Chapter 88

In the night, Long Chen climbed to the peak of a mountain. The bright moon hung high, and from here, he could overlook the scenery for hundreds of miles around.

Long Chen was no longer the same person who had been pursued by Ying Hou. Now, he had fewer inhibitions, and this was an excellent place for cultivation.

In the primeval forest, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was several times more concentrated than in the imperial capital. He needed to take advantage of this unique environment to break through to the next realm.

After assassinating Xia Changfeng and encountering Ying Hou, he had been through several intense battles, always on the brink of death. His mental state had rapidly improved.

He could feel that the bottleneck was beginning to loosen, and this was the best time to break through to the next realm.

At the peak of the mountain, surrounded by steep cliffs, he was not afraid of any fierce beasts disturbing him. He sat cross-legged on a large rock, and the twelve qi spirals activated.

The space trembled, and twelve enormous spirals appeared behind Long Chen, each with a terrifying diameter of a hundred feet.

This was the first time Long Chen had fully unleashed his qi spirals after advancing to the tenth level of the Gathering Qi stage.

He had been afraid that his unusual phenomena would alarm his enemies, but now he could finally let loose and fully absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

The twelve spirals, each a hundred feet in diameter, greedily absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth like the mouths of twelve fierce beasts, drawing it into the Fengfu Star beneath Long Chen's feet.

The space around the twelve spirals began to distort visibly as the spiritual energy within a radius of hundreds of miles converged on Long Chen like a flood.

*Boom*

In just three hours, the Fengfu Star emitted a loud explosion, indicating that the spiritual energy had reached its critical point, about to enter the next realm.

However, Long Chen did not feel the slightest excitement, for he knew this was just the beginning, and a long and arduous process lay ahead.

When he had condensed the tenth qi spiral, he had experienced the almost insane difficulty. It was so bizarre that he had become accustomed to it.

Usually, when martial artists broke through barriers, they could do it in one attempt. If they had strong aptitude, it might take several attempts, but even the most talented would not exceed nine attempts when breaking through the Gathering Qi stage.

When Long Chen broke through to the tenth level of the Gathering Qi stage, although he had not counted, he conservatively estimated that he had tried at least a thousand times.

The next two breakthroughs were even more numerous, and Long Chen could not even remember how many times he had tried, just continuously attempting until he succeeded.

So when the Fengfu Star first rumbled, Long Chen did not react at all, continuing to absorb the energy of heaven and earth.

As Long Chen continued, more and more energy poured into the Fengfu Star, which began to rotate rapidly, emitting continuous explosions.

Long Chen paid no attention, still desperately absorbing the energy of heaven and earth. The energy converged like a storm, rushing in from all directions.

On a high mountain hundreds of miles away, a tall tree stood, and a woman in white was looking in this direction.

"What a powerful aura of foundation building. It seems a remarkable person is about to emerge among humans," the woman in white murmured, her figure slowly fading away.

Inside Long Chen's body, the Fengfu Star continued to tremble, as expected, not breaking through to the next realm. This was the bizarre part.

Three days later, the Fengfu Star in Long Chen's body began to slow down, finally coming to a complete stop. Long Chen's heart leaped with joy; this was the real breakthrough.

*Boom*

Suddenly, the heavens trembled, and the twelve qi spirals behind Long Chen slowly parted, revealing a thirteenth spiral.

When the thirteenth spiral appeared, the originally clear sky instantly turned dark with thick clouds, lightning, and thunder, casting a gloom over a radius of ten thousand miles.

"What's happening?"

Long Chen was greatly alarmed. He noticed that the thick clouds in the sky formed a huge vortex, with the center of the vortex directly aligned with him.

It was like a giant demon's eye, mercilessly staring at Long Chen, and a terrifying destructive will was heading straight for him.

Long Chen immediately realized he could not move, not even his eyeballs. His heart was filled with fear.

"What the hell is going on?"

Long Chen cursed inwardly, watching the thick clouds and lightning in the sky, knowing that something bad was about to happen.

"Is it going to strike me?"

Even if Long Chen were foolish, he knew that something terrifying was about to appear and struggled frantically.

But it was as if a mountain was pressing down on him, and despite his efforts to stand up, his body trembled uncontrollably.

*Crack*

The rock beneath Long Chen's feet cracked, unable to bear his weight.

Even though Long Chen was bold, his heart trembled, and he wanted to flee. However, it was as if a mountain was pressing down on him, making it difficult to move, and he could not escape.

"This is heavenly punishment, and you cannot escape. Focus all your strength to resist."

Just as Long Chen was anxiously thinking, a voice entered his ears.

"The Forest Spirit?"

Long Chen recognized the voice, which came from the woman in the spirit realm. Clearly, she was warning him.

Heavenly punishment? Long Chen's heart was filled with anger. There were so many bad people in the world, and you didn't punish them, but you punished me?

However, the woman's voice seemed to know the origin of this terrifying phenomenon, and since she was warning him, she would not harm him.

Putting aside his anger, he touched his ring, and a broadsword appeared in his hand, channeling his strength to the limit.

At this moment, thirteen qi spirals neatly surrounded Long Chen, forming a halo that made him look like a reincarnated celestial emperor, overlooking the heavens.

The woman in white, watching from a distance, saw the thirteen qi spirals in the halo around Long Chen and fell into deep thought.

Long Chen condensed the thirteen qi spirals, and the power of heaven and earth flowed into his body. His meridians, modified by the woman in white, could now withstand greater energy.

Meanwhile, the clouds in the sky grew thicker, and the lightning became more frequent. Suddenly, the world fell silent, and a lightning bolt as thick as a water vat shot down from the center of the clouds, heading straight for Long Chen, with the force to destroy heaven and earth.

Long Chen, facing the terrifying lightning, felt the boundless destructive will within it. He held his broadsword with both hands, and a strange light appeared on the blade.

"Open the Heavens"

*Boom*

Rocks shattered, and a mountain peak hundreds of feet high collapsed. The lightning strike flattened the entire mountain.

Long Chen spat out three mouthfuls of blood, his body charred and even smelling of burnt flesh.

His full-strength attack was like an ant trying to resist an elephant's hoof, completely ineffective.

This made him very depressed. In the face of the lightning, he felt so insignificant, and the joy of advancing to the thirteenth level of the Gathering Qi stage was instantly extinguished.

"You did well."

The sky cleared, and the thick clouds dispersed, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion. The woman in white appeared before Long Chen.

Just as Long Chen was about to speak, he spat out another mouthful of blood. The previous strike had severely shaken his internal organs.

The woman in white waved her hand, and a drop of green liquid floated to Long Chen, entering his mouth. Long Chen felt a sweet sensation as it slid down his throat, quickly spreading through his body. He discovered that his injuries were rapidly healing.

The charred skin on his body began to peel off, and in less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, his body had recovered to about eighty percent, more effective than any healing medicine.

"Don't be surprised. The first heavenly punishment mainly destroys one's will. If your will is not strong enough, you will be annihilated in the heavenly punishment," the woman in white said.

"What exactly is heavenly punishment?" Long Chen asked.

"It is the will of the Heavenly Dao. Anyone who threatens the Heavenly Dao will face punishment when they advance."

Long Chen's heart raced. Threaten the Heavenly Dao? Could it be referring to...?

"Some things I cannot tell you too much, as it would be detrimental to you. Rest and consolidate your cultivation. I will leave now."

Without waiting for Long Chen to respond, the woman's figure turned into a wisp of smoke and slowly disappeared before him.

Watching the woman in white disappear, and looking at the flattened mountain peak and the clear sky, it felt like a dream.

Recalling the lightning, Long Chen suddenly realized that it was something he could not resist. But why didn't it kill him?

Could it be, as the woman said, that the first heavenly punishment was aimed at his will, and if his will collapsed, he would die in the heavenly punishment?

Previously, he had felt helpless against the heavenly punishment and wanted to flee. It was the woman's warning that gave him the courage to face it.

If not for her warning, he would have been annihilated. The thought made him shudder.

He also realized how important a strong will was for a martial artist. Cultivation was a path with no retreat.

Taking a deep breath, he felt as if he had seen a broader sky after the woman's warning.

*Buzz*

The space trembled, and Long Chen summoned the thirteen qi spirals outside his body, wanting to see if they had changed.

"Hmm?"

Long Chen found that the thirteen qi spirals were still a hundred feet in diameter and had not grown larger. However, what surprised him was that after the heavenly punishment, the thirteen qi spirals were connected by a thread, forming a complete whole.

Now, the thirteen qi spirals were connected, forming a halo, no longer operating independently but as a single unit, with spiritual energy circulating among them.

*Whoosh*

With a thought, the thirteen qi spirals trembled, rotating rapidly. The halo behind him spun, forming a huge vortex, greedily absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

The speed was at least ten times faster than before, which greatly delighted Long Chen. Such absorption speed meant he would not run out of spiritual energy even in intense battles.

When he and Ah Man fought Ying Hou, he had run out of spiritual energy due to excessive consumption, unable to sustain the fight. Now, with the thirteen qi spirals connected, he no longer had to worry about endurance.

Moreover, he noticed that when the thirteen qi spirals formed the halo, his body felt full of power.

Closing his eyes and focusing inward, Long Chen was suddenly filled with joy.