The Foundation of the Great Dao!

Translator: CinderTL

After Viper agreed, he leaped and disappeared beyond the wall. Not long after, he returned with a pile of wooden boxes, gently placing them on the stone table. "Young Master Xu, please check them."

Xu Sanyan opened them to inspect and nodded after confirming everything was in order. "Good. When do we act?"

"Tonight. It will take some time to mobilize the city guards."

"Alright. I'll be outside the prince's residence on time." Xu Sanyan was in a good mood. With these precious medicines, he was one step closer to Foundation Establishment.

Viper said, "The Eldest Prince has agreed. After the deed is done, he will present you with a Celestial Art."

"Hehe... good." Xu Sanyan chuckled, not taking it to heart.

Viper cupped his hands and turned to leave.

He had considered the possibility that Xu Sanyan might stand them up, but at this point, they had no choice but to take the gamble.

Whether it was spirit herbs or precious medicines, they were all external possessions. If they could increase the slightest chance of success, it was worth it.

After he left, Xu Sanyan carried the items to a quiet room. While pondering, he swallowed the precious medicines in large gulps. They were extremely unpalatable, but he had grown accustomed to it.

With a thought, a panel appeared before his eyes.

[Xu Sanyan]

[Age – 18/180]

[Realm – Peak Stage of the Celestial Being Realm]

[Cultivation Method – "Supreme Truth and Absolute Stillness Sutra" (Mid Stage)]

[Mystical Arts – "Blood Demon Corpse Refining Method" (Not Yet Mastered). "Coffin of Fate Technique" (Not Yet Mastered)]

[Techniques – Perfect Circle Stance (Peak Stage). Three Tigers Subduing Dragon Saber (Peak Stage). Horse Appraisal Technique (Peak Stage). Excavator Maintenance & Repair (Initial Stage)...]

[Vitality – 42]

Xu Sanyan looked at the bottom row: forty-two points of "Vitality"!

The plus sign next to his realm shone brightly, flickering madly, and his heart raced along with it.

It was time!

He could break through to Foundation Establishment!

Even with Xu Sanyan's temperament, he couldn't help but feel excited.

For so long, he had deceived, murdered, and plundered, doing all manner of evil to increase his strength. He had even used his own marriage as a bargaining chip to steal treasures from Prince Rui's collection.

Fortunately, with determination and heaven's favor, he could finally break through to Foundation Establishment!

Xu Sanyan took a deep breath, calming his emotions, and slowly opened his eyes.

This wasn't the place to break through. He didn't know if there would be any disturbances during the process, so it was best to find a quieter spot.

After all, there was another cultivator in the prince's residence, and he needed to be cautious.

Xu Sanyan thought for a moment, then concealed his figure and headed toward the city outskirts. He didn't inform anyone. At this moment, he trusted no one, not even Yang Qiyuan.

To elaborate, Xu Sanyan's personality was somewhat similar to Prince Rui's—both were selfish and inherently suspicious.

Xu Sanyan walked out of the city, his figure flickering as he sprinted into the distance. At his current speed, even a galloping horse would struggle to keep up.

Half an hour later, Xu Sanyan sat cross-legged in a dense forest. It was quiet enough, and he had already checked the area. There were no large beasts, so he could focus on his breakthrough.

"Breakthrough!"

Xu Sanyan gripped the Blood-Red Dagger, and with a thought, the forty-two points of "Vitality" vanished, returning to zero. It was as if he had been reset to square one.

In an instant, the world fell into complete silence. He could no longer hear any sounds. He wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift them.

His nostrils twitched, but he couldn't smell anything. He tried to raise his hand, but he couldn't feel his arm.

He tried to open his mouth, but what used to be a natural action now felt incredibly difficult.

Loss of the five senses!

Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—all were rendered useless. He now resembled a withered tree, completely sealed off from the world.

At this moment, even an ordinary person could kill him.

He disliked this feeling intensely, so he struggled to break free from this shackle.

"Pop…"

Suddenly, a faint sound seemed to echo in his mind, as if something had gently burst open within his brain. In an instant, his consciousness became crystal clear.

He "saw" the withered wood beside him, the decaying leaves in the soil, the insects scurrying through the leaves, and—a person.

Was that… himself?

He saw himself!

From a god-like perspective, he observed his entire body—the dust clinging to his back, the raised threads on the hem of his clothes…

This sensation was strange yet fascinating. It seemed to be… his soul?

Had he touched upon the soul at the Foundation Establishment Realm?

Xu Sanyan didn't understand, and no one had taught him, so he could only feel his way forward, trying to figure out the path ahead.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze arose from nowhere and swept toward him. The pores all over his body instinctively closed, but a wisp of wind still managed to seep inside.

"Ah!"

In an instant, his soul returned to its place, and his five senses were restored. However, an intense pain followed, as if someone were using a blunt knife to forcefully cut through his flesh. Every part of his body, from the inside out, was in agony.

That breeze!

Xu Sanyan understood the cause, but he didn't know what kind of breeze it was or why it caused such excruciating pain.

"Ah! It hurts so much!"

Xu Sanyan couldn't help but let out a low groan, curling up on the ground as he tried to suppress the sound.

He couldn't alleviate the pain, so he had to endure it. Xu Sanyan felt as though he might die from the agony.

After an unknown amount of time, the pain gradually subsided. Xu Sanyan forced his eyes open, and a faint smile unconsciously tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Good news—he was still alive.

Bad news—it wasn't over yet.

Boom—

A thunderous roar erupted within his internal organs, a sound that was all too real.

"I'm so hungry!"

A ravenous hunger assaulted his mind. Xu Sanyan couldn't help but recall the contents of the Supreme Truth and Absolute Stillness Sutra. When one felt hunger, it was the time to refine the Heavenly Earth Treasure and consolidate the Dao Foundation.

The Inner Qi within his meridians had, at some point, transformed. It was no longer just a simple stream of energy but had become much more crystalline.

Spiritual energy!

The intense pain earlier seemed to have been transforming his body?

Without further thought, Xu Sanyan quickly grasped the Blood-Red Dagger, mobilized the spiritual energy throughout his body, and poured it into the dagger. Following the instructions of the cultivation method, he slowly began to reshape it into his own form.

The dagger began to change. The blood-red color grew more intense, but the blade itself started to melt, gradually transforming into a gaseous state.

Xu Sanyan suddenly realized—this was the true nature of the Heavenly Earth Treasure.

The Blood-Red Dagger was merely its external form. It wasn't a dagger, nor was it an object. It had no fixed shape. This "gas" was its true essence. If it wished, it could even transform into a golden-haired, blue-eyed little girl.

The blood-red gas merged into his body through his hands. Xu Sanyan clearly felt the meridians in his arms begin to swell as the "gas" gathered in his lower abdomen along the meridians.

Xu Sanyan didn't dare to lose focus. Following the cultivation method, he meticulously forged his Dao Foundation. This was the most crucial step, and there was no room for carelessness.

Once the Dao Foundation was formed, the Foundation Establishment would be essentially complete.

The dantian area was already enveloped in a mist of blood, and Xu Sanyan broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead, his heart tightening.

This is bad, the cultivation methods didn't specify what shape the Foundation should take!

This mass of qi was like a lump of clay, allowing him to mold it as he pleased, but there was a time limit—he had to fix its form before the Foundation Establishment was complete.

Xu Sanyan gritted his teeth fiercely and decided to shape it into his own likeness!

In our pursuit of Cultivation, we seek only ourselves!

(End of the Chapter)

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