Divine Root Bone

The entire spiritual vein of the Qingyun Sect was completely drained by a domineering suction force. All the disciples, both inner and outer, were frozen in place, their breathing and circulation abruptly interrupted. Their meridians were dry and painful, with no spiritual energy left to draw upon. Cries of surprise and disbelief echoed throughout the mountains. Seven Foundation Establishment Stage 5 elders stood in the main hall on the main peak, their divine senses locked onto the location of Qingning Xiaozhu. Their minds trembled uncontrollably. The Foundation Establishment Stage 5 ancestor, who had been in seclusion for many years, also awoke from the depths of his meditation. His aged divine senses swept across the mountains, and he secretly marveled at how this power of absorption had already surpassed the limits of the four categories of mortal, lower, upper, and supreme physiques.

Lin Wanqing, who was closest to the meditation room, was only at the first level of Qi Refining. Absorbing spiritual energy was already difficult for her. Just now, she could barely draw a wisp of thin spiritual energy to nourish her meridians. In an instant, the surrounding spiritual energy completely dissipated, and the spiritual energy flowing in her meridians was stuck halfway, causing stagnation and pain. She could not even maintain the most basic breathing exercises. She watched helplessly as the underground spiritual veins surged back towards the meditation room next door, and the spiritual mist that had always lingered around the inner sect dissipated inch by inch. Her heart was filled with shock. She simply could not understand how the young man who had just been chatting with her could, in just a short period of seclusion, drain the entire sect of its spiritual energy. Such terrifying cultivation talent was a height that she could not even imagine even if she spent a hundred years of her lifespan. The shock almost made her lose her composure.

Inside the meditation room, Zhang Yang felt a continuous stream of pure spiritual energy surging into his limbs and bones, repeatedly washing and refining them along his twelve meridians. The spiritual energy within his dantian was layered and compressed, and in just a few hours, he broke through the shackles and steadily reached the peak of the third level of Qi Refining. He originally planned to slowly regulate his breathing, stabilize his current early-stage cultivation, and then slowly accumulate spiritual energy to break through to the next level. However, the uncontrollable devouring instinct within his body was still frantically pulling at the underground spiritual veins. But at this moment, the spiritual energy of the entire sect had been completely drained, and the supply from the underground spiritual veins had suddenly stopped. The spiritual energy that was continuously flowing into his body instantly decreased by more than half, and only a faint trace of clear air remained around him. There was no longer the overwhelming spiritual energy that had previously flowed in like a river.

The sudden shortage of spiritual energy caused the abundant spiritual power accumulated in his dantian to become unbalanced. The shackles of his peak third-level cultivation were continuously battered by the surging spiritual power, yet due to insufficient external spiritual energy supply, he was unable to accumulate enough force to completely tear the barrier apart. Zhang Yang frowned slightly, a sense of anxiety rising in his heart. He could clearly feel his dantian trembling incessantly, the overflowing spiritual power surging through his meridians. If this stalemate continued for too long, it would easily cause swelling of his flesh and blood, leaving hidden injuries from his cultivation. At this point, there was no room for retreat. He gritted his teeth, cleared his mind of distractions, and fully activated the sect's basic breathing technique, gathering all the remaining spiritual power in his body and concentrating it in the vortex of his dantian. He then poured all his strength into a fierce charge against the barrier of his cultivation realm.

With a deafening roar, an invisible aura exploded from within. Even with the external spiritual energy nearly depleted, the immense spiritual power accumulated over three complete realms remained unstoppable. The barrier firmly blocking the third and fourth levels of Qi Refining shattered, and the vast spiritual power spread out, instantly propelling him steadily into the fourth level of Qi Refining, officially entering the mid-stage of Qi Refining. The moment he stepped into the mid-stage, a stable vortex of energy arose within his dantian, and a wisp of breeze slowly flowed through the gaps in his skin and flesh. However, given the scarcity of external spiritual energy, this breeze was so weak as to be almost imperceptible.

However, the spiritual energy within his body remained excessively abundant. The fourth level of cultivation simply could not contain the massive amount of spiritual energy accumulated over a long period. The vortex continued to expand and tremble, and the barrier to the next level was already in sight. The external spiritual veins had long since dried up, with no new spiritual energy to replenish the supply. He was relying entirely on the spiritual energy he had previously absorbed and stored to support his breakthrough. Such a breakthrough at the limit had never occurred in the entire Qingyun Sect for thousands of years. Zhang Yang dared not hesitate. He immediately focused his mind and introspected, guiding the vortex in his dantian to contract and condense, gathering the scattered spiritual energy back into one, and once again launched an attack on the barrier of the fifth level of Qi Refining.

A moment later, the second thick barrier shattered, and a more gentle and powerful spiritual force swept over his body. He broke through steadily and stepped into the fifth level of Qi Refining, firmly establishing himself in the middle stage of Qi Refining.

The moment the breakthrough was complete, even though the surrounding spiritual energy had long been depleted, the unique phenomena of a breakthrough in the Qi Refining Realm still forcefully erupted. A pure, flawless wisp of white spiritual energy burst forth from his body, piercing through the roof and rising straight up. Even without the support of external spiritual mist, this pure white light was still clear and dazzling. Wisps of white mist swirled and spread outwards along his limbs and bones, instantly filling the small space of the meditation room with pure white mist. The originally depleted surrounding space was forcibly stimulated by the spiritual power overflowing from the breakthrough to generate temporary spiritual flow. Tiny spiritual grasses sprouted and glowed on the ground around the house, and the branches of the plants in the surrounding courtyard trembled slightly. This was the landmark breakthrough phenomenon of spiritual energy completely penetrating all the meridians of the body for the first time.

The strange phenomenon lasted for a moment, then gradually faded away due to the lack of external spiritual energy, and the meditation room returned to tranquility. Zhang Yang slowly finished his practice, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on his own condition, the scene within his body clearly reflected in his mind.

At this moment, a massive, steadily rotating vortex of energy was firmly rooted in his dantian, several times wider than when he was at the fourth level of Qi Refining. The vortex was constructed of pure, unadulterated white spiritual energy, operating silently. With each rotation, it would automatically refine the spiritual energy flowing through his meridians, removing the last traces of impurities. All twelve meridians in his body were widened and thickened by the abundant spiritual energy, and his skin and flesh were permeated with a faint spiritual aura. He was no longer like he was at the first to third levels of Qi Refining, where only spiritual energy was hidden inside his body and his skin had no luster. A clearly perceptible aura of gentle breeze surrounded his body.

The subtle aura inherent in this mid-stage cultivation realm contains a natural suppressive force. Any cultivator whose cultivation is stuck at the first to third level of the early stage of Qi Refining will find their spiritual energy circulation involuntarily sluggish and blocked when they approach, their breathing speed will be greatly reduced, and they will encounter obstacles at every turn when mobilizing spiritual energy. The restraint brought about by the difference in cultivation realm is clear and distinct. Just like Lin Wanqing outside the courtyard, separated by only a wall, her meager spiritual energy at the first level of Qi Refining was firmly imprisoned by this invisible aura. Her meridians were sore and sluggish, and even mobilizing a trace of spiritual energy was extremely difficult. She could only stand stiffly in place, unable to get even half a step closer to the meditation room.

His limbs and bones are filled with abundant spiritual power, and he can generate a powerful palm wind of basic spiritual energy with a simple gesture. His physical body has been repeatedly tempered by a massive amount of spiritual energy, making it far stronger than other cultivators of the same level. He can crush ordinary stones with a flick of his wrist, and his basic body strengthening and breathing abilities have been honed to perfection.

However, during his internal examination, he clearly noticed his shortcomings. During the entire breakthrough, there was no additional supply of spiritual energy, which completely depleted the spiritual energy he had previously absorbed and stored. Although his dantian vortex was stable, his energy was depleted, and his meridians lacked continuous nourishment from spiritual energy. If he continued to meditate immediately, his spiritual energy would be exhausted in less than half an hour. He would have to rest and recuperate or rely on spirit stones to replenish his spiritual energy foundation.

Zhang Yang was filled with confusion and doubt. His mentor, who had passed away when he was young, had only casually mentioned that his cultivation was passable, but had never explained the differences in the quality of his innate bones. Everyone in the Qingyun Sect only knew about the four types of innate bones: ordinary, low, high, and top. He had no idea why he could drain the entire sect's spiritual veins on his own, nor did he understand why, after breaking through to the fifth level of the mid-stage Qi Refining realm, he would generate an invisible aura that could restrain cultivators in the early stage of Qi Refining realm.

He slowly got up and pushed open the wooden door of the meditation room, and a faint white spiritual breeze spread outwards through the crack in the door.

Lin Wanqing, standing in the courtyard outside the door, froze instantly. The last wisp of spiritual energy within her body came to a standstill, and her entire being felt as if bound by invisible shackles. She involuntarily took two steps back, staring at Zhang Yang who had just emerged from the room with eyes full of fear. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, "Senior Brother Zhang... what just happened? The spiritual energy of the entire mountain vanished into thin air. I couldn't even breathe properly, and now that I'm near you, I can't mobilize any of my spiritual energy at all..."

Zhang Yang was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, only then belatedly realizing the aura emanating from his body. He looked towards the distant mountains, realizing that he had been so focused on breaking through his cultivation that he had not expected his practice to cause such a tremendous commotion.

Inside the main hall of the main peak, the seven elders used their divine senses to see the pure white spiritual light that had just emerged from the breakthrough, and they also sensed the gentle aura that enveloped Qingning Xiaozhu and was specifically designed to suppress cultivators at the first to third levels of the Qi Refining stage. They looked at each other, their shock almost impossible to conceal.

The Foundation Establishment Peak Ancestor, who was in seclusion in the back mountain, sighed softly, and his aged voice quietly entered the ears of the seven elders: "He is now at the fifth level of the mid-stage Qi Refining realm. His innate aura can suppress all early-stage cultivators. This boy's unique talent has already surpassed our understanding of the fourth tier of aptitude. We must never expose his cultivation anomalies in the future. The Black Fiend Demonic Sect is eyeing us covetously. Once the news leaks out, our Qingyun Sect will surely face annihilation."

The elders nodded in agreement, secretly discussing how to cover up the strange phenomenon of the spiritual veins drying up. They would only lie to the outside world that the underground spiritual veins had fluctuated temporarily, and would never mention the earth-shattering fact that Zhang Yang had single-handedly drained the entire sect's spiritual energy and broken through several realms in a single day.

Looking at Lin Wanqing, whose face was filled with fear and whose spiritual power was being suppressed by his aura, Zhang Yang quickly gathered his qi in his dantian and suppressed the wispy aura emanating from her body. As the invisible restraints slowly dissipated, Lin Wanqing finally breathed a long sigh of relief. The stagnation and pain in her meridians finally subsided, and her gaze towards Zhang Yang was still filled with disbelief and shock.

The mountain's spiritual veins are slowly recovering, and the dissipated spiritual mist is gradually gathering again. However, everyone knows that the young man born in Qingning Pavilion today is the greatest opportunity that Qingyun Sect has kept hidden deep within, as well as its greatest hidden danger.