Your opportunity is now mine.

Not only had it flown away, it had also ruthlessly pecked out his eye!

"Shen Qingyue... how could you possibly cure the poison?"

Zhao Wuji stared fixedly at the faintly discernible Cold Moon Palace at the peak of the mountain, his eyes full of resentment and bewilderment.

"That was the Nine Yin Cold Poison! Unless you had an item of ultimate Yang, it's absolutely incurable!"

"Could it be..."

Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks as a certain possibility occurred to him.

"Could it be that your dead master left you some life-saving trump card? Or perhaps... you didn't hesitate to burn your origin blood essence to cast some forbidden art to suppress the cold poison?"

He recalled that sword strike inside the hall just now.

That sword strike was too fast, too strong, too fierce.

It didn't look at all like something a person recovering from a severe illness could unleash. Instead, it felt like... a final burst of terminal lucidity.

"Hmph, so you're just drinking poison to quench your thirst."

The sinister sneer resurfaced on the corners of Zhao Wuji's mouth.

He was certain that Shen Qingyue couldn't have truly recovered. Her current display of strength was merely the end of her tether, the desperate struggle of a cornered beast overdrawing its future potential.

"Good! Very good!"

"I'd like to see how long this forbidden art of burning your blood essence can last!"

"You win this time, but next time... I want to see what you'll use to stop me!"

Zhao Wuji coldly flicked his sleeve, turning around and stepping into the curtain of rain.

"We have plenty of time, Junior Sister. You won't be able to escape your fate as a cultivation cauldron."

...

The rain stopped.

Damp air, carrying the earthy scent of the soil, seeped through the broken window of the thatched cottage, attempting to dilute the stale, musty smell inside.

Gu Yang sat cross-legged on the wooden bed that was as hard as stone, his nostrils flaring slightly.

He brought his fingertips close to his nose, where a very faint, cold fragrance still lingered.

It was the scent of snow lotuses unique to Cold Moon Peak, and it was also the scent on Shen Qingyue's body.

He lowered his head and looked at his chest.

Several scratch marks crisscrossed his skin, deep enough to show bone, and had already formed blood scabs.

They were left by Shen Qingyue in the final moments.

"Heh..." Gu Yang let out an ambiguous light chuckle, the pads of his fingers gently rubbing against the deepest wound.

In the first half, she might have been consumed by the medicinal effects, unable to control herself.

But in the second half...

Gu Yang recalled the final scene.

When the cold poison retreated and the medicinal effects dissipated, a trace of clarity had distinctly flashed through her eyes.

But she hadn't pushed him away; instead, she had clung to him even tighter.

Even when he was about to withdraw, that voice as faint as a mosquito's hum saying "don't go" carried a trembling, tearful tone.

"So the aloof and exalted Master also has this side to her."

Gu Yang knew clearly that it was the greed of a drowning person clutching at driftwood, the morbid craving for warmth from someone who had endured the torment of cold poison for years.

Phew—Gu Yang gathered his thoughts and began to look inward.

Within his dantian, the originally superficial spiritual energy was now as viscous as mercury, displaying a dark golden hue.

Although he was still at the Great Perfection of the Qi Condensation realm, the quality of his energy had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.

His previous Qi Condensation Great Perfection was like a bucket of water; his current Qi Condensation Great Perfection was like a bucket of quicksilver.

This was the benefit brought about by the dual cultivation of the Desolate Ancient Ultimate Yang Physique and the Nine Yin Physique.

Not only did it solidify his foundation, but it also completely smoothed out the last bit of hidden danger left behind from his failed attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

"Now, I'm only one step away from Foundation Establishment."

With a thought, Gu Yang summoned the system light screen that he hadn't had the time to examine closely earlier. During that thrilling game of cat and mouse just now, it seemed quite a few good things had refreshed.

[White Intelligence: The Nine Yin Physique and the Desolate Ancient Ultimate Yang Physique are widely recognized in the cultivation world as the perfect match for Dao Companions...]

...

[White Intelligence: The so-called genius of the Righteous Path Alliance, Mo Bufan, is actually a remnant of the demonic path's Blood River Sect.

Half an hour ago, in the Black Wind Forest thirty miles outside the Falling Cloud Sect, he chanced upon three rogue cultivators.

On the surface, he acted like brothers with the three, drinking and chatting merrily. In reality, he slipped Blood-Melting Powder into their wine.

At this moment, those three rogue cultivators have already turned into three puddles of bloody water, their entire body's blood essence completely devoured by his demonic weapon, the Bloodthirsty Bone Sword.

He is currently humming a little tune, sorting out the spirit stones from their storage bags, and using Corpse-Dissolving Water to clean up the scene, preparing to fake an illusion of a demonic beast attack. [Click to view coordinates]]

Mo Bufan?

Who would have thought that Senior Brother Mo, who always smiled so brightly and was so eager to help others, was actually a demonic cultivator who would eat people without spitting out their bones in secret?

...

[Green Intelligence: Tomorrow at two quarters past the Hour of Wei, at the west corner of the outer sect market, at the rogue cultivator stall marked C [Click to view coordinates], Outer Sect Junior Sister Ruan Xiaoruan, in desperate need of spirit stones due to her father's severe illness, will be forced to sell off her ancestral calligraphy, paintings, and sundries.

Zhou Tong, a market bully and the nephew of a Law Enforcement Hall deacon, will surround her with a few lackeys, deliberately nitpicking and claiming the paintings are fakes. He will attempt to forcefully buy out all her belongings at the scrap price of three low-grade spirit stones while verbally harassing her, trying to get both the girl and her wealth.

Ruan Xiaoruan will be isolated and helpless, shivering in fear, while the surrounding passersby will be too angry to speak out but too afraid to intervene.

Hidden in the interlayer of the inconspicuous scroll of the "Old Pine and Withered Stone Painting" in Ruan Xiaoruan's hands is an obscure spell technique called the "Withered Wood Breath Concealment Art."

Once mastered, one's aura will be like dead wood and lifeless stone. It allows for perfect disguise or the concealment of one's cultivation level, making it impossible even for late-stage Golden Core cultivators to see through.]

The "Withered Wood Breath Concealment Art"... This was a divine skill for murder, robbery, and playing the pig to eat the tiger.

Gu Yang nodded.

If he could hide his identity and strength, doing many things would become much more convenient.

That Zhou Tong was a dandified bully.

If I just buy it directly with money... me offering a high price might actually make him suspicious, and he might even raise the price on the spot.

If I make a move and beat him away... I might be hated by his uncle, the deacon of the Law Enforcement Hall, which would attract some unnecessary trouble.

I need to think of a good method...

Gu Yang's gaze moved downward.

[Blue Intelligence: After Shen Qingyue was "cured of her poison" by you, her Dao heart became unstable. She plans to set up a secretive "Heart-Questioning Illusion Array" within the Cold Moon Palace. This aloof and exalted Master will lure you into the array, using herself as bait to simulate the illusion of a poison flare-up, with her fragrant shoulders half-exposed and her mind in a haze, attempting to judge your wicked thoughts in an act of self-deception.

But she miscalculated one thing—within the illusion array, the line between illusion and reality is determined by the heart. When the aura of your Desolate Ancient Ultimate Yang blood essence truly hits her nose, facing this irresistible "lethal poison," this "judgment" that was supposed to end at the right point will ultimately evolve into an uncontrollable frenzy, turning into a fake-turned-real desecration.]

...

Hmm?

A Heart-Questioning Illusion Array?

Does that mean Master wants to deceive herself and use an illusion to test me?

This is just her wanting to give herself an explanation.

Moreover, this intelligence shows that as long as I reveal my blood essence, Master won't be able to resist pouncing on me?

And ultimately turn the fake into reality?

Alright then.

Women are truly unreasonable sometimes.

[Purple Intelligence: The "Azure Fallout Secret Realm," which opens once every sixty years on the Azure Cloud Continent, will appear in the Soul-Severing Valley of the Eastern Region in a month.

Within the "Five Elements Chaos Pool" deep inside the secret realm, a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment spiritual item is being nurtured—the "Chaos Five Elements Lotus." This item was formed from a wisp of chaotic qi from the beginning of the world. If one uses this to establish their foundation, they can forge a flawless "Heavenly Dao Foundation," and there will be no bottlenecks in the future when forming a Nascent Soul and transforming into a Deity.

The "Azure Fallout Token" required to enter the secret realm is currently lying quietly in a dusty black iron box in the corner of the first floor of the "Hundred Treasures Pavilion" in the market at the foot of the Falling Cloud Sect's mountain.

The shopkeeper thought it was a piece of scrap metal, pricing it at a mere five low-grade spirit stones. Tomorrow at noon, Mo Bufan will pass by and purchase it. [Click to view coordinates]]

Primal Chaos Five Elements Lotus!

Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!

These words exploded like a clap of thunder within Gu Yang's sea of consciousness.

In the cultivation world, the hierarchy was strict; fall behind a single step, and you fall behind every step thereafter.

The vast majority of cultivators were stuck at the hurdle of Foundation Establishment.

And of those who succeeded, most could only acquire low-tier foundation-building spiritual items to forge a Human Dao Foundation.

For them, the Golden Core realm would be the absolute limit of their lifetime, and their combat prowess would be mediocre at best.

If one could obtain a rarer earth-tier foundation-building spiritual item and forge an Earth Dao Foundation, they would already be considered a peerless genius fiercely fought over by major sects, with a hopeful chance of reaching the Nascent Soul realm.

As for the Heavenly Dao Foundation...

That required using primordial treasures from the dawn of heaven and earth as a base to forge a flawless foundation of the Great Dao.

With an unbelievably solid foundation, one's spiritual energy reserves would be ten times that of cultivators at the same realm.

It was a taboo domain that existed only in legends, something only the descendants of ancient clans could ever hope to touch.

If it were before, I wouldn't have dared to even dream of it.

But this Primal Chaos Five Elements Lotus, I am taking it.

This demonic cultivator Mo Bufan sure had good luck. If it weren't for the system, this treasure would have been snatched up by him.

What a pity. Now that the secrets of heaven have been revealed, your fortuitous encounter is mine.