Tie Dan got up from the ground, glanced at the mixed cultivation young master impaled on his sword and pinned to the wall, his eyes remaining open in death, then turned his head to survey the loft.
This mixed cultivator really had quite a collection of miscellaneous items.
In the center of the loft, probably at the position suppressing the array's eye, there was a three-legged bronze cauldron. Its patterns and imagery slightly differed from the Immortal Palace's style, likely some kind of ancient divine artifact. The cauldron continued its automatic operation, drawing and refining the blood and flesh of the Shi family mansion's house slaves, pumping spiritual energy relentlessly into the room like a water pump.
The cauldron was overflowing with blood energy. Tie Dan glanced around, noticing several maidservants and maids sprawled in various positions, long dead and cold, drained of blood and mixed with some vermillion grass seeds to create a dye for talisman painting and spell writing, used as materials for arranging the formation.
Apart from the cauldron in the room, the treasure bead on the roof, the golden dragon on the tiles, and various weapons like swords, halberds, knives, spears, jade hammers, and stone tablets, all exquisite items shimmering with treasure-like brilliance, seemed to be magic treasures suitable for battle. There were also several stacks of talisman papers and golden arrows that hadn't been used yet.
Really, it's fortunate he charged in decisively, catching him off guard and stabbing this mixed cultivator to death with one strike.
If he had truly set up a formation to fight against him, with the opponent having array gathering spiritual power and a protective treasure bead, and wielding various treasures, it would be difficult to break them one by one. By the time reinforcements arrived, the outcome could still be uncertain.
"How about it, are you okay? If you're fine, take one thing and leave."
Yue Peng entered, glanced around, and stood holding his sword, nurturing it with his True Qi, without taking anything for himself.
"One item? Isn't the senior brother taking anything?"
Yue Peng shook his head,
"My intervention this time was to help you cross the tribulation and assist your sword, not to create enmity."
Tie Dan looked at the mixed cultivator pinned to the wall, his eyes open in death, then looked outside at the sea of fire consuming most of the Shi Mansion, speechless for a moment.
We've killed them to this extent, and it's still not considered creating enmity?
Yue Peng scratched his head, unable to explain clearly,
"As a member of the Mystic Sect, eradicating the Demon Palace is only right and proper. This mixed cultivator was not part of the tribulation. He blocked my path and hastened his own death. However, cultivators usually have mentors and companions, and striking one could bring out a whole host. But as long as you don't take his possessions, it shouldn't count towards causality...
Ah, anyway, ask the master yourself in the future. Just remember, you're here to cross the tribulation, only take one item for your breakthrough. If you take more, they'll have a reason to come and settle the score with you."
Although he didn't quite understand what was being said, the gist was only one item could be taken...
Considering the room full of clutter, Tie Dan hesitated for a moment.
The golden dragon on the roof was a large lump of gold essence, but unfortunately, it had been improperly mixed by the mixed cultivator and then shattered by the senior brother, its excellent gold essence tainted by Red Evil and Purple Mist Qi. It would take considerable time for a pill master to refine it before it could be used. Other items not only had mismatched attributes but seemed like trash, and it was uncertain whether they contained artifact spirits...
"By the way, Tie Dan, did you obtain some fortuitous opportunity before?"
While Tie Dan hesitated, Yue Peng scrutinized his left arm, which had already been healed by blood breath, with a frown,
"Earlier, your movement technique and sword power seemed to have the foundation of Foundation Establishment..."
Tie Dan didn't know how to explain.
After all, the previous encounter and his current state were unprecedented, even to himself.
After all, according to the normal procedure of the "Sword Casting Skill," after a complete Qi Refining Stage, heavenly materials and treasures, ideally gold essence iron seed containing pure Divine Gang True Qi, should be acquired as Foundation Establishment Treasure, and then asked for a pill master's help to refine it into a fake pill, swallowed, stored in the Dantian, with arduous practice day and night to refine and breakthrough, finally using the Divine Gang Qi to cleanse the entire body, opening up the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, to become extraordinary, achieving rebirth, and succeeding in the Foundation Establishment.
Though this process seems simple, it is by no means easy. After all, a towering building rises from the ground, and the stability and solidity of the foundation directly affect the Dao body's cultivation limits.
Moreover, the Great Dao encompasses three thousand paths, with Mystic Sect's secretive teachings differing greatly. The essence of those superior cultivation methods begins with refining essence to build the foundation. Thus, older mentors are extremely meticulous about their disciples' Foundation Establishment breakthroughs, revealing critical secrets only at pivotal moments through oral instruction.
So indeed, Tie Dan had not yet established his foundation using the "Sword Casting Skill."
But the fact was, he had become stronger.
Compared to his previous mortal body, he had undeniably become extraordinary.
His entire meridian and Qi Sea were greatly expanded and reinforced, even allowing conflicting sword qi and blood breath to coexist within his meridians.
Moreover, all the twelve main meridians, Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and all the hundred acupoints of his body were opened. Previously dependent on pulmonary breathing, now his body could breathe through every pore.
Before, a month's bitter cultivation was necessary to fill his Qi Sea and refine sword qi. Now, merely having Qi nearby made it possible to breathe and refine qi even without meditative breathing.
These characteristics are entirely the hallmarks of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, not to mention his movement technique and sword power, which anyone could tell were beyond the Qi Refining Stage.
But to say he had established his foundation seemed unlikely.
According to the "Sword Casting Skill," after completing Foundation Establishment, the Qi vortex in the inner scene should form the Divine Gang Sword Seed. Others cultivate Golden Core and Nascent Soul, while the Sword Sect casts sword embryos, refines sword infants, reaching the realm of human-sword unity and sacrificial flying sword.
But now, Tie Dan found no trace of sword seed or qi pill in his inner scene Dantian. How could this be considered the establishment of foundation using "Sword Casting"?
Furthermore, the separate practice of the "Blood Jade Skill" was even more unorthodox.
The route of blood qi was fundamentally opposite to Mystic Sect's qi techniques!
Mystic cultivation techniques gather qi from outside to form Golden Core. Then the Blood Jade Skill went in the opposite direction! It disperses the accumulated qi blood into the entire meridians, even throughout the Death Points of all acupoints!
One side gathers qi, the other disperses works, expecting to refine an inner core would be ridiculous!
However, the Blood Jade Skill's divergent path, traveling the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and filling the body's Death Points, different from Mystic Sect's Internal Scripture, didn't disperse the True Qi in the twelve main meridians. Thus, it stopped it from accidently turning Tie Dan into a paralyzed state.
Paradoxically, the parts mostly inaccessible in standard Mystic methods, like the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the body's Qi Qiao Death Points, were full of Qi Blood.
With this blend of Sword Casting Skill and Blood Jade Skill, one orthodox, one unusual, it turned Tie Dan into a Qi Body filled with Qi, with his meridians fully saturated and circulation acupoints capable of Qi emission, allowing natural Inner Strength and cultivation technique application, far superior to mundane levels.
But to suggest such uncanny skill as a path to subsequently form a core, or transform to divinity...
The dilemma was, Tie Dan truly had no idea what he was cultivating!
So the current state was just...
Like a foundation, not a foundation, as if it were.
"Ah, don't want to say, that's fine."
Seeing the boy become silent and uncommunicative like carved wood, Yue Peng felt drained.
However, Sword Sect disciples were all straightforward, rarely adept at expressing emotions, preferring sword-based exchanges. Thus, Yue Peng did not press further, preferring the result of a victory.
"Hurry and choose; Six Gates is here."
"Six Gates..."
Six Gates, Tie Dan knew, were the court's constables, formally titled Right and Left Supervision Tribute, separate from the Kingdom's eunuchs and local vassal soldiers.
The Immortal Palace oversees the realm, rich in administrative experience, typically utilizing the Ziwei Constellation's eunuch guards internally for purges, and the Guardian Eight Prefectures for territorial defense and demon extermination.
To combat the Demon Sect's evil people, experts at Nascent Soul realm and Martial God level were carefully selected and enhanced with lavish resources from Three Constellations and Six Ministries, and Four Constellations Immortal Army, under Taiwei Constellation's direct command, tasked with capturing and stealing, uniquely targeting 'Immortal Thieves' who resist imperial order.
Although our Beichen Sword Sect boasts invincible counterattacks at equivalent realms, becoming undefeatable as long as stars and swords align.
Yet, standing against Nascent Soul realm True Man level experts, it's wise to respect their formidable combat power, avoiding self-destruction...
So Tie Dan stopped dwelling on choices, climbed to the rooftop, and gathered fragments of the ruined dragon head, blasted dragon horns, and scattered dragon scales, selecting those still usable, wrapped them in a bundle, and slung it over his shoulder.
Yue Peng efficiently ignited the loft as well, and the two brothers propelled by Qi and Energy Transfer, vaulted over walls and trees, swiftly leaving behind the Shi family mansion, consumed in a sea of flames, reduced to ashes and scorched earth.