Chapter 48: Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment

With his Spiritual Power depleted, Lin Mu was completely defenseless against such terrifying Sword Qi, despite his Foundation Establishment Realm physique.

SLICE!

His bisected corpse flew through the air and hit the ground. The black Sword Qi, its momentum unbroken, struck the far end of the cave, creating a massive, explosive clang of metal.

Yi Xiaoyao walked over and picked up Lin Mu’s Storage Pouch. He snorted and chuckled, recalling the look of utter disbelief on Lin Mu’s face before his death.

Lin Mu would never know that while Yi Xiaoyao’s Spiritual Energy Sea had been depleted of Spiritual Qi, he still possessed a Source of Sword Qi.

Others needed to consume Spiritual Power to release Sword Qi, but Yi Xiaoyao could unleash it directly from his Source of Sword Qi.

Sword Qi was a higher-level form of attack derived from Spiritual Power.

Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that the Source of Sword Qi was equivalent to a second Spiritual Energy Sea for Yi Xiaoyao.

Not to mention, the Spiritual Energy Sea Yi Xiaoyao cultivated with the Devouring Sword God Technique was already far larger and stronger than an ordinary person’s. With what was effectively two Spiritual Energy Seas, how could Lin Mu ever have hoped to compete with him?

After dealing with Lin Mu and retrieving the Demon Core he’d used as bait, Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes lit up as he gazed at the countless Demon Cores that filled the entire cave.

’What was this place originally? Why are there so many Demon Cores?’

Yi Xiaoyao wondered to himself. He realized that aside from the Demon Cores, the cave was also filled with a massive amount of Demon Beast skeletons.

He didn’t rush to collect the Demon Cores on the floor, instead continuing toward the far end of the cave.

Yi Xiaoyao clearly remembered that when his Sword Qi had struck the back of the cave, the resulting sound hadn’t been shattering rock, but the clear ring of metal.

Finally, Yi Xiaoyao stopped, his eyes wide with shock at what he saw at the back of the cave.

It was an astonishingly massive Demon Beast skeleton. His Sword Qi from before had struck this skeleton, which was what had produced that sound.

Yi Xiaoyao was well aware of his Sword Qi’s power. Furthermore, this skeleton appeared to have endured the erosion of time for ages, yet it had not only withstood his Sword Qi but was left without a single scratch.

This showed just how incredibly hard the bones were, and how terrifying the Demon Beast they once belonged to must have been.

’Looks like this was this Demon Beast’s original den, and all the other Demon Beast skeletons must have been its prey.’

Yi Xiaoyao frowned, speculating, ’As for all the Demon Cores on the ground... could it be that when Demon Beasts eat other Demon Beasts, they don’t consume their Demon Cores?’

In the end, Yi Xiaoyao just shrugged. He couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it.

His current priority was to take all these Demon Cores, leave the cave, and reunite with his two companions.

Next, Yi Xiaoyao began enthusiastically gathering the Demon Cores from the ground. This was far, far easier than hunting Demon Beasts.

Fortunately, Yi Xiaoyao had Lin Mu’s and Qi Yue’s Storage Pouches on him. Otherwise, even with this many Demon Cores, he would have had no way to carry them all out.

Finally, Yi Xiaoyao tied the several overstuffed Storage Pouches to his waist. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and returned to the skeleton at the back of the cave.

’These bones are so hard. Why don’t I haul a couple back and give them to Jin Sanbao for his puppets?’

After muttering this to the skeleton, Yi Xiaoyao drew his Bloodthirsty Sword and began hacking furiously at its longest rib.

Sparks flew for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, but in the end, Yi Xiaoyao had no choice but to give up on the idea.

’I have no idea what grade of Demon Beast this was. Its bones are harder than I ever imagined. After all this time, I only managed to leave a few faint scratches.’

Suddenly, perhaps because of the vibrations from Yi Xiaoyao’s prolonged assault, an enormous Demon Core rolled out from a gap in the ribcage.

"This is..."

A normal Demon Core was only the size of a walnut, but this one was as large as a child’s head!

Yi Xiaoyao had never seen a Demon Core this large and couldn’t even determine its grade.

But one thing was crystal clear: he had struck it rich!

He might have failed to get the bone, but he’d managed to get the Demon Beast’s own Demon Core instead.

Overcome with excitement, Yi Xiaoyao quickly stored the Demon Core. After one last, careful check to ensure there were no other treasures, he happily left the cave.

But the moment he stepped out of the cave, Yi Xiaoyao heard the long, mournful, enraged roars of the two Sleeping Tiger Elephants.

’I’m screwed. Those two beasts actually haven’t left yet.’

Yi Xiaoyao’s heart sank.

He was in a valley, and the path he’d taken to get in was the only way out.

But now, that sole exit was being guarded by two high-level, second-rank Demon Beasts. If he went out now, he would undoubtedly meet the same fate as Qi Yue and his group had earlier.

At this thought, Yi Xiaoyao immediately began to rummage through the countless Demon Cores.

He searched for what felt like an eternity, and just as night fell, he finally found it: the tiny Demon Core from the Sleeping Tiger Elephant cub.

Immediately, a wisp of flame ignited in Yi Xiaoyao’s palm. It was the very same Seed of Heaven and Earth Fire Soul that Flame Medicine Hidden had given him.

The power of this fire seed was far beyond that of any ordinary flame. A moment later, the Sleeping Tiger Elephant cub’s Demon Core was reduced to ashes.

This way, the Sleeping Tiger Elephants would no longer be able to sense the scent of their cub’s Demon Core and would eventually leave.

By now, it was deep into the night. Yi Xiaoyao returned to the cave and began to cultivate.

However, he hadn’t expected that not only would the two Sleeping Tiger Elephants not leave, but they would continue to roar mournfully day and night just outside the valley.

As a result, Yi Xiaoyao could only cultivate day and night, waiting for the two Demon Beasts to finally depart.

「Early one morning.」

Inside the cave, a violent pulse of energy rippled outward. Yi Xiaoyao, sitting cross-legged at the entrance, began to radiate a much more powerful aura.

’I’ve finally broken through! The First Realm of Foundation Establishment!’

Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes shot open in delight, a brilliant light flashing within them.

Over the past few days, he had attempted to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm countless times, only to fail again and again.

This made Yi Xiaoyao finally understand that even though he could instantly kill cultivators at his level and even defeat those in higher realms, breaking through to a new major Realm was several times more difficult for him than for an ordinary person.

This was because when an ordinary person underwent Foundation Establishment, they only needed to construct a single Spirit Platform in their Spiritual Energy Sea using Spiritual Power.

But for Yi Xiaoyao, who cultivated the Devouring Sword God Technique, things were different.

At this moment, within Yi Xiaoyao’s Dantian, there wasn’t just a black Spirit Platform suffused with Devouring Power, but also a black Sword Scabbard that radiated the Power of Destruction!

This Sword Scabbard was the Spirit Sword Sheath, something that could only be condensed from the Source of Sword Qi by one who cultivated the Devouring Sword God Technique.

Feeling the earth-shattering transformation of the Cultivation within him, Yi Xiaoyao raised his hand and fired off a beam of Sword Qi.

A flash of light shot past, and the massive, ancient tree before him instantly came crashing down.

He remembered how, before, a single beam of his Sword Qi could only pierce a hole through the ancient tree. But now...

The comparison made the excitement on Yi Xiaoyao’s face impossible to contain.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, not only had the power of his Sword Qi increased several times over, but the Power of Destruction attached to each wisp of Sword Qi fired through the Spiritual Sheath had undergone a qualitative leap in strength.

’If I ran into Qi Yue now, killing him would be as easy as turning over my hand!’

At this thought, Yi Xiaoyao’s elation from his breakthrough finally subsided, and his expression changed.

’Crap! I’ve been cultivating here for five days... that means today is the fifteenth day of the assessment!’

The roars of the two Sleeping Tiger Elephants were no longer heard outside the valley; it seemed the two Demon Beasts had finally left.

However, today was the final day of the Seven Kills Star Hall’s third assessment, and all the other disciples had started to head back days ago.

As for Jin Sanbao and Xuan Mo, they had likely returned already. With Xuan Mo there to detect danger using his insects, Yi Xiaoyao wasn’t worried about their safety.

What worried Yi Xiaoyao now was that he probably wouldn’t be able to make it back to the Seven Kills Star Hall in half a day—before the assessment ended at noon.