Breakthrough in Despair

Chen Yuan crawled out of the freezing underground river, collapsing onto the rough bank as he gasped for air.

Soaked through, bone-piercing cold, his qi and blood nearly spent, his muscles trembling uncontrollably from strain and chill.

He forced himself upright, first checking the Scarab Fish Secret Pouch.

The Golden Scale Fruit lay safely inside, its Dark Gold radiance contained, three shield-shaped leaves slightly curled as if guarding the fruit at the center, where golden liquid seemed to flow.

A strange fragrance seeped through even the pouch, giving him a slight boost of energy.

Worth it!

He'd gotten it—truly snatched the prize from under that terrifying serpent's nose!

After the elation came deep, lingering fear.

That serpent's strength was horrifying; its oppressive aura had nearly choked him.

If not for the Mist Manipulation divine ability and a bit of luck, he'd already be serpent chow.

"Can't stay here!"

Chen Yuan suppressed his churning thoughts, struggling to stand—he had to leave Black Wind Ravine as fast as possible.

But the moment he moved, his face twisted in shock.

A terrifying, savage demonic aura, brimming with endless hatred and greed, surged like an invisible tide from the underground river exit behind him.

"Hiss!"

A spine-chilling hiss echoed from the cave depths, growing closer, scraping against the rock with grating noise.

That serpent had followed him through the underground river—its obsession with the Golden Scale Fruit's scent was beyond reason!

Chen Yuan's scalp crawled. He instantly used Mist Manipulation to gather fog, then spun and sprinted toward the light at the other end of the bank, which seemed to be another exit.

But his earlier exertion had drained him; his speed was far slower. He'd barely covered ten paces when water exploded behind him.

Splash!

The iron-dark, barrel-thick serpent burst from the underground river, its massive body sending up a spray of water.

Its vertical pupils locked onto the fleeing Chen Yuan. Maddened by fury, it moved like a black lightning bolt, jaws gaping wide, reeking wind rushing as it lunged to bite!

Death's presence descended again, closer than before.

Chen Yuan's pupils shrank. He desperately pushed his remaining qi and blood, throwing himself sideways.

The serpent's enormous head slammed into the spot he'd just left, shattering rock and leaving a shallow crater in the ground.

Chen Yuan rolled awkwardly, his back stinging with pain.

But before he could get up, the serpent's thick tail swept in like a steel whip!

In that critical moment, Chen Yuan stabbed the Cold Ripple Blade into the ground before him, curling his body as tightly as he could.

The tail struck the blade with a metallic clang.

The force transmitted through the weapon; Chen Yuan's tiger-mouth split, blood streaming. He was hurled backward like he'd been hit by a hammer, crashing hard into the rock wall behind him. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat blood.

But that momentum carried him, by sheer luck, into a narrow rock crevice. The entrance was just wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways; inside, it widened slightly, but not enough for the serpent's bulk to follow.

"ROAR!!"

Enraged, the serpent rammed its head against the crevice entrance, cracking rock and shaking the ground. Debris rained down like hail; the crevice trembled violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Chen Yuan coughed blood, shrinking deeper into the crack, his heart sinking.

He'd dodged being devoured for now, but he was trapped in this dead end.

The serpent held the exit, unable to enter but blocking him in. The crevice led nowhere—no other way out.

After a frenzy of ramming, the serpent gave up on breaking through. Instead, it coiled its body around the crevice, its hideous head blocking the entrance, scarlet tongue flickering.

Its vertical pupils fixed on Chen Yuan in the depths, patient and cruel—it clearly meant to starve him out.

It was over!

Chen Yuan leaned against the cold rock, feeling his empty qi and blood and the relentless pain. Despair crept in.

Trapped, badly injured, with a demon serpent lying in wait outside... this was almost certain death.

Was he really going to die here? He'd barely gotten the Golden Scale Fruit, only to never enjoy it?

No! Never!

A fierce will to survive blazed in his eyes.

He gritted his teeth, his gaze falling on the Scarab Fish Secret Pouch.

The Golden Scale Fruit!

This thing held immense energy—a perfect elixir for breakthrough. If he could break through now...

His condition was terrible, far from ideal for a breakthrough, but this was a dead end. Only by risking death could he find life.

A flash of resolve crossed Chen Yuan's eyes. Without hesitation, he took the Golden Scale Fruit from the pouch.

The moment the fruit left the pouch, its strange fragrance filled the narrow crevice, even drifting outside. It drove the serpent into greater agitation, and it began ramming again, with even more force.

Chen Yuan didn't have time to think twice. He opened his mouth and swallowed the entire Golden Scale Fruit in one gulp.

The fruit dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, as if he had swallowed a tiny sun!

An overwhelming, pure torrent of energy exploded instantly, like a breached dam, surging wildly through every limb and bone.

This energy was so vast and violent, far beyond anything he had imagined, that it nearly tore him apart from the inside.

"Urgh!" Chen Yuan let out a pained grunt. His skin flushed crimson in an instant, veins bulging, his body swelling like a balloon. Agony lanced through every nerve!

He dared not slack off for even a moment. Gritting his teeth, he clung to the last shred of clarity in his Spirit Terrace and poured all his focus into the Mysterious Vortex Skin Grinding Method.

Rumble!

His blood and qi churned at an unprecedented speed. The Spiral Force turned ferocious on its own, frantically guiding, compressing, and refining the immense medicinal power.

The energy of the Golden Scale Fruit was rapidly converted into the purest blood and qi, merging into his skin, fascia, and even his bones.

His skin was being strengthened and tempered at a rate he had never experienced before.

Crack... crack...

A faint sound, like a cocoon breaking, echoed from within his body.

The surface of his skin visibly deepened, taking on a gray-black luster reminiscent of rock or dark iron—rough yet tough. The blood and qi within pulsed and condensed with unprecedented intensity.

Under the impact of that overwhelming medicinal power, the bottleneck of his cultivation level shattered like thin paper.

Skin Grinding Realm - Great Accomplishment!

And the medicinal power continued to flow. His skin's toughness kept rising, steadily advancing deeper into the Great Accomplishment stage.

Fifty-one... fifty-three... fifty-five...

When the last trace of the Golden Scale Fruit's power was fully absorbed and refined, Chen Yuan's cultivation finally settled at Skin Grinding Realm - Great Accomplishment (63/100)!

A surge of strength, several times greater than at the Minor Accomplishment stage, filled his entire body. His skin was incredibly tough, ordinary blades unable to harm it. When he tensed it, a dull sound like grinding rock echoed.

This was the Stone Skin Realm, achieved after training the Skin Grinding Realm to Great Accomplishment!

His total blood and qi, as well as his recovery speed, had also greatly increased. His previous injuries had fully healed, and his condition far surpassed his peak state.

Outside the crack, the demon serpent seemed to sense the sudden surge in Chen Yuan's aura. It grew hesitant, its strikes slowing down.

Chen Yuan slowly opened his eyes. A sharp light gleamed within them, and there was no trace of weakness left.

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body and the toughness of his skin. His confidence soared.

Though the demon serpent outside was formidable, he was no longer the same person he had been. He had a fighting chance now.

What's more...

He glanced at the faintly visible, ferocious serpent head outside the crack. A bold plan instantly took shape in his mind.

He took a deep breath and once again fully activated the Mist Manipulation divine ability.

With his breakthrough in cultivation, his spiritual power and control over his strength had greatly increased. He could execute it far more smoothly than before.

He didn't create a large area of mist. Instead, he compressed it to the extreme, forming a super-concentrated cold mist ball—no larger than a fist—right at the entrance of the crack, directly in front of the serpent's head. It was so dense it seemed almost solid, and he infused it with even more of the Cold Silence blade intent.

At the same time, he deliberately released a faint trace of the Golden Scale Fruit's lingering scent to lure the serpent.

The demon serpent took the bait. It curiously approached the crack, trying to sense the enticing aroma...

Now!

"Explode!" Chen Yuan commanded in his mind.

The highly compressed cold mist ball detonated instantly, like an icy bomb. In a single moment, it blasted all its cold energy and the intent of silence onto the serpent's head—especially its mouth, nose, and eyes!

"Hiss—roar!!!"

The demon serpent let out a bloodcurdling shriek of agony!

At such close range, the violent cold and the impact of the intent far exceeded any previous disturbance.

Its entire head was instantly covered in a thick layer of frost. Its eyes, pierced as if by ice needles, went blind in an instant.

The freezing intent of silence surged wildly through its nostrils, straight into its brain, plunging it into a brief state of paralysis and excruciating confusion.

Opportunity!

Chen Yuan moved. His blood and qi erupted fully, the power of the Stone Skin Realm unleashed to its limit. He shot out of the crack like a cannonball!

The Cold Ripple Blade hummed with an unprecedented resonance, its icy blade light condensed to its peak.

"Cold River... Severing Flow!"

He poured everything into this strike—the strongest he could currently unleash. His target was the relatively weak spot inside the serpent's slightly open mouth: the upper palate.

Thud!

The blade, carrying the full force of his Great Accomplishment cultivation, pierced precisely into the serpent's upper palate. The sharp blade qi and the extreme cold intent exploded instantly within the serpent's head!

The serpent's massive body stiffened for a moment, then began thrashing wildly, letting out desperate, gurgling sounds. Blood gushed from its mouth like a fountain.

Having landed his blow, Chen Yuan didn't linger. He withdrew his blade in an instant and leaped back, narrowly dodging the serpent's frantic, death-throe flailing.

Boom... The demon serpent struggled for a full ten-odd breaths before crashing heavily to the ground, convulsing a few times, and falling utterly silent.

Before the fissure, Chen Yuan stood with his blade in hand, breathing slightly labored. He gazed at the massive corpse of the demon serpent before him, a flicker of shock passing through his eyes.

Success—a desperate counterkill from the brink of death!

Realm: Skin Grinding Realm - Great Accomplishment (63/100)

Ability: Mist Manipulation (Adept): Broke through limits in a desperate situation, developing the "Mist Burst" technique, elevating the application of this ability to a new height.

Tide Luck: 75/100 (Desperate breakthrough, reverse-slaying a powerful foe +15)

Tide Luck Points had surged again—only 25 points away from the next summoning of the Tidal Stele!

Looking at the serpent's massive corpse and his gains, Chen Yuan let out a long, turbid breath.

This time, he had truly brushed death's door, but the rewards were immense.

He didn't immediately deal with the demon serpent. Instead, he first carefully scouted the riverbank area, confirming no other dangers remained, before finally allowing himself to fully relax.