Chapter 176 Breaking Through to the Purple Mansion

If he were to break through to the Violet Mansion realm and channel his magic power to activate his divine abilities, he could potentially severely damage a third-tier, lower-grade magic treasure.

Even a Purple Palace, Early Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivator wielding a third-tier defensive magic treasure could only withstand 2 or 3 strikes from a third-tier divine ability.

"Purple Mansion Realm."

Eldrin's eyes flickered slightly. This time, he intended to forcefully break through to the Purple Mansion Realm without relying on any external aids except for his own life-bound magic treasure.

In truth, he had considerable confidence. Having established his foundation through self-cultivation, the sharpness of his primal energy was extraordinary. Furthermore, his third-tier immortal sword continuously refined this energy, granting him reserves far surpassing those of cultivators at his level.

Moreover, having been tempered by the Primordial Purple Qi for many years, the true essence contained within his meridians surpassed that of cultivators at the same level by the equivalent of 3 cultivation stages.

Moreover, with the consumption of the Mystic Origin Pill, the accumulated true essence had now surpassed that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator of the same level by twofold.

Moreover, his Ren Water Blue Lotus Platform had advanced to the lower tier of the third rank, granting him 3 times the spiritual energy of cultivators at the same level. If even he couldn’t break through to the Purple Mansion in a single attempt, then surely no 1 in the world could achieve it in 1 go.

Suppressing his thoughts, Eldrin closed his eyes and began his assault on the Violet Mansion realm.

He channeled primal energy from his dantian, sending it coursing upward through the Celestial Meridian of the Purple Mansion.

Boom—

In a dazed moment, a thunderous roar seemed to echo within him as his refined true essence surged through the Violet Mansion’s Celestial Veins, instantly piercing through 10 percent of its pathways.

In an instant, he felt a radiant glow deep within his spine. His primal essence pierced through his meridians with excruciating pain, while the marrow of his vertebrae tingled intensely—as if being torn asunder.

This is the inevitable outcome of breaking through without external aids. Without the transformative power of treasures like the Li Fire Crystal (Spiritual Object) to provide protection, a cultivator’s Purple Mansion Celestial Veins would inevitably suffer unbearable agony when subjected to such impacts.

In the past, when Lin Mocheng attempted to break through to the Violet Mansion realm, he only managed to penetrate 10% of the Violet Mansion’s Dao Veins. The primary reason was his inability to endure the unbearable agony, causing him to abandon the breakthrough midway. Otherwise, he should have been able to penetrate at least 30% of the Violet Mansion’s Dao Veins.

In truth, aside from a rare few individuals with extraordinary willpower who could subdue the suffering of the flesh through sheer determination and break through the Zifu Heavenly Meridians without external aids—

The vast majority of cultivators would be unable to endure the agony, ultimately abandoning their attempt to breach the Purple Mansion mid-process. Those who gave up halfway could, at most, unblock a mere 10 to 20 percent of the Celestial Veins within the Purple Mansion.

In truth, any cultivator capable of reaching the Foundation Establishment Perfection stage possessed sufficient true essence to penetrate at least 30-40% of the Purple Mansion Celestial Veins. Those who achieved self-established foundations with exceptionally broad meridians could even penetrate up to 50% of the Dao Veins.

Even an ordinary cultivator, with sufficient vital energy, could ignite their origin essence blood to instantly clear over 50% of the Purple Mansion's Celestial Veins in 1 attempt.

Eldrin knew full well that his true essence was exceptionally abundant and razor-sharp, entirely sufficient to pierce through the Celestial Meridian of the Purple Mansion in a single attempt.

The only thing holding him back was the excruciating pain of forging the Spinal Celestial Meridian.

This pain defied all description. Cultivators across the realm called it 'Mortal Agony'—signifying a suffering that transcended all worldly pains, standing as 1 of the greatest ordeals in 1's path of cultivation.

"Charge forth."

Eldrin gritted his teeth, summoning immense willpower to subdue the physical torment as he continued channeling his true essence upward.

When the Purple Mansion Heavenly Meridian had been opened to 70%, he sensed that his true essence was running somewhat low.

At this moment, an ordinary cultivator would either desperately gather their strength for 1 final forceful impact, continuing until their true essence was completely depleted, opening as many apertures as possible under such circumstances.

He could only burn his vital energy for 1 final attempt. Having reached this stage, even if his true essence was completely depleted, it was still possible to break through by burning his lifeblood essence. However, success would come at a great cost—his primordial vitality would be severely damaged, requiring 30 years of recuperation.

With the Aqua Blue Lotus Throne in hand, Eldrin naturally had no need to burn his vital essence blood. As the cyan lotus platform within his dantian rotated, vast surges of primal energy surged forth, transforming into torrents that poured into the Celestial Meridians of his Purple Mansion.

With this newfound power, Eldrin felt divinely aided, breaking through all obstacles as he continued his unstoppable ascent.

9 point 5 tenths—the final strike at the 100-Foot Barrier.

Eldrin mustered every last ounce of his true essence, forcibly suppressing the agony wracking his physical form as he pounded against the final sealed fragment of his Celestial Vein.

That vast true essence surged up along his spine like a great dragon coiling its way toward the heavens, ultimately blasting open the Celestial Meridian of the Purple Mansion.

Boom—

After a deafening blast, Eldrin nearly collapsed to the ground.

A faint smile graced his lips. 60-3 years had passed since his rebirth into this world, and he had finally succeeded in unlocking the Purple Mansion's Celestial Veins, stepping into the realm of the Purple Mansion.

From this day forth, his cultivation could be considered to have stepped into the middle-to-upper echelons among the nations of Ji Continent. Even among all cultivators, he stood as 1 in 10 1000.

Although the Chu Kingdom (Location) boasts over 400,000 cultivators, it harbors merely a 100-some Violet Mansions (Cultivation Realm). Yet considering Violet Mansion practitioners enjoy lifespans 4 times longer than ordinary cultivators, describing them as "1 in 10 1000" is no exaggeration whatsoever.

Suppressing his excitement, Eldrin steadied his mind and began refining his spiritual power.

After traversing the Purple Mansion Celestial Vein, he had already overcome the greatest obstacle. The next step was to refine his spiritual power, allowing his divine consciousness and true essence to merge into an even more profound and unparalleled magical energy—this would merely require some time to accomplish.

This process took Eldrin a full month. Only after he had fully integrated his magical power did he realize its profound depth far surpassed the ordinary.

As early as his Foundation Establishment phase, his true essence had already rivaled that of the first level of the Purple Mansion, lacking only the profound subtlety of magical power.

Now that the Heavenly Meridian of the Purple Mansion had been fully connected, his true essence had doubled once more and had already transformed into the more profound and wondrous power of Fa Li (Cultivation Energy).

"The profundity of my mana likely rivals that of the fourth level of the Purple Mansion."

"Once my Lifebound Immortal Sword and the Ren Water Azure Lotus Throne advance to the Third Tier, Middle Grade, my combat prowess won't be considered weak even within the Purple Palace, Mid Stage."

Eldrin sensed the flow of his magic power, growing ever more aware of the depths of his own strength.

Without relying on external aids like the Li Fire Crystal (Spiritual Object) to break through to the Violet Mansion, his primal energy remained pure and sharp. Though this resulted in excruciating pain during the breakthrough, it granted him a quality of spiritual power far surpassing that of ordinary Violet Mansion cultivators.

With his profound foundation in subduing the physical body's tribulations, even without relying on external aids, his chances of breaking through to the Golden Core Realm would increase by 10 to 20 percent through sheer depth of mana alone.

Moreover, this had a significant impact on his combat prowess.

Upon reaching the Purple Palace realm, advancing across stages had become exceedingly difficult. Back when he was at the Foundation Establishment, Early Stage, he could contend with late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators by relying on his second-grade, mid-tier Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss. Yet now, he found it nearly impossible to confront those at the Purple Palace, Late Stage.

Back then, the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss (Magic Treasure) was forged using Li Fire Crystal (Spiritual Object). Its material quality and potency ranked among the finest for second-grade Natal Magic Treasures, yet when compared to third-grade Natal Magic Treasures, it could only be considered moderately powerful.

Unless Eldrin obtained a fourth-rank Blaze Pearl to enhance the potency of the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss, this life-bound magic treasure would prove insufficient against a Purple Palace, Late Stage expert.

Yet even so, he was merely at the First Level of the Purple Palace. His combat prowess, however, was in no way inferior to that of a Purple Palace, Mid Stage cultivator. This demonstrated that after conquering the tribulations of the flesh, his spiritual power rivaled even that of those who had refined their power once within the Purple Palace, Mid Stage.

"Moreover, I still possess the Great Geng Immortal Sword."

A smile graced Eldrin’s lips as he drew forth a golden immortal sword.

The Great Geng Immortal Sword served as the formation core of the Great Geng Sword Array. This sword had reached the pinnacle of third-grade superior rank. With Eldrin's cultivation base, he could unleash 70 percent of the weapon's potential—enough to pose a threat even to experts at the Purple Palace, Late Stage.

Chapter 1: The Reborn Youth The biting cold wind howled, whipping against the tattered robes of the young man kneeling in the snow. His name was Lin Xuan, once the most promising disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, now a cripple abandoned by all. "1 100 years had passed..." he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. "1 100 years since my spiritual roots were shattered." Suddenly, a searing pain erupted in his forehead. Countless memories flooded his mind - memories of another life, another world where he was a Grand Emperor of the cultivation realm. [System activating...] [Host's spiritual roots detected: destroyed] [Initiating reconstruction... 1%... 50%... 100%] [Reconstruction complete. Current cultivation: Qi Refining Stage, 1st layer] Lin Xuan's eyes snapped open, gleaming with newfound determination. The System (Mysterious Artifact) had chosen him. "Interesting," he chuckled, rising to his feet. "It seems the heavens aren't done with me yet." He remembered the spatial ring hidden beneath the floorboards of his dilapidated hut. With renewed purpose, he trudged through the snow, each step firmer than the last. Back in his shelter, Lin Xuan retrieved the ring. Inside, he found exactly 32,000 spirit stones and several bottles of Foundation Establishment Pill (Elixir). "Not much, but it'll suffice for now," he mused, popping a pill into his mouth. The spiritual energy surged through his meridians, familiar yet foreign. He guided it with the precision of his past life's experience, circulating it through 30-3 major cycles. [Congratulations! Host has broken through to the 2nd layer of Qi Refining Stage] A faint smile touched his lips. "The path to immortality begins anew." Suddenly, shouts erupted outside. "Lin Xuan! Come out and face your death!" It was Zhang Hu (Person Name), his former junior brother who had betrayed him. Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed. "Perfect timing," he whispered. "I need to test this new strength." He stepped out into the blinding snow, his figure straight and proud. Zhang Hu and his lackeys stood waiting, their swords drawn. "Still alive, senior brother?" Zhang Hu sneered. "How tenacious." Lin Xuan didn't respond. Instead, he raised his hand, spiritual energy gathering at his fingertips. The air crackled with power. "The Azure Cloud Sword Art you taught me," Lin Xuan said calmly. "Let me show you how it's truly done." A sword of pure energy materialized before him, glowing with ethereal light. With a mere thought, it shot forward, too fast for the eye to follow. Zhang Hu's eyes widened in terror. "Impossible! Your cultivation was destroyed!" The sword pierced through his defenses, sending him flying backward. His companions stared in shock, too stunned to move. Lin Xuan stood tall, the snow swirling around him like a cloak of stars. "Tell the elders," he commanded. "Lin Xuan has returned." As they scrambled away, he looked toward the distant mountains where the Azure Cloud Sect stood. Somewhere up there, his former master awaited - the man who had destroyed his cultivation out of jealousy. "Just you wait," Lin Xuan vowed. "I'm coming for what's mine." The wind carried his promise across the valleys, a whisper of vengeance and rebirth. The game had just begun.