153: Chapter 112 Cultivation! Seventh Level of Foundation Establishment

The ancient city wall within the Purple Mansion shone brilliantly, pulling the newly arrived imagery toward it.

The imagery fused with the city wall, and the bricks and stones on the wall became more solid.

The city wall, originally three feet tall, grew another section taller.

The City Wall Earth imagery returned from three strands to four.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

Lost and regained.

This feeling was even more precious than when it was first obtained.

He put away the jade box, took out a Medicinal Pill from his Storage Pouch, and swallowed it.

The medicinal power dissolved in his abdomen, flowing toward his limbs and bones.

He closed his eyes and continued his cultivation.

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

The four strands of City Wall Earth imagery rotated slowly.

He was still two strands away from fishing for the Metal Essence.

He was still four steps away from the Golden Core.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes and looked at the moon outside the window.

The volcano in the Southern Border was still smoking.

Xiao Muting was still waiting for him there.

The headquarters of the White Lotus Sect was still there.

The true body of Immortal Master Kumu was still there.

The remaining body of Maitreya was still there.

He had to go back.

But not now.

Right now, his cultivation was insufficient, his imagery was insufficient, and his trump cards were insufficient.

Going there would just be suicide.

He needed time.

He needed more imagery, stronger cultivation, and a deeper Foundation.

Chen Xuan took out Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji's Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch and read it again.

"The Dao of the Golden Core is based on the Metal Essence. If the Metal Essence is indestructible, the Golden Core is indestructible."

His gaze landed on the last line of text.

"To those who come after, I hope you walk further than I did."

Chen Xuan put away the Jade Slip and closed his eyes to continue his cultivation.

The next morning.

Chen Xuan walked out of the quiet room, and Liu Lili was already waiting in the courtyard.

She was holding a bowl of hot soup in her hands.

"Junior Brother, drink some soup."

Chen Xuan took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

"Senior Sister, I need to go into seclusion."

Liu Lili's hand paused.

"How long will you be in seclusion?"

"I don't know. Shortest half a year, longest a year."

Liu Lili looked at him for a long time.

"I will wait for you."

Chen Xuan nodded and turned to walk into the quiet room.

The door closed behind him.

He activated the Formation and sat down on the prayer mat.

He took a Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch, which he had written last night.

It listed the things he needed to do next.

First, go into seclusion to cultivate and achieve a Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer.

Second, collect the City Wall Earth imagery and gather all six strands.

Third, collect the Heavenly Fire imagery and gather all six strands.

Fourth, go to the Southern Border, save Xiao Muting, and destroy the Teleportation Formation.

Fifth, attain the Golden Core.

Five tasks, each one not easy.

But he had to do them one by one.

Chen Xuan put away the Jade Slip and closed his eyes to cultivate.

Mana surged through his Meridians.

The City Wall Earth imagery in his Purple Mansion rotated slowly.

His aura was slowly rising.

Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer Early Stage.

Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer Middle Stage.

Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer Late Stage.

One step at a time, neither hurried nor impatient.

He knew that the road to the Golden Core could not be rushed.

Haste leads to changes.

Changes lead to the dissipation of the Dao.

If the Dao dissipates, the person dies.

He could not die.

He still had many things left to do.

Chen Xuan closed his eyes and sank into cultivation.

The night in Wanyao Immortal City was very quiet.

Only the howls of Yao Beasts echoed in the distant Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range.

Moonlight shone in from the window and fell on his face.

On that young face, there was no youthful vigor.

Only the calmness after experiencing the vicissitudes of life.

Like a sword hidden in its scabbard.

Chapter 114: Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer

The Soul-Calming Incense in the quiet room had burned out one burner after another.

Chen Xuan sat cross-legged on the prayer mat; a thin layer of dust had fallen on his robes, his hair was disheveled, and his face was gaunt.

The five-colored light in the Purple Mansion within his Dantian circulated endlessly.

The four strands of City Wall Earth imagery rotated slowly in his Purple Mansion. The miniature ancient city wall was already one zhang tall, and the runes on the city wall were clearly visible.

The four strands of Heavenly Fire imagery floated on the other side of the Purple Mansion, like four miniature suns. Their light intertwined, illuminating the entire Purple Mansion.

Chen Xuan closed his eyes and looked inward, feeling the changes within his body.

Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer Late Stage Peak.

He was only a thin membrane away from the Seventh Layer.

He had been trying to pierce through this membrane for three months.

Every time his mana surged to the Bottleneck, it would be bounced back.

Like a wall, indestructible.

He took a deep breath, took a Medicinal Pill from his Storage Pouch, and swallowed it.

A Second-Rank Foundation-Cultivating Pill, with a market price of one thousand Spirit Stones each.

The medicinal power dissolved in his abdomen, flowing toward his limbs and bones.

He took out another one and swallowed it.

A Second-Rank Qi Gathering Pill; its medicinal power was thick, like a rushing river.

He took out yet another one and swallowed it.

A Second-Rank Spirit-Condensing Pill; its medicinal power was cool, protecting his Divine Sense.

With three Medicinal Pills in his abdomen, the medicinal power exploded within his body.

Chen Xuan circulated the Haohai Sword Art, guiding the medicinal power to strike the Bottleneck.

Mana surged through his Meridians, causing them to ache faintly as they were stretched.

Beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto his robes.

He gritted his teeth, his hands resting on his knees, his knuckles turning white from the exertion.

The five-colored light in the Purple Mansion within his Dantian shone brilliantly.

The four strands of City Wall Earth imagery trembled simultaneously, emitting a humming sound.

The light of the four strands of Heavenly Fire imagery surged, illuminating the Purple Mansion as bright as day.

The four types of imagery resonated, and a strange phenomenon appeared in the Purple Mansion.

Flames ignited on the ancient city wall.

It was not ordinary fire, but Heavenly Fire.

The dim yellow city wall was wrapped in golden flames, the firelight and earth-light intertwining to form a light never seen before.

Chen Xuan's Divine Sense probed into that mass of light.

The light was warm and heavy, like the sun rising over the earth.

He realized something.

City Wall Earth protects a region and is indestructible.

Heavenly Fire shines in all directions and burns everything to ash.

One defensive, one offensive; one static, one dynamic.

The two types of Metal Essence imagery were inherently contradictory.

But contradiction is not conflict; it is complementarity.

The city wall needs the sun's illumination, and the sun needs the city wall to support it.

Without the city wall, the sunlight has nowhere to land.

Without the sunlight, the city wall remains forever silent.

Chen Xuan's heart suddenly cleared.

The Bottleneck in his Dantian loosened at that moment.

He guided his mana to strike again.

This time, it was not a brute-force collision, but following the flow.

Mana surged toward the Bottleneck like a tide; it was not hitting a wall, but flowing over the top of it.

The Bottleneck dissolved bit by bit under the infusion of mana.

Like ice meeting hot water, like fog meeting morning light.

Silent and traceless, without a shadow or a trace.

The Bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer was broken just like that.

Chen Xuan's aura soared suddenly.

Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer.

Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

The mana in his Dantian was like a bursting river, surging through his Meridians.

His Meridians were stretched, expanded, and became tougher.

His bones emitted cracking sounds under the scouring of this power, and his Innate Sword Bone hummed wildly, resonating with the two types of imagery in the Purple Mansion.

His flesh and blood became denser and more powerful under the nourishment of this power.

The ancient city wall in the Purple Mansion grew another section taller, reaching two zhang.

The runes on the city wall were clearer, and one could vaguely see the three ancient characters for "City Wall Earth".

The light of the four strands of Heavenly Fire imagery was even brighter, like four small suns rotating slowly in the Purple Mansion.

Chen Xuan tilted his head back and let out a long whistle.

The sound echoed in the quiet room, making the walls hum.

The ash from the Soul-Calming Incense was shaken up, filling the quiet room.

He opened his eyes, a flash of bright light passing through them.

Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer.

There were still two layers left before he could attempt to reach the Golden Core.