The Key to Breaking Through to Dou Zun

The sudden turn of events startled the alchemist, but he remained calm. With a cold shout, a powerful surge of Dou Qi qi shot out and struck the giant python's head. The force of the blow caused the python's head to explode with a loud bang.

Having just killed the giant python with a single blow, a smug look appeared on the alchemist's face. However, before he could even catch his breath, his vision blurred, and a sinister laugh rang in his ear, "Kid, you seem to have some skills. You'd better get lost."

The moment the sinister laugh rang out, the alchemist was filled with horror. Before he could recover, a Fine Steel Rod slammed into his chest. The terrifying force sent him flying like a cannonball, skimming the ground for nearly a hundred meters before finally coming to a stop.

The alchemist had just regained his footing when a burst of white light emerged from his palm, and the space around him distorted before sucking him in. Judging from the situation, this person must have crushed the Space Stone!

This sudden turn of events startled many people present, and they all turned their gazes toward the person who had made the move.

The man who made the move was a burly man dressed in an alchemist's robe. His face was full of scars, and he was clearly not a good person. On his shoulder, he carried a Fine Steel Rod that was about ten feet long, and at this moment, the steel rod was stained with some blood.

"Hehe, you run pretty fast."

The burly man with the iron rod grinned as he looked at the spot where the alchemist had disappeared, then turned his fierce gaze to the others.

Seeing the burly man staring at them, the other contestants' expressions changed slightly, and they all became wary. Some even took out their weapons. In this kind of place, they all knew that all the other contestants were their competitors. If they could eliminate one of them, they would have a better chance.

Seeing this, the big man curled his lip in disdain, swung the blood-stained iron rod in front of him fiercely, and directly knocked the huge python away. As the python flew away, a sunken pit appeared under the sand dune. Inside the pit, a dark yellow root, as big as a child's head, came into everyone's view.

"Earth Huang Jing?"

Upon seeing the deep yellow, root-like object the size of a human head, gasps of surprise rang out from the surrounding crowd.

Above the sky, Xiao Yuan's gaze was fixed on the deep yellow root buried deep in the ground, and a meaningful look flashed in his eyes. This Earth Huang Jing is a rare Medicinal Herbs formed by condensing the power of the earth. If there is an energy surge during cultivation, this Earth Huang Jing and some pills made from it can play a very good role in suppressing it.

However, Xiao Yuan's gaze lingered on the deep cave, as if he were deep in thought.

A hundred-year -Earth Huang Jing is usually only the size of a fist and is quite rare. Unexpectedly, the Earth Huang Jing in the Pill World has grown to the size of a human head, which means it must have been at least a thousand years old. If this thing were placed outside, it would definitely attract a lot of covetous eyes.

However, even if it grew naturally, the Earth Huang Jing wouldn't have grown to this size. There might be another secret below! Below, the burly man's eyes flashed with wild joy as he looked at the size of the Earth Huang Jing. He grabbed it, pulled it out, grinned, and glanced at the people around him with their burning gazes. His face darkened, and he coldly shouted, "Get lost if you don't want to die!"

Hearing his cold shout, the expressions of the other dozen or so alchemists changed slightly, but after seeing the fierce look on the big man's face, they dared not say anything. The man's ruthless attack earlier had made them quite wary!

After hesitating for a moment, the other alchemists finally chose to leave. Although Earth Huang Jing was rare, it would be too much of a loss to lose their qualification for the competition for it.

Watching the crowd retreat far away as instructed, the burly man's disdain deepened. He was at the Dou Huang Peak, but among these people, at least two were only slightly weaker than him, yet they lacked his fierce courage. Thus, these cowardly rats could only return empty-handed.

In this world, it is always a dog-eat-dog world. Without courage, how can you stand out from the crowd?

"A bunch of useless trash."

With a smirk, a bloodthirsty glint flashed across the burly man's face. Just as he was about to put the Earth Huang Jing into his Storage Ring, a suction force suddenly appeared, directly pulling the Earth Huang Jing away.

"Damn it, who dares to touch my stuff?!"

As the Earth Huang Jing was released from his grasp, a violent glint flashed across the burly man's face. He abruptly looked up and saw a woman in a white dress floating in the sky. "I moved it, what are you going to do about it?"

Above the sky, Xiao Yuan glanced indifferently at the big man, showing no politeness whatsoever. At this moment, he was simply giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Upon seeing the woman in the white dress levitate in the sky, the burly man's expression changed. He knew what levitating in the sky meant; it meant that this tall and voluptuous beauty was at least a Dou Zong expert, a level of expert he couldn't afford to offend.

Gritting his teeth, although extremely unwilling, this big man was not one to be ungrateful. If he could steal from others, others could naturally steal from him as well.

He glared fiercely at Xiao Yuan, but dared not say anything more. His gaze lingered on the Thousand-Year Earth Yellow Essence in Xiao Yuan's hand, and filled with resentment and anger, he was about to leave when a cold, clear voice rang out from the sky:

"Why are you glaring at me? Still holding a grudge? Then I'll have to nip it in the bud!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the big man sensed something was wrong. The next moment, an extreme cold of winter appeared without warning, freezing him completely inside the huge black ice coffin.

The biting cold caused the burly man's face to turn pale almost instantly.

What made him even more desperate was that through such terrifying means, he could guess that this ice-cold beauty was at least a six or seven-star Dou Zong, and not just a beginner Dou Zong!

This kind of person is someone he absolutely cannot afford to offend! So, he immediately took out the Space Stone from his Storage Ring and crushed it.

At this point, his life was the most important thing! So, a burst of white light emerged from his palm, the surrounding space distorted, and then he was sucked in.

"Tsk, you ran fast, but it's a pity. The Ice Venerable Strength has already entered your heart meridian. Even if you don't die, you're crippled."

With a casual wave of his hand, Xiao Yuan dispelled the ice coffin. After carefully storing the Thousand-Year Earth Yellow Essence in his Storage Ring, he flashed to the pit on the ground.

Although the Thousand-Year Earth Yellow Essence was precious, it was not enough to make Xiao Yuan too concerned. What really interested him was something deeper.

The Yao Lao once taught that although Earth Huang Jing, after a hundred years of growth, it will stop growing in size due to the saturation of energy.

This is precisely why Earth Huang Jing that is over a hundred years old is extremely rare.

Therefore, once the Earth Huang Jing has lived for far more than a hundred years, what nourishes its growth must not only be the power of the earth, but also other spiritual treasures of heaven and earth! When Xiao Yuan first saw this Thousand-Year Earth Yellow Essence, he understood that there must be other treasures underground beneath Earth Huang Jing! With a wave of his hand, the surrounding space distorted, enveloping the area where the pit was located, making it impossible for ordinary people to discover the situation here. Then, with a thought, Xiao Yuan condensed his Dou Qi into a giant palm and began to dig the pit.

A large amount of soil was grabbed and then casually tossed aside by Xiao Yuan.

He was very patient, digging for more than ten feet before finally finding a real treasure! As he landed at the bottom of the deep pit, Xiao Yuan waved his sleeve, and a gust of wind blew away the layer of soil, revealing a piece of snow-white jade.

"This is... the Earth Core Jade Marrow?"

After a careful examination, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but grin.

This is incredible! Earth Core Jade Marrow is a magical jade formed over countless years by the power of the earth. Due to the special stability and weight of the earth's power, Earth Core Jade Marrow is an invaluable treasure for cultivators. When cultivating or refining pills, having a cushion made of Earth Core Jade Marrow will have a significant effect on suppressing the violent energy within the body. With this, the chance of going into qi deviation will be minimized.

This effect is similar to the Green Lotus Seat that Xiao Yan obtained when he acquired the Green Lotus Core Flame, but in fact, the Earth Core Jade Marrow is even better.

Of course, the Azure Lotus Seat that Xiao Yan has condensed himself is also quite powerful, even more so than the Earth Core Jade Marrow.

However, for Xiao Yuan, this Earth Core Jade Marrow has other uses as well.

This object, born from the power of the earth, is the key to Xiao Yuan's cultivation of the Taiyin Damp Earth Qi of the Six Qi Transformations! If he can cultivate the Taiyin Damp Earth Qi, then he will be close to truly advancing to the level of Dou Zun expert! Suppressing his excitement, Xiao Yuan decisively made his move, placing his palm on the section of Earth Core Jade Marrow that had emerged from the ground. His soul power spread out, enveloping the entire Earth Core Jade Marrow. Then, he rose higher, his palms forming a gesture of supporting the sky, and shouted in a deep voice, "Rise!"

The next moment, dirt flew everywhere, and Xiao Yuan actually pulled the Earth Core Jade Marrow directly out of the ground!

After completely extracting the Earth Core Jade Marrow, Xiao Yuan discovered that the object was about half a zhang tall and about an arm's length wide. Such a large Earth Core Jade Marrow is almost impossible to see in the outside world.

"With this, advancing to the Dou Zun level is just around the corner!"

Looking at the size of the Earth Core Jade Marrow, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but nod in agreement.

But immediately afterward, he felt extremely comfortable coming into contact with the soul power of the Earth Core Jade Marrow.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yuan's eyes lit up! "It seems that this Earth Core Jade Marrow has already produced Earth Core Soul Marrow?"

Xiao Yuan quickly summoned the Earth Core Jade Marrow to his side. The incomparably powerful soul force of Eighth Grade Alchemist surged forth, piercing through the Earth Core Jade Marrow and revealing its contents in its entirety! In Xiao Yuan's perception, there was a hole the size of a head in the very center of the Earth Core Jade Marrow, containing a milky white liquid less than half a finger deep!

"It really is the Earth Core Soul Marrow!"

Xiao Yuan couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Earth Core Soul Marrow is an extremely rare treasure of heaven and earth. Moreover, this thing has an insane attraction for alchemists because it can forge the soul!

The so-called soul forging means tempering and refining. In other words, this Earth Core Soul Marrow can wash away the impurities of the soul!

More importantly, this thing can serve as a substitute for Spirit Nurturing Powder. Although it cannot completely replace it, the difference is not significant! After carefully putting away the Earth Core Jade Marrow, Xiao Yuan's eyes also showed a hint of anticipation.

There are so many good things in the Pill World! It looks like we're going to have a great harvest this time!

Thinking of this, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but want to let out that villainous, snarling laugh, but considering his current persona, he decided to restrain himself.

After putting everything away, Xiao Yuan lightly touched the bottom of the pit with his toes and leaped out, landing steadily at the edge of the cave entrance. With a casual wave of his hand, the surrounding soil flew up and finally covered the deep pit completely.

After doing all this, Xiao Yuan clapped his hands, removed the spatial barrier, and turned to leave.

"Hehe, young friend, all rare and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures by those who see them. Although I don't know what you obtained, it must have been quite a haul. It's a bit against the rules for you to accept it all."

Just as Xiao Yuan turned around, a laugh suddenly rang out. He turned his head slightly and looked at the old man in yellow robes who was slowly walking out of the space.

"Have you hidden enough? I thought you'd keep hiding forever."

Xiao Yuan said coldly.

"You saw me make a move just now, didn't you? Even so, you still want to provoke me?"

As the cold voice rang out, the temperature plummeted, and black, Xuan Bing snowflakes drifted down.

"Hehe, I am also a Seven-Star Dou Zong. Once we start fighting and get entangled, it will inevitably attract a lot of people. At that time, you will be the one in trouble!"

The old man in yellow said with a smile, but there was a hint of cunning in his smile.

"You think you're worthy?"

Xiao Yuan was too lazy to waste words with these ignorant fools, so he slapped them across the face.

A massive black, icy hand appeared out of thin air and slapped the old man in yellow.

Seeing that Xiao Yuan had started a fight without saying a word, a gloomy look flashed in the eyes of the old man in yellow. With a wave of his hand, his sleeves fluttered, and earth-yellow Dou Qi condensed in front of him, turning into a thick shield.

"Bang!"

A black, icy hand slammed onto the shield, and an astonishing chill rapidly spread, covering the entire shield in the blink of an eye. An extremely cold aura, along with the earthen-yellow Dou Qi, continuously eroded towards the yellow-robed elder.

Sensing the terrifying chill, the old man in yellow robes finally paled and screamed in horror:

"Ice Venerable Strength!?"