I want to tread the heavens

The crack in the dantian was like the first drop of rain hitting parched earth. At first, it was just a fine line, but then spiderweb-like cracks spread in all directions.

Ling Xiao sat cross-legged in a secluded stone cave on the back of Qingyun Peak, his spiritual energy surging like boiling water. Fa Cai squatted at the cave entrance, his silver-gray fur gleaming coldly in the moonlight, his wolf eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

"Boss, the commotion in your dantian is a bit scary," Fa Cai transmitted his thoughts, his tone unusually serious, as if the two bloodlines were fighting.

They were definitely fighting.

Ling Xiao's forehead veins bulged, and his teeth clenched. The Starfall Bloodline and the Devouring Heaven Bloodline had never been peaceful neighbors within his body. Normally, he would deliberately suppress them, barely maintaining a balance of non-interference. But now, as he was about to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, the surge in his spiritual power caused both bloodlines to stir simultaneously, like two frightened beasts rampaging through his meridians.

The power of meteorite surged from the depths of his dantian, carrying the weight and vastness of stars, leaving a faint silver glow on the meridians it passed through. Meanwhile, the Devouring Heaven Bloodline released a dark, sinister suction force from the seed at his heart, like an invisible hand tearing at the power of meteorite, trying to devour it.

The two forces collided above Ling Xiao's dantian, and the resulting shockwaves caused his internal organs to churn.

He groaned, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth.

Fa Cai's ears perked up. "Boss?"

"It's alright," Ling Xiao squeezed out two words through gritted teeth, and continued.

He formed hand seals and circulated the Heavenly Star Body Refining Technique. He had already cultivated this technique to the second level, and his control over the power of meteorites was far superior to when he first started. Under his guidance, the silver meteorite power began to flow rhythmically, starting from his dantian, traveling along the meridians to all 360 acupoints throughout his body, and then returning to his dantian, forming a complete cycle.

But the Devouring Heaven Bloodline wouldn't have it.

The dark, gloomy suction force seemed to be enraged by the orderly operation of the meteorite power. It suddenly surged from the heart, transforming into a black vortex that rushed directly into the dantian, trying to devour the meteorite power completely.

Ling Xiao felt as if a black hole had exploded in his dantian.

The power of the meteor was torn apart and scattered, and most of the spiritual energy that had just been gathered was instantly devoured. The seed of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline trembled slightly deep in the dantian, as if it were emitting a silent mockery.

"Damn it," Ling Xiao cursed, "you started it."

He abandoned his strategy of suppressing the Devouring Bloodline and instead guided the power of the Starfall to meet it head-on. You want to devour? Fine, I'll let you devour as much as you want.

The silver meteorite power no longer dodged, but instead surged towards the black vortex like a tide. The Devouring Heaven Bloodline accepted everything that came, frantically absorbing it. But the meteorite power was inexhaustible. Ling Xiao's dantian had accumulated spiritual power reserves far exceeding those of his peers through the Sword Tempering Pool and numerous trials. Now, all of it was mobilized, like the Milky Way pouring down.

The Devouring Bloodline absorbs quickly, and the Starfall Power replenishes even faster.

With each ingestion and replenishment, Ling Xiao's dantian began to undergo subtle changes. The two originally distinct forces began to resonate in a strange way during their intense struggle. The silver of the meteorite power and the dark of the heaven-devouring power intertwined and entwined in his dantian, like two fish chasing each other, spinning faster and faster, more and more densely.

The wolf's eyes widened as it keenly sensed that the spiritual energy fluctuations within Ling Xiao's body were rising at an alarming rate.

boom.

A muffled thud emanated from Ling Xiao's body; it wasn't an explosion, but more like the sound of some kind of barrier being broken. The bottleneck in his dantian had been forcibly opened up in the struggle between the two bloodlines.

Spiritual energy surged into his limbs and bones like a flood bursting its banks, and Ling Xiao felt every muscle and bone in his body rejoice. The shackles of the early Foundation Establishment stage were completely shattered, and his cultivation steadily stepped into the middle Foundation Establishment stage.

But it's not over yet.

At the moment of breakthrough, Ling Xiao's total spiritual energy nearly doubled, and its purity also increased by two levels. Most importantly, the power of meteorites became incredibly docile after the breakthrough, making it as easy to use as an extension of his own arm, without any of the previous sluggishness. With a thought, the silver meteorite power could instantly condense at his fingertips, solid and sharp, without dissipating.

Without missing a beat, Fa Cai opened its wolf mouth, and a stream of silvery-white moonlight power spewed out, enveloping Ling Xiao's entire body. The moonlight power of the Howling Moon Wolf had a miraculous effect on stabilizing newly broken-through cultivation levels, and the surging spiritual energy within Ling Xiao's body gradually calmed down under the soothing moonlight.

Thanks. Ling Xiao opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and felt his whole body filled with power. He could kill three of his past selves with one punch now.

"You were too weak before," Fa Cai said smugly, flicking his tail. "Three of you at the early Foundation Establishment stage are barely enough for me to take a single swipe."

"You've gotten too cocky," Ling Xiao said, standing up and stretching his muscles. His whole body crackled and popped. "Want to try?"

Fa Cai immediately took three steps back and said, "Never mind, you just broke through, I'll let you have it."

Ling Xiao ignored it, focusing on the changes in his body after the breakthrough. The mid-stage and early-stage Foundation Establishment were completely different concepts; the quality and quantity of his spiritual power had undergone a qualitative leap. He tried to circulate the power of meteors, and silver light condensed in his palm, becoming more solid than before, faintly carrying a metallic texture.

More importantly, he discovered that the power of the meteorite was mixed with a trace of the Devouring Heaven bloodline. The fierce struggle between the two forces during the breakthrough process actually caused them to merge to some extent. Although they were far from truly becoming one, they were at least no longer as incompatible as before.

This was an unexpected bonus.

Ling Xiao tested the power of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline again. With a thought, the seed of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline deep in his dantian trembled slightly, and a dark suction force surged from his palm. He pressed his hand against the stone wall, and the hard rock surface began to weather slightly. Tiny stone chips were pulled off by the suction force, swirling in the air before being sucked into his palm and turning into dust.

Fa Cai's fur stood on end. "Boss, what kind of weird skill is this?"

Ling Xiao withdrew his hand, observing the lingering dark aura in his palm, which was still somewhat out of his control. This thing was too domineering; using it even slightly made him feel like his body was about to burst.

Then you should use it less often, I seriously suggest. I don't want to see you explode one day.

Ling Xiao tried a few more times and gradually figured it out. The suction force of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline is strongest over short distances, and it weakens rapidly beyond three feet. Moreover, this suction force is most effective at absorbing spiritual energy, but its efficiency in absorbing physical matter is much lower. He pressed on that stone wall for quite a while before it weathered away a thin layer; if it were a spirit stone, it would probably be drained in an instant.

Fa Cai watched in horror, constantly reminding him with his mind to stop. But Ling Xiao became increasingly addicted, discovering that he could mix a trace of Devouring Heaven's Power into the power of meteors, giving his attacks a corrosive effect. Although he could only mix in a trace at the moment, that trace of Devouring Heaven's Power was enough to increase the destructive power of meteors to another level.

Alright, alright, Fa Cai finally couldn't resist biting his trouser leg and pulling him back. If you keep trying, you'll destroy the cave.

Ling Xiao reluctantly withdrew his hand. He looked down at his palm, where silver and dark lights flickered alternately beneath his skin, like two fish chasing each other. The feeling was strange; two forces that were originally incompatible had actually achieved a delicate balance during the process of breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

He was about to banter with Fa Cai for a bit more when he suddenly frowned.

He sensed something.

Deep within his dantian, at the base of the Heaven-Devouring Bloodline Seed, something was wriggling. He closed his eyes, immersing his divine sense deep within his dantian to investigate carefully.

That was a tentacle.

As thin as a hair, and entirely black, it grew from the base of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline Seed, slowly stretching out. It looked weak and powerless, but Ling Xiao could feel the power contained in this tentacle—a pure, primal desire to devour, deeper than the Devouring Heaven Seed itself.

Fa Cai noticed his unusual expression. "Boss? You don't look too good."

Ling Xiao opened his eyes, his expression somewhat complicated. A tendril had sprouted from the seed of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline.

What whiskers? Fa Cai sniffed him. Can you explain more clearly?

"That's right," Ling Xiao thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to describe it, "the seed has sprouted. That tentacle is slowly burrowing into the depths of my dantian, but it is definitely growing."

After getting rich, he remained silent for a while. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Ling Xiao didn't know either. The inheritance information of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline didn't mention this situation, nor were there any related records in the ancient books Elder Tie had given him. What was this tentacle? Was it a sign of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline awakening? Or some kind of hidden danger?

He tried to touch the tentacle with his spiritual power. The tentacle trembled slightly, but instead of rejecting it, it actively absorbed the wisp of spiritual power he sent. After absorbing it, the tentacle seemed to have grown a tiny bit longer, almost negligible.

Ling Xiao withdrew his divine sense, deciding to ignore it for the time being. At least for now, the tentacle didn't seem to have any negative effects on him; on the contrary, it seemed to have made the power of his Devouring Heaven Bloodline more active.

"Let's observe for now," he said. "The most important thing right now is the outer sect competition in three months. I've already reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage; the next step is to consolidate my cultivation and completely perfect the improved version of the Star Thunder Finger Sword."

Fa Cai nodded, then reverted to its usual smug expression. "Speaking of Star Thunder Finger Sword, is your improved version any good? I almost blew my finger off during the last test."

That was an accident. Ling Xiao remained calm. Besides, that time the spiritual energy ratio wasn't adjusted properly. Now I've figured it out.

"Getting a feel for it" means not having fully mastered it yet, a precise and accurate way to say "get rich".

Ling Xiao pretended not to hear and walked out of the cave. It was already dawn outside, and the mist on Qingyun Peak was tinged with a pale gold by the morning light. In the distance, the bamboo leaves of the sword bamboo forest rustled in the wind.

He took a deep breath, feeling that the changes brought about by the mid-Foundation Establishment stage were greater than he had imagined. Not only was his spiritual power enhanced, but even his five senses had become more acute. He could hear the sound of dewdrops sliding off bamboo leaves a hundred meters away, and he could see the trails of dust particles in the mist.

This is what it feels like in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

An Ling's voice came from behind, "You've broken through?"

Ling Xiao turned around and saw An Ling standing on the mountain path with his long sword on his back, a rare smile on his cold face.

"I've broken through!" Ling Xiao grinned. "Mid-Foundation Establishment, not bad. Now it's your turn."

An Ling nodded, her gaze falling on Ling Xiao, and said seriously, "Your aura is much more stable than before. The power of the Starfall and the Devouring Bloodline seem to be less conflicting now."

"We've made up for now," Ling Xiao said, "but who knows when we'll start fighting again. Let's go back and rest. I'll protect you tonight."

An Ling hummed in agreement, and the two walked side by side down the mountain. Fa Cai followed behind, jogging along the way, occasionally nudging the wildflowers by the roadside with his nose and then sneezing.

Ling Xiao, however, was thinking about that tentacle.

The seed of the Devouring Heaven Bloodline has sprouted. What does this mean? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Does the mysterious person who delivered the message know about his Devouring Heaven Bloodline? What awaits him in the Meteor City, besides the whereabouts of his mother?

He clenched his fist, feeling the surge of power within him.

No matter what it is, he will go to Meteor City to try his luck in three months.

Before that, we need to win the outer sect competition.