Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Chapter 263: Chapter 252: Breaking Through

Zhao Lin glanced at the chessboard and said bluntly, "Sect Leader, Institute Head, I wish to break through to the Innate Realm. I ask you both to act as my Guardians!"

The breakthrough from the Primordial Realm to the Innate Realm is an arduous process. During the transformative phase in particular, even an ordinary person could easily kill the cultivator.

Any outside noise would sound like a clap of thunder, making it dangerously easy to fall into Qi deviation.

Moreover, if something were to go wrong during cultivation, having someone nearby to help could save his life. That was why Zhao Lin had asked them to act as his Guardians.

Hearing this, Lu Chaohuan’s hand trembled, and a chess piece fell to the floor.

Yang Lin also looked up in surprise. "You’re going to attempt a breakthrough?"

Zhao Lin said calmly, "I am."

Yang Lin and Lu Chaohuan exchanged a look and fell silent. Both of them were well aware of the dangers involved.

Lu Chaohuan hesitated for a moment, then said with concern, "Elder Zhao, you are already the strongest in all of Great Yue. Whether you reach the Innate Realm or not won’t make a huge difference. Besides, you’re still so young. Do you really need to take this risk?"

Just as youth and strength are feared in boxing, so too are they in the Primordial Realm. Zhao Lin’s Qi and Blood were vigorous, and he cultivated six different paths of True Qi. No one in all of Great Yue was his match.

"Sect Leader Lu, you are mistaken!"

Before Zhao Lin could answer, Yang Lin retorted, "Which of us Primordial Realm martial artists doesn’t dream of reforging our bodies and achieving the Innate Realm?"

"It is precisely because Zhao Lin is still young that he should strive with all his might."

Zhao Lin didn’t speak, but slowly nodded.

Seeing his determination, Lu Chaohuan stopped trying to persuade him. He mused, "This is a matter of great importance. Let me make some arrangements."

Zhao Lin shook his head lightly. "There’s no need. My will and spirit are at their peak right now. There’s no time like the present. Let it be today!"

Lu Chaohuan hadn’t expected Zhao Lin to be so decisive. He rubbed his hands together nervously. "Alright, we’ll do as you say. Breaking through from the Primordial Realm is most vulnerable to disturbances. We need a quiet, secluded place. What about inside Yunjian Cave?"

"I’ll make the arrangements and clear out the cave."

Yunjian Cave was a treasured location in the sect, rich in Primordial Qi. It was also the place where Zhao Lin had cultivated when he broke through to the Blood Realm years ago.

Zhao Lin naturally had no objection. He smiled. "Excellent! Thank you, Sect Leader."

Without delay, the three of them made their way to Yunjian Cave at the mountain’s peak.

Lu Chaohuan had a disciple on duty fetch a new set of training robes and gave them to Zhao Lin.

"Breaking through to the Innate Realm involves cleansing the body and purging impurities. You’ll need to change into these clothes afterward. Right, there’s also fresh water prepared inside the cave."

Zhao Lin thanked him and took three manuals out from his robes. "These are some simple insights I’ve gathered during my cultivation. If the sect has disciples who can cultivate wind, ice, and lightning attribute techniques in the future, they might find these useful."

Lu Chaohuan accepted them with great solemnity and sighed softly. "Elder Zhao, you have done the sect a great service. I will remember this and am grateful..."

Yang Lin shot him a glare and interrupted, "What are you talking about? It’s not like Zhao Lin is going in there to die!"

Lu Chaohuan quickly said, "You’re right, you’re right. Elder Zhao, please focus on your breakthrough with a peaceful mind."

Zhao Lin gave a relaxed smile, waved his hand, and walked to the entrance of Yunjian Cave. He suddenly stopped and turned back. "The world is unpredictable. If, by any chance, something happens to me, my family in Yongning City..."

Lu Chaohuan said with a serious expression, "Don’t worry, Elder Zhao. As long as the Xingyun Sect stands, we will ensure their safety and well-being."

Zhao Lin nodded and turned to enter Yunjian Cave.

Lu Chaohuan and Yang Lin looked at each other, then sat down on the guard’s chairs to wait for Zhao Lin to emerge from his seclusion.

A short while later, Elder Huoyu came striding over. Seeing Lu Chaohuan and Yang Lin standing guard outside the cave from a distance, he opened his mouth in surprise, about to ask a question.

Lu Chaohuan immediately sent a sound transmission: "Don’t make a sound. Zhao Lin is inside attempting his breakthrough."

"Wha—"

Elder Huoyu was startled. The word had barely left his lips before he clapped a hand over his mouth. He also used a sound transmission: "Zhao Lin is attempting to break through to the Innate Realm?"

"Yes. Otherwise, why would the two of us be standing here like door gods with nothing better to do?"

"No wonder. I was about to ask why Yunjian Cave was suddenly occupied. Why weren’t we notified in advance about something so important?"

"It was a last-minute decision."

...

Inside Yunjian Cave, Zhao Lin carefully reviewed the breakthrough cultivation technique in his mind.

Back when he was at the Wuxiang Institute, he had heard Elder Water Mirror say that the Innate Realm had three layers.

However, after reaching the Primordial Realm, reading the notes of his predecessors, and performing his own deductions, he felt it was more appropriate to call them three gates.

The first gate: Body Tempering.

The second gate: Marrow Cleansing and Condensation.

In truth, Marrow Cleansing and Condensation is also a form of Body Tempering. However, this stage is so difficult that even Primordial Realm martial artists struggle to cultivate their bone marrow. For the sake of caution, it was separated into its own breakthrough.

As for the third gate, it seemed to be the re-forging of the meridians.

However, there were no predecessors’ notes to reference for this gate, and Zhao Lin found it quite strenuous to deduce on his own. He decided to wait until after he had broken through the second gate and truly stepped into the Innate Realm before attempting to deduce it again.

Having reviewed the cultivation technique, Zhao Lin composed himself and sat down cross-legged.

He silently activated the technique, guiding his Primordial Qi along the fourteen meridians—the six yin, the six yang, and the Ren and Du vessels—pushing it toward the Baihui Acupoint at the crown of his head.

The Baihui Acupoint is also known as "Tianman" or the "Upper Qi Sea." Among all the acupoints, besides the Qi Sea itself, it is the one capable of holding the most Primordial Qi.

In just a moment, all the Primordial Qi had entered the Baihui Acupoint. The area felt sore, numb, swollen, and bloated, as if being pricked by needles.

Zhao Lin took a deep breath and suddenly reversed the flow of the cultivation technique. The Primordial Qi instantly became like a flood bursting through a dam, pouring down and piercing all the way to the soles of his feet!

Everywhere it passed, it felt scalding hot, like boiling water.

Zhao Lin felt as if a basin of hot water had been poured over his head. The pain made him furrow his brows, but he clenched his jaw and gathered his Primordial Qi once more, pushing it from his Qi Sea to his Baihui Acupoint...

He repeated this over and over. Once, twice, three times...

Under the scouring of the Primordial Qi, Zhao Lin’s skin, muscles, bones, fascia, and even his internal organs began to tremble violently.

His body gradually grew scorching hot, turning crimson from head to toe like a boiled shrimp.

Crimson beads of blood seeped from the surface of his skin. His bones and tendons began to snap. His body felt like it was being cut by knives, and his insides felt like they were on fire... This was ten times, no, a hundred times more painful than when the Spirit Beast Scroll absorbed an Essence Soul!

If he weren’t in the prime of his life, he would never have been able to withstand such torture.

Gritting his teeth, Zhao Lin endured the agony and persisted in circulating the breakthrough technique.

After an unknown amount of time, a stuffy, swelling pressure built up in his chest, as if a seed had taken root inside him and was about to sprout through the soil.

Then, an immense, tearing pain struck him. With a BOOM from within his body, a majestic power erupted from his chest and flowed into his limbs and bones.

’I did it!’

Zhao Lin slapped his palms on the ground and pushed himself to his feet. His bones cracked and popped like a string of firecrackers. A feeling of complete rebirth washed over him.

The first gate, Body Tempering, was complete!

Zhao Lin let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Amidst his joy, another thought surfaced in his mind.

’The first gate is complete. Should I continue to the second?’

The few Grandmasters before him who had broken through to the Innate Realm had all waited several months before attempting the Marrow Cleansing and Condensation.

The advantage was that their realm would be stable and the risks lower. The disadvantage was that their bodies would have solidified, increasing the difficulty of the next breakthrough.

Right now, Zhao Lin’s body was brimming with vitality, and he was in peak condition. His only concern was that he had already used up more than half of his Primordial Qi. He feared he wouldn’t have enough to attempt the second gate.

Just as he was hesitating, the Spirit Beast Scroll in his mind suddenly flickered and then lit up.

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