"Have we broken through?" Xiao Yan stared at Yao Lao in astonishment, gradually coming back to himself after a moment, his voice filled with disbelief and exhilaration. "Yes," Yao Lao smiled, sensing the rapidly surging energy around him, "prepare to break through. This is your opportunity—do not miss it. Otherwise, the next time you wish to advance, you may never know when it will happen." Nodding eagerly, Xiao Yan had hardly time to assess the exact level of his evolved cultivation technique before he immediately settled back into meditation, forming the hand seals for cultivation and sinking his consciousness deep within his body. As Xiao Yan entered his meditative state, the surging energy around him intensified steadily, until ultimately his body appeared like a black hole, continuously absorbing the rapidly flowing celestial energies flooding into him. His spirit sank deep within, and urgently began guiding the celestial and terrestrial energies seeping through his pores. Though the volume of these energies was vast, they carried numerous impurities that had to be refined and purified through the meridians before they could be fully absorbed—otherwise, there was a risk of contaminating the hard-earned aura he had cultivated. Despite his strenuous efforts to control the overwhelming influx, he still found it impossible to completely suppress them, for the sheer scale of the energies was truly formidable. In desperation, he managed to stabilize a portion of the energies, while allowing the rest to surge and wander freely within his body. Fortunately, key vital areas had been well protected, so although the chaotic movement caused him some discomfort, it had not yet inflicted significant harm. Under Xiao Yan's careful guidance, a portion of the celestial energies flowing into his body circulated through his meridians and were finally refined into pure combat energy, which he then infused into the pale purple vortex. With this surge of robust combat energy injected, the effect was as if a massive stone had been dropped into a tranquil lake, sending out tremendous ripples. The vortex, which had previously rotated calmly, suddenly began spinning at high speed. As the rotation intensified, a powerful suction force surged forth from within. At this point, Xiao Yan was startled to find that his mind and spirit could no longer control the celestial energies entering his body. Without the restraining influence of his consciousness, the dispersed celestial energies within him and the continuously flowing energies from outside were being violently drawn in and rapidly fed into the vortex. Within the outer cave, as Xiao Yan's spiraling qi rotated at high speed, the suction emanating from his body grew increasingly formidable. Eventually, the scattered energies throughout the heavens seemed to form a shimmering, luminous energy veil several zhang around Xiao Yan, dazzling in appearance. Yao Lao floated in midair, observing the scene Xiao Yan had created, his brows slightly furrowed. "What is this young fellow doing? He's daring to incorporate such scattered energies directly into his spiraling qi?" With a slightly concerned expression, Yao Lao slowly exhaled, calming his inner anxiety and quietly watching Xiao Yan. In his heart, he prepared to intervene at any moment, for the current situation suggested that Xiao Yan wouldn't be able to sustain much longer. While the external healers were growing puzzled and anxious, Xiao Yan, with his eyes tightly closed, was equally startled—because he noticed that as the external energy surged in with increasing intensity, and without the steady guidance of his mind to regulate and dissipate it, his meridians were already beginning to feel a subtle pressure and pain. Should this uncontrolled influx continue, he feared his meridians would inevitably rupture. "Damn it! Stop!" With no physical resistance at all, Xiao Yan could only roar at the swiftly rotating purple vortex with his mind. Whether or not his roaring had any effect, the vortex suddenly paused for a brief moment—yet before Xiao Yan could feel any relief, it resumed spinning with even greater force. "By the gods!" Seeing this behavior, Xiao Yan was furious and shouted out in frustration. But as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly observed that, as the vortex spun at high speed, a layer of purple flame was gradually forming and swirling around its surface. The cyclone was speeding up, and the purple flame grew increasingly vibrant. At this moment, the celestial and terrestrial energies scattered throughout his body began to randomly pierce through certain meridians, surging toward his lower abdomen, then pouring forth in overwhelming waves toward the cyclone. Staring in stunned silence at the surging celestial and terrestrial energies, Xiao Yan silently lamented in his mind—what if these energies, laden with impurities, were swept into the cyclone? Then, all the hard-earned ki he had cultivated would be completely destroyed! Under Xiao Yan's desperate gaze, the surging energies finally made contact with the cyclone—yet, as they touched the purple flame, a sudden transformation occurred! To the observer's eyes, the once calm and steady purple flame now seemed as though it had been challenged to its dignity, surging suddenly to rise nearly half a span high. The vast streams of celestial and terrestrial energies rushing toward it swiftly diminished in size upon contact with the flame, shrinking within mere moments into droplets of liquid energy only the size of a fingernail. After purifying the impurities within these energies, the purple flame, as if endowed with a spirit of its own, deliberately steered clear of the pure liquid droplets, allowing them to strike directly into the swirling vortex. As these liquid droplets plunged into the rapidly rotating purple vortex, ripples of energy spread outward. Under Xiang Yan's focused awareness, he suddenly noticed that, as each droplet was introduced, the volume of the purple vortex was mysteriously and gradually shrinking. The purple vortex was shrinking in volume, yet Xiao Yan wasn't overly concerned, as he too sensed that although the vortex was growing smaller, the qi within it was becoming increasingly concentrated. As he felt the vortex's qi growing denser and denser, Xiao Yan gradually calmed his anxiety and quietly observed the vortex's movements. After the first wave of celestial energy had been refined by the purple flame, the remaining celestial energy didn't dissipate—it instead surged violently into Xiao Yan's body, driven by the vortex's powerful suction, flowing in like water being poured in, thick and forceful. Faced with this seemingly endless infusion, the purple vortex opened its arms fully, welcoming all comers without hesitation. However, as soon as any energy entered the range of the purple flame's attack, it would be fiercely refined into pure, liquid energy droplets, which then continuously dripped into the vortex—much like a gentle rain falling steadily within Xiao Yan's body. With this highly refined liquid energy supporting it, the suction power emanating from the vortex grew stronger with each wave, eventually prompting even the external herbal elder to feel a subtle sense of awe at its intensity. Under the relentless cleansing and refinement of the surrounding celestial energies, Xiao Yan suddenly realized that his internal meridians and bones were also undergoing a transformation, growing increasingly resilient and broader. By now, Xiao Yan had barely any room to intervene—everything was being controlled by that strange purple vortex. Fortunately, the odd fellow wasn't completely at random; otherwise, Xiao Yan would have had to admit defeat. As his mind drifted within his body, he could clearly feel his physical form gradually growing stronger under the continuous waves of celestial energy washing over it. This sensation, almost like a kind of elevation or refinement, made him so comfortable that he found himself emitting soft, contented sighs. Inside the mountain cave, Yao Lao watched Xiao Yan's face, now slightly relaxed and smiling contentedly. He finally let out a slow breath, shook his head with a smile. It seemed that some mysterious phenomenon had emerged within Xiao Yan's body—one that even outsiders were unaware of—otherwise, he wouldn't have looked so delightfully at ease. Of course, Xiao Yan now had no idea that his relaxed expression had already become a special sign of sensuality in Yao Lao's eyes, as his mind was almost entirely absorbed by the increasingly rapid spinning purple vortex. After absorbing an unknown number of drops of pure liquid energy, the purple vortex had shrunk to barely the size of Xiao Yan's palm, yet the intensity of the purple flames covering its surface continued to grow, showing no sign of diminishing. With careful attention from Xiao Yan's concentrated mind, he could vaguely perceive the emergence of liquid-like substances within the vortex. After greedily absorbing for a while, the swiftly rotating purple vortex suddenly came to a halt, paused briefly, and then began spinning in the opposite direction. Watching this unexpected reversal, Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned and silently prayed that it wouldn't start behaving erratically. Perhaps sensing Xiao Yan's prayers, the reverse rotation of the purple vortex did not bring any destructive force. However, the pure liquid energy that had been destined to flow into the vortex was instead forcefully expelled in all directions. These radiating streams of liquid energy swept over nearly every part of Xiao Yan's body. Each time they came into contact with his meridians, bones, and flesh, Xiao Yan noticed that the liquid energy began to slowly seep and integrate into them. "Ah…" Xiao Yan gently exhaled, as though breathing in air that didn't exist. A wave of exhilaration surged through him—he could feel that as the liquid energy penetrated his body, each of his bones and muscles was undergoing a transformation, gradually filling with robust strength. The reverse expulsion from the vortex continued for over ten minutes before gradually subsiding. As the vortex's rotation slowed and eventually ceased, the intense suction within Xiao Yan's body also began to weaken, and then faded away. At the very instant the suction vanished, Xiao Yan, who had been meditating in lotus position within the cave, suddenly opened his eyes. Immediately, his black hair on the back swayed without a breeze, and his robes fluttered without any wind. A fierce aura, several times stronger than the one he had displayed just a few hours earlier, surged forth from within him, as if awakening from deep slumber! Feeling the aura radiating from Xiao Yan, Yao Lao smiled gently and said, "Congratulations! From today on, you are officially a true Combat Specialist!"