C16 The Late Period of the Soul Nurturing

Ye Chen, drawing on the rhythm he had mastered from his study of the Tome of the Celestial Way, imparted his martial arts knowledge to Lee Zhenfeng as an observer.

The eldest senior brother, affectionately known as Fatty, did not disappoint him and had a moment of clarity.

A flood of realizations filled Lee Zhenfeng's mind, making his eyes shine ever brighter.

Indeed, he had been too hasty. During his cultivation, his emotions ran wild, and his mind fixated on a single goal: to break through, to break through. Yet, he had lost sight of the reasons for his breakthrough, what he was relying on to achieve it, and what he lacked was exactly the unwavering will and the learner's heart that his elder had spoken of.

His obsession had prevented him from overcoming his bottleneck.

Now, with guidance from another, he was filled with joy.

It was as if the gateway to the path of the mighty had swung wide open before him!

Lee Zhenfeng realized that by adjusting his mindset and forging an unstoppable will, coupled with his insights into cultivation, he would undoubtedly achieve a breakthrough within three days.

"Senior, my thanks."

As Lee Zhenfeng prepared to express his gratitude, he looked up to find no one there.

Only the moonlight and the breeze remained, as if no one had ever been present.

"Gone?"

Lee Zhenfeng gazed around in astonishment.

He hadn't anticipated that this enigmatic elder would come and go without leaving a trace, eluding any attempt to track his movements.

Nevertheless, Lee Zhenfeng bowed slightly in the direction where Ye Chen had stood, as a gesture of thanks.

Lee Zhenfeng was convinced that even though the senior was no longer there, his gratitude would still be perceived.

Moreover, the senior's guidance had not only enlightened him in his martial arts but had also pulled him back from the brink of a dangerous deviation. While the senior might have considered it a trivial act, it was a life-saving grace for Lee Zhenfeng, one that he could not simply overlook.

This act of kindness was one he would cherish deeply.

Taking a deep breath, Lee Zhenfeng ceased his sword practice and settled his restless heart. He sat in meditation beside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, seeking a deeper understanding of his own mental state.

Indeed, after the elder had shown him the way, he managed to quell the turmoil within his heart. Now, as he circulated the wakan throughout his body, it flowed much more smoothly than before.

The movement of the divine force within him began to synchronize with his heartbeat, his consciousness became crystal clear, and he felt as though he had been completely transformed.

"I owe a great deal to the elder. Just as my Master had said, there truly is a Divine Demon Ancestor concealed near the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Lee Zhenfeng was inwardly moved. He understood that his transformation was solely due to the enigmatic figure who had appeared earlier.

Ye Chen emerged from the Sky Shrouding Talisman, feigning ignorance of everything that had transpired. He strolled back leisurely from the direction of the back mountain.

He cast a glance at the eldest senior brother, who was deep in meditation, and without disturbing him, continued on his way to his modest cabin.

The guidance he had provided to Lee Zhenfeng didn't weigh on his mind in the slightest.

On the contrary, the recent skirmish had given Ye Chen some enlightenment, and he sensed an impending breakthrough.

Driven by the urge to advance, Ye Chen quickly returned to his stone house and meticulously laid out a concealing rune.

"Gulp gulp!"

Ye Chen took out a pill, rich with medicinal scent, and swallowed it with relish.

This was a Barrier Breaking Pill, coveted even by a God-Man for its potential to increase the likelihood of piercing through the Nihil Hollow.

Wealthy and bold, Ye Chen used it to aid his breakthrough into the late period of Soul Nurturing.

As the Barrier Breaking Pill dissolved within him, it radiated a luminous glow, and a potent medicinal force began to pulsate.

Suddenly, Ye Chen's dantian bloomed like a radiant star, pulsing with an energy several times greater than his own.

His entire body seemed to sparkle, as if a rich spiritual Qi was emanating from each pore. Thankfully, Ye Chen's foresight in setting up the concealment rune prevented the disturbance from being detected.

After ingesting the pill, Ye Chen practiced the Tome of the Celestial Way, and immediately, his thoughts became interconnected, and his pores surged with spiritual energy. The sensation was as refreshing as biting into a chilled watermelon on a scorching summer day.

As the Tome of the Celestial Way churned, a rich flow of wakan spiraled out from Ye Chen's dantian, coursing through his body in a complete cycle. At this moment, the sphere of spiritual energy housed within his dantian underwent a delicate transformation, releasing formidable fluctuations.

Under Ye Chen's watchful eye, the swirling spiritual energy intertwined and condensed, eventually evolving into a minuscule crystal within his dantian. This crystal appeared quite small, existing somewhere between a gaseous and liquid state, blurring the line between reality and illusion.

Ye Chen understood that to advance to the late period of the Soul Nurturing Stage, he needed to solidify the wakan in his dantian into a crystal form. This was a crucial step before transitioning from the Soul Nurturing Stage to the God-Man Stage.

In that instant, he pushed the Tome of the Celestial Way to its utmost limit! A blend of black and white energies, each distinct in color, emerged within him, casting a brilliant radiance. These were the dual special energies inherent to the Yin-Yang Holy Body—the forces of Yin and Yang.

Refined by the Yin and Yang energies, the energy sphere within Ye Chen's dantian began its metamorphosis. The crystal burst forth with light, illuminating his dantian and pulsating with intense energy waves!

With the powerful surge of medicinal strength, the energy mass fully transformed into a distinct black and white crystal, now fully materialized. The crystal shimmered with a flowing luminescence, exuding a potent aura that seemed to envelop a formidable deity.

Simultaneously, Ye Chen could distinctly feel his soul undergoing a change within his dantian. His soul power grew more tangible, and his connection to the world around him intensified.

Ye Chen radiated a mingled light of black and white, as mighty wakan flowed within his dantian, ultimately merging with the now tangible crystal—a true manifestation of the late Soul Nurturing Stage.

"At last, I've broken through to the late Soul Nurturing Stage. My strength now matches that of the eldest senior brother. With my practice of the Tome of the Celestial Way and the Yin-Yang Holy Body, unless I face a God-Man, I believe I have the power to fight. No longer am I a lamb at the mercy of others!"

Feeling the wakan coursing through his body like a flood, Ye Chen's eyes snapped open, his expression brimming with excitement.

The leap forward in his cultivation left him thoroughly pleased.

Ye Chen had been frequently visiting the training grounds at the base of the mountain, honing his skills. By sparring with Fellbeasts and absorbing the insights from his peers, he had gauged the level of his strength and the heights his combat prowess could reach.

From what Ye Chen had gathered, among his peers, only the chubby eldest senior brother might match him in ability.

The comparison Ye Chen made was with the eldest senior brother at the peak of Soul Nurturing. Currently, he was supremely confident he could defeat the eldest senior brother, even swiftly dispatching him with his Spirit Sword.

The wakan within him roiled uncontrollably, like a vast, unending river, deep and powerful.

Particularly notable was the Yin and Yang power emanating from him, subtly exuding an air of complete and natural perfection.

Yet Ye Chen, seemingly unremarkable at a glance, was a force of nature when in motion—a veritable thunderbolt!

"With my current power, as long as I stay within the Holy Land and avoid crossing paths with the elders, it's unlikely anyone could pose a threat to me." Ye Chen was immensely content with his own strength.