Breaking Through the Realm

?Chapter Eleven: Breaking Through the Realm

A day later, Bi Fan sat at ease on the back of the Evil Fire Snake Lion and continued on his way.

With the Evil Fire Snake Lion leading, they hardly ever encountered Magic Beasts that required Bi Fan to fight.

Bi Fan had no interest in fighting ordinary Magic Beasts. He only gained anything from sparring with Magic Beasts at the Valiance Realm or above.

Unfortunately, Valiance Realm Magic Beasts were extremely rare on the outskirts of the Demon Domain.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion ran steadily through the forest. Whenever there was nothing else to do, Bi Fan sat in meditation and cultivation, making every second count.

As Bi Fan's strength grew, he never let himself be satisfied. He trained even harder.

He knew he had gotten a late start and had to make the most of his time.

Besides, Yu Si Yan's image had been appearing in his mind a lot lately. He wondered how she was doing.

As a disciple of the Mystic Maiden Palace, Yu Si Yan was surely very powerful.

Bi Fan had one thought in mind: to surpass Yu Si Yan and become a genius himself.

He would make any sacrifice, no matter how great, to succeed.

Recently, Bi Fan had felt his inner breath growing ever deeper. He was close to becoming a Valiance Realm expert.

If he broke through once more, his combat strength would rise considerably. Even if he ran into a large group of North Xu Palace disciples, he would have nothing to fear.

So Bi Fan had the Evil Fire Snake Lion stop and stand guard for him.

He climbed into a tree and began to cultivate.

This time, to break through as soon as possible, Bi Fan even took a Valiance Pill.

The pill's medicinal power was fierce. The instant he swallowed it, an immensely powerful stream of spiritual energy surged through his meridians.

A wave of tremendous pain hit him. Bi Fan gritted his teeth and endured it, then began circulating the Qingyang Longevity Art to refine and absorb the pill's spiritual energy.

The Qingyang Longevity Art was the most basic inner-breath cultivation method. It refined pills very slowly, and its absorption rate was low.

Unfortunately, the Carefree Art required the Spiritual Wisdom Realm to cultivate. Otherwise, he could have refined the pill much faster.

Bi Fan spent a full hour absorbing the spiritual energy from one Valiance Pill.

More than half of its spiritual energy had gone to waste. Bi Fan could clearly feel his inner breath had increased considerably, but it still wasn't enough to break through the bottleneck.

Bi Fan wasn't in a hurry to challenge the bottleneck. He still had plenty of Valiance Pills, and refining a few more would improve his chances of success.

However, after refining one Valiance Pill, Bi Fan didn't immediately take another.

Instead, he practiced his martial skills until his inner breath was completely depleted.

With the Evil Fire Snake Lion standing guard, Bi Fan didn't worry about being disturbed by people or Magic Beasts. He could cultivate to his heart's content.

Once his inner breath was exhausted, he cultivated it again until it was fully restored.

After repeating this several times, his inner breath had become much purer. Taking pills without moderation would leave it impure and affect his future cultivation.

Bi Fan began taking his second Valiance Pill and continued refining its medicinal power.

This time, the process went much faster, and his inner breath grew ever deeper.

Bi Fan still wasn't in a hurry to challenge the bottleneck. He continued with the same cultivation routine.

Over the next two days, Bi Fan refined a total of eight Valiance Pills. After refining each one, he spent a long time purifying his inner breath before taking another pill to cultivate.

After two days, Bi Fan's inner breath flowed like a surging river. He had accumulated more than enough to break through the bottleneck.

Bi Fan brought himself into peak condition and prepared to break through.

"Fire Lion, no matter what happens, don't let anything disturb me," Bi Fan said solemnly.

Breaking through was extremely dangerous. The early stages were not too risky, but once one reached the Valiance Realm, caution was essential. The greater one's strength, the greater the danger. One could not afford to be disturbed, which was why ordinary people wouldn't attempt a breakthrough in the wilderness.

Bi Fan was unbelievably bold. He was attempting to break through to the Valiance Realm in the Demon Domain—a thing no one would believe if they heard it.

Dragon Sable was on high alert too, standing watch nearby.

Once he had made all the necessary preparations, Bi Fan began cultivating to break through the bottleneck.

The Qingyang Longevity Art circulated rapidly. The inner breath in his dantian surged out, and under Bi Fan's command, began to batter the bottleneck.

His inner breath flowed without end, crashing again and again against the bottleneck. It cut through every obstacle, and everything went smoothly, as if it were only natural.

However, as he broke through the bottleneck, both his body and soul suffered excruciating pain. He had to endure it.

Without great resolve and courage, the higher one's strength climbed, the harder it became to break through.

Bi Fan put all the pain out of his mind, kept his mind clear, and continued to circulate the Qingyang Longevity Art.

He cultivated for three full hours. A few Magic Beasts approached along the way, but the Evil Fire Snake Lion scared them off.

With the strength of the Spiritual Wisdom Realm, the Evil Fire Snake Lion was absolutely a dominant force on the outskirts of the Demon Domain. Ordinary Magic Beasts would never dare come near.

Boom! His inner breath finally broke through the last barrier and shattered the bottleneck.

His inner breath grew stronger and stronger, surging without end.

Bi Fan was overcome with excitement. "I've finally become a Valiance Realm expert! I hope I can reach the Spiritual Wisdom Realm soon. Then I'll be able to cultivate the Carefree Art and improve my speed."

"Roar!" Bi Fan sprang to his feet and let out a hearty roar, then climbed down to the ground.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion and Dragon Sable quickly came to his side, both looking delighted.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion had already chosen to follow Bi Fan, so naturally it wanted him to grow stronger.

As for Dragon Sable, it had already come to regard Bi Fan as family. Of course it was happy for him.

"Let's go! We'll keep moving." With his increased strength, Bi Fan's confidence grew. His temperament, too, began to change, becoming ever more composed and self-assured.

Bi Fan leaped onto the Evil Fire Snake Lion's back, and Dragon Sable jumped up after him. The Evil Fire Snake Lion strode forward.

Bi Fan had no particular destination and had even lost track of time.

He didn't care whether a month had passed. He was here to gain experience, and he would leave naturally when he felt he could no longer improve on the outskirts of the Demon Domain.

Anyone who entered the Demon Domain to gain experience had to stay for at least a month. No one had set a maximum.

Bi Fan's inner breath had just broken through, and he needed to find some opponents to spar with and stabilize his realm.

The Magic Beasts they met along the way were in for a terrible time. No matter how strong or weak they were, the Evil Fire Snake Lion and Bi Fan killed them all, then stored their corpses in the Heavenly Origin Ring.

Bi Fan had five Cosmic Bags, but their space was limited. They couldn't hold many Magic Beast corpses.

Now that the Evil Fire Snake Lion was following him, he wouldn't be selling the Magic Beast corpses. The Evil Fire Snake Lion had a huge appetite, so he needed to stock up.

Since the corpses were food for the Evil Fire Snake Lion, it worked especially hard, searching for Magic Beasts everywhere and not even sparing herds.

Bi Fan wanted to find powerful opponents anyway, so he let the Evil Fire Snake Lion rampage as it pleased.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion was having a grand time, while the other Magic Beasts suffered terribly.

Along the way, Bi Fan and the others encountered quite a few human youths who were training on the outskirts of the Demon Domain. At the sight of the Evil Fire Snake Lion, they were so frightened that their legs gave way.

When they saw a young man riding on the Evil Fire Snake Lion's back, they were utterly shocked. Their feelings toward Bi Fan were a mix of envy, jealousy, awe, and more.

Bi Fan had no interest in attacking them. These young people were all geniuses from various sects and factions. Making too many enemies would only cause trouble.

As they watched the Evil Fire Snake Lion race past like a gust of wind, they were left dumbfounded.

After a long while, they finally came to their senses and began talking among themselves.

"What kind of Magic Beast is that? Its aura is so powerful—I couldn't even move."

"That's an Evil Fire Snake Lion, a Magic Beast with incredible combat strength. I wonder how that human managed to subdue it. He's incredibly lucky."

"If he subdued it himself, then he's terrifying."

"Exactly. I wonder which sect's genius he is. They say Xuan Wuji is the top name on the Nine Nether Hidden Dragon Ranking. Do you think this guy could surpass him?"

"Not likely. Xuan Wuji has held the top spot on the Nine Nether Hidden Dragon Ranking for years, and that guy was far too young to compare."

"Give him a few years, and maybe he could. Besides, the Evil Fire Snake Lion he subdued has enormous room to grow and incredible combat strength. If it advanced to the Metamorphosis Realm, it could even stand against a Nourish Spirit Realm expert."

Bi Fan didn't hear their discussion. The Evil Fire Snake Lion was too fast; they had long since raced far away.

No one knew how the Demon Domain had formed. There were many legends about it, and some even claimed it was the Ancient Battlefield.

It was said that resentment had once surged into the heavens there, and no one had dared to approach for over a thousand years. Later, towering trees gradually filled the area, and the wild beasts, Magic Beasts, and demon beasts within it grew more numerous, eventually forming the Demon Domain.

But the ancient era was too distant, and no written records remained. The legends could no longer be verified.

Besides, there was no resentment in the Demon Domain now. Its spiritual energy was even denser than that of the outside world.

For some unknown reason, humans couldn't cultivate in the Demon Domain for long. Otherwise, they were prone to becoming violent, or even suffering Qi Deviation. Even the Magic Beasts and demon beasts there were more violent than those elsewhere, though they didn't suffer Qi Deviation.

That was why the human factions hadn't fought over this precious land. They had all agreed to designate it as a place for training.

Could Killing Intent and resentment really exist?

Many people doubted it, but no one could prove anything.

Bi Fan had read quite a few legends on the subject, but he had always dismissed them with a laugh.

Thousands of years had passed, and many people had tried to prove that this was the Ancient Battlefield, but no one had made any headway.

Why dig into that legend and invite trouble?

Bi Fan knew he was only a small fry. A small fry had to know his place: keep improving his strength.

Even if the Demon Domain concealed an ancient treasure trove, it was no place for a nobody like him to meddle. He was better off cultivating steadily.

"Awooo!" The Evil Fire Snake Lion had just killed a demonic tiger and let out an excited roar.

Recently, the Evil Fire Snake Lion had grown more and more lively. It felt that following Bi Fan might not be such a bad choice. In the past, it had done little but eat and sleep, sleep and eat. There had been no excitement at all.

The Evil Fire Snake Lion had been born to fight. It loved excitement and loved battle.

The only thing that displeased it was that whenever they encountered a powerful Magic Beast, Bi Fan liked to strike first, leaving the Evil Fire Snake Lion unable to enjoy the fight.

Suddenly, a savage aura erupted from deep within the outskirts of the Demon Domain, its Killing Intent surging into the sky.

Bi Fan felt his heart nearly stop. Even the Evil Fire Snake Lion was trembling.

"What is that?" Bi Fan was utterly shocked.

It wasn't just him. Every disciple training on the outskirts of the Demon Domain, along with the Magic Beasts, sensed it.

Humans and Magic Beasts alike were filled with curiosity. Once the Killing Intent settled, they hurried toward the place where it had erupted, eager to investigate.