Purple Palace

In an instant, Yang Huai was sent flying backward. Layer upon layer of pure golden light around him shattered under the impact. When he hit the ground, he coughed up a mouthful of clotted blood from his lungs and viscera, cold sweat beading across his forehead.

He raised the boning knife in his hand and saw an irregular gray fragment embedded in its blade. At the critical moment, the boning knife had blocked it.

"Is this a bone shard? Or an exotic beast's essence pellet?"

Yang Huai took a deep breath and circulated his cultivation method, slowly calming his injuries. A trace of relief flashed through his eyes.

The final struggle of a trapped beast had been even more dangerous than he had imagined.

Had he not drained this Blackwater Pig-Dragon's essence blood beforehand, then pierced its skull with the boning knife and gravely wounded its spirit essence, causing the demonic beast to lose over eighty percent of its demonic qi, that blow alone might have been enough to kill him.

"That's a piece of mineral essence. This thing had hidden it in its belly after corroding it with demonic power, waiting to launch a sneak attack!"

"As for the pellet, this poor Daoist already dug it out!"

The red-robed Daoist stepped forward with an indifferent expression, apparently unsurprised by this scene.

This was also the most important lesson he wanted to teach Yang Huai: even when looking at a dead demonic beast, one had to remain vigilant at all times.

How many cultivators of exceptional talent and ability had died at their enemies' hands without ever knowing why?

Still, Yang Huai's performance left him quite satisfied.

Because Yang Huai had remained wary from beginning to end, although he had been struck, he had suffered no serious harm.

"Get up and keep skinning it. Start along the growth lines on top of its head. Don't damage the Blackwater Pig-Dragon's hide or scales. Whatever you ruin will be deducted from your pocket!"

Hearing that, Yang Huai found it hard to keep his expression together.

This Martial Uncle Flame was truly stingy to the bone.

He eased the searing pain in his chest, then immediately stepped forward with the boning knife. Ignoring the Blackwater Pig-Dragon's still-open eyes, he began cutting around the ring of scales atop its head, working his way downward and slicing open its zhang-long scaled armor. His movements were somewhat unpracticed, but fortunately, the red-robed Daoist guided him from the side.

Though miserly, he was an excellent teacher in this regard.

Half an hour later, Yang Huai smoothly skinned the demonic beast's armor-hide and carved its flesh into several pieces, separating bone from meat.

As its bones and flesh were separated, the demonic beast, whose vitality had been extraordinarily tenacious, finally lost all signs of life. A mass of black qi burst from its skull and swept toward Yang Huai in an instant, only to be directly sucked into a black leather gourd in Flame Daoist's hand.

Then he glanced at the hide armor on the ground and smiled.

"Its hide armor can be made into all sorts of protective gear. Leave it with me. Come collect it in a few days. Consider that your reward!"

"Thank you, Martial Uncle!"

Yang Huai's eyes lit up at once. He revised his opinion again—this Martial Uncle Flame did have a bit of human warmth after all.

But Flame Daoist's next words immediately wiped away the small bit of goodwill that had just arisen in his heart.

"With this hide armor, work will be somewhat easier for you in the future!"

"Don't forget—come again tomorrow!"

The red-robed Daoist's voice drifted after him. Yang Huai's eyes held a trace of helplessness, yet as he left, he felt somewhat surprised.

The information on the Bronze Mirror deep within his sea of consciousness had changed slightly.

Anchored target:

[Name: Qingli]

[Age: Eleven]

[Primary Fate: Innate Sword Bone (Gold)](...!)

Status: Right arm and Mud Pellet sword bone fully awakened.

[Innate Spirit-Awakened Sword Body: 4/100](...)

Innate Divine Ability 1: ?? (Not yet awakened)

Innate Divine Ability 2: ?? (Not yet awakened)

[First Realm: Foundation Establishment (Gathering Origin: 29/30)]

[Heavenly Origin Pure Spirit Codex: Heavenly Yang Golden Light Talisman (29/100)]

[Lesser Circulatory Cycle Method: 70/100 (Great Accomplishment)]

[Metal Origin Five Aggregates Diagram: 4/206 (Beginner)]

[Suiren Spirit-Aspect Visualization Diagram: 2/1000 (Beginner)]

[Soul-Calming Spirit-Cleaving Technique: 6/180 (Beginner)]

[Heavenly Circuit Spirit-Light Protective Incantation: 20/100 (Beginner)]

[Little Vajra Incantation: 3/100 (Beginner)]

[Twenty-Two Primordial Patterns (21/22)]

After slaughtering that Blackwater Pig-Dragon, the proficiency of his Soul-Calming Spirit-Severing Technique had suddenly risen by a small amount.

Is this killing intent?

Yang Huai mused inwardly. It was an unexpected gain.

After leaving the Slaughter Hall, Yang Huai returned to the kitchen and continued his unfinished cultivation.

The kitchen lacked everything except spiritwood.

For a carpenter like him, it truly was a blessed land.

I must master this technique as soon as possible!

When facing the Blackwater Pig-Dragon earlier, Yang Huai had already sensed that the Suiren Spirit-Aspect Visualization Diagram possessed an irreplaceable effect against demonic beasts and even evil entities. If he wanted to make something of himself in the Slaughter Hall, this secret technique was indispensable.

The morning passed quietly. As the blazing, unyielding divine essence within the wood carving grew increasingly dense, the second cloud-patterned wood carving finally took shape in his hands. Compared to carving the first compassionate cloud-patterned wood carving, this blazing-yang wood carving had consumed several fewer pieces of spiritwood.

After the second blazing-yang cloud-patterned wood carving took shape, another special strand of heaven-and-earth spiritual qi seemed to be stirred. Through the cloud-patterned wood carving in his hand, it flowed back into his body.

"It's here!"

Yang Huai had been prepared this time. He immediately circulated his dharma power to refine the heaven-and-earth spiritual qi flooding into him. His rapidly growing dharma power was compressed through the qi channels throughout his body, then slammed into the depths of his dantian.

Boom!

The chaotic dantian was abruptly forced open by this dharma power. The gaseous dharma power instantly transformed into trickling streams that flowed into its depths. As the dantian was opened by the dharma power, a vast surge of innate purple qi emerged from its center and merged into the dharma power, causing it to swell at once. Following the momentum, it formed a special purple seed of dharma power deep within the dantian.

"Is this the innate essence qi hidden in the depths of my dantian?"

Sensing this, Yang Huai could not help but show delight.

At this moment, the importance of secret techniques such as the Metal Origin Five Aggregates Diagram became apparent. The more outstanding one's innate talent, the purer the innate essence qi condensed within the body. With each breakthrough, the more innate essence qi one could excavate from within, the faster one's dharma power naturally increased upon breaking through. This speed far surpassed that of those with ordinary talent.

"My speed in breaking through to the Purple Palace is rather fast!"

Yang Huai silently savored the abundant aura of dharma power within him. This phenomenon was more than several times stronger than when he had first entered Foundation Establishment.

The disparity would be even greater in a battle of dharma arts.

The greatest change was that the Purple Palace within his dantian had produced a seed of dharma power. Not only did it greatly raise the upper limit of dharma power he could store within his body, it could also slowly absorb some heaven-and-earth spiritual qi to restore his dharma power.

One replenishing while the other drained—wouldn't the difference be enormous?

"You broke through again?"

It was already noon. The Daoist children had all left to eat, and only Cloudmist Daoist remained in the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe and gazing at the blazing sun in the sky like a wooden man. Seeing the eruption of spiritual qi around Yang Huai, he immediately cast him a glance.

Qingli's successive breakthroughs in such a short time had made him view him in a new light.

"Those with powerful souls truly cultivate these soul-based methods quickly! But..."

His gaze soon withdrew.

Yang Huai continued to calm his mind and carve the third lotus-petal-patterned wood carving. The third lotus-petal-patterned wood carving represented hope, and it was suffused with a vast intent of light, making it exceedingly unique.

He did not notice that as he successively comprehended portions of the mysteries within the Suiren Spirit-Aspect Visualization Diagram, the flame of light deep within his sea of consciousness gradually formed a relatively clear Suiren Sacred Aspect, with three distinct Dao resonances merging within it.

At the Yang Family Hunting Grounds, the starry night was anything but peaceful or quiet. At some unknown time, the tranquil, untamed mountain forest in the distance was shattered by the sound of galloping hooves, torchlight, and barking dogs.