Enemies Chapter 29: Foundation Establishment

Translated by Jouissance of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

Chu WuQing watched in amusement as the rabbit tried to feign calm.

He obviously knew that this rabbit was fake. After all, there was no way a spiritual beast could trespass into the ancestral peak without notice. However, this person clearly didn’t intend to do him any harm. Though he didn’t know why the other transformed into a rabbit to stick by him, he didn’t mind playing along.

After all, having a pet he could toy with now and then, watching it wallow in terror and anxiety, afraid that it was going to be found out at any moment… wasn’t that ever so amusing?

The rabbit might be sitting there unmoving, pretending to look at the scenery, but in reality, it was terrified, struggling to decide whether or not it should change back to its human form, and if so, what would he do then?

Just thinking about it made the rabbit’s head hurt. To Chu WuQing, however, this was extremely amusing. He could even feel the slightest hint of excitement.

Chu WuQing grabbed the rabbit, playing with its head and feeling the soft tremors that ran through its body while doing its best to suppress them to not be found out. A smile like a fresh breeze of spring air appeared on his face as Chu WuQing’s amusement grew. He gently ran his finger over the back of the rabbit, as if trying to see how much meat there was.

The little creature in his hand seemed to tremble more violently, no longer able to hide its fear. Yet it had no choice but to try and remain calm. Unfortunately, its anxiety only caused it to make more mistakes.

Xiao Yan: Oh no, I think I’m going to get hard from all this touching. How do I make sure I’m not found out!?

Chu WuQing felt the little creature in his hands tense up, clearly terrified out of its mind. He retracted his finger, cheerfully reassuring the other, “I’m just messing with you. Don’t worry, you’re still young. How could I eat my own pet? I hear the cultivation world is into raising their pets like their own children. Don’t fear, as your father, how could I eat you?”

At the moment Chu WuQing said the word ‘father,’ Xiao Yan couldn’t help but grow erect.

Looking down at the trembling red thing below… Xiao Yan was filled with embarrassment, but his thoughts began to whirl from Chu WuQing’s words. Image after lewd image raced through his mind, causing the skin under his snow-white fur to go pink with excitement.

Luckily, his fur was long enough that Chu WuQing didn’t notice. He was still young, so how could he be going into heat already? Xiao Yan tried to shake away the fantasies in his mind, forcing himself to calm down.

At what age did a rabbit go into heat? Xiao Yan thought he should probably go and read up on rabbits, to boost the success of his disguise.

The first battle with the TaYue sect resulted in victory, and after that, they would go up against the Golden Core stage elders returning to their sect. These elders were all cultivators of insignificant paths.

Plus, with Chu You presiding over the battle, Chu WuQing wasn’t worried about the TaYue sect possibly turning the tables, so he decided to go into secluded cultivation. He told Gu Yu through a messaging talisman, “I’m going into secluded cultivation to establish foundation. Once I come out, I hope to see a visible change to the current status quo.”

Receiving the message, Gu Yu’s spirits were stoked, and he made the decision to wipe out the TaYue Sect’s closest allies in one fell swoop once the TaYue Sect was eradicated, leaving them no room for breath.

Chu WuQing decided to establish foundations, so he let the rabbit go elsewhere to play, choosing to go into secluded cultivation at this mirror lake

Gu Yu had set up a high-grade spiritual energy gathering array in the center of the lake, practically turning it into a lake of the Path.

“In the original One Blade to Seal the Heavens book, the true complete Foundation Establishment wasn’t at Level Ten Qi Condensation, but achieved through defying the natural limits set by the heavens and going above Peak stage, forcibly expanding the Qi Condensation cultivation base beyond its limits, then condensing that energy into rain. This kind of Foundation Establishment had deep and stable foundations and a far larger expanse of spiritual energy, ten times the amount of usual Foundation Establishment cultivators. This allowed Lin Yi to completely suppress those who were of the same cultivation stage. Most importantly, a golden core formed from such heavy spiritual energy was bound to be special.”

Once Chu WuQing made his mind up, not only did he have XiaoHong beside him to protect and aid him, he used a great amount of artifacts and talismans to make sure there would be no disturbances or accidents to his Foundation Establishment.

With these talismans, even if a Golden Core stage cultivator wanted to try anything, they’d have to take some time trying to get past. Otherwise, they’d be sure to get injured.

Chu WuQing sat in a lotus position, meditating. “To expand my cultivation to beyond the tenth level of Qi Condensation, I first have to expand my Dantian. In that past life, Lin Yi used the Five Elements Creator stone he stole from the QingLing Sect to support the special cultivation method in his memory, crafting a Creator’s elixir with his sword energy. That was why he was able to expand his Dantian beyond natural limits. The process was painful beyond what most people could take and even Lin Yi almost gave up, but he pulled through with his immense willpower. After Lin Yi successfully established foundations, the QingLing Sect hunted him down, trying to kill him, until the XianLing Sect opened. As for this Five Elements Creator Stone, it was one of the reasons those Golden Core cultivators in the QingLing Sect could live for so long.”

The QingLing Sect taking Lin Yi was no less than inviting a wolf into their home.

Chu WuQing waved his hand and twenty pills appeared, each radiating an iridescent light, as if the refined power of the elements swirled inside them. There was also a wisp of murderous sword intent that surfaced on them.

Yet, when this vicious, violent sword intent that would cause countless cultivators to tremble in terror touched Chu WuQing’s fingers, it grew gentle, intimately weaving between Chu WuQing’s fingers and giving off an unbelievable aura of joy.

Chu WuQing’s lips curved upwards in a smile, his heart trembling. “Daddy.” As he spoke, he took one of the Creator’s Elixir pills. “Even though my potential and fortune can’t compare to Lin Yi’s, I’ll open but my Dantian and meridians through sheer numbers.”

As soon as the pill entered his body, it transformed into a roaring, electrifying energy, rampaging through Chu WuQing’s body. It was so violent, it was on the verge of tearing open his meridians, killing him from the inside out.

Sweat beaded on Chu WuQing’s forehead, but his resolve hardened, and his mind grew clearer. He immediately circulated his spiritual energy, focusing entirely on guiding the power of the elixir into his Dantian again and again, letting it cleave through his Dantian, expanding it.

Chu WuQing’s face was pale with pain. Once the intense pain abated, he immediately took another Creator’s Elixir pill and the pain returned, twice as intense, causing his Dantian to start to truly widen.

Chu WuQing didn’t dare lower his guard in the slightest. He quickly took a Qi Condensing Qingyuan Pill. In that moment, the spiritual energy in the lake grew turbulent, forming into a whirlpool and funnelling into his Dantian.

Level Eleven Qi Condensation!

“It’s not enough. It’s far from enough.” Chu WuQing took the third Creator’s Elixir pill. This tripled the original effects of the elixir. It was at the point where Chu WuQing was having a hard time controlling his own divine sense and focus, trembling with pain.

This trembling immediately disturbed XiaoHong, whose heart and mind were linked to Chu WuQing’s after the other had claimed ownership. XiaoHong could also feel the terrible pain that shook Chu WuQing.

“Damnit. What is this mortal doing? Isn’t he Establishing Foundations? Why is this happening? Is he establishing foundations or tormenting himself out of boredom? Does he want to experience the feeling of death?”

Yet XiaoHong was unable to struggle or even speak to Chu WuQing.

Thanks to splitting the pain with XiaoHong, his own discomfort abated slightly. Chu WuQing immediately began circulating his spiritual energy once more, but this time, instead of just using it to fill his Dantian, he guided the spiritual energy into his meridians, attempting to widen them as well.

Level Twelve Qi Condensation!

Chu WuQing opened his eyes, feeling an exhaustion and sense of power that he had never felt before as a Qi Condensation stage cultivator. His mind was clear, but his body was at its limits.

Xin Ye breathed a sigh of relief. “Is this mortal finally done? Apart from using me as a shield, he even dared to use me as a tool to transfer and lessen his own pain. Once I recover, I’ll throw him to the torture chamber, no, I’ll torture him myself.”

“Lin Yi achieved Level Seventeen Qi Condensation, but I’m only at Level Twelve. It’s not enough.” This time, he took four Creator’s Elixir pills at once, the turbulent power of the elixir rampaged through his Dantian and meridians. Chu WuQing’s eyes were red with blood.

As the effects of the elixir mingled with the remnants of the previous pills, the pain this time grew eight times as strong. The pain flowed into XiaoHong’s body as well, allowing Chu WuQing some reprieve to circulate his spiritual energy.

As Chu WuQing continued to meditate and absorb spiritual energy, all the spiritual energy in a ten-mile radius rushed towards him. The other cultivators who were watching from the shadows all clearly felt the ambient spiritual energy around them deplete. This sudden change had everyone’s hearts in their throats.

“What in heaven’s name is the XianLing Sect doing?!”

Many of them even started suspecting that some precious artifact was about to descend upon their world. However, at the knowledge that Chu You was there, they all decided to stay seated and wait while cultivating as much as possible.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The spiritual energy was all heading to XianLing Sect in a torrent. They could barely absorb any.

Some people were impatient to go and check what was going on, but they were immediately pulled down by the people around them. “Don’t rush. Who knows if there really is some kind of treasure or if the XianLing Sect is plotting something? If you go now, you’ll just be cannon fodder. This change won’t disappear so quickly. It won’t take long for the other big sects to notice.”

Chu WuQing’s face was pale as a sheet, but he exuded an unfathomable aura. Around him, thirteen ferocious whirlpools of energy had formed. They were like hurricanes of blades, and if a Qi Condensation stage cultivator stepped into one, they’d be torn to shreds.

More and more whirlpools were forming. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, but the seventeen had barely taken shape before it dispersed.

Chu WuQing made six attempts, but he was unable to enter the seventeenth level of Qi Condensation.

“What am I missing? So, I really can’t do better than Lin Yi? I can’t become the fated one? Even with all I invested into this?” Chu WuQing mumbled, face drained of color, but soon enough, determination flashed in his eyes. “Impossible. If the heavens refused to let anyone but Lin Yi enter the limits of Qi Condensation, then it wouldn’t have let me reach the fourteenth level. It must be that I haven’t taken enough Creator’s Elixirs.”

This time, Chu WuQing took eight pills at once.

The moment the power of the pills melted into him, the crash of roaring thunder sounded in his Dantian and pain erupted in his very soul. In that moment, bloody sweat poured from Chu WuQing’s body, staining his entire body and his white robes red.

Xin Ye’s body also began to sweat blood.

“Damnit, is this ant playing with his own life? Once my cultivation is restored, I’ll definitely, definitely refine this shameless mortal into a rigid puppet. Then he’ll behave forever. He won’t be able to die, so my life won’t be in jeopardy either, nor will he ever harm himself or me. Won’t it be ever so amusing to live through the endless years in isolated darkness as a rigid puppet? I hear some human cultivator countries use this to punish treasonous cultivators, causing their mind to break and their souls to eventually fade. With that, their souls are gone, but their bodies are still alive, perfect for possession.”

Chu WuQing took three high-grade Qi Absorption pills, keeping up his broken body and forcibly gathering the remains of his willpower, circulating his qi and commanding with a shout, “Condense!”

The fearsome torrent of spiritual energy flew into his body, circulating again and again, exuding the power of the five elements. The energy was quickly refined into water vapour by his Dantian, condensing in Chu WuQing’s sea of qi.

When the spiritual energy in his sea of qi reached the heights of its rage, a pillar of water gushed upwards into the sky, raining down on Chu WuQing and nourishing his injured meridians.

The seventeenth whirlpool formed around Chu WuQing.

Chu WuQing opened his eyes, light flashing through them as he looked at his hands, delighted. “Level Seventeen Qi Condensation!”

Level Seventeen Qi Condensation?

The words shocked Xin Ye. What was that? He had never heard of it before. Had this ant driven himself insane or something? He was joking, right? But when Xin Ye felt the other’s aura… his thousand years of understanding of the universe as Otherworld Demon royalty shook.

The aura Chu WuQing exuded was far beyond that of a Qi Condensation stage cultivator, yet so very different from a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. It was such an unfathomable feeling, indescribable. If he had to name it, then only that unheard-of Level Seventeen Qi Condensation would fit.

Going against the natural order of the heavens… no wonder he was subjected to such intense pain.

Even though he looked down on human cultivators, even though he loathed Chu WuQing, for the first time, Xin Ye felt a sense of admiration and awe. Though he was naught but an insignificant Qi Condensation stage cultivator, but it was clear from just how harsh he could be on himself that his potential was limitless.

Even demons would have a hard time putting themselves through such trials.

“If he doesn’t offend me again, then I suppose I shall consider taking him in once I recover.”

Xiao Yan didn’t dare lower his guard and reveal his true form. He pretended to be focused on grazing near the ancestral peak, but in reality, he had his attention on the place Chu WuQing was at.

The phenomenon brought on by Chu WuQing’s foundation establishment had sent shockwaves through the cultivators of his Lower Realm, but to Xiao Yan, it was nothing more than ordinary.

The QingBo Higher Realm was an immense place with countless talents and as one of the Five Great Sects of the QingBo Higher Realm, the ShangYuan Sect was a place filled with prodigies from all over. His Shixiong, DanTai ZiYan had even caused a Golden Core formation phenomenon with his foundation establishment. So why would this surprise Xiao Yan?

After all, even Xiao Yan himself could defeat Golden Core cultivators as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He was considered the hope of the divine cultivator lineage of the ShangYuan Sect.

After the fluctuations in spiritual energy stopped, Xiao Yan immediately swept the area with his divine sense, but with that sweep, the grass in the stunned little rabbit’s mouth fell out.

Level Seventeen Qi Condensation!

What the hell was that?

Unheard of, unseen of, the experience, understanding and knowledge Xiao Yan was proud of having as the son of the Sect Leader of the ShangYuan Sect was shaken. He couldn’t imagine why such a phenomenon would occur. He hadn’t even heard or read of anything like it from ancient texts. Could it be a pseudo-Foundation Establishment created after failing to achieve a real one that gave the illusion of a seventeen level of Qi Condensation?

That was the only marginally reasonable explanation for this.

Xiao Yan found that explanation unreliable, though. After all, Chu WuQing was a single water element spiritual root. It was impossible for him to fail Foundation Establishment, unless something was wrong with his head and he decided to purposefully fail for some incomprehensible, crazy reason. Plus, he had so many artifacts and elixirs on him, too.

Could it be a real Level Seventeen Qi Condensation?

Xiao Yan felt like his very soul had been slapped, his head going a little fuzzy. He hurriedly chomped on some grass to calm his shock and, for the first time, accidentally swallowed it.

“Blegh!” As soon as the grass entered his throat, Xiao Yan immediately snapped out of it and spat the grass out. He wasn’t a real rabbit, what was he eating grass for? He darted out of the area, transforming into a wisp of smoke.

Chu WuQing’s Foundation Establishment phenomenon was bound to cause a commotion. Though it wasn’t at the same level as Lin Yi’s sword energy earlier today, but it was sure to attract the attention of some ruffians. He decided to head over to protect the other, but he also wanted to see just what this Level Seventeen Qi Condensation was like.

For the first time, Xiao Yan felt proud because of someone else’s achievements.

His QingQing was powerful and unique, just as he thought.

He repeated the nickname to himself, feeling satisfied like he had just stolen honey candy, and this was a satisfaction he had stolen from someone else, which heightened his delight. He took two more mouthfuls of grass. “Blegh!”

Chu WuQing stared at the remaining three pills, saying contemplatively, “Father had someone refine two bottles of Five Elements Creator’s Elixir pills in total with twenty in each bottle. Now there are twenty-three left. Seven is the number of certainty, eight is the number of falsity, and nine is the true ultimate. It’s highly likely that the seventeenth level of Qi Condensation isn’t the peak of this stage.”

The moment Chu WuQing said this, Xin Ye’s heart sank. What a headache. This was the first time he regretted his decision to cultivate with his current method. If he hadn’t, then he wouldn’t be so helpless right now!

Chu WuQing had already pushed himself to the limits when breaking through to level seventeen just now. Trying for the possibility of eighteen or even nineteen was just asking to die! Xin Ye could imagine the moment he took those pills, both Chu WuQing and his own bodies would explode, their souls fading away.

Damnit, a king like him dying in such a useless way, and for a Qi Condensation stage ant, too!

As if reading Xin Ye’s mind, Chu WuQing summoned the other bottle of pills, determination flashing in his eyes as he said, “If I take them all at once, the pain it’ll bring will be at least ten times what I’ve experienced before, something even Lin Yi couldn’t take in my past life, never mind my physical form. But so what? How can the pain of using the Creator’s Elixir to expand my meridians compare to the pain of being slowly cut to pieces, having my soul torn asunder bit by bit?”

Once Chu WuQing took the three pills, he immediately poured the other bottle into his Dantian. The intense power of the pills was like a rampaging beast. Even after the previous seven times, Chu WuQing’s Dantian and meridians were all torn apart.

However, Chu WuQing refused to give up. The pain in his body cleared his mind further, allowing him to successfully circulate his qi and absorb more spiritual energy. Under this force, the water in the mirror lake was vaporized into spiritual mist, wildly funnelling into Chu WuQing’s body and attacking Chu WuQing’s Dantian and meridians alongside the power of the Creator’s Elixir.

The pain intensified once more!

 

Despite being pale faced, exhausted and wounded all over his body, Chu WuQing’s lips curled into a bewitchingly beautiful smile, “Others aren’t able to take the pain of the Creator’s Elixir, but that might not be so for me. I, Chu WuQing, will achieve that ultimate!”