9: Chapter 9 Breakthrough and Tribulation, A Wonderful Night

After the three of them left the shop, Cao Yang and the two women didn't go shopping anymore and returned directly to Yuelai Inn.

After bidding farewell to the two women, Cao Yang returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and took out the Rusty Sword he had obtained in Moyang City last time, along with the Jade Token.

After returning last time, he had asked the System; restoring the Immortal Sword required a large amount of Immortal Stones, which Cao Yang did not have. He looked at the Jade Token. If it could truly enter a mysterious Treasure Land as the shopkeeper said, he might be able to obtain Immortal Stones there. After all, the Jade Token itself was an Immortal Artifact, so the master of the Treasure Land must be an Immortal, making the presence of Immortal Stones highly likely.

However, this Jade Token only had a simple teleportation function. After use, the Formation inside would self-destruct. No wonder the intelligence of the Artifact Spirit sealed within was low; it was likely a hastily refined teleportation Jade Token.

The Jade Token could only be activated by Immortal Power or extremely high-quality Spiritual Power. Clearly, its owner intended to leave it for someone with Heaven-Defying Aptitude.

Cao Yang cast these thoughts aside. Now wasn't the time to activate the Jade Token; he would wait until he returned to the Sect. Putting away the Jade Token and the Rusty Sword, Cao Yang said in his mind, "System, sign-in."

"Ding! sign-in successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining 800 years of Genius cultivation base and one Immortal-grade Spirit Protecting Talisman."

"Immortal-grade Spirit Protecting Talisman: Can resist Divine Sense attacks from anyone below the Immortal level."

Cao Yang was overjoyed. The cultivation base was secondary; the key was the Immortal-grade Spirit Protecting Talisman. He needed this desperately. Although he previously had the strength of the Undergoing Tribulation Realm, his Divine Sense was inferior to those experts, which was his weakness. Now with the Spirit Protecting Talisman, he no longer feared Divine Sense attacks from powerful experts.

"System, how do I use the Spirit Protecting Talisman?" Cao Yang asked hurriedly.

"Ding! Produced by the System, no refinement required. Use it directly."

"System, use the Spirit Protecting Talisman," Cao Yang thought.

The golden Talisman in Cao Yang's hand turned into a beam of light and entered his Sea of Consciousness. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the Spirit Protecting Talisman hung high above like a sun, emitting dazzling golden light that protected the entire Sea of Consciousness.

Cao Yang felt his mind become clearer, and his Divine Sense strengthened slightly. It seemed the Spirit Protecting Talisman also had the effect of nourishing the Divine Sense; it truly lived up to its Immortal-grade status.

Cao Yang thought, "System, if I fuse the cultivation base to Breakthrough to the Undergoing Tribulation Stage, will there be a Heavenly Tribulation?"

"Ding! Host, this System has already shielded the heavenly secrets. You do not need to undergo a Heavenly Tribulation to increase your Realm."

Relieved, Cao Yang said, "System, first claim 500 years of Genius cultivation base."

Undergoing a tribulation would be both troublesome and dangerous; after all, Cao Yang currently had no practical Magic Treasures to resist the Heavenly Tribulation. Although he had two Immortal Artifacts, one was unusable and the other had neither defensive nor offensive capabilities.

Cao Yang's Realm began to Breakthrough:

Body Integration Peak

Undergoing Tribulation Early Stage

Undergoing Tribulation Middle Stage

Undergoing Tribulation Late Stage

This time, Cao Yang used 500 years of Genius cultivation base just to Breakthrough one major Realm. It seemed that the higher the Realm, the harder it was to advance. Furthermore, the System only provided ordinary Genius cultivation base; if it were the cultivation base of someone with his or his two Senior Sisters' cultivation Aptitude, he would probably have achieved Immortal Ascension long ago.

Cao Yang felt the powerful Realm of the Undergoing Tribulation Late Stage.

He felt incredibly powerful. He could now shatter a City Protection Array like the one in Xianlin City with a single punch.

A white speck of light was born deep within Cao Yang's Sea of Consciousness. The speck slowly grew until it took on Cao Yang's appearance; this was Cao Yang's Divine Soul. His Sea of Consciousness also expanded several times over. Cao Yang could feel that his Divine Soul could instantly appear within the Nascent Soul located in his Dantian, or it could survive outside his body for a long time. The Nascent Soul had long been able to leave the body and survive independently, and now the golden halo above the Nascent Soul's head had brightened many times over.

From now on, even if Cao Yang's body was destroyed, as long as either his Nascent Soul or his Divine Soul survived, he would not die!

Having reached the Undergoing Tribulation Realm, Cao Yang's strength had undergone a qualitative change. He originally intended to continue cultivating cross-legged, but thinking that those in the Cultivation World who could defeat him were now few and far between, he recalled Fifth Senior Sister's beauty and her gentleness over the past few days, and his heart rippled with emotion.

Cao Yang walked out of his room and headed toward Fifth Senior Sister Xiao Lingxue's room.

Cao Yang sent a Sound-Transmitting Talisman toward Xiao Lingxue's room. After a moment, Xiao Lingxue came out, still dressed in white with white hair as always.

Cao Yang spoke first, "Fifth Senior Sister, may I come in and sit for a while?"

Xiao Lingxue's pretty face turned slightly red. She nodded and said with a look of joy, "Of course, Junior Brother, please come in."

Cao Yang followed her inside. The room's Formation activated automatically, and Cao Yang waved his hand to add another layer of Barrier.

Cao Yang and Xiao Lingxue sat by the bed. As they chatted, Cao Yang slowly moved closer to her. When the conversation reached a pleasant point, Cao Yang took Xiao Lingxue's jade-like hand in his. Xiao Lingxue's heart tightened and raced, but she still leaned her head against Cao Yang's chest, her face flushed.

Seeing that the beauty was willing, Cao Yang took Xiao Lingxue into his arms and lowered his head to taste her cherry-like lips. Gradually, their tongues intertwined, and they fell onto the bed.

Beautiful songs resounded within the room one after another...