Chapter 99

Time slowly passed, and before they knew it, half a month had gone by. On this night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, with the full moon hanging high in the sky, its gentle light like silver covering the earth.

The moonlight also fell into the various valleys, especially the valley where Meng Hao was located. The mist in the valley, illuminated by the moonlight, began to slowly roll, gradually forming a vortex.

At this moment, outside the valley, the seven cultivators had already arrived. Their eyes were sharp, staring at the mist in the valley, and they all showed signs of anticipation.

"The time has come..." The toad elder, who had the highest cultivation among the seven, spoke softly. Almost instantly, a series of splashing sounds came from the mist in the valley below.

The sound was muffled, and when it reached their ears, it seemed to pierce their hearts. The clacking sounds echoed, and the mist in the valley rolled even more intensely.

As time passed, the splashing sounds grew louder. The mist rolled and swirled, forming a huge vortex. The mist rising from the edges of the vortex seemed to penetrate the rock walls, causing the valley's rock walls to melt and flow with a large amount of rock water.

At the same time, a dark red rope, as thick as an arm, appeared from the vortex. Its color was like it had been stained with the blood of countless people. As the vortex rotated, it produced a buzzing sound. The moment the red rope appeared, the seven people immediately became more alert.

The toad elder's eyes flashed, and he immediately bit his tongue and spat out blood. As he formed hand seals, he threw a black fragment from his storage bag.

Immediately after, the other six people also bit their tongues and spat out blood, each throwing a black fragment. Their movements were skilled, clearly indicating they were familiar with this process.

As their blood was sprayed, it immediately fell into the mist vortex below. Whether due to the bloodline connection or not, the vortex paused for a moment after the blood droplets fell, but the red rope continued to rotate, showing no signs of stopping.

At the same time, the black fragments from the seven people instantly converged in mid-air, forming a large black knife!

The knife floated above the valley, pointing downward. Immediately, the red rope trembled violently, and it stopped rotating.

At this moment, the toad elder let out a low roar, leaped forward, and grabbed the dark red rope with both hands. Ignoring the wet, blood-like feeling in his hands, the other six people quickly appeared behind him. Their strength seemed to converge, and they pulled backward with great force.

A loud rumbling echoed around them. The dark red rope was pulled out by more than ten zhang. As the rope was pulled, a large amount of black gas burst out from the stationary vortex in the valley below, enveloping the surroundings and submerging the location of Meng Hao's cave.

"Jade spirit stones at one hundred zhang, poisonous gas and toxins at two hundred zhang. Last time, we finally pulled out three hundred zhang and obtained the beast-sealing stone. This time, we are well-prepared and will definitely reach five hundred zhang!"

"That's right. According to the clan's records, if we can pull out five hundred zhang, we can unlock the first seal, awakening the clan's ancestral spirit, which will serve as a poison foundation, allowing our cultivation to advance by one level!" The seven people, with determined looks, pulled the red rope again.

The vortex was bottomless, appearing pitch black. The red rope seemed infinitely long, with no end in sight. However, each pull made the surrounding valley tremble and the earth shake, as if the end of the red rope connected to the core of the earth.

The rumbling grew even more intense. As the red rope was continuously pulled out and the poisonous gas spread, the moment the red rope was pulled out beyond three hundred zhang, a sudden, pungent odor emerged from the depths of the vortex.

This odor seemed to have never seen the light of day, and it immediately changed the expressions of the seven people. Fortunately, the area around the red rope seemed to automatically dispel the pungent odor and poisonous gas, allowing them to continue despite their pale faces.

Three hundred fifty zhang, three hundred eighty zhang, four hundred zhang!

The seven people were already panting, their cultivation almost completely depleted. However, they did not hesitate to swallow pills and pull the rope again. Five of them spat out blood, and only the toad elder and another cultivator at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation managed to persist, though their bodies were trembling uncontrollably.

"We've reached our limit..." The toad elder roared, bit his tongue, and spat out blood. As his blood was sprayed, a black light instantly flew to the edge of the valley, transforming into a giant toad that bit the red rope. The moment it touched the rope, its body withered, but it continued to pull.

Immediately after, a centipede, a flying creature, and several spiders as large as a person were summoned by the others to help pull the red rope. Even the stone that had been refined by four of them flew out, with the bird skeleton inside emitting a faint light, allowing the red rope to be pulled out bit by bit.

Four hundred thirty zhang, four hundred sixty zhang, four hundred ninety zhang!

The odor grew even stronger, and it was now accompanied by a strong stench of corpses, enveloping the entire valley. Just as the red rope was about to be pulled out to five hundred zhang, a sharp, piercing scream filled with intense hostility suddenly came from the end of the vortex, in the direction of the red rope.

The scream was extremely piercing and filled with a strong desire. However, just as they were three zhang away from five hundred zhang, the poisonous creatures they had summoned exploded one by one, unable to withstand the strain. As the creatures died, the seven people's faces turned pale, and the red rope was suddenly yanked out of their hands, pulled back into the vortex. If they had not let go quickly, they would have been pulled into the vortex as well.

They watched helplessly as the red rope was reabsorbed into the vortex, and the seven people fell silent.

"Never mind, we can try again next month."

"That's right. One day, we will definitely pull out five hundred zhang of the red rope. I can feel my cultivation is about to break through. Once I reach the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, we will surely succeed."

"That outsider cultivator is also at the ninth layer..." One of the seven people suddenly spoke.

"We cannot complicate matters. Besides, that outsider should already be dead. In the poisonous gas, unless one has the Foundation Establishment realm, only those with our bloodline can remain unharmed." The seven people discussed in low voices for a moment before dispersing.

The mist in the valley lasted for three days before slowly returning to calm. The spiritual energy became dense again, and the poisonous gas and mist in the valley gradually dissipated.

Inside the cave, Meng Hao's eyes suddenly opened, and he looked coldly ahead. Around him, numerous arcs of lightning were moving. He had clearly felt everything that had happened outside three days ago. As for the poisonous gas, it had been destroyed by the lightning from his Thunder Flag, so Meng Hao had not been harmed.

"They think I am dead, which is good." Meng Hao's eyes flashed.

"I wonder if it's because of the Great Spirit Scripture or the demon core... My Foundation Establishment is so difficult." Meng Hao took out another Foundation Establishment pill, frowning. He was now somewhat skeptical that the Great Spirit Scripture he was practicing might not be the original version, but rather modified by the Mountain Relying Ancestor to suit his demon thoughts... Without an answer, Meng Hao showed determination, swallowed the Foundation Establishment pill without hesitation, and closed his eyes to meditate and attempt to break through.

The rumbling in his body's pill sea grew even stronger, rolling and continuously condensing, as if trying to form a Dao Platform. However, this was extremely difficult. Despite having the Foundation Establishment pill, Meng Hao still could not succeed in a short time.

After all, Foundation Establishment is the first true barrier in cultivation, and the Foundation Establishment pill only increases the chances of success, not guaranteeing it.

Even if Meng Hao had reached the peak of Qi Condensation, his talent had improved, but it was still not easy.

Time passed, and three months went by. During these three months, the seven people would come to pull the red rope every full moon. They also visited Meng Hao's cave multiple times, trying to open it and find Meng Hao's body.

However, Meng Hao's cave was protected by the Thunder Flag of the Mountain Relying Ancestor, and these few Qi Condensation cultivators could not open it at all. They began to doubt whether Meng Hao was really dead.

But as another three months passed, a total of six months, they had not seen Meng Hao leave the cave at all, and they gradually became convinced that Meng Hao was dead.

During these six months, Meng Hao did not care how many Foundation Establishment pills he had swallowed. Each time he failed, he immediately swallowed another pill, and eventually, he even swallowed two pills at once.

During this period, he experienced two poison attacks, but fortunately, he was prepared and managed to endure them, continuing to attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

Using this forced method, after another month, on this night, a tremendous rumbling erupted within Meng Hao's body. The rumbling was inaudible to others, but to Meng Hao, it felt like thunder.

Inside his body, the golden pill sea roared like never before, with golden light piercing through Meng Hao's body, making him look like a golden figure inside the cave.

He sat in meditation, unmoving, focusing all his mind on condensing the Dao Platform and breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm. Inside his pill sea, the demon core was rapidly spinning, gradually showing signs of melting.

Over these six months, the demon core often showed this change. Meng Hao had long understood that without the demon core, his Foundation Establishment would be much easier. It was precisely because of the demon core that his Foundation Establishment, even at the peak of Qi Condensation, was much more difficult than for others.

Each time the Dao Platform was about to condense, it would be disrupted by the spinning of the demon core, preventing the Dao Platform from forming. At this moment, inside Meng Hao's pill sea, amidst the golden light, the sea water suddenly condensed, seemingly about to solidify and form a massive Dao Platform. However, just then, the demon core spun again, causing the previously calm pill sea to ripple, making the Dao Platform unstable.

"Again!" Meng Hao's eyes flashed with a cold light, and without hesitation, he raised his right hand, holding three Foundation Establishment pills, and immediately swallowed them.

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