bookrandom Chapter 21 Foundation Establishment Stage 3 and Breakthrough to Core Formation
Chapter 21 Foundation Establishment Stage 3 and Breakthrough to Core Formation
The rumors spread by Qingyue became more and more outrageous, but Chen An didn't care at all, letting her fabricate facts like a clown.
For two months, Chen An devoted all his energy to cultivation. Although he could feel his cultivation level gradually increasing in his dantian, he could not break through for a long time.
The wind was a bit chilly at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), but Chen An was so engrossed in his cultivation that he was completely unaware of his surroundings.
A bird called from the bushes, and Chen An gradually relaxed.
As before, he would uncontrollably exit the cultivation state after touching the threshold of the second stage of Foundation Establishment.
Chen An adjusted his breathing and angrily threw the cultivation manual beside him aside.
A flash of light dazzled his eyes; it was a reflection from the sword. Chen An immediately summoned the Ebony Sword, gripped the hilt with one hand, and held the blade horizontally in front of him.
The sword energy slashed towards Chen An, who easily caught it. Just as he was about to attack, more than a dozen people with cultivation levels above the second stage of Foundation Establishment appeared around him.
These people were ruthless; they didn't want to kill Chen An, but they didn't give her a chance to breathe either.
Chen An used the swordsmanship he had practiced these past few days in conjunction with his mental cultivation method. Although he was at a disadvantage, he had the advantage in speed and strength, so he was not without the power to fight back.
After several dozen rounds, Chen An realized something was wrong. With so many cultivators at the second stage of Foundation Establishment attacking him together, there was no way he could last this long.
Before Chen An could think further, the people around him seemed to have received a command, and their attacks became faster and faster.
After being hit by several blows in succession, the ebony sword slipped from Chen An's hand. As he reached to pick it up, a sword aura flashed past him. Chen An dodged to the side but accidentally fell to the ground.
The people around her gave her no chance to breathe, and the swords kept thrusting towards Chen An. After rolling dozens of meters, Chen An was blocked by the people behind her.
Besieged on all sides, Chen An decided to fight back. After dodging five or six extremely fierce attacks, Chen An managed to grab the strongest sword with his bare hands.
The other side was clearly startled by this move, took a step back, but immediately reacted.
Before he could make another move, Chen An launched three fireballs the size of walnuts from his dantian.
The fireball rapidly expanded to the size of a sleeve. The people hurriedly tried to dodge, and although they didn't get hit, they were still affected by the blast wave.
Taking advantage of the moment these people fell to the ground, Chen An bent down, picked up the ebony sword, and quickly ran up the mountain.
These people did not give up after getting up, and followed closely behind Chen An.
The mountaintop was right in front of him. Chen An's legs were weak, but he still ran desperately upwards.
Just as Chen An was about to succeed, Xuan Qingyuan appeared in front of her. His face was serious, and his eyes held a hint of murderous intent as he looked at Chen An.
Chen An stopped in his tracks, and the ebony sword he was gripping tightly began to hum.
Controlling her trembling hands, she knew that if Xuan Qingyuan truly wanted to kill her, it wouldn't be here.
"Make your move." Xuan Qingyuan summoned his sword, named Xihua, and pointed it at Chen An.
Chen An's expression was slightly cold, showing no fear. He raised his ebony sword and accelerated towards Xuan Qingyuan.
The ensuing battle seemed to become a one-woman show for Chen An. Every move she made was carefully considered, yet Xuan Qingyuan still managed to dodge them easily.
Half an hour later, Chen An was panting heavily, too exhausted to fight any longer, and Xuan Qingyuan took the initiative to make a move.
Chen An kept dodging, but accurately caught every move of Xuan Qingyuan. Fortunately, Xuan Qingyuan's moves did not hit any vital points, which gave Chen An the courage to continue fighting.
Another half hour passed, and Chen An became uncertain about her own thoughts. Perhaps Xuan Qingyuan was going to kill her. This almost torture-like method made her break down.
But Chen An persevered, even as he noticed his speed was decreasing and his strength was waning.
The sky is bright.
Chen An's body was out of control; he instinctively took every move from Xuan Qingyuan.
As the sun rose, Chen An regained some strength, gathered all his power, channeled it into the sword's edge, and slashed at Xuan Qingyuan.
Xuan Qingyuan easily caught Chen An's attack with his sword, but in just a moment, the power in the sword was exhausted, and the ebony sword fell to the ground again.
Sunlight shone on Chen An's face. She tried to open her eyes wide, but still collapsed uncontrollably.
Xuan Qingyuan's expression was serious, revealing no emotion. He sheathed his sword, picked up Chen An, and took her back to his room.
After leaving, Xuan Qingyuan went to cultivate alone on the mountainside.
Chen An lay in bed, his mind flashing back to images of battle, faster and faster, until they made him feel uneasy.
For a full twelve hours, Chen An endured this torment repeatedly.
Suddenly, all the discomfort disappeared, and Chen An abruptly opened his eyes and sat cross-legged on the bed, his skin covered with a layer of blue mist.
The surrounding spiritual energy pulsed through her meridians, and she could not sense time or even her own existence.
Attracted by the mysterious aura, Gu Minglang brought Xue Shumo to the door of Chen An's room.
"You'll go berserk." Xue Shumo whispered as Gu Minglang was about to go in.
As they walked, Gu Minglang explained, "You don't understand. She's entered the Profound Realm and can't sense our presence. As long as we don't have any ill intentions, we won't get hurt. This kind of opportunity is rare. Are you sure you don't want to go?"
Xue Shumo nodded and followed Gu Minglang with peace of mind.
Sure enough, from the moment the door was opened until the two of them sat down in front of Li Chen'an, she didn't react at all.
The three sat facing each other for three hours, but Chen An felt as if only a moment had passed.
Hearing that her dantian had shattered twice, she suppressed her desire to continue breaking through. Successive breakthroughs would damage a cultivator's foundation, and Chen An would rather fail to complete the system's mission than take such a risk.
Chen An was the first to open his eyes. Seeing the two people in front of him cultivating deeply, Chen An suppressed his aura and slowly stabilized his realm.
At this time, she had already reached the third level of Foundation Establishment, and was only one step away from leaving the Meridian. Her Meridians had also been widened considerably due to the suppression of her cultivation level.
[Second-stage Foundation Establishment Rewards: Talent +100, Martial Power +1000, Speed +200, Mind Reading +10 uses, 600 High-grade Spirit Stones, 6 Array Stones, 6 High-grade Pills, Mid-grade Xuan Iron Sword +1, Cultivation Technique "Meridian Relaxation and Muscle Strengthening Technique", Health +20]
[Foundation Establishment Stage 3 Rewards: Talent +200, Martial Power +2000, Speed +400, Mind Reading +20 uses, 1200 High-Grade Spirit Stones, 12 Array Stones, 12 High-Grade Pills, High-Grade Xuan Iron Sword +1, Cultivation Technique "Fire Escape Technique", Health +40, Golden Silk Robe +1]
After the system went silent, Chen An transferred these items to her storage bag. She was most satisfied with the two cultivation manuals among them.
Not long after, Xue Shumo also woke up, looked at Chen An gratefully, and nodded heavily.
Gu Minglang's aura of impending breakthrough quickly attracted the attention of the two. They wanted to escape as soon as possible, but dared not make any rash moves, fearing that Gu Minglang might suffer a qi deviation.
Without a sound, Chen An and Xue Shumo appeared at the door. Standing outside was Elder Ming San, who reeked of alcohol and had cold sweat on his forehead.
The atmosphere in the room became even more chaotic, and Chen An and Xue Shumo tacitly went behind the boulder.
Two hours later, the surging energy became extremely chaotic. Ming San stared intently at the room, his breathing becoming rapid.
Chen An peeked out and looked towards the door. Although he couldn't see Gu Minglang, he felt more at ease this way.
A blue ripple emanated from the room, and after Chen An hurriedly hid back, the surroundings returned to silence.
As Xuan Qingyuan landed on the ground, Gu Minglang limped open the door.
Chen An and Xue Shumo rushed to the door, where Gu Minglang, pale-faced, was lying on top of Xuan Qingyuan.
He looked up at Chen An and Xue Shumo and said, "I've broken through."
Then, she fainted.