In the simple and crude courtyard, Lin Huang sat cross-legged with his palms overlapping. His eyes were tightly shut, and his body exuded powerful undulations that were extremely profound.
The Primordial Qi in his Profound Sea boiled like nine endlessly surging great rivers, crashing toward the Profound Gate Barrier of the Human Element Palace with majestic momentum.
Even Lin Huang hadn’t expected to assault the Human Element Palace so soon.
On the way from the Great Xia Dynasty to Piaoxue Palace, he had only just broken through to the Human Element Ninth Heaven. According to Lin Huang’s senses, he would need at least one or two more months before he could attempt to break into the Earth Element Realm. However, he had not expected that a mere half-month of cultivation under Celestial Waterfall Cliff would cause the Primordial Qi within his body to become as abundant as the sea, allowing everything to fall into place so naturally.
In the eyes of Lu Han in the distance, this was entirely normal.
Celestial Waterfall Cliff was ten thousand feet high. Its surging downward force was something that even an ordinary Earth Element Realm cultivator wouldn’t dare face head-on. Yet, Lin Huang had gritted his teeth and persevered until he was exhausted every day. Waiting for his Primordial Qi to deplete completely before rapidly replenishing it meant his body had long since accommodated a massive amount of Primordial Qi.
Furthermore, the flowers, grass, trees, mountains, and rivers in the world all contained Spiritual Qi. Needless to say, the majestic descent of the waterfall undoubtedly poured its latent Spiritual Qi directly into Lin Huang’s body. Even if he didn’t want to absorb it, he had no choice. Imperceptibly, the Primordial Qi in his body was already more than enough to assault the Human Element Palace.
In the courtyard, Lin Huang’s eyes were slightly closed. His Divine Thought sank into the meridians throughout his body, guiding the circulation of Primordial Qi. This caused the gurgling energy in his nine meridians to boil even more fiercely, crashing into the Human Element Palace like fierce beasts or a raging flood.
Inside his body, the Human Element Palace was like a massive floodgate spanning across heaven and earth. Upstream, the nine raging rivers converged, crashing down again and again. The Primordial Qi grew more abundant, and the offensive became increasingly ferocious.
Under the relentless and frenzied attacks, a sliver of a crack finally appeared on the Human Element Palace.
Once the crack appeared, the fate of the massive floodgate that was the Human Element Palace was sealed. The Primordial Qi gathered by the nine upstream meridians found an outlet and surged violently toward the fissure. In an instant, the Primordial Qi cascaded down a thousand miles, completely forcing the Human Element Palace open.
Under the night sky where the moon shone bright and stars were sparse, Lin Huang’s aura surged. A tyrannical undulation permeated from his body, sweeping in all directions like a rolling mat. Following that, he withdrew his aura, channeling the emitted Primordial Qi back into his Profound Sea.
At dawn, Lin Huang finally opened his eyes slowly. A faint smile appeared on his face as he threw a punch into the air, feeling the endless surge of power in his body. It was far stronger than before.
"Earth Element Realm!"
Feeling the surging Primordial Qi within his body, Lin Huang smiled slightly. After a night of cultivation, he had finally stabilized his realm. He was now just one step away from the Earth Element First Heaven.
While Lin Huang was still somewhat excited, Lu Han walked into the courtyard. Extending a dark, tanned hand with a serious expression, he demanded, "Pay up!"
"What?" Lin Huang widened his eyes. Looking around, he realized the entire courtyard was a mess. The fruits and vegetables Lu Han had planted were completely destroyed, all thanks to Lin Huang’s actions the previous night.
"Put it on my tab!" Lin Huang curled his lips.
After breaking through, returning to Celestial Waterfall Cliff for cultivation was much easier for Lin Huang. At the very least, he wouldn’t accidentally be washed into the Dark River by the waterfall like before.
Over the next few days, Lin Huang continued his cultivation beneath the waterfall. From Three Thousand Miles to Shooting the Celestial Wolf, from Shooting the Celestial Wolf to Slaying Kunlun, and then back to Three Thousand Miles...
He did this simply to adjust himself to his peak state and cultivate these three moves to the point of ultimate perfection. Only then could he perfectly merge them to unleash the Godslaying One Slash.
In the vast and silent valley, the ten-thousand-foot waterfall hung upside down. It crashed against Lin Huang and Lu Han like a world-shocking giant dragon, seemingly ready to swallow them at any moment.
Amidst the splashing water, two figures stood tall—one still, one in motion.
Lu Han was extremely still; every time he cultivated, he sat cross-legged under the waterfall, as unmoving as a stone statue. Lin Huang, on the other hand, was extremely active, never staying at peace for even a moment.
"Why do you sit motionless beneath the waterfall?"
Another half-month later, Lin Huang encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation. Feeling frustrated, he struck up a conversation with Lu Han. This was the first time the two had spoken while cultivating under the waterfall.
Lu Han didn’t even raise his head, only casting a faint glance at Lin Huang. "Refining Heart," he said flatly. "Achieving absolute tranquility of the mind. Only then can one remain undisturbed even if the sky falls, and fearless when facing an abyss."
Lin Huang frowned, falling into deep thought.
"Why are you always practicing your saber?" After a long while, Lu Han couldn’t help but turn to look at Lin Huang. He was also quite curious as to why Lin Huang never sat down to properly comprehend things for even a moment.
"Because of combat instincts. I need to be able to execute a perfect slash under any harsh circumstances. I also need to repeatedly temper my Martial Techniques and explore the ultimate Mystical Techniques hidden within!" Lin Huang replied.
Lu Han pondered for a moment before calmly closing his eyes again to continue his cultivation.
The next day, there was a slight change in the two figures under the waterfall. Lin Huang sat cross-legged on a boulder at the base of the cliff, calmly comprehending and cultivating. Meanwhile, Lu Han held a rusty iron spear, brandishing it within the waterfall. His body swayed unsteadily, and the iron spear was long. A few times, he nearly stabbed Lin Huang, scaring the latter out of his wits.
"Your spear isn’t heavy enough. It will be very hard to achieve the goal of your cultivation," Lin Huang said.
Lu Han paused for a moment, looking crestfallen. "That golden spear costs fifty million taels of Gold. I don’t have the money!"
Lin Huang’s eyes lit up, immediately taking advantage of the situation. "Sell the Sea of Karma Flower to me! Then you’ll have enough!"
"Scram!"
"Can you lend me twenty-five million?" A while later, Lu Han really felt that tying a massive rock to his spear made swinging it feel wrong. He turned his head and looked at Lin Huang with a hopeful expression.
"No!" Lin Huang replied with a stingy expression.
"I’ll trade you for this necklace." Lu Han opened his palm. It was exactly the necklace he had presented at the Xuese Auction—the Silver Jade Material Cyan Dragon Pendant. It could be exchanged for a single promise from Xuanyuan Tibing.
"No!" Lin Huang stared at the necklace covetously but still smiled at Lu Han as he refused.
"I... I can kill someone for you! Anyone at all!" Lu Han said through gritted teeth.
"No!" Lin Huang shook his head.
Lu Han instantly deflated like a punctured ball. Then, he gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at Lin Huang. "Don’t even think about getting the Sea of Karma Flower from me!"
"Why don’t you use that necklace to exchange for the golden spear you mentioned?" Lin Huang asked. "In the East Spirit Realm, there shouldn’t be anything Xuanyuan Tibing can’t obtain."
"None of your business!" Lu Han’s face darkened.
Lin Huang shrugged, ignoring the odd-thinking fellow, and continued his cultivation.
Ever since Lin Huang entered Piaoxue Palace, he hadn’t seen Fatty Bai once. The guy had disappeared like a stone dropping into the sea, without the slightest news. It wasn’t until today that Lin Huang saw a ball of meat lazily rolling over.
Looking at Fatty Bai’s increasingly obese figure, Lin Huang smiled helplessly.
"Boss Lin, what a coincidence! Hahaha! Truly, in life, friends always cross paths again, just like the green mountains and long-flowing waters!"
From afar, Lin Huang heard Fatty Bai’s booming laughter. He watched as the latter waddled over with his toes pointed outward, wearing an Inner Sect uniform with his hands clasped behind his back, looking very wealthy and pompous.
On top of his exaggeratedly large belly sat a Big White Cat. It had its chin raised, looking rather arrogant. Combined with its snowy, fluffy fur, it looked exactly like a noblewoman.
"Boss Lin, I heard you killed a disciple on your first day and messed with an Elder. Are you being punished here now?" Fatty Bai put his hands on his hips and laughed mockingly at Lin Huang.
"What happened to your face? Who hit you?" Lin Huang smiled slightly. Exposing scars was something he could do too. Seeing Fatty Bai’s face covered in bruises, it looked like he had been severely beaten.
At this, Fatty Bai actually smiled shyly. "Boss Lin, I think I’m in love!"
Lin Huang scratched his head, watching Fatty Bai spin his tale.
Fatty Bai coughed twice before saying, "Three days ago, I saw an absolutely stunning senior sister in the Inner Sect, so I thought, you know... But that sister turned out to be so fierce! She beat me up. My face still carries the fragrance of her cute little fists."
"Who exactly beat you up!" Lin Huang’s face sank, his expression turning entirely serious.