The three experts had originally thought they would resolve the matter of the Penholder Secret Treasure quickly. Who could have expected the connection between the penholder and the secret realm to be unexpectedly close? There was no telling what peculiarities it held, and it was exceedingly difficult to refine. This delay stretched on for an entire month...
Within the secret realm, the people of Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce and the disciples of Boundless Dao Academy stumbled onward, suffering grievous losses, yet they still had not reached the destination marked on the map.
As for Qin Yang, he holed himself up in a cave and never stepped outside. When thirsty, he drank dew; when hungry, he casually made do with the dry rations in his Storage Bag.
With the remaining pills as well, after a month of bitter cultivation, he finally returned to the ninth level of the Qi Cultivation Stage. True Essence surged through his meridians, carrying a sensation of swelling to the point of overflow. His Qi Cultivation Stage cultivation was already complete; he could advance at any time and forge his Dao Foundation.
"A good cultivation art really makes a difference as vast as heaven and earth." Qin Yang sighed, his feelings complicated.
He had long heard that good cultivation arts could solidify one's foundation. After Qi Cultivation reached completion, there would be no need for outside aid. Once the water flowed into its channel, one could naturally forge a Dao Foundation.
Previously, when he cultivated the Azure Cloud Art and advanced to the ninth level of Qi Cultivation, he had not felt the slightest sign that he could achieve Foundation Establishment.
But now, he had sensed as early as a week ago that he could achieve Foundation Establishment. He cultivated for another week, until he reached the point where he could no longer continue cultivating.
Moreover, a flash of enlightenment naturally arose in his heart. The next time he cultivated, he would inevitably forge his Dao Foundation, impossible to restrain or suppress. There was simply no way to stop it. Even if he ceased cultivating now, a week later, his cultivation art would begin circulating on its own and forcibly establish his foundation.
The difference before and after was so immense that Qin Yang truly could not put it into words. Only now did he personally understand why everyone would sharpen their heads to a point just to join a great sect.
Not to mention backing, benefits, guidance, and all the rest—cultivation arts alone were enough.
A moment later, Qin Yang focused his mind and calmed his breath, beginning to circulate the True Essence within him, determined to forge his Dao Foundation here.
The True Essence, heavy as lead and mercury yet light as an illusion, transformed the instant it began moving into the deafening roar of a great river rushing forward. A gurgling, rumbling sound came from within Qin Yang's body, while strands of purple qi drifted from the crown of his head.
For a moment, the spiritual qi within the secret realm seemed to have received a summons. It whistled in from all directions, forming seven-colored spiritual radiance above the cave where Qin Yang was and plunging straight downward.
Rumble...
In an instant, mountains collapsed and the earth split apart. Countless rocks were washed by the seven-colored spiritual radiance and turned to powder in the blink of an eye. The mountaintop seemed to have been cleaved in two by an invisible giant hand.
Bearing unmatched force, that seven-colored spiritual radiance pierced downward, charging directly toward the crown of Qin Yang's head.
Yet when that incomparable power entered the crown of Qin Yang's head, it was like a clay ox sinking into the sea, creating not the slightest ripple. The more brilliant the radiance became, the denser the spiritual qi grew. Qin Yang sat cross-legged with his eyes shut, as though lost in a trance, showing no reaction whatsoever as he allowed the endless spiritual qi and radiance to pour into him.
Elsewhere, within a Stone Forest Maze filled with jagged strange rocks, Steward Qiu looked somewhat bedraggled as he followed the middle-aged man holding a compass through the stone forest. They turned left and right, forward and back. Sweat streamed from the man's temples, while divine light flickered in his eyes. Clearly, he had already exerted every effort.
"This Stone Forest Maze is not of a high grade, but it is profoundly mysterious. It appears motionless, yet it changes every moment. However, I have found the key. At most three days, and we will be able to leave..." The middle-aged man silently breathed a sigh of relief, his tone growing more relaxed...
"Hm? What is this?" The middle-aged man's expression shifted in alarm. The needle on the Magical Artifact compass in his hand began spinning madly as though it had gone insane, then pointed in a single direction.
When he looked up, the middle-aged man's mouth fell open at once...
In the distant sky, seven-colored spiritual radiance spanned heaven and earth, converging from all directions. Then, as though the heavens had sprung a leak, the radiance poured down from the sky, piercing between heaven and earth. Upon closer sensing, they discovered that even the spiritual qi here was frantically gathering in that direction.
"With such power to swallow spiritual qi like a whale and refine spiritual radiance, has a Divine Sea expert arrived? What does he intend to do—refine this entire secret realm directly?" The middle-aged man's face was filled with horror. He no longer cared about continuing to solve the Stone Forest Maze.
"No, Divine Sea grand cultivators cannot enter. Who is it? A monster from this place?" Steward Qiu revealed a fearful expression, his face pale. "With such might, it is likely a great demon."
As the two stood there in shock, the seven-colored spiritual radiance piercing heaven and earth in the distance seemed to be devoured by some terrifying swallowing force. The seven-colored radiance spreading across dozens of li in the sky appeared to be forcibly ripped down in but an instant.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace.
"Buzz..."
A hum rang out, like the voice of heaven and earth itself, containing boundless profound truths as it resounded throughout the secret realm. The secret realm itself seemed to shudder faintly. An invisible aura swept across them, then vanished in the blink of an eye.
Then, at the distant horizon, a pillar of purple qi shot into the sky, instantly sweeping across eight hundred li of heaven and earth. The sky was dyed an elegant, noble purple. Purple qi gathered into violet auspicious clouds that filled the heavens, carrying an indescribable meaning—ancient, vast, and mingled with an eternal mutability.
"No, this is not a great demon! No! This is an omen, a heavenly omen!" Steward Qiu's face was full of shock, his eyes nearly popping from their sockets. "Eighty years ago, I saw the Little Saint Son of the Demon Stone Saint Sect. Born with a Blood Sweat Treasure Body, when he advanced to the Three Yuan Stage, his blood and qi transformed into beacon smoke that soared three hundred zhang into the sky, becoming an ancient Blood-Soaked Python Elephant. Later, the Great Elder of the Demon Stone Saint Sect directly accepted him as a personal disciple and painstakingly instructed him..."
Looking again at the violet auspicious clouds in the sky, with all eight hundred li of heaven and earth turned a single color, Steward Qiu's voice was almost a moan. His lips trembled so badly that he could barely speak clearly...
"Purple qi billowing for eight hundred li... Boundless Heavenly Venerable, what extraordinary physique has emerged? A treasure body? Impossible. Then is it an Acquired True Body? No, an Acquired True Body would not have such momentum. Could one of the eighteen Innate Dao Bodies have appeared?"
After trembling as he stared for some time, Steward Qiu suddenly jolted. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Brother So, go. We are going back. Find that person immediately."
"Hm? Brother Qiu? You..."
"What treasure are we still looking for? As long as we bring this person back and recruit him into Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce, perhaps five hundred years from now, Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce will have another living Titled Dao Lord! Such a tremendous merit is far greater than bringing back the entire tomb of Purple Firmament Dao Lord!"
"I finally forged my Dao Foundation..."
Inside the cave, Qin Yang slowly opened his eyes. A flash of purple light flickered through his gaze, and with a tremor of True Essence, the impurities expelled from his body vanished without a trace.
When he looked up, Qin Yang froze. Above his head was a bright expanse—the entire mountaintop had been split apart...
"Uh, what happened?"
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