At the age of one hundred, I inquired about the Dao, awakening the supreme spiritual root that shatt

Ling Xiu began his third alchemy session, which was also his last chance.

The earth-fire slowly rose, preheating the alchemy furnace. Then, he added all the medicinal herbs in the predetermined order, tempering the spiritual herbs and steadily purifying their medicinal power.

He had already rehearsed every action and every detail of this process in his mind thousands of times.

Ling Xiu spread his divine sense to accurately probe the changes inside the furnace, his mind highly focused yet relaxed.

True essence continuously flowed into the alchemy furnace, with precise control over the heat, promoting the perfect fusion of medicinal power.

In addition, he had prepared energy-replenishing pills in advance to replenish his energy losses immediately.

Once mental energy or true essence is overloaded, it can be replenished immediately, eliminating the risk of interruption in alchemy.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and within the alchemy furnace, a faint seven-colored glow flowed, and a rich and mellow medicinal fragrance wafted out.

The alchemy furnace trembled incessantly, and the medicinal clumps that had been tempered and shaped inside repeatedly struck the furnace walls, emitting a vast and mysterious medicinal power.

This strange phenomenon was completely different from the signs of the previous two failed attempts at alchemy.

Even though he knew the process by heart, Ling Xiu was still on edge, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, as the matter concerned success or failure.

He stared intently at the alchemy furnace, using his divine sense to capture every change in the medicinal power within, and his hands quickly formed his own unique alchemy seal, pressing it heavily onto the furnace body.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and the process of merging the pills entered its most dangerous final stage.

The alchemy furnace vibrated to its peak, its heavy lid banging incessantly. A refined and powerful fragrance of elixir gushed out from the furnace's cracks, while dazzling golden light pierced through the gaps and spread outwards, enveloping the entire alchemy room in golden light and rich aroma.

The three main spiritual herbs inside the furnace have completely dissolved into pure and flawless spiritual liquid.

Ling Xiu concentrated and condensed the ultimate pill-forming technique, then slammed his palm hard onto the pill furnace.

He shouted in a deep voice, "Condense your core!"

In an instant, the violent tremors of the alchemy furnace stopped abruptly.

Ling Xiu's gaze sharpened as he looked inside, where he saw four perfectly round spiritual pills lying quietly at the bottom of the furnace.

Three of the pills were grayish-brown in color, covered with fine cracks, and showed no signs of spiritual energy fluctuation, rendering them completely useless.

Only one pill, about the size of a thumb, remained. It was enveloped in a blazing crimson light, its body lustrous and smooth, engraved with clear and regular high-level pill patterns, and contained a powerful and domineering pure medicinal force within.

It's done!

Ling Xiu was overjoyed, and tears of excitement almost welled up in his eyes.

He exhaled a long breath, his face filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"I succeeded! Fantastic! I actually refined a low-grade Earth-rank Profound Pill of considerable quality!"

With this Tongxuan Pill, plus the top-grade Qingyang Spirit Pill in his hand, his chances of breaking through to the Tongxuan Realm have increased dramatically, reaching a full 80%!

To ensure a flawless breakthrough, Ling Xiu stored the low-grade Tongxuan Pill along with three discarded pills into the Qiankun Xuan Gourd.

After being refined and purified by the medicinal power of the Xuanhu overnight, all four pills were transformed into top-grade Earth-rank Tongxuan Pills.

Ling Xiu was overwhelmed with excitement, his joy beyond words. Now, his breakthrough to the Profound Realm was practically guaranteed.

He knew that once a cultivator reached the Profound Realm, they could condense a golden core in their dantian.

The Golden Core system has a strict hierarchy.

The ninth-tier Golden Core has a major dividing line at the third tier.

The early and late stages of the Golden Core realm, and the Great Perfection realm, are divided by the fourth stage.

"I wonder which level of the Transcendent Realm these four top-grade Profound Pills will help me break through to."

Exhausted from days of secluded alchemy, Ling Xiu planned to take a short rest and adjust his condition before continuing his seclusion to break through to the Profound Realm.

His eyes were full of anticipation for a higher realm. He raised his hand to break the layers of restrictions on the True Ruins Pavilion and stepped out of the secluded cultivation place.

Breaking through to the Profound Realm is a perilous cultivation journey, and mindset is of paramount importance. He originally intended to leave seclusion to calm his mind and adjust his state.

But as soon as Ling Xiu stepped out of the True Ruins Pavilion, he immediately sensed that the atmosphere around him was unusually strange.

The once bustling and prosperous Jinmo Residence is now deserted and desolate, and the same is true for the entire Qingyang Holy City.

The bustling streets were deserted, and all the shops along the street were closed; only withered yellow leaves drifted in the wind, making the whole city seem even more lifeless.

The few cultivators walking on the road were all in a hurry, their faces solemn and fearful.

A thick layer of gloom enveloped the entire Qingyang Holy City.

Ling Xiu's brows furrowed suddenly, and an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

It seems that something terrible has happened in Qingyang Holy City.

The city was filled with a tense and oppressive wartime atmosphere. The once bustling shops such as Danling Pavilion and Qiling Pavilion were all closed and heavily guarded.

"What exactly happened?"

Ling Xiu strolled along the empty streets, filled with astonishment.

After a moment's thought, he immediately made up his mind: putting aside the external turmoil for the time being, only his own strength was the foundation for his survival.

The most urgent task is to return to the True Ruins Pavilion as soon as possible to break through to the Profound Realm. When breaking through a realm, one must be wary of external disturbances and not let trivial matters disrupt one's rhythm.

He quickly turned back and, just as he stepped into the main gate of Jinmo Residence, he bumped into Lin Mo, Su Hui, and Liu Yang.

The three men looked tense and solemn. When they saw Ling Xiu emerge from seclusion, they managed a bitter smile.

"Brother Lin, Master Liu, what exactly happened in the city?"

Ling Xiu stepped forward and asked.

"Fellow Daoist Ling, you have finally emerged from seclusion."

Lin Mo looked at him, her tone heavy.

"While you were in seclusion refining pills, a great war broke out in the Southern Spirit Region!"

The Northern Spirit Realm brazenly launched an invasion of our Southern Spirit Realm, forcibly summoning a large number of ferocious beasts from the Northern Frost to launch a frenzied attack on major cities within the Southern Spirit Realm.

Our Qingyang Holy City is adjacent to the border of the Northern Cold Region and was the first to be hit by the beast tide.

Countless cultivators have died or been injured within the city, and many low-level cultivators and ordinary citizens have already fled the holy city for refuge.

"What? The Northern Frost Region has launched a massive invasion, and the beast tide has already breached the border cities?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Xiu couldn't help but gasp.

When he went into seclusion, the True Ruins Pavilion's restrictions isolated him from both internal and external senses, so he was completely unaware of such a terrifying crisis!

Lin Mo continued to explain in a deep voice.

"These ferocious beasts from the Northern Frost are inherently brutal and bloodthirsty, far surpassing ordinary wild monsters. The beast tide has already swept across most of Qingyang Holy City. Currently, the ten top sects of the Southern Spirit Domain have joined forces to form an allied army for a full-scale counterattack."

"The City Lord's Mansion of Qingyang Holy City also issued a decree to the entire region, conscripting all cultivators in the city into the army and organizing them into the city defense team to rush to the front line to resist the beast tide."

The Holy City's protective array is now fully activated, and the City Lord's Mansion guards and city patrols are clearing out any ferocious beasts that have managed to infiltrate the city!

Ling Xiu looked around and then understood why the city was desolate and deserted.

High above, the purple glow of the Holy City's protective array was thick and condensed, its oppressive aura permeating the entire city.

"Brother Ling, you must not leave the city now."

Lin Mo urged urgently, "Without the protection of the city's defensive formation, ferocious beasts roam freely outside the city, making it extremely dangerous."

Moreover, the city lord's mansion has begun to conscript cultivators from across the city, and has even been forcibly enforcing the conscription order.

It won't be long before the patrol team finds our Jinmo Residence.

We'll be forcibly incorporated into the city's defense forces, stationed in dangerous areas, facing the beast tide head-on!

Ling Xiu's face darkened, and a sense of annoyance rose in his heart.

He had finally refined the top-grade Tongxuan Pill and was preparing to go into seclusion to break through the most critical bottleneck of the Tongxuan Realm when he was unexpectedly summoned for war throughout the city.

During the closed-door cultivation phase of breaking through realms, external disturbances and mental fluctuations are most to be avoided.

If he is forcibly conscripted into the war, his breakthrough plan will be completely ruined.

An overwhelming sense of oppression, as if he couldn't control himself, enveloped Ling Xiu.

"I must break through to the Profound Realm as soon as possible before I am summoned!"

Thank you all for informing me!

Ling Xiu bowed in thanks, bid farewell to the three, and quickly returned to the True Ruins Pavilion, preparing to immediately go into seclusion to break through to the next level.

But just as he sat down to meditate and before he could set up the closed-door cultivation restrictions, the defensive array surrounding the True Ruins Pavilion suddenly trembled violently.