Chapter 55: Foundation Establishment Cultivator

The woman in yellow nodded and said, "Master is just outside the camp. We arrived in such haste that we do not yet know the direction Senior Brother Lu and the others went. I ask Senior Brother Chen to go and explain the situation to Master."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ziyang’s face immediately lit up with joy as he replied, "I truly did not expect you to arrive so quickly. Please forgive any negligence on our part. Junior Sister Gao, let us hurry; we must not keep Martial Uncle Liu waiting."

With that, Chen Ziyang held his palm upward in a gesture of invitation. The woman in yellow did not stand on ceremony; she moved with graceful, light steps to lead the way, and Chen Ziyang followed close behind.

After leaving the camp, the two soon arrived before the woman in palace attire.

"Disciple Chen Ziyang pays respects to Martial Uncle Liu."

Looking at the woman before him, who appeared much younger than himself, Chen Ziyang did not dare to be careless. He bowed respectfully with his head lowered.

At forty-seven years old, while not particularly old for a Qi Refinement cultivator, he already possessed the appearance of a middle-aged man. To call a woman who looked over a decade younger than him "Martial Uncle" felt quite peculiar.

However, this was a very common occurrence in the cultivation world. In the realm of immortals, the accomplished take precedence. As long as there was no explicit master-disciple relationship, even an elderly Qi Refinement cultivator would respectfully address a Foundation Establishment cultivator decades younger than them as "Senior."

Though Martial Uncle Liu appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen, she was actually older than Chen Ziyang.

In the cultivation world, most female cultivators practiced techniques that possessed anti-aging effects; one could not discern their true age simply by looking at their surface appearance. Furthermore, once a Qi Refinement cultivator broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, their marrow and essence would be cleansed, and after their lifespan significantly increased, they could also return to their youthful appearance.

The woman in palace attire waved her hand at Chen Ziyang and said, "No need for such formalities. Tell me first, in which direction did Martial Nephew Lu and the others go?"

Chen Ziyang quickly stood up and pointed out the direction in which Lu Yunfei and the others had headed that morning.

Lu Yunfei and his group had only been gone for about an hour. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator focused solely on travel, they could catch up to them in no more than fifteen minutes. After a moment of thought, the woman decided to pursue them first to prevent any unforeseen accidents from happening to them.

"Very well, we shall go and check. You should remain here and wait for news."

Having obtained the precise location, the woman surnamed Liu raised her slender hand and released a flying boat dharma treasure. After she and the other woman behind her leaped onto the vessel, she cast a spell toward the woman in yellow nearby. A sudden breeze swirled beneath the woman's feet, and she was quickly swept up onto the flying boat.

The three of them stood upon the vessel without it feeling crowded. With a flash of spiritual light, the flying boat slowly rose into the high sky and sped rapidly toward the direction Chen Ziyang had indicated.

Watching the flying boat slowly disappear from sight, Chen Ziyang shook his head in envy from within the camp, thinking to himself, *"I truly wonder when in this life I will succeed in Foundation Establishment, so that I too can soar through the skies atop a flying boat like the mighty Foundation Establishment seniors of my sect."*

The Xiaoyao Sect had tens of thousands of Qi Refinement disciples like him, but only three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators. Among the Qi Refinement disciples, only about a hundred had any hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. Without extraordinary talent or a powerful background, a disciple like Chen Ziyang, even if he could cultivate to the ninth level of Qi Refinement, would struggle to accumulate enough merit to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill. His hopes were slim.

"Martial Uncle Liu has already gone. Senior Brother Lu and the others will surely be safe this time." After letting out a soft sigh, Chen Ziyang slowly walked back into the camp.

***

Inside a cavern filled with whistling, yin-natured winds, Yang Wuqi stroked the beloved demonic blade in his hand. Looking at the trembling disciples below, he asked in a somewhat raspy voice

"They have been out for so long. Have Liang Shan and the others returned?"

A young man with several scars on his face hurriedly stepped forward cautiously to answer, "Master, Second Senior Brother and the others returned last night. They are currently preparing for the blood sacrifice at the altar. Rest assured, Master, they were quite lucky this time and captured three more Qi Refinement cultivators. Your demonic blade will surely be successfully refined very soon."

"Heh, Liang Shan and the others did well this time. Once I have successfully refined the demonic blade, I shall certainly reward you all handsomely." After speaking, Yang Wuqi looked at the blade in his hand and revealed a twisted smile.

He had been hiding in the Fuyun Mountains for over three years specifically to refine this dharma treasure. Now, the demonic blade had already absorbed the souls of dozens of Qi Refinement cultivators, and it was not far from completion.

Once this dharma treasure was successfully refined, with the aid of this demonic blade and his own fifth-level Foundation Establishment cultivation, he would likely face few challengers among Foundation Establishment cultivators, provided he did not encounter an expert at or above the Golden Core stage. He would no longer have to live in the shadows as he had before.

Yang Wuqi had originally hailed from a small sect within the borders of the State of Wei. Years ago, after raiding a demonic cultivator's cave dwelling, he had luckily obtained the complete inheritance of a Golden Core demonic cultivator. After comprehending this demonic cultivation technique, he could not resist the temptation and turned to the demonic path.

After decades of bitter cultivation and several clandestine blood sacrifices, he had not only successfully reached Foundation Establishment himself but had also spread this demonic technique to the surrounding area, taking on dozens of disciples.

Initially, Yang Wuqi acted with extreme caution, not daring to reveal his demonic techniques. He had hidden in the Donglin Prefecture of southern Wei for many years without being discovered by other cultivators.

However, the techniques practiced by demonic cultivators were often too opportunistic. To rapidly increase one's magical power, one often required sinister and bloody refinement methods. To accelerate their cultivation speed, they would choose to perform blood sacrifices on lower-level cultivators; some even refused to spare ordinary mortals. It was for this reason they were despised by the righteous cultivators of the entire cultivation world.

Five years ago, while one of Yang Wuqi's disciples was providing him with materials for a blood sacrifice, he was unexpectedly tracked to his hiding place by a cultivator from Donglin Prefecture, who discovered their demonic practices.

Although Yang Wuqi discovered and killed the cultivator in time, the man happened to belong to a Foundation Establishment clan in Gulong County. Following an investigation, their whereabouts were exposed.

Subsequently, several major Foundation Establishment clans of Gulong County joined forces to raid their lair. Fortunately, Yang Wuqi had received word in advance and escaped with a portion of his disciples.

After fleeing Gulong County, they had wandered through various prefectures of Wei for several years without finding a stable place to settle. They had nearly been tracked down by cultivators sent by the Xiaoyao Sect several times, making their lives quite miserable.

Three years ago, Yang Wuqi brought his disciples to the Fuyun Mountains and established a secret cave dwelling, finally managing to settle down.

This time, in order to search for a large number of cultivator souls to refine a demonic tool, he had continuously sent his disciples out over the past two years to capture rogue cultivators wandering the Fuyun Mountains. They had already captured many unlucky cultivators near the Guiyun Market.

Now, as long as this demonic blade absorbed a few more souls, it would fully transform into a demonic tool. The years of hiding and fleeing would not have been in vain.

Their continuous capture of cultivators in recent years had drawn the attention of the Guiyun Market, but since their cave dwelling was located in an unexplored region of the Fuyun Mountains, the cultivators sent by the market to investigate did not dare to venture into such unknown territory. Consequently, they had yet to discover any trace of them.

(End of Chapter)