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**
Inside a slightly dim cave.
Several moonstones were embedded into the stone walls, casting a soft, gentle light throughout the cavern. It was neither glaring nor too dark—just the right balance of illumination.
Atop a bluestone platform, Wei Yang sat quietly, cross-legged on a meditation cushion beneath him.
This cushion wasn't ordinary—it was woven entirely from rare medicinal herbs and vines, emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance. Just inhaling it made one feel instantly invigorated.
At the moment, Wei Yang's eyelids drooped, half-closed in a state between sleep and wakefulness.
His breathing was long, calm, and rhythmic.
His hands were constantly forming seals, clearly in the middle of cultivation.
A long time passed.
"It's been nearly half a month… and that sliver of breakthrough opportunity still hasn't shown up?" Wei Yang couldn't help but sigh bitterly in his heart.
At the same time, a trace of unwilling bitterness quietly surfaced within him.
Is this… the limit of my potential? The edge of my talent?
Peak Dou Huang…
Am I really going to have to use the Zong Breaking Pill?
Just thinking about it filled him with a deep sense of reluctance.
Of course, if Wei Yang were willing to be patient and endure it, perhaps in another six months to a year, he might still manage to break through successfully.
Wei Yang had that much confidence in himself.
But that would also mean that his potential limit was right here.
If luck turned against him, it wouldn't be strange to be stuck here for three to five years.
Honestly, even this wasn't bad.
At the very least, Wei Yang could still see a path forward—a hope of breaking through.
Many who reached the peak Dou Huang… were stuck there for life.
That kind of hopeless stagnation—that was the most despairing thing.
But even so, Wei Yang couldn't accept it.
Because, at this moment, he was beginning to see the limits of his future.
At this rate, even if he forced his way through to Dou Zong, it meant that—unless a great opportunity came—his ceiling would likely be Dou Zun, and even then, he'd probably have to rely on medicine to get there.
Huu~Wei Yang exhaled gently, slowly calming the frustration in his chest.
Dou Zun, then so be it.
Just try and make it all the way to peak Nine Change Dou Zun, that's all.
After all, there's still the Ancient Bodhisattva Tree in the future—and a chance to reach Dou Sheng.
If talent wasn't enough, then let fortune fill the gap.
Thinking of this, Wei Yang chuckled at himself. He opened up mentally, no longer stuck on the issue.
People… have to face reality, don't they?
If talent is lacking, it is what it is. Obsessing over it is meaningless.
His biggest asset now was that he was still young—only twenty-four—with endless possibilities still ahead.
Instead of wasting more time, why not just take the Zong Breaking Pill and break through to Dou Zong early?
Strength has always been the greatest foundation.
Countless thoughts flashed quickly through his mind.
Very soon, Wei Yang figured it out and stopped getting tangled up.
He decided to let himself off the hook and stop forcing things.
If he had to pop a pill, then so be it.
Now that he'd come to terms with it, his heart suddenly felt open and calm.
——
He turned his attention inward.
Under the watch of his spiritual awareness, he observed the vast torrent of Dou Qi surging through his meridians like a great river—majestic, powerful, unstoppable.
This Dou Qi had now accumulated to its very limit. All it needed was a tiny catalyst to trigger a qualitative transformation—to take it to the next level.
Unfortunately, that tiny catalyst hadn't appeared, no matter how long Wei Yang waited.
"It's just that tiny bit… What a pity," he murmured in frustration.
Shaking his head, Wei Yang cast aside all distracting thoughts from his mind.
He flipped his palm and took out a small jade bottle, placing it beside him.
Since the opportunity wasn't going to appear naturally… then he'd just have to create it himself.
Zong Breaking Pill!
Wei Yang channeled his vast Dou Qi, circulating it rapidly according to the meridian paths outlined in the Black Sun Burning Heaven Art.
The torrential Dou Qi surged through his meridians, slowly forming a large and complete cycle.
Wei Yang didn't stop. He continued the circulation, forcing the energy through loop after loop of the great cycle.
Within the cavern, strands of faint red fire-attribute energy began to materialize in tangible streams, gently rising and swirling around his body before flowing into him.
As his meridians gradually began to feel a bloated, saturated soreness…
Wei Yang knew—it was time!
What came next was the ingestion of the Zong Breaking Pill. Using that pure and overwhelming external energy to blast open the bottleneck, his Dou Qi would undergo a complete transformation—
And the breakthrough would be complete.
He would officially step into the realm of Dou Zong.
Wei Yang's fingers trembled slightly as he reached out toward the jade bottle.
But just at that moment, he suddenly froze.
Because during that repeated cycle of Dou Qi circulation, something strange had quietly emerged—a mysterious sensation, as if arising from the depths of his soul, slowly welled up in his heart.
"???"
"!!!"
First confusion—then surprise and joy.
This—this was the breakthrough opportunity he had been desperately waiting for over the past half month!
Now, just when he had resolved to give up and use the Zong Breaking Pill to forcibly break through…
It actually appeared.Out of nowhere. From the depths of fate itself.
What a surprise!
Wei Yang immediately latched onto that sliver of opportunity, immersing himself entirely in it.
——
While Wei Yang's spirit was submerged in that wondrous sensation...
In the cave outside—
The surrounding heaven and earth energy also began to surge madly.
A visible vortex of condensed energy rapidly formed around him.
It spun violently, eventually taking shape above Wei Yang's head into a massive funnel—narrow at the bottom and wide at the top.
The narrow end of the funnel connected directly to the crown of Wei Yang's head, endlessly pouring that overwhelming energy into his body.
As that intense wave of energy flooded into him, Wei Yang's brow furrowed tightly.
Being deep inside a volcanic region, the density of fire-attributed energy here needed no further explanation. And even though the breakthrough had only just begun, the pressure was already this intense.
It was as if the heavens had forcefully summoned all the fire energy from within the volcano and rammed it straight into Wei Yang's body.
But that didn't trouble him in the slightest.
With a Heaven Grade cultivation technique and the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame as his foundation—this was nothing.
Taking a deep breath, Wei Yang moved his focus inward.
Suddenly, pure black flames erupted from his body without warning, completely enveloping him.
The black flames squirmed and flickered, wrapping around him like a layer of flame-clothing.
The wild and chaotic energies pouring into him were instantly purified by the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame before entering his meridians—refining and enhancing them.
As a result, the pressure within his body immediately dropped.
Heaven Grade cultivation techniques had already exaggerated absorption and refinement speed.
What's more, the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame and its paired technique, the Black Sun Burning Heaven Art, were like two halves of a whole.
Together, their synergy far surpassed the effect of one plus one.
——
Inside the cave, energy howled.
Primarily tinted red with traces of other elements swirling around it, the vibrant bands of multi-colored energy twisted and danced, casting a dazzling light across the stone walls.
At the end of that storm of light, Wei Yang sat silently, cross-legged.
From Dou Huang to Dou Zong—this was no ordinary advancement.
Such a breakthrough required a massive amount of energy—something utterly terrifying.
And this kind of transformation couldn't be completed in just a short moment.
It required time—gradual accumulation—before that qualitative shift could be fully realized.
But with the appearance of that crucial breakthrough opportunity, Wei Yang had now formally entered this irreversible transformation.
He was now truly qualified to step into the realm of Dou Zong.
All he needed now—was enough energy to push his Dou Qi through that final transformation.
Once his energy reservoir crossed the threshold, the breakthrough to Dou Zong would arrive naturally—as a matter of course.
However, this process of energy accumulation would still take time.
But… would Wei Yang lack energy?
Not at all.
With a mere thought, the jade bottle beside him opened.
A thumb-sized, crystalline, and translucent pill, wreathed in waves of rich, colored pill fragrance, slowly floated upward.
Wei Yang opened his mouth and swallowed that priceless Zong Breaking Pill whole.
Boom!
The pure, vast energy spread through his body, flowing, surging, and washing through every inch of him.
Now that the breakthrough opportunity had already appeared, the Zong Breaking Pill no longer served its original purpose of forcing a breakthrough.Instead, it had become a pure energy supply.
Does that make a difference?
Absolutely.
And a huge one at that.
The order in which they occurred was critical—and carried entirely different meanings.
At least, from Wei Yang's perspective, this distinction was immense.
One was to rely on the pill to shatter a bottleneck.The other was merely using the pill's energy—to speed up the breakthrough that was already happening.
It was like… a wedding night.Whether that delicate membrane was pierced by one's own effort… or not—it mattered.
Was it a waste?
Using a priceless Zong Breaking Pill, just to save time on a breakthrough?
Yes.It was a waste.
But it was also worth it.
Think about it—In the original story, Xiao Yan spent a full year in seclusion just to accumulate enough energy for a Dou Huang breakthrough.
So what about Dou Zong?
If he waited for that natural build-up, by the time he transformed, forget turning bones to ash—he'd probably be dust himself.
And when it came to choosing between a Zong Breaking Pill and time...
Wei Yang had no hesitation.
He chose—time.
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