One Step Closer to Breaking Through

The Songshan Yang Family, Restricted Grounds Ancestral Hall.

Chen Yang gazed at the cluster of Soul Flame within his body representing Yang Guanfeng, quietly sensing its state.

This cluster of Soul Flame was somewhat peculiar. It had not extinguished and continued to burn normally, but its solid form had shifted into a hazy phantom.

"Old Yang is still alive."

After several rounds of perception, Chen Yang could be certain that Yang Guanfeng was still alive.

In his judgment, this change in the Soul Flame was caused by the sheer distance between them.

"Where did Old Yang go from the border? Did he chase the enemy all the way into the heart of Donghuang?"

Chen Yang was somewhat baffled.

Fortunately, he had already transmitted his cultivation insights from the Late Stage to Perfection to Yang Guanfeng. No matter where he had gone, as long as he was safe and alive, it was enough.

What mattered more to Chen Yang at present was the Yang Family's second grand sacrifice.

This time, the Huang Family far away in Fengling would also participate in the worship. Chen Yang planned to use this opportunity to strike viciously at the barrier above his head and see if he could pierce it.

"Hereby, the Songshan Yang Family, born by the grace of Heaven and Earth, reveres the Immortal Venerable and offers sacrifice..."

As the worship ceremony began at the foot of the mountain, it proceeded simultaneously at the summit.

Yang Lingqing gathered all eleven drops of Essence Blood from the current Yang Family cultivators, igniting them with a Fire Talisman to transform them into spiritual power.

The Essence Blood of Yang Lingrui and his two companions had been extracted and prepared before their departure.

During this Blood-Burning Spirit Sacrifice, Chen Yang used all the extra spiritual power he received to strengthen his own physical body.

Now, even without manifesting his black outer armor, his baseline defense was equal to when he previously cast that divine ability.

Furthermore, the Soul Flames of Liu Zihao, Xie Chuan, Lü Fangxuan, Wu Tong, and Yang Liu ignited within Chen Yang's body.

Then came the true main event. Beneath the Yang Family's protective Formation, countless strands of the Power of Prayer converged and fused in midair.

As its density continuously climbed, this Power of Prayer actually brewed into the manifestation of colorful clouds in its final stage!

"An excellent opportunity!"

Seeing the time was ripe, Chen Yang opened his maw and swallowed this massive cluster of the Power of Prayer in a single gulp!

The amount contained in this single mouthful was equal to the total Power of Prayer he had collected on this mountain over the past several years combined!

That was not all. Not long after, a small wisp of the Power of Prayer drifted over like smoke and willow catkins from the direction of Sanglu Valley, which Chen Yang inhaled into his belly.

After waiting patiently for a while longer, another sizable cluster of the Power of Prayer floated over from the southern horizon.

Although the Huang Family currently only had one cultivator, under the protection of the Formation laid down by Liu Zihao, the population under their rule had grown year by year, reaching a third of the Yang Family's mortal subjects.

Chen Yang swallowed this cluster of the Power of Prayer into his abdomen as well. Then, he raised his gaze, focused his mind, and locked his target onto that illusory barrier.

Thump!

A muffled thud did not echo in the crowd's ears, but rather resounded directly within their hearts.

Across Songshan, and as far away as the Huang Family in Fengling, both cultivators and mortals heard the sound of this collision in their hearts at this very moment.

"It is the main family's lofty cultivation arts! Quickly, bow!"

In Fengling, the current Huang Family Patriarch Huang Lei sensed the anomaly and hurriedly led his subjects to bow in the direction of Songshan.

Having received the main family's grace last year, he had managed to break through to the second realm. Thus, he felt immense gratitude in his heart and did not dare show the slightest negligence toward this grand sacrifice.

Within Sanglu Valley, Elder Yu also led the valley's residents in bowing toward Songshan.

On the Songshan Yang Family's side, Yang Lingqing led Yang Liu in kneeling inside the ancestral hall, while the rest knelt in neat rows outside the main gates of the Restricted Grounds.

The mortal commoners at the foot of the mountain went without saying.

Ever since that past incident, mountain-worshiping rituals had become the norm, and they were long accustomed to it.

Thump—

Thump—

Thump—

...

As Chen Yang repeatedly slammed against the barrier, everyone under the Yang Family's rule kowtowed toward him time and time again.

"It really is sturdy!"

Chen Yang glared at this obstruction spanning above his head. He gathered all the Power of Prayer he could currently mobilize and launched his final, full-powered strike against it.

Bang!

Following a deafening boom, all cultivators and mortals were jolted awake from their mysterious trance.

Upon waking, large beads of sweat poured down everyone's bodies.

"My leg... it feels much better!"

"My stomach doesn't hurt anymore!"

"Oh my! This back pain that has tortured me for who knows how many years has actually healed!"

"Mother, I think... I can see things again."

"Wife! I have my vigor back!"

The mortal commoners were pleasantly surprised to discover that after this ordeal, their bodies had all received varying degrees of benefits.

Those with broken legs recovered significantly, chronic old illnesses were cured, children blinded by sickness could see again, and some men found their backs standing straight once more!

"The Immortal Venerable's divine might is boundless! May he live ten thousand years!"

"The Immortal Venerable's divine might is boundless! May he live ten thousand years!"

...

Such excited shouts rose and fell in waves across all territories under the Yang Family's jurisdiction.

High atop Songshan, Chen Yang finally saw the hope of breaking through after this final impact.

This seemingly indestructible barrier had cracked a small opening after this round of assault.

Strands of a wondrous power, dancing like fine hairs, began to drift through this small opening and descend upon Chen Yang bit by bit.

Chen Yang sank his mind to comprehend it. This was a power that shared the same fundamental origin as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, yet its manifestation was entirely different.

"This is... Heaven-Earth True Essence!"

Upon discovering the true identity of this power, Chen Yang suddenly felt the path ahead of him widen into absolute clarity.

"So that's how it is! I was born of Heaven and nourished by Earth to begin with. There is absolutely no need for me to painstakingly undergo Condensed Origin like human cultivators!"

"As long as I shatter this barrier, I can simply take the ready-made essence directly from Heaven and Earth!"

"Good, good, good! This is another massive step forward. With these tiny slivers of Heaven-Earth True Essence descending, it will take at most another three years before I can completely obliterate this obstruction!"

Feeling the pure and potent power contained within the Heaven-Earth True Essence, Chen Yang was filled with confidence and anticipation.

It had been thirty-two years since he arrived in this world as a stone.

Over these thirty-two years, although he had acquired many divine abilities and his cultivation realm had steadily advanced, he had yet to obtain true mobility!

As long as he could break through to Condensed Origin, he would slip free from his constraints and, just like human cultivators, gain the ability to ride the wind and soar through the skies!

At that time, he would chase the wind and the moon across ten thousand miles of vast sky-how free and unfettered he would be!

Chen Yang felt immensely joyous today. Even Yang Lingqing and Yang Liu in the ancestral hall could glimpse a fraction of his delight from the light flickering off him.

After Chen Yang slowly calmed his spirits, Yang Lingqing gently pushed Yang Liu to the front.

"Yang Family disciple Yang Liu kowtows to the Immortal Venerable!"

"The Yang Family has reached this point entirely relying on the Immortal Venerable's protection! Yang Liu has now entered the Dao and is permitted to meet the Immortal Venerable. Understanding the grace you have shown our family, my heart is filled with boundless gratitude that I dare never forget..."

After Yang Liu finished paying his respects, Chen Yang bestowed the character "Yuan" upon him.

From then on, Yang Liu was officially renamed Yang Yuanliu, becoming the first formally recorded third-generation cultivator of the Yang Family's main branch.

"Yuanhong, you sneaked in again!"

Yang Lingqing had long noticed this little rascal sneaking over the wall into the main courtyard again.

Because he possessed the Spirit Pearl, the main courtyard's restrictions did not guard against him, allowing him to come and go freely.

Hearing Yang Lingqing call out to him, Yang Yuanhong shrank his neck and sheepishly walked out from behind the courtyard gate.

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