Chapter 133: As if Fated with a Canopy! (Third Update)

The moment it extinguished, the instant the surrounding firelight vanished, the countless anomalies all around seemed to emit shrill, piercing laughter, filled with unprecedented greed and longing, as they lunged toward Xu Qing from all eight directions.

Yet in that very instant, a light far more dazzling and blinding than the previous Spirit-Breath Lamp—so much so that they could not even be compared, like the full moon against a firefly—suddenly erupted from before Xu Qing, sweeping violently across all directions.

It was as if heaven and earth had brightened!

All the anomalies emitted shrill, miserable screams at this moment, their bodies turning directly into fly ash and dissipating in an instant.

Before Xu Qing appeared a lamp that looked like a burning black umbrella!

It was precisely the supreme treasure, the Life Lamp, he had obtained from the Mermaid race.

This lamp was not lit; the radiance emanated from the Life Lamp itself, appearing to burn, though it was not.

Even so, the light emitted by this Life Lamp remained astonishing, covering Xu Qing within it, causing those eerie shadows to act like moths to a flame; though some remnants remained in the surroundings, they were clearly fearful and dared not approach.

And Xu Qing, taking advantage of this opportunity, discovered a clue at his heart.

The next instant, as his spiritual energy surged in, as his mind hummed, and as his body vibrated intensely, he finally found the locations of the last two Dharma Apertures there!

One hundred and twenty apertures!

Throughout the history of the Seven Blood Eyes, no one had ever been able to sense one hundred and twenty Dharma Apertures, and the locations of these apertures could only be perceived at the moment of Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, the number perceived at this time basically determined the limits of one's future.

This was not only the case for the Seven Blood Eyes; in the vast majority of sects and powers, such individuals rarely appeared.

Thus, in the jade slip Xu Qing obtained, one hundred and twenty apertures were referred to as the theoretical limit; as for what would happen after reaching it, there was no introduction.

But at this moment, Xu Qing knew that after all one hundred and twenty Dharma Apertures were sensed, a sense of clarity emerged in his heart, a feeling that made him vaguely understand that one hundred and twenty... was not the limit.

As for the Dharma Apertures beyond one hundred and twenty, they were not something he could sense now; he would need to truly succeed in opening all these one hundred and twenty apertures before he could explore further.

Yet he had a vague feeling that everything after one hundred and twenty would be like a sprint, and every additional one his future self found would bring about earth-shaking changes to his own being.

Xu Qing took a deep breath, his inner anticipation intense, but he knew this was not the time to ponder this matter; he could leave it for the future.

"Then, let us begin the second stage: opening the first Dharma Aperture of Foundation Establishment!" Xu Qing raised his right hand and grabbed through the air, pulling the final Foundation Establishment Pill toward him.

He swallowed it in one gulp.

Immediately, the spiritual sea within his body erupted with a roar, forming a new tide that crashed toward the first Dharma Aperture he had discovered within his body.

An unprecedented sense of impact suddenly appeared upon Xu Qing; he felt as if he had been struck by a giant beast flying at high speed, and at the moment his body felt as if it were about to collapse, the first Dharma Aperture within him suddenly opened!

It was like the creation of heaven and earth!

The Dharma Aperture he opened transformed into a bright point of light, within which flames were forming; as a massive amount of spiritual energy surged in, it turned into a vortex.

Amidst the rumbling rotation, his internal aura underwent a drastic change; as flames rose and continuously expanded, a wisp of bright, highly compressed fire-thread slowly rose from within the vortex.

This thread-like existence was... the magic power of Foundation Establishment!

This single wisp far surpassed the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation; there was a difference in level between the two.

As it rose continuously, it emitted a dazzling radiance and erupted with astonishing heat, causing Xu Qing to appear as if he were illuminated from within.

And the spiritual sea vortex within Xu Qing's Dharma Aperture exceeded that of ordinary cultivators; his limit of five hundred zhang during Qi Condensation would be greatly manifested during Foundation Establishment.

His Dharma Aperture could likewise accommodate a vortex formed by a five hundred zhang spiritual sea, and thus the magic power born from it would be more concentrated than that of ordinary cultivators.

The moment this magic power emerged, as Xu Qing's aura changed, the magic power instantly surged rapidly through his body; wherever it passed, his body underwent earth-shaking changes.

First were the meridians; as the magic power traveled, his meridians became tougher, and one could even vaguely see natural talisman patterns seemingly forming within them.

Next was the flesh and blood, which likewise changed inch by inch amidst the rapid permeation of magic power; if one were to look closely, one could see that every substance composing his flesh and blood was undergoing an essential change from its core.

Then came the bones and the internal organs; all regions were now roaring, his bones becoming harder with patterns appearing upon them, and the same was true for his flesh and organs.

This was... a Dharma Body!

The moment a cultivator steps into Foundation Establishment, it is like a leap in the level of life, transforming the mortal into the magical!

With the formation of the Dharma Body and the permeation of magic power, a fluctuation far exceeding Qi Condensation erupted from Xu Qing, and as it spread to the surroundings, Xu Qing opened his eyes, a dazzling purple light appearing within them.

He remembered the Foundation Establishment jade slip saying that disciples who had cultivated the Forbidden Sea Long Jing could open their second Dharma Aperture faster than others during Foundation Establishment.

And at the moment of Foundation Establishment, opening the second Dharma Aperture meant having one more opportunity for physical improvement than others; this kind of thing only happened at the instant of Foundation Establishment, and would not occur again when opening Dharma Apertures later.

Therefore, it was very precious, and this Dharma Aperture would also become his second Life Aperture!

Xu Qing raised his hands and waved them violently; immediately, the Forbidden Sea Long Jing, which had reformed after his previous injuries recovered, appeared outside his body.

Its size was compressed to the extreme, turning into the size of a fist; after Xu Qing opened his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp, the plesiosaur within his body let out a joyful hiss and rushed straight toward Xu Qing's second Dharma Aperture, suddenly crashing in!

A roar echoed; the second Dharma Aperture opened!

The plesiosaur rushed inside, transforming into a five hundred zhang spiritual sea vortex; amidst rising flames, the second thread of magic power also burned out from within the sea!

After this second thread of magic power appeared, it also traveled throughout Xu Qing's body, further reinforcing his Dharma Body.

Meanwhile, the eerie shadows in the surroundings seemed to be attracted to the extreme, approaching once more in an attempt to suppress the black umbrella lamp, but they could not do so.

But soon, an unprecedentedly cold wind whistled over like a storm, as if a great fiend among the eerie shadows had been drawn, blowing violently toward the lamp light.

Although it still could not blow out the Life Lamp, it did cause it to dim for a moment; taking advantage of this dimming, this invisible great fiend seemed incredibly excited, emitting a silent roar as it split off a wisp of its phantom form toward Xu Qing, approaching in an instant, about to rush into the center of his brow.

But as the light of the Life Lamp shone, this wisp of phantom form had to give up, and with unwillingness, it could only shrink back.

Yet the next instant, the shadow that had been suppressed by him on the ground, which seemed to have lost all hope, suddenly smelled a delicious scent and rushed straight toward the phantom form.

Before the phantom form could shrink back, the shadow approached in an instant, opened its mouth as if eating a snack, and swallowed it directly.

Afterward, amidst the roar of that unknown great fiend, it seemed to burp with satisfaction, then looked at Xu Qing, a hint of ferocity appearing.

But in the end, it trembled a few times, seemingly recalling too many memories of being suppressed that made it fearful, so it dared not strike; after returning to Xu Qing's feet, it once again assumed its hopeless, falling-apart appearance, lying there in boredom.

And the anomalies in the surroundings all paused at this moment; as if a shark had entered a school of fish, they all retreated in unison and dissipated in an instant.

Xu Qing opened his eyes suddenly and looked down at the shadow.

The shadow was trembling now, with more cracks upon it, and it was unknown whether it was real or fake...

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, and after withdrawing his gaze, he checked his body; his Dharma Body had been reinforced once again, and a thunderous roar echoed within him—it was the sound of his heart beating.

Like a war drum being struck.

And that second thread of magic power had also rapidly fused with the first, becoming a single wisp.

This wisp of magic power caused Xu Qing's body to be filled with firelight; the flames within his two Dharma Apertures burned the spiritual sea, and as magic power continuously formed and gathered, it illuminated everything with clarity, and after illuminating every region of his body, it radiated outward.

The strength of his aura far exceeded what it was before; it seemed incomparable, a difference in level, and even compared to the Foundation Establishment cultivators Xu Qing had encountered, there was a significant gap between them when looking at the Dharma Apertures alone.

The Dharma Apertures within their bodies were clearly not as dazzling as Xu Qing's.

"The purpose of opening Dharma Apertures is to cultivate Life Fire; thirty Dharma Apertures can form the first cluster of Life Fire!"

"Only when Life Fire emerges is one truly in the early stage of Foundation Establishment; the second cluster of Life Fire is the middle stage..."

"And only by forming Life Fire can one unleash the signature ability of a Foundation Establishment cultivator: the Profound Radiance State!" Xu Qing murmured to himself; through the Foundation Establishment jade slip, he knew that once Foundation Establishment cultivators had Life Fire, they generally would not keep it lit for long.

Because the consumption under the Profound Radiance State was terrifying.

Yet at the same time, once the Profound Radiance State was activated, combat power would also be astonishing.

Therefore, almost all Foundation Establishment cultivators who had formed Life Fire would only activate the Profound Radiance State to kill enemies during battle; in daily life, even without activating the Profound Radiance State, their powerful magic power and Dharma Body were enough to handle some matters.

"Looking at it this way, the Jin Gang Sect ancestor had not yet completed thirty Dharma Apertures, which is why the battle that day was like that... I must open thirty Dharma Apertures as soon as possible!"

Xu Qing's eyes revealed intense vigilance and anticipation; he was vigilant because Foundation Establishment cultivators were not as simple as he thought, and he anticipated that once his own Life Fire formed, he could also activate the Profound Radiance State, and at the same time, there was... the Life Lamp!

"The Life Lamp, which cultivators of great sects and powers all yearn to possess, possesses the power of two clusters of Life Fire in one lamp; however, to use it, I must form my first cluster of Life Fire before I can light it within my body."

"In other words, once I cultivate the first cluster of Life Fire and place it on the Life Lamp, giving the Life Fire a root, I can display the power of two clusters of Life Fire; I will be able to suppress all those in the same realm during the early stage, fight those in the middle stage, and according to the thickness of my Dharma Apertures, I will be able to maintain the Profound Radiance State longer than the opponent!"

Xu Qing's gaze was like lightning; he looked down at the black umbrella Life Lamp before him, picked it up, and the light in his eyes, reflected by the Life Lamp, became even more intense.

"Next, I must first integrate the Life Lamp; it is safest to place it within my body."

Xu Qing murmured, his internal magic power erupting and spreading from his two Dharma Apertures to shroud the Life Lamp in his hand; the Life Lamp strangely turned transparent, and the next instant, it merged with Xu Qing's magic power.

As the magic power returned, Xu Qing immediately felt this black umbrella-like Life Lamp appear in his dantian; the umbrella cloth upon it exuded a profound sense, slowly opening and closing, and every time it opened and closed, baleful energy would permeate from within.

The next instant, after the Life Lamp opened and closed several times, it solidified its state, becoming one with Xu Qing's body, and a sense of the vicissitudes of time took root within him.

Vaguely, above Xu Qing's head, the black umbrella appeared and disappeared, like a canopy, dropping heavenly fire and emitting waves of protective intent, making Xu Qing feel incredibly peaceful under the umbrella.

His Dharma Apertures were also reinforced at this moment, the spiritual sea within them rotating faster, and the formation of magic power was the same.

Even vaguely, within the magic power he formed, there was an extra wisp of this black umbrella's aura, exuding a sense of antiquity and scorching heat, spreading throughout Xu Qing's body, making his body instantly incredibly hot, to the point that even his clothes turned to ash at this moment.

The place of seclusion was filled with astonishing heat; the cave floor cracked in an instant, and the rainforest outside evaporated in the blink of an eye, trees burning on their own and turning into fly ash; meanwhile, this heat continued to spread in all directions until it shrouded the entire rainforest where he was located.

Countless mists rose, dry cracks appeared on the ground, and all the trees became ash; the range was so large that it affected more than three thousand zhang!

This caused the area to be filled with astonishing heat, like arid land that had been scorched by the sun for a hundred years!

And in the center of this arid land, the soil of Xu Qing's cave had already been turned into black crystals by the high temperature; sitting cross-legged there, he closed his eyes, his expression completely calm.

At this moment, if other Foundation Establishment cultivators could see inside Xu Qing's body, they would surely be terrified, because their Dharma Apertures were all very small, while Xu Qing's Dharma Apertures were astonishing, and there was a large black umbrella standing within his body, protecting his soul.

The black umbrella shone with ten thousand rays of light, illuminating his entire body from the inside out, and vaguely, a heavenly palace seemed about to reveal itself.

Until a long time later, Xu Qing opened his eyes.

No debt now, the last one was 24 hours...

But regardless of whether there is a debt or not, since you handsome guys and beautiful ladies wanted to finish reading about Foundation Establishment, this little newbie climbed back up.

I hope to give everyone a surprise, and I hope you can be happier and happier outside of work and study~~