Chapter 257: Breakthroughs

In all honesty, Darcel didn't know what to expect when cultivating again. 

Even though Masami did say the Qi Root Fruit would nullify anyone having to have a high comprehension for breakthroughs, the yellow-eyed woman couldn't leave his mind.

To Darcel, the yellow-eyed woman was essentially this frightening god that can change anything on her very whims. With the power she wields, Darcel had briefly wondered how the hell was she ever caught by the Parasol Organization.

But barring that, Darcel was expecting some disastrous change that would affect him even absorbing the Qi Root Fruit. 

However, to his surprise, his cultivation abilities experienced massive changes, all for the better.

Like Masami explained to him, he could absorb the Qi Root Fruit very seamlessly. In just a few minutes of cultivating, Darcel already felt that he was approaching the borders of the half-step Innate Core realm.

From what Darcel had studied about this realm, this would be where one needs to reach profound enlightenment about cultivation as a whole. 

This could be achieved through comprehending high-ranking cultivation manuals, experiencing numerous life-or-death fights, or even seeing insights into one bloodline if they have a powerful one.

There were even more methods where one can use external means to achieve an enlightenment breakthrough state. 

All of this was for one to craft an Innate Spirit Sense. 

With an Innate Spirit Sense, one would remold their minds, elevating it to a higher boundary they had never experienced before.

And though the Qi Root Fruit quickly alleviated Darcel to reach the half-step Innate Core border. He would still need to rely on his own comprehension abilities to achieve some sort of enlightenment.

Even for his previous self, Darcel would've needed to concentrate on achieving an enlightened state. Moreover, that could've taken days or even weeks. And with how he is now, Darcel expected to be stumped at this mental roadblock.

However….all Darcel felt was a bizarre sensation. 

There was no tremendous mental roadblock or a need to gain enlightenment. Darcel simply felt like if he just took a slight push forward, he could easily form his Innate Core Spirit Sense.

No profound enlightenment or contemplation was needed at all. Even for everything Darcel experienced so far in his journey, this was very peculiar. 

If he were to go around and tell how he could simply breakthrough to an Innate Core Spirit Sense with just a slight push, countless cultivators would spit out blood like a geyser.

Before the meeting with the yellow-eyed woman, it wasn't like Darcel had a particularly tough time with cultivation. 

All he really lacked was the potent Qi energy to feed his dantian space.

And now, after having his heart brutally pierced into, not only was his comprehension not ruined, it was also elevated to a tremendously high boundary. 

Darcel briefly wondered if Aniela and Masami were experiencing the same thing. The yellow-eyed woman was quite ruthless, so maybe she inadvertently gave them a disastrous gift as well. 

For now, Darcel pushed these thoughts aside to find out later and focused on breaking through.

In the simplest moment he ever had with cultivation, Darcel pushed his Spirit Sense forward, crashing against the invisible wall that separated him from an Innate Core Spirit Sense. 

With no mental block and barely effort at all on Darcel's part, his Spirit Sense drilled right into the Innate Core boundary.

'Ka-Cha!' 

Darcel felt a glass barrier shattered into a million pieces in his mind, bringing his entire being to an elevated boundary. His body suddenly went rigid as his Spirit Sense began to swiftly evolve. 

Currently, Darcel was undergoing a process that was fundamental in every cultivator's life. 

That is forming his Innate Spirit Sense! 

In just a manner of seconds, Darcel felt his mind massively expand beyond anything he ever felt before.

Everything in his mind and Spirit Sense became clearer, letting Darcel see into complex topics that muddled his head before. He felt far more focused as if he could now easily fall in and out of a meditative state at will.

Now when Darcel connected to his Spirit Sense, everything felt so vibrant. There wasn't any murky energy or air that could confuddle his Spirit Sense, making it easier for him to tell precise details in the environment.

Darcel could sense the tiniest grain in the snow, every speck of life from the trees, and the different air qualities that was meshed together. 

Under this incredible new state, Darcel expanded his Spirit Sense far out. In only just a second, he was already shocked by his upgraded Spirit Sense. 

Nearly instantaneously, he reached far beyond the limits of his previous Spirit Sense range. Plus, he could now pick up on a new type of Qi energy continually flowing through the air.

'So this is an Innate Spirit Sense, huh….' Still, Darcel was in a little bit of disbelief. It was honestly a mixed bag on how he achieved this power. 

Leading up to getting the Qi Root fruit was hell upon hell.

Several times he nearly lost life and only got by the skin of his teeth because of his Chaotic Shard within his soul. With a severely weakened prowess, it limited what Darcel could in all of his battles except for running and hiding.

However, now that he finally managed to get to a secluded area to breakthrough, everything was almost too simple. 

Somehow, his comprehension abilities evolved to a point where he could just step into an entire great new realm in a snap.

Darcel wondered if this would also hold true when he would breakthrough to the Heavenly Transformation realm. 

At least now, their grim situation was turning slightly hopeful. All that's left now to do was to fully complete his transition into the Innate Core realm.

Darcel had then focused on the new type of energy flowing through the air. This energy was far more powerful than Spirit Qi in every way. It held more profound, complex properties that no average cultivator would be able to comprehend in a day.

When most first start out sensing Innate Qi energy, they would need to spend weeks, months even to grasp a tiny bit of Innate Qi's mysterious properties. 

This was the form of energy that would change one's body and soul. The steps it took to achieve just the first rank of the Innate Core realm would be complicated for even extraordinary Geniuses. 

Yet, Darcel simply had no problems. He performed a little experiment, wanting to see just how easy this would be.

In a similar manner he does to casually pull Spirit Qi into his body, Darcel began to greedily suck all Innate Qi towards him. And as he expected, there simply wasn't any resistance when he brought Innate Qi towards him.

Even when Darcel first made it to the True Soul Core realm, he felt some resistance when attempting to cultivate Spirit Qi. 

It didn't take long for him to actually breakthrough the True Soul Core mental blocks, but there was time he needed to spend on it.

But now, Darcel essentially became like a vacuum. Innate Qi swiftly flowed into his head, combining into his Spirit Sense. Before Darcel had even spread the energy throughout his body, he was already feeling incredible power!

The mysterious properties of Innate Qi was like a book for Darcel to read. He had no problem understanding how Innate Qi flows and the power that is emitted from it. 

The only thing concerning Darcel had quickly found out was the potency of this Innate Qi energy.

For as powerful as it was, Darcel sensed this type of Innate Qi energy was almost tainted with foul qualities. 

Absorbing this Innate Qi energy wouldn't harm his body, far from it.

But Darcel knew cultivating in this independent realm would only be a slow, laborious process. Even as he has insane comprehension abilities, he still needs the proper potent energy to make his cultivation go faster.

And for his specific dantian, Darcel needs far more energy to breakthrough any other average genius. 

Just to breakthrough the True Soul Core realm nearly cost all of the Qi Root Fruit energy.

Though Darcel wouldn't be able to make rapid breakthroughs, he still refined the last of the Qi Root Fruit energy, which smoothly combined with the new source of Innate Qi. 

Innate Qi quickly flowed all throughout Darcel's body, strengthening him to an unfathomable degree! Even before fully entering the Innate Core realm, Darcel already felt far more powerful than his previous state.

Innate Qi had then drilled into Darcel's dantian space and flowed directly towards his dantian's core. 

When peering into his dantain space now, Darcel notices changes he hasn't had the time to check before.

The seed of Chaotic Energy had grown a few inches larger and spewed a slightly larger amount of energy in this space. As for his dantian's core, it was still his Darkness Essence, but now there a pronounced green hue glow mixed within it.

Darcel still couldn't understand much about his Chaotic Energy. But it at least seemed like it was slightly growing in power, even though he hadn't really tried to cultivate it.

Darcel made some attempts in the past; however, the properties of Chaotic Energy were far beyond his comprehension. 

Although, with how his comprehension looks now, Darcel reckons he could possibly get somewhere.

Pushing that thought aside, Darcel focused on Innate Qi following inside his dantain's core. In just a few seconds, Innate Qi swiftly transformed his dantain's core into an Innate Core!

The process was but a simple snap for Darcel. He didn't feel any mental block on transforming his dantain's core; he only felt a barrier shattering in his mind.

The power of Innate Qi quickly transformed Darcel's entire being, and finally, after a few seconds, a large crack of Innate Qi formed on his Innate Core! 

'Chi!' 

Darkness burst out of Darcel; light energy flowed from Aniela, and blue flames discharged from Masami's body!

The air whipped up into chaotic tornadoes as Darcel, Aniela, and Masami all reached their breakthroughs at the same time. 

Darcel's power rapidly grew as his body greedily sucked up Innate Qi without stopping.

And in another few seconds, a second enormous crack of Innate Qi formed on his Innate Core! In just one step, Darcel already reached the second rank of the Innate Core realm!

Aniela was a similar process as Darcel, but in her dantian space, she could form one crack of Innate Qi on her Innate Core. 

All the while, Masami had reached the half-step Heavenly Transformation boundary. Her Spirit Sense could now perceive Heavenly Qi and absorb it into her body, but she couldn't yet cross the full barrier to the Heavenly Transformation realm. 

She had run out of her Qi Root Fruit energy before it could happen.

Innate Qi and Heavenly Qi mixed in the air, spraying an immense torrent of energy that destroyed the air currents. 

After a few more seconds, the area returned to a calming state as Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's aura receded into their bodies.

Right then, the trio flung open their eyes, feeling overwhelming sensations of power course within their bodies.