Chapter 132: Purple Robe Bestowed

The sentence echoed in Xu Qing's ears like thunder, stirring a ripple in his mind. Yet, his expression remained largely unchanged, and he didn't dwell on it, merely bowing his head respectfully to speak.

"Yes."

There was no need to hide this matter. Although the Merman Spirit Breath Lantern was highly valuable, it wasn't unheard of for people to acquire one. Xu Qing's actions that day might have seemed covert, but in reality, if someone truly wanted to investigate, many clues could still be found. Xu Qing felt lying about this was unnecessary; it would only make it seem like he had something to conceal.

"How do you intend to deal with it?" The Third Elder asked calmly, looking at Xu Qing.

"Sell it."

Xu Qing replied without hesitation, looking up at the Third Elder.

The Third Elder, seated at the head, exuded an aura that warped the surroundings, plunging the entire hall into a state of oppression. As his words echoed, this oppressive feeling intensified. Even that dazzling intensity reappeared, though in Xu Qing's perception, it was significantly better than last time. He recalled that last time, he struggled even to look up, and his eyes would sting intensely just by glancing.

Hearing this, the Third Elder showed a smile, seemingly satisfied that Xu Qing hadn't concealed anything, and then spoke.

"Xu Qing, I won't hide it from you, I think highly of you. Since you obtained the Spirit Breath Lantern yourself, I won't demand it; that lantern is beneath me."

"However, I advise you to sell it as soon as possible. Otherwise, someone will eventually covet it. If I can know you obtained it, it's not difficult for others to find out either."

"Now, give me your identity token."

Xu Qing, with a composed gaze, took out his identity token. The Third Elder waved his right hand; the token flew into his grasp, and he lightly patted it. Instantly, the token vibrated and emitted light, its internal information rapidly adjusted, and formation fluctuations arrived, seemingly branding it. A moment later, the token's light dissipated, and it returned to normal. With a wave from the Third Elder, it flew straight back to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing raised his hand and caught it, prepared to receive a powerful force, similar to what he experienced when he met the Director of the Criminal Investigation Division that day. Yet, as he caught the token, no force was transmitted. It was as if all power perfectly dissipated the moment he touched it. This scene made Xu Qing's eyes narrow; he sensed the difference between them. It was easy to unleash power, but perfectly controlling it without revealing the slightest hint was truly difficult.

"You may leave now." The Third Elder closed his eyes.

Xu Qing bowed respectfully and departed. As he was about to exit the hall, the Third Elder's voice came again.

"That child, Zhongheng, isn't bad-hearted."

"This disciple understands." Xu Qing turned, bowed once more, and left the hall. He knew clearly in his heart that when he first arrived, the Third Elder hadn't said this, but Deacon Li had, simply because Xu Qing's status wasn't high enough then. But now, it was different.

As Xu Qing walked out, Deacon Li, standing nearby, nodded to him and then closed his eyes without speaking. Xu Qing looked up at Zhang Yunshi in the distance and walked towards him.

Zhang Yunshi smiled, and for the rest of the time, he accompanied Xu Qing to retrieve his daoist robe. Xu Qing also chose a cave dwelling, though most of the good ones had already been taken, so his chosen spot was somewhat remote. Still, Xu Qing felt it was decent, and the price wasn't as expensive as he'd imagined.

Finally, under Zhang Yunshi's introduction and guidance, Xu Qing went to the Scripture Hall, where he exchanged for Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques. In addition, he also acquired some body refinement arts.

After completing these tasks, dusk had fallen. Zhang Yunshi escorted Xu Qing to the entrance of his chosen cave dwelling before bowing and leaving. Before departing, he said with a smile:

"Junior Brother Xu, the reason I accompanied you so much today is partly because I feel a certain affinity with you, and partly because I accepted this month's 'Disciple Ascent' task, which will earn me sectarian rewards."

"So, you don't need to worry about why I'm so attentive. But ultimately, you and I do share a connection. If we meet again at sea in the future, I hope we can look out for each other."

"Finally, Junior Brother Xu, allow me a friendly reminder: once a cultivator of our generation reaches Foundation Establishment, they must open thirty Dharma Apertures as quickly as possible to form their Life Fire and achieve the Mystic Illumination State."

"You should know that having or not having the Mystic Illumination State represents two completely different levels of cultivation. After painstakingly reaching Foundation Establishment, if one doesn't form their Life Fire quickly, they will be at a significant disadvantage. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators who have died did so at this stage."

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator without the Mystic Illumination State can only bully Qi Condensation cultivators, really." Zhang Yunshi said with a smile, then glanced at Xu Qing's right hand. Seeing that he could no longer detect the flaw caused by his habit, he chuckled and departed freely.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. Both his own understanding and the man's explanation at that moment made him realize the vital importance of Life Fire for Foundation Establishment cultivators. He bowed slightly with clasped fists, watching Zhang Yunshi's figure disappear. At the same time, the wariness in his heart receded from the other man, and he turned to look at his own cave dwelling.

The place he chose was nestled against a cliff. The bluish-black stone door of the cave dwelling was closed, surrounded by weeds, and moss covered the door itself. A damp sensation permeated the air with the breeze. After inspecting the area, Xu Qing approached the stone door, took out the jade slip that controlled the dwelling, and channeled spiritual power into it. Immediately, the stone door shimmered with runes. Xu Qing, following the method described in the jade slip, placed his hand on the runes. Like a branding, as the runes glowed, the cave dwelling gathered his mark. The door slowly opened, revealing the interior.

The cave dwelling wasn't large, having only two rooms. It wasn't dark inside; luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling emitted a soft glow. However, it had been unused for a long time and was covered in dust. Xu Qing waved his hand, and a wind appeared, sweeping the place clean. After carefully checking to ensure everything was safe, he stepped back outside to set up poison powder around the cave dwelling. This time, he laid down a generous amount, finishing all the external areas. Upon returning to the dwelling, he continued to scatter more inside, and finally, he took out the protective formation array he had bought and activated it. With the cave dwelling's door closed and its own formation activated, Xu Qing finally let out a long breath.

Sitting there, recalling the day's events, he vaguely felt a similar sensation to his first day at the Seven Blood Eyes Sect, except back then he was in Qi Condensation, and now he had reached Foundation Establishment.

"Finally, Foundation Establishment..." Xu Qing murmured. After recalling the various privileges of Foundation Establishment within the Seven Blood Eyes Sect, he changed into the purple daoist robe he had retrieved. Looking down at the robe, a glimmer appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. This robe also had a magical array woven into it, providing a certain level of protection, which was quite remarkable. Outside or down the mountain, if its color were changed, many disciples would likely vie for it.

Touching the robe on his body, Xu Qing sat cross-legged and took out a jade slip. This jade slip was one of the Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques for the Seventh Peak that he had exchanged for at the Scripture Hall today. Now, looking at the jade slip, Xu Qing channeled spiritual power into it and began to examine its contents. After Foundation Establishment, he understood that he needed to cultivate Foundation Establishment techniques as quickly as possible to avoid wasting time and to ensure his cultivation progressed continuously, just as before.

As he studied, time slowly passed. Soon, moonlight spread outside, casting its glow upon Xu Qing's cave dwelling stone door. From afar, it presented the scene of a bright moon shining pure light. This made the stone door appear intensely ancient in the moonlight, bearing a trace of the vicissitudes of time.

Inside the cave dwelling, Xu Qing looked up, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"Fiendish Flame Devouring Soul Scripture..."

The Foundation Establishment cultivation technique of the Seven Blood Eyes Sect's Seventh Peak was indeed the Fiendish Flame Devouring Soul Scripture. Its name alone hinted at a profound intent for slaughter, suggesting that this technique must lean towards the demonic arts. However, this aligned with Xu Qing's judgment; after all, the sect's name was "Seven Blood Eyes."

The Fiendish Flame Devouring Soul Scripture had no distinct levels. Its primary cultivation method focused on how to open Dharma Apertures as quickly as possible. It first cultivated a type of flame called Fiendish Flame within the body's Dharma Apertures. This flame, intertwined with the forbidden sea's aura, was extremely bizarre, and the more one cultivated, the stronger the Fiendish Flame became. On one hand, this Fiendish Flame could be used as an attack method; on the other hand, it was the core of this scripture: Soul Devouring!

It involved extracting the enemy's soul, using it as kindling to ignite and generate an ultimate surge within one's body to force open Dharma Apertures. This method was extremely brutal and direct. According to the cultivation technique's description, the soul of a Foundation Establishment cultivator who hadn't formed their Life Fire was enough to allow a disciple cultivating the Fiendish Flame Devouring Soul Scripture to open one Dharma Aperture. For Qi Condensation cultivators, hundreds or even more would be needed to barely achieve a similar effect, and the requirement increased further down the line.

"Both sea beasts and foreign races can serve as kindling for the Fiendish Flame Devouring Soul Scripture. Among them, foreign races are most effective, especially the Sea Corpse race, as their formation is related to the soul, making their effect incredibly astonishing..." This sentence from the cultivation jade slip exuded a strong sense of bloodthirst.

This cultivation technique was simple and direct, with no elaborate frills, but it was incredibly violent. After reading it, Xu Qing took a deep breath. Especially when the Fiendish Flame Devouring Soul Scripture was cultivated to its final stage, and the Fiendish Flame reached its ultimate form, residing within every Dharma Aperture, one would no longer need souls to forcefully open apertures. Instead, they could extract an enemy's soul and suppress it within their own Dharma Aperture. Burning it day and night would thereby condense one's own magical power. It could be said that any disciple cultivating the Fiendish Flame Devouring Soul Scripture was a living harbinger of death.

However... not all disciples cultivated this method. The Seventh Peak had three Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques; another was called the Sea King Scroll. This method was relatively milder, primarily focusing on capturing sea beasts and nurturing them within Dharma Apertures using special techniques to achieve nourishment. It was divided into ten layers, and each cultivation session could instantly open about seven or eight Dharma Apertures. The key to its cultivation was the continuous capture and refinement of sea beasts. When unleashed, it was also astonishing; with all Dharma Apertures open, countless sea beasts could allow a disciple cultivating this method to possess immensely dense magical power within their body.

The first cultivation technique (Fiendish Flame) was brutal and very fast to cultivate, but it involved extensive slaughter, and even a slight oversight could lead to death. The second type (Sea King Scroll) mainly cultivated with sea beasts, leading to increasingly profound magical power and enhanced self-preservation, though its combat power was relatively much weaker. As for the third type, it was called the Nourishing Life Art. This method was even gentler, not relying on external forces for breakthroughs, but solely on continuous self-cultivation. Thus, most of the time was spent in secluded meditation, and the cultivation speed was incredibly slow. However, the benefits were also significant: they rarely ventured out and were thus less likely to be killed. Because they hardly went out, and when they did act, it was usually focused on cooperation and support.

According to different personalities, everyone's choice varied. After pondering, Xu Qing couldn't discern which was better, but he first dismissed the moderate Sea King Scroll. As for the Fiendish Flame Devouring Soul Scripture and the Nourishing Life Art, these two represented different extremes.

While Xu Qing pondered the cultivation techniques, on the endless sea outside the Seven Blood Eyes Sect, the great wings of the Azure Sky roared heavenward. Inside the pavilion atop the great wings, the Seventh Master was gazing towards the Seven Blood Eyes Sect. The great wings beneath him, like a divine creature, caused the sea to rumble wherever they passed.

"Seventh Master, the young man has reached Foundation Establishment." Beside the Seventh Master stood the middle-aged attendant who had given Xu Qing the token that day. He now held a jade slip, glanced at it, and then whispered to the Seventh Master.

"Should we arrange an audience when we return?" The attendant asked, looking at the Seventh Master.

"No need."

"War is about to begin. We'll discuss this after the war. Although he was the first to emerge from the hundred tokens issued, there will surely be others later. We need to compare them."

"Furthermore, as he is now... he's not yet enough to become the Fourth."

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Let's test how everyone spends tonight:1. Family companionship, incredibly warm.2. With a romantic partner...3. Still alone.4. Spending it with the third update...

(End of this chapter)

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