Chapter 236 : Late-Stage Foundation Establishment

Chapter 236: Late-Stage Foundation Establishment

Yuqing Immortal Sect.

Fuyou Residence, Jiuyue Cave Residences, a figure suddenly appeared.

‘It really wasn’t in vain to take the risk—this time, I’ve made a killing!’

Chen Beiwu took out the Tianyan Pill and Void-Drifting Formation Disk from his storage ring, his expression faintly pleased.

The Tianyan Pill was a Fourth-Tier Mystic Pill, surpassing both the Tribulation-Breaking Golden Core of the Immortal Alliance and the Golden Palace Pill of the sect.

Meanwhile, the Void-Drifting Formation Disk was a Fourth-Tier formation disk even Third-Tier Formation Masters could hardly obtain. It could serve as the core of a grand formation, greatly amplifying its power.

It was no exaggeration to say that the gains he had reaped from this secret realm excursion were enough to stir greed—even from a Nascent Soul True Monarch—and possibly provoke them into action.

At this thought, Chen Beiwu opened his Spirit Beast Pouch, placed the slumbering Golden Egg on the cushion, then took off his shirt. With his index finger aimed at the location of his heart, he channeled his mana and lightly traced a cut.

The heart was the monarch of fire.

A Fourth-Tier Mystic Pill like the Tianyan Pill could not be consumed directly. Otherwise, its surging medicinal power could burst any Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As his finger traced the incision, revealing the crimson heart chamber, Chen Beiwu pressed his fingers into his chest without hesitation and gently pushed the Tianyan Pill in.

Boom!

At the moment it touched fresh blood, the Tianyan Pill turned into a stream of flowing light and merged into Chen Beiwu’s heart, slowly releasing three strands of medicinal power.

One strand flowed through his qi sea and dantian, one nourished his body and bones, and one entered his spiritual platform and sea of consciousness.

As he felt his essence, energy, and spirit ignited by the Tianyan Pill, Chen Beiwu’s expression remained unchanged as he immediately activated the All Laws Converge, Heaven Book of the Divine Tree.

As a Fourth-Tier Mystic Pill, even the mere three strands of released medicinal power gave Chen Beiwu the illusion of having consumed a Third-Tier Treasure Pill.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

With every heartbeat, the Green Wood spiritual qi vortex in Chen Beiwu’s dantian grew stronger, equivalent to half a year or even a year of secluded cultivation for an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Time flew. One month later—

When Chen Beiwu opened his eyes, there was now a second vortex in his qi sea, harmonizing and yet repelling the Green Wood vortex—this one was the Hundred Rivers vortex.

‘Twenty years old, and already Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.’

‘With this level of cultivation, I’m not far from Core Formation. It’s time to begin gathering Earthly Sha Qi,’ Chen Beiwu thought to himself.

Such was the power of a Fourth-Tier Mystic Pill.

Without arduous cultivation, simply refining and harmonizing the three strands of Tianyan Pill's medicinal power allowed Chen Beiwu to leap from mid-stage to late-stage Foundation Establishment—saving decades of effort. Even the nature of his Clearwood Spiritual Power had changed.

At this, Chen Beiwu clenched his right fist and clearly felt that compared to before, his dantian’s Clearwood Spiritual Power had gained a hint of fierceness and dominance. His divine sense now extended from two hundred to four hundred zhang.

It wasn’t an exaggeration—if he faced Luo Yongjie again now, he could kill him outright without even summoning the True Spirit Diagram of the Dragon Gate.

At the same time, feedback from the Companion Contract triggered. Under Chen Beiwu’s divine sense control, Golden Egg instinctively began operating the Heaven Book, its aura surging as it stirred from slumber.

“Gulu?”

Just as Golden Egg’s eyes regained clarity, it noticed that the Hundred Rivers Water-Spirit Vortex within it had vanished.

Instead, under Chen Beiwu’s control, it began absorbing heaven and earth qi, operating the Heaven Book to recondense the Hundred Rivers vortex.

Swish—

As the Hundred Rivers vortex reformed, Golden Egg's cultivation leaped from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and ten years of Dao cultivation, stepping into the realm of late-stage Foundation Establishment alongside Chen Beiwu.

‘It’s good that you’re awake.’

Patting Golden Egg on the head, Chen Beiwu transferred all the cultivation resources unsuitable for public display in the Southern Wastes into another storage ring and placed it inside the cave residence.

After completing these tasks, he activated the Gate of Ten Directions and returned to the five-colored vortex anchor point within the Tianyan True Realm.

Just as Chen Beiwu appeared, the Masked Demon Ape standing in place suddenly reacted, lifting its head toward the secret realm’s exit.

‘There’s not even a single guard stationed here?’ Chen Beiwu raised an eyebrow and stepped directly into the five-colored vortex.

Five minutes later, the Masked Demon Ape appeared before the five-colored vortex.

It stared at the secret realm exit for a while, hesitated, and finally turned around and left.

As the world spun, when Chen Beiwu regained consciousness, what greeted him were four Foundation Establishment deacons of the Mirror Moon Sect—Zhao Heng of the Hall of Mysteries among them.

“Junior Brother Chen.” Zhao Heng stepped forward and greeted him.

Chen Beiwu nodded and handed over his storage ring according to sect regulations.

Seeing this, Zhao Heng sighed in relief.

Collecting half the gains from inner disciples who ventured into the secret realm was a cushy task—it allowed one to skim off some spiritual herbs—but it also risked making enemies.

Taking the storage ring, Zhao Heng hesitated but ultimately didn’t dare order a body search.

Courtesy went both ways.

Since Chen Zi’ang had willingly handed over the storage ring, there was no need to pry too much or do a full search—that would be far too unsightly.

“There are twenty-eight spiritual herbs inside the storage ring. Five are upper-grade, six are mid-grade, and seventeen are lower-grade.”

As Zhao Heng spoke, a nearby cultivator recorded everything.

“Oh right, Junior Brother Chen, did you happen to see any True Monarch legacies or Core-Forming Pills in the secret realm?” Zhao Heng suddenly asked, as if remembering something.

“Naturally, I saw them.” Chen Beiwu slightly furrowed his brow. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t fated to obtain the True Monarch’s legacy.”

Zhao Heng cast a subtle glance toward the jade pendant on his right, and seeing no reaction from the elder’s token, he nodded and asked tactfully, “Does Junior Brother Chen plan to return to the sect now, or rest a while and continue exploring the Tianyan True Realm?”

Chen Beiwu looked at Zhao Heng with a puzzled gaze.

“Senior Jiang, a True Legacy disciple, is planning to lead a team into the Tianyan True Realm soon. If you wish to continue exploring, you could join them,” Zhao Heng offered.

“No need. I just advanced to late-stage Foundation Establishment and plan to return to the sect for a period of seclusion,” Chen Beiwu refused without hesitation.

With the Gate of Ten Directions, he could enter the Tianyan True Realm at any time. There was no need to team up with fellow disciples.

Hearing this, Zhao Heng’s heart sank, but his expression didn’t change. He kept a polite tone. “According to sect rules, we’ll collect three upper-grade herbs, three mid-grade, and eight lower-grade ones. Any objections, Junior Brother Chen?”

“Senior Brother Zhao, perhaps you’ve overlooked something.” Chen Beiwu retrieved the Void-Drifting Formation Disk, a Fourth-Tier formation disk, from the storage ring.

The item appeared quite ordinary, with no visible aura—no wonder Zhao Heng had missed it.

“What’s this?” Zhao Heng asked with curiosity.

“I obtained this Fourth-Tier formation disk, Void-Drifting Formation Disk, from the Legacy Stele,” Chen Beiwu replied.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhao Heng couldn’t help but swallow.

“Please wait a moment, Junior Brother. I’ll go consult the elder.”

A Mystic Treasure of this caliber was too valuable—someone like him, a mere deacon, couldn’t decide its fate.

Fortunately, the next moment, Elder Yu’s voice suddenly rang out in Zhao Heng’s mind.

“Bring Chen Zi’ang to me.”

Seeing Zhao Heng flustered, Chen Beiwu smiled calmly.

Though the Void-Drifting Formation Disk was impressive, it was still nothing compared to the Gate of Ten Directions. Moreover, within the Tianyan True Realm, there was an even greater Fourth-Tier Mystic Treasure—the Tianyan Star Chart.

To gain, one must first be willing to give.

So many cultivators in the Tianyan True Realm had witnessed him obtaining the Tianyan Pill and the Void-Drifting Formation Disk. There was no way to keep it secret.

Better to use the Tianyan Pill, hand over the formation disk, and gain the sect’s attention and support.

If the sect’s higher-ups were sensible and recognized the value of a Tianyan Dao Foundation disciple, they would naturally reward him generously after receiving the disk.

If not—if they were greedy and sought to seize even the Tianyan Pill—well, the pill was already used.

If the sect dared to force him, Chen Beiwu wouldn’t hesitate to leave, travel to another of the Eight Realms of the Southern Wastes, and settle the matter later.

In the end, he had done nothing to betray his own conscience.

At that thought, Chen Beiwu’s gaze unconsciously fell upon the Earthly Sha Warship.

The way the sect handled things next would determine his future attitude toward them.