Chapter 34: The Time to Break Through

Four years quietly passed.

Gu Yuan was now twenty-four years old, and he had already reached the ninth stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

There were still three years before the deadline for his inner sect mission, making his progress quite impressive. But more than that, Gu Yuan was quietly welcoming another, far more joyous change.

His Spiritual Root.

The Orb of Creation had continued enhancing it throughout these years, and now, it was finally transforming from Second Grade to First Grade.

From the outside, nothing particularly remarkable seemed to be happening, but to Gu Yuan, who could clearly feel everything within himself, the change was completely different.

To him, the sensation was even more exaggerated than that of a major breakthrough.

The world seemed different in his eyes. Heaven and Earth felt closer than before, while Spirit Qi, which had once felt like something he had to kneel and beg before it would willingly enter his dantian, could now be invited in with nothing more than a simple request.

It didn’t take long.

After only one breath, the transformation was complete.

Gu Yuan quietly savored the changes he could feel before opening his status window.

[Name: Gu Yuan]

[Lifespan: 24/136]

[Spiritual Root: First Grade]

[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Realm, Ninth Stage]

[Cultivation Method: Golden Mountain Scripture (Earth Grade)]

[Professions: Forging Master (Spirit Grade)]

[Techniques: Basic Saber Form, Nine Phantom Steps (Profound Grade), Heaven-Rending Saber Technique (Incomplete, Heaven Grade)]

[Special Abilities: Heart of Comprehension]

[Possession: Orb of Creation, Thousand Forms Ring (Heaven Grade), Silent Moon Ring (Earth Grade), Hidden Garden Bracelet (Earth Grade)]

[Dao Companions: Ji Xingyue, Ji Huangyan]

Gu Yuan blinked.

Since when did his status window become this long?

He stared at it for a moment. It had really grown quite a bit, with all kinds of things having been added over the years.

Most of them, he could understand their purpose.

But what about Dao Companions?

Was the status window trying to remind him that he was now a taken man?

Gu Yuan shook his head before settling his gaze on his lifespan.

The first number showed his current age, while the second represented the number of years he could live. It had increased quite a lot since he broke through into the first stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

How much will it increase when he break through into the Golden Core Realm?

He wondered about it for a moment before moving his gaze toward the new fields that had appeared in his status window.

First was Spiritual Root. Beside it, confirming his transformation, were the words: First Grade.

Further down was Special Abilities, a field that had also newly appeared, with only Heart of Comprehension listed beneath it.

Gu Yuan thought about this ability. It had taken more than a month to recover after using it for the first time, and only then had he been able to use it again.

It was truly valuable. Whenever he used it, he felt almost like one of those geniuses blessed by the heavens.

Unfortunately, the cooldown was far too long.

Moving on, his gaze stopped at his possessions.

Once, there had only been the Orb of Creation. Now, there were three more items, all gifts from the twins.

Each one had its grade displayed beside it, and seeing that made Gu Yuan wonder about the grade of the Orb of Creation.

It was certainly not something as simple as a Heaven Rank treasure. It had to be something far beyond that.

But exactly what grade was it?

Gu Yuan didn’t know.

Still, he felt fortunate simply to have it with him.

He finally closed his status window.

There were still three years until the deadline for his inner sect mandatory mission, and Gu Yuan wanted to continue cultivating. But perhaps he should go out and see how the Black Desolation Sect had changed first.

Ji Yan had only told him that the war had ended, but that was from her point of view.

What about the sect itself?

Gu Yuan wanted to find that out.

Yet, he felt quite reluctant to interrupt his cultivation.

It felt as though he was only one final push away from breaking through into the Golden Core Realm.

With that thought in mind, Gu Yuan ultimately couldn’t bring himself to stop.

For now, he returned to cultivating.

-----

Elsewhere, inside a town operated by a prominent clan secretly affiliated with the Black Desolation Sect, three women sat inside the most magnificent building in the entire town.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy with tension.

"Is this really the master you chose after refusing my invitation in the past?"

A woman with a heavy bloodlust radiating from her pointed toward Ji Yue as she spoke to Luo Yunjin.

"Do you want to die? Don’t be disrespectful."

Luo Yunjin immediately shot back.

She was already feeling quite nervous about the attitude Shen Lian, one of the Black Desolation Sect’s Peak Masters, was displaying. If she had known the woman would behave like this, she would never have brought her here.

"Hmm. Peak Master Shen Lian." Ji Yue’s calm voice suddenly cut in, interrupting the two. "Do you feel this courageous simply because your cultivation is higher than mine?"

"Hah! It’s not only that. For Yunjin to take a junior as her master, do you really think that makes sense?"

"It makes perfect sense," Ji Yue replied evenly. "I am naturally stronger than her, and I can guide her in her cultivation. Being able to take me as her master is her fortune."

"Oh? You really think so?"

As Shen Lian spoke, the bloodlust radiating from her grew heavier.

A thick red aura spread throughout the room, then quickly expanded beyond the building. The people nearby were immediately overwhelmed by the pressure. One after another, they collapsed to the ground, fear filling their faces as they struggled to breathe, many of them looking as though they were on the verge of dying.

"Do you really want to try?" Ji Yue asked softly.

At the same time, a cold aura slowly spread from her body... cold and piercing enough to completely extinguish the bloodlust Shen Lian had released.

Shen Lian’s expression finally became serious.

She drew her saber, fully prepared to fight Ji Yue. She held zero concern for the countless lives that would be lost if two cultivators of their level clashed in the middle of the town.

She was ready.

But she was not even given the chance.

The temperature suddenly dropped further.

The cold that filled the room became so terrifying that, before Shen Lian could even take a step, frost had already covered her body. In the blink of an eye, she was completely frozen in place, unable to move even a single finger.

How? Shen Lian couldn’t understand what had happened.

She glared at Ji Yue and tried every method she could think of to break free. Her spiritual power surged, her body struggled against the ice, and she even attempted to forcefully break through the restraints.

It was all useless.

Ji Yue remained completely patient throughout it all. She didn’t urge Shen Lian to make a decision, nor did she even seem particularly concerned by her struggle. Instead, she turned toward Luo Yunjin, who stood nearby and, thanks to Ji Yue’s incomparably precise control over her power, had miraculously remained completely unaffected by the cold.

"So, how is the situation? When will the preparations for our attack be ready?"

"Two years."

Luo Yunjin answered while still staring at the scene before her, unable to fully believe what she was witnessing. She swallowed before continuing, this time emphasizing her words.

"Two years will be enough."

"Work hard. I’m already finding it difficult to stay away from my husband for this long."

Ji Yue’s words caught both women’s attention.

For a moment, Shen Lian couldn’t react, while Luo Yunjin’s expression also became somewhat strange.

Neither of them dared to comment on it.

Luo Yunjin simply began explaining the details of her plan.

-----

Elsewhere, completely unaware of the schemes his Dao companion was cooking up, Gu Yuan was still peacefully cultivating.

One year passed, then another.

It was only two years later that he finally reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm and was ready to break through.

Yet, he didn’t.

Not because he didn’t want to, but because he would have to go through a heavenly tribulation, and he couldn’t possibly do that here. Not when the cultivation realm he was showing was still only the third stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Gu Yuan needed to make a trip outside the sect. But before that, his gaze turned toward the Orb of Creation.

Inside it were treasures and techniques that could help him increase his strength without breaking through.

So, should he make use of everything before breaking through, or should he simply leave them for later?

After some thought, Gu Yuan decided to do only one thing.

He took out a robe, an Earth Grade treasure, and began refining it.

It took him an entire month before he was finished.

Refining the Cloudveil Robe took longer than refining the ring and the bracelet. The robe had been far too eye-catching originally, but after refining it, Gu Yuan discovered that he could change its appearance, making it much less conspicuous.

Once he put it on, it adjusted itself to his size.

The robe was a defensive treasure capable of blocking five attacks from a peak Spiritual Core Realm cultivator, and wearing it gave Gu Yuan a new sense of security.

"Yes, it’s not bad," he muttered, feeling quite pleased.

He admired the robe for a few moments before finally standing up.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly remembered that, until now, he still hadn’t learned the flying technique he had received from the sect.

Should I simply not learn it? I will be able to fly once I reach the Spiritual Core Realm, after all.

While he thought about it, Gu Yuan was also, for a moment, embarrassed by the thought of meeting the twins again only for them to discover that he still couldn’t fly.

Besides, when going outside, being able to fly was far more convenient.

So, he spent another two weeks learning the flying technique and refining the leaf-shaped flying treasure before he finally left his residence.

He didn’t see his master, Luo Yunjin, or his senior sister, Bai Yuning.

And so, after obtaining permission from the Mission Hall, he quietly made his way toward the Teleportation Array.

It was finally time to break through.