Chapter Thirty: On the Verge of a Breakthrough

“Master, is this little thing truly a treasure?”
Ye Yun was both astonished and delighted. He continued, “When I examined it closely under the sunlight, it seemed to transform into an eye, which startled me. What exactly is this thing?”

“This is spiritual marrow. It has already developed sentience. The reason you felt it resembled an eye is because it possesses spirit—it’s as if it has a soul,” Ye Yu replied with a smile.

“Heaven and earth’s spiritual energy takes countless years to nurture spiritual stones. When a spiritual stone is nourished and cultivated for many more years, it can become spiritual marrow—an object of extraordinary value!” Ye Yu explained.

“So, what’s the difference between spiritual stones and spiritual marrow?” Ye Yun asked further.

“Once a cultivator absorbs and refines the spiritual energy from a spiritual stone, the stone becomes dust and is useless thereafter. But once the energy in spiritual marrow is absorbed, given some time, it can automatically draw in and store spiritual energy from the world again. However, the space inside this piece of spiritual marrow is small, so it doesn’t hold much energy—it can only be considered a lower-grade spiritual marrow,” the ancestor Ye Yu said.

“Does that mean the spiritual energy within the spiritual marrow is inexhaustible?” Ye Yun was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected such a wonderful treasure could be obtained merely by trading a few wolf demon fangs.

“You’ve had a stroke of luck. Though this is lower-grade spiritual marrow, it’s enough to ensure you won’t lack spiritual energy before reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Coupled with the relic I’ve given you, your cultivation progress will be swift,” Ye Yu said with a smile.

“With this lower-grade spiritual marrow, your breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage is all but assured. Even without Foundation Establishment Pills, you’ll succeed,” Ye Yu added.

For others, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage might be difficult, but for Ye Yun, it was no great challenge. The Crimson Flame Demon Technique he practiced was of the highest order, and his internal energy was far deeper than that of other cultivators at his level.

“Now that the weather is turning cold and there are frequent demon beast attacks on human settlements, you should often venture deep into the wilderness. It will temper your body and spirit, and by hunting demon beasts, you can collect materials to exchange for elixirs at the treasury,” Ye Yu advised regarding Ye Yun’s future cultivation.

“Yes, Master. I will remember.”

That very evening, as the setting sun bled across the sky, Ye Yun left Cloudwater City, heading toward Sunset Mountain.

Sunset Mountain lay between Cloudwater City and Dragonflight City. Though it teemed with demon beasts, both cities boasted numerous experts, so demon beasts rarely appeared near their borders. The deeper one ventured into the forest and farther from the cities, the more numerous and powerful the demon beasts became.

From the moment he encountered his first demon beast in Sunset Mountain, Ye Yun began his hunt, slaying three demon beasts in succession, all at the peak of the Qi Refining stage. As for the weaker ones, he dispatched them with little effort, not even bothering to collect their remains.

“At night, demon beasts are at their strongest and far more ferocious and aggressive than by day. Now that my own power is growing, ordinary training is no longer enough. I should raise the difficulty and temper myself more thoroughly!”

As the sun set and the full moon hung high, Ye Yun moved through the dense, silent forest. Armed with a dark bow and a quiver on his back, he concealed his presence like a seasoned hunter.

Suddenly, a shrill “squeak, squeak” broke the silence. Ye Yun’s senses sharpened instantly—a large net, shimmering with silver light, appeared ahead and swept down to ensnare him.

“A spider web?”

With his Crimson Flame energy surging, he spread his arms wide, resembling a great roc, and retreated in an instant, dodging the trap.

In the moonlight not far ahead, Ye Yun saw a massive spider demon, its body silent and as large as a boulder. Stripes like those of a tiger patterned its body, and its long fangs glinted coldly.

“The silk of a tiger-striped spider demon is incredibly tough, and the soft flesh on its abdomen is a rare delicacy.”

Though the spider demon was terrifying to behold, Ye Yun was unfazed. An arrow flew from his bow, igniting with fire as it sped through the night forest. The spider demon reacted quickly, darting aside to evade the first arrow, but a second arrow followed, pinning it to a tree with a wet thud.

“Spider demons are masters of ambush, renowned hunters among demon beasts—they often hide in secret places and are not easy to hunt.”

Ignoring the spider demon for the moment, Ye Yun collected the web, then drew his White Tiger Sword to sever the demon’s head and process its body.

...

The next morning, with the sky now bright, Ye Yun sat exhausted beneath a tree in Sunset Mountain.

He had fought and slaughtered demon beasts throughout the night, fortunately without encountering any Foundation Establishment-level monsters.

Though his internal energy was nearly spent, his master had once said that if you could hold on after reaching your limits, you could break through them.

So, after a brief rest, Ye Yun placed an Essence Pill in his mouth and activated his Crimson Flame Demon Technique, absorbing the world’s spiritual energy to speed his cultivation.

As the sun rose, its brilliant rays fell upon him. As his body recovered, Ye Yun could clearly feel the surging power within his flesh and internal energy. Looking inward, he saw the energy in his dantian had grown denser, with faint sparks of fire flickering.

This was the sign that true essence fire was about to form!

One night of bloody combat was worth more than ten days of hard cultivation. At this rate, in less than half a month, he could begin preparing for his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

Upon returning home, Ye Xian came running over. “Brother Yun, the Inner Sect Grand Tournament that happens every five years is in three days. Do you want to participate together?”

“The Inner Sect Grand Tournament?”

“Yes! Five years ago, we were all too young to join. This time, I hear Ye Peng has boasted he’ll defeat everyone and seize the championship,” Ye Xian said, pouting.

“I also hear that anyone who ranks in the top three will receive rewards from the head of the family—each one is extraordinary!” Ye Xian added.

Her talent was second only to Ye Peng’s. Even if she couldn’t beat him, she was almost certain to win a place in the top three.

The young are always full of pride and a desire to excel, but Ye Yun felt no interest whatsoever.

Rather than waste time on a contest, he’d rather focus on his cultivation and strive to reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible.

It wasn’t that Ye Yun was prematurely mature or lacked youthful ambition, but since his success in Qi Refining, all his experiences had been genuine life-and-death struggles.

As for the Ye Clan’s grand tournament, the disciples would never truly fight to the death.

His master had told him such competitions did little to temper one’s will. Naturally, Ye Yun was uninterested.

Whether Ye Yun participated or not, the grand tournament proceeded as scheduled. Ye Peng, as he had wished, used the tournament to cement his reputation as the strongest among the young generation.

Soon after, word spread that a Foundation Establishment-stage serpent demon had become his spirit pet, making countless members of the Ye Clan envious.

Winter arrived. All things returned to dormancy. Snow as thick as goose feathers fell from the sky, sealing the forests. For thousands of miles, the land was locked in ice and covered in snow, a magnificent sight.

Throughout this time, Ye Yun never relaxed in his cultivation. A wisp of Crimson Flame true fire was now born in his dantian, his body had been tempered into a demonic physique, and his spirit could now leave his body.

Only one last step remained: to condense his internal energy into a vortex within his dantian and open his sea of energy. Then, he would become a true Foundation Establishment cultivator.