Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

Shen Mo focused his mind and concentrated all his thoughts on the precise control of the true essence within his body. He did not rush for quick results, but guided the true essence in accordance with the true meaning of "unpredictable gathering and dispersing, all streams returning to their origin" of the Flowing Cloud Dao Body, allowing the vortex to rotate naturally. With each rotation, it devoured, compressed, and purified a massive amount of true essence.

Time passed in silence. The only sounds inside the cave were the hissing of spiritual energy flowing and the roar of Shen Mo's surging true essence (which only he could hear).

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his face was slightly pale, and his body trembled slightly from time to time, clearly indicating that he was under tremendous pressure.

Just as the condensation process reached its most critical moment, an unexpected change occurred!

The karmic imprint that was "sealed" and represented the bloody battle in the Black Wind Mountains trembled slightly. A trace of extremely subtle yet chilling killing intent and deathly stillness darted out like a venomous snake, attempting to erode the core of his true essence that was being condensed!

At the same time, hallucinations arose in his mind, as if he saw the tragic scene of Qingyun Mountain being breached, disciples dying tragically, and Su Xiao, Shi Tie and others fighting bloody battles!

The tribulation of inner demons! The backlash of karma!

Shen Mo grunted, his condensation process instantly halted, and his true essence vortex fluctuated violently, nearly collapsing! He gritted his teeth, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes! It's here after all!

"How can illusory appearances move my Dao heart!" he roared inwardly, the general principles of the "Flowing Cloud Dao Body" echoing in his heart like a great bell! His divine sense transformed into an invisible sword, slashing at that murderous intent!

At the same time, what appeared before my eyes was not the tragic scene of the mountain gate being breached, but the scene of the disciples gritting their teeth and persevering in the secret realm, sweating profusely in the alchemy room and the weapon workshop, and working together in the face of crisis!

It is the sect's vibrant and upward-looking spirit! It is the determination to protect all of this!

"My actions may be tainted by cause and effect, and imbued with karmic force, but I have a clear conscience, for the sake of preserving the lineage! This resolve is unbreakable!"

"boom!"

As their thoughts clashed, the illusory karmic force melted away like ice and snow, shattering instantly! The condensation of the true essence core did not stop; instead, it became even more solid and stable due to the tempering of the will!

The vortex's rotation speed increased dramatically, and its efficiency in absorbing spiritual energy increased several times over! A sense of perfect harmony and endless vitality arose spontaneously from the bottom of Shen Mo's heart.

I don't know how much time passed; it felt like a moment, yet also like millions of years.

"Buzz—!"

A deep, resonant sound, seemingly originating from the depths of the soul, resounded! Within the dantian, the rapidly spinning vortex suddenly stopped, bursting forth with a blinding light, and solidified completely!

It transformed into a dazzling golden core phantom, the size of a pigeon egg, perfectly round, radiating terrifying energy and profound Daoist charm!

Foundation Building Stage Complete!

A powerful aura, far surpassing anything before, erupted from Shen Mo's body like a sleeping dragon awakening! The entire Enlightenment Cave trembled slightly, and the runes on the cave walls lit up on their own, thus confining this immense aura within the cave and preventing it from leaking out.

Shen Mo slowly opened his eyes, his gaze deep and unfathomable, like a starry sea. He gently clenched his fist, feeling the immense power within him, surging like a mighty river yet as responsive as his own limbs, an unprecedented sense of power filling his entire body.

His spiritual awareness range has increased several times over, easily covering most of Qingyun Mountain. His perception and control of spiritual energy have also reached a completely new level.

"This is the late stage of Foundation Establishment..." he murmured to himself, a satisfied smile curving his lips. Nearly a month of arduous training, fraught with near-death experiences, had finally yielded results.

Even now, though he is still no match for a Golden Core cultivator in the early stages, he has the confidence to maneuver and even escape thanks to his many trump cards!

He stood up, his aura quickly receding and returning to normal. The extraordinary phenomenon of his breakthrough had been concealed by the formation, unknown to anyone outside. The pillar of the Qingyun Sect had become even more powerful.

Just as he was preparing to stabilize his realm and familiarize himself with his newfound power, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a faint yet distinct sense of unease swept over him. It didn't originate from within himself, but rather... came through the sect leader's token connected to the core of the mountain-protecting formation.

Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao's slightly urgent voice came from outside the cave: "Sect Leader, a top-secret report from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion has arrived!"

Shen Mo's gaze sharpened, the joy of his recent breakthrough instantly vanishing. This urgent report at this moment… it likely indicates a momentous change has occurred in the Black Wind Mountains!

He took a step out, and the cave door opened silently.

The moment the stone gate of the Enlightenment Cave opened, Su Xiao's slightly pale face came into Shen Mo's view. In her hand, she tightly gripped a jade slip that flashed with a dazzling red light. It was the highest-level emergency communication talisman of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, which would never be used unless it was a matter that shook the foundation of the sect.

"Sect Leader, Senior Brother!" Su Xiao's voice trembled slightly as he hurriedly presented the jade slip. "Black Wind Mountains... a dramatic change!"

In the urgency of the situation, Su Xiao did not even notice the change in the aura of the sect leader in front of him.

The unease in Shen Mo's heart suddenly intensified. He remained expressionless, took the jade slip, and immersed his consciousness into it.

In an instant, a massive amount of information, mixed with vivid imagery, assaulted his consciousness. Even with his strong mind, which had just broken through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he couldn't help but tremble slightly.

The information within the jade slip was transmitted at great risk from several hidden observation points of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion lurking on the edge of the Black Wind Mountains. It was personally organized and encrypted by Chen Hao, and its contents were shocking:

Three days ago, the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Profound Yin Sect clashed in the Dragon Spine Mine, a giant "Void Stone" main mine located in the core area of ​​the Black Wind Mountains and at the border between the two factions. This battle was the largest and most brutal since the start of the war!

The cause is unknown; it may have been an eruption of pent-up resentment or a fierce struggle for resources, but the process was bloody and suffocating.

Both sides deployed over thirty Foundation Establishment stage elders and nearly two thousand Qi Refining stage disciples! Various large-scale war artifacts, formations, and talismans were ruthlessly hurled at the enemy, turning the surrounding mountains for dozens of miles into scorched earth!

In the image fragments:

The Heavenly Sword Sect's "Blazing Sun Sword" transformed into a hundred-foot-long sword rainbow, colliding wildly with the ten-thousand-foot-long sea of ​​blood activated by the Xuan Yin Sect's Vice Leader "Blood Butcher." Each collision caused the earth to shake and the space to distort!

Countless sword lights and ghostly figures clashed together, limbs and severed bodies fell like raindrops, and blood stained the sky red!

One after another, the hastily set-up sword formations and ghost formations shattered amidst the roar, and the cultivators in the center of the formations were annihilated as the formations collapsed!

Some Foundation Establishment elders self-destructed their magical artifacts, dragging their opponents down with them; some Qi Refining disciples formed suicidal charging formations, just to tear a gap in the enemy's lines...

It was a brutal and utterly brutal battle! In just one day and night, nine Foundation Establishment elders from both sides were confirmed dead! Many more were seriously injured and rendered unable to fight! The number of Qi Refining disciples killed or wounded was countless!

Near the Dragon Ridge Mine, corpses piled up like mountains, blood flowed like rivers, and the soaring evil energy and resentment almost condensed into a solid black and red cloud that even sunlight could not penetrate!

However, that's not the most shocking part.

The real upheaval occurred the day after the decisive battle.

Just as both sides suffered heavy casualties and the stalemate reached a deadlock, an unexpected change occurred!

At the edge of the sky, a golden sword light, indescribably brilliant and majestic, seemed to come from beyond the heavens, ignoring the distance of space, and carrying a terrifying will that surpasses all living beings and annihilates everything, suddenly descended on the sky above the Black Wind Mountains!

The moment the sword light appeared, the sounds of fighting and explosions on the entire battlefield seemed to be severed by an invisible giant hand! All cultivators, friend or foe, felt a tremor in their souls, their spiritual energy stagnate, and they involuntarily wanted to kneel down!

The power of the Golden Elixir!

That was a long-range attack from the Heavenly Sword Sect's Golden Core cultivator, "Lingxiao Sword"!