Green Peak Mountain Range, Training Begins

The night grew deeper. Most of the Lin Family estate had fallen silent, with only a few courtyards still lit, like isolated islands in a dark ocean.

However, within the dilapidated small courtyard, an energy fluctuation, almost violent, permeated the air, starkly contrasting with the tranquility outside!

Lin Chen sat cross-legged in the center of the yard, his body enveloped in a faint, visible milky-white halo. This halo wasn't due to externalized true qi, but rather an anomaly caused by the excessive fullness and rapid circulation of energy within him, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

On the ground before him lay a small pile of crystal-clear, jade-like low-grade spirit stones, and the exquisite jade bottle containing the "Qi Condensing Pill (Imperfect)."

After a brief period of deliberation and preparation, he unhesitatingly began a new round of intense cultivation!

The goal—to break through to a higher realm! To accumulate the strongest power for tonight's "hunt"!

"Furnace! Activate!"

As Lin Chen's thoughts moved, within his dantian's sea of qi, that mysterious black iron piece—the Myriad Dao Furnace—once again erupted with a deep and domineering radiance!

This time, its target was the pure spiritual energy contained within the low-grade spirit stones!

Buzzz!

An invisible yet immensely powerful suction instantly enveloped the pile of spirit stones on the ground!

The surfaces of those crystal-clear spirit stones visibly dimmed in brightness! Strands of spiritual energy, as tangible as substance and incomparably pure white, were forcefully extracted from the spirit stones, transforming into streaks of dazzling light bands that surged madly into Lin Chen's body!

Simultaneously, the optimized version of the Basic Qi Refining Art within Lin Chen's body was also circulating at an unprecedented speed! The cultivation technique guided the sparse spiritual energy of the outside world, while the Furnace directly extracted energy from the spirit stones that was hundreds, even thousands, of times purer than the ambient spiritual energy!

A two-pronged approach!

Rumble!!!

Lin Chen felt as if his body had become the center of a colossal energy vortex! Majestic and boundless spiritual energy, like roaring rivers, surged and coursed through his resilient and broad meridians!

His dantian's sea of qi, like a parched sponge encountering a torrential downpour, madly absorbed and contained this pure energy! The expanse of his sea of qi continuously expanded, the total amount of true qi rapidly increased, and the quality of his true qi became even more condensed and refined at an astonishing pace!

Having just broken through to the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer, propelled by this immense energy, he ascended rapidly without any stagnation!

Early stage peak of the Fourth Layer!

Mid-stage of the Fourth Layer!

In less than half an hour!

Lin Chen's cultivation had once again crossed a minor realm, steadily entering the mid-stage of the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer!

Furthermore, this rate of improvement showed no signs of slowing down!

The pile of low-grade spirit stones on the ground diminished visibly! One by one, the spirit stones lost their luster, eventually turning into grayish-white powder devoid of all energy!

"Good! Such pure energy!" Lin Chen rejoiced inwardly!

The effect of directly refining spirit stones was indeed far superior to refining medicinal dregs and ordinary monster flesh and blood! The energy contained within spirit stones was already pure, and after being further refined and transformed by the Myriad Dao Furnace, it contained almost no impurities, allowing him to absorb it perfectly!

The feeling was akin to someone who had starved for three days and nights suddenly feasting on delicacies! Every cell was cheering!

He could even feel his physical strength slowly improving under the nourishment of such pure energy! Although not as direct as refining Vitality Essence, it was still far better than ordinary cultivation!

"Continue!"

Lin Chen's eyes burned with intensity, and he unsparingly urged the Furnace to continue devouring the spirit stone energy madly!

He currently had nearly five hundred low-grade spirit stones, enough to sustain his extravagance for some time!

Time flew by in the extreme cultivation.

One hour... two hours...

When nearly two hundred low-grade spirit stones had been consumed before Lin Chen, his cultivation finally touched a new bottleneck—

The peak of the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer!

He was only a single step away from the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer!

Feeling the potent force within him, several times stronger than before, Lin Chen's breathing became heavier.

In a single day, he had soared from the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm Triple Layer all the way to the peak of the Fourth Layer!

Such a cultivation speed, if spoken aloud, no one would dare to believe it! It was simply mythical!

However, Lin Chen was not satisfied!

His goal was not just the peak of the Fourth Layer! He aimed to break through to the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer!

Once he entered the Fifth Layer, his true qi would undergo another qualitative change, and his strength would experience a massive leap! At that point, let alone Lin Bao, he might even have a chance to fight against an ordinary Body Tempering Realm Sixth Layer martial artist!

This was crucial for his upcoming plans and for dealing with potential future crises!

However, he also clearly felt that the difficulty of breaking through from the peak of the Fourth Layer to the Fifth Layer was far greater than before! That invisible realm barrier was like an impregnable wall, incredibly solid! The energy provided by refining low-grade spirit stones alone seemed... somewhat insufficient!

His gaze fell upon the jade bottle he had carefully placed aside—the Qi Condensing Pill (Imperfect)!

This was his true trump card for breaking through to the Fifth Layer!

The Qi Condensing Pill was a second-tier medicinal pill! It was specifically used to assist Body Tempering Realm martial artists in breaking through bottlenecks and condensing true qi! The purity of its contained energy and the potency of its medicinal effects were far beyond those of low-grade spirit stones!

Even if it was just a remnant, its value was absolutely immeasurable!

It was precisely because Lin Bao was too eager for quick success and couldn't fully refine the pill's potent medicinal effects that he failed in his breakthrough and injured his meridians.

But Lin Chen was different!

He possessed the Myriad Dao Furnace!

No matter how potent the medicinal power or how difficult the energy to refine, before the Furnace, it would all transform into the most docile, purest nutrients!

"Let me see just how strong the remnants of this second-tier pill are!" A trace of madness and anticipation flashed in Lin Chen's eyes!

He carefully opened the jade bottle, and an intensely pungent yet strangely medicinal aroma instantly permeated the air! Inside the bottle was less than half a bottle of dark brown, viscous liquid, still emitting astonishing energy fluctuations!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Chen brought the jade bottle to his lips and swallowed the remaining half-bottle of Qi Condensing Pill liquid in one gulp!

BOOM!!!!

The moment the liquid entered his abdomen!

Lin Chen felt as if he had swallowed a blazing sun!

An indescribably violent, scorching heat energy exploded within his body like a volcanic eruption! It frantically impacted his internal organs and every inch of his flesh and blood!

Even with his repeatedly strengthened physique, he felt tearing pain! His skin instantly turned crimson, as if about to burst from the energy!

"Such potent medicinal power!" Lin Chen's heart leaped in shock!

No wonder Lin Bao failed his breakthrough! The explosive surge upon entry alone was enough to shatter the meridians of an ordinary Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer martial artist, causing them to explode and die!

But Lin Chen feared nothing!

"Furnace! Melt it for me!!!" he roared in his heart!

Within his Dantian's sea of Qi, the Myriad Dao Furnace erupted with unprecedented brilliant black light! A terrifying suction force that devoured heaven and earth burst forth, like a bottomless black hole, instantly and forcefully pulling and swallowing the violent medicinal power raging within him!

Sssshhh—!!!

Within the Furnace, invisible flames burned furiously! The violent and potent medicinal energy, under the Furnace's terrifying might, struggled and roared like ferocious beasts resisting! But ultimately, it was bit by bit decomposed, purified, and refined!

The pill toxins, impurities, and overly violent fire-attribute energy generated by the failed refining process were all mercilessly refined and erased by the Furnace!

Finally, only streams of incredibly pure, incredibly condensed, pale golden, liquid-gold-like - essence of the original medicinal power remained!

The quality of this energy was even higher than the original energy the Furnace had released on its own!

The next moment, this liquid-gold-like essence of the original medicinal power poured out from the Furnace like a divine infusion, instantly merging into Lin Chen's True Qi torrent that was about to break through the bottleneck!

Rumble—!!!!

As if equipping an army about to charge into battle with the sturdiest armor and sharpest weapons!

Lin Chen's True Qi torrent, which had already reached its limit, underwent a qualitative change after receiving the enhancement from this essence of the original medicinal power! It became more condensed! More substantial! More... unstoppable!

"Break—!!!!!!"

Lin Chen's eyes turned crimson as he used all his strength and will to guide this unprecedented True Qi torrent, which condensed all his power, towards the indestructible barrier of the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer—launching the most ferocious charge!

Thump!!!!!!!!!

A dull, earth-shattering roar, as if from the ancient primordial era, exploded deep within Lin Chen's soul!

That incredibly solid, seemingly unshakeable barrier of the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer, under this terrifying impact that condensed the power of the Furnace, Spirit Stones, pills, and Lin Chen's own will—

Finally, as if struck head-on by a divine hammer!

Crackling—Bang!!!!

It completely shattered, turning into countless specks of light!

Whoosh—!!!!

Like a hundred rivers returning to the sea! Like all streams converging at their source!

New True Qi, even vaster! More majestic! Purer! With a faint golden sheen, instantly filled Lin Chen's Dantian's sea of Qi, which had expanded once more!

In the center of the sea of Qi, True Qi spun rapidly, faintly condensing into a more stable, more solidified - vortex core!

This was the mark of the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer! True Qi forming a vortex!

A terrifying sense of power, far exceeding the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer and making Lin Chen himself tremble, instantly spread through his limbs and bones!

He could clearly feel that his strength, speed, defense, perception... had all undergone a qualitative leap!

It was as if a stream had suddenly merged into a surging great river!

Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer!

Achieved!!!

And not just entering the Fifth Layer!

The medicinal power of the Qi Condensing Pill (Imperfect) was truly too immense! Even after being purified layer by layer by the Furnace, it still contained unimaginable energy!

After breaking through the barrier, the remaining essence of the medicinal power continued to pour into his Dantian, pushing his cultivation further upwards!

Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer Early Peak!

Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer Mid-stage!

Only after completely absorbing and refining the remaining medicinal power of the Qi Condensing Pill did Lin Chen's cultivation finally stabilize at - Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer Mid-stage!

He was now only one step away from the Body Tempering Realm Sixth Layer!

"Hoo—"

Lin Chen let out a long breath, a faint golden light and medicinal fragrance mixed in the turbid air, and slowly opened his eyes.

Within his eyes, it was as if the sun, moon, and stars were rotating! Deep, bright, and filled with a heart-stopping pressure!

Feeling the vast true qi within his body, like an immense ocean, and the terrifying strength in his every move that seemed capable of tearing the air apart, Lin Chen finally revealed a smile from the bottom of his heart, filled with powerful confidence!

Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer Mid-stage!

This, was his true strength now!

With his current power, combined with the Myriad Dao Furnace as his trump card, he dared to face Lin Yan, who was at the Body Tempering Realm Sixth Layer Peak, head-on!

As for Lin Bao?

Heh, just a clown. Back on the stage, he had only used seventy percent of his strength, and that was after disguising it! If he had gone all out... Lin Bao probably wouldn't have been able to block even a single finger from him!

"Very good! Excellent!" Lin Chen nodded with satisfaction.

The surge in his strength once again filled him with even more confidence for the upcoming "hunt"!

He glanced at the ground. The pile of Low-grade Spirit Stones, which had been nearly five hundred, now had less than a hundred remaining! The Qi Condensing Pill (Imperfect) had also been completely used up.

For this breakthrough, he had exhausted almost all his "spoils of war" and rewards!

But, it was all worth it!

Strength! It was the only true reliance in this world!

"The time is also about right." Lin Chen glanced at the sky outside the window. It was not far from midnight, the perfect time for action when the night was deep and quiet!

He stood up and stretched his limbs again, familiarizing himself with the surging strength. This time, he no longer deliberately suppressed or disguised it, but allowed the powerful aura of the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer Mid-stage to flow naturally.

On his own turf, there was no need to put on an act anymore!

He put the remaining Spirit Stones and some miscellaneous items into his storage bag, then put on the Green Light Soft Armor close to his skin, and hid the sharp short blade in his boot. Although he was confident in his current strength, it was always good to be prepared.

Finally, he carefully tucked the two packets of medicinal powder, refined with a special technique, into his embrace.

All preparations were complete!

Lin Chen walked to the window, gazing at the few lights still on in the direction of the Leopard Garden in the distance. His eyes flickered with a cold yet excited light, like a top predator about to pounce on its prey!

"Lin Bao... your 'treasure', I'm coming to get it!"

His figure flashed, and Lin Chen, like a phantom, silently melted back into the dense night.