Chapter 39: Foundation Establishment (Part 4)

The three master and disciples stood before the stone door. Gao Dakuan and Qu Yuan were so anxious that their palms were sweating. If Zhang Nuo also succeeded in Foundation Establishment, then he would be a genius of the entire Divine Sword Sect! To go from Qi Refining Stage Level 6 directly into the Foundation Establishment Stage after three years of seclusion—let alone in the Divine Sword Sect, even in large cultivation sects, this was extremely rare.

Lin Fan's heart was even more agitated than theirs. The Linger Power fluctuations just now had clearly occurred three times. Although the intervals between them were very tight, this could not escape his insight. Aside from the one fluctuation when Ye Linger opened her "Divine Sea," the remaining two waves should have belonged to Zhang Nuo. A faint, bold, and crazy idea slowly germinated in his heart.

A dual "Divine Sea" cultivator had never appeared among the generations of disciples in the Divine Sword Sect. If this matter truly happened to Zhang Nuo, he would become the number one figure of the Divine Sword Sect.

Carrying an excited mood, Lin Fan waved a single arm, and the stone door was opened. The three master and disciples walked into the room almost side by side. They saw that Zhang Nuo's current situation was no better than Ye Linger's, perhaps even worse.

His clothes were soaked through with sweat, he was spitting up blood foam incessantly, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes stared ahead almost vacantly. The bloodstains on the ground were more than several times larger than Ye Linger's. The "Nine Dragon Sword Case" lay quietly in front of Zhang Nuo, looking completely devoid of luster.

"Junior Brother!"

The moment Gao Dakuan saw this, his heart was shocked. All the wonderful things he had imagined a moment ago vanished into thin air in an instant. Looking at Zhang Nuo's current appearance, it very much looked like he had failed his Foundation Establishment.

However, Zhang Nuo acted as if he had not heard Gao Dakuan's words, his vacant eyes still fixed ahead.

"Do not disturb him!"

Lin Fan was not as panicked as Gao Dakuan. He carefully observed Zhang Nuo's reactions and finally said calmly.

Everything suddenly became very quiet; the breathing sounds of the three, Lin Fan and the others, could be clearly heard. They watched Zhang Nuo without blinking, yet at this moment, Zhang Nuo did not have the slightest reaction. He sat cross-legged on the bed with his hands naturally resting on his legs; only the blood foam occasionally emerging from his mouth proved that he was still breathing.

"Thump! Thump!"

Suddenly, a violent beating sound came from Zhang Nuo's heart. In the quiet room, it appeared particularly ear-piercing. Even Lin Fan, Gao Dakuan, and the others felt a sense of suffocation, as if their own hearts were beating along with the rhythm of Zhang Nuo's heartbeat.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from Zhang Nuo's mouth like a sky full of Blood Mist. A pungent, bloody stench immediately permeated the entire room. At the same time, from the depths of the pupils in Zhang Nuo's originally hollow and vacant eyes, a ray of light suddenly erupted. Immediately after, the Linger Power fluctuations around his body grew stronger and stronger, and in the end, even the clothes on his body began to flutter along with it.

All the surrounding Spiritual Qi gathered toward Zhang Nuo; even the Spiritual Qi on Lin Fan and the others had the intention of being sucked away.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Zhang Nuo had a fit of violent coughing, interrupting the previous eeriness, and everything returned to normal.

"Haha! Nuo Er! Well done! Good! Haha!"

Only until this moment did Lin Fan suddenly burst into loud laughter. The joy in his voice was almost frantic. Gao Dakuan and Qu Yuan could not help but cover their ears.

"What is wrong with Master?"

Gao Dakuan hurriedly said aloud. But Lin Fan acted as if he had not heard him speak; an excited smile still bloomed on his face as he walked a few steps to Zhang Nuo's side.

"Nuo Er, did you open two 'Divine Seas'?"

Once these words were out, Gao Dakuan and Qu Yuan were both stunned. They had previously thought at most that Zhang Nuo had succeeded in Foundation Establishment; they had never imagined he would open two "Divine Seas." Looking at Lin Fan's expression just now, this sentence did not seem like a joke. Staring at Zhang Nuo without blinking, Gao Dakuan and Qu Yuan waited for him to give an answer.

In just an instant, Zhang Nuo looked much more spirited than before. He raised his head and glanced at Lin Fan, a trace of a smile slightly appearing on his face. Although he did not speak, this smile answered the three of them!

Quiet! Dead quiet! After a brief silence came exclamations one louder than the next. Gao Dakuan and Qu Yuan jumped in front of Zhang Nuo, one pulling his hand and the other cupping his face, as if they were looking at a monster.

"Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother! It hurts... it hurts... don't move! Don't move! Ouch!"

The two's overly impulsive behavior made Zhang Nuo miserable. Having just succeeded in Foundation Establishment, his body felt as if it had fallen apart; it hurt terribly if touched, and the behavior of Gao Dakuan and the others was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

Hearing Zhang Nuo cry out in pain, the two hurriedly stopped. Qu Yuan rubbed his hands while saying incessantly:

"Junior Brother, you are truly too amazing. To open dual 'Divine Seas' the moment you reach Foundation Establishment—given time, will there be anyone in this Divine Sword Sect who is your opponent?"

Gao Dakuan nodded repeatedly with a smile, at a loss for what else to say.

The importance of the "Divine Sea" to a cultivator is self-evident. A dual "Divine Sea" cultivator is equivalent to having an extra place to store Spiritual Qi; the Spiritual Qi contained in their body is more than twice that of a single-Divine Sea cultivator.

If two cultivators of the same realm fight, the dual "Divine Sea" cultivator will have the upper hand. First, they already far exceed the opponent in terms of Linger Power. In another aspect, if the dual "Divine Seas" are activated simultaneously, the amount of Linger Power supply generated is extremely high, and launching major techniques is also very swift.

Normally speaking, an average cultivator only has a chance to open a second "Divine Sea" upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. However, this chance is not guaranteed; there is a certain probability of success. But by the time one reaches the Golden Core stage, the second "Divine Sea" will definitely be opened.

Like Zhang Nuo, opening two "Divine Seas" at Foundation Establishment is a rarity in the entire Tianyuan Continent. Opening dual "Divine Seas" simultaneously requires not only excellent aptitude from the cultivator but also coordination with special Pills, and the most important point is opportunity.

And Zhang Nuo, relying on powerful and abundant Spiritual Qi, opened dual "Divine Seas" in one fell swoop; this can be considered a miracle in the Cultivation World.