Chapter 33: Mid-Stage Foundation Building

The members of the four sects fled the Dark Evil Wind Zone, each suffering losses. As for what to do next, the four leaders hesitated.

The Xianyun Sect’s Huai You summoned Liu Qingfeng, Kang Yun, Kang Li, and Kang Tan, and they began discussing matters through telepathy. As for Qu Yi and the other two disciples in the Foundation Building stage, they had no say at all.

Qu Yi wasn’t angry. He secretly tested the strength of his soul and was pleasantly surprised—this dark evil energy was truly beneficial to him. His soul strength had definitely reached the peak of mid-Stage Foundation Building, allowing him to advance to that level.

As for how to advance, it was even simpler. Qu Yi had discovered a spirit stone vein in the Misty Demon Mountains. By absorbing enough spiritual energy from those stones, he could easily reach mid-Stage Foundation Building.

While Huai You and the others were discussing, Qu Yi was calculating whether to find a place to break through to mid-Stage Foundation Building first. After all, even just the perimeter of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons was as dangerous as the Dark Evil Wind Zone; the interior must be even more terrifying. Only by strengthening his own power could he ensure his safety.

While the Xianyun Sect’s members were discussing, those from the Fire Moon Sect, Xuanyang Temple, and Yusu Sect also gathered in groups to discuss matters secretly.

Soon, the Golden Core stage disciples of the four sects reached an agreement.

Huai You stepped forward to Qu Yi and the other two, speaking solemnly, “Qu Yi, Gao Yang, Bai Xing—you three, stay around here. If you encounter young Blood-Sucking Mosquitoes, kill them. If you see adult ones, hide. The five of us in the Golden Core stage will head deep into the abyss, trying to find the Blood Mosquito King before the other three factions.”

Gao Yang was tall and at the late Foundation Building stage, while Bai Xing had a fair complexion similar to that of a girl, but was only at mid-Stage Foundation Building. Hearing Huai You’s words, they immediately agreed.

Qu Yi quickly realized that the five Golden Core disciples wanted to leave him behind, thinking his presence would slow them down.

“Yes, Uncle Huai Miao. We three will wait here for your victorious return,” Qu Yi replied calmly with a smile.

Huai Miao glanced at Qu Yi, sensing that his aura seemed stronger than when he entered the abyss, though he couldn’t be sure.

It wasn’t just the Xianyun Sect that took this approach. The Fire Moon Sect, Xuanyang Temple, and Yusu Sect also decided to leave their Foundation Building stage disciples behind and send all their Golden Core stage disciples at full speed into the abyss.

Everyone at the Dark Wind Region knew about the performance there. All the disciples in the Foundation Establishment stage understood that following into the depths wouldn’t help at all and might even hold back those at the Golden Core stage. So, all of them voluntarily stayed behind.
Soon, all the Golden Core disciples flew away.
Among those who stayed were three from the Xianyun Sect, seven from the Huoyue Gate, one from the Xuanyang Temple, and none from the Yusu Sect. Naturally, as soon as the Golden Core disciples left, the three groups became alert.
The seven from the Huoyue Gate gathered together, whispering among themselves while occasionally glancing over toward the Xianyun Sect.
The only one left from the Xuanyang Temple was named Liu Ming. Knowing he was outnumbered and in danger if a conflict arose, he thought it over and then went to the Huoyue Gate, taking out everything from his storage bag before receiving guarantees of safety from the seven there.
Inside Qu Yi’s soul, the Artifact God spoke, “Qu Yi, those seven from the Huoyue Gate are plotting to ambush you three.”
The Artifact God’s spiritual awareness was two realms higher than Qu Yi’s. Qu Yi was currently in the early Foundation Establishment stage, while the Artifact God’s awareness was equivalent to the early Yuan Ying stage, allowing him to hear everything clearly.
Qu Yi curled his lips and replied, “Artifact God, in this world, there are always those who bully others because they’re in numbers. They never consider that others can also bully them if they want to.”
At that moment, Qu Yi had decided to eliminate those from the Huoyue Gate.
“Gao Yang, Bai Xing, let’s go to a place first to avoid the people from the Huoyue Gate,” Qu Yi said quietly, pulling the two with him.
The two also noticed the suspicious behavior of the seven from the Huoyue Gate and realized it must be something harmful to them. Hearing Qu Yi’s suggestion, they immediately followed him to a place ahead.
Seeing Qu Yi and the other two fly away, the seven from the Huoyue Gate also took off in pursuit.
Guided by the Artifact God, Qu Yi knew there was a natural stone cave ahead. He took Gao Yang and Bai Xing with him and flew there immediately. The three squeezed into the cave at the same time.
As soon as they entered, Qu Yi took out three square flags and set up a formation at the cave entrance.
This was a formation for concealing one’s aura that the Artifact God had mentioned by chance while Qu Yi was studying formations for three years— the Hidden Dust Formation. With those below the Yuan Ying stage, it was impossible to detect any fluctuations in the formation, let alone what was inside.
After placing the flags and setting down the spirit stones, the entire cave entrance suddenly disappeared, as if filled in by a stone.

The seven members of the Fire Moon Gate and Liu Ming from the Xuan Yang Temple rushed over together, but they failed to detect the presence of Qu Yi and his two companions. “Where are the three from the Immortal Cloud Sect? They’ve disappeared—no trace of their energy at all,” shouted Sun Huo, the leader of the Fire Moon Gate’s group. The other seven immediately began searching the area, yet still found no sign of them. Qu Yi and his two companions seemed to have vanished into thin air. “Guys, I think those three from the Immortal Cloud Sect must have some kind of array that hides their energy. Since they disappeared around here, we’ll just wait here. I don’t believe they have enough spiritual energy to sustain that array for long,” said Sun Huo, his eyes gleaming maliciously. Arrays require either spiritual stones or one’s own vital energy to function. Realizing that Qu Yi and his companions were only at the Foundation Establishment stage and likely didn’t have many spiritual stones, Sun Huo decided to wait for them to run out of energy, rendering the array ineffective before taking action against them. The seven members of the Fire Moon Gate and Liu Ming from the Xuan Yang Temple immediately sat down in different spots, waiting patiently. Meanwhile, inside the stone cave, Gao Yang and Bai Xing watched anxiously outside. The Hidden Dust Array didn’t prevent those inside from seeing what was outside, so they noticed the movements of the Fire Moon Gate’s group. Qu Yi smiled at Gao Yang and Bai Xing and said softly, “Gao Yang, Bai Xing, don’t worry. I have a hundred lower-grade spiritual stones here. Take them to keep the array functioning. I’m going inside to boost my cultivation level.” With that, Qu Yi tapped his storage bag, and a hundred lower-grade spiritual stones flew out. Gao Yang and Bai Xing were stunned. They never expected that just a handful of the stones Qu Yi took out amounted to a hundred—while their monthly salary was only two lower-grade spiritual stones each. After catching the stones, they saw Qu Yi run deep into the cave. The cave was surprisingly deep; it took Qu Yi five miles to reach its core. He took out another Hidden Dust Array flag, set up the array, and then sat down calmly, preparing to advance to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. Qu Yi took out another hundred lower-grade spiritual stones and placed them in front of him. Pressing his hands on the stones, he activated the five cultivation techniques within him simultaneously at high speed. Radiant brilliance, reviving vegetation, a seamless blend of water and sky, spreading flames, and vast imperial lands—these five techniques acted like bottomless pits, frantically absorbing the spiritual energy from the stones. A torrential current, surging waves! Qu Yi’s vital energy became like an ocean, rushing through his meridians, cleansing his entire body, and stirring his internal organs and dantian.

In the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, the difference from the early stage lies in the sharp increase in vital energy within the body. If the amount of vital energy in the early stage is compared to a small pool, it is equivalent to a reservoir in the middle stage. The soul acts like a dam; only if the dam is high enough can it prevent the water from flowing chaotically.

Qu Yi’s soul absorbed the evil energy, gaining tremendous nourishment and reaching a state of perfect mastery in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. This gave him the confidence to directly advance to a prolonged middle stage.

The process was very smooth, as Qu Yi could clearly sense the flow of vital energy within his body. After a day, all 100 lower-grade spirit stones were absorbed, and Qu Yi successfully reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

After meditating for a while and checking his internal condition, he was very satisfied before disactivating the Hidden Dust Array and rushing to the cave entrance. His speed as he took off increased significantly, and he was extremely excited!

Gao Yang and Bai Xing had only 20 spirit stones left, enough for one more exchange to maintain the Hidden Dust Array.

“Bai Xing, Qu Yi has been in the cave for almost a day. When will he come out?” Gao Yang asked anxiously.

The two watched the seven people from the Fire Moon Sect and Liu Ming from the Xuan Yang Temple outside. They had already discussed for a long time that if the array stopped working, they would have no choice but to flee, ignoring Qu Yi’s safety. With their cultivation at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, they could still escape from this dark Abyss of Myriad Beasts if they planned well. Then they could wait for someone at the Golden Core stage to return and rescue them.

“Gao Yang, although Qu Yi is only at the late stage of Qi Guidance, I have a feeling his strength goes beyond that. Moreover, he used 100 lower-grade spirit stones at once and set up this hidden array. My intuition tells me he definitely has many secrets,” Bai Xing said thoughtfully.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang immediately recalled some things about Qu Yi. With a Five Spirit Roots constitution, why did the sect leader take him as a disciple? In less than five years, even with the weakest spirit roots, he had reached the late stage of Qi Guidance—what an incredible cultivation speed! It was said that during his training in the Misty Demon Mountains, at the middle stage of Qi Guidance, he had already slain many beasts at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, even more than some disciples at that stage. Now that his strength had reached the late stage of Qi Guidance, wasn’t his power even greater?

“Haha, Gao Yang, Bai Xing, your task is done. Now it’s my turn to deal with those from the Fire Moon Sect.”

Suddenly, Qu Yi’s voice rang out loudly.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang and Bai Xing felt inexplicably inspired; they believed that Qu Yi definitely possessed such strength, even though his true energy fluctuations were still only at the later stage of Qi Guidance.