Chapter 100

"Since the demon core is always moving, it prevents the formation of the dantian, making it difficult to condense the Dao Platform... To condense the Dao Platform and form the dantian, the demon core must first be made to stop moving, which requires a great deal of spiritual energy to forcibly stabilize it!"

The three Foundation Establishment Pills dissolved in his mouth, releasing a shocking amount of spiritual energy that surged into Meng Hao’s dantian in an instant. The dantian, which was about to solidify but was rippling due to the rotation of the demon core, was suddenly hit by a powerful shock.

This shock instantly made Meng Hao’s dantian glow with a golden light, causing the demon core to pause in its eternal rotation for a moment. The spiritual energy in his dantian was extremely abundant, and with another powerful impact, the demon core, which was about to resume its rotation after the pause, was completely suppressed.

At the moment of the pause, with no more ripples, Meng Hao’s entire dantian immediately emitted a cracking sound, resonating within his body. The entire dantian froze like ice, and in just a few breaths, it solidified completely.

At this moment, it seemed as if even life had come to a standstill. Meng Hao’s breathing gradually became longer, his body trembled, but his eyes were extremely bright. He took a deep breath, and the Great Spirit Scripture’s Qi Condensation Scroll appeared in his mind. As he continuously circulated it, the solidified dantian in his body began to slowly shrink.

Soon, the entire dantian, under this contraction, gradually transformed into a crystal-like rhombus, enveloping the demon core. Then, waves of heavenly and earthly spiritual energy surged in, and the residual spiritual energy from the Foundation Establishment Pills in Meng Hao’s body also emerged, causing his dantian to reappear and fill up again.

Almost as soon as the dantian was filled, it immediately contracted again, transforming into a crystal-like rhombus. This cycle repeated, and time passed, with spiritual energy continuously surging in from all around.

Meng Hao knew that this process would be long and require a great deal of spiritual energy, which was why he had chosen this valley. He opened his storage bag and continuously swallowed various pills.

His dantian filled up and transformed into a crystal-like rhombus again and again, and Meng Hao lost track of time, not knowing how long it had been.

One month, two months, three months... six months...

Spring turned to autumn, and winter brought snow. Outside, a year had passed since Meng Hao entered his cave to meditate. During this year, the seven cultivators would come to the valley and pull the red rope every full moon.

The best result they achieved was pulling it out to 499 feet, but the last foot was always impossible to pull. As time passed, they also noticed that the surrounding spiritual energy was gradually decreasing, being absorbed by the valley where Meng Hao was.

They were puzzled and could not find the cause, and they had long since ignored Meng Hao, assuming he had died since he had not emerged in a year.

The cultivator who had lost his spirit snake always looked at Meng Hao’s cave with a sneer, harboring hatred due to the death of his spirit snake. This person had attempted multiple times to break into Meng Hao’s cave to retrieve what he considered Meng Hao’s remains, but he never succeeded.

Time passed slowly, and another half a year went by. Meng Hao had been in seclusion for a year and a half. One night, after his dantian condensed again, the crystal-like rhombus appeared in a total of one hundred pieces.

With a loud boom, these one hundred rhombuses suddenly merged together, gradually forming a crystal-clear Dao Platform!

A Foundation Establishment Dao Platform!

As the Dao Platform appeared, Meng Hao’s breathing gradually disappeared, his eyes dimmed, his heart rate slowed, and eventually almost stopped. His blood no longer flowed, and his entire body seemed to enter a state of apparent death.

Everything became silent.

Meng Hao knew that this was the second stage before Foundation Establishment, known as the Nourishing Breath stage.

He sat cross-legged, his mind continuously reciting the Great Spirit Scripture’s Qi Condensation Scroll, as if immersed in a strange state. His flesh and blood seemed unchanged, but in reality, they had begun to differ from the Qi Condensation stage, becoming more suitable for the absorption of spiritual energy.

His meridians continuously expanded, and although there was no spiritual energy circulating within them, they changed daily, becoming more resilient and unobstructed. His bones also changed, with some areas becoming slightly crystalline, as if undergoing a transformation different from the mortal world. This change completely transformed Meng Hao’s body inside and out, making his hair grow longer and his height increase.

Inside his body, the dantian no longer existed, replaced by a golden Dao Platform. It was a circular platform, devoid of golden light, appearing extremely dim, as if desolate, but it subtly contained a strange quality. It floated where the dantian used to be, and if one looked closely, one could see that Meng Hao’s demon core was at the center of the Dao Platform, perfectly integrated.

His heart no longer beat, his blood did not flow, his meridians did not move, and his breath had disappeared. Meng Hao sat cross-legged, as if his entire body had withered, and the Dao Platform within him was also in a state of extreme stillness, as if about to disappear.

This sitting lasted another half a year. His attempt to reach Foundation Establishment had taken a total of two years, a time that seemed unimaginable to outsiders, as most cultivators took at most half a year, and some only a few months, to reach Foundation Establishment. Thus, the amount of spiritual energy absorbed was far less than what Meng Hao had absorbed, which took such a long time.

One day, after another half a year, Meng Hao’s Dao Platform trembled slightly, the first movement in his body. This was followed by his heart, which began to beat, and the Dao Platform’s trembling triggered a series of changes within Meng Hao’s body. His blood began to flow slowly, his meridians began to stretch, and his breath began to show signs of life. He seemed to be slowly waking from a deep sleep.

Soon, the golden light from the Dao Platform became brighter, and the trembling became more intense. His heartbeat could even be heard outside his body, echoing throughout the cave. His meridians fully stretched, and his blood began to flow rapidly. Each heartbeat sent blood surging through his body, and his breath became powerful, giving his eyes the strength to open.

This power not only allowed him to open his eyes but also awakened and gathered from every part of his body, gradually enveloping him, giving him a sense of strength.

At this moment, the Dao Platform in Meng Hao’s body, glowing with golden light, emitted a powerful boom, and an indescribable surge of spiritual energy spread throughout his body, meridians, blood, bones, and every part of him.

It was like a withered tree coming to life. His body fully awakened, his aura grew stronger, and a large amount of impurities were expelled, along with a fragrant aroma that spread from his body. His long hair moved without wind, making him look noticeably different from half a year ago.

As this spiritual energy spread, his meridians became powerful, his blood flow increased dramatically, and his heartbeats made the entire cave tremble. His eyes... in that instant, suddenly opened.

A bright light, like a strong beam in the darkness, burst from Meng Hao’s eyes, so intense that it could make any Qi Condensation cultivator’s cultivation reverse and their mind boom upon seeing it.

The moment his eyes opened, the spiritual energy in the valley surged back, as if Meng Hao’s body had become a massive black hole, absorbing all the surrounding spiritual energy. This spiritual energy rushed in, continuously merging into his Dao Platform, making the golden light even brighter and Meng Hao’s aura even stronger.

His heartbeats boomed, and a powerful feeling grew in Meng Hao’s heart. At this moment, he felt as if he could destroy the cave with a single gesture, a confidence that came from his body, mind, and cultivation.

His spiritual sense in his mind grew rapidly, especially after the Great Spirit Scripture’s Qi Condensation stage, which had already surpassed the average Foundation Establishment cultivator by a great deal.

One could even say that Meng Hao’s spiritual sense at this moment was not that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator but rather that of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The strength of one’s spiritual sense is the foundation of all things for Foundation Establishment cultivators!

As Meng Hao breathed, the surrounding area echoed, and the influx of spiritual energy made the golden light in his Dao Platform even stronger, turning his body golden.

He seemed to see the world outside the cave, and with a mental command, everything within a 500-foot radius was reflected in his mind, as if he were seeing it with his own eyes. This... was spiritual sense!

Foundation Establishment cultivators are clearly more powerful than Qi Condensation cultivators, and the range of their spiritual sense is a key factor. For an average Foundation Establishment cultivator, the range is at most 200 feet.

“Foundation Establishment stage...” Meng Hao slowly said, his face glowing, his eyes bright. He took a deep breath, feeling the strength of the spiritual energy from his Dao Platform, which was nearly a hundred times stronger than when he was at the peak of the 13th layer of Qi Condensation half a year ago.

A hundred times the difference, and not just a hundred times stronger than the 9th layer of Qi Condensation, but a hundred times stronger than the 13th layer. This was a qualitative change for Meng Hao.

Similarly, this was the fundamental reason why a Foundation Establishment cultivator could dominate Qi Condensation cultivators. The dantian, after a hundred condensations, forms the Foundation Establishment Dao Platform, a transformation from liquid to solid, and a leap from quantity to quality, resulting in incomparable strength!