Chapter 125: A Massive Uproar!

Liu Ruyan never imagined that Lu Jin would become this powerful, reaching a level that was simply inconceivable.

Is the person in that eighth-floor space really him?

Her eyes were filled with doubt. She even began to question whether the array she had laid on the fifth floor was enough to kill him.

She did not linger. The tension in her heart forced her to descend and find Elder Chi Yu to discuss an alternative plan.

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Three days passed.

When Lu Jin and Empress Qinglian concluded their session of cultivation, Lu Jin’s entire body surged with spiritual power. Within his Jindan, a majestic aura churned like never before.

“8th Layer Jindan… This feeling isn’t bad at all.”

During the three days of exertion, he had not mistreated himself. Whenever he felt his strength waning, he immediately used the Heaven Burial Coffin to devour treasures from his spatial ring. The resulting feedback of spiritual energy kept him in a peak state of power.

Consequently, Empress Qinglian didn’t say much after they finished. She simply vanished, likely heading off to digest whatever she had gained.

Having reached the 8th Layer Jindan, Lu Jin could clearly feel the massive increase in his internal spiritual energy. With his current combat strength, he felt he could probably instant-kill a powerhouse at the 4th Transformation of the Purple Mansion Realm in a single move.

The Empress seemed more satisfied this time than ever before. It seems that as my cultivation grows stronger, my abilities in certain areas rise along with it. Heh!

Lu Jin smiled faintly, reminiscing about the beautiful moments with Empress Qinglian as a sense of happiness welled up within him.

Though he had suffered betrayal and endured calamities in the dark, meeting Empress Qinglian was undoubtedly a stroke of immense luck. Because of this fate, he felt happy and deeply satisfied.

With such treasures in my possession, the full support of the Empress, and our current relationship… I, Lu Jin, will surely become a titan of this world. Within thirty years, I will definitely find all of the Ninefold Coffin of Heaven!

But what will happen once all nine are gathered? A single Heaven Burial Coffin is already this powerful; if all nine are brought together, the power will surely be limitless…

Thinking of this, he reached into his spatial ring and pulled out the jade pendant Chu Tianxiong had given him.

The pendant was flawless, shrouded in a layer of white light.

“Shall I try?”

He raised an eyebrow.

Previously, the restriction within the jade pendant had prevented him from investigating it. Now that his strength had surged, he wanted to try again.

His spiritual force spread out, instantly penetrating toward the pendant. He was cautious and focused, as if exploring a sacred world.

Buzz!

A low hum echoed from the pendant. Just like before, his spiritual probe was blocked by the restriction. It seemed nothing had changed.

Lu Jin tried various methods, even attempting to permeate it with spiritual energy, but he still couldn’t uncover anything. The restriction was like an insurmountable high wall.

In the face of this barrier, Lu Jin even felt a slight sense of inferiority.

It seems my cultivation is still insufficient. I wonder what level of strength I need to find the secrets of my life’s origin within this?

Lu Jin curled his lip. This situation left him feeling helpless, but he didn’t dwell on it for long. He carefully put the jade pendant away and looked up toward the ninth floor of the Sanctuary Tower.

The highest floor.

He wondered what was inside.

If he had felt some trepidation about the ninth floor before his cultivation with Empress Qinglian, that worry had now vanished. Instead, an impulse to find an opponent for a hearty, soul-stirring battle surged within him after his breakthrough.

Buzz!

He didn’t ascend immediately. Instead, he reviewed the martial arts he had previously practiced.

No matter how strong one’s cultivation was, it required the support of martial techniques. Martial arts, weapons, defense, and even arrays: the more complete the combat system, the stronger the battle power.

“Dragon Bone! Condense!”

With a soft shout, a Dragon Membrane surfaced on Lu Jin’s skin, which then transformed into Dragon Patterns before receding into his body and disappearing.

The moment the Dragon Patterns vanished, his skin seemed to become transparent. The bones within could be seen with perfect clarity!

Dragon Bone!

This was the divine ability of the third stage of the Great Evolution Dragon Transformation Art’s defensive system. From Dragon Membrane to Dragon Patterns and finally to Dragon Bone, his defensive power had reached an unprecedented level.

After Dragon Bone would come Dragon Blood and then the Dragon Body!

The defensive power of the Great Evolution Dragon Transformation Art is such that even a powerhouse at the 4th Transformation of the Purple Mansion Realm wouldn’t be able to break through with a full-strength attack!

Feeling the robust power of the Dragon Bone, Lu Jin nodded with satisfaction. Then, he reached out his hand and condensed a flaming sword.

The Hell-Suppressing Sinfire Sword!

A layer of crimson flame swirled around the blade, reflecting on his face. The flickering firelight was as cold and sharp as a knife.

Lu Jin looked closely and saw dense, tiny talismans flowing across the blade, flickering with a sense of immense power.

If I kill someone carrying great sin with this sword, I can receive even more spiritual energy in return. I can use it to test the severity of a person’s crimes. Unfortunately… once they’re killed, discussing their guilt is somewhat meaningless…

There is also the Demon-Sweeping Heavenly Tome… that’s not bad either. I wonder when I’ll be able to use it to wipe out the Blood Moon Ancestor?

Lu Jin fell into deep thought.

Even Chu Tianxiong, who had been investigating for years, didn’t know the extent of the Blood Moon Ancestor’s cultivation. As a newcomer, Lu Jin naturally didn’t know either.

One step at a time…

After checking his equipment and martial arts, Lu Jin made a rough estimate of his combat strength. He had the power to fight someone at the 5th Transformation of the Purple Mansion Realm. However, once the Purple Mansion Realm reached the 5th Transformation, the gap between it and the 6th Transformation widened rapidly. He had no idea what kind of methods a 6th Transformation expert might possess.

I should still have the strength to put up a fight!

As cultivation realms increased, the gap between stages grew progressively larger.

Currently, Lu Jin could kill those in the Purple Mansion Realm while only being in the Jindan Realm. As for whether he could continue to challenge those at higher levels as his cultivation grew stronger, he couldn’t say for sure.

However, that wasn’t his concern right now. Gathering spiritual energy in his hand, he gripped the flaming sword and flew toward the ninth-floor space!

The moment he stepped into the ninth floor of the Sanctuary Tower, a massive uproar broke out outside!

“Everyone, look! The ninth floor! The ninth floor is lit up!!!”

Following that startled cry, the expressions of everyone gathered there changed drastically.

“Heavens! Even the ninth floor is lit? Just who is that?”

“I’m afraid even the geniuses of the Inner Sect can’t enter the ninth floor!”

“It must be an Inner Sect Elder practicing inside! It must be! It has to be! No one else has that kind of capability!”

“I thought it might be Lu Jin or Liu Ruyan, but it seems we can rule them out now.”

Amidst the exclamations, many people shook their heads.

Previously, they had hoped the person entering the eighth floor was Lu Jin, Liu Ruyan, or perhaps some genius disciples from the Inner Sect.

Now, it seemed it was absolutely impossible for it to be a disciple!

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Footnotes: 

TN1: Jindan (金丹): Golden Core stage. 

TN2: Purple Mansion (紫府): The stage above Golden Core. 

TN3: Great Evolution Dragon Transformation Art (大衍化龙诀): Lu Jin’s primary cultivation technique for physical strengthening.