Chapter 23: The Overlord’s Might

Huff… huff…

The Broken Sword Mountain Range was as deathly silent as the rumors said. The vast mountains formed narrow, bottomless abyss canyons. Below an ordinary mountain peak, there was an abyss shrouded in mist.

At that moment, low, rumbling sounds like muffled thunder or heartbeats echoed from the depths of the valley.

Perennial cold air hung in the air like a giant cotton candy, yet it emitted a faint, glaring bloody light, radiating a chilling killing intent.

Natural energy gathered in abundance. To condense such a massive amount of energy usually required the aura of a powerhouse at the Eighth Layer of Taishan or the Ninth Layer of Divine Ability, as it demanded vast quantities of True Qi.

The energy field suddenly dispersed and then gathered again. Faintly visible within was Ye Yun, enveloped in a bloody light. The bloody radiance seeped from his eyes and the hundreds of acupoints on his spiritual platform. Every inch of his skin shone dazzlingly like blood jade. Surging True Qi intertwined with the bloody light, tightly absorbing the surrounding energy field.

The Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation, the gateway for a cultivator to leap over the dragon gate.

Since ancient times, there was a legend about the dragon fish. Between heaven and earth, there existed an earthly gate. If a fish that had cultivated successfully leaped over it and reached the heavenly gate, it would transform into a mysterious and powerful dragon fish.

It was the same for humans. The Flesh Immortal stage was the most crucial foundational moment for a cultivator. The stronger the foundation, the greater the future achievements. If the physical foundation was unstable, there would be layers of obstacles when breaking through to the supreme Mahayana stage later.

The process of fighting the Four-Armed Demon Bear while surpassing his own level was extremely helpful for Ye Yun. Not only did he gain insights into the mysteries of life and death, but he also broke through to the Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation. The internal energy within his body had undergone a complete metamorphosis, condensing into supreme True Qi. The first to fourth layers belonged to the Mortal realm, where strength depended on different internal cultivation techniques. Upon reaching the Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation, cultivating any internal technique with True Qi yielded vastly different effects. For example, the Ye Family’s Overlord Fist, when cultivated with True Qi, could form a huge and real Overlord Lifts the Cauldron, just like the Ye Family’s Ancestor, a Tenth Layer powerhouse. One cauldron press could crush any powerhouse below the Tenth Layer to pieces.

True Qi could transform ordinary secular Sword Qi into reality. A single strike of Sword Qi could slice mountains and sever rivers, unlike secular Sword Qi, which at most could cut through steel.

Absorbing the vast Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and transforming it into True Qi was a long process that required patience. Most Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi contained many impurities. At the Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation, the most important task was to refine the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, eliminating all impurities to form supreme True Qi.

At this moment, Ye Yun was like a great cauldron that could contain heaven and earth. He inhaled as much Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi as he could, then refined all the impurities, turning it into True Qi.

“Yun’er, your Blood Mansion is about to reach completion. Once it’s done, using the Blood Mansion for Cleansing Marrow and Refining Bones will be ten or even a hundred times more effective than using True Qi. True Qi is merely gaseous power, but the Blood Mansion is the body’s crucible.”

Just as Ye Yun was refining the massive amount of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi his body had absorbed, the mysterious Uncle Han, whose voice seemed to come from the depths of Time-Space, spoke.

“Uncle Han!”

Hearing Uncle Han’s voice, Ye Yun felt both excited and reassured. During the battle with the Four-Armed Demon Bear, Ye Yun needed support amidst life and death, and the greatest source of strength was Uncle Han. So, hearing Uncle Han’s voice again naturally brought him joy.

Uncle Han’s enigmatic voice drifted over faintly: “You have indeed grown. Cultivation requires experiencing countless life-and-death trials, overcoming difficult hurdles one by one, to finally reach the end of the cultivation path. Now is a very crucial moment. Focus on your cultivation.”

Ye Yun silently closed his eyes. Within the surging ocean of True Qi, a ruby-like brilliance at the center grew continuously, like an ancient beast constantly devouring True Qi.

The Blood Mansion was continually expanding. Once completed, it would form a massive Blood Mansion Crucible. At that time, True Qi would churn magnificently within the Blood Mansion, allowing one to kill from a hundred paces with its aura. Moreover, its True Qi capacity would be several times that of others at the same level.

Over the past few days, Ye Yun had not only broken through to the Fifth Layer but also cultivated True Qi. Possessing True Qi meant one was truly a cultivator. Even before, Ye Yun had only reached the fourth layer. The transition from the fourth to the fifth layer was not just about the level; it was a gateway, a leap over the dragon gate.

Whoosh, whoosh. The vast cotton-candy-like energy field was inhaled into Ye Yun’s body like dust and smoke. He was filled with vigor and vitality, his spirit exuberant. Especially his eyes, which shone with intensity, as if they could capture infinite stars.

“The Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation. I have finally broken through to the Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation. From now on, I can start cultivating some simple Divine Abilities, like the Overlord Fist.”

Possessing True Qi allowed one to cultivate Divine Abilities, also known as cultivation techniques. The Ye Family’s Overlord Fist was originally a physical external technique, but cultivating it with True Qi produced different effects.

Buzz! Buzz!

Waves of True Qi suddenly erupted from Ye Yun’s body, clearing a three-zhang radius around him. Rocks and fallen leaves were pulverized into dust by the aura. Ye Yun threw a punch with his right fist. The massive True Qi from the Blood Mansion in his Dantian slowly condensed. Behind Ye Yun, nine phantom arms made of True Qi appeared, resembling a nine-armed arhat, similar to the Four-Armed Demon Bear.

The Overlord Fist, a Divine Ability condensed from True Qi.

“Such a massive rock, a guardian Suppressing the earth. Break for me!”

The nine-armed Overlord Fist phantom behind Ye Yun howled towards a small hill one zhang away. Each fist was the size of a real person, like nine ferocious dragons pouncing on the hill.

Boom! Crash! Rumble!

The massive hill instantly turned into rubble, shattered by the Overlord Fist into small stones scattered across the ground. A great cloud of dust rose into the sky, carried by the wind.

Incredible, truly incredible. Such thick and massive True Qi was something only a Flesh Immortal at the Eighth Layer, or even the Ninth Layer, should possess. Yet Ye Yun was only at the Flesh Immortal Fifth Layer, having just gained True Qi and stepped into the threshold of being a cultivator. A normal Fifth Layer cultivator would be considered good if they could condense True Qi into form. To attack with True Qi probably required the Seventh Layer or above. Yet Ye Yun’s condition had far surpassed the Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation, heading straight for advanced Divine Ability techniques.

With such domineering True Qi, even facing ten Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation powerhouses would pose no threat to Ye Yun. His True Qi capacity was truly unbelievable, like an ancient behemoth.

“My strength has increased many times compared to before. If I encounter the Four-Armed Demon Bear again, even without using the Indomitable Blood Body to activate my flesh and boost my power, I could kill it in just a few exchanges.”

Ye Yun said with full confidence. He also felt the mysterious Life Spirit Pearl at the center of his brow, as if he could touch it. Ye Yun knew the power of the Life Spirit Pearl. It was his greatest guarantee currently, a Life Spirit Pearl condensed from Uncle Han’s Heavenly Immortal-level cultivation, possessing world-destroying power. He was unwilling to use it unless absolutely necessary, as it was too shocking.

He quickly tidied up and looked up at the towering mountains piercing the clouds. “Alright, I’ll hunt more demon beasts. Demon Crystal Cores are exceptionally precious. I’ll save them for Father to revive the Ye Family later.”

After saying this, he disappeared into the deep forest like a shooting star.

This was an ancient, abnormally dense forest, filled with all kinds of wild grass. Ancient trees towered into the sky. On the ground lay the skeletons of demon beasts that had long turned to white bones, one after another. It was unknown how many demon beasts had died here, showing how bloody and brutal the battles between humans and demon beasts were.

“Bone horns? What kind of demon beast is this?”

Under a fallen tree root lay a massive skeleton. At first glance, it wasn’t particularly special, but on its skull, it actually had horns, like ox horns.

Ye Yun exclaimed in surprise. Currently, he didn’t know much about demon beasts. Such a strange demon beast must have been incredibly powerful in life, possibly surpassing the Four-Armed Demon Bear. It seemed one couldn’t be careless even in the outer areas of the Broken Sword Mountain Range. If a powerful demon beast suddenly appeared, it would mean certain death.

“Such a strong smell of blood. There should be a lot of demon beast activity nearby!”

Crossing several mountain ridges, Ye Yun arrived at a continuous basin. As far as the eye could see was an endless sea of trees. But as soon as he stepped into this area, he smelled a heavy scent of blood.

Ye Yun dashed swiftly towards the direction of the blood scent. Soon after entering the forest, he saw signs of battle. Broken trees were everywhere, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

“It probably wasn’t demon beasts killing each other. Looking at these marks on the rocks, they seem to be caused by True Qi or weapons. It seems many people died.” After surveying the area, Ye Yun’s gaze turned to the forest on the west side. The aura there was very unusual. A strong bloody energy caused the Blood Mansion within his body to stir slightly.

Ye Yun flashed swiftly and was already above the forest, sneaking into the treetops. After flying for a while, he saw a huge cave entrance below, covered in bloodstains. “It should be an earth-type demon beast. Such demon beasts burrow underground, often for days or months. Once someone passes by, they attack suddenly.”

Whoosh!

Ye Yun landed silently at the cave entrance and entered without hesitation. He leaned against the cave wall and advanced cautiously step by step. The cave was winding and twisting, estimated to be at least three hundred meters long. When Ye Yun heard the sound of flesh being torn, he held his breath and slowly peered into the cave.

About ten meters ahead was a naturally spacious cavern. The visibility was very poor, but for a cultivator, sight wasn’t everything; they could sense everything.

In the blur, Ye Yun saw three unknown demon beasts each eating the corpses of cultivators. On the ground beside them lay several more corpses and countless bones.

“Judging by their auras, these three demon beasts should be at the low-level growth stage, and they are all close to breaking through to the Adult Stage. Each has strength not inferior to the Four-Armed Demon Bear. Combined, they might even be considerably stronger than the Four-Armed Demon Bear. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have hunted so many cultivators.”

Ye Yun pondered silently. “However, the Four-Armed Demon Bear is naturally not a low-level demon beast. Even a low-level Four-Armed Demon Bear is several times stronger than other low-level demon beasts of the same stage. Alright, I’ll kill you all. But the underground cave isn’t suitable for fighting. I need to lure you to the surface first, then make my move. I’ll kill one first.”

A faint stream of True Qi began to condense on Ye Yun’s right hand, then enveloped his middle finger entirely, forming a sword-shaped True Qi.

“Low-level growth stage demon beasts are not weak either, comparable to Flesh Immortal Seventh or Eighth Layer. I’ll first test if my Vacuum Sword Qi can kill a growth stage demon beast!”

Whoosh! A Sword Qi ripple shot out, shining like a beam of light straight towards the heart of one of the demon beasts. The speed was so fast, coupled with the stealthy ambush, that the demon beast had no time to react.

Thud!

The Vacuum Sword Qi actually pierced through the demon beast’s chest. Ye Yun was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected that with Fifth Layer: Qi Transformation cultivation, he could not only produce Vacuum True Qi but also have such tremendous power to kill a growth stage demon beast.

Oww! The demon beast let out a heart-rending cry, Shaking the cave so that it swayed unsteadily. Ye Yun didn’t dare be careless. He punched upwards towards the ceiling, and his entire body shot towards the surface like a comet, piercing through layers of soil and rock, like an invincible war god, unstoppable.