Qi Condensation Realm

The night was black as ink, with neither stars nor moonlight in sight.

Three hundred li from Qingyang City, within a desolate, uninhabited valley.

Thud!

A streak of light fell from the sky and smashed heavily into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Chen Chen rolled off the flying sword, its spiritual glow dim, and spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

His face was as white as paper, and not a single part of his body was free from pain.

Forcibly activating the Flying Sword Artifact, coupled with enduring the aftermath of the Blood Fiend Envoy's strike, had made his already grievous injuries even worse.

At this moment, he was truly at the end of his tether.

But he did not dare stop.

He struggled to his feet and scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming that this place was sufficiently hidden did he stagger into a cave. Then, with the last of his strength, he dragged over a massive boulder and blocked the entrance.

Having done all this, he could no longer hold on. He collapsed limply onto the ground, gasping for breath.

He was safe.

For now.

Leaning against the cold stone wall, Chen Chen finally sank his consciousness into the system.

It was time to take stock of his gains.

[Name: Chen Chen]

[Realm: Body Tempering Ninth Stage (Peak)]

[Cultivation Arts: Asura God Transformation Art, Nine Nether Soul Refining Art]

[Martial Skills: Seven Shadows Step]

[Cultivation Points: 2000]

[Items: Heaven Concealing Talisman (Used), Qi Condensation Pill (Used), Ice-blue Token (Used)]

Looking at the full two thousand Cultivation Points, Chen Chen's heart gave a violent twitch.

One reckless gamble had brought him a fortune vast enough to drown the heavens!

Aside from the servants who had scattered and fled, the Wang Family's core strength had practically been slaughtered by him alone!

Four elders, thirty Blood Guards, nearly two hundred guards, and Wang Wei, who was half a step into the Qi Condensation Realm!

These people had contributed an enormous amount of Cultivation Points to him.

"System, I want to break through!"

Chen Chen did not hesitate in the slightest.

He was seriously injured and had been targeted by a Blood Fiend Tower expert. Only by raising his strength as quickly as possible and entering the Qi Condensation Realm would he have a sliver of hope of survival!

[Detected that the host possesses sufficient cultivation and has met the breakthrough conditions.]

[Activating "Perfect Breakthrough" mode will consume 500 Cultivation Points. Confirm?]

"Confirm!"

[Command received! 500 Cultivation Points consumed. "Perfect Breakthrough" mode activated!]

[System is beginning to guide the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth...]

[The breakthrough process is estimated to last three hours. During this time, the host will enter deep meditation. The system will consume Cultivation Points to maintain an energy barrier and ensure that the breakthrough process is free from outside interference.]

A gentle golden barrier radiated from Chen Chen's body, enveloping him completely.

At the same time, streams of pure energy began repairing the damaged meridians and organs within him.

Chen Chen closed his eyes. Following the method of the Asura God Transformation Art, he emptied his mind and began sensing the ever-present Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth.

Bolstered by the Nine Nether Soul Refining Art, his powerful soul was like a signal amplifier, allowing him to clearly "see" countless motes of multicolored light floating through the surrounding space.

These were the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth!

"Gather!"

At a thought, his body seemed to transform into a massive vortex.

The Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth within the valley, even within several li in every direction, seemed to be seized by some fatal attraction and began madly converging toward the cave where he was!

For a time, fierce winds swept through the valley. Spiritual Energy transformed into visible white mist, forming a massive Spiritual Energy tornado that poured backward into the cave!

If other cultivators witnessed such a shocking phenomenon, their jaws would surely drop.

When ordinary martial artists broke through into the Qi Condensation Realm, the Spiritual Energy they drew upon was no more than a trickling stream.

Yet because of the tyranny of the Heaven-grade Cultivation Art, the Asura God Transformation Art, what Chen Chen summoned was like rivers bursting their banks, with a hundred streams returning to the sea!

Vast Spiritual Energy surged into his body, following the cultivation art's pathways as it scoured his eight extraordinary meridians before finally gathering in his dantian.

The process was excruciating beyond measure.

Each scouring felt like a steel blade scraping across his meridians.

But Chen Chen clenched his teeth tightly. With an iron will tempered by a sea of blood and deep hatred, and the clear mind granted by the Nine Nether Soul Refining Art, he firmly controlled this violent energy.

What he had to do was compress and condense this berserk Spiritual Energy within his dantian until it finally formed a stable, rotating... cyclone of qi!

This was the mark of the Qi Condensation Realm!

Time passed, second by second.

One hour...

Two hours...

As the third hour was about to end.

The Spiritual Energy within Chen Chen's dantian had already been compressed to its limit!

"Condense!"

He let out a furious roar from the depths of his soul!

Boom!

His entire body shuddered violently!

Within his dantian, all the Spiritual Energy suddenly collapsed inward toward the center. Then it transformed into a tiny, slowly rotating cyclone of qi that emitted a faint bloody glow!

Though the cyclone was small, it contained energy a hundred times more powerful than all his previous vital energy combined!

An entirely new and overwhelming aura, far beyond the Body Tempering Realm, burst violently from his body!

Outside the cave, the golden barrier protecting him shattered at the sound.

The raging blast directly hurled away the boulder blocking the cave entrance!

Chen Chen slowly opened his eyes.

Within his eyes, one side held blood-colored Killing Intent as deep as a prison, while the other held underworld divine light as cold and clear as the moon. These two utterly different qualities fused perfectly upon him, forming an indescribably unique charm.

He slowly rose to his feet, feeling the ceaselessly flowing new power within his body known as "true qi."

He spread open his palm, and with a thought.

A thread of blood-colored true qi condensed in his palm into a lifelike little blood sword, constantly extending and withdrawing its sharp edge.

True qi released beyond the body!

This was proof of the Qi Condensation Realm!

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully breaking through to the Qi Condensation First Stage!]

[The cultivation art Asura God Transformation Art has automatically advanced to the second level. Divine ability awakened—Asura Battle Body (Initial Stage)!]

[The cultivation art Nine Nether Soul Refining Art has automatically advanced to the Minor Accomplishment realm after absorbing a massive amount of Spiritual Energy!]

[Name: Chen Chen]

[Realm: Qi Condensation First Stage]

[Cultivation Arts: Asura God Transformation Art (Second Level), Nine Nether Soul Refining Art (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Martial Skills: Seven Shadows Step (Perfected)]

[Divine Abilities: Eye of Asura, Asura Battle Body (Initial Stage)]

[Cultivation Points: 1500]

Looking at the completely renewed system panel, a satisfied smile appeared on Chen Chen's face.

He had finally set foot on the true path of cultivation!

He walked out of the cave and looked up at the sky.

The sunlight was just right.

"The Wang Family was only the beginning."

His gaze traveled toward two distant directions.

One was the location of Heavenly Sword Peak, a thousand li away. He had to uncover the truth about that mysterious White-robed Woman and that earth-shaking sword strike.

The other was the direction of the Azure Cloud Sect.

"Wang Teng..."

A flash of murderous intent passed through Chen Chen's eyes.

"Blood Fiend Tower..."

"Your debts—I will collect them myself, one by one, at your very door!"

He took a deep breath, summoned his flying sword, and transformed into a streak of light that shot into the heavens.