With the first Yang Yuan Stone, there was hope. Tiger Heroine and the others were motivated to keep mining.
Lin Yun rewarded Little Flame with a Qi Blood Pill and sent him back to dig.
Seeing this, the other beasts dug even harder with their claws.
They wished they could immediately dig up Yang Yuan Stones to please Lin Yun and trade them for Qi Blood Pills.
They had all experienced Lin Yun's pills before, and the effects were excellent.
Lin Yun stopped paying attention to the mining.
"Claim!"
A flash of white light passed, and a bag appeared in Lin Yun's hand.
Lin Yun opened it and found a hundred fiery-red pills inside.
He took one out and examined it closely in his palm.
The pill was round and full, seemingly containing immense energy. It felt warm and comforting.
"Gulp!"
Lin Yun swallowed one and began refining it.
The Dragon Elephant Prajna Art circulated. As the medicinal power of the Yang Yuan Pill dissolved, Lin Yun's ears rang for an instant. Then, a warm energy like a rising tide rapidly spread through his body. The energy was rich but not violent, and it seemed exceptionally easy to absorb. It filled him with warmth, making his entire body feel as though it had been soaked in a hot spring, incomparably comfortable.
The warm energy circulated along his meridians, constantly seeping into his bones, meridians, and flesh before finally pouring into his Dantian.
Before long, the medicinal power was completely refined. The Yuan Power within Lin Yun's Dantian became even denser, and an additional trace of strange energy appeared—entirely opposite to the Innate Yin Sha Qi.
"This should be Yang Gang Qi!"
Lin Yun muttered.
In the Earthly Yuan Realm, one absorbed Innate Yin Sha Qi to strengthen Yuan Power, while in the Heavenly Yuan Realm, one absorbed Yang Gang Qi.
Once the two energies reached balance within the body and yin and yang harmonized, one could condense a Yuan Core and reach the realm countless martial artists dreamed of.
"After absorbing all one hundred Yang Yuan Pills, I should be able to break through to the Heavenly Yuan Realm."
Holding the bag of Yang Yuan Pills, Lin Yun's blood surged with excitement.
"Yang Yuan Pills are refined from Yang Yuan Stones. The Yang Yuan Stones we dig up can also be given to Chi Ling to refine even more Yang Yuan Pills."
Lin Yun took out the Alchemy Furnace. By then, Tiger Heroine and the other six beasts had dug several large pits into the ground and unearthed twelve Yang Yuan Stones.
"Master, put them all in!"
Chi Ling opened the furnace lid and transmitted her voice.
Lin Yun tossed all the Yang Yuan Stones inside. Before long, the pills emerged from the furnace.
Twelve Yang Yuan Stones produced four pills.
Lin Yun took them out and inspected them. Their quality was identical to the Yang Yuan Pills rewarded by the system.
"Master, these Yang Yuan Stones can provide me with energy. With Yang Yuan Stones to replenish me in the future, Master won't need to expend Yuan Power when I refine pills anymore," Chi Ling transmitted happily.
When refining ordinary pills, the energy Chi Ling had accumulated herself was enough. However, when she used Demon Beast corpses to refine blood pills, it sometimes consumed a great deal of Pill Fire and required Lin Yun's assistance.
Now that she had Yang Yuan Stones, Chi Ling could completely rely on them to replenish her energy.
This material shared the same attribute as Pill Fire and was extremely compatible with it.
"This method is still too inefficient, and it's a bit too hard on the Pet Beasts." Lin Yun frowned.
Tiger Heroine and the other six beasts had dug for two hours. There was a pit here and a hole there, and their mouths, claws, and bodies were covered in dirt. They were utterly filthy, yet they had only dug up a dozen or so stones.
It was far too slow.
Demon Beasts could not use tools, and the deeper they dug, the more difficult it became.
If he left it to the six of them, they probably would not finish mining this Ore Vein even after their claws had worn away.
Moreover, the Ore Vein extended deep underground, so they would need to bore mine tunnels.
"Professional work still needs professionals. Once I take Ironwood Manor, I'll have the family members do the mining." Lin Yun immediately made up his mind.
He left the Black Iron Demon Leopard behind to continue guarding the place.
Lin Yun temporarily returned to the Lin Family.
He could not remain outside forever. By his calculations, Qing Tan's cold energy was about to erupt.
If she could not find Lin Yun, Big Brother, the little girl would probably cry herself to death.
Lin Yun could not bear to let the little girl suffer.
Three days later, Lin Yun returned to the courtyard.
Upon learning that Lin Yun had returned home, Lin Dong and Qing Tan came to visit at once.
"Brother Lin Yun, these are the spiritual medicines we swindled from the Lei and Xie Families."
Lin Dong took out two Fourth-Grade Spiritual Medicines and said excitedly.
He often went to the Underground Exchange to trade for spiritual medicine as well, but Fourth-Grade Spiritual Medicine was still rare in Qingyang Town, almost impossible to find even with money. He rarely managed to trade for any.
One trip had earned them two stalks. It was a great deal.
"Mm, well done. One stalk each."
The two split the spiritual medicine evenly.
"Wow, Brother Lin Yun, after being out for half a month, Little Fire and the others have grown so much." Qing Tan's astonished voice drifted over.
After half a month of wilderness training, the three little ones had grown into three big ones.
They had all reached the Body Tempering Seventh Layer now, while Little Flame was even comparable to the Body Tempering Eighth Layer.
Lin Dong was drawn over as well.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed.
Lin Yun refined nearly a hundred Yang Yuan Pills.
The Yang Gang Qi within his Dantian had accumulated to a certain extent, and he finally sensed that bottleneck.
Lin Yun did not hesitate. He swallowed the remaining few Yang Yuan Pills in one gulp, and warm, fiery energy spread through his body.
Before long, his body seemed to break free of some kind of shackle, erupting with a scorching wave of Yuan Power.
Heavenly Yuan Realm—successfully broken through!
Mission: Break through to the Heavenly Yuan Realm. Reward: Physique +2, Root Bone +2. Completed. Claim reward?
"Claim!"
Physique 23 (one in a hundred) → Physique 25 (one in a hundred) Root Bone 31 (one in a thousand) → Root Bone 33 (one in a thousand)
"Now I can be considered the ceiling of combat power in Qingyang Town."
Feeling the vast Yuan Power within him, Lin Yun spoke with satisfaction.
Back when he was at the Earthly Yuan Realm, he had already been able to fight Tiger Heroine, who was at the Earthly Yuan Realm Middle Stage. Now that he had broken through, sweeping through the Heavenly Yuan Realm should not be a problem.
At the very least, Heavenly Yuan Realm experts within Qingyang Town no longer posed any threat to him.
That day, Lin Xia came to Lin Yun's courtyard.
She carried two exquisite boxes in her hands and handed them to Lin Yun. "Grandfather asked me to bring you this spiritual medicine."
Lin Yun took the boxes and opened them. Inside were two Red Wood Spirit Stems.
Slightly surprised, he said, "They're actually Fourth-Grade Spiritual Medicine. Thank Great-Grandfather for me."
Fourth-Grade Spiritual Medicine was already extremely precious to the Lin Family. Usually, only a few Heavenly Yuan Realm experts could receive it. The fact that some had been allocated to Lin Yun showed just how highly they valued him.
Although Lin Yun did not think much of them anymore, he still had to accept the sentiment.
Fourth-Grade Spiritual Medicine was now of negligible use to Lin Yun, but Chi Ling could use it alongside other spiritual medicines to refine higher-grade Pills, so it was not bad.
"Hmph, you have no idea how many people are jealous that this spiritual medicine was allocated to you." Lin Xia gave a delicate snort. She was jealous too. If she had been given Fourth-Grade Spiritual Medicine, she might have had a chance to break through to the Earthly Yuan Realm.
Jealousy aside, no one had anything to say. Lin Yun's talent was right there for all to see, and his Cultivation Base had already nearly caught up to the older generation. It was only natural for resources to be directed toward him, and no one dared gossip about it.
"By the way, how is your cultivation progressing? I can't see through you at all. Have you broken through to the Earthly Yuan Realm Middle Stage?"
More than three months had passed since the Hunting Event. In Lin Xia's eyes, given Lin Yun's talent, he should have been about ready to challenge the Earthly Yuan Realm Middle Stage.
"Mm, I was fortunate enough to break through not long ago." Lin Yun nodded.
"You're such a freak. You're leaving us farther and farther behind." Lin Xia sighed inwardly. "I wonder when I'll be able to break through to the Earthly Yuan Realm."
"Cultivate diligently and accumulate steadily. When the time comes, you'll break through."
Lin Yun took the initiative to invite her. "Sister Lin Xia, stay for dinner later."
Lin Xia had been stuck at the Body Tempering Ninth Layer for more than three months. She faced a bottleneck but had yet to find an opportunity for a breakthrough. During dinner, he planned to add something potent to Lin Xia's food and give her a hand.
After all, Lin Xia had always treated him quite well.
"At least you've got a conscience, kid." Lin Xia patted Lin Yun on the shoulder.
At dinner, Lin Yun added a little medicine and Yin Pearl to the soup.
Lin Yun had no use for these things, and giving them to Tiger Heroine and the others would be a bit wasteful, so he might as well let his beautiful older cousin benefit.
Lin Yun handed the soup to Lin Xia and lavishly praised it. "Sister Lin Xia, drink this. It's a spiritual medicine tonic soup I developed recently. I added some of my treasured spiritual medicines. It tastes good and helps with cultivation too. Maybe drinking it will let you break through to the Earthly Yuan Realm."
"It's just soup. You make it sound so miraculous." Lin Xia said that, but she happily accepted it anyway.
Her genius younger cousin had cooked for her personally. Drinking it was a pleasure.
After she drank the tonic soup, its effects quickly took hold. Lin Xia felt cold one moment and hot the next, while several streams of energy surged chaotically through her body.
"Wow, this soup works so well. I'm going out to cultivate for a while." Lin Yun drank the soup too, pretended that its effects were excellent, and went outside to practice his punches.
"It actually works." Lin Xia froze for a moment, then immediately began cultivating as well.
Before long, Lin Xia erupted with a powerful wave of Yuan Power.
She had successfully broken through to the Earthly Yuan Realm! "I broke through! I really broke through! Little Brother Lin Yun, I broke through..."
Lin Xia rushed out of the room in excitement and threw her arms around Lin Yun, shaking him vigorously.
"Congratulations, Sister Lin Xia. I told you—you worked so hard, so you were bound to break through," Lin Yun hurriedly said, crediting it all to her efforts.
"Exactly, it was all thanks to hard work!" Lin Xia flashed a sly smile, thoroughly agreeing as she said emphatically, "Little Brother Lin Yun, work hard and make more nourishing soup in the future. Your sister will come drink it every day."
Lin Yun's face twitched. Knowing that Lin Xia had already realized the nourishing soup was responsible, he said with a pained expression, "How could there be that much nourishing soup? I still have to go into the mountains to gather herbs before I can make it."
"Thank you, Little Brother Lin Yun," Lin Xia said seriously.
She believed that Lin Yun had shared the Spirit Herbs with her.
"What are you thanking me for? You're my sister," Lin Yun said unconcernedly.
Lin Xia's expression turned solemn. "Your sister knows your good intentions, but you still need to prioritize your own cultivation. You're the Lin Family's genius—you can't let yourself be delayed. It's fine if your sister is a little weaker. As long as you become powerful, you can look after me in the future."
"I know, Sister Lin Xia. I know what I'm doing."
Lin Yun nodded and continued, "Oh, right, Sister Lin Xia. Tomorrow, I'm planning to head into the back mountain to train. I might be gone for quite a while, so don't worry if you don't see me. If Grandpa, your father, or the others ask, help me let them know."
The time was about right. Lin Yun was preparing to make his move against the Azure-Eyed Fire Lion Group and Ironwood Manor!
That's all for today's update! Things haven't been too busy lately, so the update time is temporarily set for midnight. In principle, there will be two updates a day. Occasionally, if I have time, I'll make each chapter longer or add extra updates.
Thanks to all the readers who tipped and subscribed. Love you all, mwah!
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