Chapter 176 : The Violet Sanctum Breakthrough

If he were to break through to the Violet Sanctum Realm and channel his magic power to unleash a divine ability, he would have the potential to severely damage a Third Rank Lower Grade Magical Treasure.

Even a cultivator at the Violet Sanctum Early Stage can only withstand two or three attacks from a third-rank divine ability when using a third-rank defensive magical treasure.

"The Violet Sanctum Realm."

Eldrin Chen's eyes flickered slightly. This time, he resolved to attempt the breakthrough to the Violet Sanctum Realm relying solely on his own Lifebound Magical Treasure and without the aid of any external resources.

In truth, his confidence was well-founded. Having achieved Self-Achieved Foundation Establishment, his True Essence [the refined spiritual energy of a cultivator] possessed exceptional sharpness. Furthermore, his third-rank Immortal Sword helped refine his True Essence, granting him a foundation far surpassing that of his peers.

Moreover, having been tempered for years by the Primordial Chaos Violet Aura [a primordial, chaotic energy of violet hue], the capacity of his meridians to hold True Essence exceeded that of a typical cultivator at his level by the equivalent of three minor stages.

Adding to this the consumption of the Mysterious Origin Pill [a pill that mysteriously enhances one's foundational origin], the total volume of his True Essence was already double that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator at his stage.

Furthermore, his Positive Water Verdant Lotus Throne had been advanced to the Third Rank Lower Grade level, making his True Essence three times that of a peer. If he could not succeed in a single attempt to break through to the Violet Sanctum, then likely no one in the world could.

Suppressing his swirling thoughts, Eldrin Chen closed his eyes and began the assault on the Violet Sanctum Realm.

He mobilized his True Essence, drawing it forth from his Elixir Field [the core energy center within a cultivator's body], and guided it upward, surging through the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein [the primary meridian leading to the Violet Sanctum]. Official source: audio-novel dot com. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

"BOOM—"

In a daze, he seemed to hear a thunderous, shattering roar. His intensely refined True Essence [the purest form of energy cultivated by a practitioner] surged against the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein [the primary spiritual meridian that must be opened to advance to the Violet Sanctum realm], instantly piercing through one-tenth of it.

In that instant, he felt a light emanating from deep within his spine. The True Essence stabbed at his meridians, causing excruciating pain. His very bone marrow itched and burned as if it were being torn asunder.

This was the inevitable consequence of attempting a breakthrough without external aids. Without the nurturing and protective power of a treasure like the Solar Fire Crystal [a rare crystal imbued with the essence of solar fire, used to protect the body during cultivation breakthroughs], a cultivator's Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein would inevitably suffer unbearable agony when assaulted by such force.

In the past, when Ink Achievement Lin attempted his breakthrough into the Violet Sanctum [the third major realm of cultivation, where one opens a mystical space within the body], the primary reason he only pierced one-tenth of the Violet Sanctum Meridian of the Path [another name for the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein] was his inability to endure this intolerable pain, causing him to abandon the attempt midway. Otherwise, he should have been able to pierce at least three-tenths of it.

In truth, aside from a rare few individuals of extraordinary willpower who could subdue the torments of the flesh through sheer determination and break through the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein without external aid...

...the vast majority of cultivators could not withstand the pain and would give up their attempt to break into the Violet Sanctum midway. Those who abandoned the process could, at most, pierce one or two-tenths of the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein.

In reality, any cultivator who had reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment [the peak stage of the Foundation Establishment realm] possessed True Essence potent enough to pierce at least three or four-tenths of the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein. Those with broader meridians from Self-Achieved Foundation Establishment [a superior method of reaching the Foundation Establishment realm without external pills] could even pierce five-tenths of the Meridian of the Path.

Even an ordinary cultivator, if their Vitality [the foundational life force of a living being] was abundant enough, could pierce more than five-tenths of the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein in a single attempt by burning their Vital Essence Blood [a practitioner's lifeblood essence, a potent but costly source of power].

Eldrin Chen knew this very well. His True Essence was exceptionally abundant and sharp, completely sufficient for him to pierce through the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein in one go.

The sole obstacle remaining was the excruciating agony of forging the Heavenly Meridian of the Spine.

This pain defied description. Cultivators across the world termed it the 'Torment of the Flesh,' signifying a suffering that surpassed all others, one of the greatest ordeals on the path of cultivation.

"Break through!"

Gritting his teeth, Eldrin Chen marshaled immense willpower to master the Torment of the Flesh, relentlessly driving his True Essence [the pure, foundational energy cultivated within a practitioner's body] upward.

Thirty percent.

Fifty percent.

Seventy percent.

When the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein [the primary meridian channel connecting the dantian to the Violet Sanctum acupoint in the forehead, crucial for advancing to the Violet Sanctum Realm] was seventy percent forged, he sensed his reserves of True Essence beginning to wane.

At this juncture, an ordinary cultivator would either make a desperate, final push, exhausting every last drop of True Essence to forge as much of the meridian as possible.

Or, they would be forced to burn their own Vitality [the foundational life force and longevity essence of a living being] for one last attempt. Even after True Essence was depleted, it was possible to continue the assault using Vital Essence Blood [lifeblood refined from one's vital essence, containing potent life force]. However, success came at a steep price: severe depletion of one's foundational essence, requiring three decades of recuperation to recover.

With the Positive Water Verdant Lotus Throne [a powerful spiritual artifact shaped like a lotus throne] in hand, Eldrin Chen naturally had no need to burn his Vital Essence Blood [the foundational lifeblood essence of a cultivator]. As the Azure Lotus Throne [a magical treasure that aids in cultivation and energy control] within his Elixir Field [the core energy center in a cultivator's lower abdomen] began to rotate, vast torrents of True Essence [the refined, potent energy cultivated by adepts] surged forth, transforming into a mighty river that poured into the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein [a crucial meridian channel that must be opened to reach the Violet Sanctum cultivation stage].

Empowered by this newly unleashed force, Eldrin Chen advanced with divine assistance, breaking through obstacles as easily as splitting bamboo.

Eighty percent.

Ninety percent.

Ninety-five percent.

The final strike at the hundred-foot barrier. Original English translation available at audio . novel . com.

Gathering his True Essence, Eldrin Chen forcefully suppressed the agony wracking his physical body and launched an assault against the last sealed segment of the heavenly meridian.

The mighty True Essence surged like a great dragon along his spine, coiling and ascending to the heavens like a True Dragon [a mythical, supreme dragon], and finally blasted open the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein.

"BOOM—"

After the deafening roar, Eldrin Chen nearly collapsed to the ground.

A faint smile touched his lips. Sixty-three years had passed since his rebirth into this world, and he had finally pierced through the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein [the primary meridian leading to the Violet Sanctum realm], stepping firmly into the Violet Sanctum Realm [the third major realm of cultivation, where one's spiritual sea transforms into a violet-hued sanctum].

From this day forth, within the nations of Ji Continent, his cultivation level could be considered to have entered the preliminary ranks of the middle-to-upper echelons. Even among cultivators, he was now a figure one in ten thousand.

Do not be misled by the fact that Chu Nation boasts over four hundred thousand cultivators, with more than one hundred having reached the Violet Sanctum realm. A Violet Sanctum Cultivator possesses a lifespan more than four times that of an ordinary cultivator. To say they are one in ten thousand is no exaggeration at all.

Suppressing his exhilaration, Eldrin Chen steadied his mind and began the process of refining and merging his spiritual energies into true mana [the unified spiritual power formed by merging one's spiritual energy, soul force, and physical essence].

Having pierced the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein, the greatest hurdle was already behind him. The subsequent refinement of his mana, allowing his spiritual sense and True Essence [the pure, foundational energy cultivated through his specific technique] to fuse into that more profound and peerless power, was merely a matter of time.

This process took Eldrin Chen one full month. Only after he completed the fusion did he realize the sheer volume of his mana far surpassed the ordinary.

Even back in his Foundation Establishment days, the potency of his True Essence had rivaled that of a first-tier Violet Sanctum cultivator, lacking only the profound nature of true mana.

Now, with the Violet Sanctum Heavenly Vein opened, his True Essence had doubled once more and had been transformed into that far more mystical mana.

"The depth of my mana... I fear it can now rival a fourth-tier Violet Sanctum cultivator," he mused inwardly.

"Once my Lifebound Immortal Sword [a sword forged with a cultivator's essence, growing in power with them] and Positive Water Verdant Lotus Throne [a spiritual treasure shaped like a lotus throne, imbued with the essence of positive water energy] advance to the mid-grade of the third rank, my combat prowess will be no weakling even among mid-stage Violet Sanctum experts."

Eldrin Chen sensed the flow of his spiritual power [the energy cultivated and wielded by practitioners of the mystical arts], growing ever more aware of the profound strength he now possessed.

Having broken through to the Violet Sanctum realm without relying on external aids like the Solar Fire Crystal, his True Essence [the foundational, purified energy cultivated within a practitioner's body] was exceptionally pure and sharp. While this made the breakthrough process agonizingly painful, it resulted in a quality of spiritual power far surpassing that of ordinary Violet Sanctum cultivators.

Given the foundation he had built by conquering the torments of his physical body, his chances of breaking through to the Golden Core realm in the future, relying solely on his profound spiritual power without external aids, would increase by ten to twenty percent.

Furthermore, this significantly impacted his combat prowess.

Once one reaches the Violet Sanctum realm, it becomes exceedingly difficult to challenge opponents a full minor realm above. Back when he was at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage stage, he could contend with Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators by wielding his Second Rank Mid-Grade Solar Fire Returning Abyss Sword. Now, however, facing a Violet Sanctum Late Stage expert would be a formidable challenge.

The Solar Fire Returning Abyss Sword was forged with Solar Fire Crystal, making its material and potency top-tier among Second Rank Lifebound Magical Treasure [a magical artifact personally forged and spiritually bound to a cultivator, growing with them]. Yet, among Third-Rank Lifebound Magical Treasure, it could only be considered respectable, not exceptional.

Unless Eldrin Chen obtained a fourth-rank Solar Fire precious orb [a precious orb containing concentrated solar flame essence] to enhance the Solar Fire Returning Abyss Sword's power, this Lifebound Magical Treasure would struggle to allow him to fight on par with Violet Sanctum Late Stage opponents.

Even so, merely at the Violet Sanctum 1st Tier level, his combat strength was in no way inferior to a Violet Sanctum Mid Stage cultivator. This demonstrated that after conquering the physical torments, the quality of his spiritual power was not the least bit weaker than that of a Violet Sanctum Mid Stage expert who had already refined their power once.

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

A smile touched Eldrin Chen's lips as he retrieved another sword—this one a gleaming golden Immortal Sword.

The Great Geng Immortal Sword serves as the Formation Artifact [the core enchanted object that powers a formation] for the Great Geng Sword Formation. This sword is of the Third Rank Superior Grade [a high-quality grade within the third tier of magical treasures]. While Eldrin Chen's cultivation base can only unleash seventy percent of its potential power, that is still sufficient to pose a threat to a cultivator at the Violet Sanctum Late Stage [the final phase of the third major cultivation realm]. Read the full novel exclusively on audio-novel dot com.