SWDnovel Chapter 112 The Power of Foundation Establishment
Chapter 112 The Power of Foundation Establishment
Out of caution as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he did not reveal himself immediately.
He stopped outside the town hall and used his spiritual sense to locate the mid-grade spiritual artifact.
Then, he will discover the demonic cultivator underground.
Zhang Lin looked down from the attic window.
The town hall was shrouded in a deathly gray aura, like a lurking giant beast.
Deep underground, the Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Demonic Path was still asleep, healing his wounds, completely unaware of the danger approaching.
As dusk settled, a deathly atmosphere surged through the town.
A faint, low hum could be heard in the distance; it was the aftershock of a collision between spiritual senses. The Zhou family, having reached the Foundation Establishment stage, had discovered the demonic cultivator underground.
Zhang Lin pressed his palm on the Soul-Suppressing Bell, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, but the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.
The show is about to begin.
Zhang Lin's spiritual sense probed out of the pavilion like threads, carefully avoiding the outer edge of the Foundation Establishment spiritual sense, only sensing at the edge.
The aftershocks of the initial collision between the two spiritual consciousnesses in the deathly aura had not yet dissipated, and a kind of low hum remained in the air, like muffled thunder pressing down on a mountain ridge when a storm is about to break.
The Zhou family, having reached the Foundation Establishment stage, discovered the demonic cultivator underground.
But he did not act immediately.
Foundation Establishment cultivators encountering each other in the wild are completely different from Qi Refining cultivators.
A Qi Refining cultivator might draw their sword without saying a word, but a Foundation Establishment cultivator would not.
Reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in cultivation doubles one's lifespan and opens up new prospects. No one wants to fight to the death in a meaningless situation.
First, probe; then plan ahead; avoid fighting if possible—this is the tacit understanding among Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Zhang Lin was well aware of this.
As dusk deepened, the gray-white fog in the town became even more murky in the night.
Zhang Lin withdrew his spiritual consciousness and activated the third-order Breath Concealment Technique to its limit. His aura sank into the deepest part of his dantian, like a speck of dust falling into a deep pool, without even a ripple.
He had to wait until those two people moved before he could move.
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The Zhou family built their foundation ten zhang away from the town hall.
His surname is Zhou, and his given name is Huaili. He is from a branch of the Zhou family in Qingxuan City. He entered Qi into his body at the age of thirteen and established his foundation at the age of forty-two. It has been ten years since then.
In ten years, he only reached the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and then he could not make any further progress.
The clan elder said he had limited talent and pointed him in a direction: specialize in dirty work in exchange for preferential treatment from the clan's resources.
When news of Zhang Lin's actions reached his ears, he only asked one question: "What level of cultivation?"
"The Great Perfection of Qi Refining".
He accepted it.
At this moment, Zhou Huaili stood with his hands behind his back at the foot of the stone steps in front of the town hall, his spiritual sense spreading out like an invisible net into the depths of the earth.
There is something thirty feet deep.
It's not Qi Refining, it's Foundation Building.
His aura was chilling, and his true essence was mixed with death and blood energy; he was a member of the demonic path.
His cultivation level was around the early stage of Foundation Establishment, similar to his.
However, the aura was fluctuating in strength, and the circulation of true essence was intermittent. This was a sign that the serious injury had not yet healed, and the body was using the yin energy of the earth's veins to heal the injury. It was a critical moment when the body could not move easily.
Zhou Huaili narrowed his eyes, recalling the aura of that mid-grade spiritual weapon from before.
His target on this trip was Zhang Lin, a junior who had reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.
But the Foundation Establishment cultivator in the demonic path before them was an unexpected surprise.
On ordinary days, he would quietly slip away, avoiding trouble.
But this time is different. This person is seriously injured and is in seclusion to heal. His aura has been detected, and it is known that he has at least one mid-grade spiritual weapon on him.
Moreover, demonic cultivators, having spent years fighting and plundering, often possess far greater wealth than righteous cultivators.
The thought had only lingered for a moment before Zhou Huaili made his decision.
He also possessed a mid-grade spiritual artifact bestowed upon him by his clan, making him half a level stronger than an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The chances of winning against a heavily injured opponent of the same level are over 70%.
More importantly, this place is within the territory of Yunmeng Continent. Although he is a scion of a noble family, he is also a member of the righteous path.
A cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage of the Demonic Path was discovered here; he shouldn't have left alive.
Zhou Huaili raised his hand, his five fingers spread wide.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a hundred feet around him was stirred by an invisible hand, slowly rotating around him.
The deathly aura was gradually dispelled, forming a clear area several tens of feet in diameter.
The faint sounds of wind and thunder could be heard in the air, a sign that the power of heaven and earth was being drawn.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator's use of the power of heaven and earth is divided into three levels: sensing, guiding, and controlling.
Zhou Huaili's aptitude and comprehension are limited, only reaching the stage of "Guiding," but it is enough to deal with a heavily injured opponent of the same level.
He didn't ask any questions, didn't greet anyone, and didn't even give the person underground any time to react.
Five fingers clenched together.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth suddenly condensed, transforming into a semi-transparent giant hand about ten feet long, with five fingers like pillars, directly piercing through the ground and grabbing towards a depth of thirty feet.
Deep underground, the demonic cultivator suddenly opened his eyes.
His name is Li Xiao, an outer sect steward of the White Bone Demon Sect, at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage. That's how it was originally.
Three months ago, he was fighting with his fellow disciples over a 300-year-old Netherworld Grass when he was ambushed and seriously injured. He fled all the way to the border between the Western Continent and the Cloud Dream Continent and hid underground in this town to heal his wounds.
His injuries were too severe; his true essence dissipated, and his cultivation level plummeted to the early Foundation Establishment stage. Moreover, he was unable to conceal his aura, and death energy continuously overflowed from his wounds, turning the entire town into a dead zone.
He knew this would attract attention, but he had no other choice.
The White Bone Demon Sect's tracking techniques are all-pervasive. His two fellow disciples are still looking for him. He dares not return to the Western Continent and can only gamble: gamble that the Yunmeng Continent will react slowly, gamble that the Patrol Division will not dare to venture deep into the deathly aura, and gamble that he can hold out underground until his injuries heal.
But to his surprise, it wasn't a Qi Refining disciple from the Patrol Division who arrived, but a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
When that spiritual sense swept over his hiding place, Li Xiao knew he had been exposed.
However, at the critical moment of his seclusion to heal his injuries, his true essence was being re-condensed using the yin energy of the earth's veins as a guide. If it were forcibly interrupted, at best his cultivation would be completely ruined, and at worst he would perish on the spot.
He could only continue circulating his true essence, while simultaneously probing a wisp of his spiritual sense from the ground, trying to perceive the intentions of the newcomer.
Then he saw the translucent giant hand.
Li Xiao's pupils suddenly contracted.
Without asking about his origins, without testing him with spiritual communication, and without any of the established procedures among Foundation Establishment cultivators, this person disregarded the rules and killed without hesitation.
"This is outrageous!"
Li Xiao bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the earth vein in front of him.
The yin energy surging from the earth's veins was activated by the essence blood, transforming into a black mist barrier that barely blocked the giant hand.
boom!
The giant hand collided with the black mist, causing the entire town hall to tremble violently.
The bluestone slabs on the ground were blown away by the blast wave, and several broken slabs shot out like darts, embedding themselves in the walls.
Zhou Huaili frowned slightly.
This palm strike used seven-tenths of its strength, intended to kill the opponent while he was still in seclusion, but the opponent withstood it with his life essence.
But he remained calm.
The art of preserving essence and blood depletes one's very essence.
To further deplete the vital essence of someone already severely injured is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.
He raised his left hand, his five fingers spread wide again.
This time, the range of the spiritual energy drawn by heaven and earth expanded from one hundred feet to one hundred and fifty feet.
Countless pale blue wind blades, visible to the naked eye, condensed in the air, each half a foot long, densely packed like a swarm of bees emerging from their hive.
Zhou Huaili gave a low shout: "Go."
Hundreds of wind blades pierced the ground like a torrential rain, swirling towards Li Xiao's location from all directions.
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