Chapter 42: Reshaping Foundation Establishment (Requesting Follows)

Above the mountain peak’s cloud sea, Second Uncle stood with his hands behind his back, slightly hunched as he continued speaking.

“Clearly, the Cangyan Dao Palace’s Sikong Yan didn’t meet the conditions—so you understand.”

Zhou Qing nodded.

But the next moment, Second Uncle suddenly leaned close to him, grinning: “I got trapped deep in the Cave Heaven for many years this time, but the harvest wasn’t bad—I even acquired a strand of Heavenly Dao Qi. It has a forty percent chance of helping you form a Three-Petal Nascent Soul when breaking through to Nascent Soul.”

Second Uncle’s words dripped with temptation.

Zhou Qing’s eyes widened involuntarily; to say he wasn’t tempted would be a lie.

After all, this was the top-ranked Heaven-grade Nascent Soul—forty percent was already extremely high.

Didn’t you just say forming a Nascent Soul was random? Now it’s almost a guaranteed target.

Zhou Qing’s heart pounded as he couldn’t help asking: “Then, Elder, what do you need me to do?”

Second Uncle sized Zhou Qing up, then let out a heavy sigh: “Too late.”

“Too late? What do you mean?” Zhou Qing’s heart lurched, and he hurriedly asked.

Second Uncle said: “If Qi Condensation is the boundary between cultivators and mortals, then Foundation Establishment is the cornerstone of your future cultivation—just like building a house. If the foundation is unstable, how can you ever construct anything above it?”

“And Foundation Establishment is divided into three tiers: Heavenly Dao Foundation, Earthly Dao Foundation, and Human Dao Foundation—you know that, right?”

Zhou Qing nodded; he certainly knew this.

Human Dao Foundation is like mine: when your internal spiritual power reaches saturation, you guide it with an advanced scripture to spontaneously form a Star Core.

Though it’s the lowest tier of Foundation Establishment, nearly everyone goes through it.

Heavenly Dao Foundation and Earthly Dao Foundation, however, are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Because they require the exceedingly rare Heavenly Dao Qi and Earth Vein Qi.

One is primordial spirit, the other is terrestrial spirit.

But neither is accessible to people like us—truly priceless and unobtainable.

Wait—

Zhou Qing, as he thought of this, suddenly realized.

Second Uncle just said he obtained a strand of Heavenly Dao Qi from the Cave Heaven?

Zhou Qing’s excitement flared, then immediately dimmed—he’d already completed Foundation Establishment; the deed was done, and it was useless to him now.

He couldn’t help but feel regret, and now fully understood the meaning behind Second Uncle’s earlier words: “Too late.”

Seeing Zhou Qing’s disappointment, Second Uncle smirked strangely: “How much pain can you endure?”

“What do you mean?” Zhou Qing frowned, puzzled.

Second Uncle said: “Fortuitously, I know an ancient secret technique that can let you reshape your Foundation Establishment—but it will be excruciating. Your Spirit Core must be shattered into dust. If you can withstand it, I’ll give you this strand of Heavenly Dao Qi.”

Hearing this, Zhou Qing was instantly tempted.

He understood perfectly: Human Dao Foundation’s ceiling was merely Nascent Soul; a superior Foundation Establishment could show him far greater horizons.

But—

No merit, no reward. He knew better than anyone how precious a strand of Heavenly Dao Qi was.

Second Uncle had already given him the Silver Dragon Step, and now offered Heavenly Dao Qi—what did he want from him?

What was his true goal?

As if sensing Zhou Qing’s confusion, Second Uncle said: “Heavenly Dao Qi varies in strength. The one I hold is called Yin-Yang. Among all known Heavenly Dao Qi, if it ranks second, none dares rank first—after all, in the Nascent Soul realm, it can forge a Three-Petal Summit.”

“Moreover, when you form your Golden Core, you’ll condense two Golden Cores—Yin and Yang—with combat power and spiritual power far surpassing peers of the same level. How about it? Want it?”

“Yes!” Zhou Qing said without hesitation.

But quickly he asked his lingering question: “Elder, what must I pay in return?”

“You’ve got some sense. Like opening a mystery box—you don’t greedily overreach, nor let temptation cloud your mind. I like that about you. To be honest, you don’t need to pay anything—just someday, teach a certain person a lesson.”

Second Uncle’s face darkened with resentment.

Zhou Qing frowned: “Teach who?”

“An annoying old acquaintance who’s gathered a horde of disciples like breeding poison insects. I made a wager with him… never mind. These matters are too distant for you. If you ever achieve the Three-Petal Summit, you’ll earn the right to make me proud once. Otherwise, forget it.”

Second Uncle seemed to recall something unpleasant and waved his hand irritably.

Then he reached out, and a white jade box appeared.

Before Zhou Qing could react, an indescribable weight slammed into him.

This sensation wasn’t like gravity—it came from pressure on his spiritual sense.

As Zhou Qing peered curiously inside, he noticed two fish—black and white—swimming within the box, lifelike and vivid.

“This is the Yin-Yang Qi?” Zhou Qing was startled.

Second Uncle chuckled: “Just this strand—if you bundled up all of Taiqingmen and sold it, you still couldn’t get a chance to see it. Kid, you’ve hit the jackpot.”

Zhou Qing understood perfectly and bowed deeply in gratitude.

“Thank you, Elder. I will forever remember this debt!” Zhou Qing said earnestly.

Second Uncle gave a slight nod: “No destruction, no creation. Since you’ve decided, I won’t say more—endure it.”

No sooner had he spoken than Second Uncle’s hand moved like a phantom, plunging into Zhou Qing’s dantian and seizing the slowly spinning Spirit Core.

Zhou Qing stared in disbelief, then agony pierced him like a drill.

“Ahh—”

Second Uncle said: “Good thing you only recently broke through to Foundation Establishment mid-stage. If your Spirit Core were any larger, I couldn’t have done this. Hold on.”

The next instant, Second Uncle’s right hand glowed with eerie red light, and the Spirit Core shattered outright under the immense force.

Zhou Qing’s face turned ashen, his forehead veins bulging like twisted earthworms.

Beads of sweat rolled down uncontrollably; his consciousness blurred under the agony, the world spinning wildly before his eyes.

“It’s too painful, Elder—can you knock me out?” Zhou Qing screamed, trembling all over.

But Second Uncle remained silent, his expression grave, opening the box and slowly feeding the Heavenly Dao Qi into it…

…………

After an unknown length of time, Zhou Qing’s eyelids trembled. He felt as if heavy shackles bound his entire body, every joint stiff as if rusted shut.

He struggled to open his eyes, gazing dazedly around—and found himself inside a cave.

When he rose, gritting his teeth, his face was pale as frost, devoid of all color.

Then, a bright laugh echoed through the cave.

“Kid, you made it through? Good, good. Future looks bright. I’ve urgent business—leaving now. Next time we meet, if you recognize me immediately, I’ll grant you another opportunity!”

With the message ended, the cave fell silent once more.

Zhou Qing smiled bitterly and immediately turned inward.

Soon, he was stunned: his shattered Spirit Core had reformed—but now it was black and white.

Around it, a mist thick with spiritual energy drifted, scattered with specks of starlight, and the Spirit Core rotated slowly within like a brilliant star.

“It’s truly Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!” Zhou Qing rejoiced.

He’d heard Earthly Dao Foundation Establishment took the shape of a mountain range; Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment looked like this—star-cloud-like.

Human Dao Foundation Establishment was ordinary: just a single Spirit Core in the dantian.

“Have I been reborn?”

Zhou Qing thrilled, gazing at the cave, and despite his aching body, bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Elder, for my rebirth!”

Thank you to Brother [Diligent Gentleman] for the 100 coins and 4 recommendation votes—thank you for your support.

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(End of Chapter)