Divine Root Bone

Zhang Yang sat cross-legged amidst rubble and pools of dark red blood. The excruciating pain, as if his bones were cracking, tore at his soul constantly. His arms were numb, losing most of their sensation, and hot, bloody liquid continuously spilled from the corners of his mouth. He arranged over thirty lustrous, top-grade spirit stones in a circular pattern around himself, firmly grasped two Time Jade Essences in his palms, closed his eyes to calm his chaotic mind, and forcefully suppressed the turbulent, damaged foundation within his body, officially initiating his breakthrough.

The first thing to be impacted is the three-tiered foundation barrier.

The pure spiritual energy sealed within the surrounding top-grade spirit stones surged like a burst dam, rushing wildly into his dantian through the damaged meridians of his limbs and bones. The two Time Jade Essences flowed with gentle time power, continuously repairing his shattered and damaged body and his trembling and unstable foundation.

The pale golden Dao patterns flowed from his dantian throughout his body, and the patterns on his body surface were twice as wide as before. Fine golden spiritual lotus patterns quietly appeared on the ground beneath his feet, and wisps of life sprouted from the broken walls and cracked soil. The thin Yin energy within a radius of dozens of feet was forcibly dispelled by the pure golden light.

The barriers that had originally bound the foundation of the Dao were as thin as paper under the onslaught of the massive amount of top-grade spiritual energy, and they dissolved in a mere few dozen breaths.

With a soft hum, the foundation of the Dao in the dantian solidified by three-tenths, lifespan increased slightly, and the three barriers of foundation building were easily broken through.

At this moment, the pale golden Dao patterns on Zhang Yang's body became increasingly thick. As soon as the low-level puppets that approached him stepped into a three-zhang radius, their bodies went limp and stiff, their blood and qi flowed backward, and even their attack movements slowed down considerably.

He could clearly sense that his combat power had surged, but when he caught a glimpse of the Golden Core evil spirits in the distance slaughtering cultivators, he felt heavy-hearted—even at the third level, he still couldn't shake the opponent's three-foot-long core energy shield; it was far from enough.

The next moment, Zhang Yang gritted his teeth, mobilized all the spiritual energy from the spirit stones, and forcefully broke through the first threshold of the third level—the fourth level of Foundation Establishment.

This step is the watershed of the Foundation Establishment realm. The first three levels only temper the physical body and basic Dao patterns. Stepping into the middle four levels requires condensing a unique spiritual energy domain around the body. The constraints of the rules of heaven and earth suddenly double, and the difficulty of breaking through increases more than tenfold.

A massive amount of spiritual energy was frantically poured into the dantian, but the originally stable foundation barrier turned into thick black iron, tightly sealing the dantian. No matter how much spiritual energy from the spirit stones washed over it, it only trembled slightly and showed no signs of splitting.

The excruciating pain instantly doubled, and his already damaged meridians ruptured inch by inch. Fine beads of blood seeped from his body, staining the rubble beneath him. Zhang Yang swallowed a mouthful of blood, but he forced it back down. The Time Jade Marrow in his palm shone brightly, and the power of time soothed the wounds in his meridians. But the next second, it was torn apart again by the violent spiritual energy that was impacting his defenses.

The several top-grade spirit stones scattered around him turned grayish-white at a visible speed, their spiritual energy depleted and they shattered. The golden lotus patterns on the ground flickered, sometimes expanding and sometimes collapsing. The vitality of the vegetation within ten miles was completely drained. The eerie wind in the entire old alley violently clashed with the thin golden light around him. The aura emanating from the Golden Core evil spirit pressed down from a great distance, constantly interfering with his breakthrough process.

Within his dantian, the solidified Dao foundation trembled violently, nearly collapsing. Zhang Yang's vision blurred, and he nearly fainted several times. Images of everyone dying tragically and Lin Wanqing crying out in despair flashed through his mind. He barely managed to hold on by relying on his will to survive and his protective instincts.

He crushed most of the remaining top-grade spirit stones, poured pure spiritual energy into his dantian without reservation, used his divine-grade root bone to balance the spiritual energy in his body, and almost exhausted the source of time within his body with the two Time Jade Marrows. The gentle light flow enveloped his Dao foundation and repeatedly polished the barrier.

After a hundred breaths of agonizing waiting, accompanied by a deafening roar that shook the entire body, the four layers of barriers finally cracked open!

Pale golden spiritual energy overflowed wildly from his pores, enveloping his body in layers. A small spiritual energy field with a diameter of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) formed out of thin air, completely isolating the incoming puppet yin energy and the residual effects of the pill's power.

Three thresholds in the middle, broken through!

Breaking through the fourth level of instantaneous breakthrough, the spiritual energy field around his body started to operate autonomously. All the Qi-refining puppets that rushed towards him were instantly locked in place by spiritual power, frozen in place and unable to move, unable to activate even a trace of magic or attack.

Zhang Yang exhaled a long breath of turbid air mixed with fragments of blood. His whole body felt a sense of rejuvenation and relaxation. His Dao foundation was as solid as a mountain, and most of the internal injuries he had previously suffered had been healed. However, he knew that the fourth level was still not enough to resist the evil spirits at the first level of the Golden Core stage, and he could not stop.

Once the three layers of barriers are broken, the subsequent constraints will collapse like a chain reaction, and the massive accumulation of spiritual energy will no longer be hindered.

Although breaking through to the fourth level was very costly, the remaining top-grade spirit stones are still plentiful, and the residual essence of time from the Time Jade Marrow is still slowly nourishing the Dao foundation.

The spiritual energy field continued to expand and solidify, the foundation of his dantian thickened, the golden light became clearer and heavier, and the golden lotus pattern under his feet expanded to about ten feet. Strands of spiritual energy actively paid homage to him from all directions.

Without the slightest hindrance, in just thirty breaths, the barrier of the fifth level of Foundation Establishment was easily breached by the abundant spiritual energy.

The five-fold spiritual energy field expanded to a range of five zhang, and the suppressive power of the field increased again. When the puppet group in the distance approached the spiritual energy field, their bodies shattered and their evil energy dissolved. Zhang Yang's physical body's level of transcendence was raised again, and the spiritual power in his body was completely liquefied, with its circulation speed increasing several times. When he threw a punch, he brought with him a whirlwind carrying spiritual energy.

He felt the abundant spiritual energy still within his body, without any stagnation, and his eyes were filled with determination.

Even with five levels of distance, the gap between them and the evil spirits at the Golden Core stage is still too large. They must continue to push upwards!

Zhang Yang mobilized the last ten or so top-grade spirit stones, pouring all the remaining spiritual energy into his dantian. The spiritual energy field around his body surged violently and layered, and the Dao Foundation light began to float slowly on his body surface. It was no longer the thin pale gold patterns of the first three layers, but condensed into a continuously flowing band of light.

When he was breaking through the sixth barrier, he could even clearly sense that there was a large amount of surplus spiritual energy left in his body. His physical body and Dao foundation could fully withstand this surge, and there was no hidden danger of a weak foundation.

Golden lotus patterns spread out from underfoot to a radius of three zhang. The vitality of plants surged wildly from the cracks in the dilapidated walls of the alley. As soon as the yin wind, black mist, and evil puppet energy touched the edge of the spiritual energy field, they instantly melted and evaporated. The entire battlefield was half cold and deathly and half clear and golden, forming two distinct polarities.

Fifty breaths later, a thunderous tremor resounded throughout his body, and the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment barrier completely dissolved!

At this moment, a stable spiritual energy field seven zhang wide formed around Zhang Yang. All Qi Refining cultivators and puppets who stepped into the domain had their spiritual power completely locked. Even their physical movements would be suppressed and slowed down by the spiritual energy. The pale gold Dao patterns on their bodies would turn into long, flowing golden light that would always adhere to their bodies and never dissipate. Three zhang of golden spiritual lotus patterns would always appear under their feet.

Within a radius of several dozen feet, the vegetation spontaneously revived, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth spontaneously paid homage to its own spiritual power, which was completely liquefied, with its reserves and thickness being more than three times that of the second stage of Foundation Establishment; its physical body was completely transformed and stabilized, and its bones and meridians were repeatedly tempered by spiritual energy, and 90% of the internal injuries caused by the evil spirit's punch were repaired, and the numbness in its arms was completely dissipated, and its fist could be used to unleash the power of the entire spiritual energy field.

At this moment, when Zhang Yang faced the might of the first level of the Golden Core, his own Dao foundation no longer trembled uncontrollably, and he no longer felt instinctive fear. He finally had the confidence to face the Golden Core directly.

Zhang Yang slowly opened his eyes, and two pure golden streams of light flashed from the depths of his eyes. A seven-zhang spiritual aura slowly circulated around him, and the spiritual lotus beneath his feet shone with golden light.

More than thirty top-grade spirit stones were reduced to grayish-white fragments scattered on the ground, and two pieces of Time Jade Essence completely lost their luster and turned into ordinary jade stones lying beside him.

He defied the odds and surged forward four levels to reach the sixth level of Foundation Establishment. His immense power filled his limbs and bones, and the powerlessness that had been ingrained in his bones was swept away. His breakthrough speed was something that others had never heard of before.

He looked up at the black-clad evil spirit in the distance, which was wantonly slaughtering people and whose three-foot-long protective barrier of spiritual energy never dissipated. He slowly gathered a dazzling golden light in his palm, which encompassed the entire spiritual energy field.