Chapter 175 - 174: Perfect Dao Foundation

Chapter 175: Chapter 174: Perfect Dao Foundation

Shouyangzi: "..."

The look he gave He Xiaotian had changed. ’Don’t tell me this bastard already established his Daoist foundation and just came here to trick me?’

’Was he actually using the Netherworld rift to cultivate all along? Was everything a conspiracy?’

"Yang, tell me what’s going on!"

"Scholar X, I’m really at my wit’s end."

Shouyangzi’s face was a mask of despair. The spiritual initiation was about to claim a life.

Although they’d had their disagreements before, he didn’t want He Xiaotian to die in his temple.

Besides, there was a Netherworld rift right next to them!

If some mutation occurred and caused He Xiaotian to transform into a malevolent spirit...

The thought was too terrifying to contemplate!

The stronger a person was in life, the more powerful the malevolent spirit they became after death, and their abilities would be bizarre beyond compare.

He reckoned that when the time came, he and Daoxuan wouldn’t even have to wait for the Papermen’s revenge; they’d be killed on the spot by the malevolent spirit He Xiaotian had become.

Soon, He Xiaotian’s massive frame began to deflate like a punctured balloon.

"A backlash!"

The blood-red Talismans on the surface of his skin, unable to absorb any more Spiritual Qi, switched to drawing on the essence of their host’s flesh and blood, preparing to forcibly power the opening of his Daoist foundation.

THUD!

A black leather case suddenly fell to the floor. Before Shouyangzi could approach, He Xiaotian spoke up.

"There are still some Spiritual Energy Crystals inside. Crush them, quickly."

The old Daoist didn’t dare to delay, immediately picking it up and opening it.

"..."

He stared speechlessly at the pathetically small number of Spiritual Energy Crystals inside the case.

’At a time like this, are you seriously joking with me?!’

...

Less than a hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals were mercilessly crushed by Shouyangzi.

As expected, it wasn’t even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth. Such a small amount couldn’t stop the blood-red Talismans from drawing on his flesh and blood.

[Ding! Daoist foundation formation detected. Insufficient ambient Spiritual Qi. Would you like to use Experience Points to compensate? Yes/No.]

At the critical moment, the system popped up with a notification.

He Xiaotian looked at his remaining 84,300 Experience Points and decisively chose ’Yes’.

’Are you kidding me? Experience Points can be earned again if they’re gone.’

’But if my life is gone, it’s really gone.’

He then watched as his Experience Points began to plummet like water from a burst dam.

Nearly a thousand units vanished every second. Just watching it made his heart ache.

Then, Shouyangzi was dumbfounded, because He Xiaotian had somehow stopped the blood-red Talismans from draining him.

His body remained three meters tall, and seeing the golden light flickering all over him... was the spiritual initiation about to succeed?

’What’s the reason for this now?!’

’This isn’t scientific! No, wait, it isn’t Daoist!’

It completely overturned the Daoist’s worldview.

When his Experience Points had fallen to 50,000, the blood-red Talismans on He Xiaotian’s body finally receded beneath his skin.

And so, after many twists and turns, the difficult spiritual initiation was a success!

’No wonder there are so few Daoist cultivators in the world.’

’One misstep, and you could fall into hell.’

[Ding! Spiritual initiation successful. A perfect Daoist foundation has been forged. Daoist Arts function unlocked ahead of schedule.]

A notification popped up in the upper left corner of his vision.

He Xiaotian finally let out the breath he had been holding.

[Experience Points: 50,000

Functions: Scan, Enhance, Storage, Fuse.

Martial Arts: *Fire-refined Golden Body* - ∞ (Transcendent: ...Details↓), *Golden Armor Divine Skill - Giant Stone Chapter* - ∞ (Transcendent: ...Details↓), *Nine Yang Divine Skill - Heart Chapter* - ∞ (Distinguished: ...Details↓), *Crossing the River on a Blade of Grass* - ∞ (Mastery: ...Details↓), *Nine Yang Minor Thunderbolt* - ∞ (Distinguished: ...Details↓), *Secret Dream Observation Achievement Method - Dharma Eye Chapter* - 0/100,000 (Distinguished: ...Details↓), *Vajra Lion’s Roar* - ∞ (Distinguished: ...Details↓)

Daoist Arts: *Dragon Tiger Mountain Basic Breathing Method* - 0/15,000+ (Novice: Daoist Cultivation +15), *Perfect Daoist Foundation* - ∞ (No Level: All Daoist Arts power increased by fifty percent.)]

A "Daoist Arts" option had been added to the system, and inside was a novice-level breathing method.

This technique only had one attribute bonus: Daoist Cultivation.

’The fifteen must mean fifteen years.’

And the Perfect Daoist Foundation was just absurd.

A fifty percent power increase to all Daoist Arts!!

Truly, great risks were often accompanied by great rewards.

Compared to the Perfect Daoist Foundation, all the previous dangers were nothing but bullshit.

"Congratulations, Scholar X, my sincerest congratulations. Although there were some bumps along the way, your spiritual initiation was successful. From now on, you’ve officially stepped through the gates of Daoist cultivation. The rest will all depend on you." Seeing the blood-red Talismans on He Xiaotian’s body fade away, Shouyangzi also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yang, that ’three long, one short’ breathing technique you taught me earlier, is that a breathing method for practicing Daoist Arts?" Before the initiation, the old Daoist had specifically taught him a breathing pattern to continuously cycle to increase his chances of success.

"Of course. That is the most basic breathing technique of my Dragon Tiger Mountain. Basically, anyone who joins our sect must first practice this method. Don’t think of it as some common, worthless cultivation technique. In fact, the more widely used a breathing technique is, the less likely it is to go wrong."

"Even if it’s not particularly powerful, its strength lies in its gentleness and simplicity. You wouldn’t even have the chance to mess up your practice. However, Scholar X, don’t blame me for holding back."

"It’s not that I don’t have better breathing techniques, but you are not a successor of Dragon Tiger Mountain. As the old saying goes, the Dao cannot be transmitted lightly. If I were to teach it to you, I would also be harming you. Let’s not even talk about whether my rudimentary Daoist skills are good enough to teach you properly."

"If anyone were to find out, someone from Dragon Tiger Mountain would come to destroy your Daoist foundation! So I apologize. As for whether you can obtain a better breathing technique in the future, that will all depend on your own opportunities."

Shouyangzi had a serious expression. In truth, just performing the spiritual initiation for an outsider like He Xiaotian was already a violation of his sect’s rules.

If he also passed on their core Daoist Arts, his senior brother, the Diviner, would definitely come after him with a blade!

"Mm, Yang, you don’t need to say any more. After all, our friendship is worth twelve hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals. If I blamed you for this, would I even be human?" He Xiaotian patted the old Daoist’s shoulder. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

At the critical moment, Shouyangzi had thrown down twelve hundred Spiritual Energy Crystals. He Xiaotian was determined to make him a friend.

"Don’t mention Spiritual Energy Crystals. My heart can’t take it." As he spoke, the old Daoist wore a pained expression. A full twelve hundred, not a hundred and twenty, and certainly not twelve.

"Don’t worry. Once the city’s Cleaners deliver my eight-hundred-crystal commission, it’ll be enough to ease your current situation. Then I’ll just go earn a little on the side, and we’ll have enough in no time." He Xiaotian spoke casually, as if over a thousand Spiritual Energy Crystals were nothing to him.

Hearing this, Shouyangzi thought it over carefully. ’That makes sense!’

’It’s a huge struggle for me to earn them, but it’s not like that for him.’

’He can just go out casually and get his hands on eight hundred or a thousand Spiritual Energy Crystals. It’s easy for him.’

"Scholar X, could I ask a favor of you?"

"Speak."

"I’m planning to take Daoxuan and return to Dragon Tiger Mountain to ask for reinforcements. Could you hold down the fort at the Divine Void Temple in my place? Of course, if you encounter a powerful enemy you can’t defeat, you can leave at any time." Shouyangzi stated his request, a rare hint of shame on his face.

"Are you afraid of the Papermen’s revenge?" He Xiaotian asked, tilting his head.

"Of course. Those guys are neither human nor ghost. Their temperaments are unpredictable. I’m afraid they’ll start a war without considering the consequences, dead set on killing a few people. I definitely can’t handle them, so I can only return to Dragon Tiger Mountain to seek refuge for now."

"When the time comes and the matter at the main headquarters is resolved, someone powerful will come to take over. Unfortunately, my only worry is that the Paperman family will seize the magpie’s nest. If they refuse to leave no matter what, we can’t just exterminate them, can we?"

Shouyangzi voiced his concerns with a worried look on his face.

"Why can’t you exterminate them?"

’From the sound of it, your Daoist Alliance has the power to get rid of them?’

"They’re just somewhere between righteous and evil, and they generally haven’t done anything truly heinous. Besides, there’s a group of powerful, fierce ghosts that rely on them for management. If we really exterminated them, I’m afraid the world would become even more chaotic," the old Daoist explained helplessly. ’If not for these concerns, do you think the Papermen would still be happily selling funeral wreaths?’

"Of course, if you’re not willing, I won’t force you. You’ve really pissed them off this time. I reckon that little maiden is gathering people to come and kill you."

"Gathering people?!" When He Xiaotian heard this, his eyes lit up.

’They’re all walking Experience Points!’

’If they’re all at the level of that Golden Boy and Jade Maiden, then the Paperman family is no different from a free meal.’

’Could it be that I, He Xiaotian, am destined to get rich?’