Chapter 120 – Thanks to the Heavenly Dao Lord for Taking Time to Strike!

Azure Cloud Sect, within a special cave residence three days later.

Lu Chen, who had been meditating and circulating his Qi, suddenly opened his eyes.

He sensed that the moment of his birth hour was approaching.

Before commencing his Foundation Establishment breakthrough at his birth hour, there were still some matters he needed to attend to.

The foremost among these was bathing and changing into fresh clothes.

This was not only to adjust his mindset.

It was also his way of showing the Heavenly Dao the importance he placed on this breakthrough, letting the heavens witness his earnest attitude.

Unlike many rebellious cultivators who advocated “defying the heavens,”

Lu Chen had always maintained a “heart of reverence” toward the Heavenly Dao, emphasizing harmony with the natural order and avoiding conflict with the heavens.

Thus, if some cultivators could be described as following a “heaven-defying” path, Lu Chen had always walked the “heaven-compliant” route.

Proudly positioning himself as a filial son of the Heavenly Dao.

For such a critical matter as breaking through a realm, he felt it necessary to first inform the Heavenly Dao Lord.

Only in this way could he fully embody his identity as a heaven-compliant cultivator and avoid any misunderstanding from the Heavenly Dao Lord.

After all, as the saying goes: “As long as the Heavenly Dao lives, you remain merely the Crown Prince.”

Attempting a breakthrough without notifying the Heavenly Dao would undoubtedly be an act of “great unfilialness.”

Lu Chen, ever filial to the Heavenly Dao, would never commit such an act!

After bathing and changing, Lu Chen immediately proceeded to the entrance of his cave residence.

There, he had specially arranged a large cauldron along with offerings such as fruits and fine wine.

He then took out three incense sticks, lit them, and solemnly inserted them into the cauldron filled with incense ashes.

As the saying goes: “For humans, avoid three long; for incense, avoid two short.”

While observing the three incense sticks, Lu Chen retrieved his handwritten “Ode to the Heavens Scripture” and began to chant:

“Heavenly Dao Lord above, your humble disciple Lu Chen, Inner Disciple of Danyang Peak in the Azure Cloud Sect, hereby petitions to commence Foundation Establishment.”

“Many cultivators in this world believe the Great Dao is formless and heaven and earth are heartless, but this disciple thinks otherwise.”

“Of the fifty avenues of the Great Dao, forty-nine are derived by heaven, while one is left for humanity…”

“All see only that one, but this disciple sees the forty-nine.”

“Thus, today this disciple burns three incense sticks to inquire of the Heavenly Dao’s will.”

“If the Heavenly Dao Lord does not permit this disciple to establish his foundation today, may two incense sticks burn short.”

“If the Heavenly Dao Lord permits this disciple to establish his foundation today, may the incense burn without abnormality.”

“Regardless of whether the breakthrough occurs today or its outcome, this disciple shall not harbor any resentment toward the Heavenly Dao Lord.”

“Success in Foundation Establishment is the mercy of the Heavenly Dao, the achievement of heaven; failure is due to this disciple’s own inadequate foundation, the fault of Lu.”

“I beseech the Heavenly Dao Lord, in recognition of this disciple’s past accumulation of virtue and good deeds, to bless this Foundation Establishment endeavor.”

After speaking, Lu Chen put away his “Ode to the Heavens Scripture” and performed three kneelings and nine prostrations toward the sky outside his cave residence.

Once this was done, he anxiously watched the burning incense sticks.

Before long, all three incense sticks had burned out completely, without any sign of the ominous “two short.”

Seeing this, Lu Chen felt a surge of joy in his heart.

The right timing, favorable conditions, and human harmony were now all in place.

Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment would take place today!

Lu Chen sat down in meditation, silently counting the time.

The moment his birth hour arrived, he immediately initiated his breakthrough.Unbeknownst to Lu Chen, the moment he chose to breakthrough at this precise time, his breakthrough interface immediately underwent changes.

【Foundation Establishment Stage Breakthrough Interface】

【Mortal Dao Foundation Establishment Success Rate: 1%】

【Earthly Dao Foundation Establishment Success Rate: 1%】

【Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Success Rate: 98%】

Compared to several days ago, his current success rate for achieving Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment had increased by a full 3%!

However, Lu Chen remained completely unaware of all this.

Because he had already devoted all his attention to the breakthrough process.

The most critical step from Qi Condensation Stage to Foundation Establishment is ‘condensing Qi into liquid’.

Specifically, this means transforming the Spiritual Qi within one’s body into spiritual liquid.

Once this step is completed, the spiritual liquid will merge with the cultivator’s blood, circulating throughout the entire body.

This is why Foundation Establishment cultivators not only possess far greater Spiritual Power than those at Qi Condensation Stage,

but also why their Physique becomes significantly stronger than Qi Condensation cultivators.

During this ‘Qi condensation into liquid’ process, both the total amount and quality of the spiritual liquid will affect the grade of a cultivator’s Foundation Establishment.

The reason Lu Chen had previously dedicated himself to cultivating five special Divine Abilities

was precisely to further enhance the quality of his Spiritual Power.

Within Lu Chen’s body, as he began continuously compressing his Spiritual Qi,

the originally gaseous Spiritual Power started to continuously concentrate.

The first attribute he compressed was fire-element Spiritual Power.

Relying on the Purple Dawn Divine Fire cultivated through practicing the Purple Haze Nourishing Art,

all of Lu Chen’s fire-element Spiritual Power began transforming toward the form of Purple Dawn flames.

Before long, all the fire-element Spiritual Power within his body had turned into purple spiritual liquid.

This liquid appeared not only dense but also remarkably divine, clearly different from ordinary fire-element Spiritual Power.

Qualitatively transformed Spiritual Power – this was the effect Lu Chen aimed to achieve by cultivating five special Divine Abilities to breakthrough level!

As he had anticipated, Lu Chen found the process of condensing his Spiritual Power to be quite smooth.

He encountered no particular difficulties.

After spending one day completing the qualitative transformation of his fire-element Spiritual Power, Lu Chen began transforming his other elemental Spiritual Powers.

Five days later, with all his Spiritual Power qualitatively transformed,

the Spiritual Power within Lu Chen’s body had been completely replaced by spiritual liquid.

Yet he had only completed the first step of Foundation Establishment.

Because this spiritual liquid was only temporary – he still needed to gather all this liquid together to form a fixed ‘Immortal Foundation’.

This step represented the most difficult aspect of Foundation Establishment.

Without any hesitation, Lu Chen directly took out the Foundation Pills Jing Gong had prepared for him and consumed them all at once.

The function of Foundation Pills is to help cultivators better fuse this spiritual liquid together.

For cultivators with only single or dual Spirit Roots,

this step isn’t particularly difficult.

But for Lu Chen who possessed Five Elements attributes,

attempting to consolidate all this Spiritual Power together undoubtedly presented multiplied difficulty, making Foundation Pills absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, these Foundation Pills were all personally refined by Jing Gong, each of perfect quality, thus their effects were remarkably potent.

As the Foundation Pills’ medicinal efficacy took effect,

Lu Chen immediately felt the Five Elements spiritual liquid within his body transform from initially distinct separation to becoming interwoven.

Lu Chen’s current task was to accelerate this process.

However, during this procedure, Lu Chen couldn’t immediately control these spiritual liquids.Therefore, it was necessary to absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and consume elixirs that restore spiritual power in order to replenish the gaseous spiritual energy he could control.

Thus, in the following period, Lu Chen absorbed the spiritual power emitted by the Azure Cloud Apricot Tree within his cave residence while also taking elixirs to restore his spiritual power.

Additionally, with the aid of the ‘Nine Luminaries Spirit Orb,’ which increased his spiritual power limit and enhanced his absorption rate, the spiritual qi Lu Chen used to compress the spiritual liquid showed no signs of depletion and was instead more than sufficient.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

And so, another ten days passed.

Boom!

Accompanied by the appearance of a peculiar dark cloud above Danyang Peak, a deep rumble of thunder immediately echoed throughout the entire Azure Cloud Sect.

This sudden thunderclap not only startled those within Danyang Peak but also drew the attention of the other peaks.

Within Hidden Sword Peak, Yi Hanqing seemed to sense something and immediately stepped out of his cave residence. Many others were similarly startled.

Not only did disciples of Hidden Sword Peak emerge, but many Elders of Hidden Sword Peak also came out of their cave residences.

Looking at the gathering thunderclouds over Danyang Peak, they remarked in surprise, “We haven’t heard of any Danyang Peak disciple attempting Core Formation in the past decade. Why would thunderclouds appear over Danyang Peak?”

“Enough talk, let’s go take a look.”

“You’re right.”

After saying this, two Golden Core Elders from Hidden Sword Peak mounted their swords and flew toward Danyang Peak, wanting to see who was undergoing Tribulation Transcendence.

However, Yi Hanqing below had a different perspective on these thunderclouds.

He felt that these thunderclouds were nowhere near as terrifying as those of a normal Core Formation Tribulation—at most, only about one-tenth the scale.

Therefore, he suspected that these might not be Core Formation thunderclouds but rather Foundation Establishment thunderclouds.

Yet, for Foundation Establishment thunderclouds to appear, it would require someone to have achieved a First-Grade Great Dao Immortal Foundation, as this was a trial bestowed by the Heavenly Dao.

If the trial succeeded, the Heavenly Dao would grant a Great Dao Blessing.

If it failed, only a Heavenly Dao Blessing would be given.

A Heavenly Dao Blessing was the reward for Third or Second Grade Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, while a Great Dao Blessing was a special reward exclusive to those with a First-Grade Heavenly Dao Immortal Foundation.

Not only was its effect far superior to the ‘Heavenly Dao Blessing,’ but it also possessed ‘uniqueness.’

Thinking of this, Yi Hanqing couldn’t help but recall Lu Chen, who had come to see him some time ago about Foundation Establishment.

Combined with Lu Chen’s Heaven-Defying Comprehension Ability, which allowed him to grasp multiple Sword Intents even at the Qi Condensation Stage, Yi Hanqing felt it was highly likely that these thunderclouds were summoned by Lu Chen.

With this in mind, Yi Hanqing also felt compelled to fly toward Danyang Peak to see if his suspicions were correct.

But just as he prepared to mount his sword and fly, a massive protective barrier appeared around Danyang Peak, blocking the path of all the curious onlookers.

At the same time, the Azure Cloud Sect Leader, Gu Liqing, made an appearance.

“This is a breakthrough being undertaken by a disciple of Danyang Peak. Everyone, please do not approach, so as not to disturb them.”

Hearing this, everyone immediately halted.

They had also noticed that these thunderclouds were considerably smaller than those of a typical Core Formation Tribulation.

It seemed likely that either the disciple was forming an abnormal Golden Core—a False Core—or they were undergoing the process of achieving a First-Grade Great Dao Immortal Foundation.

If it were the former, that would be one thing.

But if it were the latter, that would be truly terrifying.Because in the history of their Azure Cloud Sect, only three peerless geniuses with a First-Grade Great Dao Immortal Foundation had ever emerged.

One of them was their founding ancestor, the Azure Cloud Immortal.

Of the other two, only one successfully ascended.

The other, however, was a Great Vehicle Stage cultivator.

Therefore, if this thundercloud truly belonged to a First-Grade Great Dao Immortal Foundation,

it meant their Azure Cloud Sect was about to witness a living immortal comparable to the Azure Cloud Immortal!

What they could deduce, the Azure Cloud Sect Leader, Gu Liqing, naturally realized as well.

Moreover, he possessed deeper insights than the others.

Because the person who had transmitted the message asking him to disperse the crowd was none other than Jing Gong of Danyang Peak.

The purpose was to create the optimal breakthrough environment for his disciple, Lu Chen.

With this information, Gu Liqing immediately understood the thundercloud was Lu Chen’s doing.

He naturally inferred that Lu Chen was attempting to condense a First-Grade Great Dao Immortal Foundation.

At this thought, Gu Liqing couldn’t help but murmur gravely, “Our sect has produced Lu Chen with a First-Grade Great Dao Immortal Foundation, the neighboring Jade Void Mountain has Shangguan Yunmeng with the Immaculate Immortal Body, and I’ve heard the Little Thunderclap Temple in the west has a Buddha Child born with the Innate Buddha Body.”

“So many peerless talents emerging in such a short time… this is the sign of a Great Contention Era…”

Gu Liqing said this because throughout history, every Great Contention Era had seen the rise of exceptionally rare, world-shaking prodigies.

In any other era, these talents would have dominated their generation uncontested.

Yet, as if by agreement, they always appeared in clusters.

The last recorded Great Contention Era dated back ten thousand years.

It was during that era that four inheritors of the True Immortal Inheritance emerged at once, after a long period of absence.

One of them was their own Azure Cloud Ancestral Master!

Though that era was glorious, it was also fraught with immense peril.

Countless sects vanished completely during that time.

This led Gu Liqing to recall the recent news of several minor sects in the Central Province being annihilated.

For a moment, he felt the world… might soon become turbulent.

With this in mind, Gu Liqing resolved inwardly:

In the coming period, he should dispatch disciples to travel the mortal world and gather intelligence.

After all, every Great Contention Era was preceded by certain omens.

Only by anticipating possible events could they prepare accordingly.

But what Gu Liqing did not foresee was

that the signs of the Great Contention he believed would only sweep the Central Province

would extend far wider, even drawing the immortals and buddhas of the Thirty-Three Heavens into its vortex…

Meanwhile, at Danyang Peak.

Lu Chen gazed at the thundercloud gathering above him, understanding it had come for him.

He could sense the ‘Immortal Foundation’ formed within him growing restless since the cloud’s appearance.

Although the pressure from this thundercloud was not as terrifying as that from the Golden Core Stage Black Rock King or the Pseudo-core Stage cultivator Hao Fu,

it still weighed heavily upon him.

This was a tribulation he might fail to overcome if he were even slightly careless.

Yet, despite the imminent peril,

Lu Chen respectfully bowed toward the sky and declared, “Disciple Lu Chen thanks the Heavenly Dao for taking time out of its busy schedule to come and strike me.”

“This disciple vows to exert his utmost effort to pass the Heavenly Dao’s trial…”As he spoke, Lu Chen drew out the newly acquired Shangqing Cloud Sword.

The moment the Spirit Sword entered his hand, Lu Chen’s aura instantly transformed.

A phantom of a Flood Dragon materialized behind him, gazing toward the thunderclouds in the sky.

As if responding to Lu Chen’s words, the thunderclouds immediately began to churn violently.

Vast amounts of lightning energy gathered within the clouds.

Sensing the increasingly overwhelming pressure from the thunderclouds, Lu Chen took a deep breath.

His eyes sharpened, and his expression grew more solemn than ever before.

“This Disciple is fully prepared. I ask the Heavenly Dao… to grant me guidance.”

Boom!

Almost the instant Lu Chen’s words fell,

a thick bolt of lightning tore through the dark clouds, striking directly toward Lu Chen atop Danyang Peak.

In response, Lu Chen swung his sword.

In the next moment, he unleashed the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent within him without reservation.

The Sword Qi transformed into a silvery-white Flood Dragon, soaring forth to meet the lightning head-on…

(End of Chapter)