Chapter 45: Another Breakthrough

The golden light dissipated, revealing the Purple-Eyed Mad Lion and the Poison-Winged Crystal Lizard sprawled across a meteorite, both enveloped by the lingering battle intent that Su Yang had unleashed. They looked at each other in dismay, seemingly finding it hard to believe such an outcome.

"Damn, Big Brother is truly Big Brother, still as fierce as ever. This terrifying battle intent is simply unbeatable," the Purple-Eyed Mad Lion said with a grinning flash of its fangs.

Covered in sweat, Su Yang landed next to the Great Sage's statue and panted, "I can't hold on, this is a bit too much to bear. The spiritual qi consumption in my body is too massive; I can't keep up with this pace."

"Your cultivation realm is simply too low. At most, you are only at the third grade of the Three-Mystic Realm. You need to break through to the Divine Martial Realm as soon as possible," the Great Sage replied.

"Indeed, I want to break through quickly as well... But recently, it seems I've hit a bottleneck and remain utterly unable to advance my current cultivation," Su Yang said with a helpless sigh.

It wasn't that he didn't want to break through. Ever since the battle at Yebeicheng, Su Yang had tried several times to elevate his realm, but each attempt ended in failure, save for the rapid growth of his battle intent.

"It appears you advanced far too quickly before. Your Supreme Bloodline has not yet fully awakened, and your skeleton has likely suffered internal wear and tear from three years of torment," the Great Sage said after a brief silence.

"Ah? Then what should I do?" Su Yang forced a bitter smile.

"Simple, didn't you acquire a few Figless Fruits? If you can refine just one, it will mend the internal wear on your skeleton, and by then, it might just allow you to break through your current bottleneck. The only catch is that the Figless Fruit contains a massive amount of spiritual qi and the power to cleanse marrow and reshape the physique. I just wonder if your current physical body can withstand it," the Great Sage expressed with a hint of concern.

"It must withstand it!" Su Yang immediately scrambled up from the ground, his eyes burning with absolute determination.

At this moment, the Purple-Eyed Mad Lion also walked up to Su Yang and said, "Big Brother, your physical body is already monstrous enough, far beyond what even I can hope to reach."

Meanwhile, the Poison-Winged Crystal Lizard stared at the few Figless Fruits floating in the starry expanse, its eyes glowing with longing, wishing it could fly up and take a bite right now.

After all, it was a treasure it had awaited for hundreds of years, yet in the end, it had harvested nothing. Naturally, a sense of loss lingered in its heart.

"Very well then. This Great Sage loves your drive to fight. If you're going to fight, go all out!" The Great Sage commended Su Yang approvingly.

"Without further ado, this disciple shall consume one right now." Unable to wait any longer, Su Yang reached out his right hand toward the starry sky, and a crimson fruit fell straight into his palm.

Without a second word, Su Yang swallowed it whole.

Requiring no chewing, the fruit dissolved into a pool of red liquid that surged directly into his body.

The moment the Figless Fruit entered his system, Su Yang hurriedly sat cross-legged on the spot, beginning to sense the flow of the fruit's energy.

First came a sensation of refreshing coolness, which instantly gave way to an intense, blazing heat spreading throughout his body. Veins bulged across his skin, and the Supreme Bloodline within him boiled furiously as if reacting to some catalytic force.

His meridians and viscera were completely overwhelmed and occupied by the surging spiritual qi of the Figless Fruit.

Enduring the agonizing pain of expanding spiritual qi, Su Yang felt as though he were a balloon being continuously pumped with air, on the verge of bursting at any second.

"Tsk tsk, his face is twisted almost out of human shape. One can only imagine what kind of excruciating realization Big Brother is enduring right now."

The Purple-Eyed Mad Lion wagged its tail, looking somewhat gleeful at another's misfortune.

Soon enough, foul-smelling black impurities began to ooze from the surface of his skin, which had previously been bathed in golden light. This was the process of cleansing his marrow and reshaping his physique, an ordeal comparable to ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart.

"Goodness gracious, if that were me, I probably would have died of pain long ago," the Poison-Winged Crystal Lizard muttered, shaking its head continuously. It found it hard to believe that such a young human teenager possessed this level of perseverance.

No wonder he was such a monster; there was a reason for it.

"Watch closely. On the path of cultivation, if you want to stand higher and see farther than others, you must possess an incomparably formidable willpower."

"Though you two are merely sixth-grade demonic beasts, with this Great Sage around, I guarantee you can break through to at least the eighth-grade tier within a hundred years." Seeing the Purple-Eyed Mad Lion and the Poison-Winged Crystal Lizard staring with intense envy, the Great Sage began to encourage them.

Sure enough, upon hearing this pep talk, the Purple-Eyed Mad Lion wagged its tail even faster, a broad smile blooming across its face as it said, "Heh heh, with Senior Great Sage's words, this junior can rest easy. As long as I can break into an eighth-grade demonic beast, I'll be completely satisfied for the rest of my life."

"Tsk, look at your lack of ambition. An eighth-grade demonic beast is nothing! Back in my day, a single sneeze from this Great Sage could wipe out a whole horde of them," the Great Sage scoffed contemptuously.

The Purple-Eyed Mad Lion's expression instantly turned awkward, and it muttered under its breath, "Well, you can't compare myself to a Senior like you..."

By this time, Su Yang was completely blanketed in black impurities, looking like a lump of charcoal while emitting a suffocating stench.

"Aiyo my goodness, this smell... it really hits the senses hard..." Unable to bear the stench, the Purple-Eyed Mad Lion distanced itself from Su Yang, leaping over to another meteorite.

As for the Poison-Winged Crystal Lizard, it had long been immune to all odors; no matter how foul the smell, it wouldn't feel the slightest disturbance.

Roughly half an incense stick of time passed in this manner before the black impurities encrusting Su Yang's skin began to flake away.

A wave of crimson spiritual qi gradually emerged, and Su Yang's physical body underwent a qualitative transformation, appearing terrifyingly powerful. The sheer physical aura radiating from him alone was enough to make others tremble involuntarily.

"This kid's absorption capacity is truly fast. It hasn't even been long, has it? It seems this Great Sage underestimated the Supreme Bloodline. But back then, why was the Heavenly Emperor with the Supreme Bloodline that I met so mediocre?" Seeing how rapidly Su Yang absorbed the power of the Figless Fruit, the Great Sage muttered softly to itself.

Boom!

As all the black impurities completely fell away, a blazing red spiritual qi erupted from within Su Yang.

Like the eye of a storm, it surged forth unceasingly.

At that moment, the previously tranquil starry sky began to gather thunderclouds, as if heavenly lightning was about to strike.

"He's actually drawing down heavenly lightning right now? How is that possible! Only after breaking through to the Divine Martial Realm is there a chance to trigger the heavenly lightning tribulation. This kid is merely in the Three-Mystic Realm!"

"Could it be that he has already reached the perfection of the Three-Mystic Realm and is about to break through to the Divine Martial Realm?" Seeing this, even the Great Sage could not hide its astonishment.

However, before long, the gathered thunderclouds inexplicably and rapidly dispersed... and the starry sky returned to its original appearance.

"I forgot, this place has already been isolated from the Heavenly Dao. Even if heavenly lightning could condense, it cannot descend. Well, I suppose it works to this kid's benefit," the Great Sage recalled something and chuckled softly.

Upon witnessing this scene from the side, the Purple-Eyed Mad Lion roared wildly, "Good grief, he can trigger heavenly lightning just in the Three-Mystic Realm? Once he breaks through to the Divine Martial Realm, wouldn't he become even more monstrous?"

"......"

Unaware that he had just summoned the heavenly lightning, Su Yang only felt as though he had entered a marvelous state.

Drifting like a disembodied spirit, his entire soul began to wander through the starry expanse.

He drifted and drifted through a realm of utter darkness, emptiness, and void, until a massive door of lightning appeared before him, filling Su Yang with an indescribable sense of oppression.

Behind that gigantic door of thunder seemed to exist a power akin to that of a god.

In just a fraction of a second, his soul returned to his body, and Su Yang shivered violently, snapping open eyes filled with lingering terror.

Simultaneously, a surge of battle intent and spiritual qi began to climb step by step.

His stagnant cultivation realm surged upward like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, breaking through barriers.

Third-Mystic Realm, Fourth Grade.

Third-Mystic Realm, Fifth Grade.

Third-Mystic Realm, Sixth Grade.

Third-Mystic Realm, Seventh Grade.

Third-Mystic Realm......

It was not until he reached the perfection of the Three-Mystic Realm that the steadily mounting spiritual qi and battle intent finally began to subside......