The purple smoke dragon was the external manifestation of true essence being used to assault the Purple Palace. The profound intent descending from heaven was the portion of the Dao of Fire beneath the Heavenly Dao that resonated with this Fire-attributed cultivator.
If the smoke dragon prevailed, the Purple Palace would open and Foundation Establishment would succeed. The small portion of compatible Fire intent would then merge with the cultivator and transform his body. If the smoke dragon failed, Foundation Establishment would fail as well, and what consequences followed were difficult to predict.
The cultivators all focused their vision and held their breath as they stared at the purple smoke dragon.
But once they saw it clearly, their expressions changed in unison.
Scattered black specks were distributed throughout the purple smoke dragon. There were not many, but they dotted its entire body.
Those were clearly impurities contained within the true essence, being carried along as it struck the Purple Palace.
Everyone knew that cultivators with mixed spiritual roots suffered from impurities no matter how outstanding their talent or monstrous their comprehension. Most of the spiritual energy drawn into the body through mixed roots might match the dominant spiritual root, but the secondary roots inevitably introduced other attributes as well. Over the years, those traces accumulated within the body.
At the same time, many cultivators took pills in order to advance their cultivation or replenish their strength. Spiritual pills themselves also contained impurities. Unless they were top-grade pills whose impurities were so slight that they could be expelled through ordinary breathing, the impurities from repeated use of middle- and low-grade pills would also accumulate. They would mingle with spiritual energy of incompatible attributes and form black particles that became densely mixed into the true essence.
Looking at the smoke dragon manifested from Cheng An’s true essence, the black particles resembled pockmarks. Every one was clearly visible, evidence of many years of accumulation. Yet Cheng An had still dared to attack the Purple Palace now. He truly did not fear death.
Because of this, every cultivator present reached the same conclusion.
Cheng An was probably not going to succeed in Foundation Establishment.
Concern appeared on Xu Ziqing’s face. Cheng An was still a fellow cultivator on the immortal path. Seeing that his Foundation Establishment might fail, Xu Ziqing could only hope his life would not be endangered.
Unfortunately, heaven did not grant that wish. Beneath the Heavenly Dao, the threshold of immortal cultivation was locked tight, strict and merciless.
The gathered cultivators watched the smoke dragon rush upward. From within the profound intent descending from heaven, a ball of fierce flame suddenly emerged.
The flame was milky white, almost like condensed cream, but its force was immense. The instant it touched the smoke dragon, it was like open flame meeting oil. In a flash, it climbed across the dragon’s body and spread without pause.
In the blink of an eye, the milky-white flames completely enveloped the smoke dragon, transforming it into a white dragon of fire. It was astonishingly beautiful.
Yet every cultivator present went faintly pale.
What they saw was not beauty. It was terror.
At that moment, a miserable scream came from within the cave.
“Ahhh!”
The scream was piercingly sharp. Meanwhile, the fire dragon in the sky gradually shrank. The smoke dragon was actually being consumed by the flames and was nearly burned away completely.
At last the smoke dragon vanished into the air. At the same time, the scream weakened and disappeared. No further sound came from inside the cave.
Body and soul extinguished.
Cheng An’s Foundation Establishment had failed.
With no room left for doubt, Xu Ziqing and the others all fell somewhat silent.
Cheng An had been the first among them to attempt Foundation Establishment. So many people had come not only to seize the chance to comprehend something and gain experience, but also because they wanted to witness a successful breakthrough and strengthen their own confidence.
Unfortunately, Cheng An had failed.
He had failed because of his excessive arrogance. Was that not itself a warning to everyone present?
They must never become carried away by success. Even with the aid of a third-grade spiritual vein, even with aptitude far beyond ordinary cultivators, Foundation Establishment was never guaranteed. One moment of carelessness could leave them like Cheng An, without even the opportunity to reincarnate.
The cultivators each remained deep in thought for a long while before finally leaving in groups of two and three.
Xu Ziqing sighed softly and turned to leave as well.
But in the next moment, someone called after him.
“Xu Ziqing, wait!”
The voice was unfamiliar. Xu Ziqing stopped and looked back.
The person he saw was unexpected, yet at the same time entirely within expectation.
Zhang Chi, the only remaining Boundless Sect disciple whose cultivation was above Qi Refinement layer 9, was a steady, diligent person devoted wholeheartedly to cultivation.
Half a year earlier, before entering seclusion, Su Xin had already warned Xu Ziqing about him. Zhang Chi’s character was indeed relatively upright, but unfortunately he was overly rigid and stubborn to the point of foolishness. That nature allowed him to advance quickly in cultivation, yet it also made him blindly loyal to the Boundless Sect regardless of right or wrong, without sparing a thought for his own future.
Xu Ziqing turned to face Zhang Chi.
Since Zhang Chi had called him now, his intentions were probably not far from what Xu Ziqing and Su Xin had once predicted.
Sure enough, Zhang Chi hurried over and immediately said, “Fellow Daoist Xu, I want to challenge you.”
Xu Ziqing sighed inwardly, then smiled faintly. “Fellow Daoist Zhang, you and I have no friendship. Are you challenging me for a friendly exchange, or for some other reason?”
Zhang Chi paused. “This… is simply a challenge.”
He was clumsy with words and had never been skilled at twisting speech. He clearly knew he meant to do something improper to this green-robed youth, yet he could neither state his true purpose openly nor invent a convincing excuse. For a moment, he was left tongue-tied.
Xu Ziqing knew this matter could not be avoided. Seeing Zhang Chi like this, he found it a little amusing and a little helpless. After thinking, he said, “Fellow Daoist Zhang, whatever your purpose may be, there still needs to be some understanding between us. Senior Tang has ordered that no one may fight to the death. If this is merely sparring, then we must stop once victory is decided.”
Zhang Chi thought as well, then said, “It is not sparring. It is a challenge.”
Xu Ziqing understood.
In other words, even though neither side could take the other’s life, Zhang Chi would not hold back. Most likely Hu Guangyuan had secretly given him some task that he intended to carry out against Xu Ziqing.
Xu Ziqing was not someone who habitually fled from trouble. He simply nodded. “Since Fellow Daoist Zhang is so insistent, then a challenge it is. Do we need someone to witness it?”
Zhang Chi shook his head. “No.”
The Boundless Sect had only two people left on Tenglong Peak, and the other had been admitted because of spiritual roots but possessed poor cultivation. The Rogue Cultivator Alliance, meanwhile, had four people remaining, each with considerable strength. Naturally Zhang Chi did not want them present, lest they interfere.
Xu Ziqing glanced to the side. Su Xin had gained some insight while observing the failed Foundation Establishment and had already hurried back to his cave. Zhuo Hanyan and Ran Xingjian had left as well. Only Xu Ziqing had moved more slowly. It would be awkward to call anyone back now. After brief consideration, he agreed.
After half a year of bitter cultivation, Xu Ziqing also wanted to know how much his actual combat ability had improved. Zhang Chi could serve as a whetstone.
Zhang Chi had planned this in advance and led Xu Ziqing toward the rear mountain, away from the cliffs where everyone lived and well beyond the sight of others.
Xu Ziqing did not object and followed him.
Soon, the two stood facing one another.
Zhang Chi did not waste words. With a shake of his arm, a flying sword appeared in his palm.
The sword was a little over three chi long, with a razor-sharp edge and a brown sheen covering its entire body. Clearly, Zhang Chi practiced an Earth-attributed cultivation method. Such methods were strongest in defense and relatively weaker in direct offense.
Xu Ziqing, however, was Wood-attributed. If one compared pure offensive strength, Wood was even weaker than Earth.
Seeing Zhang Chi ready, Xu Ziqing flashed green light from his right palm and grasped the Steelwood sword.
Zhang Chi had no useless words. He only called, “I’m coming!” Then he leaped up, raised his flying sword, spun through the air, and in an instant appeared beside Xu Ziqing.
Xu Ziqing saw how fast his movement technique was. He drew a breath and slashed the Steelwood sword diagonally, meeting the flying sword exactly with a sharp clang.
The instant their weapons met, Xu Ziqing felt as though the Steelwood sword had stabbed into a swamp. It seemed trapped and difficult to pull free.
At first it was merely a deadlock. Then, in the next instant, Xu Ziqing saw a dagger appear in Zhang Chi’s left hand. The dagger shone pale gold. Zhang Chi lowered his body and thrust it directly toward Xu Ziqing’s dantian.
Xu Ziqing frowned. So this was the Boundless Sect’s intention. They wanted to destroy his dantian.
His dantian had already been destroyed once before. Only by accidentally absorbing the Essence of Yi Wood in the cave beneath the lake had he managed to repair it completely. He could not possibly count on finding another Essence of Yi Wood if it were destroyed again. If that happened now, nearly ten years of bitter cultivation would be reduced to nothing.
At that thought, a trace of anger rose within Xu Ziqing.
If Zhang Chi merely wanted to defeat him in strength and recover some face, that would have been one thing. They could fight, and regardless of victory or defeat, both would gain something. Yet Zhang Chi used this sort of method, and the attack itself was almost a sneak assault without the slightest dignity. It reminded Xu Ziqing of how Nian Hongzhi and the others had deceived him years ago, making his displeasure deepen.
Countless grass stems immediately rushed from Xu Ziqing’s left palm and wrapped around his entire hand. He then slammed that hand downward, caught the dagger, and clenched tightly.
Zhang Chi looked up, clear astonishment in his expression. He had not expected this seemingly gentle youth to be so ruthless with himself that he would grab a magical artifact barehanded.
Xu Ziqing truly had been ruthless. Although the grass stems were spiritual plants and extremely resilient, they still could not resist the sharpness of a magical artifact. At most they could delay it for a moment.
Xu Ziqing gripped the dagger and held it in place by force. The blade finally pierced through the grass stems and entered his flesh three fen deep, drawing blood.
While Zhang Chi was still startled, Xu Ziqing spread his feet apart and assumed the stance he had practiced most thoroughly over the past half year. He pressed down hard with the Steelwood sword in his right hand, forcing Zhang Chi’s flying sword off line. Then he twisted his wrist and chopped down with full force.
Clang!
Zhang Chi felt tremendous weight crash into his right arm. Pain tore through the web between thumb and forefinger, and he nearly lost his grip on the flying sword. But they were still fighting. He could not let the weapon leave his hand, so he had no choice but to release the dagger and retreat.
The strike had failed. Zhang Chi knew he would have no second chance to use the dagger, so he decisively abandoned the magical artifact.
Xu Ziqing moved his thoughts. The dagger embedded in his palm immediately vanished into his storage ring.
Then he withdrew the grass stems, revealing a palm torn and covered in blood.
Xu Ziqing’s expression remained calm. He activated his Yi-Wood power. In the blink of an eye, the wound scabbed over and fresh pink flesh formed. The new flesh then paled, and the injury disappeared as though it had never existed.
The entire process took only an instant. Now that he understood exactly how viciously his opponent intended to strike, Xu Ziqing no longer planned to show the slightest mercy.
At this point, even if they were not going to fight to the death, one of them would still have to leave the field unable to stand.
Zhang Chi was thinking the same way. Before Xu Ziqing had even finished healing, Zhang Chi had already shifted his sword stance, swung the flying sword high overhead, and smashed it heavily down.
“Yield Not an Inch: Split! Split! Split!”
In an instant, the flying sword struck the ground and murky yellow light burst outward.
Where the sword tip landed, earth and dust exploded upward. The ground cracked inch by inch, the fissures spreading like a spiderweb toward Xu Ziqing’s feet.