blogombal Chapter 31 Breaking Through to the 5th Level and the Initial Crushing of the Divine Soul
Chapter 31 Breaking Through to the 5th Level and the Initial Crushing of the Divine Soul
After listening to the mind-blowing conversation between the Jia mother and son, Lin Yan slowly withdrew his divine sense, his heart filled with countless emotions. He gained a deeper understanding of the complexity and resilience of human nature. He had a vague intuition that enhancing his observation and understanding of the myriad aspects of the world would undoubtedly be of great benefit to his future cultivation path. Although the specific benefits were still unclear, it was a subtle feeling originating from his Dao heart.
He went downstairs and greeted his cousin and his wife: "Brother, sister-in-law, this time I'm going into seclusion to try to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, and at the same time I'll be cultivating a Soul Refining technique. It might take longer than before. Please take care of things outside."
My cousin and his wife remained as calm and reliable as ever, nodding and replying, "Don't worry, Master. We'll handle things outside; nothing will go wrong. You can focus on your cultivation."
Lin Yan returned to his spatial realm and decided to first break through to the relatively safe fifth level of Qi Refining. His foundation was extremely solid when he broke through to the fourth level last time, and he had also carefully deduced the cultivation method's path in the past two days. This time, the breakthrough would be more of a matter of patience and gradual accumulation of spiritual energy.
He embedded a sufficient number of top-grade spirit stones into the spirit-gathering array plate, then focused all his mind and immersed himself in the cultivation of the fifth level of the "Qiankun Creation Technique".
Within this space, time passed quietly like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, three years had passed (in spatial time).
When the spiritual energy in his dantian reached its peak and surged like a tide, Lin Yan took out the fifth Marrow Cleansing Pill without hesitation and swallowed it.
The familiar pain swept over him again, cleansing his meridians and body. But perhaps because most of the impurities in his body had been removed, the pain, though still intense, was now bearable, no longer carrying that feeling of being on the verge of collapse. The powerful medicinal effects of the pill, mixed with pure spiritual energy, surged forth like a long-awaited flood, easily breaching the barrier of the fifth level of Qi Refining!
A more powerful sense of strength surged through his body instantly, his meridians widened once more, and the area of the spiritual energy lake in his dantian increased dramatically!
Qi Refining Level 5, Success!
Thus, Lin Yan has achieved his first small goal in cultivation since his transmigration!
He didn't immediately emerge from seclusion, but instead continued to sit cross-legged, circulating his cultivation technique to consolidate this hard-won new realm. He knew that the main event of this seclusion was only just beginning—forging his soul and body!
Fortunately, as his cultivation level improved, the flow of time in the space increased again, reaching an astonishing rate of one day outside being equivalent to one hundred and eighty days inside! This provided him with ample time to cultivate these extremely time-consuming "side branch" projects.
After calming himself down, Lin Yan took a deep breath, as if facing a life-or-death battle, and took out the jade slip containing the "Divine and Demonic Visualization Method" again. He needed to mentally prepare himself.
He even picked up Xiao Qi, who was playing, and solemnly placed the white jade bottle containing the precious Soul-Replenishing Pill into Xiao Qi's arms.
"Xiao Qi," Lin Yan's voice was unusually serious, "Brother is preparing to cultivate that Soul Refining Technique. The process might be very dangerous. You take this medicine bottle and stay by my side. If... if you see that brother's condition is very bad, immediately pour out a pill and put it in his mouth. Remember? This concerns brother's life!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qi's big, dark eyes instantly filled with tears. Instead of taking the medicine bottle, it pushed it away as if burned, threw itself into Lin Yan's arms, and burst into loud sobs:
"Waaaaah... Brother! Let's not cultivate this technique anymore, okay? It's too dangerous! There are no other cultivators outside right now, no one can threaten you! You're the most powerful person in the world now! It's okay if we don't cultivate it, right? Little Seven doesn't want Brother to be in danger! Little Seven is scared! Waaaaah..."
It cried so hard, its little body sobbing in Lin Yan's arms.
Lin Yan felt a pang of sadness at its crying and his heart softened. He gently wiped away the tear stains from Xiao Qi's golden fur and patiently explained:
"Little Seven, listen to your brother. Your brother is a cultivator, pursuing the path to immortality. Your brother will live for a very, very long time, but one day, your brother will leave this world to find the path to the true realm of cultivation. That is your final destination."
His gaze hardened and became distant: "In the true world of cultivation, the strong prey on the weak, and danger lurks everywhere. Brother now possesses the best starting conditions—endless resources, a safe environment, and top-tier cultivation techniques. If, with all this, you don't diligently cultivate, if you don't hone yourself to become invincible among those of the same level, and even possess the strength to challenge those of higher levels, wouldn't you be wasting this unique opportunity? You would be letting down the ancestors' expectations, and even more so, letting down yourself!"
"As for the dangers..." Lin Yan paused, his tone resolute, "The path of cultivation is inherently defying the heavens! Fortune and honor are found in danger! Without the courage to take risks, how can one climb to the summit? I believe that the cultivation method left behind by our ancestors is not a dead end; there is definitely a glimmer of hope. As long as my will is strong enough and I have the aid of elixirs, I will surely overcome it!"
He cupped Xiaoqi's face in his hands, looking into its eyes: "Xiaoqi, don't be sad. Will you help your brother and be his strongest support?"
Little Seven was a little confused; all it knew was that its brother was in danger. But this was the first time its brother had so earnestly asked for its help. It held back its tears, its little nose twitching, and nodded heavily.
It jumped down from Lin Yan's arms, carefully picked up the medicine bottle, and held it tightly in its arms as if it were a priceless treasure. Then it sat upright on the futon next to Lin Yan, its little face tense, and solemnly promised Lin Yan, "Little Seven will not leave your side for a moment! Little Seven will protect the medicine! I will be my brother's support!"
Looking at its fierce yet incredibly loyal expression, Lin Yan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He couldn't help but stroke its smooth fur and silently praised it, "Good boy."
Everything was ready. Lin Yan took one last look at the terrifying diagram of the cultivation technique, then resolutely closed his eyes and, following the requirements of the "Divine and Demonic Visualization Method," entered the deepest state of meditation.
All external sensations quickly disappeared, until only the faint sound of one's own heartbeat remained.
Immediately afterwards, his soul seemed to be drawn by an invisible force and suddenly sucked into absolute darkness.
After an unknown amount of time, the view suddenly opened up before them, revealing a vast, empty, and deathly silent chaotic void. And in the very center of this void stood a colossal, ancient, weathered stone mill, covered in indescribable and profound runes!
It slowly rotated, emanating a terrifying aura that devoured everything and crushed all things, as if even light and spacetime could not escape it.
A tremendous fear instantly gripped Lin Yan's soul and consciousness, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. But he knew he had to overcome this instinctive fear.
"Come on!" With immense willpower, he willingly threw his soul and consciousness under the giant millstone!
"Boom—Buzz—"
The giant millstone has started.
The pain was beyond words, erupting in an instant!
The feeling was as if 84,000 icy, bone-chilling awls were simultaneously piercing every pore, penetrating deep into the bone marrow! Beneath every inch of skin, it felt as if red-hot, writhing iron chains were frantically tightening and grinding against the bones! Yet, strangely, the tip of the tongue tasted a honey-like sweetness—a deadly hallucination produced when the cells of consciousness were being crushed!
Suddenly, all his senses began to twist wildly in the opposite direction: he "heard" the crisp sound of gold shattering, and "tasted" a strange, charred, cloud-like flavor. His lumbar vertebrae seemed to burst open one by one, yet they strangely bloomed into the shape of a lotus flower, emitting a clear, resonant sound like a chime!
His three souls and seven spirits were roughly torn into countless crystalline threads, which then involuntarily intertwined into a huge spider web that emitted a silent, shrill laugh, wrapping him up layer by layer!
The most terrifying thing is not this extreme pain.
As the cold, divine millstone slowly ground across his chest, he clearly sensed that the concept of "I" was being squeezed out of his spine, bit by bit—like wringing out a wet towel. First came a drop of ink-like self-awareness, then melted wax-like emotions and memories, and finally, even that faint, resisting consciousness itself completely collapsed, turning into dust, seeping into the endless void along the mysterious patterns on the millstone…
When pain surpasses an unimaginable threshold, it instead returns to an absolute, deathly stillness.
In that eerie stillness, he seemed to rise, looking down upon the countless fragments of souls below, utterly crushed and reduced to billions of specks of light. He saw within each speck of light a reflection of a hundred thousand different versions of himself, all chanting the same profound maxim:
"So... only when shattered to this extent is it... perfect..."
He... pulled through.
This kind of pain is something that no ordinary mortal or even a cultivator with a weak will could possibly endure!
In reality, Lin Yan's body convulsed violently, his face turned ashen, and his breath became extremely weak.
Little Seven, who had been staring intently at him with wide eyes, felt its heart pounding in its chest! Seeing a trickle of golden blood escape from its brother's lips, it immediately realized the crucial moment had arrived!
It quickly uncorked the bottle, poured out a Soul-Replenishing Pill that radiated a warm glow, and carefully placed it into Lin Yan's slightly open mouth.
The pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, and a surge of boundless energy rushed into Lin Yan's nearly shattered sea of consciousness. Like rain after a long drought, it quickly nourished, repaired, and condensed the scattered soul dust.
Under the nourishment of this "spring rain," Lin Yan's shattered soul began to recombine and grow at a visible speed, becoming broader and more solid than before...
As for the specific benefits gained and the transformation that occurred, we will only know after the medicine has been fully absorbed.
But in any case, he survived the first transformation and the first soul-crushing event of the "Gods and Demons Visualization Method"!