The righteous path punishes Heaven

Chapter 66 Breakthrough

In the sky, two young men were flying through the air, transforming into two long rainbows as they headed into the distance.

A handsome young man was dressed in a black Taoist robe with golden Bagua patterns printed on it. The robe blended subtly with his waist-length black hair, yet stood out clearly against his fair skin.

The other young man had an even more delicate and pretty face, as handsome as a woman. His skin was as white as snow, and he was tall and slender. Like the young man next to him, he was dressed in a black robe, and his long, dark brown hair flowed in the wind, making him very handsome.

These two were Zhang Yunling and Ren Jixing, who had just left the Quanzhen School of Taoism.

There are two purposes for this trip. The first is to find a place with abundant spiritual energy and no one to disturb it, so as to refine the Xuan Dao Purple Pill.

After flying for two days and two nights, they finally landed to rest. Even though Ren Jixing was now at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, he still couldn't resist the attack, and his spiritual energy was almost completely depleted.

In contrast, Zhang Yunling, although he was at the peak of Foundation Establishment, two realms lower than Ren Jixing, was only pale and bloodless after two days of long journey. Unlike Ren Jixing, who collapsed as soon as his toes touched the ground, he was clearly always weak.

"Stop...stop!...Phew...I'm exhausted..."

Ren Jixing lay sprawled on a patch of grass. The long-term and massive depletion of his spiritual energy made him feel as if his body had been hollowed out and drained, making it difficult even to breathe.

Zhang Yunling patted his storage bag, from which two pills that restore spiritual power and energy flew out. He handed one to Ren Jixing and took one himself.

"Junior brother, I have healing pills here, you don't need to do this every time..."

Despite saying that, Ren Jixing obediently took the pill and put it in his mouth.

Zhang Yunling sat cross-legged on the grass, spreading his divine sense to explore the surrounding environment. There was indeed no one around. Apart from some common wild rabbits and wild boars, he could not sense any other presence.

Nevertheless, the experience he had gained from those past events kept him vigilant. After a brief meditation and breathing exercise to recover his spiritual energy, Zhang Yunling instructed Ren Jixing:

"There's a mountain ahead. The spiritual energy is most concentrated near mountains. Let's go there later. I'll trouble you to protect me, senior brother, so I can concentrate on breaking through to the Golden Core stage."

Ren Jixing sat up and nodded in agreement: "No problem, junior brother. This journey will definitely be dangerous, so you must become stronger quickly!"

After resting for several hours, the two got up and flew towards the mountain opposite.

Upon arriving at the destination, Zhang Yunling patted the storage bag at his waist and took out an item from it. It was the special storage bag that the Quanzhen Sect Master Duan Rong had asked the Third Elder Ming Shan to give him.

He took out several items from the bag, each one a pill that could restore his spiritual energy and temporarily enhance his spiritual power.

He took out another item from his storage bag at his waist—another pill. This was a reward he had received for his unexpected great service to the Pei family: a fifth-grade pill, the Qi-Nourishing Pill.

This pill was already extremely potent, and with the many pills given by the Quanzhen Sect, plus the Spirit Summoning Bracelet, a magical artifact retrieved from the Thief Heaven Sect, the breakthrough was ready and the time was ripe.

Ren Jixing sat next to Zhang Yunling, tilting his head to look at the several rare treasures laid out on the ground in front of him. Even a playboy like him couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"This kid is incredibly cautious. He's only breaking through to the Golden Core stage, yet he's already prepared so many treasures..."

Zhang Yunling straightened up and solemnly instructed, "Senior Brother Ren, I need forty-nine days to break through, and there must be no interference during this time. Please protect me."

Although Ren Jixing still had doubts, he wisely refrained from asking. He gave a soft "hmm" in agreement and then unleashed his divine sense, revealing his true abilities.

He took out an item from his storage bag, a purple flag, and planted it not far in front of Zhang Yunling. Ren Jixing gripped the handle with his right hand, circulated his spiritual power, and slowly poured it into the flag, which was then awakened.

Purple light flashed on the flag, gradually forming a spherical protective shield that enveloped Zhang and Ren, protecting them.

"Don't worry, junior brother. It's only fifty days. I'm more than confident that I can protect you!"

Seeing Ren Jixing grin and show confidence, Zhang Yunling nodded vigorously, then entrusted his own safety to the other party and focused his mind to begin his breakthrough.

The cultivation method of the Innate Skill, imprinted in his mind, began to emerge at this moment. Although it was his first time practicing it, Zhang Yunling still managed to operate it steadily by relying on his understanding of the manual.

Time passed slowly. Ren Jixing stayed up all night, steadfastly and patiently guarding Zhang Yunling. He sat quietly cross-legged beside the flag, his divine sense covering a radius of 100 meters to prevent any accidents from happening.

Because of the curse he was under, his breakthroughs from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, and from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core were all very smooth, without any bottlenecks. The only difference was that the number of women he needed had increased.

Therefore, he was unaware of just how difficult it was for ordinary people to break through, which was why he was so cautious. Moreover, Zhang Yunling seemed to hold a different place in his heart, not the kind of affection between ordinary fellow disciples, but a closer feeling.

Recalling his time in the Xuanxu Ancient Realm, if it weren't for his junior brother's repeated assistance, he and the Quanzhen Sect members would probably have perished long ago, dying meaninglessly in that secret realm.

Looking back at Zhang Yunling, who was sitting there quietly breaking through, Ren Jixing couldn't help but smile. If he could continue to explore the world of cultivation with this junior brother, his life would no longer be just about lust and debauchery, but would have a partner with whom he could share joys and sorrows and grow stronger together.

Soon, three days and three nights passed. Although Ren Jixing felt a little bored, he could still easily endure it.

Zhang Yunling had already taken the first pill, and spiritual energy was continuously flowing into his dantian. The perfect foundation-building platform gradually changed, and its original golden color began to radiate a hint of purple.

Three more days passed, and in the six days and six nights that followed, Zhang Yunling's aura began to change. The spiritual power that originally belonged to the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator began to transform into the Golden Core stage. This subtle feeling also affected his meridians at the same time, and this process was just as painful.

Just as a young female dancer needs to stretch the tendons and ligaments in her muscles to perform a more perfect dance, the expansion of meridians during a cultivator's breakthrough is a thousand times more painful.

......

In the northern part of the Daotian Continent, there is a village.

The further north you go, the sparser the population becomes, and the fewer cultivators there are.

Because there is a continent in the far north called the Arctic Ice Region, where the climate is cold all year round and snowstorms often sweep across the land, making it very unsuitable for human habitation.

Except for the northern region, the rest of the Daotian Continent has a warm climate and pleasant environment. No one would leave such a comfortable environment to suffer in the cold north.

But at that moment, a man with disheveled hair, looking utterly wretched, and with blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth, was walking toward a village.

"Damn it...damn it! I've put in so much effort, spent over twenty years preparing, and it's all ruined by that good-for-nothing!"

The one who unleashed a torrent of curses and vented his anger was none other than Chu Yanbing.

At that time, Zhang Yunling destroyed his Netherworld Nascent Soul with One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, causing many of his souls to spill out, which brought him a very serious backlash.

Although the Northern Darkness Demon Art can rapidly enhance a cultivator's cultivation and strength, how could such a secret method of seizing the essence of others to achieve one's own do not have its drawbacks?

The precious jade bottle, which she had finally obtained, had been lost without any explanation. Thinking of this, Chu Yanbing was furious and rushed into the village, shouting:

"You bunch of ants, get out here!"

After she shouted, few villagers paid any attention to her. One person even poked his head out of a house window and muttered, "Hey, where did this crazy old woman come from? What bad luck!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yanbing's anger flared even more, her eyes turning red as she gritted her teeth: "You despicable mortal ants! Today, I'll make you my target!"

Upon hearing this, the villager immediately understood what was going on, quickly pulled his head back, rushed into the yard, picked up a pickaxe, and charged out.

But how could a mere mortal be a match for a cultivator? Chu Yanbing didn't even make a move; she simply glared at him, and the villager instantly turned to ashes. All his life essence was held in Chu Yanbing's hand and swallowed in one gulp.

And so, in the far north, in an innocent village, a female cultivator, enraged and seeking to vent her anger by killing mortals, arrived.