute confidence that now, even when facing a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Third Layer Late Stage, he could easily hold his own! He might even have the power to fight a Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer Early Stage expert if he used all his trump cards!

Furthermore, his bones and muscles had become even more formidable under the feedback of the spiritual energy from this Breakthrough! They were strong enough to withstand a full-force blow from a Foundation Establishment Third Layer Late Stage expert and could even take an ordinary attack from a Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer Early Stage Cultivator without injury!

"He succeeded!"

When they felt that powerful aura soaring into the sky, the six people waiting outside couldn't help but let out excited cheers!

Luo Li, Su Ning, Chu Lan, and Yaoguang entered the Formation immediately. Through the profound resonance of Dual Cultivation, they helped Gao Feng rapidly solidify his newly broken-through and still somewhat unstable Foundation.

Gao Feng's Myriad Spirit Space also improved once again under this new and more powerful resonance!

The "Multi-elemental Amplification" function increased directly from thirty percent to forty percent!

The overall combat power of the entire team had reached a brand-new level!

To everyone's surprise, Tianxin, who had been stuck at the Foundation Establishment Stage One Late Phase Bottleneck, actually had a moment of inspiration. By drawing on the qualitative spiritual energy released during Gao Feng's Breakthrough, she broke through the Bottleneck in one go, successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment Second Layer Early Stage! Her Talisman mastery also rose accordingly!

When the news of Gao Feng's Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Third Layer spread from the vein outpost, the Human Race Cultivators of the entire Meteor Realm were boiling with excitement!

An unprecedented fire of hope was ignited in everyone's hearts!

They knew that from today on, their Human Race finally had a core combatant capable of contending with top experts like Marquis Fen Tian on the front lines!

A final counter-offensive to decide the future of the entire Meteor Realm was about to slowly begin in their hands!

When the three heads of the Shadow Slaying Commander, Demon Flame Commander, and Rock Demon Commander were hung high on the flagpoles of the Meteor Star vein outpost by the Boundary Breaking Legion Cultivators, the entire Myriad Race Allied Forces in the western Meteor Realm fell into a deathly panic.

Three powerful Foundation Establishment Third Layer Late Stage commanders had fallen one after another in less than half a month!

This news, like a magnitude twelve earthquake, violently struck the minds of every foreign warrior.

And when this news crossed half of the Meteor Realm and reached Fen Tian City, which sat in the western core like a crouching demon god...

Boom—!

A terrifying roar, enough to change the color of heaven and earth, thundered from the deepest part of the City Lord's Mansion!

The entire Fen Tian City trembled violently under this fury!

"Trash! A bunch of trash!"

Marquis Fen Tian's tall and oppressive figure slowly rose from his throne, his eyes burning with dark gold flames, filled with a towering rage enough to incinerate everything!

"A mere recently reclaimed vein outpost, a bunch of human remnants struggling for breath, actually caused this Marquis to lose three great generals in a row!"

"Gao Feng... Star Body Refining Hall..."

He slowly uttered these two names, every word carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

"Pass down my order!"

Marquis Fen Tian's voice, like rolling heavenly thunder, spread throughout Fen Tian City!

"Gather all the main forces of the Myriad Race Allied Forces! This Marquis will lead the campaign personally! We shall flatten all human outposts in the eastern Meteor Realm! Those lowly insects shall be completely wiped from this land!"

The wind howls before the mountain rain arrives!

A final decisive battle to determine the future fate of the entire Meteor Realm was completely brought forward by the fury of this highest commander of the Demonic Flame Clan!

...

Meteor Star vein outpost.

When the news that Marquis Fen Tian was about to lead the main army on an eastern campaign reached them through human spies planted in the west, the entire outpost fell into an unprecedentedly heavy atmosphere.

Elder Ling Zhan, who had just recovered and emerged from seclusion, remained silent for a long time after hearing this news.

Finally, a flash of determination crossed his old and wise eyes.

"Pass down my order!"

His voice spread throughout the outpost.

"All Disciples of the Boundary Breaking Legion and the defenders of Meteor City, pack your belongings immediately, abandon this place, and follow me back to the eastern core—Meteor City!"

This order left everyone stunned.

"Elder, are we just going to give up the mineral vein we worked so hard to take?" Lei Lie asked somewhat unwillingly.

"It's not giving up; it's a strategic transfer."

Ling Zhan shook his head and said in a heavy voice, "Marquis Fen Tian is leading the main force personally; his momentum is unstoppable. With our current strength, staying here to defend would be like a mantis trying to stop a carriage."

"Our only way to survive is to retreat to Meteor City! There, we have the last and most solid core line of defense for the Human Race in the Meteor Realm!"

"We must concentrate all our forces there, reinforce the city defenses, stockpile resources, and engage in the final decisive battle with them!"

"As for this vein..." A sharp light flashed in Ling Zhan's eyes, "I will leave an elite squad to garrison here. Their mission is not to defend to the death, but to use the defensive Formations and natural barriers of this place to delay the allied forces' advance at all costs! They will buy us the most precious time to reinforce Meteor City!"

This was a decision full of courage and wisdom.

Under the personal command of Elder Ling Zhan, a massive yet orderly retreat quickly unfolded.

Gao Feng's team, naturally, followed the army back to that eastern core they were both familiar and unfamiliar with—Meteor City.

When Gao Feng stood beneath this magnificent giant city once again, his heart was filled with many emotions.

The last time he came here, he was just a fledgling Foundation Establishment Cultivator, struggling for a spot in the Boundary Breaking Legion.

But now, he had become the leader of the younger generation of the Human Race in the entire Meteor Realm, shouldering the heavy mission of protecting this city.

Meteor City was indeed the final bastion of the Human Race in the Meteor Realm.

The height and thickness of its walls were far beyond what the vein outpost could compare to.

However, Gao Feng also keenly discovered that this seemingly indestructible giant city was already hollowed out from within.