Breakthrough to the Earthly Yuan Stage!

The commotion caused by Lin Zhentian and the other two great Heavenly Yuan Stage experts pursuing Lin Mang and Lin Hong had long since alarmed every Heavenly Yuan Stage expert in Qingyang Town, and they all watched from nearby.

The news that Lin Mang and his son had betrayed and fled the Lin Family spread in an instant.

It had to be said that after so many years, Lin Mang truly deserved his reputation as the man who controlled the Lin Family's finances. He had accumulated a vast amount of wealth, and even while facing the pursuit of Lin Zhentian and the other two great Heavenly Yuan Stage experts, he did not immediately fall into a disadvantage. As he twisted and turned, he was also heading toward the mountains near Qingyang Town.

No one knew what had happened, but several black-clothed Heavenly Yuan Stage experts suddenly appeared out of nowhere, obstructing Lin Zhentian and the others in their pursuit of Lin Mang and his son.

For a time, the dark clouds blanketing the skies above Qingyang Town were forcefully scattered by the extremely intense shockwaves from their clashes.

In the dense forest at the back mountain of the Lin Family, Lin Chen had already arrived.

Holding the Green Lotus Sword, he looked around, casually dealt with one unlucky ordinary Demonic Beast, then decisively occupied its lair.

Based on Lin Chen's estimation of the situation, Lin Mang and his son definitely would not be taken down so easily.

It was not because Lin Mang and his son were powerful, but because the other forces in Qingyang Town—specifically the Lei Family and the Xie Family, and perhaps even the Mad Saber Martial Hall—might be involved. In any case, they did not want Lin Zhentian and the other two great Heavenly Yuan Stage experts to capture Lin Mang and his son, which would delay them for quite some time.

Lin Chen was rather familiar with the terrain around Qingyang Town.

Judging by the escape route Lin Mang and his son had arranged for themselves, it should be toward the Lin Family's back mountain.

If they wanted to enter that long mountain range behind the mountain, they would have to pass through this forest. The other places were cliffs and precipices with nowhere to go, absolutely a dead end.

So Lin Chen had already decided to wait here.

Before that, he needed to attempt a breakthrough to the Earthly Yuan Stage!

The so-called Earthly Yuan Stage was, in fact, the fusion of the Yuan Power within one's body with Yin Sha Qi, making the Yuan Power stronger.

Lin Chen took out the reward he had obtained from signing in during the previous Clan Tournament—the Innate Yin Sha Qi—from the system space.

That crystal ball, which seemed to contain a small world of ice and snow, made him feel a bone-piercing cold the moment his palm merely touched its surface. He could not help muttering that if he fused with it directly and came into contact with the Innate Yin Sha Qi, who knew how "refreshing" that would feel.

Lin Chen made a rough estimate. He was only breaking through to the Earthly Yuan Stage, so he definitely could not use up this much Innate Yin Sha Qi. Moreover, he did not have that much Yuan Power to resist the Innate Yin Sha Qi, so he needed to borrow the Ancestral Stone's ability to turn it into one Yin Bead after another.

In the center of his left palm, the mysterious runic mark flashed, and the Ancestral Stone, the size of two fingers, appeared before him.

Under Lin Chen's control, the Ancestral Stone moved close to the crystal ball and released a suction force.

Within the crystal ball, a wisp of Innate Yin Sha Qi was directly drawn out by that suction force.

What made Lin Chen's expression change drastically was that just this single wisp of Innate Yin Sha Qi made it so the Ancestral Stone was actually unable to absorb it completely in a short time. It even followed his arm, trying to drill into his body.

He hurriedly cut off the connection between the crystal ball and the Ancestral Stone, then stimulated the Yuan Power within his body, protecting the surface of his body so that the escaping Innate Yin Sha Qi would not drill directly into him.

Although Lin Chen moved very quickly, the extreme cold brought by the Innate Yin Sha Qi still made his entire body stiffen, and large amounts of frost appeared on him.

After the Ancestral Stone absorbed that Innate Yin Sha Qi, one Innate Yin Bead after another condensed in the groove.

Under Lin Chen's control, these Innate Yin Beads were placed into a jade bottle.

As for the remaining Innate Yin Sha Qi on his body, he also used the Ancestral Stone to suck it clean away, turning it into even purer Innate Yin Beads.

Only after finishing this did Lin Chen let out a breath of relief.

He sighed a little. It seemed that Yin Sha Qi being too high in quality was not necessarily a good thing.

Maybe he would just turn straight into an ice sculpture.

Lin Chen noticed that the Innate Yin Sha Qi inside the crystal ball did not seem to have decreased, and he was quite satisfied. This meant that after he reached the Earthly Yuan Stage, he would also be able to absorb Innate Yin Sha Qi.

If he wanted to achieve the Nine-Star Yuan Core Stage in the future, then naturally, he had to work hard to build a solid foundation in the Earthly Yuan Stage and Heavenly Yuan Stage.

Absorbing high-quality Yin Sha Qi and Yang Gang Qi therefore became inevitable!

Lin Chen poured out an Innate Yin Bead from the jade bottle and examined it roughly. It looked like a miniature version of the crystal ball.

Wait.

Thinking of this, when he looked at the crystal ball again, his gaze changed slightly.

Could it be that this crystal ball itself was an Innate Yin Bead?!

Lin Chen shook his head. He could not handle such a large crystal ball.

After making preparations, he fed an Innate Yin Bead into his mouth and forcefully swallowed it into his stomach.

At this moment, the Innate Yin Sha Qi also spread madly, trying to freeze Lin Chen's entire body into an ice sculpture.

But how could Lin Chen let it have its way? Besides, after being purified and condensed by the Ancestral Stone, the Innate Yin Sha Qi was no longer so violent. He activated his Yuan Power, wrapped the Innate Yin Bead layer upon layer, and sent it into his Dantian.

At the same time, his forty hidden meridians and the Green Lotus Qi Cyclones on the surface of his skin opened their bellies wide, crazily absorbing the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi nearby.

In the sky, with Lin Chen as the center, the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi formed a huge vortex, grandly drawing all the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi near Qingyang Town over, to the point that the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi here became dense and turned into droplets of water that fell.

This unusual disturbance also caused the Heavenly Yuan Stage experts fiercely clashing in Qingyang Town to sense it.

However, because they were obstructing one another, none of them could come over for the time being, giving Lin Chen a good opportunity.

The Innate Yin Sha Qi continuously battered Lin Chen's vigorous and profound Yuan Power, yet he tightly wrapped it within.

The steady, endless stream of Yuan Power was Lin Chen's confidence in fusing with the Innate Yin Sha Qi.

As the Yuan Power and Innate Yin Sha Qi collided again and again, signs of fusion also began to appear between them.

Gradually, within his Dantian, an icy-blue light appeared.

As the ice-blue light bloomed and faded, the Origin Energy Seed actually formed into a mass of ice-blue energy at that moment. Bone-piercing cold rippled around it, and it shone with an increasingly distinct deep blue.

Lin Chen's expression was calm. He had also sensed the changes in his own origin power.

In the deepest part of his body, a powerful force spread through him from head to toe.

Boom!

A rumble only he could hear rang out, and an indescribable transformation quietly took place.

Lin Chen closed his eyes. Everything within several hundred meters around him became utterly familiar to him.

Three wild beasts were drawn over by the huge disturbance.

Scorpion Tigers—their entire bodies were grayish brown, shaped like tigers, with fur like iron. Their tails were like scorpions', the tips incomparably sharp; one touch meant certain death!

Low, guttural hisses sounded in front of the cave.

Clearly, they were probing to see whether there was any danger inside.

After all, this was a Demonic Beast lair Lin Chen had deliberately found, precisely so the surrounding Demonic Beast aura would deter enemies drawn by the disturbance and buy him time.

Now, though, the Earthly Yuan Stage had been achieved!

Lin Chen opened his eyes. In the darkness, a sharp glint flashed. He raised the Green Lotus Sword in his hand and walked slowly toward the bright cave entrance.

Hiss!

Azure sword light flashed, like a green lotus blooming.

The three Scorpion Tigers had already collapsed heavily to the ground. Their scarlet eyes were filled with terror, and at their throats, a blood-red sword wound stood out with striking clarity.

And all of this had happened in an instant, caused by a casual slash from that white-clad figure.