Foundation Establishment through the Five Elements Heavenly Dao

After a bout of dizziness and the world spinning around him.

Ye Xuan opened his eyes again to find himself in the middle of a lush, primeval forest.

Surrounded only by towering ancient trees and the roars of unknown beasts, the annoying fellow disciples and the noisy crowds were all gone.

"A random teleportation?" Ye Xuan was taken aback.

"I tampered with it."

Xia Lengyue's calm voice came from beside him.

She let go of Ye Xuan's hand and patted her sleeves: "Those flies were too annoying, so I used a directional teleportation talisman to send us deep into the secret realm."

Ye Xuan: "..."

Clinging to this thick thigh was indeed a stable choice.

While others were still fighting over Tier 1 demonic beasts on the outskirts, they had directly dropped into the core zone.

"Let's go." Xia Lengyue summoned a flying sword that hovered by her side, her eyes warily scanning the surroundings: "Although this is just the deeper part of the outer ring, there are quite a few Tier 2 demonic beasts here. Be careful."

Ye Xuan nodded and was just about to draw his Green Peak Sword.

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar erupted from the jungle ahead!

Rumble!

A giant bear, the size of a small hill, crashed through several large trees and charged toward the two of them with bloodshot eyes.

"A peak Tier 2 demonic beast! An Earth Tyrant Bear!" Ye Xuan gasped.

This was a terrifying demonic beast with combat prowess equivalent to a human in the early Foundation Establishment stage! It had thick skin, tough flesh, and boundless strength!

"Senior Sister, look out!" Ye Xuan subconsciously tried to draw his sword.

However, Xia Lengyue merely gave the giant bear a faint glance.

She didn't use any spells, nor did she even move her flying sword.

She simply raised her hand and pressed it gently downward toward the charging giant bear.

"Get down."

Boom!

An invisible, utterly terrifying gravitational field instantly descended!

The ferocious Earth Tyrant Bear didn't even have time to let out a scream before its limbs were shattered by the crushing force. It was smashed flat into the ground like a meat patty!

The ground caved in, forming a massive crater.

The dust settled.

The peak Tier 2 demonic beast that had been so arrogant just moments ago was now a shapeless pile of mush.

An instant kill.

And an instant kill without even lifting a finger.

Ye Xuan's hand holding the sword froze in mid-air, his throat dry.

Although he had long known she was strong, witnessing this kind of dimensional strike with his own eyes still filled him with a profound sense of powerlessness.

How was this a Qi Condensation trial? This was literally a max-level character slaughtering the beginner's village!

After doing all this, Xia Lengyue casually retracted her hand and turned to look at Ye Xuan.

The next second, the domineering aura on her face vanished, replaced by a delicate, pale look of overexertion.

She swayed slightly, supported her forehead, and said weakly:

"Oh my... this tyrant bear was so fierce... I used up so much spiritual energy to kill it... My head is spinning..."

As she spoke, she conveniently collapsed toward Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan: "..."

Big sis, could you put a little more effort into your acting?

The bear didn't even touch the hem of your clothes, okay?

You clearly just swatted it casually, how did that consume spiritual energy?

But despite complaining inwardly, his body was very honest.

Ye Xuan quickly reached out to catch her, saying with a look of deep concern: "You've worked hard, Senior Sister! You really risked your life to protect me! Quick, take a Qi Recovery Pill!"

Xia Lengyue leaned into his embrace, smelling his familiar scent, and a triumphant smile crept onto the corners of her lips.

"No need for pills... Just let me lean on you for a while."

Ye Xuan stood stiffly, acting as a human pillar.

"Right," Xia Lengyue pointed at the deep crater: "The bear might be mush, but its demonic core is still intact. That's a peak Tier 2 demonic core. And around here... there are quite a few spirit herbs. Go gather them."

Ye Xuan's eyes lit up.

Right! Resources!

What he lacked the most right now were resources!

"Orders received!"

Ye Xuan stopped pretending to be weak. He helped Xia Lengyue sit on a large rock nearby, then charged toward the crater like a hungry wolf that had just seen meat.

He skillfully dissected the tyrant bear's corpse and extracted the earth-yellow demonic core.

Next, he activated his locust-swarm mode.

Because this area had a dominant overlord like the Earth Tyrant Bear, other cultivators and demonic beasts didn't dare to approach, allowing a massive amount of rare spirit herbs to flourish.

"Three-Leaf Green Ganoderma! Good stuff!"

"Purple-Veined Fruit! Mine!"

"This... Is this a Profound Yin Flower? A divine medicine for breaking through in the Qi Condensation stage!"

Ye Xuan's eyes gleamed as he swung his jade trowel so fast it became a blur.

He wasn't picky at all. As long as it had spiritual energy, he shoved it into his storage ring, roots, dirt, and all.

The storage ring had been given to him by Xia Lengyue. It had a massive space, easily holding over a hundred cubic meters.

In no time, he had scraped away the top layer of earth within a hundred-meter radius.

Xia Lengyue sat on the rock, resting her chin on her hand, quietly watching the man sticking his butt out in the grass, busily working away with great joy.

In her eyes, there was a hint of amusement, as well as a faint trace of heartache.

"You guy... you really are petty."

She said softly, "If you want these things, I can just give them to you. Why get yourself covered in mud?"

Ye Xuan had just dug up an Earth Yellow Essence. Hearing this, he straightened his back and wiped the sweat from his face.

He looked at Xia Lengyue and said seriously:

"Senior Sister, it's not the same."

"How is it different?" Xia Lengyue tilted her head.

"Only the things earned with your own two hands feel truly secure."

Ye Xuan carefully put away the spirit herb, his eyes turning somewhat profound: "Besides... I need power. Lots and lots of power."

Xia Lengyue paused slightly.

She looked at the undisguised desire and ambition for power in the depths of Ye Xuan's eyes.

This was completely different from the Ye Xuan of her past life, who was content with the status quo and only wanted to live a peaceful life with her.

"Why?" Xia Lengyue asked. "Isn't it enough to have me protect you? Why must you become strong yourself?"

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment.

He turned around and looked at the endless, wild forest in the distance, his voice low:

"Because this world is too dangerous."

"Senior Sister, you can't protect me forever. What if one day... an enemy appears that even you can't defeat? What if... you aren't by my side?"

"I don't want to be that useless trash anymore, the one who can only hide behind a woman and watch helplessly as everything happens."

These words were half true and half false.

The true part was that he really didn't want to be trash. He was afraid of Bai Qiangu, afraid of Xia Lengyue, and afraid of this man-eating world.

But hearing this, Xia Lengyue interpreted it in a completely different way.

Her heart trembled violently.

"What if one day... an enemy appears that even you can't defeat..."

She thought of her past life.

She remembered that desperate moment when she was besieged by thousands of cultivators.

At that time, it was because he was too weak that he could only trade his life for her sliver of survival.

So... is this what he was thinking?

So, he was cultivating desperately and hoarding wealth not to escape from me, but to avoid repeating the same mistakes?

To be able to stand by my side, and even... protect me?

Xia Lengyue's eyes instantly turned red.

The last trace of doubt and resentment in her heart was completely washed away in this moment.

"You..."

Xia Lengyue took a deep breath, suppressing the tears welling up in her eyes.

She stood up, walked over to Ye Xuan, reached out her hand, and gently brushed the dust off his shoulders.

Her movements were incredibly gentle, and her eyes brimmed with a tender, watery affection.

"Alright."

"Since you want to become stronger, I will help you."

"We will empty out... this entire secret realm."

Xia Lengyue turned around and looked out at the vast forest, the lazy aura around her completely swept away.

Replacing it was an overbearing aura of a ruler descending upon the world!

"Let's go! Up ahead is a Marrow Cleansing Pool guarded by a Tier 3 demonic beast. It will be of great benefit to your Five Elements Chaos Body."

"Whoever dares to stop us, I will kill!"

The following days were an absolute nightmare for the other cultivators and demonic beasts in the Desolate Ancient Secret Realm.

The following days were an absolute nightmare for the other cultivators and demonic beasts in the Desolate Ancient Secret Realm.

Xia Lengyue completely transformed into a power-leveling maniac.

She led Ye Xuan and swept through the entire core area of the secret realm.

Encountered demonic beasts blocking the way?

Kill!

With a single strike of her sword, whether it was a thick-skinned Ironclad Rhinoceros or a lightning-fast Wind Shadow Leopard, all were instantly killed!

Encountered disciples from other sects fighting for resources?

Scram!

With just a single glance and a slight leak of her oppressive aura, those so-called sect geniuses would be scared witless, fleeing and abandoning even their storage bags.

Following behind, Ye Xuan only needed to do two things:

First, shout, Senior Sister is mighty! Senior Sister is domineering!

Second, clean up the battlefield and frantically harvest the loot.

Demonic cores, spirit herbs, ores, and the storage bags of other disciples...

Ye Xuan's storage ring was soon stuffed to the brim. He found a few more storage bags from the spoils and hung them around his waist, looking exactly like a nouveau riche.

Under this high-intensity piling of resources and Xia Lengyue's cost-blind feeding, Ye Xuan's cultivation base experienced another explosive surge.

In that Marrow Cleansing Pool guarded by the Tier 3 demonic beast, Ye Xuan soaked for a full day and night.

Xia Lengyue sat by the pool, personally standing guard for him, and even used her own origin spiritual energy to help him refine the violent energy within the pool water.

When Ye Xuan stepped out of the pool.

Boom!

The five elements spiritual energy within his body roared deafeningly, like rivers surging into the sea!

Now, he had finally reached the tenth level of Qi Condensation!

Moreover, having undergone the tempering of the Marrow Cleansing Pool, his physical strength had also drastically improved. His skin faintly glowed with a jade-like luster; the Five Elements Chaos Body was beginning to show its divine might.

Right now, relying solely on his physical strength, he was capable of taking on ordinary Tier 2 demonic beasts head-on!

"Exhilarating!"

Ye Xuan clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body, and could not help but throw his head back and let out a long howl.

This rocket-like leveling speed was truly too intoxicating.

Although this act of living off a woman was shameful... it felt so damn good!

"Congratulations."

Xia Lengyue looked at the high-spirited Ye Xuan, her eyes full of doting affection.

"With your current foundation, reaching the Foundation Establishment realm is a matter of course. However... I do not recommend you establish your foundation in this secret realm."

"Why?" Ye Xuan was puzzled.

"Because the laws here are incomplete," Xia Lengyue explained. "Furthermore, what you need to build is the Five Elements Heavenly Dao Foundation, which requires five types of heaven and earth exotic treasures as auxiliaries. These things are not fully available in the secret realm. After we go out, I will find them for you."

The Five Elements Heavenly Dao Foundation!

That was the legendary strongest foundation that only ancient mighty figures could forge!

Ye Xuan's heart warmed, and the gaze he directed at Xia Lengyue inevitably became a bit more complex.

This woman...

If you weren't a yandere who could chop someone down at any moment, if you didn't have that damn past life, if you weren't the murderer who killed Liu Feiyan...

Perhaps, I really would fall for you.