104: Chapter 104 Mid-Foundation Building Stage and the Condensation of Intent

In cultivation, years are not counted, and twenty years of time flashed by in an instant.

Inside the cave dwelling, spiritual energy was dense and misty; the originally scattered and wandering spiritual essence suddenly paused, and then rapidly surged toward one place, condensing into a rotating spiritual power vortex in an instant.

At the center of the air vortex, the figure sitting cross-legged beneath it had their clothes fluttering without any wind, and the mighty spiritual power rushed into their body frantically like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

The spirit stones in the Spirit-Gathering Array turned to ash batch after batch, until that devouring gravitational pull suddenly restrained itself, and an imposing momentum burst forth and spread out.

"Hum~!"

A fierce wind suddenly rose inside the cave dwelling, and all the tables, chairs, and desks were blown away, crashing against the stone walls and shattering into fragments.

You slowly opened your eyes, looked at the mess all over the floor, and a trace of emotion flashed across your eyes.

The monotonous cultivation of twenty years as one day, coupled with the consumption of most of the resources on your body, finally yielded the deserved reward.

"Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage!"

The spiritual power in your body surged by more than double, and your divine sense also climbed to a range close to six thousand meters.

After Foundation Establishment, every breakthrough is a heaven-shaking transformation.

Thinking of the scene of slaying Wang Li that day, you could not help but feel some emotional sighs. If not for the peak Tier 2 Qingluan Winged Wind Bird's assistance, even if you could perform both body and magic Foundation Establishment at that time, it would have been utterly impossible to keep the other party behind.

At the same time, you gained a clearer understanding of the gap between Dual Spiritual Roots and Three Spiritual Roots.

Although in that simulation, Su Yu had a late-stage Golden Core cultivator supplying unlimited resources, being able to break through to the Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage within ten years was still much faster than your speed.

Feeling the huge pink mist cluster within your inner world, the corners of your mouth curved up slightly.

Although there was still some gap before advancing your spiritual roots, at least you saw hope.

You slowly stretched, exposing the perfect curves beneath your lapels to the air; such a beautiful sight had not been appreciated by anyone for a long time.

A year ago, Han Xuan obtained news from somewhere that his family had undergone a major change; after leaving in a hurry, there has been no news since then.

Fortunately, you are now under the sect of Master Huoyan, and you have some say on Qingheng Island, otherwise that kid would have been branded as a sect betrayer long ago.

However... you haven't collected any Threads of Affection for a whole year.

With Han Xuan around before, most of your attention was focused entirely on cultivation, but now you could spare some thoughts.

After all, the twenty-year period had arrived, and you ultimately had to accept your master's command.

You certainly had no qualification to object.

But right now, there was something even more important than this.

Thinking of this, you slowly stood up, a crimson rune quietly appearing between your brows. In the blink of an eye, a wisp of red light enveloped you, and the loose plain white robe on your body turned into flowing light.

As the light dissipated, your attire had completely transformed.

You wore a white off-the-shoulder wide-sleeved upper garment on your upper body, matched with a bluish-green long skirt on your lower body, and an ink-colored waist belt bound a waist that could be grasped with both hands. The slightly intimidating aura that had just leaked out due to your breakthrough instantly added a bit of liveliness and agility.

You raised your hand to brush out a water mirror, admired it for a moment, and nodded with satisfaction.

"This lord is so cute~"

A moment later, a red streak of light shot straight into the sky; your Foundation Establishment cultivation no longer needed to be hidden!

...

Qingheng Island is located on the east side of the thousand-petaled blood-colored giant lotus, the entire island shaped like a green leaf, floating above the spiritual mist.

You did not appreciate the strange scenery of lush peaks and myriad rays of rosy clouds along the way, but directly sped toward the tall tower in the center of the island.

After flying for the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the tall tower at the end of your vision had revealed a clear outline.

Jet-black throughout, the tower body was as straight as a sword, soaring straight into the clouds, and the surface was carved with dense runes, with faint gloomy light flowing. It was precisely the place dedicated to tempering the Dao heart on Qingheng Island—the Heart-Tempering Tower.

Your figure turned, carrying a powerful aura as you landed directly in front of the tower gate.

The powerful wave of air knocked the disciples queuing up into staggering back. They were just about to reprimand, but after feeling the newcomer's momentum, their expressions changed drastically in an instant, and they hurriedly bowed with cupped hands.

"Welcome, Martial Uncle!!!"

You nodded slightly and walked straight toward the Heart-Tempering Tower.

Seeing this, the gatekeeper disciples immediately inserted their tokens, and the black stone gate slowly opened.

The temple god is easy to destroy, the mind and spirit are hard to break.

You stopped in front of the door, softly chanting the couplet on the lintel, your brows slightly furrowing before smoothing out again.

You are a pure sword cultivator after all; since the temple god can be destroyed, then the mind and spirit can also be slashed.

They are merely different forms, ultimately nothing more than nourishment on the Dao path, so why put on such an unfathomable act.

The next moment, you no longer hesitated, stepped forward, and your figure quickly disappeared before the tower.

"Gulps~ Which Foundation Establishment martial uncle is this? Such a terrifying aura."

Until after you left, discussions gradually sounded from the crowd.

"I've heard of it! Twenty years ago, this woman... no, this martial uncle was once the top of the Qixia Courtyard's appearance leaderboard."

"Tch! What does that count for? Back then, I was even collected protection money from by Martial Uncle Shen!"

"Hiss~! Such a relationship exists?"

Envious gazes immediately cast over from the surroundings.

"Fellow Daoist, what on earth is this protection money?"

"... You'd better not ask what shouldn't be asked!"

...

Inside the Heart-Tempering Tower.

You were currently in a pitch-black space, where dots of spiritual light were slowly emerging not far away, gradually forming a white light shadow.

The Heart-Tempering Tower had two ways to temper one's state of mind: the first was to repeatedly experience the most painful or most fearful things of this life.

The second was to step into the Heart Mirror Battlefield.

The Heart-Tempering Tower would condense a spiritual body of equivalent cultivation that would not be injured or fatigued to fight with you, seeking a breakthrough in your state of mind amidst life and death.

It was somewhat similar to comprehending Sword Intent within the Qingfeng Valley Secret Realm, except that the sword stele only tempered the mind and spirit with death pressure, whereas here it was a real-sword-and-real-gun mortal combat.

Although the tower spirit would protect your life to be safe and sound, it would not eliminate a single bit of the pain, and the injuries were also real.

Compared to being abused, you still preferred the second way: battle! Awesome!

The moment the white light shadow took form, your figure flashed, and without hesitation, you slashed down with a sword right at its head.

The light shadow raised its sword to parry, and its moves were quite similar to yours.

"Clang!"

The crisp sound of fine iron clashing echoed in the quiet space. You were well aware of the light shadow's strength, and without any surprise, you swirled to avoid frontal combat, slashing out with another sword from a tricky angle.

This was not your first time fighting the light shadow; over the twenty years, you had stepped into this place more than a dozen times.

Although each time you returned in defeat covered in wounds, you could feel that the second stage of Sword Heart Clarity—Sword Intent Condensing into a Thread—had already reached the verge of a breakthrough.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

The speed of the exchange between the person and the shadow became faster and faster, sword lights intertwined like pouring heavy rain, turning into bursts of afterimages that intersected into a dense sword net.

As your spiritual power gradually depleted, quite a few new blood marks also appeared on your body, but your state of mind became increasingly ethereal.

Spiritual light flickered in your eyes, the weak points of the sword Qi when the light shadow brandished its sword became increasingly clear, while the Sword Intent in your hand grew increasingly refined and condensed.

"Flaws, flaws, flaws! All flaws!"

Until a certain moment, you felt your mind and Sword Intent blend seamlessly into one, and the formless sword Qi instantly condensed into a peerlessly sharp thread.

Then, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, you casually slashed out a sword. Without any heaven-shaking effects, it easily cleaved open the impenetrable sword net in front of you.

Between heaven and earth, there remained only a single white sword thread.

"Swoosh~!"