Chapter 105: Life Flame Radiance Illuminates the Heavenly Palace

Xu Qing had a very productive night, having caught over seven hundred ammonites. As he looked at the frozen ammonites in his storage bag, six or seven poison formulas using this substance already came to mind, each possessing considerable potency.

"And my Ghostly Desire Horseshoe Crab," he mused, "combined with ammonites, and ideally some Yin and Yang polarizing herbs... perhaps I could create a poison powder capable of instantly killing even Foundation Establishment cultivators?" After a moment of contemplation, Xu Qing felt his idea might be overly optimistic. He recalled his battle with the Vajra Sect Grand Ancestor, whose extreme resistance to poison suggested that such resilience was probably not uncommon. He deduced that the combination of the Ghostly Desire Horseshoe Crab and ammonites would most likely yield a lure for fierce beasts, though the ammonites could certainly be used to adjust the intensity of the attraction. "Therefore, I need more potent poisons!" A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He decided that he would find an opportunity to venture out to sea later to search for poisonous substances to further refine his poison arts.

With that thought, he averted his gaze from the storage bag and picked up the three jade slips Ding Xue had given him. As spiritual energy flowed into them, he began to examine their contents. After a while, Xu Qing's expression turned peculiar as he murmured, "Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment?" He pondered for a moment, then picked up the second slip to examine. Time slowly passed, and a day went by. As dusk once again descended upon Seven Blood Eyes' main city, Xu Qing had finally thoroughly absorbed the contents of all three jade slips. Setting them down, he rubbed his brow, a lingering sense of shock in his eyes.

"Life Flame Profound Radiance, illuminating the Celestial Palace!" "Hundred-Day Acupoint Formation, concealing cultivation from the heavens!" Xu Qing murmured. According to the jade slips, a terrifying phenomenon existed in this world when cultivators broke through the Condensation Realm and advanced to Foundation Establishment. It seemed some unknown evil would interfere with a cultivator's breakthrough. Additionally, the Foundation Establishment process was lengthy, known as "Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment." This didn't mean it necessarily took one hundred days to complete, but rather that once the process began, it could not exceed one hundred days. The longer it took, the greater the danger. As for the specific horror, the three jade slips didn't detail it, but subtly mentioned that during Foundation Establishment, cultivators would attract strange entities. Encountering them often meant a near-certain death and a miserable end. Therefore, cultivators in this world had to constantly monitor time during Foundation Establishment, as if they were stealing an opportunity that couldn't be discovered by its owner. To prevent such a terrifying phenomenon, cultivators often chose to envelop themselves with special magical artifacts during their breakthroughs for protection. Such artifacts were not uncommon, but most were held by major sects and powerful clans. Seven Blood Eyes also possessed them, kept in designated locations, and disciples generally applied to use them when they wished to break through. However, the cost was exorbitant, charged by the hour at one hundred spirit stones per hour. As for rogue cultivators or those unable to rent such protected spaces, they had to undertake Foundation Establishment at great risk. The death and failure rates were extremely high, so a breakthrough without the protection of magical artifacts was a path chosen only as a last resort. Xu Qing thought of the remnant face of the deity; no analysis was needed. The reason for such difficulties in breaking through realms must be related to its existence.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and continued to mentally process the information from the three jade slips. The principle of Foundation Establishment involved using one's accumulated Spiritual Sea to assault and open one's own Dharma Acupoints. Dharma Acupoints were hidden divine storage points within the human body, containing profound power. Once opened, they would transform one's life level. Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment were fundamentally different. Qi Condensation focused on accumulating the Spiritual Sea, while Foundation Establishment concentrated on continuously opening one's own Dharma Acupoints. After achieving Grand Perfection in Qi Condensation, the first stage of attempting Foundation Establishment was to sense the location and number of one's own Dharma Acupoints. Subsequently, the Spiritual Sea within the body would fully assault a Dharma Acupoint, and after breaking it open, it would become the first Dharma Acupoint opened. Spiritual energy would then merge into this Dharma Acupoint, forming a vortex and giving birth to a trace of Dharmic Power, which far surpassed spiritual energy. Qi Condensation cultivators possessed spiritual energy, while Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed Dharmic Power. The difference in their levels was immense. Due to varying amounts of spiritual energy among cultivators, the Dharmic Power generated by opened Dharma Acupoints also differed. The richer the spiritual energy during Qi Condensation, the more Dharmic Power would be produced. This advantage would manifest in every opened Dharma Acupoint, leading to significant differences over time. The key here was sensing. To break open Dharma Acupoints, one had to find their locations. To open more, one had to sense a greater number of them, which was also the purpose of the Foundation Establishment Pill. This would determine how far one could progress in the future, making it crucially important for cultivators. Heterogeneity was the biggest obstacle to sensing Dharma Acupoints. In this world, permeated by the aura of deities, ninety-nine percent of living beings contained varying degrees of heterogeneity within their bodies, with only a very small minority being exceptions. At the moment of Foundation Establishment, cultivators were affected by heterogeneity, making Dharma Acupoints even more hidden. Generally speaking, being able to sense eighty was already considered very good. If one could sense ninety, they were undoubtedly a prodigy, something only disciples of major sects could achieve. Sensing Dharma Acupoints was like exploring in the dark, which explained the terrifying phenomenon: it attracted the attention of strange entities. Thus, the sayings "Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment, concealing cultivation from the heavens" came about. As for the maximum number of Dharma Acupoints, it was one hundred and twenty, but this was only a theoretical limit. Those who could achieve it were exceedingly rare. The jade slips also mentioned that in the human origin lands of Wanggu Continent, only those who had used special methods to purify themselves of all heterogeneity were qualified to attempt this. However, it also required abundant spiritual energy for support, as even without heterogeneity, differences in innate talent would still affect sensing. Such individuals had terrifying backgrounds and immense personal strength. They were often the seeds groomed by super-sects and ancient families in the human origin lands to embark on the path of ancient emperors and rulers. Although Seven Blood Eyes was strong, it was only relative to the Southern Phoenix Continent. Only its superior, the Seven Sects Alliance, could barely be considered a super-sect in the human origin lands of Wanggu Continent. Therefore, Seven Blood Eyes was not qualified to produce such disciples; throughout history, there had been none.

"Not a single one..." Xu Qing's gaze turned inward, then lifted from the jade slips to the dark sky. Tonight's firmament was darker than usual, yet a few bright stars still shone. Looking at them, Xu Qing recalled the description of the second stage of Foundation Establishment within the jade slips. The first stage was sensing Dharma Acupoints. The second stage involved breaking open the first Dharma Acupoint, giving birth to Dharmic Power, which would then circulate throughout the entire body, transforming one's life level. At this point, Foundation Establishment was considered successful. Thereafter, cultivation involved opening one Dharma Acupoint after another according to different cultivation methods and the practices of various sects. After thirty Dharma Acupoints were opened, the Dharmic Power emanating from them would form a Foundation Establishment cultivator's first Life Flame. Subsequently, opening sixty Dharma Acupoints would form the second Life Flame. At ninety Dharma Acupoints, the third Life Flame would appear. At this point, one could attempt to break through and advance to the Golden Core realm. As for a fourth Life Flame, it required great fortune and immense talent. Once a Life Flame appeared, even if only one, it was sufficient to envelop the entire body, like a spark in the dark night, illuminating the Celestial Palace. Furthermore, Foundation Establishment cultivators who had formed a Life Flame were on a completely different level from those who had not. This was because it involved the iconic ability of Foundation Establishment cultivators: activating the Profound Radiance State. The Life Flame consumed vast amounts of energy and unleashed astonishing power when activated, so it usually remained extinguished. Only when a Foundation Establishment cultivator engaged in full-force combat would they choose to ignite it. Once ignited, one's combat power would greatly surge. This state far surpassed the ordinary, thus it was called the Profound Radiance State. Generally, for Dharma Acupoints formed by a hundred-zhang Spiritual Sea, after opening the thirtieth and forming a Life Flame, the Profound Radiance State could be maintained for eighteen hundred breaths. Each breath consumed a tremendous amount of Dharmic Power.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, suppressing his thoughts about Foundation Establishment. The information provided by Ding Xue was very complete, but Xu Qing's cautious nature meant that while he largely felt it wasn't false, he didn't fully believe it and awaited future verification. Additionally, although his Spiritual Sea had previously reached two hundred seventy zhang, Xu Qing could clearly feel that with every cultivation session in recent days, his Spiritual Sea was expanding, now reaching two hundred ninety zhang. However, this was still far from his limit, and the Sea Mountain Art was the same. Therefore, Xu Qing planned to cultivate his Spiritual Sea to its absolute maximum before attempting Foundation Establishment. As for some preparations before Foundation Establishment, such as Foundation Establishment Pills, Xu Qing thought he could find a way to accumulate spirit stones to purchase them. "Although I have no heterogeneity," he mused, "to be safe, I should still prepare Foundation Establishment Pills, preferably two. But they are too expensive." Xu Qing opened his storage bag, did some calculations, and became a bit worried; the deficit was considerable. Furthermore, renting a protected Foundation Establishment ground, though still astonishingly expensive, was mentioned in the jade slips. To encourage disciples to achieve Foundation Establishment, Seven Blood Eyes offered interest-bearing loans for the cost of the Foundation Establishment grounds. The hundred-day rental fee could be repaid with principal and interest from three years of earnings after successful Foundation Establishment. "But Foundation Establishment Pills need to be prepared by oneself..." Xu Qing pondered, feeling a pang of heartache over the loan interest. By his calculations, the interest would be over fifty percent of the principal. "Five thousand spirit stones a month means one hundred eighty thousand spirit stones over three years, while the hundred-day rental itself is one hundred twenty thousand. It's not cost-effective." Xu Qing sighed, realizing how difficult it was to achieve Foundation Establishment. At this moment, he suddenly understood why the captain said that many disciples were suppressing their cultivation and not breaking through, instead focusing on the grand competition. He now figured it was likely because they hadn't accumulated enough spirit stones and were waiting for the competition to provide a substantial payout. Thus, Xu Qing developed strong anticipation for the upcoming Grand Competition of the Seventh Peak.

After a while, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate. A night passed. The next morning, as Xu Qing was engrossed in his cultivation, his heart suddenly trembled. He abruptly opened his eyes, walked out of the cabin, and looked at the sky. His cultivation base circulated, and spiritual energy spread around him. Almost at the instant he looked, a long streak of light was rapidly approaching, targeting Xu Qing's boat, instantly drawing near. It seemed the other party originally had no intention of stopping, planning instead to directly disregard the defenses of Xu Qing's boat and forcibly board it. But upon noticing Xu Qing stepping out, a soft exclamation came from within the streak of light, which then abruptly halted mid-air outside the boat, revealing the figure of a young cultivator. The young man wore a deep purple Daoist robe, and his Foundation Establishment cultivation was quite evident. He stood in mid-air, looking down at Xu Qing within the boat's defenses, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Greetings, Deacon Li," Xu Qing said, his expression calm, but inwardly highly vigilant, rapidly analyzing the reason for the other party's arrival. He recognized the other party's identity: it was the favored subordinate of Elder Zhao, who had taken Zhao Zhongheng away during the Disciplinary Department incident that day. "Interesting," Deacon Li remarked. "To have silently cultivated to Grand Perfection in Qi Condensation, ready to attempt a breakthrough at any moment." Deacon Li, still in mid-air, looked at Xu Qing with a smile on his face, his attitude noticeably better than before. "You don't need to overthink it. I've come this time by Elder Zhao's order to summon you for a meeting, to inquire about the giant dragon carriage you previously reported. It's unrelated to anything else, so you can rest assured!" Deacon Li perceived Xu Qing's vigilance. He was not a Foundation Establishment cultivator promoted from core disciples but one who had fought his way up from the lower ranks, so he clearly understood the temperament of these "wolf cubs" from below. If it had been another disciple, he wouldn't have cared, but for a disciple who could break through at any moment and had a high chance of becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his attitude was naturally different.