Chapter 77

At this moment, two flying swords circled around, emitting astonishing sword qi, heading straight for Shangguan Xiu's head, one on each side, carrying Meng Hao's murderous intent, clearly determined not to let Shangguan Xiu escape this time.

"That is a foundation establishment surpassing the flawless, in the entire Southern Heaven, across the four continents, it is a thousand times rarer than your tenth stage of Qi Condensation, a perfect foundation establishment!!"

"Meng Hao, you..." Shangguan Xiu's scream abruptly cut off as Meng Hao's two wooden swords instantly pierced his head, blood splattering everywhere.

Shangguan Xiu died instantly, not even a hundred years old, his resentment reaching the heavens!

He was unwilling, for he had great ambitions, and now he was dying in the process of foundation establishment. However, all of this, with the collapse of his head and the fall of his body to Mount Daqing, and the thud as it landed in the river below, gradually faded away.

Only his storage bag, which Meng Hao caught with his right hand as it fell, was a dark green pouch. Meng Hao did not look at it, placing it directly in his chest.

He was panting, even though he had reached the tenth stage of Qi Condensation, supporting two wooden swords to kill someone about to establish a foundation was a great drain on him.

Watching Shangguan Xiu's body disappear into the river, Meng Hao turned and transformed into a long rainbow, stepping on the wooden sword, instantly descending the mountain and appearing before the unconscious Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu's face was pale, his eyes closed, his breath faint, as if his life was a flickering flame, ready to extinguish at any moment.

Meng Hao was silent, glancing at the bead floating beside him. The power of this bead greatly alarmed him, it could be considered a supreme treasure, even comparable to his bronze mirror.

"This item, if replicated, would require an astronomical number of spirit stones... a pity." Meng Hao sighed, looking up at the sky.

He had long seen that this bead was linked to Xiao Hu's life. If he took it, Xiao Hu would surely die.

"He can entrust his life, how can I, Meng Hao, be a petty person, forever with a guilty conscience, and thus have obstructed thoughts, making my path of cultivation come to an end." Meng Hao's eyes shone brightly, he waved his sleeve and raised his right hand, pointing at Xiao Hu's forehead.

Xiao Hu's body trembled, he opened his eyes in a daze, but instantly became wary, stepping back several steps, looking at the bead in Meng Hao's hand, his body trembling slightly, a hint of despair in his eyes.

Meng Hao raised his right hand and pointed at the bead, which immediately flew towards Xiao Hu. When Xiao Hu took it, his expression became even more complex, staring at Meng Hao in a daze.

"Thank you for your help, this treasure is astonishing, you must be cautious, take care of yourself." As the bead left, Meng Hao's body instantly weakened, even the tenth stage of Qi Condensation began to show signs of decline. As his cultivation fell, the isolated heaven and earth qi slowly reappeared.

The intense suction in his body also gradually disappeared.

Meng Hao did not regret his decision, there were some things he could not do, unwilling to betray his own heart.

The blood ball that Shangguan Xiu had refined from the people of the three counties under Mount Daqing, when Meng Hao pointed at it with his right hand, gradually dissipated, turning into a large amount of blood qi that spread into the three counties.

For the people of the three counties, it was as if they had been in a daze for two months. Now, they all woke up, feeling weak but not seriously harmed. However, they did not know that during these two months, they had each lost nearly five years of their lifespan.

Meng Hao saw this but could do nothing, sighing softly, he walked away.

"Meng Senior, Shangguan Xiu..." Xiao Hu suddenly spoke.

"There will be no such person in the world from now on." Meng Hao did not turn back, walking further away. This battle would inevitably attract the attention of the three major sects, and Meng Hao had already guessed that the reason the three sects allowed Shangguan Xiu to set up a great array here was related to himself. They must have had an agreement, with Shangguan Xiu wanting his storage bag and the three sects wanting him. Meng Hao had not yet thought of a strategy and needed to leave quickly to carefully consider his next move.

Xiao Hu did not speak, watching Meng Hao walk away. After a long time, a determined and resolute look appeared in his eyes.

"Meng Hao, you can remain unmoved by my supreme treasure. Although I, Dong Hu, am not a good person, you can rest assured, I will never do anything to betray you." Xiao Hu turned, looking at his parents from afar in the county, his eyes softening, but this softness quickly disappeared. He lowered his head and quickly walked away.

At this moment, several long rainbows roared from the sky, the person at the forefront being Liu Daoyun of the Fenghan Sect.

"Meng Hao, you can't escape today!"

Meng Hao frowned, transforming into a long rainbow and quickly fleeing. Using the remaining power of the tenth stage of Qi Condensation, he pulled away from the pursuers, seeing more figures of the three sects' disciples appearing in the distance. He imagined that the foundation establishment and core formation elders, even if they were not originally certain to appear here, would quickly come after learning of his presence.

"Shangguan Xiu has considerable backing, the Tianhe Market... no wonder the people of the three sects, even though they had already arrived, did not approach but only came after sensing the dissipation of the magical battle. It seems the agreement was such, as Shangguan Xiu had his own secrets, not wanting anyone to see, even the people of the Tianhe Market. I wonder how he managed to hide it from the Tianhe Market over the years."

Outside Mount Daqing, beyond the Northern Sea, and through a vast range of desolate mountains, was the former location of the Kaoshan Sect.

In this vast range of desolate mountains, on the halfway point of one of the peaks, Meng Hao moved quickly, his expression fluctuating, occasionally looking down at a piece of turtle shell in his hand.

The turtle shell was palm-sized, with jagged edges, clearly a fragment of a complete turtle shell.

On it were densely written rows of small characters, which were blurry to the naked eye, but could be勉强 seen clearly only when spiritual energy was infused into the eyes.

"This cultivation world actually has... a perfect foundation establishment!" Meng Hao's breathing paused. This item was obtained from Shangguan Xiu's storage bag.

The turtle shell recorded the methods for refining two types of pills, one being the Perfect Foundation Establishment Pill, and the other the Perfect Golden Core Pill.

"The turtle shell clearly states that foundation establishment in the cultivation world is not limited to the three types: flawless, flawed, and shattered. There is a fourth type, the perfect foundation establishment. This type of foundation establishment is extremely rare, with few in the world, and it is difficult to produce one in tens of thousands of years..." Meng Hao's breathing quickened, staring at the turtle shell in his hand. He recalled Shangguan Xiu's words before his death, the regret and overwhelming hatred when he was forced to establish a foundation due to poisoning.

Meng Hao was silent. In the past, he had seen many introductions to foundation establishment in the Dharma Pavilion of the inner sect of the Kaoshan Sect.

Foundation establishment involves condensing a Dao Platform in the Dan Lake. Since foundation establishment increases lifespan, it is a way to seize the power of heaven and earth, and thus the Dao Platform will not be perfect, with cracks, to conform to the laws of heaven and earth. This is the principle of gain and loss, entry and dispersion, becoming part of the cycle of heaven and earth, and thus being allowed to exist in the world.

In the early, middle, and late stages of foundation establishment, nine Dao Platforms will gradually condense. If each Dao Platform has only one crack, totaling nine, it is called a flawless foundation establishment. This type of foundation establishment, due to fewer cracks in the Dao Platforms, allows for less dissipation of spiritual energy, making the cultivator extremely powerful over time, surpassing other foundation establishment cultivators.

It can be said that this is the strongest manifestation of foundation establishment in the current cultivation world. This type of foundation establishment requires special cultivation techniques, such as the Qi Condensation Scroll of the Great Spirit Scripture, or other major scriptures. However, these scriptures are only known in fragments within the cultivation world, and their appearance can cause great turmoil, leading to the dissolution of the Kaoshan Sect.

Without such scriptures, to achieve a flawless foundation establishment, one must have extremely remarkable talent and fortune, often being the outstanding individuals who are important indicators of future development.

If the Dao Platform has more than one crack, it will naturally exceed nine in the later stages of foundation establishment, thus being called a flawed foundation establishment. This type of foundation establishment, though slightly inferior to the flawless, is still not to be underestimated, often possessed by disciples of major sects.

The worst is the shattered foundation establishment. In the later stages of cultivation, the nine Dao Platforms have more than eighteen cracks, resembling shattered pieces, hence the name. Both cultivation speed and combat power are significantly weaker, and the chances of reaching core formation are greatly reduced.

Meng Hao was silent, looking at the turtle shell in his hand. According to the description, once the Perfect Foundation Establishment Pill is refined, if ingested, there is a certain chance of becoming a perfect foundation establishment. A perfect foundation establishment means no cracks at all, thus having no dissipation, a heaven-defying cultivation.

This foundation establishment is not tolerated by heaven and earth, and once chosen, a thunderbolt will descend. However, if one can ultimately succeed... it will be heaven-defying. This is similar to the tenth stage of Qi Condensation.

"From Shangguan Xiu's words, the tenth stage of Qi Condensation and above is not tolerated by heaven and earth, and the perfect foundation establishment is also not tolerated..."

"Shattered foundation establishment has a 10% chance of becoming perfect when ingesting this pill, flawed has a 30% chance, and if already flawless, there is a 60% chance of healing the cracks after foundation establishment, becoming a perfect foundation establishment... However, the timing of ingesting the pill is crucial. The sooner it is ingested after foundation establishment, the better the effect. If too much time passes, the cracks will naturally form and cannot be healed. Refining a batch of Perfect Foundation Establishment Pills takes several months." Meng Hao's heart pounded as he pondered.

"No wonder Shangguan Xiu joined the Kaoshan Sect... He, like Wang Tengfei, wanted to obtain the Qi Condensation Scroll of the Great Spirit Scripture within the Kaoshan Sect to achieve a flawless foundation establishment... No wonder I didn't see Shangguan Xiu when the sect dissolved; he had this secret and dared not reveal it." Meng Hao clutched the turtle shell tightly, murmuring to himself as he moved forward.

In Shangguan Xiu's storage bag, besides the turtle shell, there was a palm-sized, crystal-clear green pill furnace, and a large number of herbs, each placed in different jade boxes, totaling several hundred.

Many of these herbs were unfamiliar to Meng Hao, but within the storage bag, there was an ancient jade that recorded a relatively complete method for identifying herbs. As he observed, he gradually felt a sense of awe.

In Shangguan Xiu's storage bag, besides the turtle shell, there was a palm-sized, crystal-clear green pill furnace, and a large number of herbs, each placed in different jade boxes, totaling several hundred.

Many of these herbs were unfamiliar to Meng Hao, but within the storage bag, there was an ancient jade that recorded a relatively complete method for identifying herbs. As he observed, he gradually felt a sense of awe.