Chapter 122: Beating the Secret Realm Until It Got an Ingrown Toenail

The Thunder Pool continued to assault Jiang Yan.

The continuous strengthening of his physical body allowed him to withstand the scorching golden thunder.

Arcs of electricity surged from within his body, and he felt impurities being expelled from every pore, turning to ash amidst the crimson-gold thunderbolts.

His skin suffered repeated injuries, only to rapidly heal and restore itself each time. Trillions of cells began to renew and iterate, undergoing a qualitative metamorphosis.

His reconstructed skin emitted a faint glow, as if layered with a beautifying filter—not delicate like fine jade, yet as clear and crystalline as a diamond-clear stream.

Fifteen Aperture Points greedily absorbed the surrounding purest energy. With no threat to his life, Jiang Yan’s absorption efficiency accelerated to an unprecedented degree.

The System Log updated continuously, but Jiang Yan had no time to listen.

The damaged Lightning-Guiding Altar had unexpectedly bestowed upon Jiang Yan a tremendous opportunity. Otherwise, the previous intensity of thunder would have been far from sufficient for his breakthrough.

His physical body was too strong; ordinary thunder tempering would have had negligible effects.

But now, it was just right.

A single strike couldn’t kill Jiang Yan, much like mountain weeds not yet fully burned—they would sprout anew with the spring breeze.

Jiang Yan distinctly sensed changes in the Aperture Points throughout his body.

Half an hour later, Jiang Yan opened another Aperture, reaching an unprecedented sixteen Apertures.

The human limit was fifteen Apertures, and even that was only theoretical. To this day, Jiang Yan had never heard of anyone on Tianyuan Star reaching this theoretical limit.

Even the Young Lord of the once-prosperous Boundless Martial Hall had only twelve Innate Apertures. Adding one more opened with Spirit Aperture Source Liquid after reaching the Acquired stage brought him to only thirteen Apertures.

Jiang Yan had already surpassed everyone on Tianyuan Star in the number of Apertures, standing atop the pinnacle of genius by Tianyuan Star’s standards.

The thunder’s damage to Jiang Yan’s body grew increasingly weaker. Jiang Yan knew he had to seize the time to refine the Purest Yang Thunder.

The thunderclouds in the sky gradually dimmed, leaving Jiang Yan somewhat disappointed.

“Just two more Apertures to reach the limit of eighteen. Could this Secret Realm journey be coming to an end?”

Jiang Yan’s eyes turned fierce, and a bold idea rose in his heart.

“I don’t believe it. There must be more!”

He boldly swung his saber, and in an instant, a massive gray saber light rose from the altar.

The saber light shot upward from the ground, crushing through the air at absolute speed and charging into the thunderclouds above the heavens.

Boom!

The saber light collided with the dense clouds, erupting in a deafening roar across the sky. A colossal shockwave surged upward, momentarily darkening the heavens and earth. A heavy shadow enveloped the entire Secret Realm, resembling a scene of apocalyptic decay.

The strange phenomenon was torn apart by this saber light, dissolving into dust and vanishing into the void.

Boom!

Yet, the heavens roared in fury. The previously dissipating thunderclouds spiraled completely out of control, rapidly condensing into a vast, overwhelming sea of clouds.

At the center of the cloud sea, the shape of a long saber was carved, strikingly connected to the slash Jiang Yan had unleashed.

“Holy shit, there really is more.”

Dark clouds shrouded the sky, and the earth changed color, instantly dyed in boundless gray darkness.

Jiang Yan’s vision darkened.

The vision of those watching also darkened.

Fear gripped the hearts of the people as they heard the deep, rolling roars from the dark clouds above, as if something terrifying was brewing.

Jiang Yan seemed to have struck the pain receptors of this Secret Realm with his saber, provoking its wrath to descend divine punishment upon this audacious rebel.

Cheng Wu: “Holy shit, Bro Jiang, you’re still alive?”

Everyone trembled as they gazed at the sky-obscuring dark clouds. “But… it seems like he’s about to die…”

Good news: Jiang Yan wasn’t dead yet.

Bad news: It seemed he had provoked an even more formidable presence.

At this moment, Jiang Yan truly felt the threat of death.

The altar had drawn upon the power of the heavens, yet Jiang Yan had struck at the sky with his saber—undoubtedly a provocation to the Secret Realm!

The thunderclouds continued to gather, and he realized that if he didn’t do something soon, he might die!

He hurriedly glanced at his Character Panel.

【Name】: Jiang Yan

【Apertures Opened】: 16

【Apertures Refined】: 11

【Talent】: Chaos Imprint: Myriad Tribulation Body

【Imprint】: You can create Doppelgangers that inherit all your attributes. (Current Doppelgangers: 5/7) (Opening the 18th Aperture will increase the limit)

Thinking quickly, Jiang Yan immediately used the immense energy of the Thunder Pool to manifest the remaining two Doppelgangers.

Now, the damage he would endure was reduced to just 1/8.

The thunderclouds lingered without descending, as if aware of Jiang Yan’s tenacious vitality, continuing to gather momentum, determined to deliver a fatal blow sooner or later.

It seemed Jiang Yan had struck a nerve in the Senluo Secret Realm—otherwise, it wouldn’t be this furious.

“Should I bet on whether Life and Death Moment will trigger?”

“Bet my ass! I, Jiang Yan, will never trigger that Trait except in the Battle Space!”

A probability-based life-saving move—Jiang Yan couldn’t afford to gamble on it.

Rather than waiting passively, he preferred to take the initiative.

Wind Devour: Formless Slash!

Starfall: Heaven-Falling Strike!

With a fierce glint in his eyes, Jiang Yan unleashed two more slashes toward the heavens.

The thunderclouds churned, and a colossal golden dragon emerged from the clouds, roaring with an ancient, resonant cry.

The golden dragon, formed of lightning, descended with the overwhelming might of the heavens, intent on annihilating Jiang Yan right there.

“Heh, you forced my hand.”

Jiang Yan leaped away from the altar. Just as everyone thought this peerless madman would charge into the sky to battle the golden dragon, they saw his figure swiftly retreat from the scene, transforming into a streak of lightning as he sped off in one direction.

“Holy shit, he ran!”

“No kidding. With a thunder dragon that powerful, I’d run too.”

“How can he possibly escape? That thunder dragon clearly has him locked on. There’s no way he can get away.”

“Let’s wait and see.”

Jiang Yan vanished without a trace, and no one knew where he had gone.

The golden dragon locked onto Jiang Yan and swiftly dove toward the ground.

Deep in the forest, Jiang Yan stood a hundred meters away from a cluster of wolf dens.

No one knew what he intended to do.

Jiang Yan turned back and flipped off the thunder dragon with a middle finger.

The thunder dragon shattered everything in its path—rocks, rotten wood, even mountains—leaving the ground in utter chaos.

Quickly, Jiang Yan activated the Trait that increased his attack speed.

No Martial Skill, no Saber, not even any effort.

From a distance, Jiang Yan unleashed dozens of slashes toward a wolf den he had casually found.

Under the influence of his Saber Intent, his control over the damage was precise down to the finest detail.

The wolves panicked, howling in terror.

However, after waiting for a while, they realized they had only suffered minor scratches.

The wolves were utterly bewildered.

Was this human toying with them?

【System Log Updated】

“You have dealt ten instances of (non-sustained) damage to the wolf pack. You have triggered the Orange Trait 【Rootless and Driftless】.”

Rootless and Driftless: When you deal ten instances of damage to an enemy (non-sustained damage), you gain 0.1 seconds of untargetable status.

Boom!

Jiang Yan’s timing was impeccably precise. The once-arrogant golden dragon crashed directly onto him, exploding on the spot.

Cheng Wu and his group were several kilometers away, yet they could see flames soaring into the sky from the dense forest ahead. Then, they heard the roar of rolling thunder, violent and furious, as a massive fiery cloud rose into the air, forming a gigantic mushroom cloud in the sky.

Golden arcs of lightning tore through the entire canopy of the heavens. The firmament cracked like porcelain, splitting into countless fine fissures, as if a meat grinder were shredding the entire world into countless fragments.

【System Log Updated】

“Congratulations, you have successfully opened the 18th Aperture Point.”

“Congratulations, you have successfully refined the 18th Aperture Point.”

“Congratulations, all Aperture Points have undergone Metamorphosis.”

“Congratulations, the potential of your Aperture Points has been ignited, awakening a special Physique.”