Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1646 - 1639: Breaking Through Limits

Chapter 1646: Chapter 1639: Breaking Through Limits

At this moment, the Array of Gathering Demons was beyond the control of Huayu Ting; after all, he didn’t have the ability to guide magic externally but merely relied on the so-called "force field" generated by the Magic Array to funnel in and inject magic.

This is the fundamental difference between cultivators and mages because even Tangmo at this stage can still manage it easily.

The so-called end of the spell disperses magic; as long as one stops chanting spells, no matter how intense the magic accumulation, it will dissipate entirely within a few seconds, returning to the atmosphere.

Of course, as previously mentioned, if one wishes to drive high concentrations of magic, whether a mage or a cultivator, they would first choose an external Magic Array rather than recklessly experimenting on their own bodies.

Even for Forbidden Curse level mages, Forbidden Curse magic is limited in use. It’s like a nuclear bomb for humanity, essentially a consumable. If one truly plays with fate, even Otherworld’s Forbidden Curse mages couldn’t match the consumption of Earth’s people.

Fortunately, the Magic Array’s design runs quite reasonably, with magic flowing down in an orderly manner, injecting into the inner circle’s patterns and gathering under the center of Feng.

Huayu Ting withdrew his gestures, took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes, saying to the Advance Team, "To be safe, I still must trouble everyone to protect around the array; don’t let anything approach it."

"Alright, leave it to me," Cheng Ziang did not refuse but nodded instead.

He turned around and gestured a few standard military hand signals to his companions. They nodded in tacit agreement and began to disperse around the Magic Array on guard.

At the Magic Array’s center, Feng could distinctly feel discomfort, as a massive amount of magic continuously flowed from the array beneath her, filling her meridians, and ultimately gathering into the Qitian.

Unlike the previous "charging," this magic injection was more intense and continuous, straining her meridians and constantly injecting into Qitian, nearly bursting it.

The breakthrough in the East Continent’s cultivation system is essentially by injecting high-intensity magic to forcibly explode the meridians and Qitian, expanding them through this self-destructive method.

Easterners’ physiques differ from those of the Western Continent, making their meridians tougher. Even when damaged, they can still be repaired through magic circulation. As long as the magic doesn’t break the meridian and Qitian limits, flowing into the organs, it won’t cause magic power erosion.

Feng gritted her teeth and persevered, her face pale, sweat beads forming on her forehead, her body trembling slightly, yet maintaining a cross-legged position.

This process wasn’t particularly painful but was extremely torturous, as the continuous magic injection almost had no limit, exceeding her body’s acceptance threshold. Next, Feng would endure the internal damage caused by magic overload.

About a minute later, her body finally overloaded, yet magic continued to pour in endlessly. Her cramped meridians were forced open by the magic, then ruptured. Each rupture brought excruciating pain because it was the pain of the meridians tearing apart.

Feng clenched her teeth tightly, yet involuntarily hummed through her nose. Blood began flowing from her mouth, nose, and even her ears, with red stains starting to seep through her clothes.

This was the crucial step; whether she could break through depended on if she could withstand such nearly endless magic infusion. Succeeding once equated to a successful breakthrough, making subsequent repair work much lighter.

"Hold your breath, focus your mind; there mustn’t be any distractions," Huayu Ting loudly scolded, seeming to notice Feng’s wavering. As a mentor, he was undoubtedly worried whether this disciple could succeed in her breakthrough.

Hearing Huayu Ting’s words, Feng trembled and took a deep breath again, trying to empty her mind, letting the bloodstains on her clothes grow.

The breakthrough itself is an exceedingly grueling affair, relying entirely on personal will. As the mentor, Huayu Ting could only shout for emotional guidance while observing the state of the one breaking through, determining whether to halt the ritual.

If Feng were accustomed to breakthroughs, she could proceed with this step independently, including setting up the Magic Array to guide the magic.

For most of the time, Huayu Ting achieved breakthroughs alone, without external help. Being familiar with the process, he naturally knew the consequences of each step, making the danger entirely controllable.

Yet despite this, each year in Kyushu, countless cultivators die during breakthroughs. The majority are naive and overconfident novices unaware of their body’s limits.

After entering the Golden Core Realm, every breakthrough is termed an ascendancy because each ascendancy signifies a qualitative leap.

In the late Golden Core Realm, the final ascendancy ritual occurs, often encountering the so-called Heavenly Tribulation. Those who can withstand it may enter the much-dreamed-of Nascent Soul Realm.

But those who understand the Otherworld’s operational essence know the so-called Heavenly Tribulation is merely Tana balancing the world’s power, preventing the emergence of new Human Gods to peril this world, reenacting the Ancestor Era’s Twilight of the Gods.

Beneath the Human God level, these people could do whatever, even exhaust themselves without the problem. However, Tana and Xiapei Kam would not allow the emergence of Gods again to challenge their positions.

Feng’s painful ordeal continued, with the excessive magic injection causing her body to start swelling, her skin stretched taut, seemingly about to tear apart.

It was said that in the East Continent, someone once had their skin rupture during a breakthrough. Though they succeeded, they became unrecognizably disfigured.

Feng tried to tighten her skin, preventing expansion-induced rupture from magic injection. Being a girl, she was unwilling to forgo her original appearance for a breakthrough.

Her body now resembled a red potato, entirely flushed, with subcutaneous capillary hemorrhaging extensively, some areas already bleeding continually, thoroughly soaking her clothes.

Her seven apertures began to ooze blood, the blood flowing like streams down her face, looking quite terrifying.

Witnessing all this, Hu Daoke’s heart surged with unease, nervously glancing at Huayu Ting, hoping for some reassurance that this was normal and not an accident.

"Focus, focus; don’t think about anything, prepare for the first breakthrough," Huayu Ting distractedly shouted, remaining fixed on Feng.

Feng felt her body nearing the breaking point, so she grit her teeth, unable to hold back a roar.

With that roar, she felt her entire body open up as if long-lost petals finally blooming through her efforts.

However, this relieved sensation was only temporary; soon, she was engulfed in whole-body excruciating pain. It was an indescribable torment, a ripping pain from her entire body, unalleviated by sitting or any other means.

Due to the agony, Feng’s face twisted, emitting painful moans. Opening her mouth led to a violent coughing fit, spewing mouthfuls of fresh blood, appearing horrifying.

"Enough, enough, isn’t that enough already!" unable to watch further, Hu Daoke loudly pleaded with Huayu Ting.

Huayu Ting glanced at him but didn’t respond, instead continuing to monitor Feng, loudly shouting: "Qiyun Zhoutian, repair meridians, prepare for the second breakthrough!"

"What, another round? Can she withstand that?" Hu Daoke couldn’t help but roar loudly.

Huayu Ting looked at him again, this time patiently explaining calmly, "She can endure it, at least she won’t die. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, missing it would be a pity."

"What do you mean by ’missing it would be a pity!’" Hu Daoke was outright furious.

"Listen carefully," Huayu Ting unyieldingly said, meeting his gaze directly, speaking each word clearly, "This is my Magic Array for breaking through to the Golden Core Realm, now letting her break through. Naturally, it should be put to full use. If I didn’t care about her, why would I give up the chance to elevate myself to give her an opportunity?"

"Old Cheng, say less," Cheng Ziang said to Hu Daoke, "I believe Little Fengye would think similarly; if you stopped it, she might be displeased instead."