Chapter 72: Foundation Establishment Perfection!
Now, it must be said first and foremost that Li Ling’s nonchalance to the danger of being too high profile seemed to go against typical understanding of the cultivation world. After all, it was a well-known fact that the tallest tree attracts the dangerous wind, or something of the sort, no?
Well, it actually depended on where one chose to be high profile. In a righteous sect, without a strong backing, being high profile was exceedingly dangerous because resource competition was heavy, so the one who showed that they could grow quickly to the higher levels would be subtly suppressed or outright assassinated by their future competitors to limit their troubles.
In a demonic sect, being low profile was the same as being high profile in the righteous sect. Demonic cultivators were cruel, bloodthirsty, and calculating, and due to their exploitation of forbidden resources that went against heaven and man, their growth speed was already rapid.
So naturally, anyone unwilling to go out there and cause trouble to harvest the innocent for rapid growth must be weak and was therefore fodder that should be cannibalized.
Li Ling had no intention of playing the slow game and trying to hide his growth, because he understood very well that something would always come up to drag one’s true nature out. Once it was out, it would cause a chain reaction of issues because those who wished ill on you would feel insecure and would be in a rush to resolve matters with you.
｢Infinite Slaughter System
Owner: Li Ling
Status: Healthy
Age: 20/350
Slaughter Points: 1,429
Qi Cultivation Base: Foundation Establishment level 2 (0/45)
Qi Cultivation Technique: Solaris Azure Meditation Mantra
Body Refinement Level: Mortal Flesh level Perfection. (Unable to Breakthrough)
Body Refinement Technique: Blood Asura Descent. (Cannot be Limit Broken)
Mind Power Realm: Acolyte Realm Level 1 (0/2)
Mind Power Technique: Expanding Mind Sequence
Daoist Arts:
1. Fireball Technique – Advanced (0/2)
2. Mana Regressing Art – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
3. Qi Seeking Technique – Perfection (Can be Limit Broken, 0/50)
4. Voice Transmission – Entry (0/1)
5. Spirit Sense Control – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
6. Earth Tunneling Art – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
7. Golden Blockade Technique – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
8. Cleansing Spell – Entry (0/1)
9. Qi Sealing Technique – Expert (0/15)
10. Yin-Yang Reversal Art – Entry (0/500)
11. The Meteor Spell – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
12. Soul Piercing Seal – Entry (0/10)
13. Memory Plunder Method – Entry (0/10)
14. Blessed Augury – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Non Daoist Techniques:
1. Li Family Spear Technique – Advanced (0/3)
2. Disguise Art – Perfection (Can be Limit Broken, 0/50)
3. Swift Swallow Step – Entry (0/1)
4. Sky Rending Palm – Entry (0/1)
5. Hidden Sleeve Art – Mastery (0/4).｣
It was still the same story. Apart from his Blessed Augury being raised to Perfection to deal with the problem back then, everything else was as it should be, though Li Ling noted that the Disguise Art was ready to be limit broken.
However, his patience for daoist arts had reached its lowest point after coming to a place of relative safety. Previously, he had to put aside realm and focus on his methods because realm would not solve his circumstances back then while various techniques could yield interesting effects that made the difference.
His plan right now was simple: raise his realm to the highest to attain the most direct battle power and battle sustainability, then sign up for an active battlefield through the Killing Blood Wing, harvesting lives to replenish Slaughter Points, then using the acquired Blood Credits to buy new techniques, then back to killing, then buying techniques and upgrading them, and so on.
To that end, he couldn’t afford a situation like the number 5 Joyous Market where using one daoist art at its strongest capacity caused him to bottom out in the middle of battle. He had a strong engine to run on, now it was time to increase the fuel tank and then fill it up.
Currently at Foundation Establishment level 2, Li Ling shook his head. He had managed to suppress Bai Ruyi by showing his determination to deal with her even at the cost of severe losses to himself, which came at the cost of his cultivation realm.
For him, it was a worthwhile exchange for now because Slaughter Points were easily farmable, but making sure that this scheming woman would not immediately stab him in the back the moment she found a better option was something that could not be easily achieved.
Li Ling checked his dantian and found that there were slight cracks, the source of his lowered realm. This was actually a much more severe issue for a normal person because the first order of business would be to slowly mend those cracks—or use resources to expedite the process—then slowly recultivate their realm to get back to where they had been before.
However, all Li Ling had to do was invest 45 Slaughter Points and watch, through introspection, as his dantian was rapidly repaired as if nothing had gone wrong, his realm perfectly returning to where it had been before with not a hint of sequelae that he could detect.
Unfortunately, he didn’t gain new power and his spirit sense didn’t increase again as only his raw cultivation level had been reduced previously. Not only that, but the radius was still slightly less than 290 meters due to the trick played on him by Bai Ruyi and Wen Caiyi.
Li Ling did not linger much on the third level of Foundation Establishment and first invested 90 Slaughter Points into the Expanding Mind Sequence to raise it to the peak once more, still planning to exploit the Infinite Slaughter System’s rapid growth mechanic to maximize his spirit sense growth per level.
He then paid 60 Slaughter Points and the breakthrough commenced. As usual, the silvery-white spirit sense directly swallowed up the blue-colored Mind Power at once, causing its size to swell greatly. Meanwhile, the dantian was filled by another 10%, though the first 30% of yang-powered magic power was slowly compressed by the grown spirit sense, making it less liquid-like and more akin to jelly.
So now it was split into two: the jelly-like orange-yellow magic power at the bottom and the liquid yang magic power that was newly introduced on top, looking for all the world like a small cup of Fanta. However, this was not some soft drink, but an esoteric form of distilled energy that, on its own without any daoist art, could cause the utter destruction of a small town.
Li Ling only had to do minor fortification to his meridians compared to typical Foundation Establishment cultivators due to his body cultivation. Despite being at the first realm, the Blood Asura Descent was one tier above the Solaris Azure Meditation Mantra, allowing it to cover this part to a large extent during the early parts of the Foundation Establishment realm.
Li Ling did not stop here, spending another 90 Slaughter Points to refill the Mind Power tank and then 75 Slaughter Points to advance to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment. He gained another 10% of liquid magic power on top of what was gained previously, making for a 30% semi-solid magic power and 20% liquid magic power balance.
One hundred and eighty Slaughter Points later, Li Ling entered the sixth level of Foundation Establishment without fanfare, his aura rising steadily and solidly. By now, if any peeping tom from the upper echelon, especially Hall Master Tang Huo, was paying attention, they likely would no longer be able to sit still.
Li Ling entered the late stage of Foundation Establishment by crossing to level seven after spending 195 Slaughter Points, and just like when he entered level four, some changes occurred in his dantian. The second batch of liquid magic power that formed from level 4 to level 6 also solidified into a jelly-like mass and seamlessly connected with the first mass from level 1 to level 3.
And on top of it was a newly concocted batch of liquid magic power. It seemed like the system that was present at Qi Refinement with the combination and enlargement of the refined qi strands was replicated at Foundation Establishment, but for what cause?
Well, it must clearly be like Qi Refinement, where the purpose was to make preparation for Foundation Establishment. So turning the liquid magic power into a semi-solid mass was not just to increase one’s power, but also a form of preparation for Core Formation.
After checking, Li Ling had 694 Slaughter Points left and decided to forge ahead regardless.
As such, he entered the eighth level of Foundation Establishment after paying 210 Slaughter Points and then the ninth level at the cost of 225 Slaughter Points. At this point, he breathed out a cloud of turbid qi as his dantian was almost full, with 60% fiery jelly, 30% liquid fire, and the final 10% blank as a white sheet of paper.
Looking at the final cost and his remaining Slaughter Points, Li Ling felt amused and happy that he chose to kill the idiot who accosted Bai Ruyi, as well as her idiot junior sister Lin Yue, otherwise he might not have had enough to perfect his cultivation.
To reach Perfection, Li Ling needed 240 Slaughter Points, and of his remaining 259 points, he had only 19 left after the investment.
But it was worth it as Li Ling’s body shook when he reached the limit of the second realm of Qi cultivation, his dantian immediately becoming 100% full with all of the magic power turning into the semi-solid jelly state, seemingly ready for whatever came next.
After the final meridian refinement, Li Ling was truly and fully at the Perfected level of Foundation Establishment.
How to say this... if it was the Perfection stage Meteor Spell, then he could cast not only one at full power, but up to three before having to retreat to recover magic power.
And that was not even taking into account his spirit sense.
He now had a whopping 1058 meters of spirit sense radius, able to scan in any direction wantonly.
At the Perfection of Foundation Establishment, Li Ling had about the same range as a newly minted Nascent Soul cultivator.
Of course, he lost out in terms of quality since the fourth realm of qi cultivation elevated spirit sense to soul sense, but that was fine. Not only did he thoroughly and cruelly suppress his peers in Foundation Establishment, but even Core Formation powerhouses would have to lower their heads if they were to compare in this regard.
This kind of qualitative leap in power was truly something else, Li Ling thought with a smile. As for what remained, since he was already here, he might as well invest in combat power because his earlier disdain was only because his cultivation needed to be filled up.
Now that there was some leftover, why not invest it ahead of time for better rewards later?
Unfortunately, the Disguise Art could not be limit broken since it required 50 Points, not that its limit-broken version could add combat power. In that case, Li Ling looked toward the very neglected Fireball Technique, which had actually carried him a little when he was at the first realm of cultivation.
But Li Ling already had a few long-range methods, so his eyes fell instead on the Li Family Spear Technique. As he was a member of the Asura Blood Hall now, people would expect him to primarily be a body cultivator, so he could now use the Perfection stage Mana Regressing Art to completely hide his qi cultivation.
Enemies would see him manifest Blood Qi at the Perfection of the Mortal Flesh stage and assume that was his level. So any second realm or even third realm cultivator who aimed to slay him if he ever got out of hand would be met with a very dirty surprise when he unveiled his qi cultivation and unleashed the meteor upon them.
To perfect this, he would need to fully play the part of a body cultivator, and using a weapon was definitely on track with that.
Invest in the Li Family Spear Technique!