In the subterranean rift, there was a deathly silence.
Only the gradually subsiding fluctuations of spiritual power still rippled visibly through the air.
Gu Yang slowly stood up.
With his movement, the newly forged five-colored Dao Foundation within his body let out a muffled roar, like a giant beast awakening from ancient times and stretching its limbs.
"A tree that stands out in the forest will surely be destroyed by the wind."
"This commotion is too big."
Gu Yang circulated the Withered Wood Breath Concealment Art with all his might.
He quickly hurried in the direction of his sect.
...
Luoyun Sect, Cloud Summit Peak.
This was the highest point of power in the Luoyun Sect. Shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, spirit cranes soared up through the clouds, and cascading waterfalls hung between the cliffs, forming seven-colored rainbow bridges under the refraction of the sunlight.
It was like a blessed land of immortals.
A boundless expanse of purple qi came surging across the sky, forcibly dyeing the originally clear sky of the Luoyun Sect into a noble deep purple.
"That is..."
Crash!
The cup of priceless Dao Comprehension Tea in the hands of Grand Elder Zhao Wuji slipped without warning, smashing to pieces on the floor paved with white jade.
The scalding tea splashed onto the surface of his cloud-patterned boots, but he remained completely oblivious.
He gripped the white jade railing tightly, his knuckles turning a pale, bluish-white from excessive force.
"Purple qi coming from the east... The Great Dao resonating in harmony..."
"Someone has forged... a Heavenly Dao Foundation?!"
He forced the last few words out through his clenched teeth, carrying an unmistakable sourness of jealousy.
By his side.
A middle-aged man dressed in a dark Daoist robe and wearing a purple-gold crown stood with his hands behind his back.
He had an elegant and scholarly face, with three strands of long beard, looking like an immortal being of transcendent bearing and awe-inspiring righteousness.
This was none other than the sect master of the Luoyun Sect, Liu Yunzi.
At this moment, this sect master, who usually remained unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, could not hide the shock in his expression.
"It is not just a Heavenly Dao Foundation."
Liu Yunzi took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the faintly discernible Golden Crow apparition on the horizon, his voice terrifyingly low.
"That is the ancient phenomenon Golden Crow Carrying the Sun. This person has not only forged a flawless Dao Foundation but has also awakened some earth-shattering extreme Yang physique."
"Soul Severing Valley... That is the direction of Soul Severing Valley."
"Senior Brother, that place is only a few hundred miles away from our sect. Could it be..."
"Could it be a disciple of our sect?"
Liu Yunzi turned his head and glanced at Zhao Wuji.
"Junior Brother, you are delusional."
He turned around and walked back to the chessboard carved from thousand-year-old agarwood. He picked up a black piece between two fingers but hesitated to place it down.
"Our Luoyun Sect is secluded in a corner of the Eastern Region. The pond is shallow and full of turtles; how could it possibly raise such a true dragon?"
Hearing this, the eagerness in Zhao Wuji's eyes cooled down a bit.
Indeed.
A Heavenly Dao Foundation.
That was a forbidden realm of legends, something only the heirs of those ancient holy lands in the Central State, or reincarnations of mighty figures from the upper realms, could possibly touch.
The Luoyun Sect?
Even he, a Late Core Formation Realm elder, only achieved a Human Dao Foundation back in the day.
"Then who could it be?" Zhao asked.
"Perhaps it is some passing mighty figure, or... a prodigy from a hidden family coming out to gain experience."
Liu Yunzi casually tossed the black piece in his hand back into the chess bowl, making a crisp clack sound.
"No matter who it is, it has nothing to do with us."
"A figure of this caliber is destined to outshine the sun and moon. A rustic sect like ours..."
Liu Yunzi shook his head.
...
Returning to his cave dwelling.
Gu Yang casually cast a restrictive spell, isolating the noise from the outside world.
"Phew—"
He sat cross-legged on the stone bed and let out a long breath of stale air.
The newly forged five-colored Dao Foundation within his body was still slowly and tirelessly rotating. Every rotation felt like a heavy millstone crushing the void.
The feeling of being so filled with power that he was almost going to explode meant he had to constantly circulate the Withered Wood Breath Concealment Art to suppress the domineering aura inside him that wanted to soar into the sky.
"A Heavenly Dao Foundation is indeed overbearing."
Gu Yang raised his hand, looking at the faint five-colored flowing light on his palm.
Now, even without using any spells, relying solely on the physical strength of his body, he could smash a high-grade magical artifact to pieces with a single punch.
The hour of Zi had arrived.
The void in front of him distorted slightly, and a familiar faint blue light screen silently unfolded in the darkness.
[Daily Intelligence Refreshed Successfully]
[White Intelligence: The Heavenly Dao Phenomenon triggered in the Soul Severing Valley has alarmed the entire Eastern Region. The Alliance Leader of the Righteous Path Alliance, the Sect Master of the demonic path's Blood Demon Sect, and even several reclusive Nascent Soul eccentric old monsters have all sent avatars to the Soul Severing Valley. They unanimously believe that either an ancient exotic treasure has been born, or some passing mighty figure from the Central State had an epiphany there. No one suspects that the source of this heaven and earth phenomenon is actually hiding in the Luoyun Sect.]
Seeing this piece of intelligence, Gu Yang's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
It was the darkest right under the lamp—a blind spot right under their noses.
This gave him the most precious time to develop.
His gaze slowly moved down.
[White Intelligence: Inside the Cold Moon Palace, ever since detoxifying with you that day, the cold poison that had accumulated in her body for years actually dissolved a little. During the nights over the past few days, she no longer had to endure the bone-biting pain of the cold qi, and even had a few peaceful nights of sleep that she hadn't experienced in a long time.
However, whenever she woke up from a midnight dream, she would subconsciously stroke the wrinkles on the bedding where you once knelt and pressed down, her eyes constantly shifting between killing intent and a hazy bewilderment.
She is making the final adjustments for the Heart-Questioning Illusion Array two days from now, attempting to give you, and herself, an answer within the illusion.]
Gu Yang let out a heavy sigh in his heart.
Oh, Master.
I really just wanted to save you.
If you fall, I'm afraid your disciple would hardly fare any better.
This time in the Heart-Questioning Illusion Array, your disciple will definitely give you an answer.
...
[White Intelligence: Han Feng, the registered disciple of the Grand Elder, luckily achieved a Human Dao Foundation half a month ago.
However, his aptitude is mediocre. By forcibly practicing the profound righteous path cultivation method Vast Heaven Dipper Art, it has caused an excess of Yang fire in his body and impure righteous qi, putting him at constant risk of undergoing qi deviation and incinerating his meridians.
According to ancient records, only by absorbing pure primal Yin from a virgin can he achieve the harmony of water and fire, and stabilize his Dao Foundation. He has already set his sights on the orphaned outer sect girl, Ruan Xiaoruan.
Tonight at the hour of Chou, he will go to Ruan Xiaoruan's residence under the guise of bestowing medicine to save her father and taking her as a concubine for protection.
On the surface, it is a righteous senior brother offering timely help, but in reality, he intends to carry out the act of yin-plundering. [Click to view coordinates]]
Han Feng.
The person who obtained a few drops of the Bone-Corroding Spirit-Dissolving Powder in the Myriad Poison Cave deep within the swamp.
In the end, the Bone-Corroding Spirit-Dissolving Powder had melted into Gu Yang's foundation building spiritual item.
This was a very important clue.
Then I shall go and meet you tonight.
Gu Yang was not in a hurry to set off. Instead, he looked at the last, and also the most crucial, piece of Golden Intelligence.
[Golden Intelligence: Su Wanyin, the Holy Maiden of the Joyous Union Sect, used a forbidden technique in a secret realm, causing the backlash of the Plain Girl's Origin Guarding Art that she had suppressed for years to erupt prematurely. She urgently needs to return to her sect for healing.
She is currently hiding in a concealed location [Click to view coordinates], preparing to set off and return to her sect tomorrow.
However, her whereabouts have been leaked. The Righteous Path Alliance and her enemies will set up an ambush to assassinate her halfway.
She carries the treasure Plain Girl's Exquisite Heart. This item is an Earth-grade foundation building spiritual item, ranking 78th on the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Items Leaderboard. She will gift it to the person who safely escorts her back to her sect.]
Wang Teng, a Foundation Establishment True Disciple of the Mountain and River Sect, happened to pass by during his experiential trials and rescued Su Wanyin, who was besieged and on the verge of death. He personally escorted her back to her sect. To repay him for saving her life, Su Wanyin gifted him her personal supreme treasure, the Exquisite Heart of the Pure Maiden.]
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
