Soul Emperor Martial God

Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Breaking Through to the 9th Level of Mortal Realm

The rich Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy surged into his body, and Xiao Yi immersed himself in cultivation.

Come nightfall, Xiao Yi felt a surge of power erupt within him, a sign he knew heralded a breakthrough.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, ”Mortal Realm Sixth Layer, what a swift pace.”

Xiao Yi hadn’t expected to make a breakthrough so soon, especially considering that just a few days prior, he had only just advanced to the Mortal Realm Fifth Layer.

The Mortal Realm Sixth Layer marked a significant divide; the gap in True Qi between it and the Fifth Layer was more than five or six times greater, and the amount of Spiritual Energy and the instant surge needed for the breakthrough were also much higher.

Yet, now, relying on the dense Spiritual Energy within Purple Cloud Cave, he had achieved this breakthrough in a single day, a speed that could not be considered slow.

After a while, Xiao Yi suddenly opened his eyes again, his brow slightly furrowing.

”Within fifty steps, the speed of cultivation is so rapid; what if I were to walk further ahead, wouldn’t the pace be even faster?” Xiao Yi pondered in his mind.

”But to advance further, the pressure would exceed what a Mortal Realm Warrior can bear,” Xiao Yi frowned.

If it were anyone else, they would not have dwelt on this matter. Since the Second Elder had sternly warned them that going beyond fifty steps would be life-threatening, no one would dare take the risk.

But Xiao Yi was never one to settle down, having always been bold.

He stood up and tentatively stretched out a foot.

The moment his left foot stepped a little beyond the fifty-step mark, a vast pressure engulfed his foot like a heavy stone.

”It’s okay; this pressure is within my limits,” Xiao Yi whispered to himself.

In fact, the fifty-step distance was the result of years of investigation by the clan elders. This distance not only allowed the clan’s juniors to withstand the pressure but also enabled them to cultivate at ease.

Once beyond this range, even if the clan’s juniors could barely withstand the pressure, the oppressive force would prevent them from reaching a tranquil state, let alone cultivate with peace of mind.

However, Xiao Yi was exceptional in his mental strength; no matter how adverse the conditions or how great the interference, he could steady his mind and quickly enter a state of cultivation, an advantage far surpassing others.

Many times, the martial artist’s mental fortitude is more important than many other things.

At the same time, not far away, the Second Elder’s eyes snapped open, his gaze fixed on Xiao Yi.

While the other clan juniors were all cultivating in peace, unaware of Xiao Yi’s anomaly, it was the Second Elder who, seeming to be cultivating himself, actually kept a vigilant watch over the juniors.

”What is that kid trying to do?” the Second Elder frowned.

When he saw Xiao Yi continuously moving forward, he suddenly became anxious, ”Foolish boy, do you have a death wish?”

His previous warning was not a jest.

After Xiao Yi advanced roughly five steps, the Spiritual Energy became much denser, but the pressure increased by more than tenfold from before.

Here, the pressure would even make a Postnatal Realm Martial Artist struggle immensely.

Xiao Yi was no different; mental strength is one thing, but an inability for the body to endure was quite another.

”Pah, such immense pressure,” blood trickled from the corner of Xiao Yi’s mouth.

”It seems I can’t go any further,” Xiao Yi gritted his teeth.

However, just as this thought crossed his mind, the Ice Phoenix Sword within him stirred once again, its sharp presence enveloping his entire body.

This aura directly counteracted the oppressive force, making his body feel incredibly light.

Xiao Yi smiled, knowing it was thanks to the Ice Phoenix Sword Soul inside him, and he promptly moved forward again.

Indeed, with the sharp aura of the Ice Phoenix Sword aiding him, he walked more than a hundred steps all the way to the demon beast statue without feeling any discomfort.

There, the density of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy had reached a terrifying level, dozens of times stronger than before.

Xiao Yi did not waste any time; he immediately sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate.

On the other side, the Second Elder watched, dumbfounded and amazed.

He had intended to forcefully pull Xiao Yi to safety for fear of danger, but seeing how Xiao Yi steadily approached the demon beast statue with ease, he temporarily dismissed the idea.

When he eventually saw Xiao Yi sit down directly in front of the demon beast statue to cultivate, he couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

He was well aware of how intense the pressure was there; in front of the demon beast statue, even Innate Martial Artists could not stand firm. Only he, at the Innate Ninth Layer, could barely resist that pressure.

”What on earth is going on with this kid? Does the pressure not affect him? Never mind, as long as he is not in danger,” after glancing at Xiao Yi, the Second Elder shook his head and no longer interfered.

...

Time in the mountains passes unnoticed during cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, the ninth day had arrived.

On the second day, Xiao Yi’s cultivation had unexpectedly broken through to the Mortal Realm Seventh Layer without any signs.

The place closest to the demon beast statue indeed had a terrifyingly fast cultivation speed.

However, the further one progressed in martial arts cultivation, the harder it became.

By the fifth day, his cultivation had barely broken through to the Eighth Layer of Mortal Realm.

Now, on the ninth day, his cultivation had broken through to the Mortal Realm Ninth Layer, just one step away from the Postnatal Realm.

”There’s only one last day left, push on with the cultivation,” Xiao Yi opened his eyes to rest for a while, intending to enter meditation again.

Suddenly, he turned his head to look at Xiao Ruohan behind him.

The other disciples were all quiet during their cultivation, never interrupting; he, on the other hand, was always fidgeting with various small movements.

But it was precisely his temperament that allowed him to notice Xiao Ruohan’s current situation.

”The breath is soaring, spiritual energy is being absorbed into the body without an increase in cultivation, good grief, Xiao Ruohan is actually condensing a Qi Pill,” Xiao Yi snorted coldly.

Indeed, there Xiao Ruohan was, condensing a Qi Pill.

However, he did not have Xiao Yi’s fast cultivation speed.

His position was within fifty steps, far away from the demon beast statue, and the concentration of spiritual energy was much worse.

He had been in the Mortal Realm Seventh Layer for a long time, and even if he didn’t cultivate in the Purple Cloud Cave, it wouldn’t take him too long to break through to the Eighth Layer of Mortal Realm.

The first day he entered the Purple Cloud Cave, he broke through to the Eighth Layer of Mortal Realm.

Only today did he just break through to the Mortal Realm Ninth Layer.

Now, with only one day left, he was of course eager to condense the Qi Pill quickly with the rich spiritual energy of the Purple Cloud Cave.

On the other side, Xiao Yi sneered coldly, ”You want to condense a Qi Pill and break through to the Postnatal realm, I just won’t let you get your way. You’ve plotted against me so many times, it’s time for me to return the favor.”

Having said this, Xiao Yi resolutely stood up and walked back.

In the distance, the Second Elder opened his eyes again, looking at Xiao Yi, ”What is this kid up to now, just cultivate, why’s he always walking around.”

When he saw Xiao Yi return to the previous range within fifty steps to sit down and cultivate, the Second Elder sighed helplessly and closed his eyes again.

Xiao Yi sat down, and all along, except for the Second Elder, none of the other disciples had noticed him going elsewhere to cultivate these days.

”Ice Phoenix Sword, absorb for me,” Xiao Yi called out in his heart.

In an instant, the surrounding spiritual energy was rapidly absorbed by him.

At this moment, Xiao Ruohan, who was originally harboring great hopes and in the middle of condensing his Qi Pill, opened his eyes, and his brow furrowed tightly.

Xiao Ruohan’s face was full of confusion, ”What’s going on, all the spiritual energy nearby has disappeared. Today is supposed to be only the ninth day, the spiritual energy inside the Purple Cloud Cave couldn’t possibly have been absorbed so quickly.”

In his bewilderment, he turned his head to look at the other clan disciples behind him, and noticed they were all cultivating with their eyes closed, which made him even more puzzled.

”What’s going on, they are all still cultivating, why can’t I cultivate?” Xiao Ruohan was extremely puzzled in his heart, and being interrupted during the process of condensing the Qi Pill made him feel very uncomfortable.

He couldn’t have imagined that in front of him, that lone figure, Xiao Yi, was secretly smirking.

The interval of five steps was the distance calculated by clan martial artists, so that it would not affect the cultivation of others.

But, the standard they calculated was based only on Orange-rank Martial Souls, at most just Orange-rank.

And Xiao Yi’s Ice Phoenix Sword Soul was of the strongest purple color, turning its capacity to the maximum, it instantly absorbed all the spiritual energy around Xiao Ruohan into his own body.

That is to say, there was actually spiritual energy around Xiao Ruohan, it’s just that it was absorbed by Xiao Yi before Xiao Ruohan could absorb it himself, creating the illusion for him that the spiritual energy had been completely depleted.

For the whole day, Xiao Ruohan was in extreme turmoil.

And by the tenth day, his mood was almost craze-inducing. One of the plans he and his father had was that he must condense a Qi Pill in the Purple Cloud Cave and break through to the Postnatal Realm.

If he failed to break through, it would greatly affect the subsequent plans.

”Ah... damn it, what the hell is going on!” Xiao Ruohan was almost driven mad.

.....

Until the last moment, the Second Elder commanded, ”The Purple Cloud Cave cultivation session has ended, all disciples follow me out.”

At this point, the spiritual energy within the Purple Cloud Cave had been completely absorbed by the ten disciples.

The reason why the Purple Cloud Cave cultivation slots were limited to ten was that the spiritual energy inside was only enough for ten clan disciples to absorb for ten days and gain immense benefits from it.

Before leaving, Xiao Yi distinctly felt that the demon beast statue was slowly absorbing the spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and then confining it around the area.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this demon beast statue had an effect similar to that of a ’Gathering Formation.’

In three years, this place would once again become a site rich in spiritual energy.

Of course, in three years, it would be time for a new generation of clan disciples to come here to cultivate.