Song Que had poured his heart and soul into it, paying a tremendous price to activate the Secret Technique.
A brilliant golden light appeared from the void at last: Heavenly Vein Qi containing the Heavenly Dao Laws. It slowly descended toward him.
Seeing that he had truly drawn Heavenly Vein Qi, uncontrollable excitement and elation surfaced on his pale face.
Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment was within arm's reach!
This was a legendary opportunity, one that could lay the cornerstone of an invincible path ahead.
Once he completed Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, his standing in the Blood Stream Sect would soar. In the future, he might even become the strongest cultivator the sect had ever seen!
By then, even his long-coveted little aunt, Song Junwan, would become his Dao Companion.
Just as Song Que thought he was about to soar to greatness, an unexpected change occurred!
Deep in the abyssal void, a Purple-Gold Divine Light appeared out of nowhere, noble and mysterious, its aura far more magnificent and ancient than that of Heavenly Vein Qi. It seemed to have crossed countless ages before suddenly streaking forth.
Under its pull, the golden strand of Heavenly Vein Qi that had been heading toward Song Que turned around without hesitation, as if a subject had seen an emperor. It transformed into a golden firefly and followed the Purple-Gold Divine Light, darting toward Bai Xiaochun's place of seclusion.
"No—!!!"
The sudden reversal froze the elation on Song Que's face. It gave way to utter shock and disbelief, then was replaced by boundless despair and fury.
He had paid a terrible price, and just as his Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment was about to succeed, someone else had reaped the reward at the final moment.
The immense plunge from heaven to hell nearly shattered his Dao Heart.
"Bai Xiaochun! You and I are mortal enemies!"
Song Que's eyes nearly split with rage. He forcibly suppressed the surging blood and energy in his body from the Secret Technique's backlash, then reluctantly stilled his tide and completed Earth Vein Foundation Establishment.
At that moment, he had only one thought: kill Bai Xiaochun and take back the Heavenly Vein Qi!
As long as he killed Bai Xiaochun, he would still have a chance to complete Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!
At the same time, the Purple-Gold Divine Light and golden light streaking across the sky startled every cultivator in the abyss.
"Look! That's... Heavenly Vein Qi! Someone drew out Heavenly Vein Qi!"
"Oh, heavens! It really is Heavenly Vein Qi!"
"Wait! What's that purple-gold light in front? Its aura... seems even more terrifying than Heavenly Vein Qi!"
"Who cares what it is? It's definitely an opportunity that defies the heavens, something beyond the Heavenly Dao! Hurry and seize it! We can't let Bai Xiaochun keep it all to himself!"
The entire Falling Sword Abyss erupted into chaos.
Before this, when the cultivators had surrounded Bai Xiaochun, they had done so to stop him from severing the Earth Veins, and at least some of them had shared a common cause.
But now, with the undeniable allure of Heavenly Vein Qi and the even more mysterious Purple-Gold Great Dao Qi, the greed of every cultivator was inflamed to its utmost.
Shangguan Tianyou, Gui Ya, Nine Islands, and all the other Heavenly Prides, along with the hundreds of remaining cultivators, were like a pack of beasts that had caught the scent of blood. Their Escape Lights, each a different color, surged toward the lake, one after another.
Even many Spirit Stream Sect disciples who had originally intended to protect Bai Xiaochun joined the scramble for this tremendous opportunity.
The Great Dao Qi carried the Heavenly Vein Qi across the sky at an incomparable speed. It plunged into the depths of the lakebed and entered Bai Xiaochun's body.
Purple-gold light blazed around Bai Xiaochun. The vortex above his head, which had already stopped expanding, began to spin wildly again, swelling in size as it roared like the creation of heaven and earth. Its pressure made the entire Small World of the Falling Sword Abyss tremble.
Under countless disbelieving gazes, a tenth tide—unprecedented and beyond anything recorded in the ancient texts—formed with a thunderous rumble!
"Oh, heavens! He's using a treasure even more extraordinary than Heavenly Vein Qi to establish his foundation, on top of ten Earth Vein Tides! Bai Xiaochun is really going to become the strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator in history!"
Everyone's minds roared as turbulent waves crashed through their hearts.
Some were already filled with fear and stopped in their tracks on the way to the lake.
After all, once Bai Xiaochun completed Foundation Establishment and stabilized his cultivation, he would undoubtedly be able to kill every cultivator in the Falling Sword Abyss with ease. They didn't dare provoke him any further.
Shangguan Tianyou and the others, however, charged toward the lake even more frantically, hoping to kill Bai Xiaochun and seize this tremendous opportunity.
On the outskirts of the lake, Hou Yunfei and more than a hundred Spirit Stream Sect disciples watched Shangguan Tianyou, Nine Islands, and the others charge forward, eyes bloodshot and looking like madmen. They were filled with dread.
He knew these people had lost all reason. If he tried to stop them, he would surely die here.
"Xiaochun, you protected me before. This time, let me protect you!"
Hou Yunfei took a deep breath and grabbed his magical artifact, preparing to fight to the death and hold them back as long as he could.
"Anyone who stands in my way dies!"
Shangguan Tianyou roared. He gathered his entire cultivation into a gigantic blood-red sword and brought it down on Hou Yunfei.
Hou Yunfei roared and poured all his spiritual power into his magical artifact. A shield of light had barely appeared when it collided with the blood-colored sword beam.
"Boom!"
The shield held for only an instant before shattering. Hou Yunfei took a devastating blow and spat blood. Like a kite with its strings cut, he flew backward and slammed into a distant cliff wall, embedding himself in it. No one knew whether he was alive or dead.
The defensive line hastily formed by the other Spirit Stream Sect disciples fared even worse against the "flood" of hundreds of frenzied cultivators. It was as flimsy as paper and was swept aside in an instant, leaving many dead and wounded.
"You're asking for death!"
Then a voice rang out, icy to the extreme and filled with unparalleled fury.
The lake erupted, and Bai Xiaochun shot into the sky, appearing before everyone.
Bai Xiaochun had now completely absorbed the ten tides, the Great Dao Qi, and the Heavenly Vein Qi. He had completed unprecedented Great Dao Foundation Establishment, and his strength had skyrocketed to a level even he couldn't gauge.
Seeing Hou Yunfei's unknown fate and the Spirit Stream Sect disciples' terrible casualties, Bai Xiaochun erupted with a terrifying killing intent that seemed almost tangible.
He might not like fighting and killing, but that didn't mean he wouldn't kill!
"Today, every one of you dies!"
Bai Xiaochun stepped forward, turning into a streak of light as he appeared beside Shangguan Tianyou in an instant.
Shangguan Tianyou had been a prodigy of the southern bank and belonged to the same Spirit Stream Sect as Bai Xiaochun. But after seeing how ruthlessly he had struck, leaving Hou Yunfei's life uncertain with a single blow, Bai Xiaochun no longer cared about their ties as fellow disciples.
He threw a simple punch. Shangguan Tianyou had no time to react before his entire body exploded with a boom, transforming into a rain of blood.
"Gasp..."
Fang Lin, Nine Islands, Zhao Rou, and the others, who had still been brimming with murderous intent, felt a chill rise in their hearts.
That had been Shangguan Tianyou, a cultivator with the Sword Spirit Physique who had completed eight Earth Vein Tides in Foundation Establishment—and Bai Xiaochun had killed him with a single punch.
"The first."
Bai Xiaochun uttered three words and fixed his cold gaze on Nine Islands.
Nine Islands' hair stood on end. All his murderous intent vanished in an instant. To him, Bai Xiaochun's voice sounded more like a demon's whisper.
He turned to flee, but suddenly felt a pain in his body. His vision blurred and dimmed at an alarming rate.
"The second."
"The third..."
"The fourth..."
Bai Xiaochun was like Yama calling names from a register. Every time he spoke, a powerful cultivator died.
Wang Lin, Zhao Rou, and the others were terrified out of their wits. They tried to crush their talismans and escape, but Bai Xiaochun didn't give them the chance.
As Bai Xiaochun continued to strike, every Blood Stream Sect, Profound Stream Sect, and Danxi Sect disciple who had come to kill him died on the spot.
As for Bei Hanlie and Gui Ya, Bai Xiaochun spared them because they were fellow disciples and hadn't tried to kill the Spirit Stream Sect disciples.
"Martial Uncle Bai is truly a heavenly god descended to earth!"
"He's incredible!"
The other Spirit Stream Sect disciples gaped in utter shock as Bai Xiaochun single-handedly and effortlessly slaughtered hundreds of cultivators.
Bai Xiaochun was moved as well.
He had come here to complete Earth Vein Foundation Establishment. He hadn't expected to be drawn into the Myriad Worlds Chat Group by a stroke of fortune, then attract Great Dao Qi while comprehending the Dao Self True Form Diagram, completing an unprecedented combination of ten Earth Vein Tides, Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, and Great Dao Foundation Establishment.
"I only comprehended an insignificant fraction of this visualization diagram, yet I was already able to draw out this world's Great Dao Qi."
"How powerful must Senior Qingxu be..."
Bai Xiaochun clicked his tongue in secret. He could only feel that the Group Leader's strength had reached a level beyond anything he could imagine.