Lin Yun stepped through the crack and walked a few hundred meters forward. When he swept his glance out, the divine rune’s energy had turned into a burning golden mist. As for the core region around the altar, the golden liquid boiled like magma.

Lin Yun frowned at this. His sword aura could barely break the divine rune’s pressure, but his physical body couldn’t handle this. He could only stop three hundred meters away from the golden lake and look at the parchment.

The terror of the divine rune had exceeded his expectations. It looked like there was no way he could get any more benefits from the divine rune. Even though Lin Yun felt like he still hadn’t extracted the full potential of the divine rune, it was already good enough that he was able to make a breakthrough in his cultivation technique. The Iris Sword Sutra was already his greatest advantage, so there was no need for him to take further risks.

By the looks of it, he had no choice but to retreat. But right at this moment, the Dracophant Battle Physique began to circulate by itself as a beastly roar echoed out from Lin Yun’s body. A purple radiance emitted out, fusing with the surrounding golden liquid.

Right at this moment, his body devoured the golden liquid greedily. A violet and golden energy began to spread throughout his body, which caused his skin to transform.

An ancient aura began to spread out from Lin Yun’s body and his physique felt like an awakened ancient dragon. Under this transformation, Lin Yun could sense that his physique was undergoing huge changes. For some reason, the Dracophant Battle Physique that had already reached its limit was actually showing signs of making a breakthrough. Lin Yun was headed for the unknown.

“This is…” Lin Yun suppressed the joy in his heart and gradually calmed down. He was shocked that the Dracophant Battle Physique actually had another stage above the pinnacle. This was surprising because he had used a Heavenly Soul Realm’s beast core to cultivate his Dracophant Battle Physique to the pinnacle sixth stage. The sixth stage allowed him to unleash twenty cauldron’s worth of strength in a single punch. He never thought about the possibility that there was another stage.

But thinking about it again, it wasn’t so impossible. Many cultivation techniques were incomplete and had flaws, such as the overlord sword. Legend had it that it wasn’t just limited to nine swords and that there was even an Overlord Sword Sutra that went along with it. But the complete version had been lost long ago.

So it wasn’t impossible that there was a hidden stage in this body refining technique. The Dracophant was an ancient beast and the divine rune also belonged to ancient times. So it wasn’t impossible that the fire energy from the divine rune forced out the true potential of the Dracophant Battle Physique.

But the current transformation was out of his control. While Lin Yun was undergoing the transformation, his eyes flickered as he looked at the altar three hundred meters away.

With the sudden change in events, Lin Yun could try approaching the altar. It didn’t take long for him to make a decision and step into the golden liquid. In the next second, a beastly roar came from his body as the purple radiance absorbed the boundless flames. As the radiance strengthened itself, it gave off the feeling of an ancient dracophant being revived.

“I managed to endure it!” rejoiced Lin Yun. He had gambled correctly since his physique didn’t melt on the spot. Without any hesitation, Lin Yun headed for the altar. A brief moment later and he was only thirty meters away. The parchment was finally within his reach. However, when he raised his head to look at it, it felt like he was looking at a lofty mountain. The rune on the parchment looked like an endless abyss made up of countless distorted runes.

“There’s no way I can remember them…” Lin Yun’s head was aching. No wonder the founder of the academy wasn’t able to comprehend this incomplete divine rune. Compared to spiritual runes, divine runes were simply incomprehensible.

At this moment, Lin Yun finally knew that it was impossible for him to comprehend the divine rune given his current cultivation. However, it had been difficult for him to reach this spot. It would be a pity if he gave up now.

A brief moment later, Lin Yun’s eyes lit up. Since he couldn’t comprehend it, he would just try and take it forcibly. By his estimate, he could take a trace amount of it. The divine rune on the parchment was like a towering tree and a trace of it was the same as taking away a leaf.

It wouldn’t harm the incomplete divine rune, but it could mean a huge transformation for Lin Yun. Lin Yun immediately acted as he circulated the Iris Sword Sutra to the limit and released his sword intent. In the next second, Lin Yun narrowed his eyes as he flicked his finger.

Lin Yun shot out a sword ray, but when it was ten meters away from the altar, it was reflected back. Lin Yun groaned with a trace of blood leaking from his lips. His face was pale and he looked at the altar as he muttered, “It’s harder than I imagined… but I have to keep trying. Even if I don’t succeed, I can treat this as training for my sword intent.”

Lin Yun took a brief rest before he tried a second time. Once again, he poured his sword intent into his finger and a ray shot out. As time gradually flowed, Lin Yun patiently tried and failed many times. However, his effort was rewarded as his sword intent gradually became even more refined.

He had a vague feeling that even if he didn’t succeed, his xiantian sword intent would reach completion. At the same time, Lin Yun’s physique had continued to undergo constant transformation from the divine rune’s flames.

Three days later, a crack was formed on the divine rune’s aura that protected the parchment. Lin Yun’s eyes lit up at this and he threw a punch. Under his punch, the barrier cracked and Lin Yun quickly dashed towards the parchment while stretching his hand out in the process.

But as Lin Yun approached, the palm-sized parchment suddenly looked immensely huge. His hand reached into the boundless abyss briefly before he quickly retreated the moment he grabbed onto something. When he backed off, the pressure of the barrier repaired itself around the parchment. If he was a second slower, he would have been trapped within the pressure.

Lin Yun opened his hand and a tiny golden flame the size of a thin hair blazed in his hand. Lin Yun exclaimed, “How gorgeous…”

When he composed himself, he looked at the parchment. Like usual, the parchment hovered in the air and the divine rune imprinted on it still emitting flames on the altar. Even if someone were to come, they wouldn’t be able to see anything different with the divine rune.

“If it’s just a trace amount, I should be able to refine it.” Lin Yun brought out his soul mark, the Firefeather Rune, and merged it with the divine rune that he had taken.

In the next second, something magical happened. The Firefeather Rune began to expand and transform, slowly turning into the wing of a phoenix. This was a shocking transformation. The Firefeather Rune was a powerful third grade spiritual rune, to begin with. If it could refine the divine rune, there was no telling what it would transform into. However, Lin Yun was certain that he would be able to comprehend the sword technique in the rose painting.

Outside the Qianyang Cave, many people were waiting with their brows knitted. It had been half a month since Mo Ling came out. This meant that Lin Yun had been inside for half a month, which startled Tang Yu.

Even the dean was shocked by this. After all, elders could barely last four to five days before they would be forced to come out. As for the weaker elders, they could barely last half a day. Even Tang Yu only managed to last for seven days at the three hundred meter threshold.

However, Lin Yun actually lasted for half a month. Even if he was three thousand meters away from the altar, this was cause for concern.

“Mo Ling, did you warn him?” The dean asked with a grave expression.

Mo Ling responded with a nod of her head. She was certain that Lin Yun had heard her.

“I’ll go take a look…” The dean frowned because something was amiss. It would be terrible if the savior of their academy died.