Chapter [4] - Breakthrough

[A few moments later]

Two people flew over the sky in the distance. They were none other than Luo Lan and Long Tian!

They were now heading directly for the place where they had detected Liang Long's presence.

As they soared through the clouds, they quickly spotted the difference in the sky while flying.

On one side of the world, there was a bright blue sky, but on the other, there was nothing but gloomy thunderclouds. It gave them the impression that the world was about to descend into chaos.

Red lightning was being discharged from within the clouds, occasionally slamming the earth below, turning trees and even animals to dust.

Natural catastrophes such as storms and earthquakes occur all around the continent. Leaving them both dumbfounded.

"What sort of breakthrough is he having that the world is so hostile to him?" Long Tian spoke with solemnity on his face. He couldn't imagine the little brat's advancement would result in such an otherwordly baptism.

"We can't really help it. When Half-Open Heaven cultivators complete and polish their Dao Seal to great perfection, the heaven's will naturally reject them and attempt to prevent them from rising." It was the soft voice of a woman standing right next to Long Tian.

"If we try to halt it at this time, the consequences will be unimaginable, both for him and the world itself." Luo Lan said, with a troubled expression.

They weren't expecting the person named Bai Li (Liang Long) to suddenly try to breakthrough, because they knew it wasn't easy, especially for a young boy like him.

Their only choice now is to wait and see if he succeeds or fails. It didn't matter what happened in the end, because all living things in this world were doomed regardless.

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(A/N: The time has come: https(:)//www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=6MA18BJ0lck)

The mountain peaks and the forest below were all stained red, casting a sinister crimson hue on the scene. The gloomy sky engulfed the entire landscape, and frightening red lightning could be seen causing havoc all over the place with no indication of subsiding.

The lake's surface was being flattened, revealing its deep depths, as massive torrents surged out, spraying water everywhere.

Liang Long's body was engulfed in the same crimson lightning that would hit him directly from above. He gritted his teeth in agony as he endured the lightning baptism with his bare soul.

Black smoke continuously poured from his body, as if something impure was being removed, giving his soul even more distinct qualities.

After the black fog was dispersed, the runes Liang Long drew over his body slowly lighted up in reaction to his soul being nourished.

He can feel it, the spine-chilling chilly feeling flowing through his hazy blue astral body, the blood-curdling hymn that makes one feel as if he is in the presence of something entirely unknown, hiding deep within one's inner essence.

As if... The eyes of the deepest abyss were fixated on him, examining him to see if there was anything it wanted to take away from him.

Liang Long became aware of it. If he fails, he will suffer a fate worse than death.

And, in the middle of it all, his comprehension of the cosmos is gradually increasing.

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*RUMBLE!*

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*BOOM!*

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Heaven and Earth were furious. They used everything they could to deny his existence. Red lightning continued to rain down on Liang Long, threatening to annihilate him from the face of the world.

It gave him a disturbing sensation that his breakthrough was being rejected by the heavenly way. Liang Long was attempting to reject the ominous sensation and focus entirely on progressing to the next realm, as he believed he was progressively gaining insights to break the shackles that held him.

Liang Long merely stood there, getting struck by uncountable lightning bolts at breakneck speed, one after the other.

Normally, one's soul would have disintegrated to dust and been completely obliterated, never to join the cycle of reincarnation again. However, Liang Long's soul is far from normal.

His soul cultivation is considerably superior than everyone else's because it is his sole method of cultivation.

The ancient grindstone's repeated destruction and reconstruction of his soul had done wonders for him, making him more skilled and familiar with his soul, substantially improving his potential and aptitude, and providing him with a large accumulation of soul power and understanding of the soul itself.

While not having a physical body was tough for him, it did provide him with a divine blessing toward one of the most arduous methods of growth.

His knowledge of the kinetic forces and experience in the Primordial Chaos Origin Star Sea enabled him to view territories that probably not even his master, Zhou Yuan, had seen in his life.

Demonstrating that one does not always require the assistance of a heaven-defying treasure to considerably increase one's power.

Nothing is difficult to attain if one has a strong will to succeed!

Liang Long was seeing visions of himself going through the many difficulties he had to undergo while cultivating in the Primordial Chaos Origin Star Sea, as well as the thousands of years of work he had put in to discover a way out.

Until lately, when he finally achieved inner peace and promised to return to this great open world. At last, Liang Long glimpsed the world beyond his eyes in shades other than black and white.

As he felt enlightened, the primordial chaos energy he had sensed in the Primordial Chaos Origin Star Sea before flooded through his entire body, leaving him stunned!

He had never realized that this energy had been building up inside of him until now.

"It was actually inside my dantian?" Liang Long mumbled, breathing a sigh of comfort as he realized the energy was not going to harm him.

(A/N: Don't ask me why he has a dantian as a soul, martial peak logic.)

Nobody wants an unknown kind of energy to appear unexpectedly inside their dantian.

The dantian is the basis of one's whole cultivation path throughout the years. Although it may be restored, it might take months, years, or even thousands of years to fully recover.

In the most extreme circumstances, if it is irreparably damaged, one becomes a cripple and will never be able to cultivate again.

Cultivators take this topic very seriously, and some even commit suicide if they can no longer pursue the martial peak.

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The white-black primordial chaos energy encircled his entire inner soul form, blending with the red lightning flowing across him.

Liang Long's eyes became red, and he began to soar into the crimson sky, leaving a trail of white and black dense fog behind him.

Unbestowed to him, as he was enveloped by dark clouds, a large phantom silhouette of a molten grindstone arose in the sky above the clouds. It began to suck away the whirling clouds around Liang Long, as if it was trying to help him break through into the next major realm.

He continued to soar into the sky until he was nowhere to be seen.

However...

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*Hualala*

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The sky suddenly became scarlet, exactly in the middle of where he was ascending. Above the clouds, a dazzling red diamond-shaped crystal could be seen, accompanied by a small blue object, emitting a ringing bell-like sound that swept throughout the region.

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[On a circular mountain summit a few miles away from Liang Long's location]

"I have never seen such a disastrous breakthrough. Not even after we reached the Open Heaven Realm. Although it was obviously hectic, it was nowhere near this earth-shattering phenomenon." Long Tian's serene composure had long faded as he saw the darker side of the world slowly begin to revolve around the young man's figure. He was staring at his front as if he were witnessing a world-ending disaster.

"That deep red lightning showed up once again. It appears that his soul was emitting them before, but now they are much more noticeable. If that weird power becomes uncontrollable, I'm worried this region will become a wasteland devoid of all life." Luo Lan was by Long Tian's side, expressing her views with a somber expression on her face.

They were both in their great dragon and phoenix forms, which makes them considerably quicker and more powerful. They didn't take this matter lightly, even at their level, a world baptism is no joke.

So they didn't dare to be careless as the heavens were clearly going ballistic at the young figure inside the clouds.

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*Fwoosh*

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They were surprised to hear a rush of wind approaching from behind them.

"Father, mother!" A yell rang out behind their backs. They were stunned because they recognized the owner of this voice.

"What?! Yue'er?! What are you doing here? Go back! This place is far too dangerous!" Luo Lan noticed her daughter approaching them with a worried expression on her face. She had just remembered that Li Ming Yue still had their life token, which showed where they were for her.

As she was about to send her off, she felt Long Tian's hand on her shoulder.

"It's no use now. Since Yue'er is here, all we can do is protect her." Long Tian exhaled a deep sigh. When his daughter unexpectedly came, he, too, nearly passed out.

They were so preoccupied with the situation in the mountain range that they didn't seem to notice their daughter's presence.

Luo Lan didn't say anything and just nodded her head at him.

The little girl had finally reached where they were stationed as they were calming down.

"The world is in such a bizarre state. Don't tell me it's because of that person?!" Li Ming Yue came to a halt directly in front of them, panting slightly as she expended a lot of stamina and qi to reach her parents.

The first thing she sensed when she arrived was that the world's energy was growing intense, indicating that someone was on the brink of stepping into a new realm.

She, too, had noted the abrupt change in the atmosphere of the nearby regions while traveling. The world's principles were in shambles, and natural calamities were all around.

At first, she assumed it was her parents' doing, believing that they had met the person known as Bai Li (Liang Long) and that something had happened there.

But how could she have imagined that these changes were the result of someone else attempting to breakthrough?

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[Half an hour later]

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*RUMBLE!*

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The ground trembled, the sky roared, and a powerful gust of wind came from where Liang Long resided, and the surrounding black clouds began to disperse miles away from the family's position.

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*HUUMM!*

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A dazzling red flash echoed, forming a massive circle of crimson light that blazed and engulfed the world in red, as if a blood moon had replaced the sun in the sky.

"Beautiful..." The young girl gazed at the sky with her bright purple eyes, enchanted by the gorgeous vibrant red tint.

"Huh? What is that?" Long Tian's eyes lit up, narrowing his eyes at the distance.

"A red dot?" Luo Lan questioned, unsure whether she had seen it right.

"It's falling! Did he fail?" Li Ming Yue spoke rapidly, with a tone that was clearly alarmed.

A bright red dot could be seen descending toward the ground, exactly where Liang Long was, as the world gradually regained its original color, casting a seven-colored light and restoring the original blue sky.

"It seems that the world's baptism has finally ended. Let us look at that young man." Long Tian remarked as he, Luo Lan, and Li Ming Yue raced to the skies, heading in the direction where the world-breaking calamity once occurred.

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[1930 words]

(A/N: I broke out in a cold sweat while attempting to create a spooky atmosphere for Liang Long's unique breakthrough. I hope you enjoyed it.)