"Hoo..."
Inside the Quiet Chamber, Chen Ye sat cross-legged, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat pouring down like rain.
"Since the fire is already burning fiercely enough, then..."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes,
"I’ll use this fire to burn through this bottleneck!"
Boom!
He formed a hand seal with both hands, guiding that restless inner fire to fiercely ram against the barrier of the Foundation Establishment Middle Period.
"Dong!"
A dull, thunderous boom rang out from within his body.
Chen Ye’s body trembled violently, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
He felt as if the meridians in his body were being sliced apart by countless dull blades; a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Damn... it really is a Demon Path Cultivation Technique!"
The Burning Heart Art ultimately came from a Demon Sect like the Emotion Crossing Sect. Though the cultivation process itself did not defy the heavens or harm others, the inner fire it condensed was far too chaotic and frenzied, extremely hard to control.
For Chen Ye, wasn’t this playing with fire and burning himself?
"Nothing in this world goes perfectly smoothly... Since it can increase the chance of breaking through, one must naturally bear the corresponding risk."
Chen Ye had long been mentally prepared. He flipped his wrist, and that Cold Jade brocade box instantly appeared in his hand.
The lid opened, and cold air surged out.
The amber-colored Transformation Pill lay quietly within; its pill patterns flowed like living things, exuding a dizzying, intoxicating medicinal fragrance.
This was precisely the breakthrough Pills rewarded by Sect Master Zhao!
And this was Chen Ye’s greatest source of confidence.
Chen Ye tilted his head back and swallowed the Transformation Pill.
The Pills melted the instant they entered his mouth, turning into an extremely pure, icy stream that rushed straight down his throat toward his Dantian.
Zila——!
This stream seemed pure and clear, yet in truth it was incomparably overbearing!
The so-called "Transformation" was to first "transform" away the old body, so that new flesh could be "born"!
Only to see the surface of Chen Ye’s skin begin to crack inch by inch, seeping out blackish-red beads of blood—those were the impurities in his body being forcibly expelled.
Immediately after, that scorching inner fire was forcibly fused by the medicinal power of the Transformation Pill.
The Life and Death Profound Light Scripture began to circulate wildly at this moment!
"Urgh..."
Chen Ye couldn’t help but let out a low growl; his features twisted, his whole body trembling.
Pain!
Too painful!
Between destruction and rebirth, it was as if Chen Ye were repeatedly pacing back and forth before the Gates of Hell.
No one knew how much time had passed.
The two forces within Chen Ye’s body finally reached a subtle balance, gathering into a black-golden dragon of Spiritual Power that coiled above his Dantian Energy Sea, launching a final assault at that crumbling bottleneck.
"Break... for me!!!"
Chen Ye’s eyes snapped wide open; his Divine Sense was like a blade, slashing down ruthlessly!
The barrier that had blocked him for so long, under the combined blessing of the Transformation Pill and Burning Heart Art, collapsed outright and vanished without a trace!
The dragon of Spiritual Power charged straight in; the Dantian Energy Sea expanded by more than fifty percent!
The originally liquid Spiritual Power began frantically compressing, finally turning into a deep, ink-black viscous gel.
The instant he broke through,
his aura was impossible to conceal and swept out from around Chen Ye.
Crack! Crack!
Under this impact, the tables and chairs in the Quiet Chamber turned directly into powder. Even the defensive Array light screen all around trembled violently.
Foundation Establishment Middle Period—accomplished!
But this wasn’t over yet!
The medicinal power of the Transformation Pill had only been half consumed!
The remaining medicinal power began to nourish his flesh in return; Chen Ye’s previously cracked skin quickly peeled off, revealing the newborn skin beneath, as fair as that of an infant.
His bones emitted peals of thunder, and even his internal organs were strengthened within this surge of Vitality.
A long time later.
All the strange phenomena slowly faded away.
Chen Ye suddenly opened his eyes; divine light blazed in his gaze, within which it seemed as though a wheel of black sun flashed past.
This was the phenomenon born from the combination of the Seven Luminaries Soul Nourishing Technique and the Life and Death Profound Light Scripture.
The former manifested as stars, while the latter took form as black Life and Death Spiritual Power. When the two combined, they became black stars.
"Foundation Establishment Fourth-Layer, achieved! Even the Seven Luminaries Soul Nourishing Technique has greatly advanced; I’ve successfully cultivated the Taibai star..."
Chen Ye clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body, and couldn’t help showing a look of joy.
He turned his Divine Sense inward to his Divine Soul, seeing Saturn and Taibai both shining brilliantly.
This breakthrough, though perilous to the extreme, had a result that exceeded all expectations!
Now,
having broken through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Period, he could be considered a true mainstay and member of the core power structure in any sect within the Yan Kingdom!
One had to know, the Family Heads of the five great families in the Moon Rhinoceros Lake District at Moon Rhinoceros Lake only had Cultivation at about this Realm.
The Peak Masters and True Inheritors of the Lingyin Sect—most of them were also only at the Foundation Establishment Middle Period!
"It’s about time to go out."
Chen Ye casually cast a cleansing spell and changed into a clean Taoist Robe.
He pushed open the door of the now-messy Quiet Chamber and walked out.
The sunlight was just right.
In the courtyard, his three disciples were "harmoniously" getting along with each other.
Qing Jun was holding a tree branch, directing the little white fox to perform all sorts of high-difficulty movements, such as handstands, somersaults, and so on.
The little white fox looked utterly dead inside, but under Qing Jun’s tyranny, it could only obey in humiliation.
It was just that for some reason, this fox kept sneaking glances at Jin’er, its foxy thoughts practically overflowing.
Zhiwei, meanwhile, was off to the side flipping through sect classics, occasionally lifting her head to glance at her junior sisters.
As for Jin’er, she sat somewhat helplessly beside Zhiwei.
Judging from the scene, Chen Ye guessed that Zhiwei had dragged her out to bask in the sun.
Looking at this scene, the exhaustion from his recent breakthrough was swept clean away.
These were not just three little disciples!
They were future big shots at the Nascent Soul or even Deity Transformation level!
"Master, you’re out of seclusion!"
The little girl habitually pounced straight into his arms, chattering nonstop,
"Master, Master! Why is your body glowing? Did you get even stronger again?"
"But of course."
Chen Ye scooped her up in one motion and planted a fierce kiss on her soft little cheek,
"If Master weren’t strong, how could he protect our Qing Jun?"