Chương 126: The Summit of Purple Cloud Peak

Within the crystalline waters of the lake atop Purple Cloud Peak, the Pine Fish's ancient eyes gleamed with profound astonishment. How is Huaijin advancing so swiftly? But as the memory of that terrifying aura resurfaced, understanding dawned. Perhaps Huaijin was the greatest fortune this lifetime would bestow upon it, a vessel through which it might finally realize the age-old wish that had haunted its existence for centuries. Haihu, meanwhile, was practically trembling with exhilaration. A Tier 3 cultivator!

Since pledging itself to Huaijin, the creature had never once wanted for resources. The carcasses of so many Tier 2 cultivators, enough to glut itself for ages. Now all that remained was steady, patient growth. With time, even it could ascend to the perfection stage of Foundation Establishment... and perhaps one day, pierce the heavens into the Purple Mansion Realm itself. The Blazing Sun Chicken felt the weight of that overwhelming pressure and cowered deeper into submission.

Its breeding efforts redoubled in fervor, each new egg a desperate attempt to secure its bloodline's survival in the shadow of such power. Meanwhile, deep within the lake, the Pine Fish had fully assimilated Jiang Wenyin's corpse. With a silent, shuddering surge, its cultivation broke through its former constraints to the eighth level. Its power swelled like a rising tide.

As for Zhang Rende and his four companions, while they couldn't grasp the full magnitude of what had transpired, excitement burned in their chests nonetheless. For Huaijin's strength was their strength; his rise meant the family's foundations would deepen beyond measure. Zhang Rende himself had now reached the middle stage of Qi Refining Realm.

Beyond his growing mastery as a Tier 1, low grade spirit wine brewing, he had also established himself as a Tier 1, low grade Artifact Forger, a testament to genuine talent in the cultivation arts. Each day, after completing his cultivation sessions, he threw himself into honing his craft. Since his father's passing, Zhang Rende had labored with relentless determination, unwilling to squander even a single moment. —— Within the cave dwelling!

Huaijin flexed his fingers, feeling the raw, visceral power thrumming through his reshaped flesh. A faint, satisfied smile curved at the corners of his mouth. His physical body had ascended to the first level of the Purple Mansion Realm. Within his frame, countless phantom beast shapes seemed to howl and surge, echoes of the bloodlines he had devoured. His blood qi had grown thick as mercury, surging through his meridians like rivers of molten power.

More than two decades had passed since the Realm-Breaking Pearl awakened his Earth Fiend Spirit Body. Through those years, Huaijin had relentlessly consumed the blood essence of spirit beasts, one after another. Now, the bloodline abilities awakened within him numbered close to forty. Yet as his cultivation climbed ever higher, awakening new bloodline abilities grew increasingly difficult. The Blood Fiend Power swirling within him had also thickened to an almost suffocating density.

At this stage, to awaken a new ability, he would need to slay at least a Tier 3 spirit beast, no lesser sacrifice would suffice. Huaijin had long since selected seventy-two specific beast species, their bloodlines carefully chosen over decades of methodical consumption. With the Realm-Breaking Pearl's ceaseless tempering and amplification, his body cultivation had advanced at a breakneck pace that would have seemed impossible to any other cultivator.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Legend whispered that once an Earth Fiend Spirit Body awakened all seventy-two bloodline abilities, the physique would transcend its limits entirely, transforming into a Heavenly Might Saint Body. In the cultivation world, Spirit Roots were common. Spirit Bodies were rare. But a Saint Body? That was a blessing from the heavens themselves.

Those blessed with a Spirit Body could at minimum reach the Purple Mansion Realm, with a strong chance of ascending to the Golden Core Realm. But a Saint Body faced no bottlenecks before the Nascent Soul realm, and held a genuine possibility of directly breaching the Primordial Spirit Realm. A Saint Body was a constitution far beyond the ordinary. Typically, one's physique was fixed at birth, immutable and unchangeable.

But Huaijin's Earth Fiend Spirit Body was one of those rare exceptions, a physique that could be transformed through sufficient resource investment. Those who possessed it would awaken all seventy-two bloodline abilities, using countless accumulated blood fiends as a foundation to shatter their physical limits and reach the Saint Body realm. Perhaps the Realm-Breaking Pearl had foreseen this very path when it first awakened his physique.

—— After his body cultivation broke into the Purple Mansion Realm, the Blood Demon Bone Tempering Art's progress slowed to a crawl. Still, Huaijin harbored no complaints, the technique had served him well. But now that his body had reached the Purple Mansion level, he would need a higher-tier body-tempering art to maintain that furious momentum. For the time being, the Blood Demon Bone Tempering Art would have to suffice.

He had been continuously refining it, pushing its boundaries through sheer will and insight, hoping to elevate it further. But advancing a cultivation art required vast foundational knowledge, the ability to discard the dross and distill the essence. For now, he had no choice but to let it be and continue seeking opportunities. With his body now at Tier 3, Huaijin did not immediately emerge from seclusion. His spiritual sense swept across Purple Cloud Peak like an invisible tide. All was calm.

The spiritual energy within the family's spirit vein grew richer with each passing day, a steady river of power nourishing the clan's foundations. Within the Zhang family, nothing demanded his immediate attention. Everything proceeded in orderly fashion. After the four great Tier 2 clans joined forces, the Demonic Cultivators in Langya County had once again gone into hiding, vanishing without a trace. But Huaijin knew better than to believe they had abandoned their schemes.

They were merely plotting in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. Huaijin sank deeper into meditation, honing his realm with patient precision, aiming to break into the sixth level. —— Three years passed like water through cupped fingers. Huaijin's cultivation had reached the peak of the fifth level. Much of this was thanks to the Spirit Peaches from the Seven-Colored Spirit Peach Tree, for mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators, these fruits were treasures beyond compare.

The Zhang family's cultivators could also use their hard-earned Merit Points to redeem Spirit Peaches from the Clan Treasury. Liwei had advanced to the second level. Zhang Lixian had surged to the peak of third level, just one step away from the fourth level. Perhaps before the impending beast tide, he could reach mid stages. Zhang Liliang's cultivation also progressed steadily; he would surely reach the second level before the beast tide descended.

"My cultivation is polished. Time to break through." Huaijin slowly exhaled a turbid breath, his voice barely a murmur in the stillness of his cave dwelling. Over these years, beyond honing his cultivation, he had sharpened his crafting skills to a razor's edge: artifact forging, alchemy, and talisman-making. All had reached the Tier 2, mid grade. His success rate was practically flawless.

Of the alchemical inheritance he had obtained, all the Tier 2, mid grade pills within its ancient texts, he had now successfully refined every single one. Each pill could be exchanged for a mountain of Merit Points. And those spirit beast corpses from the Netherpassage Cold Pool? Over a dozen of them. Their blood and flesh had long since filled the Realm-Breaking Pearl's reserves to the brim, and that was without the pearl devouring the late stage corpses!

Now, the pearl's energy was overflowing; even if it consumed more, it would be pointless. Over those same three years, Huaijin had also forged a vast number of Tier 2 artifacts. The Zhang Clan Treasury was now bursting at the seams with resources. As for their shop in Langya County Town? Business was absolutely booming. After all, the Zhang family now dabbled in almost every cultivation art, aside from Array Formations.

With such abundant resources to practice on, Tier 1 alchemists had begun to emerge within the clan. Cultivation arts required two things: innate talent, and resources to grind against. And right now, the family lacked neither people nor wealth. As time flowed on, the family's foundation grew ever deeper. Now, Huaijin swallowed another spirit Peach and began his assault on the sixth level.