Wufan's interactions with him became even closer. Occasionally, he would personally come to ask for a few invisibility pills, inquire about the refining progress of other pills, and discuss the development plans for the Lingxiao Sect. Of course, the primary purpose was always to obtain pills.
One day, Han Yang suddenly summoned Mo Qi and three other disciples to his peak for a meeting. All four were bewildered as they entered the meeting hall.
Han Yang's face was solemn, but his eyes still betrayed an unconcealable excitement.
After everyone was seated, Han Yang's gaze swept across their faces. "All of you have cultivation at the Great Perfection of the Condensation God realm. Some of you have just reached this stage, while others have been in this realm for a year or so, waiting for an opportunity."
He paused, then continued, "Indeed, a golden opportunity has presented itself." Mo Qi's spirits immediately lifted. He had been waiting for such a chance, and he never expected it to actually arrive.
"Originally, the Asura Realm would release spiritual energy from its seal every thousand years. However, for some unknown reason, a large amount of spiritual energy has been flowing out from the Asura Realm's seal recently. This situation is also conducive to all cultivators at the Great Perfection of the Condensation God realm breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Many cultivators from other sects are already rushing towards the seal."
"However, establishing a foundation in the Asura Realm is fraught with peril. Firstly, there will be fierce competition and conflict with cultivators from various sects for resources. Secondly, the unknown threats emanating from the Asura Realm are immeasurable. In short, casualties are inevitable. If you choose to establish your foundation using your own spiritual power, your cultivation height may be affected, but it is ultimately much safer. Therefore, I am here to seek your opinions. Please consider carefully for one night. If you decide to go, gather at the Shaoxia Peak plaza tomorrow morning with disciples from other peaks, and we will depart together. For now, please return and consider."
The other three fell into deep thought, appearing burdened. Even as they stood up and walked out of the meeting hall, they seemed lost in a fog. Only Mo Qi felt at ease. He had been waiting for this opportunity, and now that it had arrived, how could he let it slip away so easily?
The next morning, at the appointed time, disciples from various peaks began to arrive at the Shaoxia Peak plaza. Mo Qi noticed that out of the three disciples from Shaonian Peak last night, only one had come, named Shui Qianjun. Shaoshan Peak had five disciples, and Shaonü Peak had one, a cold-faced stranger. Mo Qi was sure he had met all the disciples from Shaonü Peak before. How could there be someone he had never seen? Did she not bathe? He supposed that the more beautiful a girl was, the more guarded she would be. They probably only bathed in their own rooms, and likely had various prohibitions in place while bathing.
This young woman also gave a heart-stirring impression. However, unlike Xiao Cong'er, she lacked coquettishness and possessed a touch of radiance instead, exuding a fresh and refined aura, like a gentle breeze caressing blooming lotuses, carrying a faint fragrance and bringing a sense of exhilaration.
A total of fifteen people came from the six peaks. Elder Wang was leading the group. Elder Wang was always engaged in external affairs for the Lingxiao Sect, so everyone was quite unfamiliar with him. Mo Qi, in particular, had never met Elder Wang before. However, Elder Wang seemed to know Mo Qi already, nodding at him as a form of greeting to him as the deputy sect leader.
At the Bamboo Leaf Peak of the Divine Sword Sect, over a dozen disciples gathered in the peak master's meeting hall. Most of them did not know why the peak master had summoned them, while a few had heard some rumors about the Foundation Establishment matters and were whispering and exchanging glances.
Hong Jinping was one of the disciples who knew the news. At this moment, he was doing his utmost to curry favor with Shi Siyao beside him. "Siyao, have you heard? There are signs of loosening at the seal of the Asura Realm, with spiritual energy leaking out. I estimate the peak master is calling us here to discuss Foundation Establishment."
At this moment, Shi Siyao saw Hong Jinping's persistent presence and couldn't help but frown. She had tried to subtly move away when she saw Hong Jinping sitting next to her earlier, but she didn't expect this fellow to be so thick-skinned and follow her again.
"Oh, really?" Shi Siyao replied coldly.
"Yes, look at all the disciples who have come, they are all at the Great Perfection of the Condensation God realm," Hong Jinping said. Seeing that Shi Siyao had actually responded to him, he was overjoyed and immediately became energetic, ready to launch into a lengthy speech. "That Asura..."
At this point, Shi Siyao shushed him and pointed ahead, signaling that their master had arrived and it was time to be quiet. Hong Jinping reluctantly ceased speaking.
Accompanying Ling Xu was another person, their senior disciple Huangfu Lin. Ling Xu gestured for him to sit at a nearby position below the main seats. This immediately drew a flurry of hushed whispers: "What is he doing there? He is already at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Is he still going to protect us?"
Ling Xu swept his gaze over everyone, his sharp eyes immediately silencing them all.
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Ling Xu slowly said, "Except for Huangfu Lin, all of you present are at the Great Perfection of the Condensation God realm. Perhaps most of you are preparing for Divine Wood Foundation Establishment. However, there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity now: spiritual energy is flowing out from the Asura Realm's seal. This is both an opportunity and a challenge. With challenges come inevitable casualties. You may decide for yourselves whether to go. For those who decide to go, gather at the mountain gate in one hour to rendezvous with disciples from other peaks, and we will depart together."
Hong Jinping whispered to Shi Siyao, "I'm not going. There's no need to risk it. I'll choose Divine Wood Foundation Establishment. What about you, Siyao? Are you going?"
Shi Siyao, fearing that if she said she was going, he would follow, gave a vague reply, "I'll think about it." Her words seemed to indicate an escape as she squeezed through the crowd and walked out.
She had actually thought it through clearly. She had to seize this opportunity, otherwise, she would be wasting her talent. She had always felt different since childhood, someone ordinary children could never reach.
Shi Siyao returned to her residence, packed a few things, put some spirit stones into her storage bag, and set off. She didn't bother asking for anyone else's opinion. What did she care if they went or not? No matter what, she had to go.
Next door to her lived Lu Xiaoyue, who was still diligently cultivating. However, Foundation Establishment was already a thing of the past for her, and she no longer worried about it. She was indeed very talented, having completed Foundation Establishment in her first year after entering the sect, and now she was striving for Core Formation.
However, recently, a name called Mo Qi had been frequently mentioned, and his reputation was quite significant. It was said that he was a disciple of the Lingxiao Sect who could extract a thousand strands of silk from the North Sea Ice Silkworm cocoon and could achieve the complete quality of the Fire Butterfly Worm pupa. Achieving even one of these was a rare feat once in ten million years. Yet, this person could achieve both simultaneously, making him an unprecedented alchemy prodigy.
However, she believed that this Mo Qi must not be the Mo Qi she knew. That Mo Qi was probably still rowing a boat on the river in Fengxi Village. Facing the river with his back to the sky, that was probably his entire life's experience. But no one could be blamed for that; it was fate!
At the entrance of Tianxiang Mountain, Shi Siyao saw dozens of people already waiting. But strangely, except for Huangfu Lin, disciples who had completed Foundation Establishment from each peak were going. What were they going for? Were they going to protect them, the Foundation Establishment disciples?
More disciples arrived successively. Finally, the headcount reached over a hundred people! The group was led by Vice Sect Master Li Tianshi. Li Tianshi saw that the time had come and no one else was emerging from within. He waved his sleeve and declared, "Depart!"
A mass of mist rose from nowhere, enveloping everyone's figures. It gradually converged, forming the shape of a boat. Once formed, it ascended rapidly and sped away into the distance.
Seeing Huangfu Lin standing beside her, Shi Siyao couldn't help but ask curiously, "Senior Brother Huangfu, aren't you already in the late stage of Foundation Establishment? What are you going for?"
If anyone else had asked, Huangfu Lin would have ignored them. But for this beautiful junior sister, who had finally deigned to speak to him, how could he refuse the conversation? He glanced at Li Tianshi, who was looking straight ahead, and lowered his voice to an extreme, almost without vocal resonance. "We are using this opportunity to kill Mo Qi of the Lingxiao Sect, because this Mo Qi poses too great a threat to the sect. This is a direct order from the Sect Master. Do not tell anyone else."
Shi Siyao was stunned! This was too brutal! If that Mo Qi was also going for Foundation Establishment, then his cultivation must be at the Great Perfection of the Condensation God realm. Looking at the situation, seven Foundation Establishment cultivators were围剿 (wei jiao - surround and kill) one Condensation God realm cultivator. Mo Qi was surely doomed!
Although Shi Siyao was shocked, she knew this was a secret order from the sect and dared not inquire further, pretending she knew nothing about it.
Meanwhile, Mo Qi, completely unaware of the approaching danger, was still enthusiastically conversing with those around him. During their discussions, he met the Huo Jianxiong and Huo Chunxiong brothers from Shaoqing Peak, Chen Zui from Shaoyang Peak, and Wang Shaozhong and Zhao Zhou from Shaoxia Peak. He finally learned the name of the disciple from Shaonü Peak: Bai Cheng.
Elder Wang tossed his sword into the air, formed a hand seal, and pointed. The sword instantly expanded, forming a space several zhang in area. Everyone jumped onto the giant sword and sped towards the seal of the Asura Realm.
Mo Qi found an opportunity and quietly moved closer to Bai Cheng. However, Bai Cheng deliberately or inadvertently dodged to the side.
She had actually heard about Mo Qi's deeds long ago, especially his involvement with Xiao Cong'er. She couldn't understand how Xiao Cong'er could have feelings for someone like him. He wasn't good-looking and always had an annoying demeanor. Moreover, Xiao Cong'er's whereabouts were unknown, and she didn't know what had happened. Regardless, it was best to avoid provoking such people.
At this moment, Mo Qi suddenly remembered something. He took out over a dozen pills from his storage bag and said, "We are going to establish our foundations, and we will inevitably compete for resources with disciples from other sects, leading to conflict and killing. These are the emergency pills I refined. They can instantly stimulate one's potential, causing spiritual power to surge several times, even dozens of times. Each of you take one. It may very well save your lives when necessary."
With such good news, everyone was naturally overjoyed. They eagerly came forward to receive the pills and thanked him profusely.
Bai Cheng was a little flustered. Should she refuse the pills? These things were indeed attractive. The pills refined by Mo Qi were indeed as advertised, with tangible effects, unlike other pills that were hyped up to the skies but had no effect after consumption. If she accepted the pills, she felt a bit too embarrassed. She had been moving away from him just now, and now she had to approach him for some benefit. If people saw, they would laugh at her. Damn it, he didn't know she was coming over.
At this point, everyone else had received their pills. Mo Qi looked around and said, "It seems everyone has received them. I'll put them away now." With that, he was about to put the remaining pills in his hand back into his storage bag.
"Then, that..." Bai Cheng became anxious and immediately moved closer to Mo Qi. "I haven't received one yet." She lowered her head shyly, her face blushing.
"Oh, Senior Sister Bai hasn't received one? I'm so sorry, so sorry, I didn't see you. I'm so sorry." Mo Qi apologized repeatedly and handed a pill from his hand to Bai Cheng.
Mo Qi enjoyed this feeling. He still had invisibility pills. If he had enough, he would have played the game again. However, he only had three in total, and with over ten people, he couldn't play the game as before. If he gave one solely to Bai Cheng, it would be blatant favoritism based on attraction.
Disappointed, he sighed. He should have refined more invisibility pills.
The Foundation Establishment this time was too sudden. However, he had made some preparations last night, anticipating that there would inevitably be a battle with the four major sects, perhaps even a bloody one.
First, he refined several "Manifestation Pills" specifically targeting the escape techniques of the Divine Escape Sect. However, this pill was based on a hypothesis: the escape technique of the Divine Escape Sect involved merging one's own spiritual power with the spiritual power of the surrounding medium. He wasn't sure if this pill would work.
Secondly, based on some assumptions, he refined several "Mist Dissipation Pills" specifically for the Divine Mist Sect. He wasn't sure if they would be effective either.
Almost everyone had also done their homework in advance and understood the entire process of Foundation Establishment.
Asura Foundation Establishment required finding Asura Artifact Spirits within Mount Asura, using the Asura Artifact Spirits to collect the spiritual energy leaking from the Asura Realm, and finally using that spiritual energy to assist in Foundation Establishment.
Asura Artifact Spirits were beings that roamed between the Asura Realm and the Human Realm. They were called living beings, yet they had no consciousness.
They resembled shells, but were more rounded in shape. There was a hole on their heads, specifically for absorbing spiritual energy. On their backs, there was a softer protrusion that would expel spiritual energy when pressed. Below, they had two roots that were deeply embedded in the soil, like a plant. However, if someone approached and they sensed a threat, their two roots would automatically pull out of the soil, transforming into two slender legs, and they would flee madly.
After an unknown number of hours, the great sword stopped before a large mountain. The area ahead was shrouded in mist, and a chilling aura emanated, causing one's hair to stand on end involuntarily.
Elder Wang retracted his sword, glanced at everyone, and said, "Disciples of the Lingxiao Sect, take care of yourselves! I can only escort you this far. You must enter the mountain, descend into the abyss, find your respective artifact spirits in the abyss, and then go to the seal to collect spiritual energy with the artifact spirits for Foundation Establishment. One point must be emphasized: once you enter Mount Asura, your lives will no longer be protected by the sect. You can only rely on yourselves. Within Mount Asura, there will be conflicts between various cultivation sects fighting for resources, and there may also be murders disguised as competition for resources. This is universally acknowledged by all sects, so please be extremely careful. Alternatively, if anyone wishes to withdraw at this very moment, step forward and stand beside me."