Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

The room was quiet and dimly lit.

A lotus petal, a deep blue-black color, fell into my mouth. It lacked the tenderness of ordinary petals and instead felt like a small piece of thin ice buried in the cold mud of the deep sea.

Before Xilun could even chew it, it melted silently, turning into a stream of cold liquid that slowly flowed down his throat.

The next moment, a bone-chilling cold exploded out.

boom!

Xilun shuddered, and the veins beneath his skin instantly surfaced, a mix of blue and black, as if hundreds of tiny Styx rivers were flowing through his flesh.

Cold, lifeless, and decaying.

These energies mingled together, constantly invading the lungs and internal organs, attempting to extinguish the life force within the body that belongs to the living.

The temperature around the quiet room suddenly dropped, a layer of gray-white frost condensed on the stone walls, and the clear water placed in the corner froze quickly, with blurry faces vaguely emerging from under the ice.

The murmurs came from all directions.

"Leave……"

"There is no pain beneath the river..."

"Silon..."

The last voice was deep and familiar, carrying a kind of gentle weariness.

The darkness before Xiren's eyes flickered slightly.

A tall man stood amidst the crimson flames, his chest ripped open by a sharp blade, blood dripping continuously down his tattered clothes.

His face was weathered, but his eyes remained sharp.

Lund.

"Why don't you come back?"

The phantom asked in a low voice.

Xilun did not answer.

His mind sank into the Moon Memory Meditation Technique, his consciousness like a cold moon hanging in the dark sky, remaining unmoved by the churning black river below.

This wasn't the first time he had encountered such an illusion.

The real Lund wouldn't ask him why he didn't come back, nor would he drag him into the abyss by claiming to be dead.

That person would only tell him to live.

"What is fake will always be fake."

Xilun silently recited this in his heart.

The cold moon cast a faint light, and Lund's figure crumbled inch by inch.

However, more faces emerged from the darkness: the pirates he had killed, the corpses in the Blackwood Valley Quarry, and the grotesque, twisted face of the innocent prince.

Finally, all the faces overlapped, transforming into a tall, faceless, six-armed divine figure.

It stands at the end of the Black River, its second arm on the right side hanging empty, with dark red threads dangling from the broken end.

The moment the divine figure appeared, the evil god's remnant deep within Xilun's right arm twitched violently.

A tearing pain shot through the depths of his flesh.

Dark red lines appeared on the surface of his right arm, and his five fingers curled slightly uncontrollably, as if reaching out towards the divine figure.

"return……"

"return……"

"You have always been a part of me..."

The whispers do not come from the ear, but resonate directly in the depths of the soul.

Xilun's expression was solemn as he unhesitatingly unleashed his profound Yin chill.

A pale, chilling aura spread down his shoulder, freezing his right arm inch by inch.

At the same time, the Thunder Dragon's heart pounded heavily, and blue-white lightning spread from its heart to its limbs and bones, colliding head-on with the dark red aura.

Crack!

A tiny flash of lightning streaked across the skin.

The faceless god seemed to be provoked, and its six arms opened simultaneously. Countless dead people in the black river looked up and let out sharp and painful screams.

Xilun's consciousness, however, became increasingly clear.

Instead of hastily destroying the illusion, he guided the Yin-cold medicinal power of the Netherworld Lotus to flow slowly within his body, following the operating trajectory of the Overturning Sea Technique.

The ocean embraces all rivers.

The power of the Overturning Sea Technique forms tidal waves that envelop the violent death energy, peeling away the lingering resentment, venom, and decay mixed within it layer by layer.

The purified death energy, after being filtered, was sent into the lungs and internal organs, merging with the Styx Breath that was already close to a breakthrough.

A cold and gloomy atmosphere lingered and flowed continuously.

With each complete cycle of the cycle, the death energy becomes one degree purer.

If the Breath of the Styx in the past was like a handful of turbid water scooped up from a rotten swamp, now, under the tempering of the Nether Lotus, those impurities are being gradually settled and eliminated, transforming into a dark and pure underground river.

Celen's breathing became increasingly slow.

With each breath he took, the firelight in the quiet room would tilt toward him.

With each breath, a wisp of gray-black mist rises into the air.

Time passes little by little.

As the night passed and dawn broke, the night was soon swallowed up again.

The rain stopped twice on Thunderclap Cliff, then fell three more times.

Occasionally, thunder rumbled from outside the cliff, colliding with the cave's array and creating ripples of pale blue water.

Xilun did not leave the house.

His meals had been prepared in advance, and a sign indicating that he was in seclusion was hung outside the quiet room.

Swain and Bruno did not disturb him. Only Gna brought him hot food and water every two days. When he found that the previous food had not been touched, he quietly took it away.

However, things were not peaceful outside the cave.

News of Xilun's victory over Samuel in the Sea of ​​the Dead spread throughout the Inner Court in just a few days, as the disciples who witnessed the battle returned.

At first, some people didn't believe it.

Samuel is a seasoned Tier 3 Extraordinary. Several years ago, he had already achieved physical perfection and was only one step away from the so-called Tier 3 extreme realm, which is that he had not yet reached the stage of perfecting his Qi.

Even in the inner courtyard, where there are many experts, he is by no means a person who can be underestimated.

How long has Xilun been in the inner court?

Less than a year.

Even though he once single-handedly breached the Blackwood Valley Quarry Village and killed Croft and the Thunderous Sea Beast, those were news reports from the outside world, and few people witnessed them firsthand.

Some believe there must be exaggeration involved, while others speculate that Swain secretly bestowed upon him some powerful treasure.

But the Sea of ​​the Dead is different.

More than twenty extraordinary individuals gathered on the sea that day.

They witnessed with their own eyes how Celion repelled the short-haired woman, how he shattered Samuel's Overturning Tide Shattering Mountain Palm with a single shot, and how Samuel collapsed in the shallow water, powerless to resist any longer.

These people were not familiar with each other, yet their descriptions were almost identical.

In this way, very few people will be able to question it.

On the north side of Thunderclap Cliff, several inner court disciples stood under the long corridor to take shelter from the rain, their eyes occasionally glancing at the cave dwelling shrouded in the watery light of the array.

"Still not out?"

"No, I heard that since returning from the Sea of ​​the Dead, he only dealt with those few people who came to force him to buy the Nether Lotus, and then he has been in seclusion."

A young man in a gray training uniform crossed his arms and spoke in a complicated tone:

"Those five people were of average strength, but in less than a quarter of an hour, he broke their weapons and threw them out. One of them was even a third-level expert, and he couldn't even catch three of his spears."

"The Nether Lotus is a rare Yin-type medicinal herb, one that appears only once every hundred years. He must be refining it."

The shorter disciple next to him lowered his voice and said, "I heard from the pharmacy staff that it can't be swallowed directly."

The deathly aura was too strong; even a single piece would freeze the lungs and internal organs of an ordinary third-tier extraordinary cultivator. Yet he, on the contrary, brought the entire plant back.

"What's so special about that? He can stay in the middle level of the Sea of ​​the Dead for more than twenty days at a time. If it were us, we probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the dead and the living after seven days."

At this point in their conversation, the group fell silent as if by unspoken agreement.

Rainwater streamed down the eaves in silvery lines, while clouds churned beneath Thunderclap Cliff, with muffled thunder rumbling faintly in the distance.

When Siron arrived in the inner courtyard, his reputation was solely based on slaying pirates.

No one expected that in just a few months, this taciturn young man, whose life seemed to consist only of self-cultivation, had reached a point where he could defeat Samuel head-on.

"He's not even twenty-three yet, is he?"

Someone suddenly asked.

No one answered.

Given his age and his impressive record, it's almost breathtaking.

At the other end of the corridor, a tall figure stopped walking.

Elena wore a fitted black robe, with two swords hanging at her waist and a silver-gray rope coiled around her left arm.

The fine mist was kept out by her breath, making her skin appear even whiter. Her long, light golden hair was tied behind her head and swayed gently in the mountain breeze.

Upon seeing her, the disciples immediately fell silent and bowed.

Elena nodded slightly, her gaze passing over the rain curtain and landing on the tightly closed stone door of the cave.

She had naturally heard about the Sea of ​​the Dead.

When she first heard the news, her first reaction was disbelief.

It wasn't that she doubted Siron, but rather that she knew Samuel's strength all too well.

The opponent had been in perfect physical condition for many years, possessed great strength, and had cultivated the Overturning Tide and Shattering Mountain Palm to a very high level.

Even if she recovers from her injuries and goes all out, her chances of winning won't exceed 30%.

But the person who brought back the message described it in great detail, even going so far as to describe in great detail the details of how Siron finally used the Breath of the Styx to ambush Samuel.

At that moment, Elena suddenly realized that the man who had needed her to survive in the Black Abyss Forest had unknowingly walked ahead of her.

"You've made such rapid progress."

Elena said in a low voice.

A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, along with a complex emotion she herself was unaware of.

After the Star Ring ranking competition ended, she once thought that as long as she worked hard enough, she would one day be able to catch up with people like Allah and Aldrich.

But now, the distance that Xilun has covered in less than a year has made her feel a kind of invisible pressure for the first time.

Inside the formation, in a quiet room.

Xilun was unaware of what was happening outside.

The Styx Breath within his body had been compressed to its limit. The dark energy swirled along his lungs, leaving behind a cool yet not decaying aura wherever it passed through flesh and blood.

At a certain moment, the black river circulating within the body suddenly contracted.

All the death energy seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, flowing into the chest cavity.

After a brief silence, a low, rumbling sound of flowing water emanated from within Xilun's body.

Splash!

It was as if an underground river had broken through the last stone wall.

A wisp of black energy, several times more concentrated than before, escaped from his nostrils and landed on the stone slab in front of him.

The stone slab did not crack, but its surface quickly lost its luster, then turned white and crumbled, eventually collapsing silently into a small pile of gray powder.

Xilun suddenly opened his eyes.

A fleeting glimmer of deep blue light flashed within the dark pupils.

[Skill: Breath of the Styx (Expert)]

[Progress: 0/4000]

He stared at the information that appeared before him, and a hint of barely suppressed joy finally appeared on his face.

Breakthrough.

In the past, although the Breath of the Styx was domineering, it relied more on death energy to erode life. When it encountered enemies with strong physiques or those who were good at resisting yin energy, its effect would be quickly weakened.

Now that it has reached the expert level, the Breath of the Styx has completed a true internal refinement and purification.

It no longer merely erodes flesh and blood; it can even impact the spirit through breath, causing the enemy's blood, consciousness, and vitality to decline simultaneously.

If he were to face Samuel again, he wouldn't even need to wait for the other to get within three feet.

To Xilun's surprise, the medicinal power of the Nether Lotus was not fully absorbed by the Breath of the Styx.

A portion of the purest, coldest energy, when the Overturning Sea Technique was activated, seeped into his muscles and bones, and surprisingly, in conjunction with the Thunder Dragon Heart, repeatedly tempered his flesh and blood.

Xiren raised his arm and slowly clenched his fist.

The fascia tightened, and the joints emitted a series of fine, soft cracking sounds.

The flow of Qi and blood in the body is smooth, and the parts that were originally a little stagnant have now been mostly washed away by the medicinal power of the Netherworld Lotus.

In particular, the strength of the lungs, chest and back has been significantly improved, and when the power of the Overturning Sea Technique is circulated, the Ninefold Tide Force can be released almost instantly.

He closed his eyes and felt it for a moment.

"I'm very close to achieving physical perfection."

The gains from this retreat were greater than he had anticipated.

According to the original schedule, it would take him at least another year to temper his body to perfection.

Now, the Nether Lotus has not only promoted the Breath of the Styx to expert level, but also saved him months of painstaking work.

Xilun got up and pushed open the stone door of the quiet room.

The light from outside fell into my eyes.

The rain has stopped.

A damp, fresh breeze blew in from outside Minglei Cliff, carrying the scents of earth and vegetation.

In the distance, the clouds hung low, and a few faint streaks of lightning wandered deep within the sea of ​​clouds.

Xilun stood at the doorway and slowly exhaled.

A grayish-black aura dissipated in the sunlight.

He reached out and grasped the Azure Thunder Spear coiled at his waist, feeling the abundant and smooth power within his body, and his eyes gradually brightened.

After several days of seclusion, he needed to know exactly where he had come from.

The training ground outside the cave was built against the mountain.

Rainwater still lingered on the dark blue-green stone slabs, and the branches and leaves of several old pine trees on the cliff were swaying in the mountain wind, with water droplets constantly falling and splashing into tiny ripples on the ground.

Xilun walked to the center of the field and made a gesture at his waist with his right hand.

The Cang Lei Spear, which had been wrapped around the body like a metal belt, shot out and quickly straightened with a deep, resonant sound.

On the dark gold spearhead, deep blue water patterns and bluish-white lightning patterns intertwined and extended, and the sharp spearhead gleamed coldly in the gloomy light.

He did not immediately use his marksmanship, but instead closed his eyes.

Breathe.

The power of the Overturning Sea Technique flowed along the fascia within his body, causing the Thunder Dragon's Heart to beat accordingly.

Invisible moisture gathered from all sides, swirling around the surface of the gun barrel, but instead of churning and swirling as before, it flowed slowly along the gun body.

The gun is the river.

The water's force comes first, while the thunder's power lies hidden behind.

Xilun turned his feet and quietly began to use the Canglang Step.

The water on the damp stone slab rippled slightly. He slid forward, his speed not astonishing, but so light that he left almost no sound.

The Thunder Spear thrust out along the side of the waist, its tip changing direction three times in succession, each time aided by the elasticity of the body's fascia.

laugh!

The spear tip pierced the iron stone spear post.

There was no roar, nor any flying gravel.

A bottomless hole appeared in the center of the iron stone spear stake. A ring of water first appeared around the hole, and then blue-white lightning exploded from the inside.

boom!

The entire gun post split into seven or eight pieces from the inside out.

Xilun holstered his gun and stepped back, looking at his palm.

The power was completely unobscure.

After the Netherworld Lotus tempered his body, his energy circulation was at least 10% faster than before he went into seclusion.

The coordination provided by the large tendons, like those of a dragon, is further released as the body's strength increases.

He fired his gun again.

This time, the gunfire suddenly accelerated.

The water shimmered like waves, layer upon layer.

Lei Jin concealed himself in the water, only unleashing his power when the spearhead touched the second spear post.

The nine layers of surging energy overlapped almost simultaneously, followed by a dull, loud bang that echoed throughout the training ground.

A fist-sized boulder flew out, crossed the edge of the field, and landed in the sea of ​​clouds outside the cliff.

Xilun stomped his foot and caught up with the momentum.

The Thunder Spear swept across.

The gun barrel tore through the humid air, emitting a low rumble like muffled thunder.

Before the pebbles could fall, they were reduced to a grayish-white powder by the spearhead.

"It is indeed quite large."

Xilun landed back on the stone slab, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The biggest change brought about by the breakthrough of the Breath of the Styx is not direct attack, but the balance of power.

In the past, the Overturning Sea Technique, the Heart of the Thunder Dragon, the Profound Yin Coldness, and the Styx Death Qi each had their own path within the body.

Although Swain had sorted things out for him, he could only prevent these forces from clashing with each other.

Now that the Nether Lotus has purified the Breath of the Styx, the decaying impurities in the death energy have decreased, and it has become more compatible with the Xuan Yin Coldness.

The chilling aura protects the muscles and bones, the thunderous energy is responsible for the explosive force, and the Overturning Sea Technique governs the entire body.

This balance remains fragile, yet it has already given him a glimpse of a path that belongs to him.

Just as Xilun was about to continue testing the gun, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"You really are a cultivation fanatic."

Elena stood at the entrance to the training ground.

She watched it for a while.

After being in seclusion for many days, most people would first go out for a hot meal or go down the mountain for a walk to relax.

Xilun, on the other hand, did something quite different. The first thing he did after pushing open the stone door was to smash the gun post with his gun.

This person seems to never get tired.

Xilun turned around and glanced at her.

Elena was not wearing the juvenile detention center's standard outer robe today, but rather a sleek black outfit.

Her sleeves were fitted at the wrists, her waist was slender, her legs were long, and her light golden hair fell behind her shoulders.

A mountain breeze blew in from outside the cliff, causing a few strands of hair to stick to the side of her fair face.

Xilun gripped his spear, his eyes gradually brightening.

That wasn't the gaze of someone appreciating beauty.

It's more like someone who has just sharpened a weapon suddenly seeing a fine test stone.

Elena noticed his gaze and paused slightly.

"What are you going to do?"

She instinctively gripped the two swords at her waist.

Xilun pursed his lips and lowered the tip of his gun towards the ground.

"Give it a try."

"Try what?"

"Let's have a friendly exchange."

Xilun looked at her, his tone serious: "This time, I'm afraid you're no match for me."

Elena remained silent for a moment.

She had only come to see if Xilun's seclusion had ended, but she didn't expect to be provoked to her face as soon as they met.

Although she had heard the news of Xiren's defeat of Samuel, rumors are just rumors.

Xilun ultimately used the Breath of the Styx, a technique that cannot be used casually in a duel.

As for how much their marksmanship and head-on strength have improved, we'll only know after a real fight.

"You've become more arrogant than before."

Elena slowly drew her twin swords.

The longsword in his right hand had a gleaming blade, while the shortsword in his left hand was rather narrow.

A silver-gray rope slid down from his sleeve, one end fastening to his left wrist, the other end connecting to the hilt of a short sword.

Xilun shook his head.

"It's just stating the facts."

Elena raised her eyebrows slightly.

She recalled their last sparring session. Although Xilun's strength was astonishing and his methods were ruthless enough, his footwork and the variations in his moves were ultimately somewhat rough.

She still maintains a clear advantage by relying on her twin swords and silver-gray ropes.

How long has it been?

"Can."

Elena walked into the training ground, her sword tip pointing diagonally at the ground: "But you are not allowed to use the Breath of the Styx."

"certainly."

"Take back some of the lightning strike on your gun."

Xilun thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay."

Elena suddenly felt something was wrong.

He agreed so readily, even after restricting the two most dangerous methods?

Several inner court disciples had already rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

The group of people who had been sheltering from the rain earlier stood under the corridor, curiously looking towards the training ground.

Elena is the daughter of the head of the Disciplinary Academy, and her strength has always been very high among third-tier students of her age.

Although she often went out on missions and didn't stay in the inner courtyard to compete for rankings all year round, almost no one dared to underestimate her.

Siren, on the other hand, had just defeated Samuel and was riding high.

This exchange naturally attracted attention.