Divine Transcendence

Chapter 173: Ambush

"Bai Mou also knows that this matter has caused difficulties for fellow daoists. I have a Foundation Establishment Pill on me. If Fellow Daoist Ha Gong is willing to lend a hand to help us, I am willing to use this pill as a token of gratitude!" After a moment of hesitation, Bai Ye spoke out, saying something that made Yuan Ming have to carefully consider.

"Foundation Establishment Pill!" Yuan Ming’s heart skipped a beat.

After breaking through the tenth level of Qi Refinement, a Qi Refinement cultivator can attempt Foundation Establishment. Only with a successful Foundation Establishment can their lifespan double, and they can truly step onto the path of cultivation.

However, the process of Foundation Establishment is extremely difficult. Without other means, even a hundred Qi Refinement cultivators may not have one person succeed. Most of the lucky ones who succeed are those with exceptional aptitude like the Heavenly and Earthly Spirit Roots.

Many sects have many Qi Refinement cultivators who have surpassed the tenth level and even reached the peak of the thirteenth level. The reason behind this is to increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment when breaking through.

Throughout history, countless people in the cultivation world have researched auxiliary breakthrough methods and gained some insights. Among all the auxiliary methods, the most famous one is the Foundation Establishment Pill.

It is unknown who created the Foundation Establishment Pill, but it is applicable to all cultivators. Taking this pill can greatly increase the chances of successfully establishing a foundation.

Such a miraculous elixir is desired by all cultivators. However, the process of refining this pill is complicated, and the required spiritual materials are extremely precious. The production is very limited, and every pill that appears will cause a scramble among major forces. After all, each pill has the potential to add a Foundation Establishment stage powerhouse to their faction.

Yuan Ming had also inquired about information regarding the Foundation Establishment Pill, but he had to give up after learning about its situation.

Without hesitation, Bai Ye took out a jade box from his storage bag. After opening it, there was a thumb-sized, blue pill inside. It was surrounded by a layer of dreamy blue light, like the stars in the night sky.

"It really is the Foundation Establishment Pill!" Yuan Ming’s breath hitched.

He had seen records of it in ancient texts, and it was exactly the same as the pill before him. Blue like the sky, as if it came from a starry sea, it was definitely an authentic Foundation Establishment Pill.

"I didn’t expect Lord Bai Ye to have such a treasure as the Foundation Establishment Pill. I promise you, I will do my best to help you all escape. However, there are many people on the other side, and I don’t have absolute certainty." After pondering for a moment, Yuan Ming made up his mind and said.

Unlike before when he saved Ha Gong’s wife and daughter without hesitation, he now knew what he was doing. Although it involved some risks, the stakes given by the other party were worth his effort.

As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold!

Moreover, he was not without confidence. In case he couldn’t handle it, the rare Earth Traveling Talisman was his last resort.

"No need to worry. As long as Fellow Daoist Ha Gong gives it your all, this Foundation Establishment Pill will be yours." Bai Ye closed the jade box and unexpectedly threw it over.

Yuan Ming caught it with his hand and looked at Bai Ye with surprise. He silently put away the jade box, then threw himself onto the ground nearby, using the Wood Concealment Technique to conceal his aura. At the same time, he recalled the Soul Raven guarding the entrance.

All the fluctuations of his spiritual power dissipated, and the sound of his heartbeat disappeared. He seemed like a cold corpse.

The Black Toad jumped out from the spirit beast bag around his waist and activated the Earth Traveling Talisman, disappearing into the ground with a flash.

In a certain area of the snake cave passage, a black head emerged from the ground. It was the Black Toad, and it opened its mouth, spewing out a purple poisonous mist. The mist quickly merged into the surrounding miasma and soon disappeared completely, leaving no trace of its scent.

This was the poison ability awakened by the Black Toad after condensing its inner core. It could turn its poison into mist, making it even more difficult to detect.

After completing these actions, the Black Toad submerged back into the ground.

Seeing Yuan Ming’s series of actions, Bai Ye couldn’t help but be stunned. However, before he could ask, there was movement coming from the passage leading to this place, causing him to close his mouth.

Not long after, five figures emerged from the miasma ahead. It was the Black Fire Gate led by Gu Tu.

"What’s that smell?" The black-clad girl sniffed her nose and said.

The others also noticed the unusual scent in the air, which had a slightly sweet and greasy feeling.

"This place is filled with poisonous miasma. Don’t sniff randomly, be careful of being poisoned!" Gu Tu reminded.

The black-clad girl and the others agreed, holding their breath and continuing forward. They quickly arrived at Bai Ye’s location.

"Isn’t this Fellow Daoist Bai Rong? And a few others. Didn’t you give up on the mission? Why did you come back?" Bai Ye opened his eyes and looked at the group, showing a perfect expression of surprise.

The Black Fire Gate members were initially taken aback when they saw the situation inside the cave, but then their tense expressions turned into delight.

They didn’t expect to find two Level 2 ferocious beasts here, both of which had been killed. Furthermore, Bai Ye, a member of the Independent Alliance in the Qi Refinement stage, and several other Qi Refinement cultivators had also perished. The strongest ones, Bai Ye and Huan Shi, were heavily injured.

Gu Tu’s expression remained unchanged, and he was secretly delighted.

This trip was indeed worth it. The materials of two Level 2 ferocious beasts were not a small fortune for him as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, not to mention the storage bags of Bai Ye and Huan Shi, who were also Foundation Establishment cultivators.

With this in mind, a cold killing intent flashed in his eyes as he signaled to the four people behind him.

After understanding, the four people retreated and guarded the snake cave passage.

"You want to kill us and take our treasures?" Bai Ye’s face sank, and he calmly asked.

"If you want to blame someone, blame Lord Bai Ye for appearing in front of me in this state. Let me send the two of you on your way to avoid suffering here." Gu Tu flicked his finger, and a black line shot towards Bai Ye. It was the same black needle magical treasure as before.At this moment, the ground beneath the skeleton suddenly split open, and more than a dozen thick purple-black demon vines burst out from the soil, quickly wrapping around the skeleton’s limbs.

The skeleton was taken aback, and without time to control the black needle to attack Bai Ye, it spat out a yellow round bead.

A dazzling yellow light burst forth, and a yellow spherical shield appeared around its body in an instant, protecting it from head to toe.

The purple-black demon vines whipped against the shield, but were easily blocked.

The vines secreted a purple-black venom, trying to corrode the yellow shield, but the shield’s surface flickered with light, showing no signs of damage.

"Such a petty trick!" The skeleton sneered, raising both hands as if to do something.

The dozen or so purple-black demon vines suddenly thickened and grew dense leaves, forming a vine forest in an instant, engulfing the skeleton and its yellow shield.

Yuan Ming, with his hand pressed against the ground, pointed out a spell towards the purple-black demon vines. The vines immediately intertwined, forming a vine cage in an instant. It was the Wood Imprisonment Technique, trapping the skeleton.

The purple-black demon vines, unleashed by the black toad after breaking through to the second level of spirit beast, were far from ordinary Wood Imprisonment Techniques. Even with the skeleton’s Foundation Establishment cultivation, it was unable to move for a while.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye!

Seeing this, Sang Yan and the others were shocked. They abandoned their defense of the cave and rushed over.

Yuan Ming leaped up from the ground, swinging his arm.

The Water Cloud Banner shot out from his sleeve, and in a flash, it was in front of Sang Yan and the others. It had turned into a giant banner ten feet in size, slapping towards the four like a giant blue palm.

Sang Yan and the others quickly stopped and each used their divine powers to protect themselves.

With a loud "bang", their bodies shook slightly, but they quickly steadied themselves. The expected powerful attack did not occur.

Not only that, the blue giant banner spread out with a "whoosh", blocking the entire snake cave passage.

Sang Yan and the others realized they had been tricked and quickly summoned their magical instruments, or took out their refined corpses, to attack the Water Cloud Banner.

The Water Cloud Banner was a medium-grade defensive magical instrument. Although it swayed under their attacks, it still firmly blocked their way, making it difficult for Sang Yan and the others to break through.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out with his right hand, and a red fireball suddenly appeared in his palm. His other hand held a spirit stone, frantically drawing spiritual power from it.

He circulated the magical power within his body, continuously pouring it into the fireball. The originally fist-sized fireball quickly grew larger.

The skeleton was trying to break the Wood Imprisonment Technique. Seeing Yuan Ming’s actions, it quickly stopped and prepared itself.

However, after a few breaths, Yuan Ming still didn’t make a move. The fireball in his hand expanded to the size of a human head, and the magical power fluctuations it emitted were several times stronger.

The skeleton instantly understood Yuan Ming’s intentions and slapped the small black bag at its waist.

Two black shadows shot out from the gaps in the vines, landing outside the shield and transforming into two tall refined corpses.

These two refined corpses had green-black skin and were covered in green scales. They were the Green Steel Corpses that had appeared in the ghost market, looking even more powerful than those that had appeared in the market. Their aura was infinitely close to the Foundation Establishment stage, and they roared as they pounced towards Yuan Ming.

Almost at the same time, the black needle that was originally aimed at Bai Ye somehow appeared behind Yuan Ming. Under the cover of the fierce attack of the Green Steel Corpses, it silently stabbed towards Yuan Ming’s heart.

However, with a light "ding", a piece of golden gauze suddenly appeared behind Yuan Ming, blocking the black needle’s sneak attack. It was the Golden Gauze.

The two Green Steel Corpses also pounced, their hook-like fingers grabbing towards Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming threw the drained spirit stone with his left hand, pointed out a spell, and the Golden Gauze, which was only a few feet long, spread out with a whoosh. It quickly wrapped around his body several times, tightly covering him.

The claws of the Green Steel Corpses fiercely scratched the Golden Gauze, sparking a few sparks, but they also failed to break the defense of the Golden Gauze.

Three powerful forces were transmitted from the Golden Gauze. Yuan Ming’s body trembled, and he quickly pressed his left hand on the Golden Gauze, injecting magical power to stabilize the defense, while his right hand continued to maintain the Fire Explosion Technique.

"A medium-grade defensive magical instrument, its defensive power seems to be even higher than my Stone Control Bead!" The skeleton’s face darkened.

The two Green Steel Corpses were one thing, but the black needle had also returned without success.

This needle was one of his bottom-line medium-grade magical instruments, engraved with the runes of "Sharpness" and "Stealth". Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the same rank could easily suffer if they were not careful, but Yuan Ming was able to detect it!

The skeleton pointed a finger, and a golden, dazzling nine-ring cleaver flew out from the light shield, piercing through the vine cage and slashing towards Yuan Ming.

The black needle magical instrument’s dark light surged, spinning rapidly, and even emitted a sharp whistling sound. It once again stabbed towards the Golden Gauze, while the two Green Steel Corpses also launched a frenzied attack.

The Golden Gauze swayed from side to side. Even with Yuan Ming injecting magical power to maintain it, the spiritual light on it quickly dimmed.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming took out the medium-grade spirit stone of wood attribute and placed it against his flesh to draw the spiritual power from it, replenishing his magical power, and maintaining the Golden Gauze and the Fire Explosion Technique fireball.

The red fireball quickly grew again, turning into a giant fireball the size of a millstone in an instant. Its color also became extremely bright red, emitting terrifying magical power fluctuations.

Yuan Ming’s eyes lit up, and he stopped injecting magical power.

This was already the limit he could control. If he injected more magical power, the Fire Explosion Technique would lose control!

(End of Chapter)