Chapter 143 - 142: Breakthrough, Marrow Refining Realm

Chapter 143: Chapter 142: Breakthrough, Marrow Refining Realm

But just like last night, the Physique forged by the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield was the first to respond.

Without any deliberate effort from Chen Yue, Qi Blood as hot as magma surged forth from his limbs and bones. It acted like the toughest Inner Armor, wrapping around and seeping into every meridian, every Acupoint, and even the Dantian itself.

Protected by this majestic Qi Blood, the resilience of his meridians was pushed to the absolute limit. No matter how the dragon-like Qi Force frantically scoured and battered them, they remained steadfast.

At the same time, the Heart Method of the Fifth Layer of the Vast Heart Rock Skill automatically accelerated, constraining and guiding the Qi Force along its designated path.

The Heart Fire served as fuel, the Vast Heart as reins, and the Golden Bell as armor. The three formed a highly efficient, dynamic equilibrium.

In an instant, Chen Yue’s entire body seemed to transform into a blazing furnace. His body temperature began to rise at an astonishing rate, and his exposed skin quickly turned crimson.

And as the Qi Force circulated wildly through his reinforced meridians, it faintly emitted a low, trembling hum.

An hour slowly passed in this state of high-temperature, high-speed, and high-pressure cultivation.

When the last wisp of Heart Fire was exhausted and completely merged into his Qi Blood, the rampaging Qi Force lost its most direct impetus, and its speed began to gradually decrease.

The Vast Heart Rock Skill, which had long been operating at its peak, began to bring the still-active but now orderly Qi Force back into a stable cycle.

The high temperature on the surface of his body gradually subsided, his skin returned to normal, and the strange buzzing within him also quieted down.

Chen Yue slowly exhaled a long breath. He opened his eyes, and a sharp glint seemed to flash in the depths of his pupils before vanishing.

Chen Yue immediately began an internal inspection.

His Dantian was completely unharmed. In fact, after withstanding the high-pressure impact, its walls seemed to have become a trace more solid and resilient.

His meridians were clear and unobstructed. They felt slightly sore and swollen, but under the nourishment of his vigorous Qi Blood, they were recovering quickly, their resilience further tempered.

And the consumed Power of Heart and Spirit had long since been fully restored under the continuous nourishment of the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill’s Medicinal Power.

Sensing the now more condensed Qi Force within him and feeling his still-full Heart Spirit, an audacious thought irrepressibly surfaced.

’My meridians and Qi Blood can still take more, and my Heart Spirit’s recovery can keep up... In that case, taking another Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill for a third round of Heart Fire catalysis should be possible!’

Chen Yue thought for a moment, then took another Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill from the Jade Bottle and consumed it.

He centered himself and once again activated the Heart-Burning Record.

Everything became familiar. Chen Yue handled it with greater ease, and his control over the Heart Fire seemed to have become even more precise and subtle.

He guided the violent Qi Force in a Circulation of the Celestial Cycle within his body, squeezing every last bit of Medicinal Power and every wisp of Heart Fire energy to its absolute limit, converting it into his own Cultivation.

Another hour passed. Chen Yue assessed his body’s condition and knew he couldn’t refine any more Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills, so he began to practice his other Cultivation Techniques.

Time flew by during cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, it was midnight.

[Yesterday’s Tally]

[Diligent Cultivation, Cultivation +103]

...

[Bone Forging Realm (1759/2685)]

points!

Staring at the information on the panel, Chen Yue’s gaze froze.

He knew the Heart-Burning Record’s effects would be potent, and he had expected that after taking three Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills today, his Cultivation increase would surely surpass yesterday’s.

But he had never imagined the increase would be so terrifying, skyrocketing from yesterday’s 49 points to 103—more than double!

Even with his steady temperament, Chen Yue couldn’t help but take a deep breath. After all, he was using Heart Fire under completely safe conditions.

He wasn’t like those other disciples who recklessly pushed themselves to the limit and ultimately ended up ruining their bodies.

At this rate, the time he needed to break through to the Marrow Refining Realm would be drastically shortened. And it wasn’t just the Marrow Refining Realm; all his future cultivation would be accelerated!

...

Seven days flew by in a flash amidst Chen Yue’s disciplined, almost Ascetic Monk-like routine of cultivation and Alchemy.

On this day, inside the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, the firewood crackled and medicinal aromas wafted through the air.

Chen Yue stood before a Pill Furnace, his expression focused. Under his control, every change in the furnace fire precisely corresponded to the subtle junctures of the medicinal ingredients fusing within.

His movements were as smooth as flowing water, carrying a unique sense of rhythm.

On a gentle White Jade Plate to the side, five lustrous Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills now lay quietly, emitting a faint, elegant fragrance that calmed the Heart Spirit.

These five Elixirs came from the three batches he had refined today; two of those batches had successfully produced two pills each.

As he continued to refine the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill daily, his mastery of this Elixir was nearing the Great Success Realm.

This was reflected in his Pill Formation rate; the probability of producing two Elixirs per batch was visibly and steadily increasing.

From an occasional success at the beginning to now producing double pills in two out of three batches, this rate of progress was enough to leave any Dan Peak disciple who understood the difficulty of Alchemy utterly speechless.

HISS...

As the last wisp of earth-fire was precisely cut off, the temperature inside the Pill Furnace began to drop evenly.

Chen Yue waited a moment before reaching out to lift the furnace lid.

Lingering warmth remained at the bottom of the furnace, where two plump, round Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills lay side by side, their luster nearly identical—perfect in quality.

A smile appeared on Chen Yue’s face. Another double batch.

He didn’t get greedy. Refining four batches and harvesting seven pills today was already an extremely bountiful result.

He placed the two newly refined Elixirs onto the Jade Plate, then took three from the plate and put them into a Jade Bottle.

Chen Yue took the remaining four Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills to be exchanged for Sect Contribution Points.

After finishing, Chen Yue gave a slight nod to the senior uncle on duty and, just as usual, turned and left the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

Inside the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, after a brief silence, low murmurs began to spread.

"Four batches today, that was seven pills, right?"

"Sigh, it used to take him five batches to get seven pills. Now he does it in four. The comparison is just infuriating!"

The disciples’ gazes were complex and hard to read. They had watched, almost helplessly, as Chen Yue mastered the refinement of the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill at a despairing speed in just a short time.

This progress had already surpassed the scope of exceptional Talent; it was an almost illogical ascent.

Even though they witnessed it daily, the shock in their hearts was still hard to quell.

...

Back inside the courtyard with the still-crooked gate, Chen Yue immediately shut out the noise and gazes of the outside world.

In the Quiet Chamber, he sat cross-legged. He didn’t start cultivating right away, instead looking at his panel.

[Bone Forging Realm (2550/2650)]

He was only 100 Cultivation points away from filling his current realm’s experience bar and touching the barrier to the next level. Based on his stable Cultivation growth over the past few days, the breakthrough would happen tonight!

Chen Yue took a deep breath, suppressing the slight ripple in his heart.

The closer one gets to a breakthrough, the more one’s mind must be as still as water. He began today’s cultivation according to his established plan.

First, he took a Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill to nourish his Heart Spirit. Then, he activated the Heart-Burning Record, carefully separating a portion of his Power of Heart and Spirit to condense Heart Fire and catalyze his Dantian Qi Force.

The violent surge of Qi Force once again played out within his body—high temperatures, humming, surging Qi Blood...

Everything proceeded as smoothly and skillfully as it had the past few days. An hour later, the first Heart Fire catalysis ended, and his Power of Heart and Spirit quickly recovered with the help of the Elixir.

Chen Yue regulated his breathing slightly, sensing his Cultivation had solidified a bit more. He took another Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill and began the second catalysis...

Time flew by in his selfless cultivation. The sun slanted west, dusk fell, and stars gradually lit up the night sky.

Chen Yue’s mind was free of distractions. He simply followed his rhythm, circulating his Cultivation Technique, catalyzing his Cultivation, and tempering his Physique.

He could feel the Qi Force in his Dantian growing ever fuller and more condensed. From deep within his bones, a strange, tingling itch and warmth emanated, as if something was being awakened.

The night grew deeper, and all was silent. Moonlight, like water, quietly spilled into the courtyard.

As the hour quietly slid toward midnight, the ripple from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness spread out once more, right on schedule.

[Yesterday’s Tally]

[Diligent Cultivation, Cultivation +96]

...

[Bone Forging Realm (2646/2645)]

The two Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pills had lowered the Cultivation cap by 5 points. Thus, it only took 96 points of Cultivation to fill the bar, and even spill over by 1 point.

The instant the numbers 2646/2645 clearly appeared.

RUMBLE!

Inside Chen Yue’s body, it was as if muffled thunder was constantly rolling, or as if earth-fire was racing through the depths of his blood vessels.

The sound of his surging Qi Blood became the thunderous roar of a great river, and his seated body trembled slightly.

His entire body’s skin instantly turned crimson, like a red-hot branding iron. Scalding heat erupted from every pore, forming visible, distorted waves of air in the Quiet Chamber.

Beneath Chen Yue’s tightly shut eyelids, his eyeballs trembled rapidly, and a vein faintly bulged at the center of his brow.

The Vast Heart Rock Skill and the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield had long since begun operating on their own at maximum capacity, protecting his meridian walls, his internal organs, and even the most delicate connections between his muscles and bones.

Under the scouring of the violent Qi Force, his bones emitted a strange noise, dense as rain on banana leaves, as if they were being repeatedly forged by an invisible sledgehammer.

However, the key to breaking through to the Marrow Refining Realm was not withstanding the impact, but rather, penetration!

The Bone Forging Realm was about integrating Qi and Blood Power into the bones, tempering their hardness, density, and resilience, making them like iron and steel.

The Marrow Refining Realm, on the other hand, required one to take this extremely condensed Qi Blood Qi Force and further permeate it into the bone marrow in the very depths of the bones.

Bone marrow is the source of blood creation and the storehouse of essence. It is one of the fundamentals of the human body’s Life Force.

To temper the bone marrow was to touch upon and strengthen the very Life Origin. It was the beginning of a true, fundamental transformation.

Guided by the Vast Heart Rock Skill and supported by his powerful Physique, the violent Qi Force madly completed several Circulations through his meridians, growing more condensed with each cycle.

When this power accumulated to a certain critical point, it was no longer content to just surge through the meridians and began to spontaneously flood toward his bones.

The first to be chosen was the coccyx, located at the end of the spine and considered the foundation of the human body’s "dragon bone."

BUZZ!

An indescribably complex sensation suddenly shot from his tailbone, as if a red-hot steel needle was slowly piercing into the deepest part of the bone.

Fine beads of sweat instantly broke out on Chen Yue’s forehead, but the moment they appeared, they were evaporated into white steam by his high body temperature.

He could clearly perceive the Qi Force using a point in his coccyx as a breach, seeping thread by thread through the dense bone wall and invading the marrow within.

DING...

A sound like shattering glass, yet also like a tender sprout breaking through soil, rang out in Chen Yue’s perception.

’Success!’

At that very instant, the violent, scorching aura around Chen Yue abruptly changed. A deep, heavy presence began to silently spread out from him as its center!