Foundation Establishment Late Stage

"How was this possible?!"

He Sheng had never imagined that the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage bottleneck Brother Piao had regarded as a roadblocking tiger—a bottleneck that had dealt him a crushing blow and even drastically changed his temperament—would be pierced through so easily by himself!

"If that's the case, then doesn't that mean..."

As the thought flashed through his mind, He Sheng immediately used the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm to bolster the circulation of his cultivation method!

Crack, crack, crack...

An endless series of shattering sounds exploded within He Sheng's sea of consciousness.

The solid bottleneck that had obstructed Brother Piao for three years began to collapse completely beneath the impact of the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm!

This bottleneck, once like an impregnable wall, was not smashed apart by brute force. Instead, it was permeated and dismantled by countless tiny droplets of water transformed from intent.

As the sturdy bottleneck shattered, an unprecedented feeling of clarity instantly swept through his entire body.

In an instant,

He Sheng felt the dharma power within his dantian surge wildly, like the waters of a breached Heavenly River pouring backward into his spirit sea.

It was visibly about to overflow, yet under the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm's reinforcement, his spirit sea was forcibly expanded.

At the same time, the dharma power itself changed. Drop after drop became finer, more condensed, and purer...

Within the main hall of the Longevity Pool Water Palace,

The enormous body of the Star-Backed Black Turtle lay coiled atop a jade platform, the starry patterns upon its shell emitting a gentle, lustrous glow.

Before it, a gigantic catfish demon over twenty feet long, its face covered in fleshy whiskers, spoke in human tongue, its voice filled with sinister malice.

"Black Tortoise King, that human cultivator is definitely up to no good. You must not let him deceive you!"

The catfish demon's voice was like sandpaper scraping together, carrying an unpleasantly clammy quality.

The catfish demon was named Black Whisker. It was a well-known fence-sitter around Heaven Capital Mountain, and now it fanned the flames with all its might:

"Senior, your bloodline is noble and your lifespan is long. Why bother associating with human cultivators whose schemes are like hornets' nests?

To be honest, it is still the great kings of our mountains who are sincere—especially the Thousand-Legged King. His goodwill is truly overflowing.

..."

The Star-Backed Black Turtle's lantern-sized eyes narrowed slightly. Black Whisker's attempts to sow discord went in one ear and out the other.

It knew perfectly well that Black Whisker was a lobbyist sent by the second-rank centipede demon of Ten Thousand Reverence Ridge. It wanted nothing more than to make it sever its ties with the outside world, so they could coerce it into fighting over the things at Black Vine Ridge.

"Still, now isn't the time to tear faces with that centipede demon from Ten Thousand Reverence Ridge."

While enduring the catfish demon's incessant chatter, Old Turtle directed its thoughts toward a jade box stored within its shell.

With a thought, the lid opened, revealing a patch of bright starlight. Inside lay the Star Swirl Sand gifted by He Sheng.

"This kid is willing to pay dearly."

Old Turtle was greatly pleased. This Star Swirl Sand would be of tremendous use to it.

At once, it gave its shell a light shake. The Star Swirl Sand transformed into a streak of light and was directly absorbed into its back, gradually merging into the gaps of its thick shell.

Whoosh.

The dim starry patterns within the shell seemed to have been infused with the spring of life, instantly becoming bright and resplendent. An ancient, vast aura slowly awakened from within Old Turtle's body.

"This Star Swirl Sand truly can further awaken my bloodline!"

Feeling the changes within its body, Old Turtle was overjoyed.

Demonic beasts differed from cultivators. Their cultivation placed bloodlines above all else; the grade of their bloodline determined the upper limit of their growth,

while the degree of bloodline awakening determined both their growth rate and the innate talents they could obtain.

"My bloodline is only of the Mystic grade. Without a heaven-defying opportunity, when my two-thousand-year lifespan runs out, I am destined to be unable to break through to the third rank.

"But if my Star Mystic Bloodline can awaken the legendary innate talent, Respond to Stars, then perhaps there is a sliver of hope to defy fate and change my destiny..."

Old Turtle's so-called Star Mystic Bloodline was, in truth, the star chart contained within its shell. It was the manifestation of its bloodline seal and potential.

Each time it absorbed a rare spirit material containing star attributes, the star chart would brighten a little, and its bloodline would awaken a little further.

Old Turtle quietly sensed the ancient aura awakening within it and gained much from the experience. Its attitude toward He Sheng naturally softened further.

"It seems this kid has finally returned to normal. As long as his state of mind remains steady, he should be able to break through the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage bottleneck in the future."

He Sheng did not know that, by a stroke of accidental fortune, the Star Swirl Sand he had gifted had greatly changed the Star-Backed Black Turtle's opinion of him.

One had to know that, to Old Turtle, a second-rank spirit material capable of increasing bloodline awakening was even more precious than certain third-rank treasures.

"Having received this kid's help, I ought to properly return the favor with a generous gift."

Though the Star-Backed Black Turtle was a long-lived species and far wiser than ordinary demonic beasts, its nature was still relatively kind and honest.

As it pondered this, its lantern-sized eyes suddenly sharpened, and it abruptly turned toward Quiet Meditation Cave.

Boom!

A powerful, intensely oppressive fluctuation of dharma power, like a slumbering giant beast awakening, spread outward in rings from Quiet Meditation Cave.

That dense spiritual pressure was unmistakably the sign of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator!

"This is... Ah Sheng has broken through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage?!"

Even with Old Turtle's centuries of composure, it could not help losing control at this moment. Its massive body leaned forward slightly, its divine sense tightly locking onto that water cave as stormy waves surged in its heart.

Just moments ago, it had thought He Sheng had finally returned to normal and could hope to break through the bottleneck someday. Yet in the blink of an eye, He Sheng had directly entered the Foundation Establishment Late Stage?

This was the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, not some common cabbage!

In terms of dharma power alone, He Sheng had already far surpassed it.

After all, though Old Turtle had entered the second rank decades ago, its dharma power had grown extremely slowly. In terms of dharma power alone, it was only equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator.

However, demonic beasts did not rely solely on dharma power for their strength. Their method of calculating combat power was vastly different from that of human cultivators.

"Brother Sheng... Could it be that he truly possesses outstanding talent?

"Just by listening to that Wu Old Ghost from the Golden Cloud Sect casually spout a few perfunctory words, he achieved enlightenment, broke through a bottleneck that had troubled him for years in one stroke, and advanced to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage?"

Old Turtle calculated rapidly. It understood all too well what the Foundation Establishment Late Stage represented.

"With Brother Sheng's talent and aptitude, as long as he does not remain so eccentric in the future, it should be difficult for him to provoke any truly formidable figures.

"If he can prepare properly for several decades or even a century, then given the He Family's ability to seize cultivation resources, achieving a False Core will be as certain as a nail driven into a board!

"If he encounters a little more fortune, he may even become a Core Formation True Person!"

A Core Formation True Person...

Old Turtle felt that for He Sheng, who was not yet forty but had already reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, this was not some distant and unattainable goal.

At that thought, Old Turtle's heart, once as calm as an ancient well, began to pound faster.

"Perhaps... it is time to consider whether I should return to the He Family."

The Star-Backed Black Turtle's thoughts whirled endlessly. Naturally, it did not want a Foundation Establishment Realm master over its head,

but if that master became a False Core cultivator or even a Core Formation True Person, then everything would be different.

One had to know that a False Core cultivator or Core Formation True Person was far beyond a Foundation Establishment cultivator in their ability to obtain high-grade, rare cultivation resources.

Old Turtle could become a spirit pet once more, using its master's strength and channels to acquire the rare resources sufficient to defy fate and change destiny.

A False Core cultivator lived five hundred years, while a Core Formation True Person lived at most eight hundred. Neither could outlive Old Turtle.

"As long as I endure for a few hundred years, perhaps by then I'll be a demon king ruling one side!"

Old Turtle began entertaining its notion of "lying low in the He Family and waiting out the old men" once again.

As the Star-Backed Black Turtle made its calculations, the catfish demon beside it also sensed the disturbance coming from Quiet Meditation Cave and immediately cried out:

"Black Tortoise King, look! Didn't I say that human cultivator was up to no good?

"He only entered the Water Palace a short while ago, and he has already caused such a—"

"Too noisy."

Old Turtle had already been fed up with it and could not be bothered to listen to this fool's nonsense any longer.

Its enormous turtle head shifted slightly, and an irresistible suction force arose from its mouth.

"Black Tortoise K-King, what are you doing? I was sent by the Thousand-Legged King..."

Before Black Whisker's catfish demon could finish speaking, its massive body flew uncontrollably toward Old Turtle's gaping mouth.

Crack.

Accompanied by a crisp sound of bones breaking, the endlessly chattering lobbyist became a snack in Old Turtle's belly.

Old Turtle slowly chewed a few times, feeling that the catfish demon's bellyful of foul water had added a somewhat unusual freshness to its flesh.

"Fine, then. I'll place a heavy wager first!"

Old Turtle had already made up its mind.

It shook its shell, and a fist-sized crystal, snow-white and translucent throughout, fell beside its claw.

The moment this item appeared, the temperature throughout the Water Palace dropped sharply. Fine ice crystals even condensed amid the rippling water.

Cold Soul Mystic Crystal Stone, a low-grade third-rank treasure material!

This was one of only two third-rank treasure materials Old Turtle had obtained from that opportunity it encountered years ago, a precious treasure sufficient to serve as the main material for refining a dharma treasure.

"Greenie!"

Old Turtle summoned the green water snake. After placing the Cold Soul Mystic Crystal Stone into a stone box and sealing away the cold power leaking from it, it pushed the box over.

"Take this to Quiet Meditation Cave and give it to Brother Sheng. Tell him it is my congratulatory gift for breaking through his bottleneck and advancing to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage."

The Green Snake immediately nodded, balancing the stone box on its head as it slipped into the waterway toward Quiet Meditation Cave.

"Once Brother Sheng receives this Cold Soul Mystic Crystal Stone, he will most likely use it to refine a Nascent Dharma Treasure.

"If he later achieves False Core or even becomes a Core Formation True Person, this Nascent Dharma Treasure will surely become his natal dharma treasure!

"When that time comes, whenever he sees this dharma treasure, he will naturally think of me, Old Turtle. With this bond between us, I too will be able to advance or retreat at ease."

Old Turtle was feeling pleased with its calculations when the shell on its back suddenly lit up. Immediately afterward, a warning of danger crept into its heart.

Boom!

A deafening blast, accompanied by earthshaking tremors, abruptly swept through the entire Longevity Pool!

The entire Water Palace seemed to have been struck viciously by a massive hammer. Rubble showered down from the ceiling, while the waters all around instantly became violent and chaotic.

The second-rank grand formation protecting the Water Palace actually let out a groan of unbearable strain beneath that single blow!

What was happening?

Old Turtle was greatly alarmed. It immediately extended its senses, only to discover that outside the Water Palace, a young man with a longsword on his back was wielding a crystal-clear jade ruler to bombard the Water Palace gates!