"Understood!" The Western Pacifying King didn't dare say another word and immediately set off toward the Eighteenth Level of Hell. Clearly, his orders carried the same weight as an imperial decree!
Just as the Western Pacifying King returned to go after Ryan and the others, Ryan’s cultivation happened to hit a new peak!
Absorbing the yin earth energy was a massive win for Ryan—this place was basically an invisible goldmine of power. He had no idea how much was hidden here until he started digging in, and the sheer force buried inside was just insane!
"Ryan, that's awesome! You barely spent any time here and you’ve already stored up enough power to break through to fourth‑layer Heaven‑Tribulation!" The Ghost Elder beside him was absolutely hyped.
At the moment, the only ones with Ryan were the Ghost Elder and Granny Soul!
These two battle-hardened veterans had always supported Ryan!
"Alright, time to break through to fourth‑layer Heaven‑Tribulation!" Ryan gritted his teeth. He’d wanted to do this back when he was fighting that eighth‑layer Heaven‑Tribulation boss—if he’d pulled it off then, taking down that guy would’ve been way easier, and he wouldn’t have had to burn up that little bit of immortal qi!
That immortal qi was insanely valuable. If he’d still had it now, he could’ve stacked up enough power to push for another breakthrough!
What a shame!
Ryan gritted his teeth again, but didn’t waste time dwelling on it. Right now he had to focus everything on smashing through to fourth‑layer Heaven‑Tribulation—overthinking was pointless!
Break through!
Ryan gulped hard, then unleashed a torrent of power to smash through his organs—he instantly hit the barrier of fourth-layer Heaven-Tribulation!
"Break through!" Ryan didn't hesitate. He let out a wild roar and blasted all his power toward a single point. Instantly, tribulation clouds erupted above his head, black lightning crackled—the fourth layer was about to shatter!
"Awesome!" Ghost Elder cheered beside him. This kind of breakthrough was nuts—smashing through Heaven-Tribulation in the deepest pit of Hell? In all the years this place has existed, Ryan’s the first ever!
Everything went crazy smooth. Just as Ghost Elder finished talking, Ryan had already blasted through to fourth-layer Heaven-Tribulation.
Honestly, fourth-layer Heaven-Tribulation is pretty straightforward. It’s just a power stack on top of the third layer—not some insane bonus. The real game-changer is fifth-layer Heaven-Tribulation!
Fifth-layer is a whole new breakthrough. Once you hit it, you’re officially on the road to becoming an immortal. From fifth to ninth layer, you’re called a 'Half-Immortal!'
You’re not a full-blown Human Immortal yet, but you’ve got the qualifications—so everyone calls you a Half-Immortal.
Getting here means Ryan not only gets Celia Xiao’s power boost, but his Primeval Heavenwood will go even crazier—branches, leaves, everything. Plus, he’ll have max control over the whole tree and get way better at absorbing immortal qi from the Immortal Realm.
Right now, the immortal qi Ryan’s absorbed is just a lucky fluke. But once he hits fifth-layer, he’ll be able to draw in way more—it won’t just be a measly wisp!