In just a brief span of ten breaths, Yang Kai felt the bottleneck of the fourth layer of the Separation-Union Realm shatter. His cultivation level surged upward, breaking through to the fifth layer with unstoppable momentum, and then it kept climbing, climbing...
This sudden advancement left Yang Kai in a panic. While he desired to grow stronger quickly, this frantic torrent of energy pouring into him had already exceeded what he could endure. His skin and muscles tightened, his entire body swelling outward without warning. The exposed flesh and skin visibly writhed, as if countless earthworms were burrowing beneath the surface—a horrifying sight.
A moment later, countless fissures split open across Yang Kai’s skin. The muscles within ruptured inch by inch, blood streaming out, leaving him a ghastly, blood-drenched figure. Under the immense pressure, the Proud Bone Golden Body became hungrier than ever, endlessly devouring the refined energy. Yet, even with the True Yang Technique operating at its absolute limit, Yang Kai’s efforts couldn’t match the speed of the incoming energy.
Puff, puff, puff...
Muffled sounds echoed from within his body. With each sound, bursts of blood mist exploded, and countless crimson rays shot out from within him, blanketing the surrounding hundred-zhang area in a violently surging wave of energy.
The Earth Demon shouted in terror, but received no response from Yang Kai. He was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan, utterly helpless.
Yang Kai clenched his teeth, battling the excruciating pain radiating from every part of his body. His figure trembled ceaselessly. In that moment, a sense of impending collapse washed over him. The immense internal pressure left him teetering on the brink, with no way to resist.
As the torrent of energy continued its relentless pour, Yang Kai felt his body swell yet another size. At this rate, he would inevitably be burst open by the overwhelming force.
Moreover, the crisis Yang Kai faced wasn’t just the energy infusion. Along with it surged a wave of malicious aura and killing intent that crashed into his mind. This was the residual essence of two demon beasts. Though the heavenly laws of this place had condensed their demon cores and blood essence into blood beads, the beasts’ original aura couldn’t be fully erased.
This threat of killing intent was just as formidable as the physical impact of the energy. Yang Kai had to cling fiercely to his consciousness, refusing to let the beasts’ aura influence him, while his mind raced for a solution.
The answer was actually simple. If the speed at which his internal True Yang Energy refined these energies could match the rate of infusion, the crisis would naturally resolve itself. Though he knew the method, achieving it was incredibly difficult. The True Yang Technique was already at its peak; he couldn’t push it any faster. The only remaining option was to make his True Yang Energy purer and denser.
True Yang Energy was like a flame, and the energy flooding his body was like a block of stubborn iron. The purer and denser the flame, the higher its temperature, and the faster it would melt the iron.
There was no time for deep contemplation. The moment this thought surfaced, Yang Kai gritted his teeth and detonated a single drop of Yang Liquid in his dantian.
A single drop of Yang Liquid was equal to the total Yuan Qi stored throughout all of his meridians. This detonation made his already packed meridians even more congested. The throbbing pain in his meridians and the tearing of his flesh made Yang Kai shudder uncontrollably.
Holding his breath, he frantically compressed and squeezed his meridians, forcibly purifying and refining the True Yang Energy within. This was an extreme test of willpower. Fortunately, the Unyielding Pride came into play at this critical moment. The temporary boost in his realm allowed Yang Kai to withstand even more of the energy’s impact.
After enduring the hardship for a period, the pressure suddenly eased slightly. Under Yang Kai’s desperate urging, the True Yang Energy within his meridians burned and fused together, becoming noticeably purer than before. As the energy grew purer, its circulation speed naturally quickened.
With this double pronged approach, the energy flooding his body could be refined much faster.
Sensing this, Yang Kai’s spirits lifted. He redoubled his efforts to compress his meridians and control the fusion of energy.
As time passed, the True Yang Energy within his body grew increasingly pure. The efficiency of refining the incoming energy rose accordingly, and its circulation speed increased by about half a point.
From the outside, Yang Kai’s swollen body looked like a balloon with a tiny hole pricked in it, gradually returning to its normal shape at an imperceptible speed.
The Earth Demon finally let out a breath of relief, hiding inside the Soul-Breaking Spike and praying incessantly, still shaken. Yang Kai’s life and death were closely tied to his own; how could he not be worried?
When the fusion speed of his internal True Yang Energy began to slow, Yang Kai detonated yet another drop of Yang Liquid, using this method of forcing himself through death’s door to push the energy’s fusion forward.
Half a day later, the True Yang Energy had been refined to such a degree of purity that when the True Yang Technique cycled, Yang Kai could almost hear a whooshing sound from within his body. It was the delightful hum that occurred when energy flowed through the meridians at their maximum capacity.
By this point, the speed at which the True Yang Energy refined the incoming energy finally matched the infusion rate of the two blood beads. His corpulent body was also steadily returning to its normal form.