Chapter 231 - 230: Epiphany and Breakthrough

Chapter 231: Chapter 230: Epiphany and Breakthrough

Xia Wuyang digested a small cup of the nine-hundred-year-old Monkey Wine, further enhancing his Qi and Blood Power and physical constitution. He then purged even more filth and impurities from his body.

Over the next few days, he planned to slowly consume the entire jar of nine-hundred-year-old Monkey Wine. He would use it to advance his Cultivation Realm and eliminate the last remaining traces of filth and impurities from his body.

With the help of this jar of over nine-hundred-year-old Monkey Wine, he could save several months of arduous cultivation. He would reach the Celestial Human Peak sooner, allowing him to summon the Power of Heaven and Earth and step into the True Monarch Realm.

He quickly resumed his arduous cultivation. Cup after cup of the nine-hundred-year-old Monkey Wine went down, increasing Xia Wuyang’s Cultivation Realm at an astonishing rate.

Before he knew it, he had cultivated until dawn. Meanwhile, all hell had broken loose over at Xia Wenliang’s residence.

"Your Highness, it’s terrible! Many of the treasures in the palace are gone!" a Little Eunuch cried out, scrambling and crawling to the outside of the Practice Room.

Xia Wenliang immediately stopped his cultivation and sprinted toward the hidden chamber in his Sleeping Palace. When he saw the empty room, his face turned deathly pale. He collapsed to the ground, nearly fainting on the spot.

That was a fortuitous opportunity he had worked so hard to obtain—a jar of over nine-hundred-year-old Monkey Wine! He had planned on waiting until he broke through to the Upper Three Grades, then he would consume it little by little to quickly reach the Second Grade Grandmaster Realm.

That way, he might have had a chance to contend for the Crown Prince’s position. But now, just a few days after getting it, someone had stolen it, along with all the other resources and treasures he had accumulated over many years.

He had no idea how long it would take to accumulate enough resources to attempt a breakthrough to the Upper Three Grades now. As for the Crown Prince’s position, it was no longer something he could even dream of, let alone reach for. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

At this thought, Xia Wenliang could no longer hold back and began to wail loudly. The surrounding Palace Attendants were so frightened that they hurriedly called for an Imperial Physician and requested that the Divine Capture Sect send men over to see if they could recover Xia Wenliang’s lost resources and treasures.

However, even Emperor Xia’s Inner Treasury had been nearly emptied, and nothing had been recovered. What hope was there for a mere prince’s stolen resources? Besides, among all the Princes and Princesses, this particular prince was only of middling status. Recovering his things would be nearly impossible.

He wasn’t the only Prince or Princess to be robbed recently, and not a single one had recovered their lost resources and treasures. A sense of despair washed over Xia Wenliang.

But thanks to Xia Wenliang’s "help," a few days later, on the night of the full moon, Xia Wuyang had nearly reached the Celestial Human Peak with the aid of that jar of nine-hundred-year-old Monkey Wine.

Only a few traces of impurities and filth remained in his body. If he hadn’t deliberately slowed his pace, he would have reached the Celestial Human Peak long ago, instead of spending several days without yet reaching that level.

Still, after this period of refinement, his Cultivation Foundation was quite stable, showing no signs of being superficial. Most importantly, a new day was about to begin, and with it, another opportunity for an epiphany. That would be the moment he would charge into the True Monarch Realm.

Although he was confident he could break through his shackles, a lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. It was better to be fully prepared.

In the Practice Room, a Luminous Pearl hung high overhead, its soft glow illuminating Xia Wuyang’s solemn face.

He sat cross-legged on the Jade Couch. Before him sat the jar of nine-hundred-and-fifty-year-old Monkey Wine, of which little remained. The dark red clay seal on the jar shimmered under the pearl’s light with a luster burnished by time.

A spring breeze drifted through the window, carrying the faint croaking of frogs from Taiye Pool. In the distance, the sound of a night watchman’s clapper, struck by a Palace Attendant, could be heard.

But all these sounds seemed to pass through a curtain of water, muffled and distant, giving them an unreal quality.

Inside Xia Wuyang’s Sea of Consciousness, 359 points of Spiritual Power glittered like a river of stars, awaiting the perfect, mysterious moment—the moment for him to break through.

Midnight was approaching, the time when yin gives way to yang.

He slowly opened his eyes, a light swirling within them. His Cultivation, now nearing the Celestial Human Peak, surged through his body like a great river.

His Dantian was as clear as jade, and the meridians connected to it were almost completely unobstructed. Only a few impurities remained in his body. He was in the optimal state for a breakthrough.

’Now is the time!’

Xia Wuyang broke the clay seal on the wine jar and drank the last of the Monkey Wine.

The amber liquid entered his mouth and instantly transformed into a torrential flood of medicinal power. It crashed through his meridians like a flash flood, pushing his Qi and Blood Power to its peak while flushing out the last traces of impurities and filth.

But his Foundation was profound. His Deep Rooted Talent made his meridians more than three times wider than those of Martial Artists at the same level, which was just enough to contain this massive influx of medicinal power without causing him any trouble.

The moment all the filth and impurities were cleansed, a great tremor shook his Sea of Consciousness. A new point of Spiritual Power emerged, bringing his total to 360, and just as expected, another epiphany arrived.

All sorts of insights washed over him like a tide, all of them related to how to break through to the True Monarch Realm.

The Technique in the River Scripture for drawing upon Water Attribute Spiritual Qi... the rhythm of the Water Attribute Spiritual Qi flowing between heaven and earth... how to guide this Spiritual Qi into his Dantian...

Suddenly, inspiration struck Xia Wuyang, and his already Extraordinary Spiritual Power began to surge.

Moreover, his Enchanting Heart Technique had naturally reached the Second Floor when his Spiritual Power broke past 300 points, with almost no bottlenecks or shackles to hold it back.

After all, he possessed the Supreme Talent Seven-Aperture Exquisite. His Spiritual Power increased every day, so even if there were bottlenecks, he would simply smash right through them. This was the power of a Supreme Talent.

In other words, in terms of his Refining God Cultivation, he had already reached the Two Spirits True Monarch Realm. Furthermore, the sheer volume and purity of his Spiritual Power far surpassed that of Ghost Spirits and Anomalies at the same level of Refining God Cultivation—namely, Level 12 Ghost Monarchs and Monster Monarchs.

The classification for Demons and Ghosts is different from that of human Martial Artists. Theirs is divided into Level 1, Level 2, Level 3... all the way to Level 10. This corresponds to human Martial Artists in the Body Refining Stage, ranging from the Ninth Grade to the Supreme Grade Realm, respectively.

Above that, Level 11 corresponds to a One Spirit True Monarch, Level 12 to a Two Spirits True Monarch, Level 13 to a Three Spirits True Monarch... and so on, up to Level 20, which corresponds to a Ten Spirits True Monarch.

In the True Monarch Realm, Demon Beasts and Demons focus primarily on Body Refining, Ghost Spirits and Anomalies on Refining God, and human Martial Artists on Qi Refining.

At even higher realms, human Martial Artists might have to focus on Refining God, but Demon Beasts and Demons would still focus on Body Refining, and Ghost Spirits and Anomalies would still focus on Refining God.

This is the difference between human Martial Artists and Demons and Ghosts. Humans lack the unique talent and potential for Body Refining and Refining God that Demons and Ghosts possess, so they can only alternate their focus. Although this makes them less specialized, it also makes them well-rounded.

However, precisely because they are not specialized, human Martial Artists are often no match for Demons and Ghosts of the same rank who focus on a single aspect.

Demons and Ghosts also receive a bonus in their respective fields, making their combat prowess even more terrifying. It often takes multiple human Martial Artists of the same rank to deal with a single Demon or Ghost of that rank.