69: Chapter 69 It seems you can drink it.

The roof tiles of the main hall were lifted and shattered by an invisible wave of Qi.

The barrier that had been stubbornly blocking his cultivation for years was forcefully shattered in this life-or-death moment, under extreme fury and pressure.

Grand Innate!

Lin Jiu had taken a single step into the Grand Innate Realm!

His True Qi, dense as mercury, circulated throughout his body, accompanied by faint sounds of wind and thunder.

His sallow face instantly regained a healthy flush, and his Aura surged several times over.

"Excellent! Truly excellent, Lin Jiu! To achieve a Breakthrough in the midst of battle!"

Old Monk Baiyun's eyes blazed with sharp light, his gaunt face a mixture of shock and complex emotions.

"This humble monk has cultivated diligently for seventy years, yet still lingers at the threshold... Such talent, such an Opportunity, I am far from your match!"

His gaze towards Lin Jiu was filled with intense admiration.

However, when his gaze shifted towards Ding Qing, who remained seated as steady as a mountain, without even a flutter of his robe...

That shock instantly transformed into a deeper sense of awe and reverence.

"Amitabha..."

Old Monk Baiyun couldn't help but chant a low Buddhist invocation, his voice tinged with ineffable emotion.

"It has been five years since we parted at Vajra Temple, Benefactor Ding... have you already reached such a Realm?"

The scene from five years ago at the gate of Vajra Temple surfaced in his mind.

That terrifying figure, radiating overwhelming Evil Qi, who with his iron fists challenged the Five Great Abbots' Vajra Demon-Subduing Array, forcing the abbots to cough up golden blood.

And who ultimately compelled the thousand-year-old ancient temple to seal its gates for a hundred years.

That Ding Qing of the past was a peerless, unbridled weapon of slaughter!

Yet, meeting again today... that world-shaking Evil Qi had been refined and internalized to the extreme.

When still, his presence was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss covered by ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.

But with a mere thought, it was like a slumbering primeval Vicious Beast, where a single glance could stir the heavens and earth.

This kind of Realm...

Even Old Monk Baiyun's long-dormant heart couldn't help but ripple with violent waves.

The name of a Realm, sealed within ancient texts and nearly legendary, uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.

"Mortal Shedding... Celestial Rank?!"

Just as Old Monk Baiyun's spirit was profoundly shaken, Lin Jiu, having broken through to Grand Innate, had pushed his Aura to its Peak.

His beard and hair billowed, his eyes shooting forth electric light, holding nothing back.

"Ding Qing! Take this!"

With a furious roar, Lin Jiu unleashed the culmination of his lifelong learning to its utmost limit.

His left hand's five fingers danced, instantly casting seven Talismans of various colors, each imbued with different demon-subduing powers.

Corpse Suppression, Evil Dispelling, Body Immobilization, Fire Summoning, Thunder Calling, Body Protection, Spirit Gathering!

Like seven streams of light, they shot towards Ding Qing's vital points!

The Seven-Star Dharma Sword in his right hand hummed and trembled.

The blade glowed crimson like fire, fueled by his pure and powerful Grand Innate True Qi, as he unleashed his ultimate close-quarters technique, the 'Seven-Star Demon-Dispersing Sword'.

The sword light multiplied, like the seven stars of the Big Dipper falling from the sky, enveloping Ding Qing with the righteous Dao power to slay demons and vanquish evil.

Simultaneously, his feet performed the mystical steps, his figure flickering like a ghost, disrupting Ding Qing's senses.

Talismans filled the air, sword light wove a net—Dao and martial arts united as one!

At this moment, Lin Jiu's Aura was so formidable it could make ordinary Grand Innate experts pale.

He was confident!

Even if the copper-skinned, iron-boned Zombie King were here, it would be severely wounded by this full-force assault!

Facing this frenzied onslaught capable of collapsing the main hall, Ding Qing finally moved.

He merely slowly raised his right hand.

His five fingers spread open, facing the sky full of Talisman light and sword shadows, facing the Lin Jiu charging forth with unstoppable momentum... and pressed down into the Void!

There was no earth-shattering roar, no blinding radiance.

Time itself seemed to stretch and solidify at this moment under an invisible force.

The seven fierce Talismans crashed into an invisible, indestructible wall of sighs.

While still a foot away from Ding Qing's body, they silently shattered inch by inch, annihilated, dissipating into motes of spiritual light.

The falling net of Seven-Star sword light sank into a quagmire of ten-thousand-year profound ice.

The sharp sword momentum abruptly stagnated, slowed; the crimson light dancing on the blade rapidly dimmed and extinguished.

Lin Jiu felt as if the arm holding his sword was bound by the immense pressure of the deep sea, weighing billions of pounds.

Every inch of progress was agonizingly difficult.

The surging Grand Innate True Qi within him crashed into an impenetrable wall; the recoil force caused his blood and Qi to reverse, nearly making him vomit blood!

And just as Lin Jiu's assault was completely frozen by this seemingly effortless press, in the instant his old force was spent and new force had yet to arise...

That teacup suspended before him, swirling with jade-green water, seemed to be gently nudged by an invisible hand.

Tap.

A soft sound, like a jade chime striking the silent hall.

The teacup, steadily, irresistibly, pressed against Lin Jiu's slightly parted lips, which had opened from exerting his full power.

The rim of the cup was piercingly cold.

The swirling green water within the cup, carrying Ding Qing's vast, irresistible, and icy abyss-like will...

Disregarding any possible resistance or attempt to close his mouth by Lin Jiu, it forcefully, as if alive, poured into his mouth!

Ugh...!

Lin Jiu's eyes widened abruptly, his Adam's apple bobbing.

An indescribable liquid, cold, bitter, and carrying the metallic scent of rust, flooded his throat and instantly spread through his limbs and bones.

That was not the taste of tea.

It was... the crushing weight of pure power! The imprint of will!

The boiling Grand Innate True Qi coursing through his body, like a raging fire instantly doused by this 'tea', abruptly fell silent.

All the fury, the unwillingness, the wild joy of breaking through...

At this moment, transformed into a bone-deep chill and... helplessness.

Ding Qing slowly withdrew his Void-pressing palm.

The gaze from beneath the shadow of his bamboo hat was like looking down upon dust.

"It seems you can drink it after all."

His voice remained flat and unfluctuating.

Yet it sounded like a final judgment, declaring the fate of Lin Jiu and his two disciples at this moment.

Life and death rested solely on the other's whim.

Inside and outside the main hall, a deathly silence reigned.

Only the sound of the teacup slipping from Lin Jiu's powerless hand, shattering on the cold floor tiles, broke the quiet with a crisp, jarring noise.

Crack!

The sound of the shattering teacup was especially piercing in the silent hall, like a death knell striking each person's heart.

Lin Jiu stood rigidly in place, the cold, bitter aftertaste of the 'tea' still lingering in his throat.

The surging, newly broken-through Grand Innate True Qi within him now lay stagnant as ice, ruthlessly suppressed by an invisible, overwhelming will.

His complexion shifted from red to pale, then from pale to ashen. His lips trembled slightly, but not a single word could escape.

His eyes, once sharp as an eagle's but now bloodshot and filled with defeat, were fixed unwaveringly on the shattered pieces of the teacup on the ground.

As if he wanted to sear their image deep into his Soul.

The all-out attack from moments ago, the wild joy of breaking through in battle—all seemed so laughable,

So utterly powerless!

before Ding Qing's effortless press and pour.

"M... Master..."

From the corner, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai struggled to get up, their voices weak, filled with terror and concern.

A heavy, almost suffocating pressure enveloped the entire main hall of the Ren Residence.

Li Wujiu sheathed his blade.

But his gaze remained as cold and sharp as ice, like a deadly weapon ready to be drawn again at any moment, firmly locked onto Lin Jiu and his disciples, awaiting his Master's command.

"Amitabha!"

Old Monk Baiyun's hoarse voice rang out appropriately, carrying the unique peace of Buddhism, yet imbued with undeniable force.

He pressed his palms together and stepped forward slowly.

His gaunt frame positioned itself between the lines of sight of Lin Jiu and Ding Qing.

A layer of gentle yet resilient Buddhist light quietly spread, attempting to soothe the lingering killing intent in the air.