Breakthrough to the Heavenly Yuan Realm

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Lin Ken and Lin Xiao had been digging here for half the day. They had even turned the foot-wide hole into a pit dozens of meters across, yet still failed to find a single piece.

"Whew!"

Lin Xiao wiped away his sweat and said, "Maybe you were just lucky, Lin Fan. Perhaps there was only one here!"

"There's definitely more than one!"

Lin Fan smiled. Having read the original novel, he naturally knew that the Yang Yuan Stone Vein truly existed.

Without hesitation, he began digging furiously. Before long, his shovel struck stone.

With a sweep of his sleeve, the soil here flew away, revealing a layer of pale-red rock.

The rock layer was somewhat translucent, and faintly embedded within it were pale-red crystals.

"Damn! It really is a Yang Yuan Stone Vein!"

"We're rich! We've struck it rich!"

Lin Ken and Lin Xiao said blankly.

"The most important thing now is to hurry back to the Lin Family, gather some men, and start mining this Yang Yuan Stone Vein."

Lin Fan said to Lin Ken, "Uncle Lin Ken, hurry back to the Lin Family and report this. Uncle Lin Xiao and I will stay here to set up an array."

"Set up an array?"

Lin Ken looked at Lin Fan in surprise. "You know how to set up arrays too?"

Lin Fan gave a light laugh. "I only know a little. At the very least, I can conceal this place."

"Alright, I'll head back now."

Lin Ken nodded, mounted a horse, and galloped toward the Lin Family.

Meanwhile, Lin Fan began surveying the area.

Before long, he placed the small array-setting artifacts he had refined at suitable positions according to their formation.

Once he was done, he went to the center of the array, formed a hand seal, and connected with the artifacts.

Buzz!

In an instant, thirty-six emerald-green beams shot into the sky from all around the valley floor. Like fountains, they spread outward in an umbrella shape more than thirty meters up, covering an area several kilometers wide.

"Huh?"

Once the array was activated, Lin Xiao was astonished to discover that the world's spiritual energy within the area was steadily growing denser.

In just a short while, the spiritual energy here had become thirty percent denser than outside. If this continued, who knew how dense it would become.

"I've set up four arrays here," Lin Fan said to Lin Xiao. "The outer layer has the Mist Array and the Gathering Yuan Array. The Mist Array can create fog to conceal the surroundings, while the Gathering Yuan Array draws in the world's spiritual energy from nearby.

The inner layer has the Vajra Array and the Transformation Yuan Array. The Vajra Array is a defensive array capable of blocking attacks from the Heavenly Yuan Realm;

the Transformation Yuan Array can enhance the Vajra Array. In an emergency, Yang Essence Stones, spiritual herbs, and the like can be thrown into the Transformation Yuan Array. The enhanced Vajra Array should be able to briefly withstand an Essence Core Realm expert."

"It can even withstand the Essence Core Realm?"

Lin Xiao could not help crying out, "That's far too powerful!"

Lin Fan merely shook his head. "This is nothing. It can't even kill an Essence Core Realm expert!"

"Pfft!"

Lin Xiao nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He actually wanted to refine an array capable of killing Essence Core Realm experts. This was simply...

"Uncle Lin Xiao, it'll take at least four hours before the Patriarch and the others arrive. I plan to begin mining first."

As Lin Fan spoke, he began sensing the area.

Beneath this Yang Yuan Stone Vein were fissures leading underground. What he needed to do now was find those fissures and open up a passage straight down.

In the original novel, the Lin Family had mined for more than half a year before accidentally discovering a fissure.

He did not want to waste so much time, which was why he planned to find one himself.

After sensing for a long time, Lin Fan finally detected the fissure.

He first cleared away the dirt outside before summoning the True Martial Dharma Sword.

The True Martial Dharma Sword was indestructible, making it perfect for opening a passage.

Although it consumed quite a bit of Yuan Power, as long as Lin Fan did not use Severing Mountains and Rivers and merely used the True Martial Dharma Sword to cut through rock, he would not instantly lose more than half his Yuan Power.

Moreover, Lin Fan had plenty of Yang Yuan Pills on him. Whenever his Yuan Power was depleted, he could replenish it at any time.

Sure enough, as he opened the passage, he swallowed Yang Yuan Pills, refining them as he worked.

Although this extended his endurance, it still could not keep up with the True Martial Dharma Sword's consumption. Lin Fan had to stop from time to time and recover with the Spirit Stealing Array.

Several hours passed in succession before Lin Fan finally opened a path leading to the underground fissure.

The moment the passage was opened, a stream of gas carrying terrifying heat surged toward him.

An ordinary person would likely have been scalded immediately, but Lin Fan covered his body in Yuan Power, isolating the hot current.

Lin Fan's eyes flickered. Within the heat, he sensed a special Yang Hardening Qi as scorching as lava.

"Haha, I finally found it!"

Lin Fan laughed loudly and immediately leaped down into the fissure.

After only a few breaths, the fissure, which had initially been somewhat narrow, suddenly widened, and a field of crimson entered his sight.

Before Lin Fan lay a crimson expanse of shattered rocks. From afar, it looked like flowing lava. Scorching gases rose from it from time to time, making the surrounding air appear distorted.

Soon, Lin Fan spotted a massive, bone-white beast skeleton at the center of the shattered rocks, roughly dozens of meters in size.

Even though this enormous creature was nothing but bones, Lin Fan could still sense an overwhelming pressure from it.

Lin Fan ignored the enormous beast skeleton and directly sat down cross-legged, beginning to cultivate.

Buzz!

As Lin Fan sat cross-legged, the unusually scorching and violent Yang Hardening Qi around him was refined and drawn into his body.

Once the Yang Hardening Qi entered him, Lin Fan's body abruptly turned bright red, like a giant lobster that had been steamed alive. Burning pain filled his entire body.

There was no helping it. Though this Yang Hardening Qi was powerful, it was exceptionally scorching and violent. If an ordinary person absorbed it, they would likely be severely injured even if they did not die.

Only because Lin Fan cultivated the Void Body Refining Art and possessed an exceptionally powerful physique could he withstand such heat.

After absorbing enough Yang Hardening Qi, Lin Fan took out a large number of Yang Yuan Pills and began his final breakthrough.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A sudden, powerful suction force erupted from Lin Fan's body, forming a vortex of Yuan Power around him.

The vortex enveloped his entire body as vast amounts of Yuan Power poured continuously through the meridians all over him.

Boom!

No one knew how long had passed when the Yuan Power vortex surrounding Lin Fan's body suddenly swept outward like a storm.

An immensely powerful and majestic aura surged from Lin Fan's body.

He had broken through to the Heavenly Yuan Realm!