Chapter 199 - 192: Dao Foundation: Success
"What in the world is going on?!" Nan Dou Master demanded, his brow deeply creased.
"I don’t know the details either!" Chi Yang Master said, his face grim as the words tumbled out in a rush.
"This very morning, several crucial Shiyi Realms in the Sect—the ones responsible for stabilizing the Sect’s destiny using the Innate Qi Pool—suddenly grew extremely unstable, on the verge of losing control.
Luckily, I was on duty today. I sensed something was amiss and immediately mobilized the power of the Array, barely managing to temporarily stabilize the situation and prevent a greater disaster."
He took a sharp breath, his eyes filled with disbelief, and continued:
"After stabilizing the situation, I immediately reviewed the operational logs for the Sect’s Grand Array. That’s when I found the source of the problem—the Innate Qi, accumulated in the Innate Qi Pool for ten thousand years, is vanishing in massive amounts at an unprecedented rate!
It feels... it feels like there’s an invisible hole, a bottomless pit, that’s frantically swallowing and draining everything in the Pool!"
Hearing this, Nan Dou Master’s heart clenched.
A figure instantly appeared in his mind.
’Could it be that kid?’
’Has he already started forging the Daluo?’
"Come with me!"
Nan Dou Master asked no more questions. With a flick of his wide sleeve, an invisible force enveloped Chi Yang Master. The two of them instantly transformed into a cyan streak of light, tearing through the air and shooting toward the depths of the Xinglin at incredible speed.
The streak of light faded, and the two figures appeared at the edge of the Xinglin.
Through a grove of gently swaying apricot trees, the gazes of the two Foundation Establishment Masters pierced the gaps between the leaves and fell upon the Innate Qi Pool.
Their pupils contracted instantly!
The pool water, which had once been calm and waveless, with only a cyan-gray mist flowing gently.
But now, at its center, a slowly rotating vortex had appeared!
The Innate Qi, once so dense on the pool’s surface it was almost tangible, was now flowing into the vortex like countless rivers returning to the sea, being ceaselessly devoured.
The water level of the pool was even a bit lower than before.
"Holy hell, it really is leaking?!" Chi Yang Master was dumbstruck. He instinctively started to step forward, wanting to get a closer look and find out where the bottom of the vortex led.
"Stay put!"
Nan Dou Master, who was standing beside him, shot out a hand and grabbed his arm. The grip was so strong it stopped Chi Yang Master in his tracks.
"The Xinglin has been sealed by the True Monarch. We can’t go any further," Nan Dou Master said, his voice low and grave.
"What? The True Monarch sealed it? But why—" Chi Yang Master asked, his face a picture of confusion, about to press for more answers.
But he was, after all, a Foundation Establishment Master who had cultivated for many years.
In a flash of insight, he connected the anomaly in the Innate Qi Pool with the fact that it had required the True Monarch himself to seal the area.
He snapped his head around to stare at Nan Dou Master in horror, his voice laced with astonishment.
"Don’t tell me... Is someone in there... forging a Venerable Dao Foundation?!"
Nan Dou Master didn’t answer his astonished question. He simply turned his head slowly, his profound gaze once again locking onto the vortex deep within the Xinglin, a vortex that seemed capable of devouring everything.
His hand, gripping the emerald Bamboo Staff, tightened unconsciously, his knuckles turning white from the force.
’It’s too much... The amount of Innate Qi being consumed is simply too much!’
’This is several times more than the total amount of Innate Qi consumed by all twenty-three previous aspirants combined!’
...
Seated cross-legged in the center of the deep vortex within the Innate Qi Pool, Qi Yun’s eyes were tightly closed. His expression was placid and serene, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
Only the astonishing sight of his body frantically devouring and performing Refinement on the boundless Innate Qi indicated the intensity of the internal metamorphosis he was undergoing.
Deep within his consciousness, the Magic Technique Panel that only he could see was flashing at an unprecedented rate.
Lines of text imbued with Dao Rhyme flowed and updated like a waterfall:
[Auto-update complete. This is a minor version update. Content adjustments are as follows:]
[Daluo Heaven 2.0: Forging the Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation]
[Auto-update complete. This is a minor version update. Content adjustments are as follows:]
[Daluo Heaven 3.0: Forging the Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation]
[Auto-update complete. This is a minor version update. Content adjustments are as follows:]
[Daluo Heaven 4.0: Forging the Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation]
...
As the versions iterated, Qi Yun’s understanding and the profound essence of the Daluo became increasingly clear and complete in his mind.
The once obscure, fragmented trajectories of the Great Dao began to assemble and evolve on their own.
Within his mind, a golden Chapter containing the essence of Daluo was being born from chaos.
Its rules were self-consistent, its Daoist Skills perfectly harmonious.
Meanwhile, in his Dantian Purple Mansion—the core where life and cultivation intertwine—
a wondrous act of Creation was taking place.
After Refinement, the massive amount of Innate Qi did not disperse into his limbs and bones. Instead, it was captured by an invisible force originating from the Daluo Daoist Intent and surged madly into his Purple Mansion.
At first, there was only a void.
Then, endless Innate Qi converged, forming a roiling, ceaseless chaos.
At the center of the chaos, an ultimate "singularity" suddenly flared to life.
It was the manifestation of the Daluo Daoist Intent, the core for Commanding All Skills!
BOOM—!
A silent, titanic tremor!
The singularity exploded!
Chaos was split asunder; purity and turbidity were separated!
A ray of pure light, like the very first to pierce creation, crisscrossed and interwove, constructing the most fundamental yet most profound of frameworks.
This framework was not static; it constantly flickered in and out of existence, flowing, expanding—like a living, embryonic form of Heaven and Earth, growing and perfecting itself.
Within the framework, one could faintly see the phantoms of the sun, moon, and stars rise and fall. The outlines of mountains and rivers emerged, the Dao Rhyme of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning flowed, and the Realm of life, death, and reincarnation permeated the space...
It encompassed all things, yet it was not a simple replica of the external Heaven and Earth.
Every rule was imprinted with Qi Yun’s own unique understanding of the Daluo Myriad Skills.
It carried a heretical will that declared, ’My Dao is the Celestial Dao!’
This was the Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation!
It was not a dead thing, but a "Heaven and Earth" with limitless potential for growth!
With Qi Yun’s will as its sovereign.
He had truly carved out a foundation that belonged to him alone, a foundation capable of the Inference of Ten Thousand Skills.
The instant the Dao Foundation was forged,
beneath Qi Yun’s closed eyelids, his eyes shifted slightly.
He did not open his eyes, but he "saw."
He "saw" the nascent yet infinitely potential "Heaven and Earth" within his Purple Mansion.
He "saw" his own True Essence being rapidly purified and transformed by the Dao Foundation, taking on a trace of the "Daluo" characteristic—eternal Freedom and Commanding All Skills.
...
Outside the pool, Nan Dou Master and Chi Yang Master felt the vortex that was devouring the Innate Qi come to a sudden halt.
A supreme and domineering Daoist Intent, one that could overwhelm all living things, rippled outward like a wave.
At the edge of the Xinglin, Nan Dou Master’s hand, holding his staff, tightened abruptly. An incredulous light burst forth from his cloudy eyes.
"He succeeded?!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, a flash of blood-red light appeared beside him. A crimson streak landed, revealing the withered figure of Elder Master Deng Yin.
At this moment, even this Elder Master, who was typically as calm as an old well, showed a clear trace of astonishment on his wrinkled face.
"Two years... In just two years, he managed to form the embryonic Dao Foundation?" Nan Dou Master muttered to himself, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Could this boy... be some Master who has undergone Reincarnation Cultivation?"
The moment this thought appeared, it cast a dark cloud over Nan Dou Master’s heart.
If Qi Yun truly was the reincarnation of some Foundation Establishment Master,
then his origins, his background, and even his true motives would have to be re-examined and investigated to the fullest!
The Wuji Holy Sect could pour its efforts into cultivating a genius, but it absolutely could not squander its vast resources—especially a sect-guarding treasure like the Innate Qi—only to have an outsider from another sect reap the rewards.
This was even more true when it came to cultivating someone with a Venerable Dao Foundation—a being whose future alignment as friend or foe was uncertain!
The stakes were far too high!
Sensing the wariness and chill that suddenly rose from Nan Dou Master, Elder Master Deng Yin slowly shook his head.
His gaze remained fixed on the Xinglin sealed by the True Monarch’s power, locked onto the direction of the Innate Qi Pool. His voice was hoarse but carried a calm that came from seeing through all things.
"If he truly were the reincarnation of a Master from another sect, harboring ulterior motives..." The Elder Master paused, his tone flat but filled with unquestionable power.
"The moment he stepped into the Xinglin and came into contact with the stone tablet and the Innate Qi, the True Monarch would have snuffed him out with a flick of the wrist."
The True Monarch’s power was all-seeing.
Especially when it involved the Sect’s core heritage and foundations, no one with malicious intent could ever hope to hide.
As soon as he said this, the tense expression on Nan Dou Master’s face relaxed.
"Two years to forge a Dao Foundation..." Nan Dou Master sighed again, his gaze complex as he looked into the depths of the Xinglin.
"I take back what I said before.
This boy is now the fastest of all aspirants in our Holy Sect’s history to have forged a Dao Foundation, and also... the one most likely to achieve the Venerable Dao Foundation!"
However, Elder Master Deng Yin’s face showed little joy. Instead, the gravity of his expression deepened as he spoke slowly:
"Let’s wait and see. Forging the Dao Foundation is just the first trial—the one where you use external aids to clarify your own path."
He raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through layers of the void, looking toward that forbidden place that had ultimately forced him to give up.
"Whether or not he can withstand the overwhelming resentment of the previous Daoist Master in that broken Land of Enlightenment and overcome the tribulation of his own Dao contention...
...and finally attain the true, complete Daluo... that remains to be seen."
"Among the twenty-three before him, it’s not as if none succeeded in forging a Dao Foundation.
Four of them made it this far." The Elder Master’s voice grew low, carrying a barely perceptible trace of sorrow.
"But in the end... without exception, all of them died in that Land of Enlightenment. Their bodies perished and their Daos vanished, becoming just another lost soul to nourish that overwhelming resentment."
Success was so close, yet still a world away.
The final step was the true Ghost Gate.
Could Qi Yun pass through that final, most treacherous gate?
No one knew.
The two Masters said no more. They simply stood quietly outside the Xinglin, waiting for the final outcome.
...