Ground Shrinking Golden Light

"Could that commotion have been caused by Foundation Establishment?" Qin Yang scratched his head, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Earlier, in pursuit of perfection, his consciousness had completely sunk into his body as he went all out. He had never imagined it would stir up such a huge disturbance.

After getting up, Qin Yang immediately moved away from the area. Who knew how many people that commotion would attract...

Now that he had successfully forged his Dao Foundation, he needed time to settle and stabilize himself. He could no longer charge ahead with reckless vigor, so leaving was just right.

With one step, he was already dozens of zhang away. In two or three strides, he crossed a li of ground.

Qin Yang halted, unable to suppress the joy in his heart.

During the Qi Cultivation Stage, True Essence drifted without support, like Rootless Water. Whenever he overexerted himself, there was a risk of his cultivation slipping slightly. If he suffered serious injuries, his realm could easily fall.

But now, having forged his Dao Foundation through the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture, there was an innate sense of being as unmoving as a mountain within him. His True Essence flowed in a steady stream, circulating on its own. Even when expended, it immediately began recovering. He even had the illusion that his Dao Foundation was indestructible.

The difference was beyond words. Most obviously, his reserves of True Essence were enormous, several times greater than even his anticipated limit. Its quality was terrifyingly high as well. There was no need to elaborate on the former, but the most direct benefit of higher-quality True Essence was reduced consumption. A secret technique that required ten portions of another person's True Essence might need only one or two portions from him, while being even more powerful.

With a Dao Foundation as stable as a mountain, the benefits went far beyond that. His explosive power was stronger, and he no longer needed to worry about his body being unable to withstand it.

After sensing it for a moment, Qin Yang's hands began to itch. He wanted to see whether he could now use the Shangqing Cloud Piercing Lightning Guiding Secret Method.

At a thought, Qin Yang formed Hand Seals. True Essence flowed, and a trace of danger stirred. Clouds gathered in the sky, while faint crackles of tiny lightning began to form in the air...

But in an instant, Qin Yang dispersed his True Essence and secretly shook his head. This secret method demanded even more than a secret technique. He could indeed use it after a brief test, but it took too long to cast and consumed too much. Even at the lowest output, it would use nearly half his True Essence in one go.

He had only just succeeded in Foundation Establishment. Better forget it...

If he was not testing that secret method, then he could only test something else...

He could test drawing talismans and making Ink Talismans. He had been reluctant to use the bark obtained from the Banyan Tree Demon before. Using it to make talismans was too wasteful, while the success rate for making Ink Talismans had been too low...

With that in mind, Qin Yang chose another direction. After running dozens of li, he dug out another cave and slipped inside to begin his experiments.

He cut the bark and made talismans. The cinnabar and talisman brush materials were nothing special, yet every talisman he produced was a high-grade talisman. There was still only one supreme-grade talisman...

And it was fucking a Small Cloud Rain Talisman...

"This really is..." Qin Yang looked at the supreme-grade Small Cloud Rain Talisman before him, torn between laughter and tears. Could it be that he understood Small Cloud Rain Talismans the best?

He had directly excavated the Small Cloud Rain Talisman's potential to its absolute limit...

This was presumably the limit of Introduction to Talismans. To advance any further, he would have to slowly study the knowledge in his mind himself.

He did not make many talismans before continuing with the Ink Talismans. He cut off a piece of bark three chi long and one chi wide, then swept his brush across it. Dense Dao Patterns covered its surface, after which he added talisman cores at crucial nodes, merging them into one whole.

A moment later, a glow flowed across the bark. The Dao Patterns faded, and the symbols vanished with them, transforming into what looked like an ink-wash painting. With only a few strokes, it outlined a purple immortal crane, vivid and lifelike, as though it were about to spread its wings and fly from the page.

"Shape-Shifting Ink Talismans. I finally succeeded in making one..." Qin Yang smiled, in exceptionally high spirits.

When he had first obtained Introduction to Talismans, what he most wanted to make had been Shape-Shifting Ink Talismans. Of the nine Ink Talismans he had learned, three were Shape-Shifting Ink Talismans. This one was the Immortal Crane Shape-Shifting Ink Talismans, which could summon an immortal crane for riding. Its speed rivaled Flying with Weapon by Foundation Establishment cultivators, and it did not consume his own True Essence.

"I never expected this bark to be ridiculously high-quality. Combined with the terrifying quality of my True Essence, I made a high-grade Ink Talisman on my first try. As long as I don't drain all its power in one go, it can recover on its own and be used indefinitely..."

His first Ink Talisman was a resounding success, and Qin Yang continued making more.

He made two more of the three golden-scroll Ink Talismans, one defensive and one meant for fleeing.

After making another two scrolls, Qin Yang stopped. He truly could not bear to keep ruining this bark.

All three Ink Talismans were high-grade. Qin Yang did not believe he had already mastered them perfectly; the outrageously fine quality of the bark deserved much of the credit.

For now, three Ink Talismans were more or less enough.

After putting away his tools, Qin Yang turned toward the swamp.

He had promised the Banyan Tree Demon that he would take him away from this place. Since he had no interest in anything else here now, bringing the Banyan Tree Demon along was the proper thing to do. Otherwise, if he found a way out, he would have to make another trip back.

Standing at the swamp's edge once more, he found it as deathly silent as ever. Miasma bred within, and killing intent drifted faintly through the air.

Qin Yang narrowed his eyes and looked inward. True Essence circulated through his eyes, and the mist ahead seemed to be swept aside by a giant hand. Everything before him became crystal clear.

Looking beneath the swamp again, his gaze flashed like lightning, piercing through every small pool and seeing what lay beneath them.

Below, they were connected into a single expanse, like a lake thick with aquatic grass. The patches of land and mud on the surface were actually floating atop the water.

Pale, decaying corpses floated within—humans and demons alike, along with many strange races. Some were only three chi tall, with heads taking up a full chi. Others stood three zhang tall like giants. There were even bizarre beings with four arms growing from their ribs, vertical eyes on their foreheads, and no lower bodies.

Aside from those, there were the monsters he had seen before, scattered throughout as though dead, mixed among the corpses and utterly motionless.

Qin Yang looked over the mass of corpses in the water and smacked his lips.

"I wonder if I can still loot Skill Books from these..."

After inwardly lamenting the waste, Qin Yang did not hesitate. He directly took out two golden-scroll Ink Talismans and activated them slightly. One immediately hovered above his head, casting down streams of golden light that enveloped him, while countless symbols flowed over the light screen.

The other extended outward and unfurled, turning into a Golden Path that stretched from beneath Qin Yang's feet all the way into the swamp.

At once, the monsters beneath the swamp that had seemed dead all whipped their tails and surged upward.

"Come on. If you can catch me, I'll shove my head right into your mouths." Qin Yang laughed loudly and stepped onto the Golden Path.

In an instant, the Golden Path shot forward. With one step, he was already a hundred zhang away.

This Ink Talisman was said to have an impressive origin, modeled after the ancient divine ability Ground Shrinking Golden Light.

It was said that in ancient times, mighty experts who mastered this divine ability could travel eight thousand li in a single step. A casual walk outside would cover hundreds of thousands of li.

Though this Ink Talisman was far inferior, it did not cut any corners when it came to covering a hundred zhang in one step.

Qin Yang strolled atop the Golden Path as though taking a leisurely walk. The monsters in the little pools chased after him like mad, but after barely a dozen steps, they had vanished without a trace...