Chapter 8: Realm Breakthrough! Sixth Grade Mortal-Shedding!

Alchemy room.

In the center of the room stood a massive bronze furnace.

The furnace was filled with a pale red liquid, emitting waves of rich medicinal fragrance; just the smell of it made one feel a burning heat throughout the body.

"Uncle Fu, after I enter the cauldron, you will control the earth fire to refine the medicinal power, ensuring I can absorb it completely."

"This is of vital importance to me; there can be no mistakes."

Chen Mo said earnestly.

In terms of strength, Chen Fu, as the steward, might not even be as good as Cen Long.

But when it came to attainments in alchemy and the art of controlling fire, no one in the entire Chen Fu could surpass him; even He Yuzhi was inferior by a margin!

Chen Fu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"So it was this matter; this old servant thought..."

"Thought what?"

"Ahem, nothing."

Looking at Chen Fu's awkward expression, Chen Mo always felt something was strange.

However, he did not dwell on it; he removed his clothes and leaped into the cauldron.

"Young Master, are you ready?"

"Begin."

Chen Fu formed seals with his hands and channeled the earth fire, causing crimson flames to burn fiercely inside the furnace.

In less than half a breath, the medicinal liquid began to churn and boil.

He controlled the heat perfectly, maximizing the refinement of the medicinal power without causing any harm to Chen Mo.

"Dragon Yang Boiling Blood Decoction, brewed from over a dozen extremely Yang substances, can greatly increase blood activity and stimulate the body's potential."

"This time, not only will I raise my cultivation technique to Great Completion,"

"But I will also use this as an opportunity to break through to the Sixth Grade in one go!"

Chen Mo opened his palm, and an amber crystal floated in the air, surrounded by ribbons of golden dust dancing in circles, while the sound of the Great Dao seemed to echo in his ears.

The attribute panel unfolded before his eyes.

He saw that a "+" sign had appeared behind both his cultivation technique and martial arts.

Chen Mo chose the Hunyuan Body-Forging Art without hesitation.

The crystal shattered with a bang, turning into countless specks of light that surged into his brow like a tidal wave.

Chen Mo's vision suddenly went black, and all was silent, as if he were in the boundless, vast universe.

A small golden figure sat cross-legged in the void.

Its body was as clear and translucent as amber; through the skin, one could see flowing light circulating within.

Following the figure's guidance, Chen Mo involuntarily circulated his cultivation technique; previously blocked meridians were suddenly cleared, and the speed of his true qi circulation increased several times over!

In the void, stars lit up one by one, corresponding to the acupoints he had opened!

"All-encompassing, containing everything; so large there is nothing outside it, so small there is nothing inside it..."

"Using heaven and earth as the furnace, true essence as the fuel, to refine oneself and forge the body to reach divinity—this is the Hunyuan Body-Forging!"

"A miss by a hair is a loss of a thousand miles; the previous method of cultivation was wrong!"

Chen Mo felt as if he had been enlightened, the clouds parting to reveal the sun, immersed in profound realization.

At the same time, the medicinal liquid formed a vortex centered on him, and the surging medicinal power poured into his body through his pores!

Pain!

A heart-piercing, bone-chilling pain!

Stimulated by the medicinal properties, Chen Mo's blood and qi churned, clashing with his true qi, as if his body were about to be torn apart!

He ignored it all and continued to circulate his cultivation technique.

Under the constant infusion of medicinal power, his blood and qi gradually gained the upper hand, continuously striking at his qi sea and compressing his true qi step by step.

Until a certain critical point—

A drop of liquid fell into his dantian.

Two drops, five drops, ten drops... the true qi was rapidly refined, impurities removed, and condensed into pure true essence.

But it was not enough.

In the darkness, Chen Mo "saw" countless specks of light around him, drawn toward him by the pull of the Hunyuan Body-Forging Art.

Refining, constantly refining.

He was famished and thirsty, devouring them like a black hole.

Only when a sense of fullness arrived did Chen Mo stop circulating the technique; looking inward, the vast sea of true essence had almost filled his entire dantian!

He opened his eyes, and a flash of lightning seemed to pass through them.

He slowly extended his right hand, and the medicinal liquid in the furnace surged up, gathering in his palm into a transparent long blade!

With a casual wave, he sliced the bronze furnace in two!

It was as sharp as a real weapon!

"True essence leaving the body, manipulating objects from a distance... this is the hallmark of the Origin Returning Realm!"

"Young Master, have you broken through to the Sixth Grade?"

Chen Fu looked stunned, unable to believe his eyes.

He had thought the Young Master only wanted to use the medicinal power to forge his body, but he never expected a breakthrough of a major realm!

To be a Sixth Grade Mortal-Shedding at the age of twenty!

With such talent, even the prodigies on the Azure Cloud Ranking would be no better, right?

"Our Chen family has produced a dragon!"

After finally sending off the overjoyed Chen Fu, Chen Mo opened his attribute panel.

Name: Chen Mo

Title: None

Realm: Sixth Grade Mortal-Shedding · Origin Returning Realm

Cultivation Technique: Hunyuan Body-Forging Art · Great Completion

Martial Arts:

Blazing Flame Eight Slashes · Great Completion

Wind-Thunder Dash · Proficient (73/100)

Divine Ability: None

True Spirit: 1

Nine Grades of Martial Dao.

Ninth Grade Body Tempering, Eighth Grade Bone Forging, Seventh Grade Tendon Changing; these are the mortal stages.

Sixth Grade Origin Returning, Fifth Grade Pure Yang, Fourth Grade Divine Sea; these are the Mortal-Shedding stages.

The Sixth Grade Origin Returning Realm, where true qi transforms into true essence, is the first watershed on the path of martial cultivation.

Only by stepping into this realm can one truly begin to cultivate the "Martial Dao"!

"Under normal circumstances, the amount of true essence for a warrior in the Origin Returning Realm only accounts for one-tenth of the dantian; mine is almost full—is this a bit too exaggerated?"

"What exactly are those specks of light?"

"The level of purity feels far superior to true qi..."

Chen Mo was somewhat puzzled.

Suddenly, his expression changed as he realized something was wrong.

Although the realm breakthrough was successful, the medicinal power remained in his body, with nowhere to release it!

To maximize the stimulation of blood and qi, he had chosen only the most Yang and rigid medicinal herbs; with over a dozen types of medicinal effects stacked together, let alone a normal person, even a eunuch would probably sprout hair!

"Forgot about this..."

Chen Mo was burning hot, feeling as if he were about to ignite.

He noticed a large water vat nearby filled with cold water just drawn from the well and dove straight into it.

A carriage stopped in front of Chen Fu.

Shen Zhixia stepped down from the sedan, wearing an apricot-yellow dress; her oval face was fair and round, her brows and eyes as delicate as a painting, like a tender sprout just budding in the spring, exuding a youthful and sweet aura.

Qing'er stood behind her, her chubby little face still carrying some baby fat.

"Young Lady, didn't you say a few days ago that you never wanted to see Chen Mo again?"

"I... I'm just here to return something to him."

Shen Zhixia held a jade pendant in her hand.

It was the very one Chen Mo had tossed to her in front of the Jiaofangsi to prove his identity.

"Such a small matter could be left to the servants; why did you have to come yourself?"

"Besides, you started dressing up early in the morning and changed over a dozen outfits; you never used to wear dresses..."

"Shut up."

"..."

Qing'er shook her head, her expression helpless.

Shen Zhixia is a possessor of the Innate True Martial Body, a top-tier prodigy ranked sixth on the Azure Cloud List!

In her eyes, anyone worthy of her young lady must at least be a figure at the "Ten Heroes" level.

Yet that Chen Mo is nothing more than a dissolute young master; besides having a handsome face, what other merits does he have?

"I really don't know what the young lady sees in him..."

"Young lady, young lady?"

When Qing'er came back to her senses, she realized Shen Zhixia had already walked into the gates of Chen Fu, so she hurriedly trotted after her.