Chapter 089: Breaking Through to Martial Artist

"Tong?" Yang Tian's gaze swept over the characters on the fragment. He pondered for a moment. The fragment bore the character "drum"; there must be some connection, right?

"Yang Tian, this jade slip probably requires spiritual power to open, doesn't it?" Qing Yuan observed for a while, then handed the jade slip to Yang Tian with a slight smile.

"I hope it's a flame control technique." Yang Tian scratched his head, stored the bones on the ground into the void ring, and said, "Let's go. There's nothing else here."

The others nodded and walked toward the door.

"Woo..." Xiao Bai suddenly let out a low whine, poking out its little head, its strange gaze fixed on the scroll.

"Could the treasure be hidden inside?" Yang Tian was startled, then directly took down the scroll. It looked like an ordinary painting, but having remained unchanged through such a long time, it couldn't be ordinary, right?

The group left the Danxuan Sect and hurried all the way to the Martial Stage. The Martial Stage was the core area of the entire Martial Mountain, where the ancient aura was richest, greatly increasing the chance of breaking through.

The entire Martial Stage spanned tens of thousands of zhang. Many people were already waiting below, faintly sensing the immense energy within. This was their ultimate destination.

By harnessing the ancient aura inside, the chance of condensing a phenomenon increased significantly. There were even rumors that a few monstrous figures had triggered thunder tribulations at the Martial Stage. Breaking through to Martial Artist and triggering thunder tribulation meant that with each subsequent stage, the power of the tribulation would grow.

Rumble! The entire Martial Stage suddenly trembled. The energy barrier enveloping it completely vanished, and a thick, viscous ancient aura surged out in all directions.

Swish! Countless figures rushed madly forward. This was a great opportunity; if they failed to break through, they would regret it for half a lifetime.

Apart from the secret realms of the holy lands, such ancient aura existed only at Martial Mountain—except for some secret realms that emerged once every few centuries.

"Is it starting?" The commotion at the Martial Stage traveled far. Yang Tian, in the jade carriage, was instantly awakened. His gaze swept toward the ancient aura shooting into the sky, and he couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Yes, it's starting." Qing Yuan nodded. The deep-seated longing in his eyes suddenly surfaced on his face, and his fists clenched tightly. In a lifetime, one must always protect something, especially the woman he loved most.

"Qing Yuan, after leaving Martial Mountain, give these void rings to my foster father. I won't be going back." Yang Tian suddenly turned around, took out three void rings, and handed them to Qing Yuan.

By driving out Wang Long, Yang Tian had thoroughly enraged the Yin-Yang Joyous Union Sect. Their sect's experts would surely make a move. Yang Tian had to set up some contingencies. The pills and life water inside were enough for Lin Yuan to advance to a higher realm.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of the rest." Nodding, Qing Yuan put away the void rings. He also knew that Yang Tian's fame at Martial Mountain would shake the holy lands. Although the lesser holy sons had not yet matured, Yang Tian's talent had already made some eager to strike.

The jade carriage suddenly arrived, drawing the attention of many at the Martial Stage. The group of five rushed toward the stage, found a corner, sat down, and entered a cultivation state.

"It's about to begin."

Yang Tian sat cross-legged inside the Ancestral Dragon Ring. Before him were a Yun'er lotus seed and a soul crystal, while his entire body was surrounded by piles of ancient pills.

"War Heaven Copper Body, let's see how difficult it is." Steeling himself, Yang Tian's mind sank into his body. The miniature figure formed from his blood essence instantly arrived at the half-opened acupoint.

"Acupoint power, open!" With a loud shout, the blood essence figure suddenly moved, continuously striking with the nameless fist technique. The half-opened acupoint was gradually torn open by Yang Tian.

The fluctuations inside his body were immense. Above Yang Tian's head, a vortex of ancient aura formed.

Like a black hole, Yang Tian madly devoured the thick ancient aura around him. The others, who had just entered cultivation, were startled awake.

"Quite a commotion." Qing Yuan looked at the vortex gathering above Yang Tian's head and couldn't help clicking his tongue.

At the same time, their own acupoints were also blasted open. The energy fluctuations they drew were only slightly weaker than Yang Tian's, with Yun'er and Qing Yuan next. In fact, Yun'er didn't need to cultivate at all; the energy sealed within her was too vast.

"What a bunch of freaks. My technique is the worst." Xing Hao looked enviously at the energy fluctuations caused by the others and backed off a little.

The blood essence figure punched. By now, the acupoint was mostly blasted open, and abundant blood essence continuously emerged, converging into the blood essence river.

Rumble! The entire blood essence river shook incessantly. The drumming grew sharper, and the wind howled with a "woo" sound. This phenomenon had already spread outside his body, startling many.

"Indeed, two phenomena."

"Yes, Yang Tian is too monstrous." The surrounding crowd buzzed with discussion, casting jealous glances at Yang Tian. A phenomenon, once grown, was terrifying.

"Little beast, after we leave, I'll crush every bone in your body." In the distance, Li Hongtao clenched his fists. He had thought today would be his moment in the spotlight, but he was wrong. Everyone around Yang Tian was more monstrous than him.

Gu Mo's cold gaze swept over Yang Tian, a hint of greed in his eyes. Yang Tian's cultivation technique was extremely powerful, rarely seen even in the ancient holy lands.

"Acupoint power, open!" Yang Tian shouted. When the entire acupoint was just a hair's breadth away from being fully blasted open, the blood essence figure stopped, fully recovering the expended blood essence. Next, he had to deal with the heavenly thunder, so he couldn't be careless.

The astonishing phenomenon suddenly vanished, drawing the attention of many. They all looked toward Yang Tian, a single thought surfacing in their minds: Had he failed?

"Haha, the little beast failed... He failed!" Li Hongtao was stunned for a moment, then his face instantly flushed red, an indescribable joy spreading across his face.

Many were discussing, the noise surging like waves across the entire venue. A secret delight arose in many hearts: such a heaven-defying genius had been nipped in the bud.

"Alas, what a pity." A very few sighed inwardly. Yang Tian's talent was astonishing; he might even rival the holy sons of the holy lands in the future, but he had failed.

"Ignorant fools." Glancing at the distant crowd, Qing Yuan sneered. The energy within Yang Tian was extremely abundant; how could he possibly fail?

"Keep yapping, and I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs." Xing Hao's face was ferocious, his fierce glare fixed on the distant people.

Under that gaze, many shrank back, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Failed?" After recovering, Yang Tian opened his eyes. Hearing the surrounding chatter, he couldn't help rolling his eyes.

This was just the beginning.

"Open for me!" Yang Tian shouted. The blood essence figure suddenly threw a punch, and the golden acupoint was blasted open. The entire acupoint instantly trembled.

Rumble! Fierce energy, like crashing waves, surged forth madly. The energy vortex above Yang Tian's head doubled in size. The acupoint seemed to come alive, the energy surging within exceeding the total of the blood essence river.

Yang Tian's aura soared skyward. The heavenly phenomenon intensified. The drumming shook their eardrums. He was like a force field, the surrounding gale shredding countless vacuums, his momentum astonishing.

"Yang Tian succeeded..." Many were greatly shocked. Li Hongtao's excited expression instantly froze, replaced by boundless rage.

Just as Yang Tian broke through, Shan Qu also broke through. Countless gales appeared around him, piercing through vacuums. The phenomenon he comprehended was the same as Yang Tian's Wind Soaring Nine Heavens.

"Roar!" Qing Yuan broke through. A virtual purple flood dragon soared from his head, shattering countless vacuums. The purple flood dragon roared, and Qing Yuan's aura climbed skyward.

"It's Dragon Soaring Nine Heavens!" Many were astounded. This phenomenon rivaled Yang Tian's Thunder Drum Heavenly Sound.

Inside Yang Tian's body, the golden acupoint was like a golden eye. A thick red stream connected to his blood essence river. The energy in the entire blood essence river churned violently, then burst out of his body.

The drumming was deafening, the wind howling fiercely. This was a startling phenomenon. The energy in Yang Tian's blood essence river surged threefold, making it difficult for those around him to breathe.

"So strong." Qing Yuan opened his eyes, looking at the blood essence river above Yang Tian's head, and couldn't help clicking his tongue. The energy within was immense and still climbing.

In the distance, someone had just broken through. When he saw the blood essence floating above Yang Tian's head, his face flushed with shame.

As the blood essence river continued to swell, the surrounding ancient aura surged again, madly pouring into Yang Tian's body. The absorption force was twice as strong as before.

The people around couldn't help being astonished, secretly wondering what grade Yang Tian's cultivation technique was.

Rumble! As they were stunned, a phenomenon suddenly emerged in the sky. The ancient aura within a thousand zhang surged into the air, and a massive energy vortex slowly formed.