Liuyan had no physical body, no flesh. Apart from devouring and fusing certain special energies to bolster her strength, she couldn't absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to increase her cultivation the way a martial artist could.
That was precisely why Yang Kai had her stand guard.
After Liuyan concealed herself, Yang Kai reached out and released the demon insect mother and the Azure Flame Thunderjackal—the two blood beasts he hadn't used in quite some time.
As his cultivation had risen, the role these two blood beasts could play had grown ever smaller. The Azure Flame Thunderjackal in particular was only at the Dao Source Realm, Second Layer—useless against weak enemies where it would be overkill, and ineffective against strong ones where it would be outmatched. Now, however, was the perfect time for them to serve their purpose.
With a subtle stir of his divine sense, Yang Kai directed the two blood beasts to hide nearby, then found a spot a good distance from Qin Chaoyang and the others and sat down cross-legged.
The fluctuations of qi within his body were growing more intense, more pronounced. This was unmistakably the prelude to a breakthrough. Yang Kai unified his mind and heart, calm as an ancient well without ripples, and circulated his cultivation technique.
Positioned underground like this was tantamount to sitting atop a spirit eye. Without even needing to circulate his energy, the omnipresent spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured toward him ceaselessly, flooding through his limbs and bones, settling into his dantian.
Time trickled by as Yang Kai continuously accumulated his strength.
At a certain moment, the power within him reached a critical threshold. This threshold was like an invisible, unseen wall, barring his path forward and preventing him from seeing any farther into the distance.
He remained unperturbed. He simply gathered every ounce of his strength and launched it at the shackles in a thunderous assault.
Boom...
A resounding crash echoed through his soul. Yang Kai's body trembled slightly, his face paling as a flicker of pain crossed his features.
To his surprise, this attempt had failed—falling short at the very last moment.
This was something he had rarely experienced since beginning his cultivation. Only when he was very weak had he ever known such a feeling. The sensation of a failed breakthrough filled him with a strange sense of nostalgia. He didn't panic. Instead, a fierce grin spread across his face.
This breakthrough had not come naturally from the steady accumulation of cultivation, but had been pushed along by external force. Some obstruction was only to be expected. And this obstacle could not deter Yang Kai's martial heart—on the contrary, it only stoked his fighting spirit all the more.
He steadied his breathing, calmed his mind, and continued accumulating power.
Moments later, he launched another assault.
Boom, boom, boom...
Again and again. The source force within his body shook without cease, each impact bringing pain that felt as though his heart and soul were being torn apart. This unbearable agony of both body and soul was something ordinary people could not withstand. To lose heart here would mean the death of one's martial heart, and from that point on, there would be no possibility of ever advancing again.
Countless martial artists had questioned themselves because they could not endure such pain, and from there they had withered and been forgotten.
A martial artist who wished to cultivate could only charge straight ahead to reach the pinnacle.
Yet none of those rounds of agony had shaken Yang Kai's confidence. They hadn't made him panic either. If anything, they had made his mind ever more serene.
"The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things... Fate is forged by one's own hand, realm is born of the mind. All things transform into appearances—all living beings and all creation, their transformations born of the mind, and extinguished by the mind..."
A flash of insight suddenly rose to his mind. Yang Kai felt as if a curtain had been lifted from before his eyes.
An invisible force coalesced around his body, transforming into formless power that cut into the shackles and shattered the wall blocking his path, opening up the broad road ahead.
BOOM...
A visible shockwave erupted from Yang Kai's body, rippling outward in all directions. The aura of the Dao Source Realm, Second Layer, spread instantly in every direction.
Yang Kai remained motionless, but a strange feeling arose within him. In that feeling, his soul spirit seemed to separate from its shell and slowly float upward, with everything below coming clearly into his view.
He could see Liuyan holding the Mysterious Realm Bead, concealed within the void, remaining hidden as the spiritual liquid of heaven and earth flowed into the bead without cease, becoming the spiritual energy within its realm.
Perhaps because of some inexplicable connection with Yang Kai himself, the moment he looked toward her, Liuyan suddenly furrowed her brows and glanced up toward where Yang Kai was, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion.
He saw Hua Qingsi frantically devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, laying a solid foundation for her future advancement to the Emperor Realm.
He saw Zhang Ruoxi's cultivation climbing steadily, reaching the Void King Realm in a matter of moments. The baptism of heavenly might descended upon her.
Just as it had the last time when Zhang Ruoxi broke through to the Return to Void Stage in the Four Seasons Region, when she crossed the great threshold of the Void King Realm this time, a massive phantom once again materialized behind her.
The phantom was white and hazy, impossibly vast, and judging by its form it was a woman—a breathtakingly beautiful one at that, with an elegant figure. She held a colossal sword upright before her with both hands, her eyes as brilliant as the stars. One glance from Yang Kai and his divine sense wavered.
The phantom parted its crimson lips and inhaled sharply, directly absorbing all the heavenly might that had gathered in the sky. Then it shrank back into Zhang Ruoxi's body.
The young woman broke straight through to the Void King Realm without the slightest obstruction or danger.
Yang Kai also saw many Dao Source Realm martial artists breaking through their own bottlenecks. Some laughed wildly; others bore expressions of strain as they battered against their shackles.
His soul continued to float upward, soon rising to a height of several thousand zhang. Looking out, he could see that Maple Forest City, two thousand li away, was now bustling with activity—an extraordinary spectacle.
In the sky, clusters of heaven and earth energy took on visible forms—trials and tribulations—descending to baptize the martial artists below who were breaking through major realms.
From time to time, someone succeeded in their breakthrough, and long howls of triumph rang out.