Forging the Dao Foundation

Pain spread throughout Chen Xian's body. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to endure, as wisps of black energy gradually emerged from the corners of his eyes.

"Ugh...!"

He let out a pained groan, struggling to control himself and prevent himself from falling into madness.

He understood clearly that this "madness" was likely a result of cultivation deviation.

This was the side effect of deducing cultivation techniques. Once he gained control, the madness would disappear.

Chen Xian didn't rush to deduce further. He resisted for a long time and noticed the rolling blood energy moving north from above Blood River Forest, seemingly in pursuit of Chen Quanwu and the others. He felt a sense of relief.

While controlling himself, he headed towards Black Wind Valley.

To the north.

Chen Quanwu, leading the Demon Slayer Soldiers, had already escaped sixteen kilometers. He noticed the blood energy getting closer, his expression extremely grim. "Retreat quickly! Fall back to the Ninth Battalion!"

At this moment, he was certain that the demon pursuing them was definitely a Lesser Demon King.

The Demon Slayer Soldiers quickly retreated.

Boom!

Within the blood energy, a man with blood-red hair suddenly landed on the ground. His footwork was terrifying, creating a three-meter-wide crater in the earth as terrifying, bloody demonic energy billowed outwards.

He held a large saber in his hand, his blood-red eyes fixed on the north, as if he could see Chen Quanwu. He let out a cold snort and continued his pursuit.

Moments later.

The Lesser Demon King caught up to Chen Quanwu. From a hundred meters away, he unleashed a saber strike.

A blood-colored saber shadow, extending thirty feet, rapidly approached, slashing towards Chen Quanwu's back.

Chen Quanwu's face was incredibly grim as he swung his spear to block.

However, in the next instant, he was sent flying by the thirty-foot-long saber shadow.

Fortunately, the strike was from a hundred meters away. If it had been at close range, it would have likely killed Chen Quanwu.

Pfft!

Chen Quanwu tumbled to the ground, spitting up blood.

His mount, a swift horse, was also sent flying, rolling on the ground with a pained whinny.

Chen Quanwu had no time to worry about his horse. He flipped over and fled at top speed.

The Lesser Demon King continued the pursuit. When the Demon Slayer Soldiers tried to resist, the Lesser Demon King killed over a dozen of them with a single saber strike.

"Retreat quickly!"

Chen Quanwu roared. He couldn't even withstand a single strike from the Lesser Demon King, let alone his subordinate Demon Slayer Soldiers.

Everyone fled in a mad dash.

After pursuing them for several more miles, the Lesser Demon King sensed a terrifying aura from the human direction and finally stopped.

"Vile humans!" Cold rage flashed in the blood-haired, burly man's eyes.

He had rushed over after receiving the distress signal.

But Chen Quanwu had ordered a retreat upon discovering him, causing him to pursue too far past Blood River Forest and into human territory.

Watching Chen Quanwu escape, he dared not pursue further.

The blood-haired, burly man snorted coldly and turned back, carrying his long saber.

As he neared Blood River Forest, he suddenly spotted another group of human soldiers to the west, at Seven Mile Peak.

"They escaped, I'll kill you!"

The Lesser Demon King snorted coldly and charged towards Seven Mile Peak with his saber.

Chen Xian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the rolling blood energy heading north.

After the feeling of madness subsided, he continued deducing his martial arts.

[After three thousand cycles of day and night deduction, you have attempted one hundred and sixty-eight methods of forging a Dao Foundation, injuring yourself one hundred and sixty-three times, and succeeding five times. You have not yet deduced a perfect follow-up technique.]

Pain once again surged through his entire body, especially his internal organs, but they gradually recovered with the healing of his fiery vital energy.

"None of the five techniques are perfect?" Chen Xian frowned and continued his deductions.

[After three thousand days and nights of continuous deduction, you have finally deduced the follow-up technique for the Ox Demon Spirit Flame Art. It is considered perfect, and you have renamed it the Ox Demon Golden Flame Technique. It is not yet mastered.]

Seeing the system prompt, Chen Xian finally relaxed, his bloodshot eyes gradually clearing.

After taking a breath, he summoned his status panel:

[Martial Art: Ox Demon Golden Flame Technique (Not Mastered)] [Experience: 43421 points] [Cultivation Realm: Perfection of Awareness] [Lifespan: Three hundred and fifty years]

"The Ox Demon Golden Flame Technique and the Ox Demon Golden Flame Art seem similar, but their grades and power are vastly different," Chen Xian murmured, glancing northeast. He saw the rolling blood-red energy dissipate.

That powerful demon must have engaged Chen Quanwu and the others. He quickly caught up to Ding Chen, telling him to have his men retreat to Black Wind Valley immediately.

With over 40,000 experience points remaining, Chen Xian began to improve his cultivation realm.

[After five thousand months of arduous training, your Ox Demon Golden Flame Art has reached the introductory stage. Your Jade Sea Yuan Qi is abundant, your spiritual sense extends three hundred meters, and your attempt to forge a Dao Foundation has failed.]

[After five thousand months of diligent cultivation, your Ox Demon Golden Flame Art has reached the minor accomplishment stage. Your Jade Sea Yuan Qi has liquefied, your spiritual sense extends five hundred meters, and your attempt to forge a Dao Foundation has failed.]

Chen Xian's brow furrowed slightly. He hadn't succeeded in forging a Dao Foundation after ten thousand months, which was nearly a thousand years in real-time.

At a six-to-one conversion rate, he wouldn't have forged his Dao Foundation in 150-160 years.

This talent...

Chen Xian felt speechless.

Of course, even if his talent was poor, the system compensated for it.

What seemed to take over a hundred years in the real world didn't actually require that much time for him.

As long as he had enough experience points, he could infinitely deduce martial arts and improve his strength.

[After five thousand months of diligent training, your Ox Demon Golden Flame Art is nearing completion. Your Yuan Qi is gradually liquefying, your spiritual sense extends seven hundred meters, your Jade Sea contains a hundred drops of Yuan Power, and you are beginning to forge your foundation.]

[Experience: 23421 points]

It was only after consuming 20,000 experience points that Chen Xian realized he was starting to forge his Dao Foundation.

In an instant, the Yuan Qi in his Jade Sea began to churn wildly, circulating through his meridians along the path prescribed by the cultivation art.

The surging Yuan Qi could automatically churn thirty meters away before retracting and then releasing again.

This repeated over ten times, making the Yuan Qi extremely condensed. It formed a swirling gale around him, three meters in radius.

Forging the Dao Foundation was not painful. As time passed, the surrounding Yuan Qi gale gradually weakened until it was finally absorbed into his body, flowing through his meridians and into his Jade Sea.

In the center of his Jade Sea, the hundred drops of liquefied Yuan Qi were called Yuan Power.

The Yuan Qi was condensing into form.

Soon, the Yuan Power began to spin, forming a solid vortex.

Once the vortex was formed, it began to absorb and expel the churning Yuan Qi in his Jade Sea. Drops of Yuan Power continuously emerged from the vortex and then merged back into it.

"Is this the Dao Foundation?" Chen Xian looked inward at his Jade Sea, staring at the dark golden vortex spinning in its center, much like a whirlpool appearing in a river.

The surrounding Yuan Qi was entwined, constantly being drawn into the vortex's opening and then emerging from the center as a drop of Yuan Power.

It was a cycle of inflow and outflow, endless and perpetual.

After understanding, Chen Xian breathed a sigh of relief. The vortex was the Dao Foundation he had forged.

No matter how his Yuan Qi churned and collided, the Dao Foundation vortex remained stable, incredibly solid, like a slowly rotating ancient well, steadily emitting dark golden fire Yuan Power.

He wondered if others forged their Dao Foundations the same way he did. With the system's enhancements, this was how his Jade Sea changed.

Chen Xian closed his Spiritual Sense Eye and looked up towards the northeast. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

"It's coming for us?"

The rolling blood-red energy that had been pursuing Chen Quanwu had reformed and was now rushing towards Seven Mile Peak, where he was located.

"Brother Ding, retreat quickly, quickly...!"

Chen Xian shouted, his voice quickly carrying forward.

Hearing the shout, Ding Chen looked east. Upon clearly seeing the mass of blood-red energy heading their way, his face instantly turned ashen. He called out to Wang Yan, Qin Fei, and the others to quickly retreat towards Black Wind Valley.