
Jiang Feng let out a sigh of relief. He thought something unexpected had happened just now and that he was doomed, but it turned out to be a good thing, though it scared him.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened, except for the stinky sweat all over his body.
Just when Jiang Feng thought everything was over, his dantian suddenly trembled again, followed by spasms, as if his muscles were atrophying.
"What’s going on now?" Jiang Feng was shocked and a bit speechless.
What was happening? One unexpected event after another, enough to scare someone to death.
As the tremors in his dantian intensified, the vortex of Foundation Establishment began to frantically absorb the surrounding spiritual energy, which was then converted into true qi, continuously expanding the ocean of true qi.
"Could it be..." Jiang Feng said, "Am I about to increase my strength again?"
"I understand now. It's because I absorbed the Five Elements Domain and my body was just tempered by the power of the Five Elements, making it extraordinarily strong, which triggered the increase in my cultivation."
"Yes, it must be that. Since the Nine Heavens Tyrant Body Technique has improved, it should naturally lead to a breakthrough in cultivation."
"This is also a great thing. Increasing strength is a rare opportunity, much more worthwhile than painstaking cultivation."
"In that case, I’ll just go with the flow."
Jiang Feng gave up the idea of resisting and cooperated with the vortex of Foundation Establishment to absorb the spiritual energy with all his might.
The true qi kept increasing, and after an unknown amount of time, it reached the critical point of breakthrough.
"I'm about to break through, wonderful. My previous cultivation speed was indeed slow. If I reach the Aperture Opening realm now, it would be a tremendous fortune," Jiang Feng said joyfully.
Soon, Jiang Feng discovered that all this spiritual energy was coming from the crystal tower; he was essentially absorbing the spiritual energy of the crystal tower.
If the spiritual energy of the crystal tower was drained, it might collapse.
No matter, just absorb it. This opportunity is rare and cannot be missed.
"Keep absorbing."
Jiang Feng continued without stopping, absorbing more.
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
As the spiritual energy was depleted, the crystal tower began to tremble slightly, on the verge of collapse.
Le Huadie, who had left for some time, felt uneasy when she saw that Jiang Feng hadn't caught up, so she returned to find him.
But she saw Jiang Feng standing like a wooden stake, his whole body glowing, for reasons unknown.
"Jiang Feng, what are you doing?" Le Huadie asked.
"You go out first, I'm about to break through," Jiang Feng shouted.
Breakthrough!
Le Huadie's eyes twitched in shock. How could he be breaking through at this time? Could it be that he encountered some opportunity?
However, Le Huadie did not ask on the spot, suppressing her questions and retreating.
She knew that one must not be disturbed at the critical moment of a breakthrough.
Boom!
Jiang Feng's body trembled, his dantian exploded, and the bottleneck of his cultivation was broken in an instant. Pure true qi surged through his entire body like a tidal wave, flowing to every part of his body.
Jiang Feng had stepped into the Aperture Opening realm.
The Aperture Opening realm, also known as the Enlightenment realm, is when a spark of insight appears in the mind, further developing the brain, perfectly adjusting bodily functions to reach the optimal state.
Moreover, the brain becomes more agile, making cultivation faster. For example, when comprehending a cultivation technique or martial skill, one can quickly grasp its essence, discarding the dross and retaining the essence, saving a lot of time.
This is also the most important aspect of the Aperture Opening realm, as it allows for deeper perception of things.
It provides a significant overflow in terms of cultivation.
"Wow, hahaha..." Jiang Feng laughed loudly, "I successfully broke through to the Aperture Opening realm, my strength has doubled, and my body has been strengthened, forcing the Nine Heavens Tyrant Body Technique to reach the second level. It's incredibly fortunate."
Today was truly a day of triple joy. Not only did he acquire some Confucian magic, but he also reached the second level of the Nine Heavens Tyrant Body Technique.
More importantly, he stepped into the Aperture Opening realm, achieving a breakthrough in his cultivation realm.
The Aperture Opening realm is the second realm of the nine realms of the human world, and the next realm is the Inedia realm, which is Jiang Feng's short-term goal.
As Jiang Feng completed his breakthrough, the crystal tower could no longer hold on. With a rumble, debris began to fall.
Jiang Feng looked up and realized the crystal tower was about to collapse, hurriedly running outside.
Just as he ran out of the crystal tower, it collapsed.
With the spiritual energy supporting the crystal tower depleted, it could only collapse.
A cloud of dust rose, covering everything.
Jiang Feng ran frantically and met up with Le Huadie behind a large rock.
"The crystal tower has collapsed. I think the Yinyang Tomb is not far from collapsing either. We should leave quickly," Le Huadie said.
"Yes, the Yinyang Tomb will definitely collapse," Jiang Feng said.
Ignoring the dust, the two of them groped their way to the stone path and rushed in.
...
At the moment of the crystal tower's collapse, Ban Zhi and Xueshan managed to escape, narrowly avoiding disaster.
When the dust settled, Ban Zhi and Xueshan looked at the ruined crystal tower and couldn't help but feel a sense of regret.
"It's ruined now, what a pity," Ban Zhi said.
"What's there to pity? Our mission is complete," Xueshan said coldly.
"The mission is complete, but don't forget that Lord Ghost Bodhisattva also assigned an important task to find something very special," Ban Zhi said.
Xueshan sneered, "Heh, you're overthinking it. That task was assigned to you, and Lord Ghost Bodhisattva didn't specify what the item is. Who could find it?"
Ban Zhi was speechless for a moment and finally said, "Let's go back and report."
Cough, cough...
Just as the two were about to leave, they heard a faint cough.
It was Yinyang Yuhang, who was barely clinging to life.
"Oh, isn't this Yinyang Yuhang from the Yinyang family? What's happened to you? You look so pitiful, like you're on the brink of death," Ban Zhi said disdainfully.
Yinyang Yuhang barely lifted his eyelids and didn't speak, as even speaking was difficult for him now.
"Do you want to live?" Xueshan suddenly asked.
Ban Zhi was taken aback, looking at Xueshan in confusion, wondering what this woman was up to now.
Yinyang Yuhang was also stunned, taking a long time to process.
"Quickly answer me, do you want to live?" Xueshan asked again.
Live!
Of course, he wanted to live.
Jiang Feng had caused him so much suffering this time; he desperately wanted to live and take revenge on Jiang Feng.
"Yes, I want to live," Yinyang Yuhang said.
"Alright, join us, and we'll save you," Xueshan said.
This was an attempt to recruit Yinyang Yuhang into the dark forces.
Ban Zhi finally understood; it was a good idea. If someone from A Hundred Schools of Thought joined the dark forces, it would be a slap in the face to A Hundred Schools of Thought.
But Yinyang Yuhang's expression was grim. As a descendant of the Yinyang family, how could he ally with the dark forces? They were supposed to be enemies.
However, he had no choice now. To survive, it seemed he had only this one path, as he was aware of his injuries and the dark forces' ways. If he didn't agree, he would either die or be killed, with no chance of survival.
But if he agreed, he would have a chance to live.
He had many unfulfilled dreams, so he chose to agree.
"Fine, I'll join your dark forces, but you must ensure my recovery and future progress," Yinyang Yuhang said.
"It's our dark forces, and you have no right to make demands now," Xueshan said.
"Let's go, kid. From now on, we're on the same side. We can exchange information about A Hundred Schools of Thought," Ban Zhi said, grabbing Yinyang Yuhang and disappearing into the stone path.
After everyone had left, there was a faint sound in the ruins, and a hand emerged, followed by a person crawling out.
Disheveled and in tattered clothes.
It was Li Yuxin, who had never come out.
She was still alive.
"Cough, cough... Even the heavens don't want me, haha, should I be happy or sad?" Li Yuxin mocked herself.
She crawled out of the ruins, looked around, and saw no sign of Yinyang Yuhang, muttering, "It seems Yinyang Yuhang is dead."
"Jie jie jie..."
"I've finally broken the seal."
"I see the light of day again."
Suddenly, an arrogant and unrestrained voice echoed, filled with allure and disdain.
It was a woman's voice, or more accurately, the voice of a female demon.
"Who is it?" Li Yuxin exclaimed.
"Oh, there's still a living person here. Not bad, did you break my seal?" the voice asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you? Show yourself," Li Yuxin shouted.
Whoosh!
A red light appeared suddenly, hovering in front of Li Yuxin, floating up and down like a dazzling glow.
Within the glow, a woman dressed in ancient-style red robes, her robes billowing like a blooming blood-red flower.
She had lips like a rose, sharp nails, and long hair covering half her face, with a perpetual cold, evil smile at the corner of her mouth.
The woman's entire being exuded an aura of evil, penetrating to the bone, making one feel inferior and wanting to submit to her.
Li Yuxin stared wide-eyed at the mysterious woman who appeared before her.
But what shocked her more were the nine fluffy tails behind the woman.
Tails?
How could there be tails?
Li Yuxin tried to process her thoughts, unable to comprehend this strange phenomenon.
But the woman indeed had nine tails, fanning out behind her like a peacock displaying its feathers.
"Who... who are you?" Li Yuxin asked nervously.
"Hehe, who I am is not important. You seem to be in a bad situation. Do you want to gain great power? Tell me, and I can fulfill your wish," the woman said seductively.
"Great power?" Li Yuxin murmured.
"Yes, immense power that allows you to do as you please, to make those you dislike kneel before you," the woman continued to entice.
"Why do you want to help me?" Li Yuxin asked.
"To be honest, I'm just a spirit now and need your body. As long as we become one, my power will be yours, and we'll share your body," the woman said, narrowing her eyes. "If you refuse, I won't hesitate to kill you and find someone else."
"Tell me who you are first, or I won't agree even if I die," Li Yuxin said firmly, holding her ground.
"Fine, I'll tell you. I am the ancient demon god, the Nine-Tailed Blood Fox!" the woman said. "Back in the day, I roamed the world, unrivaled. Unfortunately, I was suppressed by Confucius of the Confucian school and Zou Yan of the Yinyang family. The two of them worked together to seal me here and built the crystal tower to store their magical treasures, fearing that I would one day break the seal and allowing their descendants to continue suppressing me."
"But human plans can't match the will of heaven. I've still come out, and their plans have completely failed. They can no longer contain me."
"Hahaha..."
With that, the Nine-Tailed Blood Fox laughed heartily, feeling extremely pleased.