Chapter 102: Observing a Breakthrough
Everyone cleared the immediate area around Tang Yulian the moment she began her breakthrough. The Qi in the air stirred violently. Li Lang and the other spectators all kept an adequate distance away as they watched on.
While the members of the Eternal Wave sect scrutinized the visitors’ every movement, Li Lang was too absorbed in watching the proceedings to care.
The ambient Qi soon formed a vortex, centering around the young girl. Her navel began to visibly glow so brightly that not even her robes could hide it.
Li Lang focused Qi into his eyes to carefully observe every detail, but it was at times like this that he regretted not being able to use his Qi sense from range. As luck would have it, he did have late-stage Energy Gatherers nearby that could.
“Can you describe what you can sense? Is it going well?” Li Lang asked the young Sima Xue who had her eyes closed.
“Hmm, it’s still early, so everything is going fine. Yulian’s Qi is being compressed into her dantian and is holding up well. The Foundation Pill is doing its job too, forming a protective layer over it.”
Despite the hype behind the breakthrough, nothing special happened after it began. The Qi continued to gush toward Tang Yulian, under the eyes of everyone within the cave. The novelty soon wore off and became mundane to the spectators. This entire process lasted a whole eight hours.
If one paid careful attention throughout this time, one would be able to feel the density of Qi within Tang Yulian’s body increasing. To be precise, the Qi around her navel area specifically. Everywhere else had become barren, devoid of the powerful energy.
“Here comes the critical part. Yulian’s dantian has reached its capacity. She has to be able to condense it further,” Sima Xue muttered.
Not long after her words, the flow of Qi slowed and Tang Yulian grunted in pain. Her suffering was not light, but none of her companions batted an eye. Cultivation was never easy. Pain was just one of the challenges a cultivator had to face.
Her suffering wasn’t short-lived either. She remained in that painful state for another hour. Her entire robes were drenched in sweat and her face paled.
The atmosphere was so intense that Li Lang couldn’t even voice out his concern. He instinctively felt this was the critical part of the breakthrough. He didn’t want to distract Tang Yulian in any way. Otherwise, if she failed, he would have given her companions ammunition to fire his way. It was better to eliminate any potential sources of blame early.