The process of condensing the Golden Elixir was shattered!

In the Quiet Room, the residual waves of turbulent Spiritual Qi gradually subsided, leaving the air filled with a mysterious and enchanting aura.

Ye Youmeng reclined lazily on the soft couch, her Myriad Poison Colored Skirt partially undone.

Her face, brimming with seductive charm, was now flushed with the rosy hue of newfound pleasure and utter satisfaction.

She turned her head to look at Lin Yuan beside her, feeling both shy and annoyed, yet unable to muster any real anger.

This man always had a way of making her defenses crumble.

Another 3,000 attribute points gained.

Lin Yuan felt a secret thrill but kept a straight face.

"Within my Five Poisons Sect, there are several Elders stuck at Core Formation Perfection, trapped by their Bottleneck for many years..."

"I wonder when Dr. Lin might have time to examine them as well?"

Hearing this, Lin Yuan immediately opened his eyes, turned his head, and put on a righteous expression.

"Healing the sick and saving lives is the duty of us Cultivators! Rest assured, Senior, I will take care of this matter!"

He declared with solemn righteousness.

"However, even brothers keep clear accounts; the consultation fee... not a single coin less."

Ye Youmeng shot him a charmingly coquettish glare but did not refute.

...

Time flies, years pass like a shuttle.

These past three months, Lin Yuan had been very busy.

He was either helping Cultivators from the two Sects break through their Bottlenecks or discussing the great harmony of life with Ye Youmeng, Gu Zheng, and the others.

Diligent efforts yielded bountiful results.

The two-Sect Alliance suddenly gained eighteen Nascent Soul Old Ancestors, nine from each side, their strength skyrocketing.

Old Monster Xuanyin rode this favorable wind, advancing directly into the Late Nascent Soul Stage, his Lifespan greatly increased, and he now walked with a confident swagger.

Only the negotiations for the Blood River Spirit Mine remained unresolved, suspended due to the ulterior motives harbored by the several major Sects.

This morning, Lin Yuan emerged from Ye Youmeng's boudoir refreshed and invigorated, the intoxicating fragrance of her body still lingering at the tip of his nose.

"Finally... I've farmed enough!"

Returning to his own Quiet Room, he focused his mind inward. The small golden characters glowing in the depths of his eyes shone brilliantly.

[Cultivation: Late Foundation Establishment Stage: 0/500000 (addable points); Golden Body Realm Early Stage: 0/10000 (addable points)]

[First-Grade Alchemist: 900/900 (Perfection); Sixth-Grade Artifact Refiner: 1/400 (addable points); First-Grade Formation Master: 900/900 (Perfection)]

[Fifth-Level Fire Control Art: 2/500; Illusion Transformation Art (Perfection)]

[Available attribute points: 501388]

[Special attribute points: 316]

Lin Yuan formed a hand seal with his fingers. Above Tingfeng Courtyard, starlight suddenly manifested. The Zhou Tian Xing Dou Great Array silently activated, completely isolating the entire courtyard from the outside world.

He took a deep breath, no longer hesitating.

The small golden characters in his eyes refreshed frantically.

[Cultivation: Late Foundation Establishment Stage: 500000/500000 (Perfection)]

[Available attribute points: 1388]

A terrifying pressure far exceeding that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivator erupted from within his body!

The depth of his mana had reached an unimaginable level.

If an ordinary Cultivator possessed such a foundation, prying open the path to the Golden Core would be as easy as reaching into a bag to take something.

However, the difficulty of his Breakthrough, due to his divine path Foundation Establishment, was also beyond imagination.

"Press on in one go, charge straight for the Golden Core!"

Lin Yuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, flipped his palm, and a Jade Bottle along with ten pieces of brilliantly glowing High-Grade Spirit Stones materialized before him.

Without pause, he uncorked the bottle. Several supreme grade Breaking Origin Pills, exuding a refreshing fragrance, rolled into his palm.

He had refined this pill for Mu Wanrou before; it could greatly increase the chance of breaking through to the Golden Core.

Lin Yuan tilted his head back and swallowed the pills.

The pills melted upon entering his mouth, transforming into a gentle yet vast medicinal power that surged into his limbs and bones.

His eyes opened and closed. With a sweep of his sleeve, the ten High-Grade Spirit Stones floated around him, forming a miniature spirit-gathering Formation.

"Formation, rise! Infuse!"

With a low shout, his hands rapidly changed seals, activating the entire Zhou Tian Great Array of Tingfeng Courtyard!

In an instant, wind and thunder raged!

The Spiritual Qi above Tingfeng Courtyard was forcibly seized by an invisible force, transforming into a visible Spiritual Qi storm that madly poured into his body!

"Boom!"

Heaven and earth phenomena manifested, startling the entire Black Stone City.

All Cultivators, regardless of their Cultivation level, looked up in shock towards the direction of Tingfeng Courtyard.

"Heavens! This power... is someone else breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage?"

"No! Although this power is vast, it lacks the dao rhyme of the Divine Soul merging with heaven and earth. It's more like a pure accumulation of energy... Is someone... forming a Golden Core?"

"Forming a Golden Core? Are you crazy! Whose Core Formation can cause such a commotion? This disturbance is almost on par with a Nascent Soul Breakthrough!"

Lin Yuan, at the center of the storm, felt an unprecedented, terrifying pressure.

The mana within his body, bolstered by both the pills and the massive influx of Spiritual Qi, had condensed to a critical point. Like a volcano about to erupt, it fiercely assaulted that intangible, formless, yet seemingly indestructible Bottleneck!

Once! Twice! Ten times! A hundred times!

That Bottleneck was like a barrier between the immortal and mortal realms. No matter how fiercely he charged against it, it only trembled slightly, showing not a single crack.

"How can this be?"

Lin Yuan's heart sank heavily.

He could clearly feel the energy within his body being consumed at an alarming rate, yet that Bottleneck remained as solid as a rock.

His Low-Grade Spiritual Root!

At this moment, it became the most fatal shackle!

It was like a wooden barrel. No matter how much water you pour in, as long as the shortest plank exists, you can never reach a greater height.

"Break for me, damn it!"

Lin Yuan's eyes turned completely red as he let out an unwilling roar from the depths of his Soul!

He pushed his Divine Sense and mana to their limits, converging them into a steel-like energy spike for one final impact!

Boom!

A deafening sound, not belonging to the physical world, exploded violently within the depths of his Divine Soul!

Lin Yuan felt his mind go blank. A sweet, metallic taste surged up his throat, impossible to suppress.

"Pfft—!"

A mouthful of scalding blood sprayed from his mouth, turning into a mist of blood that splattered onto the front of his robe.

The massive Spiritual Qi storm in the sky, having lost its anchor, collapsed and dispersed with a roar.

All phenomena returned to silence.

The Breakthrough had failed.

"Pfft..."

Lin Yuan spat out another mouthful of reversed blood. His face turned deathly pale, and his aura withered.

He slumped to the ground, his eyes vacant, filled with disbelief and helplessness.

He had considered all possibilities, except one: failing despite being so thoroughly prepared!

The corner of Lin Yuan's mouth twitched into a smile uglier than crying.

How ironic!

He had single-handedly created numerous Nascent Soul Old Ancestors. He could refine Heaven-Defying Medicinal Pills. He could set up Formations capable of trapping and killing Nascent Soul Cultivators. Yet he himself was firmly nailed in place by a mere Golden Core Bottleneck!

"Could it be... I really have to use that Nine Revolutions Purple Golden Pill?"

A crazy thought flashed through his mind.

That pill was prepared for Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators; its medicinal power was overwhelmingly fierce.

If his current Foundation Establishment body swallowed it and failed to Breakthrough, he would explode and die!

"The risk is too great..."

He shook his head with a bitter smile, temporarily extinguishing that thought.

Just as he felt troubled and restless, with a fierceViciousness churning in his chest, Ye Youmeng's concerned voice sounded from outside the Quiet Room.

"Are you alright?"

Lin Yuan swept his Divine Sense out. Not just her, but Gu Zheng, Su Meiniang, Mu Wanqing, Xue Linglong, Lan Caier—none of them were missing.

Clearly, the commotion just now had alarmed all of them.