Foundation Establishment

"This secluded cultivation to break through to Foundation Establishment will take several months at the shortest, a year at the longest. During that time, Jinming, Anlan, and Lingxi will discuss and decide all matters together."

"We shall obey the young master's orders!"

In a secret chamber in South-Pacifying City.

Ye Jinyu sat cross-legged, his injuries fully healed.

He looked at the jade bottle containing Yin Fire, suspended before him.

"It's time."

He murmured inwardly.

Then he first took out a Qing Luan king's plume, one of those Qing Lingxi had presented to him. Traces of blood still stained the feather, its color still azure, containing the essence of Wang blood.

"Azure Luan Ancestral Blood, from a divine wind-attribute bird... It can help increase my affinity with wind and let me control Bifeng as easily as I move my own arm."

Ye Jinyu then circulated his Cultivation Method, drawing strands of azure blood from the plume and absorbing them into his body.

He did not devour them. Instead, he used the Heavenly Cauldron of Fate to refine them into pure wind-attribute origin essence, nourishing his Law Power in preparation.

Ten days later, the plume crumbled to ash.

Ye Jinyu opened his eyes, the azure and gray colors in them flowing more intensely.

Only then did he open the jade bottle and draw out wisps of Zhu Nantian Yin Fire.

He opened his mouth and swallowed the flames. A deep, chilling cold pierced his lungs and flesh, making his mind tremble.

Bifeng and Yin Fire were both yin and both belonged to darkness. According to legends from High Antiquity, they also appeared as calamities.

For an immortal to attain the Dao, they had to pass through the Three Calamities. Among them, Bifeng wore away body and soul, dissolving bone and flesh until the body itself fell apart.

Yin Fire burned the body, reducing the five organs to ash and rotting all four limbs.

But Ye Jinyu had long since suppressed his Qi Refinement Perfection cultivation to its limit, and he had also nurtured Bifeng for many years.

At this moment, spiritual power poured forth like an endless spring, surging and roaring through his meridians. At his heart, the Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart beat ceaselessly, while the intertwined yin and yang Qi coiled around it, faintly resonating with the Bifeng and Yin Fire.

"Now."

On the path of seeking the Dao, to stand still was to fall back!

Ye Jinyu opened his eyes, his gaze profound and his Dao heart steadfast.

Boom-!!!

"Pain!"

"It hurts too much!"

It was as though countless wind blades were grinding him apart from within. Wherever the azure-gray swept, his soul felt as if it were being cut by knives; as the Yin Fire burned, his flesh and five organs seemed to turn to ash.

An ordinary cultivator's body would already have collapsed, their soul scattered to the winds.

But Ye Jinyu was different. The yin and yang Qi within the Yin-Yang Spirit Wood Heart suddenly erupted!

Yin and yang harmonized, forming a strange, balanced cycle.

At the same time, the Heavenly Cauldron of Fate emerged from his Dantian. Purple qi swirled within the cauldron, slowly refining and merging the powers of wind and fire.

The agony was like being cut to pieces.

But Ye Jinyu's expression remained unchanged. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, yet he wore a faint smile.

"To accomplish extraordinary things, one must have extraordinary will."

"This Dao foundation really is overbearing. This young master will bear the pain of this Bifeng Yin Fire for you first. Its power really is... cough, cough, cough... It really hurts!"

One day.

Three days.

One month.

Three months.

Outside the secret chamber, strange phenomena gradually began to gather over all of South-Pacifying City.

The sky darkened, and wind and clouds rolled backward, forming an enormous vortex. Its center was neither azure nor dark, but an indescribably profound, shadowy color of chaos, as though it could swallow both sight and Divine Sense.

The phenomenon lasted a full three months.

Inside the secret chamber, the wind shrieked at times, while dim flames flickered at others.

Another year passed.

Crack-

It was as though shackles had shattered within his body.

The presence around Ye Jinyu suddenly transformed!

His spiritual power changed from Qi to liquid, then condensed from liquid into crystal, building a Dao foundation platform of both substance and illusion in his Dantian.

The platform had two levels.

The lower level was a deep, profound azure-gray, with Bifeng circling upon it, its howling capable of crushing mountains.

The upper level was a shadowy, profound hue tinged with purple, where Yin Fire burned quietly, extinguishing all things.

Wind and fire supported each other, yin and yang cycled, and his Law Power as a whole took on a shadowy, profound hue.

Foundation Establishment, complete!

Ye Jinyu slowly opened his eyes, a trace of shadowy profundity flashing through them.

Feeling the power within him, now surging several times stronger, as well as the Bifeng and Yin Fire he could summon at any moment, he finally smiled in satisfaction.

"Finally... I've taken this step."

When the last wisp of shadowy, profound chaos Qi formed by the Bifeng Yin Fire withdrew into Ye Jinyu's body, an indescribable pressure spread outward.

Unlike the sharp, ostentatious pressure of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was deep and restrained, like an undercurrent in an abyss, like a flood dragon lying hidden in wait. Everyone who sensed it could not help but have a thought rise in their hearts.

Not someone to provoke...

He doesn't seem like a good person...

Creak-

The doors of the secret chamber opened.

Ye Jinyu walked out slowly, still wearing his Autumn Evolution Dao Profound Robe. His appearance had not changed, but his bearing was utterly different.

If he had previously been an Aristocratic Clan's young master with his edge concealed in its sheath, he was now a master of a secluded valley, still as a deep pool and imposing as a mountain, already possessing something of the bearing of a high-level cultivator.

Deep in his eyes, streams of shadowy profundity and azure seemed to revolve. Looking into them for too long gave one the sensation that one's soul was freezing and being torn apart.

"Congratulations, young master (master), on successfully reaching Foundation Establishment!" Ye Anlan, Qing Lingxi, and the others congratulated him in unison, their voices carrying excitement and awe they could not suppress.

Ye Jinyu nodded slightly, feeling the power surging within him.

In his Dantian, the Bifeng Yin Fire floated quietly, shadowy and profound in color, with two levels, one above the other. Bifeng and Yin Fire intertwined and flowed, forming a cycle of their own.

With a slight thought, a wisp of true essence surged out, shadowy and profound in color. Wherever it passed, the air silently dissolved into nothingness.

During Ye Jinyu's secluded cultivation, rumors had also begun to circulate among Cangxuan's Rogue Cultivators. Rogue Cultivators and sect disciples whispered among themselves, and the rumors spread with growing intensity.

Neither of the two people in the rumors responded to them directly!

Soon, the rumors reached the ears of the various immortal clans' and sects' spies. Those with their own intentions then added fuel to the fire, spreading them in every direction.

"Have you heard? The legitimate daughter of the Xie Household, one of the imperial court's Four Nobles, actually joined forces with the Ye Clan's young master!"

"More than that! I was lucky enough to join Young Master Ye's group, and I saw with my own eyes that when Fairy Xie left, her cheeks were peach-red, and even her clothes were a little disheveled..."

"What nonsense are you spouting? What kind of person is Fairy Xie? How could she..."

"Ah... Haven't you heard of falling in love at first sight and two hearts finding mutual affection? Word is, the Xie Clan and the Sima Clan have been at odds for some time!"

By the time these rumors finally reached the Wind Abyss Ruin Realm, the royal capital of Great Qi in the Eastern Region, and the place where Sima Ruiming was, they had become:

"The Xie Clan's legitimate daughter has fallen for Young Master Ye! During the battle with the Azure Luan Clan, they developed feelings for each other and pledged themselves to each other in secret!"

"As I see it, His Highness Sima Ruiming truly is Cangxuan's number one at swallowing insults!"

"Ah, he endures for the sake of the nation! He endures for the sake of the clan! It's just a Great Jin tradition."

Eastern Region, outside Great Qi's royal capital.

Nine blazing suns hung high in the dark azure sky.

At this moment, the royal capital had nearly emptied. Ruin Realm cultivators, Great Qi officials, and even members of the royal family knelt in a dark mass on both sides of the capital's imperial road, reserved for Great Qi's emperor. At their head was none other than Li Tian, Great Qi's crown prince.

Stretching for a hundred thousand li, millions of people knelt prostrate on the ground, packed together so densely that no one dared raise their head.

They were waiting for one person.

Rumble-

A sound like muffled thunder came from the distant sky.

Four enormous creatures came riding the clouds and wind.

They were four flood dragons, each over a hundred zhang long, azure from head to tail, with a single horn on its head and crimson eyes.

Dark-gold chains were fastened around the flood dragons' necks, their other ends attached to a flood dragon carriage that resembled a moving palace.

The carriage was fashioned entirely from Windbillow Spirit Jade and various treasures, and engraved with star charts of the cosmos. What hung from its four corners were not bells.

They were four blue flood dragon pearls with an azure sheen. As their light shimmered, water vapor gathered of its own accord within a hundred zhang, forming a hazy veil of rain and mist that made the carriage seem to travel among the clouds.

Ahead of the carriage, thirty-six cultivators in dark robes with gold trim cleared the way, every one of them at Foundation Establishment or above.

Inside the carriage, Sima Ruiming reclined against a soft couch, dressed in an everyday black satin robe embroidered with dark-gold dragons. His long hair was bound with a jade crown, and he held an old book in his hand. He looked at ease, but the aloof indifference deep in his eyes could not be dispelled.

A black-robed cultivator knelt before the couch, reporting in a low voice:

"Young master, from the Southern Region... some news has arrived."

Hearing that it was news from the Southern Region, Sima Ruiming finally showed a little interest.

"Speak."

The subordinate hesitated for a moment, struggling to arrange his words before slowly saying, "It concerns Fairy Xie of the Xie Clan."

"Apparently... apparently, Fairy Xie... while she was in the Southern Region, she may have become quite close to that Ye Jinyu.

"The two joined forces and took the Azure Luan Clan... and... had a very pleasant conversation.

"And now everyone is saying that Fairy Xie, toward Ye Jinyu..."

"Enough." Sima Ruiming's voice was calm.

But at that instant, the reporting subordinate felt a chill all over, as though invisible water pressure had gripped him by the throat, making it difficult to breathe.

The carriage remained deathly silent for a long time.

Sima Ruiming suddenly laughed, his laughter gentle. "Qingying has a cold temperament. It's rare for her to get along with someone her own age.

"Ye Jinyu also comes from a Cangxuan immortal clan. He is the Ye Clan's young master and has some ability.

"Qingying merely cooperated with him a little for the sake of their interests and the ties between immortal clans. What talk could there be of romantic feelings?"

The subordinate was stunned. "Your Highness... this..."

Sima Ruiming's tone was composed, as though he truly did not care.

"Qingying is my betrothed dao companion. This is known throughout Cangxuan."

"Whoever she spends a little time with, it is nothing more than ordinary courtesy. To quibble over a few rumors? Could it be that I, Sima Ruiming of Great Jin's imperial clan, son of the Luo River Cosmic Heaven, lack even that much magnanimity?"

"All of you, go. Quickly, as fast as you can, seize every one of those people spreading wild rumors and give them a proper explanation. Tell them that pills can be eaten recklessly, but words cannot be spoken recklessly..."

With that, Sima Ruiming slowly closed his eyes.

"I am tired. Go and see to it."

"Oh, and pass the order along: today's ceremony is canceled. I will announce the matter at Great Qi's court assembly tomorrow."

"Yes! Your subordinate obeys!"

Hearing this, the subordinate immediately assented, then lowered his head and quickly withdrew.

After the subordinate withdrew, a long time passed.

Only then did Sima Ruiming take a deep breath and slowly open his eyes. A trace of savage killing intent flashed deep within them.

"Ye Jinyu, are you worthy of touching what is mine?"

"And Xie Qingying... that bitch!" He spoke each word separately, as though squeezing every one of them through his teeth.

Good. Very good.