Breakthrough to the Marrow Cleansing Stage

He popped a Spirit-Impact Pill into his mouth and quickly circulated his internal Cultivation Method to neutralize its medicinal power.

At the same time, the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth formed a cycle within his body, using the inexhaustible power generated by the Five-Element Cycle to launch an attack on the rock-solid bottleneck.

Long Xuan instantly felt a surge of immense power coursing through his body, making him feel as if he were about to burst, and his entire body was throbbing with pain.

Sweat instantly poured from his body, and the excruciating pain made his whole body tremble. He gritted his teeth and forced himself not to scream.

There's no way around it; the breakthrough must be done by the main body itself, not by a clone.

He had no choice but to personally endure this inhuman torture.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and on this day, Long Xuan finally opened his eyes. A glint of light flashed in his eyes, as if they were brighter than usual.

A slight smile appeared on his lips as he clenched his fist, savoring the power brought by the new realm. His smile grew even wider.

"Is this the power of a Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage? It's more than ten times stronger than a Gu cultivator in the Spirit Gathering Stage. No wonder there are geniuses in this world who can fight beyond their level, but I've never heard of any geniuses who can fight across major realms."

"The gap between major realms is like the difference between clouds and mud; it's an insurmountable chasm."

Long Xuan was shocked by the power of the Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage, and at the same time, his emotions became increasingly excited.

The breakthrough of the Ten Extremity Physique was more difficult than he had imagined. It took him five Spirit-Impact Pill to succeed in one go, and he was glad that he was well prepared.

From this day forward, he will be a minor Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage.

He can no longer be called a minor Gu cultivator; he can already be considered a minor expert.

Even a powerful clan like the Long Family only has a little over a hundred Gu cultivators at the Marrow Cleansing Stage, which shows just how rare this level of cultivation is in this region.

Once he overcomes this hurdle, he will have essentially surpassed 99% of the Gu cultivators in this world.

The Gu King is a rare sight, and even a Gu cultivator at the Spiritual Sea Stage who is a whole realm higher than him might not be able to keep up with his speed of Starstep.

His current strength is more than enough to protect himself in this place, and he is unlikely to encounter any more danger from others. He can now officially declare that he can say goodbye to the beginner village.

Long Xuan stood up, twisted his neck, and stretched his aching muscles before finally stepping out of the formation.

As soon as he emerged from the formation, Long Xuan saw Old Long sitting on the ground meditating, and his heart warmed slightly.

He could easily guess why Old Long was sitting there. This Formation Disk was far too inadequate and offered no protection whatsoever. Old Long must have come personally to protect him out of concern.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Old Long turned around and saw that Long Xuan was radiating the aura of the Marrow Cleansing Stage. He looked surprised, clearly astonished that Long Xuan had been able to break through.

Judging from his expression, Long Xuan could tell that he was not optimistic about his breakthrough, otherwise he would never have shown such a shocked expression.

It seems that the chances of the Spirit-Ascending Grass helping the Ten Extremity Physique break through are extremely slim, and Old Long has no confidence in his breakthrough this time.

Long Xuan was thankful that he had been cautious enough to refine the Spirit-Ascending Grass into a Spirit Pill. If he hadn't wanted to waste time creating his own Spirit-Impact Pill Recipe, he probably wouldn't have been able to break through today.

"What's with that expression? It's like you're puzzled that I could break through. Do you have that little confidence in me?" Long Xuan said after glancing at Old Long.

"It's unbelievable. I didn't expect you to actually break through. Although you have dozens of Spirit-Ascending Grass, the key to breaking through realms is quality, not quantity. I don't believe that Spirit-Ascending Grass have the power to break through the rock that is the Ten Extremity Physique."

"Your breakthrough this time is truly beyond my expectations; it must be some incredible stroke of luck from your ancestors!"

Old Long suddenly frowned again and said, "Once your Ten Extremity Physique break through, it will be truly terrifying. Most of the Gu cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing Stage of the Lineage will be no match for you. Your status in the Lineage will rise sharply, and the level of importance you receive will be basically the same as that of Long Ziyan. You will be nurtured by the Lineage with all your might."

"Take some time to report to the patriarch. Every newly advanced Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage is qualified to independently open cave abode and will be rewarded by the Lineage with a mountain peak rich in spiritual energy."

"When choosing cave abode, try to select one close to the heart of the Long Family's territory. On the one hand, the closer to the center of the Long Family, the higher the concentration of spiritual energy. On the other hand, if you encounter any danger, the Lineage can provide timely support."

"Go choose cave abode now, and once you've chosen one, go find the head of the household."

After saying this, Old Long finally got up and left, seemingly having important matters to attend to, and stopped chatting.

Long Xuan nodded and went to choose his own cave abode in a good mood. Since it was a free gift, why not take it?

He left the Long Family and first found the highest mountain peak. Then he found the tallest tree on the mountain peak. Using his Starstep Toe, he gently stepped on a leaf at the very top of the tree. Then he opened his Eye of Heavenly Secrets and used his superhuman vision to look in all directions.

The higher you stand, the farther you can see. From this vantage point, you can have a panoramic view of all the mountains within the Long Family's territory.

The spiritual energy required for cultivation in the Marrow Cleansing Stage is enormous. Basically, each Marrow Cleansing Stage needs to live on a mountain peak to meet their daily cultivation needs. That's why the Lineage gives each Marrow Cleansing Stage Gu cultivator a mountain peak as a reward.

The mountains vary in size and have slight differences in spiritual energy concentration, but the first to arrive gets them. Unless the Gu cultivator living on the best mountain dies unexpectedly, the mountain will not be taken back by the Lineage for redistribution. Otherwise, those who arrive later can only settle for the second best.

Some mountains have large Medicine Garden, fish ponds, pastures, and other income-generating industries left by their predecessors. The different industries on each mountain are also a plus and are included in the selection criteria.

The wealth of each mountain peak varies. Even if one cannot manage the businesses on the mountain, they can entrust them to ordinary people to manage. Most Gu cultivators do just that.

Long Xuan first looked at the area closest to the Lineage center and the largest mountain peak, and found that they were protected by formations and belonged to someone. There were also a lot of mortals working hard inside.

All the rich and large peaks have been occupied, leaving only the small, poor, and marginal ones. Long Xuan frowned slightly.

In a way, this was also the consequence of his own actions. The large amount of Spirit-Ascending Grass he handed over to the Lineage last time caused a surge in the number of newly promoted Marrow Cleansing Stage Gu cultivators in the Long Family recently. All the good peaks were taken, leaving him with only Little Poverty Peak.

Long Xuan's mood immediately soured. Helpless, he could only choose the tallest among the short ones in those barren mountains, but he still couldn't find a mountain that satisfied him.

So he kept expanding his search area, gradually moving further and further away from the Lineage's center.

No one would choose to establish cave abode far from the Lineage. The spiritual energy is scarce, and if Devil Cultivator raid or war breaks out, the location closest to the Lineage's edge will be the first to be hit. Due to the remoteness, the Lineage will not be able to launch a rescue operation immediately.

Therefore, everyone would choose the mountain closest to their Lineage, and only Long Xuan, because he had too many secrets and preferred quiet, would consider a location far from the Lineage.

And so, after searching for an unknown amount of time, Long Xuan's gaze finally settled on one of the massive mountain peaks.

This mountain was enormous, more than ten times larger than the largest main mountain near the Lineage, and its territory was so vast that it could be described as boundless.

Although the mountain covers a large area, it is too far from the Lineage. To date, no member of the Long Family has ever built cave abode on this mountain, and there are no traces of human activity on it.

This also means that there are no Medicine Garden, no fish ponds, and no industries on this mountain. The residents need to spend their own time setting things up from scratch.

Of course, Long Xuan hadn't decided to choose this place yet. The reason he stopped looking at this mountain peak was because he saw a progress of [86.583214%] in the center of the peak.

There are a full six digits after the decimal point—what exactly is that?

Long Xuan was startled, overjoyed, and showed a look of curiosity.

Although he didn't know what was hidden in the center of the mountain, he figured it was probably something good. Long Xuan's heart raced, and he showed a look of joy. He jumped off the leaves and rushed towards the mountain as fast as he could.

The mountain was very, very far away from him, but with his speed on the Starstep, he arrived in less than half a day.

Without stopping, he ran swiftly towards the location where progress had appeared.

Because the progress had reached the center of the mountain, he had to stop somewhere on the mountainside.

Of course, he didn't have the ability to burrow into the ground, so he couldn't directly use earth magic to enter the center of the mountain to see what the progress reading of six decimal places actually meant.

But this didn't stop him. He hadn't thrown away the Earthworker he had refined yet; he didn't have the habit of casually discarding his Gu Insect.

That Earthworker was placed in the second team, not intended to be trained as a main force. Only when it was inconvenient to use supreme-grade Gu worm would it use the Gu Insect from its second team to conceal its strength.

Currently, his second team only consists of three people: Earthworker, Cockroach Gu, and Feng Bingbing.

After the Earthworker appeared, he opened his blood-red maw and frantically scooped soil into it. Before long, he had eaten a large hole in the mountain.

Despite the astonishing speed at which the Earthworker could eat soil and the fact that its storage space could temporarily hold large amounts of soil, it still took it a long time to finally reach the center of the mountain.

There is a huge fissure in the center of the mountain, which creates a large space in the mountain. Many bioluminescent plants grow in this space, so it is not dark at all, but rather very beautiful.

As soon as he dug through the hole, Long Xuan felt a strong spiritual energy rushing towards him, which invigorated him.

The concentration of spiritual energy here was far, far higher than outside, which immediately caused him to show a look of astonishment.

"Where exactly is this place? How can there be such a high concentration of spiritual energy?"

Long Xuan was startled and immediately looked at the location where the progress had appeared. Soon, his mouth gaped open, revealing a look of shock.

What came into his view was a round spring that was constantly gushing out water. It wasn't very big, but the water was crystal clear, and it emitted an astonishingly rich Spiritual Qi that spread throughout the entire space.

Long Xuan's heart raced, and he hurriedly ran to the spring as fast as he could. He scooped up a mouthful of water and put it in his mouth. Soon, his eyes lit up with excitement.

"This is..."

Gazing at the ever-flowing spring, his eyes shone, and his breathing became rapid.

The water gushing from this spring not only contains a large amount of spiritual energy, but this spiritual energy also diffuses into the air. Every time a little water comes out of the spring, it carries a large amount of spiritual energy with it, resulting in an extremely high concentration of spiritual energy in this hidden space, far exceeding that of the outside world.

At this moment, he couldn't help but think of something often mentioned in cultivation novels from his previous life: the Spirit Spring.

The concentration of spiritual energy varies from place to place in the world; some places have a high concentration of spiritual energy, while others have a low concentration.

If we're talking about places with the highest concentration of spiritual energy, then it's nothing more than Spirit Vein, Spirit Mountain, Spirit Eye, and Spirit Spring...

The concentration of spiritual energy in these places may be ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times higher than in other places.

Cultivating in these places allows for rapid progress, even by leaps and bounds.

When choosing a place to settle, a Gu cultivator Lineage needs to consider various factors.

But if they unexpectedly encounter these places, then no other factors need to be considered; they can simply occupy them without hesitation. The benefits these places bring to the Lineage are enough to allow them to overcome any difficulties.

If a Lineage settles at the Spirit Spring, the cultivation speed of all the Gu cultivators in the entire Lineage will be much, much faster than that of Gu cultivators outside. Even children born here will generally have higher aptitude than those outside.

It is no exaggeration to say that this Lineage could become a powerful force in just a few hundred years, and a single Spirit Spring is enough to allow a small clan to grow into a large one in a very short time.

Anyone can imagine the value of that Spirit Spring. It is Spirit Spring that could definitely trigger a war. Once it is exposed, it will surely ignite conflict.

Its value far exceeds that of Fossil Ore Vein.

If he could have his five clones cultivate here every day, his cultivation level would skyrocket like a rocket. The temptation was simply too great for him.

No need to choose anymore, this is it. There is no place more suitable as a cultivation cave abode.

He immediately decided to make this mountain his new home; it would be foolish not to take over such a sacred place for cultivation.

At this point, he was already planning to move his Medicine Garden from Great Stone Village to this location, where the Spirit Spring would nourish the spirit medicine, allowing spirit medicine to grow even faster.

In addition, the concentration of spiritual energy here is high, so the spirit medicine herbs will grow better, and even the Spirit-Ascending Grass can survive in this place.

The mortal village has a low spiritual energy density, and the atmosphere of mortal life is too strong, making it definitely not a good place for a Gu cultivator to settle down for a long time.

Long Xuan's eyes darted around, and he quickly made a decision.

However, before moving, a protective formation for this place should be prepared first.

The Spirit Spring is an extremely important place and must not be exposed. Although the Ice Formation is good, it is not enough to protect this place.

Putting aside the fact that it would be difficult to stop a Gu cultivator at the Spiritual Sea Stage, even those Formation Raider are proficient in array formations would definitely not be able to defend against it; Di Xin could break it with a flick of his wrist.

The secret of the Spirit Spring must never be discovered by anyone, otherwise it will surely bring about his death. Therefore, the formation protecting this place must be able to block everyone, including the Gu King.

Since setting up an array does not require a single, continuous process and can be interrupted at any time for rest, even a low-level Gu cultivator can set up an incredibly powerful array.

It's perfectly normal for a Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage to be able to block a Gu cultivator in the Spiritual Sea Stage; a formation that can only block those of the same level is meaningless.

Of course, due to the limitations of their cultivation levels, the formations set up by Gu cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing Stage would have difficulty blocking the Gu King.

However, as long as the Formation Eye element of the formation is powerful enough, such as suppressing a Spirit Vein Dragon Vein, then it is not impossible for this formation to block the Gu King.

Long Xuan happens to have a Spirit Spring of the same level as Spirit Vein as the Formation Eye, so it's not a dream for him to set up an array that can block the Gu King.

Not only him, but under the same conditions, most Gu cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing Stage who are proficient in formations could do the same thing as him. This is a perfectly normal thing in this world. It's just that it's very difficult to find a Formation Eye item of this level for controlling the formation.

Moreover, Long Xuan also has a method to shrink the Formation Inscription a hundredfold to increase the upper limit of the array, making his great array even more ferocious. As long as the Formation Diagram he creates is not bad, and there is Spirit Spring as the Formation Eye, then he can definitely block a Gu King.

Furthermore, he has more than just a spiritual spring to suppress the core of the formation; the demonic flower he just obtained is also quite good. Using it as a treasure to suppress the core of the illusion formation will definitely be able to threaten the Gu King with the illusion magic released by the formation.

The Frost Divine Flame is the strongest man-made fire, with power nearly matching that of the legendary Heavenly Flame. If used as a Formation Eye artifact in a formation, combined with an even more powerful array, its power would be no less formidable, and it could even pose a threat to the Gu King.

Many of his Formation Eye possess power capable of threatening the Gu King; now it remains to be seen just how formidable his Formation Diagram design will be.

Long Xuan's eyes lit up, revealing an ambitious look.