Archfiend

Chapter 200: Danxia Temple (19)

Most importantly… the instant that this immortal spring erupted… there was qi in the area!

Swoooosh…  Akin to liquid and gas, after the spray of exquisite pure-white broth erupted for several seconds, it covered the sky with silver-white raindrops of light. One after another, they gently floated down.

“This is…” Xu Yangyi gasped coldly. He thought back to an ancient legend. “I once heard… a cultivator’s altar generally has a Preservation Formation. The larger the altar, the greater the Preservation Formation…” He watched the rain of light that filled the sky before his eyes in shock: “But if one wants to preserve these altars… then the formation and the altar have to be sealed together.”

“An altar is an inanimate object, but a formation… requires the support of a great amount of qi. Only then can it be guaranteed that it’ll still be operating after several decades to a century…” He was already fiercely charging towards the peak of the platform, his eyes shining: “The method that ancient cultivators used… is recorded in books to be the ‘Godseal Dao’ divine ability! It can draw out a space’s qi! The altar, formation, qi, and spirit stones are used together to seal and form an entire body!”

This was A-rank data from the Featherwood Guard. Regarding the exploration of secret realms, if the Featherwood Guard said they were second, none would dare proclaim themselves as first. After he became a commander, he had the luck to flip through this secret resource.

Because it was too rarely seen and moreover… he clearly remembered that there was only one reason why such a technique seldom appeared! And that... was the Nascent Soul realm, only existing in legend and simply unseen in the present! Only at this level could a spatial region be established alone! Only then would one possess the qualifications to accomplish such sealing methods!

Otherwise, even if it was sealed better, it wouldn’t be able to resist the several centuries of excavation from the Zhao Clan’s Earth Masters! In other words...

Xu Yangyi was already charging up. Forcefully inhaling, the immortal spring flew into his mouth like an elder dragon entering the sea: “Right now, what I’ve entered is the Godseal Dao left behind in ancient times by a mighty figure who was at the very least at Nascent Soul! And this…”

Boom! He stood on top of the crack that had already expanded to a foot in size. Suddenly, his entire body’s qi came to a complete boil! Like oil poured on fire! Each of his pores completely opened… striving to absorb these seemingly liquid and gaseous things with the utmost effort!

“This… is the aftermath of several centuries to up to a thousand years of sealing! That mighty figure’s qi from back then! And the countless spirit stones left behind! Over the many long years, it’s formed the purest half-gaseous qi! Now… all of it’s spraying out!

It wasn’t enough… It still wasn’t enough! In this wink of time, he felt the qi inside his body, originally just thirty to forty percent at the middle stage of Qi condensation, promptly increase to forty to fifty percent in less than three seconds!

“Fuck!” Xu Yangyi cursed fiercely in excitement. Soon afterwards, he tightly clenched his fist, and an orb of red light glimmered. He was planning on attacking straight down! To thoroughly smash open this crack!

However, the moment he was on the verge of striking, he stopped. Unknown as to what he was thinking, his face revealed a kind of extreme reluctance, an expression twisted with peak hesitation. After two seconds, he gritted his teeth and set down his fist.

No… Not like this! He shut his eyes, feeling his whole body’s spiritual force surging over and over! At this instant, a mere five seconds, he had already reached sixty percent completion! So long as this remained for several seconds, he could advance to the late stage of Qi Condensation! If it remained for a minute… maybe… he could achieve the Great Circle of Qi Condensation! 

The distance from Foundation Establishment was only a single step away! Nonetheless, he squeezed his fists so hard that a bloody trace appeared, restraining the temptation of reaching the Great Circle of Qi Condensation at twenty-six or twenty-seven years old!

“Not like this.” He opened his eyes and took a deep breath: “The ascension of each boundary is like a child turning into an adult over night. Spiritual force and spiritual sense become several times broader than before… As for a cultivator getting used to a new body, qi sea, and meridians, one would then have to enter seclusion to steady their realm. At the least, it would take several months. At most, a year…”

“If I rise directly to the Great Circle of Qi Condensation like this… how long will I have to meditate?” 

However, this still wasn’t important. What was important… was that a cultivator HAD to have belief in themself! What was a cultivator? Among ten thousand people there would be ten thousand interpretations, but these ten thousand would all have ten thousand beliefs!

There were late-stage Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment that relied on pill elixir to amass power! But the result… was that none of them could advance an inch! They had realm, yet lacked a searching heart. If it wasn’t strength that oneself struggled to obtain and advanced too much as a consequence, the price would be one’s entire cultivation life!

Hum… Even at this instant, a faint swollen ache was felt from all his meridians. It… was the feeling of the qi sea about to be filled! The inside of his body, because of the furnace and cauldron formed from cultivating the Eternal Alchemy Canon, had already absorbed qi until it was full.  

He had once read in the Eternal Alchemy Canon that this arcane effort burned spirit stones to supply qi. However, Xu Yangyi currently estimated that his realm was insufficient. He had tried many, many times, but was unable to make spirit stones melt in his qi sea. He just couldn’t purify it into the most flawless qi to then send back to his strange furnace-cauldron meridians.

Taking a deep breath, he firmly left the crack. He had seized the harness to drive onwards to the late stage of Qi Condensation. Yet as for the the Great Circle or even half-step Foundation Establishment, he was unwilling to achieve it in this manner.

As if it shared the same spirit as him, the all-present spirit spring from the crack became progressively weaker and smaller in this twinkling. After several seconds, a splash “surged” out and disappeared without a trace.

Xu Yangyi’s gaze twinkled, and he walked over and felt it. Soon after, he laughed. Inside, there was still qi. However, it simply didn’t have the support to jet out. The formation’s seal had been sealed for a thousand years. Just now had been its final splendor.

“If I wait for it to assail the Great Circle of Qi Condensation or even half-step Foundation Establishment right now, its not enough. Its not known whether a heart devil will form.” He laughed as he stroked the crack. There wasn’t a sliver of regret in his heart. On the contrary, a kind of freedom was carried. 

“But now…” He stowed his gaze and looked towards his body. Within, each meridian that constructed a “pill cauldron” was clamoring and in great joy. The first time his qi was completely full at middle-stage Qi Condensation caused him to now feel that he was brimming with enthusiasm all over!

A voice incessantly reminded him: Come… now… Don’t hesitate...

He laughed and promptly sat down, empty of any hesitation. His hand formed a Dao-seal to cycle the Eternal Alchemy Canon. His mind fell into silence bit by bit. Following his heart, in this place… he prepared to assail the late stage of Qi Condensation!

Timing, a favorable location, and harmony. Not a single one was lacking. This time, he held ample confidence! At the peak of a towering heavenly altar within a stretch of fog, a young man shut his eyes and meditated. In a place no more than a square meter, he himself was lofty and fearless.

Countless clouds winded around. Xu Yangyi seemed to be asleep, without the slightest reaction. After roughly half an hour, the fog at his side suddenly trembled gently. It was an extremely indistinct vibration, appearing to just be a misconception. The fog was white, but under the contrast of moonlight, it was more of a pure-white. However… after this trembling, these clouds surprisingly condensed faintly discernible flashes! 

Charging boundaries required the support of external qi. Originally, there wasn’t any qi that existed here, but in reality, it had merely been sealed within the heavenly altar. When Xu Yangyi had absorbed the spirit spring with his full strength before, the spring had rushed forth for at least ten seconds!

Xu Yangyi… had barely stood there for several seconds and was already at the peak of middle-stage Qi Condensation. After all, this was a sealed area that an ancient cultivator at Nascent Soul or greater had set down. Even though it was ten-odd seconds, it was still enough to support his advancement!

This purest worldly essence, sealed for centuries to a millennium, scattered all around. Presently, along with his advancement, the natural world condensed once again!

In particular… although the spirit spring couldn’t spray out, the same pure qi still existed below the crack! Even if the outside world was inadequate and the amount below seemed like sand and dust to high-level cultivators, to him, this qi was already vast like a river. It was absolutely enough to support him to his advancement’s conclusion!

Swoosh… Swoosh… Swoosh… In white mist, brilliance sparkled… Fine qi motes quietly sought out their ends. Soon after, light orbs, numbering no less than hundreds to a thousand, began to revolve around Xu Yangyi and flutter. They warped until they formed a funnel-shaped qi vortex. It was almost exactly the same as the year he advanced to the middle stage!

Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense had already arrived in his qi sea. However, his qi sea was now long since hollow and empty. Instead, his entire body’s qi was in his meridians. Rather than say he was in his qi sea, it would be better to say that he was standing in place that was misty-white all around. It was even unknown whether it was his meridians or qi sea.

His spiritual sense distinctly felt a vague, extremely tough layer everywhere.

Bodily limiter… The crook of his mouth faintly raised upwards. Afterwards, his fist rumbled out without the slightest hesitation! In the outside world, the light motes were revolving, yet didn’t rush straight into his body like when he had advanced to the middle stage. All of a sudden, a sound like shattered glass came from within Xu Yangyi’s body!

A lone strike to break the limiter! Late-stage Qi Condensation was the same as the middle stage— a single blow had cleaved through the limiter!

At this instant, the light motes in the air seemed to hear a signal. Struggling to outdo one another, they rushed towards Xu Yangyi! In the sky, a heart-shaking tempest of spiritual light took shape! Even the surrounding mist was slowly blown away!

On top of the thousand-meter heavenly altar, a tremendous maelstrom of spiritual light was now spinning unhurriedly. The mist all around joined together to form a vortex of linked heavy fog and spiritual light with a radius of several hundred meters! If a person was here, they would surely be awed by this spectacle!

Xu Yangyi didn’t open his eyes. The advancement of late-stage Qi Condensation was a measuring pole of the middle stage! Its significance was completely different from prior advancements!

Late-stage Qi Condensation was the final pit before Foundation Establishment. Once this step was achieved, the qualifications to assail the Foundation Establishment realm were met! The realm where one could fly in the air and make use of magik treasures! A realm where one was addressed as Senior!

As for the Great Circle and half-step Foundation Establishment, these levels were in fact the late stage, simply just for subdivisions. They were based on one’s degree of approaching the Foundation Establishment realm, nothing more than the separation of such boundaries. If it truly had to be said, there was still a difference of substance between half-step Foundation Establishment and the Great Circle. To be called half step was to be already able to employ some might of Foundation Establishment. For example… the external release of qi!

At that time… one would be at a level cast apart from the muddled use of Qi Condensation’s body techniques and magics! It was a time of true entry where qi, divine abilities, and realm reigned as king!

Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense didn’t leave because he saw a thing...

A foundation platform! A foundation platform that exclusively belonged to Foundation Establishment cultivators!

In the boundless qi surrounding his spiritual sense, there was a roughly hundred-square-meter foundation platform. Its face was the same as the heavenly altars and also snow-white throughout its entire body, yet even more profound. Even now, it lazily rotated as it appeared before him.

Xu Yangyi wasn’t one to easily forgot himself, but as he looked upon this square-shaped, slowly rotating slab, he was shocked. This jade-white foundation platform was condensed and formed from an endless amount of qi. In the wake of a holy “rustling” sound that it made as it spun each time, his heart throbbed with a pounding. His fists were clenched deathly tight.

This was a foundation platform. Each realm would use this surface to start up his own true paradise. Even magik treasures could be gently nourished here. One boundary would bring forth a one layer. However, Nascent Soul—already impossible to achieve in the modern day—could evolve it into a true world!

This was why only after Foundation Establishment could one be appellated as Senior. 

The difference between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.