With hope renewed in their hearts, the spirits of Wang Cai and his son lifted considerably. At Wang Cai’s persistent urging, Lin Yun finally agreed to stay.

That evening, Wang Cai, his son, Lin Yun, and the maid—all four of them—shared a modest meal, talking and laughing together.

Through their conversation, Lin Yun learned that the maid’s name was Qing’Er. She was an orphan whom Wang Tianwen had adopted when she was very young. Though she now served as a maid, Wang Tianwen had long since come to see her as his own daughter.

Lin Yun also noticed in Qing’Er’s unguarded moments that she seemed to have developed feelings for Wang Cai.

The meal was a pleasant affair for all four of them. Qing’Er, in particular, was overjoyed to hear that there was hope for Wang Tianwen’s recovery.

After dinner, Lin Yun settled into his guest room. He had mentioned to Wang Cai during the meal that his Cultivation had already reached the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Opening Realm and that he intended to attempt a breakthrough to the Qi Sea Realm in the next two days. Once he reached the Qi Sea Realm, his prospects for the Yanhuang List would improve significantly.

Wang Cai was naturally delighted to hear this. If Lin Yun’s Combat Power was already so formidable in the Opening Realm, he would be monstrously strong once he reached the Qi Sea Realm. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He told Lin Yun not to rush, but to focus on his breakthrough to the Qi Sea Realm. Five years had already passed; Wang Cai was in no hurry. Any increase in their chances of success was a good thing for everyone.

Back in his guest room, Lin Yun didn’t immediately begin his breakthrough. First, he relaxed and purged the last traces of alcohol from his system. Only then did he begin his assault on the barrier to the Qi Sea Realm.

Breaking through from the Ninth Layer of Opening Realm to the Qi Sea Realm meant advancing to a new Great Realm. The difficulty was naturally several times greater than that of advancing through a Small Realm.

Facing a breakthrough to a new Great Realm, Lin Yun dared not be the least bit careless. He took out ten Qi Essence Pills and nearly ten thousand Low Grade Primordial Stones to fuel his attempt.

An abundant supply of Vitality was crucial for breaking through to the Qi Sea Realm. It would be a disaster to run out of Primordial Stones and Qi Essence Pills halfway through the process.

HUFF... HUFF... HUFF... After taking a few deep breaths, Lin Yun had Little Ape stand guard. There was no room for error in this breakthrough. If he were interrupted, all his progress would be lost, and he could even suffer a severe backlash.

He shattered a thousand Low Grade Primordial Stones, and instantly, the density of Elemental Power in the room surged more than tenfold. Without a hint of concern for waste, Lin Yun shattered another thousand.

By the time Lin Yun had shattered a total of three thousand Low Grade Primordial Stones, the Elemental Power in the room had reached its peak concentration.

Sensing the Elemental Power was sufficient, Lin Yun closed his eyes and began his breakthrough. He started by furiously circulating the War God Technique and the Demon Emperor Technique, frantically absorbing the dense Elemental Power that filled the room.

Within his body, his Cultivation at the Ninth Layer of Opening Realm was pushed to its absolute Limit. Then, the barrier to the Qi Sea Realm manifested before him.

For Lin Yun, breaking through to the Qi Sea Realm was dozens of times more difficult than for an ordinary person. This was because the hallmark of a Qi Sea Realm Martial Artist is the transformation of one’s Dantian into a Qi Sea.

A Dantian can only hold a limited amount of Elemental Power. Therefore, to break through to the Qi Sea Realm, one must transform their Dantian into a Qi Sea.

Unlike ordinary Martial Artists, who only needed to fill their Dantian with Elemental Power to its absolute limit to form a Qi Sea, Lin Yun was different. He had to destroy before he could create.

He had to completely destroy both of his Dantians and then directly gather Elemental Power to form the seas. There was no alternative. This was the drawback of the Dual Cultivation of Divine Demon. If he followed the conventional method, his Divine and Demon techniques would clash. Forget a breakthrough; his body would likely just explode.

’First step...’ Lin Yun thought, his expression grave. ’There’s no turning back now. I’ve known since I started that while Divine Demon Cultivation grants immense Combat Power, the path is fraught with peril.’

’I’ll risk it all! To grow stronger, to get my revenge... I can’t back down!’

Pushing both Cultivation Techniques to their absolute limits, Lin Yun felt a faint ache begin in his meridians. After draining his Dantians of all Elemental Power, he consciously directed the force of the two techniques to slam into them.

In an instant, a deafening BOOM resounded within Lin Yun’s body. His two Dantians were utterly obliterated, leaving not even a trace behind. Without their Dantians, his reserves of Elemental Power drifted aimlessly through his body like homeless children.

PUH! A spray of blood escaped his lips. Self-destructing one’s Dantians was an act that anyone else would consider suicide. Unsurprisingly, Lin Yun was now gravely injured.

’Gather power, form the seas!’ With a low grunt, Lin Yun directed all the loose Elemental Power toward his abdomen, to the place where his Dantians once were. The space was now a complete void.

Lin Yun began to relentlessly compress the Elemental Power. The pressure on him was immense, as he was compressing two different types of Elemental Power at the same time. While doing so, he had to keep them from touching and clashing.

He compressed, and compressed, and compressed, until he hit a limit. Then, Lin Yun shattered another five thousand Low Grade Primordial Stones. To shatter five thousand at once was an undeniably extravagant move.

But he had no choice. Lin Yun was in desperate need of more Elemental Power. Without a continuous supply, he would be unable to form the seas.

Shattering the Primordial Stones wasn’t enough. Lin Yun swallowed two Qi Essence Pills whole. As they entered his system, a vast and pure surge of Elemental Power spread through his body.

Combined with the energy from the five thousand Primordial Stones, a ceaseless torrent of fresh Elemental Power flooded into his body. Just as before, Lin Yun circulated this power along the pathways of his two Cultivation Techniques before drawing it into his abdomen to be compressed.

The Elemental Power accumulated, and Lin Yun’s meridians began to throb and ache from the strain. He had reached the most crucial step: condensing the Qi Seas.

Condensing two Qi Seas simultaneously was not a simple matter of addition. The difficulty was beyond what anyone else could possibly imagine.

’Condense!’ Lin Yun roared internally, gritting his teeth as he forced the Elemental Power of the two techniques to coalesce in his abdomen.

His entire body trembled uncontrollably, his nerves stretched to the breaking point. Under his precise control, the Elemental Power from the two techniques in his abdomen slowly converged, forming two distinct oceans of energy.

The two nascent oceans of Elemental Power began to take form. One radiated a brilliant Golden Light, while the other pulsed with a tyrannical, blood-red glow. Two completely antithetical forms of Elemental Power now existed simultaneously within Lin Yun’s body.

At this sight, forget the people of the Celestial Spirit Continent; even an expert from the Divine Realm would be shocked speechless. In theory, what he was doing was impossible. No one had ever succeeded in Divine Demon Cultivation.

The two oceans of Elemental Power grew increasingly stable. Lin Yun’s breakthrough had reached its most critical moment. A full week had now passed since he had begun the process.

Throughout that week, Wang Cai visited Lin Yun’s door daily. Each time he felt the dense Elemental Power and the faint but oppressive aura emanating from the room, he was inwardly stunned. Lin Yun’s breakthrough to the Qi Sea Realm was clearly far more powerful than an ordinary person’s.

"It’s been seven days. I wonder if Young Master Lin has succeeded," Wang Cai sighed worriedly, having come to Lin Yun’s door once more.