Chapter 37: Foundation Establishment (Part 2)

At the very moment Zhang Nuo's hand seals shifted, his body slowly returned to its original size, and the Spiritual Qi surrounding him surged toward his body even more frantically.

The forced compression caused his internal organs to immediately feel a crushing, agonizing pain; the heart-rending, lung-splitting sensation would force even the most determined person to involuntarily let out a groan.

"Hah!"

Letting out another loud shout, the sweat on Zhang Nuo's face was already falling like rain. He knew in his heart that if a problem occurred during this stage of Foundation Establishment, then everything he had done before would be in vain.

The pain had spread to his limbs and bones; Zhang Nuo could even feel a painful howl emanating from within his bones. Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth; no matter how great the pain was, he had to persevere.

The time lasted for over an hour. During this period, the intense pain, which was difficult for an ordinary person to endure, almost made Zhang Nuo pass out.

And just at this moment, Zhang Nuo suddenly felt the surrounding Spiritual Qi thinning. At such a critical moment, the thinning of Spiritual Qi was no less than pulling the firewood from under the cauldron!

With no time to think, Zhang Nuo raised a single finger and pointed it into the void toward the Nine Dragon Sword Case in front of him. Immediately, a blinding white light bloomed on the surface of the Sword Box. At the same time, the dragon carvings on the surface of the Sword Box also emitted a faint dragon roar. Following the sound, one dragon carving surged up, its dragon mouth slightly agape, and pure Spiritual Qi began to be drawn toward Zhang Nuo.

The Spiritual Qi spewed from the dragon's mouth immediately made up for the thinning Spiritual Qi. Zhang Nuo's hanging heart also gradually settled; as long as there was enough Spiritual Qi, his Foundation Establishment this time would not fail.

Time passed bit by bit. When Zhang Nuo's body returned to its normal size, the Spiritual Qi within his body had completely liquefied. The Spiritual Qi was like water, flowing along with the blood in his body.

The intense pain caused by compressing the Spiritual Qi just now had also eased somewhat. Zhang Nuo had completed the second stage of impacting the Foundation Establishment Stage! Next was the final stage: opening the Divine Sea!

The "Divine Sea" is something every cultivator must open upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage. One must know that during the Qi Refining Stage, Spiritual Qi can permeate every part of the body, but liquefied Spiritual Qi cannot. They belong to forcibly compressed liquid; if left in the body, once they cannot be handled properly, the liquefied Spiritual Qi will erupt. This is no different from burying a time bomb in the body.

And the "Divine Sea" is the necessary product for storing this liquefied Spiritual Qi. The location of the "Divine Sea" is at the dantian within the cultivator's body. Only by successfully opening the Divine Sea can one be considered to have completed Foundation Establishment.

Zhang Nuo steadied his mind slightly. The first two stages of Foundation Establishment had already consumed too much of his physical strength. This final stage had to be done with all his might. Although compared to the first two stages, the final stage of opening the "Divine Sea" was not that difficult, one must know that he had already been tortured into such a state that he was now in agonizing pain even from moving a finger. The so-called simplicity compared to the first two stages was only relative.

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Nuo sat back down properly. After sensing the Spiritual Qi around him, he extended a single finger and pointed again at the Nine Dragon Sword Case in front. Instantly, a second dragon head rose on the Sword Box. Zhang Nuo could only manage this much now; this was his final move to maintain the surrounding Spiritual Qi. If he could not open the "Divine Sea" within the limited time, the Spiritual Qi inside the Sword Box would be exhausted, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi would drop once again.

For the current Zhang Nuo, there was nothing more terrifying than a drop in Spiritual Qi. Although the first two stages were completed smoothly, impacting the "Divine Sea" also required a massive amount of Spiritual Qi.

To race against time, Zhang Nuo hollowed out his hands and then slowly placed them at his dantian. Subsequently, all the liquid Spiritual Qi within his body surged frantically toward the dantian.

"Boom!"

A muffled sound came from Zhang Nuo's dantian. Following this sound, his torso also trembled slightly; the pain brought by the powerful impact was still not to be underestimated.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Several sounds came in succession. Zhang Nuo's body trembled violently as if struck by lightning, and a faint red color seeped from the corner of his mouth. The two stages before Foundation Establishment had already caused his internal organs to suffer a great blow; now, forcibly impacting to open the "Divine Sea" was adding frost to snow for his body.

Pausing for a moment, the pores on Zhang Nuo's body all opened, greedily absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Qi. Very quickly, the Spiritual Qi in his body reached a peak again.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two more sounds came, and this time Zhang Nuo spat out fresh blood directly!

"Who said it? That the third stage of Foundation Establishment is relatively easy!"

Zhang Nuo gritted his teeth and said hatefully. Now, judging by his personal experience, this third stage was not that easy either. The successive impacts had already left his body like withered leaves in the wind. The pain now coming from his limbs and bones was even more unbearable. A cultivator with a weaker will might have passed out directly by now!

Looking at the Nine Dragon Sword Case in front of him, Zhang Nuo calculated the time in his heart. No matter what, he had to hurry and impact the "Divine Sea"; he could not let his efforts fall short of success!