122: Chapter 81 Embracing and Then Parting

Liu Lili's body trembled slightly, then she buried her face in his chest, tears sliding down silently.

The moonlight shone on the two of them, stretching their shadows very long.

A match made in heaven, kindred spirits, sleeping in each other's arms.

A lonely figure watched from afar, then collapsed to their knees with a boom.

Wailing heart-rendingly: "No! Lili!"

...

The next morning.

When Chen Xuan woke up, Liu Lili was still asleep.

Her breathing was steady, a smile on her lips, like a satiated kitten.

Chen Xuan looked at her for a long time.

Then he gently got up, put on his robe, and walked out of the Immortal Cave.

The morning breeze brushed his face, Spiritual Qi entering his lungs.

He took a deep breath and looked toward the east.

Long Sea.

He had to go to the Long Sea to subdue the Water Nightmare.

The Water Nightmare was a Foundation Establishment Yao Beast, and its blood was the main Materials for the advancement of his water meridian.

The periphery of the Long Sea also had various marine Materials, all of which were resources he needed for practicing his Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique.

He could not stay in the Sect and work behind closed doors.

On the path of immortality, if one does not advance, one retreats.

Senior Sister Wen Yao walked out of the adjacent Immortal Cave, saw Chen Xuan, and nodded slightly.

"Junior Brother, leaving?"

"Yes, going to the Long Sea."

Senior Sister Wen Yao did not stop him, but took a token from her Storage Pouch and handed it to him.

"This is a passage token for Bihai Immortal City. With this token, you can mobilize Cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Realm for assistance in the Immortal City."

Chen Xuan took the token.

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

Senior Sister Wen Yao nodded and turned back to her Immortal Cave.

Her back remained straight, like a sword.

Chen Xuan put away the token and walked toward the airport.

The flying boat was already waiting at the airport.

He boarded the flying boat, stood by the railing, and looked back at Qingming Peak.

Liu Lili stood at the entrance of the Immortal Cave, watching him from afar.

She did not chase after him, did not cry out, just stood there, quietly watching him.

Chen Xuan nodded at her.

Then the flying boat rose, changed direction, and flew toward the east.

The Long Sea was to the east.

Sea and sky merged into one, boundless and limitless.

The flying boat flew for a day and finally saw the coastline.

Bihai Immortal City stood on the coast, the city walls dozens of zhang high, the city battlements covered in the flags of the Liuyang Sword Sect.

The flying boat landed at the airport; Chen Xuan jumped off the flying boat and walked toward the Immortal City.

He did not enter the city, but went straight to the seaside.

The wind at the Long Sea was strong, carrying a salty, fishy scent.

Waves crashed against the reefs, making a muffled sound.

Chen Xuan stood on a reef, looking at the boundless sea.

His Divine Sense spread out, covering a radius of ten thousand zhang.

Beneath the sea surface, schools of fish swam, and Yao Beasts lurked.

He sensed the aura of several Foundation Establishment Yao Beasts, all in the depths, not the periphery.

Chen Xuan did not rush into the water.

He sat cross-legged on the reef and circulated the second layer of the Haohai Sword Art.

Mana surged through his Meridians, and the five-colored light in his Purple Mansion flowed.

His aura slowly climbed, moving from the second stage of Foundation Establishment toward the third stage.

The benefits of the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment were manifested here to the fullest.

With the Five Elements at Perfection, he automatically breathed in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi; he did not need to practice deliberately, and his mana grew on its own.

Three days later.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

His aura was at Perfection.

Foundation Establishment third stage.

He stood up, his magic robe shimmering with myriad lights.

Then he leaped and jumped into the sea.

The seawater was icy cold, enveloping his body.

Chen Xuan activated the Water Escape technique, his figure turning into a stream of water, moving rapidly through the sea.

His Divine Sense remained active, vigilant of everything around him.

There were Golden Core Yao Beasts entrenched in the depths of the Long Sea, but there were only Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining ones in the periphery.

With his current strength, Foundation Establishment Yao Beasts were nothing to fear.

Soon, his ten-thousand-li Divine Sense sensed the aura of a Water Nightmare.

It was the same one from before.

However, the autumn wind is desolate, and the world has changed!

Today, Chen Xuan was already a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with combat power comparable to a Golden Core, while it had made little progress.

Perhaps if given more time, it might achieve the Golden Core Yao King Realm, but today, Chen Xuan had come.

That thing was resting in a coral reef, pitch black, carrying a rod, its aura terrifying.

Chen Xuan did not hesitate; he drew his sword.

Sword Dao Thunder Sound!

In an instant, the heavens changed color!

Thunder flashed, turning into countless hair-thin sword lights in the water, shrouding the entire coral reef.

The Water Nightmare sensed danger; its body dispersed abruptly, the giant ape turning into countless black tentacles fleeing in all directions.

But the thunder light of the Sword Qi Condensing into Silk was faster.

Every sword light precisely slashed onto the tentacles, cutting them into fragments.

The Water Nightmare let out a sharp hiss, its remaining body condensing into a ball, fleeing toward the deep sea.

"Hmph!"

"Want to escape?"

Chen Xuan turned his sword finger.

Small Divine Ability!

"Laughter of the Vast Sea"!

The Long Sea surged; in an instant, huge waves rolled, thunder flashed, and countless spirit fish floated to the surface with their white bellies exposed.

And in the mouth of the electric Dragon, that Water Nightmare was clamped, dead as could be!

The Water Nightmare that used to slaughter Chen Xuan at will was now just a roadside weed.

A single Small Divine Ability could kill it.

Sword Dao Thunder Sound was truly too useful.

It was worthy of being a means for a Sword Cultivator of the Golden Core Realm!

Chen Xuan admired the predecessors who pioneered the Sword Dao even more in his heart.

There is a Dao in this world that can lead to the Golden Core.

For example, Heavenly Fire can prove the Golden Core Dao, as long as it is related to the imagery of Heavenly Fire.

Sword Dao is a Dao proven by predecessors, and precisely because of this, Chen Xuan was so clear about his own path at this moment.

As for the wordless heavenly book, he already felt something different.

After achieving Foundation Establishment, he injected mana several times, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea.

Perhaps the time had not yet come.

Even basic divination could not be done now.

...

One month later.

Chen Xuan emerged from the sea, soaked, but in high spirits.

His Storage Pouch contained the Biling blood, which refined the Spirit Spring Eye within his Purple Mansion, successfully advancing to the second rank of the water meridian.

Achieving a second-rank portable Spirit Spring Eye was completely enough for his own cultivation.

At the same time, there were also a large number of marine Materials and Yao Beast Materials, which could be used for Alchemy, making medicine, improving Spirit Beast Bloodline, and crafting weapons and armor.

His cultivation also improved from the Early Stage of the Foundation Establishment third stage to the Middle Stage.

The progress was quite astonishing.

But Chen Xuan knew that this was only because of the deep foundation of the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

Once he reached the sixth stage of Foundation Establishment, the speed would slow down.

He returned to Bihai Immortal City and stayed at an inn.

At night, he sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the wordless heavenly book.

Finally, he had a premonition that it could be activated.

He injected mana, and golden light burst forth!

"Invading the mystery of the sun and moon, to seize the Creation."

Golden tadpole characters appeared.

"Today's Luck: Medium Good."

"Today's Heavenly Secret: Heavenly Beam."

"Today's Destiny: Sword Cultivator."

"Medium Good: The Heavenly Fire imagery appears in the Northern Islet of the Central Province; obtaining it may allow one to receive a moment of favor from Heavenly Fire in the future, proving the Low Grade Golden Core."

"Small Good: There is a Water Spirit Pearl for sale in the market of Bihai Immortal City, priced at 3,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. It can be purchased and refined into an auxiliary material for the Water-type Golden Core."

"Medium Bad: If you go 500 li deep into the Long Sea, you will encounter the pressure of a Golden Core Yao Beast's aura; although it is not fatal, it will require half a month to recuperate."

The oracle had changed!

In other words, the quality of items that could be obtained had risen.

Previously, in the Qi Refining Realm, third-rank rewards almost never appeared.

That is to say, Golden Core Stage rewards had now appeared.

Chen Xuan understood in his heart and knew where the transformation of the heavenly book lay.

After reading it, he chose the Small Good.

Three thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones were nothing to him.

As for the other two, there was no need for them now.

The monthly dividends from the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce were more than that.

Going to the market, Chen Xuan did not haggle and paid the Spirit Stones directly.

The Water Spirit Pearl was in hand.

High Grade Golden Core required Five Elements Spirit Pearls.

But forming a core like that was not a true Golden Core.

Revered Master left behind a golden talisman, which concerned the secrets of the Golden Core.

When Chen Xuan reached the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, he would know what a Golden Core was.

Revered Master only gave a hint:

"Gold is, indestructible!"

The auxiliary material for the Water-type Golden Core was obtained.

Next was to slowly travel and slowly improve his own Realm.

After Foundation Establishment, Sect missions did not need to be performed once every three months like in the Qi Refining Realm; most promising Foundation Establishment Cultivators would choose to travel far.

Chen Xuan was no exception.

As for Liu Lili, after Foundation Establishment, she would also leave the Sect to travel in the Southern Region.

He was not in a rush.

He had plenty of time.

Chen Xuan stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the night in Bihai Immortal City was brightly lit.

The sea breeze blew, carrying a salty, fishy scent.

He thought of Liu Lili, thought of her standing at the entrance of the Immortal Cave watching him.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Then he turned around, returned to the bed, and closed his eyes to cultivate.

Next, it was time to refine the "Haohai Sword Art", "Xuanyuan Fire Control Art", "Shuiyue Mountain", "Mountain Lifting", and other Cultivation Techniques and Divine Abilities!

First, elevate his own strength!