“Break!”
With a furious shout from Qin Mu, the dagger shot toward the weakness of the light barrier.
Just as the dagger was about to hit the light barrier, a figure appeared out of thin air.
“Originally, I was waiting for the High Priest’s personal disciple. To think I did wait for him, but also encountered a strange kid.”
The figure was naturally Elder Fan Gu.
“There’s actually someone here!”
Qin Mu hadn’t expected anyone to be guarding this place.
With a gentle pinch of his fingers, Elder Fan Gu perfectly caught Qin Mu’s dagger.
“Just a junior, and you dare to come? That’s underestimating me too much!”
Qin Mu looked at the enemy before him.
It seemed he had to defeat this person first, but he couldn’t see through this man’s aura.
“Human clan kid, don’t panic. Although this person’s realm is higher than yours, right now he is maintaining the light barrier. This light barrier is not simple; it can also block all external information. As a result, he has to expend a huge amount of True Qi, so he can only exert about 40% of his strength at best.”
Hearing the Divine Dragon Senior say this, Qin Mu instantly perked up.
“Thank you for the guidance, Divine Dragon Senior. It’s just one person, right? Let’s fight him!”
Fan Gu watched the youth before him, whose fighting spirit not only didn’t diminish but increased.
“Oh? Commendable courage. Let me see what you’ve got.”
He reached out a hand, and space itself cracked.
‘What the hell! This is only about 40% of his strength?! Divine Dragon Senior, are you sure you’re not lying to me!’
Qin Mu watched as he tore space with a wave of his hand—this was even stronger than most Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
‘This seems a bit too much to beat!’
Qin Mu didn’t dare to take it head-on and immediately dodged by getting close.
Whoosh!
Qin Mu’s speed skyrocketed, and the next moment, he was right in front of Fan Gu.
At this moment, Qin Mu’s right hand was covered in golden veins, and his True Qi had also turned golden, emitting a dazzling golden light.
Fan Gu showed surprise in his eyes.
This youth’s True Qi seemed to be two completely different kinds—one revealed a soft, vulnerable appearance, while the other revealed an overbearing aura that even made Fan Gu feel a hint of fear in his heart.
‘He’s an interesting kid. I’ll capture him and examine him thoroughly later.’
Facing Qin Mu’s close-range assault, Fan Gu flicked his robe, and a faint buzzing sound could be heard.
Below, Lu Shuanger’s ears twitched.
Her pretty face changed, and she immediately shouted loudly, “Qin Mu! Fall back!”
“Fall back? Too late!”
Fan Gu showed a cruel expression.
Buzz!
A thumb-sized Gu insect suddenly flew out, heading straight for Qin Mu at incredible speed.
Qin Mu quickly stopped his advance and immediately retreated at top speed.
He raised his hand, and flames condensed from True Qi blazed in his palm.
“I refuse to believe I can’t burn this little bug to death!”
Qin Mu locked onto the Gu insect and shot out the flames.
Just as the flames reached the Gu insect, they suddenly extinguished.
‘What?!’
Before Qin Mu could observe what had happened, Fan Gu’s figure appeared beside him in an instant.
“Kid, don’t forget I’m still here!”
With a palm strike, Fan Gu hit Qin Mu.
This sneak attack was truly that of a dirty player.
“Cough—ah!”
Qin Mu felt his Qi and blood churning, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Buzzzz—
The Gu insect flew back to Fan Gu’s side.
Fan Gu stroked the insect with his finger and said calmly, “This Gu insect is my life-bound Gu worm. It has roughly the same strength as me. Kid, you can’t beat me.”
Hearing this, Qin Mu’s heart sank.
One Fan Gu was already troublesome, and now there was a Gu insect with similar strength.
How was he supposed to fight?!
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit Qin Mu.
Gu insect… right, Aunt Mi had given him a small Fabao earlier.
With that thought, Qin Mu immediately took out a small sword from his Storage Pouch.
Seeing the small sword Qin Mu took out, Fan Gu sneered, “Kid, no matter what Fabao you take out, it can’t beat my Gu insect. Go!”
Qin Mu looked at Fan Gu, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
“Don’t speak too confidently. And it’s best not to raise any death flags, because the face-slapping always comes when you least expect it.”
Qin Mu infused True Qi into the small sword, and its blade immediately glowed with a faint luster.
Whoosh!
The small sword shot straight toward the Gu insect.
Fan Gu wore a smug expression as he controlled his life-bound Gu worm.
He intended to have it devour the youth’s Fabao, making him truly taste the despair brought by a difference in strength.
However, the next moment, the scene Fan Gu expected—the small sword being shattered—did not occur.
Instead, his life-bound Gu worm, at a short distance from the small sword, actually conveyed a sense of fear.
‘Not good!’
Fan Gu realized something bad was about to happen—he might be overturned.
Seeing Fan Gu try to recall the Gu insect, Qin Mu was not foolish enough to let him succeed.
He increased the True Qi output, and the small sword’s speed skyrocketed.
Squeal!
An extremely piercing sound rang out, and Fan Gu’s life-bound Gu worm was directly cut into two by Qin Mu’s small sword.
“Pugh—!”
With the death of his life-bound Gu worm, Fan Gu immediately suffered backlash.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his aura plummeted.
‘What a great opportunity!’
Seeing this, Qin Mu immediately charged forward.
Just as Qin Mu was about to slay Fan Gu, space split open, and an old man stepped out.
“Fan Gu, how disgraceful. A mere child can reduce you to such a state.”
Hearing the old man’s voice, Fan Gu showed a joyful expression.
“Elder Kumu!”
***
While Qin Mu and Fan Gu were fighting, Elder Kumu and Elder Luoye were also in a heated battle.
Since both were at the Heavenly Unity Stage, it was hard to determine a winner in a short time, and the battle was at a stalemate.
Moreover, both had been taught by the same master, and the martial arts manuals they cultivated were similar.
Of course, that was under the condition that no other unexpected events occurred.
“I didn’t expect that after being imprisoned for so long, Luoye, your strength hasn’t diminished at all.”
After the previous exchange, Elder Kumu discovered that Elder Luoye’s aura showed no signs of True Qi insufficiency from long-term imprisonment.
“Heh, I have you to thank for that. If you hadn’t ordered them not to make things difficult for me, perhaps I wouldn’t be able to match you now.”
During the days of Elder Luoye’s imprisonment, aside from restrictions on his freedom, he could make any other requests, so he simply treated it as closed cultivation.
This was something Elder Kumu had not anticipated.
“Heh, very good. But next time, you won’t have such an opportunity.”
Elder Kumu decided this time to make Luoye experience the Gu Tribe’s punishments.
“Then we’ll see if you have the ability!”
Elder Luoye was not someone to be trifled with either.
Elder Kumu’s True Qi surged out madly from his body.
The massive amount of True Qi was terrifying to behold—as expected of a Heavenly Unity Stage expert, to erupt with such a horrifying amount of True Qi.
“Withered Finger!”
Elder Kumu’s fingertip glowed, and True Qi gathered into a giant index finger.
From a distance, it seemed as though the life force within him was also draining away.
Elder Luoye moved his hands, and falling leaves wrapped around his body, instantly forming a giant over ten meters tall.
One by one, the leaves formed the giant’s massive body, and even a liquid similar to blood could be seen flowing within.
The giant swung its enormous fist, directly clashing head-on with the giant finger.
Boom—
The True Qi exploded, and the rampaging True Qi even formed a True Qi tornado.
After the True Qi completely settled, everyone saw the result of the battle.
“Elder Luoye!”
Everyone shouted in alarm.
They saw a large bloody mark on Elder Luoye’s chest.
Just as everyone thought Elder Luoye had lost, the next moment, on Elder Kumu’s side, the situation was equally unpleasant for him.
Elder Kumu’s aura was weak, his walking stick was broken, and he spat out blood.
His appearance was far more disheveled than Elder Luoye’s.
“You! You actually succeeded in training it!”
Elder Kumu’s face was full of shock.
He had believed that for Luoye to succeed in training it, a few hundred years would be impossible—and yet, here he had succeeded!
Elder Luoye smiled and said, “This is all thanks to you. If you hadn’t imprisoned me, I might not have had this insight. After being locked up, I saw through some things.”
“Pugh!”
Elder Luoye’s words reached Kumu’s ears, making him spit out another mouthful of blood.
“Fine, fine, fine! Luoye! You’re very good!”
At this moment, Elder Kumu suddenly sensed that Fan Gu’s life-bound Gu worm had lost connection.
‘Something went wrong over there!’
Elder Kumu glanced at Elder Luoye.
“Hmph! Today, you got the better of me by a narrow margin, but I haven’t conceded yet!”
The next moment, a mist suddenly spread.
“Trying to escape!”
Elder Luoye recognized this as Elder Kumu’s escape method and immediately struck, but ultimately was too slow.
***
Back to Qin Mu’s side.
Elder Kumu appeared suddenly, and Fan Gu looked as if he had seen a savior—but why was Elder Kumu so disheveled?
Elder Kumu glanced at the light barrier.
Fortunately, it hadn’t been broken.
What was inside was his bargaining chip for negotiations with the Seven Star Sect.
“Fan Gu, transfer control of the light barrier to me.”
Fan Gu couldn’t have been happier for Elder Kumu to take over this mess and immediately handed over control of the light barrier.
Qin Mu’s face darkened.
Just great—after finally crippling one, an even more formidable one showed up.
“Human clan kid, this enemy is very troublesome. Maybe we should retreat.”
The Divine Dragon could sense that this old man’s strength was definitely at the Heavenly Unity Stage!
Qin Mu glanced at the light barrier.
No! He couldn’t abandon Miss Ruoshuang and Miss Mengyu!
“Divine Dragon Senior, if I’m not mistaken, this old man is currently in a heavily injured state, right?”
“Yes, human clan kid. Do you mean to…”
“Hehe, that’s right. Take a gamble and a bicycle can become a motorcycle. I want to challenge my limits.”
“Human clan kid, although the other is heavily injured, don’t forget there’s another condition: Foundation Establishment Stage. You are currently at the Qi Refining Stage.”
“Foundation Establishment… It’s just Foundation Establishment, right? I’m going to break through now!”
To step into the Foundation Establishment Stage, one must choose what Great Way to follow.
Qin Mu made his decision: to take the Self as the Dao.
Whatever he does, he will be true to himself—that is the Great Way he will walk!
Boom!
In an instant, Qin Mu’s aura surged.
The golden veins on his body radiated light, and in a trance, even a faint shadow of a dragon appeared behind him.
Elder Kumu’s eyelids twitched.
What was going on?
How could this kid’s aura have increased so much?!
Even Fan Gu, who was watching from the side, was startled.
This kid—if he had used such strength earlier, he definitely wouldn’t have lasted ten rounds before kneeling and admitting defeat.
“Interesting kid.”
Although Elder Kumu was injured, if he couldn’t capture this kid, he would stand on his head and wash his hair!
“One Thought into Foundation Establishment. This human clan kid—I truly underestimated him.”
As a Divine Dragon who had experienced both the Ancient Era and the Primordial Era, he had seen many geniuses, but those who achieved One Thought into Foundation Establishment were still rare.
Most people would prepare for a long time to enter Foundation Establishment, consulting seniors for experience and choosing based on a suitable martial arts manual, then deciding on what to use as the foundation for their entry.
This human clan kid not only chose one of the hardest paths—Self as Dao—but also achieved it in one thought.
Self as Dao is the kind where “I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me.”
Taking the self as the Dao, unrestrained and free—this is a very risky Great Way.
In one thought, one can become a demon; in one thought, one can become a Buddha—it’s all possible.
The main principle is that you can’t let yourself suffer a loss.
Elder Kumu watched Qin Mu, whose aura had soared.
“Kid, although I don’t know how you managed to increase your strength so much in one go, in the face of absolute power, all of this is nothing.”
“Whether it’s true or not, you can find out by trying.”
Qin Mu looked at Elder Kumu and said calmly.