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Three Dao Foundations, three different paths!

The difficulty varied greatly between them.

The weakest, the Lower Grade Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea Dao Foundation, only required two types of Foundation Establishment Objects to attempt Foundation Establishment.

The most difficult, the Primordial Heaven Extreme Skill Dao Foundation, required a total of seven Foundation Establishment Objects, each of them exceptionally rare.

This Taiyin Mother Qi, which the Elder Master had just traded a Longevity Peach for on his behalf, was one of the Foundation Establishment Objects required for both the Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea Dao Foundation and the Primordial Heaven Extreme Skill Dao Foundation.

Deng Yin’s gaze fell upon Qi Yun as he began to speak slowly.

"You’ve already reached the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, and your cultivation has progressed with astonishing speed.

You hold the title of dual Champion Scholar of the Outer Mansion. The honor of being a triple Champion Scholar is practically in the bag for you.

Since that is the case, you should start considering which Master you will pledge yourself to in the future."

Hearing the Elder Master’s words, Qi Yun’s eyes shifted slightly. Without a moment’s hesitation, he spoke directly.

"Can’t I just become your disciple, Master?"

He spoke from the heart.

The entire Wuji Holy Sect was a treacherous labyrinth, filled with pitfalls at every turn. Disciples schemed against each other, and even masters and apprentices plotted amongst themselves.

In contrast, while the Blood Demon Master Deng Yin was uncompromising and his word was law, he acted with his own set of principles and boundaries.

Combined with his profound heritage and unfathomable strength, becoming his disciple was undoubtedly an excellent choice.

However, in the face of Qi Yun’s almost-pledge, Deng Yin slowly shook his head, a complex expression appearing on his withered face.

It was a mix of regret and a rare, sober clarity.

"If your only goal in this life is to break through to Foundation Establishment and become a Master, then becoming my disciple would be fine. I could protect you and help you achieve it without any major issues."

His voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable weight.

"But if your ambitions extend far beyond that, if you wish to glimpse even higher Realms...

Then you must find another renowned teacher."

Hearing this, Qi Yun couldn’t help but look confused. "Master, why do you say that? With your abilities..."

Deng Yin cut him off, his tone flat but tinged with an undisguisable loneliness.

"I strayed onto the wrong path. I suffered a backlash from my Cultivation Skill and entered a state of demonic deviation. You already know this.

My current condition is proof that the path I walked was utterly wrong, and my road ahead has been severed.

Only through Reincarnation Cultivation can I continue my journey on the Dao.

How can someone whose own path is cut off possibly guide you to higher Realms?

Wouldn’t I just be leading a promising disciple astray?"

"Then..." Qi Yun pondered for a moment, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and asked respectfully:

"Do you have any recommendations, Master?

I know very little about the various Masters of the Inner Mansion."

He could count the number of Foundation Establishment Masters he knew on one hand.

One was the Flower Moon Hall Master, Song Kun, who wished for nothing more than to perform Soul Extraction and Refining on him. The other was Yang Cuan, who appeared helpful but was most likely plotting against him.

Beyond them, he knew almost nothing about the other Masters, let alone their temperaments, Dao paths, or backgrounds.

The Elder Master slowly nodded, agreeing to keep an eye out for a suitable teacher for him.

"You are now at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. The next step is Condensing Qi into Essence.

This step is a matter of painstaking effort; there are no shortcuts. Many people get stuck at this stage for ten, or even several decades."

He paused, his gaze, which seemed to see through everything, sweeping over Qi Yun as he said coolly:

"However, I observe... that you seem to practice a rather peculiar Dharma Gate, one that can absorb the Blood Essence of living beings and convert it into Cultivation.

If you’re willing, I can arrange an assignment for you. It would not only facilitate the practice of this skill but also come with some extra benefits."

Qi Yun’s heart tightened. He hadn’t expected the Elder Master to see through to the core Devouring Essence ability of his Skull Curse with a single glance.

But then he reconsidered. The man before him was titled "Blood Demon," an Ancestor Level figure in the art of Blood Dao Techniques.

Seeing through his little secret was, for such a person, completely normal—a basic feat.

"May I be so bold as to ask, Master, what is this assignment?" Qi Yun suppressed his thoughts and asked with curiosity.

’For the Elder Master to bring it up personally, it must be something significant.’

At his words, Deng Yin smiled and raised a finger, pointing to the enormous, illusory peach tree in the sky above, its branches still swaying and radiating immense power.

"Do you know what is happening inside there right now?"

Qi Yun followed his finger with his gaze and shook his head.

’A battle of this magnitude is far beyond what I can currently perceive.’

"This was originally one of our Holy Sect’s greatest secrets." Deng Yin’s tone was flat, yet he revealed an astonishing piece of information. "But now that the great battle has begun, there’s no harm in telling you."

"This Peach Garden was a Supreme Secret Realm controlled by our Holy Sect. Its core divine effect was the production of ’Longevity Peaches.’

This item can extend one’s life, allowing our Holy Sect Masters’ lifespans to far exceed their peers. It ensures that the top-tier combat strength of our Sect remains at its peak for extended periods. This is one of the greatest foundations that allows our Holy Sect to hold the top seat in the Northwest Demon Path!"

"Naturally, the Yellow Springs Netherworld, the Zombie Alliance, and other sects were intensely jealous of this.

And so, seven hundred years ago, they meticulously orchestrated a shocking conspiracy. They paid any price to strike down the entire Peach Garden Secret Realm, causing it to sink into the Ancient Cold Abyss.

As a result, our Holy Sect completely lost this Secret Realm.

Over these past few hundred years, with the supply of Longevity Peaches cut off, the succession of the Sect’s top Masters has inevitably been affected. Our strength has indeed declined slightly compared to our peak."

Thus, with the Peach Garden Secret Realm now reappearing, the Three Sects were naturally unwilling to see it return to the Holy Sect’s hands and were bound to contest it at any cost.

And the True Monarchs, in turn, decided to beat them at their own game, using this Secret Realm as bait to lure in and annihilate the vital forces of the Three Sects—especially their mid-level backbone!

"Right now, inside that Peach Garden, the Masters and Cultivators of the Three Sects are likely facing grim odds."

The Elder Master’s voice grew cold, carrying a hint of murderous intent.

"After this battle, the core combat strength of the Three Sects will be crippled. While they are weak, it will be the perfect opportunity for our Holy Sect to kick them while they’re down.

A decision has already been made within the Sect to dispatch a group of sufficiently powerful disciples. They will leave the mountain and take the offensive, sweeping through the various Marketplaces and strongholds established by the Three Sects in the Northwest region. The goal is to cut off their financial resources, destroy their foundations, and further weaken their power."

At this point, Deng Yin’s gaze returned to Qi Yun, and he said meaningfully:

"This sweeping and clearing assignment... You should be well aware of the ’spoils’ to be had..."

Hearing the Elder Master’s description of the Sect’s grand strategy and the "cleanup" assignment, Qi Yun felt a chill run down his spine.

’The entire Holy Sect, from top to bottom, is full of old schemers.

Scheming against each other and the law of the jungle among Qi Refining Stage Disciples are just standard practice.

But at the True Monarch level, they use a precious Shiyi Realm as bait to plot against the core strength of entire rival sects.

The scale of such a move, the depth of such cunning... it’s truly terrifying.’

As for the assignment the Elder Master mentioned, Qi Yun was indeed tempted.

The benefits of participating in a Sect-level cleanup operation were obvious to him.

Not only would he have the Sect’s permission to openly use his Devouring Essence ability, giving him easy access to a massive amount of "Resources" and greatly accelerating his cultivation progress...

...but he could also take the opportunity to raid the strongholds of the Three Sects, search for any Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects they might hold, and find "nourishment" for the many Magic versions he desperately needed to update.

It would be killing multiple birds with one stone.

The only problem—and it was a big one—was the danger!

After all, the Three Sects had just been royally screwed over by the Holy Sect.

Their pent-up anger was just waiting to explode.

When the time came to go out and "clean up," if they encountered scattered and defeated soldiers, it would be an easy sweep.

But if they were careless enough to run into the enemy’s main force, who would be counterattacking in a fury, it would be like walking into a trap.

Risk and opportunity coexisted, and both were immense.

With his sharp eyes, the Elder Master naturally saw the calculations and hesitation in Qi Yun’s heart. He didn’t press him, simply saying slowly:

"You don’t need to decide on this matter right away.

The battle inside the Peach Garden isn’t over yet, and the cleanup order won’t be issued immediately. You still have time to think it over carefully."

Hearing this, Qi Yun nodded respectfully.

"Thank you for the advice, Master. I understand."

After respectfully seeing the Blood Demon Master off, Qi Yun suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and turned his attention back to the world outside.

Over the next few days, the enormous, illusory Peach Garden tree that blotted out the sky did not fade. Instead, its vibrations grew even more violent.

The Dharma Power erupting from the Magical Combat within was boundless, and the frequency of the outbursts increased.

Dazzling pillars of light could often be seen shooting into the sky, accompanied by majestic phenomena like the roars of terrifying phantom figures, the surging of the Netherworld’s Yellow Springs, or the rise and fall of seas of corpses and blood. Each eruption shook Heaven and Earth, making one’s Heart and Spirit tremble.

But after reaching their peak, these terrifying visions would slowly dissipate, transforming into pure motes of Spiritual Qi that gradually merged back into the world, as if they had never been there at all.

The sheer scale of a deathmatch between Masters was far beyond what a Qi Refining Cultivator could imagine.

Amidst this turbulent external environment, with the great battle still raging, Qi Yun also began to explore the path to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

In his quiet chamber, following the method described in the Innate Qi Heart Method, Qi Yun began to comprehend the essential principles of "Condensing Qi into Essence."

This step was the key accumulation phase for transitioning from the Qi Refining Middle Stage to the late stage, and there were no tricks to it.

It required painstaking effort to continuously purify, compress, and refine the somewhat wispy True Qi in his body—discarding the coarse and keeping the fine—gradually transforming it from a state of "Qi" into the more condensed, purer, and more powerful "True Essence."

Then, he had to use the purified True Essence to flush and saturate his Purple Mansion Dantian.

This would solidify his foundation, allowing him to achieve the Qi Refining Seventh Layer!

It was a slow and continuous process that demanded immense patience and precise control over his Cultivation Skill.

Qi Yun calmed his Heart and Spirit, guiding the vast Innate True Qi within his body to run Circulation after Circulation through his meridians.

Compared to breaking through the previous few Realms, which all had specific opportunities and bottlenecks to overcome...

...the "Condensing Qi into Essence" for the Qi Refining Seventh Layer seemed much more straightforward.

It was purely and simply a matter of painstaking effort.

From day to night, after circulating his skill well over a hundred times, Qi Yun slowly opened his eyes, which were filled with exhaustion and discomfort.

A full day, a hundred circulations.

And he had only managed to condense a single strand of True Essence, one-tenth the thickness of a hair.

’It seems the Elder Master’s words about being stuck at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer for decades was no exaggeration at all.

If anything, he was being conservative.’

...