It really works!
Ryan Ling was overjoyed—despite the insane pain, just like the System said, this Yin River water was ridiculously good for cultivating Netherworld arts.
Break through!
Ryan howled inwardly, throwing all caution to the wind as he forcibly activated the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art’s cultivation mode. Instantly, the terrifying yin-chill of the Yin River surged madly toward him—obviously, the more Yin River energy poured into his soul-body, the fiercer his breakthrough.
“Nice, very nice! Kid, you really are Lord Yama’s son—one word: savage!” Up on the bank, the System’s Ghost Elder nodded nonstop, clearly satisfied with Ryan’s reckless, balls-to-the-wall attitude.
Next to him, Granny Soul was also fired up, but her brows stayed furrowed—she was worried Ryan’s craziness might get him killed.
Right now, Ryan felt cold all over—but weirdly, inside he was burning up. That inner heat was the root of Foundation-Building. He knew if he pulled off this breakthrough, his Foundation-Building would be so solid it’d be totally unprecedented. No one else could even compare. Hell, if the six Void Realm masters teamed up and came at him again, he could slice them up like veggies.
No matter how strong martial arts get, compared to the Immortal Path, they’re still just slightly bigger ants!
Just thinking about it got Ryan hyped—but right then, a wave of cold air suddenly swept down from the north side of the Yin River.
“What the hell? It’s only the seventh lunar month—where’s all this cold coming from?” Granny Soul shivered and quickly looked over at the Ghost Elder.
“No clue—did the cold snap come early this year?” The Ghost Elder scratched his head, just as baffled.
“Early my ass! Even if it did, there’s no way it should hit now—this is bad!” Granny Soul quickly looked down at Ryan at the bottom of the river. It was still late summer, so even though the Yin River was cold, it wasn’t supposed to be that bad. That’s why Granny Soul had agreed to let Ryan go in; at least nothing major should’ve gone wrong.
But if cold air sweeps in from the north and covers the whole Yin River, Ryan staying down there is seriously dangerous—they’ve got to get him out, fast.
“Hurry and get him up! His soul can’t possibly withstand cold like that coming from the north!” Granny Soul steadied herself and shouted again.
Now even the Ghost Elder was worried. As he stepped forward to check on Ryan, he suddenly noticed Ryan’s soul-body was glowing blue. He froze, then muttered, “So that’s it... That’s it. This kid really is something else—looks like his Foundation-Building is gonna be epic!”
“What do you mean?” Granny Soul was getting anxious—she clearly cared about Ryan deep down.
“The cold suddenly crashing down? It’s because Ryan’s breaking through Foundation-Building. This isn’t a normal breakthrough—it’s triggering a full-blown heaven-and-earth anomaly!” The Ghost Elder finished, and even Granny Soul was stunned, blurting out:
“He’s only at Foundation-Building! Even if he were at the Golden Core Stage, you wouldn’t get a change like this, right? Are you sure you’re not seeing things?”
“How could I be wrong? It’s all because of Ryan—this kid’s antics are way too heaven-defying, so now the Yin River itself is flipping out to try and stop him!” The Ghost Elder sounded almost incredulous himself.
“So what do we do? If the Yin River goes berserk, it’s insanely fierce—Ryan can’t possibly hold out. If he wants to break through, he’s gotta finish before the cold freezes everything solid. Otherwise, no matter how heaven-defying he is, he’s dead!” As Granny Soul spoke, the overwhelming cold had already covered the whole Yin River in white frost; both banks were pure white too!
“Don’t panic, I’ll figure something out!” The Ghost Elder finished speaking and his whole soul-body floated up above the Yin River—clearly, he was going to help Ryan block the insane cold.
“That old guy cares about Ryan even more than I do!” Granny Soul smiled a little, then shot up into the air too.
“What are you doing? Get back! The Yin River stretches for tens of thousands of li—if the cold really hits, it’ll be brutal. Hurry up and go!” The Ghost Elder sounded worried.
“With you here, what am I afraid of? We’re married now, right? Share the good times, shoulder the bad!” Granny Soul blushed as she spoke.
“Wait—you’re saying yes?” The Ghost Elder was so excited he nearly fell into the Yin River.
“What are you freaking out for?” Granny Soul quickly grabbed him.
“Of course I’m freaking out! I’ve proposed to you like a hundred times—I honestly thought I’d never make it. And now you said yes! How can I not be excited?” The Ghost Elder was grinning so hard his whole mouth was crooked.
“Dummy, that was just to test if you really loved me or not!” Granny Soul giggled.
“Of course I do—absolutely! I’m so freaking happy!” The Ghost Elder said, then leaned in and kissed her.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Yin River, Ryan was about to cough up blood. Seriously, at a time like this, could you two chill out? I’m freezing my ass off down here!
Up above, Granny Soul seemed to hear Ryan’s desperate cries. She snapped back to reality and shoved the Ghost Elder away: “Enough with the flirting—save it for later! We need to hold off this cold, now. Can’t you tell how brutal it is?”
“Exactly! I bet someone’s trying to sabotage Ryan’s breakthrough. Whatever—no way we’re backing down today. We’ll block this cold, no matter what!” The Ghost Elder unleashed a torrent of soul-power, and Granny Soul didn’t hesitate either—her strength flared out like crazy.
In an instant, their combined power stopped the endless cold in its tracks.
“Kid, hurry up and break through! Even if we team up, there’s no way we can hold off the Yin River’s super-charged cold forever. This river stretches for thousands of miles—it’s endless!” The Ghost Elder panted and shouted to Ryan.
Ryan could hear them loud and clear. No way was he hesitating—he started frantically absorbing Yin River energy, and instantly his aura exploded. The Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art he’d been cultivating finally showed signs of another breakthrough.
“Break!” Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime chance, Ryan didn’t hesitate. He roared and charged ahead, borrowing the endless power of the Yin River. Like a flood bursting through a dam, the third layer of the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art shattered—and in a flash, he broke through! This wasn’t some Merit Point exchange, it was a real breakthrough. The power from this kind of charge was way stronger than just buying a realm!
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^—click next page to keep reading!)
“Kid, don’t just stop there! With your momentum, you can push even further—go for it!” Granny Soul saw Ryan hesitate and shouted.
By now, the fierce cold had already arrived. The Ghost Elder stopped talking—he was throwing everything he had into holding it back. Every second these two old-timers bought was precious for Ryan.
Ryan nodded hard and threw himself into another wild breakthrough. The Yin River energy inside him surged like crazy. This yin energy was kind of like the Yin-Maiden energy inside Angie Chen in the mortal world, but this stuff was way more intense and pure—totally on another level.
“Go!” Ryan didn’t hesitate for a second. He shouted again, and the power of the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art surged forward. In an instant, starting from the third layer, his aura kept climbing—he was on the verge of breaking through the fourth!
In that moment, Ryan was overjoyed—he’d just smashed through two layers in a row, something that had never happened before. And if he could push straight to the fifth, all the restrictions between him and Su Qing would be gone!
Push, push, push!
Right now, Ryan’s whole body felt on fire!
“Good kid, you’ve got real potential—hurry and break through to the fourth layer! I can’t hold out much longer!” The Ghost Elder shouted wildly, his whole body turning white. The cold from the endless Yin River was absolutely no joke.
Ryan knew full well—if all that cold hit him alone, he’d be dead in an instant. His Foundation-Building would be ruined too.
“Fourth layer—break!” Ryan knew what was at stake. He shouted, and the barrier of the fourth layer started to loosen.
Awesome! Ryan was thrilled—he felt his strength had just jumped four or five times over.
“If I don’t break through now, when will I? Break, break, break!” Ryan roared, and the Yin River for miles around seemed to boil.
In a flash, the fourth layer of the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art was blasted apart!
And right at the moment he broke through the fourth layer, the final half-step of Foundation-Building surged forward—and in an instant, he broke through that too.
Supreme Foundation-Building Realm—the age of Ryan’s immortal path had begun...