Breaking Through Two Successive Realms, Underlying Uneasiness

[Whether to fuse the Vermilion Bird Divine Bone?]

"Fuse!"

Li Wudao was somewhat excited, his eyes burning with eagerness.

As his voice fell, space rippled faintly.

A palm-sized bone suddenly materialized before his eyes.

The bone emitted a faint red glow, crystal clear and translucent like an immaculate red jade, radiating a scorching heat even from afar.

Most miraculous of all were the golden runes inscribed on the surface of the bone, whether they were words or symbols remained unknown. They flickered in and out of existence, rising and sinking, emanating a deeply ancient aura that gave a sense of endless vitality.

The next instant, the Vermilion Bird Divine Bone transformed into a stream of light, shooting straight toward Li Wudao's chest.

"Hiss—"

Li Wudao let out a muffled groan, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead as he felt an incomparable impact and tearing sensation.

On his chest, the Vermilion Bird Divine Bone burst into a dazzling red light, forcefully devouring his original bone in an attempt to replace it entirely.

"Damn it, this hurts like hell..."

He gritted his teeth and cursed, enduring the excruciating pain as he crossed his legs and began running his cultivation technique to accelerate the fusion.

Barely ten breaths later,

Li Wudao was drenched in sweat, nearly fainting from the agony.

The pain of scraping bones was not something just anyone could endure.

Several times he considered giving up halfway, but in the end, driven by sunk cost, he chose to grit his teeth and push through.

To give up now would mean all his previous efforts went to waste, something he was naturally unwilling to accept.

The bone-replacement process took half an hour to complete.

The dazzling red light on the young man's chest faded, and his chest cavity let out a muffled clatter, vibrating with an ancient, fierce, and scorching aura that radiated outward into the surroundings.

"It's finally done!"

Li Wudao slumped to the ground, looking utterly drained and panting heavily, wearing the expression of one who had narrowly cheated death.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered under his breath that the price he paid for greater strength this time was by no means small.

Damn it, changing a bone had nearly cost him half his life.

If not for his Innate Pure Yang Holy Body, an ordinary person would hardly have survived.

"Huh? This is..."

Abruptly, Li Wudao's expression shifted as he turned his inward gaze upon himself.

He clearly sensed the Vermilion Bird Divine Bone within his body, glowing brilliantly, its warm and scorching life force feeding back into his flesh, skin, and internal organs.

Li Wudao inwardly marveled; the damn system hadn't lied to him after all.

The vitality recovery of this Vermilion Bird Divine Bone was simply too formidable. In less than half a quarter of an hour, he felt his body mostly recovered and no longer weak.

Even if matched against an enemy in battle, relying on such terrifying recovery prowess gave him a massive chance to turn the tables and win.

For the next few days, Li Wudao continuously harmonized with the Vermilion Bird Divine Bone, discovering numerous wondrous properties.

Though he did not deliberately cultivate, his cultivation base and blood Qi were steadily solidifying and growing increasingly dense day by day thanks to the nurturing of the Vermilion Bird Divine Bone.

"The fusion of the Vermilion Bird Divine Bone is nearly complete. Let's test the effects of this Marrow-Cleansing Pill..."

Li Wudao produced a Nine-Turn Marrow-Cleansing Pill, examining it with great interest.

With his current Earth-tier lower-grade talent, he wondered how much it would improve after ingestion.

Thinking of this, the young man swallowed it without hesitation, tilting his head back.

"Whoosh—"

The Nine-Turn Marrow-Cleansing Pill melted the moment it touched his tongue, instantly releasing a vast torrent of pure medicinal power that surged into his meridians, cleansing his internal organs and bones.

...

One hour later.

Li Wudao slowly opened his eyes. His pupils were as deep as the stars, brighter and clearer than ever before.

Immediately, he eagerly opened his attribute panel to check.

[Name: Li Wudao]
[Age: 16]
[Talent: Earth-tier Upper-grade]
[Realm: Early True Essence Realm]
[Special Physique: Haotian Eye (Damaged), Pure Yang Holy Body (Initial Awakening)]
[Fortune: Chaotic (Unknown)]
[........]

"Earth-tier Upper-grade. It increased by two ranks. Not bad."

Li Wudao nodded in satisfaction, bringing him one step closer to Heaven-tier aptitude.

If he continued like this, it wouldn't be long before he caught up to Jiang Churan's talent.

After a quick wash and changing into a neat set of robes, the young man hummed a cheerful little tune as he stepped out of his room.

"Achoo—"

Suddenly, he sneezed twice in succession, shivering involuntarily out of nowhere.

"With my physique, I shouldn't be catching a cold, right?"

Li Wudao twitched his nose, muttering, "Which bastard is talking behind my back?"

As soon as he spoke, he felt a faint mist shroud his soul, bringing an inexplicable sense of unease.

How strange. He had never felt this way before. Could some bad omen be about to befall him?

Suspicion crossed Li Wudao's face. He had originally planned to go out for a stroll, but immediately dismissed the thought.

His intuition had always been accurate; it was better to believe it existed than to dismiss it.

For the next few days,

he cast aside all distracting thoughts, locked himself in his room, and cultivated with single-minded devotion.

Fortunately, those few days passed peacefully without any calamity occurring.

Inside the room.

Li Wudao stopped cultivating, took out a sound-transmission jade slip, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Jiang Churan had sent a message:

The Hundred Flowers Secret Realm was about to open, and they would set off tomorrow.

Li Wudao let out a breath, stepped out of the room, and gazed up at the clear sky, a strange glint passing through his eyes.

For some reason, the faint unease in his heart had not dissipated, and he had no idea where it originated from.

"That shouldn't be right. According to little Jiang, most of the spirit beasts within the Hundred Flowers Secret Realm are around the True Essence Realm in strength..."

Li Wudao frowned, completely baffled.

With his current strength, he could practically walk sideways through the secret realm; what danger could possibly threaten him?

Could something have happened to Xia Gucheng?

That didn't make sense either. Considering the old man's strength across the Eastern Wasteland, very few people should be capable of harming him.

Unless the old geezer had provoked some supreme existence.

At this thought, Li Wudao shook his head, feeling that the problem still lay with himself.

Although he and Old Man Xia shared the bond of master and disciple, their actual interactions had been minimal, not enough to trigger this kind of emotional fluctuation.

After a long while.

Li Wudao suppressed the sense of unease, his mind entering the system space.

"System, the half-year of cultivation I accumulated last time can be used now."

Originally, he hadn't planned to use the system's stored cultivation at this moment, preferring to build his foundation step by step and keep it as a trump card.

However, with the current situation unclear, it was best to maximize his combat power before heading out.

[Ding! Detected that the host has unused martial arts cultivation equivalent to half a year.]
[Loading cultivation...]

As the system's voice resounded,

Li Wudao sensed the spiritual Qi within a radius of ten thousand miles rushing in like mad, all converging above his head.

Instantly, it transformed into an extremely dense vortex of spiritual Qi that poured directly into the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head.

An invisible force propelled the spiritual Qi to course through all his meridians, his cultivation technique running automatically. Everything felt effortless, and his cultivation aura skyrocketed smoothly as if it were only natural.

And Li Wudao merely stood there blankly, needing to do nothing at all.

At that moment, he finally understood what it meant to have "divine enlightenment poured down the crown"—it was simply beyond exhilarating!

[Ding! Half-year cultivation loading complete.]
[Congratulations to the host: Breakthrough to the Late True Essence Realm.]

Scarcely had the system's voice faded when the spiritual Qi surging from the heavens abruptly ceased, returning to calm as if nothing had ever happened.

"Just like that, I've reached the Late True Essence Realm?"

Li Wudao stood dumbfounded, finding it hard to believe.

There hadn't even been the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, yet not only had he broken through two minor realms consecutively, but his aura was as stable as an old dog, bearing no resemblance to someone who had just broken through.

"Damn it... I acted too hastily!"

He smiled bitterly to himself.

Had he known the foundation of the cultivation infused by the system was this solid, he wouldn't have waited until now to use it.

Li Wudao silently sensed the terrifying blood Qi contained within his body, his confidence growing stronger by the moment.

With his current combat power, if he unleashed it all, he would probably be sufficient to contend with peak Martial Ancestors.

He might even be able to fight a Great Circle Martial Ancestor.

Of course, the exact outcome of such a battle would only be revealed in actual combat.

If other experts were to learn of the young man's current thoughts, they would undoubtedly blow their beards in anger and dismiss him with utter disdain.

One must know that the further one advanced in the martial dao, the wider the gap between realms became.

The disparity between major realms especially was like a chasm that ordinary people could never cross.

Even if several ordinary Great Circle True Essence realm martial artists joined forces, they wouldn't be a match for even a single blow from an early-stage Martial Ancestor.

These simply did not belong to the same tier of strength.

Therefore, a Late True Essence realm cultivator fighting a peak Martial Ancestor was no different than wishful thinking or daydreaming.

...

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Li Wudao rose early, his gaze calm as he walked down the mountain.

Today was the day to set off for the Hundred Flowers Secret Realm.

And he had optimized every aspect of himself to the absolute limit.

As for that trace of obscure unease?

Screw it. Soldiers will be met with a general, water will be blocked with an earthwork; there was nothing to worry about.

Just go all out and get it done!