About half an hour later, Mao Lao Liu's energy was overflowing, and there were faint signs of a breakthrough!

"Holy crap, can I really break through?"

Lao Liu felt a bit of regret. It was broad daylight, and he was on this small island reef. If the environment for his breakthrough was disturbed, the consequences would be unimaginable!

"Screw it, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. If I'm not meant to die, I'll live another day!"

Mao Lao Liu quickly adjusted his mindset, took out his Sun-Shielding Umbrella, and concealed himself within its barrier. Then, he fully immersed himself in the process of breaking through.

Of course, he wasn't overly confident. The small sword totem in his left hand and the dragon pearl in his mouth were ready. If anyone disturbed him during his breakthrough, he wouldn't hesitate to strike first!

About two hours later, a thunderous rumble came from within Lao Liu's body. He had successfully broken through, reaching the mid-fourth level!

"Haha, that was too easy, way too easy!"

This beast, whose level was unknown, was incredibly powerful, allowing Lao Liu to break through to the mid-stage with ease.

Moreover, he had only eaten about three taels of the beast's meat, fearing that its spiritual energy might be too狂暴 and cause his body to explode.

"Not bad, not bad. Although the difference between the mid-stage and the initial stage is just one level, after breaking through to the mid-stage, the area of my dantian and qi sea has expanded a bit, and even my spiritual foundation seems to have changed!"

Lao Liu's spiritual sense instantly penetrated the barrier of the Sun-Shielding Umbrella and looked out over the sea.

At this moment, the sea was calm, and Lao Liu's spiritual sense easily reached a hundred miles away.

"Oh, my spiritual sense has reached a hundred miles?"

A hundred-mile range for spiritual sense is typically the range of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

Before this, Lao Liu could barely see a hundred miles away, but that was his limit. Now, after breaking through to the mid-stage, he could easily surpass that distance.

Feeling pleased, Lao Liu withdrew his spiritual sense and continued to consolidate his mid-fourth level cultivation under the Sun-Shielding Umbrella.

Two days later, Mao Lao Liu still hadn't left the island reef. He continued to practice the "Myriad Swords Return to the Origin" technique on the reef.

After breaking through to the mid-fourth level, not only had his magical power improved, but his spiritual sense had also made significant progress.

When he practiced the "Myriad Swords Return to the Origin" again, the burden on his spiritual sense was much lighter. After many days of contemplation, Lao Liu realized that this technique placed a high demand on a cultivator's spiritual power. In other words, if one's spiritual power wasn't strong enough, it would be difficult to master this technique.

During the day, Lao Liu contemplated the "Myriad Swords Return to the Origin" under the Sun-Shielding Umbrella, and at night, he practiced it tirelessly on the reef.

Three more months passed, and Lao Liu finally mastered eight sword auras! These eight sword auras were identical in essence to the main sword, making it difficult for outsiders to discern which one was the true main sword.

At this point, Lao Liu felt that, given his current spiritual power, he had reached the limit of what he could achieve with the "Myriad Swords Return to the Origin." Continuing to practice it wouldn't be of much use, as his spiritual power could no longer handle more sword auras.

"Alright, it's time to go back!"

Mao Lao Liu packed up his Sun-Shielding Umbrella and, dressed in a white robe, flew gracefully toward Moonview Island.

In no time, Lao Liu returned to the meeting hall of Moonview Island.

"Sixth Brother, you're back?"

At this moment, Cathead was discussing something with White Tiger Xiaoxue and Tiger Skin. Among the seven Nascent Soul cultivators, only Ling'er and Red East, the duck, were absent.

Ling'er and Red East were naturally in seclusion, having dispersed their cultivation to start anew. As for the duck, Lao Liu had no idea if it was busy making little ducks.

"Hmm? I'm back. What's going on? Did something happen?"

Lao Liu looked at the dozen or so boxes in the meeting hall.

"Sixth Brother, we were just debating whether to call you back," Xiaoxue said with a smile.

"Oh? Sounds like good news. Hey, Xiaoxue, White Tiger, Tiger Skin, have you all broken through a level?"

"Yes, thanks to you, Sixth Brother, we've all broken through a level!" Tiger Skin also smiled.

"Good. In the coming days, you all should take care of the island's affairs. Let the Grand Elder Cathead focus on his cultivation. Soon, Moonview Island will have another fifth-level powerhouse."

"Sixth Brother, I was just about to talk to you about this. I plan to handle this matter and then go into closed-door cultivation to break through to the fifth level," Cathead said, pointing to the boxes below.

"What's this?" Mao Lao Liu casually opened one of the boxes and saw it was neatly filled with low-grade spirit stones.

"These were sent by the sea demons of the Wuhang Sea. Their current ruler is the Eight-Armed Demon King, a fifth-level mid-stage octopus demon. He wants to make peace with us."

"Since you weren't here, we didn't agree to anything. We just told them we'd consider it."

"Well, that's good news! As long as they don't cause trouble, having more friends is always a good thing. Besides, as neighbors, offending them wouldn't do us any good. We're not afraid of them, but it's dangerous for our disciples to go out. Agree to it!"

"Alright, since Sixth Brother says so, White Tiger and I will handle this. Let the Grand Elder focus on his closed-door cultivation."

"Good, you two go ahead. I'll take care of things here," Xiaoxue volunteered.

"Alright, since Sixth Brother has spoken, you two handle it. Tell them that from now on, our disciples should not be harassed by the sea demons."

"Xiaoxue, store these items in the treasure vault. Also, during this time, you'll need to take care of the island's affairs," Cathead said, handing the Nine Revolutions Heavenly Demon Formation token to Xiaoxue.

"Yes, Grand Elder, you can count on us!" White Tiger Xiaoxue and Tiger Skin agreed, collected the items, and headed out.

"Sixth Brother, I guess I'll go into seclusion now."

"Wait, here's something good for you. It'll ensure you break through successfully in one go!" Mao Lao Liu smiled and handed Cathead a piece of roasted meat weighing less than a pound.

A surge of powerful energy instantly emanated, startling Cathead, who involuntarily stepped back.

"Sixth Brother, what... what level of beast meat is this? Why is the energy so strong?"

"I don't know, but the eagle estimated that this beast was at least a seventh-level creature before it died."

"At least seventh-level? And you're giving this to me?"

"Yes, it's yours. But when you eat it, it's best to divide it into two or three portions. I'm afraid the energy might be too much for you to handle at once."

"Got it, Sixth Brother. Thank you so much!"

Cathead excitedly stored the mysterious roasted meat with a thought.

"Alright, I'm going back to cultivate too. When it's time for your tribulation, have someone notify me. I'll come to protect you."

"Understood, Sixth Brother."

"Looking forward to your good news!"

Mao Lao Liu smiled, then in a flash, returned to his cave.

Looking at the cold and empty cave, Mao Lao Liu sighed deeply, released his Sun-Shielding Umbrella, and once again entered the Green-Skinned Toad.