Over the next half month and more, Lu Ming's days were exceptionally full.
Cultivating Primordial Qi diligently every day was naturally a basic task he could not slack off on in the slightest. By now, however, he was gradually approaching the limits of the Bone Refining Realm. He could sense ever more clearly that, as his Primordial Qi increased, an indistinct barrier seemed to stand before him, separating him from heaven and earth. Unless he broke through it, increasing his Primordial Qi would become exceedingly difficult.
This was the Divine Ability Barrier.
Like a bottleneck, it troubled countless Divine Ability cultivators throughout the world.
Generally speaking, the lower the grade of a person's Divine Ability Bone, the harder the Divine Ability Barrier they encountered would be to overcome. Lu Ming, however, had an advantage in this regard that ordinary people could not match. Even though he had begun to touch the Divine Ability Barrier, his Sub-Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone's profound affinity with heaven and earth still allowed him to forcibly increase his Primordial Qi bit by bit.
But Lu Ming did not hastily use the Barrier-Breaking Pill known as the Pattern-Transforming Lesser Yuan Pill. Instead, he took advantage of his Sub-Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone to accumulate Primordial Qi little by little.
He was waiting for the best opportunity. A seasoned hunter sought to kill in a single strike, without a wasted move.
Aside from that, Lu Ming had not neglected his Divine Ability techniques.
During this time, Lu Ming had even mastered Palm Thunder, another of Thunderfire Hall's Middle Divine Abilities.
With that, Lu Ming had mastered all of Thunderfire Hall's Divine Abilities, save for the Upper Divine Ability Thunderfire Whip.
Besides his own cultivation, Lu Ming also made sure to reserve some Primordial Qi each day to activate the Flame of Life, treating Lu Jin and healing the hidden injuries that had accumulated over the years.
The treatment worked better than he could have imagined.
After around half a month, more than half of Lu Jin's hidden injuries had been healed. Previously, sealing that strand of Lin Changkong's True Qi in his left arm had caused the Sword Qi to shred all the flesh inside it. Now, under the Flame of Life's treatment, it had fully recovered as well.
As a result, Lu Jin's condition improved by the day. His once-gaunt body seemed to have filled out considerably, and there was even a little color in his aged face.
At such changes, even with Lu Jin's temperament and self-control, he could not help beaming after every treatment, praising his family's Divine Ability Child again and again as a true blessing to the family.
While doing all this, Lu Ming also found time now and then to visit the district office. He had openly agreed to the deal to cultivate the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner, so naturally he had to collect his benefits as well.
Zhou Xuan had not gone back on his word. However, since Lu Ming had yet to enter the realm of a Great Divine Ability Practitioner, he could not teach him alchemy Divine Abilities. So, for the time being, he arranged for Zhou Fuling to teach him the basics of alchemy first, such as identifying medicinal ingredients and understanding their properties.
Lu Ming naturally knew how rare such an opportunity was, so whenever he had time, he went to the district office and sought Zhou Fuling's instruction with humility.
And so, before he knew it, the end of the month arrived.
That day, Lu Ming suddenly opened his eyes in the middle of cultivation. Just moments earlier, the Primordial Qi in his body had begun to stir faintly beyond his control.
"It's finally here."
Lu Ming let out a deep breath. The opportunity to break through, which he had spent nearly a month preparing for, had finally appeared. Yet at this crucial moment, his expression was instead remarkably calm.
He took the Pattern-Transforming Lesser Yuan Pill, wrapped in silk, from his robes and swallowed it without hesitation.
The pill melted instantly, but it did not release a vast, surging medicinal power. Instead, it turned into a cool current that dispersed through his body.
But in the unseen depths, the Divine Ability Barrier, which seemed to exist within his consciousness, showed signs of melting as that cool current swept over it.
The previously indestructible Divine Ability Barrier began to loosen under the Barrier-Breaking Pill's erosion.
Lu Ming's Divine Ability Bone rumbled. The six bands of Glazed Heavenly Light circling it began to spin, drawing Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi into his body. At last, his Primordial Qi erupted like a surging torrent.
All of the Primordial Qi slammed into the Divine Ability Barrier.
The earth shook and the mountains trembled.
Lu Ming's consciousness rumbled as though heaven and earth were spinning around him. But he understood that this was the most critical moment, so he forcibly suppressed every adverse sensation and let the Primordial Qi crash madly against the barrier in wave after wave.
The assault continued for an unknown length of time.
Then, at a certain moment, the sound of something collapsing came from the depths of Lu Ming's consciousness.
The instant the Divine Ability Barrier collapsed, the sense of separation between his body and heaven and earth vanished completely.
His Divine Ability Bone erupted with the deafening roar of Primordial Qi. The roar resembled the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound, but whereas the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound of his earlier bone refinement had come in only a few brief bursts, this was like a tide, one wave piling upon the next.
The roaring Primordial Qi reverberated through every part of his body. His flesh, bones, and skin were all noticeably tempered and strengthened.
Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi came rushing in at an astonishing speed, eventually forming a Primordial Qi vortex on the surface of Lu Ming's body. He immediately activated Thunderfire Furnace, his Qi Refining Art, continuously refining and absorbing the incoming Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi.
Primordial Qi flowed over his Divine Ability Bone, clear as glazed glass, and fine patterns suddenly appeared upon it.
Those patterns gave off an exceptionally pure presence, as though they were a gift from heaven and earth that could deepen his affinity with them.
They were... Divine Ability Dharma Marks!
For now, however, the marks were still fragmented, rapidly condensing and joining together to become whole.
After quite some time, the fragmented Dharma Marks fully condensed, and a true Divine Ability Dharma Mark appeared on Lu Ming's Divine Ability Bone.
The moment the Divine Ability Dharma Mark fully formed, Lu Ming felt as though the world had fallen silent. He had become more attuned to heaven and earth, and he could even faintly hear hurried footsteps coming from outside the courtyard, heading straight for him.
It was Lu Jin and the others.
They had sensed the Primordial Qi fluctuations in the courtyard, so they had hurriedly put down what they were doing and rushed over.
"Is this my Divine Ability Dharma Mark?"
Lu Ming sensed the Divine Ability Dharma Mark engraved on his Divine Ability Bone. With the mark upon it, the once-clear, glasslike Divine Ability Bone was like a piece of uncut jade beginning to be carved, unexpectedly giving off an indescribable charm.
With Divine Ability Dharma Marks on the Divine Ability Bone, one could more easily draw upon Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in the future. When using Divine Abilities, one could even project the Dharma Marks onto them to increase their power.
It could be said that, at this stage, Divine Ability Dharma Marks were the foundation of one's strength.
When Great Divine Ability Practitioners clashed, whoever had more Divine Ability Dharma Marks undoubtedly possessed a stronger foundation and had the greater advantage in a fight.
Yet after the first Divine Ability Dharma Mark formed, the changes did not stop. As Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi continued pouring into his body, fragmented traces of another Divine Ability Dharma Mark began to appear on his Divine Ability Bone.
Lu Ming was not surprised to see this.
Most newly advanced Great Divine Ability Practitioners could barely condense one Divine Ability Dharma Mark upon their first breakthrough, but some exceptionally gifted individuals with strong foundations could condense more.
The foundation in question referred to things such as the grade of one's Divine Ability Bone and one's level of mastery over the Divine Ability techniques one cultivated.
Zhang Yue, for example, had relied on his High-Grade Divine Ability Bone to condense two Divine Ability Dharma Marks when he first became a Great Divine Ability Practitioner.
Even Zhang Yue had two Divine Ability Dharma Marks, so naturally Lu Ming could not possibly do worse than him.
With that thought, Lu Ming calmly observed his Divine Ability Bone as traces of a profound Divine Ability Dharma Mark continued to emerge. At last, a second Divine Ability Dharma Mark fully formed, just as expected.
The Primordial Qi fluctuations emanating from Lu Ming's body surged sharply in response.
"Two Divine Ability Dharma Marks..."
An ordinary person would have been overjoyed with such a result, but Lu Ming was not satisfied. With a thought from him, the six bands of Glazed Heavenly Light circling his Divine Ability Bone shone brilliantly, like the rings around a star.
At the same time, the Divine Ability imprints engraved on his Divine Ability Bone all burst forth.
Flame Blade, Lesser Thunderlight, Palm Thunder, Golden Plasma Fire...
The Divine Ability techniques he had cultivated revealed the full depth of his foundation.
A moment later, Lu Ming finally saw traces of another Divine Ability Dharma Mark condensing on his Divine Ability Bone, clear as glazed glass.
Only then did he smile in satisfaction.
It was a Sub-Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone, after all. Having only two Divine Ability Dharma Marks would have been a little too beneath it.
More and more traces of the Divine Ability Dharma Mark sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain on the glazed Divine Ability Bone, finally condensing into a complete third Divine Ability Dharma Mark.
Three Divine Ability Dharma Marks!
At that moment, Lu Ming could clearly feel that his Primordial Qi was more than ten times stronger than before his breakthrough. The gap between a Divine Ability Practitioner and a Great Divine Ability Practitioner was laid bare.
Lu Ming was satisfied.
"Huh?"
But he was immediately surprised again, because he discovered that even after the third Divine Ability Dharma Mark had formed, Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi had not stopped pouring into his body, and his Divine Ability Bone showed no sign of settling down.
"It's not over yet?!"