Chapter 489: Redouble One's Efforts

"This is the true Buddha‑Demon Golden Body!"

Ye Liuyun felt that the attack power of this Buddha‑Demon Golden Body had increased by more than double compared to before, and couldn't help but feel amazed.

And his Physical Body's Buddha‑Demon Golden Body, due to the short cultivation time, only reached the standard of the eighth layer, not a perfect state, yet its strength also rose dramatically.

Moreover, once this Buddha‑Demon Golden Body activated, the Buddha‑Demon phantom was no longer behind him but directly enveloped him, indistinguishable. Ye Liuyun's movements became the phantom's movements. And this Buddha‑Demon phantom had solidified a lot, becoming more and more like a true half‑Buddha half‑demon form.

These changes filled Ye Liuyun with joy. Neither his Physical Body nor his Soul had improved so dramatically in a long time. With this foundation, he felt confident he could face the outside Heavenly Gang Realm's eighth‑layer Martial Cultivator alone.

He family Clan Chief probably never imagined that what was about to arrive was not a punishment for Ye Liuyun, but Ye Liuyun's punishment for the He family.

"Ha ha, keep it up, break through another layer!"

When Ye Liuyun was excited, he laughed out loud. Even he hadn't expected this expedition to go so smoothly. It might be the least risky expedition since he began cultivating martial ways.

In his heart, he credited a great merit to the Corpse‑Eating Worm.

Afterwards, he began to fully convert Demon Qi into True Essence, raising his realm.

Ye Liuyun's True Essence had just been deliberately exhausted while battling the zombie. He already possessed more True Essence than ordinary people, and breakthroughs require even more, so for a while he couldn't absorb it all.

Originally a large chunk of Crystal Stone, after Lei Ming and the Earth Demon Dragon used it up, only half remained; he absorbed that half for a long time, shrinking it further, yet his breakthrough still showed no sign.

Ye Liuyun wasn't in a hurry. After all, he still had Primordial Power to absorb. He cultivated inside Xuan Kong Shi, with plenty of time. Even if He family's Martial Cultivators crossed the bridge, it would still take them a long time to find him.

Two days later, the Demon Qi Crystal Stone had been fully converted by Ye Liuyun into True Essence, turning into fine powder. At this moment he was already absorbing Primordial Power to breakthrough. There's no choice; although the Double Core Pill requires longer combat time and thus more energy, it has its pros and cons!

Even Ye Liuyun hadn't expected that breaking through one layer of the Heavenly Gang Realm would demand so much energy. His core pill seemed never to be filled, constantly compressing and absorbing True Essence.

Originally a pale gold crystal core, the gold hue grew richer; even his core pill now looked more golden. The power contained in each portion of True Essence became increasingly terrifying. Ye Liuyun even felt that each of his True Essence portions now rivaled the Thunder Explosion Pill he had once used.

Until he absorbed another half of the Primordial Power, he felt his realm loosen, and the True Essence inside the core pill finally filled up, compressed to a certain degree.

When the breakthrough occurred, Ye Liuyun's body only heard a "Boom—" sound, like a river breaching its dam, True Essence surging out of the core pill and flooding his whole body. The sensation of his entire being filled with True Essence made him feel so comfortable that even his pores seemed to open.

Immediately, the True Essence rushed back into the core pill; his energy absorption speed quickened again, and the newly transformed True Essence merged once more with the original, re‑compressing and solidifying inside the core pill, becoming one with it.

Ye Liuyun felt that the higher the realm, the greater the upheaval of a breakthrough. When he broke through before, it never felt this intense.

"It seems the True Essence inside is too abundant and too strong. In future breakthroughs, one really should be more careful, lest someone disturbs it, otherwise there could truly be danger!"

Ye Liuyun reflected on this himself. With such fierce True Essence inside, a mistake during a breakthrough could indeed cause unimaginable consequences.

He immediately resumed concentrating, absorbing energy, converting True Essence, and solidifying his realm.

He sensed the power of the Heavenly Gang Realm's fifth layer. "It's too powerful. Each ascent doubles strength at least. With that, could I fight the Heavenly Gang Realm's ninth layer?"

Unfortunately, he hadn't yet encountered a ninth‑layer Heavenly Gang strongman. He didn't know how strong such a being could be.

"If I truly faced a ninth‑layer Heavenly Gang strongman, it's better not to risk it and use a Spiritual Soul Attack. After all, the ninth layer's strength is at least double that of the eighth."

Ye Liuyun thought for a moment, then released the Skeleton Puppet to spar with it.

But the spirit of Xuan Kong Shi leapt out and said to Ye Liuyun, "Master, I suggest you try not to spar here any more. Your realm is now too high; while you may not destroy this place, repeatedly bombarding the spatial barriers here will inevitably damage the space."

The spirit was both amazed at Ye Liuyun's rapid breakthrough and happy for him, yet truly feared he might ruin this place. His blood veins, Physical Body, and realm have all risen. Even using Bà Tiān Divine Fist would inevitably damage the void here.

Ye Liuyun had no choice but to sheath the Skeleton Puppet. This swift breakthrough owed much to Xuan Kong Shi; he didn't want to destroy this temporal‑spatial weapon.

He first went outside for a look, saw everyone safe, Liang Xue and Bai Hu also about to breakthrough. Ye Liuyun then handed Xuan Kong Shi to them for breakthroughs. The others returned to the Dragon Palace, while he gathered the Corpse‑Eating Worm, left the tomb, and returned to the bridge side.

The He family disciples opposite, who had been puzzling over what Ye Liuyun was up to, relaxed once they saw him emerge.

"Hmph, trying to pull a trick on us! You had no choice but to reveal yourself!" the eighth‑layer Heavenly Gang strongman said smugly.

Other He family disciples fawned, praising the Elder's cleverness.

Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense heard their conversation clearly, he smiled inwardly while remaining expressionless. At the same time his Divine Sense contacted everyone, telling them that after Liang Xue and the others breakthrough, they should prepare to strike again. This time everyone would join the battle, training together.

Liang Xue and Bai Hu, inside Xuan Kong Shi, broke through their realms after just over a day.

Then Ye Liuyun stood up again, vanishing back into the void. He already knew the opposite side's situation like the back of his hand, planning to eliminate two seventh‑layer Heavenly Gang Elders to ease Lei Ming's burden.