Jiang Chen drifted between consciousness and oblivion.
His body felt heavy, broken, torn apart from the battle. Every inch of him was screaming, his muscles locked in agony, his blood barely circulating as he lay motionless in the valley's depths.
I won.
The thought was distant, almost meaningless now. Victory didn't matter if he died here.
The night air was thick with silence, the corpse of the Umbral Strider sprawled beside him like a vanquished shadow.
But then—something changed.
A pulse.
Not from his body, not from his Chaos Core—but from the land itself.
Jiang Chen's golden-amber eyes cracked open.
The earth beneath him was vibrating.
It wasn't an earthquake. It wasn't a beast's presence.
It was… something else.
Jiang Chen had felt it before—a primitive aura, an ancient presence, lingering within Evernight Valley.
But now, in his weakened state, it was stronger.
It was guiding him.
Despite his exhaustion, his instincts forced his body to move. With a shaky grip on his spear, he pushed himself up—his bones creaking, his breath ragged.
The air shifted.
A soft blue glow flickered in the darkness, just beyond the corpse of the Umbral Strider.
Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes.
It was coming from the ground.
A crack in the earth, hidden beneath the valley's surface.
With what little strength he had left, he staggered forward, using his spear as a crutch. Each step was agony, his vision swimming, but he refused to collapse.
When he finally reached the opening, his breath caught in his throat.
Nestled deep in the valley, hidden beneath layers of earth and stone, was a pool of glowing silver liquid.
It wasn't water.
It wasn't Qi condensation.
It was denser, richer, alive.
The moment Jiang Chen set his eyes on it, his entire body resonated with hunger.
His Chaos Core shuddered inside his dantian.
This…
He had read about this before.
Lunar Essence.
A resource so rare that even sect masters would wage war over it.
It wasn't something meant for someone at Qi Condensation.
No—this was meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
It was an essence born from centuries of condensed Qi, buried deep within Evernight Valley's earth, nurtured by the mysterious forces of the land itself.
And now… it was right in front of him.
Jiang Chen's rational mind screamed caution.
This wasn't meant for him.
If he misused it, if he couldn't withstand its energy, his meridians could rupture, his body could explode from within.
But—
If he succeeded…
He wouldn't just recover.
He would advance.
He would break through the shackles of Early Qi Condensation, surpass Middle, push through Late, and touch Peak in a single opportunity.
No hesitation.
Jiang Chen stepped forward.
With a deep breath, he sank into the pool.
The moment his body touched the essence, a violent reaction erupted.
It was not gentle.
It was not soothing.
It was war.
BOOM!
A surge of energy invaded his body, rampaging through his meridians like an unchained beast.
Jiang Chen's veins bulged, his muscles spasming as the overwhelming energy threatened to tear him apart.
His mind roared with agony.
It felt like being set on fire from the inside out, every fiber of his being struggling to contain the raw force flooding into him.
His Chaos Core reacted violently, spinning wildly as it tried to absorb, suppress, refine the essence before it could destroy him.
Jiang Chen gritted his teeth.
I won't be torn apart by some fucking liquid.
He forced his focus inward, gripping onto the raging storm within his dantian.
This wasn't an uncontrolled breakthrough.
He would control it.
His Chaos Core flared.
The wild energy began to submit, bending to his will.
Jiang Chen guided the power, directing it through his meridians, compressing it, forging it into something greater.
His bones hardened further, his blood turned thicker, his Qi pathways expanded twice over.
Then—BOOM!
His entire body shuddered.
Middle Qi Condensation.
Jiang Chen exhaled sharply, his breath now tinged with a faint silver mist.
The pain didn't stop—but he could feel himself adjusting.
The Lunar Essence was still too much, but his Chaos Core was refining it, adapting to it, making it his own.
He wasn't done.
He could push further.
As Jiang Chen continued to absorb the Lunar Essence, the valley around him reacted.
The trees trembled.
The air grew still.
The very land itself seemed to be observing him, as if it had chosen him to receive this opportunity.
In the depths of Evernight Valley, there were no sects, no politics, no schemes.
Only strength.
Only those who dared to take what was before them.
Jiang Chen's breath was ragged, his body trembling as waves of power surged through him. The Lunar Essence was relentless, an ocean of raw energy threatening to tear him apart at the seams.
But he was no ordinary cultivator.
His Chaos Core devoured everything, absorbing and refining the chaotic flood, molding it into something that belonged only to him.
His bones creaked as another transformation began.
Jiang Chen focused inward, feeling the energy rampaging inside him. He had already reached Middle Qi Condensation, but the Lunar Essence was far from finished with him.
He had a choice—stop now, stabilize his realm… or keep pushing forward.
There was no hesitation.
He would push forward.
He compressed the raw energy, forcing it into his meridians. His Chaos Core spun violently, refining and purifying the wild essence into something denser, stronger, purer.
BOOM!
His Qi pathways expanded again, his meridians hardening into conduits capable of holding far more energy than before.
A flood of strength, clarity, and power rushed through him, like an inferno igniting every fiber of his being.
Late Qi Condensation.
His golden-amber eyes snapped open, glowing faintly with raw power.
But the process wasn't done. Not yet.
The Lunar Essence was still surging around him, still waiting for him to take more.
Jiang Chen grinned, his breath slow and measured.
"Alright… let's finish this."
His Chaos Core pulsed one final time.
The Lunar Essence reacted instantly, surging into his body with one last, earth-shattering impact.
His muscles coiled like divine steel, his meridians stretched to their absolute limits. His Qi pathways expanded a final time, reforging themselves into a near-perfect circulation system.
He could feel it.
The final shackle was breaking.
Now!
Jiang Chen compressed everything, forcing the last remaining Lunar Essence into his dantian.
A violent shockwave erupted from his body, sending cracks into the cavern walls as the sheer density of his Qi reached unprecedented levels.
Then—silence.
A deep, resounding BOOM echoed through the valley.
Peak Qi Condensation.
Jiang Chen exhaled, steam rising from his body.
He had done it.
He had gone from Early Qi Condensation to Peak Qi Condensation in one sitting.
This was not normal.
This was madness.
And yet, he had done it.
Jiang Chen stood slowly, his body feeling lighter than ever, yet immeasurably powerful.
He clenched his fist, feeling the raw strength coiling within him. His muscles had become denser, his bones felt indestructible, and his Qi surged like a roaring tide.
He wasn't just stronger.
He had transcended his previous self.
Even without testing it, he could already tell—
I can fight Late Foundation Establishment cultivators now.
This wasn't arrogance. This was fact.
Before, he had struggled against Foundation Establishment enemies. He had barely survived against stronger foes.
Now?
Now he was on their level.
No longer just a wild rogue struggling to keep up.
Now, he could stand against them head-on.
Jiang Chen turned his gaze toward the entrance of the cavern. The world outside still stretched endlessly, the depths of the Evernight Valley hiding greater dangers and greater opportunities.
He had nearly died in battle.
And yet, it was that same battle that had led him here—to this breakthrough, to this growth, to this power.
This forest was relentless, a domain where only the strongest survived.
It would kill him the moment he let his guard down.
But he wasn't afraid.
He was ready.
A smirk tugged at his lips as he gripped his spear.
The wilderness had given him this opportunity.
Now, he would take everything it had to offer.