One Becomes Nine, Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment!

As soon as the words fell.

Bai Yu's body swayed, and in the next instant, the Heavenly Demon had appeared directly before him.

Looking at that flawless, lovely face, Bai Yu's heartbeat began to accelerate beyond his control. A sense of depravity that seemed to rise from the depths of his soul crazily drew in his mind.

Seeing this, Bai Yu narrowed his eyes and forcibly activated his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes!

Golden light flashed within his pupils. Bai Yu felt a sharp pain in his eyes, and when he looked again, the Heavenly Demon, who had resembled a peerless beauty, had turned into a skeleton.

"Heh. Strip away the flesh, and all that remains are two hundred and six bones."

"See beauties as white bones, and I shall have no desire. See white bones as beauties, and I shall have no fear!"

"A mere Heavenly Demon thinks it can shake my Dao heart!"

A cool sensation welled up in Bai Yu's mind. His body trembled violently, blood streaming from his eyes. As the spiritual power within him was steadily consumed, his face grew pale.

But once delusion was shattered, it was time for Foundation Establishment!

Even a Heavenly Demon had to become part of his strength!

Gritting his teeth, Bai Yu's hand seals changed without pause. In an instant, the Heavenly Demon's phantom shattered directly, transforming into a dense purple current that surged into his entire body.

The jade formed from the Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu also slowly drew closer.

A cold, agonizing sensation erupted from the depths of his soul. As the final wisp of purple qi entered his body, a crazed look appeared in Bai Yu's eyes!

Blood River Body Tempering Art, activate!

Within the secret chamber, violent energy came howling in. Before it could even approach, it was refined by the Sha Qi pouring forth around Bai Yu, ultimately gathering into an ancient bronze cauldron!

The moment the bronze cauldron appeared, Bai Yu felt an overwhelming pressure. The force, enough to crush even a soul to pieces, left him at a loss.

A cultivator's shaping of the aperture had always involved observing all things beneath heaven and earth, then using their forms to evolve an aperture best suited to oneself.

But the more powerful the thing being evolved, the stronger the impact upon the cultivator's soul. If one could not withstand that force, at best their cultivation would regress; at worst, their meridians would shatter and they would become a cripple.

And from the moment Bai Yu had prepared to step into Foundation Establishment, he had already decided what he would evolve.

In his previous life, Yu the Great had used the Nine Cauldrons to suppress the Nine Provinces, thereby becoming the Son of Heaven; they also represented his supreme imperial authority!

But Bai Yu wished to become master of himself. Thus, while evolving his aperture, he had to keep breaking through his limits—or else reach the utmost extreme!

And after long consideration, the Nine Cauldrons were the target he had chosen to evolve!

Watching the bronze cauldron as mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts slowly emerged upon it, Bai Yu grew ever more crazed. After the spiritual power around him had been completely depleted, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and began to squeeze out the lingering benefits the Blood River Body Tempering Art had left within him!

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

An intense humming rang out. In an instant, the blood he had spat out transformed into scarlet motes of light, forming a barrier around Bai Yu.

The purple aura that had originally been absorbed burst forth, and the instant it gathered upon the bronze cauldron, the entire secret chamber began to tremble!

Bai Yu's body began to wither, until he became little more than skin stretched over bones.

At that very moment, the Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu landed steadily above the bronze cauldron!

Demonic qi, Sha Qi, and ghostly qi tried to taint the bronze cauldron, only to be suppressed by the archaic aura upon it!

Bai Yu let out hoarse roars as the two sides entered a tug-of-war. Just as his body began to slowly crumble apart, a dragon's roar suddenly sounded from the depths of his soul.

The previously dormant Yin-Yang Mystic Dragon Gu began to stir. A force capable of suppressing everything shot skyward, flooding into the bronze cauldron like mountains toppling and seas overturning.

Two Mystic Dragons, one black and one white, actually appeared within the secret chamber!

The Mystic Dragons roared, then pressed down in suppression. At the same time, an incomparably pure yet utterly extreme force suddenly surged forth from Bai Yu's dantian.

The force was like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam, constantly nourishing Bai Yu. His body, which had been on the verge of breaking apart, actually recovered at a visible rate. The swelling spiritual power left him somewhat overwhelmed.

The black-and-white qi upon the bronze cauldron intensified ever further. The instant it erupted completely, Bai Yu's cultivation, soul power, potential, and strength all surged explosively.

The feeling was as if heaven and earth lay in his hands. At this moment, he was the king of this realm!

He let out a long breath. Before his eyes, the black-and-white qi split the bronze cauldron into nine. At the center of the foremost two bronze cauldrons stood a humanoid jade stone obediently.

On the other side, two black-and-white Mystic Dragons circled and roamed without end!

"It worked!"

"It worked!"

"I fucking did it!"

Looking at the bronze cauldrons split into nine, Bai Yu's face was filled with madness, and his unrestrained laughter echoed throughout the secret chamber!

According to his original plan, being able to evolve a single bronze cauldron aperture at the Foundation Establishment stage would already have been perfect. Once his cultivation rose, he would condense one at every stage.

But now, with all Nine Cauldrons appearing at once, it meant that at the Foundation Establishment realm, he possessed nine apertures—and could store nine natal Gu!

And there were still eight major realms before reaching the Tribulation Transcendence realm, meaning he could possess seventy-two apertures.

If he could attain immortality and become an immortal, then he would have eighty-one apertures, reaching the ultimate extreme!

[Technique: Return-to-Origin Gu Control Art (Major Mastery)]

[Technique: Eight Desolations Spirit Convergence Art (Minor Mastery) 4633/8000]

[Skill: Cutting (Major Mastery)]

[Progress: (3500/3500]

[Yin-Yang Mystic Dragon Gu (Natal Gu)]

[Dragon Qi Progress: /]

[Yin-Yang Qi: 3566/5000]

[Evil Dragon Resentment: /]

[Evil Earth Stone Gu (Dragon Blood Stone Gu Mutation): 200/2700]

[Yin Mosquito Gu (Blood Mosquito Gu Mutation): 469/4500]

[Blood River Body Tempering Art (Beginner 3670/]

[Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes (Beginner) (Earth-Entering Eye Mutation): 6366/]

[Human-Faced Black Centipede Gu 4271/6000 (Mutating)]

[Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu 20/9500]

"Break before building anew—the Yin-Yang Mystic Dragon Gu truly lives up to its name..."

Looking at the data on the panel, Bai Yu saw that the Yin-Yang Mystic Dragon Gu, the Blood River Body Tempering Art, and the Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes had all made tremendous progress.

Thinking back on the agony he had suffered during the breakthrough, all of it had been worth it.

Next, he would refine seven more Natal Gus during this Foundation Establishment process and thoroughly solidify his foundation...

At the thought, Bai Yu's scalp suddenly tingled. The resources needed just to nourish the Yin-Yang Mystic Dragon Gu and the Heavenly Demon Soul-Devouring Gu already pained his heart.

If he had to add seven more of roughly the same quality...

"Too brutal. They're all fucking gold-eating behemoths!"

After agonizing over it for a long while, Bai Yu cast those thoughts to the back of his mind.

As a genius, the last thing he should do was wear himself down from within.

Besides, for an unparalleled prodigy like him, who possessed nine empty apertures at the Foundation Establishment realm, he was bound to endure trials ordinary people would never face.

Resources, was it?

He would earn them himself. And if he couldn't earn them, couldn't he just take them?

"Heh heh heh, as expected, my Dao heart remains clear and bright at all times!"

"I'll start by wiping out the Iron Sword Sect, then set foot on the Gu-refining path I've always longed for!"

Light gleamed in Bai Yu's eyes as he rose gracefully to his feet, his bearing brimming with pride.