Chapter 93: Breakthrough, Foundation Establishment Early Stage
Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Breakthrough, Foundation Establishment Early Stage
’I finally made it, and ahead of schedule, too. Otherwise, I would’ve had to wait until I was at the Demon Abyss to break through. But just the journey there would have wasted months.’
’Besides, going there directly before reaching Foundation Establishment would have been far too risky.’
’Most importantly, by reaching Foundation Establishment before I leave, I can get my revenge on the Xie Family before heading to the Demon Abyss. I might not be able to kill Patriarch Xie, who’s at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, but Xie Yu, Xie Huaiyuan, and the others will definitely be no match for me!’
That morning, snow fell heavily outside, blanketing the mountains and fields in a silvery-white coat, yet inside the Earth Fire Hall, it was as warm as spring.
In the Natural Cave Mansion beneath the hall, Zhang Chi inspected his Cultivation and couldn’t help but feel very pleased.
As it happened, he had already decided to travel to the Demon Abyss with Chen Bufan and his other sect-mates after reaching Foundation Establishment.
Besides, as an Alchemy Master, if he demonstrated sufficient skill, he wouldn’t be assigned to combat duty even after arriving.
This way, he could not only legitimately join the expedition as a Qi Cultivation cultivator, but he would also receive rewards and stipends from the Sect.
The scheduled departure was in exactly one month.
After that, Zhang Chi gathered his things, went to the Treasure Pavilion in the Sect Marketplace to retrieve an item, and then quietly left the Sect.
This was the first time he had left the mountain all year.
WHOOSH!
Once outside the Sect, Zhang Chi raised his hand and pointed, and a black Flying Sword immediately materialized beside him.
The Flying Sword swiftly grew and landed at Zhang Chi’s feet. It emanated a misty Sword Qi, forming a barrier that enveloped his entire body.
Then, Zhang Chi transformed into a streak of rainbow light and vanished over the horizon.
This Flying Sword was none other than Furnace Carbon, and it had already become an Upper Grade magical artifact.
The item Zhang Chi had just retrieved from the Treasure Pavilion was this very Flying Sword.
As early as last month, Zhang Chi had spent a large sum of Spirit Stones to ask the Beautiful Lady Shopkeeper of the Treasure Pavilion to find a Tier Two Artifact Refiner to repair and upgrade the Flying Sword.
The upgrade had been successfully completed seven days ago, but only today did Zhang Chi have time to go and retrieve it.
Of course, Zhang Chi had originally planned to upgrade the Flying Sword himself, but his Artifact Refining skills weren’t yet sufficient, and he was in a hurry to use it, so this was his only option.
Fortunately, the expense was not a major one for him.
Flying on his sword, Zhang Chi soon reached a desolate mountain range far from the Sect. After landing, he raised a hand and pointed, commanding the Flying Sword to quickly carve out a cave. KAKA...
He then took out his Array Flags, set up the Thousand Illusions Locking Array, and also released the Eye of the Spirit Spring.
’There’s no Spiritual Vein here, but my Eye of the Spirit Spring is about to advance to Tier Two, which should be enough to support my breakthrough. Even if it isn’t, I still have Earth Milk Spirit Liquid and Spirit Stone Elixirs as backup!’
Zhang Chi first sent out the Corpse Puppet and the Four-legged Spirit Snake to stand guard. Only then did he sit down cross-legged beside the Eye of the Spirit Spring inside the temporary cave mansion and formally begin his attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
A Cultivator’s breakthrough to Foundation Establishment can cause unusual natural phenomena, and he worried that the Sect’s upper echelons might notice, which was why he had chosen to do it out here.
Fortunately, this area was desolate and uninhabited. With the Grand Array for protection and being inside a cave, he shouldn’t be disturbed.
Furthermore, with the help of the Celestial Corpse Coffin and the Demonized Spring Water, his Corpse Puppet and Four-legged Spirit Snake had both reached Tier One Peak three months ago.
With them on watch, even if he had the bad luck to run into a Tier Two Early Stage Demon Beast or a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, they could hold them off for a while in coordination with the Grand Array.
—
At that moment, Zhang Chi took a deep breath, produced a Foundation Establishment Pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.
The Elixir acted like a catalyst. The moment it entered his stomach, it dissolved into a wondrous Medicinal Power that merged with his Spiritual Power.
The Spiritual Power within Zhang Chi’s body immediately began to churn violently. The nine Blood Flames in his Qi Sea shattered in an instant, only to fuse back together as one.
BOOM!
The next instant, a roar echoed through Zhang Chi’s mind. It was as if some barrier had been shattered, and the gates to a new world had swung open.
His Spiritual Power, physical body, and Divine Soul all began to undergo an unprecedented, massive transformation.
An immensely powerful pressure rapidly radiated out from him, instantly blanketing an area several hundred zhang in every direction.
At the same time, the sparse Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from a thousand zhang around came whistling in, surging toward him like a tidal wave.
The Spiritual Qi from the Eye of the Spirit Spring also rushed forth, and even the spring water itself vaporized into a thick mist.
Zhang Chi, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, was lifted into the air by a strange force, floating in place without the aid of any Magic or Magical Artifacts.
A flood of insights about Cultivation suddenly appeared in his mind—it was a wisp of Celestial Secret Dao Rhyme, generated by the breakthrough itself.
An hour later, everything finally returned to calm.
Zhang Chi drifted back to the ground and opened his eyes.
FLASH!
In that instant, it was as if lightning flashed through the dim cave, brilliantly illuminating it for a moment.
Zhang Chi also found that his body was once again covered in a layer of filth and impurities, far more than after any of his previous breakthroughs.
However, with a mere tremor of his body, the impurities were incinerated to nothing by his scorching Spiritual Power.
He then discovered that his Qi Sea and Meridians had expanded. His physical body and Divine Soul were stronger, and his Spiritual Power had become exceptionally pure. Where it was once like fine threads, it had now condensed into a liquid state and was swirling into a vortex.
The newly fused Blood Flame was also more solid and powerful than ever before.
Furthermore, his Lifespan had reached its new upper limit of three hundred years, and his entire being brimmed with vitality.
This was reflected in his appearance: he seemed to stand taller, his physique was more perfect, his skin was clearer, his hair and eyebrows were blacker, and his eyes shone brighter.
He could also clearly feel that his mental state was better than ever. His mind was sharper, his senses were more acute, and his body felt both lighter and more powerful.
Then, with a flicker of his Divine Thought, he scanned his surroundings, his perception extending out to four hundred and fifty zhang.
Normally, a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator’s Divine Thought started at a range of one hundred zhang. It would be two hundred for the Middle Stage, three hundred for the Late Stage, and only at the Peak stage could it reach over four hundred zhang.
The strength of his Divine Thought was now clearly comparable to that of a typical Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivator.
Finally, Zhang Chi connected with the Jade Pendant in his mind and immediately discovered that its capacity had also greatly increased.
Previously, the Jade Pendant could only turn orange at its maximum capacity, but now, the limit was yellow. This undoubtedly meant it could absorb far more negative energy.
This would certainly be a huge help to him.
For example, he previously hadn’t dared to venture into the deeper parts of Sword Testing Valley, especially its very center. The Jade Pendant couldn’t support him for long enough there, preventing him from practicing his Swordsmanship properly.
But now, that would surely be no problem at all.
The Jade Pendant had also gained a new function—or rather, an existing one had grown stronger.
He could now use the Jade Pendant to absorb negative energy from within other living beings.
For example, if the Four-legged Spirit Snake were afflicted with Pill Poison, Zhang Chi could remove it simply by touching the creature with his palm.
The same was true for Cultivators.
However, such an ability was far too shocking.
Therefore, despite having this function, he immediately made a secret vow to use it as little as possible—or better yet, never.
Only by doing so could he truly prevent his secret from being exposed.
"Hahaha, I’ve finally broken through! And before the age of twenty! Barring any accidents, that means I can live for another two hundred and eighty years!"
"And as for you, Xie Yu and Xie Huaiyuan... you schemed against me back then. Now, your time has come!"
After inspecting his new self, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh.