Chapter 111 -109 Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment (Thanks to Sect Leader Li Xuanmeng!)
“Thirteen Layers of the Evergreen Technique.”
Ning Daoran carefully felt the vast and enduring mana within his body, profound and rich in foundation.
Indeed, the Evergreen Technique was a remarkable skill, solid and full of depth.
Regrettably, his Ninth Grade mixed spiritual root was like an insurmountable mountain on his immortal road, making every breakthrough after Foundation Establishment considerably difficult.
At this moment, Ning Daoran’s realm almost reached the late phase of the early-stage Foundation Establishment.
One could call it “Early-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection” or “Half-step to mid-stage Foundation Establishment.”
...
He wasn’t in a hurry though, having established his Foundation at forty, and now at fifty-six.
Merely sixteen years in the early stage of Foundation Establishment were completely normal for a cultivator at this stage.
Throughout history, many Great Cultivators advanced to the Golden Core stage typically between the ages of eighty and one hundred and forty.
Instances like Old Golden Core Gongyang Yan, who formed his Core at one hundred and eighty, were anomalies, and Sect Master Jiang Yu’s Core Formation age was exactly one hundred, barely meeting the threshold of achieving a Golden Core by the age of one hundred.
Ning Daoran knew his talents were limited compared to his senior sister, but with a steady and solid approach, he could possibly achieve Core Formation around one hundred and fifty years old.
…
In the early morning, the mist enveloped Qiongbi Peak.
Ning Daoran stepped out of the small building and made his way to the fish pond in the backyard.
“Little Blackie!”
“Chirp chirp~~~”
With a twist of its tail, the big black fish’s head partly surfaced, ready to obey at any moment.
Ning Daoran quietly admired, a strong will to survive indeed.
“Your cultivation seems too slow.”
He frowned, “Old Lu has already been in Foundation Establishment for several years, what are you thinking about? Do you think being well-fed and cared for is just for fun?”
“Chirp chirp!”
Frightened to its core, Little Blackie’s scales stood erect as it made loud noises, promising to double its efforts in cultivation.
“Hmph!”
Ning Daoran snorted coldly, pulled out the Qiushui Sword, and with a spin, chopped off a piece of demon beast meat weighing at least fifty pounds from his storage bag.
The piece of meat even had some Jiao scales on it.
“Catch!”
As the demon beast meat with Jiao scales flew out, Little Blackie immediately opened its mouth wide and swallowed it whole.
In an instant, its eyes bulged with delight, such delectable meat unlike anything it had ever tasted before in its life.
“This is Black Jiao meat from a late-stage Foundation Establishment.”
Ning Daoran patted his storage bag lightly and said, “Apart from its head, I have the entire body of the Black Jiao here. I will feed you a piece every few days.”
His smile gradually faded as his gaze turned unpleasant, mocking, “If you still have no signs of advancing after eating the entire Black Jiao, then you’re up next for the dining table.”
“Chirp chirp chirp~~~”
Little Blackie trembled all over, almost standing erect in the water and frantically spinning its tail, showing that it would break through as quickly as possible.
“Hmph!”
Ning Daoran smiled and turned to take care of the Spirit Rice.
The seedlings of the new batch of Purple Jade Spirit Rice were already growing well.
Rolling up his sleeves, he hoisted a hoe, and Big Stupid Deer had a yoke wrapped around its neck, cradling a newly refined plow, setting off with his brother.
“Chen Weimo!”
Ning Daoran turned and shouted, “Old Lu and I are going to plant the seedlings. Come over at noon with lunch for us, cook two chickens, I’m sick of bean dishes!”
“Got it, Uncle!”
Chen Weimo replied with a laugh and quickly went to prepare the ingredients.
Thus, a lively day of farming had begun on Qiongbi Peak.
Huang Shan, Ma Quanyou, Qin Xiang, and others also began planting with their clansfolk, and soon enough, the seedlings in several spirit fields billowed like smoke in the wind, which was a refreshing sight to behold.
…
A fulfilling day passed by.
Late at night, in a secret chamber twenty zhang underground, Ning Daoran held a pile of Array Path books that he had scavenged for a bargain from Yellow Dragon Square, his face full of hopeful anticipation to uncover something different in his studies.
In the quiet of the night.
“Humming…”
Suddenly, a ripple emanated from the Array Formation Restriction of Small Cloud Mist Array buried underground, the result of the movement of array power.
“What’s going on?”
Ning Daoran frowned and extended his Divine Sense to scan the area.
He quickly discovered the situation.
Someone was actually digging a tunnel under Qiongbi Peak, what on earth were they planning to do?
Not long after, the faint restriction beneath the Small Cloud Mist Array was directly broken, followed by a strong aura of spiritual insects.
It was a spiritual insect with golden patterns all over its body, roughly the size of a fist.
The creature had gnawed through the array restriction from underground and even made a hole in Ning Daoran’s room.
Unbelievable, digging right into his home?
Ning Daoran activated the Concealing Breath Technique, giving away not the slightest trace of his presence.
The spiritual insect rapidly chewed through the wall.
By now, Ning Daoran was also able to clearly see what this spiritual insect was.
It was a Jade Mole Cricket, ranked just above three thousand on the Ten Thousand Insects List.
Not very useful, it excelled in burrowing and had a certain restraining effect on low-level array restrictions.
“Chirp chirp!”
The Jade Mole Cricket immediately spotted Ning Daoran.
Following close behind, a disheveled figure with a strong aura of the Demon Path burst in.
“Ah!?”
The person was shocked and seemed unable to believe the scene before them in the room.
“Humming——”
Between lightning and flint, spear radiance burst forth in succession!
The first thrust bisected the Jade Mole Cricket that pounced upon him, and the second pierced directly through the heart of the Demon Path infiltrator who had barged into his room.
Soul Search!
“Hissss~~~”
Wisps of spirit condensed, forming the visage of the man who had just died, his eyes filled with confusion and regret.
The digging route shouldn’t have passed through Qiongbi Peak; how could he have imagined that twenty zhang deep underground, he would still encounter a living person?
Who in their right mind lives that deep underground?
“Who are you?” Ning Daoran began the soul search interrogation.
“My name is Yang Chunbo, a disciple of the Heavenly Slaughter Sect…”
The soul of the other party was extremely scattered, wavering unsteadily, spilling everything he knew without holding back.
Soon, Ning Daoran learned that this individual was an Inner Sect Disciple of the Heavenly Slaughter Sect at the Qi Refining Ninth Level.
Skilled in the Concealing Breath Technique and Divine Movement Skill, he was always tasked with high-risk missions of espionage and infiltration within the sect.
This person volunteered earnestly, telling the Deputy Sect Master he could infiltrate the Chaotic Sect without anyone noticing and gather information about the Chaotic Sect’s underground situation.
As for why the Heavenly Slaughter Sect sent people to gather intelligence on the Chaotic Sect, they were planning to make a move on the sect.
Combining this with some other details,
The young master of the Heavenly Slaughter Sect, Ouyang Kun, had disguised himself as the Loose Cultivator “Fang Ye” to explore Yinsha Land in search of treasures within.
Moreover, even the leader of the Green Robe Association was actually a Demon Cultivator from the Heavenly Slaughter Sect.
Furthermore, Lin Chi of the Soul Devouring Sect had gone on a killing spree in the Cangnan Secret Realm, among other things.
Various signs indicated that the penetration of the Demon Path had not happened overnight; they may have started their scheming many years ago.
This matter had to be reported to Jiang Yu.
…
Late at night.
Purple Cloud Peak, Jiang Yu’s Cave Mansion.
“Junior Brother, have some tea.”
Jiang Yu personally brewed the tea, sitting opposite Ning Daoran.
Glancing at the body of the Demon Disciple not far away, she said, “In the dead of night, to infiltrate our Chaotic Sect from underground, did you intend to find the locations of the Array Plates under the Inner Mountain Heavenly Gang Hundred Fierce Formation and discover the formation’s weaknesses?”
“Senior Sister is indeed perceptive.”
Ning Daoran admired, “You identified the crux of the problem at a glance. Unlike Old Lu, even with many hints, it still couldn’t figure out what was going on.”
“Aooo~~~”
Off to the side, Big Stupid Deer gently nudged him with its head, indicating that it had actually guessed a bit of the situation.
Jiang Yu smiled.
Visit frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓ for the b𝘦st novel reading experience.
“Junior Brother, why are you living twenty zhang underground?” she suddenly asked.
Ning Daoran furrowed his brow, “Senior Sister, don’t ask about these irrelevant matters; let’s talk about serious things.”
“Mhm.”
Jiang Yu sat up straight, smiling, “Actually, I’ve also grasped some of the Demon Path’s little movements in Qingzhou over the years and naturally know of the Demon Path’s ambitions, especially the Soul Devouring Sect.
The Soul-devouring Demon has long been dissatisfied with the status quo and is set on disrupting the balance, with the hope of letting the Demon Path take control of Qingzhou. Senior Sister has been keeping an eye on this, so Junior Brother doesn’t need to worry too much.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly, “Even if the Demon Path really does attack, the Chaotic Sect, Star Moon Pavilion, Steel Gate Sect, and other sects will join forces to fend them off, and we have the strength to protect ourselves.”
“So Senior Sister had already made arrangements.”
Ning Daoran felt a bit embarrassed, “It seems I was overthinking.”
“The information provided by Junior Brother is also valuable; I can roughly guess the time of the Demon Path’s southward invasion from this.”
Jiang Yu’s eyes were filled with concern, “With the Demon Path descending south, the Sea Burning Sect in the northern part of the Righteous Path will bear the brunt; I wonder if Old Monster Tian Hai can turn the tide…”
Afterward, Jiang Yu did not divulge more information.
There was no need for Ning Daoran, a Foundation Establishment Elder, to know too much about the affairs of the upper echelons.
With the Demon Path brewing an invasion, Ning Daoran also ceased to concern himself with it.
…
Atop Qiongbi Peak, one man and one deer continued to live their joyful days of planting Spirit Rice and steadily cultivating.
Time flew by, and four years quickly passed.
In that year, Ning Daoran turned sixty and had been at Foundation Establishment for twenty years.
Inside the Spirit Garden Cave Heaven.
He sighed deeply; cultivation knows no years, time passed too swiftly, giving him a tinge of nostalgic sadness.
Now, with over fifty thousand years accumulated in Refining Time, it was time to attempt another breakthrough in the Evergreen Technique!
“Old Lu, I’m going to practice.”
He called out, “Go loosen the soil for the Heavenly Element Fruit Tree.”
“Aooo~~~”
Big Stupid Deer scampered away.
Ning Daoran sat cross-legged on the bare, circular tree root in front of the wooden hut, slowly closed his eyes, and poured the accumulated Refining Time into the Evergreen Technique.
Immediately, his body sank as if he had fallen into a deep forest.
[In the Fourteenth Thousand Years, you became one with the forest, sitting underneath a tree like an old tree itself. The birds and beasts of the mountains saw you as nothing, and yet the cultivation of the Evergreen Technique once again came to a standstill.]
[You knew you needed the accumulation of time, so you remained patient and unflustered.]
[In the thirty-three thousand four hundred years, a Nascent Soul Old Monster passed by. He discovered you, who was cultivating in the woods, and exclaimed, “The Evergreen Technique at Thirteen Layers, this child must not be left alive,” and began to hunt you down.]
[You transformed into the roots of the trees, constantly using Earth Escape deep below the ground, and finally fled with your life.]
[In the fifty-one thousand three hundred years, the Nascent Soul Old Monster who chased you has long since returned to dust. You came to his sect, smashed the Ancestor Hall to pieces, then turned into a towering ancient tree, brutally killing all his disciples and grand-disciples.]
[You felt extreme satisfaction in your heart, and the puzzle of the Evergreen Technique that had troubled you for tens of thousands of years was effortlessly solved.]
[Evergreen Technique. Earth-grade top quality (Fourteenth Layer)]
[Foundation Establishment (Mid-stage)]
[Refining Time remaining: 6,422 years]
…
Ning Daoran slowly opened his eyes, and suddenly a vast mana surged into his body!
Finally, he had advanced to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment!