Chapter 40: Breaking Through

  He activated the 'Mystic Scripture of the Five Elements' technique, and in an instant, countless tiny emerald green lights, like moths darting towards a flame, surged into Zhao Yang's body.

  The millennium-old tree that was struck by lightning continuously released the wood spiritual energy it had accumulated over thousands of years. Originally, before being struck by lightning, it could still stabilize and hold in the spiritual energy it had accumulated over countless years, not letting a single thread escape. This is also why Zhao Yang hadn't discovered that this ancient tree had actually nurtured a 'Millennium Wood Heart' all these days.

  But now, the main trunk of the tree has suffered a lightning strike, and all the wood spirits it has nurtured have lost their strength to hold on, and can only let them disperse.

  Now Zhao Yang can be said to have picked up a great bargain, getting a section of the extremely precious 'Thousand Year Wood Heart' not to mention, he can also use this thousand year old ancient tree's scattered wood spirit energy to attempt to break through the 'Condensation Period'.

  Under the traction of Zhao Yang's "Hunyuan Wuxing Xuanjing", the remaining strands of heavenly thunder power left by the surrounding wood system Lingqi and Lei Ting were gradually surrounded around Zhao Yang.

  The subtlety of the "Hunyuan Wu Xing Xuan Jing" lies in the fact that the five elements are interdependent and constantly generating each other. Even if only wood-element spiritual energy is abundant around, it can still be transformed into fire-element spiritual energy through the effect of the five elements' mutual generation within the body, which then gives rise to earth-element spiritual energy, and earth-element spiritual energy further gives rise to metal-element spiritual energy, which in turn generates water-element spiritual energy, and water-element spiritual energy can generate wood-element spiritual energy... This forms a perfect cycle, where only one type of spiritual energy is absorbed, but through the transformation of the five elements' mutual generation, the body's power remains in a state of balance among the five elements.

  In addition, for the remaining power of Tian Lei, 'Hunyuan Wuxing Xuanjing' can also refine and absorb it, but it's a bit more troublesome. It needs to be refined into the purest spiritual energy, and then the power of thunder calamity contained in it can be truly absorbed after being stripped away.

  A large amount of spiritual energy surged into Zhao Yang's body, quickly being refined into internal energy that spread throughout his body, and then merged into every cell. Whether it was muscle, tendon, or internal organs, there wasn't a single place left untouched. The massive influx of internal energy made Zhao Yang's entire body slightly tremble, as if his whole body was undergoing a transformation. The more internal energy he absorbed, the stronger his body became.

  This is one of the purposes of the foundation-building period, to temper the body! To forge the physical body into an invincible state.

  For cultivators, the physical body is not the main focus of cultivation, but this is relative. If one does not have a sufficiently strong physical body, when they reach the Golden Elixir stage and can ride swords and fly as an immortal, just the powerful gale alone could blow them apart, causing their flesh to be torn from their bones.

  Time slowly passed, and the sky that was originally only slightly bright gradually became brighter. Because of the heavy rain, the sky was exceptionally clear, and the early morning air was very fresh and cool.

  At some point, as usual, there were people strolling and exercising in the park. The ancient tree that was struck by lightning on the lake shore naturally attracted the attention of many people, who curiously walked over to take a look at the fallen thousand-year-old tree.

  Many passersby soon discovered Zhao Yang sitting cross-legged next to the collapsed ancient tree, with his back to the road and facing the lake. This attracted many curious onlookers who speculated about what Zhao Yang was doing there.

  Some people speculate that Zhao Yang was simply admiring the morning lake scenery, with mist swirling around, to relax his mood. Others speculate that Zhao Yang was practicing qigong or something like that, and such speculation is mostly from young people who have watched too many martial arts films and old men and women who practice tai chi or other forms of qigong all day long.

  These ordinary people would not be able to feel the thick wooden spiritual energy surrounding the tree that was struck by lightning, let alone see the countless spiritual energies rushing into Zhao Yang's body.

  They could only feel that the air around them seemed particularly good, and as they breathed in, their whole body was invigorated, and their mind became clearer. There were no other feelings beyond this.

  Zhao Yang, who was practicing his skills, had not completely closed off his six senses and could still feel that there were people occasionally stopping behind him to curiously watch for a while. However, he didn't pay attention to them and continued to focus on refining the spiritual energy around him. This was a rare opportunity, and if he didn't seize the moment to strive for a breakthrough in the 'Condensation Phase', it would truly be a waste of this heaven-sent chance.

  Fortunately, there were not many people out and about early in the morning, nor was anyone so careless as to disturb a stranger, which slightly eased Zhao Yang's mind as he meditated.

  At this time, he tried to break through the 'qi condensation period', which is actually a rather dangerous thing, because the surroundings are not closed and quiet places, and no one gives him protection. If someone is disturbed at a critical moment, it is easy to get distracted or even go crazy.

  However, Zhao Yang did not want to give up such a good opportunity for a breakthrough. If he didn't seize this chance to break through, according to the normal gradual progress of his cultivation, it was unlikely that he would be able to break through within a year or two. This was still thanks to the fish-shaped jade pendant that he had bought for over 3,000 yuan, which had allowed Zhao Yang's cultivation to advance by two levels in one go.

  So even if there is some danger, Zhao Yang is willing to try. As long as he's not extremely unlucky, generally no one will come to disturb him.

  Unconsciously, Zhao Yang's inner energy had already spread throughout his body, almost every cell was filled with inner energy, only the most critical place of the internal organs remained.

  In terms of refinement, Zhao Yang had already reached the peak of the foundation-building period. The surface of his body was naturally affected by the internal energy flowing through it, forming a layer of air around him that resembled an aura. This aura was merely a flow of air and not the internal energy itself.

  The gentle morning breeze blew by, and when it passed Zhao Yang, it naturally divided and spread out from both sides. Zhao Yang's clothes and hair didn't move at all.

  At this time, Zhao Yang had gradually cultivated to a critical moment, and began to fully transform his inner energy into the internal organs...

  At some point, a slender figure appeared on the road behind Zhao Yang, a pair of bright eyes fixedly staring at the back of Zhao Yang who was meditating and practicing his skills, with a long ponytail hanging down his back...

  Su Yuwei quietly looked at Zhao Yang, her cultivation and eyesight were relatively limited, and she couldn't detect the thick wood-elemental spiritual energy around her. However, compared to ordinary people, having practiced martial arts since childhood, now equivalent to a mid-stage foundation-building cultivator, she could feel some subtle differences in Zhao Yang.

  In her eyes, Zhao Yang at this moment was like a dormant dragon, vaguely emitting an aura that made her heart and soul extremely shocked.

  "Who is he, after all? How could it be that in this short period of time, the aura around him has become so profound and mysterious, as if it were a vast ocean containing endless waves and undercurrents..."

  Su Yuwei pursed her lips and stared at Zhao Yang with a complex expression...

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