Middle Foundation Establishment Stage

Three days later. His cultivation surged. Barring any accidents, all that remained was to fully absorb the medicinal potency, spend some time stabilizing his cultivation, and then engrave the killing talismans to break through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage in one fell swoop. For a time, Qin Sang did not know whether to rejoice or lament. Such a development could only signify one thing: the medicinal potency of the Xuanwen Heyun Pill was completely sufficient, but it might not be the right remedy for his condition, or perhaps its effects were simply not powerful enough. The damage caused by the *Mysterious Female Jade Cauldron Sutra* might be even more severe than he had anticipated. Qin Sang opened his eyes, a somber look upon his face. Though he had harbored premonitions all along, he realized he had still underestimated the *Mysterious Female Jade Cauldron Sutra*. This cultivation method was by no means comparable to ordinary evil arts of plucking and replenishing. After all, it could aid Core Formation cultivators in Nascent Soul formation! The efficacy of the Heyun Pill, Five Ganoderma Divine Paste, and Snow Ginseng Jade Life Pill was on par with the Xuanwen Heyun Pill. If that was truly the case, then no matter how many such spiritual elixirs he took, he would likely never make a full recovery, merely achieving a somewhat higher degree of restoration at best. He needed to seek out spiritual elixirs with far greater potency, or divine medicines recorded in ancient texts, such as Dao Scripture Grass and Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit. The good news was that he was on the verge of breaking through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage without feeling any impediment caused by his foundation. On the surface, the only lingering impact seemed to be on his sea of qi. In that moment, countless thoughts rose in Qin Sang's mind. In the end, he gently closed his eyes and sank back into meditative cultivation. Cultivation knew no passage of time. Day after day slipped by, and three years passed in the blink of an eye. Outside the cave abode, a thick blanket of snow had long since sealed everything tight; to the naked eye, there was no sign whatsoever that a cultivator's dwelling lay here. For three years, no one had disturbed him. Qin Sang had continuously refined the medicinal potency and stabilized his cultivation while engraving the killing talismans stroke by stroke, never taking a single step outside. A year ago, two complete killing talismans had already been engraved upon the ebony sword. The *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* broke through to the third layer, and Qin Sang successfully stepped into the middle Foundation Establishment stage. This past year was spent thoroughly consolidating his newly broken-through realm. "Whoosh!" A fierce gust of wind blew out from inside, scattering the accumulated snow. Qin Sang deactivated the restriction and walked out of the cave abode. Outside, bright daylight flooded the world—it was right at noon. He raised his head slightly to gaze at the blue sky and blazing sun he had not seen in three years. Only after quite a while did he withdraw his gaze with a touch of sentiment. Then, his figure blurred, transforming into an escape light that flew toward Yunyouzi's cave abode. A moment later. The escape light landed before a snowy valley. Yunyouzi's cave abode was built right within the valley, where an unfrozen glacial spring was located, offering an environment far better than Qin Sang's cave abode. Qin Sang lowered his escape light. Just as he was about to channel his spiritual power to trigger the restriction, a ripple suddenly appeared nearby. Several armored cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage stepped into view—guards of the Xuanlu Guard. "Gan Ying pays respects to Senior." The leading Xuanlu Guard bowed to Qin Sang and said, "Martial Uncle Yunyouzi is currently in secluded cultivation and has handed down orders that no one is to disturb him. If Senior has an urgent matter, you may leave a voice transmission talisman, and we will deliver it to him once Martial Uncle emerges from seclusion." This area fell entirely under the territory of the Taiyi Elixir Pavilion; it seemed this man was a guard stationed here by them. Qin Sang frowned slightly and withdrew his spiritual power. He had originally planned to tell Yunyouzi about his situation as appropriate and ask for a solution. After all, Yunyouzi was well-versed in alchemy and possessed far greater knowledge and experience than he did; perhaps the senior might have a way. Since he had not yet emerged, it would be inappropriate to disturb him. "Never mind. I merely came to catch up with an old friend. Since Senior Yunyouzi is in seclusion, I won't disturb him. There is no need to leave a voice transmission talisman either. Just let him know that Qin Sang came by once he exits seclusion." Qin Sang shook his head, then asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you know when Senior began his seclusion? Did he leave word as to when he might emerge?" The Xuanlu Guard held nothing back. "Martial Uncle entered seclusion three years ago and left no word." Three years ago as well—almost at the same time as Qin Sang had entered seclusion. In that case, the elixir Yunyouzi needed had also been brewed successfully. He just didn't know whether Yunyouzi's soul had been healed. Qin Sang nodded inwardly. After a brief pause in thought, he rode his escape light once more, heading straight north and entering Xuanlu Pass. With an advancement in cultivation, one had to register it with the sect. After breaking through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage, the assigned missions would carry greater danger, but correspondingly, the merit points and rewards would be far more substantial. Qin Sang weighed his options: he possessed powerful treasures and had a formidable baleful corpse as an assistant, making his strength a notch above ordinary middle Foundation Establishment cultivators. Moreover, Senior Brother Qi Yuanshou was in charge of the situation. All in all, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. Entering the city, Qin Sang headed straight for the hall and ran into Yuyangzi. Yuyangzi was at the middle Foundation Establishment stage. Having not seen each other for years, his aura was much more profound and robust than back then. Though he had not yet broken through to late Foundation Establishment, it was likely not far off. Old acquaintances reuniting, Yuyangzi was genuinely delighted to hear Qin Sang's good news. The two set off together to see Qi Yuanshou, exchanging insights on cultivation along the way. Previously, though Yuyangzi had been amiable, he had never proactively discussed cultivation matters with Qin Sang. Such was the change brought about by an increase in cultivation. Though Qin Sang sighed inwardly with emotion, his expression remained unchanged as he earnestly sought guidance from Yuyangzi, which indeed resolved many of his questions. The two walked into the corridor while conversing, and ran into several people coming from the opposite direction. All were fellow disciples from Shaohua Mountain, and one among them was none other than Yu Daiyue. "Greetings, Senior Brother Yu." Qin Sang cupped his hands in greeting. Seeing that Yu Daiyue was still stuck in the early Foundation Establishment stage and had yet to break through his bottleneck, he could not help but sigh inwardly. The first time he had met Yu Daiyue was before the Red Dust Gourd. Back then, Yu Daiyue was already a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had similarly agreed to serve as a cauldron in order to achieve a breakthrough. Later, they had entered the Heavenly Corpse Sect crypt together, and later came to the Ancient Immortal Battlefield to seek opportunities. In the blink of an eye, more than thirty years had passed. Now, Qin Sang had already broken through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage, while Yu Daiyue lagged far behind, perhaps unable to advance a single step further for the rest of his life. The vicissitudes of life and destiny were truly elusive and unpredictable. "Junior Brother Qin, are you also going to see Senior Brother Qi—" Midway through his sentence, Yu Daiyue suddenly sensed Qin Sang's aura. His eyes flew wide open, shock spreading across his face, his voice thick with disbelief. "You... you've already broken through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage?" "It was merely luck; your junior brother happened upon an opportunity for breakthrough," Qin Sang replied calmly. Since he was going to see Qi Yuanshou, he had not used the *Spirit Concealment Art* to hide his cultivation, allowing Yu Daiyue to see right through it. Yuyangzi laughed heartily. "Junior Brother Qin, there is no need for false modesty. To break through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage at your age is considered fast even within the sect. Your hopes of Core Formation in the future are quite high. Within a hundred years, Shaohua Mountain might just gain another Golden Core Master!" Knowing that Yuyangzi was merely speaking polite courtesies, Qin Sang repeatedly demurred. The others also voiced their congratulations one after another. Yu Daiyue, however, seemed somewhat crestfallen and out of sorts. After mumbling a couple of distracted remarks, he left with the rest of the group. Watching Yu Daiyue's rather desolate retreating figure, Qin Sang sighed inwardly.