Chapter 296: Breaking Through the Sacred Realm

Lei Ming ran over at that moment, holding a Storage Ring in his hand.

"Little brother, this was prepared by Sister Wu for you; it's meant for you to give to Sister Liang's father."

Ye Liuyun used his Divine Sense to look inside; it contained the tea leaves that Liang Yue had just thought were good, along with some fine wine.

"Still, Qingcheng thought of everything!" Ye Liuyun had not at all anticipated this matter.

Liang Xue glanced and gently hinted, "When I'm not around, you should treat Qingcheng and the others a bit better; don't neglect them."

"I've always been good to them! Otherwise how could their realms improve so quickly!" Ye Liuyun didn't understand Liang Xue's meaning.

"Alas! You're such a wooden block!" Liang Xue and Lei Ming said simultaneously…

The two didn't linger; fearing Liang Yue would become impatient, they said farewell and returned to the main hall.

Ye Liuyun presented the Storage Ring; Liang Yue, upon seeing it, praised his thoughtfulness. At the same time, he gave him another Storage Ring as a welcome gift, then left the Sacred Martial Academy with Liang Xue.

After Liang Xue and the others departed, Ye Liuyun examined the Storage Ring and found it contained Spirit Stones. Those Spirit Stones were enough for a Skeleton Puppet to fight four or five more times!

"Ha ha, Qingcheng, thanks to you, this deal was truly profitable! Some tea and wine turned into so many Spirit Stones!" Ye Liuyun laughed, handing the Spirit Stones to Wu Qingcheng.

"You! You've become a money‑mad now! If Sister Liang knew you felt this way, she'd ignore you for three days!" Wu Qingcheng, seeing his good mood, also became cheerful.

She then reminded him, "Hurry and cultivate! You only have a year before you must face a Golden Core Ninth Level master. Right now you haven't even reached the first level of Golden Core, you're a whole realm behind!"

"Alright, I'll start cultivating immediately!" Ye Liuyun rushed back to the Cultivation Room, entered the Xuan Kong Shi, took out Zi Long's primordial Golden Core, and began absorbing and refining it.

Ye Liuyun felt that, after days of battle accumulation, he could breakthrough quickly even without entering the Xuan Kong Shi.

But for peace of mind, he chose to enter for the breakthrough, lest the disturbance during the breakthrough affect others.

Zi Long's primordial Golden Core was easily absorbed; within less than half a day Ye Liuyun could already breakthrough. Yet he suppressed his realm to save some Spirit Stones, trying to absorb as much energy from the Golden Core as possible.

The True Essence in his Qi Sea had mostly solidified, and the Qi Sea had already become a Golden Core. Only when Ye Liuyun could no longer suppress it did he release it to breakthrough.

Suddenly, Ye Liuyun felt his affinity with the spiritual Qi between Heaven and Earth deepen; each bit of Qi he absorbed transformed into more True Essence.

When breaking through the Golden Core realm, the insight into the great trends of Heaven and Earth required had long been achieved by Ye Liuyun, so his breakthrough proceeded far more smoothly than ordinary people.

With abundant energy this time, after a smooth breakthrough, his Qi Sea fully transformed into a Golden Core, which began to rotate within his dantian.

This solid True Essence not only contained power several times that of the Sea Transformation realm, but its mass also underwent a massive change.

Every strand of True Essence seemed to hold Heaven and Earth Power, possessing limitless might!

"No wonder people say that before the Golden Core realm one is mortal. The difference lies right here! The power of True Essence has truly transcended mortals!"

He now understood why many Golden Core disciples disdain Sea Transformation disciples. If not for his unique Mysterious Origin Qi‑Linking Technique, he truly wouldn't be qualified to clash with a Martial Cultivator of the Golden Core realm while still in the Sea Transformation realm.

Ye Liuyun sensed the Heaven and Earth Power released by the True Essence, and the shift in his relationship with Heaven and Earth. It truly felt a detachment from Heaven and Earth, a world apart from ordinary people.

"It feels as if I'm like a god, omnipotent!" Of course, he also knew he was still far from the Divine Realm.

Yet the feeling was marvelous, giving him a sense of instantaneous rebirth.

He recalled the feeling of merging with Heaven and Earth, spirit‑wandering through Taixu, when he cultivated in the dean's backyard lake.

Immediately he released his Soul, filling the Xuan Kong Shi. The sensation was identical to before, except then he still needed a meditation mat; now he could release it freely.

"Master!" At that moment, the elder artifact spirit of the Xuan Kong Shi suddenly reappeared, bowing to Ye Liuyun.

Only then did Ye Liuyun recall his pact with the elder: break through to the Golden Core realm within three years, and he could recognize the elder as his master and receive inheritance. Only a few months had passed.

"I didn't expect you, Master, to breakthrough to the Golden Core realm within just a few months! You truly are a cultivation genius. I can now pass you the inheritance of this space!" the elder artifact spirit said respectfully.

"What inheritance?" Ye Liuyun asked curiously.

"It is Spatial Power—the mastery and use of Spatial Power. However, the inheritance is staged; the Master must complete each cultivation phase to obtain the next. This is the Xuan Kong Shi's design, to prevent the Master from greedily taking too much at once," the artifact spirit explained to Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun nodded; the arrangement made sense. "That's fine then. Progressing step by step is good!"

"I will first give you the first‑stage Void‑Evading Technique!" Saying so, the artifact spirit transmitted the first‑stage Void‑Evading Technique data directly to Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun immediately let his Soul return to his body and began to comprehend it carefully.

The information described Space in great detail, making it easy to understand; soon Ye Liuyun grasped what the Void was. With his Golden Pupil aiding him, he quickly realized how to locate the Void, especially when he held the Wu Kong Shi.

Next came how to enter the Void to hide one's form. The Void is filled with Void Rifts, black holes, and strong Gale; a single misstep can cause injury.

Thus Ye Liuyun was always cautious, entering briefly then exiting. Several times he nearly got blown by the Gale into another space or sucked into a black hole.

Once a Void Rift scraped him, tearing a large swath of flesh from his back. Even his robust Physical Body couldn't resist the Rift's cut.

"Damn, this Void is truly terrifying! Surviving inside is hard enough, let alone using Spatial Power!" Ye Liuyun muttered after cultivating for a while.

"Master, your progress has been swift!" At that moment, the elder artifact spirit suddenly emerged, startling Ye Liuyun.

"This initial Void‑Evading Technique is essentially a process of understanding the Void. As for hiding within it, it merely deepens your grasp of its properties. I assure you there is a method later to harness the Void and various Spatial Powers; don't rush. For this first step, if you can stay in the Void for the length of a tea, you can unlock the next stage of learning."

"Alright! I will do my best! I'll rest a while to consolidate my realm."

Saying so, he paused the cultivation of Spatial Power and resumed absorbing and refining Zi Long's Golden Core.

Three days later, when Ye Liuyun's realm neared the mid‑stage of the first Golden Core level, he finally withdrew from the Xuan Kong Shi.

Now he was the master of the Xuan Kong Shi and could bring others in to cultivate. Thus, Ye Liuyun sent Lei Ming, Bai Hu, Shi Yuan, Wu Qingcheng, Yu Er, and Ru Yue inside, letting them also experience it.