Beneath the spiritual waterfall, Li Xuan’s mind stirred, and a dark, gritty stone slowly appeared in his hand.
As Li Xuan took it out, his mind once again reverberated. The blood within his body also began to boil.
"What exactly is this stone?" Li Xuan furrowed his brow secretly, then his mind moved, and he inquired of the Heavenly Dao Brush.
"Little master, this is the Xuanming Divine Stone. Its function is to strengthen your bloodline’s power," the Heavenly Dao Brush replied.
Upon hearing this, Li Xuan’s eyes lit up. He opened his mouth and directly swallowed the stone.
Boom!
As Li Xuan swallowed the stone, his body suddenly trembled violently. The blood within his body instantly boiled again.
With a dull thud, Li Xuan’s body shook once more. Then, a radiant spiritual light flashed, and Li Xuan’s figure slowly vanished within the light.
At this moment, within Li Xuan’s body, as a gray mist emerged, the previously dim stone boomed and brightened. Then, a light as brilliant as daylight rapidly swept through Li Xuan’s body.
Boom!
As white light flashed, an incredibly vibrant bloody hue quickly appeared.
In an instant, Li Xuan’s body turned crimson as if it were burning. The entire spiritual waterfall, at this moment, directly flowed around Li Xuan.
Ding.
After a full half-hour had passed, a ding sounded within Li Xuan’s body. The energy of the Xuanming Stone had completely dissipated.
At this moment, a spiritual light from Li Xuan’s body shot straight into the sky, and his aura began to climb once more.
Rumble!
With a rumble, Li Xuan suddenly opened his eyes.
His bloodline power had broken through again!
Not only that, but Li Xuan discovered that his cultivation realm had actually advanced to the late stage of the Freedom Realm.
"Fifth Junior Brother's cultivation speed is truly fast. It's only been over half a year since he arrived at our Seventh Peak, and he's already broken through again."
The spiritual energy fluctuations caused by Li Xuan's breakthrough naturally drew the attention of Su Yueze and the other three. After sighing in amazement for a moment, Su Yueze and the other three closed their eyes and resumed their cultivation. Clearly, Li Xuan's breakthrough had also spurred them on.
At this moment, Li Xuan, having just broken through, examined the changes within his body with satisfaction. The Xuanming Stone, after helping Li Xuan purify his bloodline power and achieve his breakthrough, had its energy completely depleted. It finally turned into nothingness and dispersed within Li Xuan’s body.
Li Xuan perceived internally that the meridians within his body had expanded considerably, and the blood flowing through them was incredibly strong and vigorous. Li Xuan felt that he could now defeat his pre-breakthrough self with a single punch.
And all of this stemmed from the enhancement of his bloodline power.
"This Xuanming Stone is truly a good thing. However, it's just too small. If it were a bit larger, perhaps my strength could have broken through even more." Li Xuan murmured, clearly still wanting more.
But soon Li Xuan shook his head. How could such a divine item be something to be greedy for.
After adjusting his mindset, Li Xuan sat down and entered meditation.
Over the past half-year, his physical body had already achieved immunity to the spiritual waterfall. Coupled with his current breakthrough, Li Xuan now moved through the spiritual waterfall as unimpeded as a fish. However, he felt a sense of confusion regarding his current cultivation.
After all, his Master, Luo Kang, had not appeared for a long time.
"Fifth Junior Brother, are you still cultivating?"
Song Wuwen's voice suddenly came from outside the spiritual waterfall. Hearing this within the waterfall, Li Xuan’s eyes immediately brightened, and he shot out of the waterfall in a flash.
"Fourth Senior Brother, you've arrived." Upon seeing Song Wuwen, Li Xuan excitedly rushed towards him.
Song Wuwen immediately dodged to the side, then looked at Li Xuan with his arms crossed, his expression wary. "Fifth Junior Brother, if you're feeling 'that way,' don't come looking for me."
Li Xuan felt a chill upon seeing Song Wuwen's reaction, and he glared at him playfully. "Fourth Senior Brother, I've encountered a problem with my cultivation, and since you've come to find me, I'm naturally happy. Fourth Senior Brother, your cautious posture makes me think all sorts of things."
"Ah? Is that so? Uh... I thought you'd been in seclusion for so long that you might have been holding back. And you, why did you pounce on me the moment we met?" Song Wuwen then let go, looking innocent.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
As Song Wuwen finished speaking, three more sounds of air being pierced echoed from mid-air. Li Xuan and Song Wuwen both looked up. Song Wuwen's face showed a hint of surprise. "Strange, why have First Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, and Third Senior Brother all come?"
"Greetings, First Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother." Although Li Xuan was also surprised, he still respectfully bowed.
"Fifth Junior Brother, how has your cultivation been recently?" Su Yueze nodded slightly, then after a brief acknowledgement of Song Wuwen's presence, he turned to Li Xuan and asked.
"If you had come sooner, I wouldn't have misunderstood Fifth Junior Brother," Song Wuwen said with a laugh after Su Yueze spoke, then recounted the scene of his meeting with Li Xuan.
"Haha, it's fortunate that Third Junior Brother and I came with First Senior Brother. Otherwise, I might have been the one receiving Fifth Junior Brother's bear hug." Chai Jingyuan burst into laughter after hearing Song Wuwen's account.
It turned out that Chai Jingyuan had also intended to visit Li Xuan after finishing his cultivation. However, as soon as he set off, he encountered Su Yueze and He Xidong flying by near He Xidong's cultivation spot. After a brief chat, the three of them headed towards Li Xuan's location together.
"I say, Fourth Junior Brother, it's not like Li Xuan hugging you will cause any harm. By the way, First Senior Brother, you haven't smiled much since we met on the way. What news did you hear from Master?"
After Chai Jingyuan spoke, He Xidong also smiled and then looked at Su Yueze and asked.
Li Xuan and the other two also looked towards Su Yueze. As He Xidong finished, Li Xuan also nodded slightly.
Indeed, the First Senior Brother Su Yueze they saw today seemed somewhat different from before. From his appearance until now, apart from the initial question, his expression had been rather tense, as if he had encountered some trouble.
As the gazes of Li Xuan and the other three fell upon him, Su Yueze sighed slightly, then raised his head to look at them. "Master said that in three months, a disciple spar match will be held among the disciples of the Azure Hall. Our Seventh Peak is also included in this spar match."
"Spar match? First Senior Brother, such spar matches have happened before. Why is your expression unusual this time?" Chai Jingyuan asked Su Yueze, looking perplexed.
Su Yueze glanced at Li Xuan and the other three, then his face showed self-reproach. "For this spar match, if our Seventh Peak fails to enter the top ten, Master will have to resign his position as elder. Not only that, but our Seventh Peak disciples might be forced to join the other peaks."