Tonight, the sky was pitch-black. The moon and stars seemed to have hidden behind the clouds.
In the inner region of the Blackwater Mountains, within a concealed cave, Ye Yun sat cross-legged, continuously adjusting his breathing.
After a long while, when everything was ready, Ye Yun took the Lightning Eagle's Monster Crystal Core from his Storage Bag.
Holding the Monster Crystal Core in his palm, Ye Yun closed his eyes and used his mind to control the true qi within his body, pouring it into the core. He then guided the life energy within the Monster Crystal Core into his body.
Once the life energy from the Monster Crystal Core entered his body, Ye Yun's true qi began to madly devour and refine it.
Gradually, the true qi in his body reached its limit. Ye Yun then controlled the massive tide of true qi and charged toward the Impurity Barrier blocking his meridians.
Every impact brought Ye Yun immense pain. Sweat continuously beaded across his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and controlled his true qi to strike the Impurity Barrier again and again.
After about ten minutes, the Impurity Barrier could finally no longer hold on and shattered beneath the impact of the true qi.
The instant the Impurity Barrier broke, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth continuously gathered from all around and surged wildly into the acupoint atop Ye Yun's head.
At that moment, his true qi constantly grew stronger, while his flesh became increasingly powerful amid the unceasing tearing and restoration of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Ye Yun endured it in pain and joy.
The entire breakthrough process ended after roughly ten minutes.
Ye Yun opened his eyes and felt the true qi, now more than fifty percent stronger after breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm Fifth Layer, as well as the majestic power contained within his flesh and blood. Confidence shone in his eyes.
With his current strength, once he returned to the sect, he could challenge the disciples ranked among the last ten on the Hundred Strong Ranking.
The sudden surge in true qi made it impossible for him to control it perfectly for the moment. Ye Yun suppressed his excitement and began stabilizing the somewhat unruly true qi within his body.
At dawn, when the sun rose at the horizon, Ye Yun, inside the cave, controlled his true qi through the final circulation cycle.
After a night of stabilization, Ye Yun had finally regained control of the true qi within his body. Though it had yet to reach the level of control he possessed before his breakthrough, he could already wield it well. He believed that after a few battles, he would be able to control it perfectly.
Standing atop a hill, Ye Yun looked at a Vajra Ape not far ahead. Its entire body was covered in golden fur, it stood over two meters tall, and muscles covered every inch of it.
The Vajra Ape was an Upper-Grade Level-Two Demon Beast. Its limbs were powerful and its strength boundless. Judging from the aura it emitted, it should have been comparable to a martial artist at the Seventh Level of the Qi Refining Realm.
What gave Ye Yun a headache was that not far from the Vajra Ape, five red flowers swayed in the wind. They were precisely the Red Jade Flowers he had been searching for.
If he could obtain those five Red Jade Flowers, together with the ones he already had, he would have exactly the ten Red Jade Flowers required for the mission.
Ye Yun compared the Vajra Ape with himself and found that aside from being at a disadvantage in strength, there was not much difference between them. Even if he could not defeat it, he could still flee.
The instant he made his decision, Ye Yun lunged at the Vajra Ape with the speed of thunder, too swift to cover one's ears.
When he was less than a meter from the Vajra Ape, he suddenly unleashed the Nine Yin Cold Claw and attacked it.
Sensing the attack, the Vajra Ape instinctively raised an arm to block. Ye Yun's razor-sharp claws instantly left five bloody holes in its arm. Not a single drop of blood flowed from them; instead, a faint, eerie blue light flashed within the wounds.
Recovering from its shock, the Vajra Ape ignored the injury to its arm and clenched its other hand into a fist, swinging it at Ye Yun. Ye Yun wanted to dodge, but the distance was too close, leaving him nowhere to evade. He could only pour true qi into both arms and cross his hands to take the punch head-on.
Bang
When the Vajra Ape's fist struck him, it felt like a massive iron hammer smashing into his arms. The enormous force instantly sent him flying.
Ye Yun flew backward five or six meters before barely steadying himself. The Vajra Ape, meanwhile, charged at him furiously. It wanted to tear apart the short human who had attacked it.
Facing the attacks that came one after another, Ye Yun remained calm and composed. When the Vajra Ape's attack was half a meter away, his footwork flashed. He dodged the attack and struck the Vajra Ape's waist with a claw. The Vajra Ape's body swayed twice, as if it had suffered no injury at all, then continued attacking Ye Yun.
One man and one ape fought in a tangled melee, trading fists for claws. The battle lasted for more than ten minutes before the Vajra Ape's speed suddenly began to slow.
Ye Yun was delighted at the sight. The Ice Force he had driven into the Vajra Ape's body with every strike had finally begun to take effect. This Vajra Ape was indeed powerful—it had actually relied on its robust physique to forcibly withstand so many of Ye Yun's attacks infused with Ice Force.
Taking advantage of the Vajra Ape's faltering momentum, Ye Yun pressed his victory and launched his final offensive.
His movement speed abruptly rose by thirty percent, and he attacked the Vajra Ape in rapid succession. With its body severely injured, the Vajra Ape could only continuously defend against Ye Yun's attacks.
One punch, two punches, three punches—the Vajra Ape's injuries steadily worsened beneath Ye Yun's swift attacks, until it finally collapsed unwillingly.
Seeing the Vajra Ape fall, Ye Yun also collapsed beneath a tree with a victorious smile. Such an intense battle had been a tremendous trial for him as well.
Fortunately, he had ultimately killed this Vajra Ape, which was comparable to a martial artist at the Seventh Level of the Qi Refining Realm. This made him even more confident in his challenge of the Hundred Strong Ranking.
Although this Vajra Ape's strength was far inferior to those senior brothers on the Hundred Strong Ranking who were at the Seventh Level of the Qi Refining Realm, it had still allowed Ye Yun to clearly see just how vast the gap between himself and them was.
After resting for about ten minutes, Ye Yun recovered roughly thirty percent of his strength. He rose from the ground, casually took out a Qi-Replenishing Pill from his Storage Bag, and swallowed it to speed up the recovery of his true qi. Then he walked toward the Red Jade Flowers beside the Vajra Ape's nest.
Arriving beside the Red Jade Flowers, Ye Yun skillfully picked them one by one and carefully stored them in his Storage Bag.
Just as he was preparing to dissect the Vajra Ape's corpse, Ye Yun heard footsteps approaching from afar. He instantly turned vigilant eyes toward the direction from which they came.
Sure enough, less than two minutes later, four figures emerged from the forest in that direction. The one in front was none other than the extravagantly dressed young master Ye Yun had intercepted yesterday.
Looking at the four people not far away, Ye Yun inwardly cursed his bad luck and asked the leading young master, "May I ask who you are? I am Ye Yun, an inner disciple of the Purple Extreme Sect."
When the young master opposite heard Ye Yun say that he was an inner disciple of the Purple Extreme Sect, his brows furrowed. He said to Ye Yun, "For the sake of you being an inner disciple of the Purple Extreme Sect, as long as you hand over the Earth-Origin Milk you stole yesterday, I, Zhao Yu, will spare you today. Otherwise, I will let you know that my Imperial Capital Zhao Family is not one to be trifled with."
Upon hearing this, Ye Yun understood that there would be no peaceful end today. The Imperial Capital Zhao Family was one of the six great lineages of the Great Chu Dynasty. Although it could not compare to the Purple Extreme Sect, it was still a force with a True Essence Realm expert overseeing it.
(End of Chapter)
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